Critic Cal

from a tiny seed to a tree, rent and flowing; self-emptying Love.  This year (2016) Good Friday falls on the 25th March – the day when traditional churches usually celebrate the  Feast of the Annunciation , remembering the angel Gabriel's appearance to Mary ( Luke 1:26-38 ). Most Western churches move the Feast to avoid the clash with Holy Week, but I find the juxtaposition thought-provoking. Both the conception and the crucifixion of Jesus can be viewed as gestures of ' kenosis ' – self-emptying, prompted by God's love for humankind: …though he was in the form of God, [Jesus] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ( Philippians 2 :6-8) I'm also reminded of a metaphor that Jesus uses to prepare his disciples for what lies ahead – both ...

Nah then, Freddy: look wh' y' gowin, deah. […] Theres menners f' yer! Te-oo banches o voylets trod into the mad. […] Ow, eez ye-ooa san, is e? Wal, fewd dan y' de-ooty bawmz a mather should, eed now bettern to spawl a pore gel's flahrzn than ran awy athaht pyin. Will ye-oo py me f'them?  (Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion , Act I, George Bernard Shaw, 1912) Forget boxsets -- after-dinner read-throughs are the height of domestic entertainment. The latest production chez Whitnall was George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion (named after the sculptor from Greek mythology whose most beautiful statue awakens to life).   In the play, a Professor of phonetics, Henry Higgins, accepts a bet to inculcate 'common', comically Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle with such refined speech and deportment that she is able to pass for a duchess in upper-class society. [1] As forewarned by his mother and his housekeeper, the success of this undertaking lands Eliza in somethi...

Picture CC from haily.baily on Flickr Alright, already! Even the confectionary they gave us on the aeroplane to stop our ears from popping as we landed seemed to pester me to let go of my agenda and anxiety and simply trust in God. I wrote some weeks ago about my reluctant agreement to travel to the US to present some work at a conference. I guess I'd be hard-pressed to stir up sympathy for the fact that I 'had' to go on a paid trip to sunny California... Most would be extremely grateful for the chance, but for me, well, 's complicated. I came up with all sorts of strategies to wriggle out of it, but in the end I glumly reconciled myself to the reality that opting to get on and  meet my 'obligation' was the action which, under the circumstances, most demonstrated faith -- in God's protection and provision, in His desire for me to be challenged and transformed, and in His bigger picture which goes way beyond whether or not I'm comfortable or havin...

Having read countless books of chivalry of days of yore and having filled his head with errant knights and ladies fair and noble deeds and devious enchanters ... in late middle age it dawns on  Don Quixote  that this is in actual fact his destiny. It is for him, and him alone, to bring knight-errantry and all the glorious feats and romances entailed therein bang-up-to-date for 17th century Spain. So he sallies forth -- accompanied by skeptical but willingly-deluded faithful squire Pancho and scrawny, disobliging noble steed Rocinante, to the great dismay of his housekeeper and his niece and in spite of the best efforts of his friends the barber and the local priest. His desire for adventure overwhelms him to the point where he is bound to find it even (or especially) where it isn't. And so, he battles fearlessly with monstrous giants (windmills), liberates oppressed captives (convicted criminals), triumphs in bloody combat with devious night intruders (hanging wineskins), take...

I *love* Masterchef: I love seeing people excel at what they do, I love the human interaction and moments of genuine affection, and I love salivating over plate-upon-plate of delicious looking food (normally whilst eating some toast-based creation of my own). But as a series progresses each episode becomes more and more frequently punctuated by contestant sound-bites expressing ever-increasing fervour and obsession. To quote: "every single cell of my body is dedicated to Masterchef right now" …and that's only 5 minutes in to episode 4. The competition to express the most intense and all-consuming emotion and commitment becomes at least as fierce as the competition to present the best plates of food. It appears to be mandatory to love cooking to the exclusion of all other interests, to the neglect of your family and friends, to the jeopardy of your health and mental stability… and this 'passion' is presented to the audience as something inspirational, to be laude...