England, ho!
Among my most recent Amazon/Borders order was the 2006 edition of Let's Go Britain. It's time to get serious about planning for our May trip to England. Plane tickets have been purchased and childcare preliminarily arranged. There are some duller details to take care of, like renewing my passport. But I've begun dreaming some of our itinerary.
Friends of Joel's have invited us to stay, and they're in Durham. We hope to give a day or two to exploring London, most likely when we first arrive. Durham should be a good hub point for exploring the far northeast, one area of England I'm least familiar with. I studied abroad in the southwest--Glouchestershire--and only got as far north as Ripon and Masham during my months there. In the mid-90s I did a whirlwind England/Wales/Scotland bus tour with my mom, and we saw very little of any one place. We got just one afternoon in Edinburgh as I recall. Pretty inadequate. We drove through the northeast but didn't stop till Leeds.
Some guidebooks I've perused say the northeast has some of the best preserved ancient sites, so that will be cool to check out. My landlord from my study-abroad days recommended the seaside town of Whitby as worth seeing. I'd love other suggestions.
Let's Go was my favorite guide from previous trips because it's so budget conscious. What can I say? I love a bargain. It also gave the insider story on best times to visit places. It was especially helpful in finding the little, out-of-the-way cafes and eateries that the locals love.
2.19.2006
A proverb
After seeing this story about women's snowboard cross while it happened Friday night, I was reminded of Proverbs 16:18. The Message puts it this way: "First pride, then the crash--the bigger the ego, the harder the fall." Ouch. It was a potent reminder to approach life humbly. Seeing the beautiful and gifted young woman looking so grim after losing the great prize, it's a lesson I won't soon forget.
After seeing this story about women's snowboard cross while it happened Friday night, I was reminded of Proverbs 16:18. The Message puts it this way: "First pride, then the crash--the bigger the ego, the harder the fall." Ouch. It was a potent reminder to approach life humbly. Seeing the beautiful and gifted young woman looking so grim after losing the great prize, it's a lesson I won't soon forget.
2.17.2006
New world
For Valentine’s Day, we decided on an afternoon matinee showing of The New World, which received much praise from critics and promised to be at least a little romantic.
The story is based on legends of the founding of Jamestown colony in Virginia and the English interaction with the Powhatan nation. It attempts to get audiences to approach a familiar story in a new way, partly by not naming most of the characters, except Capt. John Smith.
It’s a pretty unusual film for broad release to American audiences. No bombastic soundtrack, stylized battle scenes, long love speeches. I was surprised at the quietness and almost complete lack of dialogue. The director asked a lot of his actors, needing them to carry most of the scenes with body language, facial expression. The land itself becomes a character, its shifting colors and gentle sounds speaking as much or more than the taciturn characters.
I liked the emotional complexities, especially the very mixed nature of the Smith character. While Anglo legends make him heroic, this film portrays him, very subtly, as a bit self-absorbed and out of touch with reality. I really like how they handled the Pocohontas character’s slow transformation into Rebecca Rolfe. She moves from starry-eyed teen to purposeful adult, maintaining her basic generous spirit despite rejections and losses. The man she marries (spoiler here if you’re not familiar with historic accounts) wins her so gently, you see Smith’s earlier attentions in a very different light.
For Valentine’s Day, we decided on an afternoon matinee showing of The New World, which received much praise from critics and promised to be at least a little romantic.
The story is based on legends of the founding of Jamestown colony in Virginia and the English interaction with the Powhatan nation. It attempts to get audiences to approach a familiar story in a new way, partly by not naming most of the characters, except Capt. John Smith.
It’s a pretty unusual film for broad release to American audiences. No bombastic soundtrack, stylized battle scenes, long love speeches. I was surprised at the quietness and almost complete lack of dialogue. The director asked a lot of his actors, needing them to carry most of the scenes with body language, facial expression. The land itself becomes a character, its shifting colors and gentle sounds speaking as much or more than the taciturn characters.
I liked the emotional complexities, especially the very mixed nature of the Smith character. While Anglo legends make him heroic, this film portrays him, very subtly, as a bit self-absorbed and out of touch with reality. I really like how they handled the Pocohontas character’s slow transformation into Rebecca Rolfe. She moves from starry-eyed teen to purposeful adult, maintaining her basic generous spirit despite rejections and losses. The man she marries (spoiler here if you’re not familiar with historic accounts) wins her so gently, you see Smith’s earlier attentions in a very different light.
2.12.2006
How swift the shift
It's hard to believe that on Feb. 3, it was so warm, Claire was out riding her trike in this interesting outfit (skateboard chick meets quaint, Wellie-wearing gardener):
Just a little over a week later, we're deeply blanketed in nearly 17" of snow.
This is the first really major storm we've had since moving here in Oct. 2000. While not all of the past 5 winters have been totally mild, none brought more than a foot of snow at a time. We're in for some interesting adventures in travel this week, living in a very hilly section of town.
But what a nice day we've had so far. Shoveling, listening to a webcast of church, blueberry pancake lunch, and several rounds of indoor croquet. I bought this set at a flea market for $1 last summer to save for a foul weather week. Today seemed the perfect opportunity to try it out.
Perhaps this afternoon, like last night after dinner, we'll take half-Husky Nicky out to the park to bound through the drifts like a Iditerod champion. And we can have another snowball fight, though I'm most often the target.
It's hard to believe that on Feb. 3, it was so warm, Claire was out riding her trike in this interesting outfit (skateboard chick meets quaint, Wellie-wearing gardener):
Just a little over a week later, we're deeply blanketed in nearly 17" of snow.
This is the first really major storm we've had since moving here in Oct. 2000. While not all of the past 5 winters have been totally mild, none brought more than a foot of snow at a time. We're in for some interesting adventures in travel this week, living in a very hilly section of town.
But what a nice day we've had so far. Shoveling, listening to a webcast of church, blueberry pancake lunch, and several rounds of indoor croquet. I bought this set at a flea market for $1 last summer to save for a foul weather week. Today seemed the perfect opportunity to try it out.
Perhaps this afternoon, like last night after dinner, we'll take half-Husky Nicky out to the park to bound through the drifts like a Iditerod champion. And we can have another snowball fight, though I'm most often the target.
2.10.2006
Crazy fun
I'll admit it. I generally don't give a hoot about sports, but I just adore the Olympics. Some of my earliest memories are of great Olympics moments, like Dorothy Hamill's and Nadia Comaneci's amazing performances in 1976. I love the weirder sports like cliff diving, equestrian dressage, syncronized swimming, biathalon, luge.
But this year, oh boy, have they got a crazy new sport I can't wait to see--snowboard cross. Four people simultaneously racing down a snowy mountainside, clearing obstacles and doing huge arial jumps. Looks like some truly insane, totally riveting action to me. Whoa dude!
I'll admit it. I generally don't give a hoot about sports, but I just adore the Olympics. Some of my earliest memories are of great Olympics moments, like Dorothy Hamill's and Nadia Comaneci's amazing performances in 1976. I love the weirder sports like cliff diving, equestrian dressage, syncronized swimming, biathalon, luge.
But this year, oh boy, have they got a crazy new sport I can't wait to see--snowboard cross. Four people simultaneously racing down a snowy mountainside, clearing obstacles and doing huge arial jumps. Looks like some truly insane, totally riveting action to me. Whoa dude!
2.09.2006
Finally, help for Grace!
My Borders/Amazon order arrived this morning and I'm so excited. One of the things I bought with gift card money was Nancy Kress' Dynamic Characters. I have high hopes it will live up to its rave reviews.
I've been struggling for several months to complete a chapter narrated by Grace, a 40-something mom and ad executive. She's been living in a corner of my brain since 1992, waiting to come to life on the page. Problem is, I still don't quite get her. I write scene after scene, only to come back and have Grace tell me "I wouldn't have done that. No, no, no, no. I feel very differently about my daughter than you think. You haven't really grasped my motives at all."
This is a very different sort of frustration with a fictional character than I've ever experienced. I've read about some exceedingly pigheaded characters who make me want to pull my hair out...and keep reading! Grace, on the other hand, just keeps eluding me. I have trouble really listening to her, letting her voice come through.
At this point, I'm willing to do a bunch of dumb exercises like an undergraduate if that will provide the breakthrough I need. So bring it on, Ms. Kress!
My Borders/Amazon order arrived this morning and I'm so excited. One of the things I bought with gift card money was Nancy Kress' Dynamic Characters. I have high hopes it will live up to its rave reviews.
I've been struggling for several months to complete a chapter narrated by Grace, a 40-something mom and ad executive. She's been living in a corner of my brain since 1992, waiting to come to life on the page. Problem is, I still don't quite get her. I write scene after scene, only to come back and have Grace tell me "I wouldn't have done that. No, no, no, no. I feel very differently about my daughter than you think. You haven't really grasped my motives at all."
This is a very different sort of frustration with a fictional character than I've ever experienced. I've read about some exceedingly pigheaded characters who make me want to pull my hair out...and keep reading! Grace, on the other hand, just keeps eluding me. I have trouble really listening to her, letting her voice come through.
At this point, I'm willing to do a bunch of dumb exercises like an undergraduate if that will provide the breakthrough I need. So bring it on, Ms. Kress!
2.06.2006
You know you're getting old when...
...some of your favorite childhood treats are now marketed as "retro."
Joel's post about Tastykakes got me thinking about the treats my mom used to pack in my Snoopy lunchbox. For grade four and under, I got homemade cookies most days--ginger crinkles, snickerdoodles, tollhouse, peanut butter with crisscross fork markings. When I turned 10 and mom went back to work, homemade became rarer. Enter treats from the Strohman's bakery outlet and candy bars.
Strohman's made these luscious chocolate-dipped devil's food cakes with a cream filling. They were foil-wrapped and looked like a very thick hockey puck. I've no idea what they're called, but the memory makes me crave one something fierce.
The candy bars I remember most are some of the more unusual ones. First was the Zero bar, a weird all-white gooey thing (white chocolate, caramel, almond nougat, peanuts) that was perhaps too grown-up a flavor combination for my taste. "White chocolate" is something of an oxymoron in my mind, since the stuff doesn't have cocoa in it, only cocoa butter. You might as well call Tone soap chocolate if the only standard is to contain a cocoa plant derivative.
The weirdly named Whatchamacallit bar was another regular lunchbox find. These are sort of a chocolate-dipped peanut butter Rice Krispies treat. With caramel. Not so bad, though peanut butter and caramel are not exactly stellar together. While studying abroad in college, I discovered a British candy in a similar vein called a Lion bar made by Nestle UK. They're much more generous with the chocolate, lighter on the cereal and forgo the peanut butter altogether. Nothing quite like it exists in the US. Besides, American milk chocolate is frankly a little too milky compared to what you find in the UK.
My favorite lunchbox candy was the Zagnut bar. It's similar to the modern Butterfinger, but instead of a chocolate coating, it's coated with toasted coconut. Peanut butter and coconut seem a rather disgusting combination at first blush, but crunchy toasted versions combine surprisingly well.
Thanks to the Internet, I could get an entire box of any of these treats. Or candy cigarettes (to glamorize smoking) or bottle caps (to encourage kids to swallow small metal objects found in the trash). So much for nostalgia.
...some of your favorite childhood treats are now marketed as "retro."
Joel's post about Tastykakes got me thinking about the treats my mom used to pack in my Snoopy lunchbox. For grade four and under, I got homemade cookies most days--ginger crinkles, snickerdoodles, tollhouse, peanut butter with crisscross fork markings. When I turned 10 and mom went back to work, homemade became rarer. Enter treats from the Strohman's bakery outlet and candy bars.
Strohman's made these luscious chocolate-dipped devil's food cakes with a cream filling. They were foil-wrapped and looked like a very thick hockey puck. I've no idea what they're called, but the memory makes me crave one something fierce.
The candy bars I remember most are some of the more unusual ones. First was the Zero bar, a weird all-white gooey thing (white chocolate, caramel, almond nougat, peanuts) that was perhaps too grown-up a flavor combination for my taste. "White chocolate" is something of an oxymoron in my mind, since the stuff doesn't have cocoa in it, only cocoa butter. You might as well call Tone soap chocolate if the only standard is to contain a cocoa plant derivative.
The weirdly named Whatchamacallit bar was another regular lunchbox find. These are sort of a chocolate-dipped peanut butter Rice Krispies treat. With caramel. Not so bad, though peanut butter and caramel are not exactly stellar together. While studying abroad in college, I discovered a British candy in a similar vein called a Lion bar made by Nestle UK. They're much more generous with the chocolate, lighter on the cereal and forgo the peanut butter altogether. Nothing quite like it exists in the US. Besides, American milk chocolate is frankly a little too milky compared to what you find in the UK.
My favorite lunchbox candy was the Zagnut bar. It's similar to the modern Butterfinger, but instead of a chocolate coating, it's coated with toasted coconut. Peanut butter and coconut seem a rather disgusting combination at first blush, but crunchy toasted versions combine surprisingly well.
Thanks to the Internet, I could get an entire box of any of these treats. Or candy cigarettes (to glamorize smoking) or bottle caps (to encourage kids to swallow small metal objects found in the trash). So much for nostalgia.
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