Can I just say EW???

I was minding my own business... answering work emails... and read two words which should probably never be put together:

Spam... and... tortillas

If you come to join me for dinner, I won't make them. Ever. I promise.

Deb

The Harpist's Summer Reading

Here's the "required summer reading" for The Harpist this summer. Before you marvel at what she has before her, let me just explain at it is an AP (Advanced Placement) Literature class. And that she has a week of linguistics, a week of PreCalc review, a mission trip to Mexico for 10 days, and family vacation on her plate. We are wondering how she is going to fit all of these books into her summer.

(and yes... she is upside down with a snake on her head.)

This is the assignment, quoted from the school's English home page:

2008 Summer Reading List -- A.P. Literature 12

Because a second reading so much enriches the reader’s understanding, the AP literature teachers would like for you to read all of the following texts from their 2007-08 syllabi preparatory to an in-depth examination during the fall and spring semesters. If, however, you cannot get to all of the texts, make sure that you read a minimum of three of those asterisked as your first writing assignment for the course will be a general essay in which you will use plot and characterization details from one of them.

Emma – Jane Austen *
Beowulf - Seamus Heaney translation (preferably the dual-language edition)*
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen*
Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte*
The Stranger – Albert Camus *
Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad*
Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky* (Sidney Monas translation)
Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston *
Beloved – Toni Morrison*
Hamlet – Shakespeare*
Othello - Shakespeare
King Lear – Shakespeare
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead – Tom Stoppard

Fortunately she has already read Pride and Prejudice. And Hamlet. The rest will take some focused effort on her part to fit in... A little light reading, eh? Dostoyevsky? Ugh.

Deb
Who wants her Calvin and Hobbes... (comic books, not theology!)

Domestic Virtues

I confess it freely - I am not a good housewife. But then, I am not married to my HOUSE!!!

I'm a bit of a phobic house cleaner (I like to avoid doing it until you can see the dust bunnies so I know where I've been.) I don't enjoy planning, shopping and cooking meals (which is why I did once-a-month cooking for so many years so that it took as little of my time as possible!) And though I love my own kids like crazy, it's not my life's ambition to work with large groups of children. (I did not birth a litter!)

This semester I'm taking two classes for "women" which are so divergent in their views that it is making it hard to keep my biases and perspective from impinging on a good scholastic analysis. One is a Feminist Theology class which is blowing my mind with the heady exegesis and argumentation. The other is a Mentoring for Women class, which is steeped in more traditional woman-to-woman mentoring.

It is not that I don't believe that my mom, my older sibs, my grandmothers and aunts did not build a lot into my life and into who I am. They did. And still do. It's that they didn't JUST teach me about "a woman's place" or "a woman's job" -- because they are all strong, focused, gifted women... or were. They all cared about other people, and invested in those who needed more support and investment. They took their resources and used them, not just for their comfort needs, but to bring comfort to others.

So when I read this quote in my reading this week, I about flipped...

Quoting John Adams: "From all that I had read of history and government of human life and manners, I had drawn this conclusion, that the manners of women were the most infallible barometer toascertain the degree of morality nd virtue of a nation. The Jews, the Greeks, the Romans, the Swiss, the Dutch, all lost their public spirit and their republican forms of government when they lost the modesty and domestic virtues of their women."

I object.

Men AND women make moral choices, value choices which affect society. Men AND women own businesses, investments and are stakeholders in public enterprise. In John Adams' time, MEN were the ones who were voting, elected to government and owning property. One might also remember that WOMEN had no voting rights (and in some cases few legal rights) in any of the cultures he listed.

OK. Back to my reading. Now I have to go look for where I threw that textbook I was reading...

Deb

Friday Five: Summer Reading

Songbird from RevGalBlogPals writes:

Back in the day, before I went to seminary, I worked in the Children's Room at the Public Library, and every year we geared up for Summer Reading. Children would come in and record the books read over the summer, and the season included numerous special and celebratory events. As a lifelong book lover and enthusiastic summer reader, I find I still accumulate a pile of books for the summer.

This week, then, a Summer Reading Friday Five.

1) Do you think of summer as a particularly good season for reading? Why or why not?
I was going to say "yes, except I am in school!" But actually, I don't think it is, because there's so much more to do OUTSIDE during the summer months, I tend to not read as many books because I'm enjoying life. Or weeding. Or chauffeuring. Or hanging at the pool. Or pretending to study at the park. Or doing a cook out. Or... (sorry. am I boring you?)

2) Have you ever fallen asleep reading on the beach?
Yes. And gotten a lovely paperback-sized tanline on my stomach! (the rest was sunburned!)

3) Can you recall a favorite childhood book read in the summertime?
I read ALL THE TIME so I don't really remember one that was "summer."

4) Do you have a favorite genre for light or relaxing reading?
Fantasy.

5) What is the next book on your reading list?
I'm going to NOT pick work-related or school-related books for this! I have to read Elizabeth Johnson's book 'She Who Is' for my Feminist Theology class, but I don't think that counts!

I am actually getting ready to start a new book by Donita Paul called "Dragonlight." It's the fourth in a series of a really fun storyline about dragon keepers! What's cool about it is that is uses a monotheistic worldview (with a Christ figure, and a biblical view of good and evil) but it does not shove it down your throat. My kids read them, their friends read them, it's just a good job and decent fiction that doesn't require a list of steamy love scenes.

Here's to a summer or MORE casual reading... some day!

Deb

P.S. I should post The Harpist's Summer Reading List. It is really something!! (Unlike the "movies list" it appears to have a little more educational content.)

Goings on...

Wow! What a week! We're only at Thursday, and a lot has happened...

MONDAY...
After two years... following the "rules" for foods she could and could not eat... patiently ticking off the the countdown on her whiteboard...


Reedy Girl got her braces off!


Before...

and after...

Loving that bubblegum!

And her special dinner request was corn on the cob! She missed TWO SUMMERS of corn on the cob. It seemed only fair!


TUESDAY...
A new boy came to live with us! He only has a "shelter name" but hasn't told us his "real" name. He's in quarantine in Reedy Girl's room as we wait to be sure he is healthy before "the girlie cats" meet him. He quickly discovered the comforts of Reedy Girl's loft bed...


And then he decided to claim the top of the book case right beside it. He hangs out on the top shelf, right next to the ceiling. (don't you LOVE the crossed front paws!??)


And he should get down why?? ha! HA!

(Oh. OK. MAYBE he'll come down for Greenies...)

The other two cats are disturbed. Strange NEW smell-o-cat coming from Reedy Girl's room. Most unusual. (Tiria has been blogging about her suspicions. If you visit her, don't TELL!!!)

WEDNESDAY...
A snake learned to play the harp!


Actually, it seemed that Calvin just liked the vibrations! He hung out across the top of The Harpist's instrument for quite a while. Isn't that a hoot?



THURSDAY...
ANYTHING can happen! Like maybe I can get some homework done???? nah....

Deb

The Flying Cow Awards

OK first - the Flying Cow Awards don't really exist. I made it up for Mindy. :) I'm telling you all that so that you don't start wondering how you possibly could have missed this HUGE event!!

Having said all that... Let me recap! The Harpist's AP Language teacher suggested that there are films that high school students should see before college ("so that you don't look like an idiot when you get there")

The categories, recommendations and choices ARE NOT MINE!!! they are straight off of the page of Ms. O--'s hand-out. It's taken me a while to type them all in, and I apologize for the delay.

KEY TO COMMENTS
bold=highly recommended
* = R rating
# Academy Award nominee
@ Academy Award winner
$ cultural literary
+ Ms. O--'s "R" rating
italics=films I have seen (and possibly some comments)

Without further ado, here we go!!

Recent Classics
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind *@
American Beauty *@
Pi *
Donnie Darko*
Amelie*#
Y Tu Mama Tambien *+#
Good Night and Good Luck #
Brokeback Mountain *@ (truthfully? I didn't think it was that great a movie.)
Crash *@
Almost Famous *@
The Ice Storm*
The Motorcycle Diaries*@
Dancer in the Dark #
In the Bedroom *#
Monster's Ball *+
Chocolat # (not overly impressed.)
Shakespeare in Love @ (it got an award why?)
American History X *+
Life is Beautiful (La Vita e Bella) *@
Run Lola Run (Lola Rennt) *
The Talented Mr. Ripley*
The Shawshank Redemption *# (probably one of the better ones)
Pulp Fiction $*@ (eh)
Fight Club *#
Sin City +*
Memento *
Good Will Hunting *@
City of God *#
The Matrix (first one) $*@ (good movie!)
Scent of a Woman *@
Spirited Away
Requiem for a Dream *+@
All About My Mother (Todo Sobre Mi Madres) *@
Harold and Maude (I think I saw this one... obviously I loved it LOL)
Being John Malkovitch * (Not my favorite, but OK)
Brick *
Delicatessen
Philadephia
Secretary *+
Transamerica
About a Boy
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas *+
Boys Don't Cry *+
Do the Right Thing *
I am Sam
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (geez. it's been a while!)

QUALITY COMEDY
Wet Hot American Summer *
The 40 Year Old Virgin * (Quality comedy? I thought it was stoopid.)
Anchorman
Zoolander
Mean Girls (WHY was this not considered "cultural literacy"? LOL)
Caddyshack (a true classic.)
Coffee and Cigarettes *
The Aristocrats *****+
This is Spinal Tap
The Royal Tennenbaum's *# (slapstick... some good moments.)
Rushmore *
Best in Show
A Fish Called Wanda @ (I did enjoy it -- never understood how it won an Academy Award!)
Say Anything
The Birdcage *#
Waiting for Guffman *
The Full Monty *@ (wickedly funny)
Grosse Pointe Blank *
The Big Lebowski *
Monty Python and the Holy Grail $ (shrubbery, NI! and sparrows... need I say more?)
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (I'll play Stairway to Heaven if I want!)
Big (thought provoking AND funny)
Airplane (hee hee)
Office Space
Ghostbusters (whoya gonna call?)
Blazing Saddles (now go do that voodoo that you do so well)
Little Miss Sunshine
Back to the Future$ (of course!)
Borat (he's funny when he doesn't try so hard.)
Hairspray (I liked it live better)
High Fidelity

FILMS ABOUT COLLEGE
PCU
Animal House $ (But of course!)
Real Genius
With Honors
Revenge of the Nerds


FILMS ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL
The Breakfast Club (yeah. I saw it. whoopee)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (eh)
Pretty in Pink (ditto)
Heathers
Sixteen Candles (yeah. I saw it.)
Clueless
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion
Napoleon Dynamite (I've only seen half of it... I keep falling asleep in the middle.)
Dazed and Confused
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (anyone? anyone?)
Rock and Roll High School (see? I go see all the strange ones.)
Grease $ (sung it. seen it.)
Dead Poet's Society (A good movie)

HORROR
The Shining $*
Carrie (yuck)
Jaws $* (DaDHUM... DaDHUM...)
The Exorcist $* (scared me to death)
Rosemary's Baby *
Shaun of the Dead *
Friday the 13th *$ (seriously creeped me out)
Nightmare on Elm Street *$
Dawn of the Dead *

FAMILY
The Incredibles @ (LOVE this one. I've busted out of my spandex many times...)
The Emperor's New Groove #
The Muppet Movie # (a looonnnng time ago)
Monsters INC (probably one of my favorites!)
Finding Nemo (Believe it or not, I have never seen this movie!)
Toy Story (both) # (I loved these too.)
Whale Rider #
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971 version) (OK, I've seen BOTH versions!)
Mary Poppins @$ (HOW could Mary Poppins not get a top rating? honestly!)
Iron Giant
Meet the Robinsons

MUSICALS
Hedwig and the Angry Inch +* (NEVER heard of it!!!)
Rent $ (knew the songs before the plot)
Into the Woods #
Singin in the Rain # (a MUST see)
The Triplets of Belleville #
Little Shop of Horrors # (can I say this and be friends? I didn't really think this was all that great.)

OLDER CLASSICS
Casablanca @$ (of course!)
Psycho $#
The Maltese Falcon (natch!)
Rear Window #
The Godfather $@* (good movie - the book was better.)
The Graduate $@ (yup)
Annie Hall$@ (why else would I have worn that style of clothes???)
12 Angry Men @#(ages ago!)
Dr. Strangelove #$ ("Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room.")
Seven Samurai #
Citizen Kane (it was a LONG time ago.)
Star Wars (the first 3) $$$ (what, are you kidding???)
Planet of the Apes $ (It's what I think of when I see the Geico caveman commercial...)
Brazil *# (no - but I know the soundtrack)
A Clockwork Orange (whoopee)
Apocalypse Now *@

DOCUMENTARY
Supersize Me #
Enron: Smartest Guys in teh Room *#
Bowling for Columbine *@
Roger and Me
Winged Migration #
Spellbound #
The World According to Sesame Street
Born Into Brothels @
Grizzly Man
Murder Ball #
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan $
Sound and Fury #
Planet Earth
This Film is not yet Rated

TELEVISION SERIES
30 Rock
Pushing Daisies
Six Feet Under
The Wire
Arrested Development
Malcolm in the Middle (THIS was recommended?? yuck.)

SOOOOooo....

What did you think was missing?
What did you think was a stoopid choice? (I tried not to bias you.)
Any absolute all-time faves and raves from this list??

Feel free to comment!

Deb

OK. I lied. One more.

The Harpist is going on a mission trip this summer. This is her second trip to the Casa Hogar, an orphanage in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. She is so excited because she can't wait to see the kids she met last year. This little guy was her special buddy all week and she's really looking forward to seeing him!

She's raising funds to go. She's about $800 short and she's been faithfully babysitting and saving any money she makes. Because of a review class for PreCalc, a week at Camp o' the Phonemes and the mission trip, she can't get a 'real' job.

So please pray for her that she'll make her funding. Pray for a safe, fun, life-changing trip. And if you desire to support her... contact me and I'll fill you in. She'd appreciate it (and so would I!)

Thanks!

Deb

crummy signs

A.MAZE.ing!!... Look what I found over at Crummy Church Signs!

It's by one of the contributors known as Tracy R. the song is by Coldplay.



Two posts in one day? Yeah. Sorry. But I'm done now. My brain's on overload. Hardly any original content left...

Deb

Music today...

Jeremy Camp's Lay Down My Pride...

Sung by the worship band today....
It touched my heart and has had me pondering all day.

Here's a video...



Stumbling along...
Deb

Friday Five: Word Association

I'm a day late... but here's mine!


Singing Owl writes:

I am feeling like playing hooky, and I'm putting off sermon prep till tomorrow. It is a beautiful, sunny day at my place. So come on outside and let's play a summer Friday Five!

This post is loosely based on previous "wordy" Friday Fives from Reverend Mother and Songbird. I liked the results, and so we are doing another word association . Theirs were based on words from a lectionary text. Mine comes from the Lovin' Spoonful song, "Summer in the City."

Think summer......are you there? Below you will find five words or phrases. Tell us the first thing you think of on reading each one. Your response might be simply another word, or it might be a sentence, a poem, a memory, a recipe, or a story. You get the idea:

1. rooftop
Heat shimmering roof
Place to go and get a tan
Sauteed college girls

2. gritty
I just experienced this... it is amazing the places that can feel gritty after just walking on the beach!

3. hot town (yeah, I know, it's two words)
DC was built on swamp land. Need I say more???

4. night
Mosquitos, humidity, smell of freshly cut grass and charcoal grilling.

5. dance
The "mosquito dance" (swap, slap, wiggle, scratch... repeat!)

Not exactly poetic... but I'm just back from school (hence the late posting!) and don't have a lot of extra brain cells. I think I spent them all on a haiku for #1!!!

Deb
Who really does not like summer!