Assorted Reading

I've been forcing myself to set aside time for personal reading. It's tough, as my days and nights are filled with work, family and Guild Wars. Still, I've managed to get though a few things in the past few months.
I just finished Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. I read it (along with most of H's other books) about 20 years ago, and it's still good! Hemingway's great for a quick read. It's brutal, like a jab to the ribs, without a lot of subtext. I felt hung over when it was done.
I started and finally finished Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. It took me a while to really get into it -- it starts slowly. By the time I was 2/3 through it started to pick up. What I had to learn is that it is one of Dickens' two historical novels. This means that the pacing and characters are not what you'd find in David Copperfield or Great Expectations. When I finished it last week, I was just grateful to be through it (like I was with Anna Karenina a few months ago, a book it's taken me a solid decade to read). As I've been thinking about it (and reading a bit of criticism), I'm coming to appreciate it more. It's ending is almost ethereal, you almost feel as if you are Sydney Carton.
Right now I'm reading Joseph Girzone's Joshua, a modern-day parable of Christ's return to a small American town. It's very profound and a quick read. I'm liking it a lot.
On the non-fiction front, I'm getting back into John Keegan's The First World War. I'm a big fan of his WWII history (and think it's the best one-volume history of that war to be had). It's tough going in the early pages, but I'm getting through. It's my car book at the moment, meaning I read it when I'm in restaurants alone.
What are you reading??

Democracy in America

I feel great this morning, and not just because my candidate, Barack Obama, won the presidential election last night. I feel great because it was a great example of American democracy at work. I feel great because of the record turnout all over the country (and hope it's a trend that continues in future elections; I think it will). I feel great beacuse, after a bitterly-fought campaign that got a bit negative at the end, both candidates showed remarkable grace last night.
John McCain's concession speech was powerful and re-affirmed his commitment to country and to public service. How we lose is just as important as how we win, and McCain showed the world what it's like to concede with class. It was bittersweet--he would much rather have given a victory speech--but in his concession, I saw the... well, presidential McCain that I'd been looking for since August.
Barack Obama's victory speech hit just the right notes. It was celebratory without being triumphalist. He acknowledged a fact that is overlooked or ignored by most victorious candidates, that he must be the president both of his supporter and his detractors. Were I to assume elected office (which I hope never to do), I hope I would always remember my duty to all the people: those who voted for me and those who didn't. I'd even go so far as to suggest that elected officials have a special responsibility (duty?) to listen to the voices of their political adversaries. President-Elect Obama acknowledged this last night.
Anyhoo, I feel great today. Hopeful.

Frozen and the Pleiades

It's just after 10pm and my favorite episode of House, M.D. is on. It's titled Frozen and guest-stars Mira Sorvino. Very good ep. It's the third in a row on the USA Network tonight. I seem to watch all my TV in marathon form these days. One episode of anything just doesn't cut it.

I also just took the dog out for her night-time tinkle. It's a cool, crystal-clear night in Western New York; the best kind. The stars are out and shining bright. I saw one of my favorite constellations, the Pleiades (or the Seven Sisters). It's a cluster of beautiful, distant stars. One thing about the Pleiades, however, is that it's just at the limit of human visual acuity (or at least my visual acuity).

Human vision uses different receptors (rod-shaped and cone-shaped) on the retina. Cones function best in bright light, rods in low light. The center of our vision is predominantly cones and the periphery has more rods. What all this means is that when we look in the night sky, the Pleiades pops into our vision at the edges. When we focus our eyes on it, it fades from sight. When we move our eyes to the side again, it pops back. This back-and-forth is due to the distribution of rods and cones on our retinas.

All of this is fascinating enough, but it's also a great metaphor for some thinigs we encounter in life, things that seem to retreat from view just as we concentrate our attention on them. Some things in life we are destined never to see straight-on. We need to learn to use our peripheral vision, to see the "Big Picture." Ironically, some things can only be seen against the landscape of a greater whole. When we put them under scrutiny, they disappear.

Anyhoo, that's the end of my philospohical musings for the night.

The Weather Outside is Frightful

That's right! SNOW!! We had some flurries yesterday and this morning they're continuing. As I pulled up to the church, I saw a car coming from up on the hill with an inch of snow on it! Yipee!! Winter Wonderland her we come!! This is why I came to Western New York, dang it!
But seriously... Fuel prices are a concern. With Alexzander in the house (our 9-month-old foster child), we've had to keep the place warmer than is our wont, especially at night. I know it's going to hike up our gas bill. I'm also concerned about others in the community and the bills they face. I'm praying for them.
Tomorrow is a big boys' soccer game in the village. I want to go, but I also way to not freeze. I'll need to plan accordingly!

Double Blogging! How to Keep Up?

Well, I can barely manage to post to this blog once a month and I've gone and started a new blog! Ack! I started a blog for my church. I was on the fence about posting church-related stuff on this, my personal blog. Now, I have a clear separation. Hopefully, I'll post more to each. We'll see...

Back from the Res

I suck at blogging! I got back from my mission trip to the Navajo Nation. It was a good trip. I worked on the concrete teams. I had to set forms, mix concrete and pour two small pads and a very long ramp. Altogether, we mixed over 8,000 pounds of concrete. This year's work site was in southeast Utah. It's the first time I've spend significant time in Utah, and I must say that it's a lovely place. I hope to go back soon!

I'm now back in the office, trying to jump back into my normal like. Part of me doesn't want to. I'm trying to preserve a bit of my mission lifestyle back in The World.

This week is my church's Vacation Bible School. Five nights of fun with the local kids. It's going quite well, but it throws our schedule off and is tiring. Still, it's a good time.

More soon...

Mmmm... Beautiful Morning

We had a pretty steamy Summerfest weekend in Arkport. Friday and Saturday were hot and pretty humid. On Sunday morning, just before the community church service in the park, it started raining, becoming a downpour during the service. Fortunately, we were covered. This morning, however, it's cool and clear and beautiful.

I'm sitting in my office with the windows open, enjoying the breeze. It's awesome. Now I need to get ready for the next few weeks. I'll be in Utah the next two Sundays, so I need to make sure things will run with out me!