The Fairly OddParents

CUTAWAYS: KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE

Okay, so after the last post cataloging my recent spate of bad luck, you would think I’d be done whining, BUT NOOOO! Less than twenty four hours after the final piece of furniture was moved back into my newly dried out home office and I was settling in to deal with a crushing work load… lightning struck my office condo and fried the phone system and network wiring. Keerap.

You know, sometimes, you just have to start laughing at all life’s little disasters. (Oh, obligatory potty mouth warning for those who might have little ones running about.)

We’ve all been there, right? Those times when one problem after another relentlessly dog piles on you. But since none of them are particularly life threatening or anything like that, you almost feel guilty about complaining. And you’re certainly not going to bother God about a little stress, are you?

Well, actually, you should. And if you go to mass, you already do so during the embolism delivered by the priest which follows the Lord's Prayer. Altogether now. "Deliver us, Lord, from every evil and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy, keep us free from sin, and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our savior, Jesus Christ.” The fact that it says ALL anxiety is very much on purpose. The Catechism explains that “when we ask to be delivered from the Evil One, we pray as well to be freed from all evils, present, past, and future, of which he is the author or instigator. In this final petition, the Church brings before the Father all the distress of the world. Along with deliverance from the evils that overwhelm humanity, she implores the precious gift of peace and the grace of perseverance in expectation of Christ's return.”

So while stress may not fall into the “overwhelming humanity” category of evil, it absolutely can play havoc with the peace of mind God desires for us. Perhaps that’s why, in his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul felt compelled to write, “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” So while it’s natural to feel stressed from time to time, it’s always good to ask God to help you deal with it, and even avoid it when possible. And while you’re waiting on that to happen, perhaps the occasional laugh isn’t such a bad idea either.

A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

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STEVEN OF THE 400,000 1/2 CENTRORY

By FOREST TAYLOR

I’ve always been fascinated by an artist’s first work. I love watching the student films of famous movie directors or reading the early writings of famous authors or poets because it gives us a glimpse into what got them interested in their chosen art form in the first place.

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NOW SHOWING AT A BLOG NEAR YOU

Just because I’m not going to be posting very much this month due to work (not to mention the continuing struggles with my child’s medication, the six trees that came down during a recent storm, AND the water heater which burst a few days ago and flooded my home office in the middle of the night to the tune of a couple of thousand dollars in damages, all of which has happened for no other reason I can discern except that life isn’t convinced that its taken enough cheap groin shots at me lately), that doesn’t mean there aren’t other interesting things to read out there.

For instance, did you know that Aliens are Real? How about Vampires? Well, they are… sort of. That’s what EWTN’s favorite actor and playwright Kevin O’Brien from Theater of the Word Incorporated thinks anyway. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Scalia, aka The Anchoress, has noticed some “monsters” of her own roaming the back lots of tinsel town. See what I mean over at her blog where she contemplates Hollywood’s continued commitment to the culture of death as outlined in Ben Shapiro’s new book, Primetime Propaganda.

But don’t' worry, all’s not lost in LaLa Land. Some companies like Pixar are still fighting the good fight. At least, most of the time. Unfortunately, Cars 2 appears to be their first real disappointment, seemingly lacking the soul of their previous efforts. But even so, Paul Jarzembowski over at Spiritual Popcorn still manages to find something uplifting in Cars 2 despite all of the bad reviews.

Just how bad have the reviews for Cars 2 been? Well, it’s only got a 35% approval at Rotten Tomatoes, which is the exact same rating as The Hangover 2. That’s pretty bad. And if you don’t think so, then ask Dan Lord from That Strangest of Wars, who having been dragged to see The Hangover 2, felt compelled to go off on a Bad Movie Sex Rant over some of “the most depraved, putrid gags ever put on screen”. And that was just in the trailers before the actual movie even started. Let’s face it, Hollywood doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to handling the topic of sex. And that has prompted Heather King of the Shirt of Flame blog to ponder the question, “Just what does make a good sex scene?” She approaches the subject primarily from the standpoint of writing novels, but her observations can easily be applied to making movies as well.

Now if you need a palate cleanser after all of that, you can always hop over to The Catholic Laboratory podcast where, in the first of an occasional series on science in movies called Reel Science, they take a look at the subject of robotics. After all, it’s hard to sleaze up robotics. Well, except for in Bladerunner. And Galaxina. And Cherry 2000. And.. oh, never mind.