An apology and a brief description

I apologize for the ridiculous subject line on the last past. I was just trying to express how cold I was.

Thanksgiving Break has been lovely.

Wednesday Tammy and Diana and I finally got away from campus after getting our stuff in Tammy's car and after I returned the library key that I accidentally stole. Good thing I checked my pockets. That's where I put it when I opened up the library that morning.

Holiday traffic was 1 mph for about half an hour, but the rest was reasonable, especially the extra hour we picked up on leaving Indiana.

Tammy dropped me off at Ardith's apartment in Cedar Rapids. This was super because it took 2 hours off my trip home and gave me an Evening with Ardith. We enjoyed potato soup and bills and eggnog and a pathetic excuse for a superhero movie called Daredevil, which I wouldn't recommend seeing unless you watch it with Ardith.

The next morning Ardith drove us up to home in her snazzy Jetta. Dinner was planned for 2:15 p.m. and was on the table by 2:30 p.m. Truly a record! All the kids had been starving to death for nearly two hours, then they were stuffed an hour later.

After dinner we dozed around a while. I made two pies and we watched Lord of the Beans, which is a real hoot to watch, especially with our family!

Thank the Lord for a Thanksgiving so different from last year!

On Friday Daddy and Jason changed our vehicles to snow tires and Ardith changed hers. I didn't do much besides lugging bricks and checking tire pressures.

We also took Family Pictures. One was supposed to be serious. As soon as the camera snapped, everyone burst out laughing. Try explaining that one.

Ardith finally got away after being detained all day for said Family Picture. After supper the rest of us kids watched a western and absolutely laughed our heads off!

Today I hurt my brain while trying to make my thesis paper behave. It finally straightened itself out after I stopped.

Tomorrow is departure time after church services. I expect I'll try to finish editing my thesis paper on the way back and write a 3-page French paper when I need a break from that. And we'll lose that hour back to the Daylight Savings wormhole, but that's all right - better at school than at home. And it's back to survival mode for about two-and-a-half weeks.

Please pardon all the missing commas and terrible style. It's just Break, that's all.

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...........

I was about ready to complain about freezing to death. It's 65 degrees F. in our room and I have on a long-sleeved shirt and a turtleneck and a sweater (and I'm still cold).

But, I just learned that our suitemate's room is closer to 60 degrees, as is the room of our RA, who has, incidentally, put in a request to get the heat turned up.

It's all for a good cause. They may only raise our tuition by $500 instead of $1000 next year.

Who said Iowa is rural?

Student Universe (the service with which I purchased my ticket to France) just informed me of a great new deal. $560 for Des Moines - Frankfurt, roundtrip, direct.

Any takers?

Can it already be Sunday night?

I should post again before the weekend completely disappears. It has been a good week and a good weekend. Plenty of time to work on projects and relatively little sleep deprivation.

This week promises to be busier. Besides the usual round of work, classes, and meals, I have church directory pictures on Monday night, a French movie on Thursday night, a Spanish class to teach for Professor Navarro on Friday, and French Optimist Club Friday night.

Thanks to a well-chosen prize for a scavenger hunt and a lovely box from church family at home, my chocolate drawer is well-stashed. I should have enough to write two 9-page papers and a 20-page paper and a speech before Thanksgiving Break.

More important than all that, though - praise the Lord for His goodness!

To whom it may concern

I got my flu shot.

Milestone

Melinda's joining the teenage ranks today!

Happy 13th birthday, Melinda. :)

Sorry I'm late

I completely forgot to do this yesterday.

Happy 11th birthday, Carolyn! :)

Mommy has two photos and commentary.

The ceremony

Precisely a little after 2:00 p.m., all 17 of us filed into Ashman Chapel for the Alpha Chi induction ceremony. Dr. Dilling read our names, one by one. Each of us walked up the aisle, lighted our little candle at a larger one on the table, turned to face the audience and recited the following pledge: "I pledge myself to uphold the purposes of Alpha Chi, striving to make its ideals my ideals in scholarship and in service." The little cardboard candle holders could double as cheat sheets. I didn't write mine down and only suffered one six-second panic attack as I was waiting to walk up and couldn't recall the verb after "I... " Commit? Give? Dedicate? Thankfully, it hopped back into my mind just in time.

After reciting the pledge, each of us walked over to sign the register and shake several hands (including President Manahan's) while hearing our respective advisors say nice things about us. We lined up in the back, everyone recited the Alpha Chi motto You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free; then after applause we were allowed to sit down and hear the address. My wonderful Professor Schram was the speaker this year. Afterwards they had us all get on the podium for pictures. It was very odd to stand up there and see several cameras flashing at once.

!!

I just purchased my ticket to France!

Homecoming ain't nothin' like home

Tonight was Homecoming at Grace. Six of us girls dressed up and walked to the cafeteria to eat by candlelight... I mean, by lighthouses and Chinese lanterns (that would make more sense if you knew that this year's theme was nautical and last year's theme was Oriental). We enjoyed our conversation over a two-course dinner, then trekked down the hill to Rody Auditorium for the variety show, which was, as usual, low in talent but high (relative to person observing, anyway) in comedy. Hmm, I just realized that they never announced a winner! They did show off the Homecoming Court of popular-people-on-campus and crown a king and queen. What do you know, the Student Body President was the king. Afterward we finally got out of the auditorium and went back to the cafeteria and stood in line to get our dessert. After two experiments, I've discovered that chocolate and chai are an especially effective combination for my stomach.

My absolutely favorite part of the whole evening? Coming back to our quiet little dorm room. The others went off to go rollerskating till around curfew (1 a.m.), so I have the room all to myself. Whew. I was starting to feel the effects of people shock.

Why look forward to these 'social events', only to rejoice in getting away from them?

Posting will be more frequent after this. That's a promise.

Time in

It's now pretty evident that little public demand exists to keep this blog going. Good thing, because then I can take an unannounced two-week break whenever I feel like it.

Not much has happened in the last sixteen days. That first weekend was a very relaxing Fall Break and little homework. The next two weeks were full of insomnia and little more homework.

Today I slept in till 7 a.m. and have all day free for homework.

Everyone enjoy the last three days of October!

Stem cell research just hit home

BBC:

The [study's] aim will be to determine whether adult stem cells taken from bone marrow can repair damaged heart muscle.

. . .

A second arm [of the study] will involve 200 patients whose hearts are failing specifically because of dilated cardiomyopathy - a heart muscle disorder.

Read more.

Midterms week

Hopefully, with that subject line, I can skip the introductory apology!

I only had two tests this week. Tuesday evening I spent an hour and a half writing answers to essay questions and putting a dent in my thumb. Then I worked on calculus with some others till about 11:30 P.M. Today I enjoyed an open-notes test on three hours of sleep. Let me tell you, three hours is extremely substantial compared to zero!

Fall Break is this weekend. Two lovely days off, two lovely days of work.

I'm going to bed.

Guess what!

I was studying the literary paradigm of Biblical interpretation and came across the word ontological. Aside from instantly recognizing it as one of those vague philosophical terms, I also instantly knew the definition had something to do with "being", but I didn't know how... except that Greek had something to do with it. Having none of my Greek books at hand, I used Dictionary.com to verify the definition ("of or relating to essence or the nature of being"), then with Etymonline to verify the etymology. Yes, the onto- part comes from Greek ontos, genitive masculine singular of on, present participle of einai, "to be".

That just made my day!


This is also my first post from the laptop Daddy fixed up for me. It's so much fun to use. I have much still to figure out, including how to select words to link. So I'll refer you to the sidebar if you want to double-check my sources.

Four days

It's been a good weekend.

Thursday was Language Table over lunchtime. A faithful few of us who showed up at 11 a.m. stayed, as usual, till about 2 p.m., when our professor had a faculty meeting. The Spanish speakers have a table all to themselves, and the French and German speakers share another one... for those of us who know both, it can be an exciting table.

Thursday night was French Movie Night. We watched Bon Voyage. I don't think I've ever muttered "Tu es stupide" to the characters so many times during a movie. Good movie.

Friday night I went down the hill for some free cobbler and ice cream and saw the Cotton Patch Gospel production. This link doesn't have the right actors, but it should give you an idea.

Saturday afternoon I walked over to (Great-) Uncle Solon and Aunt Kathryn's house. Aunt Kathryn got up a little tea-party for us: cake and ice cream and sandwiches and chips, and tea of course... and they even convinced me to put some creamer in it. Afterwards we played a game of Scrabble. I think I only won by virtue of having ibex on a triple word score. They kept me thinking hard. Aunt Kathryn tells me that she and Uncle Solon play a game almost every night, and he usually wins.

After church today, I finished most of the week's homework in about five hours, then did some more.

Now it's off to bed and a new week!

I Didn't Do It

No, it was someone over at Computer Services (GCCS). Fall cleaning time came around and I got wiped from the system. Now, according to the campus network, I no longer exist.

I discovered this astonishing fact at 3:30 P.M. This is the time I start work in the language lab on Wednesday afternoon. This is also the time the GCCS helpdesk (and phone) closes. Fortunately, my professor placed a call that cheated the system and went through to someone in the mysterious rooms behind the helpdesk, where no student save the selectively inducted ITer has ever entered.

My existence should be re-established sometime today. In the meantime, my wonderful roommate is letting me use her identity to access the Internet.

Darker

Today I had a square of this, courtesy of Prof. Schram.

Daddy and Mommy, maybe it's time to upgrade from Dove's. Lindt 85% cocoa is incredibly intense. Mmmmm.....

After the Sunday night homework

Today I figured out why we have pencils. Pencils are for non-math majors taking math classes. That, or a pen + lots of scratch paper.

I sincerely wanted to type out for you some of the ridiculous algebraic contortions a few problems sent me through today, but it just wouldn't work, at least not on Blogger. Fortunately I'm not a math major and I don't have to now regret not selecting a blogging service that has such capabilities.

Hopefully you don't get the impression that I don't enjoy Calculus I. Believe it or not, I do... mostly. It's just that math class, for me, is more of a foreign language class than the foreign languages classes I've taken. Let's hope this means I'm fulfilling my culture shock requirement before going overseas.

Hopefully, as well, I will soon have the time to sit down and write a long, substantial post. Just don't count on it.

Multilingualism

Not very surprising that 50% of Europeans speak at least two languages. Europe nearly has to be multilingual, especially tiny countries such as Luxembourg, squeezed in between countries of greater geographic and economic power.

I do feel sorry for all those Americans who only have access to the English-speaking world!

Super

My passport came!

It was being processed through New Orleans.

Now I can look for an airline ticket to France.

No literary gimmicks

The "Bible itself"?

I don't think so.

A few of my favorite words

I discovered another expression to add to my collection!

"That is out of control."

When I heard the RD in my class utter it, I felt a tingling sensation. When the same person said it a second time, I felt a deep thrill. Yes, here was a new one! Is there anything more exciting for a collector than stumbling across a new item for a change - so new, yet so obvious, that it leaps at you?

Here are a few more from my collection:

totally
like
scary
cool
random
amazing

... and, my personal favorite:

"It's huge."

Oh, I forgot to give the list a title. I'll just put it last.

Vocabulary That No One Will Ever Hear Me Utter

(Publisher's note: The above list is incomplete. Items for consideration and publication are always welcome.)

. . . yawn . . .

There really isn't much to tell. My weekend was quiet. I wasn't even scheduled to work at the library. I've had a Saturday shift for the last three weekends, which makes three out of four weekend shifts for the semester.

But I did work at the library. About halfway into a quiet afternoon and four sips into a hot cup of tea, my phone rang. The girl at the library had just had a piece break off one of her teeth. So I took over for 1.75 hours.

It's nearly 10:30 and I am nearly falling asleep. High time for bed.

For she's a jolly good mother!

Yesterday my mother celebrated her 47th birthday. Happy birthday, Mommy! Of course, you know I didn't forget your birthday... I just happened to not think of it on that day (till you posted).

Time sure flies. It seems like just five years ago you were telling people you were 42.

Eat lots of chocolate to celebrate! I will too.

Pommes et étudiants

Thanks to my lovely mother who sent apples right off the trees from home. :)


I propose that we need more Navajo and Pueblo values in college classes today.

At the University of New Mexico, a typical class may include several Navajo or Pueblo students. They are unlikely to ask questions during class sessions or to volunteer answers to the teacher's questions. To do so would be culturally inappropriate; it would not be the Native American way. When a teacher calls on one of the Native Americans with a question, there is usually a pause of several seconds. The impatient teacher is likely to call on another student rather than wait for a response. From the Native American student's viewpoint, an important question should not be answered immediately, without carefully thinking out the answer.

-- Rogers & Steinfatt, Intercultural Communication

Or maybe I'm just biased. Maybe no one else finds it difficult to rapidly generate good responses for classroom interaction.

I wonder, is extrovertedness a characteristic of personality, or of culture, or of both?

Fall begins today

My roommate and I were walking back from supper and agreeing that it was there... the feel of autumn. Maybe a change in the wind after the drizzles this morning. I hope we have a long, long autumn this year.

Finally a free evening, free for scampering around in socks, doing laundry and studying two hours in a row! It doesn't get better than this.

Of course

"In 1311 [Ramon Lull] attended the Council of Vienne, where he presented a number of proposals, including, of course, 'that there should be builded certain places where certain persons, devout and of lofty intelligence should study diverse languages to the end that they might preach the holy Gospel to all nations.' "

--Smith, The Gift of the Stranger

Note my italicized words.

Fall 2005

I am getting so amazingly good at not posting very often!

Here are my classes.

Calculus I, 11:00-11:50 MWF

We're just in pre-calculus review right now, and we have a patient and understanding professor. One of the girls in my class loves calculus like I love languages... I got her extension!

Intercultural Communication, 14:00-15:20 MW

Very interesting, good professor, nice majority of language majors in the class.

Healthy Lifestyles, 18:15-20:00 M

Oh yes, those wonderful mandatory physical education classes. This one isn't too hard, just a lot of busy work and mandatory exercise. So much for my lovely morning walk, since I have to get my heart rate over 120.

Language Senior Seminar, 12:30-14:00 TR

I get to take this with seven others (six seniors and one junior) who have all already studied abroad. But it's a fall class and I'll be in Argentina next fall. It's interesting, good to hear experiences and perspectives of others. We don't exactly meet on Thursdays; instead, we all eat lunch and speak French, German, and Spanish at our weekly language tables in the cafeteria. The big project is a 20-page paper and presentation at the end of the semester.

Study Abroad Briefing, 14:00-15:00 T

Small class, homework is all reading or getting VISAs and other study-abroad arrangements done. Hopefully my passport will be ready in time. It was being processed in New Orleans.

Old Testament, 18:30-21:00 T

Another lovely night class, held in a local church, interesting. Our professor encouraged us not to take notes.


It's a good class schedule. Mondays and Tuesdays are pretty full, then the week starts tapering off. So, my weekend is beginning just about now. No class tomorrow!

Besides classes, I work in the library eight hours a week and at the Language Department six hours a week. Both jobs are enjoyable, especially with some new and more interest-specific projects they've given me.

Now that I finally have a partially free evening, I should study.

Philosophy from calculus

I know, I know... blog posts of a language nut like me should be on language, not mathematics. Well, just think of this as mathematics translated into English. Professor Dilling said something in class last week that instantly popped a new life-axiom into my head (those sayings that are so much fun to formulate and sound great but have little practical value since you never recall them):

Life is like a square. You can't just take the positive.

I just remembered that I promised updates on classes, especially now that I've had a proper week... maybe tomorrow.

Just a vapor

Today I learned that my life expectancy as an American woman is 79.5 years. That means my life is already 25% gone. What a sobering thought.


Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

James 4:14


As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, eighty years,
Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow;
For soon it is gone and we fly away.
Who understands the power of Your anger
And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?
So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:10-12

Speaker's Corner

Today was my first time to hear of this place. Our chapel speaker for this week often debates Muslims there. Sounds like a stimulating spot to visit!

Tonight's front page

Good news - Internet is back in my room!

Bad news - IM has not come back with it.

Discovery - There may be a big difference between 5 classes totaling 15 credit hours and 6 classes totaling 15 credit hours. It manages to hide somewhere between the 15 hours and 15 hours.

Books!

I thought it would be fun to share my latest buys. No time to link everything... if you're really curious, you can track them down.

About a week ago...

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain
The Call of the Wild, Jack London
The House of the Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ragged Dick and Mark, the Match Boy: Two Novels by Horatio Alger
Silas Marner, George Eliot

Today, the library had a "massive book sale" (read: a few carts)...

Milton and the English Mind, F. E. Hutchinson
Prayer: Conversing with God, Rosalind Rinker
A History of Education in Antiquity, H. I. Marrou
A Short History of the Chinese People, L. Carrington Goodrich
The Hundred Years War, Edouard Perroy (no, I'm not missing an apostrophe)
The Encyclopedia: Selections, Denis Diderot, edited and translated by Stephen J. Gendzier
The Messiah, G. F. Händel, edited by T. Tertius Noble, revised according to Händel's orginial score by Max Spicker

That last set of 7 cost me $3.60.

Still breathing

Sorry to be so unconnected to the blogging world... either publishing or commenting. Internet connection seems to be down in the rooms. I don't really enjoy fighting it out for one of the three lobby computers. Thank goodness for a quiet language lab on a Friday evening.

Don't worry, I won't waste Friday night on a computer. The French Optimist Club of Winona Lake is meeting at 7 p.m. tonight. How lovely to be surrounded by French! Tonight's topic is "Islam en France, depuis l'an 732." That is, "Islam in France, since the year 732." Without breaking one of those essential college student rules -- Thou shalt not study-or-do-anything-remotely-academic-on-Friday-night -- and checking on the date, can I hasard a guess that 732 is about when the Moors were pushing into Europe?

Actually, I don't plan on following the Friday Night Rule. This will be a busy semester. I'll give you all the thrilling details once I've attended the first sessions of my last two classes next week. Anyway, it's been a short week. I should be allowed to study if I want to, right?

Today I found a package slip in my mailbox. 5 p.m. on a Friday. There's a reason to look forward to Monday.

Four days later. . .

Now that I've had my first class, do you think I should post?

I never wanted any night classes, until scheduling pushed me into two this fall. Suddenly, night classes became a wonderful thing.

-This is something like the macaroni and cheese epiphany I experienced several years back. Ardith always loved it, I tolerated it, till she went to college... then, somehow, it became delicious.-

Old Testament is going to be real suffering. We have to read assigned sections every week, take a five-question quiz, listen to a lecture... and then prove we've done some thinking, by participating in discussion. Then there are the exams. These consist of questions we'll be given ahead of time, study for, prepare for, bring notes and anything else we want except the answer itself - then write the answer in class.

Of course, there will be two papers. All in all, it should be a good class.

To kick off the real start of classes tomorrow, GSO sponsored an ice cream social. Now everyone can get revved up on sugar for a late night. Brilliant, right?

It's so much fun to get into classes and homework again, talk to professors and friends and acquaintance again. God is good.

Arrived

I'm here!

Actually, I was here yesterday. But we just now finished connecting my computer to the Grace network and thus to the Internet.

Daddy and I left around 9:30 Thursday morning. He even asked me whether I wanted to drive first or second! So I drove the first few hours, then we filled up the tank, then Daddy drove. About 2:00 P.M. we stopped to pull out Mommy's delicious lunch. Daddy thought it would be interesting to try taking 30 straight over to Warsaw, instead of the usual 80 south of Chicago. So we enjoyed the historic old Lincoln highway, driving through scenic towns, and watching the temperature gauge climb way up to "H". But we made it. Daddy has a fan running that will keep the engine from exploding till he gets home. Meanwhile, he has been able to visit some long-time friends and family in the area.

Today was very productive. I got my key, my box number - they didn't give mine away - my network and Internet connection, my new ID card. My German and Spanish finals were easy, for which I was thankful!

It was lovely to talk to my language professors and the library staff again, and spend time with friends. Daddy and I had supper with the Tysons tonight.

Daddy's driving home tomorrow. He has been a wonderful help in setting me up. I'm glad we had a little extra time together.

Rachel and I have an early-morning appointment with Goodwill tomorrow. So, good night!

Leaving

Daddy and I are driving out to Grace College tomorrow. If you read this, you can pray for us.

No retirement

Use it or lose it. . . your brain, that is.

Out of Context, August Edition

This may be the last one for a while.


Mommy: "I think I'm getting too old to have all these kids."
Carolyn: "Don't worry, we'll be leaving soon."

Derek: "You must be exceedingly rich to be able to sponsor a graveyard for butterflies."

Ethan: "What can horses do? They could make you lose your lives, even!"

Trevor (helping poke the bread dough): "One, two, three, two, eleven!"

Jason: "That seems too slow to sing Hallelujah... It's like a dirge."

Carolyn: "I want progress, not downfall."

Carolyn: "I kind of hate to say it, Melinda, but when you snore... you sound kind of like a pig."
Melinda: "Well, you sound like a motor!"

Carolyn (watching the sunset with Melinda and me): "All I can hear are the crickets... and the wind blowing in the leaves and plants, and Melinda's bike squeaking."

Saddish sweetness

This is turning out to be a nostalgic weekend...

Yesterday I worked for the last time and made bread for the last time. How sad. I'm really going to miss my utility knife and yeast.

Last night I watched Return to Me. I thought it would be fitting, and, of course, I just felt like watching it. First time I saw this movie was soon after Daddy went on the heart transplant list. Needless to say, Return to Me is not just a movie; it is a very particularly personal movie.

Speaking of Daddy, today was his birthday! 54 years... or 10 years... or 9 months.... or however you'd like to calculate it (for this link, disregard the picture and look for the numbers). What does the exact time matter? Life itself is enough. Praise the Lord for His goodness!

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Psalm 118:1

"An Islamic Caliphate in Seven Easy Steps"

I found this on Spiegel this morning, hunted it up in English tonight, since you'd rather read the article than my attempts at translation and analysis.

Jordanian journalist Fouad Hussein, former prisonmate and near-confidante of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has done some interviewing in terrorist circles and come up with "al-Qaeda's potential strategy for the next two decades."

"What is interesting is that major attacks against the West are not even mentioned by Fouad Hussein. Terrorism here cannot be ignored -- but it seems these attacks simply supplement the larger aim of setting up an Islamic caliphate. Attacks such as those in New York, Madrid and London would in this case not be ends in themselves, but rather means to a [sic] achieve a larger purpose -- steps in a process of increasing security in the West."

Read the whole article, it's interesting.

Shooting tonight

Want to catch some of the Perseid meteors? Contrary to popular opinion, you don't have to set that alarm for 3:00 A.M. This meteor shower is supposed to peak at 7:00 E.T., which means 6:00 A.M. for those of us on Central. . . high time everyone should be up, anyway. You just won't be able to see any then.

October's the month

Michael Reagan's coming to speak at Winona Lake's American Lyceum Lecture. How exciting!

But this lecture is scheduled for October 20th, 7:30 P.M., on a Thursday evening. My cousin Nathan is marrying Elizabeth the next day.

How will this work?

In case I can squeeze both in, this is one of the few good reasons not to participate in Festival Chorus this fall, as practice regularly falls on Thursday evening, 7:00-9:00 P.M.

Just life

Who could spend six hours driving and shopping and talking, and love it? Only three girls! That's what we did Sunday... Sarah has some pictures and Rebekah has some write-up.

Today Trevor and I had a nice little conversation, while I was working and he was watching. We established that: he likes ants and dislikes crickets; all planes are big; he would like to go to the moon someday and plans to get back down by means of our ladder; big dogs might not eat him; my work was hard, and we were both hot. Thankfully, lunchtime came and rescued us.

And I came across another wonderful German word!

Quadratisch

It's pronounced kvah-dra-tish.

What does it mean?

Guess!

Okay, I'll tell you. It means square (the adjectival form). How delightful to connect anything square with those truly beautiful quadratic equations (that is, truly beautiful when they come out nicely). I think we should take this even farther... why say "Shape up!" when you can say "Quadratish up!"

This was a good one

Only Saturday night, and it's already been a super weekend!

Friday afternoon I drove down to Cedar Rapids to visit Ardith and spend the night. We had fun, naturally! We watched movies, ran errands, and Ardith fixed us delicious stir-fry.

Ardith wants to tell you about the Saturday shopping.

So I got to drive four hours, and spend time with Ardith, and then come back to find my calculus book waiting for me. The list price is $151.16, and I bought it for $25.00. That's 16.54% of the list price, which means I saved $126.16, or 83.46%. Not bad, right?

This semester I may spend less than $100 on textbooks!

Conversation

I despise "blog rants". So you will never hear me "rant" on this blog... or in person, hopefully. That said, if I were a ranter, and if I wanted to rant about anything, I'm sure my ranting would be over weblog comments.

There must be two philosophies of comment out there.

The first person says, "Oh, good, someone commented on my blog. Now I'll go to their blog and leave a comment in response to their comment on mine."

The second person says, "Oh, good, someone commented on my blog. So naturally I'll respond to their comment on my blog with a comment of my own on my blog."

Now, the question is how each person thinks...

The first person thinks, "Here we are: two people having a conversation, only it's online. Obviously I'm talking to this person and not just carrying on a thought, so I'll respond on this friend's own site."

The second person thinks, "Here someone is: a friend is commenting, and I want to carry on the conversation by responding. Naturally, we're both interested in what we're discussing, and we'll both keep returning to the same place to carry it on."

This first method (not the person) frustrates me slightly, since it results in very disjointed conversation. If I were ever to read over old posts and comments, who knows if I could dig up the relevant comments from others' blogs? But each to their own.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the first method focuses on the people involved, while the second focuses on the topic of discussion. Naturally, we need both people and a topic for conversation. May I just say that the second method seems slightly more logical?

Derek's Knowledge Test

1. Gaius (Caligula) was the third Roman Emperor. True / False

2. A conjunction is a statement of equality. True / False

3. New Delhi is the capital of India. True / False

4. 54.9380 is the atomic weight of chromium (Cr). True / False

5. R. L. Dabney wrote The Mysterious Island. True / False

6. Matthew is the longest Gospel of the Bible. True / False

7. The Visigoths were the western Goths. True / False

8. Cambodia lies in Southwest Asia. True / False

9. Thunder comes from lightning's tremendous heat. True / False

10. 2(15 + 3) = 6(6) is a true equation. True / False


If you submit your answers, Derek will score them.

Heard

Two alarming events happened today!

Coming in from working, I stopped short, on hearing three measures from Mommy's Three Tenors CD that I didn't recognize.

A reporter mentioned "500 bucks" on a radio news program. Now I ask you... is that professional?

Till then

When a successful Internet connection and my online time actually coincide, I may be able to post!

Happy August.

hmmm...

If you're having trouble accessing this blog, let me know. I've been receiving varied reports.

Sorry, no posting tonight. Time to improve on last night's 1.5 hours. Good night.

Housekeeping

Tonight I made the switch from Public to Private. My brothers and sisters read this blog, and I'd rather not increase their vocabulary with words I've never even heard myself... even if that exposure comes very indirectly and unintentionally. This weblog began as a private venture (originally just to comment on my mom's blog) and it will remain private, especially so I can keep in touch with my beloved family while I'm overseas next year.

By the way... if your blog is linked on the sidebar, and you want me to remove it, let me know, and I will be happy to do so. Not happy to take you off, but happy to respect your wishes in any way.

If your blog isn't linked on the sidebar, and you would like me to add it, let me know, and I will be happy to consider that.

A prayer for the day

I am not sure I know which Collect this is. But its words are good to ponder, as we all have work to do.

Guide us, O Lord, amidst the trials and conflicts of our daily life, and fill our hours of occupation with thy presence; that daily work may become to us a high vocation, and that we may learn the dignity of labour, and make it a freewill offering to thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Now publishing

Whoops! There went the week!

As Mommy mentioned, Daddy was working on the plumbing last week. The most exciting day was Tuesday, when Kendra and I had a Bible study at 7:00 p.m. Somehow this was not communicated to Daddy. He started his work around 4:30, and I stopped my work around 6:00 to take a shower and wash the vegetables we were bringing. (It was Taco Salad night.)

Whoops! No water!

Daddy worked quickly and eventually had the cold water up for us. So we washed and chopped the tomatoes and lettuce. Then he glued the hot water pipes... unfortunately, the glue didn't plan to hold. So he held the pipes together for us while we finished showering (unbeknownst to us, although we were already speeding, since it was well after 7:00). Fortunately we live only five minutes away from our church friends, and thankfully we have a wonderful father!

In other news, I ended up with three nearly-cold showers during the last week. This had nothing to do with the plumbing, and everything to do with the washer and the dishwasher and certain persons who like to steam off well in the shower. It's amazing how fast one can shower when the hot water is disappearing! So, I was doubly blessed with extra time and extra thankfulness that we have showers at all.

This week was also the one we (Jason, Kendra, and myself) settled on for our summer viewing of the Lord of the Rings films. Of course, we had to watch them at night, for two reasons...

1) The younger kids aren't allowed to see them yet.
2) How can anyone watch them in the daylight?

We also had to time the last one (nearly 4.5 hours) to fall on a Friday night, so we could all sleep in... theoretically.

It was fun. :)

I was willing to sacrifice a little sleep for such a good cause, especially so I could work during the day. It would be ridiculous to take time off work just for movies. For some undoubtedly unrelated reason, a cold finally grabbed hold of me, but I should have it kicked off by tomorrow.

After work and sleep and language study, there isn't much time left for posting, especially when our wireless connection keeps cutting out. But I'll try not to let a whole week go by this time.

Into the midst of such busyness come those little bright spots, such as this lovely bag, designed by my lovely friend and embroidered by her lovely mother. I thought you'd like to see it!
(Of course, she put some chocolate inside...!)

Dark is good

The job description for this blog requires its writer to inform said writer's audience on the latest medical updates.

Today's article (via the New York Times) brings that long-awaited success story: How to experience a "clinically meaningful decline" in your blood pressure!

Any debate over the previously linked article is welcomed by the blog writer at some risk to the writer's reputation with The Hierarchy.

Ridiculous to sublime

Last night we had our biannual viewing of Pirates of the Caribbean. (I had to get out the dictionary again just now, because I always get biannual and biennial mixed up; every time I reformulate some way to use the a and e to distinguish them, and every time I forget it.) Jason decided it would be biannual. However, this was about my seventh time - more or less - and I almost fell asleep. The movie has become less frightening and more funny.

This afternoon Kendra and I went out for a movie and ice cream to celebrate her sixteenth birthday. Turning sixteen definitely merits some celebration! Happy birthday, Kendra.

We saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was different and the same. Same story with a different feel.


My mind is running in German just now, so I thought I would share The Lord's Prayer with you. It is very beautiful... I'm sorry you can't hear it.

Vater unser im Himmel,
Geheiligt werde dein Name.
Dein Reich komme.
Dein Wille geschehe,
wie im Himmel so auf Erden.
Unser tägliches Brot gib uns heute.
Und vergib uns unsre Schuld
wie auch wir vergeben unseren Schuldigern.
Und führe uns nicht in Versuchung,
sondern erlöse uns von dem Bösen.
Denn dein ist das Reich
und die Kraft
und die Herrlichkeit
in Ewigkeit.

Amen.

Out of Context, June / July edition

Some of these do need context.

Family

Nolan (regarding his coleslaw): "I wish I could have hotslaw."

Coming back from Texas, Ardith attempting to follow Daddy...
Ardith: "See, this is the problem with Daddy. He can't turn around!"

When the dishwasher pipes were going in...
Nolan: "Pipe cement is very bad for you."
Daddy (snorts): "Just breathing it can make you sick!"
Nolan: "Then you have to have a cough drop."

Derek and Carolyn playing Romans, Ethan playing their slave...
Derek: "Please? Carolyn, you're saying please? You don't say please to a slave."

Looking out for Uncle Stan's in Georgia...
Trevor: "Is it a white house?"
Nolan: "Umm, yes, I think."
Trevor: "Is it a white house, Mommy?"
Mommy: "I don't remember."
Nolan: "Or maybe it's painted - blue! Or - red!"
Trevor: "Yes, it's not a white house, it's a blue house!"
Nolan: "Or maybe it's green."
Trevor: "Yes, it's a green house! It's a green house, Mommy."

Mommy: "Trevor, do you have to talk all the time?"
Trevor: "Yes, Mommy, I have to talk all the time."


Heard on the radio

"Spend less on hotels and more on power tools!"

"The carnage will be devastating. AND YOU'LL BE THERE!"

Sudden existence!

Sorry it has taken me so long to put up links for weblogs of friends. Originally I'd wanted to ask everyone personally... finally decided that the courtesy was becoming less than courteous, as I never got around to it.

The married persons have a proper title before their name. Nope, this is not to divide everyone into "single" and "married" status. This is because I still don't feel comfortable using first names where I've used the title so long. So I extended the rule to all married persons.

This is another reason I like Blogger. My friends can have real names and not just screen names.

A mother's third eye

Today my junk mail inbox announced, "Peace of Mind is only $75 at Geeks.com."

Mommy, this is what you should have had, especially to strap on to the kid in question. Then again, maybe it's not too late! (Actually, they need to create one that reads the child's mind.)

You know, everybody, Mommy's birthday is coming up... in a couple months...

Ouch!

If this red hurts your eyes, don't look at me. Jason hacked into my blog.

A little story of a movie

(This was due for publication last night, but the Internet was a little crowded)

While down at the Hoyt reunion in Georgia, some of us (some of us between the ages of 16 and 28) saw The Village. This won't be a critique, just my impressions. But if you haven't seen it yet and don't want any spoiler, you can stop reading now.

We really had the perfect setting for this movie: we were in a little cabin-style home stuck away off a dirt road in the Georgia woods. It was after 1 A.M., and our seating - couch, chairs, and floor - had its back to the door to the deck and windows overlooking the deck. Of course, someone was kind enough to turn off all the lights. My cousin Laura and I were on the floor, a good strategic move since it put the couch between us and the windows.

The first scenes left two distinct impressions. One was a man crying over his son's coffin, so I immediately concluded that the movie would be sad and frightening. The second could have been a scene from an early Thanksgiving feast: a long row of tables and everyone dressed rather old-fashioned. Being pretty dense, I immediately rewinded my mind a few centuries. It all seemed a little Puritan, kind of somber, no red allowed, too gaudy, or too... something. Everyone spoke oddly, too well and almost archaically. And there was a village council. Make that a progressive Puritan village where women sat on the council and talked at least as much as the men. Oh yes, they were religious too, down to the priests in yellow cloaks tossing the devoted meat onto a huge flat altar - ah, rock... stone. But this was a religion driven by fear.

I suppose I should have figured out that They weren't really monsters... finally one of Them actually appeared, could have been a person dressed up. But it had to be an Outside person hostile to the village. Truth didn't strike me till Walker told Ivy, and that was an immense relief... very welcome relief, because the sound technicians kept blasting bursts of bass at us, especially at the frequent startling moments. Laura must have jumped a little higher than I did, since the others teased her and not me. I was glad to have someone else share my reactions, and occasionally voice them, which I didn't dare to do in the face of such manipulative genius. The writer obviously wanted to overpower me, so like a good little villager I'd sit there and let him do it.

Kitty's nearly hysterical declaration of love to Lucius made us all laugh... as did Ivy's asking Lucius when they would marry, and his response, "Why don't you let me lead for once!" Short reprieve, more shocks were to come. When the camera staggered with Noah right up to Lucius, something had to be wrong... when Ivy gasped for breath behind a tree, the camera would pan out, of course, to show It right behind the tree. Now that was really cruel, especially to Ivy, when she knew there should be no more of Them!

When Ivy stumbled out onto the road, I think I was the last one to realize it was a modern-day vehicle driving up, and of course I completely missed the Walker on the side. That's why I like watching movies with Hoyt cousins who sit around and discuss anything afterwards, no matter how late it is.

Now which is worse... an outside group terrorizing the village, as I first thought... or the council members terrorizing their own village? How absurd to use fear to protect their people. And their own children. In the end, that's what I can't understand. I suppose it's a choice everyone has to make: hole up and let your children grow up believing the evil comes from monsters, or live in the real world and let them realize the evil is in everyone, and they must deal with it. They couldn't escape the evil; it came from one of their own, when Noah stabbed Lucius. (now that really was not pleasant)

There should be more movies like this, movies you have to figure out - or find out - as you go.

I think we all slept that night, but there were Red jokes making the rounds for a while.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially if you've seen The Village. By the way, I didn't title this weblog Sharon's Soliloquy for a reason. (besides the obvious ones) Comments are always welcome!

Death or estate, that's the question

Why don't you read "Double Trouble Speak"? Good article. Almost makes me want to start an Old English revival.

...after twelve days of blogging sabbatical...

It was a lovely trip!

But, since I used my expendable Internet time to catch up on blogs of friends - which mostly was a quick skim of everybody's latest post - and since today was a day for sleep and business and German, there is no time for a real post. I'm still trying to think of how to tell you all the highlights of the trip. Maybe I will spend one of my eight hours on the ladder tomorrow thinking about it.

Anyway, tomorrow is Friday night. Tomorrow night I will have plenty of time. Tomorrow night, once it comes, I probably won't have time, what with a birthday party and a movie. But tomorrow night I will try to defy the weekend time wormholes and post.

Bye

H-Hour is 0700 Saturday 25 June 2005.

Tomorrow morning we leave on our big long summer trip. Georgia for the Hoyt reunion, Indiana for a Baker get-together. This will be so much fun. :)

Auf Wiedersehen, Adiós, Au revoir!

Several thousand words

One day, when most everybody is outside....

Nolan proudly shows the cameragirl a worm from his worm collection.

Derek instructs Trevor in the fine art of dirt-clod chopping.

Carolyn happily weeds her radishes.

Kendra and Carolyn marshal their radish ranks for a French Breakfast vs. German Giant war.

Jason mows in fine form.

Ethan pauses as the crafty cameragirl asks him a question so she can snap him.

Someone's missing. It must be Melinda!

Your Spanish for today

Can't promise when the next "today" will be, but don't worry... one will pop up somewhere. I have two months till returning to school and taking the Spanish and German finals, so I'm back to regular language study. Which means that you, my beloved reader, will get more of those much-missed language posts!

It's always a good idea to try translating that phrase literally - you know they're hiding something if they lump a bunch of words together under one English meaning.

ponerse boca abajo (arriba) - to be face up (down)

Literally, the Spanish reads "to put one's mouth up (or down)".

Now, I find that very interesting. Don't you? Should we draw any politically incorrect and linguistically discriminating conclusions, or just laugh?

Since I will be studying abroad for Spanish in Argentina, I was hunting around for some good (and interesting) information on the country. This looks like it may keep me busy for a while.
Todo lo que quiera saber sobre Argentina, proclaims the site - Everything you wanted to know about Argentina. Even if you want to listen to all of Argentina's historically significant state speeches!

Senses

Watching Master and Commander last Friday made me think about sound, because it was full of sound... waves slapping, canvas snapping, men's voices shouting, but also more subtle sounds, especially the inflections of voices.

I realized that I wasn't just hearing the sound, but feeling it. On thinking about it, two kinds of feeling: one, hearing the sounds of something being done 'on screen' made me feel that same thing being done where I was; two, sounds skipping directly to my nervous system or something inside that could feel.

Have you ever been lying on a couch and listening to other people talk, and as you get sleepier and sleepier, the voices are different, almost as if they've changed pitch, or as if the sound waves reaching your ears are slowing down?

I wonder if we can 'feel' sound because of its nature - soundwaves produced by vibrations, reaching our ears and passing the vibrations on to our eardrums and eventually to the brain. Those vibrations must be going down the spinal cord as well as up it, because I can feel them inside, almost as if the sound bypasses skin and physical touch to pluck some internal strings.

If hearing is like a multiple sense, it isn't unique that way... smell and taste aren't just related, they actually affect each other. It makes me wonder what those lightwaves are up to.

Maybe all this is extremely obvious to everyone else. Or just extremely stupid. Anyway, it intrigues me.

Check off that one

There, I finally finished The Case for Democracy. Only 279 pages, but when my reading gets limited to about fifteen minutes a night, I fall back on weekends for catch-up.

This was a fairly easy and interesting read. Sharansky makes his case not from abstract theoretical arguments but rather from his experiences as a Soviet Jewish dissident in the USSR and as a statesman in Israeli politics.

I could quote a few sentences that very nicely sum up the book's thesis, which is just why I won't do it. Go read it yourself. However, the following caught my attention:

When some questioned why Israel was not using information [Peace Watch papers keeping tabs on Palestinian compliance] that could be very helpful in exerting diplomatic pressure on the Palestinian Authority to comply with its agreements, Israeli officials scoffed that it was the government's role to determine whether the Palestinians were fulfilling their commitments. (pg. 158)

So where does the informed citizenry of a democracy come in? Where government bureaucracy leaves off, I suppose... which would seem to be wherever the informed citizenry doesn't come in.

I do not believe in an end of history. The diversity of the world ensures that there will always be argument and conflict. (pg. 278)

Not sure that I would define history as "argument and conflict." And I do believe in an end to history; at least, an end to recorded time. Then again, who really knows?

But as "the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is [definitely] wearying to the body" (Ecclesiastes 12:12), I am off to bed. Goodnight.

To whom it may interest

I added a few sidebar links a while back.

People who are serious about chocolate don't just love eating good chocolate (read: good-quality dark chocolate) - they love reading scientific studies of chocolate (read: studies revealing the health benefits of eating moderate amounts of good-quality dark chocolate). So here's what I like to call The Chocolate List, for the serious chocolate lovers out there. Please notice that I didn't say "chocoholics".

Online dictionaries seem to lack etymologies, which is too bad, since the story behind the word is the most interesting part. So I added Etymonline.

Oh, let's see, I think I also added U. S. News & World Report at the same time. And Al-Jazeera.

It's Friday again

This is so unfair. My right arm is getting all the hammer exercise, which means my left arm and the right side of my brain must be suffering.

Maybe I'll start using my left hand for less important things, like eating and writing.

This is so annoying. Ardith's AIM away message won't get off my screen.

... never mind, there it goes...

This is so inexplicable. Why does it take me all morning and afternoon to get past tiredness and starvation, only to really feel like working at about 5 o'clock?

I think I'll blame it on the heat.

That was so delicious - chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream for Nolan's 6th birthday.

Happy birthday, dear little brother Nolan!

This is so great... being lazy on Friday night.

Jason and I are going to watch Master and Commander, for only the second time.

Have a wonderful weekend!

sigh

Satisfaction is a well-driven nail.

How to answer the question. . .

"Why ten kids?"

Give 'em a sonnet!


Sonnet VI.

Then let not winter's ragged hand deface
In thee thy summer, ere thou be distill'd:
Make sweet some vial; treasure thou some place
With beauty's treasure, ere it be self-kill'd.
That use is not forbidden usury
Which happies those that pay the willing loan;
That 's for thyself to breed another thee,
Or ten times happier, be it ten for one;
Ten times thyself were happier than thou art,
If ten of thine ten times refigured thee:
Then what could death do, if thou shouldst depart,
Leaving thee living in posterity?
Be not self-will'd, for thou art much too fair
To be death's conquest and make worms thine heir.

--William Shakespeare


"Because we were so beautiful, we just couldn't bear to leave the world without us when we die. And because we didn't want worms in the will."

I couldn't resist. :)

Oh, this doesn't apply to my parents (I don't think). But really, if Shakespeare can construct an argument entirely from vanity!. . .

Lovely

This evening was a beautiful rainbow in the east, low enough to walk over!

Irish hymn

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art-
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son,
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance, now and always;
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven's joys, bright heaven's Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.


Traditional Irish hymn, translated by Mary E. Byrne, versified by Eleanor H. Hull

Help.

Anybody want to contribute to the "Get-Sharon-A-New-English-Dictionary Fund"?

Click here for visual stimulation.

Look out, here comes the Weed Commissioner

Wow... I'm glad we don't live in Franklin County. I know the following refers to the Code of Iowa, but the Hardin County advertising edition didn't mention this. Not, of course, that I would care if it did. We live in Butler County.


Notice is hereby given this 6th day of June, 2005 pursuant to the Code of Iowa, Chapter 317, Weed Law. All owners, occupants, agents and public officials in charge of lands in Franklin County Shall destroy or eradicate noxious weeds standing, being or growing on such lands by effective cutting, tillage, cropping or otherwise destroying, as often as may be required to prevent the weeds from blooming and maturing seeds and on or before the dates according to the following tables:

. . .

Group 3 - By July 15

. . . Velvetleaf. . . Sunflowers. . .

--from the Hampton Reminder


How can velvetleaf possibly be a noxious weed? Those leaves are soft enough to make a pillowcase. Not to mention, the drafter of this law has obviously never sat on his lawn and carefully stripped fuzzy velvetleaf skin off the long, smooth, woody stem inside.

And sunflowers?

So I looked up the Iowa Weed Law and discovered a few discrepancies: no mention of velvetleaf and sunflowers - unless they're masquerading under more scientific names - but it does bring up bindweed / European morning glory, which I suppose would be "binderweed". Good luck with that. You can't get rid of it if you try. Besides, how is this fair to children's imaginative play in the great outdoors? Carolyn and Ethan and I made ourselves some beautiful crowns with the stuff.

The New Man?

You might want to read this. Really interesting how fashions reflect sociological trends.

"The masculine ideal is being completely modified. All the traditional male values of authority, infallibility, virility and strength are being completely overturned". . . [i]nstead, today's males are turning more towards creativity, sensitivity, and multiplicity.

"All those labels which have adapted to this freedom of expression are on the up..." Le Louet said, pointing to the growing success of sports and casual wear manufacturers.

This brings to mind my sad nostalgia over the dying style of suits and the gentlemen who wore them.

The emergence of this new male beast who wants to look and feel good, and who will also have an impact on the role of women...

No kidding. But then, women have already tried changing their role, haven't they?

"There is an increasing desire for people to be in charge of their own lives, and an intolerance for any lack of autonomy..."

Maybe it's just me, but social autonomy sounds like a lonely way to live.

Roofing

My darling mother, a prolific and esteemed blogger in her own right, has encouraged me to blog about my work on the roof. I think I will. That's really all I'm doing right now, and I don't have spare brain cells for anything more creative, as most of them are on emergency duty to counteract an extreme attack of vitamin D.

Has anybody ever laid down shingles? Lots of fun, isn't it? Daddy gave us all a crash course in shingling four years ago... I think it was Memorial Day. We had over a family from church, supposedly to celebrate the holiday, but actually to work on the garage roof. By the time they left, the east side was ready to shingle. Time to start making some memories for future Memorial Days! Up went Daddy and his crew of willing, albeit naive, slaves - Ardith, Sharon, Jason, Kendra, Derek, Melinda, Carolyn. Daddy cut and fit the edge shingles, and we laid down the rows. Two kids laid the shingle, two kids hammered in four nails, on to the next. It only took us till 9:00 or 9:30 P.M., when we were finally allowed to eat supper, many with severe cases of hammer wrist but - between yawns - immense pride in our accomplishment.

Later that summer a work crew from church did the other side.

Well, four years and many gusts of Iowa wind later, some shingles haven't sealed down and several have blown up. So I've been patching. Patching shingles is great fun, as you have to take out nails two shingles up in order to get the problem out. Put that one in and re-hammer everything back in. Patching shingles is almost more satisfying than laying them down fresh, because nobody can see where you patched (as long as you did it right...).

Now, do you know how to TOP patching asphalt shingles on a sunny 90-degree day? Gluing them down with asphalt roof cement, of course. Big caulk-style tubes of extremely black sticky asphalt that only gets softer and stickier under the sun. In one day you can turn those plain-old pants into a uniquely black-smeared design. Forget washing this stuff off your skin. Your best bet is to let it dry a little and then scrape it off with your fingernails (which had better be long so you can cut them afterwards). Pray that you don't get asphalt smeared onto sunburnt skin. You can avoid some of the wash-and-scrape ritual if you wear rubber latex gloves that make your hands incredibly sweaty.

Figure out a way to increase the rate and distance these guns can project asphalt, and you needn't bother learning karate.

Disclaimer: I decided to go ahead and get burnt so I can relax the rest of the summer. Don't blame my parents. They warned me.

It was on Friday, June 5th, 1981

Today our parents have been married twenty-four years!

Happy anniversary, Daddy and Mommy.

well...

I put myself on sick leave yesterday. After five days, my sore throat finally decided to upgrade to full cold status Wednesday. Thursday night I was in bed by 11 and up by 7:30, and two hours of sleep were in there.... somewhere... last night at nine hours was a great improvement.

Anyway, I needed a book to pull me out of myself, and settled on Michael Crichton's Andromeda Strain (hey - somebody else who comes up with the title before the book). Keyword for me was sterilization, more interesting since we've become a very germ-conscious family. Just like Congo, this one was full of impersonal computers and technology, and of course, that annoying ubiquitous "data". Kind of funny to read about computers in the pre-digital age. Anyway, the book became palatable once I realized that the psychological element would once again kick in. Hall in Andromeda Strain as Ross in Congo, two people chosen for their respective teams due to a computer's analyzing their personality and psychology. Ridiculous, but as long as humans triumph over technology, I don't really care. When I got to the end, I thought, "I've been duped." What was the point of the book again? Great authors can do that to you. Just so you know that it was my idea first.

Haven't yet read Jurassic Park. Its powers over me will be weaker after the movie. Still can't believe I wanted to watch that... although, I'd almost do it again, just out of sheer fascination over being that terrified.

Anyway, I was very proud of reading an entire book (269 pages) in almost 24 hours.

And if you think this post is poorly written, you win. But I ain't taking more time. Sleep is extremely precious.

Psalm 90

Psalm 90

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.

Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were born
Or You gave birth to the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

You turn man back into dust
And say, "Return, O children of men."
For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it passes by,
Or as a watch in the night.
You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep;
In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew.
In the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew;
Toward evening it fades and withers away.

For we have been consumed by Your anger
And by Your wrath we have been dismayed.
You have placed our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
For all our days have declined in Your fury;
We have finished our years like a sigh.
As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, eighty years,
Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow;
For soon it is gone and we fly away.
Who understands the power of Your anger
And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?
So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

Do return, O Lord; how long will it be?
And be sorry for Your servants.
O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness,
That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us,
And the years we have seen evil.
Let Your work appear to Your servants
And Your majesty to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us;
And confirm for us the work of our hands;
Yes, confirm the work of our hands.

Ganz verblüffender!

Suddenly the Andromeda Galaxy has tripled its size! Bet you didn't think the galaxy was expanding that fast, right?

Actually, it's just a halo of 3000 extra stars that French scientists (aided by an Hawaiian telescope) have determined to be moving with the Andromeda Galaxy. But we could see a lot more expansion if other spiral galaxies work the same way.

So eine verblüffendere Entdeckung, nicht wahr?
Such an amazing discovery, isn't it?

Isn't that a lovely word... verblüffender! Means amazing or puzzling.

Doublethink

Reading Natan Sharansky's The Case for Democracy, I was struck by the following excerpt (page 49) concerning German writer Leon Feuchtwanger's visit to the Soviet Union in 1937:


At the height of Stalin's repressions, when nearly the entire Soviet population was living in utter terror, Feuchtwanger offered readers in the West his impressions of the public mood:

Though from time to time they criticize a minor short-coming, all the people whom I met, even those whom I met by chance, who could not have been prepared for a discussion with me, all agreed with the existing [Stalinist] system. All the vast city of Moscow was brimming with satisfaction and consent, and even more than this, happiness.


I won't pretend to be smarter than I am. I didn't know what doublethink was before reading this book. Doublethink, in the above case, would be Soviet people agreeing with the Stalinist system because they were terrified of it.

Memorial Day

May I ask you to honor the White House Memorandum for the National Moment of Remembrance?

Sunday's reading

I was looking through a Vision Forum Family Catalog today. Here's the VisionForum website and its mission statement, if you want some background.

The heading "The Biblical Family Now and Forever!" caught my eye, so I read on...

Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. . . . He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies. . . . The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away. (Psalm 112:1-2, 7-8, 10)

Following these selected quotes is an extended and triumphant declaration regarding the "biblical family - now and forever!"

I did take the liberty of looking up Psalm 112, and I don't see it referring to said "biblical family", but rather the upright man.

The author (Doug Phillips) later comments, "I am reminded that teaching my children the way of Christ 'is not a vain thing; because it is [my] life.' (Deut. 32:47)"

Deuteronomy 32:46-47 reads in full: he [Moses] said to them, "Take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you shall command your sons to observe carefully, even all the words of this law. For it is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life. And by this word you will prolong your days in the land, which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess."

Perhaps I'm just nit-picking. But the "life" these verses refer to seems to be God's Word, not teaching one's children "the way of Christ".

Please don't misunderstand me. I rejoice that Vision Forum so ardently supports the God-ordained institution of family. I just think they could make their case without misquoting Scripture. Or perhaps alter their case slightly? It seems to me that "now and forever" best applies to God and His Word, unless they are extending their definition of "biblical family" beyond earthly families.


What really disturbed me was discovering that the most exciting toy in the girls' catalog was a mere top, while the boys were offered The Zip Line: The Next Best Thing to Flying. Okay, so I know life isn't fair, but you could never get me near a top if the boys were outside soaring around on a Zip Line... and I'm pretty sure I speak for all my sisters!

Overwhelmingly

Not surprisingly, the French said, "Non."

For French readers, Le Monde has all the coverage you could want and more: a special European Constitution edition, sporting a lovely red, red, and blue map, plus the entire European Constitution presently attempting ratification, if you're that ambitious.

For English readers, here is one article from BBC.

Good things

This has been a lovely end-of-the-week!

-- Daddy taught me how to mix and lay down cement. This is fun, although a little hard on the knees.

-- Jason and Kendra and Derek and I watched Shrek II last night. I prefer Shrek I, but Number II had its great moments... my personal favorite was when Prince Charming whipped his hair around (on entering the castle to look for Princess Fiona). Face it, laughing is just plain fun, but especially laughing at characters who deserve it, and most especially arrogant guys!

-- Ardith dropped by today, supposedly to pick up her new mattress, but we all know she really wanted to check her email. And now, finally, she's back online with a superb DSL connection, reportedly three times faster than ours! I can feel her enjoying it right now.

-- I am drinking Bigelow's Constant Comment Tea... for the uninitiated, this is black tea "deliciously flavored with rind of oranges and sweet spice". Mmmmm. And looking forward to reading French online, as I did last night, and the night before that... mmmm.

May God bless your Sunday.

Watching

Definitely interesting to follow France's referendum.

Is Chirac pleading, plotting, or exhorting? It all depends on which site you visit. Not just the language - look at the photo selection!

Terrorism and the French

Le Monde held an interview with Pierre de Bousquet, head of France's territorial surveillance, which included the following exchange:


You speak of the "adversary" where the Americans speak of the "enemy". Is the concept of "the war against terror" inapplicable in Europe?

Our response is judiciary, not military. To compare the antiterrorist struggle to a war increases the risks, for it gives the terrorists extra acknowledgement and rumor. Recourse to immoderate force fuels resentment and hate against democracies. In this respect, the Guantanamo dentention camp has doubtless been counterproductive, by rallying to our adversaries' cause individuals who indentified themselves with their Islamic brothers - brothers apparently chained and taken outside of all legal framework.

Time

Everyone knows that big arguments are over little things. Our family has two camps: the Analog Camp and the Digital Camp. Let's defer to the opposition. The DC is mostly guys who think all watches, alarm clocks, and other public displays of time should be digital. The AC is mostly girls who prefer the analog format.

Now I'm definitely in the AC camp. A clock face helps me visualize time and where I am in it. But I began to wonder... is this because my mind sees time analogously? No.

(If you have ever tried to translate your mental processes into language, you will be kind)

"Time, like an ever-rolling stream..." Let's try that again - Time, like an ever-rolling strip of white tape, on which the times are all digitally entered, begins with 1:00 (A.M. or P.M.) and runs up an inclined plane to 12:00, only to drop off more sharply and begin at 1:00 again. Picture running up the triangle's hyptonuse and falling off the shortest side. This is (very roughly) how time appears to my brain. Analog and digital processes following alarmingly mathematical patterns to attempt reconciling time's infinity with my finite mind.

I'd be very interested to hear how your mind sees time.

Wheee!

This is so much fun, it deserves its own post!

I am very lucky - ah, blessed. My computer's crashed! Which means, of course, that I get to recline out here on the living room carpet, using Daddy's wireless keyboard and mouse to surf the Web on our new entertainment center... complete with widescreen monitor.

My sympathies to all you computer desk prisoners.

All growed up

Today some of us drove down with Ardith and her stuff to help her move it all in. She's happily settling into her Cedar Rapids apartment.

By the way. Ardith is the best sister ever.

Weekend entertainment

Friday and Saturday night -- Jason and I watched Gods and Generals. Ardith attempted to watch it with us, but the slow battles scenes finally drove her off.

I was trying to decide whether the acting was overdone or underdone... then we hit our first battle, and suddenly two lines of men were charging at each other. Why? Men were dying. Why? Each side prayed for God's aid. Why? Yes, I know that sounds naive and stale. This film's war was different from modern war, when the enemy is often in a tank or bunker. Different from Lord of the Rings war, where men are fighting orcs. To me, this film's war = men killing each other till one side loses more. Horrible.

Saturday evening -- Ardith and I went out for supper and then hastily grabbed a parking place and our Star Wars tickets. We both enjoyed it. My condensed evaluation: somewhat weak acting and plot line, excellent visual effects. For me, a visually decent film is good enough, because I don't watch movies; I live them. Did make me cry.


Currently reading That Hideous Strength, some of my favorite lines:

" 'Hope not for minde in women; at their best
Sweetness and wit, they are but Mummy possest.' " (p. 16)

John Donne's entire poem is here. Don't ask me to explain it. But that quote is funny!

" 'That's why Camilla and I got married,' said Denniston as they drove off. 'We both like Weather. Not this or that kind of weather, but just Weather. It's a useful taste if one lives in England.' " (p. 113)

Gotta Love It

Come on - who wouldn't pay $70 for a gallon of Cucumber Dill Weed ice cream?

Forward to the Past

Sorry I haven't been posting more regularly. If one has a blog and expects others to read it, seems only fair for said one to keep it up. Please don't think I leave posts up for days because I think they're worth multiple readings and comment watches. Please don't think I'm lazy. Please just think I must be busy.


For those of you who are into Star Wars! - here's something fun: reviews of the original Star Wars movies (plus the newer ones). New York Times has had this section up all week... but in case you haven't read them yet, here are some teasers...

Star Wars [A New Hope]

"I have a particular fondness for the look of the interior of a gigantic satellite called the Death Star, a place full of the kind of waste space one finds today only in old Fifth Avenue mansions and public libraries." -- Vincent Canby, 5/26/77

The Empire Strikes Back

"The first film's off-handed gags have virtually been cast in bronze; the comic shabbiness of all the space gadgetry, for example, has been expanded from a casual giggle to a full-scale running gag." -- Janet Maslin, 5/21/80

Return of the Jedi

"Does Princess Leia do her own hair or does she pay someone to make it look that way?... Will Darth Vader sacrifice his only begotten son so that evil might triumph? And, speaking of Vader, when he takes off his mask, what is underneath? James Earl Jones? David Prowse? A cantaloupe?" -- Vincent Canby, 5/25/83

Definitely funny to see Canby's first hopeful review slide into cynicism six years later!

While I'm at it, may as well throw these in for free...

The Phantom Menace

"... Anakin seems to be here mostly to try out the film's many toys. Only in the bland conception of Anakin is "The Phantom Menace" really undermined by its own innate boyishness. There's no hint of the future in him, though the audience knows this is one high-pitched voice that's really going to change." -- Janet Maslin, 5/19/99

Attack of the Clones

"But where are the clones? Send in the clones! Patience, young Jedi. They're already here, on a distant, storm-tossed planet, waiting for their big climactic battle scene. First, however, you must attend to the political turmoil that threatens the stability of the republic." -- A. O. Scott, 5/10/02


You may need to sign up online in order to access these (and other New York Times) articles. Only costs five minutes.

It was a Dark and Quiet Saturday Night...

3:30 A.M.

Two college alumnae slept.

3:31 A.M.

Into their sweet slumber broke a

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

pulling the younger out of her dream, a sound she'd come to hear with the same nostalgic familiarity as the summer cricket concerts, crickets maintaining monotone and distinctively dragging Gregorian chants on just those two or three discordant tones which pierce to the dividing of slumber and sleeplessness... only this time she realized, heart sinking, this time the

... BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

had no intention of stopping - as it usually did - the whole reason she looked back on the cricket chants with decidedly nostalgic familiarity. She stumbled out of bed to try the only measure she knew, which was pressing the plug-in behind the device to make sure it was securely plugged. But unfortunately, this did not stop the

... BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

as it usually did. In horror she realized the terrible struggle for power then taking place within the device. For the device was a Uninterruptible Power Supply responsible for maintaining the residence's Wireless Internet Connection through power outages. This room, the scene of the piercingly present

... BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

and underneath, the distressingly pre-digital and archaic sound of the UPS attempting to regain power, archaic due to its extremely loud

CLICK-click... CLICK-click...

no, this room was not a bedroom, despite the cleverly suggestive furnishings... the bunkbed, the twin bed, the two dressers and closetful of girls' clothes, the large mirror and the shoe rack...no, this room was the house's Central Processing Unit, and the girl stumbled out of bed not to quiet the device but to preserve the all-important Wireless Connection. Unhappily, her efforts failed... she dropped back into bed... the UPS continued its struggle alone...

...BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

undergirded by the

... CLICK-click... CLICK-click...

...and finally won. Its guardian relaxed into the peace of a once more silent and dark room, dark except for the rythmically flashing lights that signaled a newly smooth wireless connection, and between those green flashes

flash... flash... flash...

considered that the BEEPs must not have been at a volume high enough to wake the ten other sleeping residents on the floor, as there was no stumbling rush of groggily panicked computer addicts... the green lights flashed on

flash... flash... flash...

and she fell back into dreams... dreams which she would distinctly remember on waking the next morning, and thereafter distinctly try to forget.

Out of Context, April / May Edition

And the Ides roll around again. Quotes have been scarcer the last couple months. Or maybe I'm just not listening!


Derek: "Be polite and let me go first."

Carolyn (very giggly): "You're crushing me!"
Sharon (also very giggly): "I am-m-m?"
Carolyn: "I'm crushed!"

Ethan: "I know what I was born for! To be loud!"

Ethan: "I'll be there in a minute."
Carolyn: "Okay, I guess I'm King of the Mountain. Bye - - Prince."

Ethan (concerning boys' laundry): "It was 2 feet by 2 feet, compacted--"
Kendra: "Really."
Ethan: "--like 500 clothes in 1 square foot!"


--En route to Texas--

Carolyn (after 10 minutes): "Well, the van seems to be stickin' together."

Jason: "I don't call that a sprawling suburbs. I call that an irresolute housing development."

Back at it

Oh yes, we're definitely back. Most of the way. My muscles are sore from all the exercise they got on the 9-hour drive from Oklahoma to here... that is, jaw muscles from beef jerky.

I could write an extremely long post about the trip, which I'm sure would bore you, so I'll just hit the high points:

-- Announcing the graduation of A.A.H.! The First Child has made it!

-- You thought "Scattergories" was fun if you played it traditionally? We and our cousins came up with a great new version.


That's all I feel like typing tonight, since I typed a long email earlier. However, I did read this article in U.S. News & World Report. It's encouraging to consider that relativism cannot erase man's innate longing to know God.

Spring means flowers and bunnies

Before leaving, and to celebrate spring and Ardith's graduation, I thought you might enjoy these three different views of our budding orchard, from west to east, each shot beautifully balanced.

In the first, a dainty little cherry tree against dead corn stubble.

In the second, looking down the orchard to the old blue van and the unfinished garage.

In the third, two blossoming cherry trees with just a hint of burnpile beyond.

And here's The Bunny-Boy. Aww, you don't want to chase this little guy away, do you?

C.S.L.

Heh heh. Guess that quote was confusing - sounded more like a devotional than science fiction.

"All His biddings are joys" is from C. S. Lewis's Perelandra, second book in his space trilogy.

C. S. Lewis keeps making comments that halt my mind. Here are a few.


It was not really like a woman making much of a horse, nor yet a child playing with a puppy. There was in her face an authority, in her caresses a condescension, which by taking seriously the inferiority of her adorers made them somehow less inferior -- raised them from the status of pets to that of slaves. (p. 65)

"I thought," she said, "that I was carried in the will of Him I love, but now I see that I walk with it. I thought that the good things He sent me drew me into them as the waves lift the islands; but now I see that it is I who plunge into them with my own legs and arms, as when we go swimming. I feel as if I were living in that roofless world of yours where men walk undefended beneath naked heaven. It is a delight with terror in it! One's own self to be walking from one good to another, walking beside Him as Himself may walk, not even holding hands. How has He made me so separate from Himself? How did it enter His mind to conceive such a thing? The world is so much larger than I thought. I thought we went along paths -- but it seems there are no paths. The going itself is the path." (pp. 69-70)

"The world leaps forward through great men and greatness always transcends mere moralism." (p. 95)

. . . and then, sweeter than all, the suggestion that he had been brought there not to do anything but only as a spectator or a witness. (p. 107)


The last one I understand now, not just mentally, but experientially. God's why is usually beyond me. But I wonder less, when I think that perhaps He means for me to sit and watch instead of doing.