Culture
-
A Shameful Past
Just across the street from our Airbnb in Juneau is a lovely Russian Orthodox Church, which I remembered seeing the last time I was there in 1999. While waiting for it to be time to meet the shuttle for our whale watching trip, I decided to walk over and see if I could peek inside the church. It’s a lovely little church with a long history in Juneau. From the church website: St. Nicholas Orthodox Church was founded in 1893, at the request of the local Tlingit community. Constructed locally by Tlingit people and Serbian miners in 1893-94, the church was built on land donated by Yees Ganalax and using plans and…
-
Songs About Relationships
I’m not sure if I have mentioned it here before, but my husband Ted has a music podcast, Planet LP, which has morphed over the years. When he first started as a way to entertain himself and stay creative in the early days of the podcast, he talked about music and books. Then he took on a cohost and the format turned to music only. Eventually, his cohost realized that he was too busy for the commitment, and is now an occasional guest. At one point Ted’s podcast was once a week, but when he started at his current job, he realized he had far less down time than his…
-
Happy Valentine’s Day
-
Thursday 13 – Boob Tube Edition
We watch a lot of TV around here. Many weeknights see us plopped down in front of the boob tube watching reruns of something or another (Currently it’s ‘The Office’, though we are almost finished) while we have dinner. We used to eat at the table, and sometimes we still do, but most nights we don’t. Who knows why. After dinner, Maya does the dishes and then goes upstairs to get ready for bed. She gets up early on workdays, and likes a good 9 hours of sleep if she can manage it. Ted and I stay up for a couple more hours, and watch TV or, once in awhile,…
-
Haven
In seventh-century Ireland, a scholar and priest called Artt has a dream telling him to leave the sinful world behind. Taking two monks—young Trian and old Cormac—he rows down the river Shannon in search of an isolated spot on which to found a monastery. Drifting out into the Atlantic, the three men find an impossibly steep, bare island inhabited by tens of thousands of birds, and claim it for God. In such a place, what will survival mean? I just finished ‘Haven’, by Emma Donoghue. Who knew the story of three early medieval monks going off to Luke Skywalker’s island to form a tiny monastery could be so compelling? But…
-
Meme Monday
This isn’t truly a meme, but instead some words of wisdom that I gathered from my bloggy friend Roma 8 years ago, that she posted on Facebook. Does Roma still have a blog? I can’t find her old one, but honestly, I’m not even sure how to look. Should have kept her on the sidebar maybe, but then again, if I removed it it was likely because she wasn’t maintaining it anymore. ANYWAY, the message is timely and one that I try to keep in mind, especially during the holidays. Resist everything except what your heart dictates. If it makes you happy to polish the silver, go for it. If…
-
Thanksgiving Prep
This is the current situation at my house. I have washed the good china, and just finished polishing the silver. I’m not going to use our good crystal glasses this year, they are too fragile and I don’t want to risk them getting broken. Back when we got married, almost 30 years ago, couples registered for china, silver, and crystal. We don’t use them often, but we do use them a couple of times a year. Sometimes for Valentine’s Day, always for Canadian Thanksgiving, and then if we have Christmas or U.S. Thanksgiving here. We celebrate two Thanksgivings, just because it is fun. Ted was born in Canada, though his…
-
X is for Gen X
Generation X, a term typically used to describe the generation of Americans born between 1965 and 1980, although some sources used slightly different ranges. It has sometimes been called the “middle child” generation, as it follows the well-known baby boomer generation and precedes the millennial generation. It has fewer members than either of those groups, which is one of the reasons that Generation X is considered to be forgotten or overlooked when the generations are discussed. Members of Generation X, or Gen Xers, grew up in a time when there were more dual-income families, single-parent households, and children of divorce than when boomers were growing up. Consequently, many Gen Xers…
-
U is for Unicorn
I remember reading a book once, that had to do with the famous Unicorn tapestries at the Cloisters in New York. Perhaps it was a mystery, perhaps even a young adult mystery? I’m not sure. When I was a teenager, I loved unicorns, and my mom used to buy me beautiful wall calendars every year that featured pictures of them. We have been to New York a couple of times, but I have never been to see the tapestries there, nor have I been to see the unicorn tapestries in Paris. Both seem like a beautiful way to spend an afternoon. A bit of history that I have discovered this…
-
(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday
My personal barometer on when COVID-19 is largely behind us. This newspaper vending kiosk was last loaded with a new paper a year ago, on March 16, 2020, which is the day that the Bay Area went into lockdown. Since that time, there have not been enough people riding BART (our local mass transit) to justify the labor, I assume, of consistently replacing the papers with new ones. I do see current newspapers in front of the grocery store, so I know it’s not everywhere. What about you? Do you have a small local barometer that you keep track of?
-
Bonus Meme – National Grammar Day
-
The Hill We Climb
I was blown away by the spectacular Amanda Gorman, the first National Youth Poet Laureate, and her poem at the Inaugeration today. I am sure you saw it. In case you’d like to see it in writing, here it is. What an amazingly talented, hard working, brilliant young woman. “The Hill We Climb” Amanda Gorman When day comes we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade? The loss we carry, a sea we must wade. We’ve braved the belly of the beast, we’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace and the norms and notions of what just is, isn’t always justice. And yet the dawn is…
-
How I read now
Where do you find out about books? Recommendations from friends and family? New York Times Review of Books? Browsing the bookstore or library? Do you insist on a physical copy, or do you use a kindle app or some such? What about audio books? Personally, I love a physical book, and I have become quite enamored with audio books. I’m not really fond of the e-reader, though I think it’s great if you travel, or commute via public transportation, or if you have arthritis or something that makes holding a book uncomfortable. Anyway, here are some books I have read recently, or will read soonish, and how I came to…
-
Meme Monday
The attempted coup last week was in no way funny. However, I am going to post a bunch of memes/cartoons that I saw online anyway. What I really want to say, however, is screw these assholes. I would add, “And the horse they rode in on” but I like horses, so I will omit that part of the phrase. I have some Republican friends that I love and adore. Thoughtful people who know better and do condemn the President, and do not think it was an Antifa hoax. This post is not about them. I have some Republican acquaintances, people I went to school with or worked with at some…
-
Wordless Wednesday – Dark Day
Photo credit – Reuters via CNN
