A Little Tambourine Music for the Road Posted on November 20, 2009, 3:15 PM | Joseph Susanka
As I prepare to pile my bustling, busy little family (and Dr. Bob Greenberg) into my van for the 1,000+ mile drive to Southern California this Thanksgiving, I thought I'd share a little bit more from my "unusual Baroque music" stash.
This short piece -- entitled Tambourin, for reasons which will become readily apparent -- is by Jean-Philippe Rameau, a French composer from the 1700's whom I find particularly interesting because of his deep devotion to percussion instruments in his music.
So, in case anyone plans in making an 18-hour drive through the night any time soon, the tambourines just might help keep them awake.
101 ways to get ready for Thanksgiving Posted on November 20, 2009, 12:10 PM | Zoe Romanowsky
It's Friday, and less than a week from Thanksgiving, so what better time to post 101 easy dishes you can make in advance of the holiday?
This recipe compendium comes from Mark Bittman, a man sure to go down in culinary history. His columns and blog in the New York Times are full of fail-proof recipes and helpful information. (The latest edition of his How to Cook Everything is my new go-to-cookbook for... well... everything.)
This list from his Minimalist column provides a lot of ideas. I'll leave you with a few simple soups. Don't forget: salt to taste.
13. Sauté sliced shallots in olive oil, then add chunks of butternut squash, some rosemary and chicken stock or water to cover. As the soup simmers, bake strips of prosciutto until crisp. Purée the soup, swirl in some cream if you like and serve topped with crumbled prosciutto.
14. Steam or poach 2 cups of pumpkin cubes until tender. Meanwhile, sauté 1 cup sliced shiitake mushroom caps in vegetable oil with a few drops of sesame oil. Boil 4 cups water and whisk some of it with 1/3 to 1/2 cup of miso. Stir miso mixture, pumpkin and mushrooms into water and heat everything through, then serve, drizzled with more sesame oil.
15. Thai Squash Soup: Simmer cubed winter squash, minced garlic, chili and ginger in coconut milk, plus stock or water to cover, until soft. Purée if you like. Just before serving, add chopped cilantro, lime juice and zest, and toasted chopped peanuts.
Compelling narrative journalism: The terrorist attack on Mumbai Posted on November 20, 2009, 10:56 AM | Brian Saint-Paul
Last year, at 9:40pm on November 26, ten Pakistani Muslim gunmen began a coordinated attack on the bustling Indian city of Mumbai, which lasted three days and left over 170 people dead. You probably saw some of the eyewitness footage played and replayed on U.S. cable networks, but you haven't read anything like this: Freelance journalist and photographer Jason Motlagh has a minute-by-minute account of the entire 60-hour ordeal in the latest Virginia Quarterly Review, and it's a remarkable read. Motlagh traces the precise movements and activities of the five terrorist teams, and profiles both their victims and the heroic Indians who tried to stop them.
Finding a section to excerpt is a tall task -- the entire article is riveting -- but this will give you a taste:
9:40 P.M. Trident-Oberoi Hotel complex.
Dressed in a starched sherwani and a black turban seamed with gold, the Sikh doorman smiled namaste greetings to hotel guests emerging from luxury sedans. The rickety taxi that pulled up to the base of the driveway struck a sharp but familiar contrast. Mumbai is a city of such contradictions, the divide between opulence and privation so commonplace as to go unnoticed. Two young men, Abdul Rehman and Fahadullah, stepped out of the cab, and made their way up the ramp to the dwarfing eighteen-story Trident hotel. They stopped short of the main entrance, dropped their shoulder bags, withdrew assault rifles, and unleashed a salvo of bullets at the façade of a Gucci boutique just opposite. One employee was struck. The Sikh doorman and the rest of the door staff ran for their lives, while one of the gunmen placed a white travel bag containing a ticking bomb on the ground. It was the first of two bombs they would plant around the complex. The gunmen then walked back to the hotel doors and announced their entry with another burst of rounds.
Although the airy open gallery to the left was empty of people, the gunmen fired a few more perfunctory shots to break glass, revving themselves for the kill. Turning to their right, they approached the baggage counter. A bellboy and a service staff member cowering behind it were left sprawled in a pool of blood. The gunmen pressed forward into the main lobby, chasing screams with volleys of bullets. At the elevator bank around the corner from the reception area, a Japanese businessman, Hisashi Tsuda, stepped out into view of the gunmen, who leveled their rifles. Tsuda made an about face but was shot in the back as the doors slammed shut. Together Rehman and Fahadullah stormed into the Opium Den restaurant at the far end of the lobby. One guest who had lingered was struck down by the fusillade. Four more people, three hotel staff and another guest, were found and killed in an equipment room.
It's a very long piece -- probably better printed out or saved to your mobile phone -- but I encourage you to read it.
As this decade draws to a close next month (about which: yipe), you can expect to see plenty of "Best of the Decade" lists popping up over the next few weeks. The first few have already arrived: Both NPR and the AV Club have posted their list of the 50 most important or influential albums of the decade. The latter also has a list of the best TV series of the decade, which might be slightly less controversial. Name your favorite shows and albums from The Aughts in the comments.
One last thing: If you aren't already, be sure to follow InsideCatholic on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with the latest news and posts. All the cool kids are doing it.
The Moment I Knew I Had Turned 60 Posted on November 19, 2009, 9:35 PM | Deal W. Hudson
My birthday isn't until tomorrow, the 20th, but I actually turned 60 yesterday when I was in the backyard with Chippy.
I had asked him, after a long, hard day in the 6th grade, to help me move some boxes into the storage shed. It was just turning dark and the air was cooling, the sky was still blue with the gray of the evening just starting to glide in.
But Chippy was in no mood to work and was making -- barely audible to me -- griping noises with every step. One of the remarks, which I did hear, stopped me in my tracks, and I put my hand on his shoulder, turned him around, and said, "Look at me, I want to tell you something."
At first he didn't look up, thinking I was angry, but after a glance decided it was safe to look his Dad in the eyes. I've never said anything like this before, to anyone, but I heard the words just pop out:
"Chippy, you know we are not always going to be together like this. It's a beautiful autumn day, and we're in the backyard of our home and the leaves are falling, just look around. We won't always be able to work together like this, father and son."
"I know, Dad," he said right away, smiling. "I know, I know," he added and put his arms around me. "Let's enjoy this, OK?," I asked him looking down at the top of his head, and he nodded, not looking up.
I knew I had turned 60 when I was suddenly aware that moments like that, in my backyard, with my son on an autumn afternoon, might never come again -- you just never know, as they say.
The Tibet of Christendom Posted on November 19, 2009, 11:01 AM | Zoe Romanowsky
Mount Athos has been called the "Christian Tibet." You can see why when you gaze at pictures. It's a penisula in the northeastern part of Greece that reaches 6,670 feet at its highest point. The stunning place is home to about 2,000 Eastern Orthodox monks who follow a 1,000-year-old tradition of living for Christ, isolated from the rest of the world.
National Geographic just ran a short piece about Mount Athos. The photos are breathtaking and the descriptions of life there, fascinating. As much as I'd love to see it myself, that will probably never happen: The only woman welcome there is the Virgin Mary -- no other females are permitted to step foot on Mount Athos. One monk says it's for good reason: if women starting showing up, three-quarters of his brothers would go off with them.
The community is growing and many of the new monks are highly educated -- some come from the West. The article mentions one who grew up on Long Island listening to artists like Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen and then became a Harvard theology professor before resigning to "live my life closer to God."
Visitors must apply for a special permit. The community allows up to 100 male visitors for up to four days. (There are also many laborers who regularly assist the monks.) My brother visited Mt. Athos back in 1991. He said it was quite amazing... like stepping into another world.
The economic benefits of hell Posted on November 19, 2009, 8:50 AM | Brian Saint-Paul
After combing through four decades worth of data on the effects of religious belief and economic development, two Harvard researchers have come to a fascinating conclusion. Not only does religious conviction benefit economic growth, but belief in one particular doctrine -- the existence of a hell -- produces a dramatic effect.
[Economist Robert Barro and researcher Rachel McCleary] collected data from 59 countries where a majority of the population followed one of the four major religions, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, or Buddhism. They ran this data -- which covered slices of years from 1981 to 2000, measuring things like levels of belief in God, afterlife beliefs, and worship attendance -- through statistical models. Their results show a strong correlation between economic growth and certain shifts in beliefs, though only in developing countries. Most strikingly, if belief in hell jumps up sharply while actual church attendance stays flat, it correlates with economic growth. Belief in heaven also has a similar effect, though less pronounced. Mere belief in God has no effect one way or the other. Meanwhile, if church attendance actually rises, it slows growth in developing economies….
Belief’s influence on our economic behavior might even reflect biology. The special motivational power of hell, for instance, may lie deep in the human psyche. Ara Norenzayan, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia, and his graduate student Azim Shariff set up an experiment that would make it easy for people to cheat on a difficult math test. They found that people who believed in an omniscient, vengeful God typically chose short-term suffering -- that is, facing the test without the crutch of cheating -- over possible eternal suffering. "Those who believed in a punishing God cheated less," Norenzayan said in an e-mail. He considers his findings to be consistent with Barro and McCleary’s research.
This makes sense. If you believe God will both see and punish your misdeeds, you'll be less likely to commit them. No surprise there.
However, Barro and McCleary's work does add another arrow in the quiver of those who argue that religious faith is a net benefit to society and that, cut off from those traditions, citizens will slowly lose the moral framework necessary for a free state.
I know that some felt nothing but shock and dismay at Cardinal George's announcement that "we have recently begun discussions on how we might strengthen our [the bishops'] relationship to Catholic universities, to media claiming to be a voice in the Church, and to organizations that direct various works under Catholic auspices."
I was not shocked because in his book The Difference God Makes, Cardinal George was quite specific that the dominant view of the role of religion in American society, sketched first and most famously by deToqueville as "voluntary associations" was not the way the Catholic tradition viewed the Church. As well, the Cardinal mentions several times that as bishops, the current code of canon law does not provide effective tools of governance, and that the need to govern better is among the most obvious needs for the episcopate. Yet, for American Catholics, formed in a culture marked by self-forming religious congregations beginning with Thomas Hooker's break with Massachusetts to found Connecticut unto our own day when Jerry Falwell broke from the Park Avenue Baptist Church to found Thomas Road Baptist Church, we do not always grasp how we must stand against our culture in understanding our own ecclesiology.
Winters has some interesting thoughts on this one, particularly the ways in which our very "Americanness" can make this sort of thing more complex than it should be. Here's a bit more from the AP, with blessedly little hand-wringing.
Clearly, this spring's controversy is far from forgotten. Cardinal George's announcement suggests that the bishops recognize this as an issue that can no longer be ignored.
Committees are rarely the most effective forums for these sorts of conversations, and the USCCB's committees -- fair or not -- are particularly notorious. Still, this definitely seems like a development worth watching more closely.
No pantalons in Paris, and other archaic laws... Posted on November 18, 2009, 12:20 PM | Zoe Romanowsky
Two-hundred years ago, Paris' police chief banned French women from wearing pants... and the law is still on the books. The Daily Telegraphsays that despite numerous attempts to change it, the law remains:
The 1800 rule stipulated than any Parisienne wishing to dress like a man "must present herself to Paris' main police station to obtain authorisation."
In 1892 it was slightly relaxed thanks to an amendment which said trousers were permitted "as long as the woman is holding the reins of a horse."
Then in 1909, the decree was further watered down when an extra clause was added to allow women in trousers on condition they were "on a bicycle or holding it by the handlebars."
In 1969, amid a global movement towards gender equality, the Paris council asked the city's police chief to bin the decree. His response was: "It is unwise to change texts which foreseen or unforeseen variations in fashion can return to the fore."
The latest attempt was in 2003 and it didn't work either. The strangest part of it all? Pants are mandatory for Parisian female police officers.
Of course, there are many unenforced laws on the books in our own country. Here in Maryland -- a blue state if there ever was one -- ten years in jail is recommended for any "unnatural or perverted sexual practice." Not only that, but the state can indict you without naming the act.
In Massachusetts, adultery can land you three years in state prison. And North Carolina has numerous laws against fornication.
There are laws about all kinds of things that aren't enforced... In Minnesota, for example, growing a barberry bush can land you in jail for 90 days. Anybody know why?
I can't help but wonder about Church laws, too. As I understand it, the Church has never removed the requirement that women cover their heads at Mass. But I've never heard this mentioned or enforced in a non-Traditionalist North American church. I'm glad for that, but it still seems to be one of those laws "left on the books," yet ignored.
Battle over CCHD heats up Posted on November 18, 2009, 8:32 AM | Margaret Cabaniss
By now most readers are probably familiar with the woes plaguing the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the USCCB subcommittee concerned with addressing domestic poverty. They got in no end of hot water last year when it was discovered they gave grants to ACORN, and more recently they have been charged with funding other groups that advocate positions diametrically opposed to the Church.
The controversy is coming to a head this week, as the second collection scheduled for next Sunday's masses (the 22nd) will be taken up in support of CCHD. The group "Reform CCHD Now," which comprises a number of other groups like the American Life League, is leading the charge against CCHD -- encouraging parishioners to put a letter of protest in next Sunday's collection basket in lieu of funds. And as recently as last week, ALL produced a video outlining their case that the CCHD is still in need of a major overhaul:
The USCCB has responded to CCHD's critics on its Web site; at the bishops' meeting in Baltimore yesterday, the members of the CCHD subcommittee released a statement intended to address the concerns about the organization:
Members of the U.S. bishops' subcommittee overseeing the Catholic Campaign for Human Development reassured their fellow bishops and donors that "no group that opposes Catholic social or moral teaching is eligible for funding" from their domestic anti-poverty campaign.
"We pledge our ongoing efforts to ensure that all CCHD funds are used faithfully, effectively and in accord with Catholic social and moral teaching," Bishop Roger P. Morin of Biloxi, Miss., subcommittee chairman, and the five other bishops who sit on the subcommittee said.
Whether Catholics will be satisfied by that pledge of "ongoing efforts" -- or whether it will be viewed as too little, too late -- remains to be seen. One thing is certain: The disapproval from the pews has certainly made an impression.
Benedict XVI Commends Catholics on the Internet Posted on November 18, 2009, 7:24 AM | Deal W. Hudson
Speaking at the recent meeting of the Pontifical Council of Social Communication, Benedict XVI commended the work of Catholics on the Internet:
A genuine revolution is taking place in the realm of social communications of which the Church is ever more responsibly conscious. . . . . These technologies make speech and penetrating communications possible, with a capacity to share ideas and opinions; to facilitate acquiring information and news in a personal way that is accessible to all.
During his short remarks to the Council, Benedict XVI stressed promoting a "culture of respect for the dignity and value of the person....In this way, the Church exercises what we could describe as a 'diakonia of culture' in the present 'digital continent,' transversing its paths to proclaim the gospel, the Word that can save man."
Though the Holy Father didn't mention InsideCatholic.com by name, the implication is clear -- Benedict XVI loves what we are doing!
The Pontifical Council for Social Communication, by the way, is preparing a new ethics guide for the media, especially aimed that Catholics who work on the Internet, the blogosphere, as it were.
Concerns have been raised recently by a member of Council about a lack of "civility" and misrepresentations of the Catholic faith (more on that later).
Paul is one of a rare breed. He's a National Geographic nature photographer.
But he's one of an even rarer breed than that. Raised in a small Inuit community in Canada's Artic, Paul is a member of an incredibly small group of Arctic underwater photographers:
Since 1995, Nicklen has specialized in photographing the Arctic and its inhabitants. With an emphasis on underwater photography, Nicklen excels in working in harsh environments...
I'm guessing "harsh environments" barely begins to describe the sort of extreme weather conditions to which Paul has subjected himself in the past 14 years. But thanks to YouTubeHD, we know of at least one of the more "creature-oriented" harsh environments he has experienced in the past several years.
A terrifying encounter, indeed. Or an amazing one.
Or both.
(I highly encourage any of you folks out there who love wildlife photography to check out his website galleries. He has captured some truly mind-boggling images. I'm almost tempted to say that the "non-leopard seal-attack" ones are even more mind-boggling than the YouTube video. But that's crazy talk.)
REPORT: John Paul II closer to becoming venerable Posted on November 17, 2009, 4:27 PM | Margaret Cabaniss
An Italian newspaper is reporting that the Congregation for Saints Causes has voted unanimously that John Paul II be recognized as having "heroically lived the Christian virtues" and be declared "venerable":
The Vatican did not deny or confirm that the vote took place because the process is supposed to be secret until Pope Benedict signs the decree recognizing the heroic virtue of his predecessor and declares him venerable.
Pope Benedict generally signs a dozen or more decrees three times a year: in April, in June or July and in December.
If true, we could be hearing an official announcement very soon. More on the process:
Members of the saints' congregation meet regularly to study the life stories, eyewitness testimony and other documentation promoting the causes of proposed saints. The information is contained in a "positio," or position paper, prepared by the promoter of the individual's cause.
When the cardinals and bishops are satisfied that the "positio" is complete and demonstrates that the sainthood candidate lived an extraordinarily holy life, they recommend the pope sign the first decree.
There is already a case waiting in the wings to be considered as the first miracle attributed to the late Holy Father -- the next step in the process which, if recognized, would result in his beatification. You'll remember that, in John Paul II's case, Benedict had already waived the customary five-year waiting period before opening up a candidate's cause for sainthood.
The thought that we could have one pope name his immediate predecessor a saint is pretty extraordinary. Has that ever happened before? Either way, it would definitely be subito.
Our ancestors' apples were better Posted on November 17, 2009, 11:30 AM | Zoe Romanowsky
Medieval apples were healthier than today's varieties, according to the Royal Pharmecutical Society of Great Britain.
The blog Medieval Newsreports that pharmacist Michael Wakeman told delegates at a recent conference in Manchester, England, that a 12th century organically grown apple called "Pendragon" outperformed 14 modern, non-organically grown apples -- especially in the peel.
Mr Wakeman explained that in the absence of pesticides, organically grown apples produce larger amounts of many plant compounds to protect themselves from fungal and other infections, and some of these also have health-giving properties for humans.
"This research confirms that whilst some measures of organic versus non-organic food benefits might appear equivocal, more sophisticated analysis of compounds which are newly recognised as being of importance to good health do show a significant difference.
"Moreover, it demonstrates that these compounds, which are only available from plants, are disappearing from our diet as a result of modern day farming and food production techniques combined with the need to develop produce which meets our desire for perfect shapes and sweeter tastes" he said.
Back in July, BBC ran a story about a report commissioned by the Food Standards Agency that found no difference between organic and non-organic food. The study was criticized for lacking any large-scale, longitudinal research, but it still made international news.
This research shows a significant nutritional quality advantage in older varities of apples. In fact, Wakeman says three compounds were found in the organic apples that weren't found at all in the non-organic varieties... and one of them is especially important for controlling blood sugar.
Inside the USCCB Meeting: Day 1 Posted on November 17, 2009, 10:23 AM | Margaret Cabaniss
The bishops' conference is having its semi-annual meeting in Baltimore this week. USCCB president Cardinal George framed his opening remarks in the context of the Year for Priests, along the way offering some interesting thoughts on the proper relationship between the Church and Catholic universities and media:
George announced that the bishops “have recently begun discussions on how we might strengthen our relationship to Catholic universities, to media claiming to be a voice in the church, and to organizations that direct various works under Catholic auspices.” . . .
After announcing that the bishops have initiated discussions on how to carry that out in relation to Catholic higher education, independent Catholic media and organizations that engage in activities under Catholic auspices, he added:
“Since everyone in Catholic communion is truly interrelated, and the visible nexus of these relations is the bishop, an insistence on complete independence from the bishop renders a person or institution sectarian, less than fully Catholic. The purpose of our reflections, therefore, is to clarify questions of truth or faith and of accountability or community among all those who claim to be part of Catholic communion.”
Rocco over at Whispers in the Loggia has the complete transcript; his site will be one to watch this week as the meeting unfolds.
[H]e noted, “issues that are moral questions before they become political remain moral questions when they become political.”
Cardinal George said that it is not the place of the bishops to speak to particular means of delivering health care, but that it is their responsibility “to insist as a moral voice concerned with human solidarity that everyone should be cared for and that no one should be deliberately killed.” . . .
The USCCB president also commented on the presence and rights of the Church in the public square. In order for priests and bishops to be able to govern pastorally and effectively on issues such as health care, they need to be able to speak in “public without being co-opted and (be) who we are without being isolated,” he said. . . .
“To limit our teaching or governing to what the state is not interested in would be to betray both the constitution of our country and much more importantly, the Lord Himself,” he underscored.
In the meetings ahead, the conference is slated to discuss the new GIRM translation, a pastoral letter on marriage, reproductive technologies, end-of-life care, and more. If you're into C-SPAN style viewing, this year you can also watch the open meetings live; Rocco has a live stream set up on his blog.
New Gallup poll: Support for government healthcare plunges Posted on November 17, 2009, 8:25 AM | Brian Saint-Paul
Bad news for proponents of a government-administered healthcare system: A new Gallup poll finds that a majority of Americans now say it isn't the federal government's responsibility to provide healthcare for Americans.
Gallup has asked this question each November since 2001 as part of the Gallup Poll Social Series, and most recently in its Nov. 5-8 Health and Healthcare survey. There have been some fluctuations from year to year, but this year marks the first time in the history of this trend that less than half of Americans say ensuring healthcare coverage for all is the federal government's responsibility.
I'd say this is considerably more than a fluctuation: Support for government-run healthcare has absolutely plummeted over the past two years. In 2007, a dispiriting 69%of Americans thought it was the government's role to ensure universal healthcare. Two years later, that number has dropped to 47%. Opposition to government healthcare was an unpopular position in 2007 -- just 28% took that view. Now that number has jumped to 50%.
A handy chart:
A follow-up question produced even more dramatic results. When asked which they'd prefer, a new government run healthcare program or the current system, 61% of respondents opted for the status quo, with only 32% wanting something new.
Meddling Bishops Interfere in Political Process Posted on November 16, 2009, 11:01 AM | Margaret Cabaniss
...or so many on the Left have been saying after the Stupak-Pitts amendment passed a week ago, thanks in part to what they saw as inappropriate activism on the part of the Catholic bishops. Geoffrey Stone at the Huffington Post longs for a simpler time:
Whatever happened to the America John F. Kennedy believed in? The America in which "no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials"?
The following is a partial list of religious groups that want abortion coverage in the health care bill: Rabbinical Assembly, Women’s League for Conservative Judaism, Episcopal Church, Society for Humanistic Judaism, Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, Union for Reform Judaism, Central Conference of American Rabbis, North American Federation of Temple Youth, United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Presbyterian Church (USA), Women of Reform Judaism, Society for Humanistic Judaism, Church of the Brethren Women’s Caucus, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, Lutheran Women’s Caucus, Christian Lesbians Out, YWCA.
So why don’t Stone and company want to gag these groups as well?
The lesson: Religious lobbying is all well and good, so long as you're lobbying for the approved outcomes.
Are you an introvert? Posted on November 16, 2009, 8:24 AM | Zoe Romanowsky
Dr. Andrew Lange, a physician and author, says that introversion gets a bad rap. In this short article in The Huffington Post, Lange hails the benefits of being an introvert, a concept first introduced in 1910 by the father of analytic psychology, Carl Jung.
Jung said, "The inner world is a delight for the introvert. He feels at home, where the only changes are made by himself. His best work is done with his own resources, on his own initiative, and in his own way. If ever he succeeds, after long and often wearisome struggle, in assimilating something alien to himself, he is capable of turning it to excellent account."
Many people wrongly believe "introversion" means shyness or lack of social skills. In fact, many introverts are quite effective with others. The real difference between introverts and extroverts is how they renew themselves and where they feel most comfortable. Extroverts get their energy from other people and social situations -- the world outside themselves. Introverts get their energy from time alone -- the inner world.
Lange compares the results of introversion to a finely cooked meal, "a meal that has been carefully planned... where days have been spent marinating the food or collecting the spices and ingredients:"
When the meal is finally served there is no comparison to the fast food, immediate gratification of the extravert. An introvert may be the child who does not speak until they are two, then produce full sentences with observations long forgotten by others. The introvert in fairy tales is the boy who sits in the corner doing nothing, while his brothers attempt to be arrogant heroes and fail miserably. It is finally the unspoken hero, the quiet youngest son who finds the solution to the problem.
Lange calls himself a "recovering introvert," partly tongue-in-cheek. He does, however, believe that introverts need to resist becoming immersed in their inner world:
They become resentful because others have not understood the thoughts they have never communicated. They make assumptions that only could be grasped by a psychic. And they withdraw further because they assume no one can appreciate the complexity of their efforts.
As a recovering introvert myself, I always wanted to create a two step program to help others overcome their inhibitions in a healthy way. Two of the major ways to balance an introverted nature is as follows: Speak your mind. Don't be selfish, give of your self. Practicing giving without the concern for its interpretation. Take a risk, so that others may come to know you. He also recommends dancing.
Extroverts are generally more appreciated in our culture, and unfairly so. We would do well to reform our view of introversion. And if you are an introvert, I think Lange's advice is worth repeating: Speak your mind. Don't be selfish. Give of yourself. Take a risk.
Castaway on Steroids Posted on November 14, 2009, 2:15 PM | Joseph Susanka
When Robert Zemeckis' Castaway first came out in late 2000, early buzz revolved mostly around the fact that Tom Hanks spent the vast majority of the film as the lone character onscreen. One might argue, I suppose, that Wilson was a character, but that would seem only partially right to me. He was more of a foil, really -- someone/something with which Hanks could interact, but a trifle underdeveloped and a bit flat in terms of emotional content.
Hanks' ability to almost single-handedly carry the film on the strength of his lonely performance was greatly praised at the time, and has served as a challenge to actors and directors ever since. Creating a film with a "normal" number of performers is tough; creating one with what amounts to a single performer is almost impossible.
Director Danny Boyle, fresh off Slumdog Millionaire's Oscar-capturing success, is the latest to throw his hat into that particularly ring, finally confirming that he's preparing to bring 127 Hours to the big screen. Based on "Between a Rock and a Hard Place", the harrowing true-life account of Aron Ralston's amazing ordeal in the Utah backcountry, the film will open with over an hour of dialogue-free footage. And there won't be any Wilson around to help out:
Boyle intends to film the first hour of the movie with no dialogue. In the true life story, Ralston was completely alone, stuck in the canyon. And Boyle will not be introducing any volleyball tricks a la Tom Hanks in Castaway. The film will have to rely on the non-dialogue acting strength of whatever late-20's/early-30-year-old actor who gets cast in the role.
The most interesting news about this ambitious project may well be the role Ralston himself will play in bringing it to the big screen:
Ralston understands that strict adherence to the facts will be sacrificed in "127 Hours."
"There's a necessary compression and embellishment in order to tell the story in the language of film - which is not necessarily how I told it on the page," he said. "You have to get the audience to really care about that person in the first 10 minutes of the film. So it'll be an intensified version of the character in the first minutes."
Ralston is confident that the essential elements of the story - having no contact with the outside world, using only a small knife to cut his limb free from the boulder that pinned him down - will be kept intact. For one thing, Ralston is acting as a consultant on the script, making sure that facts are accurate and that dialogue sounds authentic to his character; he has a meeting this week with Beaufoy, the screenwriter.
Wait. Authentic dialogue?
(And on an-only-slightly-related-but-still-hugely-important note, this is happening tomorrow night. Be seeing you!)
By now most readers are probably familiar with the woes plaguing the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the USCCB subcommittee concerned with addressing domestic poverty. They got in no end of hot water last year when it was 
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The bishops' conference is having its semi-annual meeting in Baltimore this week. USCCB president Cardinal George framed his opening remarks in the context of the Year for Priests, along the way offering some interesting thoughts on 
