A Happy Independence Day, to our cherished readers. Though this picture was neat, but yeah, like I'd ever cook anything!

After the visit of a dear friend at the beginning of the week, my ever-sparse schedule was free to devote to a new round of summer reading. Since the hefty Infinite Jest had long demanded my complete attention, I chose to begin three books at once. A complementary and fine mix they turned out to be.

First up had to be Virgil's Aeneid as translated by Robert Fitzgerald, a summer reading for my upcoming course on St. Augustine's City of God. Fitzgerald's version of the 2,000-year-old epic is shockingly clear and readable, retaining the power attributed to the original; it will probably merit addition to my list of favorite books when I'm through.

Second, at long last, I took out the second volume of George Sansom's A History of Japan; it's been almost a full year since I finished the first part, but I was eager to get back into the action. Haven't gotten too far yet; presently Sansom is relating, with his characteristic mild color, the well-intentioned but utterly failed reforms of the Emperor Go-Daigo in 1333. After generations of subservience to the Shoguns, you see, he returned from an imposed exile and reestablished personal rule with the aid of the disgruntled warrior nobility and the Buddhist monasteries. No sooner were the Shoguns overthrown than the warriors came in droves to petition the Emperor for a share in the spoils. While the confiscated estates were aplenty, it was impossible to satisfy everyone in the best of circumstances. And the bureaucracy was inexperienced and inefficient to boot, so many loyal warriors went unrewarded for their services, while many tracts went to petty officials and "dancing girls" from the court. It was a real mess. The namesake proprietor of this blog tells me the Atobe clan filed a claim for their heroic exploits at the time, and has yet to receive a response.

For the keystone to this trifecta, I knew it just had to be... Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire. My eye'd been on the works of Mrs. Rice since I heard Br. Andre Marie of Saint Benedict Center mention her when discussing a Chronicles magazine article disparaging her vampire literature. Brother proceeded to note her earnest conversion, while cautioning that her take on Catholicism struck him as "gnostic", though he hadn't actually been able to read her fiction. While Brother, the prior of a religious order, naturally didn't have time to spare for her fare, I couldn't but want to read her stuff myself to see who was right. At the same time, Mrs. Rice's Christian-themed novels came only after decades of vampire fiction and whatnot, which she has hardly denounced: and I for one have never been such a devotional reader that I'd skip what made her famous. I am, rather, a stickler for reading things in order (the first time I read the Bible I did it front to back--ignoring all the warnings not to--and liked it). Finally, while as a guy I have been spared from the Twilight series, as an anime fan I have come to enjoy vampire fiction--though the vampires in Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase and Rosario + Vampire are so much cuter than their Anne Rice equivalents!--so the latter's first novel, Interview with the Vampire, was a natural choice. I am still just starting, but I can already understand what Mrs. Rice meant when she reflected, I wrote many novels that without my being aware of it reflected my quest for meaning in a world without God. The seeds of her return to the Faith are evident from the first pages of Interview, though insofar as accepting all the teaching's of Christ's Church she still has some more converting to do.

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

Speaking of Saint Benedict Center. That traditional Catholic apostolate, carrying on the staunch defense of the dogma No Salvation Outside the Church begun by Father Feeney (seen preaching to Bostonians, as was his wont), recently won a great victory in its crusade to convert America to the Roman Catholic religion. Godless municipal officials in their Richmond, New Hampshire locale, some of whom "expressed their view that the Church’s moral positions on matters such as abortion and homosexual behavior are 'abhorrent' ", tried to saddle them with zoning restrictions to hamper construction of a new chapel and school. Thanks to the Alliance Defense Fund, the Center won a $1.15 million settlement from the crooks, and got the restrictions removed! As a very occasional visitor who's entranced by the authentic Catholicism at Saint Benedict Center every time I visit, I can vouch that the benefit for all the additional students they'll eventually take shall be incalculable. While our Nation remains bogged down in two bloody, ideologically-driven wars to spread liberal democracy, is stuck with a host of socialistic government programs for which we cannot possibly pay, and educates most of its children in Deweyan relativism factories, a lasting triumph such as this is worthy of celebration.

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

On that note, I must leave off, and shall enjoy fireworks in the PM with my family. As a patriotic sidenote, which will perhaps be no news to astute readers, section breaks in A Blog from Atobe are always 13 stars, in tribute to the 13 stars on our Nation's first starred flag.