The Curious Incident...

Right now I'm very much enjoying my current read. Curiously enough, Amazon listed three other favorites of mine under "readers who bought this also bought" - "The Time Traveler's Wife", "The Secret Life of Bees" (fabulous book!) and "The Life of Pi" (see below). Apparently great minds do think alike.

Life of Pi

Finished reading "Life of Pi" last week. I had been meaning to read it since last winter...tried to convince my book club to read it, but they would have none of it. This book interested me from Part I, when we get to know Pi and his philosophies and faith(s), through his survival story in Part II to the humorous account of his debriefing in Part III. I do believe that many parts would be considered rather gross by my book club cohorts. But I wish they'd read it anyway so that we could discuss the ending, which still has me puzzling and wanting to go back and read it again.
(Tip: if you are even remotely considering reading this book, PLEASE don't read the review on Amazon...it tells too much and spoils the ending)

Brrrr...

Now here's a rather cozy story to warm the cockles of one's heart.

VERY cool pictures

I couldn't swipe any of the pictures to display here, but check out these photos on MSNBC. They really are amazing!

Kids, dogs...same diff?

According to the study published in Rome's La Repubblica, there are at least 14.5 million dogs and cats in Italian homes...compared with 8.7 million children under the age of 15.

Quotation for the day:

To ask that God's love should be content with us is to ask that God should cease to be God: because He is what He is, His love must, in the nature of things, be impeded and repelled by certain stains in our present character, and because He already loves us He must labour to make us lovable.

"The Problem of Pain"

It's a Wonderful Life

It's that time of year when I watch one of the best movies ever made. I love it from the scene with Mr. Gower to the budding romance between Mary and George to the wonderful ending when all George's friends prove to him how wealthy he really is. I know line after line, word for word. I cry at the ending every time...and I hope I never stop.

Quotation for today:

"And I say also this. I do not think the forest would be so bright, nor the water so warm, nor love so sweet, if there were no danger in the lakes."

Out of the Silent Planet

And speaking of marketing...

This has got to be one of the dumbest things ever sold

JOY

Today's C.S.Lewis quote:
"I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for Joy."
Surprised by Joy
(I love this book - the autobiographical account of Lewis' journey to faith)

How Christmas Works...

(From How Stuff Works)

Let's say that on December 20 you were to meet a friendly space alien. That is, let's say that his space ship discreetly drops him off in your back yard while you are looking out your window. You walk outside to meet the visitor, and you find out he's a pretty nice guy. His name is Gorg (or maybe Ford Prefect?), he is wearing a costume that makes him look passably human, he speaks reasonable English, and he explains that his goal is to spend a week on the planet to learn about its people. He asks if you would consider being his guide for the week, and you decide to take on the job.

So you take Gorg around and start showing him your town. Since it is December 20, one thing is for sure -- Gorg is going to ask about Christmas. And he is going to ask a LOT of questions, because Christmas is a pretty complicated tradition.

Click here to check out answers to questions Gorg might ask.

We need a little Christmas

Found a Christmas site to help spread the holiday spirit.

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

OPUS

Here you go, Frank! Guess he forgot that the secret of the universe is the number 42.

Materialism for kids

From a piece on "60 Minutes Wednesday"

"...25 million kids, between the age of 8 and 13, form the most powerful consumer group since the baby boom. They're called "tweens," and marketers are obsessed with them. Tween girls are especially prized since they spend the most money -- and marketers are now targeting girls right in their own bedrooms. Sofia Mandel's special mission as a secret agent is to host a slumber party and invite her closest friends. It starts with a sealed box filled with goodies, never-before-seen products designed to produce a feeding frenzy of tween girls. The box is strategically placed there by...a marketing firm.

But critics say the research is enabling marketers to appeal directly to kids, making an end-run around parents. "The clear message from the marketers is it doesn't matter what the parent thinks," says Juliet Schor, author of "Born to Buy," a book that accuses marketers of skillfully reducing the power of parents. "They go directly to the kids, and say, 'You want this product?' Get your parent to buy it for you.'"

[Marketers say,]"Our responsibility is to translate that girl-speak into biz-speak for our clients...then tell the young girls, 'This is what you did...You are affecting change in your world.'" But what’s changing, parents say, is children’s attitudes, and it’s not for the better.

Meanwhile, Sofia, the alpha girl with her box of loot, is influencing her friends, whether she knows it or not. In fact, it’s not clear that any of these girls or their parents are aware of the marketing mechanics at work. And that's what concerns Schor. She says that while the slumber parties look fun, there's a subtle manipulation going on: "The marketers are inserting themselves into these peer dynamics." And the host girl? "She's being taught that her friends are an exploitable resource," says Schor. "She needs to get those friends over there, get that information out of them. It's an instrumental use of friendship.""

I have to say I'm leaning more toward the opinion that using friends to fuel the marketing side job is exploitive. And all the relentless selling to such an impressionable group, while it may be the American Way, just encourages materialism at an early age. Could it be that parents are supposed to have some measure of control over the situation? I have two "tweens" at my house. Sure they love to get new stuff, but I have yet to see a full scale buying frenzy and, thankfully, they don't beg, whine or act like spoiled brats.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas! Now that we have a few decorations up and a good start to the shopping, I'm starting to feel festive. Saw Rudolph the other day and have the Christmas music going every day. More than anything, the excitement of the kids in my life is contagious. If you need a boost in your holiday enthusiasm, try hanging out with some kids. Works every time.

Superballs!

In case you didn't notice, this page has superballs all over it!

NOT out of this world quite yet...

Ok, I think I'm getting this thing *sort of* how I want it. Not quite everything I'm wanting in a blog as yet, but maybe some more experienced friends will share some of their wisdom...please.

To see what I started with, check out my other site.

Inaugural Post

This is a test...this is only a test