Now That My Computer's Fixed . . .

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. . . And We're Back

Let a Te Deum be offered, let bells be rung, let psalms be sung, let incense be lit, let solemn masses of thanksgiving be celebrated.

After several uncomfortable, computerless days, It's All Straw is back in business, baby—ahead of schedule, too.

The ominous, potentially catastrophic computer problems I mentioned in my last post reappeared after a couple of days absence, dashing my hopes that the snowy screen problem was a minor glitch. I decided the prudent thing to do was to send the computer off for maintenance and repair. The FedEx guy came about noon last Friday, and from that moment until earlier this afternoon, I was without a computer. No word processing, no e-mail, no web surfing, no podcasts, no nothing.

I listened to music, I watched TV, I prayed, and I stared longingly at the place where the computer usually sits. When I called, the manufacturer's tech support people told me they had received the computer and diagnosed the problem but hadn't received an essential replacement part due to a parts shortage. They estimated they would receive the part, and that I would receive the computer by April 27. Clearly, heroic virtue was called for. I steeled myself for a long wait and possible withdrawal symptoms.

Yet after griping to all and sundry about my ordeal, I heard a fateful knock at my door just after lunchtime this afternoon. On the other side of the door was a FedEx man with a very large package. My baby is home. My files appear to be intact. All is right with the world. God is good—all the time.

Technical Difficulties . . .

Please Stand By 

 

It looks, dear readers, as if I might have to go offline for about the next two weeks. Last night the monitor on my laptop started flickering as if it were caught in a snowstorm or were a TV getting bad reception with a rabbit ears antenna. I called the manufacturer's tech support number, and they said it sounds like a problem with either the computer's LCD or the motherboard. I'm using an old desktop monitor as a workaround until a box from FedEx arrives for me to ship the laptop back to the manufacturer for repairs. Prayers to the patron saints of computers and high technology would be appreciated.

UPDATE: As I was typing this. the laptop screen suddenly cleared, just as suddenly as it started snowing up last night. It's a miracle! :) Should I still send the unit back to the manufacturer for maintenance? If I could avoid it, that would save me a heck of a lot of money. Just to be on the safe side, I'm backing up critical files. Stay tuned.

Two Cool New Comics Sites

As you may have noticed, dear readers, I'm a fan of comics. I try to keep my eyes peeled for really cool comics related sites. Here are two of my recent discoveries.

First up is Digital Comic Museum, an online repository of downloadable, scanned versions of comic books from the Golden Age of Comics, the 1940s and '50s. The site is a successor to the "Golden Age Comics" site that was down more often than not and plagued with technical problems. The new site has been significantly redesigned and appears to be working smoothly. Simply create a user name and password, log in, and start downloading issues from the days when comic books were really comic books. Check the site's FAQ list and message boards for links to free reader software for viewing the comics you've downloaded. You can also chat with other fans and collectors on the forums and upload your own vintage comics. You won't find Action Comics #1 (Superman's first appearance), but you will find comics from many lesser known and defunct publishers in every conceivable genre: superhero, adventure, Western, detective, horror, romance, juvenile, and more. The Ace Comics titles "Atomic War" and "World War III," for example, play on Cold War era fears of a nuclear sneak attack on America by the Soviet Union. In today's cynical, ironic, detached pop culture, the deadly earnest, gee whiz writing style of these comics may come across as campy and unintentionally hilarious, but it's all part of the fun. Many issues come complete with ads for impossible products (for only 25 cents and three boxtops! Get yours today!) and pulp short stories as filler. Whatever your taste in comics, you should find something entertaining here.

My other recent find is Project: Rooftop, a blog run by a team of comics writers, illustrators, and fans who are constantly re-imagining and redesigning the costumes of famous (and not so famous) superheroes from yesterday and today. The blog accepts submissions from both professional artists and fans, and the artwork, in a wide variety of styles and approaches, is sometimes stunning and always entertaining. Each week of posts at Project: Rooftop has a theme, and this week it's Kate Kane, aka Batwoman, from DC Comics. In the immortal words of Mark Shea, "Check thou it out."

It's Time To Play . . .

Spot the Star Trek Reference!


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He Is Risen!

Better late than never! I want to wish a most joyous and blessed Easter Season to all my readers. The joy of the Resurrection of Christ is too huge to be confined to just one day.

Unfortunately, I could not attend the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday this year as I usually do. I really missed hearing the Exsultet, the ancient, traditional chanted hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God for the gift of the Resurrection. While searching YouTube for an appropriate Easter post, I came across this beautiful version of the Exsultet which is slightly different from the version most Americans are likely to hear at the Vigil Mass. It's sung by a community of English Dominicans. Enjoy, and happy Easter!

Good Friday

"And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying: 'Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabacthani?' Which is, being interpreted, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' And some of the standers by hearing, said: 'Behold he calleth Elias.'

And one running and filling a sponge with vinegar, and putting it upon a reed, gave him to drink, saying: 'Stay, let us see if Elias come to take him down.' And Jesus having cried out with a loud voice, gave up the ghost.  And the veil of the temple was rent in two, from the top to the bottom. And the centurion who stood over against him, seeing that crying out in this manner he had given up the ghost, said: 'Indeed this man was the son of God.'"

(Mark 15 :34-39, Douay-Rheims Bible.)

While It's Still St. Patrick's Day . . .

Here's a little something for your enjoyment — a video for the song "Patrick Was A Gentleman" as performed by the Wolfe Tones. Enjoy!

St. Patrick's Day

"And many gifts were offered to me with weeping and tears, and I offended them [the donors], and also went against the wishes of a good number of my elders; but guided by God, I neither agreed with them nor deferred to them, not by my own grace but by God who is victorious in me and withstands them all, so that I might come to the Irish people to preach the Gospel and endure insults from unbelievers; that I might hear scandal of my travels, and endure many persecutions to the extent of prison; and so that I might give up my free birthright for the advantage of others, and if I should be worthy, I am ready [to give] even my life without hesitation; and most willingly for His name. And I choose to devote it to him even unto death, if God grant it to me."

from The Confession of St. Patrick

Comment Moderation Enabled

I've received some rather unpleasant comment spam lately, so I've enabled comment moderation. This means I have to approve comments before they appear on the blog. If your comment does not immediately appear, fear not. It does not necessarily mean I don't like you. Most likely it means that I, your blog administrator, have not yet checked the comments waiting to be published. I regret this step, but it seems to be necessary. There are some real jerks out there.

Because I've Been Feeling Very Scottish Lately . . .

I created this version of a Highland Dancer with HeroMachine v. 3.0.

Here also is a poem about a Scottish lass by William Wordsworth. (Not a bad poem, even if he was a stuffy English git).

The Solitary Reaper

BEHOLD her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain;
O listen! for the Vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.

No Nightingale did ever chaunt
More welcome notes to weary bands
Of travellers in some shady haunt,
Among Arabian sands:
A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard
In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,
Breaking the silence of the seas
Among the farthest Hebrides.

Will no one tell me what she sings?—
Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago:
Or is it some more humble lay,
Familiar matter of to-day?
Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
That has been, and may be again?

Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang
As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And o'er the sickle bending;—
I listen'd, motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill,
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more.

Hat tip for the text of "The Solitary Reaper" to Bartleby.com

Celts, Pagans, and Superheroes, Oh My!

A few entries ago, I told you about my idea for the Celtic League of Superheroes, a team of costumed crime-fighters originating in the Celtic countries and saving the world from various nasties found in Celtic mythology and folklore. It seems I'm not the only one to think of such a thing, because now Pendant Audio. is producing its own original Celtic-themed superhero show, “Genesis Avalon” that has a good many similarities to my Celtic League concept. What's more, in the director's commentary for the first episode, the show's creator, Kathryn Pryde, says she has the first three seasons of the show, 36 episodes, plotted and scripted. After two years, I'm still floundering around with the first draft of my main character's origin story.

I didn't listen to the first few episodes of "Genesis Avalon," first of all, because I didn't want them to influence my development of the Celtic League of Superheroes concept. I reconsidered my decision because I decided I needed to see how others are developing similar material. After all, if you're developing a product, you have to know what the competition is up to. The second reason I chose not to listen to the show, however, was that I feared it would devolve into what was essentially a commercial for neo-paganism and its contemporary incarnations such as Wicca—something that, as an author, a practicing Catholic, and a person of Celtic ancestry, I did not want to happen with my Celtic League concept.

Let me make two things perfectly clear. First, I love Pendant Audio. I listen regularly to many of their shows, especially the "fanfic" type shows based on DC Comics characters, and wouldn't have known about Genesis Avalon at all if I didn't. They are an extremely talented group of people who do a lot of hard work of very high quality solely because they love it.

Second, I realize that there have been elements of mythology, mysticism, magic, and mumbo-jumbo in superhero comics probably ever since Billy Batson learned to say "Shazam!" and become Captain Marvel. That, in and of itself, does not bother me. What bothers me, both as a Celt and a Catholic, is that certain modern neo-pagan occultists have appropriated names and terms from Celtic mythology and folklore (including the word "Celt" itself) to fabricate a modern religion for themselves and to promote that religion and its ideology—a religion and ideology that are directly and deliberately opposed to my Catholic faith.

My original nickname or handle when I first ventured out onto the internet via AOL was MrCelt ("Mr. Celt"). My user profile listed Catholicism as one of my interests. I was told by some grossly misinformed person in a chatroom, "You can't be a Celt and be a Christian." I am wearing a Celtic cross around my neck that says otherwise. Irish, Scottish, and Welsh converts to Christianity brought the gospel to much of the rest of Europe, thank you very much, founding churches, monasteries, and schools that are in existence to this day. I daresay that millions of Celtic Christians in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales today, both Catholic and Protestant, would also disagree with that statement. I resent the fact that the mythology and culture of my ancestral countries is being used to promote an agenda contrary to my faith, which once brought there, took deep root in those ancestral countries.

It's not hard for me to wonder if there's an agenda behind "Genesis Avalon." The pilot episode begins with a prayer to “The Goddess” (to which goddess I’m not sure) and, six episodes in, there have already been numerous direct references to Wicca, and rituals of “The Craft.” The story begins when a young woman finds a mysterious amulet that enables her to become the superhero Avalon, endowed with the powers of the ancient Celtic gods. She invokes these powers by speaking the names of the gods aloud. That in itself wouldn't bother me so much if the protagonist and other characters didn't toss the name of Jesus around as if it were a garden variety interjection, a curse, or an insult. I realize that in real life and in fiction, people can and do say the name of Jesus in vain. Regrettably I've done it myself on more than a few occasions. However, in a work of fiction, when characters speak the names of pagan gods and receive or invoke great power, and then utter the name of Christ with little or no result, you can't help wondering if this betrays the author's bias.

I realize much of what I've just said may sound like so much sour grapes because an author has successfully developed a concept similar to mine, while so far I've failed miserably to develop my own work. The folks behind "Genesis Avalon" may not have any agenda beyond the desire to tell a good story. Judged purely as an action adventure or a work of audio drama, the show isn't bad, and it may be possible to take all the New Age, neo-pagan woo-woo with several grains of salt.

Looking critically at my own work, I worried that it too could be construed as promoting a particular theological agenda, which would be the opposite of what I intended and believed, and that's perhaps one reason that the writing has gone so slowly. I wanted to borrow bits, pieces, and motifs from Celtic mythology and tell cool stories of costumed superheroes slugging it out with evil druids on the streets of Dublin (and other places), not to advocate for a false or fabricated religion. I fretted over this problem with my blog buddy D. G. D. Davidson at Sci-Fi Catholic, and he told me not to worry because, as he astutely pointed out, Christians have been borrowing from pagan mythology to tell stories for centuries.

Will the Celtic League of Superheroes ever be anything more than a vague idea in my head? Should I listen to "Genesis Avalon" or avoid it? I don't know the answers to either one of those questions. But I'll let you know when I find the answers.

This Is What Happens When You Can't Get a Song Out of Your Head . . .

You post a video version from YouTube and start studying Scottish and Irish history.

OK, so I've been listening to an audio podcast version of Kidnapped, Robert Louis Stevenson's tale of high adventure, political intrigue, and skullduggery in the Scottish Highlands during the 18th century. It gets my pride in my Scottish ancestry all stirred up, which means that my pride in my Irish ancestry can't be far behind (I think I have Scottish, Irish, and Welsh family connections). I go scrambling for Irish and Scottish music videos on YouTube, start listening to lots of music in Gaelic, and start singing the song "Oro sé do bheatha bhaille" almost compulsively. The song was originally sung by Irish Jacobites, or supporters of Bonny Prince Charlie" Stuart during the 1745 uprising ("The Bold '45"), an attempt to restore the House of Stuart to the English throne. It didn't work out. The events of the Bold '45 take place just a few years before Kidnapped begins.

Later, the Irish nationalist poet Padraig Pearse rewrote the words to the song to refer to Grace O' Malley, (also known in Irish as Granuaile) an Irish noblewoman who took up a life of seafaring and piracy to protest the English domination of Ireland. When her relatives were captured by the English, Granuaile went to London to meet with Queen Elizabeth I to negotiate for their release. According to legend, during the meeting, Granuaile sneezed, and the queen offered her a handkerchief. Granuaile took the handkerchief, used it, and threw it into the fireplace, explaining that a used handkerchief was dirty and should be thrown away. According to the social customs of the time, disposing of the handkerchief would have been a calculated insult to the queen, a symbol of defiance. The queen must have been impressed with Granuaile's pluck, however, because she granted her request, and Grace O' Malley became a national hero, a symbol of Irish pride and refusal to knuckle under to the English. The song was used as a rallying cry by the IRA during Ireland's war of independence and has been recorded by many Irish singers and musicians, ranging from The Clancy Brothers to Sinead O'Connor. This version is sung by Paul Brady, and the accompanying animation tells the life and legend of Granuaile. You'll notice the melody is very similar to "What Shall We Do With a Drunken Sailor?" and I defy you to get it out of your head once you've heard it. This video was broadcast on Irish television's all-Gaelic channel, TG4.

"Beware My Power . . ."

In brightest day
Or darkest night
No evil shall escape my sight
Let those who worship evil's might
Beware my power . . . GREEN LANTERN'S LIGHT!

Hey everybody! Happy Mardi Gras! Because nothing says "Mardi Gras" and "Last chance to blow it out before Lent begins" like costumed superheroes, I give you my latest super team: Green Lantern Corps, The New Recruits. Except for John Stewart, I made them up on the spur of the moment last night (Please don't sue me, DC!) As usual, click on the image to see a larger version. Also as usual, I used HeroMachine v. 2.5, HeroMachine v. 3.0, and Paint.NET 3.5.3 to create the images. I like the idea of a band of costumed interplanetary do-gooders, and I like the way the GLC uses just three colors (green, black, and white) to produce nearly endless variations in the Green Lantern costume. Anyway, enjoy, and leave feedback.

Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps, ©DC Comics.

The All-American Family

Once upon a time, in an alternate reality, the superheroine Lady Liberty, the leader of the Liberty Legion, married Freedom Fighter, commander of the Freedom Force. They produced a plethora of patriotic, powered progeny, a sensational series of super siblings. Here's a candid shot of the happy family at home: Mom, Dad, and the kids! Click on the image to see a larger version of it. Please enjoy and feel free to submit feedback.

Images created with HeroMachine v. 3.0, Shakti Warriors, and Paint.NET v. 3.5.3.

Itz Sooper Kitteh!

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More Superheroes

Click here to see a larger version of the image.

I had thousands of requests (well, OK, one) from loyal readers to post more of my superhero creations. I actually created the Celtic League of Superheroes nearly two years ago using Heromachine v. 2.5. (Also available for download here). Version 3 of Heromachine is now in development, but after a weekend's worth of experimentation and fiddling, I decided I didn't like the Version 3 remakes as well as the originals. Don't get me wrong. I think HM 3 will be 31 flavors of awesome when it gets finished, but for these characters and this portrait, I thought the original versions would be better. I used Paint.NET v. 3.5.2 to create the group shot.

As for the characters themselves, they are avatars or champions of the Celtic countries, charged with defending these lands, and indeed the whole world, from the machinations of a sinister, evil wizard, druid, mage type guy and his band of assorted nasties. The concept crosses the standard superhero motifs with bits freely filched and adapted from Celtic mythology, in much the same way that Thor or Wonder Woman comics borrow from Norse or classical Greek myths. My ultimate goal is to create a series of stories about these characters which could be published alone, included as part of a novel, or converted into comic book scripts. A silly pipe dream? Perhaps, but I thought it would be fun to try. Right now, I'd settle for one complete, coherent story instead of the jumble of vague ideas in my head.

Superheroes

Just a little something to show you what I've been up to these days. Here's a quartet of patriotic superheroes, The Liberty Legion: Red Rocket, Whitewater, Blue Eagle, and Lady Liberty (Red, White, and Blue, get it?) I'm also working on writing their origin stories. At any rate, enjoy!

Click on the image to see a larger version. Images created with HeroMachine v. 3.0 and Paint.NET v. 3.5.2.

Join the Virtual March for Life

Whedon Wimps Out

Matthew Archbold over at the excellent Creative Minority Report blog posts this item about his dismay with famous writer and director Joss Whedon, creator of the hit TV shows "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer," "Angel," "Firefly," and "Dollhouse." Matthew really loves Whedon's work but really took exception to remarks Whedon made when he accepted an Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism from the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard. Here's a clip:



I find myself in the same boat with Matthew. I've never been a big fan of vampires, so I was never a regular Buffy watcher. When I did watch the show, I noticed the frequent snarky swipes at religion, but it was hard not to like "Buffy" because it was so well written. I loved "Firefly," in part, precisely because of the continuing dialogue between the skeptical, embittered Mal Reynolds and the minister, "Shepherd" Book. I want to like Whedon too, but in this instance, he clearly doesn't know what he's talking about. I find it ironic that he says he had to have his value as a person confirmed by a "shout out" from Obama. If Whedon would check the first few chapters of Genesis, he'd find the fundamental statement that all human beings, male and female, are created in the image and likeness of God, and therefore have inestimable value. If he were to check the New Testament, he would find the revolutionary idea that the Son of God gave his own life and rose from the dead in order to redeem human beings from the power of sin and death. This strongly suggests that the God Whedon doesn't believe in thinks that human beings must have some value.

I find it ironic that he insists that "education" is the answer to the world's ills, but he either forgets or doesn't know that the founder of all the great European universities was the Catholic Church. Harvard, the school at which he is speaking, was founded as a a religious institution. Whedon accepts his award from atheists and addresses his audience of atheists in a church on the university campus. No irony there.

Finally, his assertion that "faith in God means believing in something with absolutely no evidence," while faith in humanism means "believing in something with a huge amount of evidence to the contrary," has the argument exactly backward. G. K. Chesterton once said that original sin was the only part of Christianity that could readily be proven. Human history is replete with evil, barbarism, and cruelty, and yes, much of it has been done by those who claimed to believe in God. But where is the evidence that human beings can be truly good without God? The two most evil and barbaric regimes of the twentieth century, Nazism and Communism, were either officially or de facto atheistic, with the power of the Church legally subservient to that of the state. The central premise of Christianity, as Flannery O' Connor put it, was that God looked upon the world in all its horror and decided that it was worth dying for. In other words, God looked upon human beings in all their cruelty, ignorance, and malice but knew human beings and their world could be changed, transformed, and redeemed--but only by Christ's own sacrifice of himself on the cross.

Sorry, Joss. Even though you're at Harvard, for that weak attack on Christianity and paltry defense of humanism, I'd have to give you a failing grade.