Translation: Continue reading Pie Jesu
The Darkest Evening of the Year, by Dean Koontz
I feel the need to say something political on this last evening before the election.
But I can’t think of anything that hasn’t already been said. And since I know for a fact that our readers are a smart, erudite segment of the population, I’m pretty sure you’ve already made up your own minds.
So I’ll do a book review. It must be days since I’ve reviewed a Dean Koontz novel.
Koontz’ latest in paperback is The Darkest Evening of the Year. On a purely technical level I can make a lot of criticisms.
Since the death of his beloved Golden Retriever, Trixie, Koontz seems to be writing out his grief, with occasionally uneven results. The dogs in his books have gotten wiser and more mystical. In this book he cries havoc and lets slip the dogs of transcendence completely, coming close to caninolatry (if there is such a word. Of course there is! I just made it up!). That “Dog is God spelled backwards” palindrome that so impressed Annie Hall is almost (almost) at work here. Continue reading The Darkest Evening of the Year, by Dean Koontz
When Do I Have Enough?
Over the weekend, I heard an NPR interview with financial guru John Bogle about his upcoming book, Enough. I gather the book expounds on the principles in this graduation ceremony speech by the same name. The business of finances takes from society rather than contributes to it, and if no one in the money management professions has a sense of contentment, when any amount of money is enough, then we will have the types of financial crises we’re having today, financiers leeching off industry and service employees to pad their own wallets. Bogle said:
. . . no matter what career you choose, do your best to hold high its traditional professional values, now swiftly eroding, in which serving the client is always the highest priority. And don’t ignore the greater good of your community, your nation, and your world. After William Penn, “we pass through this world but once, so do now any good you can do, and show now any kindness you can show, for we shall not pass this way again.”
Enough appears to discuss the same idea as another book two years called The Number. The Number encouraged readers to decide how much they can live with and be content with it. I’m sure it would agree that the world, in Bogle’s words, “never has enough conscience, nor enough tolerance, idealism, justice, compassion, wisdom, humility, self-sacrifice for the greater good, integrity, courtesy, poetry, laughter, and generosity of substance and spirit. . . the great game of life is not about money; it is about doing your best to build the world anew.”
But can a materialist really be content? Can a consumerist ever have enough? When you define yourself by your affluence, when you seek a type of happiness in shopping, collecting, or displaying your purchases to others, how can any arbitrary limit be enough? Contentment with life must come from outside the markets (Matthew 6:25-24, Matthew 10:29-31).
Writing Poetry for Factory Workers
Todd Boss, a graduate of St. Olaf Collage and Twin Cities local poet, has landed a publishing deal with Norton. He sounds like my kind of guy.
“I write for farmers, factory workers, all those in my immediate circle,” he said. “I am writing about day-to-day life, the struggles of being a human being and love and all the troubadour kinds of things. I’m not writing about the Greek myths. I don’t have to impress the academy, the university professors, because I don’t work with them.”
Norton editor Carol Houck Smith said Boss’ hardcover debut is extraordinary, especially since she usually learns of first-time poets after they’ve won an award or prize. “Yellowrocket” was the first book she’s worked on that didn’t come through that route.
What We Read
Americans appear to read a good bit of fiction, from what we see from the last 15 years of bestsellers as tracked by USA Today.
Candidates List Favorite Books
Sens. McCain and Obama list their favorite books and San Francisco authors comment.
Focused and Obsessed
There’s truth in these posts. Apply salt as you will.
(via The Art of Manliness)
Behold the host
Phil asked me what my favorite Lutheran hymn is. That’s a no-brainer. “A Mighty Fortress” all the way. Oddly enough, I prefer it in a praise team arrangement, and I don’t think I can say that about any other hymn. This is a hymn you need to stand up and wail on.
My other Lutheran favorites—it will not surprise you to know—are Scandinavian hymns. Below is one I always think of as Norwegian, but in fact it’s Danish, the work of Bishop Hans Adolph Brorson. Its original title is Den Store Hvide Flok, which means “The Great White Host.” I think it’s particularly appropriate for All Saints’ Eve. Exactly the kind of hymn that wouldn’t go over in our day, as it takes it for granted that suffering is a necessary part of life.
The melody is a Norwegian folk tune arranged by THE MAN, Edvard Grieg. YouTube performance here.
BEHOLD THE HOST ARRAYED IN WHITE
Behold the host arrayed in white, Like thousand snow-clad mountains bright,
With palms they stand—Who are this band
Before the throne of light?
These are the ransomed throng, the same That from the tribulation came
And in the flood Of Jesus’ blood
Are cleansed from guilt and shame,
And now arrayed in robes made white They God are serving day and night,
And anthems swell Where God doth dwell
‘Mid angels in the height. Continue reading Behold the host
Fried Chick
Joe Carter over at The Confabulum does an excellent dissection of the bad, old Chick Tracts today. (Hat tip: Southern Appeal)
I remember a counselor I used to see, years back. One day he showed me some drawings that had been done by another patient, one who was psychotic. (I think his point was to convince me that there were a lot of people around crazier than me.) One thing I noticed immediately in those ugly, violent images was that they reminded me of Chick Tracts.
Police Hope to Suppress Shooting Rampages
Here’s your Halloween post of horror with original reporting by me. Police across the nation are gearing up for a bizarre Halloween night this year, anticipating shooting rampaging in many neighborhoods in just about every city. No one is safe.
Blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter threads, overheard conversations, word on the street, telepathy–intelligence of every kind is leading police to conclude that thousands of parents of trick-or-treaters are planning to shoot children, neighbors, passersby, anything at any time. Deputy Mule Culwick of Huckshire Township said some parents even will have high-powered cameras capable of shooting pictures in very dim light.
Citizens are advised to avoid opening their doors tonight, especially when cute munchkins or specters of economic disaster ring the doorbell. Hurling candy at them may not be defense enough. Playing their game is out of the question. You may need to hire a ninja.
One kid: “Hey, I thought I had more candy than this?” (Ninja take from he with too much)
Two kids: “How’d we get so much candy in our bags?” (Ninja give to them with little)
Red kid: “Did we hit all the houses in this neighborhood already?” (Ninja sweep bad kids down street)
Blue kid: “Wow! I’ve got a handful of Smarties, and no one’s even opened their door to me yet!” (Ninja give candy without dangerous interaction from host. Also, Smarties official candy of Brandywine Books. Nerds also official.)