Baby steps

Last night, while grocery shopping, I found relatively inexpensive recycled napkins and chose to get organic ketchup. Little things, but they make me smile & feel good, just like discovering a new plant in the garden would. I hadn't realized before how full of corn syrup normal ketchup is. Now I'm doing that little bit extra for the environment and for our health.

If people responded to positive health/ green decisions the way they do to a favorite fried meal or other indulgence - the cascade of better choices would grow a thousand times over. We need to milk, talk up, promote the endorphins that this can bring. Successful community gardening efforts are a good example - people get really jazzed, involved, and it spreads to others & other choices.

I think I'll add community gardening to literacy programs in my list of "when I give my time"....

BTW - book #5 - Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Wow. Good book. As it opened with life in Kabul in the early 70s, the contrast vs the National Geographic article I had recently read on the 2004 situation was so vivid. And it coincided nicely with Mummies of Urumchi's details of some of the earliest migrations into and through the region. Kite Runner soon became about so much more. Powerful in a not pleasant way that makes you want to run in and help. Somehow. Add Afghanistan kids to "when I have $ and can give both time and...". It could have ended earlier, but then it might have been less "real".

Vacation and a couple more books

I've taken a few days off, part of J's spring break. He has some homework and I'm largely catching up on to dos and cleaning (or I mean to, anyway), but it's nice. Something about not being pushed by routine - being able to bust away and actually think about some stuff for a bit. I should do this more often...

Today we took a walk around the neighborhood, hitting a couple of our favorite shops- hung out with Wayne for a bit at Futons 'n More, stopped by the Genesee Bakery for some goodies and lunch. And before I dive into cleaning, I'll update you on the latest books:

Book #3 - Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The reason behind the rhyme by Chris Roberts. Chris is a librarian who runs historical tours around London. In detailing the origins of some of our most common nursery rhymes, he taught me a lot of the nuance and personality behind British history, place names, etc. Especially fascinating is the subject of rhyming slang where "Lady" means "fiver" because of Lady Godiva - it's a type of slang that makes you think to get it. I may have to search for more on this.

Book #4 - The Mummies of Urumchi by Elizabeth Wayland Barber. I got this because I had never heard of caucasian-featured mummies in China before. There is a lot of information on the region (the Uyghur Autonomous Region) and puzzling out who these people were, how they lived, and how they got there from just what they wore into the grave. Anyone interested in the history of textiles or linguistics will find this quite interesting. My only gripe is that Barber seems to come to a conclusion - and then tell us again and again and again. By the end, I kind of wondered why it was still going.

Stories are our lives - thoughts on eternity

That's a bit scary. Feels like it's been so long since I posted I was a bit reluctant to come and write. Typing will help loosen me up, I'm sure. Now that I'm started...

First off, Book #1 - The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe's only novel. I appreciated the backstory in the forward and the footnotes for their critical context. At times, Poe loses track in the longer form and has some disjointed elements - characters never mentioned again, that type of thing. It's rambling and typical of the style of the day. I was a little disappointed that it didn't get more into the characters mental states, but again, that might not have been the era for it. Much matter of fact on a crazy adventure that is definitely memorable and has several gem moments.

*******
So, the other day I was reading a chapter in Aldous Huxley's Perennial Philosophy on "Time and Eternity" and was struck by the relationship Huxley draws between the temporal focus of a faith and its tendency towards violence, political powermongering, slavery, etc. (I'm going to try to quote a piece, it's a long rant)

For four hundred years, from the beginning of the sixteenth centyr to the beginning of the twentieth, most of the Christian nations of Europe have spent a good part of their time and energy in attacking, conquering, and exploiting their non-Christian neighbours in other continents. [...]The first collective protest against the slave system [...] was made in 1688 by the Quaker Meeting of Germantown. [...]Of all Christian sects in the seventeenth century, the Quakers were the least obsessed with histroy, the least addicted to the idolatry of things in time. [...] Moreover their eternity-philosophy preserved them from the materialistic apocalypticism of that progress-worship which in recent times has justified every kind of iniquity from war and revolution to sweated labour, slavery and the exploitation of savages and children - has justified them on the ground that the supreme good is in future time and that any temporal means, however intrinsically horrible, may be used to achieve that good.

Fascinating, I had never considered the tie, although one thing that interests me in other philosophies is a desire to avoid the powermongering that I know exists in certain sects.
One more quote on this to talk about the flip side - the eternal perspective:

For those whose philosophy does not compel them to take time with an excessive seriousness the ultimate good is [...] in an eternal diving now which those who sufficiently desire this good can realize as a fact of immediate experience. The mere act of dying is not in itself a passport to eternity; nor can wholesale killing do anything to bring deliverance either to the slayers or the slain or their posterity. The peace that passes all understanding is the fruit of liberation into eternity [...]

Veering away from the religious, I finished Book #2 - White Teeth by Zadie Smith. Interesting story about the lives of immigrants and those closely tied to them in London - a generational perspective on the desires to succeed, to fit in, to conquer, to fade into the background, etc. There are a few spots where it gets a bit long, but I found the twist at the end quite nice.
On the final page is this quote:

the end is simply the beginning of an even longer story

I like that. A lot. Have to make dinner now.

Today's guest judges...

Last week, J's Aunt was in town from Connecticut, as part of her annual audition tour. She is a choreographer for Nutmeg Conservatory, a ballet school and for the past 3 years has stopped in Rochester to hold auditions at Hochstein and teach at Rochester City Ballet. And for the past 3 years, J and I have been guest judges at the Hochstein auditions.

I've worked for years to understand people, what they want, how they want to hear about it, what makes them happy, frustrated, etc. Observation, as many of the leading edge thinkers point out, is a great way to build up this understanding. I take what I see at the auditions, toss out the fact that I really don't know what a "soda shop" or a "pa de buerre" is (and no, those aren't intended to be the right spellings), and try to get a feel for the students, as students, as dancers. To paint a picture of where they are now and where they might be a few years down the road.

J looked on with a designer's eye, noting the form and line in certain positions.

J's Aunt (Joan) is always thrilled with our input and I'm thrilled to contribute. To have some time to sit, watch, note and have that input valued.

While the auditions can tend to make me feel large and very clunky, as well as slow and clueless about ballet, the up side is definitely worth it.

The final books of 2008 and Christmas crafting

Did I get to 50? No, still not there. ALMOST 30, but not quite. It really depends on mood, type of book (I don't weed out the slow ones to improve my count), and the type of intermediary articles and things that crop up. (The system is a bit complicated and very ocd'ish).

So, here they are:
Book #27 (I actually had 2 #20s before, so this is correct) - Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman. Nice, light, and simple. A series of 30 vignettes, with interludes, that could totally have occupied Einstein's thoughts as he was honing the theory of relativity. Each vignette looks at one way of relating to time and envisions what life would be like.

Book #28 - The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. A horror classic and I can see that. But I want MORE. I wanted more details on the sordid history of the house - maybe somebody should have found a journal or something. I love big old houses - so I wanted more on the house. As it was, I almost drew it because the description of how the house gets you turned around - well, it really turned me around and I was baffled. What were the outbuildings like? *sigh* Still, pretty good.

Book #29 (that's the last one) - Under the Banner of Heaven: A story of violent faith by Jon Krakauer. Fascinating. Depth in areas of Mormon history I had not known - Krakauer even visited Palmyra for the Pageant! I found his style very straightforward. He admits when he is baffled by it all, but still lays it out as the various fundamentalists see it. His analysis of how a faith could spawn such splinter sects was very insightful. I would love to see a postscript that continues the story given recent stories, or just an ongoing commentary.

For Christmas, I did 3 categories of craft projects.
1) Newspaper yarn: (pic not working for some reason)

2) A bag crocheted from plastic bags - Caveat - This deviates from the pattern because it's the first thing I ever crocheted and I used the wrong stitch for the entire thing.


3) Spa stuff! I made lotion bars, herby oatmeal bath soak, and sugar scrub:

My "themes" for 2009

Following the lead of several in my Twitter community (like Chris Brogan), I've shifted my thinking from specific resolutions to a few theme words that should direct most of my thinking and efforts in the new year.

Curious? I've picked 3 themes:





1 - Focus. I'm a multi-tasker with boundless curiosity. Tons of tabs open for posts and pages whose headlines caught my eye. Tons of articles, magazines, and books in my "to read" pile for the same reason. Many projects started and not finished. Happens with hobbies, with work, with housework. With goals like fitness and financials, too. "Focus" as a theme is a deep breath, a bit of zen. Remembering the whole instead of getting caught up in the compulsions around the pieces. It leads to #2 quite well, also.

2 - Calm. Another big breath. I stress. I know that on a semi-regular basis I'll get overwhelmed with all that's going on and how little progress I seem to make. This is my reminder to stop, step away, and melt the tension away before it sweeps me away.

3 - Circle. Not as obvious. I firmly believe (and will post more on my Media Creole blog soon on this) that to get the full benefit of sharing stories, experiences, life, the process needs to be circular. I don't mean that you give with the expectation of getting back in a selfish sense. The "getting back" is in the form of "thank yous", stories told in response, smiles and photos. "Circle" for me, for 2009 is about keeping up my part of the sharing cycle. Being better about my blogs, about keeping in touch with close friends and family, about sharing pics.

So, there you go. I still need to share the last books of 2008 and Christmas crafts - it'll be a flashback of sorts. Here's to a happy, healthy, and peaceful 2009 for all.


Finally, before I go - it was one year ago tonight that my "episode" happened. J's face and voice are graven in my mind. I feel fine now - there's a bit of adjustment to meds when I'm trying new cardio, but that's about it. Bionic pieces have not had to fire. I've only set off store detectors once or twice and no one noticed when I did. But it's still striking and something that makes me pause. Makes me marvel a bit at what I took for granted and focus on what is truly most important. - tears are threatening so that's it. Thanks.

Another recipe - cranberry chutney

Once again, a recipe request gets me to post.

Dan had a gig in San Francisco yesterday and went to see Bela Fleck on Friday night. Need to connect with Sonny to see what he's up to.

Our family Thanksgiving (minus Sonny and Pam who are visiting her family this year) will be Wednesday afternoon, because Dad has to work on Thursday. I plan to make my cranberry chutney in just a short while.

And here's the recipe! (marked in my cookbook by a Cheese pumpkin pattern :))
Originally from Bon Appetit, I believe.
Cranberry-Pear Chutney

1 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries
2 pears, peeled, halved, cored, corsely chopped (by far the messiest part)
1 onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
1 c orange marmalade
1/2 c dried pears (I never find these, so always leave them out, seems fine)
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1/4 c grated lemon peel (another item that could be omitted if you don't have lemons around)
1 tsp dry mustard
3/4 tsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp dried crushed red pepper

Combine all in a pot.
Cover and cook over medium heat until mixture thickens (and cranberries pop), stirring occasionally - about 30 minutes. Cool.
(Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Update - typed too fast - 2 things - 1) instead of lemon peel I usually put in a splash of lemon juice, 2) 1/3c packed dark brown sugar.

Grandmother's White Bread

In 3rd grade, my class made bread and butter at school. It was fun, I mostly remember licking the bowls and eating a lot of flour... That poor teacher must have had such a mess to deal with!
But she sent us home with the recipes - and nearly every Christmas eve day since then I've made the bread.

@solessence asked on Twitter today if anyone had bread recipes and I thought it was time to share, so here is the famous "Grandmother's White Bread" recipe:

1 envelope yeast
1/2c very warm water (I run tap until quite hot to finger and use that)
3 tbsp sugar
2c milk
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp salt
7-8c flour

1) combine all but 1/2tsp sugar, milk, butter, & salt in saucepan. Heat until butter melts. Pour into a large bowl and cool 'til lukewarm (until comfortable to dip finger in to bottom)
2) While cooling, sprinkle yeast into 1/2c water. Stir in 1/2 tsp sugar. let dissolve and stand until bubbly & double
3) Stir yeast mixture into lukewarm milk mixture.
4) Stir in 3 c flour and beat til smooth (I do all beating/ kneading by hand, but if you have a mixer you trust, go for it). Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough (about 4 cups)
(aside: I learned in a bread-making class recently that you really want to mix flour in until the dough is no longer sticky - you shouldn't need any flour when kneading)
5) Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (10 minutes). Add flour as needed to keep from being sticky.
6) Place in a buttered bowl. Turn dough to bring buttered side up. Cover with a towel. Let rise in a warm place 1 hour (until double).
7) Punch dough down. Turn onto lightly floured surface. Knead a few times. Put bowl over dough. Let rest 10 minutes.
8) Divide dough in half. Knead each half a few times. Shape into 2 loaves. Place in buttered loaf pans.
9) Let rise again in a warm place 1 hour (until double).
10) Bake in a hot (400-degree) oven 40 minutes. Should be golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. If browning too fast, cover loosely w/ foil.

Book catchup

I have a ton of stuff to post about, but "housekeeping" first in this post - the latest books.

Book #20 - Tanequil by Terry Brooks. The latest read in the Shannara series holds true to form. A great escape that swept me away for a weekend. The Rock Trolls are great. It got a little sappy with the latest Ohmsford, Pen, and the blind Rover girl, Cinnaminson in one spot, but generally you get at least one super-sappy spot in each trilogy in the series. Evil forces are out to do the unthinkable, something that will destroy life as the people of the Four Lands know it - and you really feel the impact of how terrible that can be.

Book #21 - The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. Another classic I never read as a kid. Not bad, good fun. Although after a point Toad's nonsense just got annoying and I was looking for the end.

Book #22 - Abyssinian Chronicles by Moses Isegawa. Traces the chaotic life of Mugezi, a guy growing up in Uganda, from the end of colonialism through the reign of Idi Amin and rebel government after rebel government, into the era of AIDS. I was struck by the ways in which the various elements of Ugandan society needed to transform themselves, and how often, in order to survive the latest crisis. Powerful, if a bit dry and dull in spots.

Book #23 - A Sorcerer's Treason by Sarah Zettel. I found this a bit dull at first, but got swept into the stories a few chapters in. I found some elements stiff and predictable at times. The dialogue,intended to be late 19th century, seems forced at times. But the story is good. My favorite is when Bridget weaves spells through the air via dance. I love the idea and the image. I will most likely pick up the second book.

Book #24 - Good Omens: The nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. My spirits lift thinking of this. It was refreshing - a blast of cool, fresh air on a hot and sticky day. And a lot of fun. Not laugh out loud funny, but smirks and sideways grins, definitely. The end of the world has come to pass, or is supposed to, anyway, and all sorts of different folk - people, witches, demons, angels, dogs, have roles to play. A great piece that seemlessly blends the styles of Gaiman and Pratchett into something very entertaining.

Book #25 - Made to Stick: Why some ideas survive and others die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. I was hooked on this book from the first time I read the prologue online. Dealing with ideas that are able to burrow into our subconscious and influence our behaviors, the brothers approach this from the standpoints of business and academia. In researching sticky ideas, urban legends are an obvious place to start. What really sticks with me is the research into tainted Halloween candy - which shows that there NEVER WAS any apples w/ razor blades reported to police!!! Only two incidents showed in records from WWII to the 80s - one was a kid who got into his uncle's coke stash and they sprinkled it on his candy to throw off the cops, and one was a kid whose father put cyanide on his candy to get life insurance. Think about how much this has changed our behaviours! Incredible. The brothers have a sound approach to making ideas sticky that hopefully will be useful for me in the future.

That's it for now - more soon!

May wonders never cease

I <3 finding out about new creatures - or seeing for a first time creatures only rumored to exist. The idea that we may not know everything about this world we live in thrills me. Who knows what beasties dwell in the Amazon, the African rainforest, or in the depths of the ocean that we have yet to encounter? A part of me believes too that behind a thin obscuring veil, the people of faerie are going about their lives. The possibilities, the potential to learn and discover more, the wonder....

Two stories struck me this week:

The first time an Okapi has been caught on film. Called the "African Unicorn", I love the patterns on its fur. (via TrendHunter)


The first photos and video of a live fringe shark. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you may have figured out that I love sharks. This one is so funky looking - very alien when the fringe gills are flaired. The deep ocean must be an incredible place. I wonder if fringe sharks and Megamouth hang out. (via National Geographic)

Coolness!

A Happy Hippo and Not-so Angst Ridden Teens

Just a few book reviews today. I wanted to get this down and I'm still recovering from a bug that's had me wiped out and zomboid of late, so no great insights that you'd care to hear (though Fringe looks tres cool) - just books.

Book #19 - Moomin: The complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip by Tove Jansson. So the Moomins aren't exactly hippos, but they do kinda' look like them. The crazy characters in these comics are always up to something extra-ordinary. But Moomin would rather have a sedentary existence - "I only want to live in peace, plant potatoes, and dream!" - Ahhhh, doesn't that sound nice? I could use a bit of that myself right now....

Come on, they look a bit hippo-ish wouldn't you say? (Photo by Ksu on igougo Helsinki)

Book #20 - Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I promised I'd keep an open mind when trying this and I rather hate that I come off sounding like a book snob, but I just did not care for the style and I thought the story very poorly developed. The prose reminded me of the stories of sarcastic princes and tough talking young ladies that I wrote in high school. The characters weren't well developed - I really didn't care about any of them. Teen angst, much alluded to, was extremely wimpy. Drama and suspense, not a ton. After I finished, I found myself building out the story, rewriting it, adding characters, depth and backstory in an attempt to make it whole - but struggling with the lack of starting material. So it did linger, but not because I wanted to be with the characters longer, to live the story withe them, as with many of the books I love, just trying to fix it. A miss on my list.

It's all about perspective

I'm sure most of you have seen the Dove Onslaught video/ ad. I thought it was great when I first saw it because I do appreciate that we can really end up messing with kids' heads with all of the fake stuff that's out there.

It's important to encourage self-esteem and positive self-image and reinforce that you can succeed. Although altering the system so that everyone achieves is a step too far and a whole 'nother story.

But I'm also increasingly conscious of the impact of the products that I use on the environment, and this response video by Greenpeace has been stuck in my head for days.



Do note the "update" in the Notes for this video - Dove has responded in a positive way. Let's see them stick to it. In the meantime, I may add Palm Oil to the list of ingredients I want to avoid.

Warning: sappiness enclosed

Over the long weekend, Sonny came home and we celebrated our birthdays together with the family - just missing P.

First - the stuff I had been stressing about - my job was moved to California. I'm very much a Northeast girl - love the forests and the green and the seasons. The family is all here. Still, J and I thought quite a bit over the couple of days I had to decide and were considering it, a way to get out of any ruts we might be in. It ended up not working out because J will most likely be going to industrial design school here in the East when he finishes MCC and I couldn't be there alone for years.

Now, I have a bit of time to find another job within Kodak - here's hoping.

So, as we celebrated birthdays I couldn't help but reflect on the 33rd year of my life. The health scare that led to my adoption of bionic parts. The 4 days to decide if we could move across the country for a few years and start a different life. I am very blessed that I have such awesome parents, brothers (+ their others), and husband. Without them, this wannabe kickbutt chic would have been very lost and lonely and would have taken a lot more time to heal. Crises emphasize what's important. Good Lord, these really did. Thank you guys, soooo much.

OK, sappiness over:

Book #17: Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. This helped to motivate me to make some fundamental changes to my diet. It underlined the importance of avoiding processed foods and going organic often. I've nearly cut all of my pop consumption and really increased water intake as a result. I plan to switch to an unprocessed type of sugar - potentially crystallized honey. That said, I'm not totally swayed on the dairy and meat issues.

Book #18: Stranger than Fiction: True stories by Chuck Palahniuk. I have to admit the first stories in this are a bit fuzzy in my memory - I started reading it in the hospital on little sleep and stress, followed by pain meds. I did enjoy the vignettes presented and I think they have piqued my interest in his novels - now that I know a bit more about him I can perhaps overlook some of the more extreme elements of his style.

Looking forward to the weekend

Sonny's coming up for a joint birthday (mine & his) celebration this weekend. That will be fun. Life has been crazy of late and it will be good to be with the whole gang. I need to see if we can get a good pic for YoungMe NowMe on Color Wars.

Can't really tell the full story of recent craziness yet. By next week. Part of it included a whirlwind trip for J and I to San Diego last weekend. We departed Rochester at 7:30am on Saturday and returned at midnight Sunday/Monday. Total nutzoid. From Chicago to Denver we had a selection of flics, including Leatherheads and Prince Caspian. I was excited about Caspian - even though the volume differences between dialogue and musical interlude were annoying. I would say we were about 2/3 of the way into the movie - just as everything starts to come to a boil - when it shut off as we started the approach to Denver. Evil! Don't show a movie if it's longer than the trip! Now I have to move that to the top of the queue.

I seriously need to catch up on books because I'm doing well this year and I'm just being horrible about blogging them, but I don't want to do more than 2 to a post, so:

Book #15: The Quantity Theory of Insanity by Will Self. J found this really powerful. I found it a bit to slog through. I don't remember any particular pieces that struck me, but I just didn't get into it and found much of the premise a bit too convoluted.

Book #16: A Knight of the Word by Terry Brooks. The Shannara series by Brooks remains one of my favorites - one of the few fantasy series that I loved in high school and don't find somewhat annoying today. Running with the Demon, the first book in the series of which A Knight of the Word is the second, also ranked high - bringing elements of Brooks' storytelling to today's world and carrying some of the moral undercurrent I like to see (we humans can seriously screw up life here, or we can work to make things right). Knight did not disappoint. In fact, I'm seriously considering reordering my to read piles to try to catch up with the prolific Brooks - I can't wait to see the latest!

Witnessing a different world

I've blogged before about The Mole People. Last week, we watched a documentary called Dark Days. Focused on an underground community in the Amtrak tunnels, it documents not only the basics of how they live, but also covers an attack on one community member that forces change. The people talk a bit about their past, and the stories are not pleasant.

Towards the close of the film, Amtrak declares that all tunnel occupants are evicted and will be forced out into shelters. The ACLU intervenes and manages to get the residents into a federal housing program where they get their own, real apartments. The last we see of the former tunnel dwellers, they are settling into their new homes, and dreaming big.
A bit of a spoiler that, perhaps - but I needed to tell you that in order to make sure you watch the "postscript" feature in the special features list - sorry I don't remember exactly what it was called - it gives vignettes of life after the tunnel for the key subjects of the documentary.

Striking, all told.

Book #13 - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon. Yes, the description of what happens to the dog is a bit nasty. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Narrated by an autistic teen who is determined to write a detective story and, through his discoveries, forced to experience more of life than might be expected, this is incredibly well done. I feel like I got a great glimpse into the mind of an autistic person. And I discovered some logic that seems to explain some of my, well, issues - ones that probably afflict many of us to some degree.

Book #14 - The White by Deborah Larsen. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed in this. A novelization of the story of Mary Jemison - the "white woman of the Genesee" - kidnapped as a teen, who passed up several opportunities to have her freedom redeemed to remain with the Seneca (I believe) family she became a part of, to me it failed on the "novelization" side. Mary told her story to a doctor in her later years, and this book reads like I believe that would. Not that I don't like the style and cadence, the sparseness of the prose, etc., but I expected more. For what I got, I would rather have read the doctor's edition of the tale and bypassed a modern interpreter. I thought I'd get more depth.

Whistler, Vancouver, and more books

I was in Whistler and Vancouver last week - such great country, there! I could go on and on, but to give just a few highlights.
- Crowds walking near wilderness paths quickly fade from your attention - you can be solitary even in a tourist rush.
- Lift is still an awesome restaurant (we went there on our honeymoon, too)
- People in Vancouver are nice, fit, and very environmentally friendly.
- Cranberry rosemary gelato tastes like eating a rosemary plant. Figs and chocolate shavings is yummy.

I've never been super skilled at chatting it up with strangers. Cab drivers, bus drivers and passengers, people on planes. This trip, though, I actually did strike up a few chats. I think social media playing has helped this. I can throw out 140 characters pretty easily.


Breakfast on the water near the Vancouver airport, first morning there. The kitchen has issued orders to push the meat, it seems. I've never been probed specifically on meat-based sides before. A macho party guy tells of winning at Neil Diamond trivia - interesting contrast there. Only after he brags of it does he back off, a bit embarrassed. Real maple syrup is the default - something I like to see.

Whistler's library has a green roof - very cool!

I read 3 books on the trip and shortly after - up to 15 read this year. Here's the catchup from before that...
Book #11 - I Shudder at Your Touch , an anthology edited by Michele Slung. This was a reread from that Alien Sex lit class I took in college (yep, vampires, aliens, robots, the whole shebang). It's subtitle is "22 Tales of Sex and Horror". What is it with this Horror thing? Some of the tales were odd, some were gross, but I found none horrific - none made me wary of sleeping in a hotel alone without a light on. Overall, it was just ... odd.

Book #12 - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. This book is big, but has incredible pull. I couldn't stop reading it and was very unproductive the last few days, especially. A great romp, immersive and realistic while still giving a great fantasy tale. Norrell is so uptight you'd like to smack him around. Strange is compelled and it takes him to incredible places that no one ever expected he'd reach. Very cool. Now I need to get her second, The Ladies of Grace Adieu.

Quick movie & book review

Traveling to Whistler and Vancouver next week - psyched to go, but sorry J couldn't make it to our honeymoon spot!

Saw The Incredible Hulk last night w/ Dad for Father's Day. I really liked it. Dad & I kept nudging each other as links to the show came up. I thought Norton did a good job as Banner and Roth was certainly looney tunes. And I didn't think the CG Hulk was too bad. As for smashing, just like on the show, Hulk smashed to survive, save people, get away from meanies. Not gratuitously.

Just enough time to record Book #10 before other things need to be done:

Book #10 - Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger. I picked this up to see what other stuff of his was like, after The Catcher in the Rye. It's a series of pretty down and dreary vignettes. The most striking was the last story - "Teddy", but I won't tell you why - try not to spoil things here.

But they're an institution!

Sitting in a coffee-shop when a father and his 3-ish daughter step up to the pastry case. He's detailing the goodies she can chose from and they come to the mega-Rice Krispies treats. "What's that?" she asks and he proceeds to detail how they are made. My gut reaction is horror - how can any kid old enough to walk into a coffee-shop and share goodies w/ Dad not know Rice Krispies treats? They're a childhood institution!!

Book#9: Waking up Screaming by H.P. Lovecraft. I have to be honest. Lovecraft had been so hyped as a master of terror, that I felt I must be horribly jaded as I read most of this book. Creepy, gross things, yes. Terrifying, no. In most stories, I figured out the deal early on, so all of his work building suspense was just in the way. That said, I did really enjoy "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" - the novella at the close of this collection. I didn't have it totally right at the start and I enjoyed the history of Providence it wrapped in.

Vacation musings

Thought I'd share the notes from my journal from the first part of our vacation trip.

6/2/08 - Swarms of gnats hung from each tree like a plume of smoke. Their coordinated movements spurred thoughts of collective intelligence, as in some horror film.

6/3/08 - After intermittent drizzly showers, the river has calmed to a glossy stillness, blurred by fog.

6/30/08 - What was the crumbling shack in that field before? A farm stand? A small home for someone making do? Whatever it once was, today it sags and bulges. From a window, a pink leg of some (once-loved?) stuffed beast droops. Memories left behind become just a part of the rubble.

Come and gone

Dan's birthday gathering was in the Thousand Islands. We stayed in a nice cottage on top of a big pile of rocks right on the river. Even though the weather wasn't spectacular all week, it was a great time. J made it up two days after the rest of us (because of a class), the guys got to spend an afternoon fishing for big 'uns, and we did an islands tour so we got to fantasize about having an island someday....



Sonny's run of trees sold out in < 1 minute. He's also sold some other large pieces recently. Awesome stuff.

I have a bunch of books to catch up on:
Book #8: Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History by Michel-Rolph Trouillot. I was pretty disappointed in this. I was hoping for book of case studies detailing what had been buried and why. I got a lot more really dry academic definitions of history and its composition. The moments when he detailed what little is known of some of the true events surrounding Haiti's revolution, it gets more bearable - but just not the really cool analysis I thought it would be.