DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 29, 2019

Bird Box (2018) Before the omnipresent memes there was this (let's be honest) pretty average thriller about monsters which are deadly to look at. TIL: Fr. Ed Bloom suggests envy, bitter anger, and impurity are the three leading causes of spiritual blindness. Now you know...

Still Voices - John Carpenter's Vampires (1998) "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." - Matthew 16:24

Dad Rock Daily: Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970) Heavy metal starts proper with plenty of songs about the Devil, mostly regarding what a jerk he is. Laudable Lyrics: Satan's sitting there, he's smiling, watches those flames get higher and higher. Oh no, no, please God help me.

And finally, over at The Catholic World Report, Nick Olszyk has a few thoughts on The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and the lessons it contains regarding the destructive consequences of negotiating with evil.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 27, 2019

Quatermass and the Pit (1967) The supremely rational Prof. Quatermass must cope with Martian grasshoppers and the devil. The kind of smart and fun we rarely get anymore. TIL: If you're going to try and use science to explain Satan, you may as well make it as entertaining as this.

Still Voices - The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) "Ignorance can be educated. Crazy can be medicated. But there is no cure for stupid." - Anonymous

Dad Rock Daily: The Guess Who - American Woman (1970) One of those venerable 70's rockers that for some odd reason sounds more appropriate blasting from an old AM radio. Laudable Lyrics: All alone with a million others, so take my hand and show me where to go.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 26, 2019

Mama Dracula (1980) Title character runs a dress shop while trying to find virgin blood to bathe in during the Disco era. Louise Fletcher inexplicably stars. TIL: Consecrated virgins (not nuns) have been a part of the Church since the beginning. Guess no one told Mama.

Still Voices - Signs (2002) "Incompetence is a better explanation than conspiracy in most human activity." - Peter Bergen

Dad Rock Daily: Paul Williams - Someday Man (1970) An unsung masterpiece of its genre. Maybe Tarantino could put a track from this in one of his movies so the cool kids can 'discover' it. Laudable Lyrics: If you really have a heart, try it out and do some good.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

Mortal Engines (2018) Cities on wheels battle for dwindling resources in a barren future. Great concept hindered by standard YA trappings. TIL: Pope Francis often condemns the "culture of waste" in which natural resources and human life are sacrificed at the altar of profit.

Still Voices - High Noon (1952) "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." - Albert Einstein

Dad Rock Daily - Roberta Flack - First Take (1969) If all you know of Flack is Killing Me Softly, flog yourself for your willful ignorance then spin this disc immediately. Laudable Lyrics: Maybe folks wouldn't have to suffer If there was more love for your brother, but these are tryin' times.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 24, 2019

The Leech Woman (1960) Aged alcoholic murders to make potion that transforms her into a vivacious vamp. Silly, but manages to sneak in some commentary on objectifying women. TIL: Many theologians argue that the opposite of love is not hatred but the self-centered use of others.

Still Voices - The Breakfast Club (1985) "True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country." - Kurt Vonnegut

Dad Rock Daily: The Nice - The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack (1968) David O'List does Hendrix and Keith Emerson does... Keith Emerson in this essential final stepping stone to Prog Rock. Laudable Lyrics: To really see, to really hear, to really live, to really love. And be kind.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

Overlord (2018) Personally, I prefer a bit more Nazi zombies in my Nazi zombie movies, but this is still a perfectly enjoyable action-thriller. TIL: One reason the Nazis hated the Church is because her legitimacy does not spring from any government. The more things change...

Still Voices - Drive Angry (2011) “If you’re going through hell keep going.” – Winston Churchill

Dad Rock Daily: Phil Ochs - Pleasures of the Harbor (1967) Balladeer's innate pessimism turns his journey through the Age of Aquarius into a Summer of Love lost. TIL: Then his message gathers meaning, and it spreads across the land. The rewarding of his fame is the following of the man.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 21, 2019

Hero and the Terror (1988) Non from Superman wanders the Wilton Theater while Chuck Norris calls his pregnant girlfriend fat. Which one's The terror again? TIL: In Church-speak, a hero is one whose virtues and good works greatly outdistance those of ordinary good people.

Still Voices - The Ren & Stimpy Show (TV Series 1991-1996) “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Dad Rock Daily: Dead Boys - Young, Loud and Snotty (1977) Sex crazed gutter punk more than lives up to the album title. Decide for yourself if that's a good thing or not. Laudable Lyrics: Living too fast, got my head in full throttle. I saw a screaming skull in the bottom of a bottle.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

Squirm (1976) Agitated worms make a meal out of a small southern town full of actors practicing their Dixie drawls. TIL: The worm in Hell that doesn't die mentioned in Mark 9 is often interpreted as the remorse of conscience.

Still Voices - A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) "What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dad Rock Daily: Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks (1975) Poor ol' Bob's heart gets broken and we all reap the benefits. One of his best. Laudable Lyrics: In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes. I bargained for salvation and she gave me a lethal dose.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004) Expedition in search of a flower that grants eternal youth gets gobbled up by big snakes. The monkey out-acts everyone. TIL: The Peristeria, or Holy Spirit Orchid, won't grant everlasting life, but it will remind you of who does.

Still Voices - The Outing (1987) "Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That's why it's a comfort to go hand in hand." - Emily Kimbrough

Dad Rock Daily: Chic - C'est Chic (1978) Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers not only produce, they play their hearts out. Turns out not all Disco sucks. Laudable Lyrics: Take a little chance, it don't mean nothing. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 17, 2019

Day of the Animals (1977) Depleted ozone (back when that still scared people) drives beasties berserk. Leslie Nielsen wrestles a bear, so at least it's entertaining. TIL: When we fail to exercise proper stewardship of creation. we lose a sense of communion with our fellow human beings.

Still Voices - Dead Of Night (1945) "Your mind is your prison when you focus on your fear." - Tim Fargo

Dad Rock Daily: Eagles - Desperado (1973) Go ahead, claim to hate them all you want, but as soon as the title track plays you know you secretly believe they wrote it specifically about you. Laudable Lyrics: And it's a certain kind of fool who likes to hear the sound of his own name.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 14, 2019

It Conquered the World (1956) Corman classic has cucumber from Venus attempting to rid Earth of all its pesky emotions. You know you like it. TIL: Emotions are neither good nor evil. They are morally qualified only to the extent that they effectively engage reason and will.

Still Voices - The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) “After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relations.” - Oscar Wilde

Dad Rock Daily: Praying Mantis - Time Tells No Lies (1981) Overlooked entry in the NWOBHM genre offers some strong melodic twin guitar attacks. Laudable Lyrics: Running through the wilderness, never standing still. Hell is close behind me moving in for the kill.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

Hour of the Wolf (1968) Horror ala Ingmar Bergman. Easy to parody, but a masterpiece of tension and dread nevertheless. TIL: Fitzgerald called the hour halfway between midnight and dawn 'the dark night of the soul,' which in spiritual terms is a crisis in one's journey toward God.

Still Voices - Weird Woman (1944) "You don't have to gaze into a crystal ball when you can read an open book." - Aneurin Bevan

Dad Rock Daily: Pat Benetar - Crimes of Passion (1980) Sophomore effort from the songbird finally brings her 4.5-octave voice to full fruition. She does a pretty wicked Kate Bush cover as well. Laudable Lyrics: Open your eyes, maybe you'll see the light.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

The Incredible Melting Man (1977) Space jockey with porn-stache turns into slowly dissolving cannibal. Standard B-stuff highlighted by buckets of goo courtesy of Rick Baker. TIL: Acedia, or sloth, is a sort of slow spiritual wasting away due to an indifference to holy duties.

Still Voices - Funky Forest The First Contact (2005) "Everybody knows how to raise children, except the people who have them." - P.J. O'Rourke

Dad Rock Daily: The Beach Boys - Sunflower (1970) Uneven, dated, easy listening music? Well, maybe, but it's still among the prettiest uneven, dated easy listening music you're likely to find. Laudable Lyrics: The Sunday morning gospel goes good with the soul.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

Deathgasm (2015) Garage band's lyrics unleash a demonic Armageddon in this humorous homage to early bloodsoaked Peter Jackson. TIL: It's been said that Catholicism is the most metal of religions, because who else eats the flesh and drinks the blood of their God? ;-)

Still Voices - The Cyclops (1957) "Press on. Obstacles are seldom the same size tomorrow as they are today." - Robert H. Schuller

Dad Rock Daily: Dio - Holy Diver (1983) Proof that Dio's Rainbow and Sabbath days served him well. Bombastic solo debut sets the stage for all power metal to follow. Laudable Lyrics: You can see his stripes but you know he's clean. Oh, don't you see what I mean.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 8, 2019

Parts: The Clonus Horror (1979) Two teens discover they are clones being bred for spare parts. Big concept done fairly badly. TIL: Organ transplants conform to moral law if the physical and psychological dangers to the donor are proportionate to the good sought for the recipient.

Still Voices - Better Off Dead (1985) "If you learn a recipe, you can cook the recipe. If you learn the technique, you can cook anything." - Michael Symon

Dad Rock Daily: Maze - Inspiration (1979) Some excellent, some standard soft soul, but so relentlessly positive you won't mind the ups and downs. Laudable Lyrics: You don't always get the things you wanted to That's alright that could be good for you.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 7, 2019

Not of This Earth (1957) To save his own world, an alien drinks human blood and wears his sunglasses at night. Ultra-cheap Corman is good Corman. TIL: Under Catholic doctrine, the direct intentional killing of innocents, even to save others, is never permissible.

Still Voices - Batman Returns (1992) "Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." - Robert A. Heinlein

Dad Rock Daily: Lou Reed - Berlin (1973) Because there are times you're just in the mood to endure an agonizing masterpiece of despair and lessons not learned. Laudable Lyrics: Men of good fortune very often can't do a thing, while men of poor beginnings often can do anything.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 5, 2019

Better Off Dead (1985) Classic cult comedy has a sullen teen considering suicide after being dumped, but failing hysterically at each attempt. TIL: Suicide is a sin, but grave psychological disturbances that impede free will can remove responsibility and consequences for the act.

Still Voices - The Dark Crystal (1982) "To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle." - George Orwell

Dad Rock Daily: Bob Welch - French Kiss (1977) Starts with the ubiquitous hit ballad, but soon settles into a pleasing Steve Miller with disco strings kind of groove. Laudable lyrics: Find the darkest night that you can find and see if you can read between the lines.