#I also like giving depth and dimension to Francis

[mammalsofaction]

HUMAN PERRY AU BACKSTORY

I've been having a lot of thoughts lately about Human Perry headcanons as I read a bunch of fic and rewatch phineas and ferb. You know you're hitting the nail on the head when scenes from a fic you might never write dog your every waking step and haunts your dreams so, I thought putting it on paper will help.

A lot of fics like to suggest that Perry's full name is Peregrine, which is understandable, but ever since I've rewatched 2D and found out their first name for him was actually Bartholomew my life was never the same. So Perry's actual name is Bartholomew. But nobody actually calls him that least of all himself.

FAMILY RELATIONS

-I really like winding headcanons that Perry is Ferb's biological mom's BROTHER, which honestly makes so much sense as to why both he and Ferb have green hair. Here are some add-ons that may get depressing;

Ferb's mom was Eve, or Evelyn. Her codename was E, for Echidna...because egg-laying mammals native to Australia. They were both orphans, and attached to the hip. They were each other's partner in crime.

-They were scouted for OWCA one day, bc the agency liked picking up kids with potential as young as possible. So Perry and Eve were trained for the agency since the start (which is why Perry is such a good agent at what seems to be a young age)

MY HEADCANONS FOR OWCA

-Owca is a largely independent authoritarian enterprise with branches all over the world. They aren't the only ones, obviously.

-OWCA also prefers training agents as early as they could. Sometimes that entails scouting talent. Sometimes that means taking in kids of employed agents. Either way, this means OWCA has elementary and high schools that are more akin to militant training camps. It's not cruel. The kids are well cared for and well fed, but OWCA prioritized competency, obedience and discipline.

On every level of OWCA recruitment, training and employment, there is a fedora, and band to mark whichever level you are on the totem pole.

1) Middle school kids are given a bandless fedora.

2) High school kids (soon to be graduates) are given a white band

3) Fresh graduates, training into full employment, are Yellow Bands. Here you start being assigned to full branches, and trained by field work professionals. Think OWCA Files.

4) It's fairly easy to graduate from Yellow Band into a Purple Band. Purple Bands are largely refereed to as Junior Agents, but that's not quite accurate. Purple Bands are the highest reporting authority in any division that ISN'T FIELD WORK. The OWCA Tech, Clerks, RnD and Science Divisions all have Purple Bands to signify they are fully employed, or Superior Officer. Pinky has a Purple Band.

5) It's VERY DIFFICULT to graduate from a Purple Band to a Black Band, not least because there IS NO PREDETERMINED TEST. Black Band agents are Superior Agents, only one level below Division General. There's no telling what could turn you from a Purple to a Black, because the agent has to prove unwavering obedience and faith to the agency in dire circumstances. It's saying "I am willing to do anything for the Greater Good."  Often it entails a death of some sort. OWCA often says Black is the band soaked in blood. Black Band agents have licenses to kill. It's why Black Band Agents are few and precious far in between.

6) After a black band, and you live long enough to retire, you can choose a bunch of things. Most agents choose to become Division Generals or Branch Managers: think Major Monogram. They're basically glorified "Guy in the Chair". Some agents choose to become educators, in which case they are given White Fedoras. White fedoras arent exclusive to black bands though; there are plenty purple band white fedoras. In fact most educators are purple band white fedoras.

-Perry's Black Band Event was Eve's death

-At the time of Eve's death, she had already been married to Lawrence. Ferb was barely a year old, maybe 10 months old?

-Lawrence was told it was a car accident: drunk driver. Truthfully it was a mission gone wrong, involving an underground child trafficking ring, and she stayed behind to give them all the chance to escape. She didn't have the chance to escape when security explosives around the building detonated, and she got caught in the crossfire. Perry had to leave her behind.

-This is why Perry refused to get a partner btw, aka his Lone Wolf tendencies come from.

-In the aftermath, OWCA agents approached the family to give them their condolences, and offer to take Ferb into the fold. For the first time since Eve's death, Perry practically lost it. He didn't hurt anyone, he's much too professional, but he knew Eve didn't want Ferb to get wrapped up in OWCA, and for good fucking reason. Due to their training, neither he nor Eve had much of a childhood, and he refused to subject Ferb to the same kind of life experience.

OWCA was NOT happy. Things were tetchy for a while, at least until Perry was approached by Major Monogram. Francis had a wife, and a son, and he understood where Perry was coming from. He suggested taking a permanent residence in Danville, which was his branch division. It was more stability than Perry ever had working in England, where he and Eve was originally stationed, and it was easy enough to come up with a work-related story to convince Lawrence, who was more than ready enough to leave the house where he and Eve originally lived.

-It was after moving did Lawrence meet and fall in love with Linda.

Edit; I've decided to change Ferb's bio mom's name bc I found something that fits better to me :) She's Eve now

End Backstory.

[oosteven-universe]

Winchester Mystery House #2

The Winchester Mystery House #2 Source Point Press 2021 Written by Joshua Werner Illustrated by Dustin Irvin Lettered by Justin Birch     Chapter Two: The Puzzle     The Winchester Mystery House has grown to a behemoth of a mansion, the construction never stopping a single moment for years. Sarah Winchester's niece, Marion, gives a small group of workers a very special task... To hide her Aunt's greatest treasure in a secret room deep within the house. James Handler and Sarah's long time lawyer and confidante, Francis Reid, have a deep conversation about what the house's purpose is. But things take a deadly turn when the workers find something hunting them in the basement of the house... What has the house uncaged?    If you are looking for a quick scare book then I’m sorry this isn’t for you.  If you like reading books that build mystery, make you think and more than a bit uneasy, kind of nervousness I would say, then this is for you.  The Winchester House was a project that never stopped as long as Sarah was alive and that it was filled with spirits who would become trapped and in addition anyone who died on the property, and there were quite a few who did, they too would be trapped within the house and grounds is something that is infamous about the property.  The respect in how this is being told by Joshua is amazing to me and I’m loving seeing this unfold before us.    I’m a huge fan of the way that this is being told.  The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information are presented exceptionally well.  The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a marvellous job in continuing to flesh out the characters' personalities.  The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story it manages to entrance and enthral the reader.    I am very much liking the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen.  I’m also liking the way that we see the layers opening up new avenues to be explored, rerouting entries or blocking others off for example.  What these do is add some great depth, dimension and complexity to the story.  How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.      The interiors here are absolutely lovely!  First and foremost the house is a character in the story, the biggest and main one as well actually and while we get a lot of good shots of it it should be featured in every panel where they are inside.  Just my opinion.  Still the use of backgrounds that we see and how they expand and enhance the moments are beautifully rendered.  The linework and how the varying weights and techniques are utilised to bring the characters to life is extraordinary to see.  The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkable eye for storytelling.  The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a stellar understanding of how colour works.   ​    While we have yet to really become connected to any of the characters, including Sarah and Marion, the way this is being told and how the house is being built is where the mystery really lies.  The book is shrouded in mystery, an enigma to those building it and a fascination for the reader because you don’t know why this is happening.  All told this has some spectacular writing, with interesting characterisation and some mighty fine interiors bringing it all to life.  

[latestnews36024h]

10 Home Office Ideas That Will Make You Want to Work All Day

Whether you work from home or have carved out a space for something you love like crafting, reading, or writing, your home office is a place that should inspire the flow of creativity and allow you to get down to business. But often, that's not the case. In fact, home offices can be the most neglected spaces in our homes—messy and unfriendly environments for inspiration, driving us to work anywhere but in the actual office, like the couch, or kitchen, or bed (guilty!). To help you create and update your own inspiring space, we asked experts—from designers to bloggers and editors—for their advice on the best home office updates and small home office ideas that will make you want to buckle down and get to work.

1. Think Chic Your space should inspire you—and reflect your unique personality. So don't be afraid to go all out.“We wanted to design a space that was fashionable, functional and reflected homeowner Desi Perkins’ personality. The black accent wall added some drama and depth to the space and we added a chandelier above the desk to add a little glitz and glamour. The wood tiled sideboard keeps the space organized, serving as a storage unit for beauty products and countertop for office supplies. The functionality of the space makes it possible for Desi to stay on top of the business side of her career while the chic decor provides the perfect backdrop for her videos and Instagram photos.” — Leura Fine, CEO and Founder of Laurel & Wolf

Get The Look: One way to glam up a home office is by refreshing your lighting. This eye-catching pendant lamp with gold detailing from Target will give your space a luxurious, yet professional feel.

2. Add Green Breathe some life into your space, so you'll want to stay longer. “I try to ensure a balanced home office which is practical, ergonomic, comfortable, and clean—if these elements aren’t in place I know I’ll end up working at the kitchen table! A lovely plant is said to help keep you feeling calm and clean the air—plus it looks pretty too. I like either a Snake Plant or a ZZ plant. Both look lovely, are good for cleaning the air, and are low maintenance!” — Niki Brantmark, Author and Founder of My Scandinavian Home

Get The Look: We adore this elevated cute little clay planter—perfect home for a snake plant—to add some dimension to your work space.

3. Get Artsy Decorate with images that speak to you. Even if you're crunching numbers all day. “Fill your office with vibrant art to energize your space and make you feel motivated. I create my own artwork and have it framed by Simply Framed, or I shop from Chairish and Society6.” — Dabito, Founder & Creative Director at Old Brand New

Get The Look: Dabito is happy to share his genius DIY instructions for his multi-purpose wall shelf/desk. (They're surprisingly easy to follow, phew!) But if you don’t want to spend your Saturday spray-painting and building shelves this wall unit from Ikea is a similarly chic option that can be up and ready fast!

4. Find the Rug Ground your space with a colorful area rug—for visual interest and soothing sound-absorption. “The multi-colored rug brings in other colors that accent the peach and green nicely, too. But you could also do a neutral gray rug with this color combo. Keep the furniture simple and clean to make it more sleek, and then add in some green foliage to give the room some texture!” — Joy Cho, Founder & Creative Director of Oh Joy!

Get The Look: World Market is great for beautiful, affordable textiles, and we're loving this multi-shaded patterned rug, which works with light blue, plum, apricot, or creamy white walls.

5. Practice Hygge Make it welcoming—but not too cozy that all you want to do is nap. "Neutral colors on your walls and floor, paired with natural wood, plants and some kind of textile, like blankets, throw pillows, rugs or a yarn wall hanging, create a simple yet cozy working space.” — Caitlin & Manda, Co-founders of The Merrythought

Get The Look: This soft space-dyed throw from West Elm is just what your home office needs. Create a DIY blanket ladder, and hang a few wool ones near your desk for keeping warm in winter; switch them out with thin, cotton ones in the summer.

6. Hang a Gallery Wall It's your space—crowd it with what you love. “Style a gallery wall against a neutral wall. You can arrange them on the floor first, moving the prints around until you achieve the harmonious look that you want. Use removable wall strips to hold your prints up. This allows for the flexibility of changing the look of the wall.” — Geraldine Tan, Founder & Editor of Little Big Bell

Get The Look: We love Minted for their huge, affordable collection of prints. They also provide a free service so that you can text a picture of your wall to their stylists, and they’ll put together a recommendations of art pairings for you. Matting and frames are a way to make art prints look more expensive and styled, but can be a pricey investment. Don’t rule out Michaels—they do custom framing in store!

7. Mix Old and New Don't be afraid to steal decor from other rooms in the house. A mix of vintage and modern makes a home feel warm and lived in and personal, instead of feeling like a showroom. “We paired a gorgeous antique rug that the client already had (hidden away in a dark spot elsewhere in the house!) and a pair of new red chairs. The art on the walls is limited to black and white images so that the color in the space doesn’t become too overwhelming. It is such a comfortable, beautiful room to work in.” — Melissa Mascara, Designer at Homepolish

Get The Look: Nothing in the attic? Shop antique stores, flea markets, and even Craigslist to find pieces for your office, whether it’s an aged roll top desk or vintage lamp, and pair these with brand new items, like a pair of vibrant chairs for guests to use when you’re hosting a meeting from home.

8. Let Light in Stay connected to the great outdoors. "Natural light makes a space feel bigger—which is always a plus in a small space. For my home office I actually used fogged window film on all the windows so I could always have the blinds up. This allows enough light to feed the plants in the room and keep them, as well as myself, lively! And when you feel alive, you’re always more efficient.” — Hayley Francis, Founder and Blogger at Neon Doves

Get The Look: If you, like Hayley, have an office that also functions as a dressing room/walk-in closet, affix a non-adhesive frosted film to windows, to allow sunlight into your space while maintaining privacy.  

9. Work in Color Choose colors that speak to you—not what's trendy. “I found this Stone Blue color by Farrow & Ball provided the perfect background for a productive day’s work. Having a bit of fun with the filing cabinets in a non-conventional turquoise meant that even the more functional elements of the room looked attractive.” — Emily Murray, Founder & Editor at The Pink House

Get The Look: Whether you’re painting office walls, shelves, and ceiling with one color to make the space feel larger, or using a filing cabinet like this one from CB2 for just a pop of color, working in a color-filled environment can make you more inspired to work from your office—and not the couch.

10. Optimize Your Space Organization is key—use every trick in the book. Nobody works well in a messy home office. “Don’t waste an ounce of space by tucking printers, filing, etc into corners and in drawers. Use all your vertical space, too, by putting cabinets up to the ceiling with varying types of storage and a wall hanging pin board to help organize supplies that might otherwise end up shoved in a drawer!” — Carly Callahan, Designer at Homepolish and Founder of Callahan Interiors.

Get The Look: This is one home office decor idea that's non-negotiable! Kick off your newfound commitment to organization with this rose gold wall grid.

[pope-francis-quotes]

11th March >> Pope Francis’ Remarks to Rome’s Community of Sant’Egidio (Full Text) ~ ‘Prayer, poor and peace: this is the talent of the Community, which has matured over fifty years.’ (Photo ~ Pope Francis © Vatican Media) Pope Francis on March 11, 2018, visited Rome’s Community of Sant’Egidio to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the charitable lay association. Zenit published an exclusive interview in the days before the announcement with the president of the community, Marco Impagliazzo. Below is the Vatican-provided full text of his remarks at the event. *** Dear friends, Thank you for your welcome! I am happy to be here with you for the fiftieth anniversary of the Community of Sant’Egidio. From this square, in front of the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, the heart of your evening prayer, I wish to embrace all your communities scattered around the world. I greet you all, particularly Professor Andrea Riccardi, whose inspired intuition initiated this path, and President Professor Marco Impagliazzo, for his words of welcome. You did not wish to make this day a mere celebration of the past, but rather and above all a joyful expression of responsibility for the future. This calls to mind the evangelical parable of the talents, which tells of a man who “going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them” (Mt 25,14). To each of you, too, whichever your age may be, is given at least one talent. On this talent is inscribed the charisma of this community, which I synthesized with these words when I came here in 2014: prayer, poor and peace. And I added: “As you walk this path, you help compassion grow in the heart of society — which is the true revolution, that of compassion and tenderness — to cultivate friendship in place of the ghosts of animosity and indifference” (Meeting with the Community of Sant’Egidio, 15th June 2014: Teachings II, 1 [2014], 731). Prayer, poor and peace: this is the talent of the Community, which has matured over fifty years. You joyfully receive it anew today. In the parable, however, one of the slaves hid the talent in a hole in the ground, and justified himself in these terms: “I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground” (v. 25). This man was unable to invest the talent in the future, because he allowed himself to be counseled by fear. The world today is often inhabited by fear. It is an ancient disease: the call not to be afraid often recurs in the Bible. Our time experiences great fear as it faces the vast dimensions of globalization. And fear often turns against people who are foreign, different, poor, as if they were enemies. So then we defend ourselves from these people, and we believe we are preserving what we have and what we are. The atmosphere of fear can infect also those Christians who hide the gift they have received, like the slave in the parable: they do not invest it in the future, they do not share it with others, they preserve it for themselves. When we are alone, we are easily the victims of fear. But your path directs you to look at the future together: not alone, not by yourselves. Together with the Church. You have benefited from the great impulse to community life and to being people of God that came from the 2nd Vatican Council, which stated: “God, however, does not make men holy and save them merely as individuals, without bond or link between one another. Rather has it pleased Him to bring men together as one people” (Dogm. Const. Lumen gentium, 9). Your Community, born at the end of the Sixties, is a daughter of the Council, of its message and of its spirit. The future of the world seems uncertain. Look at how many open wars there are! I am aware that you pray and work for peace. Let us think of the sorrows of the Syrian people, whose refugees you have welcomed in Europe through the “humanitarian corridors”. How is it possible, after the tragedies of the twentieth century, to fall back into the same foolish scheme? But the Word of the Lord is light in the darkness, and it gives hope for peace; it helps us not to be afraid even in front of the power of evil. On this stage, you have written the words of the Psalm: “Your word is lamp to my feet, and a light to my path” (119,105). We have celebrated the coming of the Word of God among us. With this same spirit, you have welcomed what I proposed to every community at the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy (cf Ap. Lett. Misericordia et misera, 7). The Word of God has protected you in the past from the temptations of ideology, and today it delivers you from the intimidation of fear. For this reason, I exhort you to love the Bible and spend increasingly more time it. Everyone shall find in it the source of mercy for the poor, and for those who are wounded by life and war. The Word of God is the lamp we look at the future with, even the future of this Community. In his light, we can read the signs of the times. The blessed Paul VI said: “in our eyes, the world is made into a book” (General Audience, 16th April 1969: Teachings VII, 1969, 919). A book to read with the eyes and heart of God. This is the spirituality that springs from the Council, which teaches profound and attentive compassion for the world. Since your Community was born, the world has become “global”: economy and communications have, so to speak, “unified”. But for many people, especially the poor, new walls have been lifted. Diversity is an occasion for animosity and conflict; a globalization of solidarity and of the spirit still awaits to be built. The future of the global world is living together: this ideal calls for the commitment to build bridges, to keep dialogue open, to continue and meet with one another. It is not only a political or organizational issue. Everyone is called to change his or her heart, acquiring merciful eyes to look at the others, turning into artisans of peace and prophets of mercy. The Samaritan of the parable took care of the half-dead man on the road, because “when he saw him, he was moved with pity” (Lk 10,33). The Samaritan had no specific responsibility towards that wounded man, and he was a foreigner. But he behaved like a brother because his eyes were merciful. Christians, by their very vocation, are brothers and sisters to every person, especially the poor, even though a person may be their enemy. Never say “I have nothing to do with this”. Merciful eyes commit us to living the creative audaciousness of love, and there is so much need of it! We are everyone’s brothers and sisters, and for this reason, we are prophets of a new world; and the Church is a sign of the unity of the human race, among nations, families, and cultures. I wish this anniversary to be a Christian anniversary: not a time to assess results or difficulties; not a time of balances, but a time when our faith is challenged to turn into a new audaciousness for the Gospel. Audaciousness is not the courage of a day, it is the patience of a daily mission in the city and in the world. A mission to patiently weave together again the human fabric of the peripheries that violence and impoverishment have torn apart; a mission to communicate the Gospel through personal friendship; to show how life truly becomes human when it is lived beside the poor; a mission to create a society that considers no one a foreigner. It is the mission to cross borders and walls, to join together. Today, more than ever, carry on audaciously on this path. Carry on standing at the side of the children of the peripheries, with the Schools of Peace that I have visited; carry on being at the side of the elderly: sometimes they are discarded, but to you they are friends. Carry on opening new humanitarian corridors for the refugees of war and hunger. The poor are your treasure! The apostle Paul writes: “So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours […] and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God” (1 Cor 3, 21.23). You belong to Christ! It is the sense that is found in the depths of your history to this day, but above all, it is the key to face the future. Always belong to Christ in prayer, in caring for his little brothers and sisters, in seeking peace, for He is our peace. He will walk with you, he will protect you and guide you! I pray for you, and you pray for me. Thank you. [00399-EN.01] [Original text: Italian – working translation] © Libreria Editrice Vatican.

[acarlso7]

Virtual Sketchbook #2

Principals of Design

Unity and Variety - At opposite ends of the spectrum are unity and variety. Unity is homogenous, promoting oneness and can be achieved through the use of a single color or repeating pattern. Variety is unique, different and diverse. Variety can be achieved through the use of mixed media, multiple subjects and can appear chaotic to the viewer. An artist strives for a balance of unity and variety in their work to achieve balance.

Untitled by John McCracken provided and example of unity. Lacking any variety but is interesting partly due to it’s bright color and large scale. The yellow plank stands out against the white background and brings depth to the image.

John McCracken, UNTITLED. 1970. Polyester resin, fiberglass, and plywood. 96″ x 22″ x 3″ . 

Triple Point, an installation piece by Sarah Sze, provides an example of variety. Her use of mixed media and outdoor elements give an almost chaotic feel to this work.

Sarah Sze, TRIPLE POINT. 2013 Installation in Venice Biennale. Mixed media. Dimensions variable. 

Balance - the use of opposite forces to create a sense of equilibrium. Balance is often achieved through the use of symmetry or asymmetry. Damien Hirst’s Posterity- The Holy Place makes use of almost perfect symmetry to achieve balance in this work through images of perfect symmetrical butterflies.

Damien Hirst, POSTERITY- THE HOLY PLACE. 2006. Butterflies and household gloss on canvas. 89 5/8″ x 48″. 

Emphasis and Subordination - Artists create emphasis, or draw our attention to an area through the use of position, color and size. Subordination refers to an area of lesser interest which prevents distraction from the area of emphasis. Edgar Degas creates emphasis away from the center in his work Jockeys Before The Race through the use of size, shape and placement of the sun in the background.

Edgar Degas, JOCKEYS BEFORE THE RACE. ca. 1878-79. Oil essence, gouache and pastel. 42 1/2″ x 29″. 

Directional Forces - The use of lines or implied lines to direct the gaze of the viewer to or away from the focal point. 

Francis Goya uses both actual lines and implied lines to direct viewers in his etching Bullfight. The gaze of the fighter directs out attention down to the bull’s shadow at the same time the bull’s feet and head point us toward the poles balancing point. This creates a sense of dramatic motion.

Fransico Goya, BULLFIGHT. ca 1815. Etching with aquatint. 9 1/2″ x 14″. 

Repetition and Rhythm - Regular occurrence of visual elements can give a sense of unity, and create balance in a work. An example of repetition is pattern. Rhythm is achieved through repetition of visual elements with some variation. 

Wallace Berman achieves rhythm in his untitled varifax collage by reproducing the shape exactly but changing the element within the hand. 

Wallace Berman, UNTITLED. 1970. Verifax collage. 12″ x 13″. 

Scale and Proportion - Scale refers to the physical size of an object or work while proportion is the relationship of parts of the work to other parts within the work. 

Claes Oldenburg and wife Coosje van Bruggen make playful use of scale in their work, Shuttlecocks. This distortion of scale is meant to be playful and humorous, unfortunately many patrons of the museum found it offensive due to thinking it was demeaning the purpose of the museum. 

Michelangelo’s Pieta is an example of changes in proportion affecting the way we view a work. Michelangelo dramatically altered the proportions of Mary’s lap in to accommodate a grown man. If this Mary were to stand she would be an astonishing 8 feet tall! Michelangelo cleverly disguises this extreme proportion through her seated position and folds in the drapery over her lap. 

Michelangelo Buonarroti, PIETA. ca 1498-1500. Marble. Height 5′8 1/2″.

2. Recipe for Winslow Homer’s Boys Wading Materials : Watercolor, gouache, wove paper, graphite, brushes Ingredients : Analogous colors, position, implied lines and your creativity Work quickly and accurately as to avoid losing the characteristic freshness of watercolor! You are able to build up watercolor but it is not a forgiving material like acrylic paint, so a plan needs to be in place on where you place your paints.

Winslow Homer, BOYS WADING. 1873. Watercolor and gouache over graphite on wove paper. 9 3/4″ x 13 3/4″.

3. The color I have chosen to talk about is the color yellow. Yellow has always been a color that I have been drawn too due to its bright intensity and the warmth that people can feel from it. Although this is not my favorite color, my favorite is actually mint green. When I was in nursing school, I would wear yellow because yellow represents positivity. I always felt powerful in yellow and confident and with that, I did well with my courses. Yellow’s saturation can be watered down to make a soft glow or bold to really make you notice its presence. Yellow is a primary color in the color wheel and can be mixed with secondary colors to make tertiary colors. It is vital in all paintings and is in every aspect of our daily lives.  

4. “Shallow” by Abby Carlson

The art that I chose to exhibit in this virtual sketchbook is a painting I did with acrylic paint, a wet media. I had actually put some finishing touches on this painting a couple days ago. I added the gold metallic acrylic paint to the eye of the dragon as well as too the robes of the woman reaching up to the dragon. I love this painting because it was something I have never done before. I had to add depth to the painting and dragon body as well as create the illusion that the water is endless at the top of the painting. I used my favorite colors In this painting, especially the mint green. It was fun to create and I cant wait to create more!  

For the Discussion on Photography, mine are as follows:

1) The Portrait: “The Good Boy” This portrait is of my Goldendoodle/Labradoodle mix, Cooper. He is full of spunk and life and is always looking to me with love and affection. He also doesn’t mind a little dress up here or there, only when there’s a treat involved. He is the best mix of the three breeds and is currently studying what it means to be a “Good Boy.”

2) The Landscape: “Moon Township” This is a picture of my backyard in Moon Township, PA. What I remember most about this picture is how clean the air smelled as well as the bright green hue of the foliage and the sound of the cicadas’ buzzing in the area. 

3) The Still-Life: “Wild Roses” This is a photo of wild roses that were planted by my great-grandmother on the family farm. They are still blooming today in PA and are so fragrant, unlike anything I have ever smelled. I know the smell of supermarket flowers, and those could never compare to the wild smell of these roses. I have never seen roses quite like these anywhere else. They are special because of the family connection and for their beauty.  The bush was not completely in bloom but when it is, it is a magnificent addition to the farm.

[think32blog]

‘IT IS NEW STRUNG AND SHALL BE HEARD’

I promised to write a short piece a while back but so much was happening with the political landscape changing and shifting under our feet on a daily basis, I couldn’t keep up, could anyone. Everyday brings new Brexit darkness and rays of light to the Irish Unity debate as events unfold before our very eyes, what a time to be alive some say, what an opportunity to shape our future … or as Maya Angelou put it

“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again” … that future is both green and orange.

I think that time has arrived for the people of this island. I suppose I should start somewhere on this debate, so no better place than that aul €50 euro to visit your GP in the south a sorta return serve retort to dismiss the conversation on the Irish Unity. Well, if that is what it was all about after all these years of conflict I’m sure free GP appointments and prescription charges would have been hastily sorted a long time ago to resolve the perennial issue of partition never mind the £billions spent on Britain’s war machine in the north. The truth is, it’s an example of what at times passes for debate, but its just plain nonsensical codswallop and those saying it must know this, if they look close enough.

In any new dispensation I certainly won’t be paying €50 euro to see my doctor. We will have a fully funded 32 county INHS. It’s a deliberate simplification of the discourse as these ‘short fire’ negative tropes keep us all busy on the daft stuff, just like Senator Mark Daly’s findings that protestants believe they will lose possession of their land as it’s taken of them in a new Ireland. I’ve never ever heard that one before which again is uber codswallop creating that misty fear of the bogeyman narrative, conjured up from past fears and suspicions, but such scare stories have always existed in Ireland for many many years long before partition and certainly won’t stop now, no doubt it will always be with us…but its still just tosh.

Across Ireland there has always been a significant strand of political opinion on the island – which believes in unification its always been there, it never really went away, it just waited then Brexit fell on its lap…. Indeed ‘all changed’ and ‘The Good Friday Agreement’ was caught in its gravitational vortex of incompatibility with this English nationalistic empire spasm –

‘never the twain shall meet’ as it drags us into the political 5th dimension. For the first time since partition and previous conscription crisis of 1918 in Ireland -an existential threat has arrived that directly effects the 32 counties of Ireland.

The unity genie is now firmly out of the bottle and it’s not going back-in anytime soon. It senses freedom after years of being stuffed into the straightjacket of two reactionary states who condemned it to a life of religious zealotry, gombeenism, migration and conflict. Those days are gone and they’re not coming back. A new confidence has appeared on the horizon, people feel empowered, engaged the old certainties have been debunked, challenged and dismissed as exceptionalist claptrap. Modernity is here to stay. The political purgatory is shifting gear and its looking to Dublin for guidance.

A new chapter in Irelands history is about to be written once again as “La perfide Albion" tries to force others to act against their own interests only this time its 2019-not 1819, Gunboat diplomacy is old hat, so are any ideas of dispatching Sir Francis Drake to pay a visit to Rathlin, just to make a point- though at times you’d think given half the chance the mad swivel eyed loons of the British rightwing would sink to any depths to achieve Brexit nirvana, thankfully those days are dead and gone, but not the memories and the suffering of Sorley Boy McDonnell.

Perhaps in the past such malevolence won the day, but not this time. Ireland has friends, powerful friends and they will use them to protect herself. Perfidy has met its match this time as Hibernia is not for turning.

A few points need mentioned, the first is the demographic debate has been raging like a boney on the twelve night and gathering impetus and ruffling feathers. It must be remembered that the north was designed to lock-in Unionist ascendancy forever they even abandoned their brethren in the rest of Ulster to achieve thus. The last census in 2011 in the north showed that Protestant-Unionists now account for less than half of (48%) the population of the north, with Catholics on 45%. Of course, not all Catholics want a united Ireland, just as not all Protestants dislike the idea either, but the figures are still a pretty good steer going forward. So, when the results of the upcoming 2021 census are out, probably leaked around Christmas 2022 unionism will be in for a shock, that’s not to say that nationalism/catholic stats will come out at (50%+) I doubt it will, but you never know.

The real shock figures may reveal those who say they’re from a protestant/unionist background drops below 40%. Put it another way 60% are non-unionists, now that puts the cat amongst the pigeons as the north’s raison d’etre no longer exists. It will show the train has not only left the station but has turned into a high rapid transit with ‘Eurostar’ emblazoned on the side of it.

https://www.irishcentral.com/news/thenorth/shock-as-expert-predicts-catholic-majority-in-northern-ireland-by-2021

The other issue is the so called ‘subvention’ now this is something I’ve looked at quite closely and realised that it is actually the biggest spoof of all, its completely bogus. Critics say the south can’t afford us, they’re in debt to their eyeballs down there after the financial crash, sure didn’t the Brits bail them out..blah..blah…humbug.

When writing this Jude Collins just posted up a piece on his website, he lays it out here.

http://www.judecollins.com/2019/08/they-could-never-afford-us-and-related-economic-myths/

Can also recommend you listen to Pearce Doherty who knows a thing or two about finance, he gives us a great insight here at Feile last week.

'Busting the myths of the subvention'

https://youtu.be/Hu0N50cKofg

Finally, its essential that people realise that there are a number of unionists who wish to remain within the EU and want to play their part of an integrated European family – these unionists are now seriously considering unity as an option. They believe in Europe and what it has to offer them, after all it was their antecedents who brought the ideas of the ‘French Revolution’ to Ireland and showed great enthusiasm for Thomas Pain’s ‘Rights of Man then going on to found the ‘Society of United Irishmen’ in Belfast in 1791, its in their blood as they say….the original republicans, are the souls of McCracken, Drennan, McCabe and the Rev.Porter returning.

It’s now up to the Irish government to give leadership at this critical junction in our history as we go forward to create the new ‘2nd Republic’ that awaits - instead of listening to a tale of the €50 note to see the Doctor to smother at birth the unity debate...the work starts mow.

“It is new strung and shall be heard”

Written by @seanofthesouth for @think32_

[redstartext]

Francis Eppes [part 2]

On campus we began a movement to remove the Eppes statue in Summer/Fall 2016. The major event was a referendum that we put through the student government. Unfortunately for us the right-wing mobilized in a big way to vote down the referendum.123

There were a couple of arguments that they put forward to defend Francis Eppes and oppose our effort.

Recently the Tallahassee Democrat published an editorial saying that Francis Eppes should not be removed because "unlike other Southerners of his time, however, Eppes never took up arms against our country for slavery's sake." and "Eppes was a man of his time."4

Many supporters of Eppes say that slavery was common in the 19th century, and that therefore we should not judge Francis Eppes by the same standards we would use today. Even if I accept the logic of this argument, I think there is still a problem with it. The Abolitionist movement was something that was established and would have been known about by the planter class in Tallahassee. They were well aware of abolitionist literature, and actually decided to have it censored.

The northern abolitionist movement reached a peak in the mid-1830’s. Tallahasseeans became so disturbed over abolitionist literature reaching the capital that a committee of 21 was appointed by the citizens of the town. They met with the postmaster, who agreed to a permanent censorship of all mail to see that no incendiary Yankee antislavery newspapers, magazines and pamphlets would be distributed to Tallahassee. So it was that the mail of Tallahassee was censored for over almost 30 years from 1835 to 18655

The Monticello Association, the organization of Thomas Jefferson's descendents shared a post by one of their members, Alexander Johnstone.

This issue affects me personally as Eppes is my 4th Great Grandfather. It's an unfortunate reality, but slavery has played a very influential role in the history of the United States. But we cannot erase our past. We can only learn from it as we move forward. I have great respect for FSU Students for a Democratic Society and applaud them for being engaged and working towards progress. However, I believe this particular effort is misguided as this same message would apply to countless monuments and institutions around the U.S. and abroad including those dedicated to our Founding Fathers. I do not believe removing their names would do justice to their contributions made to society. Thank you Vote No, Keep Eppes for working to maintain the legacies of the Jefferson/Eppes family and Florida State University.6

Sandy D'Alemberte objected to the campaign saying that "I think we have a lot of things on campus that require more explanation," D’Alemberte added. "Instead of removing them, let’s explain them … All of our histories are not entirely pure. That doesn’t mean some aspects of what we’ve done can’t be celebrated."7 Not surprising, as he was the man who had it built.8 A few years early he helped to establish the Jefferson-Eppes trophy, based on "shared values".9 However, I don't think that Sandy D'Alemberte is some kind of far-right neo-confederate, he's a mainstream liberal and as I will argue later his logic is in-line with liberal ideology.

We can view some of the pro-Eppes arguments from a student protest in September 2017. The FSView article quotes a pro-Eppes observer at length:

To tear down statues like that, to forget history and to forget how widespread the confederacy was...I think if you forget that happened, you can very easily rationalize that it could never happen again.” Culver is in favor of erecting a plaque next to the statue explaining Eppes’ history. “Let everyone know what he did and what he was all about. Just don’t tear down the whole thing.” Culver said. He continues by explaining that he’s not trying to venerate Eppes or excuse what he did. But at the same time, Culver says, “to take away the good things he did...without him, we don’t even know if FSU would be around. That’s part of it too — realizing how bleak things look now, good things can come out of it. That’s an important part of history too.10

A popular facebook post by Luke Nassar around the time of the vote presented a number of the pro-Eppes arguments.

Their claim is that he ought to be removed simply because he owned slaves. Let’s think about this idea for a moment, if we were to remove everything involving slavery in our country, that would require us to remove and rename anything involving twelve presidents, including the likes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. To remove any and everything concerning these presidents would be seen as something preposterous to most Americans. Another reason to why we should not remove anything that has Eppes name or likeness, is that he is the founder of our school. To remove him would be to remove the history of our school. We cannot remove history just because we don’t like it. History is who makes us who we are, both as an individual and as a collective group or nation. To write out Eppes – or any slave owner, or slavery in the United States in general – is to write out an important part of history. I am not condoning slavery, I am saying that we ought to look how far we have come as a nation and celebrate that, not ignore it.11

I think there is actually a fundamental element of truth to these objections. The same logic which resides under the call for Eppes to be removed, also implies that many fundamental figures in American history be removed. The truth is, slavery is deeply entrenched in the history of this country. However, this should not be a justification for honoring these figures, but should instead push us to develop a radical critique of America, to question its foundation.

During FSU's MLK Week, Angela Davis was invited to give a talk.12 When asked by SDS President Cea Moline about the Francis Eppes statue she replied:

The entire higher education system in this country is very much grounded in slavery. Read Craig Wilders book which is called Ebony and Ivy. And you know, I would say these statues need to come down; but they can not be forgotten. They can not be forgotten. I think its important for us to figure out how to engage in the work we need to do without ultimately causing the erasure of the issue cause two generations from now, people need to know that statue stood here I know this is controversial and we know this is happening all over the country especially all over the south. But I am so glad that finally finally we are recognizing that we have to address the extent to which the ghosts of history are very much alive. So its not simply the statues itselves its that what they represent constitutes an important dimension of the world that we inhabit today. So we can’t be we can’t be content with getting rid of the statues, getting rid of all the racist sculptures, we have to try to begin to purge all of the structures, social and political and educational and economic.13

I'll continue soon with a part 3 where I try to deal with this criticisms more in-depth and talk about how a radical framing of the issue affects our political project.

http://www.fsunews.com/story/news/2016/10/19/fsu-students-vote-no-removing-francis-eppes-statue/92438944/ ↩︎

http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2016/10/19/fsu-students-hold-vote-removing-eppes-statute/92432296/ ↩︎

https://thetab.com/us/floridastate/2016/10/20/students-vote-no-removal-francis-eppes-statue-4331/ ↩︎

Groene, Bertram Hawthorne. Ante-Bellum Tallahassee. 1967. pg. 111 ↩︎

http://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/2017/09/21/opinion-b-k-roberts-not-francis-eppes-deserves-go/685452001/ ↩︎

https://www.facebook.com/MonticelloAssociation/posts/1479500605410986 ↩︎

http://floridapolitics.com/archives/244267-fsu-confederate-memorial ↩︎

https://web.archive.org/web/20060905122428/http://president.fsu.edu/99state/pages/page2.html ↩︎

https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172615/http://www.virginia.edu/topnews/textonlyarchive/September_1996/football.txt ↩︎

http://www.fsunews.com/story/news/2017/09/09/students-resurface-movement-remove-controversial-eppes-statue/649612001/ ↩︎

https://www.facebook.com/luke.nassar/posts/1426332610714164 ↩︎

https://news.fsu.edu/news/2018/01/17/revolution-civil-rights-activist-addresses-students-annual-mlk-commemorative-celebration/ ↩︎

https://www.facebook.com/lakey.love.1/videos/1721737461209659/?hc_ref=ARQIZvqN7XcSzkmf-M-GGIUd01JDxpCudfCzeAK3xE-0cDx00a2BNxbAeMdI4FiLjqc ↩︎

[catholicwatertown]

Fr. Cantalamessa: Passion teaches Cross our only hope

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis presided over the Passion Liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica on Good Friday. In keeping with tradition, the Preacher of the Papal Household, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM. Cap., preached the sermon on the occasion. Below, please find the full text of his prepared remarks, in their official English translation.

**************************************

Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, ofmcap

“O CRUX, AVE SPES UNICA”

The Cross, the Only Hope of the World

Sermon for Good Friday, 2017, St. Peter’s Basilica

We have listened to the story of the Passion of Christ. Apparently nothing more than the account of a violent death, and news of violent deaths are rarely missing in any evening news. Even in recent days there were many of them, including those of 38 Christians Copts in Egypt killed on Palm Sunday.  These kinds of reports follow each other at such speed that we forget one day those of the day before. Why then are we here to recall the death of a man who lived 2000 years ago? The reason is that this death has changed forever the very face of death and given it a new meaning. Let us meditate for a while on it.

“When they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water” (Jn 19:33-34). At the beginning of his ministry, in response to those who asked him by what authority he chased the merchants from the temple, Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn 2:19). John comments on this occasion, “he spoke of the temple of his body” (Jn 2:21), and now the same Evangelist testifies that blood and water flowed from the side of this “destroyed” temple. It is a clear allusion to the prophecy in Ezekiel about a future temple of God, with water flowing from its side that was at first a stream and then a navigable river, and every form of life flourished around it (see Ezek 47:1ff).

But let us enter more deeply into the source of the “rivers of living water” (Jn 7:38) coming from the pierced heart of Christ. In Revelation the same disciple whom Jesus loved writes, “Between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain” (Rev 5:6). Slain, but standing, that is, pierced but resurrected and alive.

There exists now, within the Trinity and in the world, a human heart that beats not just metaphorically but physically. If Christ, in fact, has been raised from the dead, then his heart has also been raised from the dead; it is alive like the rest of his body, in a different dimension than before, a real dimension, even if it is mystical. If the Lamb is alive in heaven, “slain, but standing,” then his heart shares in that same state; it is a heart that is pierced but living—eternally pierced, precisely because he lives eternally.

There has been a phrase created to describe the depths of evil that can accumulate in the heart of humanity: “the heart of darkness.” After the sacrifice of Christ, more intense than the heart of darkness, a heart of light beats in the world. Christ, in fact, in ascending into heaven, did not abandon the earth, just as he did not abandon the Trinity in becoming incarnate.

An antiphon in the Liturgy of the Hours says, “the plan of the Father” is now fulfilled in “making Christ the heart of the world.” This explains the unshakeable Christian optimism that led a medieval mystic to exclaim that it is to be expected that “there should be sin; but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing [sic] shall be well” (Julian of Norwich).

* * *

The Carthusian monks have adopted a coat of arms that appears at the entrance to their monastery, in their official documents, and in other settings. It consists of a globe of the earth surmounted by a cross with writing around it that says, “Stat crux dum volvitur orbis” (“The Cross stands firm as the world turns”).

What does the cross represent in being this fixed point, this mainmast in the undulation of the world? It is the definitive and irreversible “no” of God to violence, injustice, hate, lies—to all that we call “evil,” and at the same it is equally the irreversible “yes” to love, truth, and goodness. “No” to sin, “yes” to the sinner. It is what Jesus practiced all his life and that he now definitively consecrates with his death.

The reason for this differentiation is clear: sinners are creatures of God and preserve their dignity, despite all their aberrations; that is not the case for sin; it is a spurious reality that is added on, the result of one’s passions and of the “the devil’s envy” (Wis 2:24). It is the same reason for which the Word, in becoming incarnate, assumed to himself everything human except for sin. The good thief to whom the dying Jesus promised paradise, is the living demonstration of all this. No one should give up hope; no one should say, like Cain, “My sin is too great to be forgiven” (see Gen 4:13).

The cross, then, does not “stand” against the world but for the world: to give meaning to all the suffering that has been, that is, and that will be in human history. Jesus says to Nicodemus, “God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (Jn 3:17). The cross is the living proclamation that the final victory does not belong to the one who triumphs over others but to the one who triumphs over self; not to the one who causes suffering but to the one who is suffering.

* * *

 “Dum volvitur orbis,” as the world turns.  Human history has seen many transitions from one era to another; we speak about the stone age, the bronze age, the iron age, the imperial age, the atomic age, the electronic age. But today there is something new. The idea of a transition is no longer sufficient to describe our current situation. Alongside the idea of a change, one must also place the idea of a dissolution.  It has been said that we are now living in a “liquid society.”  There are no longer any fixed points, any undisputed values, any rock in the sea to which we can cling or with which we can collide. Everything is in flux.

The worst of the hypotheses the philosopher had foreseen as the effect of the death of God has come to pass, which the advent of the super-man was supposed to prevent but did not prevent: “What did we do when we loosened this earth from its sun? Whither does it now move? Whither do we move? Away from all suns? Do we not dash on unceasingly? Backwards, sideways, in all directions? Is there still an above and below? Do we not stray, as through infinite nothingness?” (Nietzsche, Gay Science, aphorism 125).

It has been said that “killing God is the most horrible of suicides,” and that is in part what we are seeing. It is not true that “where God is born, man dies” (Jean-Paul Sartre). Just the opposite is true: where God dies, man dies.

A surrealist artist from the second half of the last century (Salvador Dalí)  painted a crucifix that seems to be a prophecy of this situation. It depicts an immense, cosmic cross with an equally immense Christ seen from above with his head tilted downward. Below him, however, is not land but water. The Crucified One is not suspended between heaven and earth but between heaven and the liquid element of the earth.

This tragic image (there is also in the background a cloud that could allude to an atomic cloud) nevertheless contains a consoling certainty: there is hope even for a liquid society like ours! There is hope because above it “the cross of Christ stands.” This is what the liturgy for Good Friday has us repeat every year with the words of the poet Venanzio Fortunato: “O crux, ave spes unica,” “Hail, O Cross, our only hope.”

Yes, God died, he died in his Son Christ Jesus; but he did not remain in the tomb, he was raised. “You crucified and killed Him,” Peter shouts to the crowd on the day of Pentecost, “But God raised him up” (see Act 2:23-24). He is the one who “died but is now alive for evermore” (see Rev 1:18). The cross does not “stand” motionless in the midst of the world’s upheavals as a reminder of a past event or a mere symbol; it is an ongoing reality that is living and operative.

* * *

We would make this liturgy of the Passion pointless, however, if we stopped, like the sociologists, at the analysis of the society in which we live. Christ did not come to explain things but to change human beings. The heart of darkness is not only that of some evil person hidden deep in the jungle, nor is it only that of the western society that produced it. It is in each one of us in varying degrees.

The Bible calls it a heart of stone: “I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone,” God says through the prophet Ezekiel, “and give you a heart of flesh” (Ez 36:26). A heart of stone is a heart that is closed to God’s will and to the suffering of brothers and sisters, a heart of someone who accumulates unlimited sums of money and remains indifferent to the desperation of the person who does not have a glass of water to give to his or her own child; it is also the heart of someone who lets himself or herself be completely dominated by impure passion and is ready to kill for that passion or to lead a double life. Not to keep our gaze turned only outward toward others, we can say that this also actually describes our hearts as ministers for God and as practicing Christians if we still live fundamentally “for ourselves” and not “for the Lord.”

It is written that at the moment of Christ’s death, “The curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised” (Matt 27:51). These signs are generally given an apocalyptic explanation as if it is the symbolic language needed to describe the eschatological event. But these signs also have a parenetic significance: they indicate what should happen in the heart of a person who reads and meditates on the Passion of Christ. In a liturgy like today’s, St. Leo the Great said to the faithful, “The earth—our earthly nature—should tremble at the suffering of its Redeemer. The rocks—the hearts of unbelievers—should burst asunder. The dead, imprisoned in the tombs of their mortality, should come forth, the massive stones now ripped apart.” (“Sermon 66,” 3; PL 54, 366).

The heart of flesh, promised by God through the prophets, is now present in the world: it is the heart of Christ pierced on the cross, the heart we venerate as the “Sacred Heart.” In receiving the Eucharist we firmly believe his very heart comes to beat inside of us as well. As we are about to gaze upon the cross, let us say from the bottom of our hearts, like the tax collector in the temple, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” and then we too, like he did, will return home “justified” (Lk 18:13-14).

________________________________

Translated from Italian by Marsha Daigle Williamson

(from Vatican Radio) from News.va http://ift.tt/2nN3z1m via IFTTT from Blogger http://ift.tt/2pBgrEg

[mgaprendz-blog]

Church of the Poor

by James Siena

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A POOR CHURCH, FOR THE POOR?

What does it mean to be a Church for – or even of – the poor? This is a question which Church Action on Poverty has wrestled with for more than 30 years, but one which we will be pursuing with renewed vigor over the coming years, through our new ‘Church of the poor’ program launched in summer 2016.

Our core mission is to help build a powerful movement within the churches based on genuine solidarity with people struggling to make ends meet. Our programs and campaigns all work towards this goal.But beyond this, what would it truly mean for the church to become, in the words of Pope Francis, “a poor Church, for the poor”? Pope Francis has certainly sought to model this in his own life, and his attempts to inspire the Roman Catholic Church to think and act differently. But the challenge applies equally to churches of all denominations.

“How I long for a poor Church for the poor!”

With these words spoken after being elected pope, Jorge Bergoglio underscored a theme that continues to be front-and-center of his papacy. Not surprisingly, many have concluded such statements demonstrate that Pope Francis wants Catholics to devote greater attention to poverty-alleviation. In one sense, this is true. Yet it’s also an interpretation that misses the deeper meaning Francis attaches to poverty.

No-one should be surprised Francis is so vocal about material poverty. After all, he comes from Latin America: a part of the world in which millions (with notable exceptions such as Chile) seem locked into dire poverty. You would have to be less-than-human not to be disturbed by the contrast between Buenos Aires’s beautiful Recoleta district which gives the city the appellation “Paris of the South,” and the misery of a Buenos Aires slum like Villa Rodrigo Bueno.

For Christians, indifference in the face of such disparities is not optional. But in understanding Francis’s words about poverty, we should remember the pope is an orthodox Catholic. He’s not a philosophical or practical materialist. Hence Francis’s conception of poverty and the poor goes far beyond conventional secular understandings of these subjects.

In a revealing question-and-answer session held on Pentecost eve with members of the new movements that have brought such life to the Church since Vatican II, the pope said this about Christianity and poverty.

Jesus spoke about the “poor in spirit” and pronounced a blessing on them.  Is Jesus talking about the financially poor?  In Matthew 5:3 He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  The poor in spirit may be those who are despised in this world, they are looked down on by many; they are humble, contrite people.  The poor in spirit are blessed because they are small in their own eyes.  Since God resists the proud, He gives grace only to the humble (James 4:6).  The poor in spirit are not those who are not prosperous necessarily, but those who consider others better than themselves.  They are broken over their sinfulness.  Christians need to love one another and we should help those who are in poor spirits too but to be poor in spirit is not to be poor financially, although that could be part of it, but it is to be meek and humble.  A great definition of meekness that I heard is strength under control.  The truth be told, Christians are simply one beggar who has received the Kingdom of Heaven, giving it to another beggar who as yet is outside of the Kingdom.

It is hard to discern who to help and who not to help, but even in Israel’s infancy, “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land” (Duet 15:11).

Christians are commanded to help one another but we are also called to help those who are less fortunate than we are.  Proverbs 21:13 is among the most powerful calls from God to help those who are hungry because “If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.”  First John 3:17 states that, “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”  Job wrote, “I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist them” (Job 29:12).

God asked, “Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood” (Isaiah 58:7)? We also need to “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Prov 31:8-9).   In fact, “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern” (Prov 29:7).

Now the body of Christ, the church, does all these things and more, even if individual members do not. If the Gospel is to be believed, we will be judged on our care for the “least of these.” And it is this reality—that we stand under God’s judgment—that underscores the ultimate inadequacy of our own works of mercy. The only mercy we can offer the world, or one another, is temporary and incomplete. Our mercy, without God’s mercy, is vain.

This brings us to the second way in which the church is for the poor: the church is for the poor in that we, the members of the body of Christ, are all afflicted by sin and the poverty of our fallen condition. God’s perfect response to our most profound poverty is his mercy, and the Catholic Church, founded by Jesus Christ, is the privileged conduit of that mercy—the very sacrament of our salvation. God forgives sins. He saves. He grants eternal life. Whatever temporary good we may accomplish by our own works of mercy, they can never replace that divine mercy, but instead serve as its heralds. That is not to denigrate our works of mercy but to insist on their inadequacy to the poverty of sin. When our labors on behalf of the poor—our works of mercy—are cut off from the proclamation of the One Who Saves, our work remains sterile, merely human.

The point is that a church that is truly for the poor must concern itself with temporal needs but must also offer something eternal that exceeds the limits of mere human agency. The church is for the poor in the most profound sense when it acts as a channel for God’s saving grace and becomes an instrument of his mercy.This is why, in Catholic social teaching, the preferential option for the poor is to be understood primarily in terms of the saving action of Christ in and through his church.

God’s improbable mercy was made available to us in an equally improbable way, through God’s own poverty. In taking on our humanity, God chose to share in our poverty and used that poverty to accomplish our salvation:

But when the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life (Ti 3:4-7).

God chose to open the font of his divine mercy in the most acute moment of his own poverty upon the cross.

If Christ identifies himself with the poor in a special way—“Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me”—and became poor himself, how can the church, the body of Christ, do otherwise?In our society, we conceive of our obligation to the poor almost exclusively as a function of distribution, of moving goods from those who have to those who have not. The upshot is that our discussions of poverty tend to be overtly materialistic, focusing on the efficiency and efficacy of public versus private means of redistribution, the comparative importance of economic growth versus economic stability and so on. Such questions are far from unimportant, but they touch on only one dimension (not the most important dimension) of the church’s option for the poor.

God became poor to enrich us by his poverty. The option for the poor, then, arises from the very heart of the mission of the church because it is central to the saving mission of Christ. In his love and mercy he treats us, lowly sinners that we are, as though we have something to offer him. He loves us and lets us love him. When we approach the poor and suffering with this same humility, we discover a privileged place of encounter with Christ, who is already there amongst his beloved poor who know and experience his suffering in a special way.

And this, finally, is why Pope Francis longs for a church that is poor and for the poor. He says so explicitly, immediately following the passage in “The Joy of the Gospel” cited above:This is why I want a church that is poor and for the poor. They have much to teach us. Not only do they share in the sensus fidei, but in their difficulties they know the suffering Christ. We need to let ourselves be evangelized by them. The new evangelization is an invitation to acknowledge the saving power at work in their lives and to put them at the center of the church’s pilgrim way. We are called to find Christ in them, to lend our voice to their causes, but also to be their friends, to listen to them, to speak for them and to embrace the mysterious wisdom which God wishes to share with us through them.

A church that is for the poor loves the poor and shows them mercy in body and soul. A church that is poor is humble before the poor and suffering, and so imitates Christ, who in his mercy opens himself to love and be loved even by sinners. A church that is poor and for the poor is a church that knows the depths of the mercy of God and so understands that ignorance of the poor is ignorance of Christ.

[Header art edited by Lyka Pacleb | Photo cred]

[a2jasont-blog]

Personal Study-An investigation into the use and development of chiaroscuro in fine art, film and photography

Chiaroscuro the Italian term which literally translates to light 'light-dark' originated from a form of Renaissance drawing on coloured paper, and was used to describe the technique of artist working towards light and dark using mediums such as ink, watercolour or body colour. There is some evidence that suggests the Romans or even the ancient Greeks applied this technique in their work. However, the European painting technique is first thought to be applied at its fullest by Leonardo da Vinci in the late 15th century.

Leonardo da Vinci, Benois Madonna, 1480 

(Top to bottom)

Caravaggio, David with the head of Goliath, 1610 

Caravaggio, The Calling of Saint Matthew, 1600

Da Vinci employed the technique to give his work the impression of three dimensions, for example in his painting “Benois Madonna”. The painting simply portrays a young Mary playing with her child, but Within the painting the use of Chiaroscuro is used to portray Mary as a warm and charming figure due to the lighter tones used on her skin, symbolising the light coming from the window in the foreground. The technique allows Da Vinci to achieve greater depth due to the intensity of colour creating a more intense feeling of luminosity and shade, which is achieved by Leonardo painting a broader range of light than what he appears to see. After Da Vinci’s use of the technique in the late 15th-century chiaroscuro became the main technique for many painters. By the late 17th century chiaroscuro became the common word for describing any painting that was dependent on the effect of extensive light and darkness. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was one of the artists that extensively used this technique. Caravaggio is widely recognised for his style of painting that utilises light to highlight specific points in his work. Caravaggio deployed the use of light to not only highlight specific points within compositions but also to heighten the emotional tension of figures within his work, and even deployed the technique to portray religious scenes. With support from the Pope Caravaggio produced a series of religious paintings depicting graphic sense full of blood and torture, all accentuated by sharp Chiaroscuro as seen in “David with the head of Goliath” and “The Calling of Saint Matthew”.  The painting “The calling of Saint Matthew” depicts the moment Matthew first realises he is being called, refereeing to the biblical tale of when Jesus called him into his service. The use of chiaroscuro in the composition can clearly be seen. Figures within the composition are drowned in shadows and dark tones to help enhance the single point of light from the right shining across the image to lead the view through the image and illuminate the key figure of saint Matthew as I have highlighted in the image. Caravaggio’s use of the technique influenced many other artists within the 17th century, leading to the golden age of Spanish art when these works entered Spain via the commercial harbour. 

John Alton, The Big Combo,1955

Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather, 1972 

Rembrandt, The Night Watch,1642 

The influence chiaroscuro has had can also be seen in different mediums. As time passed and technologies developed it was inevitable that the technique of chiaroscuro would be applied in film. The contrast between dark and light would eventually become key features in defining the genre of film noir. The reason why Chiaroscuro became synonymous with film noir is due to the low budget the films were produced on in the 1940’s and 50’s. Due to a low budget, the quality of the sets suffered so the cinematographers would drape these cheap sets in darkness to improve the look, shining intense light on specific spots when they wanted to highlight something, creating great contrast within shots, as seen in the screenshot from John Alton’s “The Big Combo”. The low-key lighting used by cinematographers was used to enhance the existentialism and fatalism that later became staples of the genre. The use of chiaroscuro intensifies moments and can be used a metaphor for a character’s personality when paired with low-key lighting because of its ability to show distinctness between light and dark areas.  The technique was extremely successful and use has been used in film masterpieces such as “The Godfather”. The use of chiaroscuro can clearly be seen within the home office scenes within "The Godfather" with director Francis Ford Coppola using the technique to bring attention to the characters that he wants you to look at as shown in the still image I have included. Coppola’s arrangement of the mise en scene and use of chiaroscuro intelligently covers characters in shadows to highlight the godfather and highlighting the character’s importance. The way Coppola presents these scenes are reminiscent of "The Night Watch" by Rembrandt due to the similar use of lighting and muted colour tones to create a similar effect.

Alexandria Huff, Amanda, 2012

Rembrandt's use of lighting has also influenced the photography world with the term “Rembrandt lighting”. The term is used to describe the process of capturing a chiaroscuro image and is very popular due to its ability to capture compelling scenes with minimal equipment. Traditionally when taking photos, the key light is placed high, at the front and off centred with the fill light placed half height on the opposite side whereas with Rembrandt lighting the key is to create a diamond or triangle shape of light beneath the eye. The technique can be used to great effect to capture truly dramatic scenes and can be achieved subtly like the work of Alexandria Huff or very drastically like the work of Bill Henson. Alexandria Huff's adaptation of chiaroscuro as seen in her “Amanda” portrait shows how the technique can be used to create dramatic images without the need of casting deep shadows on the models face. The lack of shadows being cast allows for more intense light to hit the face, making the skin look more flawless and radiant then it would naturally appear. The relationship between light and skin presents the idea of hyperrealism as the light is making the image look so flawless it looks like a painting, like Caravaggio’s use of light to create realism in his work. 

Bill Henson, Untitled #115, 2000-03

Bill Henson, however, uses chiaroscuro to create the most dramatic scenes possible. Bill Henson uses the technique to create cold monochromatic images of modern mythology as seen in "Untitled #115". Henson uses Chiaroscuro in a similar way to the film noir directors of the 1940’s and 50’s to heighten the mood and portray a message. Henson wants to portray a transcendent message and uses theatrical lighting to help present it. The use of Chiaroscuro in Henson’s “Untitled #115” presents the idea of vulnerability by using intense lighting to create melodramatic scenes.

In conclusion, chiaroscuro is constantly influencing the world around it as different innovators find new and exciting ways to implement the technique into their work. from its humble beginnings as renaissance drawings to being used in one of the most critically acclaimed films of all time shows how the technique has evolved with the times. As it's evolved its original renaissance intention of creating dramatic effect has always stayed apparent throughout but with each new artists and period something new and exciting has happened. 

Word count-1219

Bibliography

https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/glossary/chiaroscuro

https://www.britannica.com/art/chiaroscuro

http://www.yareah.com/2012/08/11/baroque-painting-chiaroscuro-vs-movement/

https://whatisfilmnoir.wordpress.com/tag/chiaroscuro-lighting/

http://fromaclearerworld.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/chiaroscuro-in-film.html

https://storify.com/YvonneNjuguna/the-use-of-chiaroscuro-in-film

http://www.thephotoargus.com/35-gorgeous-examples-chiaroscuro-photography/

http://spokenvision.com/chiaroscuro/