Merry Christmas and Happy Feast Day of Saint Stephen!

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Merry Christmas! As I have stated before, the Christmas season is 12 days long, from December 25 to January 5. 

Today, December 26, is the feast day of St. Stephen, the first recorded Christian martyr who was stoned to death. Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee who would later convert to Christianity and become St. Paul, was involved in his martyrdom. Today's Gospel reading from the Acts of the Apostles is reproduced below:

Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people. Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and people from Celicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.

When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning Stephen, he called out "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

--Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59

More information about St. Stephen can be found on Catholic Answers and Wikipedia.

Now that we've covered today's saint, allow me to go over another Steven from a fictional series known as Steven Universe. I didn't place that screenshot on the top of the post for nothing.

In the season four episode "Three Gems and a Baby," Steven Universe's dad and his three Gem guardians tell him a story of when he was a few months old. The video clips of this event is below:

What is striking from watching this episode is that it borrows many elements from Christianity, in this case the holidays of Christmas and Epiphany. (The same can be said about the entire series, but that warrants its own post.) For starters, Steven's birth is nothing short of miraculous. His Gem mother, Rose Quartz, is a female-presenting sentient rock from space with a "body" made of hard light, so theoretically she should be incapable of pregnancy and childbirth since her species does not reproduce sexually. But yet she does and shapeshifts a womb for Steven to gestate in, combining human and Gem genes. She is the God/Holy Spirit of this allegory. Another thing that sticks out is how the other Gems give three gifts to him, not unlike the Magi giving gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Jesus. Thirdly, when Greg holds Steven in his van, he wears a blue blanket over him in the style of the Virgin Mary as he is the sole human parent. It is made abundantly clear in this episode that Steven is a Christ figure.

Steven Universe having the same name as St. Stephen is just a coincidence (the former is named after the showrunner's younger brother). But what the saint and the character have in common is that they both display sacrificial love. Both fought for what they believed in, loved their enemies who wished them dead, and were willing to give up their lives in order to end conflict and establish peace in the world.

That's all I have for now. Enjoy the Christmas season and have a happy, healthy, and holy New Year. God bless you all!

Video: "WHAT WE'RE LEARNING FROM DISNEY’S ANIMATORS | Film Threat Rants"

Film Threat, an independent apolitical film review site, recently published this rant video on YouTube. Current and former animators from the Walt Disney Company have contacted the hosts, sharing their experiences and voicing their grievances toward the company and the American entertainment industry in general. It's well worth the watch.

Unless you've been under a rock for the past decade or so, the Walt Disney Company, and indeed Hollywood at large, seems to be getting worse lately. Lack of creativity and originality, leftist activism (especially identity politics shoved down children's throats in an attempt to indoctrinate them), and poor business decisions have led to many American films not performing at the box office both domestically and internationally. Some recent examples include Wish and The Marvels which became box office bombs and further alienated audiences. Meanwhile, domestic studios like Illumination and international studios like Toho are kicking butt with films like The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Godzilla Minus One, both of which I have seen this year. Unless these failing studios course correct very soon, it seems they are living on borrowed time.

Watch 'Lady Oscar: The Rose of Versailles'!

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There is a new anime series that was recently added on RetroCrush titled Lady Oscar: The Rose of Versailles. You can view it for free here. I have been watching the first few episodes, and I am enjoying it immensely!

For the uninitiated, I will explain what it is. Lady Oscar: The Rose of Versailles is the 1979 anime adaptation of the smash-hit 1973 manga series Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda. The main character is Oscar François de Jarjayes, a woman born in 18th-century France who is raised as a man by her father so that he has an heir to his position as captain of the royal guard. Once Oscar comes of age, she is tasked with guarding Marie Antionette, the Austrian-born noble who marries Louis XVI and is the dauphine and later queen of France. The setting is the late 1700s, the time period before and during the French Revolution. Basically, this is Les Misérables but from the perspective of the nobility. As the series progresses, you will see how the decadence, corruption, and selfishness of the high class led to the poor lower classes rising up and initiating the Revolution.

I first came to know about this series through Revolutionary Girl Utena. Utena's dueling outfit and those of the Student Council are directly inspired by the military outfits worn by Oscar. Soon after, I began reading the first-ever official English translation of the manga which was recently published by Udon Entertainment. It's awesome. If you love manga and well-told stories with complex characters and beautiful artwork, look no further than this. It's five volumes and worth every page. The surprise success of the manga very likely led to the anime's addition to the RetroCrush catalogue.

Back to the anime. From what I've seen so far, it's not much different than the manga. The advantage of watching this as opposed to reading the manga is that I can tell who the characters are when they are in full color. Manga tends to be published in black-and-white, so sometimes it is hard to differentiate the characters, especially when they are wearing similar outfits and hair-dos. But that is a minor complaint. If you love history, animation and/or anime, or just good stories in general, this is a must-see.

Video: "‘A Rugrats Chanukah’ Special 🕎 FULL EPISODE in 5 Minutes! | NickRewind"

Here is a video I found from the classic Rugrats cartoon that talks about Hanukkah (or Chanukah). Today is the first day of this celebration.

What is Hanukkah, you may ask? It is a Jewish holiday lasting eight days that commemorates the Old Testament miracle of the menorah burning for eight days with one day's worth of oil. The word Hanukkah is Hebrew for "dedication," hence the alternate name Feast of the Dedication.

Even though I am a Christian and a Gentile, I still believe it is an important event to be at least familiar with. The story of Hanukkah can be found in First and Second Maccabees. Even Jesus and first century Jews celebrated the holiday, which is recorded in John 10:22.

Anime Review: 'Sailor Moon S: The Movie'

original Japanese theatrical poster (source)

Today I'll be going over the second theatrical film based on the classic 90s anime Sailor Moon. This is Sailor Moon S: The Movie. The "S" in the title implies that it takes place at some unspecified point in the Sailor Moon S arc, which is the third season/series in the overall canon.

Why am I reviewing this during the Christmas season? Simple: it takes place during Christmas break, in much the same manner that Die Hard takes place on Christmas Eve, therefore making it a Christmas movie, technically. For this review, I will be utilizing screenshots that I took myself from the Blu-ray disc, because I finally have that capacity now (yay for me!).

Happy First Sunday of Advent!

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As the title says, today is the First Sunday of Advent when the Church prepares for the Christmas season, the time of year where we remember Christ's birth over 2,000 years ago and anticipate His Second Coming at the end of time.

Many things have happened in my life in the past year. From international trips to changing my major, I've got a lot on my plate at the moment. But with Christmas coming up, I and countless others are reminded that God is in control and our lives should be dedicated to Him.

Hopefully I can start to update this blog some more this season. Maybe some Christmas reviews? Or cool Christmas facts? Maybe something about Hanukkah? Time will tell. Until then, happy Advent, and God bless you all.