St. John of the Cross tells us that even though G-d has knowledge and understanding of all, and even sees the thoughts of our souls, (Dt. 31:21) He alone determines when we need a remedy. He alone knows the suitable time, season, and number. This is evident in Exodus. After the 400 years in which […]
Most movie directors focus on the here and now: sales, accolades, celebrity status and few on the quality of their films. Among the famous, the ones whose names occur in film histories, praised and repraised, only one, to my knowledge, did not focus on the here and now. He focused on God’s eternal love as […]
Take Paul Scofield as Thomas More, Wendy Hiller as his illiterate wife, Susannah York, as More’s daughter, Leo McKern (Rumpole of the Bailey) as Cromwell, and Orson Wells as Cardinal Wolsey and to this stellar ensemble, add a sparkling screenplay by Robert Bolt, who wrote the original play by the same name, and you have […]
Film makers sometimes provide their viewers with ideas, images, and thoughts that aren’t part of the intended game plan. This blog series will explore how Hollywood has espoused Christian doctrine–unintentionally. Of course, there are many films that have done so purposefully. But I’m looking for bigger game, instances when the heart wins out over the […]
My grandmother was born in 1886 in rural west Georgia, near Newnan. No elecricity, no lights, or telephone, no cars, no running water, no indoor plumbing. A doctor took hours to reach them because someone had to ride horseback into town, Senoia, three miles away, and roust out the doc. They lived by the sun. […]
We come from heaven and we return to heaven, as CS Lewis tells us in: Our Daily Bread We need no barbarous words nor solemn spell To raise the unknown. It lies before our feet; There have been men who sank down into Hell In some suburban street, And some there are that in their […]
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, is one of the twentieth century’s best regarded novels, especally by those seeking fictional art that embodies the Christian message. The central scene in the story is certainly Lord Marchmain’s deathbed act of contrition; in his final moments, and after years of rebellion, he makes the Sign of the Cross. […]
I’ve been confined to the house for a month. On March 7th, I underwent foot surgery, so I’m in a hard, blue cast that cannot touch the floor or ground. My wife has been such a selfless help. Those who go through this alone–you have my sympathy. I find myself often alone. Having grown up […]
Cardinal Robert Sarah’s The Power of Silence has as its subtitle Against the Dictatorship of Noise. God speaks to us in silence, the Guinean-born Roman Catholic Cardinal maintains. When were you last immersed in silence? Right. Me, too. I have a cousin who lives on a wooded place that’s close to a small town. She […]
No worse fate could befall a group emerging from oppression than to find itself gripped by a militancy that sees justice in making others responsible for its advancement. Shelby Steele Shelby Steel talks about “disassociation,” an action taken by whites to demonstrate they are not racist. Corporations disassociate by submitting their employees to long indoctrination […]
Astounded to hear on You Tube the anxious tightness of R’s reading of his own poem. To me it’s a thing of levity and passion and joy. R reads it like a death sentence.
I. Introduction: tell Dr. Levens in plain, simple English what you intend to write about. Don’t hem and haw. Don’t beat around the bush. Dr. Levens’ attention span is low from watching too much ESPN. If you aren’t clear and (dare I say it?) INTERESTING in the first few lines, the good […]
In three days of battle in Gettysburg PA over 46,000 Americans lost their lives. But the Battle of Chicamauga runs a close second and it’s there that CC Cash, the laudanum-addicted med school dropout and Mr. Cash’s ancestor is called to operate. Oddly, as long as he has his laudanum, he’s a fine surgeon.
Mr. Cash believes the cause of the Civil War is incomprehensible. God knows, literally, but we don’t, nor will we ever. In this he is swimming against the current stream. He derives this atavistic view from his ancestor, Lulu Hartmann, German Catholic, chanteuse, and lesbian.
Mr. Cash, the protagonist in my latest novel, is trapped in a Politically Incorrrect view of history. His three brilliant AP students, African American, want to help him escape.
Tall pines and sycamores surround the graveyard. Rusty iron fences teeter towards the headstones, themselves crooked and crumbling. The wind soughs through the trees as crickets chirp and cicadas launch a long-winding weave of ear-searing sound. CC, a rotund man points out graves with a gold-tipped cane. Twenty-four, a winsome smile, tender eyes, and almost […]
Struggling with words and phrases that will lure readers to my website and blog makes me feel a bit cheap. No. Really cheap. Like snake oil salesman level. In cloud coo-coo-land, my permanent residence, no one has to market or publicize. I snap my fingers and poof. Readers appear on my doorstep with flashing cameras […]
At The Peacock's Perch 