 |
| I love Dory Story by Jerry Pallotta, Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan, and Common Sense by Thomas Paine. |
|
|
A few bookish lines each day. That's the goal. We'll see how it goes. So far, so good.
|
Thursday, July 29, 2010 I’ve decided to buy an ipad for Christmas. But only if it comes with a front-facing camera. And only if the price goes down a bit. Or not. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, July 28, 2010 The Times Book Review from last Sunday has two front-page reviews of two new books about Somerset Maugham and E. M. Forster. The life of a well-heeled British writer sounds sort of fabulous. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 Daniel Schorr (1916-2010) died on Saturday. My first memory of him was when he went to jail for contempt of court because he wouldn’t reveal a source for one of his news reports. That act of courage and commitment to the first amendment has made a permanent impression on me. Mr. Schorr has passed; but the first amendment remains. The best obituary of him is located at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128565997 Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, July 26, 2010 I reread Love that Dog today. It’s SUCH a great book based on SUCH a great premise. And of course that premise is that poetry reveals that subtleties of life in a way that no other medium can even come close to approaching. The intertextual connections, the real-world emotions, and the structure of the text make this book a classic for all time. What a wonderful book. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, July 25, 2010 Lady Gaga. The former President of Mexico. Shirley Sherrod. Joel Schumacher. All those and more in today’s paper. Articles, interviews, insights. So, the question becomes, when is too much information too much information? Today. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, July 24, 2010 I’m thinking of reading the complete short stories of Eudora Welty. I have that book on the shelf; and for whatever reason, it seems to be calling my name. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, July 23, 2010 Helen Mirren is in a movie about Sophia Tolstoy. A new book about Sophia Tolstoy was reviewed in last Sunday’s NY Times Book Review. The book is great. The movie is great and is titled, The Last Station. So, I’m planning to watch the movie. Plus, another new book titled, City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems and Jon Muth was favorably reviewed. Plenty of food for thought. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, July 22, 2010 I never get tired of looking out the window. Unfortunately, a lot of time can pass with little getting done. Windows can be a problem. However, Eudora Welty seems to have gotten it just right. She sat at her desk so she could only see her typewriter. Food for thought. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, July 21, 2010 Note to self: John Grisham has a book for adolescents that is a mystery and is titled, Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer. How cool is that. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 Robert Sabuda is quite a guy. I love his three-book set on pre-historic animals. Quite impressive. Til tomorrow.
|
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Prehistorica-Collection-Robert-Sabuda/dp/0763637203/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279647175&sr=8-27
|
Monday, July 19, 2010 I’m still reading a bit from Bryson’s Short History; but I’m going to try out the new book about the girl with the tattoo and see what that’s all about. Senator Olympia Snowe mentioned on C-SPAN when they asked her what she was reading for the summer that she was reading that book. Or maybe it was someone else who was reading that book. Yesterday, C-SPAN interviewed several people asking them what they were reading for the summer. And of course, on a Monday morning, it’s now all a blur as to who said what. Anyhoo, that’s the one I think I’ll try next. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, July 18, 2010 According to today’s paper, gang violence is up as well as bank profits while the number of people who actually read books is down. Any decent sociologist will see the relationships there. Sounds pretty bleak for humanity. On a brighter note, Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch will be the new leads in A Little Night Music on Broadway replacing Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury. Quite a lovely gang of multi-talented women. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, July 17, 2010 The Sunday NY Times Book Review is due on my doorstep tomorrow. And I still have last week’s Sunday NY Times Book Review waiting to be read. Not good. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, July 16, 2010 The phrase, “the tyranny of text” is still on my mind. I’m still reading Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything; but it’s slow going. He packs so much info on a page that it’s difficult to remember it. I enjoy it the moment that I read it; but beyond that, it’s difficult. I’d MUCH rather watch him talk about the book in an hour lecture on BookTV than read the book. I wonder what that means – that I’d rather watch him talk than read the book. Heresy probably. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, July 15, 2010 I’m looking at my books and just found a travel guide to Belize. I know I must have purchased it at some point. But why? Am I taking a trip to Belize? I don’t think so. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 I’m going to make a little chart with the dates and books and lives of Eudora Welty and Flannery O’Connor. I already made a little chart for Wallace Stegner and William Styron. Very helpful in keeping things straight. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 I bought the 1962 edition of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. I had a paperback copy; but I felt I needed a hardcover copy. The acknowledgment pages dedicate the book to Albert Schweitzer whom she quotes as saying, “Man has lost the capacity to foresee and to forestall. He will end by destroying the earth.” She also includes two quotes by Keats and E. B. White. What a book. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, July 12, 2010 Ralph Nader interviewed Andrew Napolitano yesterday on BookTV; and it was fabulous. Two articulate, energetic thinkers talking about what could be best for the nation. Very invigorating. So much so that I watched it twice. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, July 11, 2010 I picked up, again, A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. I sure like the way he writes; and he’s very smart. Plus, he makes good presentations on BookTV. I had started his book before Earth and the Cabin and am just now getting back to it. It’s been there waiting for me all this time. Cool. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, July 10, 2010 There’s a new biography out by Hilary Spurling about Pearl Buck. The review in the NY Times of that biography is two thumbs up. Pearl was the daughter of missionaries. All was not well with her life, which apparently included a zealot father, a distant mother, a couple of odd husbands, and the struggle to live in a country, China, with limited everything. I’ve read The Good Earth this summer and am still admiring Pearl Buck’s ability to tell a story within the structure of important philosophical underpinnings. Supposedly, she wrote that book in five months. How'd she do that? The other period piece I’ve read this summer is Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. All of the world’s most vile acts rest on the shoulders of Simon Legree while all the world’s strongest virtues are in the hands of Tom. Once you read books like those, you maybe feel like you don’t need to read anything else for quite a long while. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, July 9, 2010 David Suchet was filmed in real life on board the Orient Express on PBS the other day. He showed what the 81-hour trip was like from London to Istanbul in the 30s and demonstrated the elegance of train travel during the time when Agatha Christie wrote Murder on the Orient Express. The book, the movie, the actual train, and the good old BBC. I’m ready for a train trip but will settle for the PBS broadcast this coming Sunday of Agatha's masterpiece. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, July 8, 2010 I’ve been thinking about Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, and Kidnapped lately. Can’t say exactly what put those books into my head. But must have been something good. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, July 7, 2010 My new favorite book is The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan. She wrote a wonderful book about the life of the poet Pablo Neruda; and then Peter Sis provided illustrations. Pam captured the dynamics of a family, of life in Chile, and of the relationship between a father and a son in ways that are insightful, wise, astute, and sensitive. The most amazing thing about this book is how Pam totally captured the train scenes, the ocean scenes, the living room scenes, the fire scene, the scenes at the dinner table, and the lovely relationships between stepmother and siblings. I loved the book. Thank you, Pam. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, July 6, 2010 Hope, work, love. Eric Carle wrote three books about those three topics; and respectively, they are: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Busy Spider, and The Very Quiet Cricket. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, July 5, 2010 I’m thinking of buying a CD of music composed by Shostakovich, inspired by Bach, and performed by Tatiana Nikolayeva in 1987. Opus 87. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, July 4, 2010 The road to independence. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, July 3, 2010 So, according to today's paper, the economy is still a mess in spite of bail outs, hand outs, and all-around best efforts. Therefore, I’m going back to rereading February 17, 2010 and enjoying the wisdom of Adam Smith who encouraged constraint in spending and consuming. Then again, it’s easy for those like Smith who had a fairly easy life to preach constraint to those who don’t have much to constrain to start with. Nevertheless, I think he got it right in The Wealth of Nations. In the end, it's going to be the notions of small, agrarian, simple, and earth-friendly that bring the world back to stasis. Can't wait. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, July 1 through Friday, July 2, 2010 I’ve started my new book on how the internet is changing our brains; and I really like it. The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr is going to be a great read. His premise is that we are all rewiring our neural networking system when we flit from one page, one screen, one thought, and one device to another and another and another. He says we’re losing the neural ability to focus for sustained lengths of time. And he sees this as a bad thing. I’m not sure he has scientific evidence or if he’s just basing all this on his own experiences. But, it’s going to be interesting to read the whole book. He quotes someone who said that with all the new media comes freedom from the tyranny of text. So, reading on. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 A national holiday is coming up. Celebrations. Gatherings. Food. Hope. History. Future. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 Senator Byrd died yesterday. And as can be suspected, the NY Times has published an honorable obituary about the achievements of a man who reminded us all of the value of honesty, strength, poetry, redemption, and relentless effort. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, June 28, 2010 Note to self. Do not upgrade imac or macbook to OS 10.6. And here’s why. Adobe CS3 Photoshop will not work on 10.6; but it will work on 10.5.8, which is what I have. So, there you have it. Do NOT forget this as I LOVE CS3 Photoshop; and I do NOT want to spend more money replacing Photoshop when I am perfectly happy with 10.5.8 and CS3. Why is it all this complicated? Maybe it’s not for everyone else. But it surely is for me. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, June 27, 2010 Death, vice, and fear are woven into the fairy tales of Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm according to David G. Allan in the Travel section of the NY Times today. Their fairy tale book was titled, Children’s and Household Tales published in Germany in 1812. According to Mr. Allan, hungry wolves and murderous stepmothers abound in the world of the Brothers Grimm. So, from tales told by parents to discipline their children and to keep them safe from the dangers in the forests, Wilhelm and Jacob saw an opportunity; and 200 years later, the Grimms are still with us. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, June 26, 2010 The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr arrived. So, now I have to read the thing. I’m hoping it has a riveting beginning and then gets better from there. We’ll see. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, June 25, 2010 Not a new book in sight today - only the grass to mow, the kitchen to clean, the dogs to walk, the floor to mop. Toil and trouble. Toil and trouble. Toil and trouble. Toil and trouble. To steal a phrase from Macbeth's three lovely witches by our man William. Shakespeare that is. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, June 24, 2010 I’m all caught up on my reading. So, I’m going to do what I always do and that’s just wait around a couple of hours or even a couple of days til my next big read finds me. It always does. In the meantime, I am listening over and over to Rostropovich playing his cello rendition of Bach’s Sonata Suite Number 1 in G Major the Prelude. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 The best thing about books is that they take you to places you need to be but then they allow you to come right back home in the blink of an eye. Whether I’m down the rabbit hole with Alice or in the White House with Eleanor or even in Pakistan watching a school being built, I’m still able to stir the spaghetti and sweeten the tea right in my own little kitchen. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 Three Cups of Tea is coming along. I do wonder about Western values being imposed on other cultures without our appreciation or even basic understanding that the West does not always know best. The culture of the West, whether it's to bring schools, TV, or disposable diapers to developing nations, needs to tread lightly. There are individuals in the world of great thinkers who have first-hand experience with regard to displacing a region's native wisdom, practices, and culture with industrial and technological progress. People who nearly always get it right from a global perspective are Chris Hedges, Sebastion Junger, Jimmy Carter, Karen Armstrong, Chinua Achebe, and Christiane Amanpour to name six of my favorites. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, June 21, 2010 Matt Ridley spoke yesterday on BookTV about his ideas on the evolution of our species. He said the most remarkable thing about our species is not 2-legs, inventing fire, migrating, or using language. He said the thing that makes our species the most advanced is that we exchange things. We exchange beads for bread, money for spices, people for gold. His ideas are simply way more complex than I can write about here. However, he was on for 90 minutes; and during that time he made perfect sense. Maybe I should read his book. But it was Jon Stewart who stole the show when he introduced Condoleezza Rice, John Grisham, and Mary Roach. Four smart people – all on the same platform at the BookExpo America in NYC last month. I just went online and bought Jon Stewart’s book America. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, June 20, 2010 Pat Conroy was on BookTV last night and gave a WONDERFUL interview about how books have influenced him as a reader and writer. His new book is My Reading Life and is a veritable compendium of significant canonical writers of the 20th century particularly those from the south. His interview was refreshing to watch. He said all writers are second to William Faulkner, which made me think specifically of Faulkner's The Sound and The Fury. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, June 19, 2010 Network Solutions has changed its log in procedure so that Image Café is no longer available immediately. I called them and no one answered. So, I’m in the market for moving my hosting package to another company. Not happy. Maybe Network Solutions will read this and will fix this problem. Or maybe they're going bankrupt and they all went home. Comment? Til tomorrow. UPDATE: Network Solutions added a button after their log in page that now fixes the problem. Thanks.
|
Friday, June 18, 2010 Today, yes, today, I’m hoping to clean off my desk and get completely caught up with correspondence. We’ll see. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, June 17, 2010 Just got a new CD in the mail from Amazon. Sweet. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| 16 Biggest Hits for Rosemary Clooney |
|
|
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 Two books are on my desk: The Life of the Mind by Hannah Arendt, copyright 1971 and Existentialists and Mystics by Iris Murdoch, copyright 1950. Not exactly light summer reading; but books in which I am and have been interested for some time. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 The NY Times Magazine had a wonderful piece about Marian Seldes last Sunday. I thought I had seen her in person on Broadway; but I think I’m thinking of Frances Sternhagen who was with Matthew Broderick in The Foreigner. So, the article was great and so is Miss Marian and so is Frances. Women are young, then they are middle-aged, then they are wonderful (quote from the Times that sums it up nicely). Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Marian Seldes, Matthew Broderick, Frances Sternhagen |
|
|
Monday, June 14, 2010 Nicholas Carr and others were on a panel in Chicago yesterday on live BookTV; and they discussed the brain and how it uses the internet. They identified a problem with attention span in that multitasking on the internet can interfere with the brain’s ability to selectively focus and attend to sustained tasks like reading a book for example. There was also discussion that in spite of the value of a video game's ability to tell a good story with a highly evolved set of narrative elements, it’s still a game. And video games are addictive. Who will plant the wheat and harvest the wheat and make the bread if everybody is tuned into their favorite video game. Just because a game is highly complex doesn't make it anything more than just a game. So, I’m buying Mr. Carr’s book titled, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, June 13, 2010 Barbara Ehrenreich has a new book, Bright-Sided. She was on BookTV yesterday, live, at the book festival in Chicago. She was wonderful. She was just as wonderful when I met her in NYC at the 92nd Street Y when she was discussing her book, Nickel and Dimed on February 24, 2002. She is so honest and straightforward and so focused on her work. The premise of the new book is that society is forcing us all to be artificially cheerful. Bah. There’s too much in the world that is absolutely horrific; and always trying to be positive is simply delusional thinking. It’s always so validating when someone of high acclaim states with authority what you’ve been thinking all along. She is very kind, very smart, and very honest. The whole title of her new book? Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking has Underminded America. Well documented and well-received by the reading public. Ms. Ehrenreich does a great job of weeding out the popular and highlighting the difficult. What talent. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, June 12, 2010 Garrison Keillor is live on Prairie Home Companion tonight at 5 PM Central Time. He’s in Spokane Washington, which is where I used to live. I wonder if I bought a plane ticket right now if I could be there in time. Then again…there’s always the radio. Planet ticket versus the radio. Quite a dilemma. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, June 11, 2010 My Hitch 22 and Lemony Snicket CDs have arrived. I’m going to petition Congress to see if they can add an hour, or maybe two, to the clock each day. I need more time. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, June 10, 2010 Still reading from Uncle Tom’s Cabin and at the same time looking forward to listening to Tim Curry on CD read the first Lemony Snicket book about a series of unfortunate events, which I just ordered on Amazon because 1) it was on sale and 2) it was on sale. But I know I’m gonna LOVE it - on sale or not. I may plan a road trip just so I can listen to this book on CD in the car, which is the best place to listen to a book on tape (or CD). Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, June 9, 2010 I just bought three great books as gifts for some great young readers: The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney. Never Smile at a Monkey: And 17 Other Important Things to Remember by Steve Jenkins. How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague.
Cool. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, June 8, 2010 Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. Or so says Noam Chomsky; and I couldn't agree more. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, June 7, 2010 I’m three weeks behind on the NY Times Book Review including the one from yesterday that is a pretty massive collection of must-reads for the summer. Where does the time go? When I was a kid, I used to sit in this big elm tree in our back yard in the summertime and read books from the public library. No Amazon. No Kindle. No ipad. No rush. Just a big ol’ elm tree, a public library, and summertime. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, June 6, 2010 I learned way too much today.
Martha Nussbaum is a philosopher of law at the University of Chicago. She likes the questions that are hard to answer in life. How to behave. How to think about others. How to achieve social justice. How to define decency. How to be a world citizen. She was in my living room today for 3 hours - live. BookTV is simply and unbelievably the best media I know of.
Elizabeth Bandinter is the heir to Simone de Beauvoir. Ms. Bandinter is a French writer and feminist who is rejecting breastfeeding, cloth diapers, and natural childbirth for women because they’re chains of oppression that produce guilt and hardship. She wants women to free themselves from those kinds of chains and work toward equality and assumably happiness.
Christopher Hitchens has a new book out which I just ordered on CD. Fifteen CDs read by the author from his book titled, Hitch 22. He’s probably the world’s best and most articulate essayist; and I wanted to hear him speak his own words. So, I bought the CDs. He brings great artistry and pure reason to the field of debate. He’s better than a Broadway show. Almost.
Stephen Prothero has a new book on the world’s eight most prominent religions:
Islam, which emphasizes keeping ones personal pride in check. Christianity, which emphasizes thoughts on eternal salvation. Confucianism, which emphasizes maintaining a good social order. Buddhism, which emphasizes freedom from suffering. Judaism, which emphasizes study and sovereignty. Hinduism, which emphasizes living a pure life. Daoism, which emphasizes living as one with nature. Atheism, which emphasizes being human.
Then from the Arts and Leisure section of the NY Times:
Sex and City 2 gets dumped on as being trivial, wasteful, and just plain silly.
Catherine Zeta Jones and Angela Lansbury have only 16 more performances left on Broadway in A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim. They were so lovely together.
James Spader and David Alan Grier will depart Race by David Mamet June 20 and 13 respectively.
I’m so lucky to have seen both of these plays. Such talent. Such a thrill.
This is a lot to have read about and learned in one day. Time for a break. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, June 5, 2010 My new book arrived yesterday, Three Cups of Tea. Uncle Tom’s Cabin still remains; and I'm making progress but I'm going to have to discipline myself not to start three cups til the cabin’s done, which is very unlikely. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, June 4, 2010 I’m still into Uncle Tom’s Cabin; but I must admit that I’m having to reread pages to keep track of the action and characters. Ideally, I’m normally able to become immersed in a story line pretty easily; but this book is giving me trouble for some reason. I suspect it’s a combination of the writing style and the fact that I’m not wanting to miss anything in this important book, which is said to have started the Civil War. So, I’m marching on. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, June 3, 2010 AT&T home phone service is behind the times. This corporation has invested in broadband digital services and has seemingly forgotten about people (me for example) who see a need for a land-based line in their homes for both local and long distance. So, I’m continuing to postpone the iphone until Apple opens up to Verizon as a carrier. I wonder how long that will be? Poor AT&T. I wonder if they'll miss me. Ha. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 Extraction, immersion, pedagogic. Those are the three kinds of digital reading that we all do on the internet. I really like those three terms. I’ve retyped them today even though I wrote about them previously on May 24, 2010 because I want to try and remember them without looking them up. But if I can’t remember them – voila. I’ll know where to look.
Extraction-taking smaller pieces of information that we need from text. I did this just now when I went back to review my notes from May 24.
Immersion-getting lost in a great read. I've done this with The Perfect Storm by Sebastion Junger and Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Pedagogic-learning something after studying the text for a bit. I've done this my whole life. I have a lot to learn. For example, I just learned how to properly season my new French Staub Cocotte, which I SO love and which is a lovely cast iron pot.
Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, June 1, 2010 I’m reading the last two weeks of book reviews in the NY Times. I’m a little behind it seems. Book Expo America was in NYC last week. There was a BEA panel on BookTV that discussed the demise of the book industry in favor of ebooks. Their best idea was to sell a book as 1) just a book, 2) just a book along with a CD or password to download it, or 3) just an ebook. Problem solved. Scott Turow was a panelist. He was concerned about copyright violations; but he was also an advocate for authors who want readers. They concluded that it’s the industry’s job to provide readers with the content of books in a variety of formats. So, seems like they got it all worked out. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, May 31, 2010 Memorial Day. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, May 30, 2010 Nathan Lane and John Waters were featured respectively in the NY Times Arts and Leisure section and The Times Magazine. Very creative and unique people who have found a place for their comedic perspectives and personalities. Only in America. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Garrison Keillor this week published a piece about the demise of the book. It was a good piece and explained exactly the way most people read nowadays compared to when he was a lad. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/opinion/27iht-edkeillor.html
The notion of digital reading on a device means it is possible for readers to lose the ability to read extended text because we all have become accustomed to flitting from here to there. Flitting is not a good thing. According to Garrison, our perpetual flitting takes us from “Henry James to Jesse James to the epistle of James to pajamas to Obama to Alabama to Alanon to non-sequitors, sequins, penguins, penal institutions” at the speed of light. Also, the first three sentences of an online read are going to have be great because today’s readers are quickly fickle and will simple click to another site. So, there you have it. Digital media is changing how we think. I’m thinking this can’t be good – at least for the book industry. Mr. Keillor is live tonight on NPR broadcasting from Vienna, Virginia. I’ll be listening. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, May 28, 2010 I started reading last night Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It’s going to be a brutal read I know but a necessary one I feel. Certain pieces of literature reflect certain attributes of humanity; and this book clearly represents the lowest and highest of our potential. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, May 27, 2010
John Grisham has a new book out featuring a 13-year-old attorney. Mr. Grisham intends to write a series of books featuring this character. I’ll probably read the first one and maybe the whole series. Sounds very cool. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
I’m finishing up the last bit of Malcolm Gladwell’s What the Dog Saw. The book is a collection of his pieces that he published in the New Yorker in the late 90s; and while they are well written and engaging, they still feel dated, which goes just to show how quickly life changes. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
I watched Masterpiece Mystery Sunday night. It was an Agatha Christie mystery starring Miss Marple. Fabulous. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, May 24, 2010
I was watching Evan Schnittman of Oxford University Press on BookTV yesterday; and he says there are three kinds of digital reading: extraction, immersion, pedagogic. Can’t argue with that. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, May 17 to Sunday, May 23, 2010
Computer’s been in the shop all week. I listened to The Lightning Thief on tape yesterday. If I had been the writer’s editor, I would have suggested a quicker pace. It seemed like it was being staged to become a movie. “Grover, who was lying a bed with a pink poodle close by, looked stun.” See what I mean? There were staging directions built into the book. I guess that’s the way it’s done in the fast lane of book and movie deals. At any rate, I thought it was distracting. But I did LOVE the weaving of Greek mythology into the current-day dilemma of a kid growing up on the upper east side of Manhattan and trying to save humanity at the same time. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades - three sons of Cronus and three tough dudes. I still have one chapter to go so I don’t know whether the boy’s mother will be saved or not. But since the boy's father is Poseidon, I suspect so. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Woody Allen was quoted as saying that if you look at life too closely, you'll find that it's a "a pretty grim enterprise.” He referenced Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, and Eugene O'Neill as having said pretty much the same thing. Pearl S. Buck would not disagree. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, May 15, 2010
It’s beginning to look a lot like summer. Time to get out Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland and Summertime by George Gershwin. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, May 14, 2010
I have purchased a new book since I’m almost finished with The Good Earth. My next book will be by Iris Murdoch, titled Existentialists and Mystics: Writings on Philosophy and Literature. She was a novelist and philosopher. Dame Iris Murdoch (July 15, 1919 – February 8, 1999) was married to Professor John Bayley who wrote Elegy to Iris, which I read after Dame Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent portrayed them in 2001 in a movie titled, Iris. I have read two of her novels titled The Sea, the Sea and The Green Knight. It's all exquisite and elegant. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Almost finished with The Good Earth. It’s SO disturbing to read a pretty accurate account of how fragile we all really are and how we all live lives of quiet desperation whether we know it or not. However, our fragility is greatly reduced when we return to the good earth and take our cues from the seasons, the rivers, and the rhythm of life.Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
No new bookish thoughts today. But Modern Family is on TV this evening. What a great show. I think I’ll watch it. Plus, I’m going to watch Cash Cab if it’s on today on the Discovery Channel. So…Out with the books. On with the TV. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Still reading The Good Earth. There’s not a page in the book that doesn’t evoke some sort of thought about a current social dilemma. The book continues to explore issues of class, wealth, and the general pecking order that we have artificially created for ourselves in this world. I’m reading just a few pages a day; so it’s gonna be awhile til I’m finished. Good for Pearl. Oh my gosh. I just now realized that the two gems O-lan keeps from a bag of jewels that she stole during the uprising of the poor against the rich are two small pearls. VERY cool. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, May 10, 2010
I watched Masterpiece Mystery on PBS last night. It was a great murder mystery that took place right after WW II in London. Alan Cumming was the host who introduced the film. He shares the spot with Laura Linney. But of course the masters at intros were Alistair Cooke and Russell Baker from years past. Thank goodness for the BBC. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Happy Mother’s Day.
|
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Wang Lung and his growing family are now experiencing a severe drought. Their fields of rice and wheat have shriveled in the ground; and everyone is growing thin. So, the good earth, as it turns out, is rather fickle when you come to depend on it too much. The nomadic buffalo of North America had it all figured out. Simply roam from north to south and east to west your whole life as the weather and seasons dictate. O-lan, the strong, resourceful, smart, quiet wife remains the hero of the book. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, May 7, 2010
I’m 60 pages into The Good Earth. The book is a treatise on wealth, poverty, power, gender, and all the personality characteristics that make up our species. I’m reading from an original first edition from 1931, which makes the book seem even more important. The quiet suffering and personal resolve of Wang Lung’s wife is both dispiriting and admirable. I’m reading it slowly so I can think about the societal issues and implications as I go. I should probably take a few notes; but that turns the whole experience into a task rather than a pleasure. So, I'm simply reading on. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, May 6, 2010
There once was a boy from Dubuque
Whose first and last names were Luke.
The boy was game
About his name
Even though his name was a fluke.
Just felt like writing a limerick this morning. Hopefully, this will never happen again. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
I’ve started The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Life at the turn of the century (1900s) in rural China is what this book is about. My prediction is that 100 years from now, we’ll all need to know Mandarin, which is going to be a good thing because Chinese culture minus the Communism strictures is a pretty good culture. After I decided to read this book (even though most people read it in high school), I found out that it was an Oprah selection. I wonder if she's read it. Pearl Buck won both the noble Nobel Prize and the Pulitzer Prize while Oprah's show has won 35 Emmy awards. Good company. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Lynn Redgrave died Sunday (March 8, 1943-May 2, 2010). I loved her work. Her ability to take a character from a page of print and endow it with life on a stage and on film was second to none. I missed my chance to see her at the Roundabout Theater in 2005 in Somerset Maugham’s The Constant Wife. I will forever be sorry that I wasn’t there to watch her touch the past. But I did see her on stage in London in The Three Sisters by Anton Chekov with her sister Vanessa and niece Jemma in 1991. The entire play and performance was like being encapsulated in a glass globe where time was suspended. I think that was my first brush with excellence. Lynn Redgrave. A loss. A connection. A sorrow. And more. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| As Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest |
|
|
Monday, May 3, 2010
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds. That’s what Shakespeare said in Sonnet 94. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, May 2, 2010
In today's NY Times Magazine, Deborah Solomon interviewed a woman from Arkansas who writes vampire novels and is very successful. As in HBO successful. But I’m not really interested in vampire stories. I am, however, interested in cheerfulness; and Charlaine Harris seems extraordinarily cheerful. And funny. Cheerful and funny. Seems an odd combination for a writer of vampire sagas to possess. But there it is. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, May 1, 2010
It’s a regular Saturday. NPR. BookTV. And maybe a little baking. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, April 30, 2010
I am SO glad I didn’t buy an ipad because what I really need is a color, laser printer that is quick, economical on toner, and small enough not to take up my whole workspace. Actually, I need two of them. Ha. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, April 29, 2010
No new bookish thoughts today. Except to say that I read five haikus by Richard Wright yesterday and REALLY liked them.
Glass in the window
Keeps out the bugs and varmints
But lets in the light.
His were much better; but that one’s not bad for a 15 second effort. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, April 26 to Wednesday, April 28, 2010
I met Mary Ann Hoberman in Chicago and she posed for a photo with me. She’s the nation’s children’s poet laureate and her book of poetry, which I received free and am holding in the photo, is titled The Tree that Time Built. It even comes with a CD of people reading some of the poems. Poet Laureate. Now there’s an honorable job! For sure. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, April 25, 2010
I was thinking of Wilma Mankiller yesterday as I listened to Garrison Keillor on Prairie Home Companion. Can’t say what prompted the thought; but I did look her up as I listened to PHC during a musical number. And I discovered that she had passed away on April 6 of this very month. So, of course I went right to the NY Times and found the obituary. November 18, 1945-April 6, 2010. It's hard to accept. I had come to depend on the thought that she was somewhere on earth crafting policies to give back to the Cherokee tribe their rightful place in the world. When the Bureau of Indian Affairs relocated her family from Oklahoma to California in 1956 in order to take back land that her family had been given in the 1830s, she said the move was her personal Trail of Tears. The Cherokees have lost a great Chief and the world a great woman. Sadly. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Lee Smith from Hillsboro, NC was on Michael Feldman’s NPR radio show this morning. She’s a southern writer who writes about characters from the south. Her newest book is about a character named Mrs. Darcy (completely unrelated to Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen). Mrs. Darcy and the Blue-Eyed Stranger is the name of the book; and I’m thinking about buying it. Yes, I think I will. Maybe. Perhaps. Possibly. Yes. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, April 23, 2010
Because of the volcanic ash, planes throughout Europe have been grounded. This means that the atmosphere is clear of jet pollution; and people can see the beauty of the unpolluted skies in ways they haven’t been able to in decades. That view will end this weekend as the jets take off once again. In another part of the world, the oil rig in the Gulf that collapsed with lives lost has created an oil sheen five miles long by a mile wide heading for land. It’s difficult to know of those events and just go right on as if all that is inevitable and is simply the cost of doing business in a modern society. But, really, it isn’t okay. Our consumption practices in our oil-based economy are exceeding the ability of the planet to repair itself. For the earth, these are difficult times in spite of 40 years of Earth Day celebrations. But even amidst this darkness, the unstoppable Jane Goodall continues her work on behalf of the chimps every day without fail. She continues to produce good work; and I know she watches the same news as I. She celebrated her 75th birthday this past April 3. She’s alive and well and going strong. She’s the one to watch. Now and always.
|
Thursday, April 22, 2010
George Washington has a $300,000 library fine in New York for an overdue library book. He signed out the book as "President." Delightful. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Harry Markopolos was interviewed by Deborah Solomon for the NY Times Magazine on February 28, 2010. And then, this weekend, he was interviewed on BookTV by Nicole Gelinas. Mr. Markopolos knew about the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme ten years before the regulators acted on it. Mr. Markopolos told the regulators Mr. Madoff was engaged in illegal activity; and they ignored him. Mr. Markopolos is now the hero and has written a book all about it. Hollywood will make a movie about him. Tom Hanks will probably produce it; and it will be similar to Charlie Wilson’s War, which Mr. Hanks also produced. During the BookTV interview, Mr. Markopolos said that on Wall Street today the same people and the same practices are still in place, which means Wall Street is back to its exact same practices as before the recent crash. But I suspect that Congress will take a look and eventually fix the problems. In the meantime, Hollywood will tell the story. So, the only question for me is whether to read the book or wait for the movie. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Malcolm Gladwell said that one of Adam Gopnik’s books was the most well-written book he'd ever read. At least that’s what I think he said. He and David Grann were discussing the art of writing. So, now I'm going to relisten to that interview and get the name of Mr. Gopnik's book referred to by Mr. Gladwell. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, April 19, 2010
Juan Williams of NPR fame was on BookTV last night giving viewers a look at his desk in his home where he does most of his writing. Richard Allington of IRA fame said that readers will be better readers if four things happen:
1. knowledge goals and grades are established by how much was learned not tests,
2. students have choice in what they read,
3. teachers provide interesting text,
4. teachers and students collaborate on the curriculum.
Juan and Richard - both great readers. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Said Ernest to Algy in The Importance of Being Earnest, “Algy, you’re always talking nonsense.” To which Algy replied, “Well, it’s better than listening to it.” Bless Oscar Wilde and all his ancestors and descendants. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Five best libraries according to David McCullough: Harvard, Boston Public, Yale, Library of Congress, NYC Public Library. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, April 16, 2010
One of the best things about books is that they don't feel abandoned when you temporarily abandon them. So. No big insights today. No major conclusions to speak of. No epiphanies in sight. Just temporary abandonment of all things bookish. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, April 15, 2010
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Hmm. I'll have to think about this. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
A new day. A new book. A new ipad. Almost. I was really close to clicking “buy” on that ipad when I remembered three things:
1. I’m trying to buy less stuff,
2. I have a lot of stuff already,
3. I’m running out of places to put stuff.
Plus, no flash player, no usb, no camera, and you’ve got to buy a lot of peripherals like a docking station, keyboard, camera adaptor, and an extended warranty. So, I’ll wait til the next iteration when the ipad has more features; or I’ll forego the whole thing entirely. Perhaps. Maybe. We’ll see. But the urge to buy stuff is strong; and the Apple ads are so compelling. Note to self: Watch fewer ads. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
It’s interesting that water is in the news in so many places. The Sunday NY Times had a front-page piece about James Cameron trying to stop the construction of a dam on the Amazon River. The dam would flood thousands of acres of land and displace thousands of families who have lived on the great river since people populated the planet. So, James Cameron is going to take some of his money from Avatar and try to save the land, the people, the habitat, the forests, and the ecosytem of that Brazilian rainforest. Sigourney Weaver is helping him. Arundhati in India. James and Sigourney in Brazil. How will it all end? It doesn't look all that good for Mother Earth. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, April 12, 2010
Arundhati Roy is one of the world’s leading intellectuals and critics of world corporations who are engaging in what she calls ecocide (the total destruction of ecosystems). Yesterday on BookTV as she spoke in Seattle, she specifically cited Coca Cola as a corporation who was destroying natural habitats and forests in India in order to control the water from rivers so that they could make their products. After listening to her read from her new book titled, Field Notes on Democracy: Listening to Grasshoppers, it would be hard to imagine that the CEO and leaders of Coca Cola would not immediately back off, ask forgiveness, and try to restore the rivers and lands they have taken from the indigenous people of India. But my guess is they weren’t watching. Nevertheless, Ms. Roy keeps up her vigilance of those engaged in ecocide. When asked about passive resistance in the great tradition of Gandhi, she replied, "How do you ask the poor who are already starving to go on a hunger strike?" Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Stephen Hawking thinks we need to colonize the moon so that humans can be saved in the event that the earth is destroyed by some astrological catastrophe. Paul Krugman thinks planet earth can be cleaned up and can actually become a desirable, clean, and green place to live. I can not imagine that we need to take oil spills, clear cutting, toxic carbons, and mounds of garbage to the moon. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Public radio out of San Antonio is having a fund raiser. I've already donated. Too bad that public radio and public television are so underfunded while government bailouts of corporations could have been sent their way. I'm advocating a taxpayer checklist so that taxpayers could check off on their tax return what they are willing to support with their taxes and what they're not. What a great idea. I'd check off public libraries, public radio and public TV, the Library of Congress, Super Fund cleanups, Amtrak, schools, EPA offices, and a couple of others. Sweet. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, April 9, 2010
I met Liz Scanlon, Kelly Bennett, and Don Tate today at a book festival. Very impressive people. Talent, focus, drive, ambition, confidence, wow. Very impressive indeed. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, April 8, 2010
I woke up thinking about Philip Glass and how he incorporated 3.5 minutes of silence into one of his piano compositions. At least that’s how I remember that anecdote that I heard ten years ago. So, I just now tried to confirm that 3.5 minute silence by Googling for that information; and lo and behold, I couldn’t find it. So, I’m probably remembering it wrong. But I did find info that said Mr. Glass as well as John Cage used silence in their music. So, maybe I’m close to remembering all this correctly. But then in the process of looking up Philip Glass and John Cage, I ran into Friedrich Nietzsche who has evidently inspired all kinds of artists and musicians to focus on the here and now, which of course includes silence. So, what started out as a simple idea this morning is now completely out of hand – as are so many good thoughts. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
I’m still reading Mr. Gladwell of course; and it’s just as interesting to think about the way he writes as to think about what he has written. He’s a master at knowing how to string together a bunch of words so that the reader simply sails along effortlessly. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Finally. Last night I started What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell. Even though it's been out a while, it’s still fairly new. Regardless, I’m just now getting to it while Malcolm has probably already written three other books. Oh well. Everything to its season. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, April 5, 2010
I stuck by my guns last night and forewent Masterpiece Classic featuring a series about the war between the British Empire and India in and around 1817. I caught instead, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. There were two phrases which I jotted down as I watched. Prudence, responsibility, duty. Tastes, passions, pursuits. Ms. Austen admonished a character to live a life of prudence, responsibility, and duty AND to discover ones own tastes, passions, and pursuits. Jane Austen’s Sense in 1811. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, April 4, 2010
There was a lovely piece about Norris Church Mailer in today’s NY Times Magazine. It’s funny how you find someone whom you’re pretty sure you’d like but didn’t even know existed. And then today, there she is, in a magazine article having lived a long and lively life without your knowledge. The article was written in a way that garnered sympathy and support for a long-suffering and very competent wife. As a sixth wife, she survived life with Mr. Mailer for 33 years, a deadly cancer, several near-death operations, and mothering nine various children. She is in poor health now, overly thin, and worries about physically disappearing. The piece also quoted Doris Kearns Goodwin. Ms. Goodwin said that they were extraordinary and that Norman was a gentle and talented man. Ms. Goodwin's words give the piece automatic validity and dignity. I heard Norman Mailer do a reading from one of his books years ago. It was stunning to hear a person of his talent read his words to a packed house of several thousand. And even though his personal life was messy, he still did all the things that a first-class writer must do. Write, publish, support his family. Even at the very end of his life, he took the stage with Gunther Grass and made a final earnest attempt to make sense of this serious and fallible thing called life. The debate sponsored by the New York Public Library made an impression as I think of it now having watched it on BookTV over three years ago. Norris Church Mailer. I wish her well. Indeed. Always.
|
Saturday, April 3, 2010
A perfect day.
9:00 Click and Clack from our fair city, Boston, MA
10:00 Whad'Ya Know-Not Much from Madison, WI
12:00 The Splendid Table from St. Paul, MN
2:00 This American Life from Chicago, IL
3:00 Selected Shorts from NYC, NY
5:00 Prairie Home Companion from St. Paul, MN
Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, April 2, 2010
I’ve found too many instances in Calpurnia Tate that don’t sound like a twelve year old girl. So, I’m leaving that book for another time. Perhaps retirement. Instead, I’m going to locate a brand new book - today if possible. Maybe something by Dashiell Hammett or Agatha Christie or maybe even another by Robert Parker. Who knows. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The movie Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downy, Jr. and Jude Law is on Time Warner this week. They use a film technique that is very cool. The scene was shot and then in post-production it was replayed in slow motion. So, you get to see some of the scenes twice. Once in real time and once in slow-motion. Very engaging. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Masterpiece Classic on PBS last Sunday was disturbing. The story was about the war between the British and the India nationalists in and around 1817. It was a brutal story about the madness and futility of war and weapons. India did not achieve freedom from British rule until 1947. I think I will not watch the sequel. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The Apple Ipad will be released on Saturday. Five hundred years from now, the kind of technology that will be available will make the Ipad about as handy as a rusty cow bell. But I’d still like to have one. With a docking station, of course. But since the Ipad doesn’t have a front facing camera and since it’s still tied to AT&T, I guess I won’t buy one. Besides, it’s spring and time to plant something that will grow. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, March 29, 2010
Annie Leonard worked for twenty years on a grass-roots level to curb waste and to improve the quality of green in consumer products. She wrote a book, made a 20-minute film, and was honored by Time magazine for being an influential person. So, she’s an overnight success after only twenty years of effort. She was on BookTV yesterday and was totally splendid. The Story of Stuff. That’s the name of her book, her film, and her website. The bookstore in which she was giving her talk was packed to the rafters with citizen activists. She has expectations that the CEOs of Dow Chemical, Monsanto, and Exxon will change their products and practices for the betterment of the planet. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Chinua Achebe was interviewed by Deborah Solomon in today’s NY Times Magazine. He published Things Fall Apart in 1958. It’s about villagers in Nigeria and their demise at the hands of outsiders who take over their land and their way of life. Mr. Achebe got it just right. He was featured on BookTV not too long ago; and he was subtle, humble, brilliant, and very wise. He had those same qualities in today’s interview. The power of story to reveal the nature of life is the best attribute our species holds. I found my copy of Things waiting for me on the shelf between Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Franz Kafka. Oppression and imagination sitting right there together on the shelf. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Photo of Mr. Achebe by Michael Prince. |
|
|
Saturday, March 27, 2010
It seems like everything I read lately leads me to Fyodor Dostoyevsky. So, a quick Google tells me why. Serious reflection on humanity, four years in a Siberian prison, and surviving it all. But not completely in tact. He paid a price for opposing the Russian imperialism. And then of course there was all that snow. Brrr. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, March 26, 2010
Judy Chicago’s work is at the museum here in town this month. I saw her work 30 years ago; and it was fabulous. It was her newly-created Dinner Party; and I still remember all the details. The huge, installation-piece is still around. And it’s still fabulous. Sometimes I go by the name Gloria Chicago, which of course was inspired by Ms. Judy. The other half of my lovely psedonym was inspired by the wealth of Mrs. Gloria Vanderbilt. Feminism and Wealth. Great twin sisters. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, March 25, 2010
I started the new Newbery honor book titled, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. I’m waiting to be grabbed; and it hasn’t happened yet. I’m confident that the awards committee tries to find books with specific points of view when in fact, I’m always happiest with a book that has a character that I like. I’ll read a couple more pages; and then I’ll have to set this aside if Cal and I don’t connect soon. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
I was in NYC one time on my way to Strand Bookstore; and I came upon a stretch of city street that had been completely blocked of cars. People were walking and cycling. No cars. It was quiet and peaceful. The pace was leisurely and calm. The air was clean; and it was a lovely 10 blocks. People actually commented on how nice it was. No cars. Wouldn’t that be loverly. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
I finished The Hunger Games last night; and whoa. What a commentary on the power of the few to rule the rest of humanity – all by fear. Suzanne Collins seems to have captured all oppressive regimes from the French Inquisition to Tiananmen Square and put them in this book. Everything from torture to flowers is included. Ms. Collins has created a world where resistance is futile; and yet even the most oppressed do resist but only in small rather pitiful ways. And she created this world of power and oppression through the eyes of a young girl named Katniss. I wonder who else is reading this book? Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, March 22, 2010
BookTV had no sound all weekend as broadcast by Time Warner. I called TW; and they said it was C-SPAN’s problem. I called C-SPAN, no answer, so I emailed them. Didn’t hear back. All weekend, no sound on BookTV. So, I watched online. But still. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The NY Times Magazine showed the photographs of nine bedrooms left behind by nine soldiers who died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Twin beds of barely-graduated high schoolers, a Bible, a football helmet, a teddy bear, college paraphernalia, handmade quilts, mismatched furniture, and shoes tucked under a bed. It took courage for these photos to be allowed, to be taken, and to be published. Nine photos of bedrooms from a pool of over 5,000. Nine pictures. Nine thousand words. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, March 20, 2010
According to today’s paper, all the usual mayhem and madness happened yesterday. People got shot; people shot each other; people went to jail; people stole money; people got caught; and on and on. So just think, if all those folks had only thought thrice, they could have spent a nice day, Saturday, listening to NPR out of San Antonio at tpr.org. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, March 19, 2010
I wrote a little poem last night.
Fruit: Shall We Eat?
Why eat bananas
When there’s banana cream pie
Why eat plums
When there’s English plum pudding
Why eat dates
When there’s date-nut bread
Why eat blueberries
When there’s blueberry cobbler
Why eat cherries
When there’s cherries jubilee
Why eat strawberries
When there’s strawberry glacé
Why eat apricots
When there’s apricot jam
Why eat lemons
When there’s lemon cheesecake
Why eat oranges
When there’s crepe suzette
Oh yeah…
Nutrition.
|
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Geoffrey Canada started the Harlem Children’s Zone and the Promise Academy, which is a charter school in Harlem. His website lists four charter schools and an administrative office. His goal is 100% of his students will complete college. Students are admitted at age three by lottery. His office is at 125th Street and Madison Avenue in Harlem. His work there began in 1990. He says, “There is no act that is too small to make a difference.” He says he treats the students in his school like children from upper middle-class families are treated in their schools. He seems to never stop working. He's definitely not a seminar-room warrior. He's a social and intellectual activist. Quite impressive. His date of birth is January 13, 1952. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, March 17, 2010.
I met Dolores Huerta 15 years ago. She was speaking to a very large group of people who supported unions and farm workers. She exhibited courage, focus, intelligence, and an unstoppable vision for decency. To be an activist like Ms. Huerta is way out of my league; but maybe it’s enough to value her and to write these few humble lines of admiration and support. She has a birthday coming up on April 10. She will be 80 years old. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, March 16, 2010.
It’s sad to say that I’ve never read The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. She won the Nobel Prize in 1938 for literature. She said, according to today’s paper, that you couldn’t wait for the right mood to get to work, you just had to get to work. Oh my gosh. I’d better get busy. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, March 15, 2010.
Yesterday on BookTV there was live coverage of the 2010 Tucson Festival of the Book. And the best discussion of writing and history I’ve ever heard was held by a panelist of three history writers: Hampton Sides, Jeff Guinn, and James Donovan. They each referred to the writing style of David McCullough and Shelby Foote. So, when I heard those references, I knew that these three were the historians who could get it right. The panel was moderated by Paul Andrew Hutton who is professor of history at University of New Mexico. They talked for an hour; and it seemed like a minute. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, March 14, 2010 Today, Deborah Solomon of the NY Times interviewed Mickey Kaus who is a writer for Slate, which is owned by the Washington Post. Mr. Klaus (oops Kaus not Klaus) is running against Senator Barbara Boxer from California for the US Senate. It’s so nice to have so many people who believe they can fix all the messes we're in and will make the effort to do so. I believe our nation would be stronger if every member of Congress read and passed a rigorous quiz on the writings of Bertrand Russell and Adam Smith. In the meantime, I’m going to be on the lookout for things that are not a mess and start a list. I like lists. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, March 13, 2010 My admiration for Suzanne Collins who wrote The Hunger Games grows with each passing page. I read a few pages every evening from her book and am so impressed with the way she has taken complex societal issues and woven them into a story about class, money, power, and the frailties of human behavior. Since it’s a book for young adults, I know the ending is not going to be too tragic; but still the book and its contents reflect a pretty tragic society both the one present and the one parallel. But that’s not all I’m reading. I have an old, old book (from the 70s) that shows how to build wooden projects for the patio and garden. I have it in my head to build a potting table out of 2 x 12 pieces of lumber. In reality, I KNOW I don’t have the skills to do it; but in the book, it looks SO easy. I really need a potting table. Or so I think at this moment. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, March 12, 2010 An HBO movie about Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner stars Ed Harris and Marcia Gay Harden; and they do a wonderful job of portraying this pair of artists. I saw Mr. Pollock’s work at MOMA earlier this year and it was surrounded by people, which was art in itself. He died young at age 44 in a car crash. Comparing Mr. Pollock’s life, lifestyle, and accomplishments to the life, lifestyle, and accomplishments of Dr. Avram Noam Chomsky shows a remarkable set of differences. It's almost too much to think about. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, March 11, 2010 The PC operating system makes the mind dull. The Mac operating system makes the mind buoyant. So, today I’m working on a PC; and my mind is imploding on itself. I may need an extra shot of caffeine or many shots of caffeine to get through the day. But then again, there’s always…procrastination. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
A list of possible titles for poems.
Three Birds on a Limb.
Yellow Bills and Tiny Chirps.
The Tree Stood Alone.
One Cloud and a Drop of Rain.
Gray to Blue.
Seize Tomorrow.
Banning Pickups and Other Hazards.
Red Plums in the Frigidaire.
Concrete Benches and Wooden Steps.
Green to Gray.
The Beauty of Making a List.
Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, March 9, 2010 I got two emails from IRS.gov this morning. The email said I had a refund and to send in personal data and numbers to them. HA. This is a phishing scam. Who ARE these people. Why aren’t they caught and prosecuted? I bet a lot of folks will comply and will get in lots of trouble with identity theft and with losing their money. Beware the thieves of March. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, March 8, 2010 Bummer. Masterpiece Theatre wasn’t on the local PBS station last night. The Oscars were very dull. The bulb in my favorite reading lamp burned out. The dust on the window blinds has calcified. I’m out of Cheerios. My internet connection is intermittent. And I’m late for a root canal. Not really. It just sounded funny to say. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, March 7, 2010 I had such a great day yesterday. I got to be with a group of educators from Delta Kappa Gamma at their annual spring lunch. It was so nice to be among such an elite group of women. The level of good will and graciousness in the room will forever be part of my memory. The books I sent to the President are pictured below. And for now, it’s time to remember and smile. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, March 6, 2010
I'm going to reread Alice in Wonderland before I go see the movie. But actually, I'm going to wait til the DVD comes out. Movie theatres are too loud, chilly, noisy, not very clean, and uninviting overall. So, that's the plan. Read the book, wait for the DVD. Looks like there's plenty of time. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, March 5, 2010
I finally started The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins last night. It's very upsetting. The people live in a country called Panem, which is a new name for the collapsed USA. People are ranked, sorted, used, eliminated, and left without any means to support themselves. The parallels between this fantasy world and the real world are too close for comfort. Because it's a novel for young adults, I'm pretty sure it will have a palatable ending; but Ms. Collins has created a literary world and a series of events that might light the way to a better world right here right now. Books can do that. Or at least the good ones can. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Someplace pretty to live.
A bit of daily conversation with interesting people.
Creating a little something each day.
Living to be 80 or so in pretty good health.
or
Saving the seas.
Protecting the whales.
Ending the wars.
Restoring the forests.
Musings. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
I keep bumping into Bertrand Russell and Harry Connick, Jr. Pipes and pianos. Pianos and pipes. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
High times at high tide on a Sunday morning. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, March 1, 2010
Jason Goodwin in the NY Times yesterday wrote a review of a new book; and in that review he gave kudos to three writers of travel books: Jonathan Raban, Pico Iyer, and Paul Theroux. Seems like a really great list. And reading the Book Review at the beach was even better. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Moon River by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini.
The Moon Behind the Cottonwoods by Charles Cadman Wakefield and Nelle Richmond Eberhart.
"Lasso the Moon" with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.
The moon on the Missisippi ala Mark Twain.
Ladder to the Moon by Georgia O'Keefe.
Evening Landscape with Rising Moon by Vincent Van Gogh.
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown.
Enough. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Photo by moi. |
|
|
Saturday, February 27, 2010
I'm cooking and listening to the radio today.
Michael Feldman at 10
Lynne Rossetto Kasper at noon
Ira Glass at 2
Garrison Keillor at 5
Baked chicken dinner at 6
Then I'll have to rest my ears.
Except for the chicken dinner, it's all online at Texas Public Radio out of San Antonio at tpr.org.
Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, February 26, 2010
I've started a new book titled, Madam Will You Talk by Mary Stewart. Two women are on holiday in the south of France. They meet a young boy, his stepmom, and the father who is a potential murderer. What would a holiday be without a lovely murderous adventure or two. This book is considered well written by those in the know. And so far, I'm in France with them keeping an eye out for anything that looks suspicious. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, February 25, 2010
I downloaded the Cats CD to my computer and have been playing it nonstop for awhile. When I woke up this morning, I heard Jellicle Cats in my head. My dogs were not pleased. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
The new Newbery is going slow. When You Reach Me starts out slowly, jumps from one time to a different time, and then includes words like tucked-in that really are only meaningful to adults. It's not nearly the easy read as The Graveyard Book was but is much better than The Higher Power of Lucky which contained too many adult problems. Give me The Invention of Hugo Cabret or anything illustrated by Brian Selznick; and I'm happy. But all four of those books are very highly rated on Amazon and about equally so. It's difficult to know what makes a great book great. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
On January 29, 2009, I wrote that I was reading A Mystery for Thoreau. I also wrote that in the book, it was described how Thoreau had accidentally burned down 300 acres of pine trees around Walden Pond where Ralph Waldo Emerson was letting him live in a little cabin rent free. And then this past week, I heard a comment on BookTV that Walden had accidentally burned down trees at Walden Pond. So, that's two places. One juvenile fiction and one BookTV nonfiction. Surely, he didn't burn down a forest. But then again, sounds like he did. Plus, I heard that we have cut down 98% of old growth forests in the US. This is not a good way to begin the day. But there you have it. Bookish thoughts and dwindling forests. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, February 22, 2010
A Single Man
A Serious Man
He Was a Quiet Man
What's up with all these Man films all of a sudden? That's pretty wild. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, February 21, 2010
I finished Remember Me; and it was great. Once I committed to remembering who each character was, it made for a very nice read. Let's see who I remember from last night's big finish. Menley, Adam, Hannah, Scott, Vivian, her parents, Nat, Deb, the psychiatrist, Menley's mom, John, Amy, Elaine, Phoebe, her husband, Tina, Fred, Marge, the DA, the sea captain, his wife, her murderer. Yep. That about does it. That's a lot of folks to meet in a book. The fact that they don't really exist has not yet occurred to me. What has occurred to me is that my little dog is lying here at my feet blissfully snoring away. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, February 20, 2010
My task for the day is to find the quote that supports the notion that doing one or two small things is every bit as good as doing many large things. So, somewhere in my notes, books, papers, hard drives, flash drives, or on my desk lies the little note I took about doing little things. My best guess is that I'll never find it. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, February 19, 2010
Trope is a figure of speech. Types of trope are allegory, irony, and metaphor.
Chronotope is the concept of time and space. Mikhail Bakhtin (1895-1975) used the term to study how language creates time and space. I may pursue this. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, January 18, 2010
|
Wallace Stegner
1909-1993
Iowa, Utah, New Mexico
Big Rock Candy Mountain (1943)
Crossing to Safety (1987)
Angle of Repose (won the Pulitzer in 1971).
He was director of the writing program at Stanford.
To write masterpieces like he did seems an impossible task. I suppose it's called talent. It's also called perseverance.
| William Styron
1925-2006
Virginia, Massachusetts
Lie Down in Darkness (1951)
The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967)
Sophie's Choice (1979)
Darkness Visible (1990) about "despair beyond despair."
Bennett Cerf of Random House published his work. Christopher Cerf interviewed him on BookTV. I met Mr. C. Cerf at a conference and told him how much I admired his father. I told him what a wonderful interview it was and how much I appreciated his own contributions to the world of books. It was quite a moment.
|
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
I watched BookTV live last night. Russell Roberts of George Mason University and Samuel Fleischacker of University of Illinois at Chicago were the featured experts. They were live. In my living room with Peter Slen, moderator. BookTV is such a gift. It is funded from 5 cents from each cable bill and was established by Bob Rosenkranz and Bob Tisch way back when a nickel was actually worth something. Anyhoo, BookTV is one of the most valuable media I have.
So, Professor Roberts and Professor Fleischacker brilliantly explained Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Both of these are printed in their entirety on econlib.org as part of the public domain. I think I learned these things:
1. Smith believed in education for all as both a moral imperative and good economics.
2. Paying for war year by year will balance the budget and reduce the number of wars.
3. Government needs to do for citizens what the citizens can't do for themselves.
4. Government needs to address big issues like education, war, and helping the poor.
5. Self interests in business CAN lead to good moral outcomes and solid business practices.
6. Poor business practices will lead to business failures and government must not bail them out.
7. People must have CFL - clothing, food, lodging provided by the government if needed.
8. There is a moral imperative for businesses to provide good products.
9. Crony capitalism is immoral. Real-market capitalism is the only acceptable system.
10. Big government can be too big, out of touch, and thus, harmful.
11. Trust the poor to know their own needs.
12. The wealth of a nation and a person is not judged by the purse but rather by happiness.
13. Happiness comes from conversations with friends.
14. Adam Smith and David Hume were friends.
BookTV is worth every nickle on the planet. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
George Sanders (1906-1972) of movie fame in the 40s and 50s lived the last several years of his life in bewilderment and with bouts of anger all with waning health. He played Uncle Neddie in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and was highly successful in the movie business until the final few years of life. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, February 15, 2010
Four events collided all within a two-day time frame.
1. I watched Shipping News based on the book by Annie Proux which I had read some time back.
2. I spent the day at the beach.
3. I watched The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.
4. I'm in the middle of Remember Me.
All four things were unplanned and unsought-after; but there they are. Totally related and each revealing the smallness of humanity and the largess of the seas. In essence, the power and rhythm of the ocean came crashing down right into my head. And I didn't even get wet. Ha. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Photo by moi. |
|
|
Sunday, February 14, 2010
|
Saturday, February 13, 2010
I watched The Ghost and Mrs. Muir last night with Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, George Sanders, Edna Best, Natalie Wood, and Vanessa Brown. The film is about a sea captain turned ghost, a beautiful house on the edge of an English cliff, and a widow who needs a place to live. The scenery, set design, and costuming are too good to be true. Oleg Cassini designed the dresses worn by Ms. Tierney who, as it turns out, was married to Mr. Cassini and would only wear dresses designed by him in her films. So now, the next time I watch the film, I'll be distracted by noticing what she's wearing when up until now I've been loving the set designs. Sometimes, knowing too much is a distraction and a headache. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, February 12, 2010
I can't get Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats out of my head. I've been listening to that album nonstop for several days now; and it's addictive. Specifically, the tune Jellicle Cats, which has a stanza about all kinds of cats, is the one in my head now:
Practical cats, dramatical cats
Pragmatical cats, fanatical cats
Oratorical cats, Delphicoracle cats
Skeptical cats, Dispeptical cats
Romantical cats, Pedantical cats
Critical cats, parasitical cats
Allegorical cats, metaphorical cats
Statistical cats and mystical cats
Political cats, hypocritical cats
Clerical cats, hysterical cats
Cynical cats, rabbinical cats
How can one man be clever enough to finesse all that greatness onto the stage decade after decade. Sir Andrew is one cool cat. Phantom, Cats, Evita, and the list goes on. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Remember Me is going well. A few pages a day is all I actually get a chance to read at the moment. But I like the characters; and the sense of suspense in this particular book is very engaging. I'm happy to only have a few moments a day lately to read this book. That way, the book won't come to a close before I'm ready for the ending and before I'm ready to find my next book. Finding the next book has, however, never been a problem. They seem to line themselves up somehow in some cosmic way to make sure they wind up on my desk. The next book? I'll just wait and see what appears. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Time and tide wait for no man. I wonder who said that. Very clever. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The New Yorker, this week, had a really well-written piece by Lillian Ross about what it was like to be in the life of J.D. Salinger. I didn't read Catcher in the Rye til college; but it's been about my favorite book of all time since then. Mr. Salinger lived in seclusion in New Hampshire and had a remarkable way with words and stories. Even though he avoided people and found them mostly annoying, he still had children, family, and friends. What a puzzle he was. Successful, reclusive, private, and probably pretty normal in at least some ways. He had children. He seemed not to like them. I wonder what they thought of him. Peggy Salinger and Matthew Salinger. Famous father, unhappy children. Not an unfamiliar tale. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Erik Ross, Lillian Ross, Matthew Salinger, Peggy Salinger, J.D. Salinger-Central Park, NYC |
|
|
Monday, February 8, 2010
I set aside Remember Me by Mary Higgins Clark for a bit last night to watch the last installment of Emma by Jane Austen on PBS. I'm glad I watched it although I had to stop and think several times about the characters. I had to really focus on who married whom and who was courting whom. But in the end, Ms. Austen painted a great picture of life in the 1800s if you were rich. If you weren't rich, then your life was less than great. The second-best character in the broadcast was George Knightley til the end when he gushed a bit too much when Emma said, "Yes." Her immaturity wasn't really all that attractive; and yet he was attracted to her. Hmm. What a conundrum. So, if the second-best character was Mr. Knightley, who was the best? The best character was Miss Bates. The actress who played Miss Bates was Tamsin Greig; and she was 100% brilliant. She chattered away with gusto in every scene she was in. And in the final episode when Emma made a cruel joke about her always talking too much, it seemed like you were watching a real scene rather than actors. Miss Bates was devastated by the joke at her expense and showed her pain by actually turning pale. And when you can turn pale on cue in a film, whoa, you're a great actor. So, back to Remember Me. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, February 7, 2010
My new book turned out to be not Hunger Games but rather Remember Me by Mary Higgins Clark. Can't say why really. The Clark book just sort of leaped into my hands. So, I'm following its lead. And so far, fabulous. There are times when the only thing that will do is a good mystery thriller. So, I'm all set. Hunger will have to wait. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, February 6, 2010
I'm starting a new book today by Suzanne Collins titled, The Hunger Games. But then of course, it's Saturday, so there's Michael Feldman, Ira Glass, and Garrison Keillor at tpr.org. Texas Public Radio out of San Antonio is simply the best. It's going to be a busy winter day. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, February 5, 2010
Spring is never gonna get here. Chilly, foggy, snowy, drizzly, cloudy. Brrr. Even my desk is cold. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Today is the big day for Garrison Keillor at Prairie Home Companion. He's broadcasting his show live at 500 theatres around the the nation tonight at 7 PM. I have a previous commitment and can't go; and I can't believe I'll not be there to witness digital history being made. Maybe there will be equipment failure and they'll have to reschedule; in which case, I'll be sure and be free for the redux. It's gonna be so great. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Wow! Frontline on PBS had a documentary titled, Digital Nation last night. I'm going to buy the DVD when it comes out in March. In the meantime, I'm going to rewatch snippets of it online. If the rest of the nation goes completely digital with concomitant multitasking behaviors and then consequently has trouble paying attention long enough to read a book or write an essay, then I think we're missing out on being human. Living in a virtual world is not nearly as nice as living in the real world. So, I'm staying in the realm of the physical until such time as it no longer exists. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Finished my Spenser book last night. I kept seeing these images in my head of Marcia Gay Harden and Joe Mantegna. Click, click, click on the internet; and wow. Robert B. Parker had lots of his books made into movies; and Ms. Harden and Mr. Mantegna were in several. I must have seen one or two of them. Very cool to have a movie influence the images from a book - even one I'd already read. Good times. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, February 1, 2010
Luck is the residue of design. Nice phrase. Luck is the residue of design. Yesterday, I'm reading along in my book Potshot by Robert Parker; and I came across that phrase on page 113 spoken by Spenser the fabulous private investigator and lead character in the book. Then I eat lunch. Then I finish the Arts and Leisure section of the NY Times; and there on page 6 is an interview with Ethan Hawke, who is directing a Sam Shepard play on Broadway, and he says THE EXACT SAME PHRASE. Luck is the residue of design. How is that possible? I'm reading a book written ten years ago; and on the very day that I get to page 113 in that book and see that phrase I also see it in an interview in the Times. What are the odds of that happening. What are the odds. If I were a mathematician instead of just a reader, I could calculate those odds. Sure wish I was a mathematician. Not really. A mathematician would probably have never noticed the phrase in the first place. Just kidding. Ha. Luck is the residue of design. Or as Louis Pasteur said, Chance favors the prepared mind. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Cast of Sam Shepard's play. Photo by Chad Batka. |
|
|
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Although one time, Garrison Keillor did in fact say that the death of old man is not a tragedy, the unexpected loss of Howard Zinn is indeed just that - a tragedy. Last night, BookTV rebroadcast a brilliant lecture of his recorded in January of 2007 at Brandeise University to a packed hall of young intellectuals who supported all that Howard Zinn advocated and stood for. Peace and justice. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. All of that for all of us and not just for the privileged and wealthy. I don't see anyone on the horizon who can take his place as an advocate, as an historian, and as a leading citizen of the people, by the people, and for the people. His clarity of thought, his quickness of wit, his winning personality, and his total commitment to social justice is the best I've ever witnessed. Who will take his place? Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, January 30, 2010
The end of the month is here; there's a full moon out each evening; and Valentine's Day is just around the corner. It may be time, to read some work by Colette. She was a French novelist whose book Gigi became a Broadway play. There's a hotel room named after her at The Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport, Oregon. Plus, I heard her referenced on NPR the other day. When several things happen in quick succession like that and point to something particular, I try to pay attention. Seems like Colette is the next novelist (she wrote 50 novels) who needs a new reader. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, January 29, 2010
Howard Zinn
born August 24, 1922
died January 27, 2010
age 87
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/us/29zinn.html
I wasn't ready for him to go.
|
Thursday, January 28, 2010
I read a live online blog yesterday as Steve Jobs unveiled the new ipad in San Francisco. At first I wanted one. Badly. Then two things occurred to me. No USB port and no front-facing camera for Skyping. Why? Why? Why? Those two things could have easily been included. So, basically, this is a touch Kindle with color or a big ipod. And of course, I could surf the web on the ipad but only if I purchase a $30 a month AT&T (groan) account or can find a hot spot for WiFi. I think the hype for this tablet didn't quite meet my needs; but I wish them well. Apple, Amazon, Google. They're a big part of my life. I wonder if they know. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images |
|
|
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
So, according to the paper, high blood pressure weakens the arteries, which leads to stroke. Also according to the paper, the nation now has a trillion dollar debt. And finally according to the paper, it's going to remain chilly this weekend. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
I've been thinking about Dava Sobel lately. She wrote Galileo's Daughter. Galileo's daughter had many correspondences with her father over many years. They wrote to each other in Italian. Ms. Sobel said that 20 years earlier when she herself was taking Italian in college, she had no idea that she'd ever use it again. But there she was. In Italy. Holding the letters that Galileo and his daughter, Virginia, wrote to each other in the 1600s. All in Italian. Sometimes the twists and turns of life are revealed and sometimes they're not. Cosi fan tutti. That is the way of the world. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, January 25, 2010
I watched Emma by Jane Austin on PBS last night. The setting was beautiful and the acting appeared effortless. The two scene stealers were of course Michael Gambon and the actor who played Mr. Knightley. The one thing that kept me from being totally absorbed by the play was the fact that I'm currently immersed in books and conversations about power and culture and the influence of those on our lives, language, and happiness levels. As I watched Emma, I was drawn to images of the servants. Their faces were never in focus. Their needs were never addressed. They held open doors. They brought in letters on silver trays. They wore ridiculously uncomfortable clothing. And they appeared robotic. Who wouldn't. You're there in jolly old England without a 401k, with no education, with no property of your own, and dressed in clumsy clothing. So, even though the plight of the servants distracted me, I still enjoyed the performance and will tune in next Sunday for part 2. And of course, all those images portrayed by the servants were on purpose. PBS and the BBC don't make mistakes. Those images were part of the landscape of the film designed to set the tone between the classes. Laura Linney was the mistress of ceremony and did a splendid job. Plus, she was featured in the Times yesterday. She is the actor's actor. Totally talented. Totally versatile. Squeaky clean. And an actor for all classes. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, January 24, 2010
There is something about sunshine. Love it. When it streams in through a window and lights a room, it's bringing ten billion years of evolution with it. It's not just that sunshine brings warmth and good feelings, it's that through the process of evolution, sunshine makes it all possible. The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes is a book that goes a long way toward understanding the process of evolution. I like that book enough to reread it. Dava Sobel, Oliver Sacks, Bill Bryson, Sebastion Junger, Jared Diamond. I've learned a lot from them. Scientists, historians, anthropologists, thinkers, writers. Wonder what they're up to today. Probably writing their next best seller. Or maybe just reading the Times. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Bryan, Dava, Oliver, Bill, Sebastion, Jared |
|
|
Saturday, January 23, 2010
As of today, I have two new books and a CD. The new Newbery, When You Reach Me, reached me yesterday via Amazon. Also via Amazon and by way of Mumbai, I have a new cookbook by Judith Jones who was Julie Child's editor; and I have a new Rosemary Clooney CD. So, I'm all set. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, January 22, 2010
I'm thinking about buying a Kindle. But I read an online report in The New Yorker and actually laughed out loud as the author told about his efforts to like the thing. That's so cool when something you read makes you laugh out loud. But back to purchasing a Kindle. I'm still undecided about whether I'll like the technology. Plus, it's a lot of money and it's not backlit, which means when you're reading at night, you have to have a light of some sort. But I sure enjoyed the piece (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/08/03/090803fa_fact_baker) by Nicholson Baker. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, January 21, 2010
It's interesting to me how I choose something to read. In this week's New Yorker, I started an article by Malcolm Gladwell on entrepreneurs in the world of big money. As I was reading I was thinking, "This is something I should know about so I'll make myself read it." I tried. Really. I love Malcolm. I love Malcolm's books. Didn't work. I gave it up after I realized I didn't care about the money-grubbers he was writing about. Then I tried a piece by Woody Allen who wrote about cows who had squashed, attacked, or bumped into people and killed them. Because he writes comedically and because I have great respect for cattle who don't really do anything other than graze, huddle, and moo, I stopped. I didn't want to take the chance that Woody would make fun of a fairly noble beast. We readers are peculiar folks. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Robert Parker died. I love his Spenser mystery books. And for some reason, my copy of Potshot is on the shelf next to Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I have GOT to come up with a better system for organizing my books. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
An NPR report Saturday is on my mind. A scientist said the habitat for the polar bear will be gone by 2030. No more ice cap. No more polar bear. Pretty tragic. Unbelievably tragic. Tragic. So, to soften that news, I'm ordering the new Newbery book that was announced yesterday by ALA. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. It's gonna be glorious when it arrives on my desk. Can't wait. And then of course, the incomparable Jerry Pinkney won the Caldecott award for The Lion and the Mouse, which I am happy to say I already own. Glorious. January 19 moves from tragic to glorious in ninety-nine words. It's a lot to ponder. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, January 18, 2010
Thirty-nine when he died. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Notably sweet and intellectually gifted. Those are the words that Tracy Kidder used to tell about the mother of Dr. Paul Farmer. Mr. Kidder wrote a book about Dr. Farmer who works for the medical needs of the poor around the world. Dr. Farmer said that six million impoverished people around the world die each year from AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria simply because of inadequate or no medical care. Dr. Farmer has written about medical and humanitarian needs of people around the world and specifically about people in Haiti; so BookTV is featuring that 2003 interview this week in light of the Haitian earthquake. Mr. Kidder said that Dr. Farmer uses the 7/3 rule in his writing and in his work. Don't use seven words when three will do. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, January 16, 2010
I got my office cleaned up last night. I can't believe it. It looks great. I'm so happy to have an office space that actually functions. Moving on. I'm reading a new book, 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School. It's an odd little book. I'm learning about architectural concepts, which I've always liked, but I'm also learning about the connections between how we build our buildings and how we build our lives. But then again, I'm probably reading way too much into this slim little book. I have a tendency to find way too much meaning in things that aren't really all that meaningful. Why is that? Anyhoo, David Brooks had a wonderful piece about Israel in today's paper. He's such a great writer and great thinker. Too bad he's not actually in charge of something big - like the UN or China or AT&T. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, January 15, 2010
My office is a wreck. Books, papers, folders, boxes, mail, discs - everywhere I look. So, today's the day I get it all cleaned up, organized, and put away. Right. Ha. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, January 14, 2010
I have rediscovered The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg. I've had the entire portfolio of 15 drawings in my office for some time now; but I didn't examine it carefully until yesterday. It's a gem. I love everything about the exquisite and elegant drawings. And all the time, these wonderful pieces were sitting right there in my office waiting for me to find them. So, today starts my new quest to find out how Chris Van Allsburg came to be. Lovely. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Photo credit to Christopher Garrison |
|
|
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
I've made the huge mistake of letting way too much time pass between now and a couple of months ago when I started The Lacuna. I'm a third into it; and I've lost track of the characters and plot. So, now I have to decide whether to start over or move on. The reviews of this book have been to describe the book as powerful, rich, large, and moving. Hmm. I'm sure there is something wrong with me since I am not as fully engaged in this book as I should be. And that's so odd since my respect for Barbara Kingsolver is so absolute. So, I'm afraid I will have to quietly set it aside for now until I can give it the attention it deserves. And as I think about it, one thing that may account for my reluctance to finish the thing is my growing dislike of Diego Rivera as portrayed in the book. This all makes me think I don't know enough history to properly appreciate this tome. But how much background information and history should a reader have to have to simply enjoy a good book? That's my question for now. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Today, I'm not thinking directly about a book. I'm thinking of a movie. Robert Downey, Jr. and Jaime Foxx were wonderful in The Soloist, which is a movie based on a book by Steve Lopez who was a journalist with the LA Times. The actors were great at portraying the notion of lost souls and misspent talent. Who knew they could each act so convincingly? Their agents of course. Mr. Foxx plays a mentally ill young person, named Nathaniel, who left Julliard for life on the streets. Mr. Downey, Jr. plays a journalist who hears of him, writes up his story, and then tries to rehabilitate him (with only modest success in real life). The movie illustrates the need for better mental health care and a kinder and gentler world. The best line in the movie was when Nathaniel, who was living on the mean streets of LA with a shopping cart and a beat-up cello, said that his dream and hope for the future was that someday he'd have two new strings for his cello. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, January 11, 2010
Cranford and Return to Cranford are Masterpiece Classics on PBS; and I've been watching them for the past several Sunday evenings. Dame Judi Dench is wonderful. She's the epitome of excellence and is the star of the show. The PBS series is based on three books written by Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865). The stories take place in England in the 1840s at the time when the railroads are being built across England. Relationships between the classes, between history and progress, and between women and men are each woven into the stories. Thank goodness for PBS and the BBC. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Flipping through the channels this weekend, I ran into Stockard Channing and Mary Louise Parker. I can't believe I've seen both of them on Broadway. Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, Carol Channing, Judith Jamison, Debbie Reynolds, Tyne Daly, Vanessa Redgrave, Angela Lansbury, Diane Weist, Christine Ebersole, Melanie Griffith, Brooke Shields, Whoopi Goldberg, Gina Gershon, Lynn Redgrave, Emma Redgrave, Cady Huffman, Frances Sternhagen, - all of them. I can hardly believe I've seen all of them perform on stage. What a lucky gal am I. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Michael Feldman is in Madison, Wisconsin this morning at 10.
Ira Glass is featuring people who make difficult bets this afternoon at 2.
Garrison Keillor is in San Francisco this evening at 5.
Marsha Grace is tuned in to public radio at http://www.tpr.org all day today.
Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, January 8, 2010
The Red Wheelbarrow
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
William Carlos Williams, M.D.
September 17, 1883 - March 4, 1963
|
Sunday, January 3 through Thursday, January 7, 2010
So, here's the deal. Network Solutions which hosts this website for $128.50 per year was unable to repair my site til today. They said it somehow got corrupted. Hmmmm. Three phone calls, four emails, and four days to wait. Additionally, they indicated the site takes too long to load and I should create an alternate page. So, while I consider this recommendation and try to figure out how to even do that, I'll tell you that I'm back to reading The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver; and it's fabulous. Til tomorrow. Maybe. If Network Solutions allows.
|
Saturday, January 2, 2010
I miss Jeremy Brett (1936-1995). Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law were both wonderful in the new Sherlock Holmes movie. Their dialogue was clever, sincere, and well-delivered. But it wasn't as contemplative or as kind as Mr. Brett's Sherlock. In this most reincarnation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's master sleuth, Guy Ritchie has way too many scenes of people chasing each other and not near enough scenes where plain old conversation reveals clues and creates intrigue. Plus, this movie has a lot of the feel of Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code. So, I'm hoping that if Mr. Ritchie, Mr. Downey, Jr., and Mr. Law produce a sequel that they provide more dialogue, more clue-filled conversation, and less running and chasing. The coolest movie magic involved rewinding the film to show what Sherlock saw and thought when he was looking at clues. I hope they have more of those. Plus, I was bothered by how easy it was to blow up a ship, destroy a bridge, or ruin a factory when during Victorian times it took so long to build those things. Plus, I don't think Mr. Doyle had his Sherlock experimenting with drugs on the dog. But I could be wrong about that. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, January 1, 2010
It's here. 2010. A nice round number full of hope. Robert Indiana has a new sculpture called Hope. His most famous sculpture is called Love. Robert Indiana. Quite a guy. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Welp, 2010 is almost here; and what better way to greet the new decade than to listen to Broadway's Best on Sirius satellite radio with Christine Pedi and the amaahzing Seth Rudetsky. So, that's what I'm doing today while I wait for the new year to ring its way in. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Photo credit to Mary Beth Tierce, January, 2009 |
|
|
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
I bought a copy of E.L. Konigsburg's Silent to the Bone; and I'm loving it. I bought it at Strand Bookstore to have something to read on the plane back from NYC; and I'm finishing it here at home. It's a simple mystery involving a lot of smart people, a hurt child, and two boys that figure it all out. It's lovely and intriguing. Makes you wish you were a clever writer like Ms. Konigsburg who won a Newbery in 1968 and another in 1997. She's the goods. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
I'm enjoying comparing the 1961 version with the 2001 version of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. This morning I found a difference in the two versions' accounts of how to scramble eggs. In 1961, Julia admonished cooks not to include tomatoes as it would introduce too much liquid into the eggs. In 2001, the admonition is simply not to add more than one-half teaspoon water or milk per egg as a way to help blend the yolk and white. Even progress in scrambling eggs can be made. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, December 28, 2009
I'm just back from NYC. I went to plays and museums and had a grand time.
Race with James Spader and David Alan Grier
A Little Night Music with Angela Lansbury
In the Heights
Bye Bye Birdie with John Stamos and Bill Irwin
Carnegie Hall
Guggenheim with Kandinsky
MOMA with O'Keefe
Metropolitan with all the Greeks and Romans and Rodin's The Thinker
Central Park
Sarabeth's on 59th between 6th and 5th
Fairway at Broadway and 74th
Le Pan Quotidian on 53th between 5th and Madison
Burgers at Parker Meridian on 56th between 6th and 7th
Room service at the Hilton
Strand Bookstore at Broadway and 12th owned by Mr. Fred Bass with whom I spoke.
And of course the Christmas tree at the New York City Public Library at 5th and 42nd.
It was all fabulous.
Glad to be home. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| NYPL Christmas Tree |
|
|
 |
| Central Park's Alice in Wonderland |
|
|
Friday, December 18, 2009
My computer is in the shop til December 27. Til then.
|
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Walden Books is closing in Laredo, Texas leaving Laredo with no bookstores. No bookstores at all. This was reported by the Associated Press today. The AP story made Laredo sound like a town without a future; but the director of the public library there has plans to open two more branch libraries. So, even in a town without even one bookstore, there's hope. And her name is Maria Soliz. Madam Librarian. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Laredo Public Library |
|
|
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
I bought the 40th anniversary edition, published in 2001, of Julia Child's cookbook from Amazon; and it's nearly exactly like the original. Nice surprise. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Julia Child, 1967 The French Chef on PBS |
|
|
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Ken Auletta had a nice rebuttal in the Sunday Times Book Review written to the person who somewhat negatively reviewed his new book Googled: The End of the World as We Know It. Mr. Auletta's book is thorough, precise, unbiased, and clearly illuminates the mindset and inner workings of the Google folks. It's too bad that the negative reviewer saw things less clearly. To oppose an idea for the sake of opposition is always a losing proposition. Anyhoo, I liked the book and its thesis. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, December 14, 2009
I started The Lacuna again last night. I had set it aside and taken a break from this particular book to get caught up on other stuff. Probably a mistake. When I'm reading a complicated novel like The Lacuna, it's very difficult to stop, read something else, and then return to it. So, I'm going to give it another go; and see what happens. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, December 13, 2009
I just love Sunday mornings so much. Coffee, my favorite chair, obedient dogs at my feet, the Sunday Times with a photo of Mexico's newest famous artist at MOMA, a reference to Kant's moral imperative, a glimpse of high society at the Met's Christmas party, or an in-depth analysis of the DJIA, which I never read. All on Sunday, every week, all in my favorite chair. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Last week's NY Times Book Review listed the 100 best books of 2009. They also had reviews of other books including Kate DiCamillo's new book about an elephant and a new biography of Ayn Rand. All good stuff. Thank heaven for the NY Times which is, according to Ken Auletta, sinking fast financially. Mr. Auletta says the Times is working on ways to beef up advertising sales both online and in print. He said that an ad online generates only 10% of an ad in their printed paper. Or maybe that's the other way round. Can't recall. As I was just now looking that up, I found an article about the fact that Kirkus Reviews has shut down. Kirkus reviewed books and was the source that librarians used to decide which books to buy for their libraries. That leaves Publishers Weekly and Library Journal as the primary places to look for book reviews. The web site, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/12/books/12kirkus.html?_r=1&ref=media gives the low-down on Kirkus. Goodness. If you're a writer in today's market, better keep your day job. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, December 11, 2009
In no particular order, people I admire are Beatrix Potter, Noam Chomsky, the guy with the flower in Tiananmen Square, Jonathan Kozol, Tom Hayden, Eleanor Roosevelt, all the teachers I had when I was a kid, Chris Hedges, and the 14th Dalai Lama. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow. Lyrics to a song written by Sammy Cahn and the composer Jule Styne in 1945. Rosemary Clooney sings it the best. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
In 1980, Howard Zinn published A People's History of the United States. This coming Sunday on the History Channel, his work will be presented as a documentary extolling the virtues of the working class, dissidents, and anti-war citizens of the US. The documentary encourages viewers to question their government and to hold it accountable for making good and peaceful decisions. I saw a documentary about Howard Zinn last year. He was an anti-war spokesperson in the 60s against the Vietnam War; and he's still consistently speaking out against violence as a solution to world problems. He says the Declaration of Independence gave citizens the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Democracy and freedom of speech at work. Quite a sight. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Malcolm Gladwell gave a great interview with Brian Lamb on BookTV recently. He was very gladwellian. http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/id/216084 Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, December 7, 2009
I was so lucky to catch Joy Hakim on BookTV yesterday. She skewered textbook companies who produce poor history textbooks and poor science textbooks. She basically said that all the textbooks are poorly written and pathetic and just putting them online, on a computer, or on a Kindle will not make a poor textbook better. So, there. I own her set of history books; and they're great. She also condemned NCLB and teaching to the test. For three hours - on live TV, she got it just right. BookTV.org is terrific. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Jeff Bezos was interviewed by Deborah Solomon in the NY Times Magazine this morning. And thankfully, they have returned to color photos of the interviewees after a stint where they were doing black and white. Mr. Bezos is the CEO of Amazon. He said that for every 100 books that are available on Kindle, they sell 52 in book form and 48 on Kindle. His goal is all books all over the world on Kindle. He doesn't sound like a reader to me. I need the book, the page, the smell of paper, and a place to write in the margins from time to time. But if Kindle will keep the book industry alive, then so be it. But what a loss. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Photo by John Keatley for the NY Times |
|
|
Saturday, December 5, 2009
I have several issues of The New Yorker to read today. I've let them pile up a bit; and that's not good. But, it's chilly out today. So, it's going to be a nice day to get caught up, piddle around, and maybe bake some bread. Christmas is just around the corner; and my shopping i s d o n e ! Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, December 2, 3, and 4, 2009
I've been away from the computer; but now I'm back. I'm one-fourth into my new book, The Lacuna; and it's a whirlwind of writing style, imagery, language, culture, oppression, and transgression. I'm reminded immediately of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. At first, I started reading Lacuna closely trying to make small images in my head and trying to read all the Spanish phrases. But then I realized because the story moved around from time to place, it would be best to read it like an easy novel sort of like jumping into the pool all at once versus taking the steps and holding onto the handrail. The novel is about a boy with a Mexican mother and an American father. The boy is raised by his mom, grows up poor, and lives between cultures. He is an outsider everywhere he goes. He's quiet, smart, and makes connections between what he sees and what he reads. He's a kid who loves poetry, books, and pan dulce. He winds up in the house of Frida and Diego (yes, the painters) working in the kitchen; and then issues of class, money, power, and privilege are woven into the plot. Achebe, Marquez, and Farmer weave those things too into their books. And so does Toni Morrison. You sort of feel like you're on a roller coaster or going down a river as you read them. So, I'm back. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
My new book by Barbara Kingsolver arrived yesterday; and I'm thrilled. I'm almost done with Poppy and Rye so I'm ready for my next big read and that will be, The Lacuna: A Novel. Last night on Sundance, I was lucky to watch a film about the life of Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) who was a poet and playwright in Germany during the time of the great wars. He lived in Sweden, Switzerland, and Finland before coming to the US. The Sundance film featured his play Mother Courage and Her Children. There was a revival of this play in New York with Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline in 2006. The documentary was released in 2008 and showed Brecht in photos and footage. Featured were the wagon that Mother Courage pulled behind her, Tony Kushner who translated the play, George Wolfe who directed the play, behind-the-scenes rehearsals with Meryl and Kevin, footage of the McCarthy hearings during the Communist scares in the 50s with Richard Nixon sitting right there, and commentary that helped explain the relationship between Bertolt Brecht and Karl Marx. This documentary film, perhaps more than the play, asks viewers to examine why we allow ourselves to be manipulated and exploited by war and its machinery. While the play ends, war continues on with no end in sight. Why? Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Photo credit White Buffalo Entertainment and The Public Theater / Michael Daniel |
|
|
Monday, November 30, 2009
I would love to hear Malcolm Gladwell read his new book; and I would love to hear Ken Auletta read his new book. I'm going to investigate that. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, November 29, 2009
So, today, finally. In the New York Times Book Review, Malcolm Gladwell responds to Steven Pinker's negative analysis of Mr. Gladwell's new book, What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures, which I just bought from Amazon seconds ago. On November 15, Dr. Pinker put into question many of Mr. Gladwell's assertions. So, I didn't buy the book. I waited for Mr. Gladwell's rebuttal anticipating that it would come on November 22. When it didn't, I assumed Mr. Gladwell was acquiescing to Dr. Pinker's doubts about the books accuracy; and who wants a book that's inaccurate even if she loves the author. But today. Voila. Mr. Gladwell comes through with flying colors. He explains the statistics he used, he explains the email he sent to Dr. Pinker, he makes a few digs about a book reviewer who checks facts from blogs rather than academic journals, and he does it all with gentlemanly wit. Then Dr. Pinker was given a chance to respond and is equally genteel although obviously standing down. Love it. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, November 28, 2009
This evening at 5 PM central time, Prairie Home Companion will be live from Town Hall at 123 W. 43rd in NYC. Mr. Keillor had a stroke a month or so ago; and tonight he's broadcasting live from Town Hall. He has certainly maintained and promoted the world of live radio to an art - the art of living well and doing good work. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, November 27, 2009
BookTV is on all day today. I bet there will be somebody on there who has written a book that I want to read. So, it's great to have leftovers and BookTV all day today. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving.
|
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
At some point I'm going to have to just stop reading the newspaper. Today, it was reported that 600 salt water fish died in an aquarium at a local shopping mall. It was reported as though it didn't matter. But it does. Everywhere I look, land is paved, trees are removed, nature is despoiled. It's very tough to tolerate all that. So, when it looks like the planet is going down for the count and the citizens have cut down the last tree of the land, I turn my gaze to Jane Jacobs and Rachel Carson. Ms. Jacobs (1916-2006) wrote The Death and Life of Great American Cities, first published in 1961 and still in print and high demand. She outlined the ways in which city governments were destroying neighborhoods through urban expanision and renewal. She galvanized people to protest all kinds of destructive new building projects and won. She simply never stopped her crusade against progressive destruction. The other person I think about is Rachel Carson (1907-1964) who wrote about the destructive use of pesticides and pollution in her book Silent Spring. Her title predicted that the planet would have silence every spring unless we changed pesticide and pollution practices that were killing the birds. Ms. Carson's book is still in print and still being held up as a powerful model for proper treatment of the environment. Jane Jacobs and Rachel Carson. Their focused efforts and their books are powerfully unique testaments to what can be accomplished. But then again, wouldn't it be nice to be able to live a life that was "for" something rather than having to be "opposed" to something. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Jane Jacobs and Rachel Carson |
|
|
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
At some point I must have read Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows copyright 1908, 1913, or 1916 depending on where you look on the copyright page. I've read multiple places that it's the greatest piece of literature for children ever written. Talking animals. Rivers. Nature. Virtues. Just my style. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, November 23, 2009
I ordered Barbara Kingsolver's new book yesterday, The Lacuna: A Novel. I have all of her books. I love her stance on life and literature. And I love the fact that she's been able to apply her wordy talents so that she can make a solid living. She tells a good intelligent story in all her books and leaves you with images that remind you of other things just like Proust described in Remembrance of Things Past. Ms. Kingsolver also connects the past with the future. I wonder how she does that. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, November 22, 2009
In last week's NY Times Book Review, Steven Pinker reviewed Malcolm Gladwell's new book, What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures. Dr. Pinker said that although Mr. Gladwell was indefatigable in his intellectual curiosity and his output for new books, the newest book had statistical errors and a spelling error for the word igon which is actually spelled eigen and is a term used in linear algebra. So, I waited all week for Mr. Gladwell to write a letter to the editor as a sort of rebuttal or even apology or perhaps a thank you for the constructive feedback. Nada. There you go. Error. Correction. Move on.
This week in today's Book Review, Steven King has a lengthy piece about two new books about Raymond Carver, who although was a great writer was a total mess in his private life. Mr. King also took the time in preparing for that piece to tell us what an editor of a book should do to help writers. He said that an editor of a book should, "improve the writer's work by doing a number of useful things: posing questions the writer should have answered and didn't, suggesting places where thematic concerns can be reinforced to make a more pleasing whole, and pointing out (gently) infelicities of language. What an editor should never do is superimpose his or her own beliefs about style and story on the author's work. An editor should be an expert midwife, not a surrogate parent." I love that quote. It's 100% true and very helpful.
Finally, in today's Book Review, Sam Tanenhaus used a word that is known by probably seven readers in his review of the autobiography of Andre Agassi. Bildungsroman. Bildungsroman. Bildungsroman. German for a coming-of-age story. I suppose sometimes a foreign word is the only word that will do. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Michael Feldman at 10.
Ira Glass at 2.
Garrison Keillor at 5.
Supper at 6.
Must be Saturday.
Plus my new book by Shaun Tan arrived. Tales from Outer Suburbia. His other really significant book is The Arrival. I never get tired of studying that book. It's wordless and exquisite in his perspective. His books require an investment of time and thought. They require the reader to focus, clear the mind, and pay attention. The reward is always significant. Art is like that. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, November 20, 2009
It's raining cats and dogs today. Time to stay indoors. Time to finish Confetti Girl by Diana Lopez as well as Poppy and Rye by Avi. Time to plan for Thanksgiving dinner. Time to vacuum. Time to polish the silver. Time. Time. Time. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, November 19, 2009
I was missing a book. I looked and looked and couldn't find it. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown. I read it long ago in college and had recently moved it from one shelf to another. But then I couldn't find it. How's that possible to know where something is for 20 years and then suddenly you don't know where it is. The good news is I found it. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Wake up.
Drink some coffee.
Skim the paper.
Email mom.
Walk the dogs.
Go to work.
Eat lunch.
Go back to work.
Fix supper.
Wash the dishes.
Walk the dogs.
Stare at the computer.
Call a friend.
Watch Modern Family on ABC.
Read a book.
Go to sleep.
Perfect.
More or less.
Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
At Bauman Rare Books, located at 535 Madison Avenue in NYC, they have a 1963 copy of Where the Wild Things Are signed by Maurice Sendak. They have the price listed at $25,000. I wonder if they'd take $20,000. They also have an unsigned copy of The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco from 1922, priced at $22,000, which they seem pretty firm on. And finally, a first edition of E.B. White's Charlotte's Web from 1952 is listed for $3,600. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| I love this bookshop on Madison Avenue. |
|
|
Monday, November 16, 2009
Man oh man. Ralph Nader and Chris Hedges were both on BookTV yesterday. LIVE!!! In my living room. They both have new books and are brilliant and articulate about the way it's supposed to be. They understand everything from the economy to global warming to world peace to the power of words. They seem unstoppable in their devotion to making the planet a better place to live. Mr. Nader says it all starts with small, grass-roots groups who meet and work toward a common goal. Mr. Hedges says it all starts with getting our nation's number one economic drain fixed and that is out-of-control, for-profit health insurance. Very convincing they were. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Yesterday.
I started and almost finished a new book with a copyright of 1998. Poppy and Rye by Avi.
I caught Al Gore delivering a booktalk in Miami on BookTV.
I listened to Anjelica Huston read a short story on Selected Shorts.
Avi. Al. Anjelica.
All in my living room. Am I spoiled or what? Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, November 14, 2009
James Baker, former Secretary of State, supposedly told Israel and Palestine to solve their peace and war problems themselves. He said, "We have our own country to fix." And then he gave them a phone number and told them to call Barack when they were ready to talk at (202) 456-1414. The phone number appears to be the real deal. I just called it and a guy answered, "White House." Then I went to the reverse phone lookup and got 31 hits with the address of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, D.C. Cool. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, November 13, 2009
Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss is the book I'm thinking about today. I first saw her on BookTV in 2004 and "immediately" loved her inner stickler for punctuation. During this appearance, she was at Powell's Bookstore in Portland, Oregon where I've been several times. It's a fabulous place and rivals Strand Bookstore in Manhattan as the place to find whatever book you might need or want. The subtitle of Ms. Truss's book is The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. AND I've just reread the foreword to the book by none other than Frank McCourt (1930-2009). Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, November 12, 2009
I just ordered Shaun Tan's newest book, Tales from Outer Suburbia. It got a great review in the NY Times Book Review section this past Sunday. I had just reread The Arrival, which is also by Mr. Tan and so I'm ready to love the newest of his books. Another title receiving a great review in that issue of the Book Review was Jerry Pinkney's newest book The Lion and the Mouse, which is of course one of Aesop's fables and which of course Jerry included in his 2000 edition of Aesop's Fables. How great it is to be a reader. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
I was reading a scholarly piece about literacy and language and came across a reference to Claude Levi-Strauss (1908-2009), who was an anthropologist who made it possible to systematically study language and communication and culture among and between all kinds of groups of people. And no, he's not related to Levi Strauss (1829-1902) of blue jeans fame. Claude Levi-Strauss died this month just before his 101st birthday. I wondered how to pronounce his name and found a youtube video interview with Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002) who pronounced his name LEEvee Strose. I am so appreciative of these kinds of thinkers who do the hard, hard thinking that is required to figure out life. But here's what I think. Life is actually pretty simply. It's just that we humans lack the intellectual ability to see it. So, we create very complex ways of trying to figure out why A = B. In most cases, even our best efforts to understand and explain even the simplest set of relationships fall short. But I still admire the effort. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Unwind by Neal Shusterman.
Those are my next two books. They came highly recommended; and their Amazon ratings are off the charts. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, November 9, 2009
Writing a few words each day about books and all things bookish sounds easier than it is. Today, nothing comes to mind. So, I'll say that loud and clear: today, nothing comes to mind. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, November 8, 2009
For what it's worth. A song from the 60s by Buffalo Springfield. Reading today's paper put me in mind of that tune. We are a species that produces both high art and enormous atrocity. At some point, civilizations will resolve all their conflicts at the peace table rather than the battle field. When will that time come? When will the better angels of our nature show themselves? It's time. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, November 7, 2009
I've had to update my list of books that have influenced me. I left out Atlas Shrugged. So, I've added that title and removed Sick Puppy, which was a nice book but which doesn't permanently change my outlook like Atlas did. I could have left Puppy on the list; but I wanted to keep it to one page. Ah, the limitations of space. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, November 6, 2009
Al Gore has a new book out. Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis. He was on Charlie Rose last night and was brilliant. In his case, it's turned out well that Mr. Gore was not our President because it allowed him to focus on saving the planet from global warming. He said that within ten years, America could be free from dependence on an oil-based economy if we start now to develop alternative energy sources. What a guy. And for once, Mr. Rose actually let his guest do most of the talking without interruption. Lovely. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, November 5, 2009
I'm up way too early to think about books this morning except to say that I watched Ken Auletta on BookTV this weekend. His new book is titled, Googled: The End of the World as We Know It. He was great. He explained how the founders of Google got started, how they use an algorithm to allow searches, and how Google has permanently changed the world. Way cool. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Brian Lamb and Ken Auletta |
|
|
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The time change has once again messed up my schedule. I have 17 clocks; and they all say a different time. I've left some of them on pre-change time because I wanted a sense of what kind of time I was losing. Turns out a lot. It's dark way too early, which interferes with my evening reading. Somehow. I don't know how; but this time change business seems unnecessary. I wish that it would stay the same time on the clocks. No more time changes. On a brighter note, the sun still comes up regularly and is unaware of how we humans are trying to manipulate it. Way to go, sun. For today's missive, time's up. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday and Tuesday, November 2 and 3, 2009
Days and days go by without Frederick Neitzsche's name ever crossing my mind; and yet yesterday, his work was evoked in two different places. First, in the Sunday Times Book Review a review of a new biography about Ayn Rand was published. Ms. Rand was quoted as saying that Nietzsche "beat me to all my ideas." Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand is about the talented, creative, and powerful people in America who simply got tired of supporting everyone. So, they opted out into a secret society where they vowed to produce no more work to benefit society and consumers. They felt their talents weren't appreciated and were being squandered. John Galt was their iconic leader. I love that book. I love the fact that Ayn Rand could take complex economic and philosophical ideas and craft them into a novel. And as Susan Sontag said, "narrative is more long-lasting than expository." Atlas Shrugged will be here forever. I'm going to reread that book soon. The second invocation of Nietzsche was in the book I just finished titled, Masterpiece by Elise Broach. It's about a boy named James and a beetle named Marvin both of whom you grow to like. How is that possible. Liking a non-existent beetle? Who'd have thunk it. Anyhoo, the art critic in the book named Christina mentions Nietzsche in one of her lectures at the Met. She said, "The Greeks thought the four cardinal virtues were related to one another. It was impossible to master one without mastering all of them." That's what she said on page 152. She went on to say that Nietzsche disagreed by saying the virtues were incompatible. He said you couldn't be both wise and brave.
What are the four Greek virtues?
Temperance, prudence, fortitude, justice.
(Moderation, cautious judgment, courage, ethics.)
I feel like I've been slammed.
Ayn Rand, Frederick Nietzsche, Atlas Shrugged, Susan Sontag, Greek virtues, and an artistic beetle all within a two hour period on a Sunday afternoon.
Rand (1905-1982)
Nietzsche (1844-1900)
Broach (1960-)
Sontag (1933-2004)
Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Rand, Nietzsche, Broach, Sontag |
|
|
Sunday, November 1, 2009
I've found a wonderful new book. No! By David McPhail. It's dedicated to teachers. It's wordless. It's powerful. Mr. McPhail got it just right. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, October 31, 2009
The winner of Garrison Keillor's contest for the best six-word novel goes like this:
Returning the zuchini; accept this fruitcake.
Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, October 30, 2009
I've found my new favorite book, Masterpiece by Elise Broach. It's a story about some beetles that live in a little house beneath the kitchen sink in a house owned by Mr. and Mrs. Pompaday and their young son, James. The book is yummy. As I'm reading it, I'm uber-aware of how books I read as a kid have made me sensitive to the needs of bugs, birds, moose, hares, and all other manner of flora and fauna. The notion of giving human qualities to other life forms is called anthropomorphism. And Masterpiece gives these beetles under the sink all the characteristics of one of the finest families you'd ever want to meet. I'm ready it slowly so it won't conclude too quickly. Deelicious. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Illustrator Kelly Murphy knows beetles. |
|
|
Thursday, October 29, 2009
I have two new books. The Lion and The Mouse by Jerry Pinkney and Masterpiece by Elise Broach. I have already finished Mr. Pinkney's book including the author's note at the end. I love Jerry Pinkney. I talked with him at a conference where he was the keynote speaker. He came down from the dais to speak to me as I told him how much I had enjoyed his presentation on BookTV. He is a wonderful artist. Ms. Broach is a new author for me; but I'm very anxious to get into her book. It's going to be fabulous. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Ethel Merman, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone. All played Madame Rose in Gypsy. There may have been one more; but I don't know about it. I saw the last three on Broadway. I'm too young to have seen Ms. Merman. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Willem Dafoe is on Broadway in Idiot Savant; and Laurie Metcalf is there as well in Brighton Beach Memoirs. Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has a new opera in London that takes up where Phantom left off. But right here in my study, Leon Redbone is singing away from Up a Lazy River. Artists, performers, musicians, writers, poets - why aren't they in charge of the world? I guess they're busy doing what artists, performers, musicians, writers, and poets do. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Willem, Laurie, Leon, Andrew |
|
|
Monday, October 26, 2009
Yesterday was good. Reading the Times, sipping coffee, sitting on the patio, watching the hummingbirds, waiting for the beef bourguignon to be done. And finally it was. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Beef bourguignon is in the oven braising away while I write these few words. The aroma is enormous. While I'm waiting, I'm pining away for a new 27" quad imac; but it's two grand. It's totally beautiful but not in the budget unless I get some sort of stimulus funding in the mail. In the meantime, I'm loving Mirror: Stories of Almost Everyone by Eduardo Galeano. He has chronicled society's shortcomings in 600+ little narratives that have taken place since the beginning of recorded time. His book is not uplifting; but it tells a truth about the inclination of powerful groups to dominate and despoil. For my money, Mr. Galeano got it all just right. I wonder how he'll end it so that hope remains. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, October 24, 2009
I'm still thumbing through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. On page 310 is the recipe for beef bourguignon which I will attempt to make today. French cooking is not for spur-of-the-moment people like me. Beef bourguignon requires a 24 hour marinade. Hmm. Maybe I'll just forget the whole thing. Maybe I'll just be happy that I can now spell b o u r g u i g n o n.
Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, October 23, 2009
David Brooks wrote a column for the NY Times on October 19 about Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Now that the 1963 copyrighted book is a movie, it's seeing a resurgence of interest and scrutiny. Mr. Brooks analyzes the book according to two lenses. First, he looks at the book through the eyes of a philosopher then a psychologist. The philosopher says that we humans have character traits that dictate how we behave. If you're honest in the morning, you're honest in the evening. If you're compassionate in the morning, you're compassionate in the evening. The psychologist says that we humans have character traits that are totally dependent on the context and situation we're in. If I'm anxious at home, I'm not necessarily anxious at work. If I'm brave at work, I'm not necessarily brave at the mall. So, Max can be analyzed philosophically or psychologically-take your pick. My money is on the psychological analysis. Behavior is totally dependent on where you are at the moment. It's location, location, location. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Windows 7 came out today to replace Windows Vista. It's still clunky and inelegant. But it's cheap. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
I found out that kids love a pop-up book on geography. The book is The Amazing Pop-Up Geography Book. Harm de Blij is the nation's most popular geographer; and he's convinced that EVERYTHING is geography from our language to our customs to our culture to our lifestyles and of course to our history. So, I'm delighted to find this little gem of a book. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
It's dead still outside my window this morning except for this stray dog that has suddenly appeared. That sentence reminds me of Cynthia Rylant's The Van Gogh Cafe which has to be one of my all time favorite books especially the part where pies start baking themselves in Flowers, Kansas in a little cafe owned by Marc and his daughter. I think I'll reread that book. It's delicious. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, October 19, 2009
Wow. I caught William Ouchi on BookTV yesterday. His new book is on TSL. Total student load. I just went to C-SPAN and bought the video. His data shows that if you reduce the number of students per teacher, we will have better schools. The video can be watched online at
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/videoLibrary/video.php?dispid=289124-1
I don't know what I'd do without BookTV. Every single time I watch, I learn. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| williamouchi.com |
|
|
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Deborah Solomon has featured two food people in a row in the Times Magazine for the last two weeks. Lisa Lillien known as Hungry Girl was interviewed last Sunday; and Ruth Reichl, editor of Gourmet, was interviewed today. Reading those interviews makes me want to go cook something fabulous. But in reality, I'll probably warm up the Alfredo and spaghetti I made yesterday along with a bit of salad and peaches with whipped cream...all devoured on the patio. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Lisa's photo by Christian Oth; Ruth's photo by Fiona Aboud; Alfredo photo by me. |
|
|
Saturday, October 17, 2009
“A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted. You should live several lives while reading it.” That's what William Styron said. How could he have used just 20 words to express the perfect sentiment about books. Twenty words and three pieces of punctuation. Pretty profound. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| William Styron, June 11, 1926-November 1, 2006 |
|
|
Friday, October 16, 2009
Michael Moore's Capitalism has finally arrived in town after opening in the rest of the country two weeks ago. I love his perspective, style, and gumption. He gets it all just right. But I'll probably still wait til it comes out in DVD. Going to the movies is not a pleasant outing. Sticky floors, lots of texting, and commercials that are WAY TOO LOUD. So, what do you do. You wait for the DVD. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday and Thursday, October 14 and 15, 2009
William Styron came up this week in something I've been reading. I remember him sitting down with Christopher Cerf (Bennett Cerf's son) and talking to BookTV one weekend. Mr. Styron wrote Sophie's Choice and Darkness Visible among many. The interview between those two life-long friends was quite wonderful. And then, I met Christopher Cerf at a conference and told him what a great interview that was of him with Mr. Styron. He asked if it was still available. He hadn't seen it yet. He was absolutely sweet and wonderful. He led Sesame Street and now leads Reading Between the Lions on PBS. Bennett Cerf was on What's My Line for many years with Arlene Francis, Kitty Carlisle, Dorothy Kilgallen, and John Daly as host. Bennett Cerf launched Random House publishers because he thought he'd publish a book every now and then at random. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Christopher Cerf at The Institute of Expertology |
|
|
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
My list of 33 books from October 9, 2009 contains 17 expository and 16 narratives although a couple of books could fit into both categories. So, the books that have impacted me the most on that list are about evenly split between the two types of books. As his favorite book, I know that Shelby Foote preferred Proust; but I'll stick with Kingsolver although Proust's concept of sense memory is absolutely dead on. We all sense something every single day that brings back a memory. Astute senses spark vivid memories. Dull senses live in the moment. Til tomorrow
|
Monday, October 12, 2009
In the NY Times Book Review yesterday, Maureen Dowd criticizes Dan Brown's new book about the Masons for not revealing enough about that group's semiotic secrets. Masons, evidently, lay bricks, share secrets, and stick with their brotherhood through thick and thin. She is guessing that because he was so critical of the Catholic church in his book, The Da Vinci Code that he decided not to rile up too many folks this time around. She also criticized the new book as being a book written more for a movie than a book to be read and appreciated just as a book. I'd say the relationship between Ms. Dowd and Mr. Brown will be forever strained. As much as I like both of their writings, she convinced me to pass on the book. I wonder if that's what she intended. Here's what I want from a book. Does this book tell an engaging story that sustained my attention, fed my imagination, and kept me turning the pages? Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Maureen Dowd and Dan Brown |
|
|
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Michael Feldman had a rebroadcast yesterday and featured the governor of Arkansas since he was in Little Rock; he also interviewed the director of Heifer International, an NGO nonprofit that provides goats, chickens, and cows to developing nations. It was fabulous. Ira Glass explained why people in some cities become more ill after seeing their doctor than people in neighboring cities. Garrison Keillor talked about his stroke during his Lake Woebegone segment. All yesterday. And I'm still reading Eduardo Galeano's Mirror and Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. Plus, I just finished reading Deborah Solomon's interview with Hungry Girl in the Times Magazine this morning. Words. Words. Words. They all got it just right. Today? Coffee, the Times, two loyal dogs, and homemade spaghetti for lunch. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Michael Feldman at 10
Ira Glass at 2
Garrison Keillor at 5
All online at Texas Public Radio, 89.1 FM in San Antonio or www.tpr.org.
I love Saturdays.
Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, October 9, 2009
I made a list of my favorite books last night and typed them up. But then I found a couple more sitting on the shelf that I like but that won't fit on the list. So, I've revised the list a bit and hope that the replaced books don't feel too badly about not making the final cut. Perhaps they'll never know. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Twenty-four hours later; and I'm still listening to Leon Redbone. He's the master of jazz, blues, and sophisticated guitar playing. He sang "Polly Wolly Doodle All Day" on Prairie Home Companion on May 8, 2008. Garrison asked him who wrote that song. Leon said, "I wrote that song." But then I researched that song; and found that it appeared in a Harvard student song book in 1880. So, this means that like all good artists, Mr. Redbone was speaking metaphorically. He's singing live in Eligin, Illinois this weekend. The house is packed. Lucky ticketholders. The blues ain't nothing but a good man feeling bad. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
I've listened to Leon Redbone for decades. I'm listening to him now. He's a very private person. His musical talent is boundless. I wish for him much happiness. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
There once was a writer who blocked
Her mind shut down and locked
She now only stares
At the monitor's glare
And waits for time to tick tock.
Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Edward Lear 1812-1888 |
|
|
Monday October 5, 2009
My mom and I made a lemon meringue pie for Christmas in 2003. We had it with a cup of coffee on the patio. It took all morning to make using Betty Crocker's cookbook. I have not had anything to eat since then that tasted as good. I'm sure glad I took a picture and that my beautiful imac stored the photo til now. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Chris Hedges has a new book, Empire of Illusion. He was interveiwed by Ron Suskind on BookTV last night. BRILLIANT. I've admired Mr. Hedges forever. He is a journalist. He is a strong proponent of non-violence in world affairs. He is a critic of war as a solution. He is a critic of Wall Street and it's bungling of the world economy. He's written many books all of which are backed up by credible data that he himself has collected, compiled, and distilled. He's articulate, unrelenting, and unapologetic for being a spokesperson for social justice worldwide. How do you get to be him? Graduate from Harvard Divinity School for starts and then live for 20 years in the Middle East watching the world through the eyes of people and cultures whose wisdom and beliefs are underrepresented. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Margaret Drabble has a new book on life as a jigsaw puzzle. She has written 17 novels. Susan Sontag said that fiction was more long-lasting than non-fiction for illuminating themes and issues. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, October 2, 2009
Eric Carle has produced a video tape showing how he makes his artwork and his books. His trilogy The Very Quiet Cricket, The Very Busy Spider, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar features the respective themes of love, work, and hope. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, October 1, 2009
I've been writing on this site for over a year now. It's good to wake up, think about something literary, and write a few lines. And the only thing I can think of this morning is Tom Hayden's new book, The Long Sixties: From 1960 to Barack Obama. Mr. Hayden was a 60s revolutionary who supported civil rights and anti-war movements. He's still doing that. So, it is possible to commit to a long-term movement and stay with it. Most people don't. He did. When I hear him speak, I always like what he says. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Then and Now: The good don't always die young. |
|
|
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Up early today. Listening to Nathan Lane from The Producers on Sirius radio. Read the paper. Had coffee. Thinking about how great it is to read good writing. My favorite writer? Hmmm. Shelby Foote would say Proust. I would say Cynthia Ozick. Maybe O. Henry. Or perhaps Margaret Drabble. Or probably Barbara Kingsolver. Yes. Barbara Kingsolver. On a related note. Ken Burns said that Shelby Foote sold 60,000 copies of his three-volume set of books on the Civil War. And then after Ken Burns's broadcast of his PBS video on the Civil War that featured much of Shelby Foote's research and voice, Mr. Foote sold over one million copies of the three-volume set. The power of film trumps the power of books. It's easier to view a film than to read a book. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Barbara Kingsolver |
|
|
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Michael Moore, Paul Krugman, and John Waters were on Bill Maher this week. They spoke convincingly about the worlds of economics and entertainment. They discussed the notions of greed and violence that are so prevalent in our various societies. I suppose it's in our collective genes to take what we need so that we can survive as part of the world's fittest. We do what we do to survive. But our genes have also given us the ability to reason which means we should be able to rise above our basest instincts. We should be able to rise above the instinct to annihilate each other and take what is not ours. We should be able to bend to the better angels of our nature. But after reading today's paper containing story after story of murder and mayhem, I fear it is not to be. Our genetic makeup is not serving us very well. Our poor species. Burn a candle. Curse the darkness. Maybe both. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, September 28, 2009
Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant, Benjamin Harris. Those were the Presidents who signed into law protection of Yosemite and Yellowstone according to the compelling PBS film by Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan about the nation's parks. But it was John Muir (1838-1914) who was really the star of protecting all this land from developers, strip miners, clear cutters, and polluters. I watched the first two-hours of the twelve-hour film last night; but I did have to mute parts of it when the narrator, Peter Coyote, told stories of the dispossesion and massacre of the native people who had lived on these lands for thousands of years before the US expanded its industrial, capital-producing development of the West. The film begs the question, "What is progress?" Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| The Scotsman, John Muir |
|
|
Sunday, September 27, 2009
The National Book Festival in DC was yesterday and was broadcast live on BookTV. Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan talked about their new film and book that feature the national park system. PBS will broadcast the six-part series beginning today. Mr. Burns and Mr. Duncan produced this 12-hour documentary on the 58 national parks that the people of this country own in order to encourage the continuing preservation of the land and the system. Thanks to President Teddy Roosevelt, the national park service controls all those lands that would have otherwise been in the control of private land developers and gated communities. Way to go TR. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Statue of TR in front of the Museum of Natural History in NYC |
|
|
Saturday, September 26, 2009
I met Michael Moore, Ben Cheever, and Barbara Ehrenreich in NYC at a 92nd Street Y book talk one time a few years back. They were wonderful. They each signed the books I bought from them; and they each gave wonderful, chatty talks to a room packed with people. They also stayed afterwards and signed books and just talked - easily and without even once glancing at their watches. It was easy to see that they each possessed the ability to singularly focus on a topic long enough to write a book no matter how long it took. They looked like and talked like normal people; but if you studied them closely, they each were completely focused on the craft and joy of writing. What a great evening that was. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, September 25, 2009
The Times Magazine last Sunday featured Carl Jung and his Red Book, which is a red, leather book containing thoughts, ideas, and pictures of Jung's dreams and their interpretations. His book, Memories, Dreams, Reflections presents his ideas on figuring out your inner self. And of course, the problem with doing that is that it can drive you crazy. Which in Jung's case, it may have. But then of course, other Jungian analysts have studied Jung and are perfectly fine. Ostensibly. Carl was a well educated reader and thinker who tried to piece together poetry, science, art, philosophy, and ultimately the meaning of life. He died in 1961 leaving his grandchildren to deal with his estate. The Red Book has now been scanned and will be published soon for everyone to see. The original Red Book is locked in a vault in Zurich, Switzerland; but it will be loaned out to the Rubin Museum in NYC later this year for those who want to see the original. Jung's notion of a collective unconscious shared by all is appealing although unprovable at the moment. But at least CGJ tried to make sense of a world that seems coded in complexity. He examined life very thoroughly. Maybe he was guilty of overthinking things when all we really need is peace. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| The Red Book from nytimes.org |
|
|
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Deborah Tannen, a linguist, was featured by Deborah Solomon in last Sunday's Times which I'm still reading because I'm behind in virtually everything but coffee and blogging. So....she talked about her research on sisters. I always thought I'd like a twin sister but that's just because I watched Hayley Mills with Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith in The Parent Trap way too many times. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Photos by David Holloway and IMDb. |
|
|
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
I was stuck in an airport for five hours Monday. ARGH. It was the weather. Hail, lightening, wind, torrential downpour. It was great. I bought a book there and almost finished the whole thing. When Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. His writing is laugh-out-loud-right-there-in-the-airport. His take on the world is to explore the minutia of life, people, and their things and then to write about it. Where exactly is Normandy? Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, September 19 to Tuesday, September 22, 2009
I had occasion to visit the public library in Cushing, Oklahoma. The library is dedicated to the enlightenment of all so that democracy may prevail. How cool is that. I even checked out a book on my mom's library card. The book you ask? Why it's The Alley by Eleanor Estes, copyright 1964. The exact book I read there as a kid. Exactly. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, September 18, 2009
Said the mouse to no one in particular:
If not for the cat
And the scarcity of cheese,
I could be content.
Poem by Jack Prelutsky
Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Ten more days; and it will be a year that I've been writing daily snippets. When the year gets here, I'll be done for a while. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
In the movie, Before Sunrise, with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, Nina Simone sings the song "Just in Time." Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The Times had 3 Arts and Leisure sections this past Sunday: Theatre, Movies, Music. Brad Pitt and Matt Damon are everywhere in the movies. While the rest of the world was waiting to see if they could make it in Hollywood, they were out there making it. Versatile actors with talent. They should try their craft on Broadway cause that's where it counts for acting. Waiting for Godot would be an interesting gig for them. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Inglourious Basterds and The Informant |
|
|
Monday, September 14, 2009
What does it take to raise people like Malcolm Gladwell and Sam Tanenhaus? They were both on BookTV this weekend; and they are the very voice of intellectual curiosity and linguistic agility. They know what to say and exactly how to say it. They study, read, write, speak, and are very generous with their gifts. Modern day heroes. I wonder if they hang out together. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Malcolm and Sam |
|
|
Sunday, September 13, 2009
The number of women who have made major contributions to literature and art throughout their lives is humbling. In the world of PBS, NPR, HBO, and The NY Times, Alice Neel, Nina Simone, Judith Jamison, Margaret Drabble, Grace Paley, and Cynthia Ozick are just a few who have been featured recently as having made their marks over years and decades. These are not ladies who lunch. They are raw talent and pure work ethic. They write, paint, sing, dance, and went to work every day. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, September 12, 2009
On December 10, 2008, it was the 60th anniversary of the UN's adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I have a copy in a little blue book. There are 30 Articles of things like, "people have the right to a nation," "people have the right to education," and "people have the right to rest and leisure." It's a lovely and noble document. Eleanor Roosevelt chaired the committee.
http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/udhr60/declaration.shtml
The book I bought at the gift shop in Hyde Park contains the 30 Articles in English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian, and Arabic. After 60 years, it still holds up as a remarkable contribution to world peace. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, September 11, 2009
Eight years ago, the towers fell. The perpetrator of this act is still at large. If I could do one or two or three really big things to repair the world, I wonder what I'd do. Or if I could just wish for a better world, what would I wish for. How do you restore goodness in a world where the seeds of malfeasance are "sown in poverty, ignorance and despair." Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, September 10, 2009
I finished not too long ago a book by Christopher Paul Curtis titled, Elijah of Buxton. It's a wonderful book that gives an absolutely clear perspective on the issue of slavery and how this issue was handled in Canada versus here in the US. The story is told through the eyes of a little boy named Elijah. His family is loving, hardworking, and living in Canada. Elijah is a boy; and when he's needed to help a runaway slave, he steps up and tries to save the day. What a thrilling book. I met Mr. Curtis in Atlanta. He was the keynote speaker at a dinner; and he was fabulous. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Jonathan Kozol said that American education needs four things:
1. high-quality preschool for every child in America, all day, every day.
2. a reduction in class size to 18 students per every 1 teacher.
3. restoration of teacher morale by eliminating the testing mania and NCLB.
4. bunches of charming, beautiful books in every American classroom.
Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
I've heard Shelby Foote say it. I've heard Stanley Crouch say it. William Shakespeare is the reigning king of language usage. But to appreciate that kingdom requires a teacher who can help one weed through and understand the difficult parts. And that takes the right person, a chunk of time, and a clear head. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| British Museum. Marble sculpture by Louis-Francois Roubiliac in 1757 |
|
|
Monday, September 7, 2009
Jonathan Kozol was wonderful, inspirational, courageous, strong, focused, determined, hard-working, well read, and totally committed to his life's work. I've already emailed him thanking him for the program; and I ordered the DVD from C-SPAN. Plus, since Jonathan mentioned that he still hasn't been invited to the White House for dinner (even though he helped Barack get elected), I emailed the President and suggested he invite Jonathan to dinner. And me too. What will I wear? My new Keds for sure. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, September 6, 2009
According to the Times this morning, Jude Law will be playing Hamlet on Broadway for three months. Recently, the audience at Kronborg Castle in Denmark saw his performance after Hamlet had played in London for a season. The current prince of Denmark was actually in the audience. Cool. Others who played Hamlet at that same castle are
Laurence Olivier
Richard Burton
John Gielgud
Kenneth Branagh
The Times said Mr. Law is unfazed by the pressure to play Hamlet under this kind of historical weight. The play was written by Shakespeare around 1600 and is about the Prince of Denmark, named Hamlet. Hamlet's father, The King, was killed by Hamlet's uncle, Claudius, who married Hamlet's mother, Gertrude. Madness, revenge, murder, despair. Always a good mix for a really good story. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Photo of Jude Law by Jonathan Worth for The NY Times |
|
|
Saturday, September 5, 2009
It's a long weekend. Yea. Plus, tomorrow BookTV will be broadcasting a live, three-hour conversation with Jonathan Kozol. I simply can not wait. A hero right in my own living room for three hours. I simply can not wait. Wait. I already said that. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Jonathan personalizes his book to me. Thank you, Stan. |
|
|
Friday, September 4, 2009
Network Solutions stopped completely my ability to use Safari to create my web page. Yesterday it worked, today it didn't. So, now I've downloaded Firefox, which I'm using to write these few words. There you go. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, September 3, 2009 People crash into buildings while they are looking at their GPS devices to find the building they just crashed in to. Facebook is on the decline. Twitter is getting boring. Fees for instant internet access are becoming prohibitive. So. Give me a book and a candle; and I'm good. Next book: Mirror by Eduardo Galeano. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, September 2, 2009 I would like 640 acres of forest; and in the middle I'd build a little Henry David Thoreau cabin with three rooms and the necessary furniture. I'd need a creek, a pond, a road, a water well, and some loons. A few chickens, a red wheelbarrow, wireless internet, my dogs, one goat, maybe two, and plenty of Vitamin C. Plus a small garage and my Subaru. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Walden Pond, Concord, Massachusetts |
|
|
Tuesday, September 1, 2009 I do believe that the book I most admire is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Ms. Rand took a great philosophical debate about our capitalistic society, added fully formed characters, and created a time and place that was more interesting than the time and place in which I now live. Her characters were all financially successful people who ran great corporations but who in the end decided to withhold their creative talents from the rest of society which just seemed too ungrateful and unproductive to support. For a writer to take monetary and societal theories and turn them into a novel with compelling characters seems impossible. At least it's impossible for me. Who is the next Ayn Rand? Not me. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Atlas on 5th Avenue, NYC between 50th and 51st |
|
|
Monday, August 31, 2009 Howard Gardner added two intelligences to his list of seven multiple intelligences. He added an existentialist intelligence and a flora and fauna intelligence. Linguistic, mathematical, spatial, kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal, musical. Makes sense. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Photo by Jon Chase |
|
|
Sunday, August 30, 2009 While the nation's schools continue to debate how to teach children to read and enjoy books, Nancie Atwell continues with her 25-year quest to use readers and writers workshops. And on the front page of the Times this morning, an extensive article about the workshops and a photo of Ms. Atwell demonstrating the process appears. Very refreshing. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Nancie Atwell in The NY Times |
|
|
Saturday, August 29, 2009 At one point, I was six weeks behind in reading The New York Times Book Review. This morning, I was one week behind. As of this moment, I'm all caught up. So this morning, as I was reading all the book reviews and drinking my tepid cup of coffee with sugar and French Vanilla non-dairy coffee creamer, I was struck by the sheer number of people who have a story to tell or an opinion to share. And the thing is is that all these stories and opinions are worth reading; and yet, there's only 24 hours in a day. So, a selective process of elimination automatically becomes the game. Too bad that life is so short. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, August 28, 2009 I woke up this morning thinking about Voltaire. I remembered one of his short stories about the question of whether it's better to know and understand the truth about the world and be fairly unhappy or whether it's better to live in sort of a protected bubble where the reality of the world's hardships are not visible. So, then I go to wikipedia and I find out that I want to find out a LOT more about his life and work. So, that's my goal. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Voltaire in white marble by Jean-Antoine Houdon |
|
|
Thursday, August 27, 2009 The August 10, 2009 of The New Yorker has articles by two of my favorite people: Malcolm Gladwell and Sherman Alexie. Mr. Gladwell writes about Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's book To Kill a Mockingbird. He points out the soft bigotry in the story and parallels it with the life of a southern politician named James Folsom. Then, Mr. Alexie has a short story in the same issue about his life, family, and a potential brain tumor that left him mostly deaf in one ear. Both of these writers have got the craft of telling a story down pat. They are very elegant with their words; and they're both decent people who have great talent and tremendous energy for work. Lovely. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 I've decided to cut back. I'm going to clean out my files and bookshelves and keep only what is essential. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 Marriage not required. Children not essential. Marriage and children not necessary for women to have a satisfying life. That's what she said. Ama Ata Aidoo. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, August 24, 2009 Alex Storozynski was on BookTV yesterday talking about his new book, The Peasant Prince. The book chronicles the life and times of Thaddeus Kosciuszko who was a Polish statesman, peace negotiator, and world travelor. He was friends with George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and helped win the war of independence. When an audience member asked why people didn't know much about Kosciuszko, Storozynski said two reasons, 1) Kosciuszko's name was hard to pronounce and 2) Polish documents and American documents were just now being opened up to historians for study. Kosciuszko is a world hero who is buried in Poland. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| http://www.kosciuszkofoundation.org/News_Storozynski_Bio.html |
|
|
Sunday, August 23, 2009 Today, I'm planning on finding something to cook from Julia Child's Volume 1 of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Or maybe I'll just go to the theater and watch Julie and Julia again instead. It's not the cooking that I avoid. It's the cleaning up afterwards that deters me. Til tomorrow.
|
Saturday, August 22, 2009 Michael Feldman at 10. Ira Glass at 2. Garrison Keillor at 5 Baked chicken with lemon at 6 It's going to be a busy day. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Michael, Ira, Garrison, Baked Chicken |
|
|
Friday, August 21, 2009 Ed Young has a new book titled, Hook that I'm going to buy. There's nothing better than holding in your hands the work of great artists. And that's what Ed Young is - a great artist. So, mow the lawn, dye your hair, wash the dishes, cut your nails, but read Ed Young. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, August 20, 2009 The Brooklyn Bridge. It spans the East River between Brooklyn and Manhattan. David McCullough said that when he visits his old home in Brooklyn, he and his wife walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. So, I vowed that the next time I was in NYC, I too would make the trek. Done. Okay. Alright. I didn't walk completely across it. But I did walk most of the way. It was hot. It was crowded. It was a huge distance. I did walk most of the way before I turned back to go to Strand Bookstore on 12th and Broadway where I bought a copy of Probuditi! by Chris Van Allsburg. He's so great. What a day. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 Eleanor Roosevelt lived in her own house on the Roosevelt estate when FDR died. The name of the house she lived in was Val-Kill standing for valley and the Dutch word for stream. It's a lovely house with a sunporch on the second floor where she slept in the summertime since it wasn't air conditioned. JFK met with her in her parlor seeking endorsement for the presidency (which he got from her with the condition that he do more to support civil rights). Val-Kill is a place that I would like to live. It's on the Hudson River. It's a cottage. It has a swimming pool. It is designed for work, solitude, and beauty. Who could ask for more. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, August 18, 2009 I've been in NYC this past week. I saw Phantom for the third time. LOVED it again. South Pacific and Next to Normal. The talent, work ethic, artistry, and commitment to put on a Broadway show leave me speechless...except to say, I loved it all. Then I took the train from Grand Central Terminal on 42nd to Poughkeepsie and then took a bus to the Roosevelt estate. I saw where Eleanor lived. I saw her desk, her bed, her life. I saw the Presidential library of FDR as well as his Ford. It was all stunning, inspriring, and unforgettable. The National Park Service employs extraordinary people who love their jobs and who love telling the stories of the Roosevelts. It was a wonderful trip. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, August 13-Monday, August 17, 2009 I'm away from my computer for five days. How sweet it is. Til Tuesday.
|
Wednesday, August 12, 2009 A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson is my current book that I'm reading along with Amy Hempel's book as well as Julia Child's cookbooks, Volumes 1 and 2. It's too much. I've vowed to read only one book at a time. But time after time, I find myself in the same pickle I'm in now. Too many books, not enough time. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Margaret Whiting had the voice that sang Time after Time in the movie Julie and Julia. I downloaded it from Amazon; and it's lovely. I also downloaded the Amazon mp3 player; and now my computer is freezing periodically. Ah. The price of art. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, August 10, 2009 Julie and Julia is a great film made great by Meryl Streep. She and Stanley Tucci carry the show. The cinematography was great. The scenes in France were great. The chocolate cake was great. The ensemble was great - not to mention picture perfect. Makes you want to go cook something. Yum. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, August 9, 2009 Carleen Hutchins (May 24, 1911-August 7, 2009) was a violin maker. She used glitter and a huge speaker to find the best spots on a piece of maple so that her violins would sing. Then she shaped the wood based on her glitter technique. Yo Yo Ma recorded an album using one of her cellos. Once with a friend, she stole a solid piece of maple from a phonebooth for one of her violins. She replaced it with a matching but cheaper piece of wood. She was 98 at her death.
Nuala O'Faolain (March 1, 1940-May 9, 2008) lived in Ireland and Manhattan. She was a writer and was the female version of Frank McCourt. In her book, she says, "A lot of us suffered in the Ireland of my day. We came out of a culture where women were utterly powerless and children had no value. If you were hit at school you were hit at home for being hit at school. It goes without saying there was no sex education. The only education a lot of us got was in neglect and being unloved." She had best sellers in both the UK and US. She gave a sobbing interview on Irish radio right before she died. http://www.rte.ie/arts/2008/0513/ofaolainn.html She was 68 at her death.
Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Carleen Hutchins and Nuala O'Faolain |
|
|
Saturday, August 8, 2009 Judge Sonia Sotomayor will be sworn in today as a Justice of the Supreme Court...for life. She's SO smart and knows the law. She'll do well. And she is very photogenic. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, August 7, 2009 The book I love the best is The Van Gogh Cafe by Cynthia Rylant. The story takes place at a cafe in Flowers, Kansas where Marc and his young daughter, Clara, witness the magic of food and life on a daily basis. I read this book years ago; but nearly every day, something happens which reminds me of that book. A possum, a piece of pie, a ceramic rooster. It's all there. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, August 6, 2009 The short stories I'm reading by Amy Hempel are still wonderful. I read one each evening. I think they are affecting my dreams because I'm having very peaceful dreams where everything turns out just right with no house fires, no burglars, no car crashes, no abandoned kittens, no droughts...just easy-going dreams. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, August 5, 2009 I love my Mac. The Mac operating system works like my mind words. Globally. The PC world works like Bill Gates's mind works. Sequentially with one plodding step after another. Ninety percent of the world uses a PC, the rest of the enlightened use a Mac. Apple made a huge mistake in not allowing its product to be sold in retail outlets. People couldn't buy it except online for a long time; so they bought PCs instead. Plus, the elegance of the Apple computers makes them more expensive; and people want a cheaper product. So, moving between the Apple and PC world is not an easy task. I'm in a job where I am required to use both. I wish the world were Apple. Plus, I like Photobooth on my new Mac. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, August 5, 2009 My four-cup Farberware coffee pot died yesterday. Actually it didn't die. I left it on; and it rather burned itself up. So, I've ordered another one. A different kind. I want minimal plastic, minimal mess, good style, and nice-tasting coffee. So, I ordered a Bunn. And now that I look at it in the light of day, I'm thinking...HUGE mistake. It's just so ugly looking. Maybe I'll cover it with a tea cozy. It arrives today from Amazon. Fingers crossed. UPDATE: I sent it back. The water smelled like plastic. Hot water and plastic do not a great cup of coffee make. Plus, it was too big and ugly. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, August 3, 2009 Annie Leibovitz is one of the world's best photographers. In the Times yesterday, there was a huge article about her. The article said she was 24 million dollars in debt and was about to lose her three houses and the rights to her intellectual property (photographs and negatives). The article pointed out that the skills and artistry it takes to make beautiful photographs are not the same skills required to manage ones finances. The PBS series American Masters included Ms. Leibovitz in its collection. That's how good she is. She is more than capable of paying off her debts and will continue to snap, snap, snap those photo...graphs. That's my predic...tion. Til tomorrow.
|
Sunday, August 2, 2009 Juan Williams of NPR fame will be live on BookTV today at 11:00 AM central time. So, I'm going to watch it just like I do the first Sunday of every month. The most memorable of those Sunday mornings included the authors: John Updike, Steven Pinker, Joan Didion, and Susan Sontag. You watch people like that on live TV for three hours in your living room; and you're never quite the same. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Juan Williams of NPR fame. |
|
|
Saturday, August 1, 2009 I'll listen to Michael Feldman at 10, Ira Glass at 2, Garrison Keillor at 5. It's a busy, busy, busy day. KSTX in San Antonio, Texas Public Radio at tpr.org or 89.1 FM. The best. Til tomorrow.
|
Friday, July 31, 2009 I'm thinking I'd enjoy a beer at the White House also. I'd probably ask for a white wine spritzer instead or maybe just a glass of Evian. The old $20 bill has a picture of the White House on it with a magnolia tree that was planted by Andrew Jackson in 1828. I wonder if it's the same magnolia tree in the photo below. Til tomorrow.
|
Thursday, July 30, 2009 Today, there's good news and bad news. First, the bad news... I lied. There is no bad news. Ha. Til tomorrow.
|
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 I was reading a book review on a book about absolute zero. Someone did an experiment where a light beam was directed into a mass of absolute zero degrees; and the light was stopped. Whether I got those facts exactly right or not is mostly irrelevant. The notion that really cold coldness can stop light is a cool phenomenon. One of these days, we're going to figure out everything about life; and I bet we're not going to be disappointed. Til tomorrow.
|
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 From my window where I sit and watch the neighborhood, there are joggers, walkers, gardeners, mowers, edgers, trimmers, UPS trucks, and two ducks. Two ducks. Two ducks flew in and parked on the neighbor's porch. Looking for Godot? Looking for duck food? Looking for their ancestral home? Looking for clean water? Who knows. But there they were. Til tomorrow.
|
Monday, July 27, 2009 I'm looking for a round tuit. I need a bunch of 'em for some projects I'm working on. If only I had some round tuits, I could make more progress. I'll get a round tuit one of these days. Til tomorrow.
|
 |
| Get it? Ha. I'll do it all when I get around to it. |
|
|
Sunday, July 26, 2009 Deborah Solomon interviewed Arlo Guthrie in her column today. He said all the right things. Even though he seems to have an easy-come, easy-go and relaxed attitude toward life, he's still a successful businessman with four grown children and several grandchildren. So, none of that can be too relaxing. He said his fans are probably sick of Alice's Restaurant; but I think he's wrong. Til tomorrow.
|
|
