The Readster

The Crazed by Ha Jin

2010-04-20T20:42:00.006-04:00

The Crazed by Ha Jin is a masterful book. Engaging. Carefully detailed. Excellent characterization. Well plotted. The setting is China at the time of the Tiananmen Square movement in 1989.

Briefly, it is about a college professor, Mr. Yang, who after suffering a stroke, is cared for by his star student and soon-to-be son-in-law, Jian Wan. On his sickbed, Mr. Yang recalls things from his past in a rambling disjointed way. At times he is lucid and at times, not. As Yang reveals secrets from his past, Jian Wan, the narrator, begins to see Yang's life in a new and different light, realizing that this is not a life he wants to follow.

I loved how Jian Wan's growth is revealed. As he comes to new realizations, he seeks and discovers what is true and important and what is not. He discovers his true passions do not lie in academia; he learns of the "tricks of the academic game." As he questions his life to that point, the reader begins to see shifts in his ideology and a transformed purpose. Jian Wan's awakening is the story of his generation and his coming of age story parallels that of China's.

In a discussion with Mr. Yang, Jian Wan's true thoughts begin to unfold:

"Have you read Dante?" he asked me in a nasal voice...

"No, I haven't." Unable to say yes, I was somewhat embarrassed. "You should read The Divine Comedy. After you finish it, you will look at the world differently."

So I borrowed all three books of the poem from the library and went through them in two weeks, but I didn't enjoy the poem and felt the world remained the same." (p. 71)

I loved this quote:

Yang recalling his experience as a scholar in the West says this: "Oh, you should have seen the libraries at Berkeley, absolutely magnificent. You can go to the stacks directly, see what's on them, and can even check out some rare books. Frankly, I would die happy if I could work as a librarian in a place like that all my life." (p. 105)

The tension that Jian Wan feels is revealed when another professor asks Yang: "Why should we look down on ourselves so? We're both intellectuals, aren't we?" Yang replies, "No, we're not. Who is an intellectual in China? Ridiculous, anyone with a college education is called an intellectual. The truth is that all people in the humanities are clerks and all people in the sciences are technicians. Tell me, who is a really independent intellectual, has original ideas and speaks the truth? None that I know of. We're all dumb laborers kept by the state--a retrograde species." (p. 153) While this is a conversation between another professor and Yang, Jian Wan takes it to heart and acts on it.

The final quote from the book is this: "Ever since I boarded the train back, a terrible vision had tormented me. I saw China in the form of an old hag so decrepit and brainsick that she would devour her children to sustain herself. Insatiable, she had eaten many tender lives before, was gobbling new flesh and blood now, and would surely swallow more." (p. 315)

A worthy read. One of the best books I've read this year.

photos of Czech Republic

2010-04-20T20:33:00.003-04:00

I promised I would include some photos of Czech Republic. So here are a few.

Top: Linda and Czech friends having tea.

Middle: Linda and Verka

Bottom: Joanie and Ondra. I love their smiles and laughter.

Destiny

2010-04-19T11:31:00.002-04:00

I've been thinking of how miraculous it is that the God of the universe desires a relationship with his human creatures. That faith, my faith, is tied to destiny. My destiny is secure. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. We are promised this in Scripture. And God's love is for everyone. I really don't understand it. I don't understand the God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit relationship. But I believe it in faith. My little brain and my small human logic doesn't really get it.

It does have something to do with humility. Humility is from the Holy Spirit. He makes us who we are and gives us the mind of Christ, a true, right view of self. Our character is produced by the Holy Spirit. Our lives manifest the fruits of the Spirit. Christ bought us with a price and we can live in the moment of today resting in faith. Praise be to God for His unspeakable gifts.

I'm Inspired to write

2010-04-18T20:56:00.003-04:00

The Festival of Faith and Writing has inspired me. On the trip home I was dreaming of plots for future writing. I envisioned a short story here and a novel there. The trouble is I never act on it. I think I have great ideas in my head, but those ideas never seem to get on paper. So I'm going to try to do a new thing. I'm going to blog some random thoughts. Just snippets of unfinished ideas. Fiction. Non-fiction. Truth and Error. Inspired or uninspired. So here's my first paragraph.

Why do Christians judge other people?

I was thinking of a time when I was younger (but still old enough to know better.) I once thought that making fun of people's idiosyncratic behaviors as fodder for my sad and pathetic humor; I thought it was funny. I did make fun of people. I did (and still do) judge people. I confess it, and it shames me.

Mostly I'm thinking of times when my sister and I spoke unkindly of our aunt (and some other relatives.) My memory has faded as to what specific quirky things she said or did that we felt were so amusing. But I'm left with feelings of remorse for making fun of her behind her back. She really was a hospitable and generous person, undeserving of those words. Although she is gone now, I find that I miss her quite a lot. I wish I could enjoy those idiosyncracies today that at one time I thought were so funny.

The reality is that we are all quirky people. We all have those characteristics or behaviors that, while they seem funny to other people, are really sometime endearing when we turn them a little bit, looking at them from another angle. Our quirkiness is what makes us who we are. But if we are authentic, if we are human, we need to embrace a love wide enough to accept others with their all of their quirks and flaws, just as we ourselves want to be accepted for our own.

The trouble with backbiting is we are far to pious and clever to mock people to their faces. Wouldn't speaking directly to them be more honest? But backbiters never do. By hiding behind spaces and distance, heartless comments can never be defended. How cowardly this backbiting is. And arrogant. How is it that we think we are better than another? How unbecoming is this kind of posturing and pride. This unkindness is not love. It isn't living out the Golden Rule. I am shamed by it.

I wonder sometimes if those behaviors come back to haunt us. For example, I've wondered if children exhibit the behaviors of their parents. So, for parents who speak unkindly, backbite or mock others, do their children model this? For example, do my nieces and nephew think of me, their aunt, in the same unkind terms that my sister and I spoke of ours? I don't know my nieces and nephews well enough to say. But I would want for them a deeper conviction to live their Christian faith with a wider, more generous view of others, and to be able to understand humility in the face of other people. None of us has anything to stand on based on our own actions or worth. How is humility and a gracious spirit learned if not from those mentors and models around us?

I was just thinking about a legacy I might live for them. I would like them to know me not for my behaviors but for my heart. A heart of compassion and humility. I hope I've learned something about enlarging my heart toward accepting other people and I hope to share this idea some how.

The message in church today was: "Do not judge or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7: 1-2.

These are some of Jesus' words that I don't like very much. I don't like this passage in light of my past. And sometimes even my present. This passage seems to imply that if I continued to live a life of mockery, I might also be mocked. If I continue to backbite about others, others will talk badly about me. I have been thinking about opening my heart to a wider acceptance of people.

Oh, I know that God forgives us because Jesus' action on the cross on our behalf.

I just don't have it all resolved. This is a paragraph in the making just as my actions are.

Broken For You by Stephanie Kallos

2010-04-17T22:20:00.002-04:00

I just returned from the 2010 Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin. Oh, it was wonderful. I am inspired to write more and read more. I'm reading Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos who was one of the presenters. I love the sense of place--Seattle and the lively characters. Without giving away the plot there is a lot of brokenness in ways I didn't expect.

So here's a brief entry. Keep looking for more.

How could God use peanut butter cookies to advance His Kingdom?*

2010-02-11T17:13:00.003-05:00

The destination this January was Chotebor, Czech Republic for a team of 16 students and three sponsors where we shared our lives and Christian faith on a great God-assigned adventure. It is hard to describe these very busy 3 weeks or to convey in a few words the significance of our efforts there. But I'll try.

What we did.

We were invited into several schools to teach English and PE and to engage students in conversational English. We invited those students to a number of after-school activities for follow-up and intentional conversations over coffee or tea at the local coffee shop. We participated in youth group and invited kids there, spent time hanging out with kids of all ages: at a couple of state run children's homes, a nursing home and some local Gypsy kids (the boys are great at beat boxing). All of our efforts were to provide links for the local ministry and draw them into relationships with local Believers.

We hosted two bigger community events where the Americans provided desserts* (one of my roles was to bake about 9 dozen, mostly peanut butter, cookies as well as several dozen muffins. Since peanut butter is relatively unavailable the peanut butter cookies were quite popular! We also made a chicken enchilada meal to serve 70 people as part of an outreach. Relationships we made have continued through Facebook, Skype, and e-mail. And we heard that many new kids are attending the youth meetings. Since we've been back on campus a few girls on the team are meeting at my home weekly to pray for the ministry and people in Czech Republic, especially for the planting of a church in Chotebor where there is currently no Protestant church.

A few reflections

A few things I learned have to do with keeping my eyes and heart open for God's work, being a willing and obedient servant, and participationg fully in the moments I've been given. Perhaps these aren't very profound thoughts, but God has reminded me that it is the small things that matter. Frequently He reminds me that in my weakness He will do what I cannot, but that I need to do my best for Him even when I don't see the bigger picture or my role. Even though 3 weeks is a short time, I am reminded that time is in God's hands, and He alone chooses to do what He will with our moments, a minute or a lifetime. And His work goes beyond our vision or knowledge. The truth that reassures me is that our lives, even the mundane moments living in Indiana, have an impact to further His Kingdom.

In short, my attempt to write a reflection is a form of verifying and thanking God for His work. I am grateful for this awareness. It is a great day to be alive! And now whenever I make peanut butter cookies I will remember Chotebor, the friends I made, and the outstanding team of students who shared the experiences. God will build His church and save people using small things. I'm blessed to play a small part in it.

too many books so little time

2009-09-23T15:51:00.004-04:00

I'm reading a book I've found is quite good so far. The Mercy Seller by Brenda Rickman Vantrease. I bought it because part of it takes place in the Czech Republic--where I will be headed for the month of January. Part of it takes place in Prague and England in the time period of Jan Hus--around 1400 or so. Hus was a martyr, and translator of the Bible. He was burned at the stake for his faith. So this book talks about the selling of indulgences, religious intolerance, church history and dogma. I am not half way through it and find it very well written, with rich and captivating characters, a sustainable plot. It seems well researched. I recommend it to those who like historical fiction that is grounded on real history. I can't wait to read her first book The Illuminator.

The First Day of The New School Year

2009-09-01T13:18:00.002-04:00

I am energized. Refreshed. Ready to go. Summers are a wonderful time of easy living. This summer was fulfilling and restful in spite of the fact that I was in Upland for most of the time. We merged a library into our library. I traveled to Oregon, Washington, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. I spent time with family. I had visitors. I read and did a little bit of knitting. Like I said in my previous post, I am going to try to post more often. So here's my attempt.

Summer 2009

2009-07-21T11:04:00.003-04:00

Well, after quite a long hiatus I am back to blogging. I wish I had lots of pithy things to write, but I don't. My days consist of evaluating books for withdrawal and selection as we merge the Ft. Wayne campus library into our Upland campus library.

I'm going to try to write more faithfully. Probably not every day. But I will try to post more.

2008-04-26T19:38:00.001-04:00

More India Photos

2008-03-05T15:28:00.002-05:00

Indiana to India and Back Photos

2008-03-05T15:23:00.003-05:00

From Indiana to India and Back

2008-03-03T01:07:00.014-05:00

Since I returned from India a little over a month ago, I have been trying to distill and capture my impressions, emotions and experiences into a meaningful written snapshot. This has been a more difficult task than I expected as there has been so much to sort out in my own processing before I could write about it. Clearly this description won’t do justice to our three week experience, but I’ll try in the limits of a few paragraphs.

I didn’t expect to be overwhelmed by so many contrasts. The contrasts within India itself are great – not simply the cultural, economic and religious differences between East and West.

· The sights of women wearing bright jewel toned sarees and salwars walking on dusty, garbage laden streets.

· The aromas of fresh papaya one minute and cow manure/sewage the next. (well, the cow manure part isn't that much different than home--if you want to know the truth about it. It's just that we find that particular aroma in the countryside, not the city.)
· The hundreds of bright yellow “auto” rickshaws competing side by side on the streets with motorcycles, busses, cars and trucks, pedestrians, and cows (Oh and while riding in our bus, we were almost T-boned by a wayward cow coming from a side street at a gallop! He swerved and barely missed us.)

The biggest contrast was perhaps the overwhelming number of people. It was staggering beyond description. Over 7 million people live in metropolitan Chennai with over 2,200 people per square mile. It is one of the most densely populated places in the world. Bangalore has over 5 million people and is the third most populous city in India.

I didn’t expect to see a slum with 20+ children next door to the training center compound where we stayed. While we did invite the children over to play games in an attempt to reach them (in spite of a language barrier) I realized how much of the need for a Savior is bound to a complex system of oppression far beyond human intervention. Clearly the young girls between the ages of 11-14 appeared to be the mothers of the babies they carried on their hips. How does one begin to even think about the tangled intersection of spiritual darkness, poverty and overpopulation? What remedy is there but Jesus Christ alone who gives value and worth to every person.

I didn’t expect the generosity and hospitality of people I didn’t know. (One example is the perfectly formed small shell given to me by a poor man on the Chennai beach.) We easily made friends with out hosts, our home-stay family and several of the teachers at the schools where we went. I didn’t expect to have my heart deeply touched by the smile and hug of a Hindu orphan girl, at one of the schools we visited. I didn’t expect to see radiant smiles of the boys at the Boys Home as I showed them how to take photos of each other with my camera. I didn't expect to be served Indian coffee at every turn--and least of all -- I didn't expect to like it! (It's 40% chicory, 60% coffee, made with scalded milk and lots of sugar.)

As a team of 18 (16 students and one other co-sponsor) we prayed that people would see Jesus Christ in our performances and our lives. I asked myself “how much could we realistically accomplish in three weeks?” I have to be content with the answer that we may not know where the seeds that were planted will take root. We did meet young people who are spiritually hungry and are seeking to fill the God-shaped vacuum in their lives. And we trust that our ministry has provided an entrée for our hosts, Youth for Christ India, to begin Bible studies in the schools where young people are seeking to fill that void. Our schedule was a busy one: we presented 24 programs to about 13,000 young people. We also scraped, primed and painted the chapel at the YFC Training Center where we stayed.

So the story of our trip is still being written. I can report that we did witness God working in India. I am thankful to have been entrusted to a small role of a much bigger picture and to have been able to serve under and support YFC India. I read somewhere that Christians represent about 5% of Bangalore’s population. (Hindus 79%, Muslims 13%.) So now that I’m back at home, I have unanswered questions about all that being a global Christian means. Yet I can know and be confident that God is drawing Indian people to Himself in a myriad of different ways.

Do people return from short term mission trips changed people? I think they can be when they intentionally look for God to change and challenge them. I went to India with openness for God’s leading, wanting to be obedient to God’s direction, hoping that He would make a difference in someone's life through me. I didn’t go with a long list of personal expectations, although one of my main goals was to enable the students to have a bigger vision of God, his Kingdom and help them discover the necessity of and how they might live as global followers of Jesus Christ and to live for others more than self. (Yes, I know these are big goals!)

If there was a theme of the past 6 months--the preparations, the trip itself, as well as the culmination of thoughts about India, the ministry, the people, and resulting personal application -- it is the working out of the meanings of the words “compassion” and “gratitude.” Both have taken on new importance in my life. These two words: “compassion” and “gratitude” have come to the forefront of my life since I’ve been back because of what I have experienced and seen.

I think about and pray daily that I will have a heart of “compassion” and “gratitude” that overflows as a result of this trip. This plus the fact that my heart has been humbled even more as I understand the sacrifice Jesus Christ extended to me. It's because of Him that I’ve found I want to express a joyful life of compassion and gratitude.

This hasn't always been easy, quite honestly. There are people in our lives who are difficult to relate to and to love. But I recognize how I need to offer compassion and gratitude regardless of their response. People don't always respond in kind. They even reject our attempts in caring for them and offering what we have to give. And this trip reminded me of how I need to have Jesus' heart of compassion and humility. When people reject our attempts, when they pull away from a sympathetic touch on the arm, when the draw back emotionally, we have to keep offering compassion and gratitude in the face of that rejection. Because that is what Jesus did, too. He faced rejection by his best friends and the whole world and He loved them anyway. So, our scale is pretty limited in comparison.

My convictions for living in gratitude and compassion as central to daily life have fueled a passion for serving God in a fresh and renewed way. I don’t know where or how that will lead. I've just been taking it one day at a time. I don't want the India experience to be the sort of momentary spiritual "feel good moment" that evaporates a few weeks out. I don't know if or how people will see changes my life, but I pray that this heart change will extend to actions that will spur others to compassion and gratitude.

In case you can't tell, I've grown to love India! I've grown to love the lessons that God has taught me because He has shared more of Himself with me over the past months.

So that's my story. To God be the Glory!

India photos

2008-03-03T00:56:00.002-05:00

Here are some more photos of India

India

2008-03-03T00:44:00.003-05:00

Here are some photos of my trip to India.

Academic Social Networking Applications

2007-08-16T18:33:00.001-04:00

Here is one of the YouTube tutorials we created: Google Scholar and JSTOR

Social Networking Sites To Explore:

Facebook
http://del.icio.us/readster
LibraryThing

Social Networking and Libraries: recent blogs, articles, sites and links

2007-06-04T16:23:00.000-04:00

BLOGS of people to pay attention to:

Stephen Abram: Stephen's Lighthouse. Abram has his finger on the pulse of libraries and all manner of new technologies. This is one of the best blog's in the profession, hands down.

Gerry McKiernan: Friends: social networking sites for engaged library services "is devoted to application and use of online social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace) for all types of library-related programs and services."

David Lee King: www.davidleeking.com
recommends Twitter -- a global community of friends and strangers answering one simple question: What are you doing? Answer on your phone, IM, or right here on the web. David Lee King of Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library has a great blog discussing emerging new media from a librarian's perspective. His entry is Twtter Explained for Librarians, or 10 ways to use Twitter may give librarians some ideas for future applications.

Meredith Farkas. The Social Software in Libraries site is a companion to the book: Social Software in Libraries by Meredith Farkas (2007). The book covers many relevant topics including: Blogs, Blogs in Libraries, RSS Feeds, Wikis, Online Communities, Social Networking, Social Bookmarking, Synchronous Online Reference, Podcasting, and Future Trends in Social Software. The site includes links to other resources.

Meredith Farkas' blogs are Information Wants to be Free and TechEssence She has also created a wiki: Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki for librarians.

BOOKS AND ARTICLES:

Chad, Ken and Paul Miller. Do Libraries Matter? the rise of Library 2.0.
http://www.talis.com/applications/downloads/white_papers/DoLibrariesMatter.pdf

Coulter, Priscilla. "Blogging It into Them: weblogs in information literacy insstruction. " Journal of Library Administration; 2006, vol 45. issue 1/2. p 101-15. This article describes blogs as a means of supplementing face-to-face information literacy instruction and library outreach to graduate students and distance education.

Farkas, Meredith. "Going Where Patrons Are." American Libraries. April, 2007, p 27. See comments about Farkas above.

Gardner, Susan and Susanna Eng. "What Students Want: Generation Y and the changing function of the academic library." portal: Libraries and the Academy, 2005, vol. 5, no. 3, p. 405-420. This article presents the results of a 2003 user survey of library use among undergraduates.

Gordon, Rachel Singer. The NextGen Librarian's Survival Guide. Medford, NJ: Information Today, 2006. (978-1-57387-256-0) This is a book designed primarily for librarians but would be good information for all of us. Singer-Gordon writes a regular column for American Libraries also.

Hewitt, Anne and Andrea Forte. "Crossing Boundaries: identity management and student/faculty relationships on the Facebook" This is a description of a poster based on a 2006 survey on perceptions of faculty who use facebook. Results indicated that 1/3 of students surveyed did not believe that faculty should be present on Facebook at all.

Huwe, Terence K. "Some Best Practices for Personalizing Outreach." Computers in Libraries. Feb. 2006, vol 26, no 2, p 36-38. Considers blogs, RSS and creating personalized outreach services. There are some interesting possibilities for libraries

Lackie, Robert J. "WEB 2.0 and Its Technologies for Collaborative Library Communication." MultiMedia and Internet @Schools. Nov/Dec. 2006. vol 13, no. 6, pp 9-12. Talks about blogs, RSS feeds, del.icio.us, wikis.

Lenhart, Amanda and Mary Madden. "Social Networking Websites and Teens: an overview" Pew Internet and American Life Project. Jan 7, 2007. The Pew Internet and American Life Project is a great resource for current data. I have found they keep the finger on the pulse of numerous aspects of our culture that directly relate to the internet as well as our spiritual lives.

Lorenzo, George; Diana Oblinger and Charles Dziuban. How Choice, Co-Creation, and Culture Are Changing What It Means To Be Net Savvy. Educause Learning Initiative. ELI Paper 4. October, 2006. Discusses current culture changes and how higher education can respond and adapt to Web 2.0.

McDonald, Robert H. and Chuck Thomas. "Disconnects between Library Culture and Millennial Generation Values." Educause Quarterly, 2006, p. 4-6. What are the gaps of services we provide? McDonald and Thomas discuss how libraries need to pay attention to "embedding themselves and their resources into the everyday tools, spaces and activities of today's learner."

see also: Chuck Thomas and Robert H. McDonald, "Millennial Net Value(s): Disconnects Between Libraries and the Information Age Mindset" (August 15, 2005) Florida State University D-Scholarship Repository, Article #4. http://dscholarship.lib.fsu.edu/general/4

Mathews, Brian S. "Do you Facebook?" C&RL News. May 2006. p 306-7. Matthews was one of the first librarians to write about library applications using Facebook among Georgia Tech students.

Peek, Robin. "Librarians on Second Life" Information Today. Feb. 2007, vol. 24, no. 2, p. 15-16
Pierce, Jennifer Burek. "Who's on Second?" American Libraries. Feb. 2007, p. 46. Two articles about Second Life, creating an avatar, and librarians who "play" and "live" an Info Island life.

Rosedale, Philip as told to Michael Fitzgerald. "Only the Money is Real." Inc. Magazine, Feb. 2007. p. 81-85. What is Second Life? This article explains the basics. It's more about the financial viability in the for profit world. Not directly about libraries.

Sauers, Michael P., Blogging and RSS: a librarian's guide. Medford, NJ: Information Today. 2006. (978-1-57387-268-3) Looks like a promising book for libraries who want to explore library applications of blogs and RSS.

Stone, Brad. "The Battle over YouTube." Newsweek. October 9, 2006. p. 48-49. This is one of thousands of articles on YouTube and their copyright issues.

Tapscott, Don. Wikinomics: how mass collaboration changes everything. 2006. This book looks promising. Don Smeeton recommended it in his presentation on Library Thing.

SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITES

Wikipedia's List of Social Networking Websites

LINKS:

Facebook

Itunes

YouTube

LibraryThing

Second Life

MySpace

BookSwim

OTHER

ALA TechSource This is a good source for learning the latest: Drupal, Joomla, Moodle...This links to the TechSource blog but there are also reports, newsletters, and other info.

Academic Librarians: have laptop will travel. David Rothman has posted on his blog a nice video describing Macon State College Library's "Laptop Librarian" program. Rothman's blog is primarily related to medical librarianship but this video describes an innovative way for the librarian to meet students "on their turf."

Thomas, Deepak and Vineet Buch. YouTube Case Study: Widget marketing comes of age
Start-up Review: analyzing web success

Podcasting

2007-06-04T16:04:00.000-04:00

Digital Campus. George Mason University. Center for History and New Media.

Episode 01 - Wikipedia: Friend or Foe?
Episode 02 - The Old and the YouTube
Episode 04 - Welcome to the Social

These are engaging discussion by knowledgeable people who think about the implications of new media applications in the academic classroom. Thanks, Peter, for suggesting this site.

Notable Book Challenge

2007-04-21T23:49:00.000-04:00

I'm taking the challenge! I've started by reading these four books:

READING LIKE A WRITER: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them. By Francine Prose.

THE LOOMING TOWER: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. By Lawrence Wright.

THE PLACES IN BETWEEN. By Rory Stewart.

IRAN AWAKENING: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope. By Shirin Ebadi with Azadeh Moaveni.

I am happy to say that I have completed the first three thus far this year.

Actually I am not quite finished with Iran Awakening, but should be done in the next day or so. It is engaging, and I am enjoying it. I know I will complete it.

The final non-fiction book on my list will be: THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA: A Natural History of Four Meals. By Michael Pollan. I have read The Botany of Desire so am eager to see what Pollan has to say. I am thinking about adding 5 books from the fiction list. I have one of them already. So, I think that will make a fine challenge: 5 non-fiction and 5 fiction.

What a lovely idea.

Wikiality, Truthiness, and Stephen Colbert

2007-04-18T13:55:00.000-04:00

Wikiality: the idea that if you claim something to be true and enough people agree with you, it becomes true. --from Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report*. (*links to the clip from the Word part of the show where Colbert defines wikiality by checking Wikipedia for what he had said about Oregon as Washington's Mexico or California's Canada.)

Truthiness (noun)
1 : "truth that comes from the gut, not books" (Stephen Colbert, Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," October 2005)2 : "the quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than concepts or facts known to be true" (American Dialect Society, January 2006)
-- http://www.m-w.com/info/06words.htm (Merriam Webster dictionary)

How is it that I have missed Stephen Colbert's show until now? Well, it might be because I don't watch TV--hardly ever. But I found a link to this Word segment. We could have a long and healthy discussion about the meaning of truth based on its changing definition.

Yikes. There's more to come on this topic...

Digital Hemlock

2007-04-17T17:44:00.000-04:00

I haven't read the whole book but I did find some thoughtful quotes from this book:

"The more public the information, the more meaningless it is. The most significant personal knowledge is rarely shared. To upload a self onto the world wide web is to share the most irrelevant, public part of identity." p. 59

"A book can be flicked through, just as a hypertext link can be jumped, but electronic information encourages a smash and grab style of reading, rather than a smoother, more reflexive meditation. The key for teachers and the library profession is to show students and the public how to use divergent modes of reading and research. ...with dense historical description and high theory the reading is slow, drifting along with the sensuality for the words, so that detailed and intense meanings may emerge." AND " The materiality of searching, the evocative potential of exploring an exciting array of potential sources is still a significant part of an intellectual journey. Particular cultural practices have been lost through the electronic age: flicking through a card catalog, dialing a telephone or winding down a car window. Everyday life has changed, desensitizing corporeality and tearing the sensual surfaces of a textured life." p. 85

"The Internet is not a library--this is a dangerous metaphor."

"The desire to be someone else online is an act of denial as well as empowerment ." p. 124

Digital Hemlock. Tara Brabazon.

In My Language

2007-04-04T15:25:00.001-04:00

I happened onto this video today. It moved me so much I watched it twice. And since I wanted to learn how to upload YouTube videos to my blog, I thought I would give it a go.

In My Language gave me lots to think about regarding autism, cognitive abilities, and personhood. I began to consider the subject in a totally different way. I have known people who were labeled "mentally retarded" and truly, they are seen as non-thinking, non-persons. We look upon them as helpless and weak. We pity them. And we have seen them taken advantage of. We might have even taken advantage of them ourselves.

I've wondered about it for a long time. How is it that God made them, too? Is there something we can learn from the autistic? How does this video relate to the verse: "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness." --I Corinthians 1: 27-30.

It makes me want to be more compassionate and more loving to people who don't have the same advantages that I do. It makes me think that there will be a whole different paradigm in heaven. I'm humbled by that thought and by the fact that I need to pay attention to my surroundings in a different way.

Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt--Holy Shoddy is Still Shoddy*

2007-04-03T14:03:00.000-04:00

I wasn't going to waste any bandwidth on this but here I go. Something keeps bugging me. I just bought N.T. Wright's latest book Simply Christian yesterday. And who is writing cover reviews of it? On the back cover: Will Willimon, Walter Brueggemann, John Ortberg, J.I. Packer--great. All theologians. All excellent writers. All scholars. All solid.

What raised my eyebrows is the quote on the front cover says: "This will become a classic." --Anne Rice, author of Christ the Lord: out of Egypt.

So, where does she come off as qualified to assess N.T.Wright's writing? She writes crappy vampire books, has a Christian conversion, writes one shoddy piece of imaginary fiction on the missing years of Jesus the Christ as a young person that seems to me to be based on Gnostic writings, and she is given front cover billing on N.T. Wright's book. There's something wrong with this picture. Maybe I've connected the wrong dots. Maybe there's something I've missed. Maybe it's because I respect Wright and hold his writing up to high esteem. As I do Packer, Ortberg whose books I have also read.

What is this world coming to? Do people in the publishing world know that she writes trash? Does she have any theological training? What qualifications does she bring to evaluate theology? Does the publishing world think the reading world is stupid? (uh, don't answer that!) How do publishers choose who writes those blurbs anyway?

Elton Trueblood's line "holy shoddy is still shoddy"still fits.

Here's the review of Christ the Lord: out of Egypt I posted on Library Thing.

When I read this book for my book club a few months ago, I couldn't figure out why Jesus and some of the other characters laughed so much. The word "laugh" is so overused, and it puzzled me. I thought surely the author could have used various synonyms: smiled, giggled, grinned, cackled, snickered, guffawed...you get the idea. Then I read "Judas and the Gospel of Jesus: have we missed the truth about Christianity" by N. T. Wright, and then the light bulb went on. Rice is writing this book from a Gnostic point of view. Wright indicates that "laugh" is a Gnostic code word of sorts. Since reading Wright many things make sense to me now. Also part of the book takes place in Alexandria, and in it Jesus studied under Philo. Wright comments that Philo is associated with gnosticism in "The Last Word" which is about scriptural authority. Rice may profess Christianity, and Christianity Today had a nice little puff piece about her conversion. Ultimately she would have to rely on extra-Biblical writings to create the young life of Jesus of which canonical scripture is silent. Even in fiction there has to be some historical basis. When I read this book at first it struck me as "just ok". But now I can't recommend it at all. Her worldview is poles apart in subtle kind of sneaky way from mainline scripture. She has followed after the extra-biblical, non-canonical stuff quite cleverly. I am somewhat amazed that there hasn't been more mentioned about this in the press by people who are experts in Biblical times. In fact I don't think I've seen anyone who has questioned it in this way. I think her writing skills and historical research are extremely weak. Very disappointing. I think this book is riding the coattails of the Davinci Code mania to sell a few books. 4/1/07

*thanks to Elton Trueblood, this is still a timeless truth.

I'd really like to know from Biblical scholars what they think about this book.

OK. I think that's enough thinking for today. I'm going to go take a nap.

Can we ever do too much thinking?

2007-04-03T09:31:00.000-04:00

This is me this week. It's spring break, and I'm having a delightful time. So far I have had some good times of just "thinking." I don't think I do enough of it. Do you? What do you think about when you sit down for a rest? What do you wake up thinking about? What do you fall asleep thinking about? Thinking is definitely underrated. We should do more of it, I think.

Ok, now I've got to get up and "do" something. Of course, there are all of those requisite jobs such as laundry, grocery shopping, etc. to catch up on. See what I mean. We always think we have to get up and do something.

Now I'm reading Anne Lamott's Blue Shoe. I can't say that I'm really getting into it that much. I think her strength lies in the personal narrative, essay. I read Rosie which is also fiction and liked it. But Blue Shoe just hasn't grabbed me so far. I should finish it today. Who knows what I'll think about reading next.

By the way, I found a great site for free images. Stock.xchng: http://www.sxc.hu/home. I think it's pretty nifty.

Grey's Anatomy

2007-04-01T00:44:00.000-04:00

I just downloaded all of the episodes of Grey's Anatomy from Itunes. If you know me well you know the reason I like this show is that it takes place in Seattle. I just learned that it is filmed in California, but there are some nice outside shots of the city. So, here's a great snippet between Meredith and Derek from the first season.

DEREK: "Seattle has ferryboats?"
MEREDITH: "Yes."
DEREK: "I didn’t know that. I've been living here six weeks, and had no idea there were ferryboats."
MEREDITH: "Seattle is surrounded by water on three sides."
DEREK: "Hence the ferryboats. Now I have to like it here. I wasn’t planning on liking it here, since I'm from New York, and am genetically engineered to dislike everywhere except Manhattan. But I do have a thing for ferryboats."

I could have a thing about ferries and Derek. More quotes to come...

Water

2007-03-25T20:42:00.000-04:00

Deepa Mehta has made an incredible movie, Water, that affected the depths of my soul. In a nutshell -- during the British colonial period of India and around this time of Gandhi, Chuyia, a child of 7-8, is given into marriage to a much older husband. He dies shortly after, and Chuyia is returned to her parents who then send her to "the widows' house." This young girl does not understand that her parents have abandoned her and that she is destined to live unvalued and shunned for the rest of her life. The other elderly women, all widows, live with the same fated life. Chuyia, like all widows, has just three options: to marry the husband's younger brother (if agreed upon by the families,) to kill herself at the time of her husband's cremation, or to live a life of celibacy with other widows. Even thought a new law permits a widow to re-marry, it is not accepted practice.

A second parallel plot involves another young and beautiful widow, Kalyani, who befriends Chuyia and meets and falls in love with Narayan who wants to marry her. When he comes to take her to his home to meet his family, as they cross the river to go to his family estate, Kalyani recognizes that his house is the same house where she had been forced to visit as a "prostitute," to be with Narayan's father. Throughout the movie I asked myself-- what will become of them, Kalyani and Chuyia? With so few options the observer is faced with the stark and real world of women in that time and place. The reality is, I feel certain that there are women today who have limited options and are forced into exile, slavery, and prostitution.

As I was watching this movie, water became a powerful metaphor for the lives of both Kalyani and Chuyia. It reminded me, too, of the book and movie, Siddhartha, which I teach in the fall. Our lives are a lot like water sometimes, as a universal theme. The tide's current sometimes takes us where we do not want to go. How apt is this movie, and how much I respect Mehta for working so hard to make a powerful movie. Definitely a 5 star winner.

Amazing Grace

2007-03-20T00:20:00.000-04:00

Some friends and I saw Amazing Grace, the movie, a while ago. It was a good historical piece about William Wilberforce, John Newton and the abolition of the slave trade. What is sad to me is that we still have human trafficking going on today. Have we learned anything from that terrible torture inflicted on other human beings? There are direct relationships to that movie going on today. Human trafficking, Darfur, AIDS orphans in Africa, human rights issues all over the world. It makes my head spin and my spirit heavy to think about it. I know God is sovereign and good. I have to believe He allows suffering for a reason. But I can't help wondering how much of the suffering of others is caused by the institutionalized carefree and selfish western lifestyle that I live. And how much of that suffering is inflicted by other human beings. This is what I can't understand. I tend more and more to a pacifist point of view. It must be the influence of Quakers in my past.

Books I've Read So Far This Year

2007-03-19T23:58:00.000-04:00

The Fifth Mountain. Paulo Coelho
Reading Like a Writer. Francine Prose
The Kingdom by the Sea. Paul Theroux
The Looming Tower. Lawrence Wright
Sacred Thirst. M. Craig Barnes
The World is Flat. Thomas L. Friedman
A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain. Robert Olen Butler
The Kindness of Strangers. Don George
Our Town. Cynthia Carr
Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed. Phillip Hallie
31 Days. Barry Werth
Christ the Lord: out of Egypt. Anne Rice
Judas and the Gospel of Jesus. N.T. Wright
How to Read Literature Like a Profesor. Thomas C. Foster

So there's been a long hiatus since I've posted on this blog. Not that all I've been doing is reading. I've seen a bunch of movies; I've had a bunch of company, and gone a 3 week missions trip to Northern Ireland and stuff like that. I'll post some pictures of Northern Ireland one of these days. At least we got through the month of February. It's my least favorite month. Now I see some hope that spring is coming.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter and The Time Traveler's Wife

2006-11-25T16:52:00.000-05:00

Well, here are two interesting books I've read recently. First, I'll tell you that The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards was great. I thought it was inventive, well written and engaging. Even if some things were implausible, I liked this book a lot. Briefly, it is the story of a doctor who delivers his own set of twins, one of which is a Down's Syndrome baby. This book is all about making choices and telling lies, then living with bad choices and lies that are perpetuated with sad results. 5 stars.

The second book, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger was trippy. Even though the main character, Henry, is a librarian, the author was losing me when she had him shelving books. (We don't do that folks. Well, rarely, and not in the course of a typical day. Please, author, do your homework.) But when she characterizes him several times: "well, he looks like a librarian" or something to that effect, I mumbled hateful words under my breath. So, I ask, just what does a librarian look like? How long must we keep perpetuating silly stereotypes? In case you can't tell, I hate the simple mindedness of stereotyping anyone. I would have been bothered if it had been an accountant, doctor, used car salesperson, or lawyer. (Well, maybe not lawyers. gentle smile inserted here.) Also, I had a beef with the language. I got bothered by her cavalier use of crude anatomical descriptions. For an aspiring writer who I assume wants her work to be considered literature, not trash, this was a disconnect. The theme was, like I said, a bit trippy. I could deal with the concept of Henry's moving through time involuntarily. In fact, I think it was engaging and innovative. That plus the fact that the book had a good sense of place (Chicago) I finished it, though by the end I was wondering why. My low rating is because language has power; potty mouth language shows weakness. I don't give it much of a rating . 1 1/2 stars might even be too kind.

Wit

2006-11-25T16:41:00.000-05:00

Oh, my. I saw Wit this weekend after getting it from my wonderful Netflix. This movie was just about the best acting I've seen. Emma Thompson is her outstanding self. The dialog is sharp and insightful. The screenplay is wonderful, funny, sad, ironic, and highly telling about contemporary academic and medical communities. I can't think of any other movie I've seen recently that has affected me more. Oh, my. Can I give it about 10 stars? There are so many wonderful lines. I have to share one. It goes something like: "Do not go back to the Library. Go out and live." How can one go wrong with advice like that? Take it from me, as one who lives in the Library. Yes, there is life inside books and movies, but there is a bigger life in the world for us to experience for ourselves.

The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini

2006-10-12T22:18:00.000-04:00

The Kite Runner was the "kick-off" book for our monthly book club and I led the discussion on the book. The book was generally well received by the women who attended. I thought we had a good discussion and a diversity of opinion.

I had read The Kite Runner a few years ago when it first came out and then read it again in preparation for the discussion last week. It was a fast read and has some interesting twists and turns of fate. I won't go into specific details for people who haven't read the book as I don't want to spoil it. The movie is due to come out sometime in 07, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out in the theater and who will play Amir, Baba, and Hassan. Truthfully, I had difficulty believing some of the events that reoccur, of fated meetings and reunions, and particularly the resolution at the end. But that is what makes fiction fiction. I give this book 3.5 stars.

www.khaledhosseini.com/

The 2007 Lighthouse Team

2006-10-03T17:20:00.000-04:00

Here is a photo of the greatest Lighthouse team ever.

Trinity by Leon Uris

2006-09-19T16:14:00.000-04:00

I found Trinity by Leon Uris a huge disappointment. While there are historical events woven into the story, this is so soap opera. I have read my share of "airport books" and have found many of them satisfying and enjoyable. This, unfortunately, is not one of them. I gave it my requisite 50 pages and because of it's girth, 50 more, which I thought it a waste of time.

One reviewer says it better than I can:

"Rather than Irishmen in the book I found 1970s Americans and American sentiments and prejudices: sexually liberated women, crooked priests, female revolutionaries, protestant ministers who should have worn brown shirts rather than vestments and plenty of evil industrialists. The one big question I am left with is why Irish women were portrayed so poorly? Surely there were enough pages for the development of one woman like my grandmothers: strong, faithful, loving, intelligent and honest. As a novel it was a fine read, but as an historical fiction it was far more fiction than history. Considering Uris' biased and inaccurate portrayal of the Irish Roman Catholic Clergy and the the Church, one should be more than a little suspicious of the foundation of the whole novel. The tragedy of Ireland is real and still alive; unfortunately Trinity by Leon Uris doesn't take us very far towards any real understanding of the issue."
Amazon. com Reviewer: Joseph Rooney

Two Books by Cambodia author: Loung Ung. First They Killed My Father; Lucky Child

2006-09-18T22:47:00.000-04:00

Now here was a gripping personal narrative account of Cambodia in the late 1970s. First They Killed My Father: a daughter of Cambodia Remembers is about the Khmer Rouge and the story of a young girl who was orphaned at a young age 8. (I think.) because of the war.
Ung tells the story of how she and her siblings survived war-torn Cambodia. Sadly, some family members did not survive and faced brutal death. Her later book, Lucky Child describes her journey to Vermont as a refugee along with an older brother and his wife.

Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God. I will praise him again, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:11

History of Britain DVD Series

2006-09-18T17:52:00.000-04:00

Now here's a DVD series that will fill your whole weekend if you have a whole weekend with nothing going on. I've been watching the series bit by bit over the past few weeks. It's engaging and covers interesting aspects of British history and culture that I hadn't picked up in previous reading or other sources. Truthfully, it got a little old hearing the one voice of Simon Schama in every video. (He seemed like a bobblehead doll at times. If you've seen this you know what I'm talking about.) He had a bit too much face time for my tastes. While I found the topics greatly interesting, there were often not enough variety in speaking voices. So I tended to find myself nodding off. I give it 4 stars.

Fade To Black by Robert Goldsborough

2006-09-05T09:27:00.000-04:00

Ho Hum. I couldn't get inspired or excited about this mystery. It's about two vying advertising agencies, and Nero Wolfe steps in to save the day with his trusty assistant Archie Goodwin. Rex Stout was the original creator of Nero Wolfe mysteries, and Goldsborough has recreated the character with several other books. Amazon.com (Publishers Weekly) also reviews this book as "flat." I'd say so too. Two stars are generous.

The Civil War DVD by Ken Burns

2006-09-05T09:09:00.000-04:00

If you want to know the truth, I don't like war stories. But I watched all parts of The Civil War (1990). It is very well done, but there were times I found myself falling asleep during the parts when they talked about the battles. I forced myself to go back and listen what I missed in order to get the full impact and enormity of the Civil War and its costs. I'd recommend it for an impressionistic view of the War, the gravity and importance of the War to Americans today. It is easy to forget history and what has happened in the past (and why), yet we are who we are as a country, a culture, and individuals because of the sacrifices of those in the past who participated in democracy and for freedom as they understood it. The Civil War frames us even today. I would rate this series a 4 1/2 stars. It probably deserves 5 stars, and know I am showing my bias against war stories by my rating.

Ireland

2006-08-24T16:16:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-22T16:18:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-22T15:46:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-14T17:51:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-11T13:07:00.000-04:00

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...

2006-08-05T22:55:00.000-04:00

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.

The Devil Wears Prada

2006-07-22T16:00:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to decide if I liked this movie or not. I don't think I will give you a blow by blow account of this movie. I'm sure you could find any number of plot summaries. Some random thoughts about the movie: it seems that the "villian" was almost too stereotypical. Meryl Streep carries it off well as ice queen. But she is a fantastic actress and I usually like movies she is in. She plays a "difficult"--understatement boss. My thinking, there's no excuse for rudeness. And the character she portrays is just that. Rude. Goes to show that social status has no relationship to bad behaviour. And heaven knows there can be male bosses just as harsh, tyrannical, demanding and snarly. Many of us have worked for one. I think the salon.com review by Stephanie Zacharek pretty well covers it. I'd rate it about a ***.

Nana Turns 80

2006-07-17T19:25:00.000-04:00

Carolyn and Marilou

I'm putting together a slideshow for my mother's 80th birthday. This is a picture of my mother at about 4 years old with her sister. My mother is the one on the right with the big bow.

Culinary Teas in Syracuse IN

2006-07-14T18:50:00.000-04:00

I spent a few days in Northern Indiana visiting with some friends recently and happened onto the most wonderful tea shop. They have over 100 kinds of teas and willingly let me choose any kind of tea, brewed and iced on the spot. Now I don't think they'll ship iced tea, but they do have a website with all their teas for sale. I bought Queen Mary Tea, Windsor Castle Tea, St. Paul's London Breakfast Tea, and Buckingham Palace Tea. They are all basic black teas, and I'm sure will make great iced tea. Even the names elicit pleasant memories of England. Imagine my excitement when I see they have a blog: http://culinaryteas.blogspot.com/

Assassination Vacation (this is a book title--not literally my vacation)

2006-07-14T18:33:00.000-04:00

What am I reading these days? Well, I bought this book last night and am almost finished. The author, Sarah Vowell (voice of Violet in The Incredibles) is funny in a biting sort of way. She wanted to know more about presidential assassins (although she doesn't say why she didn't touch Lee Harvey Oswald). Anyway she investigates the assassinations of Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley in a fresh and enlightening way. I give this book **** . Since I got the cover image from Amazon, I guess you should buy it from them.

The Readster Finds A Pub in England

2006-07-06T23:30:00.000-04:00

Two snaps of The Readster.
The White Horse is somewhere near Stonehenge. The other shot is on the steps of St. Paul's.

Camilla and Charles Didn't Invite Us To Tea...Phil and Liz Were At Ascot We Heard

2006-07-06T23:24:00.000-04:00

I like the view and the gardens at Windsor Castle This reminds me of my high school marching band uniforms. The Royal Apartments where the Queen lives are in the background, or so they say.

Here's Baaaath

2006-07-06T23:19:00.000-04:00

Three views I liked the street scene a lot as it reminds me of Jane Austen. We took the typical tour of the Roman Baths, but the guide went pretty fast and kind of ran us through. I guess he was in a hurry to get home. It was interesting but too much to absorb.

Bath

2006-07-06T23:13:00.000-04:00

This was an amazing mosiac that I really liked alot in the Roman Baths in Bath.

Stonehenge: pi= 3.14

2006-07-06T22:46:00.000-04:00

I'm tempted to say if you've seen one rock you've seen them all. But I don't think so. These were enormous and shrouded with mystery. We saw some Druids too.

England -- my pictures look like typical touristy pictures that everyone else takes

2006-07-06T22:32:00.000-04:00

Left: Henry VIII's armor. I think he was well protected. Especially important parts of his anatomy. Right: Yeoman guard tour. Bottom Left: B/B gardens . Bottom Right: Westminster Abbey

Hiking in the Malvern Hills near Worcester where we were staying part of the time. This is a view of Wales from the top of the Malvern Hills where Lewis and Tolkein used to walk.

Sylvia (the movie)

2006-06-13T10:37:00.000-04:00

Last night I saw an interesting, but depressing film about the life of Sylvia Plath. Gwyneth Paltrow did a credible job of making her life real. I give Sylvia about 4 stars ****. L-