DAILY CALL SHEET: MAY 29, 2024

The Deadly Mantis (1957) More fun from the prolific Nathan H. Juran, who helmed this, The Brain from Planet Arous, and 20 Million Miles to Earth all in the same year. He could've stopped right there and still earned B-movie Heaven. In this particular opus, a thawed out prehistoric praying mantis eats its way around the globe. It's a fairly typical storyline as far as big bug movies go, but the proceedings are somewhat elevated above many of its peers by a pretty cool looking mantis puppet.

TIL: The mantis is pretty versatile as far as symbolism goes. The Surrealist movement, for instance, latched onto the bug as a symbol of the link between sex and death due to the female mantis' habit of chowing down on its mate after coitus. The more religious minded, however, often see the mantis as an avatar of stillness, meditation, and, of course, prayerfulness.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: Still scribbling thoughts on my daily Scripture readings 

DAILY CALL SHEET: MAY 24, 2024

THE LONG DARK NIGHT GALLERY OF THE SOUL: GOT YOU COVERED - Sometimes, when I'm in need of inspiration for my sketchbook, I need look no further than the shelves full of old sci-fi paperbacks I have. Here's my riff on a couple of covers that caught my eye. Sadly, the books do not list the original artists I stole... er, um, took inspiration from. 

Pondering the question of why so many successful sci-fi authors have been Catholic (active or lapsed), Br. Guy Consolmagno, the director of the Vatican Observatory, noted, "The Catholic understanding of a flawed humanity means we expect characters who can be loved even as they make mistakes and do wrong... In addition, no small advantage is that as a Catholic you already have a pretty sophisticated idea of what triumph and failure actually looks like. Saving the universe (that invidious habit) is pointless if you don’t know what a saved universe looks like, much less precisely what it is in the universe that is worthy of salvation."

I HAVE SOME NOTES: Sharing more quick thoughts on my daily Scripture readings.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MAY 20, 2024

Beginning of the End (1957) Scientists Peter Graves leads the battle against giant grasshoppers, which is fitting since it's partially his fault there are freaking giant grasshoppers to begin with. It's impossible to review this Bert I. Gordon riff on Them! without mentioning that the "special" effects consist of real grasshoppers crawling across blown up photographs of buildings, but then again, why wouldn't you mention it since the movie's cheesiness is part of its charm.

TIL: Lots of dieticians point out that the Kashrut in Leviticus had health benefits over and above the religious and tribal reasons for its list of culinary do's and don'ts. For instance, grasshoppers, which were approved for eating, are about 40% protein, 43% fat, and 13% fiber. Basically, they're good for you. But, healthy or not, being allowed and being required are not the same thing, so you'll be hard pressed to find the little buggers on too many kosher menus these days.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: Daily Scripture readings plus a note pad and pencil equals... whatever this is.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MAY 18, 2024

Still Voices -  Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) "Take all the robes of all the good judges that have ever lived on the face of the earth, and they would not be large enough to cover the iniquity of one corrupt judge." - Henry Ward Beecher

I HAVE SOME NOTES: I wonder what the guys who actually wrote the Bible would think of my notes on my daily Scripture readings?

DAILY CALL SHEET: MAY 17, 2024

Dark Angel: The Ascent (1994) A sullen young demoness flees Hell to escape her overbearing father, but once on Earth, she still feels the compulsion to brutally punish sinners. In between eviscerations, she spends quality time with her new dog and boyfriend. Hey, it's a low budget Full Moon feature, so it's not faultless, but it's surprisingly entertaining in its off-brand Neil Gaiman take on Heaven and Hell. Also, I never knew demons have big feet, even the lady ones.

TIL: The movie's version of Hell in which demons are basically subcontractors to Heaven with the job of torturing the damned is amusing, but not really accurate to actual Church teaching. In reality, any torture that might occur in the state of being we call Hell is self-imposed through a person's willful rejection of God's mercy. In that sense, Satan and the other demons are human's co-prisoners in Hell, not their wardens, and they all put themselves there, not God.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: Yet more random thoughts on my daily Scripture readings.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MAY 9, 2024

The Red Shoes (1948) A ballerina is torn between her obsession to live only for dance and her newfound love for a young composer, mirroring the dilemma faced by the heroine in the Hans Christian Andersen inspired ballet in which she stars. One of the few entries in Danny Peary's Cult Movies I've inexplicably avoided for decades, foolishly so. A deserved cult classic with an ending that, while not entirely unexpected, goes much, much harder than the subject matter would imply.

TIL: Dance historian Jennifer Homans claims the Church used to excommunicate ballet dancers in the mid-1600's, which given the Church's hot and cold relationship with dancing over the centuries isn't all that implausible. Regardless of whether that happened or not, though, the book of Sirach does warn young men to be wary of (depending on your translation) female dancers/singers, presumably because those women tend to rate higher on the hot/crazy matrix.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: More things that popped in my head during  my daily Scripture readings.

THE LONG DARK NIGHT GALLERY OF THE SOUL #006: DON'T MIND ME

One of the occasional  difficulties in keeping sketchbooks is figuring out what to put in them. I mean, there's only so many cartoon heads you can doodle before you want to do something else. So, for the last few weeks I've been playing around with neurographic art, a popular fad among child therapists right now. It's a focusing technique that requires no prior artistic skill and appears to help relieve anxiety and stress.

It's also supposed to promote "mindfulness", the turning of your attention to what is happening in the present moment and then accepting what you observe without judgment. Sounds Buddhist, right, which in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing. But, like most 1960's American bastardizations of Buddhism, mindfulness can be a trap if you're not careful. Focused situational awareness is one thing, narcissistic navel gazing with no heed given to your conscience is another. Be cautious.

That being said, you can get some neat images out of the practice. You can even use them for the basis of something more interesting, as I did with a little computer manipulation of the last image. Look up the steps for neurographic art, and have fun; anyone can do it.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MAY 5, 2024

Satanic Attraction (1989) Radio DJ hosts a proto-podcast in which she tells tall tales of a satanic serial killer, only to discover that each of her fictional crimes comes true as she broadcasts them. A fairly interesting premise undone by weird editing and nonsensical plot points. Of special note, though, is the dubbing, which is so wooden and emotionless that I'm pretty sure they hired somnambulists to read the script and kept the first take every single time.

TIL: One of the more difficult teachings of the Church is to avoid sin, not because we want to evade punishment or just to follow the rules, but because we truly love what is good and pleasing to God and despise what is wrong. Unfortunately, many of us still have an attachment or (satanic?) attraction to certain sins, often against our will. This is what St. Paul was referring to when he talked about warring against the flesh.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: Jotting down more things that crossed my mind during my daily Scripture readings.