Kurt Vonnegut--On Writing

Having just finished reading Slaughterhouse Five for the very first time, I felt it necessary to dig into Vonnegut's life and try to make some sense of what I'd read. I'll say more about the novel in my monthly "in review" post coming soon... for now I'll leave you with this:

In his book Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction, Vonnegut listed eight rules for writing a short story:

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

"Stay Gold, Ponyboy, Stay Gold."

I love the golden tree on this vintage "tree tray."
Another shopping victory.

An Ode to Indies.

Garage Sale Goodies

I'm not all that much of a shopper, but I do enjoy a good treasure hunt. Every few weeks I try to hit the local thrift stores and in the summer I keep my eyes open for garage sales. I can usually case the joint in two minutes or less and be on my way if nothing calls my name. I'm not usually very interested in clothing. It's housewares and books and toys that get my attention.

I got lucky a few weeks ago and found these delightful decks of cards--Animal Rummy and Crazy Eights. I am not sure what to do with them but I had to share my find. I love the artwork. It just makes me smile.

The Importance of Oscar Wilde

"This wallpaper is dreadful, one of us will have to go." Those are rumored to be Oscar Wilde's last words. Even to the end he was a man of wit. Here are a few other words of wit and wisdom from one of the greats.

• "I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying."
• "Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much."
• "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."
• "Be Yourself; everyone else is already taken."
• "Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination."
• "You can never be overdressed or overeducated."
• "I am not young enough to know everything."
• "A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing."
• "A good friend will always stab you in the front."
• "I never travel without my diary. One must always have something sensational to read on the train."
• "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."
• "I can resist anything, except temptation."
• "Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future."
• "Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live."
• "I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best."
• "A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction."
• "In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it."
• "There are only two kinds of people who are really fascinating: people who know absolutely everything, and people who know absolutely nothing."
• "Misfortunes one can endure--they come from outside, they are accidents. But to suffer for one's own faults--ah!--there is the sting of life."

I get a kick out of Wilde's plays, in particular. In summer school, we read The Importance of Being Earnest --a punny play full of misunderstanding, deception, absurdity, and laughter. Oh, and love. In typical comedic form, it all ends well. There are many free downloads or online versions of the play available. You must check it out.

The 2002 film with Rupert Everett and Colin Firth is most excellent, as well. While it does stray some from the order of events in the play, the director does a fine job of capturing the spirit of Wilde even adding some nice, tattooed touches. :) Read it, watch it--preferably in that order--you won't be disappointed.

Art and Democracy Film Series

Wednesday night I watched Mr. Smith Goes to Washington at the Empire Theatre. What a treat! It's a great film to watch on the TV at home, but even more fun to see on the big screen.

After the film there was a discussion -- Q & A time between Jack Weinstein, director of The Institute for Philosophy in Public Life and the host of the public radio show Why? Philosophical discussions about everyday life, and Mark Jendrysik, a political science professor from the local university. They touched on issues relating to the film and democracy, and maybe I was just tired, but I didn't have nearly the epiphany I had last December when I watched the film at the gym. Check out that post. Man, I love this film.

Wordless Wednesday -- Pretty Peony Style

Derek Trucks Band Concert

Must Have Music-- God Help The Girl

The band is the love child of Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian--featuring the sounds of Catherine Ireton, Celia Garcia, and Alex Klobouk. It has a sort of soft 60s/70s feel to it, which is really up my alley. Click here to hear "Come Monday Night" Click here to read more about its origins.

Buy it when it is available for purchase on June 23, 2009.

Visiting Old Friends

Last Tuesday, I got the rare opportunity to spend the afternoon with my pal Cindy and her boys. We tried out all the playground equipment at the park in Devils Lake. Good times. I love this pic of Colter. Those vintage horses were probably around when I was little.

Lovin' the Library's Movie Selection

Well, mostly. I'm loving that I didn't have to pay MONEY for either of these flicks. This week I saw Nights in Rodanthe and Bride Wars. Hmmmm....

I should have known better than to even bother with a Nicholas Sparks book-turned-movie. I disliked A Walk to Remember. The Notebook fared better as a movie than a book which I was more or less coerced into reading and then had to feign excitement over it since the recommender loved the book so much that she'd given her husband a copy with a letter pasted in to the cover of the book pledging her undying love for him or something along those lines. There is just something about his stories that leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth and apparently my hear turns to coal when I watch/read/contemplate his stories. Sorry, Mr. Sparks, I am NOT your target audience, but you are touching hearts and changing lives all over the place... just not mine.

To add to my misery, I'd rather forgotten how much I dislike Diane Lane as an actress. So, there were two strikes against this film for me. I suffered through it and though I was glad I'd not spent any money on the movie, I wish I could have that time back. Blech.Bride Wars had the potential to be a light-hearted renter, yet I'd give it a "C" at best. Unlike, my pal Marci, who watched this little number with me, I think I prefered Anne Hathaway's performance in Rachel Getting Married. Again, all the warning signs were there before I even brought the film home. The storyline was never suited to me. I'm not a dreamer of "weddings at the Plaza." In fact, excess in wedding ceremonies tends to make me a bit sick to my stomach. The idea of little girls dreaming and plotting and planning their weddings and engagements and all that freaks me out a little. The film in its glorification of this mentality does a disservice to women, by suggesting we are all just waiting for our chance to snap into action and create the perfect wedding. It all but ignores the stuff that comes after... the MARRIAGE. Of course, the film does get to that, thank goodness. Overall, the petty behavior of two best friends on such a colossal level seemed a bit too much for me. The idea that two women this bent on having the perfect wedding would be willing to try to plan it in three months seemed a bit unreal, but I guess the Plaza books up fast, eh? Oh well. If you can see this for free and all, it's not terrible. It's not great either.

Angels and Demons

It seems like my mom has been dictating my movie viewing most of this month. The plan was to go tubing on the Red Lake River with my mom and my sister for my sister's birthday but it turned out to be a rainy, bleak day. So, our next best option was a movie--the only one mom really wanted to see Angels and Demons. My sister tends to see every movie she's interested in the minute it comes out, so she didn't mind. In the end, neither did I. (secretly, I rather wanted to see a bit of light hearted fare -- The Hangover, maybe, or The Land of the Lost.)

I'd read The DaVinci Code back when that was all the rage and I found it interesting but not mind blowing in the way people had described it to me. I was eager to see that film because Audrey Tautou was in it. I left that film disappointed despite that fact. The DaVinci Code seemed an awful lot like National Treasure with Nicholas Cage though the book didn't read that way at all for me. It's very difficult for films to measure up to books--a task rarely accomplished. Though I'd argue that some directors manage it.

This time around, I'd not read the book first--nor do I really have any intention of doing so later. I think this may have made the film a bit better for me. Angels and Demons is the prequel to the other film/book but many have claimed it is even better. I'm not sure where I fall on that score. Tom Hanks played Robert Langdon and in this film we get to see the Vatican archives which reminded me a LOT of the Kerlan Collection at the Anderson Library at University of Minnesota... Obviously the Vatican was on a much larger scale. I do have a thing for libraries, archives, and ancient one of a kind books. I am the kind of weirdo who does get a bit of a thrill looking at the daily page in the Book of Kells at Trinity Library in Dublin (did that trip TEN years ago, can hardly believe it's been that long).

Though there was a female lead in this film too, she wasn't nearly as interesting as the role played by Ewan McGregor--Camerlengo Patrick McKenna--the stand-in for the pope until a new one is chosen following the pope's untimely death. Ayelet Zurer played Dr. Vittoria Vetra, a research scientist who was part of the team of CERN scientists working Large Hadron Collider trying to replicate the origin of life. Their experiment produces three vials of antimatter which are unstable and highly dangerous. And, of course, one of them is stolen by terrorists determined to overthrow the church. The film is about the collision (no pun intended) between science and religion and the emergence of the Illuminati, an ancient order. Langdon and Vetra are led around the city of Rome in an attempt to prevent the murders of the four preferitti (primary hopefuls for the papacy) and also prevent the destruction of the Vatican and much of Rome by finding and safely reclaiming the vial of anti-matter before it explodes.

The film was nonstop action and it almost moved TOO quickly. I suspect the reading pace would be gripping but have more intellectual pondering, more time for speculation. I think the pace of the film revealed the flaws of the story to some degree in that it hardly seemed possible that they could even be pursuing the baddies at that pace... one's mind would have no room for error and would have to move lightning fast in order to accomplish even half of what they are attempting. Yet, lives are on the line and so Langdon's brain is in overdrive all the while dealing with Vatican rules and regulations that forbid him access and slow him down.

Still, I'd recommend the film, though others have lambasted it. I did enjoy the adventure flick feel to the film and having no book to compare it to, it was just fine by me.

Wordless Wednesday--Where The Wild Things Are Tribute style

via Terrible Yellow Eyes

Summer School Shakespeare Fun!

A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing are two of my favorite Shakespeares. This year in summer school I opted for some comedy rather than the typical Macbeth, I usually teach. Though I've seen both of these before I was as entertained as the kids. Kevin Kline's performance in A Midsummer Night's Dream is terrific and I have new love for fair Hermia, since I now know Anna Friel from the TV series Pushing Daisies. This is a most excellent version of the play on all counts.

Kenneth Branaugh and Emma Thompson really shine as Beatrice and Benedick, a pair of marriage-scorning rivals in Much Ado About Nothing. This 1993 film, showcases an all-star cast with Kate Beckinsale as Hero and Robert Sean Leonard as Claudio; Denzel Washington as Don Pedro and Keanu Reeves as his bastard brother Don John. Another show stealer is Michael Keaton in the role of Dogberry.

Keaton is a former Batman star, as is Christian Bale in Midsummer Night's Dream--while two Batmen are among the cast, so is a former Catwoman-- Michelle Pfeiffer. I just found this to be an irrelevant, sure, but somewhat amusing bit of trivia.

There is little I can say to recommend these films other than to say the settings are divine, the acting superb, Shakespeare's play's withstood the test of time and the director does a great job in bringing it to life. Rent them both when you are in the mood for a bit of good Shakespeare fun.

Bored to Death

a new HBO Series starring some fun actors--Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson, Parker Posey... The show centers on Schwartzman's character, Jonathan, a 30-something struggling writer living (and drinking heavily) in Brooklyn. After he breaks up with his girlfriend, he decides to refashion himself as a private detective in the vein of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett heroes.

I think this looks like loads of fun.

Revolutionary Road

It's been a long time since I've seen Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf but there were shades of that film in this one--maybe it was just the down and out caustic fighting. Revolutionary Road was a bit of The Hours mixed with Far From Heaven, and even Kate Winslet's character in Little Children seemed to show up in glimmers in this film.

It spoke of dissatisfaction with the typical suburban life. It showed a woman who craved more, who believed her husband when he said he did too. April (Kate Winslet) believed she and Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) were co conspirators. That they had something no one else had. That they were special. That they were destined for something great and that family and kids didn't have to prevent that or slow that down.

And yet, knowing how way leads on to way....

Well, things sort of implode. I watched this film and feel I should almost watch it again. Not because I didn't understand it the first time, but more to savor and ponder. Sam Mendes' film is rich with discussion points about men and women and their relationships and roles. About the era, about family, about sanity and fresh starts. About friends and fidelity. About fate and choices and change.

One of my favorite characters was John Givings (Michael Shannon), son of their friendly realtor, who visited the Wheelers for stabilizing influence and a meal as he was on his weekend passes from the nut house.

Revolutionary Road did not provide that feeling of uplift but it did challenge my mind. It's a bummer, almost from start to finish. And a sense of impending doom seems to cast a pall over it all. My friend, Pam, said it almost had a horror film feel to it toward the end. I could see that too.

This film is one of the finest I've seen this year. If you're looking for a feel-good flick, don't bother. But I would highly recommend it. And then discuss it. I think the richness of the film is best shared and analyzed and contemplated long after the credits have rolled.

Introducing...

I now have a Tumblr presence.

The format there allows me to post art or pics and links to crafts I'm admiring, with minimal explanation. If you've liked my "links" posts in the past you might enjoy some of the posts on This and That because those new items that strike my fancy keep ending up there.

Last Chance Harvey

I've had Last Chance Harvey on my list of "to watch" films since January. The film was sweet and kind and about taking control of one's life. About second chances, I guess. Harvey Shine (Dustin Hoffman) is on his way out as a jingle musician and is desperate to hold on to his job and avoid being supplanted by the younger talent. He's on his way to England for his daughter's wedding. Once he arrives it becomes obvious that he's also being overlooked in this regard. It's almost unbelievable to what extent Harvey is being excluded and ignored in the wedding celebration, from his isolated hotel stay to the seating at the rehearsal. He makes some bad choices that seem to make that isolation more justifiable, yet I found it all a bit much.

Kate Walker (Emma Thompson) cares for her mother who is convinced her Polish neighbor is up to no good (some of the more entertaining bits of the film, I thought). Kate works at the airport surveying travelers, she takes classes, and she allows her coworker to set her up on a tragic blind date. Her life is pretty stagnant and she is feeling it.

The story truly takes off when Harvey and Kate meet and while it's all very nice, it's also remarkably predictable. Of course, that is always aided by movie trailers that "overshare"... you know, all the best bits of the movie.

I wanted to love this film, but it was only "okay." It's not a must see, but more of a "why not"?

Wordless Wednesday -- Garden Gnome Style

The Greens they are A-Growing...

Despite the frigid cold this past week, I actually have some little greenies making their way to the surface... seeds sprouting and little peeping plants peeking through the unsavory soil. Man, I sure miss the rich, soft, loamy soil at my dad's farm.

I now have lettuce and spinach and onions making an appearance on the scene.

Grow, Garden, Grow!

They look something like this!

My First Harvest.

Sweet Basil

Tonight was my first night of picking fresh herbs from my abundant window sill herb garden. I love it. See how they've grown from itty bitties to herbie toddlers to YUM.

Chances are You are NOT the Exception.

He's Just Not That Into You

Based on the advice in the infamous self help book by by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, the film features an all-star ensemble cast--Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson, Kevin Connolly, and Justin Long. Even though his character in the film wasn't my favorite, I'm a big Bradley Cooper fan (based mainly on what I've seen of him on Alias...). Ginnifer Goodwin's character was involved in one of the main storylines and she drove me a little crazy through the first half of the film. It's been awhile since I've been around someone quite so "boy crazy" and "apparently desperate." Yikes.

I felt the storyline between Ben Affleck and Jennifer Aniston's characters resonated the most with me and I would agree with the truths I felt the film revealed about them. Dating for seven years, Beth (Aniston) still held out hope that her boyfriend would one day marry her even though he's said forever, that he didn't believe in marriage. At one point it hits her, the "rule" is he's never going to marry you and she's probably not the exception to that rule. Where it gets dicey for me is this:

1. He could quite legitimately NOT want to ever get married. He might be against the institute of marriage for whatever reason, but isn't that his right too? And if she loves him shouldn't his wishes be acknowledged and considered in this whole relationship. Because society has deemed marriage the "goal," "the prize," "the acceptable life choice," we all believe he is wrong and she is right. And if he loved her, he'd want to marry her. But why must we all follow lock step in that fashion? Nothing is this simple.

2. He could be just not wanting to marry HER. And if they were to break up, he could be married to another woman within the year. THAT happens all the time, actually.

The book's assumption is that number 2 is the most likely scenario and that after seven years you are just living in denial and probably should wake up and get out if getting married is truly WHAT YOU WANT... if it's a dealbreaker for you. And I agree.

But if you can live like that, and accept that you might not get married either way with or without him and if you are happy with him and he with you, why mess that up? Now I can hear a few friends reading this and judging my statements here, either about my take on this film and dating philosophy in general or what they think they know about my personal life in specific. Please don't. All year, I've had to field comments from a colleague who was certain she knew what I want based on some standard in HER MIND. And I had to fight my urge to snap. Instead I simply and calmly tried to explain my theories again and again, as in the manner of girl speaking to brick wall. Lord, people, do NOT presume that what YOU would want in a given situation is what OTHERS want.

What this film really taught me? Don't read stupid self help books or watch films based around them. So much of it is just common sense until it starts to drift off into paranoia and suspicion. I'm not a fan of "games" and the stuff I watched in the film was exhausting. Yuck. It brought me right back to college days and the myriad of hopeless crushes I let take over my brain.

If someone is interested in me, I'd hope he'd just let me know and if he's not, well, I don't plan to waste time mooning over him and wondering. If someone doesn't treat me with the respect and consideration I believe I deserve, then I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. I prefer my own company most days anyway. Fortunately, I don't have to worry about any of that.

Community.

Via Loobylu

The Siren Call of Technology...

I did it. I bit the bullet.
I need a new laptop but I'm definitely waiting for Windows 7.
Soooooo, in the meantime, I bought a netbook.

ASUS Eee PC 1000HE 10-Inch Netbook (1.66 GHz Intel Atom N280 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 10 GB Eee Storage, Bluetooth, XP Home, 9.5 Hour Battery Life) Black

What is bigger than a blackberry, smaller than a laptop, can run faster and actually has more storage space than my current, rapidly-aging computer? Why, it's a NETBOOK!

The word netbook is a portmanteau of the words Internet and notebook. Primarily designed for web browsing and emailing, they rely on the mainly web based programs, are between 5 inches and 13, weigh between 2 and 3 pounds, have no optical disc drive, and cost far less than a laptop. Not really designed to replace a main computer, this is a great, ultra portable addition.

A Netbook Haiku
My heart is still pounding.
I wish it would arrive tomorrow.
I can barely contain my glee!

Up Made me Feel a Little Down.

That's not entirely true. It was lovely. A very sweet film. I went to a matinee of Up with my mom and sister on my birthday. It begins with a young shy Carl meeting a spunky Elle, both determined to live out their adventures. In short order we see them become fast friends united in their adoration of explorer Munsk and they promise to one day see Paradise Falls in South America. Then in a five minute montage we see them marry, try to have children, grow older, and finally Ellie dies. Yes, this rapid march toward death was not something I was eager to see on my BIRTHDAY! Yikes. The story is about dreams and promises about living your adventures and living without regret. It's about a lonely 78 year old balloon salesman, Carl, and a young boy, 8-year-old Russell, who is desperate to achieve his last badge in his Junior Wilderness Explorer training. It's about an unintentional teaming and their adventures in South America where they meet Kevin, a 13 foot rare bird, and Doug, a dog fitted with a collar which serves as a translator. I have to admit Doug was my favorite character.

The film seems to have some rather "grown up" themes for a Pixar film which I expect to be created for children. I'm not complaining, I just find it interesting. The story is exciting and lovely and touching. Bring tissues.

My Garden is Thirsty.

I have been hauling water like I'm Laura Ingalls Wilder in Season 8 of Little House on the Prairie where she's fighting to save the orchrd in her husband's absence. At least that is the scene that kept playing through my head as I struggled under the weight of the buckets. Of course, she was pregnant and ended up with heat stroke and then the whole town pitched in to keep it going... but I'm not quite so dramatic, eh? :)

Like an idiot I didn't water the garden the next day after planting. Rookie mistake? I guess I thought it was supposed to rain. I went out to the plot Tuesday evening and found three dead cucumbers, one mangled and barely breathing dahlia and a cabbage plant that might not make it through the night. I was just going out to check on things so I didn't have hoses or buckets or anything. I was going to find a2 gallon watering can and maybe one of those hose carts that can be wound up.

A pair of kind gentleman said I could use their watering can and HUGE bucket while they tilled and so I hauled water 200 feet about 10 times at which point they needed their buckets back. Things looked dray again where I'd started. Sigh.

I immediately hit FOUR stores with gardening supplies looking for a watering can and ended going home without one. I did buy a hose winder that holds 175 feet. Even though I wasn't sure that was long enough, it was on sale. I went to mom's loaded the hoses threw that in the trunk and contemplated going back over but it was late and I figured I could get there as soon as possible the next day.

On Wed. my mom was eager to get out there and put some protection around the plants and to see what it looked like. I was eager to get it watered after seeing the Tues. night status. After finally getting my watering can (stop number five). I officially have five plants down and a few others looking droopy. Nothing else has dared to grow quite yet. The status of the soil is that it looks very lumpy once again and hard and DRY.

We stretched out the hoses only to discover we were one hose length short. Dang. So I started hauling water from that point and mom went home to get one more length of hose. By the time she'd returned I'd nearly watered the entire garden by buckets (faster when water source was about 25 feet away.) I fixed the hose set up and began again by really dousing the rows and plants while mom put the coffee cans, plastic cups, and milk jugs around the plants.

As soon as I was done watering it the second time I did it ONE MORE TIME and I only hope this keeps a few more plants going. I got to meet two new gardeners and shared the hose set up with each of them. I decided to leave it out there. We shall see if it's still there tomorrow. I understand others have done that before and that it's gone just fine. We are in a remote part of town where no one would probably venture unless you were a fellow gardener.

Have I bitten off more than I can chew? I sure hope not.

Wordless Wednesday--Phone Book Fashion Style

Taken

Taken, starring Liam Neeson (a personal fave), is about a father and his love for his daughter. It's about doing whatever it takes to protect her. Bryan Mills (Neeson) is a spy in retirement so he can be nearer to his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace). The story begins on her birthday and for a 17 year old, Kim's exhuberant actions and giddy behavior make her seem far younger. Her parents are divorced and Bryan Mills is barely permitted on the grounds of the estate where his daughter and her mother now live with mommy's new husband. Still, Bryan's vowed to never miss a birthday and he never has. We see him back in his apartment pasting in the latest birthday picture in a scrapbook of birthday memories.

When he gets together with the guys, they shoot the breeze and they try to get him to come back to work, or maybe, at the very least, agree to be security detail for a young pop icon. While there is more to all that, the most notable and sweet part of that scene is how he speaks of his daughter Kim--like he's in love with a beautiful girl and excited that she's called and that they have lunch plans. He's like a school boy excited to spend time with her, excited that she wants to spend time with him... and she's his daughter. His friends seem to get this and I think it's a wonderful glimpse into the mind of a father, particularly a father who doesn't have custody of his child.

Joy turns to disappointment when he realizes that Kim just wants his permission to go on a trip to France with her 19 year old friend Amanda; she needs his signature on a legal document because she's underage and its in the custody agreement. All of Bryan's experience as a spy tells him to forbid this. Kim doesn't know the dangers that lurk out there in the world. At this point I really hate Kim's mother and I'm not a fan of Kim either. Of course, he gives in and insists she call him on a cell phone the minute she arrives. She doesn't remember at the airport. But that's a good thing. That cell phone is her only hope.

Moments after the girls land they meet a "hot guy" who shares a cab with them and invites them to a party. Amanda foolishly announces they have her cousin's apartment all to themselves and that was that. Soon after, the girls are taken.

The bits that follow are typical spy action film. There are moments where I thought, "this is unrealistic," but I didn't care. All I wanted was to see Liam Neeson kick some ass, to see the character of Bryan Mills succeed. He's a desperate man with nothing to lose and the connections in Paris because of his past career and the skills to take a lot of people down--anyone who stands between him and his daughter.

If you like the action/adventure/spy type film I highly recommend this one. It's pretty violent, but that's sort of the point, right? Not only is he on a mission there's a bit of ruthless vengeance enacted in the process.

Reading, Watching, Listening ... April & May in Review

Books read in April and May

Professional Books
Image Grammar by Harry R. Noden

For decades, scholars have urged teachers to integrate grammar and writing, yet few have provided teachers with enough strategies and materials to do so. With this ground-breaking book, Harry Noden meets this need in a unique way. This is the generic review on Goodreads. I need to revisit the book in order to explain what it was I loved so much about it, because love it, I did. It was chock full of great ideas and ways to help kids use grammatical structures to improve writing. After all, that's what grammar is for. Grammar learned in isolation is trivia, used in writing it's craft. I'll try to post a link again later when I have a proper review written.

Young Adult/Juvenile Books

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

What the what? That was my first reaction to this book. I had no idea how very scary it was going to be. I was more than a little freaked out while reading this one. Yet, I still want to see the movie.

Early on in the story, Coraline's mom dismisses the relevance of a strange locked door in their parlor after showing Coraline how it merely opens to a bricked up wall, yet when Coraline tries it on her own she finds a passageway. Coraline lives in one part of a house divided into flats. Other occupants are the crazy old man upstairs and the two retired aging actresses.

Ultimately, the book is about a girl who uses a key to open the door between her flat and an unoccupied one on the other side and discovers a rather frightening parallel world on the other side complete with an "other mother" and "other characters" with button eyes. The "other mother" is greedy for Coraline's company and never wants her to leave. Though she looks like her own mother, she seems like a giant spider who's spun an elaborate web in order to trap Coraline who must find a way to save not only herself and her parents but five other souls the "other mother" has previously taken captive.

Creative and fantastical, It's a bit dark and spooky and probably not for young children.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

I read Little Brother in haste trying to decide if I could use it in my Senior Lit summer school class. While I liked it immensely, I decided I'd wait and try to think of a great unit for fall.

First off, Cory Doctorow's book is available for free download here:
http://craphound.com/littlebrother/download/ though I did read a hardcover book format.

Doctorow welcomes the sharing of works and is very much in support of broad copyright laws.

Little Brother is the story of what happens to 17 year old, Marcus and a group of his high school friends the day San Francisco suffers a terrorist attack. They'd skipped school to play an Internet role playing game and were street side trying to escape the crowds after one of their friend was stabbed in the mobs heading for shelter after the bombs blew up in the distance. Suddenly bags are thrown over their heads, the arms are pinned behind their backs and they are cuffed to a pole inside a van. They'd been taken prisoner. At first the reader thinks they've been abducted by the terrorists. Later, we learn it was by homeland security who believed they were suspicious particularly Marcus who demands a lawyer and refuses to give up passwords to his cell phone and other techie equipment he had on his person. The kids are detained in cells and questioned repeatedly for five days before they are released forbidden to tell anyone what happened.

They are forced to lie to their parents who believed they were dead when they never came home. Many, many people are missing because the attacks hit both the Bay Bridge and the Bart tunnel from Embarcadero to the West Oakland station. The Department of Homeland Security has ramped up their surveillance and created "protective" measures everywhere. The city feels like a police state. Marcus doesn't feel safe using the Internet, he knows he's being watched. But he's furious that he and others, innocent people, are being treated like the terrorists the DHS is claiming they are trying to protect them from.

He vows to take down the DHS and the rest of the novel is about how that goes down. The book poses a question of how far the government can and should go in the name of security and defense. It reminds us that we are being watched (note the title... Little Brother... an allusion to 1984!) and monitored. It reminds us that we can become slaves to technology or we can master it and hack it and make the most of it that we can. The book is about freedom and the constitution and the rights of the people. I loved it, and I expect that whether I use this next year with a book club or as part of my curriculum my students will love it too.

In Search of Mockingbird by Loretta Ellsworth

Erin, a MN teen, is struggling with her identity and her father's remarriage. She longs to know her mother and more about her. All she has is a tattered copy of To Kill a Mockingbird with her mother's notes in the margin. She's read that book so many times and it makes her feel closer to her mom. For her birthday her father gives Erin, her mother's diary and Erin is thrilled and hurt that he'd waited so long to share it.

She loves her family, she bears her father no ill will in his upcoming marriage, but she feels like she needs to get away and so she boards a bus for Alabama to meet Harper Lee.

The story reads like Erin is far younger than 16. For some reason I felt like I was reading about a 12 year old. I'm not sure why. Something about her thought processes or your feelings about writing and her mother seemed distinctly younger than the character was meant to be.

On the bus, Erin meets several kind seatmates, strangers who each impact her as much as she impacts them. The heart of the story takes place on the eternal bus ride.

The book is nice, yet not very memorable. Perhaps others will like it more than I did.

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Wicked Lovely has been on my to-read list for months and months. I finally picked it up in May and I wasn't disappointed. I figure if you like Twilight, you'll like Melissa Marr's books. Instead of vampires, she writes about fairies and for some reason I was more interested in this story. Aislinn is a teen whose mother died when she was young and who now lives with her Grandma. They share a secret. They can see fairies. The fairies that are apparently everywhere co-existing around us, pulling pranks and sometimes harming humans and each other. These fairies aren't some dew on flower sprinkling tiny sprites, they are life size, sometimes beautiful, sometimes awful looking creatures. Aislinn's had her whole life to learn the rules and obey them she does. One is never to look at them, to notice they are there, to let them know that she can see them. And never run when being pursued by a fairy.

Aislinn's best friend is a pierced, tattooed man named Seth who lives in a trailer which because of its construct can keep the fairies out. When Aislinn's weary of the fairies or the pretense she knows she can visit Seth and be safe. As the story opens we see the tension between she and Seth as it seems their relationship may be changing into a romantic one. And we see that things are changing in the fairy world. Keenan, the Summer King, is looking for a new love, and once he's made his choice, she'll be powerless to refuse. He has his eye on Aislinn.

The story has myth and mystery, ritual and romance, all interwoven. I enjoyed it immensely for its genre and am looking forward to picking up the next two books in Marr's series.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party by M. T. Anderson

We read Octavian Nothing for book club along side the George Washington: Spymaster book and I felt the two were good complementary texts. This one is a young adult novel which has a rather elevated vocabulary and explores some difficult issues. There was some discussion in our group as to whether or not we'd even call this a "YA book." It was meant to be written in the Gothic style and I think it's a very successful effort in that regard. It's quite neat, actually.

Much of the story is set in Pre-revolutionary war Boston at the home of Mr. Gitney or 03-01 as he prefers to be called (in his numerical system he's devised). There, young Octavian lives with his mother and it's not too long before we discover things are a bit unusual at the Novanglian College of Lucidity which is the official name for Gitney's "operation" in Boston. He has a team of researchers in science and all sorts of philosophical pursuits who come and go and are apparently studying Octavian as well.

The story explores the science and beliefs of the era, racial tensions, mounting tensions between the British and the Patriots, and personal freedoms and responsibilities. Most of the story is told through Octavian's eyes, but there is one section which I rather liked in which a young soldier named Evidence writes letters to his sister Fruition and we learn the events of the story that way.

A great scene in the story, which occurs just before all hell breaks loose, is the Pox Party which lends its name to the title of the book. In this scene Gitney rounds up friends and family and they infect themselves with a low dose of the small pox in an effort to become immune. One book club member commented that the scene reminded them of The Masque of the Red Death.

There is a sequel and if I'd had it handy I might have just kept on reading. I was pretty captivated by this story and am eager to see where it leads.

School Book Club Picks
Luna by Julie Anne Peters

This was a school book club selection and probably not one I would have chosen. Luna is told from the point of view of Regan, the younger sister to Liam/Luna who is a high school senior preparing to transition from boy to girl despite the fact that only his/her younger sister knows the truth of his/her existence. The story approaches struggles within the family, the feelings Regan has as she struggles in Chemistry class, and as a boy she likes shows interest in her at school, and it shows how her struggle to support her sibling is interfering with all aspects of her life.

This particular title was part of a grant our library received and we were given 10 copies to distribute to students and yesterday we met after school to discuss the story. It wasn't universally loved but no one disliked it either. Several were troubled by the ending. It seemed a bit too "pat" for me and at the same time too vague for some students.

Peters' book reminds me of the novel Middlesex; only in that book, the central character Calliope/Cal is actually hermaphroditic. In this story Liam/Luna is transgendered and it was enlightening to us to understand the difference between that and homosexuality. The book brought out some good discussion on gender roles and expectations placed on us by society. It reminded us about family dynamics and it was that bit that really got me. I found myself tearing up or crying at several parts of the book and I guess that is a good sign in that it moved my cynical rock hard heart.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

This book came recommended for a few sources as did all of the John Green books. As a young adult book this one was pretty good. I didn't love it like some of the kids did, but then again I'm not a "young adult." We read it for our fourth after school book club book of the year and a couple kids told me it was their favorite one. I think my favorite was the Sherman Alexie one.

In Green's book, a young man, Miles "Pudge" Halter, moves to Culver Creek boarding school in Alabama in search of something new and exciting. Friendless and bored, he hits the mother lode with a roommate like The Colonel. All the students at the school are pretty smart with a tendency to prank each other and the queen of all pranksters is Alaska Young. The novel follows the friendship of Alaska, Pudge, The Colonel and Takumi throughout that school year.

The story has a fair share of F-bombs and some sex and alcohol in it, and one oral sex scene which caught me off guard, readers be warned. The structure of the book is also a bit unusual. It's a sort of countdown to an event for chapter divisions. "One hundred and twenty-seven days before," "forty-nine days before," and then there is an after section that follows suit. It added to the suspense and anticipation as a reader.

I'm not sure I can really relate to the prep school, boarding school mentality (even if my protagonists are "scholarship" kids) so that was one drawback for me. But the kids in my book group still seemed to feel it was relevant to them and so I guess that's all that really matters, eh? Also I had a chance to MEET John Green at IRA so that was pretty cool too.

Rereads
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I discovered I liked this book as much as I thought upon rereading it for book club--I'd read it a year ago. We all seemed to be enjoying it--not everyone was done. Even though the story includes a hidden Jew, it is an entirely different perspective on the WW II experience.

It seems I've been discovering books like that for a little over a year now. It started with Suite Francaise, a story from the French perspective about the Germans moving in and occupying France during WW II. Then I read Atonement, which was a British perspective that included in the larger novel, the British soldiers' retreat to the French coast near Belgium and the work of the nurses back in England. Next I read The Reader which is more about relationships and choices that specifically about the war, but we are offered glimpses of the German's national guilt following the holocaust. We see one trial in an attempt to bring justice to survivors by prosecuting a handful of concentration camp prison guards.

Finally, The Book Thief is a childhood tale, a story of family and friends and reading and books in the midst of this horrific setting--a small town on the outskirts of Munich in Germany during WW II. It's sweet and funny and tender and loving but every action is shadowed by the world in which they live. It reminded me that people grew up like this. That entire childhoods were sprouted and spent under the shadow of Hitler. With fear lurking dark all around.

The story's narrator is Death and I liked that aspect but because of that the whole construct of the point of view, of that narrative device, the book is a bit wobbly. I found his voice and fascination with color and use of synesthesia to be poetic and lovely, but some have found Zusak's writing style to be suspect.

One twitter friend admits that while she loved it, most in her book club found it just too depressing. I guess I found it uplifting. I felt that Hans and Rosa Hubermann were great heroes and wonderful parents and people. I loved so many small details in this book and the big ideas too. I'd highly recommend this one.

Tale of Despereaux by Kate diCamillo

I read this book when it first came out and enjoyed it, though not as much as my pal Marci did. I like the voice and the style of the book, the way the story has three strands to it. I've heard Kate DiCamillo speak a couple times and she's absolutely fabulous, so I'm always eager to pick up her work. I reread Despereaux for two reasons. One: I was at Marci's and I ended up being part of "storytime" with her kids and even got a guest reader role for a few chapters. That was enough to suck me in to the story and push me to grab a copy from our school library. Two: I wanted to see the movie and needed a refresher.

At this point, I've managed to pick up my own copy for the shelves and still haven't seen the film. I do enjoy DiCamillo's work and would always recommend her. If you can ever see her speak at a conference or a bookstore or wherever she might roam, do not miss it! She's wonderful--dry-deadpan-wit-wonderful!

Graphic Novel
The Savage by David Almond

I bought this book at an IRA booth at a bargain price. It was on my "to read" list, solely for the cool cover! I love Dave McKean's illustrations. They are wild and wonderful. Almond is a British author and his book is a combination of graphic novel and juvenile fiction. It's a mystical blend of the film Stranger Than Fiction and The Secret.
The Savage is about a boy named Blue Baker who's recently lost his dad and is being bullied. He's decided to write a story, this book is his story. He writes about a savage boy who lives alone in Burgess Woods. Blue's story is written with inventive spelling and errors which I found to be a little distracting, though I'm sure Almond was going for authentic kid style. Where this book gets trippy is when Blue's storybook Savage seems to come to life and do things in Blue's world. The story is mildly violent, and a little freaky. I guess it's the sort of thing a young boy might write. Though it's not my favorite book as of late, I did think it was inventive and unusual and the artwork was great!

Nonfiction
George Washington, Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War by Thomas B. Allen

While this book had a cool premise and lots of great resources I felt it was dry, too brief, and confusing as a result. I am all about the spy world and so learning about a founding father through that lens was neat.

The book is aimed at young readers and maybe if they were already studying the Revolutionary War this would make sense to them. However, I felt like there were so many names thrown at me with little sense of who they were or how they connected. It was a lot to keep track of and it just seemed like the author could have have delved a little deeper with each one to bring the reader into the personality and character of the various players in the story.

The notes at the end of the book that corresponded with the chapters were particularly fun. I also can see how some might get a real kick out of trying to write things in Tallmadge's code which is provided in the back of the book. The author includes a lot of websites where one can view other primary source materials and I thought that was a real bonus. Ultimately though, I didn't love the book and I really wanted to.

Fiction
The Reader by Bernard Schlink

When I saw the film version of The Reader I instantly wanted to discuss it with someone. The ending was mystifying to me. I wanted to know how the two characters truly "felt" toward one another. Was it actually love? Was it love for both of them? I was struck by the story and immediately added the book to my "to read" list with hopes that a written version might add in a bit more explanation or narrative element complete with a bigger glimpse into the characters thoughts as if that would help me to understand better than the intense looks and implied emotions through action in the film.

What I discovered is that I actually knew LESS at times while reading the book. It seemed like there were some extra bits in the middle of the book. For some reason I don't recall him visiting with his father about the situation with Hanna at the trial... I think in the film he sees his professor. The ending was rather spot on.

Overall, I think the film was VERY well done and Kate Winslet was a terrific Hanna. I liked the book and it provided a very good book club discussion. I liked that the focus on the Holocaust was only minimal and while that colored and shaped much of what was going on in the book there was so much more. It was about personal responsibility, choices, and guilt.

To read this book in isolation would have been less satisfying for me than reading it and then discussing it with me book group.


Films watched in April and May
Star Trek
Wonder Woman (an animated film released in 2009)
The Women (1939)
The Women (2008)
Brideshead Revisited
New in Town

Music listened to in April and May
4 disc set of US Number Ones
with songs from the 50s, 60s, and 70s grouped by category:

• Diners and Doo Wop (1955-1960)
• Swingers and Sweethearts(1960-1964)
• British Invasion (1964-1966)
• Motor City (1966-1979)

Travel tunes to and from IRA
"My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson

The Weepies -- Say I am You
Joan Jett -- Fit to Be Tied Greatest Hits
Kid Rock -- Rock n Roll Jesus
Hairspray The Soundtrack to the Motion Picture Musical

Other favorite songs from May
"Stagger Lee" by Lloyd Price
"Careless Whisper" by Seether

anything by Susan Boyle
Here's her singing Cry Me a River, for example. (love that song!)