OK, Here's a (Sort of) Football Picture, too

First Day of School 2007, and New Backpacks

The soon-to-be new preschoolers also need backpacks:


Turtle Boy!

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

Housekeeping is a novel by Marilynne Robinson, the author of Gilead. If I understood the hype around Gilead correctly, fans of Housekeeping waited a quarter of a century for Robinson to come out with her second novel. After reading Housekeeping, I can see why her fans were eager for more.

Housekeeping is set in and around a fictional town and lake named Fishbone in Idaho. However, as a reader who ain't never been there (they tell me it's nice) with regards to Idaho, a little bit of research shows that Lake Fishbone seems to bear similarities to the real Lake Pend Oreille, meaning that the town is likely Sandpoint. (Sure enough, that's where Robinson grew up.)

The book tells the story of Ruthie and her sister Lucille, through the eyes of Ruthie. When the girls are orphaned, they move in with their grandmother. Then, after she dies, they eventually have their aunt Sylvia as a guardian. Their relationship with Sylvie forms the main plot of the book. Sylvie had lived as a "drifter" after moving away from home, and it remains to be seen whether or not Sylvie's "housekeeping" will be stable enough to meet the needs of the girls, and the expectations of the community.

And that's just it. Sylvie can be in tune with the beauty of nature, but what good is that? The book is beautifully written, and full of phrases and interesting ways of putting things that make you think. (For example, "his mortal and professional careers ended...") Themes include water, resurrection, life, loss, and memory. Like the lake, at times it can be deep, but that's what the pause and rewind buttons are for.

One other theme that I saw in the book was the whole idea of civilization, or at least society. Who is civilized? Does it have anything to do with keeping a house? Who isn't? What attitudes does civilization view as a threat, and how does it react to such perceived threats?

I really enjoyed this book. It may compete with Mercy Among The Children as my favourite fiction of the year. It's not light reading, so stay away if you prefer fluff. But I think it's worth the effort. Four and a half stars (out of five).

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

The Inheritance of Loss is more difficult than most books to sum up in a brief review. Set in the 1980s, at first, the main character seems to be Sai. She's an Indian teen who becomes an orphan when her parents, among the first astronauts in the Indian space program, are run over by a bus in Moscow. (That seems a little contrived to me.) Sai is forced to move in with her grandfather, a retired judge living in the Himalayan foothills near Darjeeling. The judge becomes a main character, as does his poor cook, and also the cook's son Biju, who's an illegal immigrant in New York. Minor characters are also studied in greater detail than in many books.

Sai's love interest is is Gyan, an ethnic Gorkha (Nepali) who becomes involved with the Gorkhaland National Liberation Front (which, I assume most non-Indian, non-Nepali readers will have never heard of).

The book could be described as beautiful, with lots of slices of the reality of life in the post-Colonial era. The experiences of Indians are looked upon (or at least Desai's views of them). For example, while there are exceptions, Biju is assumed to be the common-man Indian emigrant. Without a green card, he has a tough time of it in New York, leaving the reader to wonder whether or not America is all that it's cracked up to be. Where is ones home after all?

If the book has a flaw, in my opinion, it's the time spent with the GNLF. I suppose a novel needs to have some extra conflict introduced. But to me, the slices of life were so vivid and compelling that this wrinkle hardly seemed to be needed.

Despite winning the Man Booker prize, it seems to have more than the normal share of negative reviews over at Amazon.com. As of this writing, it's rated at three stars out of five. I'll do better than that and give it three and one half stars. However, Desai can do better.

UK Climate Change Protesters at Nuclear Plant

I don't really know much about this story beyond the headline, but here's an article. Just the headline make me wonder if the protesters are for or against climate change.

There is a lot of negativity surrounding nuclear power, but if you wanted to increase CO₂ emissions, wouldn't one way be to ban nuclear?

A Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut

This book should be subtitled The Ramblings of a Grumpy Old Man Who Is Unhappy With the State of the World. It was published in 2005 when Vonnegut was 82. At least "Kurt's up in heaven now", or at least he wants me to mention this. (Read the book to know what I mean.)

Actually, for an atheist and humanist, he talks about God and Jesus a lot. One interesting point was that he'd rather see Christians pushing for wider display of the Beatitudes (see below), rather than the 10 Commandments. I can go for that.

The book is US-Centric and rather short. I'm not sure I'd want to pay the full price for it, but if you can pick up a copy from the library, it isn't a bad introduction to Vonnegut's late-life views. Slaughterhouse Five was better. So was Back To School. Two and a half stars out of five.

And, here are the Beatitudes. Vonnegut suggested that it would be nice to see the one concerning the Peacemakers in the office of George W. Bush.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God
Matthew 5:3-9 [NIV]

The Rocket Runner?

Here are a few photos from yesterday's rocket launch. From reading The Kite Runner a while ago, I had the feeling that if I caught a (parachuting) rocket in the air, I should get to keep it. I did catch one, but gave it back to the 10-year old when he asked for it. (I'm looking forward to reading A Thousand Splended Suns).



We also brought along my old little one:


No parachte and small size makes it go high and fast, but it's difficult to see and find. It didn't land very far from the launch pad.

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

The Spanish Civil War. It's not really well-known or studied around here. I suspect that there are probably a few reasons for that:

• With names like the "Republicans" and "Nationalists", it's hard to remember who were the good guys and who were the bad guys.
• With one side backed by Stalin and the other by Hitler and Mussolini, was there even a "good" side and a "bad" side?
• As this was a prequel to a main event of World War II, it is overshadowed in most memories and our history books.

Anyway, Bell tells the story of the fictitious American Robert Jordan, who's a Spanish instructor from the University of Montana and in Spain fighting with the Republican (Communist-backed) side. Jordan is a demolition expert, and he is given the task of meeting up with a guerrilla band in a Nationalist- (Fascist-) controlled area and blowing up a bridge.

Much of the story involves the interaction of Jordan with members of the band in preparation for the coordinated assault on the bridge. Pablo, the band's leader, is a troublesome character. He seems to have lost his will to fight, and Jordan and the reader can't tell whether or not he can be trusted. And, when Pablo finally commits an act from which there can be no forgiveness, suddenly, all is right in their relationship, at least for a while.

Then, there's Jordan's love interest, Maria, who may exist more to make the story more suitable for Hollywood. (I'm looking forward to seeing Ingrid Bergman in the role.)

The narrative point of view seemed interesting and somewhat unconventional. It was third person, mostly focusing on Jordan's thoughts and actions, including long "conversations with himself" that make it more of a first-person account. But, it also had a few parts away from Jordan and from the point of view of other characters. These made the book seem inconsistent.

The book does a good job of showing the uncertainties of war. However, I thought it was too long. The asides were too numerous and also too long. I would have preferred if Hemingway had stuck to the story.

It's considered a classic, and I can see how literary types would really enjoy it. Others in my book club also didn't care for it, though I'm not that negative. It has good parts and bad. I suppose I'm neutral about it, though I may try another of the author's classics.

No man is an island, entire of itself
every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main
if a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were,
as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were
any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind
and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls
it tolls for thee.

-- John Donne

In-Progress Vacation Photos

I love having internet access in a hotel room, though posting photos at this point is probably more amusing to me than to anyone else. We haven't been to the wedding yet. I'll probably post more photos of the weekend later at my other site.

At Least I Didn't Cut Myself

When packing for a weekend trip, there is always so much to remember to bring along. This time I forgot my electric shaver. So, this morning when grocery shopping for breakfast, I picked up "more primitive" shaving supplies. It's been many years since I've shaved with a blade. I'm sure my speed would improve with experience, but it sure took a long time. I can't see preferring that to my old, dull, electric shaver. At least I didn't cut myself.