Archive | February 2006

Book-Spotting #4

Feb16

I’m not much of a fan of Anna Quindlen, and what’s worse, I can’t even remember why. I remember reading something of hers in a magazine and thinking that it was offensive and nonsensical to boot. However, in this case, she may be writing about something that interests me, and I’ve seen her book, Imagined London recommended in several places. I also seem to remember that Ms. Quindlen writes well–just not my political kindred spirit maybe?

A review at Reading Matters of The Final Solution by Michael Chabon. This WWII detective novel sounds like fun. I’ve heard of this author, but since Computer Guru Son (age 18) is reading something by Chabon, I thought maybe he was a “YA guy writer.” Maybe not.

Another writer I’ve heard a lot about but never read: Paul Auster’s latest novel, Brooklyn Follies, gets a good review at Collected Miscellany. Again, is Auster a “guy thing”—or would I enjoy his writing, too?

Amanda at Wittingshire quotes Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse as she encourages those who are weary, just plain tired. You’re not alone, she says. (I think I need to read To the Lighthouse. Eldest Daughter was quite impressed by it last summer.)

To This Great Stage of Fools: Born February 16th

Feb16

Henry Adams, b. 1838. He was the grandson of one president and the great-grandson of another. Numbered among his many friends were Lincoln’s private secretary John Hay, Henry Cabot Lodge, Theodore Roosevelt, geologist Clarence King, Senators Lucius Lamar and James Cameron, artist John La Farge, and writer Edith Wharton. His most famous work was an autobiography written in third person, The Education of Henry Adams. (online here) He also wrote and published many books about his extensive travels and about history.

The difference is slight, to the influence of an author, whether he is read by five hundred readers, or by five hundred thousand; if he can select the five hundred, he reaches the five hundred thousand.

I’m sure mine are the most discerning and influential readers in the blogosphere. Just not sure where all that influence is headed.

Open Mind, Insert What?

Feb15

The purpose of an open mind, says Chesterton, is to shut it on something true. And that shutting the mind upon truth opens us up to possibilities, or to further truths, that we had not suspected before. It is in the quest for knowledge as it is in matters of love: just as no one can wholly love another who keeps an escape hatch open, who considers it possible that not-loving might be a better option, so the relativist or the indifferentist keeps all doors open by neglecting to enter any of them. He prides himself on a radical opennness which is really refusal and timidity. But to him who knocks, it shall be opened. Enter that first room of truth, enter it without the constant glance backwards that keeps your feet fixed close to the door, and you will find that this is a mansion that never ends.

Close-up of Door Knob on a Wooden Door



I just spent about an hour on the phone with a Mormon elder. (Has anyone else noticed that their “elders” are awfully young?) I didn’t really have time to listen that long, and he repeated himself a lot, but I truly felt compassion for the young man. He frequently reiterated his request for me to just listen to the prophet (Gordon B. Hinckley) and read the Book of Mormon and ask the Holy Spirit to show me if Mormonism were true or not. I had some sympathy for his approach and for his request. After all, I would like for non-Christians to check out the Bible for themselves, to pray, to ask for Truth to be revealed to them. Ask, seek, knock, find.

But what I didn’t tell the young man on the phone in these words, because I hadn’t read Anthony’s Esolen’s blog post until after my phone conversation, is that I’ve already shut my mind upon Truth. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father except through me.” I couldn’t possibly go back through that door, open up the one labeled “Mormonism,” and commit myself to a world in which the adherents believe that God saves them from their past sins and if they try hard enough after that, He’ll let them rule a planet someday.

Yes, it’s important to go through the Truth Door and quit waiting around in the entryway; it’s also important to use more than just “a good feeling” (the recommendation of my Mormon elder friend) to tell you which door to enter. I would suggest that study (mind), feeling (heart), and prayer (spirit/soul) are required in order to discern Truth. Any one of the three alone can lead you through a dangerous door to worse than error. Don’t be timid, but don’t jump off a cliff into the void.
Golden Autumn




Or to try a different analogy:
“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:7-9

Be careful where you place your roots, your trust, but once you find the right place, dig in deep.

To This Great Stage of Fools: Born February 15th

Feb15

Galileo Galilei, b. 1564.

Jeremy Bentham, b. 1748. Utilitarian, very odd, philosopher.

Susan Brownell Anthony, b. 1820. Did you know that Susan B. Anthony was a pro-life women’s rights advocate?

Norman Bridwell, b. 1928. Author and ilustrator of Clifford, the Big Red Dog. Z-baby loves Clifford. I wonder what it is about a big red dog with a normal-sized owner that’s so appealing?

The Old Schoolhouse, WInter 2006

Feb15

I received the latest issue of The Old Schoolhouse in the mail a couple of weeks ago, but it’s taken me this long to read and absorb all the contents in this really full-of-information magazine. The magazine has articles by such homeschool luminaries as Susan Wise Bauer, Amelia Harper, Karen “Spunky” Braun, and Carolyn Hurst. Also included are interviews with Technorati founder David Sifrey, radio intern Elisha Blankenship, radio host Hugh Hewitt, blogger LaShawn Barber, artist Johannah Bluedorn, and authors David Kupelian (The Marketing of Evil) and Bruce Shortt (The Harsh Truth About Public Schools) The Winter, 2006 issue covers several themes, including blogging, homeschoolers relating to the media, homeschool conferences, teaching writing, classical learning, and nutrition, with anywhere from three to half a dozen articles on various aspects of each topic. As I said, there’s a lot of information here—for only $5.95 (US) per issue.

Then to round it all off, there are the contests and reviews. This issue features Veritas Press president Marlin Detweiler writing about their Omnibus curriculum. There are loads of product reviews and opportunities to win samples of various curricula in the Lab section at the back of the magazine. And you can enter the contests at their website even if you’re not a subscriber. However, I think you might want to consider subscribing to this FAT and FULL homeschool magazine. I’m impressed with the value that readers get from The Old Schoolhouse.

I’ve received three issues of The Old Schoolhouse under the auspices of Mind and Media for the purposes of review. As soon as I get my final free issue this spring, I’m going to buy my own subscription!

Love Quotes

Feb14

I will not play at tug o’ war.
I’d rather play at hug o’ war.
Where everyone hugs instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles and rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses, and everyone grins,
and everyone cuddles,
and everyone wins.” –By Shel Silverstein

. . . men have died from time to
time and worms have eaten them, but not for love. (Rosalind, As You Like It)

Dear Darla,
I hate your stinking guts. You make me vomit. You’re scum between my toes!
Love,
Alfalfa. (Little Rascals)

Westley: Hear this now: I will always come for you.
Buttercup: But how can you be sure?
Westley: This is true love – you think this happens every day?
******
Westley: I told you I would always come for you. Why didn’t you wait for me?
Buttercup: Well… you were dead.
Westley: Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.
Buttercup: I will never doubt again.
Westley: There will never be a need. (The Princess Bride)

“Our souls were near together, like two raindrops side by side, drawing irresistibly nearer: for now they had touched and were not two, but one inseparable drop, crystallised beyond change, not to be disintegrated by time, not shattered by death’s blow, nor resolved by any alchemy. (Green Mansions by W.H. Hudson)

“It may have been observed that there is no regular path for getting out of love as there is for getting in. Some people look upon marriage as a short cut, but it has been known to fail.” (Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy)

A Slice of Life by Edgar A. Guest

Feb14

Let loose the sails of love and let them fill
With breezes sweet with tenderness today;
Scorn not the praises youthful lovers say;
Romance is old, but it is lovely still.
Not he who shows his love deserves the jeer,
But he who speaks not what she longs to hear.
There is no shame in love’s devoted speech;
Man need not blush his tenderness to show.
‘Tis shame to love and never let her know,
TO keep his heart forever out of reach.
Not he the fool who lets his love go on,
But he who spurns it when his love is won.

Men proudly vaunt their love of gold and fame,
High station and accomplishments of skill,
Yet of life’s greatest conquests they are still,
And deem it weakness, or an act of shame
To seem to place high value on the love
Which first of all they should be proudest of.
Let loose the sails of love and let them take
The tender breezes till the day be spent;
Only the fool chokes out life’s sentiment.
She is a prize too lovely to forsake,
Be not ashamed to send your valentine;
She has your love, but needs its outward sign.

To This Great Stage of Fools: Born February 14th

Feb14

George Washington Gale Ferris, b. 1859. Mr. Ferris is remembered for his invention of the Ferris wheel. It was the main attraction for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 (The World’s Fair). Read a fictional account of Ferris’s Folly, as it was called by many people, in Robert Lawson’s Newbery Honor book, The Great Wheel.

George Jean Nathan, b. 1882. Respected, and feared, American drama critic of the first half of the twentieth century. He was described as “savage” and “independent” in his criticism. Quotes:
“It is also said of me that I now and then contradict myself. Yes, I improve wonderfully as time goes on.” (May I always be unafraid to contradict myself when the I see that I’ve been mistaken.)
“Hollywood is ten million dollars worth of intricate and high ingenious machinery functioning elaborately to put skin on baloney.” (The price has gone up; the product is much the same.)
“He writes his plays for the ages – the ages between five and twelve.” (An example, I assume, of Nathan’s fearsome wit and what he called “destructive” criticism.)

To This Great Stage of Fools: Born February 13th

Feb13

Eleanor Farjeon, b. 1881. Click on her name to read a little more about her life and her poetry.

Grant Wood, b. 1892. American artist born near Anamosa, Iowa.

Georges Simenon,, b. 1903. He was a Belgian-born author of detective fiction. Many of his books feature the Parisian detective, Inspector Maigret. Has anyone read these books? I think I tried one a long time, and it lost something in the translation. But maybe not.

Betsy-Bee, b. 1999. She’s a joy and a wonder, Miss Fashion, full of life, our Funny Little Valentine.

Picture Book Preschool Book of the Week (7)

Feb12

The featured book for this week is an out of print title, One Is Good But Two Are Better by Louis Slobodkin. You might be able to find this older picture book, published in 1956, in your public library–if you have a discerning librarian. The text is a rhyming poem about the many situations in which it’s better to have a friend–or two. Example: “One may hide, or one may peek, but you need two for hide-and-seek.” The illustrations are simple line drawings with splashes of watercolor. The book ends with a whole group of friends, singing and playing and having a wonderful day together.

The theme in Picture Book Preschool for this week is friendship, so this book fits right in, especially as many of us think about Valentines Day and giving thanks for our friends and the many things they do for us and with us. One Is Good But Two Are Better, if you can find a used copy in good condition, would be a great gift for a big friend who appreciates picture books or for a little friend who enjoys snuggling up for a good read.

Louis Slobodkin, by the way, has a birthday this week. He was born February 19, 1903. He was originally a sculptor who became an illustrator. He illustrated books for other people as well as his own. He did the illustrations for many of Eleanor Estes’ books, including one of my favorites, The Hundred Dresses. He also won the Caldecott Medal for his illustrations of James Thurber’s Many Moons.

Picture Book Preschool is a preschool/kindergarten curriculum which consists of a list of picture books to read aloud for each week of the year and a character trait, a memory verse, and activities, all tied to the theme for the week. You can purchase a downloadable version (pdf file) of Picture Book Preschool by Sherry Early at Biblioguides.