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Friday’s Center of the Blogosphere

Feb9

Ian’s found some error messages we can all understand and enjoy.

Barbara Curtis of Mommy Life has a great slide show of pictures she took at the March for Life in Washington, D.C. on Monday, January 22nd. I missed out on the whole anniversary of Roe vs. Wade commemoration this year, but I have not forgotten those who have died in the name of Choice and Reproductive Freedom.

At a Hen’s Pace on monastic communities and their integration with or relation to the everyday world. I’m always interested in posts and articles and books on this subject. How do we create, or allow God to create, community in the (post)modern world?

From the new-to-me blog Claw of the Conciliator: “At the very least, I think that the experience of being launched outside one’s quotidian, self-centered world, and the impulse to awe-struck wonder, are shared by science and religion. So it’s no wonder that a lot of people delight in both at the same time, and don’t want to have to choose just the one or the other. It’s not surprising that someone as brilliant as Isaac Newton spent more time doing theology and biblical studies than he did on science. Even a hard-headed skeptic like Martin Gardner can be a devoted fan of the laughing, joyous, poetic spirituality of G.K. Chesterton.”

At another new-to-me blog, Vivid Just Like You, Denise writes about Transformation: “I learned to cook, penciling notes in the margins, and bought my first bottle of wine. I began to look for the grace that creeps through the cracks of our lives, usually through the flukes and mistakes and the feeling that we don’t know what on earth we are doing. I embraced the mysteries my mind cannot touch. I didn’t give up on my teenage faith: I filled it, or left it open at last for God to fill to overflowing.

The Geographer’s Library by Jon Fasman

Feb8

I heard on NPR yesterday that there’s a new Indiana Jones movie coming out in 2008; The Geographer’s Library could easily be used and abused for the plot of an Indiana Jones movie, even though there are no archeologists in the book. In fact, one of the historical artifacts mentioned in the book was also the subject of the NPR commentary that followed up the mention of the new Indiana Jones picture.

The Geographer’s Library also reminded me of The Eight by Katherine Neville, a book I read and reviewed in 2005. It uses the same alchemy/sacred objects/fountain of youth motifs as The Eight, and there’s a lot of globe-trotting, obscure settings, espionage, murder, and mayhem. An innocent young reporter, Paul Tomm, finds himself caught up in a web of violence, mystery and deceit when he’s only trying to write an obituary for a recently deceased college professor. The narrative moves back and forth from Tomm the Journalist in his backwater town in New England to those afore-mentioned obscure places where someone or some group of people is collecting ancient artifacts that have somethig to do with alchemy and the extension of life.

Is the professor who died old or REALLY old, as in centuries old?

Is the professor a jewel thief or an assassin or an alchemist —or all three?

Is Paul’s new girlfriend, Hannah, an innocent music teacher or a conspirator?

Should Paul back off the story and save his own skin or pursue it and risk his life?

Substitute Indiana Jones for the intrepid reporter; travel around the world to exotic locations to investigate instead of staying in sleepy New England; insert a few cliff-hanger scenes where Indiana almost falls into a trap, but escapes by a hair’s breadth. Voila! you have your 2009 Indiana Jones blockbuster!

(I suppose you’d have to pay Mr. Fasman a moderate sum of money for taking his novel and rewriting it as a totally different story. However, there are precedents galore. Oh, and Mr. Spielberg, you could throw in a few hundred dollars for me since I came up with the idea.)

To This Great Stage of Fools: Born February 8th

Feb8

John Ruskin, b. 1819. Known as a literary and art critic, Ruskin lived a rather tragic life. He was a friend of the Pre-Raphaelites, Rossetti, Morris, Meredith, and Swinburne, and his wife left him and married the painter Millais. He fell in love with a young Irish girl, but she would not marry him and she later died. He lost his faith in Christianity, suffered from mental illness, and finally re-embraced the Christian faith of his youth, although he refused to believe in hell. Maybe this rejection had something to do with the fact that during episodes of mental illness he had horrendous visions of himself battling with Satan.

Henry Walter Bates, b. 1825. Naturalist, entomologist, and evolutionist. He wrote The Naturalist on the River Amazons, published in 1863. Has anybody out there read it?
If you’d like to know more about this pioneer in entomology, here’s a good article from The New Yorker, August 22, 1988, about Bates’s life and travels along the Amazon.

Jules Verne, b. 1828. In a letter: “I must be slightly off my head. I get caught up in all the extraordinary adventures of my heroes.”

Digby Mackworth Dolben, b. 1848. English poet, he was rather a character. He wrote love poetry to another (male) student at Eton and then considered conversion to Roman Catholicism and went around wearing a Benedictine monk’s habit. He drowned in a rather mysterious accident at the age of nineteen before he could go up to Oxford.

Kate Chopin, b. 1851. American author of The Awakening.

Martin Buber, b. 1878. Jewish philosopher and teacher. In 1938 he left Germany and went to live in Jerusalem. He wrote the book, I and Thou about the relationships of people to people and persons to God. “Egos appear by setting themselves apart from other egos. Persons appear by entering into relation to other persons.”

John Grisham, b. 1955. OK, I’m not really terribly intellectual at all. Of all the authors who have birthdays today, the only two I’ve read are Jules Verne (Around the World in Eighty Days and John Grisham. Which Grisham novel do you like best? Do you agree with me that his novels have not gotten better but rather the opposite? I did enjoy The Firm and The Client and, my favorite, The Rainmaker.

Edited slightly and reposted from February 8, 2006.

LOST Rehash: Not in Portland (nor in Kansas)

Feb7

*******LOTS OF SPOILERS. CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED ********


So Juliette wants to go home and see her sister’s baby. And Alex thinks she’s Ben’s daughter. (But I don’t.)

What else did we learn tonight on LOST?

Kate’s ruthless; Juliette’s ruthless. Sawyer’s a softie.

Somebody doesn’t do anesthesia too well.

Ben may or may not be Alex’s father, but he surely keeps a tight rein on her and won’t be happy if she leaves Alcatraz.

Alex has a boyfriend (Carl?) who is the subject of some very bizarre experiment or torture or something. What were some of those messages on the screen? God loves you as he loved Jacob. Think about your life. I can’t remember the rest, which means that I wouldn’t be a very good subject for their little experiment. I hope.

We’ll never know whether Jack would have let Ben die or not. Jack will never know whether he would have let Ben die on the operating table. Kate still doesn’t know whether she’s in love with Sawyer or with Jack. Sawyer’s not sure Kate has a heart at all; I’m not either.

Since the hatch exploded, they’re all stranded on the island, and I don’t think Ben can send Juliette home now. Unless he has a pair of ruby slippers in a closet somewhere.

Did anyone see who was in the “cheesy pictures” that the scary job recruiter guy showed Juliette to get her to come to “Portland”? Whay was it so great that Juliette’s sister could get pregnant? Because she had cancer? Or because she had other infertility problems? What’s up with the pregnant male mouse? And do the Others know that Sun is pregnant? If they do, she’s in danger because some of their research has to do with Juliette’s fertility experiments.

Tom seems like a nice guy. He’ll probably die soon.

Juliette’s been on the island for 3+ years. How long has Ben been on the island? Didn’t he say something to jJack about having been on the island all his life? Long enough to kidnap Rousseau’s baby and pretend she’s his child? How old is Ben anyway?

Finally, Kate doesn’t listen to Jack (as usual) and leads a commando raid to rescue him. When are they going to run out of guns? Didn’t their arsenal get blown up with the hatch?

See you next Wednesday and for the following fourteen Wednesdays on LOST.

Hidden Treasure Blog Awards

Feb7

Hidden-Treasure
Jules at Everyday Mommy is hosting the Hidden Treasure Blog Awards recognizing writing excellence. Her goal is to recognize those under-read bloggers who have written excellent posts in various categories. Nominations opened on February 1st and end today, February 7. If you would like to nominate some of the posts I nominated, these are some of the best ones I found while roaming around last night. The posts with the most nominations in each category advance to the final voting.

Children & Family: The Autumn Rain on Time Out for Happiness

Faith: Amanda Witt of WIttingshire on Sunday Morning

Marriage: Neo-NeoCon on Amnesia: A Love Story

Motherhood: Blest With Sons on the Terrible, Horrible, God Made It Good, Bible Study Day

Homemaking: Debra at As I See it Now plans a Homemaking Retreat

Humor: Anne of Writing and Living on Appliance Group Dynamics

Current Events and Life: Headmistress at The Common Room on Mediocrity

Whether you second my nominations or nominate some of your own choosing, get your nominations in TODAY. Nominations close today.

Week 17 of World Geography: Israel

Feb6

Music:
Gustav Mahler—9th Symphony

Mission Study:
1. Window on the World: Druzes
2. WotW: Ethiopia
3. WotW: Falashas
4. WotW: Israel
5. WotW: Syria

Poems:
Moments: Poems about the Seasons—Lee Bennett Hopkins

Science:
Astronomy: Earth and Moon

Nonfiction Read Alouds:
Victor Journey through the Bible

Fiction Read Alouds:
Star of Light –St. John

Picture Books:
A Jewish Holiday ABC–Drucker

Elementary Readers:
The Storyteller’s Beads—Kurtz
The Garden—Matas
Running on Eggs–Levine

To This Great Stage of Fools: Born February 5th

Feb5

William Earl Johns, British children’s author, b. 1893. Has anyone ever heard of a series of children’s books about a character named Biggles? I never have, but apparently they were very popular in England and around the world in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

“By 1964, the UNESCO Statistical Yearbook placed Biggles books 29th on a list of the most translated books in the world and Biggles was the most popular juvenile hero in the world. However, sales in North America were low and Johns never really cracked the American market. The books were considered just ‘too British’.” From the website biggles.org

David Wiesner, b. 1957, children’s author and illustrator, also has a birthday today. He’s 50 years old today (and I know that for a very good, non-mathematical, reason). As an early birthday present Mr. Wiesner won the Caldecott Medal for the third time in January 2007 for his pcture book, Flotsam. He’s the second person to win three Caldecott Medals. Does anyone know who the other author/illustator who won three Caldecott Medals was? Can you name her three Caldecott medal-winning books? Can you name Mr. Wiesner’s other two winners?

(This is a test of the Emergency Caldecott System. Had this been an actual emergency, you would have been directed to your nearest children’s librarian.)

Newbery Project: The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum

Feb4

In 1922, the first year that the Newbery Medal was awarded, one of the “runners-up” later called “honor books,” was The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by an Irish storyteller named Padraic Colum. Mr. Colum was a poet and a playwright and a friend of James Joyce, but his retelling of myths, legends, and folklore for children came to be his most enduring work. Padraic Colum won the Regina Medal in 1961 for his “distinguished contribution to children’s literature.” Some of his other books include The Children’s Homer, The Children of Odin, The Arabian Nights, and The King of Ireland’s Son. Padraic Colum was born December 8, 1881, and he died on January 12, 1972.

“In transferring a story of the kind I heard then to the pages of a collection, elements are lost, many elements —the quietness of the surroundings, the shadows on the smoke-browned walls, the crickets chirping in the ashes, the corncrake in the near meadow, or the more distant crying of a snipe or curlew, and (for a youngster) the directness of statement, or, simply the evocation of wonder.” ~Padraic Colum

Padraic Colum grew up listening to stories told by the fire or in the meadow, and The Golden Fleece is written in the voice of a storyteller; it’s meant to be read aloud and to evoke wonder. The syntax and writing style are poetic and begging to be read to listening ears. In addition to the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece, Colum blended into his narrative many of the older Greek myths: Persephone, Pandora’s Box, Theseus and the Minotaur, and the Labors of Hercules, just to name a few. I’m planning a year of ancient history and literature next school year, and I think The Golden Fleece will be our first read aloud as we study Greek history and literature.

Willy Pogany, the illustrator for this compilation, is one of my favorites. In some of the other books I have that are illlustrated by Pogany, his illustrations are full-color paintings, but the illustrations in The Golden Fleece are black and white line drawings reminiscent of the pictures on Greek vases. I can envision having my urchins copy one of the pictures in the book as an art project, then maybe make their own drawing in the same style.

Although The Golden Fleece would be perfect for read aloud time, I also think that all those kids who can’t get enough of Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief might want to go to the source, so to speak, and I can’t think of a better source for Greek mythology than Colum’s The Golden Fleece. So, as I begin my Newbery Project, Padraic Colum’s Newbery Honor Book wins a Newbery renewal for its beautiful use of language and powerful storytelling voice. This one stands the test of time, maybe because the stories themselves are timeless, but also because the storyteller, like Orpheus the Singer, knew how to tell a tale.

“Many were the minstrels who, in the early days, went through the world, telling to men the stories of the gods, telling of their wars and of their births. Of all these minstrels non was so famous as Orpheus who had gone with the argonauts; none could tell truer things about the gods, for he himself was half divine.

Orpheus sang to his lyre. Orpheus, the minstrel, who knew the ways and the stories of the gods; out in the open sea on the first morning of the voyage Orpheus sang to them of the beginning of things.”

High School Words

Feb2

Today in my American literature class I used these words and terms while discussing The Great Gatsby:

abscond: Tom and Daisy were planning to abscond.

jilt: Daisy jilted Gatsby.

Dear John letter: You know, she wrote him a Dear John letter.

My students were puzzled.

Finally, one of them asked me, “Why do you use words like that?”

Because the words come into my mind. So that you can stretch your mind a little. Because they’re the right words for what I want to say.

However, I had to admit that even I didn’t know, when I read from the last paragraphs of the book, what the word “orgiastic” meant. The kids and I agreed that it sounds like “orgy”, but that meaning doesn’t seem to fit the sentence. I’m sure Fitzgerald used the word because it came into his mind and it was the right word for what he wanted to say. I guess it’s time for some vocabulary-stretching.

Orgiastic does mean “debauched, dissolute, and depraved.” Now all I have to do is understand that meaning in the context. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us.”
What did Gatsby believe in?

Wow, it turns out that there’s a whole discussion of this word in the ending paragraphs of The Great Gatsby and of what Fitzgerald meant to write and what word he meant to use.

That’s what I like about books and words; when you start out on a simple Word Road, you never know where you’ll end up.

February Homeschool Fun

Feb1

February 1: It’s Friendship Month, American Heart Month, Library Lovers’ Month, National Bird Feeding Month, National Cherry Month, Black History Month, and National Hot Breakfast Month.

February 2: Groundhog Day. Last year we watched the movie Groundhog Day because Barbara likes it.
Groundhog Day was first known as Candlemas Day, a holy day still celebrated within the Catholic Church. Candlemas Day marks the end of the Christmas season and the midpoint of winter, halfway between the shortest day and the spring equinox. Light the candles in your house to celebrate Jesus, the Light of the World. The custom of predicting the spring weather from conditions on the 2nd of February also comes originally from Candlemas Day.
Here’s more about The Loveliness of Candlemas from a Catholic point of view, lots of ideas and thoughts on celebrating the feast of Candlemas.
Journey Woman on Ground Hog Day, the movie and the holiday.

On February 2, 1949 RCA issued the first 45 rpm record. Do you remember 45’s? If so, do you remember any specific songs you purchased on a 45 record? I remember listening to a set of 45’s of the music from the musical Oklahoma. “Poor Jud is daid. Poor Jud Fry is daid. He’s lookin’ oh so peaceful and serene. And serene.”

February 3: Felix Mendelssohn was born on this date in 1809.

February 4: Lord’s Day and then Super Bowl. Will you be watching the Super Bowl at your house?
Charles Lindbergh, the first man to make a solo transatlantic flight, was born on this date. If you’ve never read the journals of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, I recommend them. The first volume is called Bring Me a Unicorn and covers the years 1922-1928.

February 6: George “Babe” Ruth was born on this date in 1895.
Waitangi Day in New Zealand, celebrating a treaty signed in 1840 between the British colonists and the native Maori tribesmen.

February 7: It’s always fun to see that Laura Ingalls Wilder and Charles Dickens, two of my favorite writers, share a birthday. I think we’ll read some Little House today and maybe we’ll try something with the little ones that I did long ago with the older urchins: make a churn out of a coffee can and make butter. I think I used Tinkertoys for the dasher, but we don’t have any of those, so I’ll have to come up with something else.

February 8: On this date in 1932, John Williams, American composer and conductor, was born in Flushing, New York. I still enjoy the music from Star Wars although I have grown weary of the saga. Play it and remember, if you can, the first time you saw a Star Wars movie.

February 10: February is Friendship Month. Send a friend a letter or a card or a valentine. Renew an old friendship or make an effort to start a new friendship.

February 11: Thomas Alva Edison’s Birthday. On February 19, 1878, he patented the phonograph. Draw an invention that you would like to build. Name ten machines or inventions that are no longer in common use. (Actually, Computer Guru Son prefers phonograph records. Who knew they’d become popular among the musical snobs?)

February 12: On this date in 1924, George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue premiered in New York City. Play a recording of it and draw a picture of the city that Gershwin put into music.
It’s also Abraham Lincoln’s actual birthday.

February 13: Betsy-Bee will be eight years old today.

February 14: Valentine’s Day. We’ll be giving out valentines to all our friends and neighbors with these verses printed on them: “Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God, and everyone who loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love.” I John 4:7-8

February 15: In 1874, Sir Ernest Shackleton, the Antarctic explorer, was born. Of course, he wasn’t a “sir” when he was born.

February 16: On this date in 1923, King Tutankhamen’s burial chamber was opened by archaeologist Howard Carter.
Discovering King Tut Online.

February 18: On this date in 1885, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published. Some people say Huck Finn is the Great American Novel. What novel do you think best epitomizes the American experience?
On February 18, 1861, Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as the first and only president of the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis’s Inaugural Speech.
Did you know that February 18-24 is National Engineers Week? Celebrate your favorite engineer.

February 19: President’s Day. Since February is National Cherry Month, and George Washington may have cut down that cherry tree, and my Engineer Husband likes cherry pie and we’re still celebrating National Engineers Week, I declare today Cherry Pie Day. “Can you bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?” I’ll let you know how the pies come out.
Memorize the names of all the presidents of the US in order.
Plans for a President’s Day Cabin Fever Party.

February 20: Shrove Tuesday, also called Pancake Tuesday or Mardi Gras (Greasy Tuesday). On the day before Ash Wednesday, you were supposed to use up all the butter and cream in the larder before the Lenten fast. >Read about Shrove Tuesday in England.

February 21: Ash Wednesday. Christians from liturgical raditions may go to church on this day, and the minister or priest may smear ashes on the foreheads of worshipppers to signify repentance. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season of Lent, forty days leading up to the celebration of Resurrection Sunday. Does your family observe Lent, and if so, how?

February 22: On this date in 1620, the Indians introduced popcorn to the Pilgrims in Massachusetts. That fact sounds like a good excuse to enjoy some popcorn, the homeschool snack.

February 23: Handel’s Birthday. Listen to some Handel today. The Messiah is great, but be adventurous and try something else.

February 26: In 1932, Johnny Cash was born.

February 27: Birthday of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Evangeline anyone? Or Hiawatha?
Also born on this date was Gioacchino Rossini who said, “Give me a laundry-list and I’ll set it to music.” What a challenge! Can you and your children set some words to music today? Perhaps something more significant than a laundry-list—a Bible verse or a poem?

February 28: On this day in 1854 a new political party was organized. Their common goal was the complete and final abolition of slavery; their slogan was “Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Speech, Free Men, Fremont!” Their candidate for president, John Fremont lost the election of 1856, but in 1860 their candidate, Abraham Lincoln, won —a victory that caused the Southern states to secede from the Union in horror.