Aitkin Age column: Can Art be Evil?

My latest column at the Aitkin Independent Age is to raise awareness about a horrible scandal which will most probably only ever be properly investigated and resolved if there's great public outcry. It's known as "Pizzagate" and this article is a good introduction. It's disturbing.

For my column, I stick with things that are citably known and take the art angle. This being an art blog, I might be expected to show the artworks that I'm talking about here, but I'm not going to. I'm not having that on my blog. There are links in the above-linked article if you think you should see for yourself.

In college, I attended the Glassell School of Art. Along with working at the Age, I’m also a freelance illustrator with a few books and a board game published with my illustrations. Art is the main thing I want to do with my life, unless I get married, in which case the main thing will be, hopefully, raising children, but I’ll still do art as well. In trying to be an artist, one has to consider some deep questions, such as: What is the purpose of art? By what standards is it to be judged? Can it be morally bad?

Most believe the purpose of art is either inspiring and ennobling the human spirit or being a vehicle of self-expression for the artist. These aren’t mutually exclusive, but which one you take as your main purpose greatly affects your art philosophy. Those who see art mainly as self-expression often believe there is no right or wrong in it.

Much speculation arose from what Wikileaks released from the emails of John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager. The suggestion that Podesta and his brother, Tony, may be involved in a pedophile ring is one of the more shocking. No hard proof has been found so far, and the New York Times and Washington Post dismissed the idea as “fake news,” Twitter and Reddit censored discussion of it, and the Age even received a satirical letter, published in the Nov. 16 edition, comparing its likelihood, along with other alleged corruption, to that of the planned Mexican border wall being funded by unicorn horns. However, journalists like David Seaman, formerly of the Huffington Post, are still investigating.

What does this have to do with art and its morality? One of the things used to bolster the claims that something is perverted about the Podestas is Tony’s taste in art.

Read the rest here.

Ice in ink

Lineart for a little drawing of DC superheroine Ice, which I will color with nail polish, like I did this picture.

How Video Games convinced me to Veil

Over the past few years, I've become more and more traditionalist in my practice of the Faith. I'm a member of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, which celebrates Mass in the Anglican Use of the Roman Rite, basically the Traditional Latin Mass translated into Prayer Book English plus a later penitential rite and some unique Communion prayers. When I can't get to an Ordinariate Mass, I go to a Traditional Latin one. I believe that, while it is valid, there are major problems with the Novus Ordo liturgy (which I won't go into right now,) so I only attend such when there's no other option for fulfilling the obligation.

Yet, I hadn't ever regularly done something many traditionalist women do: cover my head in church. I had nothing against it and did do so sometimes, but didn't really think about it or see why it should be necessary. I read arguments for it, but they usually were mainly about "the Dignity of Woman." That's absolutely unconvincing to me, because it just seemed like--well, there's a whole strain of trying to Christianize feminism. But feminism cannot be Christianized. It is of Hell.

Going on and on about the dignity of woman and how we're the guardians of virtue and any good Christian man will always treat any woman with nothing but the highest respect is at best sentimental, at worst subversive. Yes, women have dignity and should guard their virtue. But men are to be the authoritative guardians of family and civilization to whom women should defer, and anyone, regardless of sex, who acts unworthily of respect is entitled to none. So arguments for veiling based on the dignity, even the so-called "sacredness," of women were as hogwash to me, and hogwash of which I was thoroughly sick.

I read Ann Barnhardt's article on veiling once and it didn't convince me enough to get me veiling. (She does go on a bit about the dignity of woman but has other arguments too. (By the way, it's a good idea to read that article, and the one linked therein about the necessity of the male priesthood, before finishing this essay. They're also just great reads in of themselves.)) Then, more recently, I read it again and was completely convinced. So henceforward, I'm going to be sure to cover my head in the presence of the Eucharist and know that I'm blessed to do so.What changed in my outlook?

I played the video games Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice, Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies and Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice.

Spoilers for these games, as well as for Professor Layton versus Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney, follow, so if you're going to play them and haven't yet, don't read any further. If you already have or you're not going to, read on.

Aitkin Age column: Warren William binge part III

My latest column for the Aitkin Independent Age starts with an uncertainty that is now relieved and then moves to movies:

By the time you read this, election day probably will have passed. It’s uncertain: while publication day is Wednesday, the paper’s available Tuesday. If it is over, many people will just be relieved to have done with it. I will have started concluding several important decisions I had been waiting on. Whether to get a retirement account, what to do about my soon-to-be absolutely unaffordable health insurance, how quickly to join a carry permit class; all these decisions depend heavily on what happened Nov. 8. In any case, let’s see what lies ahead and meet it boldly.

In the meantime, I’ll continue my mini-reviews of films featuring Aitkin-born movie star Warren William. I said at the beginning of this series that as the “King of Pre-Code,” William was most known for playing immoral but dashing scoundrels. That is exactly what he does, very impressively, in the two following dramas.

Skyscraper Souls centers on an 100-story skyscraper which David Dwight, played by Warren William, directed the construction of, manages, and is determined to own fully, no matter how many lives are ruined along the way. He is supported by his assistant and mistress, Sarah, played by Verree Teasdale, who is getting a bit old for the latter job. That being the case, Dwight sets his sights on seducing Sarah’s secretary, Lynn, played by Maureen O’Sullivan.

Read the rest here.

And to expand on my last post, these two articles at The Remnant are very good:

Goodnight, Mrs. Clinton
 
Trump Wins as America inches back from the Abyss

A random happy doodle because I'm happy

And I only have this to say:

God bless America. God save Donald Trump. Long live Christ the King. MAGA

All Souls' Day - I wish Dante would do it again

Climbing the mountain of Purgatory

I have an absolutely beautiful book of ink illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy by Sandro Botticelli. He didn't finish, so most aren't colored and some are only pencil sketches, but they're all gorgeous and are one of my highest models to aspire to in regards to line and the human figure. (Nudity follows.)

Directly above is the illustration of the place in Hell where are the sowers of discord, including Mohammed, the founder of Islam, shown holding his chest open with entrails falling out. Yes, I'm intentionally being doubly offensive to Moslems: not only is this a visual representation of Mohammed, it's him in Hell, where I believe he almost definitely is. If by some absolutely incredible grace, Mohammed repented before death and called out for mercy not to the false god Allah but to the Triune God including the Person of Jesus Christ, thus receiving Baptism of Desire, he may be in Purgatory. I'm sure he wouldn't have gotten out of there yet.

I often wish desperately that writers had written additional books similar to ones they did write. Frequently I think about Hilaire Belloc's The Path to Rome, his account of walking all the way from Nice to Rome, and I wish so much that he had written such an account of the time that he walked all the way from the Midwest to California to try to reach his intended bride before her mother made her enter a convent.

By the same token, I wish that Dante Alighieri would come back now and write the Divine Comedy again, featuring the souls that now would have, in his judgement, joined the hosts in Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. And thinking of the recent theological contradiction pledged in Sweden by the putative pope, I wonder what Dante would have Martin Luther say in his place in Hell.

While Luther would have had a better chance of last-minute repentance than Mohammed, since he had been baptized and did at least believe that salvation comes through Jesus Christ, what we can see of his life, deeds, and teachings, which would be what Dante would be going by, would place Luther squarely among the damned. His heresy and schism have torn millions of souls away from the true Church; he encouraged German princes to slaughter peasants and rape nuns; he blasphemed our Lord in his theological implications, denial of the Sacrifice of the Mass, and in simply blasphemous statements, such as when he said Jesus committed fornication multiple times.

Does what I have written here seem cruel, judgemental, unmerciful? I'm sure putative Pope Francis would say so. But if you actually believe the Catholic Faith, the truth is that those who deny God and lead souls away from Him are separated from Him in eternity. That separation is called Hell. Why would God make those who rejected Him be united with Him? He respects their free will, and it wouldn't even be possible, just as it's not possible for Catholics and Lutherans, remaining as Catholics and Lutherans, to be in communion.

But, as I said, it is possible, through incredible grace, that monumental heresiarchs such as Mohammed and Luther may have repented in their last moments. That possibility is the true nature of God's Mercy. The only human that we know with absolute certainty is in Hell is Judas Iscariot. So, on this All Souls Day, pray that those who by all outward appearances would be in Hell may have gained Purgatory, and pray to hurry their journey toward the stars.

FeastDay! board game coming out soon

FeastDay!, a board game about the liturgical year for which I did the design and illustration, is coming out this Advent and is available for pre-order!

It reminds me of a combination of Chutes and Ladders and a Catholic Trivial Pursuit, and there are options for treats!

Catholicmom.com has an article about it and Steve Botsford, its creator:

I met the creator of FeastDay! The Liturgical Year Board Game! at a Charleston, South Carolina Diocesan Conference. Steve Botsford, a convert to the Catholic faith, holds a Master of Religious Education degree from Loyola University and is a master catechist in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. He and his wife are marriage preparation sponsors. He has also served ten years as parish youth minister and remains an active catechist. Added to these game-creator credentials, Steve is a father of three who knows the value of a good family game firsthand.

Read the rest here.

Coloring page of St. Josaphat, a "sinner against ecumenism"

St. Josaphat
feastday Nov. 12 new calendar, Nov. 14 old calendar

Putative Pope Francis said the following:

"There is a big sin against ecumenism: proselytism," said the pontiff. "You must never proselytize the Orthodox. They are our brothers and sisters, disciples of Jesus Christ."

From the National Catholic Reporter. (Some may argue that since the Reporter is heretical, they must surely have twisted Bergoglio's words, and he has never said anything but pure Catholic truth. To that I can only say, after I stop grimly laughing, he's said the same sort of thing tons of times, reported by many sources of varying agenda and levels of orthodoxy.)

So trying to convert those in the Eastern schism is a sin. Hmm. He should try telling that to St. Josaphat Kuncevyc, bishop and martyr.

From his zealous study of the liturgical books he drew many proofs of Catholic truth, using his knowledge in the composition of several works — "On the Baptism of St. Volodymyr"; "On the Falsification of the Slavic Books by the Enemies of the Metropolitan"; "On Monks and their Vows". As deacon, priest, and bishop, he was distinguished by his extraordinary zeal in the service of souls. Not alone in the church did he preach and hear confessions, but likewise in the fields, hospitals, prisons, and even on his journeys. Even where his words of instruction might by themselves have failed, his entreaties and tears ensured him success. This zeal, united with his kindness and extraordinary love for the poor, won numbers to the Catholic Faith. Among his converts were included many important personages such as Ignatius, Patriarch of Moscow, and Emmanuel Cantacuzenus, who belonged to the family of the Greek Emperor Palæologus. 

As archbishop he restored the churches; issued a catechism to the clergy with instructions that it should be learned by heart; composed rules for the priestly life, entrusting to the deacons the task of superintending their observance; assembled synods in various towns in the dioceses, and firmly opposed the Imperial Chancellor Sapieha, when he wished to make many concessions in favour of the schismatics. Throughout all his strivings and all his occupations, he continued his exemplary life as a religious, and never abated his zeal for self-mortification and prayer.

While each succeeding year saw fresh evidence of his fruitful labours, it also witnessed the steady growth of the hatred of the schismatic party. Finally on 12 November, 1623, an axe-stroke and a bullet brought Josaphat his martyr's crown. After numerous miracles had occurred, a commission was appointed by Urban VIII in 1628 to inquire into the cause of Josaphat, and examined on oath 116 witnesses. Although five years had elapsed since Josaphat's death, his body was still incorrupt. In 1637 a second commission investigated the life of the martyr, and in 1643 — twenty years after his death — Josaphat was beatified. His canonization took place in 1867.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia, published in 1910, accessed at New Advent.

Aitkin Age column: A collection of nouns

My latest column for the Aitkin Independent Age contains my response to Planned Parenthood's letter, but it's mainly about something much more delightful.

Though I wrote of abortion facilities in general, only mentioning Planned Parenthood as where Tonya Reaves died, a representative thereof felt the need to respond to my Aug. 31 column in a Sept. 21 letter to the editor.

I’m pleased. As they say of video gaming, if no one’s shooting at you, you’re not going in the right direction. The only actual rebuttal they made to anything I said was the assertion that they comply with various safety regulations. They note their regulation through the Board of Medical Practice. The Board of Medical Practice only licenses practitioners, not facilities. Individual practitioners may be required to have licenses, but abortion facilities are not licensed as Outpatient Surgical Centers, like every other non-hospital facility where surgery is performed has to be; neither are they subject to inspections, not mentioned by the letter.

And of course there was absolutely no mention of my main point, which I will repeat and emphasize: even in the cleanest and most professional facilities, someone dies in every single abortion procedure. That’s the point of the procedure.

That’s all I have to say about that, so I’ll turn to a much lighter topic: collective nouns applied to football. Collective nouns are one of the most amusing parts of English grammar: the words for groups of various things, especially animals, are often unexpected and strange. Examples: a murder of crows, an unkindness of ravens, a smack of jellyfish, a wisdom of wombats. I’m sure we all find the one for mosquitoes accurate: a scourge.

Read the rest here.

A poem by a friend and request for info

The following poem was composed by a young man I once knew and would like to contact again but currently have no way to do so, so if it is at all familiar to you, please let me know by emailing me at snowflakeclockwork [at] gmail [dot] com. I wrote it down from memory of his recital, so there might be inaccuracies.

In a croaking, tangled city, of filth and burning steel,

Of foul membranes and fashions that would make a'body reel,

A tangled field of grit and dust and stark bright flowers stood.

An old man looked on it, and saw that it was good.

"The foul things are coming; they would set up a compound

Of their empty modern progress upon this blessed ground,

And it lies here defenseless, without even a wall;

Will none protect its beauty? Will no one hear the call?"

The people looked at the old man as if he were quite mad,

Till one young man came forward, scarce more than a lad.

Under his long, flame-coloured hair a sullen hope he wore.

His father was a businessman, his mother was a whore.

"I have loved this lot all my life; it is free of creeping shames.

What could the slaves of Mammon give compared to children's games?

Here we were knights and fought the wurms that drop from outer space,

And I pledge my honour and my life to save this sacred place."

The foul things came; he turned his sword against their despot guns

More secret than the Freemasons, more ruthless than the Huns.

They shot him down, prostrate he lay, blood flowing from his breast,

In his hand his sword and a blooming weed he had chosen for a crest.

They sloshed their petrol over him; he blinked and lightly stirred,

With life-filled eyes looked up at them, but did not speak a word.

Under that rain of death he laughed, with pure innocent mirth,

Such as those folk had never heard, had lost soon after birth.

Feared of his joy, they hast'ly lit the gas mixed with his blood;

The flames burst up, their sunset light reflected by the mud.

With shimmering liquid and clasping flame that flashed like treasure fey,

The gave him a heathen funeral, tho' he wasn't a heathen like they.

Free to set up their compound, they made a hollow library,

Full of books that said nothing of God, of fighting, or of Faerie.

And the ultimate dishonor, a plaque hung by their Head,

In memory of him, for they could thrive, now that he was dead.

They gathered for the grand opening, called it a charity ball,

To present the poor with vapid texts to keep them in thrall,

When before them all, bright flames sprung up and flowed over the building,

Drenching it in blood-red light, a scorching scarlet gilding.

Now the field stands free and pure, green from the ashes that in it lie,

And children play, fight, and laugh under the incorruptible sky.

The fires of earth are merciful; they burn and then are gone,

But if we refuse them, there are other fires that burn forever on.

May Our Lady of the Rosary watch over him and all the friends from that time.

Provoking a response

My last column for the Aitkin Independent Age attracted some notice, about which I was very pleased and excited.

Mary MacArthur’s Sept. 3, 2016 column [Note: this was the date it was posted online; it was in the Aug. 31 Age print edition.] misrepresents Planned Parenthood and misleads Aitkin Independent Age readers. Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota is the leading provider of high-quality reproductive health care in our region. One in five women in America has sought care from a Planned Parenthood health clinic. Women trust us, because our rigorous health standards have been developed with the nation’s top medical experts over our 100-year history nationally and our 88 years of providing care in Minnesota.

It's a letter to the editor from the vice president of clinical operations of Planned Parenthood of Minnesota and the Dakotas. I wasn't being sarcastic when I said I was pleased. These people commit/enable the killing of children; I'm proud to be their enemy. Await my next!

Lepanto in Space in-process

I should have posted this on Sept. 11th, but I didn't get the time. An in-process photo of my Our Lady of Victory, Star of the Sea of Stars painting.

It was before I did the marker coloring on the spaceships; I think it looks pretty cool this way too. Also, being a digital photo rather than a scan, it gives a different view of the colors, which any digital representation of a traditional piece can never capture fully.

I also wanted to put the following quote with it, which I found in this article.

Catholic sources often do not mention a crucial fact, which is present in some Muslim sources. The latter say – and up to this point all Catholic sources agree – that there was a certain time when the situation of Catholics seemed desperate. There had been a terrible clash between the two armies on board ships, and in this stage of the battle, Catholics were in retreat and the situation seemed completely lost. But suddenly, when least expected, the Muslims began to back away, and when some of them were asked what was happening, they replied that a lady dressed as a queen had appeared in the sky, gazing at them with such a scary look that they lost all their courage and started to run away.

May it be so again! Our Lady of Victory, pray for us!

Aitkin Age column - Old familiar arguments for killing

I fear I might develop a reputation for contrariness among the readers of the Aitkin Independent Age, for more of my columns have been in argumentative response to other columnists than any other writer during the time I've been working there. But when they argue for killing people, I have a moral obligation not to let it go unanswered.

Having been in the pro-life movement since childhood, I’ve heard the arguments for abortion hundreds of times, but they still make me furious. The arguments Pam King makes in her Aug. 17, 2016 column are old, tired ones I’ve seen over and over but the duty to defend innocent life still calls me to rebut them.

Ms. King retells the “back alley abortions” scare story that if abortion were illegal, women would do it with wire hangers and kill themselves. For one thing, in Minnesota, abortion facilities could very well be using wire hangers; there’s nothing to stop them doing so. They are not required to be licensed nor inspected. Restaurants get inspected. Tattoo parlors are rigorously regulated for the health of customers. But for abortion facilities, where they perform surgery, there are no health inspection requirements whatsoever.

Hundreds of mothers have died from complications from completely legal abortion procedures. Lakisha Wilson, Tonya Reaves and Jennifer Morbelli are just some of the names of women who died in recent years. Reaves bled to death, an ambulance not called for five hours, in a facility run by Planned Parenthood, supposedly the most respectable abortion provider, which receives billions in government funding. But even in the cleanest and most professional facilities, someone dies in every single abortion procedure. That’s the point of the procedure.

Read the rest here.

Our Lady of Victory, Star of the Sea of Stars

The latest issue of Ink and Fairydust is out, and it's a very exciting one: Space and Sci-Fi is the theme! And for the cover, I had one of the most awesome ideas I've ever had:

 

The Battle of Lepanto in Space!

Go check out the issue here!

Aithre kai Gaia process and free fiction

Some in-process photos of my Aithre kai Gaia ink painting.

Also, note the "Stories" link now in the top bar. There I shall put links to all my available works of fiction: short comics and fanfic, and hopefully some day in the future, first chapters of novels.

New Decadence cast designs

Character designs for Dr. Pamela Isley and the Joker from my elegant gothic lolita-inspired fancomic, Batman: Decadence.

I've been at this comic for two years now but only gotten four chapters done. It naturally has to take a back seat to paying work, but I'm sure there must be ways I can boost efficiency...

Aithre kai Gaia

The English-version names of characters in Ace Attorney have a wonderful mythological resonance. Phoenix, of course, then Apollo, Athena, Thalassa, and you realize that a phoenix is a bird of Apollo, while the Yatagarasu is the bird of Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess. This painting is a symbolic tribute to that, as well as practice for an upcoming picture that will be one of the most awesome things I've ever drawn.

I've posted fanart of video games here before, but I wanted to talk about it a bit now.

I don't know how much of a regular audience this blog has. My father and mother look at it, I know that much, but beyond that I'm not sure. But I have the impression that, mainly due to the Liturgical Calendar Coloring Book, much of what audience there is seems to be Catholic homeschooling mothers. That's pretty cool; I think those are one of the few things in our civilization that might have some hope to save it. And so, conscious of the importance of the role of my apparent audience, I want to exhort them about something.

I have seen many articles aimed at this same audience, from Catholic and other Christian sources, online and in print, about problems of our time and culture, many of them have been quite good. But many take something for granted with which I completely disagree. I'm thinking particularly of ones about the decline of manhood and the decline of beauty and wholesomeness in the culture.

What these articles take for granted is that video games are altogether bad: at best an immature waste of time, at worst a violence-inducing immorality like unto pornography.
With this I completely and vehemently disagree.

Film review: Suicide Squad

In my review of Batman v Superman, I said, "Since this movie is part of a large upcoming set of Justice League films, one cannot judge this story wholly yet, and parts of that may yet be corrupt or simply badly done." Well, this part is somewhat corrupt and quite a bit badly done.

Suicide Squad

In short:
On my first viewing,

How good is it: A few solid performances in an overall messy, flawed, not-well-written-or-edited movie. A lot of pointless explosions and posturing; and it seemed to be trying to copy recent Marvel films, with its overemphasis on not-very-funny banter and a scene after the first part of the credits.

For whom do I recommend: Definitely unsuitable for children under the age of 15-17 or thereabouts, because of lines and scenes indicating fornication, suggestive dancing and content with overt sexual overtones, though there's no direct portrayal of sex; also swear words and some moral unclarity. I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone, but if you're a DC fan interested in this current continuity of movies, as I am, you probably should see it to get the complete picture.

Full review is below the cut, and has only one, not very major spoiler, given in unspecific terms.

Digidestined Frontiersmen

Like this picture, but with the Season 4 cast.

Aitkin Age column - On trust, voting and survival

In my latest column for the Aitkin Independent Age, I go from local to national to civilizational politics.

I don’t have an opinion on the Aitkin school referendum. I don’t own any property that would be taxed nor have I any children and if I did I would home school them. I’ve been inside the high school and read all the Age has printed on the matter, but I still don’t feel like I know enough to make a judgment.

Therefore, I’m going to rely on the judgment of someone else, who knows the school, the students, the district and the administration very well, whom I admire and whose opinion I trust completely; and I will simply vote however he says I should.

Some might call this a dereliction of responsibility, that the power of the vote should never be based on anything but one’s own judgments. But representative government means entrusting the right to participate in government to others all the time. We have referenda on the local and state level but not national; this is not a direct democracy. We vote for politicians and are asked to trust their decisions rather than make decisions ourselves. I trust the person I mentioned infinitely more than I trust any politician, so I have no problem deferring to his judgment on this referendum.

This brings me to the current presidential race, the most intense and polarized of my experience.

Read the rest here.

A Family of Faith available for pre-order

Sophia Institute Press has a new family catechesis program coming out in August, A Family of Faith.

Image from Sophia Institute

It features lots of coloring and circle-the-right-thing activities, with illustrations by me. Some of them are cute, some of them are cool (be sure to note chainsaw man), some of them are strange and hopefully sublime. I put the Dream of Joseph, The Father breathing Life into Adam, and the Separation of the Sheep and Goats pages in the last category, and think they're the best work I've done for a while.

It has chapters for each month of the school year. You can check out a sample here--just click on Read More and there's a pdf link.

And it's a crossover! They also licensed the use of some of the illustrations from the Liturgical Calendar Coloring Book, some with modifications, new things!

It's a real good basic catechism. Clear and straightforward about the supernatural, the reality of sin and Christ's atonement therefrom, heaven and hell.

It's all available for pre-order now.

All the flowers

Combining all the flowers of late Spring and early Summer into a big picture-heavy post!

Tulips!

Grape hyacinth!

Daffodil!

Non-showy lady-slippers!

Columbine!

Irises!

And peonies!

The Mermaid from Metropolis!

Tribute to a story in Lois Lane #12, October 1959, in which, to save her life, Aquaman has Lois turned into a mermaid.

Very busy with both drawing work and household matters! Hope to show/announce more things soon.

Unfinished Doctor Who fiftieth anniversary drawing

I had started this drawing for the Doctor Who fiftieth anniversary, which was three years ago, but I never finished it, and now that the show has, sadly, ruined itself in preaching perversion and contradicting its own fundamental story, I don't think I ever will. However, I still definitely appreciate the old series, and think I got good likenesses on some of these folks here.

Whitsun Monday

So, the Easter season has come to its end, and it's Pentecost time. Here's the pysanka I made this year. Gradually getting better at it!

This is on the back of it, a traditional thing to put on pysanky. It's for 'Христос воскрес,' Russian for 'Christ is risen.'

Also, please notice the poll off to the right, about your preferred blog entry formatting.

Aitkin Age column: a requested response

My latest column for the Aitkin Independent Age is another response, this time to a column by my editor himself, who was a very good sport about it. The subject matter, however, is nothing good-natured, especially as our fallen nation's dictator seeks to impose it on all children.

A reader asked that if I, like her, disagreed with it, would I be willing to reply to Adam Hoogenakker’s editorial “It’s not about equal rights.” I do disagree, and am flattered to be considered a viable proponent for this view, which, according to one of our polls, is shared by many Age readers. I am also grateful to Mr. Hoogenakker for his gracious spirit of free speech and debate, as opposed to many who would have just called the reader and me transphobic.

In the conflict over allowing those who consider themselves a different sex from biological fact into whatever restroom they choose – with Target’s pro-transgender policy being the latest scuffle – the danger of sexual predators is a prime issue. About this, Mr. Hoogenakker says “I’ve never worried about [his children] being molested or violated” in a Target store restroom.

I would guess, though I could be wrong – and I deeply apologize if I am – that no one close to him was sexually assaulted as a child. This, of course, is a good thing and I hope it will always be that way, because such abuse should never happen. However, the outlook of one who was abused or knows those who were, might be different.

Read the rest here.

Film review: Batman v Superman

Ann Barnhardt has posted her long-awaited final video, on Diabolical Narcissism, Remember Lot's Wife. It is tremendously incisive, upsetting, illuminating, and important. Every adult today should see it; it is very needed information on both a personal and civilizational level.

What further I have to say here is quite insignificant in comparison, so do watch her video rather than read my entry if your time is limited.

A small mention that Miss Barnhardt makes in the video leads me to my first of my promised film reviews. She uses Man of Steel as an example of the mainstreaming of narcissistic lack of empathy: how after the final battle wherein Metropolis is practically leveled, with the implied deaths of thousands, Superman and Lois Lane seemingly disregard this tragedy, "googly-eyed" at each other, and kiss.

As I watched her condemn this, I couldn't help exclaiming, "The versus movie addresses that very thing!"

And so, my first film review according to my plan to be helpful to Catholic parents:

Batman v Superman

In short:
On my first viewing,

How good is it: Powerful performances, clever and interwoven writing, and moody yet radiant visuals create a tragic, gripping, and united film which yet strongly suggests a much larger story. Very much better than I had expected; I had been expecting a mediocre, boring thing with a lot of pointless explosions, posturing, and trying to copy the Avengers movies. It's not like that at all.

For whom do I recommend: Not for children under an age of mature understanding, around 13, because of moral complexity and swear words; also one line subtly implies one character may have been sexually abused as a child. In truth, I would not recommend it to anyone who does not have a fair amount of background knowledge and understanding of the original comics' stories, but for those who do, I recommend it whole-heartedly.

The full review is below the cut, and includes a specific spoiler that happens very early on, as well as some other spoilers that I try not to be too specific about and are probably known to anyone who has looked into the promotional material. I do not spoil most major revelations and turnabouts nor the ending.

New header and new themes

As you can see, I've got a new header banner image, and changed the title of the blog to match the URL. I think the old title was a bit pretentious, and this is also more concrete and distinctive, so.

As also indicated by the banner and its messy electric array of images, I'm expanding this blog's function. I've been writing a lot more essays lately. The ones on here will probably mostly be about Catholic matters: the current state of things especially with the progression of the Kasperite heresy, but also theology for its own sake, systematic and speculative, which I enjoy a lot more.

Finally, considering that, due mainly to my coloring pages, my audience seems mainly to be made up of Catholic homeschooling mothers, I want to be of further help to this group, especially since I think it's one of the few things that has potential of hope for our civilization. So I think it might be helpful if I review media aimed at children, both as to how good it is in the absolute sense, and how appropriate it is for different ages of children.

I do watch a lot of things made for children, and I don't see that there's much of this from a Catholic perspective... There's Steven Greydanus, and that's about all I know of. And he just does movies, not shows, and, while I greatly respect the work he has undertaken and his success therewith, I often disagree with his assessments of films, not just aesthetic but also moral and theological. So! I hope that the reviews I'm planning will be informative for parents in this time where much of children's media is corrupted by anti-Christian propaganda for death-sucking perversion, but there are, conversely, also many works of great worth and beauty.

My focus is crocused

From back in early spring, some crocuses in our father's garden.

Another photo I took of them made the front page of the paper!

Anniversary of an earlier birthday

My birthday was a Sunday while ago; I had recently gotten myself a dress I had wanted for a long time, the Wiz me Over the Rainbow jumperskirt by Baby the Stars Shine Bright.

I realized that it was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the best birthday of my childhood, a Wizard of Oz themed one, so once again I basically dressed like Dorothy for my birthday, including for Mass that morning!

(I absolutely refuse to surrender Wizard of Oz to the sodomites. Book or film, it never was and never will be about them.)

I still have this bow I wore for that birthday 25 years ago.

Tried to make proper strawberry shortcake... I think it turned out like it was supposed to, but it was kind of bland and didn't look very pretty.

And no action figure to put atop it this year! Ah well.