A Single Layer

dear ridley scott, please make all my movies.

Two weeks is almost a record of unblogging for me. Many apologies to my faithful readers. I have been working a good deal, of course, what with the holidays. And my yesterday was filled with all the warm delights of a cider party at Emily's. This meant two kinds of cider for me (Strongbow!!!) and lots of sugar cookies! Thank you, Holly, for coming with. It was a good drive there and back again. The Christmas season is a little strange this year. The parents were going to be in Israel, so we made all our plans without them. Now they will be here after all, so our plans are split in two. It will be confusing and odd, but still Christmas. I didn't do my usual Advent posts this year, and I confess that I'm not quite holding onto the season as well as I usually do. It seems full of retail this year, and I regret that. I'll try to do better this week - despite it being the busiest, money-filled week of the year. All my Christmas love to everyone.

Because you all need more blogs to follow, this is my sister's blog from Africa. It will probably be updated very infrequently, considering the limitations of her internet access, but it's worth checking. I promise. Hopefully there will be pictures soon. I've seen some, and they're beautiful!

I'd like to give a shout-out to my neighbor, two houses down. He's an amazing man. To begin with, he entertains the neighborhood to no end by walking, jogging, or biking his dogs around several times a day. One of these dogs is an Irish Wolfhound the size of a small motorcycle. It's a wonder to behold. Impossible not to stop what you're doing and stare every time they go by. But this man does more than entertain. He's got some sort of tendre for the community. He picks up after everyone else's dogs. He gathers their litter every week as he makes his rounds. And right now, in the beastly pouring rain, he's standing on the corner fishing dead palm fronds out of the gutter with a rake so that the streets will stop flooding. I feel like I should be bringing him hot cocoa, but he's too busy to drink it, and his hands are full. Cookies, perhaps. Or some of that gingerbread already made. Everyone else is at work. No one knows what he does but me, curled up with

The miracle of Till We Have Faces is that every time I read it, I swear I am reading about myself on every page. Walk away, and there is small resemblance between me and that veiled sister. Open it up, and it is me again. It is me. It doesn't matter that I know the end. It doesn't matter that I know she's mistaken and bitter and blinded and wrong wrong wrong. Talent cannot write this stuff. It is made out of miracle. Out of an uncanny sight.

My new favorite sentence, from my always favorite author, on the danger of poets being the only qualified critics of poetry: 'The republic of letters resolves itself into an aggregate of uncommunicating and unwindowed monads; each has unawares crowned and mitred himself Pope and King of Pointland.' - Lewis, Preface to Paradise Lost Yes, Edinburgh fellows, he just used the word 'monad'. And Walter Benjamin thought he was being all clever...

thank you, benji.

If you're going to share your special version of the good news, aim for convenient timing. If you see a woman in her backyard, she might be at leisure to receive you. But if you can clearly see that she's in her backyard cleaning out the cat litter box, that's just not good timing. Moreover, if you realize she's been dealing in cat waste, it might not be the most dignified thing to ask her to handle your holy Scriptures. I would personally prefer to wash my hands before I held any Bible, especially after such activity. If I didn't know that yours was translated with specific text manipulation, inaccuracies, irregularities, and the like, I might have refused the offer. One other point of decorum you might consider. It's not exactly good manners to invite someone to have a seat on their own property. It's my house. I'll sit down if I damn well please, thank you very much. You are no rabbi for me to huddle at your feet on the patio steps. Ahem. Anyway. I do

All I want from life is to see this movie.

Thanksgiving 2009 I want to be writing in my journal, but I burned my finger on the gravy and can't hold a pen properly. Typing is easier. Stuffed, of course, on turkey and two kinds of yams and mashed potatoes and green beans and rolls. Dad and I walked for about fifteen minutes beforehand, collecting red leaves on First Street. We'll be frosting cookies in a bit, as soon as we can pop the dishes into the second dishwasher load. I took some blurry pictures of the table before dinner. Tried to take a picture of myself in the cornucopihat. Blurry. It is the day to be thankful, and I am. I am thankful for my parents, that they're interesting every day. That they don't freak out when I pour gravy on myself for no reason. For being steady. I am thankful for my sister in Africa, for finding joy and living as fully as she can wherever she is. I am thankful for my sister in California, for being more faithful than nature. For both of them – for loving me like I'm

I drove to the desert yesterday. Many apologies to all those who didn't know I was coming and were subsequently ignored. Though none of them check this blog - at least not to my knowledge - so it hardly matters. Spent almost two hours at the Noisy Starbucks while Tara finished her shift (hello Tara!) and wrote two scenes while I was there. Minus the roar of the flyguard, it really is a productive environment. And the egg salad sandwich was very good. Better than the sandwich was seeing Jenny again. I last saw her leaving from her wedding in a fancy car, white dress billowing, cries of 'hoorah' and all that jazz. She inspired me to make quiche - not that I've followed up on that inspiration yet, but I will - and we had a miniature wine tasting. The wine wasn't miniature. It was just... well, I guess there was nothing miniature about it. Anyway. On my way out of town, I talked briefly with Spencer about logos and design and design philosophy and blogs and business and

this should in some measure counteract the last link i posted regarding blogger culture. i hope. a little. perhaps.

http://insaeculasaeculorum.blogspot.com/2009/11/scene-from-sunday-school-i-would-be.html

i would beat the dust from her like a rug at noon-- like a rug in the yard against the sun hanging. i would beat her with racket or with rod and, like the dust from a mummy, all that is not-her will fly like so much sand into the forgiving air, the breeze like balm breathing the not-me away. this is my mercy-- (what i really want to do is touch her forehead with the gentle tip of a finger, gently push, and from her skin see blow these particles, as though this small gesture were an unforeseen gust.) 250905

When the water hits the tips of my suede boots, speckling them with unwanted rain, damaging their seams, their soft, with storm, I smile. I life my face to falling heaven and laugh. Who will ride through storm thinking to suffer not will wear a flinching fear for person and possession. Who will wade through water holding high the precious things, lifting above the stream the dear things, knows not how to love them. He loves who holds amidst the suffer, who hand-in-hand allows both comfort and decay to come. He loves who worries not, nor fears, but smiling at the gorgeous Good, lets fall upon the smallest of concerns the great unconcern of Nature. Even so far loving life, laughs slightly, though with pity and with pain, when the great Race of Man hits heavy, beats and falls upon the body or the heart. Yes, even so will I, though small and weak of frame, with much or slight to lose, wear wide upon my heart the happiness of rain. (written in Edinburgh, after being caught in a storm - Fe

For those who still check this blog even when I go a week without posting anything of interest or relevance, I thank you. I'm intentionally ignoring people lately, and it's very hard. I feel rude. I prize the face in front of me more than the job that needs doing in the other room, and there are a lot of faces in my life. Today, I will return to them, even if only for a little while. Because today is Patchwork! After church, I'll be heading to Santa Ana with mom and sister to fritter away all that money I don't have (heaven help me). Perhaps there will be pictures to come? Perhaps... Yesterday was my brother's birthday. I think it's time to stop calling him a boy and start calling him a man. He's tall. He's old. He's got a fancy car and a realish sort of job. Happy birthday, Nathaniel. I miss you.

There's a lot of noise happening outside my house right now. They're working on pipes or something. There seems to be a motor involved. My coffee's cold and I have a million things to do in the next six hours. I don't know why I'm blogging when I have nothing much to say. Just a way to fend off the onslaught of the hours. The hours... the hours.

This just in! I actually started browsing the link in the post below (yes, the one i posted two minutes ago), and found this : Patchwork is coming to Long Beach on November 29th!! So... yeah, I'll be there, too.

It's been over a week of my silence. I'm sorry about that. Been very busy with a lot of stuff I'm just not gonna go into here. Life is good, I'm alive, things are well. And aren't I descriptive? I'm typing this on my sister's laptop, because I just spent half my weekend here. Headed home in an hour or two after a shower and deciding which sweater to steal from her for the week. Next Sunday, we'll be headed to Santa Ana for Patchwork , where Tara will be peddling her beautiful wares! I foresee a whole lot of Christmas shopping going down. Hopefully by then I'll have my paychecks all sorted out (forgot to cancel direct deposit when I closed my F&M account last week. oops!). Meanwhile, I'll be working absent-mindedly, writing furiously and guiltily, and trying to be faithful to everyone else in the meantime. Being faithful to people can be complicated. How do you choose between two opposing forces? How to you respect lines honestly and healthily

by G. K. Chesterton Other loves may sink and settle, other loves may loose and slack, But I wander like a minstrel with a harp upon his back, Though the harp be on my bosom, though I finger and I fret, Still, my hope is all before me: for I cannot play it yet. In your strings is hid a music that no hand hath e'er let fall, In your soul is sealed a pleasure that you have not known at all; Pleasure subtle as your spirit, strange and slender as your frame, Fiercer than the pain that folds you, softer than your sorrow's name. Not as mine, my soul's annointed, not as mine the rude and light Easy mirth of many faces, swaggering pride of song and fight; Something stranger, something sweeter, something waiting you afar, Secret as your stricken senses, magic as your sorrows are. But on this, God's harp supernal, stretched but to be stricken once, Hoary time is a beginner, Life a bungler, Death a dunce. But I will not fear to match them-no, by God, I will not fear, I will learn y

This is about the fourth time I've read The Greater Trumps, and I find it actually more confusing now than I did the first few times I read it. I think I'm just having trouble focusing, and it doesn't help that I'm supposed to be coming up with conversational prompts regarding the book. Sybil, what are you trying to say? What is your creed? Nancy, what is plaguing your wondering heart? Joanna, what's the deal with these Egyptian gods? Confusing or not, I still love Williams' words. Here are a few bits and pieces for your own love: '...more and more securely the working of that Fate which was Love possessed her. For it was fatal in its nature; rich and austere at once, giving death and life in the same moment, restoring beyond belief all the things it took away - except the individual will.' p. 144 (This one I have scribbled inside my Bible. It sort of sums up Sybil's place in the book, that strange power that only she possesses fully.) 'She never

Amanda left last week. My book group moved on to the next novel. I got a cold. We moved from the house to the apartment so the termites could die for a few days. My tire blew (yes, that was a week ago), so I've been driving on a spare which is apparently also flat. Dad's fixing that now... while I'm sucking the hours away with Law and Order SVU for hours on end. I haven't watched TV in a few months (minus the obvious and usual NCIS every Tuesday night since the season started back up again), so it's been a little odd. Let me tell you, Mariska Hargitay is severely awesome. Rather a superhero, actually. Kind of not really human. Anyway, none of this is important - it's just what's been happening during the silence. Real life is in between, of course. Sweating up and down the apartment stairs, finding the necklaces Amanda left behind on a hook in the bathroom, staring down awkward situations in Portfolio, selecting only my favorite clothes for the three-day hia

Something happens in the waters of baptism. Something happens when the Eucharist falls down our throats. We don't know what because we are Protestants, and the spirit of the age makes us slow. But the man who gives mercy avoids our ignorance. He doesn't wait for awareness to send Spirit. If we do not know in the halls of our churches, if we fail to approach the cup with care and with fear, still - he will deign to show us in the shades of a forest or between the bright folds of the ocean's surface. Because his delight is in our briefest moments, He will give up his own man for us. He will give a god in exchange for our lives.

A thoughtful article on blogging, inappropriately posted here on the blog. It begs the question: which am I - the bully, the sophist, or the clown?

I'm too tired to have any coherent thoughts, but it's been a few days since I've written anything, and even more since I've written anything about my day-to-day life. Today I went to a baptism after church with a few friends. It was a backyard affair. You know, the jacuzzi types where everyone standing in the crisp autumn air half-envies the baptizers for getting to lounge in the spa. Someone got stung by a bee. They were the words-of-wisdom types. I really love those people, though I know I'll never be one of them. I'm alright with that. Not that I don't understand them, and not that I've never felt led to share a word, picture, idea that God has given me with someone... but there's a kind of community in which it becomes the predominant practice of their gatherings of faith to interact in that way. And that just isn't gonna be me. At least, I highly doubt it. It's like driving past a familiar street knowing you'll never make it down tha

Thinking about The Greater Trumps (which I'll be rereading in the next few weeks), The Place of the Lion, and That Hideous Strength (not by Williams, but written in his style for his honor) and the significance of the single house outside the city where everything comes to a head. It should have been obvious, I suppose, but I hadn't thought the phrase 'outside the city' until I came upon some old college notes remarking on the importance of the city as a place of interdependence and coinherence. Picturing Anthony riding through the city on his flaming horse, then the car carrying Lothair out of the city and his daughter's strange vision... to a house on a hill, or in a valley, or between the trees, where the Fool dances or the fire rages or the beasts of the earth and the birds of the air flock with graven insistence. It always comes to a head outside the city.

everyone has to live their own story. but oh, how i would like a scene or two in this one . even if i only sit in the background.

When Christianity first entered the world, there were no professors or assistant professors whatever--then it was a paradox for all. It can be assumed that in the present generation every tenth person is an assistant professor; consequently it is a paradox for only nine out of ten. And when the fullness of time finally comes, that matchless future, when a generation of assistant professors, male and female, will live on the earth--then Christianity will have ceased to be a paradox. - Kierkegaard, from Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments

This is appalling . After all the acclaim Little Dorrit received?? Do they need a larger fanbase, 'cause I'll find them one!!! What on earth???!??!?!?! (breathe. just breathe..)

Yesterday I went with my sister to view an exhibit of sound sculptures in the art district of downtown Long Beach. If you read the phrase 'sound sculpture' and cock your head in confusion and misunderstanding, you've found the right response. Neither art nor reason had much to do with the display of noise along Broadway and Linden. I was reminded of the chapter in The Phantom Tollbooth entitled Dischord and Dynne. Dischord thinks he has a rather good business going selling bottles of cacophony. From what I could tell of the 'artists' downtown yesterday, he would have done good business indeed had he set up shop on the corner there, opening his doors and calling it art. In their defense, I'm sure many of them had reasons for their displays. But there's a difference between a display of intentional racket and Art. Now you will ask me what art is. You will expect me to offer a thorough and concise definition. Well, I can't do it. I can only offer that smal

My Favorite Entrepreneur made it onto Etsy's autumnal blog post! Scroll down to see her beautiful orange swirl table linens , and visit her webpage for even more. I am very proud. Bursting and happy. Not that I had anything to do with it. Etsy is for people with real initiative. Which means Tara. In fact, Tara and Initiative might be rather synonymous. I like the word 'synonymous'.

finally just watched ncis from last tuesday!!! ahh!!! lovelovelove!!!!!!!

I have never heard of this brand of Pentecostalism . Scroll down for a fascinating step-by-step how-to hair video that, yes, I watched from beginning to end (though I made a phone call and petted the cat for part of it). Fascinating.

EmilyEmilyEmily!!!!!! I am so excited I could pee!!! I am so excited I could use the word 'pee' on my blog!!! Could you possibly ever in the world imagine a better choice for Mr Knightley?? EVER?????

At first I thought this was some kind of joke, but it seems to be legitimate. After all, this is September 21st, not April 1st. And it actually makes a strange sort of sense. And I'm actually really excited about it - and afraid at the same time. Like I thought I was living in today's world, and I suddenly realized I'm in the Future.

i don't think i've looked forward to anything this much in a very, very long time. See more Wild Things here and here .

As my last post may suggest, I reread Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South this week. I had other things to do(read), but couldn't help myself. It's been pounding through my head for weeks. It would have been faster to watch the film, but I've done that often enough - and where, oh where, is my second dvd? It is good to remember all the myriad ways the film falls short of the novel. The film is so clearly a contemporary production - it washes itself clean from all inter-class condescension that would offend our politically correct senses, and strips itself bare of any suggestions of moralization or religious conviction. We moderns just wouldn't relate. In the novel, the pivotal misunderstanding between Margaret Hale and Mr. Thornton centers on a lie. That just won't do for a film. Anyone would lie given the circumstances! It must be more salacious than that. The material is there for a greater misunderstanding - it is suggested, but even Mr. Thornton cannot quit

Nothing like the act of eating for equalising men. Dying is nothing to it. The philosopher dies sententiously - the the pharisee ostentatiously - the simple-hearted humbly - the poor idiot blindly, as the sparrow falls to the ground; the philosopher and the idiot, publican and pharisee, all eat after the same fashion - given an equally good digestion. - Elizabeth Gaskell North and South

I should not like to chide my heart in this manner, saying, 'Die of shame in your blind, insolent and treacherous disloyalty to your God,' and suchlike things; but I would wish to set it right be means of compassion, saying, 'Now then, my poor heart, here we are fallen into the pit which we had so determined to avoid. Ah! let us seek the light and leave this pit for ever; let us crave the mercy of God and hope that it will help us henceforth to be on our guard. God will help us! - St Francis de Sales from An Introduction to the Devout Life (1608)

Betty Carter has a review of Anne Rice's latest novel up at First Things . I've never read Anne Rice, but I'm continually fascinated by her. I saw the film 'Interview with a Vampire' and I remember my high school friends who were obsessed with her stories of dark, hopeless, 'omnisexual' vampiricism. I've read countless reviews of her work, both before and after her return to Catholicism, and it never seems possible for the reviewer to separate the experience of the novel from that of the author. Her newest book, Angel Time , is the same way. Reading the review, I confessed to some nervousness that a book about redemption and divine love could be pulled off without sounding trite. I've seen it often enough in Christian fiction. Carter even says as much in the review, and I quote this most especially because it refers to one of my favorite authors: 'Even the greatest writers struggle to describe human goodness, and very few (William Blake, Charles

- Mary Oliver (thought I'd post this because they are, in fact, both blooming and speaking in the backyard. though it seems they are being drowned out by the raucous from the jasmine.) "As long as we are able to be extravagant we will be hugely and damply extravagant. Then we will drop foil by foil to the ground. This is our unalterable task, and we do it joyfully." And they went on. "Listen, the heart-shackles are not, as you think, death, illness, pain, unrequited hope, not loneliness, but lassitude, rue, vainglory, fear, anxiety, selfishness." Their fragrance all the while rising from their blind bodies, making me spin with joy.

I have blogged about palms before (type 'poms' in the search bar above if you're really interested). I think i even quoted Elaine Scarry in that post. But I need to do it again, because every now and then, after dark or at sunset, I will glance up and catch the light between the sharply-lined fronds - and it will take my breath away. Elaine Scarry writes about the beauty of palms in her book On Beauty and Being Just, and I thought of this writing as I climbed out of my car a few minutes ago, my senses battered by a wave of night-blooming jasmine. I looked up at the night sky and saw the full moon still and silent behind the silhouette of a palm tree. Here's a passage: 'Something beautiful fills the mind yet invites the search for something beyond itself, something larger or something of the same scale with which it needs to be brought into relation. Beauty, according to its critics, causes us to gape and suspend all thought. This complaint is manifestly true: Odysse

I just finished Shiver , by Maggie Stiefvater, the other day. From the first few chapters, I had every reason to expect this book to rival the other dark-teen-romance novels recently released (you know which ones I mean). And in a way, it did. There was nothing obnoxious about this book. The characters were mostly believable and endearing. The story was subtle and simple. Maybe a little too simple. At times, maybe a little too subtle. The best chapters were the ones from Sam's point of view, when he's a wolf. That doesn't take up a whole lot of the story, unfortunately. I mean, it would seriously hamper the progression of the plot if he was a wolf for much more of the time, but the writing was still at its best then. Perhaps because it seemed that the poetic, lyrical passages were justified. I like Rilke just fine, and I know plenty of people who compose song lyrics in their heads, but Sam as a human was just maybe a little too emo for me. It could just be that I'm almo

possibly the worst result of the twilight frenzy i have ever seen.

Amanda and I drove to Oxnard to visit Emily this weekend. It was beautiful and hot and full of food. I wore my new outfit - purchased in my favorite shop on Main St. in downtown Ventura - and felt cute all day. I also felt ragingly hungry until I ate every last unhealthy food item offered by our gracious cafe. Before my shift, Bree got a bath at the shop next to my store (Bree is my car. She was beyond filthy. She had, I believe, entered another dimension of filth - a dimension without a name). She is now shiny and happy and beautiful. I want to drive her around. Maybe north. Maybe to the Bay Area, or Carmel, or both. Which I can do in a few weeks because I have vacation time!!! Yes, Saturday morning the managers notified me that I need to do something unwork-related for about a week before the end of the month. Discounting Labor Day week, because the other kids person has asked for that off. SO - I MUST vacate. By order of Steve-Scott-Charles. There are about a million things I would

I haven't been to a Walmart in several years. They weird me out and make me very angry with human beings. Those long aisles of cheap toys and garden rakes spell destruction and abuse. A world gone awry, globalism at its most careless and unimaginative. Well, I went yesterday. I needed to buy some crafty things for work, and since it's not my money, I had to do it the cheapest way possible. Ugh. Let me tell you how not to walk into Walmart. First, do not listen to Radiohead's 'Sit Down. Stand Up.' while you drive there and park. 'Walk into the jaws of hell...' is not a line you want playing in your head as you trudge slow motion through the hottest day of summer over the asphalt and into those doors. Also, bring a map if you can. Because circling around the perimeter of the store, dodging impulse displays and mothers with rolly carts, staring down the vast aisles of disposable kitchenware in search of puff balls and glitter paint... it can be disorienting if

at the library: Impossible , by Nancy Werlin, got some amazing reviews and is now available in paperback. Something about a girl who has to complete three impossible tasks or die. Sounds like my kind of book... at the bookstore: The Greater Trumps , by Charles Williams, because I'm pretty sure I loaned my copy and never got it back. Kind of important to own a book if you're going to be making people read it in a book club. I have the same problem with The Man Who Was Thursday , only I couldn't find it on the shelf. Yes, Chesterton starts with a 'C'. I swear it was there three days ago... free! from the publisher!: There's more than one reason I love Aqua di Gio. AJ handed me Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver yesterday. If the writing was bad, this book might give Stephenie Meyer a run for her money. But it's not, so I'll just have to hand-sell this thing as best I can. Werewolves? Star-crossed love? Sound familiar? And the cover's pretty, too.

today i learned that elephants are the only creatures with four knees. wow. thanks for that, emily.

- Mary Oliver (thank you Amanda. I told you all it would come eventually.) For a long time I was not even in this world, yet every summer every rose opened in perfect sweetness and lived in gracious repose, in its own exotic fragrance, in its huge willingness to give something, from its small self, to the entirety of the world. I think of them, thousands upon thousands, in many lands, whenever summer came to them, rising out of the patience of patience, to leaf and bud and look up into the blue sky or, with thanks, into the rain that would feed their thirsty roots latched into the earth - sandy or hard, Vermont or Arabia, what did it matter, the answer was simply to rise in joyfulness, all their days. Have I found any better teaching? Not ever, not yet. Last week I saw my first Botticelli and almost fainted, and if I could I would paint like that but am shelved somewhere below, with a few songs about roses: teachers, also, of the ways toward thanks, and praise.

thanks to tara . anyone want a roadtrip to new york?

A lot is going on lately. Not that my postings reflect that, but so it is. I'm very possibly starting a book club with my church through their life group program. It will only last a few months, but I can't shake the notion we should do something life-shattering, like read Till We Have Faces and The Greater Trumps . I've no idea how people outside a course in Modern Mythology will take such literature. And I've never been in a book club, though I've talked about having one for ages. I'm an arrogant reader, though, and my shelves of unread books are legion, so I can't stomach the notion of joining a book club in which I am not a principle selector of the literature. I've tried to get over this arrogance for a while now, and I just can't manage it. It seems too impractical to overcome it. Meanwhile, I've had something 'social' going on every day for the last week, and more to come for the next several days. I don't think I have a real d

- Charles Williams For there, in so far as place mattered at all, was the place of the Principle that had held them together - something that, he hoped, was stronger than the lion and subtler than the serpent and more lovely than butterflies, something perhaps that held even the Ideas in their places and made a tender mockery even of the Angelicals.

I know I have a million favorites, but here's another.

Thirst, by Mary Oliver, newly discovered by me, and bound to make a reappearance on this blog. Sooner rather than later. Lotta Prints , a scrumptious book of practical crafts for my favorite entrepreneur . The Juniper Tree and other Grimmtastic tales, replete with illustrations from our favorite Maurice Sendak (whom we love not only because his name's Maurice, but also because he knows and loves the wild thing in us all)

I'll try to be more considerate. How 'bout I break one of my rules and talk a bit about work? Sort of.... Last night, I went hunting for a storytime in Fullerton with one of my coworkers who's soon to be doing a storytime of her own once a week. It was a research trip. We had faulty directions from one of our managers, but the fault began with us not paying attention to our exit. A couple streets were missing from the directive and signs were also misleading, the result being that we had to make four phone calls to different people during the drive and arrived twenty-five minutes late. Only to find that there was no storytime to begin with. Grr... Lesson learned: call in advance, get directions beforehand from reliable source (i.e. a map), and allot significant extra time for the journey. Our attempt to go incognito failed as well, since two of the managers recognized me immediately. They were really excited to see us though, thrilled to give us over an hour's worth of

emily posted this for me. :) i love signs!!

- Christina Georgina Rossetti (Before 1891) Our Master lies asleep and is at rest: His Heart has ceased to bleed, His Eye to weep: The sun ashamed has dropt down in the west: Our Master lies asleep. Now we are they who weep, and trembling keep Vigil, with wrung heart in a sighing breast, While slow time creeps, and slow the shadows creep. Renew Thy youth, as eagle from the nest; O Master, who hast sown, arise to reap:— No cock-crow yet, no flush on eastern crest: Our Master lies asleep.

'Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.' - Phillips Brooks

A red helicopter is buzzing over the bay. After weeks of fog and smog, Catalina is finally searing its way across the horizon. There's a breeze and sun, convertibles cruising the boulevard, a yacht on the water, crows. The neighbors are walking by, slower than yesterday. They dress in bright, bold colors, and he always wears a hat. For all the busyness of this place, it feels more neighborly than our house on Silktree ever did. Car alarms go off every night around eleven, but there's no one screaming bloody murder at their granchild across the street or punk kids throwing rocks in the pool from next door (or blowing out your air conditioner with a pellet gun, or letting their ferocious dog out to attack innocent bystanders). It's easy to be overcome by the illusion of self-importance. Especially when you have an account on facebook, a twitter page, and a blog. Lately, I've toyed with the idea of dropping them all. Like when I quit going to New Life and started going to

- Carl Sandburg There is a place where love begins and a place where love ends. There is a touch of two hands that foils all dictionaries. There is a look of eyes fierce as a big Bethlehem open-house furnace or a little green-eyed acetylene torch. There are single careless bywords portentous as the big bend in the Mississippi River. Hands, eyes, bywords - out of these love makes battle-grounds and workshops. There is a pair of shoes love wears and the coming is a mystery. There is a warning love sends and the cost of it is never written till long afterward. There are explanations of love in all languages and not one found wiser than this: There is a place where love begins and a place where love ends - and love asks nothing.

saw this sign back when my grandpa was visiting. every time i see a sign that makes me laugh - or 'found art' or... anything noticeable and unexpected, i make amanda take a picture. this one actually made it onto my computer! i like the earnest entreaty followed by a glib raise of the eyebrow that this implies.

good morning.

i like phoenix.

- Mark Van Doren She lay there in the stone folds of his life Like a blue flower in granite - this he knew; And knew how now inextricable the petals Clung to the rock recessed beyond his hand-thrust; More deeply in, past more forgotten windings Than his rude tongue could utter, praising her. He praised her with his eyes, beholding oddly Not what another saw, but what she added - Thinning today and shattering with a slow smile - To the small flower within, to the saved secret. She was not to have - except that something, Always like petals falling, entered him. She was not his to keep - except the brightness, Flowing from her, that lived in him like dew; And the kind flesh he could remember touching, And the unconscious lips, and both her eyes: These lay in him like leaves - beyond the last turn Breathing the rocky darkness till it bloomed.

Okay, this is pretty hilarious . Maybe it's not so funny for those who haven't spent the last two years staring at young adult literature, wondering why all the covers look vaguely similar. You see, there's this whole world of YA followers, bloggers, forums, readers (obviously), and it's filled with its own heroes, enemies, controversies, etc. But essentially, there's something about it all that seems randomly selected. Anyway, I tried the make-your-own-cover thing, only I don't have a program to piece it all together right now. So, my new name is Sidney Jones (not a big fan), and the title of my YA novel is 'Bolster.' It goes beautifully with my cover (which may break the rules, being an illustration, but I like it anyway).

i've been browsing through my old poetry, making sure my documents are all right and tight in their new computer-home. it's an odd practice. i'll read one and think 'why did i ever save this piece of trash?' and another 'if this is ever published i will surely be declared the most brilliant of poets.' one in particular gave me pause. on the whole, it's not very good. i just saved it for the first two lines, which i will give you here: 'Jesus, who are you, and what am i doing in your brain?' Huh. What should I do with that?

We [Christians] should not abandon music because of the superstitions of pagans if there is anything we can take from it that might help us understand the Holy Scriptures... Nor is there any reason we should refuse to study literature because it is said that Mercury discovered it. That the pagans have dedicated temples to Justice and Virtue and prefer to worship in the form of stone things which ought to be carried in the heart is no reason we should abandon justice and virtue. On the contrary, let everyone who is a good and true Christian understand that truth belongs to his Master, wherever it is found. - Augustine what you learn when you read beyond the Confessions.

oh yippee. :)

it's sunday, after all.

I just finished reading Catching Fire , the eagerly-awaited sequel to Suzanne Collins's magnificently popular teen novel The Hunger Games , that came out last year. It was a wonderful read, and I continue to be amazed by the author's ability to weave together so many bizarre, disparate elements to create a compelling, convincing story. Like The Hunger Games , there were several parts where I stopped to ask, 'is she talking about this oppressive post-apocalyptic society, or is she talking about our own?' If M. T. Anderson's Feed feels too hard and desperate, these books tackle the same themes without leaving you hopeless for the human race. Ultimately, they are less about sending a message (though a message remains), and more about telling a really fascinating story. Katniss has just won the Hunger Games without losing her partner - an unprecedented act of rebellion against the Capitol that cannot be ignored. Now she must face the consequences of her victory - and t

There are no words.

There is a strange difference between my public and my private self. Of course, I tend to think the private self is more 'me' and the private is the 'show'. This is where lack of self-awareness comes in. It is me no matter where or when I am. Me hyped on people, me polite, me snarky, me calm, me careful, me spontaneous, me grumpy, me determined to get over the grump. I told a friend the other day, 'I'm really a very quiet person,' and she just laughed. Once upon a time, it would have been the other way around. 'I'm really a very social, funny person. The life of the party. Unpredictable, quirky, sometimes obnoxious.' Right. It used to bother me, these distinctions. I called it inconsistency. I think I might have considered it a sin, somewhere in my frustrated, legalistic brain. (I'm still frustrated, still legalistic, still sinful and inconsistent.) Now, I think it's just me being human. It's also a kind of coping mechanism. I laugh m

Buildings crumbling from the blast and I'm staring at you. Stones and bones a thousand years old and I'm staring at you. The tapestry, the tombs, frescoes, catacombs, and you, blonde and blue. The hair falling over you, hiding your balding, and in the corner of your mouth a sore slow to healing. I've never been so captivated, simply enervated, by your simple staring. (never mind it's to the camera. not to me.)

in the meantime, follow the link to the links . unless you're emily. because then you'll just be going right back to your own blog.

this is the most wonderful blog collection ever.

Browse through these to your heart's content. Tell me which is your favorite. (Guess which is mine.)

This floats my boat.

Just watched 'Happy-Go-Lucky' with the family. It was my fault. I had some noble notion of giving Mike Leigh another go. Nobility... not worth it. There was no acclimating oneself to Sally Hawkins giggle. And if hers was a lesson in flirting, I'm not interested. Was the whole point to learn that happiness can only achieved when you embrace inanity? I know that film is an art form and straight narrative is not always necessary, but seriously. Something could have happened. Sometime. Ever. I appreciated the crescendo with the driving instructor, but it was not worth all it took to get there.

Independence Day! was yesterday (duh), and one of the best celebrations in a long while. Of course we wrap ourselves in glow sticks and launch water balloons at each other in blissful forgetfulness, ignoring the facts. That our country is owned by China, our state is spitting on the Constitution (to its own detriment), and we are missing a president. I mean, they tell me we have a president, but I haven't really noticed any real leadership happening. We have a celebrity, but didn't we already have a bunch of those? Yeah, so there's a lot to be frustrated about. I guess the thing to do is to rise above it. If our leadership sucks, that's just reason for us to be the better man. Or woman. If our country spends extravagantly and stupidly, that's just reason for us to learn sound judgment with our personal finances. And if our nation compromises its integrity by parceling itself out to foreign nations that have little regard for human rights or the health of our earth,

Watched 'O Jerusalem' with Dad tonight. Preparation for his trip to Israel with Mom this Christmas? JJ Feild continues to be one of my favorite actors, though I wish he had a bigger part in this one. For unfamiliar audiences though, there was too much history to cover, too many details of time, place, and people to establish before characters could be properly explored. Because of this, of course, it was difficult to wholly relate to the characters. What should have made me cry only resulted in a furrowed brow. That was part of the point, though - that the city, not the characters, win your heart. But hasn't it already? Don't we all, even strangers, love Jerusalem? Don't we yearn for peace in that city as we long for peace in our own members? Is there not some strange accord between shalom in our hearts and shalom in Israel? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do

The Lament for Icarus, by Herbert Draper saw this in the library today. well, in a book in the library. the real thing's in the tate gallery. took my breath away. thought i'd share...

So I finished the Mortal Instruments series mentioned and pictured below. Let me tell you, once you get past the absurdity of goo-dripping demons and warlocks in drag, they are really good books. By Book Three ( City of Glass ), Ms. Clare has almost overcome her interruptive tendencies and even - almost - developed the majority of her central cast to a point where we actually care what happens to them. But that's not really why they're worth reading. You see, I am on a perpetual hunt for phenomenal heroes, and she wrote one. In fact, I am creating a new label for this blog. Because I intend to find more*. In these books, the hero in question is named Jace. I quibbled with such a contemporary, made-up name for our hero, until I discovered that it was a nickname hiding all sorts of fabulous identity crises. You see, Jace does not know who he is, where he has come from, or even what he was made of. Literally. Applying the phrase 'internal demons' to him is ironic in a numb

It is rare for me to post pictures of myself on my blog, because - you see - I like to pretend I'm not vain. But I was walking from my car to my house this evening thinking about my purple scarf (which I was wearing) and how much I love it. And I decided that I should really add it to my blogged list of 'things i like'. Because it's just the sort of thing that belongs there. My purple scarf is the sort of thing I would wear to Crystal Cove with good friends. At which time Kathryn (or Jenny?) would take the photo posted here. The scarf was purchased for me by my fashion-wise sister, Emily, who also recently found a phenomenal grey linen skirt for me at a fabulous shop in downtown Ventura for fifteen dollars!! I am wearing the skirt and the scarf, both, at this very moment. Ah, fashion!

I'm working on compiling a 'things I like' folder for this blog, to be filed under the label 'Things I Like.' Go figure. It will basically consist of random things I come across in life or online (or both?) that I want to give kudos. Let's begin with Despereaux. I finally saw the movie. I know, it's been out for months now, but I was afraid to see it. The book is so beautiful and sweet and terrible, and worth every inch of Newbery Award it was given. To see them turn it into a heartwarming adventure for the animated screen... made me nervous. I can't say it wasn't without cause. The movie was good, but... a little light. and confusing. What was with that vegetable creature? Was that supposed to be the Spirit of Soup or something? I couldn't figure it out. But what I loved about the movie was its color palette. I know, second post in a row that gets gaga over color palettes. Please understand me. This movie earned its legitimacy not by its storyl

Just finished the first in the Mortal Instruments series, City of Bones , by Cassandra Clare. This is, of course, all part of my Summer of Reading thing, which has no plan or purpose other than to read as much as possible of anything not on my reading list. As many 'throw-away' books as possible. In fact, the only thing on my reading list I actually intend to read in Les Miserables , and I don't honestly think I'll finish that till December. I like the idea of one massive tome defining a year. Ms. Clare is objecting to my use of the phrase 'throw-away book' in the same paragraph as her Mortal Instruments series. But really, Ms. Clare, if you compare it to the books that are on my reading list, you would understand. I hope. I started reading this series for two reasons. First, I was curious to know if it was worth suggesting to book-buying patrons. I mean, I've put it right there on the table along with Stephenie Meyer. People do ask questions. Second, and m

I finished Feed yesterday, but I thought of it last night while I was trying to fall asleep and I thought of it this morning on the way to church and I thought of it some more on the way home from Oxnard, watching the billboards shout out at me from along the 405. Feed is a classic dystopian science fiction novel. But unlike most of the ones we read in school, it was written very recently - with awareness of the internet/cellular world as a real and pervasive aspect of our culture. More than an aspect, really, because it's so much less than a cultural trait and so much more defining, essential. How do you explain to a child what the world was like before the internet? We aren't just accustomed to the immediacy of communication, globalization, universalized knowledge, etc. We simply can't function without it. In Feed , Anderson follows this to a natural conclusion. The book is set sometime in the future - however distant, I don't quite know - and computers are now plan

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! Happy Birthday, Kathryn! Happy..... okay, that's it. Yesterday, returning to work several hours after my shift, I bought I boatload of books for blogreader Jenny B and a few for myself as well. I'd been staring at this book for about a year wondering how long it would take for me to buy and read it. Well, let me tell you: it took about a year. M. T. Anderson is the brilliant author of the Octavian Nothing volumes, of which I am a remarkably big fan (though I confess I wish they weren't quite so long. how do you get teens to pick up tomes that ginormous? they have to really, really trust you...). Feed seeming nothing like my dear Octavian, I have known I would need to read this since I first clapped eyes on it. That, and my store of dystopian futuristic fiction is rather thin. I have yet to read (and this is another confession) Brave New World or 1984 - despite the fact that the first was assigned to me twice in my master's program. Anywa