Supreme Court!

Would that all Supreme Court Justices had the integrity of Antonin Scalia.  Here is one clip of his dissent of today's ruling.  Read more excerpts from The Blaze here.

 "That is jaw-dropping. It is an assertion of judicial supremacy over the people’s Representatives in Congress and the Executive. It envisions a Supreme Court standing (or rather enthroned) at the apex of government, empowered to decide all constitutional questions, always and everywhere “primary” in its role."

Justice Scalia is my favorite Supreme Court Justice.  Saw him speak at the University of Michigan once.  I'm so tired tonight.  I'll write more about this disastrous ruling tomorrow.

Les Mis has been on my mind lately and not just because my son is playing Marius in the South Bend Civic Theatre production.  (shameless promotion)

I have noticed that some people love Les Mis!  I am one of them.  I think it elevates virtue, promotes justice and Christian charity.  It inspires one to strive for good.  And I love the music.

Others, I have noticed, hate Les Mis.  They think it's depressing and sad.  Some people have very strong negative feelings about it saying things like "I REALLY don't like that show."

Why is there this extreme difference of opinion about the same show?

Some, but not all, of the people who dislike it are people who are not in the church or have very little faith.  Is that it?  Is it a lack of faith and hope that causes people to not see what others see in the story?

Or perhaps the dislikers are extremely compassionate and empathetic people and the suffering is too much for them?

I just find the differences in opinion very curious.  Still thinking about it.

Just a little proud....(maternal bragging alert)

OK.  So I'm just a little proud of my firstborn.

He has always loved the stage.  Always enjoyed music, acting, singing, and dancing.

He's a teacher now but he is still enjoying these passions of his, not only through his teaching, but also in his spare time.

He will play Marius in the South Bend Civic Theatre's production of Les Mis!!!!

And I just HAVE to share this article about him from a local news station.

http://addins.fox28.com/blogs/les_mis/2013/06/teacher-by-day-love-struck-revolutionary-by-night

Can't wait to see this show!!! (Being his mom and all :-)

Anatomy of an Action Movie

Disclaimer.....for the most part, I don't like action movies.  Perhaps it's just me.  I just don't get them.  To me...the following describes the action movie:

A little bit of plot, often quite interesting, tiny bit of character development....at this point it has my attention.  Then the action begins.

High speed chase scene or dramatic, violent fight that seems to go on a little longer than necessary.

Then the chase/fight continues.  It goes on and on and on.  Fire, explosions, dramatic falling and/or jumping, more violence, buildings collapsing, people running for their lives.  (The people desperately running seems particularly popular right now.)

Then it stops.  There is a little dialogue, maybe a little bit of plot development.  You start to think maybe this story is actually going to get kind of good.  And then....the chase/fight resumes.  Again, the violent fighting, the close call, fiery escapes, explosions, near misses.  This goes on for what seems like an interminable length of time.  Finally, it stops and then there may be a little dialogue and the story actually develops a little.  It seems like the film has hope.

THEN, the chase/fight starts all over again.  By this time, the plot is getting a little convoluted.  Some of the details are not making sense.  It's like the viewer is not really expected to think, just to go with it.  This chase/fight goes on forever!!  It's like the grand finale of a fireworks display except that it's not beautiful.  Instead of hoping it continues you start to hope that the film will eventually come to an end.  More fire, explosions, the hero is injured (!), the bad guys look like they might win, more violence, more destruction.  What was the story line again?  How long can this go on??  It feels like forever.  I wish I had brought a book so I could go to the lobby and meet everyone there.  And still it's going on and on and on.  How many different ways can people fight and chase each other?  In the case of science fiction apparently the limit is only the creativity of the filmmaker.  And those filmmakers are very creative.  Has it been an hour?  Could they really have been chasing each other for an hour?  One of these times I'm going to time it.

I'm sorry.  The non-stop adrenaline rush does not do anything for me.  I find the endless chase scene tiresome.  Sometimes I close my eyes to see if maybe I can fall asleep.  By the end, I'm usually just annoyed and irritable.

Am I missing something?  What is the appeal of these movies?  I get that there is a lot of testosterone and this appeals to the guys.  Chase scenes/fights only hold my interest for about five minutes.  It seems to me that the average action movie is made up primarily of these scenes.  Are there women who find these films entertaining?

I've been under the weather for the last couple days, spending quite a few hours in my bed trying to get my digestive track to behave.  Robert Louis Stevenson's poem "The Land of Counterpane" came to mind.  Stevenson was often sick as a child.  Can't you just see the young boy playing like this?  

My "toys" have been my laptop, my TV remote, my "Magnificat," my prayer notebook, and a magazine.

It's such a lovely poem.  Here it is.

                                                         The Land of Counterpane

When I was sick and lay a-bed,

I had two pillows at my head,

And all my toys beside me lay,

To keep me happy all the day.

And sometimes for an hour or so

I watched my leaden soldiers go,

With different uniforms and drills,

Among the bed-clothes, through the hills;

And sometimes sent my ships in fleets

All up and down among the sheets;

Or brought my trees and houses out,

And planted cities all about.

I was the giant great and still

That sits upon the pillow-hill,

And sees before him, dale and plain,

The pleasant land of counterpane.

Robert Louis Stevenson

I went to Curves for the first time in a long time this morning with my friend Patti.  I drove because her car was in the shop.  After Curves we went back to her house where she made a delicious gluten free lunch--- salad with pecans, apple pieces, grilled chicken with poppyseed dressing.  It was just delicious.

Patti and I have known each other for a long time.  We've been through a lot together.  So this afternoon was a comfortable and relaxing time of catching up, laughing, and sharing.  We had a cup of tea together-- something we've shared probably thousands of times.

She showed me her gardens and the lovely things she's planted.  She also showed me the various herbs growing on her property and we talked about the herbalist who had just taught her about the value of each kind of plant.  I saw (and heard) her impressive rooster and her hen and the 5 or 6 chicks that are now about half grown.

There were no children with us this time, unlike the many (maybe all?) the other times we've sat and talked.  Between us we have 17 children.  Ha!  I only have six.  She has the rest.  Our children have had many good times together, as have our families.  We are heading into a new phase of our lives,  as both of our youngest children head toward their senior years of high school.

Patti and I share the same faith, the same overall values, and the same priorities.  We think the same things are funny.  She has been a good friend to me and I thank God for our friendship and all we have shared.  God is good.  All the time.

Summertime....and the livin' is easy...

Yes.  I used to sing this song to my children as they were going to bed.

Well, I sang it to all of them except for John who asked me not to sing.  LOL  It was a few years later that we discovered he had perfect pitch.  :-)

It's nice to be catching up on some sleep.  Nice to have not so much on the schedule....

My gardens are all planted and doing well.  I had to get them in early for Mary's graduation party.

My husband says we should always schedule grad. parties early.  I think I agree, although those few weeks before the party were not easy.

I'm sitting here drinking a cup of coffee.  Then I'll have a relaxed prayer time.  I love it.

And it doesn't hurt that the weather is pleasantly warm.  And even the cold summer days are pleasantly warm compared to our winters.  I can walk the dog without a coat.  Yes it's very pleasant.

One great benefit of living in Michigan is that the summers are not long enough for us to take them for granted.  We love our great Spring, Fall, and Summer weather.  And I have to say there are even things to like about our winters.  They can very beautiful.

God is good.  All the time.

Mary has graduated from high school.  She worked so hard throughout high school.  I'm really proud of her.  In September she will continue her studies at the University of Michigan.  My father would be (is!) so proud.  An alum of Michigan himself, he always dreamed of having one of his grandchildren graduate from there.  He left this world to soon to see John graduate.  (Although I'm sure he was watching from the other side.)  And now I know that he is delighted with Mary's school choice.

Three of Mary's siblings were able to attend her graduation.  Many thanks to Mike, in particular, who drove over 5 hours round trip to be there.  He is a very faithful brother.

And Anne flew in from Atlanta to be at Mary's graduation party.  How cool is that.  She was able to stay for 5 days.  So nice.  Her husband Zach was busy out in Colorado winning the Division 1 Rugby Championship.  Yup.  They did it.  And we were able to watch the game online, but through our TV.  It was really quite a thrill.  Zach is an excellent player and has spent many, many years improving his skills in rugby.  We are really proud of him.

And yesterday was the last day of school for Liz.  I was at school all day helping in the Resource Room in the morning and at the Used book and Uniform Sale in the afternoon.

So today is quite a relief.  The girls and I spent an hour working on cleaning up our rooms.  (Yes, I worked on mine too and it definitely needed it. :-)

Tomorrow we plan to skype with John in London.  We miss him so much.  So looking forward to having him home in a little over a month.

And Liz has become a high school senior.  Wow.  It's almost too much to fathom.