Arts & Culture: April 2005 Archives

The saint who did this par excellence was St. Simeon the Stylite: for thirty or forty years he lived as a hermit at Antioch, up in the air on a platform. Some years he spent all of Lent standing, as a penance. (Don't try this at home, kids.)

In that situation he wasn't really hidden away from the world: he wrote letters to people far away, including the Emperor, and preached to crowds of people below who came to visit him. There are tales about him, of course, including the one about how he healed and converted a great serpent.

British film student Leo Earle takes St. Simeon as his inspiration for some playful animations, and updates the scene by placing the saint on top of a high-rise apartment block.

While you're dropping in at Leo's, also see his short films Washing Up Liturgy and The Dark Night, and a photo project, Saints on the Paris Metro.

This might seem like a surprising statement to see on a Catholic blog, but I'm glad "Revenge of the Sith" will be rated PG-13. Just because a movie is inapproprate for 12-year-olds doesn't make it morally objectionable, and frankly, I think the "Star Wars" series needs to get a little more edgy.

"Sith" has to show the transformation of Anakin Skywalker from whiny, pouting brat to a dark menace with James Earl Jones' voice. I have very low expectations here. George Lucas lost interest in human beings a long time ago, and in all likelihood, the movie will be a pile of poop.

I'll still see it, though.

Postscript: My older son, Charlie, has wanted to name our new baby Luke, after Luke Skywalker, if it's a boy. Now he wants to name him Michael, after Michael the Archangel — but he wants his full name to be Michael Skywalker Johnson.

This masterpiece is fitting as we pray for the Pope, for the Church and for the entire world. May the peace of Christ, and the knowledge that he has done the will of God, be upon our Holy Father in his final hours.