The House – Paintin’

When we bought our new house, there were some changes that mar and I knew we wanted/needed to do. Much of that was painting of rooms. Some of them we just wanted to paint. Some of them we needed to paint (because the colors just didn't go with anything we had). But – we figured we could do it a little bit at a time. That was the plan.

The reality was that our children wanted to help, and so the time frame moved very quickly. Three days after we moved in, Erica came for a visit. Because I was working and mar was in school, Erica needed something to do, so she primed the walls on two bedrooms. They were in the "wanted" to change category, mainly because they were both dark blue, and different shades of blue. So over the next week, we got those two rooms done.

That was two projects done in quick time.

Another day, Brea and Ben were not working, but I was and mar was at school, so Brea and Ben came over and painted the office, mainly because it was a dark green, and it didn't match any of our stuff.

That was three projects done in quick time.

And this last weekend, they all decided a "painting party" was in order, so Mat and his family, and Erica and her family, and Brea and her family (that would be Ben), descended on the house. In one day we painted the living room walls (one wall is about 20 feet tall) because it just didn't match anything we had, and the laundry room because it was dark rust orange – and we want to put up some cabinets in there, and some of the walls in the kitchen that were just a different color from the rest of the walls.

So that is six projects done in quick time.

My family is wonderful. Notice that none of those projects were just Lar and Mar doing them. We had great help. (And I am sure that if Michael and Andrea and families were closer, they would have helped, too – if not, they wouldn't have gotten to eat any pizza.)

(I really wanted to take before/after pictures of all of the projects in the new house. Alas, not all of them were done – but I do have some – and I may post them – someday – keep checking.)

The House – It is workin’

So I figured it is time to post about our new house. Yes we moved. Yes it is still in Longmont. Yes it is still in our same ward. No, I can no longer walk to work, but I can drive there faster than I could walk from the last home. Now those important questions are answered.

Many people ask, "So now that all of the kids are gone, are you downsizing?" Well, no not really. It is a bigger house. That gives us more potential. In the old house, when all of our family got together, they could not all be in one area. There just wasn't room. That was a requirement as we were looking into new houses, that there was an open floor plan with room for everyone. Now his new house has that. In fact we have had a couple of occasions so far where it has become apparent that it is working. We have been able to have a lot of people over and they all fit. The kids have room to play. The adults have room to talk. And there is room to escape, like when babies need a nap. So no we did not downsize, but we did upgrade.

With that said, here are some features which Mar and I particularly like:

Office/den in the gathering area – very nice.
Island in the kitchen – nice.
Hardwood floors in the basement – very nice – made possible by piled construction, which was made necessary by the soil condition.
Walk in closets – in three bedroom – very, very nice.
Vanity in master bath – nice – because Mar can sit down to do makeup.
Covered patio – very nice – it just expands the summer living space – and it is covered by a -
Walk out patio from the master bedroom – nice.
Treehouse/Playhouse – nice – the grandkids already love it.
Kitchenette in the basement – nice.
Three car garage – nice – but right now it is just a three car storage area.
Big built in storage room in the basement – very nice – organized, yes it is already almost organized.
Gas fireplace – nice – we didn't realize how nice, until we used it.
Wired for sound – nice – and Rich, our family electronics wizard helped us get that set up.
Formal dining room – okay – we don't have formal dining room furniture.
Doorbell – wow – we never had one of those before.

Yes, there are some drawbacks, or things we just don't know about yet. But we are liking it.
(There may be pictures to follow – check back to see.)

Event

Turkey Trot – 2010

 November 13, 2010

It was a beautiful day about three weeks ago when I sent out an innocent e-mail – "Does anybody want to run the Longmont Turkey Trot with me – Nov. 13 – 2 miles." Last year when I sent this e-mail, no one did, and so I was able to just "blow it off". This year, everybody did, so . . .

On Saturday morning, we all piled into a couple of cars and went to run the race. The participants were – Mat's family (Mat, Andi, Andrew and Mylie – Wyatt stayed home with Nana), Erica's family – Erica and Rich – Alice and Evy stayed home with Nana), Brea's family – Ben (Brea had to work – but she did come over later in the day), and Me (Mar stayed home with the wee ones). Mat's family and Erica's family came Friday night. Ben came over Saturday morning. I got home from Phoenix Friday night. So we were all ready.

The number one obstacle – it was supposed to be cold. After all, it is mid-November in Colorado. We all bundled up pretty well. By race time, 9:15, it had warmed up to about 40 degrees, so we started peeling off gloves and hats pretty soon after we began.

I feel fortunate in these kind of races. Fortunate that Mat always runs with Andrew and Andi always runs with Mylie. I figure both Mat and Andi could beat me. But because of their partnerships, well I have them behind me. Erica and Rich both say they are not there to "run fast", but just to run. Okay, I have them beat. Now Ben is a different matter. I set two goals. One was to run two miles in less that 18 minutes. The other was to beat Ben.

Goal one – I ran it in 17:51. I call that respectable. Goal two – Ben let me cross in front of him. He ran with e the whole time, but I feel certain that he could have left me in a cloud of dust at the end. My problem is that when I run in a crowd, I have a hard time pacing myself, so I go too fast at the beginning, and then it is a challenge at the end. Anyway, Ben let me cross first.

We had a good time. We spent 1 ½ hour doing a good thing as a family. It was warm enough to not need hot chocolate at the end.

And I am sure that if Michael's family and Andrea's family had been here, they would have run also. If not, they wouldn't have gotten any pizza (of course I would have had a hard time beating some of the Dawson's.)

Official Results:

I had an official time of 17:51 – which is what I expected.

I came in 4^th in my category – out of 9 – and the best was 11:02 (I hate that person).

I came in 140^th in the race – out of 650. Because of Ben's magnanimous nature, he was 141 st.

Results can be viewed at: http://results.active.com/pages/page.jsp?eventID=1897523

Travels with Lar

November 7 – 12

Tempe, AZ

This trip was not technically for me to teach a class. I am learning a new class for a new technology – however, I still taught 2 days of the class. It is a long story as to why I taught. Suffice it to say that on those two days I had the technical knowledge to teach what they needed to know. Anyway, it was held in the Mentor Graphics – Tempe office – a nice office in close proximity to the airport.

I was there for five nights. The first night was after a Sunday flight in. It was an uneventful flight. I got there and just went to the motel and rested.

Monday night was for watching football – after spending a lot of time talking to the Mentor team that was responsible for the training. In reality, it was too late to do anything but watch football by the time we were done.

Tuesday night I went to the Mesa Temple for a session.

Wednesday Night was another long evening with the Mentor people, so I just sort of crashed in the evening.

Thursday I went to visit Ed and Sandy and really enjoyed watching the video of Sandy's production of Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat. I am not just being kind when I say it was fantastic. Well, in fact it won first place in the fall competition, meaning they get to perform two more times in a couple of weeks. Jonathan was the lead and did an outstanding job. It was a fun evening (which I don't say on very many of my trips – evenings generally are not very fun).

And then on Friday evening I flew home. It was an uneventful trip and I actually slept through most of it. I am getting better at sleeping on planes.

It was a successful trip – and it has lead to another Tempe trip coming in a few weeks.

I took a few pictures, but there was nothing spectacular. I like the fact that the greenery – or should I say the botany of the area is so different and actually more diverse than at home.

Reading List

November 9, Tuesday

Others by James Herbert

This is a genre that has some "private eye" associated with it. It also has some morbid associated with, and some terror and some fantasy (but not really much of that). XXXXXXX has been described as being heavily influenced by Stephen King – but it really wasn't the same kind of weird – not saying it wasn't weird – it was just different. So as a synopsis – private investigator – he has a case looking for a missing child – that leads him into a strange world of clairvoyance and ghost images and really bizarre happenings. There are some scenes that are a little bit – no a lot bit – gross (I wouldn't recommend it to my mother – or my children's mother). And in the end – well I figured out how it was going to end – but not exactly – but close enough to count. If you decide to read it, pay real close attention to the first chapter.

Oh, and it is not cliché. The private investigator does real private investigator work, like serving summons, watching vacant buildings for vagrants, following husbands. It is not glamorous stuff. Which I guess is good because the private investigator is not glamorous – in fact he is a hunch back with other deformities with one eye that has been put out. So he also isn't a lady killer PI. It is a different scenario which leads to some different types of scenes.

So – evaluation from the Larry point of view. I liked it, but the "gross" scenes (and a little bit of language) can be a real turn off. I would never tell someone they "have to read this book". But it is readable, and even compelling towards the end. It is not great, but it could be good, but I won't recommend it to anyone.

I picked it up in the Mentor "trading library" at work because I was leaving for a trip and needed something to read. I always worry about that, just because you never know what you are going to get that might be offensive, or gross or crude. No it is not on the 501 Must Read list – absolutely not. And it would NEVER be on a Relief Society Book Club list.

Quotes I Like

October 21, 2010
"In societies where the citizens are taught from a young age to feel accountable to God for honesty and integrity, they will abide by rules and practices that, while unenforceable, promote democratic ideals. In societies where this is not true, there cannot be enough policemen to enforce honest behavior."

Elder Quentin L. Cook

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

From General Conference – October, 2010

Movie List

10/9/2010
Babies

We went to visit Erica. She had this movie rented. I would NEVER have rented this. It was charming and adorable.
It is a documentary in which one man filmed incidents from four babies lives – birth to one year old. He then took two years to edit together the movie. There is no narration. There is no dialog. The babies are not acting. It is just real babies. And they are not your normal babies from middle class. No siree. Of course you also get a sense of some parenting, but the story is really the milestones of the babies first year.
I liked it. Mar liked it. Don't expect any "action" so if you are a real man's man – pas it up. No explosions. No chases. But it is a good dose of reality movie.

Travels with Lar

Sept. 27 - Oct. 1, 2010
Livermore, CA

This was a business trip to teach a class.  The class was enjoyable and went well.

Livermore, is in the next valley East from the San Fransico Bay area.  It has two large government labs - Lawrence Livermore and Sandia Livermore (where I was teaching).  It is the last of the major cities going east - next comes the Central Valley.  It is an area that has vineyards.  Other than the vineyards and the labs - well those are Livermore's claim to fame.

One night I did travel in to the Oakland Temple, which turned out to be only a half hour drive.  There is such a beautiful view of the bay area from the temple in Oakland.  I did proxy work for a person from Japan - from 1320.  That is a record old date for me.

Thursday evening I drove back to San Jose for the night so that I could catch a 6:20 flight home.

It was a totally uneventful trip - just the way I like it.

Reading List

October 1, 2010
I Am Legend by Robert Matheson

Stephen King said that Robert Matheson was the author who was the greatest influence on him. I think that Stephen King, although very productive – and very occult and strange – just doesn't have the quality of Robert Matheson. I thought this was a very well written book.

I haven't seen the recent movie, so I did not have preconceived notions on the book, however I did know sort of what the book was about. I was impressed and pleased with the way he wrote and unfolded the story. It was psychologically scary, and, not knowing what the ending was provided a tension, especially when he met the young woman.

This book also contained some of Matheson's short stories. Again, they were really fun to read – well, most of them were. One or two were just disturbing.

 So my recommendation is to forget the movie if you have seen it, then read this book and enjoy.

Quotes I lLike

"A necessary component of true love must be the possibility of permanence"

Jeffrey R. Holland

Travels with Lar

September 12-18, 2010

 Sacramento – Rancho Cordova, CA

This was a work trip to teach two classes.

I left on Sunday sp I missed part of church.

The classes went very well. In fact, they were better than any classes I have taught in quite a while.

On Monday evening, I took a quick drive up to Placerville. It was just to say that I did. It is a quaint little town that still has some charm from the gold rush days.

On Tuesday evening I went to the Sacramento Temple – a new temple on my list. I am happy that I have been blessed to be able to go to so many temples. I am happier that I can find something worthwhile to do when I am on the road.

Friday, after class, I went down to Old Town Sacramento – a preserved "touristy" area of old downtown located on the bank of the Sacramento River. It was a nice place to take a walk.

Then Saturday morning I woke up early and came home.

Movie List

September 12, 2010
That Evening Sun

I gave it a 2.5. Mar gave it a 2.
This is Hal Holbrook playing what he really is – old. He is an old guy who was put in a rest home and decided he didn't like it there so he left and went to his old farm. The problem was that his old farm was rented – with an option to buy – to a man who the old guy couldn't stand. Well, technically he still owned the farm so he stayed in the share cropper's cabin and annoyed the renter and then spent the next two hours doing 30 minutes of stuff, interspersed with what was undoubtedly considered art – some of it was quite beautiful.
Don't watch it when you are sleepy – or you won't see the end – or the middle – except in your dreams.
Some adult language. That was the only spice it had.

Movie List

September 10, 2010
The Ghost Writer

 I gave it a two. Mar gave it a two.
A man is hired to replace a ghost writer who was working on the memoirs of a British Prime Minister. The first ghost writer died. The second one thinks he has found a conspiracy. The clues are vague and not very convincing. In the end . . . gee, I shouldn't tell you the end just in case you want to waste two hours watching it.
Some adult language and situations. Boring. Distinctly anti-American. Slow. Isn't anything ever going to happen.
Don't bother.

Reading List

September 17, 2010
The Boxmaker's Son by Donald S. Smurthwaite

There is a growing concern that families, and fatherhood in particular, are under such strong attack in the modern world. Television and movies portray families in negative light and fathers as simpleton buffoons, generally saved from their own ineptness by their wives or others. It sells advertisements, and at the same time degrades the role of the traditional leader of the family. Here at last is the counter voice. The Boxmaker's Son is about a noble father who teaches and leads in righteousness. It makes one ponder the relationship to one's own father. It makes one ponder what kind of success one has had as a father or mother in life. It talks about what the role is of parenting, with examples and a few choice statements of profound philosophy.

"Maybe that's the way it is with those you care for. You heap upon them all you can, all that you hope will protect them. And when the time comes when the world tears away a who you are and how you want to be, maybe you hope that you have heaped enough layers, layers of care and layers of love, to keep those you love insulated from the craziness that goes on in the world. That's what you hope for. That's how you protect those close to you. Or at least that's how you try."

So now I consider how I remember my own father and my own mother. They were valiant members of "the greatest generation". My view point is changed by this book. My view point was also changed by my oldest brother, Mike. One day while my siblings and I were sitting around doing the "broadcast" view of my parents, laughing about them and seeing who could be the most witty and cynical, Mike stopped and said, "You know, Mom did a pretty good job raising us on the little she had." That is all it took for me to stop and consider how right he was.

My father and mother did not leave us as children with wealth or power. We did not get advanced degrees and travel the world. However, there are seven of us and we are all hard workers. We are all respected by other people. We are all loved by our whole family. And I like to think, no, I know from my experiences this year that we will all stand by each other in good or bad, though joy or crises. That is a legacy that my parents have left – have passed on to a small group of the "not greatest, generation".

And I wonder how my children will look at me and the way I have raised them. Am I just the buffoon father of TV. Or will someday, something touch them and they will say, wait, my parents sacrificed and worked and loved and tried – hard. Will they say we did a pretty good job raising them on the little we had. I hope so.



"This is the part of the picture where God lets you put your experience and what you know and what you feel to work for you, and He steps back and thinks with lovingkindness, 'All right. Show me. Prove to me. This is where I have given you the outline and now you fill it all in with the colors you select. It is your picture. It is your painting. You can choose the colors.'"

So often now days we hear that it is all right for us to "color outside of the lines". That expand creativity and in kindergarten, but in life, there are lines we need to stay in. We can still be creative in the way we stay in those lines, but so often, crossing over those lines make look like creativity, especially from close up, but as me move back and get a broader, bigger view – a more eternal view – outside the lines, outside the Lord''s boundaries just messes it all up.

Oh there are a lot of quotable parts of the book. I liked it. I think it inspired me.

This is the second book I have read by Donald S. Smurthwaite this year. The first wasn't as good an experience as this one was. He writes in a voice that seem autobiographical, and probably some of the experiences in both of these books have episodes reflecting his life. Yet I am sure some are purely fictional, used to reflect a point he is emphasizing. Nicely, he doesn't generally chose a point to make and them beat you over the head with it. He softly persuades. The style of writing is easy to read. However, be aware that in each chapter, there are two storylines progressing at the same time – easily demarked which storyline you are in – but still, you have to keep them straight. He is kind enough to examine what the two story lines in each chapter have to do with each other. It is a nice mechanism of writing.

Yep, read it if you like. You won't be disappointed. (Caution – it is LDS literature with a lot of LDS specific imagery and metaphors.)

Reading List

August 23, 2010
At the Mountain of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft

H. P. Lovecraft is supposed to be the link between the world of Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King, a great writer of terror stories. Hmmmm – I found this book tedious and, to tell the truth, boring and unbelievable, even when trying to suspend disbelief. Not that I can't suspend disbelief on the basis of monsters and undiscovered civilizations and anti-world history. I can. But there must be some reasonable probability on at least such details such as ,say, a time line. In this story, the main character deduces from looking at pictographs on ancient walls, the entire history of a fabulous ancient history of non-humanoids living on earth. In and of itself, that is not a basis for skeptism. But he does it in the space of a couple of hours. The complete history – of thousands of years – of an alien race – from pictures – in a couple of hours. Sorry, even though the story line has merit, and there is an interesting twist at the end, that one inconceivable part lost the story for me.
Ack! Too bad. No recommendation here. Better luck next time.

Quotes I Like

Jeffrey R. Holland
"An High Priest of Good Things to Come"
Ensign, Nov. 1999

"Even if you cannot always see that silver lining on your clouds, God can, for He is the very source of the light you seek.  He does love you, and he knows your fears.  He hears your prayers.  He is your Heavenly Father and surely He matches with His own the tears His children shed. . . .
Christ knows better than all others that the trials of life can be very deep and we are not shallow people if we struggle with them.  But even as the Lords avoids sugary rhetoric, He rebukes faithlessness and he deplores pessimism.  He expects us to believe!"

Travels with Lar

August 2 – 6, 2010 – Kansas City

This was a business trip. I went to teach a class at a company where I had been before – in a room I had taught in before – to people, most of whom, I had taught before. The class went very well. It was a classified location, so I couldn't take in my own lap top or even my cell phone. During the day, I was isolated.

Kansas City in August is not a great place to be. It was hot. It was humid. It was really pretty boring. That just about describes it.

Coming home was an adventure. I went to the airport on Friday morning. I turned in my rental car and then found out that my flight was cancelled and I had to wait 6 hours for another flight. Imagine if you will, 6 hours in the Kansas City airport. Not the best day of my life - but not the worst.

Reading List

August 5, 2010
The Scorpion Fish by Nicolas Bouvier

I looked through my book of 501 Must Read Books, and this one intrigued me in the list of "travel" books. I went to Amazon to see if I could get it. Yikes – the lowest price for a used copy was $87.00. A new copy was going to set me back over $150.00. Therefore, it came off of my list. Then one day, I found myself in a strange place called the library. Just on a whim, I looked for the book and low and behold, it was there, so I checked it out.

This is a travel book in the very loosest sense of the word. The author, a young man from Switzerland was "touring" the sub-continent of India when he reached the lower end and decided to have a go at Ceylon (Sri Lanka), "The Pearl" island at the end of the continent so he could see some newlywed friends of his. In fact, he did not have a good time. He got sick. He was poor and lived in poverty. His newlywed friends left the week before he got there and he had few acquaintances. His story is one of living in a hot, bug infested land that is ruled by tradition, poor officials and black magic. I did not get the actual tone of the book until about a third through it, thinking that he must be writing tongue-in-cheek. When I decided he was writing what he really though, I had to read the first part again.

What did I think of it. Some is well written. Some is a little crude. I imagine that if I was given time, I could find symbolism, but maybe not. It is almost a series of mere journal entries with no continuing theme, some of them written better than others. I could say I struggled to keep reading, but when it was all done, I still went back and read the beginning again. I think I would not have put it on the list of 501 Must Read Books – except that some of his language is really astonishingly beautiful – and some is astonishingly crude.

My recommendation – don't run right out and buy this one (Unless you have $100.00 or so you don't know what to do with – and then you could just donate that to me and it would be better used.) In fact, if I saw it in the library, I might also resist the urge to check it out.

Reading List

August 2, 2010
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows by J. K. Rowling

Just a re-read in preparation for the movie coming out. Nothing to worry about. Just getting ready.


That's all.

Reading List

July 31, 2010


The Amazing Book of History

Or maybe better put – the Amazing Book of Weird History Trivia. This might be called a "Coffee Table Book" – but I'll bet it was really designed for exactly what I used it for – a book to contemplate while using the toilet. Yep, over 400 pages of toilet trivia. But it was – enlightening.

It is a great book if you want to know the trivia side of – say –
Mummies from Egypt – and why Joseph Smith's finding of the Book of Abraham papyrus is not as farfetched as it may sound.
Why the Nobel Peace prize and dynamite are closely related.
The real story behind the Pied Piper.
Where Mother Goose comes from.
What were the seven wonders of the ancient world, and who originally made the list.
The story of the Oklahoma land rush.
Why seductive, manipulative women are called Jezebels.
The history of the Smithsonian, Louvre and the London Museum of Natural History
How animals have actually been put on trial and why.
More than you ever wanted to know about the Black Plague.
What was this thing called the War of the Roses.
And speaking of wars, what was the 100 Year War, the 48 Minute War and the Boer War.
What really happened to all of the passenger pigeons, and why.
If Rasputin was really a mad monk, a sex crazed crazy, or just misunderstood.
How about a short history of the Knights Templar.
Where was the first World's Fair – and how has it changed your life.
Did Cleopatra really get bit in the asp – I mean by an asp.
What was the biggest piece of cheese ever served in the White House.
How did ancient people conduct "biological warfare".

These and many more bits of worthless knowledge can be yours in 2 to 3 page bits – just enogh to contemplate at one sitting.
Needless to say – it is not on anyone's must read list – but it could keep you from wasting a lot of time.

50 Things You May Not Know About Me.

(Inspired by Andrea)

1. I got a C in public speaking in high school.
   
2. I went to Camp Ben DeLatour as a Boy Scout – the same camp I took boys to as a scoutmaster.
   
3. I was terrorized by bullies on bicycles going to summer school the year before I was in Kindergarten.
   
4. My favorite movie is "Breaking Away".
   
5. I was on a "College Bowl" team for a Colorado Teachers convention.
   
6. In college, I worked in a lab cleaning Petri dishes and test tubes.
   
7. My favorite "snitch" is Hostess crumb cake mini-donuts.
   
8. The only girl I have ever kissed for real is the love of my life – my wife.
   
9. I was only a Star Scout – but all three of my boys are Eagles.
   
10. I have been in 40 of the 50 United States – but only one other country (Canada).
    
11. I was asked to drop Spanish in college because I spoke it with a French accent.
    
12. I try to always be CPR certified.
    
13. My love language for other people seems to be service.
    
14. I have low tolerance for extreme left wing or extreme right wing politics.
    
15. In my teenage years, I almost won a Putt-Putt miniature golf tournament.
    
16. I have been rock climbing and was saved in a fall by a belaying rope.
    
17. I know how to run and old-fashioned arc-light movie projector.
    
18. I have read the Holy Bible from front to back – once.
    
19. I have had a hernia operation.
    
20. I have been in the delivery room for all six of my children – but never watched "the birth" even once.
    
21. I am only a fan of sports teams who are winning.
    
22. Sushi – I have tried it and it is not my favorite.
    
23. I got a home run in little league on a bunt and 3 errors.
    
24. My dream car would be a Mustang.
    
25. I lost my first wedding ring while swimming in a creek in Montana.
    
26. I have had poison ivy so bad I had to miss school.
    
27. I don't have a lot of self control where yummy food is concerned – but I keep trying.
    
28. What makes me happiest is seeing my wife happy.
    
29. As I have gotten older, I like winter less and less.
    
30. I have always wanted to write something great, but I can never figure out what to write about.
    
31. I never skipped class in high-school.
    
32. My feet are not the same size.
    
33. I had a benign tumor removed from my left cheek.
    
34. The best calling I have ever had in church is working in the nursery.
    
35. My biggest why question is, "Why do people think it is okay to hurt other people to get what they want."
    
36. I know my wife is right more than I am.
    
37. I try to never litter.
    
38. I find I am more proud of the good things my children do than I am about the things I do.
    
39. I teased a girl in elementary school and made her cry, then vowed to try and never do that again.
    
40. I only got detention once in my whole school career.
    
41. Driving a minivan does not mean you are old – it means you are willing to give others a ride and are prepared to do it.
    
42. I took one puff on a cigarette and then decided to never do that again.
    
43. I fell deeply in love with my wife by writing (and receiving) letters to her.
    
44. My favorite city to visit is San Francisco, followed closely by Washington D. C. and Ottawa.
    
45. I don't particularly like to swim.
    
46. I had my ears freeze almost solid one night in Montana.
    
47. In every job I have had over six months; I have been a manager at some point in time.
    
48. I have been lost while camping in the Rocky Mountains in the winter.
    
49. Despite my mother's efforts, I have never been fond of liver.
    

I have learned that things never stay the same – they either get different, worse or better.

Aaron Blog

http://charmically.blogspot.com/

Reading List

July 19, 2010

Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer.

The author was an Austrian and a mountaineer. More importantly, he was in India when WWII started and was captured by the British and put in a POW camp at the foot of the Himalayas. He escaped three times, and on the third time reached his goal of getting across the mountains to Tibet. All was not well, because he was an uninvited and unwelcome foreigner. The book tells the tale of his agonizing two year trek to get to "The Forbidden City", Lhasa, and how he gained acceptance, prestige and friendship with the "Living God", the Dalia Lama. His adventure ends as the Chinese invade Tibet after WWII.

It is a beautiful story. It is not so much a story of the country describing the landscape, but there is some of that. It is not so much a story of the culture and habits of the nation, but there is a lot of that. More it is a story of the people who live in the country "at the top of the world." After the war, Tibet was still a very old fashioned country, almost medieval, with no improved roads, little electricity, no phones and little contact with the rest of the civilized world. Still, it ws the one place thath Harrer, the author wanted to spend the rest of his life.

In 1997, a movie, Seven Years in Tibet, was produced that was "based on the book". I had seen the movie and liked it, and so when I saw this book on the 501 must read list, I snatched it up. The movie does not do the book justice. It focus more on the Dalia lama and the political, rather than on the true nature of how the religion and government and outlook of the people all merge together in this fascinating county, or should I say what the country used to be. Under China, Tibet has been drug into the modern era and the culture has been changed – not lost, but changed.

I really liked the book. It is not for everyone. As mentioned, it is on the 501 Must Read Book List – and it deserves to be there.

Movie List

July 16, 2010

 

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

 

Today, Mar finished another semester of school, so we had to celebrate. Our choice was a movie.

What do I think? The Sorcerer's Apprentice was a little bit disjointed especially at the beginning. There were some statements made that you really had to listen to in order to understand what was going on. But is really was fun. Totally unbelievable that all that could happen in New York City and no one noticed – much. But hey, it is fantasy. And besides, it gives all of us geeks and nerds some hope. Maybe we are just sorcerers in embryo. Special effects were good. Acting was – okay. Of course the plot is predictable.

Recommendations – pretty intense in a spot or two – for young children – well you should watch it first. Otherwise, sure go see it – or maybe wait for the DVD.

I liked it. Mar liked it. Michael liked it. I would give it a 3 – yep a 3.

Aaron - Be Strong

July 1, 2010

Aaron wrotet his in his journal when he was 15.  I think it is profound.

Aaron - Thanksgiving

July 1, 2010

Aaron wrote this poem:

Reading List

June 27, 2010

The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells

I thought this would be just an "adventure" book. Oh, it is so much more, particularly if one wanted to examine it in regards to the human condition. It is written in an older style, all first person but not hard to read, particularly since it is short. It examines one man's encounter with The Beast Creatures on the island, as well as the encounter with Dr. Moreau and his helper, Montgomery. It examines How others influence who and what we are, both politically and religiously. In the end there are some interesting visions towards the end and the protagonist is back among humans in London. "Then I look about me at my fellow men. And I go into fear. I see faces keen and bright, others dull or dangerous, others unsteady, insincere; none that have the calm authority of a reasonable soul. I feel as though the animal was surging up through them." In a nut-shell, that is the story.

I must at this time make comment on the attempts to make this story into a movie. I have seen a couple, and they were poor to say the least. Now that I have read the book, they must not only be judged as lacking, but soulless themselves. What a marvelous film this would make if the makers were only true to the story itself. But alas, they must contrive romance and heroism into a story that really has none of those Hollywood mainstays. If told according to the story, it would show more like "Lord of the Flies" and less like "The Planet of the Apes."

Read it someday if you have some free time. It is part of the 501 must reads and deserves to be there.

Reading List

June 20, 2010

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This is a suggestion from Mar's book club. She warned me, yes she did. She said if I started it, I would have to read it fast. She was right. It is captivating. It explores motivation and consequences, plus a lot about morality in a futuristic world. Still it can be applied to our own in many ways. I think that the reason it works so well is because it is written in a first person voice. You have to figure out if what you are being told is really the way things are – or not. I would bet that early on, most readers get an insight about Petta, the boy involved in the hunger games, that Catness, the girl and main character never really does figure out – well maybe right at the end.

Well, read it if you want to figure out that riddle. Yes, I would recommend it. But beware, you will have to keep reading. It doesn't drag. (I had the luck of reading it on Father's Day, when people would let me do what I wanted.)