Book Review: Under the Influence of Jesus

Under the Influence of Jesus: The Transforming Experience of Encountering Christ by Joe Paprocki (Loyola Press, 168 pages, $15.95)

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by Loyola Press for my honest review.

Accessible, humorous, earnest, and faithful are all words I would use to describe the latest book by Joe Paprocki, a national consultant on faith formation for Loyola Press.

Paprocki discusses what a relationship with Jesus is and is not, and how it manifests in our hearts. What happens when we are truly inebriated with the love of Christ is a “subtle but observable” transformation in our personal lives, one to prompt others to ask us about our joy (1 Peter 3:15).

The book is manageable, sitting under 200 pages. The writing style is conversational. Paprocki frequently invokes modern culture to help make a clear picture or better connection for the reader. For people looking to have a more intimate, sincere relationship with Jesus, he also gives practical advice about how best to start, grow, and truly know the greatness of our God.

I love Papracki’s advice on “vision therapy” and how to daily engage your senses to recognize God in your life. He shows a very real and alive faith, and explains the habits we can form to encourage our journey to carry our own cross.

Too often, people feel pressure to “be” a certain kind of Christian. Paprocki writes, “Likewise, the Gospels make it clear that following Jesus, while transformative at the spiritual level, does not require us to become something we are not. Rather, we are to become a more authentic version of who we are, continuing to do what we do but with a new, single-hearted focus.” In Christ, we are fully ourselves, and we use our unique gifts to help serve the Church and our fellow humans. Peter and Paul were both essential to the Church, just as Mary and Martha served the Lord in different ways. It is in our individuality that joy is made manifest to many.

The book shows the multi-faceted sides of our Lord, and warmly brings the reader in; the Scripture passages used feel well-timed and placed. Paprocki reminds us that “Jesus does not desire fans who cheer from the sidelines but rather friends who will roll up their sleeves and work shoulder to shoulder with him to build the kingdom of God.” Discipleship is an invitation for more; a desire planted in the heart to serve.

Paprocki invites the readers to personally know Jesus: the Word made flesh - for “it touched heaven, but it stood upon the earth” (Wisdom 18:16). This book is worth studying and savoring in the pursuit to best know our faith. The title of the book refers to the centuries old prayer Anima Christi: “Soul of Christ, sanctify me; Body of Christ, save me; Blood of Christ, inebriate me.” The book encourages us all to experience life in Christ, and with him.

Originally posted at Ignitum Today

I Will Wait For You, Marcus Mumford - A Review of "Babel"

When I first read “Against Mumford” by Matthew Schmitz at First Thoughts, I wondered if we had listened to the same songs. Schmitz’s review of English folk-rock band Mumford and Sons’s second album “Babel” applauds the negativity of critics and belittles the praise of fans. His snarky critiques are unjust and lack an appreciation for the depth of their lyrical content and the wideness of their audience.

Mumford & Sons on their US Lake Tour

For the sake of clarity, I’ll state my position early on: I love Mumford and Sons’s music. I love their sound, I love their lyrics, and I love the way their music gets under my skin and into my soul. For people looking for real substance in music, this is an excellent band to listen to and truly enjoy. I also think conservatives have a lot to appreciate in Mumford’s art too, and I am intrigued by the men behind the mayhem.

I attended my first Mumford and Sons concert in August 2012, before the release of “Babel”; it was a sold-out event in which thousands of people stood on the lawn through three bands to hear the fourth play loudly into the night. There is no typical Mumford fan. I saw teenagers, twenty-somethings, parents with their kids, the hip, the prep, the jaded, and the older. People sang along, danced, hopped up and down, or swayed. For a concert, it certainly had an element of revival in it. There is something very beautiful about hearing thousands of people around you singing along to “It seems that all my bridges have been burnt/ But you say that’s exactly how this grace thing works/ It’s not the long walk home that will change this heart/ But the welcome I receive with the re-start” with their arms in the air and a smile on their face.

But the sheer beauty and power of these kinds of lyrics does not seem to phase or impress Schmitz. He says,

 ”But Mumford does not demand any public or existential commitment from its listeners. It is the typical suburban song-spinning of popular music, but unlike that popular music it affects to be about something more. Mumford seems to be incapable of writing serious songs and unwilling to write ones that eschew bombast. …Mumford and Sons is a kind of musical Pintrest. They “collect” without really linking together a variety of quaint, beautiful, and touching things.”

If by not writing serious songs, he must be referring to songs with lyrics like these: “In these bodies we will live,/ In these bodies we will die,/ Where you invest your love/ You invest your life/ …You were made to meet your maker.” I can understand where he is coming from, though. With other popular musical artists like the ever philosophical Taylor Swift, who straight-up tells her listeners without ‘eschewing bombast’ that “Oooh, we called it off again last night/ But oooh, this time, I’m telling you, I’m telling you,/ We are never, ever, ever getting back together” and Rihanna’s more poetical “You’re a shooting star I see/ A vision of ecstasy/ When you hold me, I’m alive/ We’re like diamonds in the sky.”

And what of demanding any public commitment from its listeners? Do we here at The Imaginative Conservative demand that all our readers be conservatives or have an imagination? Certainly not. And for that matter, what secular music group anywhere demands public commitment of some sort? It leaves one feeling nauseated that good music cannot be appreciated without a loyalty stamp of approval. Schmitz also needed to do his homework before this piece was published. He writes, “We don’t know if they’re Christian (or indeed if they have any existential commitment), or if they’re just aesthetic reactionaries of a limited type. Eclecticism precludes evangelism.”

This begins a tricky and touchy subject between band mates. In a June 2011 interview with the band, Josh Eells of Rolling Stones wrote

“Listening to Mumford & Sons’ songs, it’s hard not to detect a vaguely spiritual undercurrent. The lyrics – in addition to high-literary allusions to Shakespeare and Steinbeck (Mumford, after all, is a guy who reads 16th-century English historical fiction for fun) – are also full of references to faith, sin and atonement, not to mention explicit exhortations to “serve God” and profound queries like “Can you kneel before the King and say, ‘I’m clean, I’m clean’?” Coupled with the band’s harmonies and a propulsive beat, they can almost sound more like Christian praise songs than modern-rock hits.”

Two of the band mates, Marcus Mumford and Ben Lovett, keyboardist and accordion player in the band, who has been friends with Mumford since the third grade, had this to say to Rolling Stones:

According to Lovett, a committed nonbeliever, Mumford’s religion made things tricky. “It was always a bit of a stumbling block for our friendship,” he says. “I don’t know if Marcus would see it like that – we were still great friends who played music together. But whenever that stuff would come up . . .”

The band publicly says the band is not Christian as all band mates are not believers, or religious for that matter. 

In a September 2012 interview with NPR,

Mumford grew up a preacher’s kid, and so it’s natural to presume that the new album’s title, Babel, takes on a certain biblical relevance. But the idea is far wider. “There are matters of the heart and sort of spiritual considerations that most humans have — explorative, really,” Mumford says. “We’re inspired by such a range of things between the four of us — almost every genre of music has been embraced by one of us at some time, and just about anything can inspire a song.” Schmitz final attack was suggested a clever ploy:

“The whole problem is well represented by their name, “Mumford and Sons.” It suggests history, tradition, the passing down of something real–above all, the transmission of blood. But Marcus Mumford is not in a band with his sons; in fact, he has no sons at all.”

To that, I have to say “yet.” Marcus Mumford is barely older than me at age 25 and married his childhood sweetheart last year, actress Carey Mulligan. The two met through church and were pen pals as children, before re-connecting after both had established themselves in public careers.

But to continue to the album: it is magnificent. It is not, however, an album which can be picked apart. Listening to one or two songs may be please, but the music is best appreciated when listened to in order. The reason this music is beautiful is not just the instrumentals, or the voices – it is the words. The songs remind me of a prayer journal, which is the power behind Mumford’s publicity. They may deny and deny again, like Peter before the cock crows, but the spirituality in these songs touch people in a way Christian-specific art has not lately affected the culture.

On personal speculation, I think it is the band’s success is viscerally coming at odds with personal beliefs, which is causing the band to take a break for a while. How can you sing about being a “lover of the light” and say “‘Cause I know my weakness, know my voice,/ And I’ll believe in grace and choice/ And I know perhaps my heart is farce,/ But I’ll be born without a mask” and say that these words are just words?

Some people do not like the repetition of the lyrics; these, again, remind me of prayer. The way we repeat the words over and over again (in, say, the Jesus prayer) so as to make it less about the words we say to God and more about our deepest need for communion with God. Mumford tells us, “But I’ll still believe though there’s cracks you’ll see,/ When I’m on my knees I’ll still believe,/ And when I’ve hit the ground, neither lost nor found,/ If you’ll believe in me I’ll still believe.”

The songs cover marriage proposals, regret, death, faith, hope, love, the search for contentment and the roads we all travel on in this life. The lyrics do not shy away from the hardships of life – the way sin entices us, the way life hands us hardships, the hope that we cling to when there is seemingly no hope. In “Hopeless Wanderer” he sings, “I wrestled long with my youth/ We tried so hard to live in the truth/ But do not tell me all is fine/ When I lose my head, I lose my spine.” He goes on to sing how he “will learn to love the skies he is under.”

Photo by James Minchin III for Rolling Stones

There are bad words and divine inspiration; there is humility and a lot of mandolin playing. Mumford & Sons remind me of virtuous pagans who speak truth and see light, though they do not attribute it correctly. And though a few members of the band were raised Christians, I have high hopes and heavy prayers that they will return to the Church with a flourish. Their art is too important to be foolish writings. Their music touches souls and digs deep; it is not just the study of poetry and a wide range of literature. Human nature can not be known as much as it can be felt.

Mumford & Sons are musicians, not theologians, but this does not mean they cannot reach upwards in explaining the Word in action. Mumford sings, “Spare my sins for the ark/ I was too slow to depart/ I’m a cad but I’m not a fraud/ I’d set out to serve the Lord.”

The other members of the band especially deny religious significance, but one listen to this album speaks much louder. I will wait for your next album, Marcus Mumford!

“And I came home/ Like a stone/ And I fell heavy into your arms/ These days of darkness/ Which we’ve known/ Will blow away with this new sun/ And I’ll kneel down/ Wait for now/ And I’ll kneel down/ Know my ground/ And I will wait, I will wait for you.”

Originally posted at The Imaginative Conservative

Book Review: The Newlywed Cookbook

Sarah Copeland has given readers, beginner cooks and sous chefs alike, another delicious treat. Her first book, The Newlywed Cookbook: Fresh Ideas & Modern Recipes for Cooking with and for Each Other, is a wide blend of homemade and heirloom dishes. She is motivated by the advice of her grandmother, Virginia Edwards Copeland, to "learn to make his favorite things."

From an aesthetic view, the book is divine. Gorgeous photography by Sara Remington is paired with a charming lay-out. Her sister, Jenny Goddard, designed the "Sips" tag on the iced tea in the "Embellishments: Snacks, Sauces & Sips to Enlighten the Table" section. Sarah's knowledge on seasonable fruits and vegetables, organics, picking out meat, how to stock one's kitchen, what kind of tools to have on hand, and all questions in-between are abundantly given.

Sarah introduces herself as much as her book in her writing. She tells us,

"There's a moment in a marriage, whether two days or two hundred and twenty-two into it, where you're standing side by side in the morning barefoot on the cool kitchen floor. Everything is quiet but the hum of him making you coffee just the way you like it, with all that frothy milk and sugar. You're stirring his favorite pancakes, sprinkling a few blueberries in the batter, and then it hits you: these simple moments are somehow the best in life. This could happen over a fork fight for the last peach in the jar, or playing rock-paper-scissors for whose turn it is to do dishes. It can happen, and will happen over and over again if you let it. That is the essence of this book."

Sarah is a self-described "writer, urban gardener, passionate cook and curator of good living. She is a six year veteran of the Food Network and co-founder (and former spokesperson) for their charitable initiative, Good Food Gardens. She thrives on "homegrown veggies, stinky cheeses, chocolate cake" and her little family, made up of her husband Andras and their baby, Greta."

As a bride-to-be myself, and one who does not cook often (or ever), I found myself time and time again with this cookbook, pouring over it with fascination and hope. Sarah inspired me to cook for my fiance B. and his parents, and I don't take that impulse lightly. Before fixing Shrimp Saganaki for them, I had cooked for B. exactly once.

On a page labeled "Strategies," Sarah confesses that, though there may be dozens of rules to good cooking, she's probably broken most of them. She gives "ten strategies to make your kitchen the spirited and well-seasoned center of your nest." I took numbers 1, 4, 6 and 8 ("Get Smart, Get Fresh," "Learn the Art of Reading Recipes," "Be Flexible," "Don't Panic") especially to heart.

Sarah gives just enough instruction (though I would have preferred more in a few cases, as a novice), as well as insight into fresher ingredients, preparation advice and alternations for individual recipes. For meals, she makes specific suggestions of what to serve the dish with, be it the wine, bread, or greens.

I fixed the Shrimp Saganaki, which turned out so well that I decided to try another recipe. In this instance, Sarah and I are a culinary match: we both eat carrot cake every year on our birthday. This birthday, I made my own cake, as well as the cream cheese frosting. It was delicious, and only got better over the few days it lasted.

This book is wonderful, warm, and inviting. It reads like a good conversation and gives encouragement through Sarah's perpetual optimism and care toward both cooking and life. 

Originally published in The Key.

Book published by Chronicle Books, www.edibleliving.com

On Crying and Dying, And Life In Between

Tonight, I came home from work, too tired to even eat dinner, and decided that I was going to watch part of a movie for laughs. I picked Big Fish. Two hours later, I emerged, sobbing wildly and starving.

Big Fish is the story of an estranged father and son. The father, Edward Bloom, is a teller of tall tales (well, they're certainly not short) and the son, Will, would prefer the facts. Will feels he does not know his father, and he holds a grudge against him for not being around more when he was younger.

Three years after one-story-too-many, they come back together as the father is dying, and it is through this passage of time that more is revealed. The movie is itself a tall tale, truth mixed with imagination, fantastical, and shows the power of love and kindness to overcome any situation.

I've already spoiled it for some of you, if you like guessing endings, by knowing that I sobbed and sobbed and could hardly breathe I was crying so hard.

But life isn't about the ending to the story, and neither is this movie. It's the journey Edward Bloom had and the adventure he made his life into. It's amazing and it's worth crying over. The beauty of his life is what touched me and moved me to tears.

I used to be embarrassed by crying. It took many years and not enough tears to teach me differently. I no longer, for instance, think it is a weakness to cry, though I still try to resist. When I told my fiance I probably wouldn't cry at our wedding, he kindly reminded me that I cry during P&G commercials. (Those were happy tears! Yes! Happy!)

So what changed? What makes me [more] okay with crying now?

Would you believe me if I told you Christ made it okay? Could you see a genuine conversion if I said he broke open my heart and poured in his forgiveness? He softened my need to be strong for me; now, he cries with me, and laughs with me, and is always with me, even in despondency.

I cried because I saw my own dad in Edward Bloom -- a teller of tall tales, a warm smile and quick laugh. I cried because of all the people whose stories we also saw in the movie - people whose lives were made better by Edward Bloom - were there at the end.

Isn't that what we want to imagine Heaven is like? A giant coming home gathering, where everyone is there and everyone is happy to see you. And God! God is there, and God is love, and you are completely enveloped and overwhelmed by that love. It's just too much. So you cry.

I think about death a lot. I know this sounds morbid, and maybe it is, but bear with me. I think about death because I value my one scrawny life so much. I think about death because I miss people whom have passed from this life and into the next. I think about death because it's real, just like the judgement I'll face after this life is real. I think about death because there are people I can't imagine living without, and I have to remind myself to pray for them so as to never, ever, ever lose hope.

If there is one thing Christ gave us, it's hope. Hope for the future, hope for our lives, and hope for renewal of all. Nothing is out of his reach and nothing is outside his redemption. I cling to that hope when I'm having a rough day. I rejoice in that hope when I think of my fiance and my elation that we are joining our lives together. I am blessed by the hope that my family will all be together in Paradise when the day comes that we cannot be together here on earth.

Big Fish is a movie worth watching. It is thoughtful and charming, and the cast is excellent. It is more than a story worth telling: it is a story worth hearing. Death is never the ending. If you watch it, I hope it touches the crags of your heart; and if you're moved to smile and laugh and cheer and cry, you're in good company.

What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning
The end is where we start from. (T.S. Eliot, from "Burnt Norton")

Urban Gardening

I might not live downtown or in an apartment any more, but I do live within the city [limits] with my family. We have significantly less room to garden. Fortunately for me, I was given The Newlywed Cookbook to review*, and Sarah Copeland is converting me to living better.



She blogs and tweets, too!

*Obsessed with this book, and I am not a culinary person {yet}. An excellent gift for couples and anyone interested in making everyday aspects of their life fun and delicious!

Theology on Tap

In college, the Dogwood Society (my major's academic honorary) was a little platoon of love and laughs. The handful of us would send encouraging notes during our regular all-night writing sessions, pass around humorous takes on American history and politics, and would periodically get together for "Founding Fridays" to share in fellowship over a few brews.

Though partial to wheat beers and amber ales, it is well known that I love Guinness beer. Therefore, when a dear fellow Dogwoodian suggested I read The Search for God and Guinness: A Biography of the Beer that Changed the World by Stephen Mansfield, I knew my friend had excellent taste in both beverages and books.

This book is delightful. If you, dear reader, have any interest in beer, religion, family businesses, history, marketing, science, politics, or culture, you may enjoy this good read. Written with precision, The Search for God and Guinness reads like a methodical conversation or college lecture. Mansfield immersed himself into the wide topic of "Guinness" while remaining an excellent third-party observer. It seems he, as his reader, had a lot to learn about the Guinness family and their barley business.

Continue reading at The Imaginative Conservative >>>>>>>

What's Love Got To Do, Got To Do With It?

Last night, Patty and her husband, the couple who lead RCIA, received a blessing from Fr. George because it was their 41st wedding anniversary. It also happened to be the night we talked about the sacrament of marriage.

My own family background is two Catholics married for life and my five younger siblings (and currently: one dog, three cats). I remember being little and finding such comfort in knowing, that even when my parents fought, they loved each other, they loved their children, and they would never get a divorce. Still, knowing love and being witness to it, I still struggle with what it means to really and truly love another person.

Marriage between a man and a woman is considered a reflection of Christ's love for his Church and a call from God. As Patty said, "[The married couple] become[s] a sign of hope in Christ's power to transform hearts." Just like religious vocations and the single life, marriage is a vocation, which implies a deeper way of living, as married couples serve as both a blessing and a gift to each other and the world.

The Catholic Church has seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Confession, Marriage, Holy Orders and the Anointing of the Sick. The sacraments are an outward sign of an inward grace, which is why people with mortal sins on their soul should not take the Eucharist and why the Church takes very seriously the transgressions of a religious person breaking their vows in any way.

The news of Fr. Alberto Cutie's latest book, Dilemma: A Priest's Struggle with Faith and Love, has caused waves in the Catholic press, especially since the non-Catholic members of the press are playing chief apologists. Fr. Cutie is the Roman Catholic priest from Miami, FL caught on a beach with his girlfriend by a Mexican celebrity magazine one year ago. Two weeks after being publicly exposed, he joined the Episcopalian Church and has since been married to his girlfriend. They now have a baby girl, whom he rightly loves. But his love for his daughter or his wife is not the problem: he broke his vows. He did not wait to be laicized by the Catholic Church. (Which means Fr. Cutie is still a Roman Catholic priest, which means he is living in sin.) The "dilemma" is with him, not the teachings of the Catholic Church. It's like a Graham Greene novel, in real life!

I'll Drink to That!

On this, the feast of St. Augustine, I talked to my good friend Karen on the phone. Next Saturday, Karen will be entering the Sisters for Life as a postulate. Please pray for this beautiful soul and friend who is wholly devoting her life to the service of the Lord through a religious vocation. We met our first semester of college in a sociology 101 class. She is bubbly and intellectual and I am so excited to see where life takes her!


For fun, I thought I would share her favorite quotes from her FB account (which she will be deleting in a week):


"If I am tempted and afflicted with many tribulations, I will fear no evils while your grace is with me. This is my strength. This will give me counsel and help. This is more powerful than all my enemies and wiser than all the wise. This is the mistress of truth, the teacher of discipline, the light of the heart, the consoler in anguish, the banisher of sorrow, the expeller of fear, the nourisher of devotion, the producer of tears. What am I without grace, but dead wood, a useless branch, fit only to be cast away?"
-St. Thomas a Kempis


"I can do anything through Christ crucified, for I know truly that he does not lay a heavier load on his creatures than they can bear."
-St. Catherine of Siena


"Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament . . . There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves upon earth . . . which every man's heart desires."
- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien


"If angels could be envious, they would envy us for two things: one, being able to receive Holy Communion, and secondly, because we can suffer."
-St. Faustina


"You know you're poor when the Missionaries of Charity novices bring you their leftover food."
-Br. Nathanael, IVE


“Women were born to be taken care of by men. I do believe that's the law of the universe.”
-Pat Buckley to Women’s Wear Daily, 1977


Vivian and PD stopped at my house for lunch. They are on their way from Georgia up to Michigan. V also gave me a small crock pot for my apartment. It's definitely Julie-sized! I am enjoying another nice weekend at home. I went to my little sister's high school's football game last night with her and our younger brother, had breakfast with my godmother and her family and am currently working on book reviews. I'll go back to C-bus tomorrow after mass to spend the day with Big at her family's house!


For a good read, enjoy my former dept. chair's latest article on St. Augustine and his influences on Christopher Dawson and Russell Kirk:
"For Dawson and Kirk, St. Augustine served as both the lodestar in confronting the evils of the world and as a means by which the modern traditionalist should navigate in turbulent ideological waters."


St. Augustine is the patron saint of brewers. Upon realizing he was wrong in not becoming a Christian after accepting the Truth because he did not think he could leave a pure life, he said to a friend, "Unlearned people are taking Heaven by force, while we, with all our knowledge, are so cowardly that we keep rolling around in the mud of our sins!"


Have a blessed and relaxing Saturday!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation; Or Rather, What I Read

Last week, I went on vacation up north with my family. While I had plenty of fun swimming, playing on the raft with the entire family (parents, siblings and dog-who-is-not-a-fan-of-swimming), jet skiing, getting sunburned, etc., I also read and wrote a decent amount of non-work related material. It was fabulous to do so and thus submit my thoughts on the books here:

Father Elijah: An Apocalypse 

by Michael O'Brien

This book is long-- a few pages shy of 600. Needless to say, I started this book when I graduated college and finished it two months later. I've been ignoring it for the past month at least, so I don't feel too bad about how long it took me to finish it. It was my first specifically Catholic thriller and truly was an intriguing read. A good friend recommended it and my Uncle Mark gave it to my Dad a while ago, so it's been tantalizing me for the past semester. I don't know if I'd read it again, but I am glad I read it once. I'm at least going to have to go over all the passages I underlined, checked, starred and parentheses'd off again. O'Brien made many acute observations and phrases things beautifully, but a little high-handed. Overall impression: he's a good story-teller.

Desert Wisdom: Sayings From the Desert Fathers

Translated and art by Yushi Nomura

Introduced by Henri J.M. Nouwen

I saw this book in a box with towels and goggles and picked it up, expecting a much heavier read. What I found was a delightful and thought-provoking read, accompanied by Nomura's ink sketches. The Desert Fathers were early monastics who fled the cities to make a new life in the wilderness in asceticism and solitude. I don't know if this book is explicitly Judeo-Christian, but it was definitely God-centered. A few favorite passages include:

"Abba Anthony said: The time is coming when people will be insane, and when they see someone who is not insane, they will attack that person saying: You are insane because you are not like us."

"A brother asked an old man: What is humility? And the old man said: To do good unto those who hurt you. The brother said: If you cannot go that far, what should you do? The old man replied: Get away from them and keep your mouth shut."

"The brothers asked Abba Agathon: Father, which of the virtues is our way of life demands the greatest effort? He said to [them]: Forgive me, but there is no effort comparable to prayer to God. In fact, whenever you want to pray, hostile demons try to interrupt you. Of course they know that nothing but prayer to God entangles them. Certainly when you undertake any other good work, and persevere in it, you obtain rest. But prayer is a battle all the way to the last breath."

I recommend picking it up.

The Southern Critics: An Anthology
Edited by Glenn Arbery

The first of the three books I'm reviewing this summer (so far). I got the second one in the mail last week and the third one today. Both should be excellent to read and review.

The first part of this book is four cultural essays on the South, the second part is eight academic essays on poetry (which shows the Southern Agrarians' immense influence scholastically) and the third part is four essays on religion and literature in the "Sacramental South". I really like the compilation of essays' flow and have a new interest in Caroline Gordon's writing. Donald Davidson's too, even though he technically does not take his stand with the Agrarians, interestingly enough. His defense of the South in "Why the Modern South Has a Great Literature" is very moving and grounded.

The quote at the beginning of the book, by Flannery "my favorite American writer" O'Connor, is really neatly phrased:

"The image of the South, in all its complexity, is so powerful in is that it is a force which has to be encountered and engaged. The writer must wrestle with it, like Jacob with the angel, until he has extracted a blessing."

And, finally:

Wise Blood

by Flannery O'Connor

An impulse buy a few weeks ago when I went South to visit my oldest friend Bianca. I want her second book 'The Violent Bear It Away' more, but this book is highly acclaimed and so far, a good read. I can't wait to get further into it.

Mom bought me one book as well when we were visiting Charlevoix-- 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' by Baroness Orczy -- but Dad read it and never gave it back. Odds Fish, m'dear! I bought Tacitus' 'Histories' yesterday. So excited! I was looking for Percy's 'Lost in the Cosmos' but, alas. I have been to four book stores so far and cannot find it! I am going to be an optimist and think it's because people bought it out, but know that is definitely not true for at least two of them.

I started buying books in the 8th grade (that's when I decided I wanted my own library) and have accumulated at least.... well, the number is high. We have a great half-price book store near my Dad's work and I really bulked up during high school. College only fueled the fire. Most are at home still, but I have enough here in German Village to keep me happy for a while. Do not worry, I'm still carefully budgeting; I won't go bankrupt for books.  I'm more interested in paying off my student loans and not having any debt. :) I suppose I should re-title this post "Just Another Reason It's A Really Good Thing I'm Employed."

The girl who loves Thursdays

--It's Centralhallapalooza this weekend! Will sent me this picture of myself from last year. Heather loves it. We're thinking the shades should make another appearance this weekend. Thoughts? [photo credit WPC]

This is a great poem, and food for thought:

"Tommy" by Rudyard Kipling

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!

Not sleeping at all, but a little sacrifice to make on the big thesis alter. I published my last Collegian book review today. I'll link it later. Today shall be my last Thursday classes, last on-campus mass, last DPN lunch (Dr. Jordan talked about American Southern Lit) and tonight is my last Blue and Blue dinner! I'm excited to hear what Little has to say.

More job opportunities arising, but we'll see what happens. God has a plan. In the meantime, I need to finish/ start more papers. No, it never does end.

Kickin' it off with a stryofoam cup of wake-me-up

Here is my book review that appeared in last week's Collegian: The protest singer: changing the politics of art - Arts I read "The Protest Singer: Pete Seeger, an intimate portrait" by Alec Wilkinson.

Today is typical Michigan weather: rainy and dismal. The Longfellow poem keeps running through my head ("the day is cold and dark and dreary"), but I suppose it is time. Hillsdale has been having the most beeeautiful end of summer weather: warm and balmy, with that nice northern breeze. While talking to my sister Marianne on Sunday, she told me home had "Michigan weather" and then, upon hearing how nice Hillsdale was, accused me of "stealing Cincinnati weather." I plead the Fifth.

I slept from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. and am currently running on many, many cups of coffee. I had my first art history test today and, due to my busy schedule, was not adequately prepared come Sunday. I pulled my first (almost) all-nighter of the school year and studied my notecards. I felt really prepared come this morning at 9 a.m., my only weakness being dates, but even if I miss a few of those, it's only a half point. I definitely got everything else and am feeling quite pleased.

I'm really tired, but one of my favorite tricks to hide that is that I always dress up. I find that if you look good, you feel even better! Coffee helps too, of course. I've got leagues of research ahead of me today, as well as dinner crew and chapter.

Meeting my friend Ben for lunch, so ta-ta for now!

It's like Robinson, only without the 'n' or Robertson, only pronouncing the 'ert' as an 'i'

It was recently brought to my attention that perhaps I should clarify exactly how to pronounce my last name. You see, being a Robison and not a Robinson has had certain disadvantages in my life, namely being that people struggle to properly pronounce my last name. I am here to dispel the myths:

Robison -- ROB-is-sun

*'rob' which rhymes with 'bob' and 'job' and is not pronounced 'robe' or 'row'

Does this help? I hope so. Believe me, it's frustrated me more than it ever will you and you are not the last (sadly) to struggle with its pronunciation. I do think that friends, at the very least, should pronounce each other's names right :)

The day was rainy--my wellies were back on! I'm in my sperrys now. I had my first meeting with my thesis director today and it went relatively well. I'm expecting a package from my mom any day now (things I forgot at home, etc.) and wait for it impatiently. I'm in the middle of writing a letter to my friend Andy, who is stationed over in Afghanistan. He married one of my good friends at school this past summer, but was deployed in August. His wife, my friend Marisa, is still here at school. We've been running a lot together because the Army Wives association has decided they're going to run 175 miles between now and Christmas (when the guys come home for a break) to support them. Let's just say I've been icing my shins more than usually lately.

Talked to the Collegian (official school newspaper) people today about the Book Review section I am starting. I got one e-mail back! One freshman boy is interested! Yeah! By the end of this semester, I am hoping to double that.

Okay, back to the Cato letters and then bed. I really need to be sleeping more. Get excited for 09-09-09!

Padfoot, Playground and Pete

Today I am working at Dad's office. By the end of the day, three reviews mostly done will become three reviews all done. Quite excited as I'm very methodical and like having things done one-by-one in order.

I am also having lunch with my friend Erin K. (see right!) from high school. We met in 8th grade standing in line at Ursuline, waiting to get fitted for our uniform skirts. She was wearing a Power of the Pen shirt, which is a competitive writing program in Ohio for 7th & 8th graders. I was on the team at my grade school as well and had gone to state the year before (I made regionals in 8th grade)! So of course my mother pressured me into saying hi and making awkward conversation, which turned into great conversation and a great friend all during high school and beyond.

She's actually transferring to the California Institute of the Arts; she's been in the DAAP program at UC, which is also great, but not as great. It's where Brad Bird from Pixar went too, so she is stoked about that. It'll be terrific to see her and catch up before she's off to the West Coast!

Tomorrow I shall be doing playground duty with my mother at Cardinal Pacelli, my gradeschool. It's not a huge hassle since we live a block away from our church and the school is next to it, only up the hill. Playground duty is for a volunteer opportunity for two parents to help keep more eyes on the kids at recess. It goes in shifts, starting at 11:15 with the 7th & 8th graders. Each shift is 15 minutes long.

The first shift will be the best because I'll be able to catch up with my favorite teacher I've ever had, Mrs. Knight. She was my English and grammar teacher in 7th & 8th grade, and the one who really fostered my love of language, books and writing. It will be wonderful to catch up with her and any other teachers I happen to run into. I tell you, some people never leave!

I'll also get to see Johnny and Meg at recess and spend more time with Mom before going out to lunch with my grandmother. Once I am back at home, I shall help Mom work on my birthday present and I shall pack. Yes, my birthday was in March, but her present to me is a photo album of my first 21 years and she wants me to help her pick out the pictures (she has a lot, to say the least. If I died today, PBS could run a 6 hour special on me.) All in all, it should be a solid day!

Back to "The Protest Singer: An Initimate Portrait of Peter Seeger" by Alec Wilkinson.

Cloudy, with a chance of meatballs

I am starting my new book to review. It is called "The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day" and is edited by Robert Ellsberg. It is very thick. This is the quote at the beginning, which I like:

"Today I thought of a title for my book, The Duty of Delight, as a sequel to The Long Loneliness. I was thinking how, as one gets older, we are tempted to sadness, knowing life as it is here on earth, the suffering, the Cross. And how we must overcome it daily, growing in love, and the joy which goes with loving." --Dorothy Day, February 24, 1961

Listening to the Aaron Copland station on Pandora; "Rodeo, Selections From The Ballet" is playing. Quite excellent, indeed!

Dad and Meg at work; Mom on errands; Katie visiting friends; Mike trying out for the Bomb Squad at St. X; Marianne rode her bike to the library to get books on Francis Bacon; John is telling me about how he "made the hit of the day!" in football; Heidi is larding/ defending the house with her bark every time she suspects someone is within 50 yards.

I am reading and reviewing, sending out e-mails for various school things I'm involved with, editing Forum articles that come my way and feeling slightly bummed that it's not sunny out, so I shan't be going to the swim club today. Hanging out with Jeff and Scott tonight. This is my last Saturday at home, how bizarre.

It's a glamorous day at the Robison house

Okay, so I didn't start out my morning with a mimosa, which would have been pretty terrific, but glamour comes in all shades. Since the little kids were lounging around, I had them help make the beds and put away the books in the library that they had scattered about, while I picked up around the upstairs as well. 

In the meantime, I found my favorite pair of heels on the steps and decided to wear them around the house. (I'm in a jersey knit dress, so I did not look completely ridiculous.) They are silver and pointy; I bought them for the Sigma Chi formal my sophomore year. They were my favorite part of that whole dance, to say the least. Meanwhile, my sister Meg, who just turned 10, came into the family room (where I am working) with a blue margarita glass filled with milk. How chic! It was one of the glasses left over from her mermaid/ tropical birthday party a little over a week ago. We are certainly living large here in the Midwest haha.

Today my friend Hunter had this as his gchat status: "This is America, pick a job and become the person who does it." He tells me it is a line from the show "Mad Men." I've never seen it, being completely out of the t.v./ pop culture loop, but with lines like that, there must be merit! 

Regardless of origin, I love that line. It reminds me of when Emerson said that the great thinkers people read about were too once young students in the library learning. It's exciting to me to think that people I know and work with will be the the minds shaping the future of our great country. Robert Novak died today; why do people take note? Hundreds of other people died today, more will die tomorrow. It matters because of what he accomplished in his lifetime. He wasn't always Robert Novak, to borrow and paraphrase a much more famous line. 

I wonder who will rise and fall in our lifetime. If we really want to make a change in this world, then we need to find our true vocation and do the best we can. If it's what we're meant to do, we'll thrive. We might not find it right away, but that's okay. Life is a journey, not a destination. Even if you're lucky enough to find your calling early in life, it's what you make of it. Plenty of people do what they love but don't capitalize on it. Could one even imagine a world where people fulfilled their potential?

I have ordered my books for senior year. It was very exciting to see my book list and remind myself what awesome classes I am going to be taken. My courses for Fall 2009 will be as follows:

--The American Founding with Birzer 

--Robert Frost with Sundahl and Willson

--honors seminar on the lost art of epistolary communication (i.e. letters through history!) with Wenzel

--CCA I: Abraham Lincoln , Alexis de Tocqueville and America

--CCA II: Modern and Traditional Western Architecture

--Major Figures in Journalism (i.e. reading plenty of Mencken, Buckley and Orwell!) with Simmons

--Art History: Prehistoric to Renaissance with Bushey

--senior thesis (the degradation of the family with the expansion of government in the 20th century) with Carlson

One of my reviewers and I have been going back and forth with her review. She sent me the final paragraph to look over (I had not liked the way she had ended the review in an earlier draft, although the overall review was extremely solid), and I am happy to say that we now have one review ready for the presses! I got a book in the mail last night I shall be giving to a reviewer and contacting another publisher to order a book I saw reviewed in the Financial Times called "Slumming: Sexual and Racial Encounters in American Nightlife, 1885-1940" by Chad Heap. I'm going to need to make up the calender of when the reviews are going to be published today so that I can better plan for the coming semester and have time to order the j-pegs from the publishers. They can have their own finicky time tables, which I would rather not have to deal with on top of everything else this semester.

Back to writing my review while listening to Copland's "Appalachian Spring." Heidi just left me to be with John, who is working on his summer reading report. Megan is most likely in her room, reading or writing on her typewriter (her favorite present from this past Christmas). Mike might be reading in his room as well, but more likely has popped out of the house to see friends. Marianne just got home from school. I still can't believe she's a freshman in high school! (I was in the 3rd grade when she was born, if that is any indication at how swiftly time wriggles away.)