One woman's trash...

UNREAL
(Photo by Hubert555)

Okay, so you’re a Taylor Swift fan.  Not a problem.  But when “fan” lives up to its abbreviation for “fanatic,” things start to feel downright creepy.

In the aftermath of Swift’s Madison Square Garden wedding, a so-called “artist” gathered up trash from the surrounding walkways and sold batches of it online for $25 apiece.  These sealed-up "tangential" momentos included “bottle caps, ring pop candy, police caution tape, [and] straws.”  Worse yet, they’re being billed as “sculptures.”

Customers of such have been known as “Swifties,” due to their undying worship of this alleged “Queen of Pop.”  However, it might be far more swift to worship that which is truly Undying.

Resources

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/taylor-swift-fans-pay-25-210245224.html

 

  

Handlers, Schmandlers

 

Belle's Ball Gown
(Fair Use - Disney)

During last month’s Met Gala, all eyes were upon the fashion parade.  Artsy gowns seemed to be particularly favored, especially those with poufy trains that required “handlers.”

When Blake Lively’s handler turned this way instead of that way, she motioned to him in a manner that evoked controversy from folks with too much time on their hands. The ensuing hoopla included questions about whether a female should be criticized for issuing orders to a subordinate employee.

Although the jury remains out on that one, a sounder concern might be to wonder whether a dress handler should even be needed by anyone with the wherewithal to prance around on their own two well-heeled feet.

Resources

 https://www.buzzfeed.com/leylamohammed/blake-lively-met-gala-behavior-sparks-debate

 

 

Card-carrying Dumpster Diver

(Photo by Raysonho)

As the flurry of holiday cards subsides, have you ever wondered where the ones that didn’t sell ended up?  If Dollar Tree stores are any indication, there may be dumpsters filled with unsent greetings.  Not to mention the home-based bins filled with those received…

MSN reports, “In the United States alone, 1.6 billion greeting cards are sent annually, which generates carbon pollution equivalent to powering more than 22,000 homes… requiring tons of water, trees and energy.”

Are there better ways of expressing holiday cheer than this?  Thankbox suggests plenty, including customized videos, handmade items, plantable cards with seeds in them, digital artwork, and even the good old message in a bottle.  These not only consider the environment, but also show more care than popping a post in the mail.

Resources

www.thankbox.com/blog/20-unique-alternatives-to-traditional-birthday-cards

Dumpster diver sparks backlash with photo of massive discovery in Dollar Tree dumpster: 'So senseless' 

DJ Priest

Mini-Moog Synthesizer
(Photo by Krash)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was electrifying.  It was therefore just a matter of time before the Word went electro.

Also called electro-funk, this fusion of drum machines, electronic sounds and synthesized vocals has enjoyed surges of popularity since the early 1980s.  So why not let Gospel truth ride those supercharged waves into the minds and hearts of dancing fans?

At least that’s what a Portugese priest named Don Guilherme Peixoto concluded.  After attending DJ school, Father Guilherme began his electro mission.  Mixing “bits of techno with excerpts of homilies by Pope Francis and the late John Paul II,” he got right down to it.  Soon there were throngs of frolicking folks listening to his every exhortation.

After landing a selfie with Father Guilherme, one young follower exclaimed, “This priest is really cool!”  

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/news/entertainment/celestial-mixes-portugals-star-dj-135319118.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro_(music)

 

           

 

Christ in Christina

Christina Rossetti
(by Dante Gabriel Rossetti)

Chances are that you sang the hymn “In the Bleak Midwinter” this past Christmas.  At the end of these lyrics, poet Christina Rossetti asks: “What can I give Him, poor as I am?  If I were a Shepherd, I would bring a lamb.  If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part.  Yet what can I give him – Give my heart.”

When Good Friday arrived, Rossetti continued her soul-searching quest.  In a poem by that same name, she wrote:  “Am I a stone, and not a sheep, that I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy cross, to number drop by drop Thy blood’s slow loss, and yet not weep?”

After comparing her perceived spiritual weakness to the devoutness of Jesus’ most intimate disciples, Christina begged to be smitten by Christ with free-flowing devotion - even beyond the way that water gushed from the rock that Moses smote in Numbers 20:11.

Rossetti’s biography indicates far more piety than she gave herself credit for.  Possessing what’s been called “the old humility,” she turned her face upward rather than toward a vanity mirror.

Resources

https://www.acton.org/religion-liberty/volume-33-number-3/christina-rossetti-woman-all-seasons 

Be Here Now and Again with Bells On

(Fair Use)

Back in 1971, the book Be Here Now was all the rage.  It emphasized an ability to be present to What Is on a moment-to-moment basis.

Currently, one question seems to overshadow that whole process: Are such moments really worth it if they can’t be branded on TikTok?

For many, TikTok videos seem more real than daily life.  “Authentic” has become a Gen Z byword. It often refers to a polished presentation of a “mischievous” enactment.  Claiming to debunk the veneer of other staged videos, these so-called “chaotic” vlogs are the new cool.

So if you’re bellowing on the subway, retching in the shower, or simply stepping out bare-faced, you too can become a TikTok star. (Or is it influencer?)  Call it what you will, just don’t call it authentic…

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Be_Here_Now_(book)

https://news.yahoo.com/from-that-girl-to-rat-girl-tiktokers-are-sick-of-manicured-wellness-content-and-now-crave-mischief-232103355.html

 

 

 

Shakespeare: To See or not to See

William Shakespeare
Public Domain

The difficulty of writing Hamlet was nothing compared to the difficulty of being Catholic in Elizabethan England.  Therefore, people are still trying to figure out whether or not Shakespeare was actually Catholic.

Although Shakespeare's parents were practicing Roman Catholics during the reign of Queen Mary I (who espoused Catholicism), they may not have been during the reign of her successor, Elizabeth I.  That's because Elizabeth I's anti-Catholicism was literally quite deadly.

Elizabeth's spies had already tortured, killed, drawn and quartered Robert Southwell, a Jesuit priest and poet whom Shakespeare had admired.  If Shakespeare were a practicing Catholic, these events could have surely encouraged him to keep his religion a closely-guarded secret.

Elizabeth ordered all citizens to attend Church of England (Anglican) Protestant services - keeping track of those who did, and closer track of those who didn't.  The latter were identified as recusants.  Shakespeare's father was identified as such, as was Shakespeare's daughter.  Plus, there is no record of Shakespeare himself ever having registered as a member of the Anglican Church.

In 1613 Shakespeare purchased Blackfriars Gatehouse.  Its tunnels were said to have been a hiding place for London's Catholics.  There was also talk that he had befriended Edmund Campion (a Counter-Reformation leader), and that his father's will included a copy of Campion's Catholic materials.  An Anglican minister had even written literary notes affirming that Shakespeare had "dyed a Papyst" (one loyal to the Pope).

Some of Shakespeare's memorable characters were Catholic, such as Friar Laurence (Romeo and Juliet), Friar Francis (Much Ado About Nothing), Hamlet's purgatorial ghost (?), Thomas More and others.  The question remains: Was Shakespeare also?

Resources

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2008/04/25/april-25-2008-was-shakespeare-catholic/5519/#:~:text=His%20works%20suggest%20that%20he,by%20the%20Church%20of%20England.

https://www.folger.edu/blogs/shakespeare-and-beyond/hamlet-ghost-catholic-protestant/

Arlo Guthrie's Bubbe

Arlo Guthrie in 1979
Public Domain

Way before Alice's Restaurant, there was Bubbe's kitchen.  Bubbe was Arlo Guthrie's Jewish grandmother, and he warmly remembers Shabbat dinners at her home, saying: Nobody ever came close to her blintzes.  

Her name was Aliza Greenblatt, and she was the mother of Woody Guthrie's second wife, Marjorie Mazia (a Martha Graham dancer at the time).  Although from very different backgrounds, Aliza and Woody shared much in common.  They were both antifascists who were immersed in music and poetry: she an "Orthodox Jewish songwriter," and he an "Oklahoma Christian troubadour."

Bubbe's husband was not as enamored as she was with Woody.  In order to better fit in with the family, Woody embarked upon an intense study of Judaism.  Bubbe was one of his primary mentors.  

Although Woody had previously written songs based upon biblical stories (including those from the Hebrew Bible), he now wrote a number of songs about Jewish historical struggles.  Arlo's sister, Nora Guthrie, recalled that "Woody loved spirituality...[and] felt all religions sprang from the same well."  Arlo himself  has shown a special fondness for performing Bubbe's Yiddish songs and Woody's Jewish ones, all the while upholding ancestral traditions of social justice.

Resources

https://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/10614/

Felix Mendelssohn: A midsummer night's dilemma

Portrait of Felix Mendelssohn
Eduard Magnus, 1846 

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy was just 17 when he wrote his famous Overture to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.  The year before that, he wrote his equally famous String Octet in E-flat major.  Warm-ups for both occurred between the ages of 12 and 14 when he wrote twelve string symphonies.

He might have instead become a theological prodigy like his grandfather, Moses Mendelssoh, were it not for the opposition of Abraham (Moses' son and Felix's father) to this Jewish legacy.  Abraham, a well-established German banker, felt that Jews should assimilate into the overall society.  Since he felt that the "heyday" of Judaism had passed, he not only changed the family surname to Bartholdy, but also decided against having his son circumcised.  Because of Moses Mendelssohn's fame as a Jewish scholar, Abraham later wrote to Felix: ...there can no more be a Christian Mendelssohn than there can be a Jewish Confucious...

Felix, however, never stopped using the name Mendelssohn.  He would sometimes combine it with the name Bartholdy as a concession to his father, but in public would often go by only "Mendelssohn."  When baptized as a Christian at age seven (six years before his parents took that same step), Felix was given the additional names of Jakob and Ludwig.

In addition to Mendelssohn's many secular compositions, there were also his grand religious works.  In 1829, he arranged and conducted a Berlin performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion (which set Matthew 26 and 27 to music).  Were it not for Mendelssohn's revival of this sacred masterpiece, the subsequent popularity of it might never have occurred.  The success with which his theatrical rendition was met led Mendelssohn to exclaim: To think that it took an actor and a Jew's son to revive the greatest Christian music for the world!

Although Mendelssohn continued a biblical focus with his two famous oratorios, St. Paul in 1836 and Elijah in 1846, he also composed The First Walpurgis Night which highlighted pagan rituals of the Druids.  The famed German music critic and theorist Heinz-Klaus Metzger commented that this latter work was Mendelssohn's "Jewish protest against the domination of Christianity."

This seems a rather somber way of analyzing the genius behind such Christian hymns as Hear My Prayer and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.  Perhaps this midsummer night's dream of a composer had instead found a way to integrate his faith journey through the musical Gifts of his Spirit.

Resources

https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200156430/ 

Paul McCartney: Mother Mary came to him

Maryam and Isa
Persian Miniature

The power of Mother - be she Mother Theresa or Mommie Dearest - has been a primary one throughout the ages.

There's a long list of Mothers that are embedded within our collective psyche: Mother Nature, Queen Mother, Mother Hubbard, Wicked Step-Mother, Fairy Godmother, to name a few.  These and others represent aspects of the Mother Archetype, which range from nurturing to smothering, from compassionate to indifferent, and from defending to abusing.

The Mother is so essential that even an abusive one seems better than none at all.  To feel deprived of the Mother seems the cruelest fate of all.  It is a fate that John Lennon and Paul McCartney shared - one that likely drew them to one another.

McCartney's mother, a Roman Catholic named Mary, had been a nurse in the maternity ward where McCartney was born.  She would later ride her bicycle to homes in which she was needed as a midwife.  McCartney remembers her doing so during a heavy snowstorm.  In 1956 when Paul was only 14, Mary (who had breast cancer) died of an embolism following a mastectomy.

Not surprisingly, the very first song that McCartney wrote was called "I Lost My Little Girl."  Years later, he would attempt to resolve this theme with "Let It Be."  The "Lost" was then becoming found. Mother Mary was being resurrected within Paul's consciousness.  Although there were still "times of trouble," all the mournful seeking was morphing into peaceful finding.

McCartney reported that "Let It Be" came to him via a dream visitation from his mother.  This dream had occurred during a particularly tense period with The Beatles.  McCartney stated that his mother had reassured him, "It will be all right, just let it be."  McCartney also said, "It was great to visit with her again.  I felt very blessed to have that dream..."

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_McCartney

Blind Men and Elusive Elephants

Blind Men
Appraising an Elephant
Painting by Ohara Donshu

There's an elephant in many a room that we're trying to see, know and even possess.  The trouble is we're quite blind, and blind to our own blindness.

As the ancient tale goes, there were six blind men who each touched a unique part of the same elephant. The tusk felt like a spear, the trunk like a snake, the ear like a fan, the side like a wall, the leg like a tree, and the tail like a rope.

Each was convinced that the elephant was exactly as he, and he alone, had perceived it.  When their conclusions sharply differed, each was convinced that arguments alone could solve this dilemma.

...And so these men of Indostan disputed loud and long   Each in his own opinion, exceeding stiff and strong    Though each was partly in the right, and all were in the wrong...

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution gives us the precious right to freedom of speech and religion.  This allows for the freedom to practice one's own faith, as well as the freedom to examine other traditions.  With such freedom comes a great deal of responsibility: the responsibility to remain kind, humble and aware of blind spots while appraising elusive elephants.

Resources

https://allpoetry.com/The-Blind-Man-And-The-Elephant

Frosty the Snowman: One cool fool

Fair Use

Whether he's thumbing his button nose at cops, or thumpety-thumping all over town, Frosty the Snowman is one cool fool.  We say that, of course, with the utmost respect.  "The Fool" has been around for ages, and plays essential roles in the drama we call life.

This archetype has three major functions: to make people laugh, to reflect wisdom, and to shake things up.  Frosty outwardly "was a jolly happy soul" who "could laugh and play just the same as you and me."  He tapped into the universal inner child.

But Frosty was not just about fun and games.  He was also quite capable of tear-jerking farewells.  Let's just say he did not go gentle into that good night.  Yet the grief concerning his impending doom was masked by megawatts of merriment.

"The Fool" has traditionally symbolized a creativity that is unencumbered by society's rules.  An historical example of this would be King Henry VIII's court jester, William Sommers.  Mr. Sommers was privy to all the inner working of Henry's court, and was allowed to comment upon them in ways that others were beheaded for.

Frosty's own version was to announce: "I'll be back again some day."  Now there's a theological show-stopper!  Some (with much too much time on their hands) are wondering whether he was hinting at reincarnation.  Or perhaps suffering from a Messiah complex?  The debate rages on, yet most can agree that this particular snowman was one cool fool.    

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jester

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Long Shot

Fair Use

If reindeer roamed the Holy Land, Rudolph would have been prime parable material.

Rudolph was the proverbial "meek" and "last" - not by nature, but by comparison.  It's not that his neon nose wasn't worthy, it's simply that it was different from all the other reindeer noses.  This was enough to brand him as a perennial outcast among peers.

Rudolph therefore needed saving - not because he was bad, but because he was good in a way that others couldn't understand or appreciate.  It took a saint (Nick) to really see the (glowing red) light.

As the original song goes, Santa moved Rudolph to the head of the class and suddenly the reindeer were proclaiming his place in history.  The story quickly ends on a high note.  Rudolph's happy, Santa's happy, even the reindeer are happy.  Yet that type of happiness hinges upon fame and success, both of which seem far more precarious than joyful.

If God were tweaking this story, it might have evolved differently.  Santa would have seen Rudolph's innate charisma and moved him up front.  The other reindeer might then have trampled Rudolph while trying to outpace him.  They might never have accepted the illumination that he offered so freely.

Which begs the question: When the last really do become first, will we simply go on singing Rudolph's martyred praises, or will we collectively follow his lead to create an eternally happier ending?

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_the_Red-Nosed_Reindeer

White Christmas: Ghosts and dreams

Irving Berlin, circa 1911

Back in the late 1800s, when Irving Berlin was tiny Isidore Baline, the ghosts of Christmas past bore down upon him and his Jewish family.  Christmas in Russia meant possible death for Jews since the Tsar's pogroms were particularly intense on that day.  The Balines eventually fled to America because their home had been deliberately set on fire.

That is why writing a nostalgic Christmas song was a challenging task for Berlin.  It's hard to dream when the reality had been such a nightmare.

Nevertheless, one bright morning in 1940, an already-famous Berlin burst in upon his secretary and announced, "Grab your pen and take down this song.  I just wrote the best song I've ever written... the best song that anybody's ever written!"

This was not just a hunch.  Berlin's "White Christmas" (as sung by Bing Crosby) became the best-selling single of all time.

How was Berlin able to dream his way beyond haunting Christmas memories?  For one thing, he was by then a consummate professional.  His assignment was to write a song about every major American holiday (for the movie "Holiday Inn"), and he was determined to do just that.

Berlin was also the man who wrote "God Bless America."  He was fervently patriotic, and regarded America as his family's promised land.  If Christmas was a cherished American holiday (which it especially was during World War II), then that was incentive enough for him.

Berlin's second wife (his first wife died young), Ellin Mackay, was Catholic.  Their family celebrated all the major holidays together.  Berlin seemed to have no personal conflict regarding such interfaith activities.

"White Christmas" is therefore so much more than just a cultural icon.  It remains a testament of the spirit's ability to rise on the wings of dreams above a ghastly past.

Resources

http://www.ktsullivan.com/pages/rev_berlin.html

http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/white_christmas.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Berlin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Christmas_(song)

 

Felix: One lucky cat

Drawing by Raoul Barre

If a black cat crosses your path, and it's Felix, then no need to worry.  Why the very name "Felix" means "lucky" in Latin.

It wasn't always that way.  Back in not-so-merry old England, starving cats stalked the major cities.  Some were fed by homeless women (suffering leads to compassion).  This, when coupled with the prevalent witch hysteria of the time, led many to believe that these women were practicing black magic.  Black cats were especially deemed guilty by association.

No one's ever accused the human race of an overabundance of logic or empathy.

Yet Felix came along and changed all that.  Some say it was magic. After all, "Whenever he gets in a fix, he reaches into his bag of tricks."  Others say it was his "child's sense of wonder, creating the fantastic when it's not there, and taking it in stride when it is."  Still others say it was his penchant for deep thought (while pacing with head down and hands behind his back).

In any case, Felix is certainly a one-cat wonder, and his popularity has spanned decades since he first materialized in 1919.  With movie and TV offers, a reality show can't be too far behind.  So if he comes a knocking at your door this Halloween, smile - you may be on Candid Camera! 

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_the_Cat

http://www.kinrossfolds.com/cattery/superstition.html

Twilight's moral dilemma: Can glory be gory?

Stephenie Meyer in 2009
Photo by Tara Rebeka 

Some view the Twilight series as sheer entertainment.  Others see it as a moral, even religious, allegory.  Still others see it as the devil's influence.

Those who see it as sheer entertainment feel that sometimes a movie is just a movie.  Those who see it as a moral/religious allegory analyze author Stephenie Meyer's Mormon religion and seek hints of it throughout the saga.  Those who see it as the devil's influence view focusing upon vampires as intrinsically evil.

One person uniquely suited to shed light (and/or darkness?) on this subject is Anne Rice.  Rice began life as a Catholic and later began to explore different philosophical, literary and spiritual traditions.  While doing so, she wrote quite a few well-known books - some of which feature vampires (i.e. Interview with the Vampire), as well as witches and other supernatural manifestations.

In 1998 Rice returned to the Catholic church.  In 2002 she "consecrated her writing entirely to Christ, vowing to write for Him or about Him."  However, she did not renounce her previous writings, stating, "Let me begin by saying that I see my earlier novels as part of a long tradition of 'dark fiction' which includes some of the most highly prized religious works read in Western culture."  Rice went on to reference such works as Shakespeare's MacBeth, Dante's Inferno, Dickens' Christmas Carol and Goethe's Faust. 

Rice then declared that her vampire novels are meant to be "transformative," explaining, "All these novels involve a strong moral compass.  Evil is never glorified in these books; on the contrary, the continuing battle against evil is the subject of the work."  She concluded, "Individual readers, and history, will determine whether or not I succeeded in my intention...."

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_(novel_series)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephenie_Meyer

http://annerice.com/Chamber-Biography.html

http://annerice.com/Bookshelf-EarlierWorks.html

The older, the best

(Fair Use)

At age 66, Alice Walker not only fared better on this year’s BBC Mastermind quiz show, but also finished the best of all time.

Viewers celebrated her win, especially elder Fay Hallam, who wrote this about it: “Representing older women everywhere.  Don’t become invisible!”

Resources

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/mastermind-viewers-celebrate-amazing-achievement-085336720.html

Mork from ORC

Williams in 1979   (Photo by Michael Dressler)

Perhaps we’ve been getting it wrong for decades.  Perhaps the Robin Williams character was not from Planet Ork, but rather from mysterious ORC.

These “odd radio circles” (ORC) were first detected with the Australian SKA Pathfinder telescope, and are said to be “16 times larger than the Milky Way galaxy.” 

But what exactly are they?  That’s for Mork to know, and for us to find out.  Scientists suspect that they may be “the remnants of a huge explosion,” perhaps emanating from a galactic core. 

Resources

https://www.iheart.com/content/2022-03-24-mysterious-odd-radio-circles-can-be-seen-in-space/?mid=826345&rid=98364581&sc=email&pname=newsletter&cid=NATIONAL&keyid=National%20iHeart%20Daily%20NewsTalk&campid=headline6_readmore 

Green Lantern?

(Fair Use)

Rings that bestow power are a common theme within legendary tales.  Green Lantern was one such superhero whose powers enabled him to fly at high Mach speeds.

Folks in the Midwest might have seen him zip by lately.  Looking up, they saw a “green fireball” shoot across the sky.  Perhaps it was him, perhaps another member of his intergalactic team.  Lord knows, our world could certainly use some help.

Resources

https://www.iheart.com/content/2022-03-16-video-green-fireball-reportedly-seen-over-several-midwest-states/?mid=820129&rid=98364581&sc=email&pname=newsletter&cid=NATIONAL&keyid=National%20iHeart%20Daily%20NewsTalk&campid=headline4_readmore

Copyright March 17, 2022 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved

How low do you go?

Self-Portrait of Van Gogh   (Public Domain)

Tasteless jokes have been the subject of many a debate.

Some say that comedy should be able to include such references.  Others are happiest when these jokes and jokesters are cancelled.

The controversy raged on when the UK’s “Courtauld Institute,” reportedly a key Art History site, marketed items that spoofed Van Gogh’s eccentricities.  Critics felt that selling ear-shaped erasers made light of mental illness.

After a certain amount of public outcry, Courtauld removed such items.  The question then becomes: When does sensitivity become oversensitivity, insofar as freedom of expression is concerned?  

Resources

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/insensitive-van-gogh-souvenirs-removed-from-sale-amid-backlash/ar-AATSHq1

Copyright February 15, 2022 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved