NB was fetching something from the basement, when he yelled, "Mom! There's a snake down here!"
Sure enough it's a baby milk snake. EM caught it, Michael found the snake cage we keep on hand, and it is now residing on top of my piano.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Reading Notes
I was shocked to realize I haven't written about my reading since February. I'm going to aim for once a month from now on.
Chocolat--Set in France during Lent, it seemed an appropriate book to read during Lent while preparing to visit France. The book was enjoyable and adequately crafted, but it was less than I expected. Less sensual. Less controversial. Less substantial. A French beach read, with the unfortunate side effect of making you crave chocolate.
Chasing Vermeer--A children's book the twins were reading. It reminded me of The Westing Game, which I read when I was their age.
My Life in France--I saw Julie & Julia in the theater last year during one of my trips to Waltham, so I had some idea of what to expect when Michael brought the book home from the library. The descriptions of the food were fantastic, of course, but I found that I prefer Meryl's Julia to Julia's Julia. By the end, there were simply too many examples of underhanded criticism and self-centeredness. I was happy to finish the book and leave her behind, so I was surprised when I looked through my quotation book to discover I had one from My Life in France:
Oh, how I yearned for a passel of blood-brother friends to celebrate with. We had plenty of acquaintances in Oslo, but, as in Plittersdorf, we suffered months and months of nobody to really hug but ourselves. p215
The Zookeeper's Wife--Some books are in the air and you can no longer remember who recommended them first. Such is the case with this one. I interrupted my French series to read it in April because it was the selection for a fledgling book group. (So fledgling it has yet to meet.) I have mixed feelings about The Zookeeper's Wife. On the one hand, I came away with a new-found understanding of the Polish experience in World War II and an appreciation for the Polish spirit. (And more information about the Nazi party. Did you know Nazis were frequently environmentalists and animal rights activists? Humans truly are baffling.) On the other hand, the author is prone to long, flowery descriptions and the subject of the book suffers somewhat in comparison to the side stories. Still, I filled my book with quotations such as these:
One of the most remarkable things about Antonina was her determination to include play, animals, wonder, curiosity, marvel, and a wide blaze of innocence in a household where all dodged the ambient dangers, horrors, and uncertainties. p166
At the outbreak of the war, thinking to decapitate the country, the Nazis had rounded up and shot most of the Polish intellegentsia, then outlawed education and the press, a strategy that boomeranged because it not only made learning subversively appealing, it also freed the surviving intellectuals to focus their brainpower on feats of resistance and sabotage. p169
Yet 70,00o-90,000 people in Warsaw and the suburbs, or about one-twelfth of the city's population, risked their lives to help neighbors escape. p189
After the defeat of Communism in 1989, with characteristic good humor the Poles turned the former Gestapo headquarters into the Ministry of Education, the former KGB headquarters into the Ministry of Justice, the Communist Party headquarters into the Stock Exchange, and so on. p321
A Marginal Jew, vol. 1--"Suppose that a Catholic, a Protestant, a Jew and an agnostic--all honest historians cognizant of 1-st century religious movements--were locked up in the bowels of the Harvard Divinity School library, put on a spartan diet, and not allowed to emerge until they had hammered out a consensus document on who Jesus of Nazareth was and what he intended in his own time and place." (1) A Marginal Jew attempts to be that document. This volume describes the concepts, evaluates the sources, discusses Jesus' birth and family, and provides a basic chronology. The author (a Catholic priest and professor at Notre Dame) does a fantastic job of weighing evidence and explaining why he draws the conclusions he does. I found especially interesting his discussion of why the Last Supper was not a Passover meal. I need to go buy volume two.
Queenmaker--I was handed this book by a friend when I saw The Red Tent on her bookshelf and said how much I enjoyed it. This is the story of Michal, daughter of Saul and wife of David. I was surprised a couple of times to find that a situation I had assumed was the author's creation was in fact taken from the Bible. Queenmaker was enjoyable, but it didn't have as much of an impact on me as The Red Tent. That might have more to do with changes in me than with the respective qualities of the books.
The Farseer Trilogy (Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin's Quest)--I read Assassin's Apprentice in 2007, but abandoned the trilogy because it felt wrong to pay $3 in Inter-Library Loan fees for each paperback book. Instead, I put them on my Christmas wish list, and Michael bought them for me last year. Since it had been so long, I decided to start by rereading the first book. I really liked it. (Again.) The second book turned darker, and I started to realize I wouldn't get an ending as happy as I would like. The third book dragged for a bit in the middle, but I found myself sobbing through the last 100 pages. PMS? The fact that I had just said goodbye to our closest friends after a week-long visit? I don't know, but I was relieved I was reading in the privacy of my bedroom. Think Frodo leaving Middle Earth.
Chocolat--Set in France during Lent, it seemed an appropriate book to read during Lent while preparing to visit France. The book was enjoyable and adequately crafted, but it was less than I expected. Less sensual. Less controversial. Less substantial. A French beach read, with the unfortunate side effect of making you crave chocolate.
Chasing Vermeer--A children's book the twins were reading. It reminded me of The Westing Game, which I read when I was their age.
My Life in France--I saw Julie & Julia in the theater last year during one of my trips to Waltham, so I had some idea of what to expect when Michael brought the book home from the library. The descriptions of the food were fantastic, of course, but I found that I prefer Meryl's Julia to Julia's Julia. By the end, there were simply too many examples of underhanded criticism and self-centeredness. I was happy to finish the book and leave her behind, so I was surprised when I looked through my quotation book to discover I had one from My Life in France:
Oh, how I yearned for a passel of blood-brother friends to celebrate with. We had plenty of acquaintances in Oslo, but, as in Plittersdorf, we suffered months and months of nobody to really hug but ourselves. p215
The Zookeeper's Wife--Some books are in the air and you can no longer remember who recommended them first. Such is the case with this one. I interrupted my French series to read it in April because it was the selection for a fledgling book group. (So fledgling it has yet to meet.) I have mixed feelings about The Zookeeper's Wife. On the one hand, I came away with a new-found understanding of the Polish experience in World War II and an appreciation for the Polish spirit. (And more information about the Nazi party. Did you know Nazis were frequently environmentalists and animal rights activists? Humans truly are baffling.) On the other hand, the author is prone to long, flowery descriptions and the subject of the book suffers somewhat in comparison to the side stories. Still, I filled my book with quotations such as these:
One of the most remarkable things about Antonina was her determination to include play, animals, wonder, curiosity, marvel, and a wide blaze of innocence in a household where all dodged the ambient dangers, horrors, and uncertainties. p166
At the outbreak of the war, thinking to decapitate the country, the Nazis had rounded up and shot most of the Polish intellegentsia, then outlawed education and the press, a strategy that boomeranged because it not only made learning subversively appealing, it also freed the surviving intellectuals to focus their brainpower on feats of resistance and sabotage. p169
Yet 70,00o-90,000 people in Warsaw and the suburbs, or about one-twelfth of the city's population, risked their lives to help neighbors escape. p189
After the defeat of Communism in 1989, with characteristic good humor the Poles turned the former Gestapo headquarters into the Ministry of Education, the former KGB headquarters into the Ministry of Justice, the Communist Party headquarters into the Stock Exchange, and so on. p321
A Marginal Jew, vol. 1--"Suppose that a Catholic, a Protestant, a Jew and an agnostic--all honest historians cognizant of 1-st century religious movements--were locked up in the bowels of the Harvard Divinity School library, put on a spartan diet, and not allowed to emerge until they had hammered out a consensus document on who Jesus of Nazareth was and what he intended in his own time and place." (1) A Marginal Jew attempts to be that document. This volume describes the concepts, evaluates the sources, discusses Jesus' birth and family, and provides a basic chronology. The author (a Catholic priest and professor at Notre Dame) does a fantastic job of weighing evidence and explaining why he draws the conclusions he does. I found especially interesting his discussion of why the Last Supper was not a Passover meal. I need to go buy volume two.
Queenmaker--I was handed this book by a friend when I saw The Red Tent on her bookshelf and said how much I enjoyed it. This is the story of Michal, daughter of Saul and wife of David. I was surprised a couple of times to find that a situation I had assumed was the author's creation was in fact taken from the Bible. Queenmaker was enjoyable, but it didn't have as much of an impact on me as The Red Tent. That might have more to do with changes in me than with the respective qualities of the books.
The Farseer Trilogy (Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin's Quest)--I read Assassin's Apprentice in 2007, but abandoned the trilogy because it felt wrong to pay $3 in Inter-Library Loan fees for each paperback book. Instead, I put them on my Christmas wish list, and Michael bought them for me last year. Since it had been so long, I decided to start by rereading the first book. I really liked it. (Again.) The second book turned darker, and I started to realize I wouldn't get an ending as happy as I would like. The third book dragged for a bit in the middle, but I found myself sobbing through the last 100 pages. PMS? The fact that I had just said goodbye to our closest friends after a week-long visit? I don't know, but I was relieved I was reading in the privacy of my bedroom. Think Frodo leaving Middle Earth.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Vacation Remorse
LW came to me Friday night and demanded to know when he was going back to school. I pulled down the calendar, pointed to June 11, and then showed him August 25.
He burst into tears.
Apparently, although he's been talking eagerly about summer vacation, he hadn't realized that during summer vacation you don't go to school.
Weeping. Wailing. Gnashing of teeth.
It turns out he had a P3 bucket list, and he hadn't finished it yet.
He burst into tears.
Apparently, although he's been talking eagerly about summer vacation, he hadn't realized that during summer vacation you don't go to school.
Weeping. Wailing. Gnashing of teeth.
It turns out he had a P3 bucket list, and he hadn't finished it yet.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Buying train tickets
Yesterday I bought tickets for my trip to New York City in September. I'm flying down, but taking the train back.
This is the first time I've purchased Amtrak tickets online. There are a few quirks in the process.
First, on the page where you enter your credit card information, there is a little notice that informs you that prices aren't guaranteed until your credit card is charged. I figured Amtrak is large enough I could trust them, but really! Requiring me to enter in my credit card information with no guarantee that the price displayed on the screen is the price I would end up paying?
Second, the page that displays at the end of the process has big bold letters across it: THIS IS NOT A TICKET. Which is true. You have to either pick up your ticket at the station or pay to have it mailed to you. The problem is that if you read the smaller print you realize that the NOT A TICKET page has a bar code that you need in order to retrieve your ticket. And I can verify that the bar code doesn't come through correctly in Google Mail. So although it might not be a ticket, it's a really good idea to print the page.* If you don't, you'll be standing in line at the ticket window instead of being able to get your ticket from a kiosk.
I can't decide if Amtrak thinks its patrons are gullible or sophisticated.
* Don't worry, Mom. I printed it.
This is the first time I've purchased Amtrak tickets online. There are a few quirks in the process.
First, on the page where you enter your credit card information, there is a little notice that informs you that prices aren't guaranteed until your credit card is charged. I figured Amtrak is large enough I could trust them, but really! Requiring me to enter in my credit card information with no guarantee that the price displayed on the screen is the price I would end up paying?
Second, the page that displays at the end of the process has big bold letters across it: THIS IS NOT A TICKET. Which is true. You have to either pick up your ticket at the station or pay to have it mailed to you. The problem is that if you read the smaller print you realize that the NOT A TICKET page has a bar code that you need in order to retrieve your ticket. And I can verify that the bar code doesn't come through correctly in Google Mail. So although it might not be a ticket, it's a really good idea to print the page.* If you don't, you'll be standing in line at the ticket window instead of being able to get your ticket from a kiosk.
I can't decide if Amtrak thinks its patrons are gullible or sophisticated.
* Don't worry, Mom. I printed it.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
The Secret in their Eyes
Last night, Michael and I took advantage of the empty inn and went to see a movie with some theater friends. We saw The Secret in their Eyes, an Argentinian film that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film this year.
I'm still thinking about it this morning.
The movie takes place in two times--the present, and twenty years ago. In the present, a retired judicial employee is trying to write a novel about a rape-murder case. The flashbacks show the initial investigation.
The acting was excellent, and the aging of the actors completely believable.
I was worried it would be depressing (in my experience, Oscar-winning foreign films tend to be), but it wasn't.
It was, however, haunting.
I'm still thinking about it this morning.
The movie takes place in two times--the present, and twenty years ago. In the present, a retired judicial employee is trying to write a novel about a rape-murder case. The flashbacks show the initial investigation.
The acting was excellent, and the aging of the actors completely believable.
I was worried it would be depressing (in my experience, Oscar-winning foreign films tend to be), but it wasn't.
It was, however, haunting.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Hand over the Oscar
NB and LW just called me up to their room because there was a spider on NB's bed and they wanted me to remove it and not kill it.
Clearly, I have been doing an amazing acting job for the last ten years if they thought calling me for help with a spider was a good idea.
But, Michael is at rehearsal, so what's a mom to do?
The spider is now alive and well and outside.
I even managed not to shudder until the kids were back in bed.
Clearly, I have been doing an amazing acting job for the last ten years if they thought calling me for help with a spider was a good idea.
But, Michael is at rehearsal, so what's a mom to do?
The spider is now alive and well and outside.
I even managed not to shudder until the kids were back in bed.
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