Ireland

My thoughts and readings are turning to Ireland these days. I'm reading Culture Shock: Ireland at the moment. This is book of pretty random facts about Ireland that are helpful for understanding the history and culture. Since I'm interested in Northern Ireland I have found a couple of titles that are helpful and are providing guidance for my thoughts. The first title is a modern classic that every person interested in Ireland must read. It's How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill. It is a book of highly developed thought and parts of it are written for readers who are highly motivated. I have Trinity by Leon Uris on my to read pile. It came highly recommended and I'll give an opinion when I'm finished. You could go to my LibraryThing site for other recommendations of both books and films. To see my library log in as lnlamb.

The Knitster

One of my most favorite things to do is to knit. Only trouble is I don't have many pictures of the results. Here's a baby sweater I made a while ago.

Shipshewana Indiana

The first picture is where I stayed in July when I visited with my friends, Aileen and Randy. I pointed out the Wells Fargo sign and Aileen quickly snapped this great picture. I appreciate her sharing it with me. I can't rave enough about the wonderful bed and breakfast: The Checkerberry Inn (the picture is from their website.) I took some pictures on that trip, too, but mine aren't worth posting. I have a nice picture of Randy and Aileen, but I'm not sure they want to be public so I'll keep it to myself.

Paradise Now

I happened onto the movie, Paradise Now (PG 13) through Netflix which has wonderful access to the kinds of movies that appeal to me. It was a haunting portrayal of the hopelessness of Palestinian young men, raising questions of what options are available to them and the shattering results of a life lived in refugee camps. This movie made me think about choices people have. Easy for me to say, given my socio-economic condition. I don't agree that becoming a suicide bomber is a good choice. It is a terrible one. But this movie helps me to understand that people all over the world need to be offered options of self determination and opportunities for hope. I appreciate movies that tell a story that is meaningful and extremely relevant. As always, Internet Movie Database has more details and a plot synopsis that I need not repeat. According to their description, Paradise Now is the first Palestinian film to be nominated for an Academy Award. I look forward to seeing more creative films by director, Hany Abu-Assad. For its honesty and the ability to delve deep into the psychological underpinnings of the choices of two potential suicide bombers, I give Paradise Now 5 stars.

Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton

I have had several people recommend Thomas Merton's Seven Storey Mountain* over the years, so I finally got around to reading it. I can't say that it was the best book on contemplative Christian life that I've ever read. But I did like reading about Merton's spiritual journey. I would give this book *** (3 stars.)

*This links to a review essay from First Things 70 (February 1997): 34-38 written by Robert Royal titled: The Several Storied Merton. I liked how Royal described Merton: "Merton is beyond doubt one of the great spiritual masters of our century."

You Know You Are From Seattle When...

I really miss Seattle about now. Here are a few things that remind me about Seattle.

--Summer means taking a ferry to Bainbridge, Whidbey, or San Juans.
--You love the way people dress up "the Fremont people." (And people who live in the Fremont area must miss seeing it during the bridge renovations. The statue is actually called "Waiting for the Interurban".)
--A fun Saturday means going to bookstores. My favorites are Third Place Books, Elliot Bay Books, University Books, Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Magus Bookstore, Half Price Books, Wits End, Wide World Travel Books.
--A walk around Green Lake is a regular habit.
--You've been to Bumbleshoot and know what the word means.
--You’ve hung out with friends at Dicks.
--You make sure to go to Folklife, the Bite and the Torchlight parade.
--You’ve been to the Puyallup Fair or at least know how to pronounce it. You can also pronounce Issaquah and Sequim.
--You are tired of people asking "does it really rain a lot in Seattle?"
--You know where the "AVE" is and still call it by that name.
--You feel guilty throwing an aluminum can in the trash.
--You know what the phrase "the mountain is out" means.
--You use the words "sun break" and know what it means.
--You know at least eight people who work for either Microsoft or Boeing and they all make double your salary.
--You know what Lutefisk is. And maybe you've tried it. You have certainly been to Ballard.
--You consider floating bridges a pain, not an engineering marvel.
--You use more than 5 words to order a cup of coffee. "I want to order an unleaded, double, short, skinny, wet cappuccino with a shot of Amaretto please."
--A "designer" wardrobe comes from Eddie Bauer, LL Bean, REI, and Birkenstock.
--You consider it a sunny day if the sun is visible at some point of the day.
--You've been "snow" skiing in the RAIN more than in the snow.
--When you're discussing rainforests and volcanoes, you're NOT talking about Hawaii.
--You remember the Kingdome especially when the Mariners played there and Lou was manager.
--You have tried to forget about WTO.
--You have umbrellas but don't ever use them.