1. “The Filthy Moralist: How Louis C.K. Became America’s Unlikely Conscience” in The Atlantic is remarkable, especially in its conclusion. As always when it comes to Louis, there’s a high depravity quotient, so don’t say we didn’t warn you. But also as always when it comes to Louis, the darkness is not neutral or meaningless (or merely shocking). In fact, it might even be worth the discomfort in this case to get to the final couple of paragraphs, which truly capture what Louis is about, whether he wants to be or not. It strikes me as especially pertinent as we…
America / Film / Grace in Practice / Humor / Identity / Law / Music / Science / Theology / TV / Week In Review
Another Week Ends: Louis CK, Sam Spade, Prevailing Grace, Heavy Metal, Axl Rose, Viennese Creativity, Cabin in the Woods, and yes, more Damsels in Distress
America / Children / Church / Film / Food / Music / Psychology / Relationships / Religion / Social Science / Technology / TV / Week In Review
Another (Holy) Week Ends: Unachievement, Damsels Reviews, Gastrodad Confessions, Youth Ministry, Music Snobs, Girls and Darth Vader
1. At this point, you’ve likely seen Andrew Sullivan’s Newsweek cover story on the “Crisis in Christianity”. While there’s regrettably little talk of salvation – which I’m not sure is really within the purview of such a piece – and the reference to Jefferson is a bit dubious, the overall diagnosis strikes me as sound. Sullivan’s conclusion is particularly stirring:
The crisis of Christianity is perhaps best captured in the new meaning of the word “secular.” It once meant belief in separating the spheres of faith and politics; it now means, for many, simply atheism. The ability to be faithful in…
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Another Week Ends: Jeremy Lin, Scientism, Cosmism, Clergy Burnout, Tearjerkers, Springsteen’s Advice, 30 Rock, and Garbage Pail Kids
1. The Linsanity continues! But this time the hubbub has to do with a powerful (and unexpected) instance of off-court forgiveness. Last week, Jeremy Lin invited the ESPN employee who was fired for writing an offensive headline about Lin to lunch. Newsday spoke with the journalist in question, Anthony Federico:
Federico apologized after he was fired, calling the headline’s play on words ["chink in the armor"] “an honest mistake.” Lin said at the time that he accepted the apology and added, “You have to learn to forgive.” Apparently, he meant it. A member of Lin’s family reached out to Federico via…
Vulgarity Is Blasphemous: Why Whit Stillman Doesn’t Hate Episcopalians
When I heard The NY Times Magazine was about to run a lengthy profile of filmmaker/author/all-around inspiration Whit Stillman, my first thought was, “About time!” Stillman’s return to directing after a 13-year silence, Damsels in Distress (out in NYC and LA on April 6), deserves the widest possible reception. Then I read the thing, which appeared in this past Sunday’s issue, and I’m afraid to report that they missed an opportunity. The author, Chip Brown, spends far too much of the article trying to shunt Whit into an ideological box, and far too little of it discussing the work itself,…
Damsels in Distress Trailer!!!
“We’re also trying to make a difference in people’s lives. And one way to do that is to stop them from killing themselves.”
Homina homina homina… To read our interview with writer-director Whit Stillman, go here. Or to figure out why we’re so excited about this film, dig into some of these posts. And don’t forget, yours truly will be leading a first-ever Mbird group outing to see the film in NYC on April 18th, the night before the Spring Conference. Once we get closer to the event, we’ll be taking names.
A Top Ten Christmas List for Pop Culture – but Seriously
Kicking off our year-end wrap-ups, here’s one from our esteemed podcaster in the field, Paul Zahl:
Thinking about Dickens’ novella “The Haunted Man” and remembering the impact of that unusual Christmas story in a sermon many Christmas Eves ago in a galaxy far far away, I began to collect in my mind some top-ten Christmas delights, mostly from the weird or supernatural genre. Collecting these has long been a hobby, a backdoor entrance into the land of genuine Christmas repentance by way of the absurd, if you can call it that.
Here’s a little ‘top ten’ for the next week, from the…
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Another Week Ends: Ben Franklin’s Bible, Desperate Millennials, The Costanza Key to Success, Prohibition, Zombie vs. Vampire, Whit Stillman, Craig Thompson and Rango
1. Doubtless you’ve heard, but in a true laugh-or-you’ll-cry moment, Ben Franklin’s notorious “God helps those who help themselves” motto was quoted as Scripture from quite an auspicious, or I should say audacious, pulpit this past week. This just a few weeks after the Atlanta branch of my church put forward an out-of-nowhere (or, you could argue, an if-the-shoe-fits) proposal to rehabilitate Mockingbird baddie numero uno… Let’s just say it’s been a tough few weeks for us Augustinians.
2. A wonderful profile in The NY Times of Vito Aiuto and his church, Resurrection Pres in Brooklyn. You may remember him from…
You’re in a Tailspin, Baby
A press kit appeared on the website for Whit Stillman’s ueber-anticipated new film, Damsels in Distress, and it includes a wise and delightfully modest Director’s Statement that’s worth reprinting here in its entirety. A further clue, perhaps, as to why we keep going on and on about his work:
There’s a saying that the way to end up in the future one wants is to invent it oneself.
It’s hard not to admire the idealists who, not content with the existent world, seek to invent new ones. But the confidence and mastery these future-architects embody often disguise a fragile persona that’s frail,…
Celebrity / Children / Film / Humor / Law / Philosophy / Psychology / Religion / Science / Social Science / Week In Review
Another Week Ends: Parental Blindspots, Damsel Reviews, Rand Abolishing Lewis, Doublethink, Higher Ground and The Magnificent Ambersons
1. A couple of regretful if relevant instances of control backfiring when it comes to children. The first was reported in The NY Times Motherlode blog:
“A newly released poll from the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital finds that parents look at their children with blinders on, while looking at other children accusingly.”
If you read the comments, you’ll find a sad litany of parental judgment/overinvolvement shutting down the lines of communication with their children, which in turn feeds substance abuse. Not that parents can ever “get this right,” just that there appears to be a relationship between inflated views…
Two Clips from Whit Stillman’s Damsels in Distress!
We’re off for Labor Day, but no doubt the first clips from Whit Stillman’s ueber-anticipated and soon-to-be-released new movie, Damsels in Distress, will tide you over. For the full Stillman effect/genius, be sure to watch to the end of each:
See you tomorrow!
Another Week Ends: Damsels in Distress, Religious DNA, AA & Romans 7, Brain Shrinkage, Jim Henson, Fountains of Wayne, and Pirate Autopsies
1. A lot has happened in the world this past week. And it’s probably an indictment that the piece of news that I’ve been most focused on is the announcement that Whit Stillman’s long, long-awaited new film Violet Wister’s Damsels in Distress will close the Venice Film Festival in September. The first stills from the movie has also hit the net – see below – so the countdown has begun! I’d wager we’ll be seeing a trailer before Kate Preston’s annual Sag Harbor Labor Party.
Anyone want to spring for a plane ticket so I can cover the event in person?…
Another Week Ends: Yancey on AA, Whit Stillman, Dawn Treader and Ron Swanson
1. A great little interview with evangelical author Philip Yancey on CNN about his new book What Good Is God?, in which he responds to one of our all-time favorite questions, i.e: What can churches learn from AA?
Yancey: Two lessons stand out sharply to me: radical honesty and radical dependence. Alcoholics Anonymous members can spot a fraud, hypocrite, or liar the minute he or she walks in the door. They know the only path to healing begins with a frank self-assessment of failure.
When we go to church we like to look good and gain the respect of others. …
Whit Stillman in First Things
A terrific and very lengthy profile of Mbird-fave filmmaker Whit Stillman over at First Things, which includes the incredible news that Damsels in Distress, his first feature in over a decade, has finished shooting! The article abounds with priceless soundbites, a few being:
“I remember being very young, and there were greasers, people who were very Elvis Presley-ish, and rock-’n’-roll juvenile delinquents, and these were people who I assumed would just disappear, and they were something that was really unappealing and not constructive and kind of awful. But then, rather than going away, they became completely dominant and then metamorphosed into…
THE MOCKINGBIRD SINGS: Pensacola & Good News for People with Big Problems, Plus
1. The Pensacola Mini-Conference is a mere 11 days away! November 19th and 20th are your long-awaited chances to experience Mockingbird in all its physical, um, glory. The theme is “God’s Grace When We Need It Most: The Gospel For Hard Times,” and we promise it will be more fun than it sounds (you can read the previews of the content here), especially with the Mockingfather himself, Dr. Paul Zahl, speaking! Believe it or not, what we’re most looking forward to is PZ’s pre-conference seminar on preaching/ministry/life – not that any of us need help with our sermons, of course…!
Register…
Whit Stillman on Barbarism and Socialism
Two priceless clips from our favorite director’s first film, Metropolitan
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