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.

The Devil Wears Prada

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

Stonehenge: pi= 3.14

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

1. 
   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)

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-