Recently I went for a walk with a good friend of mine. We were chatting as we walked, and one topic that came up was the forthcoming movie adaptation of Little…
Category: Culture
Contemplating Dragon Con: Pop Culture, Creativity, and the Masks We Wear
Each year on Labor Day weekend downtown Atlanta hosts Dragon Con, one of the larger conventions for fans of science fiction, fantasy, comics, horror, gaming, and various other forms of…
God is Love — and Love is a Story
If the 1959 plane crash which claimed the lives of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens marked “the day the music died” — as Don McLean put it — then I think we could make a case for November 12, 2018 being the day the stories died. For…… Read more at Patheos
Day of a Stranger: Forthcoming Movie Reveals a Hidden Side of Thomas Merton
Here’s a trailer for a forthcoming short film about Thomas Merton and the hermitage he lived in at the end of his life. Take a few moments and watch this. It’s a treat. And be sure to watch it to the end. “Most human speech is devised to evade being,…… Read more at Patheos
Mr. Rogers, American Animals, and Being Special: A Contemplative Perspective on Three Films
A few months ago my wife and I jumped on the MoviePass bandwagon. We don’t spend every night at the movies — but we are getting out on average about…
Remembering the Monks of Tibhirine
May 31, 2016 marks a grim anniversary in the history of the Cistercian Order. It’s been twenty years since the assassination of seven Trappist monks of Notre Dame de Atlas Abbey in…
A Celebration of Pollination
Here is another treasure from filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg. Take a 4½ minute break and watch this video, filled with lush and sensual imagery from the natural world. It’s a trailer for…
Some Things Last (Benjamin Button, Contemplation, and Impermanence)
Fran and I went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Everyone is comparing it to Forrest Gump, but I think it’s more like what would happen if you…
Dancin’ in the Streets with Mickey Hart
Note from Carl: I wrote this in 1990, when I was 29 years old. I am doing everything in my power to keep from editing it, because once I start…
Return of An Angel: An Interview with Annie Haslam
How Annie Haslam — the golden voice of the 70’s classical rock group Renaissance — became the spokeswoman for the Angel of Bliss Interview by Carl McColman “I’ve had a…
Rhiannon’s Star
If you are my age or older, you probably remember a wonderful symphonic rock band from the 1970s called Renaissance. The band featured tasteful orchestration, mid-tempo rock anchored by virtuoso…
Sparkle the Dark Up
Every year on December 1, I play what is far and away my favorite secular song for the holidays: December will be Magic Again by Kate Bush. Rhiannon and I…