America the Anxious
Adult nonfiction
"Our families are over from London for Zeph's bris, the formal
circumcision ceremony that Jewish boys go through on their eighth day
of life. I am love-addled and exhausted, still bleeding, oozing
hormones and inexplicably weeping at laundry detergent commercials.
Barely more than a week ago, this longed-for baby was still inside my
body. In approximately ten minutes time, a stranger will come to our
house and sever a section from his penis. I profoundly do not want to
be here."
Ruth Whippman has an addictive voice: candid and direct with an
overlay of British dry humor. She had me at the first paragraph of
America the Anxious: How Our Pursuit of Happiness Is Creating a Nation
of Nervous Wrecks. She talks about trying to think of something
appropriate to say to the gynecologist who was about to do a Pap
smear. Anyone who can discuss that delicate situation with aplomb is,
in my mind, read worthy.
Whippman, a journalist and filmmaker, followed her husband to
the States so he could take on a new job. Going from working to
becoming an at home mother, she felt lonely and displaced. She found
herself more than a little perplexed by her adopted nation's strange
seeming obsession.
"It seems as though happiness in America has become the
overachiever's ultimate trophy. A modern trump card, it outranks
professional achievement and social success, family, friendship, and
even love. Its invocation deftly minimizes others' achievements
('Well, I suppose she has the perfect job and a gorgeous husband, but
is she really happy?') and takes the shine off our own."
Whippman discovered that the pursuit of happiness in America has
spawned a multi billion dollar industry with a focus on the
individualized pursuit. We are to look into ourselves, rather than to
friends and communities. This did not make sense to her. Researchers
had discovered that people who were much happier than others had
quality relationships and spent more time socializing and less time
alone than others.
Whippman went on a quest to discover the thinking behind the
pursuit of the American holy Grail. She spent scads of money to go to
a three day retreat where she was told that her lack of happiness was
all her fault. A corporporate conference in California left her
unenlightened. At a planned utopian entrepreneurial community in
Nevada there was an unexpectedly high suicide rate.
I'd advise readers to join Whippman on her quest. You'll laugh
a lot, learn a lot, get much food for thought, and probably never look
at America's obsessive pursuit in quite the same way.
On a personal note, I went through a lonely stretch. The early years
of parenting three lively children and some volunteering and activism
on the side totally absorbed me. As the kids grew up and spent more
time away I became very aware of my nonbelongingness in a town with
much social snobbery. I felt like Rapunzel in her tower. Things
began to change for the better when I discovered my tribe at UMaine.
Now I am incredibly happy because I've found out where I belong.
A great big shout out goes out to all my fine friends in the UMaine
community! We are family!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Monday, January 30, 2017
Invisible Influence
Invisible Influence
"Without our realizing it, others have a huge influence on
almost every aspect of life. People vote because others are voting,
eat more when others are eating, and buy a new car because their
neighbors have recently done so. Social influence affects the
products people buy, health plans they choose, grades they get in
school, and careers they follow. It shapes whether people save for
retirement, invest in the stock market, donate money, join a
fraternity, save energy, or adopt new innovations. Social influence
even affects whether people engage in criminal activity or are
satisfied with their job. Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of all
decisions are shaped by others. It's hard to find a decision or
behavior that isn't affected by other people."
Jonah Berger predicts that two things will happen when someone
starts reading his Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces That Shape
Behavior. The reader will see this as being true for all the rest of
humanity. Oh, they're all a bunch of sheep. He/she will also see him/
herself as somehow being above all this conformity, making decisions
on the basis of personal values, likes, and dislikes. In a research
based, highly readable narrative, Berger contends that we're more like
everyone else than we'd care to admit. Whether our choices are
negatively or positively impacted by others, we aren't acting in a
vacuum.
Pure proximity has a positive influence on one's liking for
others. Contrary to an adage, familiarity breeds fondness. Often we
adapt our behavior to that of those around us. Group think in
meetings occurs when the first idea presented is the most
influential. And have you ever decided against the dessert you craved
when others in your dinner party did not share your desire?
On the other hand, we will go out of our way to not do what
certain others do. I breathed a deep sigh of relief when I learned
that Donald Trump does NOT read books. When status symbol objects are
pirated and the less well off, the wanna bes, acquire them, the rich
ditch them in favor of things that are still exclusive. In many
schools African American kids have underachieved when peers accused
achievers of acting white.
At the end of each chapter Berger gives suggestions on how to
make research findings work for you. Anonymous ballots, rather than a
show of hands, lessens the social influence in voting. Going first in
a group makes one able to shape a discussion. An aspect of
familiarity can help people accept a novel product or concept.
Invisible Influence gave me much food for thought. It's a very
insightful, interesting book. However, I think it's a must read in
today's us and them political climate. Our deep divisions give us
another example of Berger's premise. We (whoever we are: liberals,
conservatives, red, blue, Clinton voters, Trump voters...) act on
ethics and principals. They (our opposite) are mindless sheep.
Unless we can get out of this mindset, this divisiveness will only get
worse and continue to give those in power the ability to divide and
conquer the rest of us.
On a personal note, at UMaine we had an event called Peace Love
Pizza. Representatives from different activist groups had chances to
talk about groups' missions, activities, and needs. I really enjoyed
speaking on behalf of Real Food Challenge.
A great big shout out goes out to all who participated in that very
inspiring event.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
"Without our realizing it, others have a huge influence on
almost every aspect of life. People vote because others are voting,
eat more when others are eating, and buy a new car because their
neighbors have recently done so. Social influence affects the
products people buy, health plans they choose, grades they get in
school, and careers they follow. It shapes whether people save for
retirement, invest in the stock market, donate money, join a
fraternity, save energy, or adopt new innovations. Social influence
even affects whether people engage in criminal activity or are
satisfied with their job. Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of all
decisions are shaped by others. It's hard to find a decision or
behavior that isn't affected by other people."
Jonah Berger predicts that two things will happen when someone
starts reading his Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces That Shape
Behavior. The reader will see this as being true for all the rest of
humanity. Oh, they're all a bunch of sheep. He/she will also see him/
herself as somehow being above all this conformity, making decisions
on the basis of personal values, likes, and dislikes. In a research
based, highly readable narrative, Berger contends that we're more like
everyone else than we'd care to admit. Whether our choices are
negatively or positively impacted by others, we aren't acting in a
vacuum.
Pure proximity has a positive influence on one's liking for
others. Contrary to an adage, familiarity breeds fondness. Often we
adapt our behavior to that of those around us. Group think in
meetings occurs when the first idea presented is the most
influential. And have you ever decided against the dessert you craved
when others in your dinner party did not share your desire?
On the other hand, we will go out of our way to not do what
certain others do. I breathed a deep sigh of relief when I learned
that Donald Trump does NOT read books. When status symbol objects are
pirated and the less well off, the wanna bes, acquire them, the rich
ditch them in favor of things that are still exclusive. In many
schools African American kids have underachieved when peers accused
achievers of acting white.
At the end of each chapter Berger gives suggestions on how to
make research findings work for you. Anonymous ballots, rather than a
show of hands, lessens the social influence in voting. Going first in
a group makes one able to shape a discussion. An aspect of
familiarity can help people accept a novel product or concept.
Invisible Influence gave me much food for thought. It's a very
insightful, interesting book. However, I think it's a must read in
today's us and them political climate. Our deep divisions give us
another example of Berger's premise. We (whoever we are: liberals,
conservatives, red, blue, Clinton voters, Trump voters...) act on
ethics and principals. They (our opposite) are mindless sheep.
Unless we can get out of this mindset, this divisiveness will only get
worse and continue to give those in power the ability to divide and
conquer the rest of us.
On a personal note, at UMaine we had an event called Peace Love
Pizza. Representatives from different activist groups had chances to
talk about groups' missions, activities, and needs. I really enjoyed
speaking on behalf of Real Food Challenge.
A great big shout out goes out to all who participated in that very
inspiring event.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Burning Down The House
Burning Down The House
Adult nonfiction
Trigger warning: if you have a medical condition like high
blood pressure that would be dangerously exacerbated by reading about
children being kept under truly horrific conditions DO NOT READ THIS
REVIEW!!!
"Mass-circulation news magazines upped the ante by illustrating
stories on the super-predator 'phenomenon' with images of glowering
black teenagers. Politicians hopped on the bandwagon, passing
legislation that increased penalties in juvenile court or that allowed
or demanded that growing numbers of youth be transferred to adult
court, where longer sentences and harsher penalties were readily
dispensed. The public ate it up, and what would later be revealed as
myth quickly became a movement--one that has resulted in an amping up
of our response to juvenile crime that spans the spectrum from
kindergarteners hauled off in handcuffs for school yard scraps to
twelve-year-olds sentenced to spend their lives in prison."
An alarm was sounded in the 1990s. An army of ruthless,
vicious, remorseless 'super-predators' was about to burst on the
American scene. The public needed to take any actions necessary to
protect us from them. Media and politicians did all they could to
inspire fear. Unfortunately when the army failed to materialize and
violent juvenile crime actually went down the measures were not
rescinded. This nation was further than ever down the path that
presented young people caught in the justice system as degraded beings
beyond all help who needed to be kept away from the rest of us rather
than children with the potential for redemption and rehabilitation.
In Burning Down The House: The End Of Juvenile Prison, Nell Bernstein
discusses the consequences of this paradigm shift.
Bernstein contends that, although juvenile prisons were
originally meant to save children from adult prisons with an eye
toward their rehabilitation, in practice they were not all that benign.
"The House of Refuge, in other words--like every manifestation
of the juvenile prison to follow--came to function as a mechanism for
gaining control over the children of the poor, depriving them of their
liberty in the name of their own best interest while skirting the
burdensome requirements of due process. The civic leaders who
comprised the society had little compunction about placing the cart
ahead of the horse, granting themselves control over any child they
deemed at risk of delinquency well before the law gave them license to
do so."
It's not all that clear that the movers and shapers of this
movement had the best interests of the children in mind. It sounds
more like then, as now, their selection of at risk kids to lock up
reflected societal prejudice and fear. Racial profiling was part and
parcel of the selection process. Immigrants, especially those from
Ireland, were seen as having the potential to overthrow the
established social order. Agents were allowed to walk through their
neighborhoods, picking up any children they selected. To fund the new
institutions children were put to work under contracts and punished
severely if they didn't get with the program.
Fast forward to today. Children who are black or Hispanic are
much more likely to be put into the system than white peers who commit
the same offenses. According to Bernstein the vast majority of people
commit at least one act during their youths that could have had them
put away but for the luck of skin color. I have memories of underage
drinking in public while many of my peers smoked grass in broad
daylight in the environs of Harvard Square. Kids today are no
different. The brain centers that govern decision making are works in
progress until the mid twenties. Color and nationality play a major
role in determining which youths must pay a draconian price. Believe
me--they pay a draconian price. Even regular readers of that master
of horror Stephen King will be shocked by the narratives of
Bernstein's subjects.
Quoting Tolstoy ("When will justice come? When those who are
not injured are as indignant as those who are."), Bernstein urges us
to demand for other people's children no less than than we would for
our own:
"Now picture your child, the child you love, being called to
account for what he has done. Do you see him kneeling, cuffed, in a
pool of his own urine, denied all but one meal a day and a few hours
of sleep? Does the picture include your child being raped or beaten---
perhaps both--by the very staff entrusted with her rehabilitation?
Can you hold this image as day after day passes? Can you live with it
for years?
How would your child respond to those conditions? Might she
break down and cry out that death would be better? Picture her, in
that case, tossed into solitary; this is where those who speak of
suicide are often sent. See her alone in a windowless cell, with a
bare cement bunk and a cold metal toilet, huddling naked beneath a
single rough blanket.
[The United Nations, by the way, has designated solitary as
unacceptable cruelty in regard to ADULT enemy combatants.]
Might he get into a fight soon after arrival, trying to prove
that he is not an easy mark? Imagine him, then, in this same bare
cell, not huddling but screaming, unanswered cries of raw and helpless
pain (he's been sprayed in the eyes with Mace and then dispatched to
solitary without medical care or so much as a shower)."
The legions of kids who undergo those traumatic experiences are
someone's children. If we ignore Bernstein's clarion call on their
behalf, may God have mercy on our souls!
On a personal note, Wilson Center Wednesdays started up again. We had
a wonderful chili, garlic bread, and salad meal. Then we did an
active listening experience. We paired up. Each person told a
personal story. Then, back in the circle, we told each other's
stories as our own. Talk about powerful and moving!
A great big shout out goes out to my Wilson Center family.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult nonfiction
Trigger warning: if you have a medical condition like high
blood pressure that would be dangerously exacerbated by reading about
children being kept under truly horrific conditions DO NOT READ THIS
REVIEW!!!
"Mass-circulation news magazines upped the ante by illustrating
stories on the super-predator 'phenomenon' with images of glowering
black teenagers. Politicians hopped on the bandwagon, passing
legislation that increased penalties in juvenile court or that allowed
or demanded that growing numbers of youth be transferred to adult
court, where longer sentences and harsher penalties were readily
dispensed. The public ate it up, and what would later be revealed as
myth quickly became a movement--one that has resulted in an amping up
of our response to juvenile crime that spans the spectrum from
kindergarteners hauled off in handcuffs for school yard scraps to
twelve-year-olds sentenced to spend their lives in prison."
An alarm was sounded in the 1990s. An army of ruthless,
vicious, remorseless 'super-predators' was about to burst on the
American scene. The public needed to take any actions necessary to
protect us from them. Media and politicians did all they could to
inspire fear. Unfortunately when the army failed to materialize and
violent juvenile crime actually went down the measures were not
rescinded. This nation was further than ever down the path that
presented young people caught in the justice system as degraded beings
beyond all help who needed to be kept away from the rest of us rather
than children with the potential for redemption and rehabilitation.
In Burning Down The House: The End Of Juvenile Prison, Nell Bernstein
discusses the consequences of this paradigm shift.
Bernstein contends that, although juvenile prisons were
originally meant to save children from adult prisons with an eye
toward their rehabilitation, in practice they were not all that benign.
"The House of Refuge, in other words--like every manifestation
of the juvenile prison to follow--came to function as a mechanism for
gaining control over the children of the poor, depriving them of their
liberty in the name of their own best interest while skirting the
burdensome requirements of due process. The civic leaders who
comprised the society had little compunction about placing the cart
ahead of the horse, granting themselves control over any child they
deemed at risk of delinquency well before the law gave them license to
do so."
It's not all that clear that the movers and shapers of this
movement had the best interests of the children in mind. It sounds
more like then, as now, their selection of at risk kids to lock up
reflected societal prejudice and fear. Racial profiling was part and
parcel of the selection process. Immigrants, especially those from
Ireland, were seen as having the potential to overthrow the
established social order. Agents were allowed to walk through their
neighborhoods, picking up any children they selected. To fund the new
institutions children were put to work under contracts and punished
severely if they didn't get with the program.
Fast forward to today. Children who are black or Hispanic are
much more likely to be put into the system than white peers who commit
the same offenses. According to Bernstein the vast majority of people
commit at least one act during their youths that could have had them
put away but for the luck of skin color. I have memories of underage
drinking in public while many of my peers smoked grass in broad
daylight in the environs of Harvard Square. Kids today are no
different. The brain centers that govern decision making are works in
progress until the mid twenties. Color and nationality play a major
role in determining which youths must pay a draconian price. Believe
me--they pay a draconian price. Even regular readers of that master
of horror Stephen King will be shocked by the narratives of
Bernstein's subjects.
Quoting Tolstoy ("When will justice come? When those who are
not injured are as indignant as those who are."), Bernstein urges us
to demand for other people's children no less than than we would for
our own:
"Now picture your child, the child you love, being called to
account for what he has done. Do you see him kneeling, cuffed, in a
pool of his own urine, denied all but one meal a day and a few hours
of sleep? Does the picture include your child being raped or beaten---
perhaps both--by the very staff entrusted with her rehabilitation?
Can you hold this image as day after day passes? Can you live with it
for years?
How would your child respond to those conditions? Might she
break down and cry out that death would be better? Picture her, in
that case, tossed into solitary; this is where those who speak of
suicide are often sent. See her alone in a windowless cell, with a
bare cement bunk and a cold metal toilet, huddling naked beneath a
single rough blanket.
[The United Nations, by the way, has designated solitary as
unacceptable cruelty in regard to ADULT enemy combatants.]
Might he get into a fight soon after arrival, trying to prove
that he is not an easy mark? Imagine him, then, in this same bare
cell, not huddling but screaming, unanswered cries of raw and helpless
pain (he's been sprayed in the eyes with Mace and then dispatched to
solitary without medical care or so much as a shower)."
The legions of kids who undergo those traumatic experiences are
someone's children. If we ignore Bernstein's clarion call on their
behalf, may God have mercy on our souls!
On a personal note, Wilson Center Wednesdays started up again. We had
a wonderful chili, garlic bread, and salad meal. Then we did an
active listening experience. We paired up. Each person told a
personal story. Then, back in the circle, we told each other's
stories as our own. Talk about powerful and moving!
A great big shout out goes out to my Wilson Center family.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
All Alone In The World
All Alone In The World
Adult nonfiction
"A national study found that almost 70 percent of children who
were present at a parent's arrest watched their parent being
handcuffed, and nearly 30 percent were confronted with drawn weapons.
When researcher Christina Jose Kampfner interviewed children who had
witnessed their mothers' arrests, she found that many suffered classic
symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome--they couldn't sleep or
concentrate, and they had flashbacks to the moment of arrest. If an
arrested parent later returns home on parole or probation, officers
often have license to enter the house at will--meaning that children
may relive that trauma in their living rooms as well as their
imaginations."
In Nell Bernstein's All Alone in the World: Children of the
Incarcerated (source of the above quote) in 2005, when the book came
out, one in thirty-children (one in eight African American children)
had a parent in prison. When she counted in parents on parole or
probation the Humber rose to one in ten. She was talking millions of
kids then. Numbers are higher now. In her all too timely book,
Bernstein explores the impact of parental imprisonment on children.
Her balance of often very poignant narrative and background
information makes for a very readable (and disturbing) volume.
Bernstein divides the parental experience into discrete steps,
beginning with initial arrest and ending with reentry into society and
beyond (legacy). In each chapter we learn some pretty disturbing
facts including:
*Most of the incarcerated parents are in for nonviolent crimes such as
drug abuse. Many mothers involved in drug sales did not even know
what they were doing or were bullied into abetting by abusive and
violent significant others.
*America incarcerates a higher percentage of our citizens than any
other country. This is at a time when crime rates are actually
falling. The rise in numbers stems not from some systemic moral
failure, but from policies like three strikes that take the element of
discretion out of sentencing and slap on draconian fixed sentences and
for profit prisons that, just like hotels, require high occupancy to
turn a profit.
*Policies that make contact between parents and children difficult
make life more precarious for both generations. Parents lose hope and
motivation, becoming much more likely to be recidivists. Children
often fall into a cycle of foster care and imprisonment. Often they
are watched for any rule infractions by police who see them as doomed
bad seed.
The narrative would be too God awful fatalistic to read if not
for the examples of hope Bernstein scatters throughout. You get to
read about programs like:
*the Child Development-Community Policing Program that offers children
who have had traumatic experiences support and connection with
services such as counseling,
*Drug Treatment Alternative-to-prison that offers repeat drug
offenders a child friendly residential treatment program,
and *La Bodega, a community program that conects discharged prisoners
and their families with services they need to survive and thrive.
Although Bernstein believes that prisons should be an option of
last resort rather than business as usual, she realizes there will be
some people who have to be locked up. She ends her book with what
should become a bill of rights for their children. It's based on
conversations she's had with children of prisoners and those who work
with them.
All Alone in the World is, in my mind, a must read for all who
care about some of our nation's most vulnerable children.
On a personal note, my husband Eugene celebrated his birthday.
Between his birthday supper and cake and the presents he received I
think he had a pretty good one.
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene with hopes for many more
birthdays yet to celebrate.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult nonfiction
"A national study found that almost 70 percent of children who
were present at a parent's arrest watched their parent being
handcuffed, and nearly 30 percent were confronted with drawn weapons.
When researcher Christina Jose Kampfner interviewed children who had
witnessed their mothers' arrests, she found that many suffered classic
symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome--they couldn't sleep or
concentrate, and they had flashbacks to the moment of arrest. If an
arrested parent later returns home on parole or probation, officers
often have license to enter the house at will--meaning that children
may relive that trauma in their living rooms as well as their
imaginations."
In Nell Bernstein's All Alone in the World: Children of the
Incarcerated (source of the above quote) in 2005, when the book came
out, one in thirty-children (one in eight African American children)
had a parent in prison. When she counted in parents on parole or
probation the Humber rose to one in ten. She was talking millions of
kids then. Numbers are higher now. In her all too timely book,
Bernstein explores the impact of parental imprisonment on children.
Her balance of often very poignant narrative and background
information makes for a very readable (and disturbing) volume.
Bernstein divides the parental experience into discrete steps,
beginning with initial arrest and ending with reentry into society and
beyond (legacy). In each chapter we learn some pretty disturbing
facts including:
*Most of the incarcerated parents are in for nonviolent crimes such as
drug abuse. Many mothers involved in drug sales did not even know
what they were doing or were bullied into abetting by abusive and
violent significant others.
*America incarcerates a higher percentage of our citizens than any
other country. This is at a time when crime rates are actually
falling. The rise in numbers stems not from some systemic moral
failure, but from policies like three strikes that take the element of
discretion out of sentencing and slap on draconian fixed sentences and
for profit prisons that, just like hotels, require high occupancy to
turn a profit.
*Policies that make contact between parents and children difficult
make life more precarious for both generations. Parents lose hope and
motivation, becoming much more likely to be recidivists. Children
often fall into a cycle of foster care and imprisonment. Often they
are watched for any rule infractions by police who see them as doomed
bad seed.
The narrative would be too God awful fatalistic to read if not
for the examples of hope Bernstein scatters throughout. You get to
read about programs like:
*the Child Development-Community Policing Program that offers children
who have had traumatic experiences support and connection with
services such as counseling,
*Drug Treatment Alternative-to-prison that offers repeat drug
offenders a child friendly residential treatment program,
and *La Bodega, a community program that conects discharged prisoners
and their families with services they need to survive and thrive.
Although Bernstein believes that prisons should be an option of
last resort rather than business as usual, she realizes there will be
some people who have to be locked up. She ends her book with what
should become a bill of rights for their children. It's based on
conversations she's had with children of prisoners and those who work
with them.
All Alone in the World is, in my mind, a must read for all who
care about some of our nation's most vulnerable children.
On a personal note, my husband Eugene celebrated his birthday.
Between his birthday supper and cake and the presents he received I
think he had a pretty good one.
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene with hopes for many more
birthdays yet to celebrate.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Monday, January 23, 2017
Duct Tape
Duct Tape
YA/adult crafts
The hubby has a roll of the generic silver stuff on hand to mend
anything from work boots to pipes. My older daughter, Amber, crafts
with more exotic patterns and was quite pleased on her birthday when I
gave her a variety pack I bought on sale up to Mardens. Some people
have even concocted prom dresses out of the stuff. Mainers and duct
tape seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly. So I was not
at all surprised when, shelf reading in the children's wing of the
Orono Public Library, I found a couple of books dedicated to its many
uses.
Joe Wilson's Ductigami: The Art of the Tape contains 14
projects including a wallet, a tool belt, a cell phone holder, and an
apron. He also gives a short history of the substance. I had no idea
NASA requires each space shuttle to carry at least one roll.
Wilson writes with quite a sense of humor. Describing the Pet
Raingear, he says:
"There are a lot of bad smells in the world--freshy fertilized fields,
certain people on elevators, that unfound hard-boiled egg from last
year's Easter Egg Hunt, other people's national dish--but one of the
worst smells going has to be that of a wet animal. Just plain nasty.
Duct-tape raingear will keep your pet dry and alleviate those pesky
post-puddle jumping pungent pet problems."
The illustrations--old time pictures with the product superimposed--
are pretty funny too. This surely is a user friendly volume for the
novice.
Ellie Schiedermayer's Got Tape? Roll Out the Fun With Duct Tape
kicks things up a notch or two. There are 25 projects rated for
relative crafting difficulty. They include: ties, belts, picture
frames, water holding mugs, post cards, and even clothes. A number of
items would make cute last minute gifts for family and friends.
So whatcha waiting for? Inclement days when you're not really
motivated to go out in the cold and snow are perfect for learning new
craft skills. I'm betting that old groundhog will see his shadow
which means we have awhile to go before spring.
Speaking of crafting skills, Amber has been posting some really
cute projects on her blog. Her latest is a wearable photo album
pendant that can hold 8 of your favorite pictures. I know I can
hardly wait to make one.
http://amberscraftaweek.blogspot.com
Happy crafting to you!
On a personal note, on Martin Luther King Day we had the Youth And
Nonviolence Workshops we'd been planning for months up to the
Discovery Museum in Bangor. The event was well attended and very
worth while. I especially enjoyed being one of the closing speakers.
Tuesday I took the official program up to the grad school and had them
put it with my application because it is so relevant to the program I
am determined to get into.
A great big shout out goes out to my fellow planners and speakers and
all the participants.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA/adult crafts
The hubby has a roll of the generic silver stuff on hand to mend
anything from work boots to pipes. My older daughter, Amber, crafts
with more exotic patterns and was quite pleased on her birthday when I
gave her a variety pack I bought on sale up to Mardens. Some people
have even concocted prom dresses out of the stuff. Mainers and duct
tape seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly. So I was not
at all surprised when, shelf reading in the children's wing of the
Orono Public Library, I found a couple of books dedicated to its many
uses.
Joe Wilson's Ductigami: The Art of the Tape contains 14
projects including a wallet, a tool belt, a cell phone holder, and an
apron. He also gives a short history of the substance. I had no idea
NASA requires each space shuttle to carry at least one roll.
Wilson writes with quite a sense of humor. Describing the Pet
Raingear, he says:
"There are a lot of bad smells in the world--freshy fertilized fields,
certain people on elevators, that unfound hard-boiled egg from last
year's Easter Egg Hunt, other people's national dish--but one of the
worst smells going has to be that of a wet animal. Just plain nasty.
Duct-tape raingear will keep your pet dry and alleviate those pesky
post-puddle jumping pungent pet problems."
The illustrations--old time pictures with the product superimposed--
are pretty funny too. This surely is a user friendly volume for the
novice.
Ellie Schiedermayer's Got Tape? Roll Out the Fun With Duct Tape
kicks things up a notch or two. There are 25 projects rated for
relative crafting difficulty. They include: ties, belts, picture
frames, water holding mugs, post cards, and even clothes. A number of
items would make cute last minute gifts for family and friends.
So whatcha waiting for? Inclement days when you're not really
motivated to go out in the cold and snow are perfect for learning new
craft skills. I'm betting that old groundhog will see his shadow
which means we have awhile to go before spring.
Speaking of crafting skills, Amber has been posting some really
cute projects on her blog. Her latest is a wearable photo album
pendant that can hold 8 of your favorite pictures. I know I can
hardly wait to make one.
http://amberscraftaweek.blogspot.com
Happy crafting to you!
On a personal note, on Martin Luther King Day we had the Youth And
Nonviolence Workshops we'd been planning for months up to the
Discovery Museum in Bangor. The event was well attended and very
worth while. I especially enjoyed being one of the closing speakers.
Tuesday I took the official program up to the grad school and had them
put it with my application because it is so relevant to the program I
am determined to get into.
A great big shout out goes out to my fellow planners and speakers and
all the participants.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Islandport Magazine
Islandport Magazine
Magazine debut
Right before Christmas I have my mini Sabbatical. I embrace the
Advent season and its meaning mindfully, putting all that doesn't have
to do with spirituality, family and friends, and end of the semester
support for UMaine students in a procrastination pile until January.
With the new year well underway I discovered a real gem in this
collection: the premiere issue of Islandport Magazine. It is a
periodical of both beauty and substance: a celebration of time and
place in an era when so much print media is mindlessly generic and
glitzy.
Dean Lunt, publisher and editor-in-chief, is no stranger to
literary ventures. A lover of the printed word since boyhood, he
founded Islandport Press in 2000.
"...Islandport would be the country-folk music of regional
publishing. I wanted to publish books that told stories the way Merle
Haggard, Springsteen, Seger, or any of the great singer-songwriters
wrote lyrics. Authentic, unpretentious, well-written, engaging
stories of real people anyone could appreciate..."
After 16 years and almost 150 books Lunt launched his companion
magazine.
The content, a blend of thoughtful author biography and
tantalizing short stories, is rich and satisfying. Some of the gems
you will discover in the premier issue are:
*a piece on Dahlov Ipcar looking back over ninety-nine years. At an
age where most of her peers are in assisted living or deceased,
despite maclear degeneration taking a toll on her vision, she is still
doing her amazing animal paintings.
*the very unusual ways in which Ardeanna Hamlin, author of Pink
Chimneys, Abbott's Reach, and The Havener Sisters, conducts historical
research. Hint: crafting as well as writing skills are involved.
(Amusing side story: back when I reviewed books for the Bangor Daily
News--before their free lance money dried up--Ardeanna wanted me to
review one of her books. My editor nixed that idea. My carefully
cultivated squeaky clean children's book reviewer image did not allow
me to discourse on any volumes involving brothels. Ardeanna was
amused and did not let that stand in the way of our friendship.)
*a behind the scenes look at comedian Susan Poulin, who conceived of
her stage persona, Ida LeClair, when she realized the women depicted
by male comedians did not at all represent those she encountered in
real life:
"Rather, according to Poulin, Maine women are smart, funny,
practical, and strong. And so she set out to develop a character who
would represent the women she knew, who could speak for them on stage--
a woman with moral fiber and strong values, quirky habits, and
practical knowledge."
(Recall back in 2013 I reviewed Poulin's Finding Your Inner Moose.
OMG! She has a second book out: The Sweet Life. I promise you are
going to read about it right here.)...
And there is so much more including a mystery set on an island where
people don't quite trust the cops, even ones who grew up with them.
However, what will probably grab you first is the photographs.
One of Amish youngsters playing in the snow blends particularity of
dress with universality of childhood joy. An old time lobsterman,
Lunt's grandfather, gazes at the camera with thinly veiled
impatience. He's got work to do. A snow blanketed 1954 Chrysler
seems impatient also--for one more spring out on the road.
Whether you're a Maine native, a transplant (like me), a summer
visitor, or someone who has never set foot in this amazing state yet,
you owe it to yourself to check out Islandport Magazine.
P. O. Box 10, 247 Portland Street
Yarmouth, Maine 04096
207.846.3344 (phone)
207.846.3955 (fax)
magazine@islandportpress.com
This is a magazine to savor and treasure, not skim and toss or recycle.
On a personal note, I am reminded of the time quite a few years ago
when my friend Kathryn Olmstead created Echoes. She was great with
magazine when I was great with child. Our babies have thrived
beautifully. I wish the same for Dean Lunt's fledgling periodical.
A great big shout out goes out to Kathryn Olmstead, Dean Lunt, and all
others who have the determination and chutzpah to make their literary
dreams come true!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Magazine debut
Right before Christmas I have my mini Sabbatical. I embrace the
Advent season and its meaning mindfully, putting all that doesn't have
to do with spirituality, family and friends, and end of the semester
support for UMaine students in a procrastination pile until January.
With the new year well underway I discovered a real gem in this
collection: the premiere issue of Islandport Magazine. It is a
periodical of both beauty and substance: a celebration of time and
place in an era when so much print media is mindlessly generic and
glitzy.
Dean Lunt, publisher and editor-in-chief, is no stranger to
literary ventures. A lover of the printed word since boyhood, he
founded Islandport Press in 2000.
"...Islandport would be the country-folk music of regional
publishing. I wanted to publish books that told stories the way Merle
Haggard, Springsteen, Seger, or any of the great singer-songwriters
wrote lyrics. Authentic, unpretentious, well-written, engaging
stories of real people anyone could appreciate..."
After 16 years and almost 150 books Lunt launched his companion
magazine.
The content, a blend of thoughtful author biography and
tantalizing short stories, is rich and satisfying. Some of the gems
you will discover in the premier issue are:
*a piece on Dahlov Ipcar looking back over ninety-nine years. At an
age where most of her peers are in assisted living or deceased,
despite maclear degeneration taking a toll on her vision, she is still
doing her amazing animal paintings.
*the very unusual ways in which Ardeanna Hamlin, author of Pink
Chimneys, Abbott's Reach, and The Havener Sisters, conducts historical
research. Hint: crafting as well as writing skills are involved.
(Amusing side story: back when I reviewed books for the Bangor Daily
News--before their free lance money dried up--Ardeanna wanted me to
review one of her books. My editor nixed that idea. My carefully
cultivated squeaky clean children's book reviewer image did not allow
me to discourse on any volumes involving brothels. Ardeanna was
amused and did not let that stand in the way of our friendship.)
*a behind the scenes look at comedian Susan Poulin, who conceived of
her stage persona, Ida LeClair, when she realized the women depicted
by male comedians did not at all represent those she encountered in
real life:
"Rather, according to Poulin, Maine women are smart, funny,
practical, and strong. And so she set out to develop a character who
would represent the women she knew, who could speak for them on stage--
a woman with moral fiber and strong values, quirky habits, and
practical knowledge."
(Recall back in 2013 I reviewed Poulin's Finding Your Inner Moose.
OMG! She has a second book out: The Sweet Life. I promise you are
going to read about it right here.)...
And there is so much more including a mystery set on an island where
people don't quite trust the cops, even ones who grew up with them.
However, what will probably grab you first is the photographs.
One of Amish youngsters playing in the snow blends particularity of
dress with universality of childhood joy. An old time lobsterman,
Lunt's grandfather, gazes at the camera with thinly veiled
impatience. He's got work to do. A snow blanketed 1954 Chrysler
seems impatient also--for one more spring out on the road.
Whether you're a Maine native, a transplant (like me), a summer
visitor, or someone who has never set foot in this amazing state yet,
you owe it to yourself to check out Islandport Magazine.
P. O. Box 10, 247 Portland Street
Yarmouth, Maine 04096
207.846.3344 (phone)
207.846.3955 (fax)
magazine@islandportpress.com
This is a magazine to savor and treasure, not skim and toss or recycle.
On a personal note, I am reminded of the time quite a few years ago
when my friend Kathryn Olmstead created Echoes. She was great with
magazine when I was great with child. Our babies have thrived
beautifully. I wish the same for Dean Lunt's fledgling periodical.
A great big shout out goes out to Kathryn Olmstead, Dean Lunt, and all
others who have the determination and chutzpah to make their literary
dreams come true!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Monday, January 16, 2017
Three Generations No Imbeciles
Three Generations No Imbeciles
Adult nonfiction
"The emergence of feeblemindedness as a topic of public concern
signaled a changing role for physicians, educators, and social workers
who had ministered to the 'less fortunate classes.' The philanthropic
motive dropped in priority, giving way to the need to protect society
from 'the menace of the feebleminded.' This shift was simply a 'matter
of self preservation' needed to protect the country 'from the
encroachments of imbicility, of crime, and of all the fateful
heredities of a highly nervous age.' Feeblemindedness also opened
clear avenues of activity for a professional class of reformers that
could guide government policy in a Progressive direction.'"
Yes, folks, we are back to the Supreme Court miscarriage of
justice we first visited last month when I reviewed Im•be•ciles:
The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie
Buck. When I commended that book to my chum and soul sister, Mazie
Hough, who teaches up to the University, she mentioned that she had
another book, Three Generations No Imbeciles: Eugenics, the Supreme
Court, and Buck v. Bell, on the same topic. She was even kind enough
to lend it to me when the only copy I could locate by inter library
loan was unavailable. I found that the two books complimented each
other neatly in the aspects highlighted and the information provided.
The writing of Three Generations No Imbeciles has a fascinating
back story. In 1980 author Paul A. Lombardo was intrigued by a
newspaper story about a lawsuit filed to overturn the 1927 Supreme
Court case of Buck v. Bell. Finding the topic for a possible paper in
it, he rushed to his university's library to find the decision very
easy reading. "...With scandalously little justification, and in an
opinion of less than three pages, the Court approved the power of a
state to erase the parental hopes of its 'unfit' citizens."
Even after the paper was written Lombardo, quite fortunately for
us, couldn't "let go of the story." The case became the topic of his
thesis and followed him to law school. He even talked to Carrie Buck
before she died. Digging into primary sources, he became more and
more outraged, speaking and writing for decades on this judgement.
The shock and surprise his listeners showed led him to believe that,
rather than merely being mentioned in textbooks, it deserved a
comprehensive book of its own.
For much of the background information common to both books you
can read my review dated December 21, 2016 in this blog. What I found
most intriguing in Lombardo's work was the two arguments he considered
the theme throughout the entire narrative: sex and economics. These
themes continue to dominate much of today's rhetoric and attempted or
succesful legislation.
Then it was argued that ending procreation by Practitioners of
"problematic" behaviors such as incest, homosexuality, and
prostitution would lead to a world in which medical science cleansed
society. In the twenty-first century sentiments and activism on the
part of fundamentalists and their allies stalled the legalization of
gay marriage quite awhile.
It is quite easy to see the second theme, economics, in both the
past and present. Institutions like hospitals and prisons as well as
direct welfare payments are supported by tax money. "...The focus on
the economic rationale for surgery was commonplace, and in the same
year that the new [Oklahoma] law went into effect, a University of
Oklahoma scientist gave a speech entitled 'Democracy and the Genes' He
insisted that the 'desirable members of society are being ever more
heavily taxed to care for the undesirables,' leading to lower
birthrates among 'healthy, substantial' citizens. Fiscal stringency
was popular, and before long, a proposal to require sterilization as a
condition of receiving any kind of relief payment was on the
legislative agenda." I do believe these same motives lay behind Bill
Clinton's ending welfare as we know it.
In turn I find more disturbing themes running through Lombardo's
work that are still alive and well today. One is a shift from
philanthropy to protecting the rest of the society from, with its
implication that the "productive" should not be burdened with
providing for the "parasites." (Think welfare reform). In the service
of this the role of environment in shaping and limiting the prospects
of recipients is totally overlooked and misinformation is called into
play.
A very current (as in January 14) Maine example has been
unearthed by investigative reporter Matthew Stone of the Bangor Daily
News. Mary Mayhew, Health and Human Services Commissioner, has caused
Maine to forfeit $1.4 million in federal money by her insistance on
requiring photo identification on WIC (Special Supplemental Program
for Women, Infants and Children) benefit cards. This is despite lack
of evidence of the fraud that it is supposed to combat and the
probability that it could discourage participation. This alteration
would also greatly add on to administrative costs. It seems that in
Mayhew's mind making sure that no one milks the system is more crucial
than supporting a very effective and much needed program.
The book also alludes to the tendency of those with power to
constantly remind the populace of the wrong doings of the poor while
sweeping the far more costly machinations of the wealthy and their
corporations under the rug. Maybe that's why we are reminded often of
few welare recipients selling benefit cards or dumping water to get
bottle desposits to buy smokes and never of WalMart paying their
workers so little that they qualify for Medicaid and SNAP (formerly
food stamps) and even teaching them how to apply for them.
Which do you think is the most costly?
I would recommend both books to all who consider cruelty and
negligence to the have nots by the haves morally indefensible...like
that Rev. Martin Luther King junior whose legacy we are celebrating
today.
On a personal note, I very much enjoyed having my younger daughter,
Katie, home for the weekend. It was special having her sleep over and
spending time together. Joey was overjoyed to see his chum. Katie
and I, big time bargain hunters, went to both Orono Thrift Shop and
the Bangor Goidwill. We found ourselves a lot of good deals including
my gifts for Eugene who has his birthday coming up tomorrow. I now
have some books Katie recommended which I will enjoy reading and a
cute little journal that will bring up precious memories whenever I
write in or read it.
I've got a lot of shout outs going out today:
Mr. Paul Lombardo for letting his convictions impel him to write this
very important book;
My most excellent chum Mazie who hopefully had a good birthday (here's
looking at you, Kid);
Matthew Stone, investigator extrodinaire, who has the ability to make
us care about how policy effects our lives, and his wife, Erin Rhoda,
a journalist of substance in her own right.
All who are participating in MLK programs and doing our best to follow
in the great man's footsteps;
And, last, but not least, my three children who are doing amazingly
well despite inheriting my degenerate and debased (epileptic) germ
plasm.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult nonfiction
"The emergence of feeblemindedness as a topic of public concern
signaled a changing role for physicians, educators, and social workers
who had ministered to the 'less fortunate classes.' The philanthropic
motive dropped in priority, giving way to the need to protect society
from 'the menace of the feebleminded.' This shift was simply a 'matter
of self preservation' needed to protect the country 'from the
encroachments of imbicility, of crime, and of all the fateful
heredities of a highly nervous age.' Feeblemindedness also opened
clear avenues of activity for a professional class of reformers that
could guide government policy in a Progressive direction.'"
Yes, folks, we are back to the Supreme Court miscarriage of
justice we first visited last month when I reviewed Im•be•ciles:
The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie
Buck. When I commended that book to my chum and soul sister, Mazie
Hough, who teaches up to the University, she mentioned that she had
another book, Three Generations No Imbeciles: Eugenics, the Supreme
Court, and Buck v. Bell, on the same topic. She was even kind enough
to lend it to me when the only copy I could locate by inter library
loan was unavailable. I found that the two books complimented each
other neatly in the aspects highlighted and the information provided.
The writing of Three Generations No Imbeciles has a fascinating
back story. In 1980 author Paul A. Lombardo was intrigued by a
newspaper story about a lawsuit filed to overturn the 1927 Supreme
Court case of Buck v. Bell. Finding the topic for a possible paper in
it, he rushed to his university's library to find the decision very
easy reading. "...With scandalously little justification, and in an
opinion of less than three pages, the Court approved the power of a
state to erase the parental hopes of its 'unfit' citizens."
Even after the paper was written Lombardo, quite fortunately for
us, couldn't "let go of the story." The case became the topic of his
thesis and followed him to law school. He even talked to Carrie Buck
before she died. Digging into primary sources, he became more and
more outraged, speaking and writing for decades on this judgement.
The shock and surprise his listeners showed led him to believe that,
rather than merely being mentioned in textbooks, it deserved a
comprehensive book of its own.
For much of the background information common to both books you
can read my review dated December 21, 2016 in this blog. What I found
most intriguing in Lombardo's work was the two arguments he considered
the theme throughout the entire narrative: sex and economics. These
themes continue to dominate much of today's rhetoric and attempted or
succesful legislation.
Then it was argued that ending procreation by Practitioners of
"problematic" behaviors such as incest, homosexuality, and
prostitution would lead to a world in which medical science cleansed
society. In the twenty-first century sentiments and activism on the
part of fundamentalists and their allies stalled the legalization of
gay marriage quite awhile.
It is quite easy to see the second theme, economics, in both the
past and present. Institutions like hospitals and prisons as well as
direct welfare payments are supported by tax money. "...The focus on
the economic rationale for surgery was commonplace, and in the same
year that the new [Oklahoma] law went into effect, a University of
Oklahoma scientist gave a speech entitled 'Democracy and the Genes' He
insisted that the 'desirable members of society are being ever more
heavily taxed to care for the undesirables,' leading to lower
birthrates among 'healthy, substantial' citizens. Fiscal stringency
was popular, and before long, a proposal to require sterilization as a
condition of receiving any kind of relief payment was on the
legislative agenda." I do believe these same motives lay behind Bill
Clinton's ending welfare as we know it.
In turn I find more disturbing themes running through Lombardo's
work that are still alive and well today. One is a shift from
philanthropy to protecting the rest of the society from, with its
implication that the "productive" should not be burdened with
providing for the "parasites." (Think welfare reform). In the service
of this the role of environment in shaping and limiting the prospects
of recipients is totally overlooked and misinformation is called into
play.
A very current (as in January 14) Maine example has been
unearthed by investigative reporter Matthew Stone of the Bangor Daily
News. Mary Mayhew, Health and Human Services Commissioner, has caused
Maine to forfeit $1.4 million in federal money by her insistance on
requiring photo identification on WIC (Special Supplemental Program
for Women, Infants and Children) benefit cards. This is despite lack
of evidence of the fraud that it is supposed to combat and the
probability that it could discourage participation. This alteration
would also greatly add on to administrative costs. It seems that in
Mayhew's mind making sure that no one milks the system is more crucial
than supporting a very effective and much needed program.
The book also alludes to the tendency of those with power to
constantly remind the populace of the wrong doings of the poor while
sweeping the far more costly machinations of the wealthy and their
corporations under the rug. Maybe that's why we are reminded often of
few welare recipients selling benefit cards or dumping water to get
bottle desposits to buy smokes and never of WalMart paying their
workers so little that they qualify for Medicaid and SNAP (formerly
food stamps) and even teaching them how to apply for them.
Which do you think is the most costly?
I would recommend both books to all who consider cruelty and
negligence to the have nots by the haves morally indefensible...like
that Rev. Martin Luther King junior whose legacy we are celebrating
today.
On a personal note, I very much enjoyed having my younger daughter,
Katie, home for the weekend. It was special having her sleep over and
spending time together. Joey was overjoyed to see his chum. Katie
and I, big time bargain hunters, went to both Orono Thrift Shop and
the Bangor Goidwill. We found ourselves a lot of good deals including
my gifts for Eugene who has his birthday coming up tomorrow. I now
have some books Katie recommended which I will enjoy reading and a
cute little journal that will bring up precious memories whenever I
write in or read it.
I've got a lot of shout outs going out today:
Mr. Paul Lombardo for letting his convictions impel him to write this
very important book;
My most excellent chum Mazie who hopefully had a good birthday (here's
looking at you, Kid);
Matthew Stone, investigator extrodinaire, who has the ability to make
us care about how policy effects our lives, and his wife, Erin Rhoda,
a journalist of substance in her own right.
All who are participating in MLK programs and doing our best to follow
in the great man's footsteps;
And, last, but not least, my three children who are doing amazingly
well despite inheriting my degenerate and debased (epileptic) germ
plasm.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Thursday, January 12, 2017
Dusk To Dawn
Dusk To Dawn
Adult nonfiction
As many books as I've read about the Titanic, you'd think I'd
have had my fill by now. Wrong! When I got a chance to acquire Paul
J. Quinn's Dusk To Dawn: Survivor Accounts Of The Last Night On The
Titanic (a $29.95 book for about a dime) at the library book sale I
pounced on it like Joey cat on a new nip toy.
Quinn takes a novel and fast paced you-are-there format. The
ill fated night is broken into hour long segments. The text is
composed almost entirely by quotes by survivors with just the right
amount of expositary filler. You're everywhere from the posh first
class accomodations to the boiler room and steerage and the crow's
nest and finally the life boats.
At first people were contented with the total poshness of their
experience.
"Mrs. Douglas: 'The boat was so luxurious, so steady, so immense, and
such a marvel of mechanism that one could not believe he was on a
boat--and there the danger lay. We had smooth seas, clear, starlit
nights, fresh favoring winds. Nothing to mar our pleasure.'"
For a long stretch of time, even after the doomed ship hit the
iceberg, danger was downplayed, actions described by officers and crew
as cautions.
"Crowe: 'I got out of my bed. On E deck. I came out into the
alleyway and saw quite a number of stewards and steerage passengers
carrying their baggage from forward to aft. I inquired of the trouble
and was told it was nothing and to turn in again. The stewards were
making quite a joke of it...'"
It was this calming and minimizing on the part of those
considered experts, those whom the passengers took their cues from,
that played into so many life boats not getting filled to capacity.
Not knowing the true source of danger, many passengers chose to stay
on the large liner rather than taking chances with the comparitively
small and feeble looking boats.
Then the action speeds up. If this was fiction at this point
the novel would be impossible to put down. Even I found myself having
to step back mentally, breath in deeply, and remind myself that the
ending does not change.
My bias toward Titanic related literature may influence me
toward favoring Dusk To Dawn as a reading choice. Be that as it may.
It's a suspenseful narrative. It's real history. And there's a moral
to the story: when men get too confident and sure they can't possibly
fail BAD THINGS HAPPEN.
On a personal note, Orono Public Library had a really swell program on
the history of Orono fire fighting. It was very well organized and
informative. I especially enjoyed the pictures of old time vehicles,
equipment, and uniforms.
A great big shout out goes out to my son and all the other men and
women in this challenging profession--those whom our lives and homes
may someday depend on.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult nonfiction
As many books as I've read about the Titanic, you'd think I'd
have had my fill by now. Wrong! When I got a chance to acquire Paul
J. Quinn's Dusk To Dawn: Survivor Accounts Of The Last Night On The
Titanic (a $29.95 book for about a dime) at the library book sale I
pounced on it like Joey cat on a new nip toy.
Quinn takes a novel and fast paced you-are-there format. The
ill fated night is broken into hour long segments. The text is
composed almost entirely by quotes by survivors with just the right
amount of expositary filler. You're everywhere from the posh first
class accomodations to the boiler room and steerage and the crow's
nest and finally the life boats.
At first people were contented with the total poshness of their
experience.
"Mrs. Douglas: 'The boat was so luxurious, so steady, so immense, and
such a marvel of mechanism that one could not believe he was on a
boat--and there the danger lay. We had smooth seas, clear, starlit
nights, fresh favoring winds. Nothing to mar our pleasure.'"
For a long stretch of time, even after the doomed ship hit the
iceberg, danger was downplayed, actions described by officers and crew
as cautions.
"Crowe: 'I got out of my bed. On E deck. I came out into the
alleyway and saw quite a number of stewards and steerage passengers
carrying their baggage from forward to aft. I inquired of the trouble
and was told it was nothing and to turn in again. The stewards were
making quite a joke of it...'"
It was this calming and minimizing on the part of those
considered experts, those whom the passengers took their cues from,
that played into so many life boats not getting filled to capacity.
Not knowing the true source of danger, many passengers chose to stay
on the large liner rather than taking chances with the comparitively
small and feeble looking boats.
Then the action speeds up. If this was fiction at this point
the novel would be impossible to put down. Even I found myself having
to step back mentally, breath in deeply, and remind myself that the
ending does not change.
My bias toward Titanic related literature may influence me
toward favoring Dusk To Dawn as a reading choice. Be that as it may.
It's a suspenseful narrative. It's real history. And there's a moral
to the story: when men get too confident and sure they can't possibly
fail BAD THINGS HAPPEN.
On a personal note, Orono Public Library had a really swell program on
the history of Orono fire fighting. It was very well organized and
informative. I especially enjoyed the pictures of old time vehicles,
equipment, and uniforms.
A great big shout out goes out to my son and all the other men and
women in this challenging profession--those whom our lives and homes
may someday depend on.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Ethical Communication
Ethical Communication
Adult nonfiction
"To write about Jesus is to invite critique. Those who believe
he is the Son of God will take issue with the recitation of cold
facts, as if he were simply someone who lived long ago and whose
teachings remain influential even to this day. To those who believe
that he was simply someone who lived long ago and whose teachings
remain influential to this day, any nod toward his life as salvific or
his death as a sacrificial necessity will raise eyebrows if not
hackles."
We've just gone through a presidential election where press
coverage was basically all sound and fury signifying nothing--heavy on
rumors and ratings, tiptoing around policy and anything else useful.
Now we're back to the more everyday journalistic malpractice. If it
bleeds, it leads not only keeps us in a state of fear (so not good for
our health), but makes relatively minor dangers (terrorism) into major
perils we most focus on and give up our freedom for--all the better to
keep the stuff we should be afraid of (polluted air and water) outta
sight, outta mind. A lot of space is wasted on crap like what celeb
is in rehab. The dismal cherry on the putrid sundae is the rapid
consolidation of news sources into the hands of the wealthy.
Do you find yourself wondering if journalism and ethics have
even a passing acquaintanceship? Do you believe the latter should
strongly influence the former? Do you still have hope that this can
happen? If you can say yes to all three questions you will probably
find Ethical Communication: Moral Stances in Human Dialogue, edited
by Clifford G. Christians and John C. Merrill, to be quite a thought
provoking read.
Twenty leading philosophers across a wide historic span
(including some who might not have considered themselves to be
philosophers) are grouped into five major schools of thought based on
their priorities. Loyalty to others motivates those who take the
altruistic stance. Those who take the egoistic stance put número uno
first and foremost. Those who take the autonomy stance place a lot of
stock in freedom, especially when it is necessary to oppose
dictators. Legalists are big backers of law, order, and authority.
Communitarians (my people) put community first.
Although the essays are written by different authors, they
follow a similar format: biographical information, major issues and
ideas, and applicabili to journalism.
Lutheran minister Dietrich Bonhoeffer is considered one of those
who took the autonomy stance. He came into a world in which it was
dangerous to be a philosopher or think for oneself in general:
Hitler's Germany. He protested against Hitler (whom he considered
evil) and the Nazi regime until he was silenced by being executed. He
portrays for journalists the necessity of courage in the face of a
world where good does not always win out.
Not all the writers are enamoured of their subjects, some taking
them as cautionary tales rather than exemplars. Pity the poor guy who
drew Machievelli.
I think Ethical Communication is a great text for journalistic
ethics classes and a good time investment for students and
practitioners in the field as well as laypeople with a good grounding
in the liberal arts.
On a personal note, after church on Sunday I went to a wonderful art
show at Wilson Center. The paintings were beautiful with a Hispanic/
Native American sensibility. One of a butterfly emerged from a
coccoon and ready to fly reminded me of me. The artist was there for
people to talk to. There were refreshments including chocolates and
sparkling cider. It was delightfully posh but not the least bit stuffy.
A great big shout out goes out to all who participated in that
magnificent event.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult nonfiction
"To write about Jesus is to invite critique. Those who believe
he is the Son of God will take issue with the recitation of cold
facts, as if he were simply someone who lived long ago and whose
teachings remain influential even to this day. To those who believe
that he was simply someone who lived long ago and whose teachings
remain influential to this day, any nod toward his life as salvific or
his death as a sacrificial necessity will raise eyebrows if not
hackles."
We've just gone through a presidential election where press
coverage was basically all sound and fury signifying nothing--heavy on
rumors and ratings, tiptoing around policy and anything else useful.
Now we're back to the more everyday journalistic malpractice. If it
bleeds, it leads not only keeps us in a state of fear (so not good for
our health), but makes relatively minor dangers (terrorism) into major
perils we most focus on and give up our freedom for--all the better to
keep the stuff we should be afraid of (polluted air and water) outta
sight, outta mind. A lot of space is wasted on crap like what celeb
is in rehab. The dismal cherry on the putrid sundae is the rapid
consolidation of news sources into the hands of the wealthy.
Do you find yourself wondering if journalism and ethics have
even a passing acquaintanceship? Do you believe the latter should
strongly influence the former? Do you still have hope that this can
happen? If you can say yes to all three questions you will probably
find Ethical Communication: Moral Stances in Human Dialogue, edited
by Clifford G. Christians and John C. Merrill, to be quite a thought
provoking read.
Twenty leading philosophers across a wide historic span
(including some who might not have considered themselves to be
philosophers) are grouped into five major schools of thought based on
their priorities. Loyalty to others motivates those who take the
altruistic stance. Those who take the egoistic stance put número uno
first and foremost. Those who take the autonomy stance place a lot of
stock in freedom, especially when it is necessary to oppose
dictators. Legalists are big backers of law, order, and authority.
Communitarians (my people) put community first.
Although the essays are written by different authors, they
follow a similar format: biographical information, major issues and
ideas, and applicabili to journalism.
Lutheran minister Dietrich Bonhoeffer is considered one of those
who took the autonomy stance. He came into a world in which it was
dangerous to be a philosopher or think for oneself in general:
Hitler's Germany. He protested against Hitler (whom he considered
evil) and the Nazi regime until he was silenced by being executed. He
portrays for journalists the necessity of courage in the face of a
world where good does not always win out.
Not all the writers are enamoured of their subjects, some taking
them as cautionary tales rather than exemplars. Pity the poor guy who
drew Machievelli.
I think Ethical Communication is a great text for journalistic
ethics classes and a good time investment for students and
practitioners in the field as well as laypeople with a good grounding
in the liberal arts.
On a personal note, after church on Sunday I went to a wonderful art
show at Wilson Center. The paintings were beautiful with a Hispanic/
Native American sensibility. One of a butterfly emerged from a
coccoon and ready to fly reminded me of me. The artist was there for
people to talk to. There were refreshments including chocolates and
sparkling cider. It was delightfully posh but not the least bit stuffy.
A great big shout out goes out to all who participated in that
magnificent event.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Pocket Change
Pocket Change
Picture book
"Over the years, I've lived in small places where stores offered
very few options. When I ran out of shampoo in Peru, for example, I
bought the only kind sold in the village shop. When I returned to
Canada, I felt completely overwhelmed the moment I walked into a
store. So many things to choose from. And so few I really needed..."
Not long ago a song informed us "I'm living in a material world
and I am a material girl." Our kids are bombarded by the message that
this is not only a necessary, but admirable state of affairs, even as
we gobble up resources, some nonrenewable, widen the gap between rich
and poor, drive species into extinction, and change the climate. Only
with the right brands and constantly changing styles of clothes, the
must have acoutrements, and, of course, the most technically advanced
smart phones can they be happy, well liked, and successful. How do we
counter those pervasive messages?
Michelle Mulder's Pocket Change: Pitching In For A Better World
is a very valuable resource for curbing the materialism today's
society works overtime to instill in our children and us. Mulder has
the courage to ask questions many consider heresy:
*Do we need so many varieties?
*Do we need so much stuff?
*What would our world look like if we spent a lot less and valued
people and community more than things?
Her message is upbeat, her book an invitation to take a voyage of
discovery.
"Lately, I've been reading about creative ways that people can
meet their needs without buying much at all. It's all about
community...And strong communities aren't just fun to live in.
They're good for the environment and can reduce poverty too. How?
Grab a friend and a snack to share, come along and find out!"
Pocket Change, however, is not just a book to read and set
aside. It is full of inspiring projects youngsters, families,
religious organizations, and other groups can tackle such as:
*library based repairs cafes where people with expertise can help
others mend and fix still useful belongings;
*Habitat For Humanity summer programs;
*Community gardens and gleaning;
*Libraries for stuff like tools and toys;
*Bartering
and *Freecycling.
So whatcha waiting on? Whether or not you have children,
there's so much we all can do to make this less of a material world.
Maybe you can start by making sure your public library acquires Pocket
Change and displays it prominently.
On a personal note, my carry along cross stitch project is rather
ambitious. I have a book of patterns for 83 miniature pieces with
inspirational sayings. I'm going straight through from 1 to 83. They
will be perfect for my grad assistant office in the fall if I get
accepted to grad school. Right now I'm stitching a picture of three
birds that says, "Friebdship is the essence of a happy life."
A great big shout out goes out to my grad school friends who I hope to
be joining in September.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
"Over the years, I've lived in small places where stores offered
very few options. When I ran out of shampoo in Peru, for example, I
bought the only kind sold in the village shop. When I returned to
Canada, I felt completely overwhelmed the moment I walked into a
store. So many things to choose from. And so few I really needed..."
Not long ago a song informed us "I'm living in a material world
and I am a material girl." Our kids are bombarded by the message that
this is not only a necessary, but admirable state of affairs, even as
we gobble up resources, some nonrenewable, widen the gap between rich
and poor, drive species into extinction, and change the climate. Only
with the right brands and constantly changing styles of clothes, the
must have acoutrements, and, of course, the most technically advanced
smart phones can they be happy, well liked, and successful. How do we
counter those pervasive messages?
Michelle Mulder's Pocket Change: Pitching In For A Better World
is a very valuable resource for curbing the materialism today's
society works overtime to instill in our children and us. Mulder has
the courage to ask questions many consider heresy:
*Do we need so many varieties?
*Do we need so much stuff?
*What would our world look like if we spent a lot less and valued
people and community more than things?
Her message is upbeat, her book an invitation to take a voyage of
discovery.
"Lately, I've been reading about creative ways that people can
meet their needs without buying much at all. It's all about
community...And strong communities aren't just fun to live in.
They're good for the environment and can reduce poverty too. How?
Grab a friend and a snack to share, come along and find out!"
Pocket Change, however, is not just a book to read and set
aside. It is full of inspiring projects youngsters, families,
religious organizations, and other groups can tackle such as:
*library based repairs cafes where people with expertise can help
others mend and fix still useful belongings;
*Habitat For Humanity summer programs;
*Community gardens and gleaning;
*Libraries for stuff like tools and toys;
*Bartering
and *Freecycling.
So whatcha waiting on? Whether or not you have children,
there's so much we all can do to make this less of a material world.
Maybe you can start by making sure your public library acquires Pocket
Change and displays it prominently.
On a personal note, my carry along cross stitch project is rather
ambitious. I have a book of patterns for 83 miniature pieces with
inspirational sayings. I'm going straight through from 1 to 83. They
will be perfect for my grad assistant office in the fall if I get
accepted to grad school. Right now I'm stitching a picture of three
birds that says, "Friebdship is the essence of a happy life."
A great big shout out goes out to my grad school friends who I hope to
be joining in September.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Jazz Day
Jazz Day
Picture book
Jazz and Harlem. Peanut butter and jelly. Raggedy Anne and
Andy. Some pairs go together so well it's hard to imagine one without
the other.
Back in '58 jazz buff Art Kane had an idea. How about doing a
photograph of as many jazz musicians as possible in front of a Harlem
brownstone? With an American jazz issue in the works, Esquire
magazine was the journalistic big fish that took the bait. Kane
located the right building, arranged with the police to have the
street blocked off, borrowed cameras, put the word out on the street,
and waited.
No telling who, if anyone, would show up. Jazz musicians
traveled a lot. Many worked late nights and slept well into the
morning.
Roxane Orgil's Jazz Day: The Making Of A Famous Photograph
captures this piece of history beautifully in free verse that can't be
read aloud without a jazz beat. Readers get to see famous musicians
up close and personal. But they aren't the only ones in the hood on
that momentous day. There are the dozen little boys sitting on the
stoop, watching and finding a way to participate in the event.
Jazz Day is a great read aloud for the bitter cold days we'll
get in the part of Maine where I review books in the weeks and months
ahead or grey, rainy days for those of you in more temperate climates.
On a personal note, Sunday there were only six of us in Universal
Fellowship choir. But we totally owned the anthem: Do You See What I
See?
A great big shout out goes out to both my choir families.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
Jazz and Harlem. Peanut butter and jelly. Raggedy Anne and
Andy. Some pairs go together so well it's hard to imagine one without
the other.
Back in '58 jazz buff Art Kane had an idea. How about doing a
photograph of as many jazz musicians as possible in front of a Harlem
brownstone? With an American jazz issue in the works, Esquire
magazine was the journalistic big fish that took the bait. Kane
located the right building, arranged with the police to have the
street blocked off, borrowed cameras, put the word out on the street,
and waited.
No telling who, if anyone, would show up. Jazz musicians
traveled a lot. Many worked late nights and slept well into the
morning.
Roxane Orgil's Jazz Day: The Making Of A Famous Photograph
captures this piece of history beautifully in free verse that can't be
read aloud without a jazz beat. Readers get to see famous musicians
up close and personal. But they aren't the only ones in the hood on
that momentous day. There are the dozen little boys sitting on the
stoop, watching and finding a way to participate in the event.
Jazz Day is a great read aloud for the bitter cold days we'll
get in the part of Maine where I review books in the weeks and months
ahead or grey, rainy days for those of you in more temperate climates.
On a personal note, Sunday there were only six of us in Universal
Fellowship choir. But we totally owned the anthem: Do You See What I
See?
A great big shout out goes out to both my choir families.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Growing Peace
Growing Peace
Picture book
If you're like me you probably need or want at least one cup of
coffee when you get up. If you're like me you probably know little
about the source of your preferred morning beverage. Finally, if
you're like me you will find Richard Sobol's Growing Peace: A Story Of
Farming, Music, And Religious Harmony absolutely fascinating. In my
mind it's a must read/listen to for folks from 5 to 105 who haven't
given up on making a difference in our world.
In 2001 Ugandan J. J. Keki journeyed to America to teach music
at a children's summer camp. After the camp season his travels led
him to New York where he saw a plane hit the World Trade Center. The
experience left him questioning how to defeat religious prejudice by
bringing people together.
J. J., the father of a large family, noticed how well
neighborhood children played together. Religious differences did not
get in the way of their friendships. Their parents grew coffee
beans. What about a cooperative for growing and selling their coffee
that could increase their income and set an example of hope for the
world.
You gotta read the book to see how that went down. The
photographs that accompany the text are vivid and full of life.
In today's world where the rich and their gubmint bedfellows
keep the rest of us divided and squabbling along faultlines like
religion, race, native/immigrant, deserving/undeserving poor we need a
lot more solidarity builders like J. J. Could you be one of them?
On a personal note, I noticed I was only doing small, relatively easy
counted cross stitch pieces. Some time ago I'd started and put aside
a beautiful piece with a dragonfly and flowers that looks like stained
glass. I couldn't imagine carrying such a complex piece around. Then
I decided to work on carry and at home pieces simultaneously. The
chair in the studio is now my crafting chair. The shelf under Joey's
patio is perfect for my materials. It is the hardest piece I have
ever tried and very slow going. But I plan to stick with it.
A great big shout out goes out to fellow crafters including my very
talented daughter, Amber. If you're looking for fun winter boredom
busters check out her blog: http://amberscraftaweek.blogspot.com
You'll be glad you did!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
If you're like me you probably need or want at least one cup of
coffee when you get up. If you're like me you probably know little
about the source of your preferred morning beverage. Finally, if
you're like me you will find Richard Sobol's Growing Peace: A Story Of
Farming, Music, And Religious Harmony absolutely fascinating. In my
mind it's a must read/listen to for folks from 5 to 105 who haven't
given up on making a difference in our world.
In 2001 Ugandan J. J. Keki journeyed to America to teach music
at a children's summer camp. After the camp season his travels led
him to New York where he saw a plane hit the World Trade Center. The
experience left him questioning how to defeat religious prejudice by
bringing people together.
J. J., the father of a large family, noticed how well
neighborhood children played together. Religious differences did not
get in the way of their friendships. Their parents grew coffee
beans. What about a cooperative for growing and selling their coffee
that could increase their income and set an example of hope for the
world.
You gotta read the book to see how that went down. The
photographs that accompany the text are vivid and full of life.
In today's world where the rich and their gubmint bedfellows
keep the rest of us divided and squabbling along faultlines like
religion, race, native/immigrant, deserving/undeserving poor we need a
lot more solidarity builders like J. J. Could you be one of them?
On a personal note, I noticed I was only doing small, relatively easy
counted cross stitch pieces. Some time ago I'd started and put aside
a beautiful piece with a dragonfly and flowers that looks like stained
glass. I couldn't imagine carrying such a complex piece around. Then
I decided to work on carry and at home pieces simultaneously. The
chair in the studio is now my crafting chair. The shelf under Joey's
patio is perfect for my materials. It is the hardest piece I have
ever tried and very slow going. But I plan to stick with it.
A great big shout out goes out to fellow crafters including my very
talented daughter, Amber. If you're looking for fun winter boredom
busters check out her blog: http://amberscraftaweek.blogspot.com
You'll be glad you did!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Breaking Clean
Breaking Clean
Adult nonfiction
"The main schoolroom held it all--students, teacher and eight
grades' worth of books, materials, and supplies. Bookcases and
shelves lined the walls below the windows and rose to the ceiling in
places, every inch of space crammed with books, paper, flash cards and
art material...We used the flattop heating stove as a storage table
until it had to be lit in October. Standard-issue portraits of George
Washington and Abe Lincoln glowered down upon us, and before Health
Inspection every morning, we stood beside our desks and pledged
allegiance to a flag propped in a corner behind Teacher's desk."
Many of the books I review are ones I seek out carefully, titles
gleaned from lists or bibliographies or discovered in topic searches.
Others fall into my hands by sheer serindipity. Judy Blunt's Breaking
Clean falls into the latter category. I picked it up at the Friends
of the Orono Public Library book sale. It looked good. Boy, was it
ever. It led me into a world I'd never before imagined existing
during the very years I was growing up.
Does the above quoted paragraph bear any resemblance to the
school(s) you attended or sent your children to?
Although I was a contemporary of Blunt, the daily pledging of
allegiance and learning under the glowering portraits of Washington
and Lincoln were the only commonalities I could discover. In my
primary school we had individual rooms for different grades, a central
heating system with noisy, clanking radiators, indoor plumbing, a gym,
a cafeteria, and a universally feared principal to ride herd on the
student body and teachers. But then again a bustling Massachusetts
seaside city was worlds away from frontier farming isolation.
An episode from the book's second chapter neatly sets the stage
for the narrative. Blunt's parents had made arrangements to move to
their own ranch. An interim abode had to make do until the previous
owner could harvest his crops and vacate. Her pregnant mother was
carrying poultry into their temporary chicken house when she ran into
an obstacle in the form of a large and lethal rattlesnake. She yelled
for her husband to come decapitate it with a spade. Both knowing the
protocol would indicate this was not an uncommon occurrance.
Blunt grew up in a sparsely populated area where livelihoods
were very uncertain and nature was unforgiving. Work was a constant
for all but the very youngest family members. That, however, did not
guarantee survival.
"...Always we waited for the next year, hope whispered on the east
wind, snatched away by the west, trusting as blood turned to dust that
the rains would come. And they did. Sometimes too late, when the
wheat stood like straw, other times in a wide swath that buried crops
in a mire of roots and mud. But always they came, just enough to stir
the imagination of more."
Because her local school only went through grade eight, Blunt
and her peers faced in their early teens a challenge today's students
typically contend with years later: leaving home. High school
students had to live in a larger town--either baching (renting a place
together) or boarding (paying for room and board in a home.) This
surely constituted culture shock. And, for Blunt, it happened when
she was coping with self image, dating, and rebelling against the
patriarchal nature of the world in which she grew up and to which she
was expected to return. It was a world in which, although, for a
family to survive, it was essential for wives to be every bit as
strong, stoic, and competent as their spouses, men held all property
and power and intended things to stay that way.
Breaking Clean is an excellent read for women's studies
scholars, illuminating a time and place that is relatively neglected.
It is also a darn good narrative. I highly recommend it.
On a personal note, sadly we've had to take the Christmas tree down.
Every year Joey cat and I get so much joy from it! Luckily I have an
artificial tree in my for my very favorite ornaments and a miniature
tree with tiny little ornaments to keep the spirit of Christmas alive
in my heart all year long.
A great big shout out goes out to all others who keep the Christmas
spirit burning in their hearts and lives.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult nonfiction
"The main schoolroom held it all--students, teacher and eight
grades' worth of books, materials, and supplies. Bookcases and
shelves lined the walls below the windows and rose to the ceiling in
places, every inch of space crammed with books, paper, flash cards and
art material...We used the flattop heating stove as a storage table
until it had to be lit in October. Standard-issue portraits of George
Washington and Abe Lincoln glowered down upon us, and before Health
Inspection every morning, we stood beside our desks and pledged
allegiance to a flag propped in a corner behind Teacher's desk."
Many of the books I review are ones I seek out carefully, titles
gleaned from lists or bibliographies or discovered in topic searches.
Others fall into my hands by sheer serindipity. Judy Blunt's Breaking
Clean falls into the latter category. I picked it up at the Friends
of the Orono Public Library book sale. It looked good. Boy, was it
ever. It led me into a world I'd never before imagined existing
during the very years I was growing up.
Does the above quoted paragraph bear any resemblance to the
school(s) you attended or sent your children to?
Although I was a contemporary of Blunt, the daily pledging of
allegiance and learning under the glowering portraits of Washington
and Lincoln were the only commonalities I could discover. In my
primary school we had individual rooms for different grades, a central
heating system with noisy, clanking radiators, indoor plumbing, a gym,
a cafeteria, and a universally feared principal to ride herd on the
student body and teachers. But then again a bustling Massachusetts
seaside city was worlds away from frontier farming isolation.
An episode from the book's second chapter neatly sets the stage
for the narrative. Blunt's parents had made arrangements to move to
their own ranch. An interim abode had to make do until the previous
owner could harvest his crops and vacate. Her pregnant mother was
carrying poultry into their temporary chicken house when she ran into
an obstacle in the form of a large and lethal rattlesnake. She yelled
for her husband to come decapitate it with a spade. Both knowing the
protocol would indicate this was not an uncommon occurrance.
Blunt grew up in a sparsely populated area where livelihoods
were very uncertain and nature was unforgiving. Work was a constant
for all but the very youngest family members. That, however, did not
guarantee survival.
"...Always we waited for the next year, hope whispered on the east
wind, snatched away by the west, trusting as blood turned to dust that
the rains would come. And they did. Sometimes too late, when the
wheat stood like straw, other times in a wide swath that buried crops
in a mire of roots and mud. But always they came, just enough to stir
the imagination of more."
Because her local school only went through grade eight, Blunt
and her peers faced in their early teens a challenge today's students
typically contend with years later: leaving home. High school
students had to live in a larger town--either baching (renting a place
together) or boarding (paying for room and board in a home.) This
surely constituted culture shock. And, for Blunt, it happened when
she was coping with self image, dating, and rebelling against the
patriarchal nature of the world in which she grew up and to which she
was expected to return. It was a world in which, although, for a
family to survive, it was essential for wives to be every bit as
strong, stoic, and competent as their spouses, men held all property
and power and intended things to stay that way.
Breaking Clean is an excellent read for women's studies
scholars, illuminating a time and place that is relatively neglected.
It is also a darn good narrative. I highly recommend it.
On a personal note, sadly we've had to take the Christmas tree down.
Every year Joey cat and I get so much joy from it! Luckily I have an
artificial tree in my for my very favorite ornaments and a miniature
tree with tiny little ornaments to keep the spirit of Christmas alive
in my heart all year long.
A great big shout out goes out to all others who keep the Christmas
spirit burning in their hearts and lives.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Out & Allied
Out & Allied
YA/adult nonfiction
"If tough guys wear pink do they stop and think why someone like
me is such a threat to their masculinity? Tough guys are usually the
gay bashers, dripping our blood on the cold concrete when inside their
thoughts and emotions leave them incomplete? Why must I be beaten in
the back streets, where every walk home is trick or treat? What is it
that makes you a man? Is it part of God's plan?..."
In 2015 I attended a conference on advocating for LGBTQ students
in schools. For me the highlight of the conference was a session on
theater as a means of consciousness raising. We watched a group do
two pieces. Then we were split into groups to do improvs. I was a
sexist coach/teacher discrediting a student's claims of sexual
harassment and yearning for the good old days when this stuff didn't
happen.
Theater, whether scripted or improv, seems to be a perfect venue
for raising awareness. For the audience it can be a relatively safe
way of gaining insight. For actors it can be a means of expressing
self or walking in the shoes of those on the other side. For both
groups after production guided discussion can be satisfying and
fruitful.
"True, but where to begin?" you may be thinking. I have good
news. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. Outside & Allied: An
Anthology of Performance Pieces by LGBTQ Youth and Allies (I read the
first volume; I know there is at least a second) gives readers a very
clear road map to stage success.
The biggest part of the book consists of actual pieces. They
range from traditional dialogue oriented scripts to poetry. Many have
specific directions for actions and staging. In the acknowledgements
we are assured that they have been field tested and performed.
There is also a very comprehensive guide to moving from book to
stage. It covers from auditioning and casting through rehearsels to
post performance discussions. There are also good suggestions for
writing original material and a wonderful list of helpful organizations.
I'd suggest starting with scripts and then going on to write
your own material or go improv. I also see this format as a way of
shedding light on the other isms that make so many the other in our
society: racism, religious intolerance, sexism, classicism,
ageism... You will only be limited by your imagination and
willingness to take chances.
On a personal note, for me each year the stretch of time from Advent
through the first days of January is a mini sabbatical. While other
people speed up to shop, send cards, decorate, entertain, I focus on
the meaning of the season and being present for those I love. Just
call me a seasonal slacker. I always end this time period rested,
inspired, and ready to take on the world or at least Penobscot county.
A great big shout out goes out to all the companions, human and
otherwise, who add so much to my life!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA/adult nonfiction
"If tough guys wear pink do they stop and think why someone like
me is such a threat to their masculinity? Tough guys are usually the
gay bashers, dripping our blood on the cold concrete when inside their
thoughts and emotions leave them incomplete? Why must I be beaten in
the back streets, where every walk home is trick or treat? What is it
that makes you a man? Is it part of God's plan?..."
In 2015 I attended a conference on advocating for LGBTQ students
in schools. For me the highlight of the conference was a session on
theater as a means of consciousness raising. We watched a group do
two pieces. Then we were split into groups to do improvs. I was a
sexist coach/teacher discrediting a student's claims of sexual
harassment and yearning for the good old days when this stuff didn't
happen.
Theater, whether scripted or improv, seems to be a perfect venue
for raising awareness. For the audience it can be a relatively safe
way of gaining insight. For actors it can be a means of expressing
self or walking in the shoes of those on the other side. For both
groups after production guided discussion can be satisfying and
fruitful.
"True, but where to begin?" you may be thinking. I have good
news. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. Outside & Allied: An
Anthology of Performance Pieces by LGBTQ Youth and Allies (I read the
first volume; I know there is at least a second) gives readers a very
clear road map to stage success.
The biggest part of the book consists of actual pieces. They
range from traditional dialogue oriented scripts to poetry. Many have
specific directions for actions and staging. In the acknowledgements
we are assured that they have been field tested and performed.
There is also a very comprehensive guide to moving from book to
stage. It covers from auditioning and casting through rehearsels to
post performance discussions. There are also good suggestions for
writing original material and a wonderful list of helpful organizations.
I'd suggest starting with scripts and then going on to write
your own material or go improv. I also see this format as a way of
shedding light on the other isms that make so many the other in our
society: racism, religious intolerance, sexism, classicism,
ageism... You will only be limited by your imagination and
willingness to take chances.
On a personal note, for me each year the stretch of time from Advent
through the first days of January is a mini sabbatical. While other
people speed up to shop, send cards, decorate, entertain, I focus on
the meaning of the season and being present for those I love. Just
call me a seasonal slacker. I always end this time period rested,
inspired, and ready to take on the world or at least Penobscot county.
A great big shout out goes out to all the companions, human and
otherwise, who add so much to my life!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Gunpowder Girls
Gunpowder Girls
YA nonfiction
"...The fire continued to consume the buildings and the girls
who couldn't escape. Inside the rooms, thousands of rounds of
ammunition exploded, sending bullets and lead fragments everywhere.
Pieces of the girls' and women's bodies flew into the air, landing in
the yard and in the trees nearby. Girls ran from the rooms, their
bodies aflame and their faces burned black. Men tried to extinguish
the fire on their dresses by covering them with coats, shirts, or
whatever they could find."
Tanya Anderson wanted to write a book about women during the
Civil War. Only a lot of the low hanging fruit--nurses, soldiers,
spies for example--had already been picked. Then she found a group of
women and girls barely mentioned in books involved in very hazardous
work essential to the war effort. Though books proved to be dead
ends, the Internet yielded abundant information. Her research
resulted in Gunpowder Girls: The True Stories Of Three Civil War
Tragedies.
"Each girl and woman became someone I wanted to know--as much as
I could, more than 150 years later. Basic information on a flat sheet
of paper gave me more than I expected. Details became circumstances,
and circumstances bred empathy. The urge to tell their stories kept
me awake at night. The need to make sure these victims would not be
forgotten became the energy that created the book you're now holding."
Times were tough during the Civil War times. There was a lot of
hunger and deprivation. Husbands and fathers were off fighting.
Sometimes they came back crippled or didn't return at all. Armies on
both sides, ill clad and fed, raided farms and homes for whatever they
could get their hands on. Adults and children took whatever jobs they
could get just to survive.
Both armies needed a lot of ammunition which had to be
painstakingly made by hand. Women and girls had smaller hands that
were more adept at this delicate work. (Girls were preferred to boys
who were found to play pranks and roughhouse and sneak smokes a tad
too much to be in places full of highly explosive materials.)
In these pre OSHA tImes the places in which these women and
girls, many who hadn't reached puberty, labored 12 hour days for low
pay were catastrophes waiting to happen. Gunpowder lay on floors and
filled wood barrels. Componants that should not be in close proximity
were. All it took was something as mundane as a horse shoe striking a
spark on a cobblestone to cause whole buildings to explode. Gunpowder
Girls tells of three such tragedies.
Gunpowder Girls is a must read for Civil War buffs and women's
studies scholars and students. My only caveat: it is probably too
graphic for more sensitive young readers.
On a personal note, my latest Bangor Daily News op ed was on how we
can make a difference in our communities. I have never before
received so much positive feedback on one of my pieces. It is being
forwarded and reprinted on the Internet and will be in the Peace and
Justice newsletter.
A great big shout out goes out to all who are taking my words to heart.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA nonfiction
"...The fire continued to consume the buildings and the girls
who couldn't escape. Inside the rooms, thousands of rounds of
ammunition exploded, sending bullets and lead fragments everywhere.
Pieces of the girls' and women's bodies flew into the air, landing in
the yard and in the trees nearby. Girls ran from the rooms, their
bodies aflame and their faces burned black. Men tried to extinguish
the fire on their dresses by covering them with coats, shirts, or
whatever they could find."
Tanya Anderson wanted to write a book about women during the
Civil War. Only a lot of the low hanging fruit--nurses, soldiers,
spies for example--had already been picked. Then she found a group of
women and girls barely mentioned in books involved in very hazardous
work essential to the war effort. Though books proved to be dead
ends, the Internet yielded abundant information. Her research
resulted in Gunpowder Girls: The True Stories Of Three Civil War
Tragedies.
"Each girl and woman became someone I wanted to know--as much as
I could, more than 150 years later. Basic information on a flat sheet
of paper gave me more than I expected. Details became circumstances,
and circumstances bred empathy. The urge to tell their stories kept
me awake at night. The need to make sure these victims would not be
forgotten became the energy that created the book you're now holding."
Times were tough during the Civil War times. There was a lot of
hunger and deprivation. Husbands and fathers were off fighting.
Sometimes they came back crippled or didn't return at all. Armies on
both sides, ill clad and fed, raided farms and homes for whatever they
could get their hands on. Adults and children took whatever jobs they
could get just to survive.
Both armies needed a lot of ammunition which had to be
painstakingly made by hand. Women and girls had smaller hands that
were more adept at this delicate work. (Girls were preferred to boys
who were found to play pranks and roughhouse and sneak smokes a tad
too much to be in places full of highly explosive materials.)
In these pre OSHA tImes the places in which these women and
girls, many who hadn't reached puberty, labored 12 hour days for low
pay were catastrophes waiting to happen. Gunpowder lay on floors and
filled wood barrels. Componants that should not be in close proximity
were. All it took was something as mundane as a horse shoe striking a
spark on a cobblestone to cause whole buildings to explode. Gunpowder
Girls tells of three such tragedies.
Gunpowder Girls is a must read for Civil War buffs and women's
studies scholars and students. My only caveat: it is probably too
graphic for more sensitive young readers.
On a personal note, my latest Bangor Daily News op ed was on how we
can make a difference in our communities. I have never before
received so much positive feedback on one of my pieces. It is being
forwarded and reprinted on the Internet and will be in the Peace and
Justice newsletter.
A great big shout out goes out to all who are taking my words to heart.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
The Crossover
The Crossover
YA fiction
Poetry and sports are not often combined. Kwame Alexander's The
Crossover shows that this is a pitiful state of affairs. The verses
convey the story beautifully and sparsely. The ones about games
practically sing with the rythym of the basketball court.
Twins Josh and Jordan are basketball stars. Their dad is a
player from back in the day. He's given Josh the nickname Filthy
McNasty. At first Josh doesn't care for the name.
"But, as I got older
and started getting game,
the name took on a new meaning.
And even though I wasn't into
all that jazz,
every time I'd score,
rebound,
or steal a ball,
Dad would jump up
smiling and screamin',
That's my boy out there.
Keep it funky, Filthy!
And that made me feel
real good
about my nickname."
Family discord sadly happens--even with twins. A new girl in
school starts taking up a lot of Jordan's time. He's acting really
strange. Josh is alone much of the time. A gesture of anger and
frustration makes the brothers even more estranged.
And then there's their father. His family has a major history
of heart disease. Only he won't stop eating doughnuts and other not
so good stuff. And he refuses to see a doctor. This becomes a source
of spousal contention.
Basketball fans and poetry affecianados will enjoy this lively
coming of age narrative.
On a personal note, New Years Eve was great. I read and ate candy
near the tree with my precious tuxedo cat purring on my lap. We saw
the ball drop. Unfortunately Eugene didn't get to because he was
plowing snow.
A great big shout out goes out to all the fine folks who spent New
Years Eve plowing snow and restoring electricity.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA fiction
Poetry and sports are not often combined. Kwame Alexander's The
Crossover shows that this is a pitiful state of affairs. The verses
convey the story beautifully and sparsely. The ones about games
practically sing with the rythym of the basketball court.
Twins Josh and Jordan are basketball stars. Their dad is a
player from back in the day. He's given Josh the nickname Filthy
McNasty. At first Josh doesn't care for the name.
"But, as I got older
and started getting game,
the name took on a new meaning.
And even though I wasn't into
all that jazz,
every time I'd score,
rebound,
or steal a ball,
Dad would jump up
smiling and screamin',
That's my boy out there.
Keep it funky, Filthy!
And that made me feel
real good
about my nickname."
Family discord sadly happens--even with twins. A new girl in
school starts taking up a lot of Jordan's time. He's acting really
strange. Josh is alone much of the time. A gesture of anger and
frustration makes the brothers even more estranged.
And then there's their father. His family has a major history
of heart disease. Only he won't stop eating doughnuts and other not
so good stuff. And he refuses to see a doctor. This becomes a source
of spousal contention.
Basketball fans and poetry affecianados will enjoy this lively
coming of age narrative.
On a personal note, New Years Eve was great. I read and ate candy
near the tree with my precious tuxedo cat purring on my lap. We saw
the ball drop. Unfortunately Eugene didn't get to because he was
plowing snow.
A great big shout out goes out to all the fine folks who spent New
Years Eve plowing snow and restoring electricity.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Monday, January 9, 2017
Stepping Stones
Stepping Stones
Bilingual picture book
One day Margriet Ruurs, spending time on Facebook, was
transfixed by a picture made of stones of a family: a woman cradling
a baby and a man carrying a heavy load.
"Wait a minute, I thought. How can stones display such
emotion? Who is the artist who can breathe such life into solid rock?"
Fortunately one of the stones was signed. Nizar Ali Badr, the
artist, is a Syrian. The war in his nation is the topic of much of
his work.
"Nizar's work spoke to me strongly. In his art I saw people
changing--from happy, carefree children into people burdened and
fleeing. There was hurt and sorrow. But ultimately there was also
love and caring. All of this told with stones."
Ruurs wanted to create a book around this amazing art. Her
first challenge was contacting the artist. It's not all that easy to
contact an artist in a war torn country who speaks a different
language. Also she was going against the order for children's book
creation with pictures coming before text. And she wanted a portion
of the proceeds to go to organizations that help refuges. Amazingly
she pulled it all together. We truly benefit from Stepping Stones: A
Refugee Family's Journey, the amazing fruit of her labors. Script is
in both English and Arabic.
Rama and her family are first happy farming, going to school,
playing. Then war came. Neighbors fled. Then it was their turn.
"That night I lay in bed and cried
Because I knew I would never again
Hear the crow of the rooster, the creak of the gate,
The bleat of our goat.
I lay awake and listened to the wind,
Wondering if the moon rises the same way in other places."
So begins their journey toward hope and freedom from fear.
Stepping Stones is a must acquire for public and school
libraries and a beautiful addition to family collections.
On a personal note, I love the Albert Einstein quote at the beginning
of the book: "Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved
by understanding." These words of wisdom are more necessary now than
maybe any other time in history.
A great big shout out goes out to refugees, people who help them, and
peace keepers.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Bilingual picture book
One day Margriet Ruurs, spending time on Facebook, was
transfixed by a picture made of stones of a family: a woman cradling
a baby and a man carrying a heavy load.
"Wait a minute, I thought. How can stones display such
emotion? Who is the artist who can breathe such life into solid rock?"
Fortunately one of the stones was signed. Nizar Ali Badr, the
artist, is a Syrian. The war in his nation is the topic of much of
his work.
"Nizar's work spoke to me strongly. In his art I saw people
changing--from happy, carefree children into people burdened and
fleeing. There was hurt and sorrow. But ultimately there was also
love and caring. All of this told with stones."
Ruurs wanted to create a book around this amazing art. Her
first challenge was contacting the artist. It's not all that easy to
contact an artist in a war torn country who speaks a different
language. Also she was going against the order for children's book
creation with pictures coming before text. And she wanted a portion
of the proceeds to go to organizations that help refuges. Amazingly
she pulled it all together. We truly benefit from Stepping Stones: A
Refugee Family's Journey, the amazing fruit of her labors. Script is
in both English and Arabic.
Rama and her family are first happy farming, going to school,
playing. Then war came. Neighbors fled. Then it was their turn.
"That night I lay in bed and cried
Because I knew I would never again
Hear the crow of the rooster, the creak of the gate,
The bleat of our goat.
I lay awake and listened to the wind,
Wondering if the moon rises the same way in other places."
So begins their journey toward hope and freedom from fear.
Stepping Stones is a must acquire for public and school
libraries and a beautiful addition to family collections.
On a personal note, I love the Albert Einstein quote at the beginning
of the book: "Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved
by understanding." These words of wisdom are more necessary now than
maybe any other time in history.
A great big shout out goes out to refugees, people who help them, and
peace keepers.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
A Long Pitch Home
A Long Pitch Home
Juvenile fiction
"When the plane finally lifts us into the air, I realize I never
sent Baba a kiss back. I send one now into the shadows of the sunrise
and hope it will travel through the airplane window and find its way
to him.
'He will join us soon, Bilal. You will see.'
I nod, still looking out the window as Karachi shrinks into a
toy city with blinking lights. He will join us soon. I repeat my
mother's words in my head over and over, because I want to believe
they are true."
Remember how you felt when you were a child. Try to imagine how
you would have coped with this series of events. Your father
disappears a week before your tenth birthday. No one can tell you
why. It's obvious that the adults in your family are frightened.
Then your dad returns with startling news. You and your siblings and
mother are to fly half way around the world to live with your aunt and
Uncle, not knowing when (or if) he will join you.
That's the plight of Bilal, protagonist of Natalie Dias
Lorenzi's A Long Pitch Home. America is a lot different from
Pakistan. There's the dominant language, the food, the customs. On
his first trip to an America swimming pool Bilal is horrified to see
people of all ages in bathing suits.
"Back in Karachi we went to the beach all the time, but adults
always covered themselves with regular clothes--light shalwar kameez
trousers and long shirts, no arms or legs or shoulders sticking out.
At the club pool there were swimming hours for ladies and children,
and swimming hours for men and children, but never together.
But here in America? Aren't the adults embarassed to be half-
naked in front of everyone?..."
And then there are sports. Cricket, which Bilal was a star in,
is not played. Instead there is baseball which he has to start
learning almost from scratch.
All these adjustments would be easier for him if only his father
was there to guide him.
A Long Pitch Home puts a very human face on an issue ripped from
today's newspaper headlines: refugee families torn apart. I would
highly recommend it to help kids get a better grasp on immigration
issues.
On a personal note, the New Years Eve edition of the Bangor Daily News
carried the story of a man's finally victorious struggle to get his
wife and young children safely out of Syria, their native country
turned Hell on earth by civil war.
A great big shout out goes to refugee families seeking to stay or get
back together in a safe place and those who help them. Also one goes
out to the Bangor Daily News for their recent positive immigrant
stories. Way to go,
BDN!!! You're making me proud to be one of your op ed contributors.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile fiction
"When the plane finally lifts us into the air, I realize I never
sent Baba a kiss back. I send one now into the shadows of the sunrise
and hope it will travel through the airplane window and find its way
to him.
'He will join us soon, Bilal. You will see.'
I nod, still looking out the window as Karachi shrinks into a
toy city with blinking lights. He will join us soon. I repeat my
mother's words in my head over and over, because I want to believe
they are true."
Remember how you felt when you were a child. Try to imagine how
you would have coped with this series of events. Your father
disappears a week before your tenth birthday. No one can tell you
why. It's obvious that the adults in your family are frightened.
Then your dad returns with startling news. You and your siblings and
mother are to fly half way around the world to live with your aunt and
Uncle, not knowing when (or if) he will join you.
That's the plight of Bilal, protagonist of Natalie Dias
Lorenzi's A Long Pitch Home. America is a lot different from
Pakistan. There's the dominant language, the food, the customs. On
his first trip to an America swimming pool Bilal is horrified to see
people of all ages in bathing suits.
"Back in Karachi we went to the beach all the time, but adults
always covered themselves with regular clothes--light shalwar kameez
trousers and long shirts, no arms or legs or shoulders sticking out.
At the club pool there were swimming hours for ladies and children,
and swimming hours for men and children, but never together.
But here in America? Aren't the adults embarassed to be half-
naked in front of everyone?..."
And then there are sports. Cricket, which Bilal was a star in,
is not played. Instead there is baseball which he has to start
learning almost from scratch.
All these adjustments would be easier for him if only his father
was there to guide him.
A Long Pitch Home puts a very human face on an issue ripped from
today's newspaper headlines: refugee families torn apart. I would
highly recommend it to help kids get a better grasp on immigration
issues.
On a personal note, the New Years Eve edition of the Bangor Daily News
carried the story of a man's finally victorious struggle to get his
wife and young children safely out of Syria, their native country
turned Hell on earth by civil war.
A great big shout out goes to refugee families seeking to stay or get
back together in a safe place and those who help them. Also one goes
out to the Bangor Daily News for their recent positive immigrant
stories. Way to go,
BDN!!! You're making me proud to be one of your op ed contributors.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Towers Falling
Towers Falling
Juvenile fiction
"I hope the teacher doesn't say, 'Write an essay about your
summer vacation.' If she does, I'll leave the paper blank. Else I'll
have to lie. Say eviction is the best vacation. Hearing Ma weeping
and Pa wheezing, cracking his knuckles, while Leda sucks her thumb
double-time and Ray holds my hand."
Adults often forget that kids process incidents differently from
them--especially when they are far enough in the past that they aren't
constant conversational currency. This is especially true when the
event in question was the kind you remember where you were the rest of
your life and the kids in question weren't even born then. With no
shared frame of reference there is often quite the large gap in
understanding. Jewell Parker Rhodes' Towers Falling beautifully
underscores this concept.
After a stretch of living in their car, narrator Deja and her
family have been placed in one small room with no water, refrigerator,
or stove in a run down and not exactly safe homeless shelter. Her
mother struggles to support the family on a waitress salary. Her
father is seemingly paralyzed by disabilities she doesn't really
understand. She must take care of little Ray and Leda when she's home
from school and her mom is at work.
Her new school is in view of the former twin towers. Her class
begins a study of 9/11 as living history. For some reason her father
becomes upset that he is studying this topic. At one point he even
wants to transfer her to another school.
Towers Falling is a poignant coming of age in which a girl
learns how an event that happened before she was born irrevocably
changed the life of one of the people she loves the most.
On a personal note, the last Thursday of 2016 we got a snow storm.
Eugene was called out to plow. Joey and I woke up to find the power
out (about 100,000 people lost electricity) and the house ice cold.
We cuddled on our favorite chair near the tree with a good book until
the power came on and our home warmed up. It was our second adventure
in as many days, his attempt at Christmas tree climbing being the
first one.
A great big shout out to the feline friends and canine companions who
do so much to keep life from bring boring.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile fiction
"I hope the teacher doesn't say, 'Write an essay about your
summer vacation.' If she does, I'll leave the paper blank. Else I'll
have to lie. Say eviction is the best vacation. Hearing Ma weeping
and Pa wheezing, cracking his knuckles, while Leda sucks her thumb
double-time and Ray holds my hand."
Adults often forget that kids process incidents differently from
them--especially when they are far enough in the past that they aren't
constant conversational currency. This is especially true when the
event in question was the kind you remember where you were the rest of
your life and the kids in question weren't even born then. With no
shared frame of reference there is often quite the large gap in
understanding. Jewell Parker Rhodes' Towers Falling beautifully
underscores this concept.
After a stretch of living in their car, narrator Deja and her
family have been placed in one small room with no water, refrigerator,
or stove in a run down and not exactly safe homeless shelter. Her
mother struggles to support the family on a waitress salary. Her
father is seemingly paralyzed by disabilities she doesn't really
understand. She must take care of little Ray and Leda when she's home
from school and her mom is at work.
Her new school is in view of the former twin towers. Her class
begins a study of 9/11 as living history. For some reason her father
becomes upset that he is studying this topic. At one point he even
wants to transfer her to another school.
Towers Falling is a poignant coming of age in which a girl
learns how an event that happened before she was born irrevocably
changed the life of one of the people she loves the most.
On a personal note, the last Thursday of 2016 we got a snow storm.
Eugene was called out to plow. Joey and I woke up to find the power
out (about 100,000 people lost electricity) and the house ice cold.
We cuddled on our favorite chair near the tree with a good book until
the power came on and our home warmed up. It was our second adventure
in as many days, his attempt at Christmas tree climbing being the
first one.
A great big shout out to the feline friends and canine companions who
do so much to keep life from bring boring.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
End Of Watch
End Of Watch
Adult fiction
"But he won't allow it. He wants to hurt Hodges, he wants to
hurt the nigger lawnboy, he owes them, and this is the way to do it.
Nor is it just a matter of revenge. She's the first test subject who
was at the concert, and she's not like the others, who were easier to
control. But he is controlling her, all he needs is ten more seconds,
and now he sees what's coming for her. It's a truck. A big black one.
Hey, honey, Brady Hartsfield thinks. Your ride is here."
End Of Watch is a term used to describe a police officer's
retirement from duty. It has a profound and tender feel to it.
Stephen King could not have picked a more perfect title for the third
and final volume of his trilogy that started with Mr. Mercedes and
continued with Finders Keepers.
Bill Hodges, a retired police detective and hero of the two
first books, gets an unexpected call from his former partner, Pete
Huntley. Pete wants him and sidekick, Holly Gibney, to check out a
crime scene and give him input. It appears to be a murder-suicide.
Martine Stover, a victim of Brady Hartsfield, about whom you will hear
more, was a quadraplegic, living with her septegenarian caregiver
mother. Evidence indicates that the mother had put a mixture of
ground up pills and vodka into her daughter's feeding tube and then
used helium to dispatch herself.
Not all the evidence fits. A long term housekeeper, shocked to
receive the news, tells Bill and Holly that the women were happy and
optimistic. Martine even had plans for the future: taking an on line
computer class on accounting. There are also a strange gaming
console and the letter Z on a bathroom counter. Izzy, Pete's new
partner, however wants to close the case with the obvious conclusion.
"'One thing I believe we all can agree on,' Izzy says, "is that
Hartsfield's days of running people down, blowing people up, and
architecting suicides are behind him. So unless we've all stumbled
into a movie called Son of Brady, I suggest we exit the late Ms.
Ellerton's house and get on with our lives..."
Izzy's got reason to be cynical. Mr. Brady Hartsfield,
archvillain of Mr. Mercedes, has spent the past six years in a brain
injury clinic, mostly staring out a window. Most people would find it
hard to believe that a man who can't do the most basic self care could
be in any way involved in a crime.
Bill thinks the world is way underestimating Hartsfield. He's
heard rumors of objects in his room moving without being touched.
He's sure there is still a lot of evil going on in that seemingly
short circuited brain.
Bill is battling a fast moving cancer. But he and his friends
must discover his nemesis' diabolical plot and engage him in a battle
to the death. It's not like he can get anyone else to believe him,
let alone take over.
End Of Watch is Stephen King at his creepy best and a fine
conclusion to a spine chilling trilogy.
On the last page Stephen King has a message to his readers:
"One last thing. End of Watch is fiction, but the high rate of
suicides--both in the United States and in many other countries where
my books are read--is all too real. The National Suicide Prevention
Hotline number given in this book is also real. It's 1-800-273-TALK.
If you are feeling poopy (as Holly Gibney would say), give them a
call. Because things can get better, and if you give them a chance,
they usually do."
Amen to that!
On a personal note, Joey cat has immersed himself in second
kittenhood. This year for the first time in about a decade he
started going for the lower ornaments on the tree. He works one from
all angles until it falls on the floor and then tears all over
batting. Then he learned what happens when a 10 1/2 pound feline
tries to climb a Christmas tree. Hint: gravity was involved. He
wasn't hurt or scared. If anything he was annoyed that when I put the
tree back up I insisted on putting all his newly acquired toys back on
it.
A great big shout out goes out to Joey and all the other creatures
great and small who fill our hearts with joy.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult fiction
"But he won't allow it. He wants to hurt Hodges, he wants to
hurt the nigger lawnboy, he owes them, and this is the way to do it.
Nor is it just a matter of revenge. She's the first test subject who
was at the concert, and she's not like the others, who were easier to
control. But he is controlling her, all he needs is ten more seconds,
and now he sees what's coming for her. It's a truck. A big black one.
Hey, honey, Brady Hartsfield thinks. Your ride is here."
End Of Watch is a term used to describe a police officer's
retirement from duty. It has a profound and tender feel to it.
Stephen King could not have picked a more perfect title for the third
and final volume of his trilogy that started with Mr. Mercedes and
continued with Finders Keepers.
Bill Hodges, a retired police detective and hero of the two
first books, gets an unexpected call from his former partner, Pete
Huntley. Pete wants him and sidekick, Holly Gibney, to check out a
crime scene and give him input. It appears to be a murder-suicide.
Martine Stover, a victim of Brady Hartsfield, about whom you will hear
more, was a quadraplegic, living with her septegenarian caregiver
mother. Evidence indicates that the mother had put a mixture of
ground up pills and vodka into her daughter's feeding tube and then
used helium to dispatch herself.
Not all the evidence fits. A long term housekeeper, shocked to
receive the news, tells Bill and Holly that the women were happy and
optimistic. Martine even had plans for the future: taking an on line
computer class on accounting. There are also a strange gaming
console and the letter Z on a bathroom counter. Izzy, Pete's new
partner, however wants to close the case with the obvious conclusion.
"'One thing I believe we all can agree on,' Izzy says, "is that
Hartsfield's days of running people down, blowing people up, and
architecting suicides are behind him. So unless we've all stumbled
into a movie called Son of Brady, I suggest we exit the late Ms.
Ellerton's house and get on with our lives..."
Izzy's got reason to be cynical. Mr. Brady Hartsfield,
archvillain of Mr. Mercedes, has spent the past six years in a brain
injury clinic, mostly staring out a window. Most people would find it
hard to believe that a man who can't do the most basic self care could
be in any way involved in a crime.
Bill thinks the world is way underestimating Hartsfield. He's
heard rumors of objects in his room moving without being touched.
He's sure there is still a lot of evil going on in that seemingly
short circuited brain.
Bill is battling a fast moving cancer. But he and his friends
must discover his nemesis' diabolical plot and engage him in a battle
to the death. It's not like he can get anyone else to believe him,
let alone take over.
End Of Watch is Stephen King at his creepy best and a fine
conclusion to a spine chilling trilogy.
On the last page Stephen King has a message to his readers:
"One last thing. End of Watch is fiction, but the high rate of
suicides--both in the United States and in many other countries where
my books are read--is all too real. The National Suicide Prevention
Hotline number given in this book is also real. It's 1-800-273-TALK.
If you are feeling poopy (as Holly Gibney would say), give them a
call. Because things can get better, and if you give them a chance,
they usually do."
Amen to that!
On a personal note, Joey cat has immersed himself in second
kittenhood. This year for the first time in about a decade he
started going for the lower ornaments on the tree. He works one from
all angles until it falls on the floor and then tears all over
batting. Then he learned what happens when a 10 1/2 pound feline
tries to climb a Christmas tree. Hint: gravity was involved. He
wasn't hurt or scared. If anything he was annoyed that when I put the
tree back up I insisted on putting all his newly acquired toys back on
it.
A great big shout out goes out to Joey and all the other creatures
great and small who fill our hearts with joy.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
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