At the Airport

It's 8:33 a.m. and we're at the airport, heading to Atlanta, then off to Phoenix for Matt's wedding. It should be a VERY long day, but we're all excited.

Boarding should begin shortly. Guardian angels protect us...

Easter and the Eucharist

As we enter the last phase of Lent and ready ourselves for Easter, a thought occurred to me last night.

Non-Catholics struggle mightily with the idea of the Eucharist, of Jesus being truly present in the bread and wine turned body and blood. Non-Catholics believe it to be a symbol, not a real sacrifice.

In Exodus, at the original Passover, the Jews had to sacrifice and eat the lamb in order to overcome death. If they sacrificed the lamb but ate only a symbolic lamb, for example lamb shaped cookies as Scott Hahn equates in his book The Lambs Supper, then their firstborns died. Consumption of the lamb was required to be freed from death.

So, Jesus, as the Lamb of God, understood this and is why, Catholics believe, told the apostles during the last supper that the bread was his body and the wine was his blood and to continue this tradition "in memory" of him. Like the original Passover lamb, consuming Jesus would allow us to be freed from death caused by sin.

But, all that aside, Catholics also turn to the Gospel of John for validation of the Eucharist. In this Gospel, prior to his passion, Jesus told thousands of followers that he was the "bread of life" and his "flesh was true food" and his "blood true drink." Non-Catholics believe that Jesus was speaking figuratively, not literally, even though he offers no further explanation to Peter and the Apostles.

The apostles apparently believed Jesus was speaking literally because within one generation of Jesus resurrection what is equivalent to the Catholic mass was already in place (see St. Justin's letter to Antonio Pius).

So, what was the thought that occurred to me last night?

Let's say Jesus WANTED to speak literally, then I would ask Non-Catholics, what SHOULD he have said to communicate his wish other than what he says in John...

I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert,
but they died;this is the bread that comes down from
heaven so that one may eat it and not die.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give is
my flesh for the life of the world."

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
"How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?"

Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.

For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.

Just as the living Father sent me and I have life
because of the Father, so also the one who
feeds on me will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.

Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever."

If Jesus wanted his flesh and blood to be consumed as a paschal sacrifice, then how else could he have communicated it, what more could he have said? What words was he missing?

Anyway... that's what I was thinking about last night.

Sonlight's Forgiven

As my master plan to kick off Sonlight Pictures evolves I've been steadily tweaking my approach. I've recently been inspired to write a short, intense film called Forgiven about a young woman on her way to join a convent who ends up caught in an brutal hostage situation. During her struggles she must decide whether to follow Jesus' example and forgive her attackers, no matter how abusive they become.

I'm hoping to shoot the short film this year and use it as a "calling card" to raise the necessary capital to shoot the other feature scripts. There are some very interesting web influenced money raising methods that have been gaining traction in the independent film world and I may be able to utilize one of them to help us raise our money for Sonlight's features.

As for the short film, the writing of Forgiven has not been a pleasant one, but it has been inspired. After writing one particularly disturbing scene I threw the notepad onto my desk, looked up to heaven and said angrily, "there, I hope you're happy!" I was not a happy camper.

The story was partially inspired by a missing element in the feature script Severed. Severed, as an action film about martyrdom, requires gun play and the lethal defending of one's life, but the missing Christian element is that of loving your enemy. Try as I did, I could not fit that layer into that popcorn action flick, so I decided to focus that element into the short Forgiven.

As I said, it hasn't been a fun writing experience, but it is apparently a necessary one.

Gators Champs... Again

Congratulations to the Florida Gators for beating another Ohio State team for another National Championship. The Gators beat the Buckeyes 84-75 last night to win the NCAA Championship for the second year in a row.

Once again, it's "great to be a Florida Gator!"

The Illusionist (2006)

The Illusionist is an intriguing and satisfying film about star-crossed lovers, monarchical politics and whether a magician called Eisenheim the Illusionist is just a gifted magician or someone truly conjuring up the darker side of the spiritual realm.

The film stars a group of very talented actors, including Edward Norton as Eisenheim, Paul Giamatti as Inspector Uhl, Jessica Biel as Sophie and Rufus Sewell as Crown Prince Leopold. The story revolves around the troubled love story between Eisenheim and Sophie. Eisenheim is a peasant, Sophie, an aristocrat. Their childhood romance ends badly and Eisenheim disappears for 15 years, only to return possessing with what appears to be supernatural powers.

Sophie's and Eisenheim's paths once again cross and it begins a dangerous and interesting journey full of magic, misdirection, conspiracies and royal abuses of power. The Illusionist is an enjoyable movie filled with strong performances and an intricate, interweaving plot.

And What of Lazarus?

"And What of Lazarus?" is actually the title of an old Star Trek episode that was on television a few days ago, but it seemed fitting this weekend as well. At mass on Sunday they had the RCIA group there so they read from the alternate readings, the Gospel of which was the story of Jesus bringing Lazarus back to life. As I listened and read from the Gospel, the title of the Star Trek episode popped into my mind. In John 11:3-4 Jesus hears of Lazarus' declining health...

So the sisters sent word to him, saying, "Master, the one you love is ill."

When Jesus heard this he said, "This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

And for the first time I thought of Lazarus. What about his declining health, his pain, his suffering, his angst, his weakness. Even though he was to be raised from the dead "for the glory of God" he still had to endure the illness and death.

And it occurred to me that we too may be asked to suffer, to face challenges, to face turmoil for the glory of God. If such a fate was acceptable to Lazarus, someone whom Jesus knew and loved to the point of weeping at his death, then should we not be surprised if we are expected to face our own challenges for our faith?

Over and over again in the bible people are healed due to their faith, but it never means they did not have to suffer prior to that miraculous moment.

Just a thought...

Prayers for the Freshours

Last night Arnold Freshour died suddenly from a massive heart attack. He was 72 years old and in tremendous physical shape, which makes the events even harder to phathom. He was my wife's, sister's father-in-law and grandfather to three of my nieces. He was a faithful, gentle and warm man who held himself to the highest of standards.

My wife and her parents are driving up to Atlanta today. Please keep the entire Freshour and Koehler families in your prayers during this very, very tough time.

UPDATE: It appears it was not a heart attack, but more than likely an aneurysm. They won't be performing an autopsy, so they won't know for sure, but Arnold's cardiologist told them he had no heart issues.

The viewing will be tonight from 6 - 8 p.m. and the funeral tomorrow.

Again, keep them in their prayers. This has been especially hard on the grand kids.

Happy God Children Day

A few years ago I started my own tradition of celebrating my God Children by saying a Novena for them starting on the Feast of St. Joseph, which falls on March 19th. Sometimes I'll send gifts as well, sometimes just the novena.

This year, due to a lot of events going on in our lives, it's just a novena. So, Matthew, Jonathan, Chaz, Aislinn, Laura and Sarah, I celebrate your life as part of the body of Christ by saying a novena for you starting today. I hope the Holy Spirit inspires you to follow God's path and that you make Him proud in all you do.

Casino Royale (2006)

Daniel Craig takes over the James Bond reigns in the latest Bond flick, Casino Royale. Craig is brilliant as 007... rugged, handsome, muscular, tough and ruthless. Gone are the light quips from Roger Moore and the ultra suave of Pierce Brosnan. Craig hearkens back to the original Sean Connery version of Bond, but the new Bond is even better, stronger and more menacing.

The story involves the introduction of James Bond to his 007 role, starting out in Uganda and including an amazing opening chase scene involving "free running" where people can jump from sides of buildings to other floors or structures, through holes slightly larger than the human body, etc., all done without nets, wires or special effects. It's amazing stuff.

Bond follows terrorist money from Uganda to the Bahamas to Montenegro where he battles wits and cards against a terrorist banker named Le Chiffre, played with an appropriate amount of sadistic smugness by Mads Mikkelsen. The Bond girls include Eva Green, as Bond associate Vesper Lynd, Ivana Milicevic as Le Chiffre's main squeeze and Caterina Murino as a Solange. Missing in this film are some of the standard expected moments, such as "shaken, not stirred" and the typical Bond girl with a name referencing female genitalia. The perks, however, far outweigh these changes.

Craig actually feels dangerous and is probably the best Bond in the series. When he plans to kill someone it is driven by an inner rage that is unleashed for King and Country. The film is over two hours long, but moves at a quick pace. The action scenes are excellent, the acting on target and the story weaves and intricate and satisfying story. With Casino Royale it's a good bet that Bond is back in the best way possible.

Rays Alternate Slogans

My poor hapless Tampa Bay Devil Rays (soon to be just 'Rays') are just so very, very bad.

• You know it's bad when you're one of the cheapest teams in the league last year and your payroll actually decreases this year.
• You know it's bad when management says they're shooting for 2008... and it's 2007.
• You know it's bad when your team is 1-12... in Spring Training!

So, in accordance with the team's expectations, I'm offering, free of charge, slogans which better signify their low expectations.

Here's the current team slogan:

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Here are a couple of suggestions:

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Here's my personal favorite:

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I've gone to at least one DRays game a year since their inception and it hasn't been easy. I've watched better games at the little league field. Oh well, there's always 2008.

T-Shirts, Bumper Stickers and Coffee Mugs

Whenever my family and I discuss areas of concern regarding our faith, often times, if possible, I will turn that thought or idea into a visual image that I put on a t-shirt via Cafe Press and then order a few for us to wear from my Sonlight Pics Cafe Press store.


Here are some of the ones I've created (click for larger images).

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I decided years ago that there are very few t-shirts that I'll wear that will be free advertisement for other people. Granted, I have a couple of sports shirts/jerseys from local teams, but I don't advertise for Nike or anyone else any more on my t-shirts. They're either blank or show something I want to express or make people aware of, such as the ideas above or the projects I've worked on below...



If we're going to advertise for something, it mine as well be something we believe in... don't ya think?

Cafe Press is free to use, so if you want to create shirts for you and/or your family and friends, simple go to CafePress.com, setup a store and upload whatever images you create.

Little League in High Def

I've been learning my HVX200 HD camera by shooting the Little League games of my son's team. Below is a still of my son pitching from a high def screen capture.

(click for normal size)

You can also watch the slo-mo high definition video by clicking HERE (broadband connection required, the file is big).

Life seems to look nicer in slow motion, doesn't it?

Hollywoodland (2006)

What would you do if you were a reluctant television icon who could not get work and was a kept man by the wife of a movie executive? Well, with no options and little hope, one option may be to kill yourself. At least, that's the official version of the death of George Reeves, the star of the TV show Superman. A contract actor who peaked at the wrong time during the end of the heralded studio system, Reeves was trapped in the role of Superman. Television was becoming very popular to the average American in the 1950s, but for "real" studio actors, television was equivalent to being banished.


According to the film Hollywoodland, starring Ben Affleck, Diane Lane and Adrien Brody, George Reeves was an actor with a lot of potential and took the job as Superman because he needed the money and didn't think it would be successful. Once he became an idol to thousands of children, he became both successful and eternally trapped. He tried to spread his creative wings by appearing in films like From Here to Eternity, but the audiences wouldn't accept him as anything other than Superman.

The film Hollywoodland actually revolves around a private eye named Louis Simo, played by Adrien Brody. Simo is actually a combination of a group of real life people consolidated into a private investigator hired by Reeves' mother to determine whether George, played convincingly by Affleck, had actually committed suicide. There are various discrepancies within the crime scene and the power of the studios to cover up damaging events was still very strong, so questions still abound today as to the true cause of Reeves' death.

Hollywoodland as a film does a great job of introducing us into the changing times in glamorous Hollywood in the 1950s, giving insight into the restrictions placed on actors and the struggles to get accepted above your perceived artistic value. The film, however, unfolds rather slowly and the end leaves you with just as many questions as we had at the beginning of the story.

The film's deliberate pace is offset by the wonderful performances by Brody, Lane and Affleck. One especially intense scene has Affleck, dressed as Superman and performing in front of a group of children, having to disarm a child who innocently wants to shoot Reeves so the bullets would bounce off his chest.

Uneven in execution, but with excellent performances, Hollywoodland is a mixed bag, but ultimately enjoyable.

Quote...

You'll always miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

--Wayne Gretzky

Bible 1 vs. Bible 2

As any of you who visit here know, I've been reading a daily missal from pre-Vatican II and I find it much more to my liking and more in line, I believe, with the true catechism of the Catholic Church.

Here's an example from Ezekiel 18:21...

Vatican I Missal:

But if the wicked do penance for all his sins which has has committed, and keep all My commandments, and do judgment and justice: living he shall live and shall not die.

Vatican II Bible from the New American Catholic Bible (http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/bible/ezekiel/ezekiel18.htm):

But if the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

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The Vatican I Missal uses words like penance and commandments, which are tied to the sacrament of confession and the ten commandments. The Vatican II Bible doesn't mention penance, merely the act of turning away from sin... I can do that without confession. And statutes is not the same as commandments.

Why the change? I don't know.

And to be honest, I don't really know which is the more accurate translation. But, I do know the Vatican I Missal reading is more in line with my faith than the second one.

Quote...

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and hitting our mark."

--Michelangelo

Pearl Harbor Pics 4 of 4

Last of the pics...

Pearl Harbor Pics 3 of 4

More pics...

Pearl Harbor Pics 2 of 4

Here are more pics... click for larger image:

Pearl Harbor Pics 1 of 4

I received an email that had the following pictures taken on Dec 7, 1941. The pictures were apparently taken and stored for decades in a foot locker. They were taken by a sailor who was on the USS QUAPAW ATF-11O.

Pretty amazing pics... as always, click on pic for larger image:

A lone plane flies overhead.

The destruction is immense.

Sailors work to move a plane.

Smoke covers the remains of ships and lives.