Trawlerman's Song

2008-12-21T07:23:00.004-05:00

I've started posting again. We'll see how long it lasts.

Chasing Pictures

I've started posting again. We'll see how long it lasts.

Chasing Pictures

2007-02-04T21:09:00.001-05:00

Something New...

Trawlerman's Dirge
dirige.blogspot.com

2006-10-21T14:40:00.000-04:00

Coming Soon...

Something New

2006-06-10T13:18:00.000-04:00

Humility

2006-04-02T16:44:00.000-04:00

2006-03-12T17:13:00.000-05:00

Dice, Women, Nonsense, I Love

And let not men, therefore, spend their time in barbers' shops and taverns, babbling nonsense; and let them give up hunting for the women who sit near, and ceaselessly talking slander against many to raise a laugh.

The game of dice is to be prohibited, and the pursuit of gain, especially by dicing, which many keenly follow. Such things the prodigality of luxury invents for the idle. For the cause is idleness, and a love for frivolities apart from the truth. For it is not possible otherwise to obtain enjoyment without injury; and each man's preference of a mode of life is a counterpart of his disposition.

- Clement of Alexandria

It is interesting that Clement speaks of frivolities apart from the truth, implying... What of "frivolities" contained in the truth?

2006-03-11T21:04:00.000-05:00

Columbia Records PSA

Found on the sleeve holding my copy of At Folsom Prison…

Here’s How Records Give You More Of What You Want:

The Best For Less. Records give you top quality for less money than any other recorded form.

They Allow Selectivity Of Songs And Tracks. With records it’s easy to pick out the songs you want to play, or to play again a particular song or side. All you have to do is lift the tone arm and place it where you want it. You can’t do this as easily with anything but a phonograph record.

They’re The Top Quality In Sound. Long-playing phonograph records look the same now as when they were introduced in 1948, but there’s a world of difference. Countless refinements and developments have been made to perfect the long-playing record’s technical excellence and insure the best in sound reproduction and quality available in recorded form.

They’ll Give You Hours Of Continuous And Uninterrupted Listening Pleasure. Just stack them on your automatic changer and relax.

They’re Attractive, Informative And Easy To Store. Record albums are never out of place. Because of the aesthetic appeal of the jacket design, they’re beautifully at home in any living room or library. They’ve also got important information on the backs—about the artists, about the performances or about the program. And because they’re flat and not bulky, you can store hundreds in a minimum of space and still see every title.

It It’s In Recorded Form, You Know It’ll Be Available On Records. Everything’s on long-playing records these days… your favorite artists, shows, comedy, movie sound tracks, concerts, drama, documented history, educational material… you name it. This is not so with any other kind of recording.

They’re Your Best Entertainment Buy. Every album is a show in itself. And once you’ve paid the price of admission, you can hear it over and over.

They Make A Great Gift. Everybody you know loves music. And practically everyone owns a phonograph. Records are a gift that says a lot to the person you’re giving them to. And they keep on remembering.

And Remember…It Always Happens First On Records.

(My favorite is.. "If it's in recorded form, you know it'll be available on records." This has become appallingly untrue. Today, I begrudgingly purchased a copy of I Am the Resurrection: A Tribute to John Fahey on CD, becuase it is not being released on vinyl. I should write to Vanguard Records, letting them know how disgusted I am that a RECORD company with the word RECORDS in its very title has ceased to press new records. I should write to them, but I'll trust instead that they seek out my blog, read my griping, and change their policy according to my preference and in keeping with their long, reputable history of record-making. I'm done.)

2006-03-11T10:04:00.000-05:00

Pose a Riddle

Pastor Jeff Meyers has posted some great, "random," thoughts on the parables spoken by Jesus:

Random Thoughts on Parables

Now, finally, Jesus appears “teaching them many things in parables” and what are we to conclude? The parable is the medium of judgment, the grammar of God’s wrath and curse against his obstinate people. The parable is propounded to a people that deserve his judicial blinding. Parables are uniquely suited to engage and challenge the hearers to judge their own situation. The parables by their very nature are wisdom devices, call for careful thought and spiritual discernment. Parable’s mask, they veil the truth. They hide as much as they illustrate. Only those who have ears to hear can understand them. Parables hide precisely what dull hearted, conscience seared people cannot find.

2006-03-10T17:35:00.000-05:00

Je suis comme je suis

There are those who have always considered Prevert no more than a surrealist clown, with (as one American poet has said): “a tinpanalley ear for a cadence, and the cheapest mind this side of Hollywood, with the least integrity, and the most eagerness to fake and crib and puff himself up.” And he is finally put down by today’s poets and critics for committing the cardinal crime of too much clarity in a world whose very Absurdity Absurdly cries for an expression of that Absurdity in all its arts.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti on Jacques Prevert, from the Translator’s Note to Paroles

2006-03-08T14:13:00.000-05:00

The Example of Brave Heart (II)

The castle of Dundee had been handed over to the English baron, Brian Fitz-Alan of Bedale, along with other strongholds in Angus and Fife. Fitz-Alan, by now a Guardian of the realm and also one of the three Justices of Scotland, placed the castle in the hands of a constable named Selby, 'a fierce man of war who had done much injury to the Scots, a man despiteful and outrageous in his dealings'. He had a son about twenty years of age who, with three or four companions, used to go into the town every day: 'a proud, overbearing young rascal, wanton in mischief'. One day in December 1291 young Selby caught sight of William Wallace, brightly clad in green and towering head and shoulders over the others in the street. Selby accosted him saying, 'Thou Scot, abide; what devil clothed thee in so gay a garment? An Irish mantle were the right apparel for thy kind; a Scottish knife under thy belt to carry; rough shoes upon thy boorish feet.' So saying, he demanded the handsome dirk at William's belt. Wallace's response was swift and dramatic; grabbing the Englishman by the collar, he drew his blade and thrust it through his assailant's heart.

- James Mackay, from William Wallace: Brave Heart

2006-03-07T20:23:00.000-05:00

The Example of Brave Heart

Evidence of William's early religious education is provided by the psalter which he habitually carried on his campaigns, and his attachment to the Psalms of David was noted by the eyewitnesses of his execution.

- James Mackay, from William Wallace: Brave Heart

2006-03-06T20:38:00.000-05:00

In the Shadow of a Baby Post

The absence of the urge to create is decadence

-David Mamet, from Writing in Restaurants

2006-02-28T19:52:00.000-05:00

Delivery

I am still in a state of shock.

27 February Anno Domini 2006

The midwife had to see someone else for a few minutes. The nurse stepped out of the room for a "minute" to grab some supplies. That was the moment the all-wise Creator chose to bring this baby out of the womb. Yes, I delivered the baby.

Susannah Wren

2006-02-27T18:47:00.000-05:00

Celery Fiesta!

Yes, it's true! More details to be announced shortly.

2006-02-18T09:25:00.000-05:00

Thinking about...

Very soon now.

2006-01-23T18:08:00.000-05:00

What If....

Michael Chabon had written the script for the recent FF movie?

the Goths you ridicule somehow communicate a difficult truth?

Thomas Aquinas denied a local presence of Christ in the Eucharist?

we can hardly know how to read the Scriptures?

you suddenly lost all present and future Internet access?

Yup, just clearing out all of the bookmarks that should have made full posts. I'm having a hard time dealing with Internet demands, but I'm enjoying reading everything that has to do with this game that I'll be playing tomorrow night.

2006-01-21T07:35:00.000-05:00

You Don't Know Jack

From the December 2005 issue of Christianity Today:

A guy approached Jack on the street one day and asked if he could spare a few shillings. Jack immediately dove into his pocket, brought out all his change, and handed it to this beggar. The chap he was with--I think it was Tolkien--said, "Jack, you shouldn't have given that fellow all that money; he'll just spend it on drink." Jack said, "Well, if I had kept it, I would have only spent it on drink."

-Douglas Gresham, giving an example of one small way in which his stepfather, C.S. Lewis, lived out his faith.

2006-01-14T09:42:00.000-05:00

Co-ed Naked Blogging

After a brief burst of blog posts, I found that I'm still not quite up to the sustained level of Internet use that I had become accustomed to during the school semester.

Anyhow, I've been thinking about nudity in motion pictures.

I've never written about my position at length, but most friends that I converse with in person know my thoughts on the matter, which are (very) briefly summarized in a comment here on my own blog about a year ago:

"Well, the truth is that you're not watching an actor commit a murder. No murder takes place. It's pretend.
This is not true of sexual scenes in films. Yes, that male actor is actually touching that female actor's breasts. Maybe his thoughts are somewhere else, but his actions betray him. There is no pretend."

A few days ago, I was reading an interview of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. They were interviewed by Lawrence Grobel and the interview was originally published in Playboy magazine.

Grobel: And couldn't one be curious about seeing an actor or actress without any clothes on in a love scene in a movie?

Ebert: The moment that an actor takes off his or her clothes, the movie changes from a fiction film into a documentary.

Siskel: I remember something Spielberg told me about sex scenes. He feels that it's almost impossible to do a sex scene without the audience having the reaction, "Oh, that's what they look like."

Ebert: I am not arguing against nudity in the movies. All I'm saying is that acting has traditionally consisted of putting on costumes, not taking them off. Actors have traditionally been in the business of pretending to be somebody else other than themselves. Well, the moment that the actor completely unclothes, the actor abandons character and becomes self to some degree.

I think that Ebert is absolutely right in his last comment.

The revelation of self in nakedness will almost always destroy the narrative flow of a motion picture.

It is that moment when I'm reading Spike's novel and think to myself, "Well, that sentence was very clever and extremely well-written." Yes, indeed, it may have been, but the fact that it drew attention to itself means that it drew me out of the narrative and made me focus on the mechanics of the story rather than the story itself.

The same is true in this nakedness business. The viewer watches a Scorcese film and sees Harvey Keitel nude (Harvey Keitel is always nude), and instead of becoming further engaged in the story, as one might think an intimate sex scene may do, one is driven away from the story by the sudden unspoken (perhaps half-thought) realization that we're no longer looking at a character named J.R. We're looking at Harvey Keitel.

Impromptu conclusion, Spike's most clever sentences are akin to full frontal nudity on the big screen.

That's not at all where I had intended to go with this post.

2006-01-08T20:29:00.000-05:00

Random (?) Post

Though I could quibble, I'm mostly in agreement with M. Joseph Young's Confessions of a Dungeons & Dragons Addict.

For the purpose of this post, here's a quote from his essay that I'll continue to think about:

"First, like most games--all those which use dice or cards--Dungeons & Dragons(tm) assumes that dice and cards fall in a random pattern along statistically predictable probabilities. It is extremely difficult for us to deal with this assumption. The question of whether dice and cards fall at random or are divinely controlled is far beyond the scope of this article, but the answer goes directly to the nature of the sovereignty of God. Christians who play such games should grapple with the issue and form an opinion about it. Note that it is possible to avoid all such games by only playing those games which pit skill against skill--athletic competition, chess, checkers, reversi, competitive puzzles such as tic-tac-toe and dots--but these are the games most susceptible to the problems of the competitive spirit, the idea that one wins and therefore all others lose. That may be a far more dangerous challenge to the principles of the gospel than the more intellectual question of whether the assumption of statistical randomness is an affront to the sovereignty of God."

Related is a blog post by Mark Jackson that I saw for the first time today: Why Religious People Shouldn't Design Board Games

"Perhaps the very structure of a competitive game is antithetical to communicating Bibilical theology. I dunno - I'm gonna have to think about this one some more."

2006-01-04T07:29:00.000-05:00

Mashed, Baked, Fried, Leave Those Skins Alone

2006-01-03T05:48:00.000-05:00

Shot a Man in Reno

Here are two Mildred quotes from last night:

Will we get to meet Johnny Cash when we go to heaven?

Yes, other children may be wiggling to the Wiggles, but my daughter is celebrating with Cash. I'm not sure if she's so much concerned about his immortal soul, or whether or not she'll get to hear his voice mixed with others around the throne.

Mildred: Does Elizabeth Krantz have a baby in her belly?

Abigail: I don't think so.

Mildred: But she's married.

Abigail had a difficult time phrasing a response, and Mildred's definite tone of voice (and subsequent lack of interest in the conversation) suggested that none was needed. So, Elizabeth, if you ever read this, you have been admonished by Mildred for possibly not living up to your marital responsibilities. You must start procreating immediately!

2006-01-02T14:12:00.000-05:00

Closer to the Grave

We're getting closer to the grave each day
Mortal man won't you stop now and pray
Leave the road of sin alone, let Jesus lead you home
We're getting closer to the grave each day

-Hank Williams

A few weeks ago, I bought a large stack of comics at a GoodWill store. They were all from the 60s and 70s, a couple dozen or so, bought cheap because they were all missing their covers.

One of these purchased comics is Tomb of Dracula #59, the August, 1977 issue.

I've never read any Tomb of Dracula, and have heard very little about it, so I had no expectations heading in.

Brief narrative summary: A team of vampire hunters, each one of them seeking revenge, will not stop until Dracula is dead. Against their better judgement, they follow the lead of one of Dracula's followers, who has his own reasons for betraying his dark lord. The betrayal and subsequent attack on Drac's life is scheduled to occur during the Feast in celebration of Drac's newborn son.

The best moments are when the various vampire hunters are almost working against each other, because, even though they are superficially a team, they each feel the need to be the one that destroys their evil foe. In the ensuing battle at the feast, a bullet meant for Dracula passes through him, as he turns to mist, and strikes and kills his infant son.

Dracula strikes out in his fury, killing the traitor, and about to turn his wrath on the hunters, when his human wife stops him from doing so.

It is at this point that things get even stranger. Dracula's wife, Domini, has been following someone whose likeness adorns the wall; a picture of Jesus (this is an assumption on my part that it is Jesus- the painting is never explicitly referred to by that name, but it seems obvious - but don't take my word for it, for all I know this is a picture of Dr. Strange in the costume he wore in the '70s).

Here is the concluding dialogue from the last three panels....

Dracula: But.. But something prevented me from touching it... from removing that mocking portrait from the wall. And now.... you tell me that you listen to his words over mine? How could you, wife? How could you?

Domine: Dracula, you are my husband, the man I love. The father of my child. Please, come here. Embrace me, and accept His words. He will show you the way. Take my hand, my love. Please, take my hand.

Dracula: (As he's saying this, he's turning into a bat and flying away from his wife) After all this time... you simply do not understand me. You can't understand what I've become, and why I can't do what you ask me to do! Lord help me... I can't!

2006-01-01T16:00:00.000-05:00

Geek Stones

In the past month, I have not been on the Internet much, but, when I have been, I've been updating my BoardGameGeek collection information and earning GeekGold toward an Avatar.

My first review (and the first review of the game on BGG) can be found here:

Under-active Bladder

Want to play?

2005-12-31T21:24:00.000-05:00

Anticipation.... Fulfilled!

Although, therefore, that infancy, which the majesty of God's Son did not disdain, reached mature manhood by the growth of years and, when the triumph of His passion and resurrection was completed, all the actions of humility which were undertaken for us ceased, yet to-day's festival renews for us the holy childhood of Jesus born of the Virgin Mary: and in adoring the birth of our Saviour, we find we are celebrating the commencement of our own life. For the birth of Christ is the source of life for Christian folk, and the birthday of the Head is the birthday of the body. Although every individual that is called has his own order, and all the sons of the Church are separated from one another by intervals of time, yet as the entire body of the faithful being born in the font of baptism is crucified with Christ in His passion, raised again in His resurrection, and placed at the Father's right hand in His ascension, so with Him are they born in this nativity. For any believer in whatever part of the world that is re-born in Christ, quits the old paths of his original nature and passes into a new man by being re-born; and no longer is he reckoned of his earthly father's stock but among the seed of the Saviour, Who became the Son of man in order that we might have the power to be the sons of God. For unless He came down to us in this humiliation, no one would reach His presence by any merits of his own. Let not earthly wisdom shroud in darkness the hearts of the called on this point, and let not the frailty of earthly thoughts raise itself against the loftiness of God's grace, for it will soon return to the lowest dust. At the end of the ages is fulfilled that which was ordained from all eternity: and in the presence of realities, when signs and types have ceased, the Law and prophecy have become Truth: and so Abraham is found the father of all nations, and the promised blessing is given to the world in his seed: nor are they only Israelites whom blood and flesh begot, but the whole body of the adopted enter into possession of the heritage prepared for the sons of Faith. Be not disturbed by the cavils of silly questionings, and let not the effects of the Divine word be dissipated by human calculation; we with Abraham believe in God and "waver not through unbelief" but "know most assuredly that what the Lord promised, He is able to perform."

-Leo the Great, Sermon XXVI: On the Feast of the Nativity VI

2005-11-20T23:31:00.000-05:00

It ain't easy...

...being green. I couldn't make it to Wales this year, but, if I could have, I would have been at the Green Man Festival

The next best thing, of course, is getting a second-hand report from the BBC's Collective.

Green Man Festival Sessions at Collective