Don't Miss Nikki Finke's Snarky Oscar Smackdown

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This is the ultimate takedown, "Nikki Finke's Oscar Live-Snark.

"Uh-oh. Seth MacFarlane opens the show with a lame joke. No one laughs. He does an impression. No one knows who he’s imitating. Does this guy even have any experience doing standup? Obviously not. This is one of the lamest show openings I’ve ever watched. The worst part is that Seth is killing every punchline by laughing over it. And here comes the inevitable Mel Gibson putdown.

This is going to be a loooooong night. “The room is dead,” says one agent from inside the Dolby Theatre.

Thank God, William Shatner (as Capt Kirk) is saying what I’m thinking; “The show is a disaster.” And I agree with that newspaper headline, “Seth MacFarlane Is Worst Oscar Host Ever.”

Read it all at the link.

And more from Ed Driscoll, "Hollywood Sucker Punch."

I'M AN IMMIGRANT TOO!

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On a recent trip to Philadelphia, I had the privilege of visiting four Catholic campuses on immigration issues:  Villanova University, St. Joseph's University, La Salle University, and Cabrini College.  I am both impressed and inspired with the faculty and students as they help educate about our immigrant brothers and sisters, and how they are reaching out to them in the greater Philadelphia area.

At Cabrini College I attended a large gathering to give my power point presentation on immigration issues.  A young lady gave an opening reflection, and I was truly impressed.  With her permission I am reprinting it here for you--it is truly insightful and powerful.


I'm an immigrant but not like you think.  You're one too and I'm about to tell you how.

These are the things people characterize an immigrant as:

     *  how you sound

     *  the language you speak

     *  what you don't know

     *  your mannerisms, and

     *  the questions you may ask.

You're an immigrant too.  Listen close because I'm about to tell you how.

Remember your first day in a new place?

Whether it be college, work or even a new face?

You come to a foreign land, and new country and eventually want to be loved.

Am I wrong?

You expect that over time you will be accepted and that this foreign country won't be one anymore.

That your face won't be a new one but one that's become a part of.

You're an immigrant too, listen close because I already told you.

When you say immigrant it should hit home, no matter where your home lies.

Don't look across the border for someone to sympathize with.

Look in your own eyes and realize you long for that very same prize.

That your face won't be a new one but one that's become a part of.

A part of a melting pot of culture that we all have a piece of in us.

We can't deny someone else our warm embrace only because they have a different face.

Think of immigration as your own immigration.

Jenay M. Smith

POPE BENEDICT'S WRITINGS

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Although Pope Benedict is stepping aside as our active Pope, nonetheless his marvelous writings will continue to guide and inspire us for decades to come.

His brief meditations are among my favorites, and if you want a great companion for Lent, be sure to get a copy of The Joy of Knowing Christ.  His 55 meditations bring us ever more deeply into the life of Jesus Christ.  [Easy to purchase on line]

If you use one meditation a day during Lent you will come to know Jesus in new and palpable ways, and your friendship with him will become an amazing grace for you.

The more fully we listen to Jesus' words and instructions, and the more we watch in wonderment as he touches the lives of countless crowds with his message of God's love and mercy, then the more able you and I are to imitate Jesus in our own lives. 

The New Evangelization proposed by Benedict flows from two founts:  knowing Jesus more deeply, and sharing him in love and through actions towards others.

May Jesus accompany us day after day along our Lenten journey!

POPE BENEDICT'S FINAL ANGELUS

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BENEDICT XVI'S FINAL ANGELUS: THE LORD CALLS ME TO DEDICATE MYSELF MORE TO PRAYER, BUT I DO NOT ABANDON THE CHURCH

Vatican City, 24 February 2013 –  More than 200,000 people attended the final Angelus of Benedict XVI's pontificate.  Looking up from St. Peter's Square, everyone--near and via television--were able to see a more relaxed and hope-filled Pope. 
The Holy Father was received with much applause and, before beginning his short meditation, responded saying, “Thank you, thank you very much.” He then commented on the Gospel reading for this second Sunday of Lent, which recounts the Transfiguration of the Lord. “Luke the Evangelist places particular attention on the fact that Jesus was transfigured as He prayed. His is a profound experience of relationship with the Father during a type of spiritual retreat that Jesus undergoes on a high mountain in the company of Peter, James, and John, the three disciples who are always present at the moments of the Master's divine manifestation.  The Lord, who had foretold His death and resurrection shortly before, offers His disciples an anticipation of His glory. Again at the Transfiguration, as at His Baptism, we hear the voice of the Heavenly Father: 'This is my chosen Son; listen to Him.' The presence of Moses and Elijah, who represent the Law and the Prophets of the Old Covenant, is very important.  The entire history of the Covenant is directed toward Him, the Christ, who brings about a new 'exodus', not to the promised land, as in the time of Moses, but to heaven. Peter's exclamation, 'Master, it is good that we are here', represents the impossible attempt to stop this mystical experience.  St. Augustine comments: “Peter … on the mountain ... had Christ as the Bread of his soul. Should he then depart from there to return to struggles and sorrows, while up above he was full of the holy love for God that inspired him to saintly behaviour?” “Meditating on this Gospel passage, we can draw a very important teaching from it. First of all, the primacy of prayer, without which the entire commitment of ministry and charity is reduced to activism. During Lent we learn to give the proper time to the prayer, both personal and communal, which gives breath to our spiritual life.  In addition, prayer is not an isolation from the world and its contradictions, as Peter would have wanted on Mt. Tabor. Instead, prayer leads to a path of action. 'The Christian life—I wrote in this year's Lenten Message—consists in continuously scaling the mountain to meet God and then coming back down, bearing the love and strength drawn from Him, so as to serve our brothers and sisters with God’s own love.'” “I hear this Word of God addressed to me in a special way at this moment of my life. The Lord has called me to 'scale the mountain', to dedicate myself still more to prayer and meditation. But this does not mean abandoning the Church.  If God asks me this it is precisely so that I might continue to serve her with the same dedication and the same love with which I have tried to give up to now, but in a way more suitable to my age and my strength. Let us call upon the intercession of the Virgin Mary: May she help all of us to always follow the Lord Jesus, in prayer and in works of charity.”  After praying the Angelus, in his greetings in various languages, the Pope thanked everyone for expressing their closeness and for keeping him in their prayers in these days, saying: “We also give thanks to God for this sun we have today”, seeing that in Rome, contrary to the meteorological forecasts, it was not raining. 

TOUGH LENTEN CHALLENGE

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We have many challenges on our Lenten journey, but one in particular is the focus of my prayer and work this Lent:  the love of our enemies in life.

Jesus' words could not be more clear or compelling:

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. 

For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?  Do not the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that?  Do not the pagans do the same?  So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."  [Matthew 5:43--48]

I can't recall a time such as now when people tend to be so judgmental and even self-righteous, so quick to accuse, judge and condemn.  And often with scant real facts and information.  Because of news broadcasts now 24/7 there is little or no fact checking; no in-depth analysis; no context or history given.  Rather, everything gets reported as "news" regardless of the basis for the item being reported--and passed on by countless other news outlets.

We have ended up with a climate in which it's the norm to instantly pass judgement on one another, taking in and repeating gossip, sharing someone else's judgment as the truth, no regard for other people who may be harmed.  Whatever happened to the norm of giving others the benefit of a doubt until hard evidence proves otherwise?

Witness the hatred which has boiled up across the Middle East and other conflicted parts of the world, and the deep emotions which do not allow for understanding or love to emerge at all.

But Jesus calls us to something far different and much more difficult:  we are to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us.  In today's world, to follow Jesus and his Gospel message means to "be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."  That's a really high bar for all of us, and certainly for me.

My daily prayer list includes both loved ones/friends, as well as those who dislike or even hate me.  One prayer group involves those suffering from cancer and other illnesses, those who have been sexually abused by clergy and others in our Church, those who can't find a decent job, those in danger of losing their homes, our immigrants who live in the shadows of society.

But another prayer group includes individuals who cannot forgive me for my past hurts or offenses, those in the media who constantly malign me and my motives, attorneys who never focus on context or history in their legal matters, groups which picket me or otherwise object to me, and all those who despise me or even hate me.

If I don't pray for all of these people, then I am not following Jesus' specific discipleship demand.

Jesus' message of love and forgiveness has flooded the world over the centuries, and this message has had the power to change hearts and minds.  May his challenge this Lent inspire us to do as he asks.        

George Will Picks 'Zero Dark Thirty' for Best Picture

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A rebuke to Senators Levin, Feinstein, and McCain.

From this morning's "This Week":


My preditions: Best Picture: "Argo." Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis for "Lincoln." Best Actress: Jessica Chastain for "Zero Dark Thirty."

Not sure about Best Director or any of the others. We'll see tonight.

RELATED: At the New York Times, "A 9/11 Victim's Family Raises New Objections to ‘Zero Dark Thirty’." (At Memeorandum.)

Whiney bitches. Sorry for you loss, but sheesh.

'We live in a culture of violence, and that culture is nurtured and glamorized by the movies...'

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From the letters at the Los Angeles Times, "Feedback: The culture of violence":

Betsy Sharkey's premise, "A Critic Says the Problem Isn't the Movies but Real Life, Where Killing Is All Too Common," is misguided and unrealistic [Feb. 17]. If killing and violence are all too common in real life, does producing more films, which seem to glorify gratuitous killing and violence, alleviate the problem? I don't think so.

After all, fashion, sexual behavior and language in films seem to have an influential and imitative effect in people's lives. Why would violence be exempt?

Sharkey claims that nothing she's seen in movies comes close to what she's witnessed firsthand. How can this be? In real life, one kick to the head could end a life, or most likely end the fight, but in films, a dozen kicks to the head seem to prolong a fight rather than end it.

We live in a culture of violence, and that culture is nurtured and glamorized by the movies. We can become only more inured to that violence and more violent as a society, because ultimately, life imitates art.

Giuseppe Mirelli

Los Angeles

More letters at the link.

And see Instapundit, "SHILLING FOR HOLLYWOOD: L.A. Times: Violent Movies Don’t Cause Violence, but Guns Do." Also, "IF YOU’RE WATCHING THE OSCARS TONIGHT — OR IF YOU’RE NOT — you might want to read my Wall Street Journal column: The Hollywood Tax Story They Won’t Tell at the Oscars: It’s easy to demand higher levies on the ‘rich’ when your own industry gets $1.5 billion in government handouts."