Interesting subjects occur to me, but after sitting here listening to an album, my brain is all afuddle. I had to access Hoopla due to fretting children in the library. (God, don't these people know how ANNOYING cranky children are to the childless?!?!?!)
Enjoying All this bad blood (album), by a group called Bastille. I borrowed it on Hoopla, available at some libraries. Their most famous song is Pompeii, I think. Interesting turns of phrase and a big sound.
Back to my weekday routine of getting online and exercising. Those two goals fall to pieces Friday through Sunday, when there seem to be a lot of conflicting events getting in the way. Was quite happy this morning when I got out my calendar to review it and found NOTHING on it for today other than yoga at 10:30 AM. Now, isn't THAT a good way to start out your week? And tomorrow nothing on the calendar except for a public meeting about CHICKENS. I am not really into that topic but it is sponsored by a group I am interested in....CAWA - Cohansey Area Watershed Association (?) Gee...I should have gone on VACATION this week. But I really do need to go to choir practice on Wednesday night. I hear we are supposed to sing some challenging music in some African languages on Sunday. Haven't been to one practice yet, due to my many conflicts.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Too many sweets
Have been eating too much...a snack every hour. Big lunch with an exercise group. Now another dinner meeting tonight. Yesterday I broke my Diet Coke fast because I had a free beverage coupon at our local movie theater that was about to expire. So I had one GINORMOUS Diet Coke cause that is how they serve it there. Plan to get back on the wagon today. Had movie buttered popcorn for dinner and then we went to the dollar store and bought pints of Hagan-Daz to eat for our snack.
The drop (movie) - A bit more violent than I can cope with but it was a slow moving, suspenseful, seemingly-low-budget story of two small time hustlers in Brooklyn. Wanted to see it as was James Gandolfini's last film. Woman looked kind of familiar, but don't think I have seen her in anything. She was in the Swedish crime series films (American edition).
Chains (book), by Laurie Halse Anderson. A young adult book. One more book about slavery. Interesting twist as during the Revolutionary war and in New York City. Read it for a book club. Got better as it went along. Family who owns the two girls are Tory sympathizers and not very nice. Mother of the husband is nicer and slave girl and grandmother develop somewhat of a relationship. There is a story of a slave boy who follows the rebels and gets incarcerated. Isabel helps him and moves messages around town. There are some charming little turns of phrase....like her "remembery". "My head was broke and my sister was stole and I was lost" was the most poignant line.
The drop (movie) - A bit more violent than I can cope with but it was a slow moving, suspenseful, seemingly-low-budget story of two small time hustlers in Brooklyn. Wanted to see it as was James Gandolfini's last film. Woman looked kind of familiar, but don't think I have seen her in anything. She was in the Swedish crime series films (American edition).
Chains (book), by Laurie Halse Anderson. A young adult book. One more book about slavery. Interesting twist as during the Revolutionary war and in New York City. Read it for a book club. Got better as it went along. Family who owns the two girls are Tory sympathizers and not very nice. Mother of the husband is nicer and slave girl and grandmother develop somewhat of a relationship. There is a story of a slave boy who follows the rebels and gets incarcerated. Isabel helps him and moves messages around town. There are some charming little turns of phrase....like her "remembery". "My head was broke and my sister was stole and I was lost" was the most poignant line.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Not a role model
I always pay attention to the messages on people's T-shirts. There is a trend for BIG BLOCK LETTERS. A young black guy in my town was sporting NOT A ROLE MODEL.
Have spent too much time at home since after church yesterday. Ignored a classical concert and a Jersey fresh fundraising dinner to stay home and watch FOOTBALL and then 60 minutes. Football was quite engaging, despite the brutality and fights and injuries. We won! (The Philadelphia Eagles, that is).
Just finished up a lot of books, which gives me a sense of accomplishment and allows space for some new books to enter my life (not today, though)
Paris in love : a memoir (book), by Eloisa James. Borrowed on my Nook through the library Overdrive program. She is a historical romance writer who spent one year in Paris with her Italian husband, two children, and dog. I like the stories and especially the list of her favorite stores, museums, etc. at the end.
The secret history (book), by Donna Tartt. An earlier book by the author of The goldfinch. I got a bit impatient with it and ended up kind of skimming. It was the story of a group of friends attending a college in Vermont and studying the classics. Their adventures and who knew what about whom and when.
Carsick (book), John Waters. John Waters hitchhiked from his home in Baltimore, Maryland to his apartment in San Francisco. The book has an interesting set up. First, he writes about the "good rides" and then the "bad rides". These are purely imaginary and almost made me abandon the book, they are so crazy. Then come the "real rides". I particularly liked the list in the back for his playlist of hitchhiking songs mentioned in the stories.
Letters to a fellow seeker : a short introduction to the Quaker way (book), by Steve Chase. The story from a young man from Vermont who discovered the Quaker religion. It is a slight book with 7 letters to a friend about various topics of belief.
Have spent too much time at home since after church yesterday. Ignored a classical concert and a Jersey fresh fundraising dinner to stay home and watch FOOTBALL and then 60 minutes. Football was quite engaging, despite the brutality and fights and injuries. We won! (The Philadelphia Eagles, that is).
Just finished up a lot of books, which gives me a sense of accomplishment and allows space for some new books to enter my life (not today, though)
Paris in love : a memoir (book), by Eloisa James. Borrowed on my Nook through the library Overdrive program. She is a historical romance writer who spent one year in Paris with her Italian husband, two children, and dog. I like the stories and especially the list of her favorite stores, museums, etc. at the end.
The secret history (book), by Donna Tartt. An earlier book by the author of The goldfinch. I got a bit impatient with it and ended up kind of skimming. It was the story of a group of friends attending a college in Vermont and studying the classics. Their adventures and who knew what about whom and when.
Carsick (book), John Waters. John Waters hitchhiked from his home in Baltimore, Maryland to his apartment in San Francisco. The book has an interesting set up. First, he writes about the "good rides" and then the "bad rides". These are purely imaginary and almost made me abandon the book, they are so crazy. Then come the "real rides". I particularly liked the list in the back for his playlist of hitchhiking songs mentioned in the stories.
Letters to a fellow seeker : a short introduction to the Quaker way (book), by Steve Chase. The story from a young man from Vermont who discovered the Quaker religion. It is a slight book with 7 letters to a friend about various topics of belief.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
What did we do before the Internet?
I should know that. I am a librarian. It has been sad to see the inexorable neglect of our reference collections of books. And, yes, I am guilty myself. When was the last time I actually looked at some of my favorite tomes, such as The statesman's yearbook or The encyclopedia of associations?
So, today, here is some of what I have been looking up:
- What is the name of the symbol that Prince, the musician, used as his name? I drew how I thought it looked and thought maybe it was called Ankara. Well, no, Ankara is a city in Turkey. Prince's symbol is unpronounceable but sometimes known as the LOVE symbol. It is a combination of the male symbol, the female symbol and the symbol for alchemy.
- How to grow poppies like I saw in Italy and are all poppies opium poppies?
- Why do I have a metallic taste in my mouth? There could be many reasons, but if the reason is unknown, it is called IDIOPATHIC DYSGEUSIA.
Finished an audio book, Seeds of hope : wisdom and wonder from the world of plants, by Jane Goodall (from the Millville Public Library - AUBK 580 Goo). Yes, that is the chimpanzee woman. She has many more interests. Talks about our relationships with trees and trees relationships with each other. Also clear cutting, rain forests, herbal remedies, how people ruin everything for greed, and GMO's, to just name a few of the topics covered. She travels most of the year giving talks. I found it interesting but hard to get through. Not exactly scintillating. And she actually reads all of the credits and thanks at the end. That was truly boring, but I stuck with it. I liked best the trees parts.
So, today, here is some of what I have been looking up:
- What is the name of the symbol that Prince, the musician, used as his name? I drew how I thought it looked and thought maybe it was called Ankara. Well, no, Ankara is a city in Turkey. Prince's symbol is unpronounceable but sometimes known as the LOVE symbol. It is a combination of the male symbol, the female symbol and the symbol for alchemy.
- How to grow poppies like I saw in Italy and are all poppies opium poppies?
- Why do I have a metallic taste in my mouth? There could be many reasons, but if the reason is unknown, it is called IDIOPATHIC DYSGEUSIA.
Finished an audio book, Seeds of hope : wisdom and wonder from the world of plants, by Jane Goodall (from the Millville Public Library - AUBK 580 Goo). Yes, that is the chimpanzee woman. She has many more interests. Talks about our relationships with trees and trees relationships with each other. Also clear cutting, rain forests, herbal remedies, how people ruin everything for greed, and GMO's, to just name a few of the topics covered. She travels most of the year giving talks. I found it interesting but hard to get through. Not exactly scintillating. And she actually reads all of the credits and thanks at the end. That was truly boring, but I stuck with it. I liked best the trees parts.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Advice from the cleaning lady
We were discussing how hard it is to walk up and down the steps and she mentioned a home remedy that has helped some friends of hers. Take one quarter teaspoon of borax in a glass of water and it makes your joint pain go away. I looked at her a bit quizzically and thought to myself, "Isn't that what I have at home to kill ants?" So, I looked it up on the Internet and yes, borax has MANY uses, just like coconut oil and apple cider vinegar.
Finished an interesting book on the Nook, Catherine the Great, by Robert K. Massie. She was quite a gal, with many lovers and children all fathered by different lovers and not by her husband. Got it from the Overdrive system, through the Vineland Public Library.
Was going to address "the law of unintended consequences" but now have forgotten the issue!
Finished an interesting book on the Nook, Catherine the Great, by Robert K. Massie. She was quite a gal, with many lovers and children all fathered by different lovers and not by her husband. Got it from the Overdrive system, through the Vineland Public Library.
Was going to address "the law of unintended consequences" but now have forgotten the issue!
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Life is good
Got to my 8 AM arthritis exercise class but it was a bit of a rush to get there. Traffic pretty horrible as it seems to be the first day of school around here. Only two of us in the class but I am trying to appreciate the teacher before she moves to another state.
Listening to T.I on Youtube. Live your life, featuring Rihanna. Love it, but can hardly take the video. It involves blood. I just have a thing for these gangster rappers. I know T.I. was in prison but I still listen to him. Yeah, I got no standards at all.
Picked up an audio book that I already listened to, but I didn't notice that until I got sort of far along. Selected shorts : a celebration of the short story is the series. The title is Are we there yet? (audio book) Bridgeton Public Library - AUDB F ARE). My favorite stories are James Thurber's A ride with Olympy, read by David Rakoff and Edward P Jones' An orange line train to Ballston.
Listening to T.I on Youtube. Live your life, featuring Rihanna. Love it, but can hardly take the video. It involves blood. I just have a thing for these gangster rappers. I know T.I. was in prison but I still listen to him. Yeah, I got no standards at all.
Picked up an audio book that I already listened to, but I didn't notice that until I got sort of far along. Selected shorts : a celebration of the short story is the series. The title is Are we there yet? (audio book) Bridgeton Public Library - AUDB F ARE). My favorite stories are James Thurber's A ride with Olympy, read by David Rakoff and Edward P Jones' An orange line train to Ballston.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
More books I have read
The hurricane sisters (book), by Dorothea Benton Frank: Enjoyed the interaction between the generations. The story is told alternately from the viewpoint of the grandmother, the mother and the daughter. Theme of abuse of women comes along eventually. Author is lightweight but I like the southern milieu of her stories, which usually take place around Sullivan's Island, near Charleston.
Two boys kissing (audio book), by David Levithan: Heard about this book during a wedding of two gay guys. The preacher mentioned it during the service. Two boys try to break the world record for kissing. They have to stand up kiss for over 32 hours. Interwoven with this story are a few other stories. The author got the ideas from some true stories.
Last night was stuck in Camden in the DARK, and in the RAIN, with a FLAT TIRE. Now I remember why I try to get home every night and stay there before dark. Also had to drive for an hour to get home in a hideous lightning and rain storm. It was really scary. Going to the only gas station in Camden in the dark wasn't really that scary (sometimes I don't know enough to be scared). A nice man changed my flat tire. He put too much air in it, but I remedied that today. He did work for the gas station and charged me $22 but they weren't really even OPEN.
Two boys kissing (audio book), by David Levithan: Heard about this book during a wedding of two gay guys. The preacher mentioned it during the service. Two boys try to break the world record for kissing. They have to stand up kiss for over 32 hours. Interwoven with this story are a few other stories. The author got the ideas from some true stories.
Last night was stuck in Camden in the DARK, and in the RAIN, with a FLAT TIRE. Now I remember why I try to get home every night and stay there before dark. Also had to drive for an hour to get home in a hideous lightning and rain storm. It was really scary. Going to the only gas station in Camden in the dark wasn't really that scary (sometimes I don't know enough to be scared). A nice man changed my flat tire. He put too much air in it, but I remedied that today. He did work for the gas station and charged me $22 but they weren't really even OPEN.
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