DAILY CALL SHEET: JULY 26, 2024

 

In 1980 duffers finally got their due as Caddyshack arrived in theaters. Critics didn't take kindly to this tale of slobs versus snobs at a posh country club, but Gen X sure did. Any man who came of age in the 80's who can't quote this film verbatim at will deserves any shame heaped upon him. Animal House may have ushered in the attitude, but it was Caddyshack that gave slackers their battle cry of "Why don't you just let me be!"

TIL: With his quip about how it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, Jesus warned about avoiding the temptation to turn the acquisition of wealth into an idol. Perhaps that's why in Caddyshack the only two rich people who aren't villains are one millionaire who doesn't even bother to cash his checks and another who freely tosses out cash to every blue collar worker he meets.

in 1983 Jaws 3-D breached movie screens everywhere. One has to question why Sea World thought a story about a massive great white shark wrecking their park and gobbling up their staff would be good publicity, but here it is. Maybe they got a sneak preview of the insanely bad 3-D effects and ludicrous script and thought it was a comedy? Whatever, the larger mystery is how  this isn't even the worst film in the franchise. Dear Lord, how is it even possible this isn't the worst? How!?!

TIL: The General Directory for Catechesis says faith formation should focus on three dimensions: (1) Being: ensuring the catechist is a mature, emotionally balanced witness to the faith, (2) Knowing: ensuring the catechist actually knows what they're teaching, and (3) Doing: ensuring the catechist has the skills to communicate what they know. Actually, those are pretty good guidelines for any kind of teacher.

DAILY CALL SHEET: JULY 24, 2024

 

Dad Rock Diary: Emitt Rhodes - Farewell to Paradise (1973) For his fourth solo outing, the former Merry-Go-Round muti-instrumentalist seemingly abandons all pretense of scoring a hit single and just meanders about in that early 70's singer-songwriter way. It's a nice journey to take with him, alternating between pleasant and pensive, just don't tag along hoping to discover any overlooked classic. Laudable Lyrics: Solemn somber faces as hard, as cold as ice. We can surely melt them with warm self sacrifice.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: Still putting thoughts to paper on my daily Scripture readings.

DAILY CALL SHEET: JULY 20, 2024

Still Voices - Slaughter High (1986) "Joking is undignified; that is why it is so good for one's soul. Do not fancy you can be a detached wit and avoid being a buffoon; you cannot. If you are the Court Jester you must be the Court Fool." - G. K. Chesterton

FREEZE FRAMES #017: I spent some time watching these guys work outside my dining room window. I couldn't get them in perfect focus, but I wasn't about to go on the other  side of the glass  to tell them to quit moving around. 

"Scandal is an importunate wasp, against which we must make no movement unless we are quite sure that we can kill it; otherwise it will return to the attack more furious than ever." - Nicolas Chamfort

I HAVE SOME NOTES: More sketchy notes on my daily Scripture readings.

DAILY CALL SHEET: JULY 16, 2024

 

One Sheet Words of Wisdom: Dixie Dynamite (1976) "Yes, always avoid violence. In this age of charity and kindliness, the time has gone by for such things. Leave dynamite to the low and unrefined." - Mark Twain

I HAVE SOME NOTES: More dashed off doodles on my daily Scripture readings.

DAILY CALL SHEET: JULY 14, 2024

 

Longlegs (2024) A disturbed FBI agent pursues a Satan-worshiping serial killer, or is he pursuing her? I get the hype, I really do. The acting is spot-on and the film maintains an uncomfortable level of creepiness all the way through, but... I guess I've seen too many of these things. Ten minutes in and I knew almost to a beat how the rest of the film was going to play out. Worse, the final two minutes contain one of the dumbest decisions by a main character I've seen in a movie in ages, one that irritates me so much I can't rate this any higher than average.

TIL: In a 2012 article for Psychology Today, Katherine Ramsland Ph.D. suggests that serial killers who were known to have dabbled in the occult did so out of a malignant narcissism. They "each had developed a sense that exercising the ultimate power yielded secret knowledge and made them special." To Catholic ears, this sounds a lot like an extreme version of the worst of the Seven Deadly Sins, Pride, the excessive love of one's own excellence.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: More not-so-serious notes on my daily Scripture readings.

DAILY CALL SHEET: JULY 7, 2024

This week for Aleteia I take a look at Sound of Hope: Story of Possum Trot, perhaps Angel Studio's best outing yet.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: Hooray for freedom of speech which allows me to keep sharing inane notes on my daily Scripture readings.

DAILY CALL SHEET: JULY 2, 2024

And Now the Screaming Starts (1973) Once again, Amicus tries once again to out-Hammer Hammer Studios and doesn't quite get there. This time around, a bride-to-be moves into her fiancé's mansion, only to learn too late of the curse that hangs over her potential family. The poster prominently features the “dead hand that crawls”, but most folks just seem to remember the woman who gets assaulted and impregnated by a ghost. Go figure.

TIL: The Gospels note that Mary became pregnant when the Holy Spirit descended upon her. The authors don't go into the scientific details of the process, but give enough info to indicate the conception was of a strictly supernatural character and not a physical union. There was none of that Zeus stuff going on in the Bible.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: More mangled musings on my daily Scripture readings.