Why I love country music

They have some of the best lyrics:

I hate that stupid old pickup truck,
You never let me drive
You’re a redneck, heartbreak
Who’s really bad at lying
So watch me strike a match
On all my wasted time
As far as I’m concerned,
You’re just another picture to burn.
(Taylor Swift)

Husslers shootin' eightball
Throwin' darts at the wall
Feelin' damn near 10 ft. tall
Here she comes, Lord help us all
Ol' T.W.'s girlfriend done slapped him out' his chair
Poor ole boy, it ain't his fault
It's so hard not to stare
At that honky tonk badonkadonk
Keepin' perfect rhythm
Make ya wanna swing along
Got it goin' on
Like Donkey Kong
And whoo-wee
Shut my mouth, slap your grandma
There outta be a law
Get the Sheriff on the phone
Lord have mercy, how's she even get them britches on
That honky tonk badonkadonk
(sung by Trace Adkins)

How do you like me now,
Now that I'm on my way?
Do you still think I'm crazy
Standin here today?
I couldnt make you love me
But I always dreamed about living in your radio
How do you like me now?
(Toby Keith)


He's a good-time cowboy casanova
Leaning up against the record machine
He looks like a cool drink of water
But he's candy-coated misery
He's the devil in disguise
A snake with blue eyes
And he only comes out at night
Gives you feelings that you don't want to fight
You better run for your life
(Carrie Underwood)

And, of course, my favorite:

Well, I know sometimes you think that all you really are,
Is the woman with the kids an' the groceries in the car.
An' you worry about your hips an' you worry about your age.
Meanwhile I'm tryin' to catch the breath you take away.
Oh, an' believe me, you still do.
Baby, all I see, when I look at you,

Is one hot mama;
You turn me on, let's turn it up,
An' turn this room into a sauna.
One hot mama,
Oh, whaddya say, baby?
You wanna?

Reading romances

I actually slid into reading romance novels by reading a mystery series that had a complex, believable romance intertwined with it. Even though the two main characters get married in the second or third book, the author takes her time exploring this relationship between a Hispanic divorced, former narcotics cop (reformed alcoholic), and a young widow in California over the course of 7 or 8 books. The clash of cultures, backgrounds, and experiences that were frankly more interesting than the actual mysteries. Her books didn't have any sex, just sexual tension, romance, and relationship struggles. (The author is Earlene Fowler and her books are found in the mystery section of the bookstore, not romance).

I was reading Fowler's website when I clicked some links to "romance" authors. Fowler admits her books cross genres, and obviously enjoys both romance and mystery books. I've since come to understand that romance crosses boundaries with mystery and sci-fi/fantasy so deeply that some books are shelved both places in bookstores. BTW- romances are loosely divided into historical, contemporary, paranormal (werewolves, vampires, etc), sci-fi, and suspense/action.

Okay, so that sets up the background. From Fowler's link I found other authors and started checking them out at the library. I started with mysteries. Charlaine Harris has several series, and they vary in their sexual content. The lighter series is the Aurora Teagarden series. A grittier series, with more sex, is the Lily Bard series. Her sexier, much weirder, often humorous series is the Southern Vampire (also called Sookie Stackhouse) series. The HBO show True Blood is based on these books.

From the mysteries with some sexual content, I "graduated" to the romance with a little action/mystery. ;-) The difference is subtle sometimes, but the major component is that the relationship is as important as any other plot line in the book, maybe more so. One of the first authors was Susanne Brockman. She writes a decent suspense/action book filled with hunky ex-Navy SEALS and such. Her plots and characterizations are decent. Her story is as important as the relationship, and she's good with the sexual tension part. Many of her books are about the same group of people, just focusing on different characters. One main character is gay. She has a gay son (she writes about him in a moving prologue), and she does a decent job with that character and his relationship. Two of my favorites are Bodyguard and Flashpoint.

Other decent suspense/romance or mystery/romance authors where the plot is as important as the romance aspect.:
Penny McCall
Susanne Enoch (series starting with Flirting With Danger)
Nora Roberts (She writes all types of romance, and she writes futuristic detective type stories as J. D. Robb. One of my favorites is High Noon- not a western, btw.)
Linda Howard- some are good, some so-so.

I enjoy sci-fi and fantasy, and some of the better books of the romance genre are cross-overs in these categories. My favorite author is Linnea Sinclair. She writes strong female characters who aren't dominated by their sexy male counterpoints. She writes good sci-fi plots and has well-visualized universe. Games of Command is probably my favorite, but I've liked all her books.

Other good sci-fi/fantasy authors:
Ann Aguirre
Jeaniene Frost
Eve Kenin
Patricia Brigg (especially her Mercy Thompson series. She is not a romance author, but romance is part of her books. She is probably considered a YA author by some, but one or two of her books get a little racy for young teens.)

Okay, please note: Many of the books I mentioned have fairly graphic sex scenes somewhere in the book. Mostly the characters aren't married when this happens. If you don't like reading about pre-marital sex, these books aren't for you. ;-) If you'd rather no sex, one excellent author of Regency period romances, known for historic accuracy, wonderful dialog, great plots, and detailed characters is Georgette Heyer. Her books are being reprinted and are truly wonderful reads.

Have You Ever....

In the spirit of Random Things and getting to know you better, I'll add this list. Thanks to my friend, Beth.

01. Start your own blog -- Yes
02. Sleep under the stars -- Yes
03. Play in a band -- No
04. Visit Hawaii -- Yes, but I was young
05. Watch a meteor shower -- Yes
06. Give more than you can afford to charity -- No
07. Go to Disneyworld -- No, but I went to Disneyland as a child.
08. Climb a mountain -- No
09. Hold a praying mantis -- Yes
10. Sing a solo -- No
11. Bungee jump -- No
12. Visit Paris -- No
13. Watch a lightning storm at sea -- Yes
14. Teach yourself an art technique -- Yes
15. Adopt a child -- No
16. Eat sushi -- Yes, well I tried. Ick.
17. Walk to the top of the Statue of Liberty -- No
18. Grow your own vegetables -- Yes
19. See the Mona Lisa in France -- No
20. Sleep on an overnight train -- Yes
21. Have a pillow fight -- Yes
22. Hitch hike -- NO
23. Look at the rings of Saturn through a telescope -- Yes
24. Build a snow fort -- Yes
25. Hold a lamb -- Yes
26. Climb to the top of a lighthouse -- Yes
27. Run a Marathon -- No
28. Ride in a gondola in Venice -- No
29. See a total eclipse -- Yes
30. Watch a sunrise or sunset -- Yes
31. Hit a home run -- No
32. Go on a cruise -- Yes
33. See Niagara Falls in person -- No
34. Visit the birthplace of your ancestors -- Yes- it helps when some are Native Americans.
35. Visit an Amish community -- Yes
36. Teach yourself a new language -- No, I tried and failed.
37. Have enough money to be truly satisfied -- Yes
38. See the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person -- No
39. Go rock climbing -- Not formally. I've climbed rocks.
40. See Michelangelo's David -- No
41. Sing karaoke in public -- No
42. See Old Faithful geyser erupt in person -- No
43. Buy a stranger a meal at a restaurant -- Yes
44. Visit Africa -- No
45. Walk on a beach by moonlight -- Yes
46. Ride in a helicopter -- Yes
47. Have your portrait painted -- No
48. Go deep sea fishing -- Hmmm...I don't really know. I've been fishing in a boat off the Bahamas. Is that "deep sea"?
49. See the Sistine Chapel in person -- No
50. Go to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris -- No
51. Go scuba diving or snorkeling -- Yes
52. Kiss in the rain -- Yes
53. Play in the mud -- Yes
54. Watch a movie at a drive-in theater -- Yes
55. Be in a movie -- No
56. Visit the Great Wall of China -- No
57. Start a business -- No
58. Take a martial arts class -- Yes
59. Visit Russia -- No
60. Serve meals at a soup kitchen -- No
61. Sell Girl Scout cookies -- No
62. Go whale watching -- No
63. Get or send flowers for no reason -- Yes
64. Donate blood, platelets or plasma -- Yes to all three.
65. Go sky diving -- No
66. Visit a Nazi Concentration Camp -- No.
67. Adopt a pet from a rescue shelter -- Yes
68. Pilot an airplane -- No
69. Save a favorite childhood toy -- Yes- not a toy, but a iron statue of a horse I got when I was 7.
70. Visit the Lincoln Memorial -- Yes
71. Eat Caviar -- Yes, ick.
72. Make a quilt -- No
73. Stand in Times Square -- Yes
74. Tour the Everglades -- No
75. Visit the Viet Nam Memorial -- No
76. See the Changing of the Guard in London -- No
77. Drive a race car -- No
78. Ride on a speeding motorcycle -- Yes
79. See the Grand Canyon in person -- No
80. Publish a book -- No
81. Visit the Vatican -- No
82. Buy a brand new car -- Yes
83. Walk in Jerusalem -- No
84. Have your picture in the newspaper -- Yes
85. Read the entire Bible -- No
86. Visit the White House -- No
87. Kill and prepare an animal for eating -- No
88. Hike the Appalachian Trail -- Yes, a part of it.
89. Save someone's life -- No
90. Sit on a jury -- No, I was called for jury duty but never sat on a jury
91. Meet someone famous -- Yes, I think so.
92. Join a book club --Yes
93. Own an iPod -- Yes
94. Have a Facebook page -- Yes
95. See the Alamo in person -- Yes
96. Swim in the Great Salt Lake -- No
97. Cross country snow ski -- No
98. Hold a snake -- Yes
99. See Van Gogh's Starry Night in person -- No
100. Read an entire book in one day -- Yes, many times.

My new musical find

Meet Marc Broussard....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV_eeDKzqlM

I can't seem to embed the video, but it's worth following the link....

Rant against DirecTV

I will make this as short as possible.

In late March we signed up to switch from cable tv, cable internet, and digital phone to Verizon phone (land line), Verizon DSL, and DirecTV. The monthly savings were significant (>$65 a month). We knew the internet would be somewhat slower, but that seemed okay.

It's been a nightmare.

First the internet connection crawled. We weren't getting the 1.5 Mb promised. In fact, at one point we were getting less than a third of that. Will finally got that fixed (hour-long service call later, after I'd already spent an hour earlier in the week). (Head's up: 1.5 Mb isn't fast enough for 8 computers, especially when you have several teens downloading games and videos.)

But the frustration over slow internet is nothing compared to what we've been through with DirecTV.

Short version:
April 8th- satellite installed, good signal. Signed the contract.
April 20th (or there about)- signal starts breaking up....losing channels.
May 1st (or there about)- no signal on any local channel. Almost all channels have deficient quality and pixilation problems.
May 9th- Technician comes out and says we have "no line of sight" since the leaves have come out on the trees. (Are you getting this??) He may be able to get a line of sight if we agree to put it right smack on the front of our house, but he can't promise how long that will last since the signal would barely be making it over the tops of two sweet gums in our back yard. If they grow any, the signal would be lost. Plus, it would be on the FRONT of my house.
May 9th- a few minutes after the tech left- called DirecTV with this information, asking to cancel service since we have no lone of sight. But guess what? If we "break" the contract we signed, we have to pay them $480. Even if their technician is the one who screwed up and placed the satellite pointing through bare trees that got their leaves two weeks later. Since there was a line of sight when the dish was installed, the contract is valid. We lose $480.

Keeping the dish is no option, since we aren't getting service. We'd do better with an antennae.

I am ashamed to admit I totally lost it with the service rep on the phone. I was screaming at him. He hung up on me.(He was being an arrogant jerk, but.....) I called back and talked more calmly to another rep. She said she'd "appeal" the action with the "back office." We should hear in about two weeks what they decide.

I call it fraud. BTW- the tech that was here today said he's going on all kinds of calls in the past few weeks moving dishes for people who had their dishes installed in the winter when there were no trees. If your are out of warranty, the service call is $80. DirecTV is making money by duping ignorant customers.

New Year's Resolutions??

I've never done New Year's resolutions. So maybe I'll try to come up with a few this year.

This year I want to:

1. Figure out how to work my digital camera: how to upload pictures so I can share them. Maybe do the 365 Photoblog. (Although I need to get on with that if I'm going to do it!)

2. Spend more time listening to music. I've had a great time the last two days uploading several dozen CDs onto my iPod, and even buying some new ones at B&N or on iTunes. I'm rediscovering old favorites I hadn't listened to in years (like Led Zeppelin) and trying on some new ones (like Bush, Cake, and Death Cab for Cutie). It's so much fun.

3. Get more exercise. 'Nuff said.

4. Spend less "screen time" in the evenings- watching TV or on my computer. Read more and spend more time with the kids. (Although that may mean learning to play Wii games, and more screen time.)

5. Read the Bible. I've joined and online group reading through The Bible in three years. The plan is to read a selection each month and then ahve a day for discussion. I'm hoping the slower pace and the accountability will help me stay on track.

6. Read more. I've slacked off in the past two years and I'm not sure why.

7. Pray more, even if it doesn't look like my former idea of prayer.

8. Get involved in some real, tangible ways of helping others.

9. Try and stay within our budget.

10. Be flexible about my life. I want to try to hold plans loosely so that changes don't throw me for a loop.

11. To do a better job writing down my thoughts instead of keeping them in my head. Writing them down takes more discipline and time, but I think it will be well worth it.

That ought to keep me busy for the next year! We'll see in a year how I've done.

Happy New Year!

The Alternative Christmas Letter

Note: I love my kids and I'm proud of them. This "alternative" Christmas letter is a spoof. Or maybe not. Maybe it's life as we live it instead of just the high points.

Another year has come and almost gone. As I look back over my year, I wanted to share the ups and downs with my family and friends. So fasten your seat belts; it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Hannah will graduate May 10 from North Carolina State University with a bachelor's degree in history. On May 17th she will marry Erik, and spend a week long honeymoon in Charleston, SC. When she returns she will put into practice all the practical knowledge she's gained in school. She only needs to learn, "Do you want fries with that?" in Spanish and she'll be set for life!

The wedding will be a simple affair, not only because the happy couple doesn't want a large to-do, but also because they haven't made any wedding plans yet. All we know for sure is the date and the presider (and the participants). I figure they'll be married when they leave for their honeymoon, and I choose not to worry about the rest.

Luke is now attending the local community college working toward an Associates Degree in computer networking. So far, so good. He's not driving yet, and he still doesn't have a job, but, hey, he's got a nice girlfriend!

Thomas has broken the home school mode and is now enrolled in a public charter school for 11th grade. He's making friends, making good grades, and generally being productive. What a guy!

Both boys are active in Youth Group and volunteering at church. They also spend something like 40 hours a week playing video games. Physical exercise consists of walking up the stairs to get another soda. Along with my future son-in-law, Erik, they are what I affectionately call my cave dwellers. My "family room" consists of 3 desk top computers, a widescreen HD TV, a smaller 27" TV, a PS, a PS2, two xBoxes, and an avalanche of video games. I toss food down there occasionally on weekends.

I still home school the girls, Rebekah 14, and Lydia 10, although I have to admit I outsource a lot. Rebekah takes writing, science, geography, and Spanish with other teachers/classes. Lydia does art, literature, and science in enrichment classes.

The theme of this year with the girls is music. The sing in two groups each, plus take piano lessons. I still have some control over their schedules, so they probably only play video games 20 hours a week. Less for Lydia since she still actually likes to play with friends.

So how do we spend Quality Time??? MMORPGing! (massively multiplayer online role-playing games) Or playing Halo III together! A family that parties together, lives longer... at least in the virtual realm of World of Warcraft! We used to eat dinner together, but that was before two computers showed up on my dining room table and never left. No room for food, only computers and school books. Now if we want to talk to one another we use email, or perhaps voice chat if we're playing the same game. I used to IM, but I couldn't keep up, so I still yell down the steps when I need to talk to someone. They think I'm a dinosaur.

When I do find myself in the same room with one or more of the kids, they are still free with the hugs. Plus, now that they are all virtuoso's on Guitar Hero, they are in-the-know about classic rock music! Any 10 year old that recognizes Heart and knows who Eric Clapton is okay in my book!! ;-)

Oh yeah, and did I mention Will joined the Catholic Church this year??

Merry Christmas to all you "alternative" families out there. Families with real live kids and lots to celebrate even if no one won a Nobel Prize this year. :-)

An interview with Philip Pullman

I saw this link on iMonk and thought it was worth posting here. Anyone interested in what Pullman, author of His Dark Materials trilogy, has to say about his books, the movie (The Golden Compass), and Christianity should find this interview enlightening.

Peter Chattaway interviews Philip Pullman

I'll post my own thoughts soon.

Into not so great silence......

I've written three or four blog posts recently and deleted them all. They were garbage. My brain seems to be stuck in a sort of infinite loop...I keep coming around to the beginning of things and never getting to the end. There are topics that interest me and that I'm thinking about, but when I blog them... my thoughts just sort of go nowhere.

Okay, so now I've just deleted everything I wrote for this post as well, except for that little bit up there.... Really I have no mind these days.. it's gone to Tahiti. I wish I'd gone with it.

How am I spending my time? Reading blogs...lots of blogs. Most are linked here on the sidebar, but a few I haven't added yet. I'll try to do that today. I'm also watching TV on DVD. Right now I'm working through the NCIS series while I await the arrival of season 3 of Numb3rs. My biggest dilemma right now is whether or not to go on and watch the new season of NCIS without first watching Season 3. Life is tough!

Anything else? Well, I spend a lot of time in the car, where I usually listen to classic rock. Except, of course, when the younger kids are int the car. It's not until you're belting out some song from your youth with kids in the car that you realize, "Wow! I didn't realize how inappropriate those lyrics were!" Sheesh. I'm going to bring my iPod from now on and listen to Teaching Company
lectures or audio books....or my classic rock, only with headphones on.

And, of course, I'm homeschooling the two girls. That usually take a bit of time each day. With my brain away it's a bit more work. Oh, and last night (Saturday) Will and I went to Tylers Tap Room for "Theology on Tap: Beer as a Spiritual Activity" or something like that. It was a thinly disguised excuse for drinking Trappist-brewed Belgian beer while discussing the finer points of hops and malt. Andrew, the liturgist and RCIA Inquiry director at St.Thomas More was the brains behind the operation. He brews beer at home and will use any excuse to promote the spiritual benefits of brewing and imbibing. Gotta love those Catholics. Not being a beer drinker, I sipped some good Australian shiraz and played designated driver. That way Will could feel guiltless about tasting all four brews offered. (Tasting, not drinking full bottles. But the samples were rather generous compared to wine tastings I've been to.) Tyler's seems to have food to match its beer. I look forward to returning and trying more.

Thanks for reading along. I think my brain is due to return from vacation soon. I'll keep you posted.

Randomness 2

It's humbling when your children don't ask "What's for dinner?" but instead ask, "Are you cooking tonight?"

Have you ever noticed that the cars who cut in front of you are usually new and expensive? What's with that? I drive a 12 year old full-size van. Not only is my van bigger and heavier than those cars, it's worth a lot less.

Speaking of cars, why are the side mirrors on small cars so useless? The mirrors on my van let me back that behemoth into most parking spaces. But the side mirrors on my husband's little Toyota are literally useless for backing. You can't see the road behind you. I end up looking like an idiot every time I have to back that car into a parking spot. "Hey lady, did you order your license from Sears?" Grrrr.

I like to buy books that I never get around to reading...or that I get around to reading next year, or the year after. It's a sickness.

I have a nice video iPod I rarely use. Of course my daughter borrowed it to listen to a downloaded Teaching Company lecture series, so I didn't have it for a while. I need to get back in the habit since I spend so much time in the car.

We spend about $50 a month on cable and there's rarely anything worth watching. It's amazing. Why are we spending that money?

I'm currently reading Mother Teresa's Come Be My Light. I am getting tired of the editor's tendency to interpret everything M.Teresa was saying or going through. I would prefer just to read the letters with some background info and let them speak for themselves. I'm disappointed in the "spin control."

I don't generally wear jewelry. I wear my wedding ring and sometimes my diamond (long story about how rough I am on rings), a watch, and earrings. I love earrings. Some women feel undressed without make-up, I feel undressed without earrings. I actually get upset if I forget to put them in in the morning. I love whimsical earrings more than expensive ones. This summer my daughter made the sweetest dragonfly earrings for me. They look something like this, but they are light green, yellow, and purple, and they hang from their heads instead of their tails.

Blue Like Jazz

For NoVa Dad.

Here are a couple of reviews:

From Publishers Weekly
Miller (Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance) is a young writer, speaker and campus ministry leader. An earnest evangelical who nearly lost his faith, he went on a spiritual journey, found some progressive politics and most importantly, discovered Jesus' relevance for everyday life. This book, in its own elliptical way, tells the tale of that journey. But the narrative is episodic rather than linear, Miller's style evocative rather than rational and his analysis personally revealing rather than profoundly insightful. As such, it offers a postmodern riff on the classic evangelical presentation of the Gospel, complete with a concluding call to commitment. Written as a series of short essays on vaguely theological topics (faith, grace, belief, confession, church), and disguised theological topics (magic, romance, shifts, money), it is at times plodding or simplistic (how to go to church and not get angry? "pray... and go to the church God shows you"), and sometimes falls into merely self-indulgent musing. But more often Miller is enjoyably clever, and his story is telling and beautiful, even poignant. (The story of the reverse confession booth is worth the price of the book.) The title is meant to be evocative, and the subtitle-"Non-Religious" thoughts about "Christian Spirituality"-indicates Miller's distrust of the institutional church and his desire to appeal to those experimenting with other flavors of spirituality.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description

"I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. . . . I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened." In Donald Miller's early years, he was vaguely familiar with a distant God. But when he came to know Jesus Christ, he pursued the Christian life with great zeal. Within a few years he had a successful ministry that ultimately left him feeling empty, burned out, and, once again, far away from God. In this intimate, soul-searching account, Miller describes his remarkable journey back to a culturally relevant, infinitely loving God.

When I read Blue Like Jazz it was simply different from anything else I'd read before. I haven't read Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott, buy many people say they have a similar feel. Miller himself says he patterned Blue Like Jazz on Lamott's book. He was taken with her honesty and openness. Blue Like Jazz was my first experience with anything resembling "emergent" or "postmodern" in the world of Christian thought and practice. It was like a breath of fresh air to me. I agree with the Publisher's Weekly review that Miller sometimes gets simplistic and introspective (read "naval gazing"), but it was well worth the read. I've bought several copies for friends, and as high school graduation presents.

Miller has the first chapter in .pdf on his site: http://www.donaldmillerwords.com/resources.php

Let me know what you think if you decide to read it!

Personality DNA



Benevolent Leader

What I'm up to....

What have I been doing? Well, obviously not blogging. And if you saw my house, you'd know I haven't been concentrating on housecleaning, either. But I haven't been completely worthless, either. Here is what's been going on in my life:

• My oldest son (18) was involved in a drama camp last week. They take a full length play (in this case You Can't Take It With You) and put it together in one week. They only accept the exact number of people needed for the parts and it's a first come- first served basis. That means you don't weed through hundreds of people to get "the best." They assign roles the first day and then the actors spend the week memorizing lines and blocking scenes. They go from 9 to 4 daily, with the performance on Friday evening. While the play didn't have a completely polished look, it was absolutely amazing! The lead characters had hundreds of lines and did them flawlessly. The timing was great and the audience was roaring with laughter. I can't believe they can do this in five days. this production company is run by two 18 year olds and they've been doing it for three years! For this play they had an adult with theater experience help, but they've put on some amazing plays with just their own experience to go on, including the student version of Les Mis and The Diary of Anne Frank. The fee for participating is $90.
  
• My 10 year old daughter is in the drama camp this week. She has a small part in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. She's a little disappointed not to have a larger role (she is only in one scene), but she's handling it well. This play has almost all younger kids, so they only go from 10-4 daily. The performance is Friday evening. I forgot the camera for my son's play, but I'll try to post some pictures of my dd's.
• I've finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. Don't worry- no spoilers here. I stood in line to buy it at midnight, but I'm afraid I didn't enjoy the experience much. I didn't end up at one of those fun parties I keep seeing pictures of. I ended up with over 1000 people standing in line outside of a B&N for over an hour. I was chained to this line of people, not able to move or I'd lose my place, listening to some of the most insipid and, at times, vulgar conversations. I would not do it again. However, the book is great.
• Last week I had a real life encounter with friends. It was wonderful! Several lady friends of mine ended up at the pool with their kids, and without their husbands, all at the same time one evening. Several of us had brought some dinner, and all five of us, with our 16 of our children (there would be 24 children between us if they'd all been there), ate together. The five ladies talked and laughed for hours until the pool closed. The kids (ages 4-16) swam, played games, ate snacks, and had a great time. Later that evening I told Will that this is what I'm craving. An "in real life" group of friends who love and accept each other. We were not a homogeneous group, and a couple of the ladies hadn't really spent much time together before that night, but the atmosphere was one of acceptance and caring. I guess you can say we "clicked." Everyone else must have felt it, too, because they ahve all said something to me about how "renewing" that evening was and how they want to do it again real soon.
• I'm still reading Blink and finishing Mediated. I took the weekend off to read and reread Harry Potter, though. I've also started My Life With the Saints by James Martin, SJ.
  
• I've been watching movies more recently. I'll post my list at the end of the month.
  

Well, that's only a partial look at my life right now. I am still thinking thoughts, just not able to put them into words right now. thanks for reading. ;-)

The unreal real...

In his book, Mediated, Thomas de Zengotita talks about the overload of information and compares it to "The Blob." It swallows all the sharp edges and reduces things to soundbites and 15 second video clips. It lives on reflexitivy...making everything about us. We are all like method actors in our own lives, and in the lives of others. We deal with 9/11 or Katrina or the VT shootings by being so supersaturated by constant barrage of information that we must deal with it in a way that dulls the edge of the realness, the pain, and discomfort. One way to do that is to make real events unreal and live events non-live. We see video clips of the World Trade Center collapsing and we watch a movie by the same name. We see "live" video coverage that happened in the past, so it's not not technically "live. But it is...but we detach. It's a movie, no, it's real...and the movies are more real than the live TV. I'm confused, are you? The Blog has rounded the edges and absorbed the thing outside it. The event is covered, analyzed, dissected. It becomes representational. And the Blob moves on to the Next Event that can be absorbed.

Of course we know the difference. When we think about it. When we take the time to separate how the real and the unreal effect us dozens of times a day. When we think about it and analyze what we are seeing and feeling. But in the mix we usually don't.

We can't get outside The Blog, so it's hard to really look at. It's the state of our world. Watch The Queen, and you see our mediated world in action at the death of Diana. The people became part of the play. Reflexivity ruled the day. We are part of the action, the purpose, the meaning. The mourners took control and wrote the script, and the Death of Di becomes an Event-Story. The Queen capitulates to the nation of mourners who were taking the Event-Story and making it as much about them, their grief, as about Di.

Read the book. It doesn't provide "answers." There are no answers. There is reality, and we need to be aware of what our world is really like. It's a very interesting world!

Teens and books- a great post....

Please take a look at this post on Teen Literacy Tips on nicksenger.com. (Nick runs another blog I read regularly called The Literary Compass.)

The Bookcase in the Sky: A Morality Tale for Teen Literacy Teachers
http://www.nicksenger.com/blog/


The Literary Compass
http://literarycompass.blogspot.com/

What I learned on my summer vacation

We just returned from our family vacation....two days early. Why early? Long and boring story. Well, it's not that long, but it's still boring. ;-) Let's just say we ran out of things to do, at least things to do we could afford! The "resort" we went to wasn't exactly as described, either. But enough of that. We are home safely, and what we did, we had a great time doing.

But what I want to share is a few things I learned on this trip:

1. Never turn down a chance to go to the bathroom.
2. When you attend an iMax show that lets out after the Smithsonian museum closes, you will not be allowed to go back in to the bathroom.
3. The Metro stations do not usually have bathrooms.
4. Sympathetic Metro staff will sometimes open locked doors so you can go to the bathroom.
   
5. Hands-on exhibits aren't much fun when being swarmed by groups of school children on a field trip.
6. There are many, many school field trips going on at the Smithsonian museums.
7. Admittance to the museums is free.
8. Eating outside the museum from a cart is half the cost of eating in the museum, but still expensive.
   
9. Eating in the museums makes up for not having to pay to get in.
10. Finding a 7-11 across from the zoo was a salvation. $1.29 hot dogs may not be real food, but they fill the void.
    
11. Driving an hour to the Metro stop sounds like a good idea.
12. Driving back an hour after walking for eight hours doesn't seem quite as good an idea.
13. Taking the Metro costs a family of six over $40 a day.
14. Flexibility is key when planning for trips, but an agenda is a good idea, too.
15. Don't be too quick to change your plans.
    
16. Doing nothing is okay.
    
17. Listen to what other people in the family are saying...especially your spouse. If they mention more than once being interested in doing something, they probably really want to do it.
18. The National Gallery isn't high on my kids' lists of "Things I Most Want to Do."
19. The National Gallery is on my list of "Things I Most Want to Do."
20. Sometimes it isn't worth pushing your agenda. I'll return to DC someday to go to the museum.
    

My husband did all the driving for the entire trip. I know driving out of DC in the evening after walking all day wasn't easy. I would not want to do it, but I appreciate his willingness to navigate all the traffic and unfamiliar roads.

It's good to be home.

Taking a break....

We're off for a week's adventure in northern VA, which hopefully will include a few day trips to DC.

NoVa Dad- please accpet my apologies fro dropping the "you've been tagged" ball. I wrote the post, but then couldn't get the links to work right. I hope to figure out how to post a link here using just the name, like you did, instead of the whole url. When I do, I'll tag other. Better late than never!

I'll be without internet for a week, and looking forward to the it! ;-)

Bless you all,
Carrie

A high school friend making a difference....

I haven't seen or heard from Pamela Tanner (now Bolls) since high school, but we swam on the same team for years and were friends at Parkersburg High School. We would have been in the same graduating class, but I moved to Delaware between my junior and senior years. My brother sent me this link today. I havne't seen the documentary that Pamela co-directed, but it won the 2004 Academy Award for Best Documentary. The documentary is called Born Into Brothels.

http://www.awomansviews.com/wings/0705_visions.htm

Songs as Poetry

I admit that I generally like music for the lyrics as much as the instrumentation. Don't get me wrong...I love plenty of songs which have lyrics I can't decode. There are plenty of rock tunes I like because they are good and loud and have great guitar rifts. But, still, overall, I love the words. That might be why I listen to most kinds of music..rock, pop, jazz, blues, bluegrass, country, celtic, etc. I have to admit I haven't developed a taste for rap, but that's one of the few exceptions. I 'm sure there are powerful lyrics in all types of music.

I was singing along with a song last night after dropping my son off at community college, and I was thinking about the great lyrics...how expressive they were, how poetic. I know I'm not the first person in the world to compare song lyrics to written poetry, so I'm not going to try to claim some astounding new revelation. But a new (for me) thought did enter my head as I sang along. People today love poetry as much now as any time in history. We just sing our poetry more now than ever before.

Singing ballads, songs of war, romance, epics and such has been popular since before there were pencils and paper to write them down. It's not new. But I think what might be new is the shear volume of poetry being written, and the fact that it is now written by people from so many socio-economic backgrounds. Perhaps people have always made up songs and poetry, but without a way to preserve them they were lost to us.

Last night I spent a fun evening looking at lyrics on the web. Looking at the modern day poets such as Sting, Paul Simon, Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Bono, and many, many more. Funny, I thought I didn't really enjoy poetry that much! ;-)