Hammer & Nails

Almost 500 years ago today, Martin Luther probably went rummaging through his things for hammer and nails. He was man with courage and a consuming love for the bride of Christ, a man not afraid to question why, when the Bible says one thing, folks are doing something else, and a man who definitely had a way with words.

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

Martin Luther

Paul Newman

I liked Paul Newman. I liked him in The Sting, I liked him in Nobody's Fool, I liked him in Cool Hand Luke, and I really liked him in The Long Hot Summer. I'm pretty sure I would've liked him in all his other films I haven't seen yet. Sure there were plenty of ungodly things in his life and work as with all film stars, but there were some good things there too. If nothing else he gave us the famous quote, "Why go out for hamburger when you have steak at home" referring to his over 50 years of marriage to Joanne Woodward.

The Long Hot Summer is a brilliant film. Loosely based on a Tennessee Williams play, it was one of the first films Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were in together, and they were married shortly after filming it. The chemistry between the two is lovely. It also stars Orson Welles and a very young Angela Lansbury, and is as southern as they come. So, if you're trying to decide what film to rent this weekend - in memory of Paul Newman, I'd say go for this one. If they don't have it, go for The Sting - great soundtrack and clever plot. Here's a few cracking lines from The Long Hot Summer:

Ben: Miss Clara, you slam the door in a man's face before he even knocks on it.

Ben: I respect him. I admire his manners and I admire the speeches he makes and I admire the big house he lives in. But if you're saving it all for him honey, you've got your account in the wrong bank.

Ben: Life's very long and full of salesmanship, Miss Clara. You might buy something yet.

I Know, I Know

Ok, Ok, I know I haven't updated this in over a month. I still have to write about Conan Doyle and the Lost World...and I will, I promise, but in the meantime - here are some pictures from my summer...

The baby bird outside my office...



The longest day of the year - at the beach at midnight...



Absolute legendary camping trip with Brenda and Kathryn - tenting on the beach. Drinking hot chocolate while watching the sun set over the western isles of Scotland as you sit around your fire on the beach...doesn't get much better than that!



And then there was Skye - a week's holiday with my friend Linda, loads of sunshine, mountains, seascapes, seals, castles, and barbeques.

The Black Cuillin on a sunny day - tremendous!



Anyone fancy a farm here?



Macleod's Tables



Dunvegan Castle




That faint islands in the background are the Outer Hebrides - Lewis and Harris. Amazing to have such a clear day and be able to see them.



Coral Beach - only it wasn't coral- so beautiful!



Kilt Rock Waterfall



The Quiraing - I can't even begin to describe to you how much fun it was to drive this old cattle road through the mountains, and then to look back down where you'd been.



Ending our trip at Neist Point Lighthouse - just down the road from where we were staying.



So, all in all,not a bad summer. :)

Not Time To Worry Yet

Not time to worry yet
Trust Jesus one more day, and one more day
by Andrée Seu


I think I'm in love with Atticus Finch. The age is about right, and he's available, leastwise legally, being a widower and all. I'll keep out of Calpurnia's kitchen, and Aunty Alexandra can stay put. I just want to listen to him talk.

Jem had got his pants caught on the gate and had to kick them off during the midnight Boo Radley caper and, against Scout's 6-year-old panicked judgment, left a restless bed to fetch them. Says Scout: "He went the back way, through Deer's Pasture, across the schoolyard and around to the fence, I thought—at least that was the way he was headed. It would take longer, so it was not time to worry yet. I waited until it was time to worry and listened for Mr. Radley's shotgun."


Sometime later, Miss Maudy's house caught on fire. By perverse coincidence, it was also the first snow in Maycomb, Ala., since 1885, and when the old firetruck hose was attached to the hydrant it burst. "Oh-h Lord, Jem," said Scout. "Jem put his arm around me. 'Hush, Scout,' he said. 'It ain't time to worry yet. I'll let you know when.'"

Then there was the evening when Atticus had to have the little talk with Jem and his sister. "Your aunt has asked me to try and impress upon you and Jean Louise that you are not from run-of-the-mill people, that you are the product of several generations' gentle breeding." But the lecture wasn't going so well, and Atticus wasn't pulling it off, not just to them but to himself. And then Scout says through tears, "'Atticus, is all this behavin' an' stuff gonna make things different? I mean are you—?' I felt his hand on the back of my head. 'Don't you worry about anything,' he said. 'It's not time to worry.' When I heard that, I knew he had come back to us."

Things got more serious afterwards. Excitement had been building for weeks. Atticus was going to defend Tom Robinson before all the eyes of Maycomb County that turned up for the spectacle. Hours of deliberation in triple-digit temperatures were followed by evidence thrown to the wind, and they got Tom on charges of raping a white woman. Jem, who by rights shouldn't have been in the balcony watching the proceedings but was, starts to cry. "'It ain't right, Atticus,' said Jem. 'No, son, it's not right.'" Next morning the conversation continues thus: "'It's not time to worry yet,' Atticus reassured him, as we went into the dining room. 'We're not through yet. You can count on that.'"

Later, Tom Robinson was at Enfield Prison Farm, off in Chester County. "I asked Atticus if Tom's wife and children were allowed to visit him, but Atticus said no. 'If he loses his appeal,' I asked one evening, 'what'll happen to him?' 'He'll go to the chair,' said Atticus, 'unless the Governor commutes his sentence. Not time to worry yet, Scout. We've got a good chance.'"

I reckon now you all know why I'm in love with Atticus Finch. It also brings to mind an O. Henry story we read in seventh grade called "The Last Leaf," in which a woman on her deathbed is convinced that she will expire when the vine outside her window sheds its last autumn leaf, a conviction which she shares with her bedside friend. Autumn comes upon them, and leaf by leaf the foliage is released, save for one stubborn leaf that hangs on and on. The woman hangs on and on too because the leaf does, and after a while of this, rallies her strength and recovers. Turns out an elderly artist neighbor had braved an icy storm to secretly paint an autumn leaf on the windowpane, in the process catching pneumonia and dying himself.

You can tell me the gospel in all different ways. You can say "Trust in Jesus" when I confide that I'm nervous about my new high-school teaching job with a syllabus (including To Kill a Mockingbird) to stagger far more worthy candidates. Or you can know something about my psychology and just talk to me like Atticus: "Andrée, it's not time to worry about it yet." And maybe I'll keep postponing worry five minutes at a time, and trust Jesus one more day, and one more day.

Copyright © 2008 WORLD Magazine
August 25, 2007, Vol. 22, No. 31

And speaking of REM...

For most of you this post will be meaningless...but some will understand.







"I'm glad you're here with me Sam, here at the end of all things"



To new horizons...

REM Hollow Man

Interesting new song from REM...



If the rest of the album is as good, it will be worth getting. Interesting song to come from the poster boys of postmodern lyrics.

"What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself." - Blaise Pascal

"You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are rest-less till they find their rest in you." - Augustine

Indiana Jones

Ok, ok, it's true - I love Indiana Jones - always have since I was a wee girl. The Matrix generation will probably not get it, but when Raiders of the Lost Ark first came out it was billed as "The Return of the Great Adventure". It wasn't like anything else - it was a classic adventure film, and it was amazing. There's nothing James Bondish or computer generated about it, and I'm happy to say there still isn't. I think No. 4 is great! Old school, very entertaining, Harrison Ford still does all the stunts himself, and he doesn't pretend to be younger than he is. Plus, Marian is back...

So, here are some of the better lines - but like all true action films, they sound better in the film...

Mutt Williams: You know, for an old man you ain't bad in a fight. What are you, like 80?

Agent Irina Spalko: Belief, Dr. Jones, is a gift you have yet to receive. My sympathies. Indiana Jones: Oh, I believe, sister. That's why I'm down here.

Agent Irina Spalko: No defiant last words, Dr. Jones? Indiana Jones: I like Ike.

[Indiana realizes he's in a nuclear testing site when sirens begin wailing] Indiana Jones: That can't be good. That can't be good at all.

Indiana Jones: Oh, Marion, you had to go and get yourself kidnapped. Marion Ravenwood: Not like you did any better. Indiana Jones: Same old, same old.

Indiana Jones: Marion, take the wheel! Mutt Williams: That's not fair, she drove the truck! Indiana Jones: Don't be a child. Find something to fight with!

Indiana Jones: Drop dead! [Dovchenko punches him in the face] Indiana Jones: I'm sorry; I meant, "Drop dead, *comrade*."

Marion Ravenwood: I'm sure I wasn't the only one to go on with my life. There must have been plenty of women for you over the years. Indiana Jones: There were a few. But they all had the same problem. Marion Ravenwood: Yeah, what's that? Indiana Jones: They weren't you, honey.

Indiana Jones: You want to be a good archaeologist... [Mutt drives them out of the building on his motorcycle] Indiana Jones: ...you've got to get out of the library!

Indiana Jones: You're not from around here, are you? Agent Irina Spalko: And 'vere' do you think I am from? Indiana Jones: Well, judging by the way you're sinking your teeth into those 'wubble-yous', I'd say Eastern Ukraine.