Lisbeth's Fruit Basket

Recently Red Books

2011-12-08T15:59:00.000-08:00

This books isn't red, but I do recommend it. I am writing a series of articles for BigWorldNetwork.com about Alternate Parents so I have been studying dozens of parenting books. Which one is my favorite? This one, especially the last three chapters. I need to matter, so I'm the one they turn to in times of stress.

My first article will be available in late December.

All Girls Allowed

2011-09-23T12:03:00.000-07:00

This is not cool. I always wanted to adopt a Chinese girl, but it is 20-30 thousand dollars. So while I stand by helpless, one million Chinese girls are being aborted, abandoned and trafficed every year.

http://vimeo.com/allgirlsallowed/37seconds
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/video-remember-37000000-girl-babies-lost-to-chinas-one-child-policy

“On September 25th, 1980, the Chinese Government instituted its one-child policy, to be in place for 30 years. But it’s still enforced today.
“Since the day the policy began, horrible things have happened. When families can have only one child, they choose boys. Mothers who give birth to baby girls are condemned within their culture and are often rejected by their husbands or in-laws. Trying again for a boy is dangerous. Second-time Mothers face exorbitant fines or a forced abortion.”
etc. etc. You get the picture.

Gone in fifteen minutes

2011-07-11T21:32:00.000-07:00

I went from awesome day last week to slight disapointment today. Today my garden lies at the bottom of a hail graveyard. My summer schedule just opened up.

Blog, you have become a stranger

2011-06-13T21:25:00.000-07:00

Why do I not post anymore? Social networks like facebook and goodreads have sucked all the screen time tolerance from me. I'm going to read a book now...

Jay's Jesus Audition

2011-03-26T14:59:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd post this here to show you what Jay has been up to.

The Agent Scam

2011-03-10T09:57:00.000-08:00

SFWA has a great post about Agent Scams that I want to Re-Post It is some strong advice from mega- writer A. C. Crispin to us newbies who are thinking of publishing. Thanks to Dagga for linking me to this!
If an agent charges a fee, they are highly suspect. I don’t care what they call it: reading fee, processing fee, contract fee, whatever … any kind of fee is bad. If an agent charges more than $50.00, I suggest you run away. Agents who charge fees in the hundreds of dollars make their money off charging writers, not by selling their manuscripts to publishers. It’s very likely that after you pay the large fee, the agent will never even submit your manuscript to a real publisher.
If an agent refers you to a “book doctor” be very wary. Any agent that says your ms. needs editing should provide you with a list of a number of independent editors, and then allow you to pick the one you want to use. There should be NO financial connection whatsoever between the agent and the independent editor.
If an agent refers you to a co-op or subsidy press, run away. No reputable agent will do that.
If an agent you’ve never heard of solicits your work, that’s not a good sign. Real literary agents have to fight off clients, not go out looking for them. If an agent advertises via direct mail, the internet, or in writers’ magazines, back off!
If an agent has an office in some out-of-the-way place like Bumpass, West Virginia, be very suspicious. Most real agents operate out of New York or California. There are exceptions, particularly on the East Coast; but if Agent X from Bent Fork North Dakota writes to you and begs to see your ms., chances are excellent he’s a crook. Be smart!
Any reputable agent should be willing to provide you with a list of sales and clients. Go to a bookstore and verify that these books and authors exist. Check references. If an agent claims to be an AAR (Association of Authors Representatives) member, go to the AAR site and look him/her up. Fake agents have lied about this before.
If an agent tells you you’re brilliant, and your book is sure to be a bestseller, be wary. Real agents don’t make statements like that — at least not to unknown authors.
Never pay a vanity press or subsidy publisher to publish your book. This includes “co-op” publishers. If you must get your book published and have exhausted all professional, commercial avenues, check into self-publishing with a reputable printing company. Many poets, for example, self-publish their books. Your money will go a lot further that way. Go to your local bookstore and get a book on self-publishing. Check a printer’s references before you sign any contracts. You will not receive the distribution and other services normally expected of a publisher, but you will get the books — after they are printed they will be shipped to you. Be aware that most bookstores will not stock self-published books.
Having a poor agent is frequently worse than having no agent at all. If you can’t find a reputable agent to submit your manuscript, go ahead and submit it yourself. Most sf and fantasy publishers will still read unagented manuscripts these days. Check out the market reports in the SFWA Bulletin or Speculations. Even the ones who say they won’t may still read manuscripts from writers who impress them with a well-crafted, dynamic query letter.

So, to all you prospective writers out there … Never forget. If you’re paying anyone to agent, publish, or edit your work, the money’s going in the wrong direction, and, quite likely, you’ve fallen for a scam. You will end up losing money and gaining nothing. You deserve to be paid for your work! Becoming a writer is difficult, and requires a great deal of perseverance. As James Gunn once said, “Anyone who can be discouraged from becoming a writer should be discouraged.” In other words, hang in there and don’t expect a bed of roses. But people do “break in” every day, and that’s the good news!
(There is more information that may prove helpful at: Writer Beware and Preditors and Editors)

2011-01-21T08:24:00.000-08:00

Here are some important things to remember when writing a blog:

Articles don’t have to be extremely long- most are a few hundred words. Shorter is better—it’s all about putting in the maximum amount of information in the least amount of words. Average blog posts are between 500-750 words.
Don’t be too sales-focused or talk all about the company and services.
Make sure the info is interesting and relevant. Readers don’t like boring information. Sometimes adding a personal touch can help so put some of your own POV in.
Use links. Support your post with links to sites that are contextual to your post.
Use lists. (Top 10 lists, 10 things you don’t know about the industry etc.)
Make sure to remember WHO you are writing for and to write like you are speaking to them.
Make up a catchy headline and use KEY WORDS. (Key words are words that appear often and are the main focus of your blog. These help make Search Engine Optimization easier.)
Spell check and edit!!

I found this great article at infinity publishing

books!

2010-10-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

Hey, guess what I did yesterday with the library board. I spent 3000 clams on books. It was so fun. We went into Costco and picked up practically every book on display. Then we went to a library warehouse and picked up whatever we wanted. Plus the library payed for lunch at BP's! I love my new job! One of the lady's said I need to be contained. Is that a compliment?

new fav book

2010-08-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

Dagga recommended a book to me called "Little Brother" by Cory Doctorow. IT IS MY NEW FAVORITE. I love books that have so much action you don't have time to breath. I also love protagonists who are imperfect, but daring and determined. It is amazing! Now I just have to make sure I don't plagiarize any of it.

New Spice | Study like a scholar, scholar

2010-07-21T10:25:00.000-07:00

more books

2010-07-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

just so you know what I've read and liked in 2010 (in order of preference):

Book of Negros by Lawrence Hill; historical fiction
*Under my Skin by Judith Graves; Young adult fiction/ adventure*
Ketura and Lord Death by Martine Leavit; young adult fiction/adventure
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen; Young Adult fiction / drama
Fable Haven by Brandon Mull ;juve fiction/ fantasy
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown ; adventure
Girl in a Cage by Jane Yolen; juve historical fiction
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway; Young adult fiction/war
Ship by David McCaulay: non-fiction
Hidden Roots by Joseph Bruchac; juve fiction
An American Plague by Jim Murphy; juve non-fiction

The Betrayal of Jesus Kathleen and Micheal Gear;drama
the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver; historical fiction/drama
Silence of the Songbirds by Bridget Stutchbury; non-fiction
And I have to mention Twighlight again.cause I love it.
*Judith Graves is a friend of mine, I'm so proud of her for getting this book out!

me

2010-06-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

this is phyllis and I am just letting you all know that my blog the epitome is resurrected. and my new favorite book is Troll Bridge by Jane Yolen.

learn and feed

2008-03-24T22:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a website that I think is absolutely genius: www.freerice.com
The creator initially set it up to encourage his son to study for the SAT's. For every vocabulary question that you answer correctly the site will donate 20 grains of rice to the World Food Programme. The rice is paid for by the sponsors who advertise along the bottom of the webpage. Twenty grains seems like such a tiny amount but it all adds up and it's better than doing nothing AND you can increase your vocabulary.

The Book Thief

2008-02-15T16:50:00.000-08:00

My family and I were in Portland visiting some friends last month and this book was on their coffee table. I was encouraged to pick it up and read it, so I did. I only read a few chapters before we had to leave for home but I made sure to put the book on hold at the library so I could continue it soon. After a seemingly endless wait (I didn't want to even consider starting another book in the meantime), it arrived. My love for this book has completely overshadowed any desire I ever had to finish Eat, Pray,Love. That book now seem so tedious when compared to this one. I suppose it was good in a "the author is discovering herself and you might discover yourself too" sort of way but The Book Thief is more engrossing, less contemplative. And that is more what I am in need of, since I am pretty sure I know who I am.
I had never heard of this book until now, but it is apparently quite popular. It is written from the point of view of Death, who is portrayed as being quite human in his/her emotions. I like to think that Death is male, but I'm not sure what the author wanted it to be. Death is intrigued by a young girl who steals a book from her brother's gravesite and begins to follow her. It is set in Germany during WWII. I would like to talk more about it but I don't want to spoil anything. That is always the dilemma when recommending a book. All I can say is that I come across books that I enjoy this much very few times a year, often only once a year. And it is quite an easy read; I think the library has it catalogued in the Young Adult section.

USA

2007-12-27T13:06:00.000-08:00

we're in the states for a couple of weeks now, so check out the travel blog:
www.travel-so-far.blogspot.com

and I tried to read a couple of books so far while here... A John Grisham; I couldn't get past the first chapter. I've always been curious about his books. They're so popular, but they just don't do it for me. So I picked up an entirely different sort of book, Under The Tuscan Sun, and this time I got past at least three or four chapters before getting bored of it. I have always wanted to read it though, so maybe I will try again later. I think it's hard to read while in travel mode. My brain is a little mushier. I could barely remember the name of that book and I don't even remember the name of the Grisham one.

The one book that I am looking forward to getting back to when I get home is Eat, Pray, Love. I'm on the eating part. I started it a few days before leaving but it was the library's copy and it was on hold for someone else so I couldn't take it with me. Maybe I wouldn't have been in the mood for reading it here anyway...

The #1 Ladies' Detective Agency

2007-11-28T17:51:00.000-08:00

This series has been popular for a while and so I recently read the first book out of curiosity. It's pretty charming. Those that love this series LOVE it. It gives you a small glimpse of African life too, which is always a bonus for me.

Not Everyone Loves Raymond, But I Do.

2007-11-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

This is actually Rus, I can't remember my blogger password (it's been a long time since I posted anything.)

After a conversation I had with Liz last night I felt inclined to write this. We've both lived in other small Alberta towns, and this place is what I call the "cream of the crap". At least there's more to do here than hockey.

Liam's in Judo, the girls are in Ballet and loving it - do they have that in pigeon lake or delburne?

Here there's a swimming pool, there's girl's rugby, a show choir, several live theatre shows a year. the climate is probably one of the best in canada, the roads are free of snow most of the year.

sure there are prima donnas, and jocks, there's plenty to hate, but there's alot more to love.

The Hindi Bindi Club

2007-09-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

I've been wondering which book to write about for days now, I have not been feeling like writing about Harry Potter although I will someday.

This book came to mind

"The Hindi-Bindi Club" by Monica Pradhan.

It's not really anything like my usual fare, but I liked the cover and the title and ordered it for work, I thought I could try to sell it to the libraries.

To my complete amazement I could not stop reading once I started, so I took it home and devoured it on a sunny afternoon this summer.

It's a book about mothers and daughters, the mother are Indian immigrants in the US and the daughters are born and raised there. The author explores the cultural differences between the generations and educates you in Indian history and culinary arts at the same time. It does not feel like a lecture though.

Every chapter features a recipe of mouth watering Indian dishes so don't read it hungry.

I enjoyed it immensely and highly recommend it. I ended up buying the copy and giving it to my youngest aunt for her birthday and she was also taken with it.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is spendid

2007-08-24T00:03:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought I would have too wait forever until I read a can't-sleep-because-I-have-to-read-it sort of book, this came out. The author's other novel Kite Runner (which is being made into a movie to be released in 2008) is also really good. Yeah, I know "really good" isn't much of a description, but I'm not the excellent author, he is.

book to movie

2007-07-17T16:18:00.000-07:00

I have always loved reading a book and then watching the movie afterwards. It is interesting to see how my imagination and interpretations match up. Right now I'm working on The English Patient. I have never seen the movie and having it sitting on my shelf, waiting, as I'm reading the book, is a great test of self-restraint.

Paddle to the Amazon

2007-07-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

In 1980 Don Starkell and his 2 sons started canoeing to the Amazon from Winnipeg.

2 years later, one son has returned home, and having survived a number of hazards that could have easily killed them they have completed the longest recorded canoe trip (at that time - 12,000 miles).

I'd love to re-trace the route these guys took (although not by canoe). Don's narrative of the foods, sights and sounds along the way are vivid enough but not flowery.

His latest book "Paddle to the Arctic" is next on my list.

-Rus

2007-07-07T08:19:00.000-07:00

Hi, I made a website all by my self for work, it´s in Icelandic but I just had to brag about it.
www.harrypotter.is

I´m not reading alot these days it´s to warm to read as we are having a fantastic summer, but as soon as I get my hands on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I will post about it.

freako

2007-06-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

Just read "Freakonomics".
Best part was about african american names - and the girl who named her kid "Shateed" but spelled it "Shithead". Nice.
check this book out.
-Rus

finding farley

2007-06-01T17:48:00.000-07:00

The couple who made the documentary "Being Caribou" are canoeing and walking across Canada with their toddler (and their dog) and documenting it. The point of the journey is to visit Farley Mowat; hence the name Finding Farley. Who says you can't travel anywhere and anyhow after you have kids? Here's their website.

p.s. This is my first post in months (otherwise it was just Rus posting under the same username). I guess I just needed to wait for something blogworthy.

-Elisabeth

recipes

2007-05-03T09:47:00.000-07:00

i hear tell that the internet is mostly used for porn, recipes and geneology. i'm working on a site that will combine all three!

anyway, it occurred to me that i wanted to share some recipes, in particular ones without sugar or msg, i ran across this one in a magazine the other day:

1 1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 table spoons mint
3 tablespoons honey

it's recommended to serve it as a dip for kebobs of pineapple, peach and plum. but it's good on it's own.

rus

my time is short

2007-04-30T16:21:00.000-07:00

i want to mention a few books,and a movie, that have been rocking my world lately

"hobo" by eddy joe cotton - supposedly true account of someone who has been hopping trains for 10 or so years, seems to have a high b.s. to truth quotient. enjoyable and inspiring nonetheless.

"assassination vacation" by sarah vowell - not only was she the voice of violet on "the incredible", but she has also written several books - this one is about her infatuation with assassinated presidents and an on-going pilgrimage to the holy places pertinent to them. and she's also friends with "they might be giants".

if anyone out there hasn't seen "science of sleep", you simply must! directed by michel gondry ("eternal sunshine of the spotless mind") he's also directed some of the best videos ever seen by the human eye, his collected videos are available on dvd too - his interview is worth watching on that disc too, it gives insight into this new movie which is pretty autobiographical i suspect.

obee kaybee

Mutts

2007-04-21T06:31:00.000-07:00

I´ve recently come to love the cartoon strip Mutts check out the website.

I first ran into them in an Icelandic newspaper where they appear every weekday. Since then I´ve read several collections of Patrick McDonnell´s work and totally fallen in love. I really love the art and the creators view of his pets lives. As a cat "owner" myself I can understand the tendencies to give your pets human emotions but the Mutts creator does not fall into that temptation a lot instead he points out the simple pleasure in life through the eyes of the Mutts without giving them to much human motivation.

Last Christmas I gave my mother a children´s book about the Mutts called "Just like heaven" I highly recommend it. It´s very simple but has a beautiful message that everyone can benefit from.

My first post on Lisbeth's Fruit Basket

2007-04-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

I picked up Colin Angus' Lost in Mongolia in a discount bin at a bookstore a few months ago. Once I started reading, I could hardly put it down. A story of ultimate adventure, from the Yenisey’s headwaters in the wild heart of central Asia to its mouth on the Arctic Ocean, Colin Angus and 3 friends travel 5,500 kilometres of one of the world’s most dangerous rivers through remotest Mongolia and Siberia.
When I was done reading Lost in Mongolia I bought his previous book Amazon Extreme. Its the story of the first team to raft the entire length of the Amazon river.
This crazy Canadian adventurer has since completed the first human-powered circumnavigation of the globe. His newest book Beyond the Horizon tells the story. It was just released last week and I will be buying it as soon as it comes out in paperback.
Have a look at his website: http://www.angusadventures.com/index.htm

New Flags?

2007-04-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

vote for your favorite

Shalom Auslander

2007-04-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Read a story in New Yorker by this guy when we were in Mexico, I probably never would have discovered him otherwise given the shortage of reading material we had there.
He reminds me of Douglas Adams, his short stories are absurd and entertaining.

Guy Delisle

2007-04-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

We love this guy, his travel observations are hilarious. Highly recommended. (Also the author of Pyongyang, our comments on it posted here on Dec. 13, 2005).

Jon J. Muth

2007-03-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

I discovered by accident (just before we left for Mexico) that one of my favorite comic artists, Jon J. Muth, has been writing and/or illustrating children's books for several years. I took all these out of the library yesterday (I particularly like Zen Shorts so far):

Gershon's Monster
The Three Questions
Zen Shorts
Old Turtle and the Broken Truth
Come On, Rain
Stone Soup
Batman's Dark Secret

Muth's medium is watercolour, he also painted Moonshadow and Dracula for Marvel Comics.

Living Abroad in Ireland

2007-03-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

just finnished this great book and its made me really excited to go to Ireland. It is also VERY nice to have a husband that is as excited about the same thing as me. My favorite parts are the tombs with mummified remains of nuns in some cathedral that inspired bram stoker to write dracula.

This is Rus...

2007-03-07T15:32:00.001-08:00

The Tapir´s Morning Bath
by Elizabeth Royte

There´s a reservoir in the middle of the Panama Canal, in the lake is Barro Colorado Island. The island has been a nature preserve for almost 100 years, a patch of rainforest surrounded by forest quickly disappearing.

There´s a lab on the island, biologists studying the bats, monkey poo, ants, peccaries, coatimundis and butterfly ears. This is the story of several of the scientists in 2000.

I can sum up why I like this book so much, it reminds me of how it´s good to know how much there is that you don´t know. (I'd never heard of the centurio senex bat, it has a flap of skin under it´s chin that it pulls up to cover it´s face when it sleeps. )

Be sure to check out this link, "The Cartoon From The Canopy" on the left margin is especially cool.

keep on blogging on...

2007-02-13T16:23:00.000-08:00

Thanks Dagga and Halli for keeping on posting. The only books I have been reading lately are books with titles like "Spanish Now!", "Marine Life of the Sea of Cortez", and "The New Science of Skin and Scuba Diving". I started reading Pearl S. Buck's autobiography (thanks to Halli for praising her or I never would have noticed it in the giveaway box). It was excellent and she writes about her life in a very unpretentious way but it is something that requires more concentration so I've put it aside until I get home. I don't have as much quiet time here as I do at home. It's worth bringing home with me but I still might leave it behind and just borrow it because I might want to fill my suitcase with seashells instead.

47

2007-02-04T09:59:00.000-08:00

47 by Walter Mosley

47 is a very good book, it´s part history of slavery in America and part Sci-fi novel.

The main character is a 14 year old slave on a cotton plantation, he does not have a name and is simply called 47 by his owners and the other slaves alike.

First you experience the horror of the main characters life and then you watch as he becomes aware of the consept of freedom through his friendship with an alien entity calling himself Tall John. This story reads almost like a fable in parts, especially the Sci-fi parts, reminding me of "the little prince" the parts describing life on the plantation are firmly grounded and real almost uncomfortably so, slavery is not something you really want to come face to face with and this book makes you take a close look at it.

in the skin

2007-01-30T10:44:00.000-08:00

i borrowed a book from elizabeth and i figured i should read it before she gets back. micheal ondaatje is a very poetic writter and i love his use of disconnected details to show you the whole picture. although he did a lot of historic research, which i really appriciate, i was a bit disappointed in the plot. it seemed somhow similar to the english patient (the best part of that book was ralph fiennes) because there was adultry, nudity and a couple of "f "bombs. i also loved how he did everything in present tense and had no cronological order. there were as many flash forwards as there were flash backs. the character developement and poetry are what pulled me through, otherwise i might have quit half way. I am still excited to read his latest "Anil's Ghost" because it takes place in Sri Lanka and we have a foster daughter there.

2007-01-02T09:30:00.000-08:00

i just finnished reading my new favorite book, "Roots" by Alex Haley (as seen on the left on the set of the film based on the book) the reasons why i liked it is because i also detested it. the historical refrences were very accurate and the treatment of slaves was brutal. the hardships of the family were disgusting. I liked it because Haley had the chance to research his ansestors based on an oral history passed down seven generations to keep his ansestors' memories alive. this kind of family unity and respect has gained my upmost admiration. i want to do the same for my family. my heart is turned.

Hidden in Plain View

2006-11-10T12:04:00.000-08:00

I've just read a great book called Hidden in Plain Veiw: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad. The writting style was not my favorite, but the ideas that people used quilts to send secret messages to escaping slaves during the 1800's is really cool. The authors did extensive research into the symbols used and their african origins that affected many quilt patterns still used today. Even the way the knots were tied was a code for something. The book mentions other things such as songs, disguises, escape routes and the heroic people who made a difference. It is a dramatic story that really happened. I have gained a better appreciation, not only for the underground railroad, but also for quilting. maybe i'll make one.

a brave and startling truth

2006-10-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

poem by Maya Angelou read at the 50th anneversary of the UN.

WE this people, on a small and lonely planet
Traveling through casual space
Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns
To a destination where all signs tell us
It is possible and imperative that we learn
A brave and startling truth

And when we come to it
To the day of peacemaking
When we release our fingers
from the fists of hostility
And allow the pure air to cool our palms

When we come to it
When the curtain falls on the mistrel show of hate
And the faces sooted with scorn are scrubbed clean
When the battlefields and coliseum
No longer rake our unique sons and daughters
Up with the bruised and bloody grass
To lie in identical plots of foreign soil

When the rapacious storming of the churches
The screaming racket in the temples have ceased
When the pennants are waving gaily
When the banners of the world tremble
Stoutly in the good, clean breeze

When we come to it
When we let the rifles fall from our shoulders
And the children dress their dolls in flags of truce
When land mines of death have been removed
And the aged can walk into evenings of peace
When religious ritual is not perfumed
By the incense of burning flesh
And childhood dreams are not kicked awake
By nightmares of abuse

When we come to it
Then we will confess that not the Pyramids
With their stones set in mysterious perfections
Nor the Gardens of Babylon
Hanging as eternal beauty
In our collective memory
Not the Grand Canyon
Kindled into delicious color
By Western sunsets

Not the Danube, flowing its blue soul into Europe
Not the sacred peak of Mount fuji
Stretching to the Rising Sun
Neither Father Amazon nor Mother Mississippi who, without favor,
Nuture all creatures in the depths and on the shores
These are not the only wonders of the world

When we come to it
We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe
Who reach daily for the bomb, the blade, and the dagger
Yet who petition in the dark for tokens of peace
We, this people, on this mote of matter
In whose mouths abide cankerous words
Which challenge our very existence
Yet out of those same mouths
Come songs of such exquisite sweetness
That the heart falters in its labor
And the body is quieted into awe

We, this people, on this small and drifting planet
Whose hands can strike with such abandon
That, in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistable tenderness,
That the haughty neck is happy to bend
Out of such chaos, of such contradition
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines

When we come to it
We, this people, on this wayward, flouting body
Created on this earth
Have the power to fashion for this earth
A climate where every man and every woman
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety
Without crippling fear

When we come to it
We must confess that we are the possible
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world
That is when and only when
We come to it.

better mexico blog

2006-10-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

i actually switched my travel journal over to blogger from vox, because i didn't like vox so much. oh, and i got a digital camera for my birthday so i can post photos too. yippee!
so here is the new one.

Super-Screw You Award!

2006-10-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

Feist, riding the money wave of popularity for her album "Let it Die", wins this award for her crappy remix album "Open Season" and the commercial for men's cologne using her song "Mushaboom".
cha-ching!
"Let it Die" indeed.

happy birthday

2006-10-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

Next saturday, the 21st, will be this blog's first birthday.

From London

2006-10-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

I'm in London waiting for my travel companions to wake up for our flight home to Iceland. I am here on a working vacation with everyone from work. The owner decided to invite us all (9+him) to go to London and attend an event with comic writer Alan Moore and to explore the London bookstores espessially Forbidden planet on which Nexus the store where I work is inspired by. This is my sixth time in London and I always love coming here. The bookstores are great, Borders, Blackwells, Waterstones, Foyles, Murder One and Forbidden Planet to name some of them. Beside Forbidden Planet which is my favorite with it's humongus Sci-fi and fantasy selection I think Borders is my favorite. Ofcourse Murder One is always a delight with it's narrow staircase and small rooms crammed with books from top to bottom. Wish I had some pictures to share with you but I have been horribly lazy taking pictures. More when I get home.

Mexico

2006-10-12T22:00:00.000-07:00

The new link in the links list on the left, Snowbirds, is a blog I set up to document our migration south for the winter. I like documenting...

The Joy of Ernie Zelinski

2006-10-09T22:38:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks I've been reading quotes from one of Ernie's books to Liz, which inspired her to write her last post.

I'm pretty sure I first heard Ernie on CBC a few years ago (another thing that I have to thank CBC for, but that's another story). I was impressed by what I heard.

I've read several of Ernie's books since then. I started with "The Joy of Not Working", everyone should read that - it should be a textbook. In a good way.

Ernie has a knack for putting things into perspective, I feel like he is showing me how to realize things I already know.

I suspect that nobody that reads this is probably going to get all excited about reading any of these books (maybe he should title his next book: "Da Vinci Potter and the Harry Code").

"Don't Hurry, Be Happy: 650 Smart Ways to Slow Down and Enjoy Life" won't kill you, it's light and easy. I hope that it'll inspire you to read some more Ernie. (I found 14 copies in The Alberta Library Online), ya lazy bums.

deepa mehta

2006-10-08T22:32:00.000-07:00

I've watched a couple of movies by director Deepa Mehta. I think she is really good and i hope to see more of her work. She depicts india so wonderfully yet so scary at the same time. most of her films are tragedies, especially against women so be prepared to cry. I think her most recent is Water, with previous films, Earth and Fire. I first saw Water and walked out of the theater very grateful for my protective husband and society that takes a little better care of the poor and destitute. I always hope that people have become wiser over time, even though there are tons of ways to disprove that. Her films also make me morn the lost rights of millions of women around the world. Her films are very intellegent, historically eye opening and beautiful.

poor is the new rich

2006-10-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

So many people think more money would make them happy.
This is dillusional. Think of all the money that is spent on lottery tickets every day. I hear of so many stories of the people who win messing up their lives. Yet, people buy into this illusion that if they would just win the lottery, their lives would be so much happier. Why wait around for your life to be better, especially by something that you have no control over, like a one-in-a-million chance of winning a lottery. Start making your life better now on your own. And then there's the chase for the higher paying job. Those unfortunately come with higher stress and less time for a life. Is it really worth it?
Here are some quotes from Ernie Zelinski's book "The Joy of Not Knowing It All" (also published as "The Joy of Thinking Big"):
"People want to believe there is one big money deal that will take care of all their problems. This is believing in a form of Santa Claus; everything is going to be great once this savior brings something of great value for us. Remember how false this belief was when we were children. Our happiness was short-lived and our problems remained."
"A higher percentage of people making higher incomes are less satisfied with their income than people with lower incomes. A higher percentage of the rich have alcohol and drug problems."
"If we are unhappy and don't handle our problems well on $25,000 a year, we can expect the same of oursleves with a lot of money. We will be just as unhappy and handle our problems just as ineffectively, but with more comfort and style."
"The one-big-deal syndrome is one of those adolescent-rescue fantasies we all had in our younger years. Unfortunately I know many people who have carried these fantasies well into their fifties and sixties. eg. If I could only get a high paying job then I could start living."
"People are looking for an easy way to happiness, when none exists. Waiting for the one-big-deal avoids the effort to make life work."

Only when the last tree has died
and the last river been poisoned
and the last fish been caught
will we realise we cannot eat money.
-Cree Indian Proverb

2006-10-03T21:48:00.000-07:00

Those are for you, Jay.

the devil himself

2006-10-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

click on george for a warping good time.

2006-09-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

I heard an interview with Douglas Copeland a while ago and he mentioned Temple Grandin, he elaborated on her a bit and it perked my interest.
Temple is austistic, has a doctorate in animal science, and has written several books.
I'm reading "Thinking In Pictures" now. And I'm really enjoying it.

"Frankly My Dear, I Don't Give a Damn... "

2006-09-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

Today someone said "hate isn't the opposite of love, indifference is". What a load of hippy crap. Hate is the opposite of love, indifference is somewhere inbetween the two. Wanna fight about it?

the fall of the library

2006-09-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

I'm browsing through a book called Library: The Drama Within by Diane Asseo Griliches and Daniel J. Boorstin. It has made me think of the struggle that libraries here in Alberta, especially the smaller ones, face every year. The funding is always being cut and without the federal grants and fundraising societies, there would be a pretty dismal library system. The book is made up of an essay and photographs with short descriptions/explanations of the photo. There are a few quotes that I like. NYPD Officer Dombranski talks about some of the library closures in the US due to lack of funding: "Some kids go to the library...Others go to the street. But they can't go to the libraries if the libraries are closed." Malcolm X talked about learning to read in the library of a correctional institute. He said "My alma mater was books and a good library. I don't think anybody ever got more out of going to prison than I did. Ten guards and the warden couldn't have torn me out of those books. Months passed without even thinking about being imprisoned...I had never been so truly free in my life."
There was a picture of a tiny library that used to be a post office somewhere in Virginia that could only hold about 5 people. It inspired me even more to create a library when I live where there isn't one.
Some lady named Sheila Bourbeau says it so simply: "A library is books and somewhere to put them and some people to want them there..."
And here is one last quote from someone who's work I don't entirely enjoy, but I loved this:
"Come, take choice of all my library, and so beguile thy sorrow." - William Shakespeare
The picture on the cover of the book is of "The Grand Reading Room" of the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, France. The picture below I thought was kind of cool because it is of an old jail turned into a library and it still has the barred cells, and a rope hook and trap door for the gallows were left on the third floor.

chocolat

2006-09-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

I just received this magazine, chocolat, as a promotional first issue and i want everyone to know how sick it made me. i hope none of you ever buy it. it is catered towards woman who marry rich and have lots of money to waste on them selves from pampering your pooch by buying your dog a $400 kennel, to spiffing up your house by buying $200 flower pots and $300 pillows, to the latest in cosmetic surgery. After sean's last post i am disgusted that people can waste so much money on pointless frivolity that help no one. I am even more ashamed to know that this magazine is a canadian publication when i thought canadians were more unselfish and globally aware than that. Sean was right; cant the media focus on anything that really matters? ever?

The War Tapes

2006-09-15T23:16:00.000-07:00

Though not a post on poetry, I figured this would be a more appropriate forum for this than other blogs I spit electronic spatter at. I watched a film tonight called The War Tapes. For those of you interested politics and more particularly, the modern politics of war, this film is most enlightening. I would recommend it, but with a strong caution in regards to the language ( more a cultural artifact than anything) and some morbid and excessively gory images. The film is a collection of videos shot by a national guard squadron that was stationed in Iraq. It follows them from just before leaving until a few months after their return to the states a year later. The assignment is for the soldiers to escort cargo shipments back and forth daily. The precious cargo is food rations provided by a branch-off company of Haliburton. One soldier openly queries why soldiers were giving their lives for CREAM CORN. He goes on to say that for every meal they feed soldiers, Dick Cheney's company gets 24 US dollars and most soldiers require 2 meals a sitting, earning Dick and co. 48$ per soldier every evening. Even these front line National Guard Soldiers have no choice but to see the business of War as it hits them constantly in the face like bugs on a bike ride through the marsh. The film is filled with little facts like this. The squadron is made up of a number of Bush hecklers and a few pro-Bushies but regardless of politics, the absurdity of this war was apparent to all. Perhaps the most memorable quote is at the end of the movie when a soldier, who couldn't sleep anymore due to his Post traumatic Stress Disorder, said upon returning, "Your D%$# right it's about oil and money!, it better be and we better get our share or we've wasted our time over there!" Yikes. For a peace loving nancy like myself I was blown away by the guiding principles that lead to such a ridiculous comment. Further more, I've always believed that there is no one that wakes up in the morning and says, "I think I'm going to do terrible things today and be evil". I think we are all trying to make sense of our world and do the best we can based on our perceptions of reality. So I question the climate that could foster such a concoction of distorted views and erroneous humanistic reasoning. Most important though, I question what the solution is? or even if there is a solution?

2006-09-05T17:27:00.000-07:00

I'm hating the new ad campaign for Brita. The tv commercial where a woman flushes the toilet then drinks a glass of water, and the narrator asks how you feel about drinking the same water you flush your toilet with. Yesterday I saw their ad in a shopping cart where a woman has an old dirty mop for hair, and the obvious insinuation.
I hope someone litigates for the misrepresentation.

The question we should really be asking here is why are we using drinkable water for flushing our toilets and mopping our floors. Several towns around here, not here sadly, have irrigation water piped to each household (for watering gardens and lawns).

Super Screw You Brita!

2006-08-28T22:46:00.000-07:00

I'm curious if anyone has any common household item solutions for uses that we usually buy a specific (and usually brand name) product for:
I was recently introduced to vinegar as a deodorant - it works great.
And vinegar or baking soda are all i ever use to clean with, too.
and they're fun to use together too!
so, anyone?
anyone?

help me

2006-08-23T16:54:00.000-07:00

I need some fiction recommendations. I've got tons of nonfiction on the go right now but I need a good pretend story. Sorry Erika, I tried reading the Seventh Son, but I couldn't get into it. I have some books that I own that I want to read but I'm saving those for when I'm going to a country that has an inferior library system for six months. So if anyone has any good fiction to tell me about, bring it on. I'm gonna milk the library for all it's worth in the next two months.

scuba-diving

2006-08-18T17:20:00.000-07:00

A recent outing to the hot springs in Fairmont, BC made me want to scuba-dive. We had on our goggles exploring the bottoms of the hot springs and my husband and I both think we have developed an appetite for underwater exploration. Our six year old got pretty into it too. I am proud to say that after years of being afraid, I have recently come to feel comfortable in the water. That peaceful weightless feeling of being underwater would only be cooler surrounded by multi-coloured fish and coral reefs. A large supply of oxygen sounds nice too.

Ender's Game

2006-08-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

I just read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, mostly out of curiosity of the popularity of this author, and this one was recommended. I had fun with it. Although it's not the best book I've ever read, it was different than what I'm use to reading. I don't normally read Sci-fi. I found myself getting really into this one though, even dreaming about interspace battle strategies and maneuvering in zero-gavity, which this book is especially good at descibing. After looking for it on Amazon, I noticed that it is the beginning of a whole series of books about Ender.

the hybrid jackpot

2006-08-04T22:04:00.000-07:00

Ligers and such...
Scroll down a little past halfway to the audio with images "When Mammals Mix"(with this picture). It's a little long, but worth it.
Here's another link to some interesting info.

continuing with my hybrid fascination...

2006-08-03T21:21:00.000-07:00

here's a zorse.

2006-08-02T22:58:00.000-07:00

Scooter vs. Kylie vs. Captain Jack vs. Britney vs. DJ Bobo vs. Christina
so i lied. anyway, click the film strip icon on the left, titled "kino". quicktime worked for me, windows not so much.

2006-08-01T23:50:00.001-07:00

I watched the Nature of Things ("The Accidental Revolution") on Sunday. When the Soviet Union collapsed Cuba was in a bit of a fix, they had been relying on aid from them for decades. They implemented things like organic farms in the cities, using garlic, marigolds, ladybugs (etc.) for pest control. They now use 1 calory of nonrenewable energy to produce 12 (it's the other way around in Canada & most of the "developed" world. They starting using legumes and trees to supplement the protein the dairy cattle's diet & doubled milk production. And even as poor as they are, they send doctors & scientists to 3rd world countries. Way to go, Cuba!
Sure, Cuba has it's problems, all countries do.

I've come to the conclusion that blogs are dumb. So, this will probably be my last post ever. Yay!
I'm gonna go read a book.

But, as Morrissey once sang:
"this is the last song will ever sing"
the audience cheers
then, "no, I've changed my mind again, good night and thank-you"
and a collective sigh of disappointment follows...

another hybrid in nature...

2006-07-24T21:56:00.000-07:00

There was the pizzlar (polar grizzly). Now there is a... morse?...hoose?...horsemoose...
I heard about it on CBC radio. There is some info on the web now. It's name is Bambi. It is undergoing some dna tests, so it hasn't been confirmed whether it is from a horse and moose cross-breeding or whether it is just a deformation. Here's a link. Who wants to bet that it's a moose-horse?

The Science of Sleep

2006-07-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a preview to a movie that I can't wait to see. It looks so good it makes me drool.

2006-07-19T00:10:00.000-07:00

I found this noteworthy. Make sure you check out The Store link, that's where I found this image (and got my eye poked out).
It's good to know that there is some opposition to some of these things out there in the world. I have some reservations, we can discuss them...
Strangely enough. I was lead to that page by this page. well, I've heard that something something makes strange bedfellows.

wonderful ad

2006-07-18T08:33:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ_mlwnAmr0

Watch this it´s marvelous

New series

2006-07-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

I just started reading what looks like a wonderful fantasy series. In the first book "His Majesty´s dragon" you get to meet the incredible dragon Temeraire and his accidental handler/friend Will Laurence Captain of his Majesty´s navy. They are the main character and extremely well crafted. You get a good idea of Will´s character as early as page 2 and as soon as Temeraire cracks the shell of his egg soon after you love him. I´m only 1/3 into the book but I could hardly put it down to post this go to the loo and get a drink of water. I have a sinus infection and staying home from work so I have alot of time to read. More later. I think this could be the best book I have read in years.

a million little pieces

2006-07-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

Well, sadly (or maybe gladly...?) I only made it to the third chapter or so of the second book in Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. I just couldn't do it. I was bored already. Dagga, you are a better woman than I.
The gladly part is, a book that I have had on hold at the library for months finally came in for me: A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. I've only started it but so far it is the best book I have read since The Alchemist. It's written in a unique style; the dialogue is very simple with no quotation marks or he said, she said stuff. It contributes to the very introspective mood. It is the author's own addiction rehab story. I think I'm drawn to it because of the way my own life has turned around and although my life was definitely not as extreme, there are moments that are very familiar. I have a book by Elizabeth Hudson called The Carrion Flower (another chapter was added later and it was renamed Snow Bodies: One Woman's Life on the Streets)that is based on the author's younger years as a prostitute and heroine addict. It was kind of neat too, because it all happened in Alberta and B.C., so I recognized some of the places. I was drawn to this one as well for the same reason. No, I was never a prostitute or heroin addict! I think I just need the reminder that things could have been a lot worse.

Regina Spektor

2006-06-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

here's a captivating video

book club update

2006-06-21T21:24:00.000-07:00

I missed the last book club meeting (it was last wednesday) and I will probably keep missing them for awhile. It was fun while it lasted. But you know how it is, when you add something to your schedule, you need to take something else away just to keep the balance. I added something so I had to take something away, and that something was the book club. I am still, however, going to try to keep reading whatever their genre is every month, I am just not going to take it seriously or go to the meetings. July's is mystery. I once read a mystery novel by Janet Evanovich called Metro Girl. It was pretty fluffy, humorous, pure entertainment. I am reading An Ordinary Man right now, by Paul Rusesabagina. It's his account of how he saved some lives by sheltering them in the hotel he managed during the Rwandan massacres of 1994. (the movie "Hotel Rwanda" was based on his life) No fluff in this one. So when I'm done that I think I'd like some fluff to cool myself off a bit. And a mystery by Evanovich will do just that. One For the Money is the first in a series of twelve (so far). I am not intending to read all twelve, as I usually get bored of a series by book one or two, but who knows. Maybe I will fall in love with them.

2006-06-20T16:13:00.000-07:00

A recent post on Right of Way inspired me to illustrate the limitations of the first map (make your own here). And each state/province visited in the following maps are equally misleading when I consider where I've actually been in any of them.

cool prefab homes

2006-06-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

This house is built by a company called BlueSky MOD. Their motto is "Retreat without a footprint." They are meant to be vacation homes but I think they work just fine as a small year-round home. Who needs a big freaking mansion anyway?@$%? Anyway, there are a lot of good eco-friendly things about these homes; they can come with composting toilets, solar panels, cedar siding (never needs painting/staining), low voltage halogen lights, straw-composite interior walls, etc. They do not need huge machinery to be assembled so they cause less damage to the land. I've seen somewhere, i don't remember where; some houses built on some kind of high stilts, so that the only damage to the land other than footprints from everyday walking would be the four stilts in each corner.

Then there's these homes, called weeHouses, that start with a basic model, prefabricated and delivered, then if you need a second floor or a guest room later on, you can order another prefabricated modular unit. They're cheap but not as friendly.

2006-06-14T16:57:00.000-07:00

Out of 168 nations examined, 163 featured national maternity leave. Besides the U.S. and Australia, the only other countries that didn't provide standardized paid leave were Lesotho, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland. The study found 84 countries guarantee at least 14 weeks paid leave and 17 guarantee 20 weeks.
full article.

lego ring

2006-06-12T08:26:00.000-07:00

When Rus and I were married we were thinking of alternative ideas for rings. The best idea we came up with was one made out of lego. It was really impractical and uncomfortable though. I just came across this one today and fell in love with it. I would prefer it without the stone though. Another alternative we looked into was tattooed rings but we were told that tattooes wear off easily on the finger and the pain wasn't quite worth it.

2006-06-09T10:55:00.000-07:00

pizzlars

here's a picture
this is the news source it is from

2006-06-01T18:27:00.000-07:00

I am amused by this, for anyone that has played role playing games or knows people who have:
Summoner Geeks.

The Time Around Scars

2006-05-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

Michael Ondaatje is another one of my favorite Canadian poets. I'm slightly biased in saying so, but I think Canadian poets are putting out some of the best poetry there is right now... aside from 50 Cent. Ondaatje is most famous for his book "The English Patient". I'm not finnished reading The English Patient and I'm not sold on the story line completely as of yet, but the text is true to all the Ondaatje I've read in that he creates a rich template with every word that wraps the reader in imagery and emotion. This is one of my favorite poems by him as I have a number of scars. Most from DH Biking and none with really good stories. Closest I guess would be a scar that runs from the bottom of my palm on my left arm to midway up my forearm. It happened as a result of a swimming center wristband and a poor technique in cutting it off but often leads to questions of emotional stability as though it were the result of a suiside attempt gone wrong. I, like the speaker in this poem, wish that my scar wasn't the result of a silly accident, but rather the result of some emotional conquest as that would have better utilized the emotional time-capsule capacity that scars have. I do have a guitar that my father gave me the year before my family began it's incidious dissasembly, it's ironic as writting songs is how I work out difficult emotional situations and the giver of the vehicle for that device has since caused more than his share of those. So even though my scars have little meaning there are other things that serve similar purposes, according to Ondaatje, in my life.

The Time Around Scars
Michael Ondaatje

A girl whom I've not spoken to
or shared coffee with for several years
writes of an old scar.
On her wrist it sleeps, smooth and white,
the size of a leech.
I gave it to her
brandishing a new Italian penknife.
Look, I said turning,
and blood spat onto her shirt.

My wife has scars like spread raindrops
on knees and ankles,
she talks of broken greenhouse panes
and yet, apart from imagining red feet,
(a nymph out of Chagall)
I bring little to that scene.
We remember the time around scars,
they freeze irrelevant emotions
and divide us from present friends.
I remember this girl's face,
the widening rise of surprise.

And would she
moving with lover or husband
conceal or flaunt it,
or keep it at her wrist
a mysterious watch.
And this scar I then remember
is a medallion of no emotion.

I would meet you now
and I would wish this scar
to have been given with
all the love
that never occurred between us.

Fanfiction

2006-05-29T20:08:00.001-07:00

I am about half-way through Pride and Prejudice and am looking forward to being done so I can watch the movie, already! It has been a slow, difficult read so far. First of all, I had to "learn" the language before I could start enjoying it. Second, I just keep expecting it to be amazing, but it's not. I know I'm only half-way through it so maybe my amazement will come when I've completed it. I admit it's well-written, and there are times that I am completely absorbed in it and find myself smiling at the social commentary, but it has yet to live up to its reputation for me.

So, I was at the local library today and I noticed one of their new purchases was a book called An Assembly Such as This (Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman: Book 1). It's book one in a trilogy of books taking the point of view of Mr. Darcy. When I was looking for it on Amazon, I noticed a lot of books derived from Pride and Prejudice; sequels,etc. I didn't realize that fanfiction was such a common thing. I hadn't actually heard the term until Dagga gave me The Night of the Triffids.

A Circle of Cats

2006-05-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

Charles de Lint is fast becoming my favorite author, check out this beautiful children´s book illustated by Charles Vess. It´s a charming tale of a little girl bitten by a snake and saved by cats, tree spirit and a spirit panther. It´s loosely connected to Medicine Road that I talked about a few posts back.

2006-05-24T18:38:00.000-07:00

More about one of my favorite causes.

Unrelated, but interesting.

2006-05-20T21:25:00.000-07:00

I've been irritated by the false information being spread by the media (2 instances on cbc) in relation to The Da Vinci Code. In an interview on The Current (scroll to part 3, "Shadow People") someone described as an "expert on secret societies" purported that in the book Christ hadn't died and had children with Mary Magdalene. This is not the case - in The Da Vinci Code after His crucifixion Mary and His daughter Sarah are taken to France.
I expect someone who is commenting on the book to have (at the least) read it; conjecture doesn't count.
He may have been an expert on secret societies, but it was hard for me to really believe anything else he said fully when he opened with something that I knew was untrue.

In addition, the cbc article on Opus Dei claims that: "Brown's novel paints the real-life religious organization as a sinister Catholic cult, embodied by the book's villain, Silas. Brown depicted Opus Dei as a secretive, powerful and murderous sect, whose members whip themselves bloody. Members of Opus Dei say their portrayal in the book is a mistaken and exaggerated caricature."
This is at best a half truth. In the book, Silas is working under the direction not of Opus Dei but of The Teacher who has made an arrangement with Bishop Aringarosa. As well, The Teacher had promised him that there would be no killing. Silas isn't the villan of the book either - he's a pawn of The Teacher.
But, this would require actually reading the book.

The new landscape of home

2006-05-18T23:38:00.000-07:00

From Michael Ondaatje to Dennis Lee I love Canadian Poetry. As Canadian culture becomes less outwardly driven, and continues to fall prey to the assaults of mindless consumerism and inward selfindulgence from the south, I fear we are losing crucial features of what it is to be Canadian. As the poem to deflower myself on this blog I wanted to share Daryl Hine's "Northwest Passages". The reason I chose this poem is that it reminded me of what it used to be like to be Canadian; of those long road trips through the Rockies and the distinct smell of dried pine needles and camp fires; of leaving the mountains only under the strict compromise that you would soon return. As our beautiful landscape becomes less sacred and more a marketable commodity, I fear the nature my children know will be distinctly different from the one that had me addicted at a young age. Not only the physical landscape but also the way we perceive nature. I have never felt like the mountains, or nature in general, was an escape from home, rather I've always seen them as a return to it. I hope my children, when the unlucky little guys arrive sharing the same bald head and dazed look as their father, will feel the same way I do about nature but also fear that instilling that in them may be more of a battle than it was for my father many years ago.

Northwest Passages (Daryl Hine)

Here low tide and morning coincide
When oceans underside, as if a veil
Were twitched aside, denuded by the tide,
Emerges flat, unprofitable, stale.
Here pubescent forests fail to hide
The five-o'clock shadow on the mountainside
Close shaven to make news print and junk mail.
Here civilization, predominantly male,
Perpetrates unnatural matricide.

Snooty, aloof, polluted mountaintops,
Stuck-up their heads forever in the clouds
While they cold-shoulder low-brow tourist traps
Strike forbidding, lofty altitudes
Against a breathless sky, sublimely iced.
How isolated and exclusive are
the uninhabitable altitudes
Domesticated by the calendar,
The picturesque prohibitively priced.

Stark on the covers of slick magazines
Where landscapes look too beautiful for words.
The wilderness excels at making scenes.
Its present rate of defloration means
That travel nowadays is for the birds.
The home of mobile homes away from home,
Once the haunt of cormorants and cranes,
Of eagle and of seagull, has become
The realm of Burger Kings and Dairy Queens.

Thoughts. Oh and thanks for letting me post on this blog everyone and I look forward to a more serious discourse as is often the case over in the fruit basket.

2006-05-16T19:55:00.000-07:00

Dagga filled me in on the premise of The Da Vinci Code last june, some of it's nuances caught my attention.
i recently found an unabridged copy of it in the public library on cd.
i've been meaning to write about this for a week or 2, it still seems timely enough now.
i assume that everyone has already read it and i am the last one, so be warned:
it was a mediocre mystery or thriller or "who-done-it" or whatever you want to call it, and fairly predictable too. (i still don't get the connection between the protectors of the grail and sex rites in secret societies.)
the interesting things about this book are in the details:
Christ was married and had children
the holy grail were his wife and offspring
the new testament is a collection of accounts - innumerable are missing
so, with the characters offering some convincing additional support it can be pretty convincing- sure it's fiction (inspired by what i've heard called "pseudo-science") but, the book doesn't once say that Christ was not the son of God, or that he wasn't resurrected.
i'm happy to see these ideas brought to the mainstream, true or not.
besides, it's not hard for me to believe that Audrey Tautou is a direct descendant of Deity.

2006-05-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

a few of the best t-shirt ideas this week:

"where's Lee Harvey Oswald when you need him?"

"Q: what's the difference between a hummer and a hedgehog?
A: a hedgehog has the pricks on the outside."

poetry!

2006-05-13T17:43:00.000-07:00

"True Love Leaves No Traces"
As the mist leaves no scar
On the dark green hill
So my body leaves no scar
On you and never will
Through windows in the dark
The children come, the children go
Like arrows with no targets
Like shackles made of snow
True love leaves no traces
If you and I are one
It's lost in our embraces
Like stars against the sun
As a falling leaf may rest
A moment on the air
So your head upon my breast
So my hand upon your hair
And many nights endure
Without a moon or star
So we will endure
When one is gone and far
True love leaves no traces
If you and I are one
It's lost in our embraces
Like stars against the sun
All this talk about poetry, especially Cohen's makes me think of this one. Rus e-mailed it to me when we were dating and it made me all mushy inside. Feel free to barf, but I thought it was another good indication that he was the man I wanted to marry!

book club

2006-05-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

We had our monthly book club meeting tonight. We took turns discussing the books that we had chosen for the past month. It was so fulfilling just hanging out in someone's living room, connecting with these women through our love of books. Some books that were discussed:
Hannah's Suitcase by Karen Lavine (a holocaust story)
Survivors: True Stories of children in the holocaust by Allan Zullo and Mara Bovsun
The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory
Every Good Thing (compilation of 1997 LDS Womens Conference Talks...one especially good one by James M. Harper, I think his name was...)
The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander Smith (This one sounded the most intriguing, set in Africa. It is book 5 in a series. The first in the series is called The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency )
and then I talked about The Joy Luck Club. After I read it, I watched the movie (by the same name) and all the dialogue and narration in the movie was identical to the book, which is rare. It is a story of 4 women living in China who move to America and each have a daughter. It is told, in turn, from the perspective of these 8 women. The movie leaves out a lot of good stuff so I wouldn't recommend it. The stories of the mothers when they were growing up in China are pretty remarkable. I feel like they are true stories.
So, it turns out that I will be scratching another book off my have-always-wanted-to-read list because the club has chosen classics for the next month so I am going to finally finish Pride and Prejudice. Ah yes, it is all falling into place...

Planet called Treason

2006-05-09T17:04:00.000-07:00

I just reread Treason by Orson Scott Card. It has been one of my all time favorite books for a long time. I remember my grandfather reading it to me and my cousin when we where kids. I must have been 7 or 8 at the time my cousin 11 or 12. He had a copy in English and translated it into Icelandic as he read on. I know now that he must have toned it down a bit for us as it is quite violent and bloody in parts. This is the third time I read it myself and it did not let down my memory of it. The story is almost lyrical at times, the character of Lanik starts out arrogant but ends up humble but always simpathetic. The violence is never just for violence sake it is always written to futher the story. The story itself is a journey of personal growth and a classical coming of age story, its also about greed, waste, and love. Orson Scott Card is one of the master writers of SF but he is very spiritual at the same time one of the few that can pull that of. Treason was only his second published novel but remains in my mind his best work beautiful in its simplicity, Ender´s game is a close second though.

2006-05-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

that doesn't really have anything to do with what I'm gonna write about, except that it too is dumb:
lawns. "weeds". why??
mowing a lawn has got to be one of the stupidest things that our culture is obsessed with. weed control equally so.
as i drive around town i see people gruelling away digging dandelions out of their lawns, spraying or dragging pesticide applicators around the lawn, fertilizing. mowing, bagging raking, etc.
the waste of time, water, gas, and airable land confounds me.
i hope we can find some land out of town soon where we can let our grass grow as long as we want and we won't get a fine.

mascato youth choir

2006-05-05T13:47:00.000-07:00

the photo's not the greatest but i went to go see a coule of awesome choirs recently; the Kokapelli youth choir and the guests the mascato youth choir from namibia. they were great and if you want to hear clips you can go the their websites. the best part of the concert besides the traditional african folk music, the tenors that could hit a high G, the two blind guys in Kokapelli or the beautiful combined songs was that after the standing ovation, everyone picked up a drum and just started dancing. it was thrilling.

Something pretty

2006-05-03T05:52:00.000-07:00

Medicine Road by Charles de Lint, illustrated by Charles Vess is a lovely book. De Lint braids a beautiful story full of celtic and north american folklore and music. The characters are instantly likable and at the same time very human with all the flaws that come with that. It is a spiritual journey and a lovestory.
I´ve never been to Arizona where this story takes place but the characters/authors obvious love for the nature and the local culture woke a longing in me to visit the place which I never thought I would experience (there are scorpions and spiders in the desert). The illustrations by Charles Vess are beautiful, he really is one of my favorite fantasy artists. http://www.greenmanpress.com/
Bottom line is everybody should read it. I have now ordered everything I can find by this author for the store, (read as me) .

Veniss Underground

2006-04-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

I bought this book in London last year and finally got around to reading it. I had been looking forward to it as Locus listed it as one of 20 most interesting books last year. I do love interesting visions of the future but this one kind of left me feeling sick.
You get to know the city through the eyes of the twins Nicolas and Nicola in the first two parts and their description of a world falling to pieces draws you in.
The storyline takes second place to the city itself and I did not mind as the author is a first class worldbuilder and you just want to know more about the world around the city and why it is like this.
The third and final part of the story takes you to Veniss underground the city below the city, it is a hellish tale that has a distinctive mythological flavor, it almost reads like a fable. It´s also very disturbing on so many levels, a big part of the story is genetic enginering and dna manipulation and once you get to Veniss underground it gets really discusting, including cathedrals of human flesh and mountains of severed legs.
I like a good dark gothic tale once in a while but this one kind of went over the top.
http://www.veniss-underground.com/
So I liked it but it left me feeling sick and not wanting to read anything else by this author. Does that make sense?
I´m reading something pretty next.

2006-04-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

Well, my nonfiction phase is over; didn't last as long as I would have hoped. I thought maybe I would become this incredibly learned individual, but alas, i am an escapist. The only thing that I am more knowledgeable about is gardening. I couldn't read more than a page of The Teacher Man, so I tried another one: Of This Earth by Rudy Wiebe, but only made it a few chapters before calling it quits. The Teacher Man was well written, I suppose, but I just didn't like the author's voice...does that make sense? I didn't like his personality I guess. Of This Earth is a really good book about growing up as a mennonite in the forests of saskatchewan. It was interesting and I know that someday I would like to read it but, like I said, my nonfiction phase appears to be over. So I am reading one the books from my have-always-wanted-to-finish list; The Joy Luck Club and I am genuinely loving it.

another way to love belle and sebastian

2006-04-19T12:22:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite things have come together; graphic stories and Belle & Sebastian.
Put the Book Back On the Shelf came out in February 2006. It is a collection of interpretations of their lyrics by different comic artists. It is still too newly published for me to get a copy from the library system, but I am looking forward to it...I will have to wait and see if any libraries will even consider it for their collection; it's probably not really considered popular reading...

edible flowers

2006-04-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

Halli's recent post on gardening got me thinking of edible flowers. There is a book out there by Lois Hole called Herbs and Edible Flowers. Her books are good because they apply to the Canadian climate. This book lists some edible flowers that will grow well here and it even includes recipes for muffins, salads, etc. that use the flowers. My favorites are pansies because as a child I always loved their individual "faces". They have a pretty mild flavour; my kids like them. This year I am trying nasturtiums because they are supposed to be a little spicy and they attract bugs, keeping them away from the rest of the garden. Marigolds are supposed to be good for this purpose too. So with edible flowers you can have the best of both worlds: beauty and practicality.

2006-04-15T20:25:00.000-07:00

I recommed Engrish for many giggles, the "Clothing" category is what I like, and then Hanzis
Matter to put it all into perspective.

(Above: translates as "crazy diarrhea")

club

2006-04-15T18:11:00.000-07:00

Well I've done it. I've gone and joined a book club. Me and some ladies meet once a month. We will alternate between all reading the same book and all reading different books. This month is reader's choice and as I am on a nonfiction kick, I've picked Teacher Man: A Memoir by Frank McCourt. It's about his life as a teacher in New York. He's the guy that wrote Angela's Ashes (about his childhood in the slums of Ireland).

unresolved reads

2006-04-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

Aside from Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, I have had several unresolved relationships with books. The ones that for some reason or another, I could never finish but that I just can't forget about and might need to finally finish someday.
Among them are:
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift
Watership Down, Richard Adams
The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan

I had to give away Pride & Prejudice and The Unbearable Lightness of Being because I couldn't stand seeing them in my bookshelves; a constant reminder. Somehow the other ones didn't anger me so much. Probably because I didn't invest as much time in them. I gave up as soon as I realized I wasn't enjoying myself and stopped pretending that if I just kept reading maybe I would.

You have to see this

2006-04-06T14:55:00.000-07:00

Finnish disco at it´s best

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8610362188397291938