Sunday, September 21, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
The Historian - Recap
Well, I finally finished The Historian. And overall, I liked it. Overall.
I will say that I thought it was way too long, and I found the first half extremely confusing. See, the narrator is the 16-year old daughter of a historian (an historian?) And part of her story is retelling the story her father told her. And part of his story is retelling the story a mentor/professor friend told him. So we have three first-person narrators, and I found myself forgetting who was talking more than once. But once we got about halfway through, that cleared up. Then it was this complicated jaunt through European monasteries looking for the final grave of Vlad the Impaler (also known as....well, never mind.) My last complaint is that I found it to be a whole lot of build up to not much climax.
But other than those things.....I liked it. I have to admire the amount of research that went into it, and it was a very unique novel. One of the better points made was questioning the fascination we all have with the evil events in history. Why are we so compelled to study evil people and their evil deeds?
Ultimately, three and a half out of five stars. I wish I could have given it a better read. I'm sure I missed a lot of stuff.
I will say that I thought it was way too long, and I found the first half extremely confusing. See, the narrator is the 16-year old daughter of a historian (an historian?) And part of her story is retelling the story her father told her. And part of his story is retelling the story a mentor/professor friend told him. So we have three first-person narrators, and I found myself forgetting who was talking more than once. But once we got about halfway through, that cleared up. Then it was this complicated jaunt through European monasteries looking for the final grave of Vlad the Impaler (also known as....well, never mind.) My last complaint is that I found it to be a whole lot of build up to not much climax.
But other than those things.....I liked it. I have to admire the amount of research that went into it, and it was a very unique novel. One of the better points made was questioning the fascination we all have with the evil events in history. Why are we so compelled to study evil people and their evil deeds?
Ultimately, three and a half out of five stars. I wish I could have given it a better read. I'm sure I missed a lot of stuff.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Our Week
Sunday - Teach Sunday School, Church, Mark to back-to-back committee/Session meetings, Ben to baseball game, D to meeting with youth advisor for Scout requirement, Ben and Daniel to youth group
Monday - Work/School all day, DP to soccer practice, Ben to scouts
Tuesday - Work/School all day, Ben to baseball practice, DP to scouts
Wednesday - Work/School all day, come home (Whoo-Hooo!)
Thursday - Completed forgotten science project at 7 AM, Work/School all day, Orchestra Parents meeting, Grocery store
On tap for Friday and Saturday:
Mark taking Ben backpacking with scouts overnight, followed by a baseball game on Saturday; I'm taking DP to soccer games on Friday night and Saturday morning.
The key to happiness: Realizing that in ten years, I'll have all the free time I can stand, and I'll probably wish I'd done more with and for my kids while I could. It may sound silly and stupid, but it's working for me.
Monday - Work/School all day, DP to soccer practice, Ben to scouts
Tuesday - Work/School all day, Ben to baseball practice, DP to scouts
Wednesday - Work/School all day, come home (Whoo-Hooo!)
Thursday - Completed forgotten science project at 7 AM, Work/School all day, Orchestra Parents meeting, Grocery store
On tap for Friday and Saturday:
Mark taking Ben backpacking with scouts overnight, followed by a baseball game on Saturday; I'm taking DP to soccer games on Friday night and Saturday morning.
The key to happiness: Realizing that in ten years, I'll have all the free time I can stand, and I'll probably wish I'd done more with and for my kids while I could. It may sound silly and stupid, but it's working for me.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Not a Complete Waste of a Season
Unless something really outrageous happens (something along the lines of the Apocalypse,) my beloved Yanks will not be making the post-season this year, for the first time in something like 14 years. This will be the first time Derek Jeter has ever NOT played in October.
But the season is ending on something of a high note - last night, Jeter broke the record for career hits at Yankee stadium, surpassing the mark held by The Iron Horse himself, Lou Gehrig. Yankee Stadium will close for good this Sunday.
But the season is ending on something of a high note - last night, Jeter broke the record for career hits at Yankee stadium, surpassing the mark held by The Iron Horse himself, Lou Gehrig. Yankee Stadium will close for good this Sunday.
Thank you, Mr. November, for giving the fans a little something to get us through a long, long winter.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Heroes
My blogger friend Caryn has asked for personal essays on Heroes. This thrills me to no end. Heroes is one of my all-time favorite shows! And the timing couldn't be more perfect - Season Three kicks off in two weeks. It's a great time to reflect on the show's greatness thus far.
What's that? You don't watch Heroes? Well, first off, shame on you. But second, never fear, I'll fill you in.
Heroes is about a bunch of random people in random places that have random special powers. And I do mean random - one guy reads other peoples' thoughts, one lady can make you see things differently than they really are, one guy can fly, one guy stops time, one girl can shoot electricity out of her fingers. The list goes on. Really unrealistic stuff. But I digress.
Anyway, these people all meet up somehow (as frequently happens on well-written television shows) and share their angst about their special powers.
Why all the angst, you may ask? Well, some of these special people don't want their special powers. They resent being forced to be different from everyone else. Never mind the fact that you can FLY, for crying out loud, the important thing here seems to be not standing out. Never mind the fact that you have obviously been given a gift here. You can FLY! No one else can fly. No one that I'm seeing. Just you. But rather than seeing it as a gift, rather than asking yourself why you, and why this gift, and where did this gift come from, you just complain about the possibility that people might stare at you...
Sorry...got a little carried away with that one. Good television does that to you. Keeps you all wrapped up in the characters and their issues. Even if their issues are totally unrealistic. Imagine real people hiding who they really are so they can be just like everyone else. How stupid would that be? But let's get back to the show.
So, we've got these people with these special powers. And this angst. But despite the angst, they manage to meet up and fight evil. (Except the evil ones - they all meet up to fight good, but that's to be expected.) And this is the actual focus of the show, the fighting evil. Because what good is having a special power if you don't do anything with it? Isn't that what being a hero is all about? Taking the gifts you've been given and using them to make the world a better place? Taking your special powers and helping other people?
Which is why Season Three has a new tag line: Heroes and Villains. See, there's this whole cast of characters who have special powers, but can't be called heroes. Because they use their gifts simply to advance themselves. They don't use their powers for anyone else. That's why they aren't heroes. Heroes aren't selfish. Heroes aren't looking out for number one.
See, it isn't the special powers that make you a hero. It's what you do with the special powers that makes you a hero. Use them to take over the world? That makes you a villain. Use them to pull your neighbor out of a burning building simply because you can? That makes you a hero. To loosely paraphrase Rick Warren, heroes don't think less of themselves, heroes think of themselves less.
So tune in on Monday nights for a brand new season of Heroes. But don't look for any great life lessons. Heroes is a great show, but it's pretty unrealistic.
What's that? You don't watch Heroes? Well, first off, shame on you. But second, never fear, I'll fill you in.
Heroes is about a bunch of random people in random places that have random special powers. And I do mean random - one guy reads other peoples' thoughts, one lady can make you see things differently than they really are, one guy can fly, one guy stops time, one girl can shoot electricity out of her fingers. The list goes on. Really unrealistic stuff. But I digress.
Anyway, these people all meet up somehow (as frequently happens on well-written television shows) and share their angst about their special powers.
Why all the angst, you may ask? Well, some of these special people don't want their special powers. They resent being forced to be different from everyone else. Never mind the fact that you can FLY, for crying out loud, the important thing here seems to be not standing out. Never mind the fact that you have obviously been given a gift here. You can FLY! No one else can fly. No one that I'm seeing. Just you. But rather than seeing it as a gift, rather than asking yourself why you, and why this gift, and where did this gift come from, you just complain about the possibility that people might stare at you...
Sorry...got a little carried away with that one. Good television does that to you. Keeps you all wrapped up in the characters and their issues. Even if their issues are totally unrealistic. Imagine real people hiding who they really are so they can be just like everyone else. How stupid would that be? But let's get back to the show.
So, we've got these people with these special powers. And this angst. But despite the angst, they manage to meet up and fight evil. (Except the evil ones - they all meet up to fight good, but that's to be expected.) And this is the actual focus of the show, the fighting evil. Because what good is having a special power if you don't do anything with it? Isn't that what being a hero is all about? Taking the gifts you've been given and using them to make the world a better place? Taking your special powers and helping other people?
Which is why Season Three has a new tag line: Heroes and Villains. See, there's this whole cast of characters who have special powers, but can't be called heroes. Because they use their gifts simply to advance themselves. They don't use their powers for anyone else. That's why they aren't heroes. Heroes aren't selfish. Heroes aren't looking out for number one.
See, it isn't the special powers that make you a hero. It's what you do with the special powers that makes you a hero. Use them to take over the world? That makes you a villain. Use them to pull your neighbor out of a burning building simply because you can? That makes you a hero. To loosely paraphrase Rick Warren, heroes don't think less of themselves, heroes think of themselves less.
So tune in on Monday nights for a brand new season of Heroes. But don't look for any great life lessons. Heroes is a great show, but it's pretty unrealistic.
I Wonder....
When did slapping a plastic bag over a gas pump nozzle become the universal sign for "no gas here"?
This....Is.....Sportscenter.
Da Da Dum. Da Da Dum.
OK, so we spent our Saturday morning at the ball fields. Daniel had a game at nine AM, and Ben had a game across town at noon. I took the camcorder, with high hopes of great highlight footage. During Daniel's game, I did the ole "confuse record with standby" trick that I'm so good at. I think I'm recording, and hold the camera until my arm gives out. Then I turn it on and set it down and get great footage of my feet. I also got a good ten minutes of the sky. At Ben's game, I got lots of footage. Lots of footage of Ben standing at shortstop doing nothing. Then I turn it off and he makes a play. There is no justice.
You'll just have to settle for my post-game commentary.
The Galaxy brought their record up to 2-2 with a 3-0 shut-out of last year's championship team. (I'm all about the kids, and the sportsmanship, and the having fun and all that, but there is something extremely satisfying in shellacking the team that eliminated you the last time you played.) And during the post-game, Daniel won the Galaxy award! His coach gives two awards after each game: the MVP goes to the player who does the best athletically (or has the most skills, as Napoleon Dynamite would say), and the Galaxy award goes to the player who has the best attitude. DP was presented with a king size Reese's cup for his troubles.
Ben's team continued their winless streak. Ben started at catcher, then moved to short for several innings, and then pitched the final inning. He didn't see much action in the field, but he pitched well, retiring three batters and only walking one. He also got to bat three times - one solid hit, one walk, and one K.
Considering I did nothing but sit in a chair all morning and perspire, I'm surprisingly tired. Looking forward to a quiet night at the homestead.
OK, so we spent our Saturday morning at the ball fields. Daniel had a game at nine AM, and Ben had a game across town at noon. I took the camcorder, with high hopes of great highlight footage. During Daniel's game, I did the ole "confuse record with standby" trick that I'm so good at. I think I'm recording, and hold the camera until my arm gives out. Then I turn it on and set it down and get great footage of my feet. I also got a good ten minutes of the sky. At Ben's game, I got lots of footage. Lots of footage of Ben standing at shortstop doing nothing. Then I turn it off and he makes a play. There is no justice.
You'll just have to settle for my post-game commentary.
The Galaxy brought their record up to 2-2 with a 3-0 shut-out of last year's championship team. (I'm all about the kids, and the sportsmanship, and the having fun and all that, but there is something extremely satisfying in shellacking the team that eliminated you the last time you played.) And during the post-game, Daniel won the Galaxy award! His coach gives two awards after each game: the MVP goes to the player who does the best athletically (or has the most skills, as Napoleon Dynamite would say), and the Galaxy award goes to the player who has the best attitude. DP was presented with a king size Reese's cup for his troubles.
Ben's team continued their winless streak. Ben started at catcher, then moved to short for several innings, and then pitched the final inning. He didn't see much action in the field, but he pitched well, retiring three batters and only walking one. He also got to bat three times - one solid hit, one walk, and one K.
Considering I did nothing but sit in a chair all morning and perspire, I'm surprisingly tired. Looking forward to a quiet night at the homestead.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The Rest of the Story
In Saturday's baseball game, Ben played third base for a couple of innings. At one point, the ball took a bad hop and caught him right in the face. He tried to play it off, but he cried, and the coach came out to talk to him. We assumed he was imparting great words of encouragement - win one for the gipper kind of stuff - because Ben shook it off and stayed in the game. We were proud of his determination and grit.
After the game, we asked Ben what the coach said to him. Apparently, the conversation went like this:
Coach: "You OK?"
Ben: "No."
Coach: "You wanna come out?"
Ben: "Yes."
Coach: "Oh. Well, I don't have anybody else who can play third."
Ben. "Oh. OK. I guess I'll stay in."
Coach: " 'Preciate it."
And now you know the rest of the story.
After the game, we asked Ben what the coach said to him. Apparently, the conversation went like this:
Coach: "You OK?"
Ben: "No."
Coach: "You wanna come out?"
Ben: "Yes."
Coach: "Oh. Well, I don't have anybody else who can play third."
Ben. "Oh. OK. I guess I'll stay in."
Coach: " 'Preciate it."
And now you know the rest of the story.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Fall Baseball Gets Underway
Fall baseball got underway this weekend. Ben had games yesterday and today. "The Doc's" lost both games, but they played well. Fall ball is more about instruction than regular season, so players move around a lot. Ben got to be the starting pitcher yesterday - he only pitched one inning in a regular season game prior to that. He did well - he only gave up two hits - he walked a few, but got five strikeouts. All in all, it was a good outing. He played catcher today. It was only about 150 degrees on the field, the all the gear he had to wear didn't really affect him. :) He also went three for five over both games at the plate. Good times all around.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Even More Movie Quotes
You know what to do:
1. "Well, let's get started. Moby Dick. Chapter one. Call me Ishmael..."
2. "My friend and me got a hankerin' for Switzerland chocolate and a good smoke."
3. "I take a vitamin every day. It's called a steak."
4. "I have a special practice. I handle one client. Now you have my number. I'll wait for your call. By the way, I admire your pictures very much."
5. "Will you take me home?"
6. "What are you talking about? You don't even like money. You like money less than you like fun, if that's possible."
1. "Well, let's get started. Moby Dick. Chapter one. Call me Ishmael..."
2. "My friend and me got a hankerin' for Switzerland chocolate and a good smoke."
3. "I take a vitamin every day. It's called a steak."
4. "I have a special practice. I handle one client. Now you have my number. I'll wait for your call. By the way, I admire your pictures very much."
5. "Will you take me home?"
6. "What are you talking about? You don't even like money. You like money less than you like fun, if that's possible."
Galaxy Wins!
Our second game was last night, and the Galaxy won it 3-2! We scored one early, then the other team tied it and eventually took the lead 2-1. With only about four minutes left to play, we scored twice!! It was a magic moment. (Technically, a couple of moments, I guess.)
Daniel played the whole game again - he was a limp noodle when it was over, but he's loving it.
Daniel played the whole game again - he was a limp noodle when it was over, but he's loving it.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
What I'm Reading Now
The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova.I was aware of some hype around this book, but I didn't really know much about it. I bought it on sale at BAMM, and didn't even read the back cover. I started it totally cold, not having any idea what it was about.
Boy, have I been surprised. It's good so far - the pace is pretty slow, but it certainly has my attention. It's very well written - it has the feel of a classic.
The only other thing I'll say is that it inspired the naming of the car. Hmmmm.
I'll keep you posted....
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