Grasping for the Wind

Personal Note: My Favorite Animal

HT: Cute Overload Yes, I do read it. ;-)

Ugghhh

Up at 3:40 AM this morning after going to bed at 12:01 AM the same morning. Not happy.

Personal Note: Spain

Back in 2006, my wife and I spent 9 days in Madrid and Granada learning all about Spanish history and art, along with several homeschooled students. My wife, the talented designer, has created a scrapbook of the trip you can see here, if you are interested.

Huh...

In the unusual things to happen to me category, for some reason a short essay I wrote for this blog back in January of 2006 has turned up at Urbanministry.org. I don't remember ever submitting the article, (and maybe I didn't) but it is still cool. I think this is one of the better things I have written, actually. Still, I had forgotten all about it and I'm not sure why it has turned up here except that maybe one of the folks I know who work on the site stuck it up there.

The article is about making short term mission trips more holistic, and was the answer to a question in one of my Chalmers Center courses. The Chalmers Center is a correspondence school that is teaching Christians about integrating business and missions.

I know a couple of the folks at Techmission.org, who run the site where the article was posted, but hey, if people find it helpful, more power to them.

Still, its weird to see your name and being called a speaker/author like you actually have some sort of validity and importance to your random thinking.

Featured on Red Room

My interview with Rosemary Jones, author of the Forgotten Realms novel Crypt of the Moaning Diamond has been featured on the homepage of Red Room.com!

Redroom is:

... the online home of the world’s greatest writers. Through original, author-generated content, we offer a trustworthy and creative social network unlike any other. Here, you can connect with your favorite authors, access current industry news, and comment on engaging features. By fostering true community between authors and readers, Red Room showcases esteemed writers and inspires the next generation. We also give back to the community we aim to nurture with our commitment to the Causes We Support.

Thanks to Rosemary for posting a link to our interview at Red Room, and to Red Room for thinking it worthy enough to put on their homepage!

Germany 2008

I'm back from Germany! It was a great trip and everyone had a lot of fun.

Please enjoy these pictures from my trip last week to Germany. We saw lots of sites, including Munich, Rothenburg ob de Tauber, Neuschwanstein, Bacharach, The Rhine Valley Region, Trier, and Burg Eltz.

You will need Flash player to view it. If you can't, you can visit the Flickr page instead.

Blog Temporarily Suspended

I'm headed out of the country tomorrow to take a bunch of teenagers to Germany to learn about art history, so this blog will be on a ten day hiatus. I'll be back in April with lots more stuff. I'll tell you all about the trip when I get back, and will have lots of pictures to share!

A St. Patrick's Day Treat

Well, looks like I know more people with some notoriety than I thought. The husband of a former teacher of mine is giving a Celtic guitar performance on WRFG FM Atlanta at 8:30 tonight! His name is Robert McMillan, and he is quite a gifted guitarist. Tune into the site to listen live at 8:30 EST.

And for your viewing enjoyment, check out this awesome custom guitar! (Click the picture to go to the seller's page.)

Tri-doku

And in the I know someone sort of famous category, we have Japheth Light (the first "h" is silent) a guy I went to church with when I was teaching in Palm Bay, Florida and whose wife was the third grade teacher to my fifth/sixth grade.

It turns out that my friend is the inventor of a new, harder version of Sudoku called Tri-doku. A math guy through and through, Japheth thought that standard Sudoku was too easy, so he and a friend invented this new form. His first collection of puzzles has been published by a renowned puzzle publisher.

I'm not a Sudoku fan, (I prefer crosswords) but if you are, and think standard Sudoku is too easy, you might try my friend's newer version. (and if you understand these rules, I bow before your awesome prowess.)

Tridoku uses a triangle rather than a square for its format and the rules are as follows:

No. 1, the large triangle rule: The numbers 1-9 must be placed in each of the nine large triangles in the puzzle.

No. 2, the inner triangle rule: The numbers 1-9 must be placed in each of the three legs of the inner shaded triangle. Notice the numbers in the corners of the inner triangle will each count for two legs of the inner triangle. So the 3 in the left corner counts as the 3 for the top shaded leg and the left shaded leg of the inner triangle.

No. 3, the outer triangle rule: The numbers 1-9 must be placed in each of the three legs of the outer shaded triangle. As in rule 2, the numbers at the corners each lie in two legs of the outer triangle (i.e. the 2 at the top counts as the 2 for the left and right leg of the outer triangle).

No. 4, the hexagon rule: No two neighboring (touching) cells may contain the same numbers. This rule goes for any two cells that touch -- regardless of whether the cells meet along an edge or at a single point.
In other words, no numbers can be repeated within any small hexagon in the entire puzzle.

Try one of the puzzles here.

And see the solution here.

Congratulations to my friend Japheth on his achievement, and his other creation to be released next year, Snowflake Sudoku.

On Selling Myself

Recently, an author acquaintance of mine suggested that I start submitting my reviews and other thoughts to various e-zines and other trade magazines devoted to spec fic. But as I think about it, and do a little research on payment types and methods, I’ve come to the conclusion that it really isn’t for me.

I didn’t start this blog with the intent to find work. I have a very good paying job with benefits that I really like. Not only that, it is a job that, while making me a capitalist pig, also lets me have plenty of free time, during work, to write posts for this little hobby.

Nor is this blog an attempt to promote my own fiction writing. I have no training in creative writing whatsoever (except for a few classes in my undergrad studies, and they were just for fun). I am a trained elementary teacher for goodness sake! The best I can come up with is, “See Spot Run,” and even that is pushing it. I have no agenda here other than the gratification of myself. (I know where you just went. When you stop giggling, read on.)

I like to think. You know, that thing your brain is for? And to be honest, since giving up television (except for movies and boxed TV shows through Netflix) I have time on my hands that can be put to a purpose. Sure, I could volunteer at my local hospital, but I’d be the ugliest candy-striper you ever saw. People would die just to avoid my entrance into their room. Honestly, I know sci-fi and fantasy. It’s what I enjoy. So I blog about it. (Not that I don't still volunteer for charitable organizations, I just don't pour all my time into them, or seek positions of responsibility in them.)

And of course, there is the fact that selling your writing is a full-time job. It’s a lot of work, as any freelancer will tell you, and it lacks any real security, something my oldest child obsessive personality cannot handle. I need security, and I’m not ashamed to say so. I looked at some of the requirements for publishing writing at various e-zines and trade mags, just for my own information, and it’s tough to get them to accept your work. I have to say, I really respect those folks who can do it.

Would I like to write a novel in my lifetime, see my name in print for my non-fiction or short stories? Sure, that would be nice, but am I willing to make the sacrifice necessary to make that happen? No, not really, and I’m mostly okay with that.

I’d rather pour my energy into making this blog better and better, so that you can enjoy what I enjoy, without feeling like I’m selling you something. My opinions on books are as honest as I know how to make them, and though I am rarely disappointed, I will let you know when I am, with no apologies to whoever sent me the book to review.

I just don’t see myself as someone who needs to go through the effort of publishing my material. If someone wants to borrow and republish what I have written with my permission, more power to them. (SF Crowsnest has done this a few times already.) And if I get paid for it, even better. But I am not going to seek these folks out.

I get paid well at my job, I like what I do for a living, and the mediocre amounts of money that could be produced by trying to put my name into print are so pitiful compared to my salary that it just isn’t worth it to me in terms of money.

I’m just a speculative fiction fan with a critical mind who likes to apply it to the thing he loves. I seek neither money, nor glory (although that would be nice, I won’t deny it) just an open forum to express my thoughts and opinions, a good way to meet authors I respect and whose writing I enjoy, and a useful tool for those of you trying to decide what book to read in your spare time.

I hope I’ve met those expectations in the last six months since this blog took off, and I plan to meet or exceed them in the future.

Dragon*Con

I just bought my membership for this year's Dragon*Con in Atlanta, Georgia. Anybody else planning on going?

Two of my articles in the February SF Crowsnest

I get not one, but two articles in this month's SF Crowsnest.

Speculative Fiction and the Value of the Formula

and

Weaving the Colors: An Interview with Jeffrey Overstreet

I am kind of disappointed with the first one. As I reread it, I find a whole lot of flaws and mistakes, and even once sentence that said the opposite of what I meant! Oh, well, it is still a useful tool to get people rethinking their use of the word "formulaic".

My wife's photo included in online map guide

This picture, taken by my wife, was recently chosen to be included in the online map provider Schmap. You can see the page where the photo was included here.

The picture itself is of a tomb located along the Ancient Appian Way in Rome, Italy. My wife and I have traveled there several times and loved it. I hope you enjoy the picture.

Dachshund Snow Dollop

Well, We have had snow twice this week in North Georgia. This is an unusual and unprecedented (to my knowledge) thing.

We also found out that Darra really likes the snow. Both times she has played in it, by choice, by going through her doggies door. She will stay out there for a few minutes and then come racing back into the house to play. All the while she is dripping wet.

This is my favorite photo of her playing in the snow. See the dollop of snow on her nose? So very cute.

It's Me Birthday Tomorrow!

Since I usually don't post on the weekends, I thought I met let all and sundry know that tomorrow is my birthday. I'll be turning 28. (but I'm still younger than my wife. I often like to say that while she robbed the cradle, I robbed the grave. ;-)

Anyway, my present to me will be: A nap with a dash of reading on the side.

(That's our little red dachshund Darra by the way, she just loves to nap with us.)

I hope you have a restful Saturday, I know I will.

Another interview of mine posted at SF Crowsnest

My interview with John Joseph Adams, slush editor at The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction has been re-published in this month's SF Crowsnest.

Personal Note: First Date

For those of you who read this blog, you know that I don't personalize very much of what I write ( although I hope you get some of my reactions to books in the reviews) and I almost never post anything personal. I'm just not so good at talking about myself, which is weird considering how arrogant I am.

It is also Because the wife has a blog that covers the personal stuff I avoid talking about, so I don't really feel the need.

So she has been slowly putting up some reactions from her journal around about the time we first met. This second installment of O-History is about our first date. I did not know it was a date, so perhaps that is why it went so well in the end. If I had thought otherwise I would have been shaking in my boots! I know for sure I would have been sweating unduly. I just wanted to use a gift card I got for Christmas that easily paid for two meals. (and yea, I thought this chick was hot. So sue me.)

So enjoy a little story about me and my gorgeous wife, if you like.

Feel Free to Applaud

Stephen Hunt of SF Crowsnest contacted me a month or so ago after I posted my interview with Brian Ruckley. They wanted to repost it over there. It was flattering, I must say. I said yes, and so it is up in the December 2007 issue.

After all, the November 2007 issue circulation was: 702,831 readers, who read 2.31 million articles, generating 39.7 million hits. That is a lot of traffic!

SF Crowsnest is one of the best and most well known online magazines of the speculative fiction genre. It's monthly content is always great and interesting. And guess what? I've joined those other great article writers. He even put me up there as third on the list, just after Scifichick and Aidan, both bloggers who have been at this much longer than me and whose content far exceeds mine in quality. Very cool. I'm grateful to Stephen Hunt for giving me the opportunity.

Feel free to congratulate me in the comments. ;-)

Notes: A Lecture by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

These are my notes from a lecture given by Pulitzer prize winning author Laurel Thatcher Ulrich on September 19, 2007. This feisty gray haired lady presented a fascinating case for continued work in understanding the history of women, and in breaking down stereotypes. Phrases in quotes are direct quotes from the lecture.

“Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History”
A Lecture by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (Pulitzer prize winning author of A Midwife's Tale)
Margaret Mitchell House and Museum Literature Center

See the webcast at www.atlantaforumnetwork.org

Books, Activism, Memory

- Read first few pages of Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History in order to define the phrase succinctly.
- Phrase comes from her first article in history in 1976 on Puritan Funeral Sermons
- Kay Mills found it, accidentally changed “seldom” to “rarely” hence two different quotes
- In 1996 Jill Portugal of one angry girl designs asked permission to print it on a t-shirt.
- Kacey Jones sang a song incorporating the term on Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion – the song can be found in the book.
- Sania Mirza, Indian Muslim tennis player has taken it as a slogan for herself

So what does “Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History” mean?

- Ulrich enjoys ambiguous titles for books
- Good Wives is about normal women dealing with prescriptions for good behavior vs. actual behavior
- Age of Homespun is about frontier violence and the intersection of Native Americans and the English
- Well behaved women are often characterized as Emily Dickinson types.
- Well behaved women are those who do what is appropriate for her culture and preserve the status quo
- “Well-behaved” is not referring to good or bad behavior (i.e. Rosa Parks was chosen as the example case against segregation precisely because she was well-behaved, yet she made history.)
- Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History is about “celebrating the impact of the women’s movement of the 60’s and 70’s on knowledge.”
- “Because women tried to make history they discovered the past.”
- Those who want to make history seek to know history.
- “Caring about history we make history”

Book Structure

- Book is set up with three women in three libraries in different time periods and countries.
- Christine di Pizan – 15th century “The City of Ladies”
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton – 19th century leader of women’s rights movement
- Virginia Woolf – reference to famous British Museum doodle leading to the writing of fictional account Shakespeare’s sister Judith where in frustration at lack of success, raped and abandoned she kills herself.
- Woolf was wrong – Elizabeth Carey was forced to marry like Judith but was popular writer (more popular than Shakespeare) in the same time; Artemisia Judelefsky – raped, seduced like Judith, became famous artist
- Tells stories and shows parallels between the three women and retells their stories through the lens of the scholarship of the last 30 years.

A Renaissance in Women’s History

- Christine di Pizan loved the Amazons (800 year kingdom).
- Ulrich retold the story of the Amazons in light of recent scholarship including funny story about Amazon.com being sued by a women’s bookstore called Amazon for copyright infringement. Amazon tried to say they were named after the river rather than Amazon’s of myth. Ironically the river was named by a Spanish explorer who thought he had found the ancient kingdom found in the myths.
- Quilt documentation projects came to light.
- Ordinary people asked new questions
- “academic historians do not own history.”
- Well-behaved women don’t think their lives matter so they don’t preserve their own history by keeping diaries, etc.
- So being misbehaved means preserving ones role in history, no matter how small

Questions

Where are we in terms of male response to women?
- “I’m a historian” not a sociologist
- Ulrich is depressed when she goes into bookstores and only sees books on war
- The book marketing world thinks history is for men and fiction for women – a holdover of the 18th century
- “Our knowledge of history is not very deep, let alone women’s history.”

Was there someone in this new book that touched her like Martha Ballard of A Midwife’s Tale?
- not in new book, no one ever will
- new book is about many women rather than being a microcosm like A Midwife’s Tale.
- Ulrich was touched by the new book’s multiplicity
- Ulrich had to rely on other people’s scholarship
- Writing out of her comfort zone
- Moved by how much scholars and good citizens have done in research.
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton/Jarrett Smith and abolitionist helps Stanton meet a slave named Harriett Powell. Ulrich does research on the underground Railroad and ends up connecting two disparate organizations in New York and Canada who have information on this person.

If Ulrich were to be a history advisor to Hillary Clinton’s campaign what characterizations should Clinton avoid or identify with?
- Hillary has an interesting dilemma, she is both new and old, but is likely the first female presidential candidate who can make it.
- Should not identify with Woodhull – first woman to run for President in 1870’s
- Nearly 20% of the women who have served in Congress have succeeded husbands who died in office.
- Hillary Clinton is in peculiar position of being a pseudo-widow because she is potentially following a husband into office that is not dead. She will be both helped and hurt by his legacy, unlike the ones who follow dead husbands.
- The more interesting question is why it has taken so long to get to this point in the US when other developed nations have already elected women.

How has technology changed getting published?
- it is harder to get published
- her first book was her Doctoral Dissertation, and now he own publisher won’t even look at doctoral dissertations.
- “The Internet is fabulous and terrifying” but is helpful in making connections.
- She would like funding of digitization of primary sources not just go to the 19th century notion of history.

Would we be better off if women had been ruling the world for a while?
- “NO!” Emphatically
- She is a social historian, great things happen when lots of people make small changes, not rulers.
- Women are not always better peacemakers, that is a stereotype.
- See her chapter on the Amazons.
- Women have been warriors for as long as men have and have been just as violent.
- Gender is an important variable but it doesn’t explain everything.

Why are we reluctant to elect women?
- women themselves have a lot do with Nixon’s veto of childcare act.
- Can make the argument that 19th century women had more effect on moral culture and society than men did (child-rearing)
- Women have had economic and political power in the past, but it was directed toward the home rather than those spheres as we understand them.
- Women had a new politics, a moral imperative (more important than the others even)
- Conservative women destroyed the early feminist movements, not just men.
- Activist women disagree.

What was Ulrich’s impetus for becoming not well-behaved?
- committed to study
- marrying young and having a lot of kids
- history changed her life
- Grew up in Mormon Rocky Mtn. West, Idaho.
- Heard about noble pioneers from childhood and felt diminished by their story leading to questions and research.
- Some of those pioneer grandmother’s were not so well-behaved.
- Mormon’s were just as radical in the 19th century as the Elizabeth Cady Stantons, even though they were polygamists as well as feminists and suffragettes.
- Ulrich’s stereotypes were blown away.
- Being a pioneer was creatively dealing with the circumstances, as women who make history should be today.

My Name in mental_floss Magazine

Back in August, mental_floss magazine asked a question on their blog. They were beginning a series on issues affecting the 2008 election, and were planning to begin the series with an article on immigration policy.

Well, I sent in a question.

Surprise, surprise, they used my question (see below or number 24 in the blog post) to create a sidebar in the current issue ("The Golden Lobe Awards" and Einstein's picture grace the cover), detailing immigration policy from 1882 to the present day. I was flabbergasted, and happily surprised!

#24 John Says: August 23rd, 2007 at 6:53 am

What quota’s still exist for whom we allow to enter legally? I know that in the great wave, only certain numbers of people from certain countries were allowed in. (i.e.) for every 3 Irish, one Russian.) Do ethnic or national quota’s still exist and what are they? Are there other quota’s used now?

This was so cool! And as a special reward, my name appeared on page 8 of volume 6, issue 6 of mental_floss: Where Knowledge Junkies get their fix. The picture below is a scan of the mention.

I may not be an author, but I can ask good questions! It was kind of a neat little thing, I wanted to share this little piece of personal joy with all of you, my faithful readers! And I thank mental_floss for being so kind in printing my name at the top of the list.

Such fun!

10-20-30 Virus

My friend over at Provocative Church tagged me with the 10-20-30 virus. The idea is that you write about what you were doing 10, 20, and 30 years ago, then tag five other folks to do the same. It's a nice little way to learn about people whose blogs you might read for info, but not because you know them personally and provides a little extra linkage as well. So here goes:

10 years ago: I was living in Atlanta, working at a Chick-fil-A roughly twelve hours a day, six days a week. I was going part-time to college using the nearly invented distance learning by mail at the University of Georgia. I had graduated early through homeschooling and was saving up to go to Covenant College after I turned 18. What free time was left, I spent reading fantasy fiction. I was particularly into Terry Goodkind and Robert Jordan then.

20 years ago: I was seven, and devouring books voraciously. I had few if any friends, and reading was my one great passion. At the time, I loved detective fiction, and was reading Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle over and over again.

30 years ago: I didn't exist. My parents had not yet even met at U of D, and I (being a surprise first child) was not something either of my parents, after they were married in '78, were wanting yet. I suppose God knew who I was, but nobody else did, that's for sure.

So I'd like to tag a few other bloggers out there: Tia, Imani, Remy, Chris, and SQT, tell us all a little about yourself.

7 Reasons I Write Book Reviews

Criticism, that fine flower of personal expression in the garden of letters. ~ Joseph Conrad

I felt that with the growing (an appreciated) success of this blog. That it was about time I did a little explaining about why I do what I do. (Doo-doo. See? I can be funny.) There’s a lot to cover so either bear with me, or stop reading now and save yourself the time. (I mean, you could be playing squash right now, and wouldn’t that be better?)

For those of you who have decided to stay, thank you. Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.

Reason #1: I am opinionated.

Really opinionated. And if there is one topic you can get me talking about for hours, it is fantasy fiction. I’ve been reading it since I was very young, and have read a wide range of its authors and subgenres. So what better place to express those opnions than a blog that all the world can see. (This goes hand in hand with my vanity, which is profound. I mean, its pretty vain to think anyone actually cares about your opinion, right?) So hence the blog and the title, Grasping for the Wind keeps me humble every time I see it displayed at the top of every page in this blog.

Reason #2: I got bored.

In my workplace, there can be times of great busyness, and times that are really slow (like the Friday afternoon when I wrote this). There are only so many websites you can visit before you get bored of surfing, so I thought I might contribute to the web instead of being a passive observer. And fantasy fiction is what I like and what I care about, so I began to write book reviews.

Reason #3: Francis Schaeffer made me feel bad.

“Americans don't read enough (that's true) and Americans read too much (that's true too). What I mean is that many don't read enough material to really be informed, and yet they read too much because what they do read they often do not stop to assimilate and think through. They whiz through it and get what I call a first-order experience, a sort of mystical feeling, not a genuine understanding. I urge you, with all my soul, in such a day as ours to really, truly learn to read." ~ Francis Schaeffer

Okay, so if reading means thinking through and assimilating material, then writing a book review, something more than a summary, something that really digs in to the writing would be a good thing, right? Of course, I don’t think Mr. Schaeffer meant fantasy fiction when he wrote those words (I suspect he wanted me to read more classics, actually) but to each his own. This is my world, and I am going to think about it critically.

Reason #4: Free Books

Mercenary as it may seem, I like getting free books from publishers and authors. Without them, many of the books I have recently enjoyed, I never would have read. I’m not a rich man, so free books is a great way to stay up on what is going on in fantasy, and getting introduced to some really great authors.

Reason #5: Because it helps readers.

Criticism, as it was first instituted by Aristotle, was meant as a standard of judging well; the chiefest part of which is to observe those excellencies which delight a reasonable reader. ~ John Dryden

I get a lot of hits everyday from people who land on my book reviews. Most of the time they don’t leave comments, but I know they went away thinking that maybe next time they go to the bookstore, they just might pick up the book they saw here.

Reason #6: Because it helps authors.

Well, I'm not a critic, I'm just a worker. So, I'm always grateful for anything the critics say - good or bad. ~ Mandy Patinkin

Nothing is more apt to deceive us than our own judgment of our work. We derive more benefit from having our faults pointed out by our enemies than from hearing the opinions of friends. ~ Leonardo da Vinci

Reviewing new works, old works out of print, debut authors is a helpful thing to do. Why? Even with the growing popularity of fantasy fiction, it is still not considered an acceptable genre for writers of any real talent. Yet there are so many great authors being discovered everyday. This genre spawns so many innovators and creative minds in it that to dismiss fantasy as “escapism” or simply “trash” shows the small minds of many critics. So my reviews, interviews, etc., if they can help showcase these talents and their hard work, make the effort worthwhile.

Reason #7: It’s just plain fun.

Fantasy is an exercise bicycle for the mind. It might not take you anywhere, but it tones up the muscles that can. Of course, I could be wrong. ~ Terry Pratchett

That seems self-evident. Reading speculative fiction is something I enjoy. I’m unlikely to stop doing it anytime soon (my hope is that I will be re-reading a favorite on my deathbed), so why not share the fun?

I Am No Longer a Man-Child

In a private discussion with some of my fellow fantasy reviewers, we were talking about how a tastes change over time. For instance, as a young man, I enjoyed Star Wars a great deal. I collected newspaper clippings and announcements, bought the customizable card game, the toys, the novels, the Legos, and the movies in many variations. And yet all that remains to me is the Legos and the movies in one version. Everything else was sold off to other fans. I lost interest as I grew older. My tastes changed, and I found fulfillment in other hobbies and other worlds.

The changing tastes and interests of people was really brought home to me last night. My wife and I went out to dinner for her birthday, and we stopped in at Michael's Hobby Store afterward to let her use her gift card she had received from my parents. There is a Gamestop nearby, so while the wife was spending time shopping at the craft store I thought I would pop in there to see what they had in the way of cheap video games. (I have a gift card with a few bucks from trade-ins I thought I might spend.) I hadn't bought one in at least a year.

I spent an hour in there. Yet I found nothing I wished to purchase. It was strange, because in my young adulthood, when I was playing Nintendo from the first US version on up, and the Playstation, Gameboy, and Sega Genesis; I would have bought any number of games.

Yet not one in the thousands of titles in the store was of interest to me. I only own a Playstation 2 and computer for playing video games anymore. But only one title looked even remotely interesting to me, and that was Neverwinter Nights 2, only because I don't own it yet and love Forgotten Realms. But it was too expensive for me at the moment. And it wasn't cause the games weren't good either. The looked awesome actually, I just kept thinking about the hours I would spend playing it. I thought about how my wife feels neglected when I spend too much time playing video games (this has happened once before, when Neverwinter Nights was selling downloadable expansions about a year ago), and I just couldn't generate enough interest in sacrificing her happiness for my own, no matter how fun the games looked.

I chose not to buy any games because my gift card only had a couple of bucks and most of the titles cost $10 and up, I saw nothing that interested me, and I thought about the fact that I never play video games anymore. Once, I would have spent 100 hours playing Final Fantasy, but now I think that time could be spent in other ways. Not necessarily more productive, but more fulfilling at least. These three factors combined caused me to leave the store empty-handed, something I never would have done in my teen years, even in my early twenties.

I remarked to my wife later, "Does this mean that I am no longer a man-child? Have I become a man?" Since in my society, video games are generally a young man's pursuit.

My tastes had changed, and those tastes and personal likes had moved due to responsibility, lack of time, and the finding of more fulfilling pursuits. I used to try and keep up with the Joneses in the video game world. Now I find the pursuit of reading a more fulfilling and profitable enterprise. Its strange how th change came so subtly, I didn't really even notice it.

Tastes change, personal likes and dislikes grow and develop. What we enjoy doing twenty years from now may be vastly different from what we enjoy now. Yet that does not mean that what we enjoy now is wasted. It is a step in the growth of me, of who I am as a person.

Last night's event left me feeling I have truly left boyhood and adolescence behind me. I was always a sober child, but now I look forward to the great adventure that is manhood. (Even if it took 27 years to get there. :-)

Happy Birthday to My Wife

Darra says "Woof". (She is a dog, after all. What did you expect her to say?)

But I say, "Happy 31st birthday!, I love you, and I hope you have a special day!"

Notes: A Sermon by Honorable Governor Mike Huckabee

I went to a sermon delivered by Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor seeking the Republication nomination for U.S. President in 2008. He was pleasant, a good speaker, and had some excellent points. My posting of these notes in no way means that I support Huckabee. I still need to think on it. I just thought others might find this useful. Phrases in quotes are direct or as close as I could hear.

A Sermon by Honorable Governor Mike Huckabee
September 22, 2007
First Redeemer Church, Cumming, GA

View the webcast or purchase a video/CD at http://www.thereshope.org/

- Huckabee received four standing ovations at the National Education Association
- Born and raised in Hope, Arkansas
- Was a pastor for twelve years
- Was once asked if he was one of those “narrow minded Baptists” who only believed Baptists were going to heaven. He replied, no ma’am I’m even more narrow minded than that, I don’t even think all the Baptists are going to heaven!”
- Went to Southwestern Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas
- Is an ordained Southern Baptist Convention minister

Theme Verse: Proverbs 22:28 - “Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set.”
- Why? Because when we move it we get lost.
- America is lost and dislocated because “We have moved the landmarks of our liberty”.
- Quote from Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Sound familiar?

1. The rapid increase of divorce; the undermining of dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis of human society.
2. Higher and higher taxes and the spending of public money for free bread and circuses for the populace.
3. The mad craze for pleasure; sports becoming every year more exciting and more brutal.
4. The building of gigantic armaments when the real enemy was within: the decadence of the people.
5. The decay of religion—faith fading into mere form—losing touch with life and becoming impotent to guide the people.

The Basic Nature of Man
- we are all sinners
- for secularists, the definition of sin is self-centeredness
- “we are a nation filled with sin”
- Huckabee’s father was a patriot, “he laid on the stripes and I saw stars.”
- Our society was better off when we respected authority and didn’t act like victims
- Story of his son’s attempt to bake a cake but didn’t understand the meaning of dash so the son put in a cup of salt instead of the dash, creating an awful tasting cake.
- It was the lack of knowing the definition of dash that led to the problem. We must be sure and call a thing a thing.
- Some people say that if we are sincere God will honor it, no matter what it is we do.
- “Being sincere is a good thing, but being right is even better.”
- If people make up their own definitions of right and wrong we will not get a kumbaya campfire, but something else.
- “When people redefine right and wrong to match their behavior, rather than match their behavior to right and wrong”, there will be more sin in culture, not less.
- “A political party is nothing more than a vehicle, it is not a destination.”

Huckabee got into politics because he is pro-life.
- All people have individual value.
- “The real discussion is not values, it is the value of a person.” Which is why he can’t compromise on being pro-life.
- Parents are sacrificing their own children for their comfort, rather than, as in the past, sacrificing their own comfort for their child.
- Carl Zimmerman book (?not sure spelling or title)

Christians in Politics
- Some Christians say they don’t want to be involved.
- Not being involved is like owning a bass fishing boat that is perfect but that never gets put in the water. (The sermon is worth watching just for the build-up as he tells this allegory.)
- “I’m not to be of the world, but I am to be in the world.”
- “Have you moved the landmarks?” “ Are you in the water” – making waves
Thanks

Why I Write Book Reviews

This is part of the reason why I write book reviews (other than that it is fun of course). While I can't provide a reading course, I can provide solid thinking about reading from my own perspective.

"Perhaps if people today were to take good reading course, they would be better off. Americans don't read enough (that's true) and Americans read too much (that's true too). What I mean is that many don't read enough material to really be informed, and yet they read too much because what they do read they often do not stop to assimilate and think through. They whiz through it and get what I call a first-order experience, a sort of mystical feeling, not a genuine understanding. I urge you, with all my soul, in such a day as ours to really, truly learn to read"

Francis Schaeffer Back to Freedom and Dignity ( InterVarsity Press, 1972), p. 18.

HT: Provocative Church

For all its flaws, I do love Covenant College

A Little Bit of Validation

Mindy and Brandon Withrow have quoted me (I'm at the bottom) on their new website for the History Lives series.

"Monks and Mystics is an excellent text to use as a basis for an upper elementary or middle school Sunday school class on church history. It would also be useful in Christian schools. As a supplemental text it is perfect. Although an adult, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. So much so, that I ordered the first book the next day and plan to order any successive books as they become available. The stories were interesting and well-written…the Withrows do not shy away from using technical terms. Often the characters explain the terms in words that could be understood by a 9 year old in their speech to each other. (In truth I understood some of the terms better than I ever have before!)”

You can read my full review of Monks and Mystics here. Turns out, the newest volume Hearts and Hands: Chronicles of the Awakening Church is scheduled to release January 1 in the U.S and November 1 in the U.K. I have the first three, have enjoyed them all, and highly recommend them to all teachers and parents.

Notes from a Lecture by Terry Brooks

The following is my notes from a lecture given by Terry Brooks on September 1, 2007 at the Decatur Book Festival. He was hilarious, and a very friendly guy. He was kind and patient with everyone, and offered to stay as long as needed to sign books. I thought that was very gracious. Words or Phrases in quotation marks in these notes are direct quotes taken word for word from the lecture. The lecture itself was divided into four sections with a follow-up question and answer session.

Terry Brooks: A Retrospective Lecture
Decatur Book Festival 2007

- all writers talk about themselves
- 30 years in publishing, 27 books
- 1st book published in 1977
- A writer changes dramatically from decade to decade

How has Terry Brooks changed as a writer? In 4 ways:

1. How has Terry Brooks' work habits changed?
- in his early career, he had another job but he tried to write everyday (usually at night), now he more often works mornings, since his body wakes him up early and by 3PM he can’t think straight.
- He used to be very focused on outlining and then sticking to the outline, in the last five years this has changed into changing outlining but taking the outline apart midway through writing the book, and then re-outlining. This is because he is comfortable with the outlining process and so can monkey with it more.
- He finds it fun to write himself into a corner and try to get out of it.
- He is no longer dogmatic about writing, because he has less need to write for money, now only needs to write for pleasure and joy

2. What is Terry Brooks interested in writing about now?
- Learned from Lester Del Rey that his obligation is to tell a good story
- All of the important fantasy that has been written has an undertone of looking at the human condition. (i.e. Shea Ohmsford doing something he didn’t want to do; Will explores coming of age; Genesis of Shannara deals with family issues, the environment, and the collapse of civilization.)
- Terry Brooks has moved outward from personal issues in the initial novels to global issues in the later novels.

3. Where does Terry Brooks get the Inspiration for his stories?
- reading other people’s books (particularly non-fiction and non-genre books, though not often general fiction)
- current events
o Voyage of the Jerle Shannara – explores issues of redemption and transgression - triggered by a person in the news who found religion immediately after getting caught committing a crime or immorality but who had no time between getting caught and finding religion for true introspection.
o Magic Kingdom for Sale: Sold! Series – explores the idea that the grass is greener on the other side – written when deciding whether to give up legal career and pursue full-time writing.
o Armageddon’s Children – explores idea of civilization in decline, what will the street kids take with them and how will they rebuild after the collapse? – triggered by one too many people cutting him off in traffic – the idea that the loss of manners is the beginning of the collapse of civilization.

4. Why is Terry Brooks still writing?
- He doesn’t have to.
- New authors start out trying to write and get published, old authors should have no reason to write?
- Brooks can’t quit, because then what would he do?
- “Writing is an addiction you are born with.”
- “If I’m not writing, I’m not a complete person.”
- Even if Brooks were forced to quit, he would still write.
- Operates under the theory that “I’ve got one more book, I haven’t written my best book yet.”
- Right now is his best book, but this will change when he finishes this one and goes on to the next.
- “You keep thinking you can find your way to something better.”
- Made joke about devil and God, with meaning that finding a lawyer is difficult, and so is finding that perfect book.

5. Questions
- Does Brooks have a passion for mentoring young writers?
o Not doing much anymore due to lack of energy (is in his 70’s)
o Sees a focus on family and writing as his first obligation, but does participate in some formal mentoring.
- Why choose to write fantasy, and what would Terry Brooks say to critics of fantasy?
o “What you write chooses you.”
o Everything he wants to write lends itself to the fantasy genre.
o Critics just don’t get it, many critics haven’t read it, and those that have read one book and then write it off entirely.
o Critics need to read authors in the field, beyond those who are dead.
- Which current writers do you read?
o Most important in fantasy genre is Philip Pullman.
o Brooks tends to read in other fields, nonfiction, ancient civilizations, adventure, some contemporary fiction on the recommendation of Mrs. Brooks (who was in attendance).
- What is the process for getting Terry Brooks’ books into audio? (i.e. why are series incomplete and haphazardly made?)
o Audio is fairly new technology in the market, and of course the last area reached is fantasy, as a result publications are very hit or miss.
o Slow process
- What is happening with the movie adaptations?
o Magic Kingdom was optioned two years ago, but little has been done with it.
o Shannara was optioned by Warner Brothers, they are working on getting a certain director to sign on, if they do it will be fast tracked for production.
- Why does Terry Brooks have to go out on the road?
o Joke – “Basically, because my family sends me away.”
o “I do it because I like it.”
o It is energizing to have people tell you they liked your book.
- Is Genesis of Shannara going to have more books?
o Yes, Brooks needs to cover the space between the 80 years of the Word and Void books and the 1000 years in the future of the Shannara books.
o It will come in a series of ones and two’s maybe a set of three.
o The spotlight will be on important periods of time, not the full time between Word and Void and Shannara.
o Next book will be a Magic Kingdom book.
- Thoughts on Character Development?
o If he can’t relate to a character, it’s time to let go.
o Characters he connects with the most are those with personal issues.
- Who are Terry Brooks top picks in fantasy publishing?
o Del Rey
o TOR
o HarperCollins
o Ace
o Some of the new little imprints
o “The number one skill in publishing is luck.”
o There are many opportunities to break in, not just one.

At the book signing, when my turn came, he shook my hand (something no other author I've met has done) and signed my 6 books. We discussed the new graphic novel Dark Wraith of Shannara. He told me that the art would be black and white (except for the cover) which he thought he wouldn’t like, but he found that it actually enhanced the dark feel of the story he had written for it. Dark Wraith is set to be released in January of 2008. See a piece concept art below.

Where I'm Going in 2008

Every year, I travel with Masterworks Tours as a host. In 2008, the wife and I will be heading to Germany, to visit the Rhine Valley, Frankfurt, and Munich. This will be our first time in Germany, and I'm really looking forward to it! You can see a our itinerary, and little of the history of the region in the Jauntlet below.

Get a Free Travel Plan for Your Profile from Jauntlet

By the way, I highly recommend Jauntlet as a great way to tell people about trips you are taking and posting them on your blog. It is easy, takes very little time, and is free.

Covenant College News You Already Heard About

Excerpted from byFaith's periodic email newsletter.

"U.S.News & World Report, in its 2008 edition of America’s Best Colleges, ranks Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, #7 among baccalaureate colleges in the South. This ranking is up from Covenant’s #9 rank in 2007, and represents Covenant’s fifth consecutive year with a position in the top 10 colleges in its field. Covenant College continues to have the 4th highest graduation rate among baccalaureate colleges in the South.

Also, Covenant College’s setting atop Lookout Mountain has earned it a spot on MSNBC’s “Pretty College Campuses.” The winners are pictured here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20200955/nPage/1. Local resident Matt McLelland of Warren-McLelland Aerial Photography shot and submitted the winning photograph."

You have to go to the site to view the picture, as it uses flash and is not copyable.

I begin learning Martial Arts

Last night, I had my first lesson in the Korean martial art of Tae Kwon Do. The School is just around the corner from my house, and has very few adult students, making individualized instruction commonplace. But before I relate my experience, here is a little background on Tae Kwon Do from Wikipedia:

In Korean, derived from hanja, tae means to destroy with the feet; kwon means to strike or smash with the hand; and do means "path" or "way". Hence, taekwondo is loosely translated as "the way of the feet and fist". Taekwondo's popularity has resulted in the divergent evolution of the martial art. As with many other martial arts, taekwondo is a combination of combat technique, self-defense, sport, exercise, entertainment, and philosophy.

I chose this particular school because as I was driving by, I noticed something interesting. An ichthus was prominently displayed in the windows of the school. For those who don't know the ichthus is an old symbol for Christianity, taken and Christianized from pagan sources. At any rate, being a Christian, I always enjoy supporting Christian businesses with my business (not that I limit myself to them alone). In this way I support the Kingdom and its workers. Mr. Yi, the head instructor at the school goes to a Korean church in the area that is affiliated with the same denomination as my own. So that was one good reason.

I also knew that I needed to exercise more regularly, but I hate using the gym. Tae Kwon Do seemed a good way to learn a skill at the same time as getting fit. the academy requires attendance twice a week, which is the recommended aerobic component of exercise, and Mr. Yi's prices were reasonable and included a two week "try us out" course for $50 that included a uniform.

So I went last night for my first personal class. Mr. Yi requires this, most likely to take my measure and teach me some of the basics so I don't feel wholly out of place in class. I learned two kicks, two blocks, two stances, how and when to bow, how to focus my attacks and blocks with a yell, and how to say thank you in Korean (kamsa hamnida; pronunced - kahm-sah=ham-nee-da).

It was fun, and I have my first official class tomorrow. I'm still debating if I should stick with it, but he does offer plenty of times to come, if you can't make others for some reason and he is a kind teacher, if demanding.

I like that, since I will be called to excel and not allowed to slack my way through it. So I will hopefully get fit. Progressing through the ranks is not very important to me, although I know it will happen, but that should take years. I'm in no hurry and I want to get good and earn the right to progress in rank.

I'm sore in the muscles, but I'm thinking, this ought to be a fun year.

Jungian Personality

Bekah at Having Said That... pointed me to this test. I used to be all ESTJ, but I've become more reclusive in my old age (27).

Jung Explorer Test
Actualized type: ISTJ
(who you are)

ISTJ - "Trustee". Decisiveness in practical affairs. Guardian of time- honored institutions. Dependable. 11.6% of total population.

Preferred type: ESTJ
(who you prefer to be)

ESTJ - "Administrator". Much in touch with the external environment. Very responsible. Pillar of strength. 8.7% of total population.

Attraction type: ESTJ

(who you are attracted to)

ESTJ - "Administrator". Much in touch with the external environment. Very responsible. Pillar of strength. 8.7% of total population.

Take Jung Explorer Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

CovFriends Reunion 2007

Pictures from our get together of the past weekend.

Masterworks Tours 2008

For those of you who don't know, one of the things I do for a hobby (along with my father) is take home schoolers on trips to Europe every year to experience the culture and history.

We are currently accepting applicants to the trips for 2008. Next year we are planning on heading to Rome, Italy; Paris, France; and the Rhine Valley, Germany (including Munich).

Any home schoolers fifteen years old or older are more than welcome. Our prices include airfare from Atlanta but if you are coming from somewhere else, you will have to find your own transportation to Atlanta. However, if others are coming from your area, we would be happy to assist you connecting with them.

All that to say there are currently, 16 spaces for Paris, 15 spaces for Germany, and 15 spaces for Rome. Check out the website for more information, including a brochure with more detail and prices. Spaces fill up fast, so if you are interested, let us know.

You can contact me through the email me button above or by clicking email me on my blogger profile page.

And for my 400th Post...

...I will expound on the virtues of my lovely wife.

Thirty years young, her tightly curled hair is delicate as lace, and softer than eiderdown. Her sky blue eyes lift me into space, the black flecks like swirling black holes from which I can never return. Nor would wish to. Her expressive face ne'er stops moving and always do I know how she feels.

Her mind is sharp, un-dampened by age or care and perfectly designed to organize and codify all that she sees. But lest you think that she is all work and no creativity, her designs for scrapbook pages, yearbooks, and our home will show the lie. She is honest and true, gentle but forthright. She is ambitious, ambitious to improve herself as a wife, a Christian, and as a friend. There is little selfish in her actions, always her thought is of others.

She clings to me with all her might, and yet I will ne'er understand why.

No other could be as she is, nor could any other be a better wife.

My eyes, my eyes!

Thanks to everybody for the well-wishing about my surgery yesterday. Everything seem to have gone well. I ended up having two different procedures done, due to an abnormally shaped left eye. My right eye was done in the new school LASIK, which has a faster healing time (I can already see clearly out of it) and is easier to maintain. My malformed left eye was done in the old school PRK which has a three to four day healing time and has more swing in its vision ability. So at the moment I can see fine out of my right eye and my left is one big blur. Fortunately, there is no pain in either, and my eye drops and medications work wonders.

The procedure itself only took a minute or two for each eye. There was no pain, although a laser in your eye does make a funny smell. The doctor was professional and courteous, although I did feel that I was being run through a mill. After all, these guys make more money the more procedures they do in a day, and who can blame them when they only charge 3g's for two eyes?

So all is well, now I just want my left eye to clear up so I can see better.

Play a Little Game with Me or What are YOU Reading Now?

Since my vision will be cloudy for the next few days, and since I am somewhere between 30 and fifty comments away from 500 (a number that would be fun to reach), let's play a little game.

In the comments section of this post, list all the books that you are currently reading. Put all your books into one comment, but feel free to comment as much as you like after that, especially talking about what others have read. (but don't be silly, this means you Bill :-)

I'll announce here who is comment number 500, and highlight your blog with a post on my blog singing your praises (if you have one).

Beyond that, I would just like to know what people who read this blog are reading both for pleasure and for work.

I'm reading:

1. Real Estate Investment Trusts by Su Han Chan
2. Explorer's House: National Geographic and the World it Made by Robert M. Poole
3. The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson
4. The Legend of the Firefish by George Bryan Polivka
5. On Being Presbyterian by Sean Michael Lucas
6. The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner

Let's see if you can top that!

I hope when my sight returns I'll be able to see some really interesting reading going on!

Today is LASIK DAY

I'm going in for LASIK this afternoon at 1:50PM. LASIK is that procedure that is supposed to return poor vision to 20/20. It's an elective surgery and a scary one. I mean, what if I lose sight in one or both eyes? Of course, all the research see it as a pretty safe procedure, with almost no side effects. I sure hope not.

Nonetheless, it will be great to be able to see without contacts or glasses, something I haven't been able to do since the summer of third grade.

If I don't post in the next few days, its cause I'm healing and don't want to strain my eyes looking at a computer screen anymore than I have to. Of course, I'll still be reading!

Philadelphia and Ocean City 2007

We have returned! Here are some the pictures from our great vacation! Thanks Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop. Thanks also to Vox Vendsel for letting us visit and meet cute little Philo.

We're back from Phillay! (And Ocean City too.)

We are back! we had a great vacation, very relaxing, with a lot of books bought and read (not necessarily in that order), much salt water taffy eaten, and a whole lot of walking going on. You'll see a couple of book reviews in the next couple of days (oh, look, there is one down below, weird? :-), along with some pictures, which I will probably post after I get home from work today (unless I mow the lawn instead).

Looking forward to the surgery on Wednesday with trepidation and thinly veiled excitement. Being able to see without correction will be so very nice.

On Our Way to Phil-ay

The wife and I are headed to Philadelphia, city of brotherly-love, to visit my grandparents and extended family on the paternal side of the family. Some of these people the wife has only met at our wedding 2 1/2 years ago. So it will be something of a culture shock for her.

At any rate, we hope to get together with Vox Vendsel (who have a new site by the way) and do a few touristy things downtown and in Westchester, where my grandparents live. I especially want to make it to Baldwin's Book Barn shopping in which is one of my fondest memories from childhood.

Anyway, all that to say that I may not be posting much next week, as my grandparents have a slow connection at their house (at least, I think so) but I hope to come back with some great pictures.

Alson, since I am going in for LASIK surgery the Wednesday after we get back, but before we head to St. Louis, as selfish as it sounds I would like to ask for prayer that the surgery goes well. My vision is already bad, but if something were to go wrong and I were to lose my sight, as big a reader as I am, I don't know what I would do.

That is part of the reason for undergoing this (minor?!?) surgery. I have a limited time frame in which I can do it before my vision gets too bad to be corrected, so I have to do this at 27 years of age. But if all goes well, I will have perfect or more than perfect vision, and not have to wear glasses for the next twenty years or so, and then only reading glasses.

Anyway, if you don't see much from me in the next few weeks, I'm not dead.

I promise to post here how my surgery went, as soon as I can see well enough to type. Which, amazingly, should be the day after the surgery. Isn't general revelation grand?

Independence Day - Around the World

Apparently, July is a month that countries, from the smallest islands to some major world players, like to celebrate the fact that they are a nation. The following is a list of the ones I found, there might even be others. If you know of any, don't hesitate to add to the list.

Bahamas - 10th

Belarus - 3rd

Belgium - 21st

Burundi - 1st

Canada - 1st

Cape Verde - 5th

Colombia - 20th

Comoros - 6th

Egypt - 23rd

France - 14th (Bastille Day)

Kiribati - 12th

Liberia - 26th

Malawi - 6th

Maldives - 26th

Mongolia - 11th

Montenegro - 13th

Morocco - 30th

Nepal - 7th

Palau - 9th

Peru - 28th

Rwanda - 1st

Sao Tome and Principe - 12th

Solomon Islands - 7th

Somalia - 1st (although this isn't technically a country at the moment)

United States - July 4

Vanuatu - 30th

Venezuela - 5th

Notes: Spiritual Formation in the Life of C.S. Lewis Part 2 Notes

Spiritual Formation in the Life of C.S. Lewis
A Breakout Seminar at Perimeter Church June 8-9, 2007
Presentation given by Dr. Lyle Dorsett former head of Wade Center at Wheaton College
See Part 1 of these Notes.

III. Elements of Spiritual Formation (Part 2)

A. The Church
1. “The NT knows nothing of individual Christianity”

2. Salvation is the hallway, pick a room to worship in and fellowship

3. Lewis was shaped by choice of Anglicanism

4. Anglican traditions of Lewis’ time and his opinion
a. Evangelical (Reformed)
- high view of Scripture
- lacked high view of Sacraments
b. Anglo-Catholic
- Lewis’ choice
- high view of Sacraments
- no belief in Transubstantiation
c. Broad Church (i.e. liberal)
- low view of Scripture

5. a proud person cannot do Kingdom work

6. Became Anglo-Catholic because he wanted communion once a week, minimum.

7. 7 years after CSL’s conversion, he felt nudged in prayer to have a mentor

8. Believed one should worship with those different from you

9. felt grace was in communion (John 6)

B. A Spiritual Director – Father Walter Adams (b. 1869 – d. 1952) Anglican Priest
1. CSL chose humble, unknown man

2. CSL felt need for a confessor – James 5
- went because he was held accountable

3. On Sister Penelope’s recommendation and through her prayers in 1940 found Adams

4. Adams was 70 years old when CSL came to him, Lewis met him once a week

5. highly influential on Lewis, can’t understand Lewis without this knowledge

6. Lewis came to love:
a. The Book of Common Prayer (1662 edition) (Enlightenment = chronological snobbery)
b. Anglican Service Order – Reading of Scripture, Sermon, Communion (high point of service), Hymns

c. Confession, Accountability, Fellowship, Service

7. “Care for the soul and Holy Spirit will take care of the rest” – Fr. Walter Adams

8. Lewis didn’t like hymns

9. Lewis’ service was writing

10. Luke 11 – great prayer chapter
- If you don’t fill the soul with the Holy Spirit then the bad will come back with more ferocity.

11. Adams told Lewis he needed Prayer, Scripture and Communion since that is where grace is

12. Adams was a member of the Society of St. John the Evangelist

13. Communion
- Lewis said to “get Holy Communion as often as you can get it”
- Communion is like “an arm from a hidden country reaching out and touching you.” – CSL
- Root of idea is Luke 24 (first communion?)
- Psalm 34:8
- for the first five years CSL said he felt nothing when taking Communion, but felt that the obedience helped him grow and become spiritually strong

14. Adams wrote two pamphlets

15. Lewis chooses him because he knew Jesus personally

16. Mentor of Adams was Robert Benson – founder of Anglican male order
- not only talk about cross but about resurrection (Benson concept)
- the real you must talk to the real God (Benson concept)
- both concepts come out in Lewis writing

17. Lewis faults:
- bitterness toward people
- intolerance
- lust

C. Other Mentors and Influential Friends

1. Evelyn Underhill – founder of modern retreat movement
- Service = Adoration + Awe + Service as a progression

2. little impact on him spiritually from the Inklings, they only helped to sharpen his thinking

3. 3 people of profound impact
- Father Adams (Anglican Priest)
- Sister Penelope (Anglican Nun)
- Helen Joy Davidman (Jewish convert, eventual wife)

4. Tolkien was instrumental in conversion but not growth afterward
- “midwife in Lewis spiritual birth, but he was not very good at post-natal care.” – Dorsett

5. Books
a. George MacDonald – “baptized my imagination” CSL - Phantastes
- “I don’t think I’ve ever written a book that didn’t have something of George Macdonald” - see collection of MacDonald Lewis edited
- Learned concept of joy
- learned characterization
- learned what a father is
b. Charles Williams – Dorsett calls him “bad news”
- professional influence on Lewis
- spiritual influence on Lewis
- Williams sought mental/spiritual affairs with women
- women loved him, he elicited it, and they remained proud of it (Dorsett tells of interview with couple who knew him, woman still loved him after several decades, husband wanted to hurt him)
- Williams wined and dined women while his wife was away
- Lewis fell for his magnetic personality
- Williams got people dependent on himself rather than God
IV. C.S. Lewis as Spiritual Guide

1. increase his role after Father Adams death

2. effective lecturer, but not good one on one

3. spiritual mentor via mail
- most spiritual council in letters to women
- no men due to their lack of humility?
- handwritten letters
- some to children with illustrations
- Topics included: Becoming a Christian; How to Use Money; Bible Interpretation/Doctrine; Overcoming Lust; Getting focus on Jesus

4. Thoughts (General)
- You need to get your focus on Jesus Christ, become dependent on him
- Practice the Spiritual Disciplines
- Get Holy Communion

5. Would counsel people directly – bluntly but reasoned throughout
6. Teaching on pride and humility – sins are manifestations of pride – me and what I want are important, more than Jesus = pride

V. The Best Saved for Last: Marriage to Helen Joy Davidman (d. 1960)

1. had brother who was psychiatrist named Howard (died athiest)

2. mother was cultural Jew, father was atheist

3. encouraged to think critically by father

4. highly gifted photographic memory, analytical and critical mind

5. read 10-15 books a week

6. first publication in 1938 “Letters to a Comrade”

7. “Anya” – book about cleric and “Smoke on the Mountain” – Jewsish Christian interpretation of ten commandments

8. converted in 1946 after abandoned by first husband

9. fed Lewis’ idea of Christ’s presence especially during communion

VI. Questions

1. Lewis often called an evangelical saint, what does Dorsett feel are some of his flaws?
a. his dim view of hymns
b. believed in Purgatory
– saw P as place to wash up before seeing God, not a place of punishment
c. Latter Narnia Chronicles
- sincere person who didn’t believe in Christ could be saved, although Narnia is not allegory as CSL says, so it is not a one to one correlation

2. John 13-16 is essential to understanding his theology

3. How do I read Lewis?
a. things worth doing require effort
b. Read “The Essential C.S. Lewis” by Dorsett

4. The Socratic Club? (Lewis was faculty advisor)
a. Stella Adwinkle asked Lewis about changing worship service to attract unbelievers, he said bad idea because service is for believers
b. The Club would debate and have best minds vs. best minds on two sides of issue
c. Lewis tried to change His culture, not culture in general

5. Lewis and the Theatre
a. not playgoer
b. undeveloped area of knowledge for him
c. probably would be upset with movie Shadowlands
- treatment of Joy Davidman, although Debra Winger did best she could with what she had
- Christ not lifted up enough
- Anthony Hopkins played him poorly
d. Would have hated Narnia movies, didn’t like hype

6. Till We have Faces
- letter to Clyde Kilby explains its purpose
- see PBS series Lewis vs. Freud

7. Aloof from people but understands them well
- listened to Holy Spirit
- listened to people, Inklings, and fiction

Your tax, I mean, donation dollars at work.

Carcassone and Friends

On Monday, we caught up with some friends from college who were in town, and another set who live in the same metropolitan area as us. It's always great to spend time with folks like that. I always end up coming away from get-togethers like these feeling more relaxed and fulfilled. Since the wife and I have had difficulty making any friends since moving to ATL, such times of rest and relaxation are few and far between. conversation ranged from the recent birth of another couple's new baby, to Neil Gaiman's book American Gods, to the Apple iPhone.

During this time, we sate at the the kitchen table and played a board game I had never heard of called Carcassone. Based on the medieval walled city of the same name, gameplay is:

The game board is a medieval landscape built by the players as the game progresses. The game starts with a single terrain tile face up and 71 others shuffled face down for the players to draw from. On each turn a player draws a new terrain tile and places it adjacent to tiles that are already face up. The new tile must be placed in a way that extends features on the tiles it abuts: roads must connect to roads, fields to fields, and city walls to city walls.

After placing the new tile, the placing player may opt to station a follower piece on that tile. The follower can only be placed on the just-placed tile, and must be placed in a specific feature. A follower claims ownership of one terrain feature—road, field, city, or cloister—and may not be placed on a feature already claimed by another player's follower. However, it is possible for terrain features to become shared after the further placement of tiles. For example, two field tiles which each have a follower can become connected into a single field by another terrain tile.

The game ends when the last tile has been placed. At that time all features (including fields) score points for the players with the most followers in them. The player with the most points wins the game.

It sounds like it would be complicated like Axis and Allies or Settlers of Catan. And while it is comparable to Settlers, one friend put it best when they said this was a game you could play "without having to think to hard" and just enjoy the company around you. It's true. If you don't care too much about winning, and counting your points, you can just relax and have fun. Even then, it's not real difficult to follow the scoring system in the first few expansions so you can actually be competitive. The elements of chance in drawing tiles and placing meeples also makes the winner uncertain until the very end.

So we had a great time together. I miss friendship in close proximity, and the ability to get together for a friendly board game.

Notes: Spiritual Formation in the Life of C.S. Lewis Part 1 Notes

Spiritual Formation in the Life of C.S. Lewis
A Breakout Seminar at Perimeter Church June 8-9, 2007
Presentation given by Dr. Lyle Dorsett former head of Wade Center at Wheaton College
See Part 2 here.

I. Introduction

“I’m tall, fat, rather bald, red-faced, double chinned, black haired, have a deep voice, and wear glasses for reading.” –C.S. Lewis to a fifth grader

- Do not read the bio of Lewis by A.N. Wilson

A. Life and Legacy of C.S Lewis: a Perspective from Nearly Half a Century
- Discipline was needed to become a theologian, apologist
- Lewis wrote in 7 genres

B. Keys to Lewis’ Extraordinary Effectiveness

1. The Author’s Background
- Used his gifts, but also disciplined them
- “nothing I wrote that isn’t essentially evangelistic” – CSL
- Mother died when he was 10 and became agnostic as result

2. The Sacred Anointing
- John 17:3
- He wrote as part of an intimate walk with Christ

3. A Purposive Life
- after conversion (see quote)

“After conversion, C.S. Lewis embarked on an extraordinarily purposeful life. He became as Dorothy L. Sayers phrased it ‘God’s terrier’ – a man with a missionary zeal.” – Lyle Dorsett Seeking the Secret Place

II. Elements of Spiritual Formation (Part 1)

A. The School of Prayer
“What is more natural, and easier, if you believe in God, than to address Him?”

- Mother’s parting gift was a Bible on her deathbed
- Lewis and Warner prayed, yet she died, even after being told that prayer would heal her.
- 2 models of prayer from Scripture as Lewis saw it.
1. pray with faith and there is nothing you can’t do (name it and claim it)
2. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

- The School of Prayer – a continuing to learn to pray, never too busy, a daily routine
a. daily quiet time (Clifford Boris – his driver – story)
b. Dean’s Prayers at Oxford – corporate prayer
c. Intercessory Prayer – i.e. go through the Epistles and read Paul’s prayers
- worldwide prayer for self and others – Sheldon Vanauken
- always answered letters because he believed he was told to by God during such prayer time
- also believed He was told not to stockpile money, so he set up Agape Fund to give it
d. Healing Prayer
- Father Bide, the healer who became ordained through Agape Fund healed Joy Davidman through prayer – personal physician told said it wasn’t normal remission – Bide said “I pray and sometimes Jesus Christ heals them.”
- Advanced People in the School of Prayer are obedient in prayer
e. Praise Prayer –considered most beautiful part of prayer – joy and privilege of praise – not thanks, just praise.
- Primary text of Lewis for this as the Psalms

- How did Lewis get committed to prayer?
1. Jesus example
2. The Church and Father Adams
3. discipled by Father Adams

- How did Lewis reconcile the name it and claim it with God’s will?
1. tell God waht you want but still ask that His will be done
2. In some cases God tells some special folks to go heal people

- Prepared vs. Extemporaneous Prayer?
1. Lewis did extemporaneous prayer but preferred prepared
2. Liked Church services because you could trust the theology and not have to double check on the person who is praying and his theology
3. Psalms are prepared prayers
4. Lewis paced across the floor while reading the Psalter all the way through every month

B. Scripture

1. knew doctrine but didn’t always feel it in his heart

2. Michael Christenson, “C.S. Lewis: On Scripture”

3. Lewis had a High view of Scripture
a. Lewis followed John Wesley’s quadrilateral

b. Trouble with liberals due to high view (whereas they have low view)
c. Trouble with fundamentalism becasue he saw some of the Scriptures as story instead of History (i.e. Noah, Jonah, Creation)
“More of a wave than a letter” – Letter’s to an American Lady

4. Didn’t see Jesus praise riches anywhere in NT

5. Jesus says “Seek the Secret Place” Lewis said this meant to obey Jesus not question. (a good exercise says Dorsett, is to go through the Gospels and write down every command of Jesus.)

6. CSL “Scripture is the litmus test of all other divine guidance.”

7. CSL could read and write Greek but knew no Hebrew

8. Read for Application and spiritual illumination rather than for curiosity (Read through the Bible for personal transformation)

9. He asked questions of Scripture. He “hammered it out” – Dorsett

10. Read through the Bible frequently, memorized it. Used the 1662 edition of the Book of Common Prayer

11. F.B. Meyer “For Every man and woman that is truly born again, the Spirit is present in you, the spirit is prominent in some, but alas in only a few is He preeeminent.”

12. Lewis was Purposeful, Disciplined, and Humbly Prayed and Read Scriptures.

35th PCA General Assembly

Well, the wife and I are back from General Assembly in Memphis,TN. Both of us were working booths, me for my company, her for byFaith magazine. Although sitting in a booth from 8AM till 12PM with only a two-hour worship break can be boring, it was worth it to get to meet all the great people and hear all the great preaching. Dominic Aquila, R.C. Sproul, and Bryan Chapell were the preachers each night. They were all excellent. I did not get to enjoy Dr. Chapell as I was taking down the booth, but I understand it was quite good. Additionally, the GA decided to accept the report of the committee on Federal Vision, although at times the debate got a little heated, especially after a postponement and relook at the decision was proposed. R.C. Sproul supposedly got a little frustrated which, with an easy registration, you can view at the website. All in all, it was a good week.

A lot of great vendors were there with clever or intriguing gifts. Our company usually offers luggage tags and candy, but people who have been to GA before know that the real draw is books. I probably walked away with about 10 free books from various places, bought another 20 at the bookstore or on our way home at the unclaimed baggage center in Scottsboro, AL, and got any number of pamphlets with public domain speeches and devotions from C.H. Spurgeon or Paul Kooistra. The most clever gimmick was the Stress-Free Church stress ball from Guideone (see picture). It's hilarious, and I now have it sitting on my desk for when those churches I work with get especially frustrating.

The wife and I stayed an extra day and went to Graceland and Sun Studios. The Sun Studios tour, although it only consisted of two rooms, was by far funnier and more enjoyable than the Graceland tour. Graceland was not as gaudy as I thought, and it was worth paying an extra five bucks to get into the car museum and the Lisa Marie airplane.

Parents, be polite to the childless.

Of late, I've noticed that a lot of folks tend to point out to me that I don't really know what I'm talking about then I make comments about children. (This is especially true since my church is highly focused on kids, as the the majority of the members have several.) They usually say something like, "Wait till you have kids." in response to my comments.

OK, I don't have kids, but I was trained as a teacher and did teach in the schools for three years. I know a lot about kids in a group, and something of them as individuals. Perhaps I don't know a lot about parenting, but what call do you have to make me feel bad about not having kids? Cause that is what happens when folks point out something like that.

The closest thing I can liken it to is when you were single and people said. "Wait until you are married." The kids statement just makes a person feel like their opinion has no value because of biology. Spirituality isn't governed by the theory of evolution, so why should my opinion about children be governed by a lack of children.

Some of my opinions may be wrong, but do me the courtesy of pointing out why, not pointing to an obvious biological fact and speaking in the ethereal.

You know your kids, your may know more facts about kids, or a little more about their nature, but this does not invalidate my training, or my opinion. At least debate me, even if you disagree. Don't hide behind the statement, "Wait till you have kids."

I'm feeling down, care to cheer me up?

I'm filling a little gray today, so if you'd like to help cheer me up post a comment or word of encouragement. I always feel better when I know people are reading some of this stuff.

Men's Ministry in the Church and It's Uselessness to Me

This post over at worldmagblog couldn't have come at a more opportune time.

You see, I've been thinking about how the church does men's ministry, or at least as I've experienced it. For the most part I have been disappointed and lost when attending men's events of any kind.

My reasons are simple.

1. All small talk is about three things: Sports, politics or theology

2. When praying or singing, these strong men get all weepy and emotional. This is more of a comfort level thing with me, but I just don't do that. And I feel out of place because I can't respond as they do.

Let's take the first one. All small talk is about one of two things, sports or theology. Well, this is also kind of a personal problem. I don't really care about sports. I have no idea what being 14 under par means in golf. (Well, that's changed a little recently, but it is still just a vague idea.) I don't care who won the baseball game last night or if LeBron James plans to become a free agent or whatever. (I think that tells you how little I pay attention, I only know the name of James because of the movie Coach Carter, which I watched last night.) I like football but mostly as a Saturday past time, or background noise as I read. I have no idea who plays for what team and don't really care.

Politics I follow because I am a good citizen, but I'm not really interested. I had enough of theology in college, never really felt any call to study it in depth and am truly content to trust the theologians of my denomination to deal with issues that crop up.

This does not mean that I don't want to learn about God. I read my Bible, pray on my own and with my wife, and read theological texts and Christian biographies of interest to me. These are rarely of interest to anyone else and are rarely relevant to the topic on hand, so I have nothing really to say other than unsubstantiated opinion.

On the flip side, I would like to talk to these men about Cormac McCarthy's The Road, or about the recent passing of Lloyd Alexander. Maybe they want to discuss the role of literature for the Christian, or compare with me Tolkien's life to Lewis'.

Really, it all just boils down to the fact that I just cannot connect with these men. Everything about them is so far removed from the person I am, that there is nothing of substance to talk about. We connect only in that we love the Lord and want to learn more, so we attend Bible studies together. But when we part ways or after the lesson is done, we have nothing to talk about.

I usually end up being more comfortable around women, and am more ministered to by them than men. They share interests I have (I'm not ashamed to say it) don't feel the need to be DOING something but can just sit around and talk. They don't want to go outside to toss a Frisbee or football and can just sit contentedly at the table talking. Usually the topic is not of much interest to me either, but at least they connecting in a way I enjoy, versus a way I hate.

The emotional thing I think is self-explanatory. I naturally hide my emotions, and am comfortable being a person who does. (Drives my wife crazy, by the way.) So don't expect me to come to an event and get all weepy and emotional, to feel the high. To me the Love of Jesus is as rational as it is emotional. I feel it and know the Holy Spirit sustains me and that is sufficient to me. I need no other emotion to find happiness in Jesus.

I'll be honest. It really does come down to me. It's not really the men's ministries fault. I am, as a personality, so far out of the box that they really have difficulty appealing to me. And they shouldn't. They need to appeal to the largest group they can and that is what they are doing. It's really me that's the problem, not the ministry. I guess I just fell lonely in the midst of those who should be my friends.

OK, rant and pity party over. I feel better. Sorry if I offended anyone, but maybe someone else out there feels as I do. I'd like to know who you are. Maybe we can help improve existing men's ministries.

PS: Bill, I've not done any men's minsitry with our church, so this opinion in NO Way reflects on it, since I know next to nothing about it. This is relevant ot previous experiences.

Personal Note: I Exist

So I realized I hadn't posted much in the way of personal stuff lately, so here goes.

I'm tired. Bone, dog, tired. I have no energy for some reason. Most of the tasks of value I have undertaken lately have ended in failure or mediocre success and perhaps my body is responding to that. This, of course, has taken its toll on my marriage, and my poor wife thinks I'm neglecting her or am not interested in her anymore.

Somehow, I managed to burn my grass in the yard, and it is now filled with bare patches in the Bermuda. I attempted to alleviate this by planting new seed and covering it with new topsoil, but this has only partially fixed the problem.

I ran my car into a ditch trying to get out of the way of a fire truck coming the opposite direction and got stuck. I then had to rock the car forward and managed to knock loose some of the undercarriage panels that are used to streamline the airflow.

A week later, I was turning into a street with poor visibility, and nearly hit a guy driving a sports car. He screwed up and hit his brakes hard and managed to spin out. I then failed to call the cops, so there is no record. He damaged a rim, and stupidly I took blame and offered to pay for a replacement. He still hasn't called me about the cost of repair and I pray that he is just letting the whole thing go. He was speeding around a corner and nearly broadsided me as I was coming from a T intersection into his road.

I maxed out our credit card, not because I couldn't afford the costs, but because I screwed up the timing on payments.

My computer is failing so I had to buy a new one (something I didn't want to do) and that contributed to the credit card issue. Which is rectified but was not pleasant.

I have to day trip out to Dallas tomorrow, so my day is going to be long (I fly out of ATL at 7:15 AM and return to the airport at 10:00PM with an hour drive to get home) with meetings all day.

The wife and I have not been responsible and have been overspending our budget. I need to return to a more careful budgeting and not give in to every whim of book buying.

I have a goal of writing a novel (that will be published!) before I die, but I don't really work at it, and have not natural gift, so it takes work. Failing to live up to this goal (even of writing a little everyday) is a constant source of a sense of failure.

I also know that I should be focusing on becoming a better businessman, not trying to be a writer or book critic, and yet I don't. This makes me feel like a failure.

So all these things make me feel poorly, like I'm a failure in some way. But writing it down has been therapeutic. I feel a little bit better telling the world how miserable I feel at the moment, and how tired I am. Nice to know that this is now recorded for posterity.

Assassin

Over at mental_floss, Becky says, "Of course, after the real life terror of the horrible VTU shootings, school officials are urging students to put an end to “Assassin” and its target-based derivatives. What do you think? Did you ever participate in any of these live-action campus RPGs and do you think they’re appropriate?"

I wrote in response:

"Actually I and my "team" made it to the top and won. The monetary prize went to a poor friend who needed it, and we all patted ourselves on the back. It was great fun, especially taking out a our various nemesis.

Ultimately, the question you raise is the same old "does pretend violence beget real violence" argument. My short answer is no. Broken people, broken homes, a broken culture begets violence. Lust, greed, power beget violence. Sickness can do so as well.

The urging is a knee-jerk reaction. Its telling us that we cannot control ourselves or be trained to do so and that every person is a VTU killer waiting to go off. I'm not, I suspect you aren't and I don't need parenting now that I've reached my maturity."

I thought this a good thought, so I posted it here. What is your thought. Did you play Assassin at Covenant or elsewhere? Were you any good?

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition

Yesterday, we headed down to the Atlantic Civic Center to see Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition. It was pretty cool (literally, they had a iceberg you could touch to see just how cold the ice was that night, I lasted - not that we were competing, mind you - the shortest amount of time, then Val, my mom, and my teenage younger brother - typical) and reading the stories was really interesting. I've never been a Titanic devotee (I hate the movie) but shipwrecks are fascinating no matter the period. This one was especially cool because it contained many interesting artifacts and stories from the various recovery expeditions that have taken place.

The most interesting thing was how personal they were able to make the stories, in fact, the entire exhibition was centered around the quotes and stories of the passengers, both before and after the disaster. And to make it really personal, it appears that when the exhibition goes to a particular city, it finds out what passengers on the Titanic hailed from that state and relate their stories of death or survival at the very end of the exhibition. Being a proud Georgian by choice (if not by birth) I was proud to read about Archibald Butt and his sacrifices. There were others as well.

Don't go if you are not willing to read a lot. There are not a great many artifacts, but all of them have stories that need to be read about.

I do wonder though how they mange to have several exhibitions going on in several places at once. I assume they must all be different. I mean we had the "Big Piece" at our exhibition, so the one in California certainly cannot have it.

Either way it was a neat experience and I recommend a visit. (However, remember that we got in half price on a homeschooling ticket so I got more bang for less buck.)

Black Gate on Black Gate

In this post I discussed the letter I sent to John O'Neill at Black Gate. I also posted it at MetaxuCafe. John found it there and below is his posted response. I thought I would put it here for those who can't find my entry at MetaxuCafe.

Hey John,

No thanks required. Thank you for writing such a great letter. I'll say this for this small controversy - it sure livened up our letters column.

When I started Black Gate, it was easy to say the magazine would be "family friendly." Over the years that's been tougher to accomplish as some great stories with adult content pass my desk. What I didn't mention in the magazine is that it's almost always a compromise with the author... I'll publish the story if she'll tone down this scene, and this one, and maybe this one.

So I don't get the squeaky-clean content I originally wanted, but the author has made compromises too, and I don't want the price for being published in Black Gate to be too high.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to weigh in. Yours was one of the most eloquent letters we received on the subject.

Cheers,

- John

John O'Neill
Editor
Black Gate

Black Gate Publishes my Letter to the Editor

After I wrote this post yesterday, my copy of the latest Black Gate Magazine came in the mail and guess who's letter to the editor was published? That's right, little old me.

In Issue 9, a reader of the magazine (Lawrence Ore), and a Christian, had written to protest some of the more adult material that had begun appearing in the printed stories. He wanted the magazine to be something he could keep on his coffee table and that his kids could read.

For issue 10, I wrote in supporting Ore's request. I noted my own Christian beliefs and I also made note of the fact that there are plenty of mature themed fantasy magazines out there, but very few "family-friendly" ones.

Let me point out here that mature does not mean graphic. One story depicted a rape scene, which prompted Ore's response and I agree that the boundary had been pushed a little far with that one, but that descriptions of sensuousness or loving touches or gazes did not seem gratuitous or offensive in the majority of the stories.

Black Gate is by no means wholly clean, but then I don't expect it to be. In his response to me and others, the Chief Editor, John O'Neill, pointed out his goal for the magazine was for his twelve year old to be able to pick it up and read it without his having to worry about nightmares or needed to have "the talk" at a young age. He said he would continue to print mature (not graphic) material, but would add an advisory stating which ones might be offensive to some readers.

I find this an excellent solution. Black Gate needs to stay on track with its stated goals of bringing back the era of pulp fiction of the '30s and '40s. The stories that were read in that era were read by the same kids who loved the Superman comics. Thus, although Black Gate is not a kid's magazine, some of its material is suitable for pre-teens. Black Gate's efforts will hopefully bring about a new generation of fantasy lovers, and perhaps foster better parent-child relations. After all, if parents and children share a common interest, be it fixing cars, playing baseball, or reading fantasy how can they help but be closer to one another?

What are your thoughts on where a writer should draw the line, especially in fantasy? Do you support Black Gate's decision to allow mature content (again, not graphic content)? Why or why not?

PS: Buy a copy of issue 10 at your local bookstore (I know Barnes and Noble carries it) and read the text of my letter as well as the interesting and thoughtful comments of others. (And the stories too, of course!)

PPS: Thanks, John O'Neill, for putting in my letter.

Darra the Dachschund is Here!

I've told you before about the little dog we were planning on getting. Darra (the small great one in Gaelic) has come home. The wife wrote an excellent post for you to read, so I'll just give a you a little picture to enjoy. We are so excited, if a little bit tired from night-time whining.

Roma

I promised you, dear reader, that I would show you little slice of the Rome I just visited. Here you go.

PS: Flickr Rocks!

Keats and Italy

One of the best things about going to Rome is that it boasts so many of the Romantics as having lived or died there. Shelley, Byron, and Keats all lived there during the Grand Tour of Europe. Keats actually died there, and you can visit the very room in which he passed away right next to the Plaza di Spagna (popularly known as the Spanish Steps). The Wife and I went up to check it out.

It is only three small rooms, but the museum (which has been around since the early 1800s) boasts an impressive collection of first editions of Byron, Shelley, Keats and Leigh Hunt. As well as these, it also contains many original letters to or from Keats and his friends, including many items from Joseph Severn, the artist and Keats roommate up until his death of tuberculosis.

Although none of Keats great works were written in Rome (by the time he got there he was too sick to write much) much of what he wrote stems from what he believed Italy and Rome in particular to be. While there, I purchased a copy of Keats and Italy a publication of the museum which does an excellent job of introducing those of us unfamiliar with Keats to his life and why Italy was such an important place for him. A short biography, a couple of his poems, a history of the Keats-Shelley house and reflections on Keats make the book a well-rounded introduction to a man who died so young and tragically.

I read the book on the way home from Rome, and enjoyed its easy prose and illuminating detail on the Romantic poet "whose name was writ on water". You can read his best known work "Ode on a Grecian Urn" after the jump. In it we get the well known phrase that declares, "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

My interest in Keats has been peaked, and through him to the Romantics I think. Keats sought beauty in words and the art and myths of the ancients, much as I did when I was a younger man. I feel akin to the man, even though poetry usually stumps me.

Ode on a Grecian Urn

John Keats

Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of Silence and slow Time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fringed legend haunts about thy shape

Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave

Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal—yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!

Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed
Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu;
And, happy melodist, unwearièd,
For ever piping songs for ever new;
More happy love! more happy, happy love!

For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,
For ever panting, and for ever young;
All breathing human passion far above,
That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd,
A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.

Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?
What little town by river or sea-shore,

Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of its folk, this pious morn?
And, little town, thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul, to tell
Why thou art desolate, can e'er return.

O Attic shape! fair attitude! with brede
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou, silent form! dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral

When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.'

Back from Roma

We are back from Rome. I'll try and post some pics when I get home tonight, but in the meantime, enjoy the wife's rather hilarious post (with pics) and a by the numbers section that nearly had me rolling with laughter!

A Bookaholic Visits Goodwill

Goodwill is a highly underrated store. The wife and I made a trip there a couple of days ago because we needed to pick up some blankets (for cheap) for the new puppy soon to be entering our home.

I rarely visit Goodwill, because A. the rarely have anything I like and B. the stock is so constantly revolving that I feel to get the best deal I would need to go once a week, and I hate leaving the house unless strictly necessary.

Nonetheless, on this visit I walked away with not one, not two, but three books I've wanted to read but refused to pay full price for. Since these were anywhere form $2.50 to $1 in price (depending on hardback or paperback) I'd say that saving an average of $22.50 on a hardback and $13 on a paperback is quite a steal.

I walked away with:

Teacher Man by Frank McCourt in hardback

Night by Elie Wiesel in paperback (Oprah's book Club Edition)

The Telling by Ursula K. LeGuin in hardback

and

The Last Sin Eater by Francine Rivers in paperback (this one is for the wife an me both.)

The Wife walked away with:

A book by Terri Blackstock in paperback (Christian Fiction author)

A book of literature worksheets for the early grades based on famous books.

And at least two others I didn't look at closely enough to remember.

And yet, we got all this, plus four or five blankets for our dog for $27. Incredible.

No wonder the migrant workers who live nearby shop there. They know a good deal when they see one. I think I'll be following their shopping trends from now on. They know how to get a bargain.

While I was there, I also saw a classic science fiction double book by Jack Vance, which my favorite mag Black Gate, is always raving about. I didn't buy it cause I'm not into pulp books, but my friends who are might strike it rich in this most unlikely place.

At any rate, Goodwill is underrated by us white middle-class, daddy has lots of money folks. Although our children seem to be getting the message. The wife had students in Florida who would shop there and get name-brand clothes with the tags still on them at 80% or better discounts. It's amazing!

I highly recommend that any book lover on a shoestring visit their local Goodwill before hitting the local thrift or used book store. The prices are even cheaper at Goodwill than there, and rather than supporting a profit making business, a charity gets the most benefit. How could you miss?

My Bro is Married

My brother got married over the weekend (poor sap), and we all helped. I'm glad to be back at work so I can rest up for my trip to Rome on Saturday. We all had lots of fun though, and danced up a storm at the reception. (I'm just glad I ain't the only one being pressured into having kids now.:-)

The wife has a bunch more pictures at this post.

St. Patrick's Day

Tomorrow is St. Pattie's Day, but since I will be rather tied up with my brother's wedding, here is an Irish blessing for you today. (It actually will appear in the wedding program, since I wrote the program.)

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you;
May you see your children's children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings,
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.

— An Irish Blessing

Update on my life

I haven't really done much personal updating on my life lately, but then that's because the wife does it so well (and with pictures!).

First learn about the puppy , that we named Darra, we will be getting in early April,

and then,

hear about our gardening efforts over the last weekend (due to the beautiful weather).

You are what you read

I've been playing with a photo mosaic program this evening. Here is a photo from our trip to Madrid last year, made up of book covers from my library. Thanks to librarything for the assist. Unfortunately, the pic is too large for me to upload to the server I use, so I had to scale it down to this size. You won't be able to see the individual books, you'll just have to take my word on the truth of what I say.

I'm a Hero!

Turns out that in my church, I'm considered something of a hero! My assistant pastor wrote a very nice little post on his blog about me and the wife, calling us "Big Creek Hero of the Week"! Thanks Bill! It's been a blessing to work alongside you to get this started. I hope you won't mind, but I've put the text of your post below.

Actually this week is a Hero couple (two Heroes). John and Valerie Ottinger.

This Sunday they started a new Life Group with young, married couples. At Big Creek we currently have 26 Life Groups and we have many dedicated and committed leaders within every Life Group. But why I wanted to single out John and Valerie is because I have appreciated their initiative and willingness to serve. John and Valerie didn't wait for something to get started, they stepped out in faith and took the initiative. It has been a challenge connecting young adults at Big Creek. We have tried a couple of times to get young couples together for small groups, and those attempts didn't end in success. John and Valerie didn't let that discourage them, they took the initiative and thought outside the box. Thinking outside of the box for Big Creek is deciding to have the small group on Sunday mornings. We don't have Sunday school (we are a small group driven church), and so having a Life Group on a Sunday morning before church would be a new thing at Big Creek. But why it can work with young couples, is that Sunday morning can accommodate child care and nursery needs. It's new, its outside of the box...it's a step of faith.

John and Valerie are Big Creek heroes because they are committed to use their gifts within the body of Big Creek, and they don't hesitate to step out and serve. It is so cool when people come to the church and they just dive right in, and John and Valerie are those kind of people. You guys rock and I, and Big Creek, appreciate your willingness to go for it!

Car Trouble 2: The Saga Continues

Well, I go out to the car this morning and crank it up, or at least I try to. The electrical comes on, but the engine won't start. Not even a jump would get it going. Must be the starter I guess. I've had AAA take it down to Hood's, our local two man operation who is fair and cheap. I probably won't get the car till Wednesday, but he will do good work and not over bill me for time and effort.

Let's hope its nothing major, and I can get a few more years out of it. I surely don't want car payments, now that I'm totally free and clear on both vehicles.

C'est la vie (that's for you Miss French Police). :-)

UPDATE: Turns out it was the starter. We had it replaced and she runs much better now. Cross your fingers and hope nothing else occurs.

Home-schooler

I began home-schooling in the seventh grade, meaning I was probably twelve so it was likely 1992 or so when I started. Apparently, my family was on the cutting edge of education, as the word home-schooler hadn't even come into existence until 1981. The word home-school actually came later according to the OED. Seems the movement was only eleven years old at the time I began my home-schooling career. It's now in its twenties, and still a little unruly if you ask me.

home-schooler, n.

Educ. (orig. and chiefly U.S.).

1. A child who is educated at home.

1981 N.Y. Times 26 Feb. C1/1 Figures for New York City show 822 officially registered home schoolers. 1991 BackHome Fall 70/2 We saw a difference between the way homeschoolers and public school kids behaved. 2002 J. STOUT in T. Dowty & K. Cowlishaw Home Educating Autistic Spectrum Children (2003) v. 80 Being a homeschooler gave him the time and resources to explore intensively and widely whatever he was interested in.

2. A parent (or occas. another person) who teaches children at home.

1984 Frederick (Maryland) Post 26 Jan. A12/1 He'd prosecute any home-schooler because he doesn't think anyone is qualified. 1988 Atlantic Monthly Apr. 22 The parents who are homeschoolers can be found anywhere along a continuum of educational philosophies. 1994 Daily Tel. 5 Sept. 17/1 Nine out of 10 home-schoolers describe themselves as conservative Christians. 2002 Weekly Standard 25 Mar. 15/2 Her being a born-again Christian and a home-schooler made her even more appealing as a symbol.

Of course, the reality is that home-schooling is considerably older than 1981, it was just called tutoring, at least according to home-schoolers themselves.

I am not a fan of people who point to the tutoring of the past as the forerunner of the home-schooling of today. Tutoring was necessary only because there were not enough teachers to go around, education was reserved only for the elite anyway, and the motivations were completely different.

Nonetheless, the two are related, if only distantly, and we can certainly use the curriculum of those who were tutored in the classics for our own children today. Such a classical curriculum (logic, Latin, apologetics, etc.) will certainly be more useful than the factual learning so prevalent in our schools today.

Car Trouble

When Valerie and I got married, she owned a dinky little car. Well, I say dinky, but actually its been running in smooth condition since it was new in 1996. However, yesterday, the battery died. At least I think it died. I know I can jump-start it, so my assumption is that there is something wrong with the battery not the starter.

The battery is a two-year battery, and I know that it s not been replaced since Val and I have been married. Val has also never been the best at maintaining cars. That's not to mean I am, but at least I go in for regular check-ups. Val never really did. So it's likely the battery has been running more years than it should have been.

So the car is sitting dead in my driveway. (The picture is not of our actual car, although our's is white too.) If there is on thing I hate, its doing maintenance on cars. The engines are always dirty, smelly, and with my proclivity to get stuff on my clothes, usually more expensive than just the replacement part.

So I despise working on my car, but this afternoon, I will have to go buy a battery, replace the existing one without killing myself through shockwaves, and see if it works. Remember, I'm not even sure that the battery is the problem, although I suspect so. Se la vi.

UPDATE: The Car is working fine now. It was the battery (the thing tunred out to be seven years old!) that I had drained completely when I ran my new car lighter air compressor I got for Christmas. All is well now.

A Bible Study Beginning

I recently took it upon myself to begin a young couple's married class at my church. We are a relatively new church trying to reach the county in which we are situated. We are attempting not to have a lot of programs, but to seek simplicity. We want to offer programs that meet needs, but not necessarily meet every need.

in this vein, the young marrieds bible study will actually be a part of the the Life
Group program. Akin to small groups, Life Groups a greater emphasis on mission as a group, serving as a group, "doing life together" as a group.

As I said, I have taken the responsibility to put together a life group for the young marrieds in our church. We don't have many, although that is steadily changing, and a lot of those have kids.

That has been the most challenging aspect of trying to put together this group. Deciding to study the Book of Matthew was easy, it was deciding when and where to meet in order to accommodate the fact that a lot of the young couples have kids is what is hard.

I think we may have come up with a solution, between Pastor Bill and I and the suggestions of some of the young couples who have kids (which I don't).

I think God will bless our efforts. I also pray that God will raise up other men to lead the group, because I will not always be able to and should not have to.

I want too, for sure, but am aware that other responsibilities will get in the way. I also don't want to give in to laziness or lack of desire. I don't want to be preparing last minute or preparing lazily. I need to work hard and create something of value to my church, something God will be proud of me for.

I also hope that I don't get too heady on all the teaching. I want the Scripture to be accessible. I'm also afraid of looking the fool when I begin teaching. I'll be writing my own curriculum for the most part. However, this will be for adults, not for kids like I've done before. It's a little scary. Perhaps this leap of faith will make me pray more.

I've always been lax on my prayer life. I'm going to need a lot more now though. I need to get over and past the discomfort with praying that I always feel. I can't avoid it anymore. I need it desperately.

I'm glad our church has such an excellent support structure, and that many of the young couples I've talked to are excited and willing to help. Social events are already being organized by another young couple, and they are doing a most excellent job.

I Love My Wife!

My wife wrote me a little poem/song based on a country song by Brad Paisley. The poem (which is awesome!) is below. Click on the title to see the original post on her blog.

He's Everything

He's a nap on the couch in the sunlight
and a glass of dark merlot
He's a can of Pringles and hard pretzels
but he avoids all sour cream

He's a blogger
A fantasy reader and a writer
He reads more than I do
He can read in Starbucks for hours

He loves cats and likes dogs
and admits to visiting cuteoverload.com
He wants to be a daddy
though he's scared of having girls

He's the opposite of packrat
but still saves the notes I give him
He's a nose-to-nose rub
and a caress on my cheek

He's a world traveler
but he loves to stay at home
He surprises me with gifts
that I don't expect or deserve

I love him more each day
and I'm still amazed
that God brought us together

He's everything I ever wanted
And everything I need
I talk about him, I go on and on and on
'Cause he's everything to me

--THE WIFE

Today is My Birthday

I am 27 years old today. Not really much of a milestone is it? (Especially when your wife will be 31 in October.)

A Few Interesting Folks Share my Birthday:

1729 - Edmund Burke, Irish statesman (d. 1797) "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
1737 - John Hancock, American statesman (d. 1793)
1876 - Jack London, American author (d. 1916)
1951 - Kirstie Alley, American actress
1951 - Rush Limbaugh, American radio personality
1954 - Howard Stern, American radio host
1966 - Rob Zombie, American musician

A Few Interesting Things Happened on this Day in History:

1519: Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian the First died.

1628: Charles Perrault, Paris, poet, fairy tale collector (some sources January 13) born

1723: Handel's "Ottone." was premiered. rehearsal Handel got one soprano to sing an aria the way he wanted it (slowly, without too much embellishment) by threatening to hang her upside-down out a window.

1773: The first public museum in America was established, in Charleston, South Carolina.

1774: The citizens of Newport, Rhode Island, voted to outlaw anyone who bought or sold tea.

1908: Wireless message sent long-distance for the first time from the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

1915: The US House of Representatives rejected a proposal to give women the right to vote.

1915: The U.S. Congress establishes Rocky Mountain National Park.

1916: Former South African President P.W. Botha born

1928: Vladimir Horowitz debuted as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall in New York City. It was the very same night that Sir Thomas Beecham gave his first public performance in the United States.

1932: Mrs. Hattie W. Caraway became the first woman elected to the United States Senate.

1932: Oliver Wendell Holmes quits the Supreme Court at age 90.

1940: Soviet bombers raid cities in Finland.

1942: President Roosevelt created the National War Labor Board.

1943: The wartime Office of Price Administration said standard frankfurters would be replaced by "Victory Sausages" consisting of a mixture of meat and soy meal.

1945: During World War Two, Soviet forces began a huge offensive against the Germans in Eastern Europe.

1948: The Supreme Court ruled that states could not discriminate against law-school applicants because of race.

1949: "Arthur Godfrey and His Friends" premiered on CBS-TV. The TV favorite stayed on the network for seven years.

1949: The Chicago-based children's show, "Kukla, Fran and Ollie," made its national debut on NBC-TV. Fran Allison was hostess.

1964: Leftist rebels in Zanzibar began their successful revolt against the government.

1966: "Batman" debuted on ABC-TV. Adam West starred as Batman and Burt Ward was, Robin.

1971: "All In the Family" debuted on CBS-TV. Carol O'Connor starred as Archie Bunker, Rob Reiner as Meathead, Sally Struthers as Gloria and Jean Stapleton as Edith.

1971: A federal grand jury indicted the Rev. Philip Berrigan and five other people, including a nun and two priests, on charges of plotting to kidnap presidential adviser Henry Kissinger.

1972: President Nixon ordered development of the space shuttle.

1976: Mystery writer Dame Agatha Christie died in Wallingford, England, at age 85.

1986: The shuttle "Columbia" blasted off with a crew that included the first Hispanic-American in space, Dr. Franklin R. Chang-Diaz.

1990: The astronauts aboard the space shuttle "Columbia" retrieved an eleven-ton floating science laboratory in a rescue mission that kept the satellite from plunging to Earth.

1991: A deeply divided Congress gave President Bush the authority to wage war in the Persian Gulf. The Senate voted 52-47 to empower Bush to use armed forces to expel Iraq from Kuwait; the House followed suit on a vote of 250-183.

1993: Nikolaus Harnoncourt's Beethoven symphonic cycle, a nice mix of period performance and modern feeling, sold more than 100-thousand copies.

1993: A U.S. Marine taking part in the humanitarian relief mission in Somalia was killed; the same day, members of Congress called for a withdrawal of some U.S. forces.

1995: Amid unprecedented media hype, the murder trial of Hall of Fame football star O.J. Simpson began in a Los Angeles Superior Court. Simpson was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman.

1996: Chechen fighters holding more than 100 hostages in the Russian village of Pervomayskaya freed about a dozen of their captives and pledged to release the rest if four top Russian officials took their place.

1997: The shuttle "Atlantis" blasted off on a mission to pick up American astronaut John Blaha from the Russian space station "Mir."

1998: Nineteen European nations signed a treaty in Paris opposing human cloning.

1999: Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball was sold at auction in New York for $3 million to an anonymous bidder.

2000: Charlotte Hornets guard Bobby Phills was killed in a crash during a drag race.

A Prayer for Help

God my father, Holy of Holies,
Forgive me my sins,
Take away my guilt and shame,
Let me place my crown at your feet,
Let me have nothing, for I deserve nothing,
I have trespassed against you.

Make me lower than all your creatures,
For I am less than the snake,
Evil and Wicked, Selfish and lazy,
I crawl on my belly to your throne.

Take my guilt and shame,
Cast it into the Abyss,
Destroy it utterly,
Let me be a new creation,
Able to create for your glory.

Cleanse me, O My God!

Sotelo-Bennett Wedding

Thought I might post one of our pics from the Sotelo-Bennett Wedding. There are a bunch more at our Flickr account.

Here's the link. Blessings on you both!

It Just Isn't the Same

The wife and I celebrated our mutual Christmas last night. We are leaving today to go to Florida to celebrate Christmas with her family and then return on the 26th to have Christmas with mine. I’ve always thought it rather fun to have several Christmases. This is the first year in my 26 that I will not have Christmas with my family.

My three younger brothers weren’t willing to wait one day and celebrate when the wife and I got home. Seems a little selfish to me, but then, I was the one who went off and got married and have additional responsibilities to other people, so I’m not actually upset with them. It’s ultimately my fault, but I would say I go the better end of the deal. I have Val, and her great family (including the extended family, it’s a real close-knit group).

I’ll be real sorry to miss Christmas with my folks, it just won’t be the same without Mom’s egg casserole and taking turns opening the mound of presents my parents always get us. I won’t get that flighty feeling of excitement as I go to bed. I won’t wake up and rush down the stairs (although in the past few years I shower first) in my pj’s and act like a little kid again. I won’t get to hear my father read the Nativity story from Luke (my most treasured tradition). I think I’ll try and institute that with Val’s folks this year; I want my kids to get that tradition. After that, we opened up everybody’s presents, taking turns so that everyone see what everyone gets, and everyone oohs and aahs over the gifts people got. It’s almost as exciting to watch others open gifts as to open your own.

I’ll miss it, but next year we have Christmas with my folks and then go visit hers, so we made an even trade. I'm sad, but I do get three Christmases, so I can't really complain.

Chick Flick Confessional

Okay, I'll admit it, I like chick flicks. In the past month I've watched:

Where the Heart Is

Notting Hill

How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days

Hitch

and one more whose title I can't remember at the moment.

We own each of these except Where the Heart Is (and I'm always the one to suggest we buy them) in addition to movies like:

Pride and Prejudice (1995 A&E version)

Legally Blonde

Love Potion #9 (although this is Val's contribution)

Return to Me

and 13 Going on 30.

Even worse, I like them all, and want to get more for our collection. Am I fundamentally screwed up?

Pride of Wifey

Well, the December issue of byFaith is out. Guess who's name is right next to the word "Circulation". That's right, you guessed it, my beautiful wifey's! If you call the number for subscriptions, you'll get her desk, and her sweet, sweet voice. You guys are so lucky, and you just don't know it. (The picture at right ain't the new issue, but the new issue cover is not yet accessible to me. It's pastel yellow and has the word Heaven written on it, very pretty.) Most of you'll never know how cool it is to see your wife's name in print for the very first time. (The B. Withrow does, I know. By the way, I will be ordering your book in the next month or two.) Let your jealousy run rampant. I don't care, I'm just happy that my wife is making strides to attain the goal she has always strived towards, being an editor. Congratulations wifey!

PS: Some of ya'll who are close to me (aka CovFriends) may have gotten a copy in the mail. That's a gift subscription from me and the wife (except the Bishop's) as a Christmas present. (And yes, I do have to pay, even though she works for them.) Enjoy!

You Wascally Wabbit!

So the wife and I are expecting to be overrun with bunnies this coming Spring. Our exterminator (who is a real nice guy, says the wife) told her that someone in the neighborhood next door to ours had been raising high-end bunnies in their backyard. They had upwards of 150 of them. However, for some reason, all of these expensive rabbits have gotten loose into the that neighborhood, and ours as well.

Our exterminator said that the cost to trap each bunny is $150. So apparently because of the high cost to trap them, the owners will let the rabbits go wild. All during winter they will be mating and making more little rabbits. These rabbits are worth a lot, so Val and I are thinking maybe we could trap a few and make a few bucks (and hopefully save our tulips). The exterminator guy also told Val that one lady is already so frustrated with the loose bunny situation that she is going to move!

The wife and I were already frustrated with the wild hare we just can't seem to get rid of in our backyard. Seems that hare will seem like an old friend come Spring.

By the way, if you live in the North Georgia area, we recommend Northwest Exterminating. They are friendly, small, and easy to get a hold of when you need to. When the exterminator first came, he told Valerie all about what bugs our plants will attract and how to prevent their loss. He went way over and above his job description. Very classy, I thought.

Decorating for Dummies

The wife has an excellent ability to decorate with what we already have lying about the house. She tells the story of how we spent an hour or so on Saturday decorating a rather useless ledge in our home.

I wish the home builders had extended the loft area above instead of having a ledge, but then, what do I know about style?

Nonetheless, it looks good, and uses books, my most favoritest decorating item.

Weekender Bender

What a weekend! It was mi madre's birthday and in order to celebrate a lot of work was needed. The wife spent most of Saturday shopping for Christmas decorations (we have a very limited number, enough for an apartment but not for a house) and food to host a birthday party.

While she did that, I took my Mom to lunch with my other three brothers at O'Charley's (which has awesome chicken fingers by the way).

Then when we both got home, we set up the Christmas tree, decorated it, and decorated the rest of the house. The wife then baked the brownie dessert with the inappropriate name whose recipe she got from her aunt, prepared the main course, set the table, and generally cleaned house (I did help!)

Sunday we went to church, baked the lunch, entertained my family and their "special friends" (about 8 people in all) for the birthday party, and then napped for about fifteen minutes before going to small group and strongly discussing the role of wealth for the Christian (We were working through the Treasure Principle). Exhausting! I did enjoy the Cabernet Sauvignon we had to drink though (at lunch, not the small group).

In the midst of all this, I managed to take a chip out of our wood floor when I dropped a chair, which was very upsetting to me.

So all in all, very busy. I'm glad to be back at work so I can rest.

HBD Jollyswan!

Happy B-day to my good friend the Jollyswan. I'm looking forward to seeing you on New Year's weekend! Man, we are all changing so rapidly.