The Sojourn: 2008
Major Goal: to complete remaining 6 exams for my ChFC designation: 3 down, 3 to go.
Minor Goal: to read 12 non-insurance books this year: 5 down, 7 to go.
June 14, 2008
OBITUARY
Tim Russert
Meet the Press Anchor, mentor to the late David Bloom, and one of the most unbiased journalists ever on television.
BIRTHDAYS
06/14/08: Happy Birthday to Karen Nicholson!
06/12/08: Happy Birthday to Cynthia Clowers!
06/10/08: Happy Birthday to Sherry Cheek!
May 31, 2008
THOUGHTS
Books, Books, Books
I did some discouraging math this weekend. Assuming I will only be granted my 75 years down here on Planet Earth, I've only got 37 years left. Exactly half of my life has been lived already. And now I face the prospect of a mountain of books that I will not have time to read. If I read 1 book a month for the rest of my life, that would only be 12 books a year, for a total of 444 books by year 75. This is really depressing, especially in light of the fact that the Library of Congress houses more than 32 MILLION books. How in the world am I supposed to know which 444 of those books would be the best for me to read??
This quandry has led me to purge my bookshelves. I've removed over 100 books from my library in the last week as I've pulled each one from the shelf, read the cover, and made a determination on its value. I've never before felt that I had to be discriminating about a novel. It's quite depressing, really: not that I am made to face my own mortality--who cares about death? I can't wait to die and shed this skin--but rather that when I'm back in heaven with my soulmates and we reminisce about the glories of our Great Adventure, I will have to admit that I squandered much of the first half of my life reading a lot of insignificant material instead of researching the great thinkers of history and getting to know this world better from Earth's side of the glass.
But hold on here, I may be getting down for no reason. I remember a science project in junior high that I put off till the very last minute and then realized I'd run out of time. I remember regretting the fun I'd had in the days and weeks prior to the deadline, reading some science fiction novel or other instead of trying to understand the difference between ethanol and gasoline. But as I look back on it now, I think I probably learned more about the true meaning of the universe from my dalliances than I would have from studying alternative fuels.
One of my more recently developed core principles is a refusal to regret the past. Everything that has happened, even things I may be ashamed of, needed to happen to get me to where I am today. So even though I've read a lot of useless romance novels with Fabio on the cover (yes, I admit it), there's a lesson from that somehow that has added meaning to my life, even if only to teach me the shallow capriciousness of desire. I'm realizing that I truly do believe in the idea of an intrinsic value in everything, meaning that no matter how bad or negative or empty a thing or person or situation may seem, there is value somewhere in it that can be used to add meaning to our lives.
Maybe Dr. Miller didn't have fewer books because so many are empty or useless; maybe he simply realized how long it takes to read a book and how few hours and days and years truly make up this time we label our "life".
BIRTHDAYS
05/26/08: Happy Birthday to Emily Gross!
05/27/08: Happy Birthday to Gottlieb Koblitz!
05/29/08: Happy Birthday to Lee Ann Johnson!
05/31/08: Happy Birthday to Shirley Gross and Ethan Fry!
May 21, 2008
BIRTHDAYS
Happy Birthday to Louise Carey!
May 26, 2008
BIRTHDAYS
Happy Birthday to Emily Gross!
May 25, 2008
LINK
Testimony
I've always enjoyed first-hand accounts of the Grace of God. Here's a great testimony.
BIRTHDAYS
Happy Birthday to Cassie Crews!
May 21, 2008
BIRTHDAYS
Happy Birthday to Louise Carey!
May 18, 2008
BIRTHDAYS
Happy Birthday to Benji Sywulka!
May 16, 2008
BIRTHDAYS
Happy Birthday to Amy Rogers!
May 14, 2008
BIRTHDAYS
Happy Birthday to David Nicholson and Holly Hineman!
THOUGHT
Geographies of the Mind
In the poem by John O'Donohue, quoted below on 27 January 2008, the poet refers to geographies of the mind. He is paraphrasing Aristotle, who referred to maps of thought. I am just beginning to understand what that means. I have correlated the idea to my reading and comprehension of the Bible. I can read a verse at age 10, age 20, age 30, and age 40, and all four times, the verse has a completely different meaning, especially if I did not at all read or remember the verse in the interim years of each decade.
The reason for this change in meaning is that each new experience I taste creates a new way of thinking, no matter how slight or trivial the new difference may be. And if I continue to use this new mental footpath, by building upon the original experience with additional similar experiences, it soon becomes a road, and then a highway, with multitudinous new footpaths started on either side for miles and miles, and many of these footpaths become roads become highways, and one day, if I keep on building, I may eventually cover the span of my little gray brain!
They say that the average person uses a small percentage of his brain. Perhaps it is even worse in the modern-day West because of our preoccupation with entertainment at the expense of growth.
Perhaps the difference in one person's ability to learn new things quickly and easily versus another person's inability to do so is the ease at which the former can build new mental roads. And what determines this ease? Perhaps early development: exposure to science fiction at a young age teaches a child that there are a vast array of alternatives and possibilities, that really nothing can be taken as solid, unchangeable truth.
Here I can feel the condemnation from certain saintly individuals reading this now, because to them, if you can't rely on the infallibility of the Bible, or the constancy of God, then our faith is vain. But mark the difference here: I am not questioning either the inerrancy of the Bible or the immutability of God; I believe in both with all my heart, mind and soul! Rather, I am questioning our perceptions of those two divine certainties.
Each of us has a unique perception of spiritual things. Agreeing with that supposition is the first step toward making new footpaths. The second step is to try on some of these uniquely different perceptions, holding back that Pharisaical survival instinct to yell "Blasphemy!" and shoot down any other avenue of truth as coming from the pit of hell.
So often we shut down our own reason, because if Reason were allowed to weigh and consider, it might find someone else's perception of the same truth to be useful and good, maybe even better than our original. And so a footpath is created that becomes a road becomes a highway, and runs at a slight but definite trajectory away from our original...
But back to that 40-year reading of the same verse. I used to call this phenomenon "the peeling of an onion": no matter what the verse says today, it will say something different next year, as I accept one truth and am then open to the presentation of another, deeper truth. But I think that metaphor is much poorer than my new "geographies" one--it's just that the old one is so easy to say succintly and with almost universal understanding.
However, God instructs us to study his word, to meditate on it day and night, not to read it once every few years. And perhaps that's the key to meditation: turning a truth over and over in our minds until, like a prism, it splinters the light into an array of layered colors, truth upon truth upon truth, and that verse becomes a major intersection in our mind, with innumerable footpaths beckoning us to travel each of them in a different new direction.
And if I want my gray matter to become a huge metropolis, I need to add new experiences that will create footpaths that are useful and good. The bulk of my "new experience" source material comes from books and movies and discussions with other people. Thus, I need to pare down my source material into what is going to be useful and good, not merely entertaining. Many books and movies are entertaining but empty, which is just a candy-coated form of evil.
I remember going to my university English professor's home in my early twenties. I was shocked to discover that he only had about 200 books in his big old house--I guess I had been expecting that someone who loves literature like I did, and had a lot more money than I did, would spend his money on nothing BUT books! I did not understand it at the time, but now I think it may have been because Dr. Miller understood that source material must be both good and useful, and he had been able to eliminate a lot of reading material that didn't meet either of those objectives.
I have read so many useless books and seen so many useless movies in my short life thus far. Entertainment in and of itself is no longer alluring.
MOVIE
The Prestige, Released 2006.
THE PRESTIGE was along the lines of THE ILLUSIONIST, though nowhere near as well-done. One issue I had with this portrayal of rival magicians is that there seemed to be no continuity of the passage of time. I couldn't tell when a significant amount of time had passed, or when I was watching a flashback of a flashback--a very jumbled concept of time was presented. In addition, the storyline was predictable: each turn of vengeance produced an even stronger turn from the rival, until both spiraled down together into a pit of blackness and evil. The end was a slight surprise, but not strong enough to turn the movie on its head like THE SIXTH SENSE did. All in all, the movie gave off a gritty negativity that I am not keen to revisit, or to recommend.
May 10, 2008
BIRTHDAYS
Happy Birthday to Bono!
May 2, 2008
MOVIE
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Released 2006
This was one of those entertaining and almost empty movies, with one redeeming theme: do something for the love of doing it, and everything else will work itself out. Many of us do things because others expect us to, when if those other people weren't around, we wouldn't touch the activity with a 29 and a half foot pole. That's how you know you are doing something for others: if you were alone on the planet, would you still be doing it? Yeah, I know it's simplistic, but this *was* a comedy...
MOVIE
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Released 2004
I'm still not sure what this movie was all about. This is one of those films where you say that, and then you think surely no one would go to such greath lengths to make a movie about nothing, so it must be that you just don't understand the weightier thematic elements presented. Okay, I admit it: I don't know what this move was all about. It wasn't funny, it wasn't sad, it wasn't thoughtful, it wasn't sexy. So why was it made?
MOVIE
THX 1138, Released 1971
Finally, a movie that treads a new footpath in my mind. The dialogue was minimal, and the action was almost nonsensical until about halfway through the movie, when the pieces fell into place. The director did a fine job of withholding prejudices so that the viewer can draw his own conclusions according to his own belief system or worldview. Like so many U2 songs, this movie can be interpreted in a variety of ways depending on where you are standing. Truth is multidimensional and many times seemingly contradictory. But back to the movie: the one indisputible element was the triumphant ending. I loved this movie.
BOOK
Hammered, by Elizabeth Bear
I first heard of Elizabeth Bear in my online writing workshop, of which she was also a member. This was her first published work and it is very impressive. The first several pages were difficult to read because her syntax is unusual, but once I got into the rhythm of her writing, I could not put the book down. It's refreshing to read about heros who are in their 50's instead of in their 20's, too. The story takes place half in Hartford and half in Toronto, in the near future when society has tinkered pretty successfully with nano-drugs and artificial limbs, and the main character's name is Jenny (great name), a lady who is almost a techno-bionic woman and a war hero. I'm not sure of where the story is going because the novel ended at the beginning of the plot, pretty much, which ensures I will be reading the 2nd book of the trilogy, SCARDOWN.
MOVIE
Equilibrium, Released 2002
Christian Bale stars in this futuristic story about one man's triumphant rebellion against the powers that be. In this Orwellian society, the general population is required to take drugs several times a day that inhibit emotions, and are prohibited from collecting any works of art, pieces of beauty or interest, or clothing of color, in an effort to avoid the types of visuals that might stimulate one's emotions. Interesting concept but kind of ridiculous, really. But the movie presented some novel ideas, and overflowed with fast-paced scenes and great workout music.
April 16, 2008
POETRY
John Milton's "On Time"
Fly envious Time, till thou run out thy race,
Call on the lazy leaden-stepping hours,
Whose speed is but the heavy Plummet's pace;
And glut thyself with what thy womb devours,
Which is no more than what is false and vain,
And merely mortal dross;
So little is our loss,
So little is thy gain.
For when as each thing bad thou has entomb'd,
And, last of all, they greedy self consum'd,
Then long Eternity shall greet our bliss
With an individual kiss;
And Joy shall overtake us as a flood,
When everything that is sincerely good
And perfectly divine,
With Truth, and Peace, and Love, shall ever shine
About the supreme Throne
Of him, t'whose happy-making sight alone,
When once our heav'nly-guided soul shall climb,
Then all this Earthly grossness quit,
Attir'd with Stars, we shall for ever sit,
Triumphing over Death, and Chance, and thee
O Time.
QUOTE
From _The Art of Clear Thinking_, by Fleischer
"The definition of thinking is the manipulation of memories."
MOVIE
Caddyshack, Released 1980.
For an old movie, this was pretty funny. I'm not really sure why Chevy Chase's character was even included--I don't think he contributed much to the plot or the situational comedy. But he's comedic as always. Rodney Dangerfield stole the show, though. I actually had to write down some of his one-liners, they were so hilarious. Bill Murray had the best scene of the movie when he explained how he will receive total consciousness on his deathbed: "So I got that going for me." And who could forget that cute little gopher?? The way he coughed smoke at the end and then started swaying his hips...
MOVIE
Lady in the Water, Released 2006.
Another triumph for M. Night Shyamalan! This movie was beautiful. I'm not 100% sure exactly what the point was, but I think I got the gist. The film ranks now among my favorites, especially because the "creepiness" factor, so prevalent in The Sixth Sense, Signs, and The Village, was here omitted, leaving the beauty of the story unmarred. Very touching.
March 30, 2008
RANDOM THOUGHTS
People are like marshmallows. If they are squeezed, they don't diminish, they just escape out the sides. We never become less than who we are, we never just go away, disappear, dissolve. We simply find new outlets of expression.
Imagine being in a play at school. You walk up on stage in your make-shift Shakespearean outfit, complete with the big crazy aristocratic feather swaying on the side of your velvety hat. The stage is set with props fit for a Danish prince: golden goblets, luxurious pillows scattered on the floor, silken banners hanging from the walls, and a massive and ornately carved stone throne (that is actually made of styrofoam and silver spray paint).
Imagine the sweet child who, after watching the play, rushes onstage and begs to have one of those golden goblets. He actually thinks it is real! You present him with not one, but two goblets, and smile indulgently as he shuffles off with his new treasure cradled in his arms. You wonder how long it will take him to discover that they are fakes.
Are not you and I, whilst alive in this physical world, the same as that child? When will we discover that everything around us is merely a stage prop? That the gold around our necks is worthless? That the vehicle we drive, and the house we live in, are illusions made of styrofoam and spray paint? That when we open our eyes and actually look around, every physical object our eye lands on has no value, no significance?
The only thing that matters is the human spirit; it is the only true object of worth that we own. We love to display our fake treasures to the world, yet we tend to keep our true wealth firmly hidden.
I often hear how the new Americans stole the land from the Native Americans. Sometimes the remarks are derogatory about the Indians: "they were so dumb that they sold their land for a handful of beads." Other times the remarks are meant to shame the New Americans: "they knew the value of that land, yet they fooled those poor Indians into trading the land for a fistful of beads and trinkets." But I can't help admiring a civilization that has a financial system so advanced that a relatively worthless representative item (like paper money) can be freely traded for goods and services.
And what about cash? Cash is King. Cash carries no surcharge, cash is off the grid, it is anonymous, it is what it is and it always works. It is the only perfectly liquid financial instrument. If you take cash to the car dealership, you walk away with a vehicle that is all yours, true and free, no strings attached, and you will spend less money in the end than if you financed that vehicle. Cash works at night when the banks are closed. Cash represents complete satisfaction in transactions: you never again have to revisit that purchase, either by paying off your credit card or by balancing your checkbook. Cash keeps you from overspending: you can only spend what is in your hand, so you tend to act a little more responsibly with your purchasing decisions. Cash keeps prices low: merchants do not pay transaction fees on cash receipts. Cash keeps the IRS at bay: waitresses and bellboys typically do not report cash tips. Cash (in small amounts) makes finders keepers every day: "find a penny, pick it up, all the day you'll have good luck."
With so many advantages to cash, why would anybody use a check or a debit or credit card? Well, precisely because the very strengths of cash are its weaknesses. Let's look at the other side of the coin (pun intended): if you lose cash, you have lost purchasing power. No one underwrites straight cash. But if you lose your American Express, you won't be out-of-pocket over the incident. Cash is also subject to inflation: if I have a can of cash buried in my back yard for 10 years, I lose purchasing power. But if that same cash is sitting securely in an interest-bearing savings account or even a U.S. Treasury bond, then after 10 years, my purchasing power will have kept up with rising prices. Cash is the foundation of a healthy financial trading system: simplistically speaking, if I keep all my money in the bank, that allows the bank to make money off short-term loans, and that extra money then allows the bank to pay higher salaries to its employees, one of whom may be my cousin, who can now afford to buy me better Christmas gifts. But if all of us kept our money in cash form in the closet, banks would close down, mortgage rates would explode, and the country would quickly spiral down into another Great Depression. Finally, cash is bulky. If I want to go on a $10,000 shopping spree, I surely don't want to walk through the mall with that kind of cash in my purse. It is much more convenient to carry a small plastic card. People are murdered every day for having just a few hundred dollars in their wallet.
So how can we tap into the advantages of cash without losing purchasing power or risking our lives? The obvious answer is moderation. Keep the bulk of your money in slightly-less-liquid instruments, such as bank accounts or money markets, and keep a little bit of cash out too. Since inflation is a gradual effect, pulling cash from your bank in small amounts on a weekly basis will not subject you to lost purchasing power, but it will allow you to tip your waitress under the table (pun intended), to help local businesses save money on transaction fees, and will keep you from getting stranded after hours or on holidays.
There is a man who is quiet and full of power, a trait the Bible calls meekness. He is my rock in times of hardship. He's my joy, my laughter, my heart. At barely middle age, he knows more about being a man than most of his elders. He protects me, respects me, comforts and cheers me. "Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." He is gifted with strategy and observation, with an ability to connect obscure dots, with common sense and an unusual thirst for knowledge. He speaks the truth without fear and treats even his enemies with fairness. He wants to know God. He is abstract yet firmly grounded. He is my pride and my truest friend, the kind "who loved the pilgrim soul in you". He is my Anam Cara, my sunshine, the man I love above all others. He is my sweet husband.
March 13, 2008
PROJECT
Dog Coat for Chloe
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THOUGHT
Comfort
More than anything else, and mainly on a subconscious level, people want to be comforted.
The chocolate industry has greatly profited from this subtle yet powerful instinctive drive, as has the insurance industry, the political machine, and interior paint. It has touched virtually every area of social life and commerce. When we sit down at a favorite restaurant, we are mainly seeking comfort. When we choose a real estate agent, we are mainly seeking comfort. When we decide on a second date with someone, we are mainly seeking comfort. When we paint our kitchen, when we choose where to shop, when we buy life insurance, when we job-hunt, when we travel, when we get dressed in the morning--when we *do* anything, we do it out of a drive to comfort ourselves or a loved one.
In fact, as I try to envision one thing I've done in the last week that did not have comfort as a motivation, I cannot. I took a shower, because it comforted me. I went to work each day, because it comforts me to be in a routine that has a financial payoff. I watched American Idol, because relaxing in front of an entertaining show is comfortable. I emailed some friends, because it comforts me to comfort them. Even the most menial of tasks has comfort behind it somewhere. I washed the dishes, because seeing them piled on the counter is uncomfortable.
Many times we chase comfort at the expense of our health or well-being, because above all else, we crave comfort. And many times, we actually avoid certain activities because they increase our discomfort. The more I have thought about this, the more convinced I am that comfort is at the root of our entire existence. In fact, I challenge you to think of one thing you have done in the past week, month, or year, that has nothing to do with your comfort level or that of someone you care about.
March 2, 2008
PHOTO
Noah Carson Freeman, My Nephew
THOUGHT
Streets of Gold
Picture this: after a long and difficult life filled with pain, agony, and ceaseless struggling, you die. In an instant, you find your spirit-self walking through the pearly gates and into eternal heaven. As Saint Peter gives you the tour, you suddenly realize that the streets truly are made of gold, inlaid with gems and precious stones.
"Saint Peter," you say. "I cannot believe what I am seeing here! Do you know how much this road is worth? Here you are, surrounded with unspeakable wealth, and you are just walking around on this treasure. What a waste! If you were truly a Christian, you would get some heavy equipment up here to break apart this street and sell the pieces to give money to the poor and the hungry back on earth. But instead, you squander this wealth, living in obscene extravagance. This literally makes me sick to my stomach!" Close curtain.
Now doesn't that sound ridiculous? Yet people say that about America every day. Muslim extremists want to kill Americans for being so wealthy. But what is the difference between heaven and America? To the poorest 2 billion on this Earth, there is no difference. So why aren't people angry at heaven for being so luxurious?
In 1988, I met an exchange student from Argentina who was disgusted at how much food in America was wasted at the table every day. He would try to finish everyone else's meal, to avoid wasting precious nutrients, but he never could. There was just too much food around. We live in abundance here, and that's not likely to change any time soon. And that's the same predicament heaven is in. If you aren't upset that heavenly souls are treating gold like dirt, why be upset that Americans throw away extra food? If anybody should be found lacking, it's heaven. Heaven isn't faced with the logistical nightmare involved in spreading the wealth, it's not faced with crime and corruption, it's not faced with limited vision. Heaven's unequivocally got God on its side!
Yes, I know. The whole "streets of gold" thing is supposed to be a metaphor, right? Maybe. But remember what Jesus said:
Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.
Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, 'Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?' This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.
Then said Jesus, 'Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.'
Keep in mind the message here. I am not relieving anyone of the responsibility that comes with privelege: "give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee, turn thou not away." All I'm saying is that the folks who are quick to condemn Americans for wastefulness are simplistic, ignorant, or thoughtless and, if they don't judge heaven by the same standards, hypocritical as well.
February 29, 2008
BOOK: #4 of 12
Rule #1, by Phil Town
The more education I receive about finances in general, the more alluring the stock market becomes. Phil Town went from part-time vagrant to full-time millionaire by investing wisely in the stock market, and he imparts his wisdom to the masses via this book. It gets a little technical, but with a few re-readings, should not be beyond any average person's ability to understand and emulate.
Aside from the obstacle of understanding the stock market, I think the biggest reason most folks do not participate in trading stocks is the fear of losing money. Phil Town's book reiterates Rule #1, which is "don't lose money", and he shows the reader how to weave a very strong and extensive net around any investment undertaking that will handily prevent loss of revenue.
The most important lesson of the book is that amassing a significant amount of money will take a significant amount of time (it all depends on how much money you start with, of course). Just set your mind on the next 20-30 years. It would be nearly impossible to make a windfall within 5 years, unless you invested in stocks that were predisposed to breaking Rule #1, and then you stand a better chance of losing than of winning.
I recommend this book to everybody. You don't need too much additional funding to get started: I think how much money you need will depend on which online trading company you decide to use. But if the guidelines set forth in this book can be trusted, then you can amass enough capital to retire on comfortably, regardless of your current employment benefits (or lack thereof).
February 27, 2008
OBITUARY
William F. Buckley, Jr.
National Review Online
February 18, 2008
POETRY
"A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM" by Edgar Allen Poe
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow--
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
I stand amid the roar
Of the surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand--
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep--while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
February 15, 2008
BOOK #3 of 12
BLINK, by Malcolm Gladwell
I have my best friend from childhood to thank for this book, which was a Christmas gift. You've probably seen the book in stores: it's small and thin, unimposing, easy to flip open and start reading. I was engaged from paragraph one. I've always been interested in body language, in understanding how our subconcious reads the world and gives us away against our will, and this book is case study after case study in that very area. It is packed with information, and will require a second reading. I'm still not sure of the basic premise, except that it has something to do with First Impressions...
MOVIE
U23D
This was a U2 concert in 3-D at the IMAX Theatre. It was awesome! Several times, I actually tried to reach out and touch Bono, he seemed so close. While watching the show, I realized that Bono is very important to me, as he has accompanied me through my teenage years, my tumultuous 20s, my travels in Central America, and my married life so far. He is one of my anchors, my heroes; I know that when he dies, a part of me will die as well. Bono: here's wishing you a long, long life!
By the way, for those of you interested in Charity (in all its guises), check out Product Red and One.
January 27, 2008
BOOK #2 of 12
DUNE, by Frank Herbert
Every few years I return to this masterpiece, and I guess 2008 is the Year of the Worm for me, because I just can't get it out of my head. I recently subscribed to Easton Press' Masterpieces of Science Fiction, and when DUNE came, I almost fell over with excitement, it was so big and beautiful!
My love for DUNE remains steadfast because it heralded a series of "firsts" for me. I was 14 years old, in Jacksonville, Florida, and roaming the streets of my neighborhood alone one Saturday morning, when I happened upon a yard sale. Some old guy was selling a box of paperbacks. At the time, I simply bought the whole box for some reason (I guess I had a little money somehow), which was the FIRST time I ever bought myself a book.
Sometime after that, whilst watching TV, I saw a preview for the movie DUNE, and thought the main character (Kyle MacLachlan) was the most beautiful man I had ever seen (though I have since learned the error of my ways). I begged mom to take me to that movie, and she did the next best thing: she dropped me off at the theatre. That was the FIRST time I ever went to a movie alone. Well, I had no idea what was going on. This was the strangest, most confusing movie of my life (so far), but I recalled that the novel was in my possession. As soon as I got home that afternoon, I began to read the book, thus marking the FIRST time I ever read an adult book. I have to admit that the book didn't make much sense to me either, but the masterful prose stirred my spirit, inspiring me on some subconscious level in a permanent way.
Reading the novel hoy en dia is an exhilarating experience. Not only is the prose still masterful, but Herbert's powers of articulation surpass any other novel I've come across, with the possible except of Thomas Mann's THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN. The way Herbert plays with Time surpasses my powers of comprehension, yet I remain riveted, I can't look away. And the movie I now understand, having literally memorized it over the years. They say a picture is worth a thousand words but I disagree. There's no way a 3-hour movie, containing tens of thousands of stills (there's your "picture"), can ever come close to the novel. Why? Because you can't capture a lot of intangibles with a visual medium. Our physical eyes see the concrete only, whereas only our mind's eye can see abstraction. And Time is invisible. You know, it's almost invisible to the mind as well. We need constant physical reminders of the passage of time: clocks, hourglasses (yes, I have one--don't you??), the sun moving overhead, our faces wrinkling, etc.
Without all these reminders of time, would there even *be* any time?
Selah.
Interestingly enough, this is the only book by Herbert that I own. I have never been able to get into any of his other books, not even the sequels to DUNE that HE penned (you know his son has been writing DUNE prequels for several years now, but they aren't masterful, trust me). I have found that to be the case many times: the first of the series is really the classic. It's that way with the Matrix--the two sequels are unbelievably bad and should never have been made. Of course, there are exceptions, like George RR Martin's "The Song of Ice and Fire" series, and Stephen Lawhead's "Pendragon Cycle"...
BOOK
CONAMARA BLUES, by John O'Donohue
I'm not counting this book towards my 12 for the year yet, as I've only just begun. But it is a book of poetry by the recently deceased Irish poet and mystic, John O'Donohue. The very first poem took my breath away. I post it here for you:
THOUGHT-WORK
In memory of Joe Pilkington
Off course from the frail music sought by words
And the path that always claims the journey,
In the pursuit of a more oblique rhythm,
Creating mostly its own geography,
The mind is an old crow
Who knows only to gather dead twigs,
Then take them back to the vacancy
Between the branches of the parent tree
And entwine them around the emptiness
With silence and unfailing patience
Until what was fallen, withered and lost
Is now set to fill with dreams as a nest.
BOOK
THEY HAVE A WORD FOR IT, by Howard Rheingold
Again, not counting this one until I've read it all the way through. But I bought this on Amazon, it came in the mail yesterday, and I read the introduction. Get this: "...language is not just a neutral vessel for conveying thoughts but is an invisible mold that actually shapes the way people think and percieve" (p.6) Correct me if I'm wrong, but is this not what my November 15th, 2007 post attempted to articulate?? Maybe there are subtleties of meaning that separate us, but it is surely along the same vein.
Now, why did I buy this book? Well, in reading DUNE, I came across this entry: "The Fremen were supreme in that quality the ancients called 'spannungsbogen'--which is the self-imposed delay between desire for a thing and the act of reaching out to grasp that thing." I wanted to see if 'spannungsbogen' was a real word, so I googled it, and stumbled onto an internet board discussing various words from other languages that have no one-word equivalent in English. [For the record, I believe the English equivalent of 'spannungsbogen' is 'delayed gratification', but that's just me.] I found the discussion interesting, and someone referenced this here book as being a lexicon of untranslatable words and phrases, so I bought it. I did not know about the linguistic discussion that prefaced the lexicon.
This I find very interesting: my mind is consciously following a thought-path while my subconsious reaches its feelers out into the ether for the sole purpose of furthering the journey. I don't know where we are going, but I like it. I've always had an interest in linguistics, and the quote above is describing a linguistic theory known as the Whorfian Hypothesis. Stay with me, this gets better...
Who was this guy Whorf, anyway? (No, we are not talking Star Trek here)...Page 7: "I discovered that Whorf did not start out as an investigator of language, but as an investigator of the cause of fires! Working for an insurance company before he undertook his extensive study of American Indian languages, Whorf discovered that the way people misunderstood certain words was the cause of many fires. The chief culprit was the word empty: People would exercise caution near barrels that were full of flammable liquid but all too often did not hesitate to toss matches into 'empty' gasoline drums (which were filled with flammable fumes)."
Okay, if you are wondering why I quoted all that, remember that I, too, work for an insurance company. So, is this a sign? Am I being led to leave my day job and tackle something wonderful in the magical world of linguistics? I dunno about that. But I am going to do additional research on this guy Whorf, believe you me!
January 13, 2008
BOOK #1 of 12
SAINT, by Mark Bailey
A well-written book, so far as the mechanics of writing go, but poorly constructed thematic elements. The premise is basically that Saint Peter comes back to life in the 21st Century and offers his views on the modern ways of the world. Evidently, at least according to this author, the historical Saint Peter never read the Bible, but instead feasted on New Age humanism for spiritual "growth". Crazy.
PROJECT
Baby Hat
I don't know why this hat came out so lumpy and bumpy. The yarn is 100% superwash wool, so it is appropriate for the project. Maybe the pattern isn't all that...
PROJECT
Scarves
The scarf issue is getting ridiculous. I now have FIVE scarves on the needles right now, and none seem to be growing at any fast pace. I think the main reason is that it has been so unseasonably warm lately (at least here in Georgia), that the mere thought of throwing a small sheep around my neck breaks me out in hives. Of course, most of these are gifts that were intended for Christmas or even months prior...(The fifth scarf is the orange Aran from last October--it hasn't grown an inch.)
MOVIE
V for Vendetta, Released 2005
This movie could have been so much more inspiring if it had been laid in a foundation of truth. Instead, it was a commingling of truth and deceit, and as such, one is tempted to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I think the better movie of a similar message is Joan of Arc. One interesting note about V, however, is that his character was most definitely modeled after an Intuitive Introvert.
MOVIE
Little Miss Sunshine, Released 2006
I think Greg Kinnear has made an excellent living out of choosing great scripts. This one is no exception. The characters are quirky but believable, and the settings are rich with the nuances of everyday middle-class poverty. All of the actors performed well to the very end, and that ending was poignant and hilarious at the same time. Great movie.
January 1, 2008
THOUGHT
Resolutions
Happy New Year! Praise be to God for the chance to live another day. As Frank Herbert so deftly points out in the opening lines of his masterpiece of science fiction, DUNE, "A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct." The movie DUNE paraphrases the line thusly: "A beginning is a very delicate time".
I believe this. Beginnings are fragile, mere threads of opportunity that require acute attention and care if they are to flourish into the woven fabrics of our past. Many people today are careless with their beginnings, ignorant of their fragility, like bulls in a china shop. And these same people will complain of their misfortunes as though others are responsible: Murphy's Law, the devil, my boss, etc. For shame!
Each day is a beginning, and the first day of the new year even more significant because of its rarity. Don't let this moment pass without choosing a beginning thread, and spinning it. Follow where it leadeth, let it change you.
"A person needs new experiences.
They jar something deep inside, allowing him to grow.
Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens.
The sleeper must awaken."
