Is England Worse? (Than Canada?)

Is it possible that the English could be even more oblivious to the rapid erosion of 'freedom of speech' and 'freedom of association' than are the Canadian sheeples?

(Daily Mail) "More than 10 million people are to have their everyday disputes, their politics and their business lives checked by new "tension monitoring" committees.

The committees are to be set up to try to cut the risk of riots or disturbances in the aftermath of terrorist outrages or outbreaks of local racial trouble.

They will ask for and file reports on named troublemakers whose political activities are considered to be raising community tensions.

Reports on the behaviour and attitudes of local residents will be collected by community workers, neighbourhood wardens, local councillors and provided by voluntary organisations, according to a paper published by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears today." (Was that 'communities' or 'communist'?)

Is it that the people don't care, or that they have resigned themselves to the inevitable downward spiral of repression and oppression by bureaucrats with totally self-serving secular humanist 'values'. (Of course , the 'bureaucrati' wouldn't identify themselves as secular humanist etc... That would require some kind of recognition of a personal philosophy, and I don't think philosophy is rated very highly by this lot!) There seems to be no self-awareness at all. No conciousness of the dissonance between their proposals and their proclaimed 'progressiveness'.

Hypocrites or idiots?

Forgive me for taking all these things personally. Cayman, as an 'Overseas Territoty' of Britain, will ultimately suffer from all their disregard for democracy and freedom. Our only hope is that their mistakes become so obvious that even the laid-back Caymanians will rise up against PC dominators,and protect their right to be an 'island of respite' in a sea of tyrannical rights advocates and 'correctness' police.

Rant Over.(h/t 'Dispel')

Dedication

March 26th is Robert Frost's birthday.

I know this because, as homeschoolers, we were reading some Frost and the biography at the beginning of the volume. Then we googled a poem we couldn't find in our little collection - 'The Gift Outright'. What we found was this very informative entry that led us to the poem Frost had written for JFK's inaugeration - 'Dedication'.

Feeling like a touch of Frost?


'Dedication'

Summoning artists to participate
In the august occasions of the state
Seems something artists ought to celebrate.
Today is for my cause a day of days.
And his be poetry's old-fashioned praise
Who was the first to think of such a thing.
This verse that in acknowledgement I bring
Goes back to the beginning of the end
Of what had been for centuries the trend;
A turning point in modern history.
Colonial had been the thing to be
As long as the great issue was to see
What country'd be the one to dominate
By character, by tongue, by native trait,
The new world Christopher Columbus found.
The French, the Spanish, and the Dutch were downed
And counted out. Heroic deeds were done.
Elizabeth the First and England won.
Now came on a new order of the ages
That in the Latin of our founding sages
(Is it not written on the dollar bill
We carry in our purse and pocket still?)
God nodded his approval of as good.
So much those heroes knew and understood,
I mean the great four, Washington,
John Adams, Jefferson, and Madison
So much they saw as consecrated seers
They must have seen ahead what not appears,
They would bring empires down about our ears
And by the example of our Declaration
Make everybody want to be a nation.
And this is no aristocratic joke
At the expense of negligible folk.
We see how seriously the races swarm
In their attempts at sovereignty and form.
They are our wards we think to some extent
For the time being and with their consent,
To teach them how Democracy is meant.
"New order of the ages" did they say?
If it looks none too orderly today,
'Tis a confusion it was ours to start
So in it have to take courageous part.
No one of honest feeling would approve
A ruler who pretended not to love
A turbulence he had the better of.
Everyone knows the glory of the twain
Who gave America the aeroplane
To ride the whirlwind and the hurricane.
Some poor fool has been saying in his heart
Glory is out of date in life and art.
Our venture in revolution and outlawry
Has justified itself in freedom's story
Right down to now in glory upon glory.
Come fresh from an election like the last,
The greatest vote a people ever cast,
So close yet sure to be abided by,
It is no miracle our mood is high.
Courage is in the air in bracing whiffs
Better than all the stalemate an's and ifs.
There was the book of profile tales declaring
For the emboldened politicians daring
To break with followers when in the wrong,
A healthy independence of the throng,
A democratic form of right devine
To rule first answerable to high design.
There is a call to life a little sterner,
And braver for the earner, learner, yearner.
Less criticism of the field and court
And more preoccupation with the sport.
It makes the prophet in us all presage
The glory of a next Augustan age
Of a power leading from its strength and pride,
Of young amibition eager to be tried,
Firm in our free beliefs without dismay,
In any game the nations want to play.
A golden age of poetry and power
Of which this noonday's the beginning hour.




'The Gift Outright'


The land ws our before we were the land's.
She was our land more than a hundred years
Before we were her people. She was ours
In Massachusetts, in Virginia,
But we were England's, Still colonials,
Possessing what we still were unpossessed by,
Possessed by what we now no more possessed.
Something we were withholding from our land of living,
And forthwith found salvation in surrender.
Such as we were we gave ourselves outright
(The deed of gift was many deeds of war)
To the land vaguely; realizing westward,
But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced,
Such as she was, such as she would become.


I shudder to think of the let down Robert Frost would experience, if he were alive today. On the other hand, I would appreciate the chance to read a poem written about America today by Robert Frost. He understood about 'higher purpose' and 'glory'. He loved the America that the soldiers are fighting for in Iraq.

I love homeschooling.

CANADIAN HEROES

Well Done. (posted on Canadian Heroes by Paul)

(if you're wondering why we're in no rush...)

Current Conditions


Summerside, CA (Airport)
Updated: 20 min 59 sec ago
42 °F / 6 °C
N/A
Windchill: 37 °F / 2 °C
Humidity: 92%
Dew Point: 40 °F / 4 °C
Wind: 9 mph / 15 km/h / 4.1 m/s from the ENE

Hello!! Its MAY 15!!!

Truth, Freedom and Reality

Paul Kengor at NCR , compares John Paul II's message in 'Veritatis Splendor' to Pope Benedict XVI's message to America:

..."Pilate’s question, ‘What is truth,’ reflects the distressing perplexity of a man who often no longer knows who he is, whence he comes and where he is going. Hence we not infrequently witness the fearful plunging of the human person into gradual self-destruction. According to some, it appears that one no longer need acknowledge the enduring absoluteness of any moral value. … The saving power of the truth is contested, and freedom alone, uprooted from any objectivity, is left to decide by itself what is good and what is evil.”

“This,” concluded John Paul, we call “relativism,” and it is that moral confusion that predominates and infests individuals and their culture today.

Compare this to what Pope Benedict XVI said at the youth rally in Yonkers, N.Y., before a crowd of 25,000:

“Some today argue that respect for freedom of the individual makes it wrong to seek truth, including the truth about what is good. In some circles to speak of truth is seen as controversial or divisive, and consequently best kept secret in the private sphere. And in truth’s place — or better said, its absence — an idea has spread which, in giving value to everything indiscriminately, claims to assure freedom and to liberate conscience. This we call relativism....
...Benedict continued: “Dear friends, truth is not an imposition. Nor is it simply a set of rules. It is the discovery of the One who never fails us; the One whom we can always trust. In seeking truth we come to live by belief because ultimately truth is a person: Jesus Christ. That is why authentic freedom is not an opting out. It is an opting in; nothing less than letting go of self and allowing oneself to be drawn into Christ’s very being.”
more...

Prolife Obama Supporters - INSANE?

David R. Carlin diagnoses a troubling mental anomaly found in "Catholic' Obama supporters:

"What does puzzle me, however, is that there are intelligent and well-educated Catholics (like those, I presume, serving on Senator Obama's Advisory Council) who say that they agree with the Church on abortion, yet support a pro-abortion candidate (Senator Obama) for president. How can a sane person who has reached the age of reason believe on the one hand that abortion is unwarranted homicide, yet on the other support a presidential candidate who makes no secret of the fact that he wants to protect and even extend this homicide "right"? Unless you are a moral monster, you can't possibly hold these two things at once, for they contradict one another. It is psychologically impossible both to agree with the Catholic teaching on abortion and to support a pro-abortion candidate for president."

Quote of the Day

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." — Washington Irving (h/t Booker Rising)

Video Review of Women in Art

Very cool!(h/t Peter Epps)

Not Very Impressive

Ezra Levant summarizes the Justice Minister's memorandum on Section 13:

"I would sum it up as follows:

1. The Conservative government believes that the constitutionality of section 13 has already been approved by the Supreme Court, and so it shouldn't be questioned again; and

2. In any event, section 13 is a reasonable limit on free speech.

My two general responses would be:

1. In the 18 years since the constitutionality of section 13 was examined in 1990, the Canadian Human Rights Commission has taken a more and more abusive approach to its application, exceeding the narrow permission granted by the Supreme Court eighteen years ago.

2. The government's arguments that hate speech is the precursor to violence -- and that laws banning speech are necessary to prevent violence -- are absurd. They're logically false and they're historically false."

Ezra also does a pretty good job of picking it apart, although he does point out that its really an outcome of former Liberal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler's agenda:

"Putting aside politics, if a previous Justice Minister instructed his lawyers to intervene in support of censorship, it's those lawyers' duty to do so until their instructions change. And, since the Conservatives have not yet changed course on section 13 -- or any other aspect of the Canadian Human Rights Commission -- it should not be surprising that Justice Department lawyers are still serving up the kind of junk history and psychobabble that is evident in this memorandum."


Is it too much to ask that Stephen Harper's Conservative government GET UP TO SPEED!!

Aliens?

I've often wondered about this. Do Catholics believe in 'alien' lifeforms? Well, DO THEY?


"When he was asked about the possibility of extraterrestrial life, the Director of the Vatican Observatory (Fr. Funes) responded that "it is possible, even if until now, we have no proof. But certainly in such a big universe this hypothesis cannot be excluded."

Asked is he sees a contradiction between the Catholic faith and believing in aliens, he said, "I think there isn't (a contradiction). Just as there is a multiplicity of creatures over the earth, so there could be other beings, even intelligent (beings), created by God. This is not in contradiction with our faith, because we cannot establish limits to God's creative freedom. To say it with St. Francis, if we can consider some earthly creatures as 'brothers' or 'sisters', why could we not speak of a 'brother alien'? He would also belong to the creation."


Aren't you glad I asked?

Real Leadership

Northern Ireland's four party leaders united in their vocal rejection of an abortion amendment that would 'bring them in line' with the rest of Great Britain:

"The four leaders of the parties in the Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly -- Dr. Ian Paisley of the Democratic Unionists, Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein, Sir. Reg Empey of the Ulster Unionists, and Mark Durkan of the Social Democratic and Labour Party -- wrote to members of the British Parliament.

They stated their opposition to any potential amendment and said local legislators in Northern Ireland should continue to have the oversight when it comes to making abortion laws."

In spite of a bill being passed in 2007, rejecting the loosening of abortion restrictions, MPs must remain vigilant to prevent the imposition of Britain's mores on Northern Ireland. The latest attempt to use the 'Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill' to push through the changes won't be the last.

Any country with ties to the EU will be under constant attack until they fall in line with the UN/EU goal of absolutely free access to abortion for all women in the world. Its the 'New World Order'. Gov't sponsored abortion as 'women's health'.


And its working out so well in Russia, they are making advertising abortion illegal in an attempt to roll back the tide. Good luck with that. Too bad for their self-inflicted demographic crisis.

Is there ANY hope that others will learn from this? Perhaps stand up?

Catholic Demographics

An essay by Catherine Nolan in 'The Alexandrian' discusses the changing face of Catholic organizations:

"Young people have seen many organizations go astray in certain aspects, and have become more attracted to single-issue groups, avoiding the “all-encompassing” groups. A group that covers all aspects of the Catholic life may easily find itself with a wayward spiritual director, liturgist, theologian or political activist. A group which focuses only on liturgy, however, or one which focuses only on the pro-life cause, is much more easily controlled and kept faithful to its limited goals."

In The 'Mary' Month of May

Joseph Pronechen has posted a 'Marian Review' at National Catholic Register:

"It’s not for nothing that Mother’s Day is a May event, for May is the very Month of Mary. There are Mary statues to be crowned, Mary gardens to tend, and Marian prayers to send up seeking the Blessed Mother’s intercession under a multitude of titles.

With that last thought in mind, the Register put out the call to some Catholics familiar to its readers. We wanted to know: What is your favorite title for Mary, and why? Here’s what we heard back..."

Halifax Herald Fake Report(er) 'Misrepresents'

Halifax Chronicle Herald reporter Monique Muise 'reported' on the Halifax March for Life, but managed to mangle the story in what seems a biased attempt to provide some abortion advocacy on the newspapers dime.

Muise used inconsistent 'labeling' calling the 'March-for-Life' group 'anti-abortion', and the interlopers 'pro-choice' which clearly showed her bias. This was the least offensive error in her article. She seemingly did not know that the 'March-for-Life' had obtained all the city permits and permission required to hold a planned demonstration, unlike the group led by Muise's friend Susan LeFort. Muise persisted in portraying the legitimate demonstrators as the aggressive interlopers. The opposite was true. She mentions 'fence and lampost' climbing, but gives credit to the wrong group She claims that police were 'drawn' to the scene, implying that the gathering was unsanctioned. The 'chaos' providers were clearly the 30 rabble rousers led by Muise's friend Lefort.

Either Muise was misinformed and unable to check her information (ineptitude) or she was lying.

This in a city with a school of journalism!


mmuise@herald.ca - monique muise

bhowse@herald.ca - bob howse (her editor)

gwdennis@herald.ca - graham w dennis (her publisher)


This kind of opportunistic, biased, pseudo-journalism is disgusting. Let them know.

A Mother

"A mother is the most important person on earth. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any Cathedral -- a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby's body".

( Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty)

Casting Call/ Auditions

BY WAY OF A PUBLIC SERVICE, I AM PUBLISHING THE FOLLOWING NOTICE:


..................................................................................

Dear Friends,

Here is a copy of the casting call (attached below) to keep you up to date on the project and a short list of some things we need at the present time:

1. A call has gone out for an experienced DOP. With no budget, I don't know how far we'll get of this front but we are asking Salt and Light and the Toronto Film School.

2. Ideally I'd love to have a 24p capable dvcam behind "da man" with a 35mm DOF adapter for "filmic" shallow focus. What we have is a vx2000, knowledge of good lighting, and some in-post trickery. If we get picked up, we'll go to 16mm but you can't fix bad photography in post (or bad scripting or acting, for that matter).

3. Scrub crew. I'm attaching some photos of the interior of the house; great mood, those raccoons have been busy for the past 47 years :-) We need to get shoveling, do an assessment of the saftey factor (the "parlour" floor is sagging -- covered in 6 inches of fecal matter), some very basic cleaning, stage set-up (old tattered couch, sofa chair, old haggard white curtains, old stringless guitar needed) and light/camera tests. I'll be going back and forth to the house regularly. Please let me know if you have a couple hours, anytime, weekday or weekend.

4. Audition dates are set. Rehearsal dates are flexible. There will be a "production crew" meeting this Wednesday evening May 14th either at my place or at St. Hedwigs. Come out if you'd just like more information and can help sponsor this film, either through prayers or contributions. We have no budget but the economy of prayer. More on this later.

5. Wardrobe/makeup person needed: not much here just to help ensure character culture-time (60's and present)

6. Audio person needed, to sync time-code audio, hold boom (where required), supervise music -- there may be a live band/performer for the "dry rain" scene and opportunity for short "dub-over" vocal when John sings a dylan-esque diddly.

7. Late 60's vintage car in good working order. There was a 68 Ford Galaxy 500 (dark green) hardtop in Barry's Bay for the past several years but I no longer see it. We will need to "float" the car on a trailer down Highway 60 (in front of the house)

8. Last but certainly not least, we need more actors.

All I can concretely provide is transportation to and from BBay to the day's location (3 days in Renfrew, half day in Ottawa), peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and for those traveling from out-of-town for for the 4 day shoot, accommodation in a noisy kinder-dictatorship of a house :-)


Thank you for any and all support you can extend to this project -- for the glory of God, eh!

pax

Anton

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CASTING CALL - STUDENT FILM - NO PAY

Actors and Production Crew wanted for hazardous journey.
Short film, no wages, bitter conditions, constant danger, safe return doubtful.
Honour and recognition in case of success.

"The Threshold" is being shot in late May in Renfrew, Ottawa, and in Barry's Bay, Ontario.
Principle photography is scheduled from May 28 - May 31. Backup rain date, June 4th to 7th.
Rehearsal will be arranged around cast and director’s schedules.

This is a short film of 30 minutes in length and will be submitted to festivals.
No pay, sorry -- but copy of final material, on location food, accommodation in Barry's Bay and transportation to the film site from Barry's Bay can be provided.
A copy of the script and shooting schedule is available upon request.
Apply to Anton Casta | 613-756-6410 | arc2@stmaxmedia.com | www.stmaxmedia.com/threshold/

Actor auditions accepted via YouTube, MySpace, or equivalent, until May 16th, by appointment, and in person at St. Hedwig Church Hall in Barry's Bay on May 16th from 11:00 to 1:00
Crew positions available: DOP, audio, grips, and some general help -- your own equipment is an asset by not essential. Must agree to on-site safety waiver.
Musicians: please see below.

Description

The Threshold -- Two Couples, Four People, One Life -- Revisited.


It is a typical day in the country. After a long winter, a lazy spring has finally arrived. The ground has softened enough to be tilled and to receive seed. Two couples with "history" take the opportunity, a sunny reprieve, to get together and spend the day.

John and Emily have lived in the "old farm house" forever, or so it seems. They are attached to the place. But Shane and Katie's youthful arrival brings with it a sharp challenge that exposes the older couple's bare security and unravel their deep-most mystery -- why MIT's star professor of physics and the campus "rainbow girl" live a dark hidden life in the squalor of an abandoned house?

Every story has two sides. Both sides of this story are an accident.


Casting


Male / John / appearing to be 40's-50's.


Academic Hippie: A dissilutioned intellectual, John carries his rock and roll past with him wherever he goes. He loves Emily deeply but sometimes looses perspective. He holds faith in material science above all. This character requires the ability to convincingly portray a seeming dual nature -- both scientist and, triggered by "mood", a village beatnik. He struggles to move beyond his pride and past attachments. He wears an old broad-rimmed hat, always.


Female / Emily / appearing to be 40's - 50's.


Emily is John's caring wife. She was the proverbial "flower child" on campus. A social activist she first began to see that opposition to the "establishment" must eventually build positive structures. She is vivacious but lets John spout when he gets into moods. Up close, she seems slightly "off kilter". Her common sense humanitarianism is askew and she functions locked within her own world, within the house, unaware of its crumbling foundation and dilapidated interior.

Male / Shane / appearing to be 18-26 yrs.

Shane represents the younger innocence of John, his holy doppelganger. He is intelligent, articulate, and mystical. He has playful moments when he appears childlike but never simplistic. In a positive way, he challenges John to open his eyes and live the fullness of reality that surrounds him. That means moving beyond the past. Shane doesn't waste words or actions. He always lives on many levels. He dresses in neo-60-ish style, casual and more colourful than John.


Female / Katie / appearing to be 18-26 yrs.

Katie behaves like Emily's daughter. She is comfortable with Katie and sees the house's faults but remains charitable and kind in her promptings to lead Emily outside for some fresh air. She is a sister to Shane, completing many of the poetic verses he initiates. She has a mysterious angelic and feminine quality without being aloof or "sci-fi". She wear sandals or flip-flops and is very comfortable with herself. She has a daisy in her hair.


Male / Gardener / appearing to be 50-60-ish

The gardener works around the house to cultivate the flower beds and first appears rather suddenly when the word "love" is first used. He is a hardy man with a pleasant peaceful face and enjoys humming as he works. He must be able to roll down a slight hill for a scene where his root pulling results in a tumble and be willing to be happily mauled by two dozen young children.


Roll:
It would be ideal, but not essential, if both couples resembled each other in basic physical appearance -- hair colour, height, etc. The older couple "could" be portrayed by younger actors with strong ability to carry "character".

Wardrobe:

Very simple summer flower tops for the girls with jean bottoms. Casual jean clothing for guys with neutral earth tones (not bright, not black) t-shirts and denim for John. The gardener wears simple tidy work clothes.

Auditions: Musicians

Since music is a crucial aspect of this story's telling, musicians and bands are also welcome to audition or submit a track. The audio track won't be finalized until post so I can't be more specific right now but there are two places within the film where a musician/group plays on the floor above the two couples -- knocking dust ("dry rain") through the floorboards as the music breathes life into the material shell of their existence. Ideally, I would cut to a real act playing in this dusty, dirty, and dilapidated space and then offer them the footage for their own music video. But I don't think I'll have the resources nor the time to go that big. All I can concretely offer, if we use the music, is rolling credit and teaser credit should we include a portion in the official release teaser.




..........................................................................

The person to contact with all enquiries is: Anton Casta, arc2@stmaxmedia.com

(Barry's Bay is north of Ottawa, about 2 hrs.)