Speedier potato salad

Most cookbooks I've read (and my home ec teacher way back when) have told me to boil white or red potatoes whole, and cut them to size for potato salad after they cool enough to work with. Hello. This is summer. I don't want to boil things for half an hour or so, and then have them sitting around radiating heat into my kitchen, or be chopping anything that's warm if I don't have to. Besides which, boiling whole potatoes takes finesse and luck, otherwise you wind up with potatoes that are mushy on the outside by the time the inside gets cooked. Besides which, I don't know about you but I can't always tell if a potato has bad spots until I peel it and/or slice it.

I've done a bit a research, and as far as I can tell the reason for boiling potatoes whole, in their skins, is to reduce the loss of nutrients, particularly vitamin C. But the same cookbooks that urge you to boil potatoes uncut and in their skins tend to also urge you to save nutrients and reduce vitamin C loss by boiling vegetables in relatively little water and minimizing cooking time. Why that wouldn't work for potatoes beats me.

So, I take russet potatoes (aka baking potatoes), peel them, dice them to the size I want in the potato salad, and boil them in no more water than is needed, preferably with a bit of butter added. Russets are cheap (around here, anyway), cook faster than the other types of potatoes, and work great in potato salad as long as you don't have to chop them after they're cooked. (They tend to crumble if you try to cut them after they're cooked.)

My home-ec teacher is spinning in her grave, but I'm in and out of the kitchen in a small fraction of the time she'd have me use, and we like russet-based potato salad. For that matter, I cook the same sort of potatoes the same way for mashed potatoes.

For either potato salad or mashed, as soon as the potatoes are cooked I drain them in a colander at the sink, and let them air dry a little before going on to the next step.

I'd share my favorite potato salad recipe, but I don't have one. We eat a lot of potato salad and I make a point of making up a new recipe for each batch so we don't get tired of it. Everything is 'by guess and by gosh', and I just keep adding stuff until it looks and tastes good.

The most common mix is chopped potatoes, chopped onion, chopped hard-cooked egg*, chopped pickles, in a sauce made from Miracle Whip salad dressing and one type of mustard or another, with some salt and pepper. But I've used mayonnaise or plain yogurt instead of salad dressing. I'm forever changing which pickles I use (right now I'm using Bread and Butter pickles). Sometimes I add celery. Or green peppers. Or peas. Or cubed cheese. Sometimes I leave the egg out. Sometimes I put herbs in. I like green onions instead of the other kind, sometimes. Whatever is at hand that seems likely might go in. (I was raised in a household that never, ever deviated from a printed recipe if humanly possible, and rarely tried out new recipes. I'm afraid I have the zeal of the convert when it comes to using recipes merely as starting points.)

*Years ago I happily unlearned how I was taught to make what are called hard-boiled eggs. (Never mind what I was taught - it produced eggs with green-edged yolks.) From a Betty Crocker cookbook way back when, I learned to cover eggs with cold water in a saucepan (have them covered well and good, if possible - like by an inch or more), heat to boiling, remove from heat and let stand, covered, for something over twenty minutes (22 to 24 is what the cookbook said, but I generally round it up to 25). Cool the eggs in cold water (it might take several changes of water to get them really cool). Then tap each egg to crack it, roll between your hands to break and loosen the shell, and then peel under running cold water.

Let us be clear from the get-go...

...that I don't quite trust the downtown bank clock's thermometer, which broadcasts in big numbers visible up and down Main Street for quite some distance in both directions. It tends to run a couple/three degrees higher than other people tend to get on their thermometers, I think. It usually is higher than the radio station's reports. Never mind how much it's off from the official reports (but then, I think the official reports come from the airport, which is almost silly, since the airport sits quite a bit higher than town, up on top of a hill surrounded by fields and trees).

But, having said that, I don't doubt that it's close to right.

Beyond that, because it's the most noticeable temperature display in town, it's pretty much the de facto official reading, whether it's right or not. It does set the standard for conversations, at any rate.

Today, walking to the drug store to pick up a prescription plus some things for the kitchen, the bank thermometer said 105. On the way back, it said 107. When I went back to the drug store to return the kitchen shears I just bought (note to self: people with small hands should not buy shears packaged so that a person can't try them out to see if they'll work for people with small hands without causing sprains), the reading was 109. On the way home from returning the shears, the reading was 112.

I'm pretty sure it wasn't 112. The roads weren't going to liquid yet. I didn't even pick up any asphalt goo on my sandals.

But it's hot.

One of the things I like about where we live now compared to where I grew up is that the weather is, overall, more moderate than my childhood hometown. But, every few years or so we do get these hot spells.

I think it's funny how different people react to the situation.

At the bank this morning (my bank doesn't have a thermometer display, but I'm guessing it was 90 already) my teller asked me if it was getting hot yet. I told her it was definitely warmish. We both smiled. I thought I was playing the game quite well, thanks.

But then I stopped by the post office on my way home, and an old guy, very spry but obviously well into retirement years, bounced in. The cleaning lady, also white haired but lively, looked up and saw him and called out, "Cool enough for you?" The old gentleman replied, "Just right!" They both smiled and laughed.

I know when I've been outclassed. They win.

All the same, I'm taking precautions.

I've been experimenting with how to set the fans in the house, to best use the one room-sized air conditioner we have, which, unfortunately, isn't mounted in a room we need cooled. (No, there's no other place it would fit, in the rooms we do use.)

I have a long muslin 'curtain' mounted outside my back door - a door, mind you, that is painted dark and gets full sun (not a clever plan in the summer). I know it looks funky to have a jerry-rigged curtain outside a door, but it's amazing how hot the inside of the door gets without it, and how much cooler it is with some proper shade. (If you do this, it seems to help to have the curtain away from the door, and mounted so there can be air flow.) It's just a big sheet of muslin I bought for a quilt back long ago, that wound up in my too-large fabric stash. It's nice to have a good use for it, finally.

I'm getting quite fond of my lawn sprinklers. It's amazing how nice it is to sit on the back deck downwind from a sprinkler hose, and just watch the world go by.

I don't use appliances I don't have to. I don't turn on lights I don't need. Anything that creates heat or uses electricity gets a second look before being used. My computer time is way down, and will stay down until this is over. I like to tell myself that by not using things I am helping to prevent a brownout or blackout. It sounds good, anyway. It also helps me not feel frustrated at being knocked out of my usual routine.

I do most of my cooking late at night or early in the morning - whenever I can throw the windows open and let somewhat-cooler air flush the heat out. I cook in big batches to last several meals.

I take my daily walks early in the day. Most days. Yesterday I did yard work early and didn't get my walk in until evening. At 8:30 p.m., that bank thermometer I mentioned earlier was parked at 88 degrees. Oops. Until the heat wave's over, it's early morning walks or none at all, I think.

You have my permission to laugh at me on this next bit. Heaven knows I'm laughing at myself. All this careful attention to getting up earlier than usual so I can get stuff done without risking heat stroke has had an interesting shortcoming.

The heat isn't hard enough to deal with on its own? I have to give myself jet lag?

OK, I'm half joking. But I have been getting up and going to bed at wildly unusual hours, and I definitely feel like I have jet lag. It's possible, right?

Saturday update: It turned out I couldn't publish this post yesterday - because the Internet connection went down. Long-distance phone service went down, too. So far, knock wood, we've snuck through without power outages, or, knock wood again, local wildfires. The cable TV public service channel, which runs ads and a few announcements, and occasionally posts weather conditions, listed yesterday's high at 111. The radio local news report, using the airport readings, said 103. I'm guessing we were somewhere between that right here. Today, at least we have clouds, and so not nearly the direct sun beating down on the house. That should help a lot. I have decided to attack my books-to-read stack. Somewhere in the shade. Or go out of town to spend time in the forest, by a stream, in the shade. The operative word here is shade.

On the plus side, flowers in my yard that haven't deigned to bloom all year are suddenly popping open. That's nice.

Some kind of "thank you"!

See The Southern Illinoisan : Soldier fulfilling promise to deliver Afghani rug to president by Becky Malkovich (July 17, 2006), for a wonderful story. As in wonder full.

Hat's off to everyone involved. There's a lot of heart shown here.

Short version: an old man, grateful that his people were being rescued from the Taliban, spent a year hand-knotting a rug of his own design to give to President Bush and the American people. He did this even though at the time he could have been killed if caught doing it. And then an American soldier was asked to deliver it for him...

Hat tip: Betsy's Page and The Anchoress.

P.S. If crafters' blogs don't pick this story up, I'm going to be somewhat disappointed. This is heroic crafting, if ever there was such.

P.P.S. Although the rugmaker is Muslim, he made the rug with Christian symbols. (Mighty decent of him, don't you think?) I'd just as soon not hear any quibbling over the fact that he used Catholic imagery for a Protestant president, thanks. It's close enough, don't you think?

There are romance novels and then there are romance novels

Romance novels, like all types of fiction, tend to have noticeable trends. I sometimes wonder whether they influence the culture or reflect it - I suppose it's a bit of both. At any rate, Bookworm has found a number of current romance authors who promote admirable qualities and are pro-life. (She has also found some that definitely don't fall into those categories.) See The morals of romance novels.

(And, no. We're not talking the Christian publishing houses here. We're talking general market.)

If you know of any authors who write "romance" that doesn't undercut traditional values, please share. I'd love to see that share of the market get boosted. Wouldn't you?

It's been my experience that many authors change their stripes during their career, so please feel free to recommend specific books, if you'd rather. That way we can avoid serious misunderstandings, I think.

Bookworm confines herself to current authors, but I'm throwing the field wide open: old, new, historical, religious, non-religious, time travel, you name it. If it's romance, have at.

"American Liberalism, the Cold War, and the Lessons of History"

Alonzo Hamby, Distinguished Professor of History, Ohio University, takes a glance at the world of Harry Truman versus today, with a focus on liberal factions. (George Mason University's History News Network, POTUS blog, July 10, 2006)

Books mentioned in the post include:


The First Cold Warrior: Harry Truman, Containment, and the Remaking of Liberal Internationalism

The Good Fight: Why Liberals---and Only Liberals---Can Win the War on Terror and Make America Great Again

A Progressive Strategy to Defeat Jihadism and Defend Liberty

Mr. Hamby is the author of

For the Survival of Democracy: Franklin Roosevelt and the World Crisis of the 1930s

Look, Ma. I got to be on camera signing a petition. (Or, the new suffragettes)

I will grant you that "suffrage" is a horrid word in that it sounds like something it isn't, but still...

See either Palm Tree Pundit or Bookworm Room for a look at an experiment in civic responsibility that would be really funny if it weren't so alarming.

Girls and clothes

:) Girls will be girls will be girls...

"Everything you need to know about temper tantrums"

Bookworm Room has a look at a classic tantrum.

(And it's pretty funny.)

(Well, as long as the kid grows out of it, it's pretty funny.)

Jen Robinson's Book Page compiling a "Cool Boys from Kid Lit" list

Jen Robinson - the lady behind the 200 Cool Girls from Children's Literature list - is asking for nominees for a Cool Boys from Kid Lit list.

Book note: Titanic (Magic Tree House Research Guide) by Will Osborne and Mary Pope Osborne

I've just finished reading this book, and I think it's one of the best history books for kids I've read - very well done overall, and packed with information without being the least bit dry. I, ahem, even learned a thing or two...


Titanic: A Nonfiction Guide to Tonight on the Titanic (Magic Tree House Research Guide Series)

It's marketed as a companion to the fiction book Tonight on the Titanic, but I think it works well as a stand-alone book. Some of the information is 'presented' by Jack and Annie, the adventurous youngsters from the Magic Tree House series, but not in such a way that you'd have to know anything about the series in general or Tonight on the Titanic in particular.

As a bonus, the black and white illustrations by Sal Murdocca are pretty amazing, if you take the time to really look at them. There are also photographs as illustrations.

I like this anecdote from the page that provides some information on the authors. The husband and wife team say that until they were researching the book, "...we didn't realize that the ship that rescued the Titanic survivors had docked just a short distance from our home in New York City..." They use it as an illustration that "Research can sometimes lead you to make amazing discoveries in your very own neighborhood..."

I can vouch for that. Or, at least, I can say that I've been surprised a time or two in a similar way.


Tonight on the Titanic (Magic Tree House Series #17)

Murder charges in Katrina hospital deaths

From AP, as printed at MSNBC: Doctor, 2 nurses held in Katrina deaths: Arrest order says morphine used, second-degree murder charges filed:

NEW ORLEANS - A doctor and two nurses who worked through the chaos that followed Hurricane Katrina were arrested overnight, accused of giving four patients stranded at their hospital lethal doses of morphine and a sedative, authorities said Tuesday.

“We’re not calling this euthanasia. We’re not calling this mercy killings. This is second-degree murder,” said Kris Wartelle, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Charles C. Foti.

[...snip...]

Harry Anderson, a spokesman for Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp., said the allegations against the doctor and nurses, if proven true, were disturbing.

“Euthanasia is repugnant to everything we believe as ethical health care providers, and it violates every precept of ethical behavior and the law. It is never permissible under any circumstances,” Anderson said.

[...snip...]

Full article

Walter Scott Digital Archive

Oh, this could be wonderful - Edinburgh University Library has The Walter Scott Digital Archive, about which: "We hope that in time this website will become the main source of information on the life and work of Sir Walter Scott on the web."

That, in my opinion, is a worthy goal. Forward!

hat tip: a Walter Scott post at Dewey's Treehouse, with several other links that you might find of interest.

This sounds good...

The Common Room: Blueberry Soup sounds like a good recipe for summer. Easy, too. Put sour cream, some sugar, orange juice and frozen or fresh blackberries or blueberries into the blender, blend away, serve, eat. (Follow the link to get the suggested amounts for the ingredients.)

And, since I like 'pickled' fresh veggies, here's a recipe to start out with (as Randi says, just add anything you like, and delete what you don't like): California Mix. Around here, we like cucumber, radish, and onion slices (separately or together) in vinegar brine or pickle juice. It reminds me of Japanese food...

Children can't learn everything by osmosis

Sometimes you have to tell them what you want.

Or teach them what "duck!" means, for that matter.

File this under Humorous Moms Who Share Nifty Secrets About Stuff They Learned The Hard Way.

And more movie news...

For a lady who rarely watches movies, I sure seem to be into them today... E-Commerce News: Film: Movielink Adds DVD-Burning Capability.

More books and movies

Speaking of books and movies, Karen Edmisten has info on a family movie called Dreamer, "...a sweet movie about a little girl, her father, her horse and big dreams...," plus posts on some of her young daughter's favorite books. (According to the sidebar, "Ramona" is three.)

Breakpoint book and film recommendations

Breakpoint has several book lists, including Light but Meaningful Summer Reading. Hey, any list that includes the Mitford series and The World of Jeeves is all right by me.

Breakpoint also has film lists, by categories. It's quite a mix! (That might qualify as an understatement.)

Different voices on the Israel-versus-Islamists war

There's lots of coverage about the current conflict between Israel and those intent upon its destruction. You hardly need me to steer you toward the usual, popular sources of information. But, for what it's worth, here are a few interesting takes from websites you might not visit on a regular basis:

Eric Lee: The Left should be supporting Israel in this war (hat tip: American Future, which has a lot of posts on various aspects and background related to the present conflict.) Mr. Lee is writing from a Socialist viewpoint, and he looks ahead to what the effects would likely be, depending on who wins the current conflict.

Melanie Phillips has been following events (and sometimes putting media feet to the fire). See, for instance here and here.

Reuters AlertNet prints Human Rights Watch's explanation of the legal rules Israel and its attackers are (by HRW's lights) expected to operate under, with a look at what had happened by the time the post was written. Since this is meant as a briefing for news editors and humanitarian aid providers, I have to wonder if it helps explain the tone in some more recent news reports. It makes quite plain right up front that Hezbollah launched attacks inside Israeli territory, and has been raining hundreds of rockets inside Israel. Furthermore (emphasis mine):

While Human Rights Watch has not yet conducted a field examination to determine whether any of these attacks aimed to target a military object, preliminary information suggests that rockets fired by Hezbollah may be so inaccurate as to be incapable of being targeted, but are rather used to target a generalized area. As Human Rights Watch said in a 1997 report on Lebanon and Israel, "Katyushas are inaccurate weapons with an indiscriminate effect when fired into areas where civilians are concentrated. The use of such weapons in this manner is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law." That is, their use in civilian areas violates the prohibition on indiscriminate attacks and would be a war crime. Customary international law prohibits such bombardment near or in any area containing a concentration of civilians, even if there are believed to be military objectives in the area.

I don't mean to imply that this is a pro-Israeli piece. It isn't. But it's nice that it's not knee-jerk "Israel-bad, Islamists-good" like some people would have you think is the stock-in-trade of nearly everyone not from the Center-Right (not to mention Reuters).

This next bit is veering toward the usual sources, I guess, (USA Today being a big player) but Laer at Cheat Seeking Missiles has noticed that USA Today ran an editorial that noted that this is not just another flare-up of the usual troubles and therefore the old ways of addressing Middle East conflict aren't good fallbacks, especially in the short term. The editorial also says that the stakes are rising rapidly, what with actual and nearing nuclear capacity amongst opposing forces.

Can those of you who watch TV help me out?

Our cable company is in the process of changing its offerings and is asking for suggestions. I haven't traveled out of the area anytime recently so I haven't any idea, really, what options are available, besides what we have already. TV Land has been mentioned by a few bloggers in past posts (Bonanza fans, in particular), but past that I'm not sure what family friendly options I might suggest.

I don't watch much television (that's an understatement), but it would be nice to have some old movies or other good, clean fun to turn to now and then, or educational offerings without propaganda content.

Of course, the cable company is announcing there will be a "price adjustment" to go with the new line-up, which I presume means a price hike, so this might all be a moot point, if they raise the price very much. But, still, if there are any worthwhile channels available I'd like to push for them.

Thanks.

Fellow blogger has prayer request

Laer at Cheat-Seeking Missiles knows some people last known to be in areas now being rocked by violence in the Middle East. He's asking for prayers.

Learning the hard way what it means to be an American

Born American, but in the Wrong Place by Peter W. Schramm is somewhat longer than most things I link to, but well worth the time to read. Parental guidance is suggested, since part of it has descriptions of life and death in a war zone.

Dr. Schramm was born in Hungary, and now is Executive Director of the Ashbrook Center and Professor of Political Science at Ashland University. As a young man, he kept going back and forth between focusing on Europe and focusing on America, until he got it through his head what his father had tried to teach him about why the family immigrated to America after risking their necks sneaking out of Hungary. By turns funny, shocking, philosophical, earnest, the piece is something of an education in itself.

It also has one of those "if not for a kind deed long ago" twists that is much beloved by us incurable romantics. :) Not that it wouldn't have been a stirring, rousing tale without it, but, well, I come from a heritage that adores stories of near disasters that somehow, preferably almost miraculously, come out all right, especially if it's because a selfless deed bears unexpected fruit. Call it icing on the cake, but enjoy it all the same.

He also tries to convey some of what Europeans don't tend to understand about Americans, and vice versa, which I think is useful.

Schramm posts regularly at No Left Turns. He's long struck me as one of the better anchored commentators out there. Now I think I have a better idea why. Yinga. What a life so far.

hat tip: Winds of Change

Barbaro not doing well

Frank D. Roylance of the Baltimore Sun is among those reporting that Thoroughbred race horse Barbaro faces 'tough times'. Barbaro shattered a leg running in this year's Preakness, after having won the Kentucky Derby. He's been getting top-level care but he's developed complications.

hat tip: Miss O'Hara is a go-to site on things Thoroughbred, including Barbaro.

"...artifacts at the turn of a civilization..."

Anthony Esolen acquired an older set of The Book of Knowledge, printed 1949, at a flea market. When he got it home he compared it against a set he already had of The New Book of Knowledge, circa 1968. Priceless.

Smiles, courtesy the guys at Brandywine Books

For your reading enjoyment, Phil Wade provides a snippet of James Thurber's Guide to English Usage, and Lars "Rhymes with Farce, Not with Cars" Walker provides A swordsman's tale.

Speaking of movies...

I think it's fair to say that Lady Jane is a fan of the new Pirates of the Caribbean film:

I don't care what the critics say. They didn't like POTC [Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl] either. POTC: DMC [Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest] is great for a hot summer afternoon. Viewing it doesn't require a Ph.d in Hollywood thinking. It's just pure fun.

I don't live anywhere near a movie theater, so I'm a bit out of the loop on stuff like this, but I'm glad if someone's making a film or two, now and then, purely for fun.

And, to be sure, Lady Jane has lots of company in her enthusiasm. Dead Man's Chest has broken several box office records.

Truth, Justice, and all that stuff

Jeremy Lott wades in where others might fear to tread, putting the latest Superman movie's "truth, justice, all that stuff" quote into context.

If he's right, some commentators on the right might need to rethink their commentary, I think. For that matter, I might have to, at least just a bit. (Rats. It was such a fun thing to be mad about...)

Mr. Lott seems to be making wading into controversial waters his career of the moment, having just released a book attacking the currently too-common practice of accusing people of hypocrisy. The book is published by Thomas Nelson, which provides some info here.

To go to Barnes & Noble, click the bookcover below.


In Defense of Hypocrisy: Picking Sides in the War on Virtue

I haven't seen the Superman movie, so I'm operating on secondhand information here. While I have no doubt that some of the criticism of the movie is valid (based in part on what I've read from the people who made the movie), on the other hand Superman movies are supposed to be overdrawn and sometimes over-the-top, and sometimes that type of humor doesn't translate well in transcription... so I'm wondering if Mr. Lott has a valid point in his commentary, at least about the use of the altered motto, as it was used in the movie? (Don't yell. I'm just asking. Bear with me. Qualifiers to follow.)

Now, me, I'd have been happier (substantially) if the movie-makers had managed to use "truth, justice, and the American way" without alteration and with a straight face, somewhere in the movie. I can't help but think they copped out, let the side down, however you want to put it. I'm disappointed in them. But I'm not so sure that spitting nails about their shortcomings and lack of proper moxie and focus is the way to go.

(On the other hand, has anybody checked to see if maybe they violated some licensing agreement? Surely the Superman character is still under license??? Ehem.)

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad that various people have taken it upon themselves to educate the public about how Superman has, in the past, been proudly used to promote the best America has to offer in the way of ideals, honor, and virtue. Youngsters need to know that America does stand for good things, and that the popular culture used to bolster those good things - and could again, only for the deciding to. Yes?

I think where Mr. Lott falls short is in perhaps failing to realize that we've had so many treasured American icons trashed or corrupted in our lifetimes that we're somewhat duty-bound to fight the corrosion or co-opting of what is left, even if it's just a comic book hero. Mr. Lott has a point about the sense of proportion (or lack of it) in some quarters, but to conclude his commentary by saying "Let me restate that so the movie's critics can't miss the point. In Superman Returns, Superman saves America from certain destruction, thus ensuring that "the American way" can keep on trucking." as if that makes this a pro-America film doesn't satisfy me. The Superman I grew up with would save people anywhere, if they were in danger of being wiped out, having been taught by his wonderful adoptive apple-pie American parents that that was the right thing to do. If he saved Brazil from destruction, it would not make it a pro-Brazilian film, now would it?

And, besides, to save "America" -- meaning the land mass and the people on it -- is by no means a guarantee of ensuring the continuation of the "American Way." Not by a long shot. Now is it?

So, in short, I think Mr. Lott makes a few points worth listening to, but misses a point or two himself.

And now for something totally different

jquinby at Me Autum Minui found a Russian tourist's travelogue of a May 2004 trip to North Korea. It's written in English, and has lots of pictures.

Remembering 7/7

In London a year ago, these folks lost their lives when maniacs with bombs struck in multiple locations. Many more people who were just minding their own business were hurt, and of course many more than that were grief-stricken. I'm sure today's anniversary is tough for some survivors to deal with, and I just want them to know that they and their murdered loved ones are not forgotten.

Laughing along with moms, two takes

1. Mental multivitamin recently found out what her son found especially inspiring in his youth, and it's not what she expected. In fact, she's more than a bit embarrassed by it. (Via Sparrow.)

2. And I think Sallie's right when she says if this doesn't make you laugh, nothing will.

Literature, take three

Why Do We Read Literature? Phil Wade, Brandywine Books, July 1, 2006.
Who's in control here? Lars Walker, Brandywine Books, July 3, 2006.
Fiction and Reality Amanda Witt, Wittingshire, July 6, 2006.

Alberta boom

Thomas Lifson reports that so many people are heading to work in the oil and gas industry in Alberta that there are labor shortages being reported in Calgary and Edmonton.

Massachusetts lawmakers look for ways to boost population figures

Just so you know, some legislators in Massachusetts are determined to have a high population count in the 2010 Census, and are lining up ways to get there. Right now there's apparently a focus on making sure college students, low-income people, and immigrants ("documented and undocumented", according to a quote attributed to Marc Draisen, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council's executive director) are tracked down and counted. See Bay State wants everyone to count:Lawmakers earmark funds for US Census (Andrea Estes, Boston Globe, July 4, 2006).

(Via Ed Lasky at The American Thinker, who points out that Massachusetts could be addressing the reasons it tends to have population stagnation, instead of proposing to fund research into ways to generate a bigger count.)

And yes, I realize that this article on a plan to, amongst other things, include as many noncitizens as possible in a national census for the stated purposes of ending up with more congressional seats and getting more federal funds was published on July 4 just begs for some sort of commentary, but well... 'Nuf said.

The article stated that Governor Mitt Romney has not said whether he will approve the measure. A spokesman said that the governor is not going to comment on any specific aspect of the budget until the budget review is complete.

New Orleans update

Joe McKeever is continuing to report from New Orleans.

George Washington, some background

Robert Tumminello, a New Yorker living in London and Dorset, England, provides a look at George Washington's English family roots. (Nice job combining your two countries, Robert.) He also provides the news (to me) that George Washington is "big business" in the UK. As an example, he quotes from the Sulgrave Manor website's current "What's New" item:

If you are not familiar with British road or rail systems, reaching us here in the heart of England can look a bit difficult from London. Now there is an alternative to doing it yourself!

Evan Evans, London's premier coach tour company, have added Sulgrave Manor to their list of regular destinations. The day trip, including a look at Banbury Cross and a visit to Blenheim Palace, is called 'The Great Statesmen's Tour', linking Winston Churchill and George Washington into one historic journey...

How about that? Churchill and Washington in the same breath. In England. Not too shabby. And very decent of the Brits, I'd say.

Back a few months ago, I was reading in a book in Newsweek's Founding Father's series, George Washington: A Biography in His Own Words, c. 1972. In it, his earliest known writings and drawings are acknowledged, but the book notes that the "earliest existing spontaneous writing from his own hand" is from when he was sixteen, and had been asked along on a surveying trip. The journal begins with a fairly standard "A Journal of my Journey over the Mountains began Fryday the 11th. of March 1747/8" but quickly becomes, uhm, well, it's a good reminder that George Washington was a teenager once and had to grow into his legendary self. The following passage -- which I later found at American Memory at the Library of Congress -- got my attention. (For whatever reason, I can't seem to get a link directly to the page from which I get the following excerpt. It's from "The Diaries of George Washington. Vol. 1. Donald Jackson, ed.; Dorothy Twohig, assoc. ed. The Papers of George Washington. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1976." which I found by searching for 1747, and then going down the list of matches. I've omitted the explanatory notes):

Tuesday 15th. We set out early with Intent to Run round the sd. Land but being taken in a Rain & it Increasing very fast obliged us to return. It clearing about one oClock & our time being too Precious to Loose we a second time ventured out & Worked hard till Night & then returnd to Penningtons we got our Suppers & was Lighted in to a Room & I not being so good a Woodsman as the rest of my Company striped my self very orderly & went in to the Bed as they call'd it when to my Surprize I found it to be nothing but a Little Straw--Matted together without Sheets or any thing else but only one Thread Bear blanket with double its Weight of Vermin such as Lice Fleas &c. I was glad to get up (as soon as the Light was carried from us) & put on my Cloths & Lay as my Companions. Had we not have been very tired, I am sure we should not have slep'd much that night. I made a Promise not to Sleep so from that time forward chusing rather to sleep in the open Air before a fire as will Appear hereafter.

Wednesday 16th. We set out early & finish'd about one oClock & then Travell'd up to Frederick Town where our Baggage came to us. We cleaned ourselves (to get Rid of the Game we had catched the Night before) & took a Review of the Town & then return'd to our Lodgings where we had a good Dinner prepar'd for us Wine & Rum Punch in Plenty & a good Feather Bed with clean Sheets which was a very agreeable regale.

Thursday 17th. Rain'd till Ten oClock & then clearing we reached as far as Major Campbells one of there Burgesses about 25 Miles from Town. Nothing Remarkable this day nor Night but that we had a Tolerable good Bed [to] lay on...

I don't know about you, but I suspect I'll never respond to "Washington slept here" in quite the same way again ;).

For the George Washington's Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799 collection, go here.

For a teacher's resource page related to the collection, go here. It provides hints on how to search the collection. It also has links to things like Essay:"Yr. Most Humble Obt. Servt.", which "...is highly recommended for those seeking insights into the nature of correspondence in the eighteenth century, as well as the logistical aspects of drafting, delivering, and preserving written communications during that period..."

Texas eyes change in how English is taught

From Janet Elliott, Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau, in today's Houston Chronicle:

...At its meeting Thursday, the 15-member board [State Board of Education] is expected to scrap a curriculum revision process dominated by teachers and the Texas Education Agency and discuss a new timetable for revising the English reading and writing standards.

Many on the board want to replace a student-centered curriculum that calls on students to use their own attitudes and ethics to interpret texts with teacher-centered instruction that emphasizes the basics of spelling, grammar and punctuation.

It was a fight social conservatives on the board lost in 1997, when moderates and liberals adopted the curriculum for all subjects. Now, with social conservatives expected to have a majority on the board for the first time after the November elections, the plan to rewrite the English standards is viewed by some as the opening shot in an effort to put a conservative imprint on the state's curriculum...

Ronald Reagan's Message on the Observance of Independence Day, 1986

From twenty years ago, stirring words from a man who believed in the importance of the message and the meaning of the Declaration of Independence.

Happy Independence Day!

Major wildfire season so far

The National Fire News shows that 3,821,505 acres have burned in the United States between January 1 and July 3, 2006. For comparison, the ten-year average for January 1 to July 3 is 1,661,564.

Ouch.

There are state-by-state listings of current fires at the above link.

For National Fire Maps, go here.

Booklovers, update your blogrolls...

Both Brandywine Books and Semicolon have new urls.

BBC NEWS | Business | Brussels in tangle over nappies

Just so you know, the European Commission is finding ways to address the European baby shortage. Or at least squabble about it.

Liberty and Lily: Wedding Thoughts

This is one of the best wedding write-ups I've read. Thanks, Donna-Jean.

Pfc. Thomas Tucker honored, laid to rest

Gateway Pundit has story, links.

You may file this next bit in the "It's a Small World" Department. When our bookstore was in a small mall downtown, the folks who had the second hand store across the hall from us were Tom and Vivian Tucker. We were introduced in passing to various of their out-of-town relatives, including the young man buried Saturday, who was the grandson and namesake of our neighbor. We moved our bookstore out of the mall to another location here in town and the Tuckers moved their store to a small town about eight miles away, so we aren't neighbors anymore, but we still bump into each other now and then, generally every couple or three months or so, generally when we happen to show up at the same small restaurant at the same time. In case you've been wondering where I've been lately, amongst other things I've been dealing with things I haven't been obliged to address before this, like pondering what in the Sam Hill a person should or shouldn't say to someone who has lost a grandchild to monsters posing as humans.

I would like to say that I'm very proud of the good folks of Private Tucker's hometown of Madras, Oregon, and the surrounding communities, for the way they've handled this. The consensus seemed to build early on to focus on Tucker's life, his service and his sacrifice instead of the way he died. Support came in all shapes and forms, but at the same time family members and friends were allowed to be alone when they wanted to be left alone. Grief was openly expressed, but people stood tall as they cried. Good on them.

A grateful salute to the Patriot Guard Riders

My thanks to the Patriot Guard Riders who are showing up to help keep any protestors away from the mourners at the memorial service for PFC Thomas Tucker Saturday. I appreciate it.

Book Note: Designs on the Heart by Karal Ann Marling

American Profile, a newspaper supplement, carried an interview with the author of a new book on the beloved American artist Grandma Moses in its June 25-July 1 issue. You can read it online at Grandmother to the Nation. The interview was conducted by Jack Kelly.

The book is published by Harvard University Press.

To go to Barnes & Noble, click the bookcover below.


Designs on the Heart: The Homemade Art of Grandma Moses

When I was growing up, we had four Grandma Moses plates displayed on the wall in the family room, depicting the four seasons. I could see them from where I sat when we ate. Nice stuff.

Bookselling News: Tattered Cover pulls off big move

From the American Booksellers Association's Bookselling This Week, Tattered Cover at Full Speed in New Location:

At 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 24, Denver's Tattered Cover closed its Cherry Creek store and by Monday at 9:00 a.m., the new Tattered Cover at the historic Lowenstein Theater was fully stocked and open for business. More than 100,000 titles had been moved by staff and 300 volunteers to the transformed multilevel theater that still boasts balconies and an orchestra pit. "We're all tired but thrilled," said Tattered Cover's Cathy Langer...

[snip]

Langer told BTW about the feat of moving a 30,000-square-foot store into 24,000 square feet over the course of not quite a day and a half. "Linda Millemann [Tattered Cover's general manager] had fine-tuned everything to military precision," she said. "She figured out how many seconds it took to pack a box, how many boxes we needed, how many volunteers. It was just brilliant. [Project manager] Regina Bullock also was a mastermind of the move." Of course, having 300 volunteers helped. "We're so grateful to the community for their support and for physically helping us," she said. Langer also noted the support of the bookselling and publishing industry.

The long vacant historic Lowenstein Theater, at East Colfax and Elizabeth Street, first opened in 1953. The bookstore has maintained its architectural and historic integrity, said Langer. "The space has a rather large footprint and a very high ceiling. We kept a lot of the theater's architectural elements partly because they're so cool and partly because the National Parks Service is overseeing it as a historic project."

The orchestra pit is one of the elements that the Parks Service required to stay. Bookshelves surround it, while the pit itself is used for Tattered Cover's theater section. Balconies, overlooking the main floor, serve as a place to read and to bring coffee from the bookstore's cafe. The lower level, formerly the cabaret, is now the children's, bargain, and travel sections...

Book note: Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity by John Stossel

In a gutsy and/or self-assured and/or amazingly objective move for a news company, ABC News reprints the chapter on "clueless media" from John Stossel's latest book.


Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel - Why Everything You Know Is Wrong

Oregon State Wins College World Series

In passing, I would like it noted that a baseball team from Oregon won this year's College World Series. That would be the Beavers, to be specific, not the Ducks.

BBC News starts a blog

Editors with BBC News have their own blog now, called, appropriately enough, The Editors. Giles Wilson has some background on the project.

Representative government versus a direct democracy

What she said.

Grandpa's Scrapbook

The Common Room has a series going where they share old newspaper clippings -- editorial cartoons mostly. See here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, for all the posts I found for June.

Aubrey and the Terrific, Amazing, Quite Good, Very Great Day

Folks in Boise pulled the stops out to help the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Idaho make a dream come true for a little girl. Bravo, Boise.

Hat tip: The Paragraph Farmer

Ladies and gentlemen, crank your engines...

OK, so not all the vehicles in Great Race 2006 are old enough to require crank starting, but surely some of these require skill, patience, and perhaps muscle to start??? Certainly, there are some wonderful old cars in this year's race, which has just over a hundred entries.

The race starts June 24 in Philadelphia and ends July 8 in San Rafael, California.

hat tip: Focus on the Family (watch for their 1941 Cadillac convertible...)

Red Cross. Red Crescent. Plus...now the Red Crystal

BBC NEWS: Israel allowed to join Red Cross reports that the Israeli Magen David Adom society has just been voted into the Red Cross movement over the objection of some Arab states. It will operate under a new symbol, the red crystal (picture with article). The resolution, voted on at a Red Cross and Red Crescent conference in Geneva, also allowed the Palestinian Red Crescent into the alliance.

The American Friends of Magen David Adom Society website is here.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has more information on the "red crystal" emblem.

Book note: Victory in Tripoli, by Joshua E. London

Via Olasky at WorldViews, here's a May 9, 2006, Jamie Glazov interview of Joshua E. London, about his book Victory in Tripoli.


Victory in Tripoli: How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation

Previous "Barbary Pirates" posts: New Book: The Pirate Coast, by Richard Zacks (April 25, 2005) and The Thomas Jefferson Papers - America and the Barbary Pirates (March 13, 2005).

Jonathan Witt's new book available for pre-order

In Wittingshire: Good Art versus Bad Art, Amanda Witt writes:

...This raises an important question: for the philosophical materialist--that is, for the person who believes that all reality boils down to atoms in the void--what justification beyond personal preference is there for holding up Shakespeare over schlock? Are our standards of what constitutes great art based merely on taste or fashion, or do we have permanent, transcendent reasons for recognizing genius?

Jonathan and his co-author, Benjamin Wiker, tackle this question in their new book, A Meaningful World.

That would be Jonathan Witt, her husband.

More on the book from the publisher here.

To go to Barnes & Noble, click the book cover.


Meaningful World: How the Arts and Sciences Reveal the Genius of Nature

Improving health care on two different fronts

In newsobserver.com A passage to India for surgery, Rick Martinez reports on a new way for American companies to provide less expensive, but very good, health care for their employees. Visits to the Taj Mahal included upon request. No, really. India is marketing health services to Americans who want to cut costs, and Europeans and Canadians who want access to better care. More power to them, I say.

hat tip: Carolina Journal (via Betsy's Page.)

Meanwhile, in the United States, Jane Erikson of the Arizona Daily Star reports that the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's "100,000 Lives Campaign" appears to be reducing hospital errors and preventable deaths.

Cuban props

Elephants in Academia: Go-go Che at the V and A relates a visit to the "Che Guevara: Revolutionary and Icon" exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, plus some thoughts on the exhibit and its subject.

Brothers Judd: If Only There Were A Futures Market For Nations excerpts a Miami Herald article by Guy Hedgecoe about members of the families of Cuba's ruling class who have moved to Spain but preserve family ties.

Word of the day: eleemosynary

Since as often as not I show up in online stats as coming from Monroe, Louisiana, (showing where CenteryTel is, not where I am, I guess), I thought I'd take a little time to get to know the place in which I supposedly live. In my spare time, I've been strolling through various online sites, getting a feel for the place.

Mostly I've been on Chamber of Commerce and tourism sites, but on the theory that you can tell a lot about a place based on how heavy-handed city officials are -- or hope to be, at any rate -- I went to the municipal code site. (Like I can decipher most city codes? Who am I trying to kid?) Long story short: trying to read through the bureaucratese made me cross-eyed and I soon gave it up as a waste of time, but not before I learned a new word (bolding mine), in a section titled "Charitable Raffles, Bingo, and Keno":

For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) Charitable organization shall mean a nonprofit veterans, eleemosynary, benevolent, educational, religious, fraternal or civic and service association or corporation domiciled in this state. Any such organization or corporation shall have qualified with the United States Internal Revenue Service for an exemption from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3), (4), (8), or (19) of the Internal Revenue Code.

I didn't see a definition of this amazing word there, so I pulled out my Penguin English Dictionary, 2nd Edition, which I imported to this country with the help of an Internet seller based in the UK (and a good investment it has been):

...adj of, supported by, or giving charity. [medieval Latin eleemosynarius, from late Latin eleemosyna alms, from Greek....

...The Greek word requires letters I don't know how to do with my set-up, I'm afraid. The closest I can approximate it with what I've got is eleemoysine. At the end of the definition, it says: see ALMS. By golly, "alms," it turns out, has the same late Latin root. Alms, however, is easier to say, for my money, which might be why it caught on better. Just a guess.

I grab my Oxford American Dictionary, Heald Colleges Edition, mass market paperback edition, which would be my favorite everyday dictionary, I think, if it weren't printed in a typeface that globs in boldface, sometimes making it impossible to tell what the letters are (a serious defect in any book, but especially in a dictionary, I think). It also shoves text into the gutter (the inner margin, going to the spine), which also makes it hard to read. (You might as well know, text shoved into the gutter is one of my pet peeves, since it makes a book hard to read and almost guarantees the spine will be broken even with normal use...) Anyway, it has the word, too, defining it:

adj. of or dependent on charity, charitable.

So, I still don't feel I'm ready to use it in casual conversation, much less in writing, but at least now I have a clue.

Have any of you ever seen "eleemosynary" in any context besides bureaucrat-speak? I suspect it might be good to know for playing Scrabble, but otherwise I'm not sure how useful it might be...

The King Canute of the book world...

In The Common Room: Excerpt From a Book, Pipsqueak shares one of the best descriptions of a bookstore ever :).

I have been in bookstores like that. For that matter, at times our bookstore has threatened to become something of the sort. (Ahem.)

The 2996 project looking for bloggers to honor a life on Sept. 11, 2006

Over at A Rose By Any Other Name, I saw a button in the sidebar I hadn't noticed before, and so wound up at 2996, which is a project to have 2,996 volunteer bloggers each honor the life of a person killed in the 9/11 attacks with a tribute on their blog.

This is a very young project, but according to the latest post, The Global Community, there are almost 400 bloggers signed up already, with participants from around the world.

The hope is to have every person who was killed assigned to a blogger in time for each victim to be remembered on September 11 of this year.

I'm not planning to sign up, but I thought some of you might like to.

On patriotism

Neptunus Lex : On patriotism notes, "...we are not born loving our land and laws, our kith and kin, it is taught to us. Or else it is not..." He finds that often, these days, it is not. A thoughtful essay. (Via Real Clear Politics.)

Over at Expat Yank, Robert has a post called Great Thinkers Gathered, which compiles statements about patriotism from around the world.

Speaking of contemporary art...

... did you know that the Royal Academy this year accidentally gave an award to a base that somehow got separated from the artwork it was meant to display -- but stands by its award on the grounds that the slate slab and a bit of wooden prop found with it were "thought to have merit"? Lionel Shriver has the story. (He also thought the sculpture that went with the base was well rendered, and "exudes a sense of joy and hilarity." The laughing head, though, got no award, alas...)

Parental note: Mr. Shriver lampoons the Royal Academy by doing a high-falutin' review of a brick placed on his desk. Staying true to such things, he finds things to say that are, uhm, odd, let's say, moving this article from what some parents I know would consider a G to a PG.

Update: The Common Room has more, much more, on this, using other sources.

Addition: Somewhat-related previous post. (I am, by the way, still waiting for someone to tell me if that plaque Billy Rose wrote about is still there "on the house next to the corner, Fifth Avenue and 86th Street" in New York. And if it is, if people remember the story behind it?)

Quote of the day

(Via Catholic Educator's Resource Center's This Week's Quote feature):

"The greatest part of mankind have no other reason for their opinion than that they are in fashion." - Samuel Johnson..

Kind of a "let him who is without sin cast the first stone" sort of quote, isn't it? Ouch. Been there, done that, not real proud of it... :/

On the other hand, Iran has worker unrest...

...and Jason Lee Steorts suggests that supporting the bus drivers and other frustrated workers "may be our best hope of neutralizing the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program." ("The Iranian Street," National Review Digital, June 19, 2006)

A tip of the hat to Bookworm, who likes Steorts' idea, but has her doubts.

More background on Iran

I read Guests of the Ayatollah by Mark Bowden several weeks ago, and recommend it for anyone trying to understand the Middle East. It's a meaty book - I think most people would need a week or more to get through it. (I think it took me six days, but that was with allotting most of my spare time to it, and letting the dishes pile up in the sink.) But considering that it compiles much of what is now known about the Iran hostage situation of 1979-1981, I think it was time well spent.

Let me put that another way. When the hostages came home, I breathed a sigh of relief and thought that if I never heard another word about the whole mess it would be too soon. But guess what? I now think that what I thought I knew, based entirely upon news reports of the time and on conjecture by other people who were also basing their thoughts upon news reports of the time, I think I was badly mistaken about a number of things. (Imagine that. Neither the national/international news guys or I knew what was going on, especially what was going on in secret. What a shock ;).


Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam

Mind you, I'm not declaring myself any kind of expert now, but I think the book gave me a good reality check, if that's the phrase I want.

My to-read stack has also undergone some changes as the result of reading it. It now includes some of the books Mr. Bowden listed as source material. So far I've only read Guest of the Revolution by Kathryn Koob, one of the hostages, which also made me sit up and reassess what I used to think. Miss Koob's book is published by Thomas Nelson, and focuses on how her faith sustained her and grew during her captivity, but it also has rather a lot of good history and general observation in it.

The Bowden book I wouldn't hand to youngsters or refined maidens. The author is admirably restrained in his depiction of horrible circumstances, but he does, necessarily, deal with horrible circumstances (beatings, mock executions, aircraft crashes, etc.), plus he lets people speak in their own voices, which can get interesting -- some of the captives made a point of being offensive to their captors, for example. There's nothing gratuitously bad, but there is bad stuff I wouldn't dump on an innocent kid. (College kids are perhaps another matter. Books like this might help inoculate them against the utopianism to which they and many of their professors are prone. Maybe? A gal can hope, can't she?)

Miss Koob's book I'd give a solid PG.

Related post from May 3.

Iranian worldview background

In Ahmadinejad's Demons, Matthias Kuntzel explains some of the history behind a certain martyrdom movement in Iran. (Not advised for children or around mealtime.)

The article originally appeared in The New Republic (April 24, 2006), and appears at the above link (Catholic Education Resource Center) by permission.

Update: I was trying to think where else I'd seen Mr. Kuntzel's name, and now I remember. He's written for and been cited at Transatlantic Intelligencer.

Religion's role in Canadian life discussed

In The porous line between Church and State, Rev. Raymond de Souza outlines the history of religion's influence in public life in Canada throughout history, compared to today. About the current situation, the article notes: "...It would be a step forward to simply recognize that religious believers are as much citizens as are secularists."

I'd like to second that.

The article relates some of what was said at The Cooperation of Church and State Conference organized by the Ottawa-based Centre for Cultural Renewal.

Portrait sells for $135 million

Ronald Lauder has paid a record price for a painting, exchanging $135 million (£73 million) for a 1907 portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Gustav Klimt. According to this article in The Telegraph, Mr. Lauder, the son of the late Estee Lauder of cosmetics fame, saw the painting when he was a teenager and fell in love with it, never thinking it might come on the market. He opened his own museum in Manhattan in 2001 called the Neue Galerie and dedicated to early 20th century art, the director of which (the article explains) is excited with the new acquisition. The Telegraph article includes a picture of the painting.

(And, no, I have no idea why the price was so high for something that looks like nothing so much as a woman taking advantage of one of those carnival offerings where you stick your head through a hole in a stage set and get your picture taken for a lark. Mania for 'modern art' eludes me. But if Mr. Lauder is happy, I'm happy.)

Fighting eminent domain abuse

The South Carolina legislature has passed a proposed amendment to the state constitution to protect homeowners and business owners against eminent domain abuse. The amendment will appear on the November 2006 ballot. Among other things, the amendment would tighten the definition of "blight" so that the designation no longer means whatever city officials or developers say it means, but can be used only for properties that pose a threat to public health and safety.

The Louisiana legislature is also sending a constitutional amendment to the voters in November.

Here's one of the many reasons it matters: kids living in towns with homes targeted for 'redevelopment'. Guess what the kids talk about at school when their city is gunning for their home or the home of a friend, just so some unscrupulous private developer can build somebody else a house or put up a hotel, or something like that? (I think it's fair to call any developer who uses eminent domain to get what he wants "unscrupulous," don't you? I also think it's important to differentiate between folks like that and developers, contractors, and government officials who conduct themselves in an above-board manner.)

Or, how would you like to flee war-torn Cambodia and go to the United States, "a nation where citizens have the ability to keep what they've worked hard to own", only to be kicked out by your local government in your new homeland after spending almost twenty years building up a business and a customer base, apparently for no other reason than somebody else wants the property?

For success stories from around the country, where citizens have saved private property from the government's wrecking ball, see this list at Castle Coalition.

How many users would you guess are registered at eBay?

I missed this news last week, but it was brought to my attention by someone I know who sells on eBay/ebay/Ebay/EBay (however in the Sam Hill it's supposed to be written). EBay now has 200 million registered users. Of course, not all of them are active, but the active figures are impressive enough -- 75.4 million "active" users in the March quarter.

For a longish interview of Ebay chief executive Meg Whitman by the Financial Times, addressing such things as "how is ecommerce changing", see here.

Archaeologists plan week-long investigation at Kam Wah Chung in John Day, Oregon

According to this press release reprinted in the Baker City Herald, archaeologists will be working around the Kam Wah Chung building in John Day from Monday, June 19, through Saturday, June 24.

Saturday has been designated a Public Archaeology Day, with activities from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., including tours led every hour by project director Dr. Julie Schablitsky.

Previous related post: China Doctor of John Day

Talking about humans

This strikes me as a pro-life column you can give to your liberal friends... (Insisting on life, Nat Hentoff, Jewish World Review, June 12, 2006/ 16 Sivan, 5766)

Essentially the same column - with slightly different editing in a few places - appeared as The devaluing of human life on the June 12 op-ed page of The Washington Times.

hat tip: The Common Room

New Orleans update

Emily Chamlee-Wright and Daniel Rothschild write in the Opinion Journal:

NEW ORLEANS--With a history in the Black Panthers and Green Party, Malik Rahim does not fit the stereotype of a property-rights activist. But that is what he's become in the upside-down political world of post-Katrina New Orleans, where government response to the storm is creating some strange bedfellows.

Nine months after the hurricane New Orleans remains in tatters, its population is down to about 200,000 from almost a half-million. Large parts of the city, from posh Lakeview to working-class Mid-City, still have few habitable buildings. Many businesses have not reopened or are gone for good. Almost a quarter of voters in May's mayoral runoff election voted absentee.

To add insult to injury, the rights of property owners who had their homes and businesses damaged by Katrina's wrath now face a more powerful and potent threat. Local government officials, armed with the public health code, eminent domain powers and a bevy of dubious legal techniques, aim to demolish buildings--and, some fear, strip titles from owners--in what are being euphemistically called "forced buyouts."

Mr. Rahim is the founder of Common Ground, a homegrown group borne of the aftermath of Katrina. It has established emergency supply distribution centers across southeastern Louisiana, including in the virtually abandoned Lower Ninth Ward, where signs reading "Somebody Lives Here" and "Eminent Domain for Who?" surround the bright blue house that serves as a de facto community center...

Read the rest of Government Dines on Katrina Leftovers: Eminent domain becomes a potent threat.

For more information: Joe McKeever provides first-person reports out of the New Orleans area on an ongoing basis.

More from the Mommysphere

I'd like to add rosetta stone: Does it get any better than this? and rosetta stone: memo to the list from yesterday.

The Lumiere Brothers and early motion pictures

Gail at Crossing the Rubicon2 is sharing some very short, very old films - as in from 1895, 1895 again, and 1907!

From the Mommysphere

I was telling a 50-something friend about this post at Wittingshire, and the next thing I knew his eyes lit up, and I was treated to gleefully-related tales about his late grandfather, who I guess had world-class arms for this, uhm, game. Not my thing, but hey. I guess it's harmless. On my friend's behalf, thanks for the memories, Amanda.

Elsewhere, Circle of Quiet has found there are upsides to not buying your kids too much stuff. Water ball, anyone?

Over at intent, Sparrow notes that the world seems to conspire against preteens and what is good for them. But she fights back. (She also links in that post to Jerram Barr’s Booklist for Children, as presented at Tulip Girl.)

I hope you don't need an excuse to sing -- but if you do, Headmistress has a raft of reasons why singing is good for you and your kids.

Of course, there's always the joy of teaching them to sign, too.

Coming soon: The Language of God by Francis S. Collins

Steven Swinford, writing for The Sunday Times (Britain), reports on a book written by "The scientist who led the team that cracked the human genome...": I’ve found God, says man who cracked the genome (June 11, 2006). The headline and lead are a bit misleading, in that they imply that "finding God" is something that just happened to Francis Collins. The 56-year-old scientist is elsewhere described in the article as having been an atheist until the age of 27.

Swinford notes that Collins joins Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein as scientists whose studies deepened their faith in God, and also lets Collins express his disappointment that so many people think science and religion have to be at war, and that shrill voices have "dominated the stage for the last 20 years."

The Times article says the book will be published in September, but Barnes & Noble has it available for pre-order with a July 11 release date. The publisher is Simon & Schuster. Clicking on the book cover will take you to Barnes & Noble, which has more information.


Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief

hat tip: The Alliance Alert (June 13, 2006)

In the article, Collins is said to have found his way to belief first by noting the strength that faith gave to some of his most critical patients, and secondly by visiting a Methodist minister, who gave him a copy of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. The book changed his life. (I've heard that from other people, haven't you?)


Mere Christianity

P.S. While looking up Mere Christianity, I came across this book that is touted as the story behind how Mere Christianity came to be written, and how Lewis first became a household name. The author is Justin Phillips. The publisher is HarperCollins, with a publish date of January 2006. I see the title on the book cover at B&N and the title in the write-up don't match. My best guess is that the publisher had a working title and dummy cover with "C.S. Lewis Goes To War" but changed it after providing mock-ups to booksellers, because at HarperCollins the title is C.S. Lewis in a Time of War.


C. S. Lewis in a Time of War: The World War II Broadcasts That Riveted a Nation and Became the Classic Mere Christianity

P.P.S. Too funny. I just checked Amazon, and they also have a book cover with one title and text that has another title -- but in the inverse of Barnes & Noble!

Well... too funny, but not really. I feel for the author of this book. It must feel like some kind of curse to have the working and final titles all mixed together for public consumption. At any rate, I'm notifying the publisher, and hope its quality control guys can sort it all out.

In the meantime, the subject sounds interesting. Has anyone seen the book itself? How is it?

Update: Oops. Egg on my face. The author, Justin Phillips, died in 2000, shortly after finishing the manuscript of this book. One of his daughters finished things up for him and brought the book to publication. So, I should say, I feel for his daughter, Laura Treneer...

Book market watch: Books by D. E. Stevenson

Going through a stack of used books, getting them ready for sale, I came across one that looked like about a three dollar book, everything else being equal - used paperback, good condition, Ace Books, 1978 printing. It proclaims itself "A D.E. Stevenson Romance" at the top of the front cover, but the artwork is a family seated at dinner. (Oh good, not that sort of "romance," I say to myself. I can handle only so many of the dangerous-illicit-encounters-are-as-good-as-love-maybe-better books before I get exasperated. You know the ones I mean.)

Anyway, The Musgraves (the book I'm investigating) looks to be something a little bit different from the standard "romance," and Ace books in this line sometimes get collectible, so I go look it up on the Internet. The prices are not what I expected. As I look around, a copy listed for nine dollars and some cents sells. And most of the rest are $15, $20, $25 and up. Yikes. I do a bit of nosing about. The author wrote quite a few books, and a surprising number of the titles are $10, $15 and up books, even in standard mass market paperback editions. I'm finding hardbacks for $60. Fascinating. Another author that's hot but out of print? Maybe?

Has anybody read D. E. Stevenson? Glancing through this book, I didn't happen on anything objectionable. On the contrary, it seemed good, clean fun. Anybody? This is not an author I know. Is she a good one to recommend?

Hmmm. While waiting for reader input, let's see what we can find on the Internet. Here's a Moffat Town write-up on her. I guess she was Scottish...

Oh, bingo! In 2003, the North American Branch Angela Thirkell Society (ATS) sent a survey to its members asking about their favorite authors, and she's one of the top selections, according to this 2004 speech by Jerri Chase of the Richmond, Virginia branch of the society: Comparing the lives and works of Dorothy L. Sayers, D.E. Stevenson and Georgette Heyer with Angela Thirkell.

That puts her in illustrious company indeed. And being listed in the same breath with Sayers, Heyer or Thirkell, any one, would be a sort of recommendation in itself.

Now, if I can just remember who it is who was bemoaning that they'd read everything ever written by Angela Thirkell and wanted another author to try...

At any rate, don't put her books out willy-nilly for 50 cents at a yard sale, unless you like kicking yourself later. ;)

Sometimes the lesson learned isn't the one being taught

In Bargaining with the devil (Townhall.com, June 13, 2006), writer Burt Prelutsky talks about a lesson he learned after reading The Grapes of Wrath at age 11, and writing a book report about it for school.


Grapes of Wrath

200 "Cool Girls" from Children's Literature

Thanks to Melissa Wiley, coiner of the word "kidlitosphere", I've just discovered that at Jen Robinson's Book Page there's been an ongoing project to list "cool girls from children's literature." Here's the list as it stands at the 200 mark.

Art related books for kids

Here in the Bonny Glen: Monday in the Park with George introduces us to a picture book called Seurat and La Grande Jatte: Connecting the Dots, by Robert Burleigh. This sounds very cool.

She has an Amazon link you can use. If that doesn't suit you, clicking on the book cover here will take you to Barnes & Noble.


Seurat and la Grande Jatte: Connecting the Dots

At Barnes & Noble, following the "People who bought this book also bought" links brought up (among quite a few others):


Art Fraud Detective: Spot the Difference, Solve the Crime!


Art Auction Mystery: Find the Fakes, Save the Sale!


Can You Find It?: Search and Discover More than 150 Details in 19 Works of Art

Has anyone had these in their hands? What did you think of them?

Nice stuff

Debra at the "as i see it now" blog recommends the movie Little Manhattan.

Back in April, Debra wrote a wonderful post on what life is like in her town.

Addition: Betsy Newmark enthusiastically recommends the movie Akeelah and the Bee.

Crossing the street, all by yourself and otherwise

Our county boasts -- and boasts about having -- just one stoplight.

It's somewhat common to give directions to travelers by saying something like "It's about half a mile west of the stoplight." This is generally followed by a confused and/or wary pause on the part of the stranger, into which the local giving the directions can drop assurances that the visitor can't possibly get lost using those directions because there's only one stoplight in the county.

This is admittedly splitting hairs a bit, because some of the outlying smaller towns have blinking lights (red for some directions, yellow for others) that look very much like stoplights, but aren't. But, strictly speaking, it's true -- there's only one stoplight, doing that green, yellow, red routine. On top of that it's fun.

Sometimes as they walk away you hear the bemused tourist calling a friend on the phone to report that he's landed in a county -- not just a town, but a whole big county only somewhat smaller than Connecticut -- with only one stoplight. With some of these folks, you'd think they'd decided they'd found something akin to a lost Stone Age tribe or something, the way they react.

That's if they believe you. Some folks refuse to believe there's anywhere left in America where people are still thought capable of sorting themselves out at intersections, I guess. ;)

(Yes. Yes. I know. Some places have much more traffic than we do, and the requirements for traffic control are entirely different. I'm just saying some people can't believe the world can exist without traffic lights all over the place, no matter what the actual conditions. Trust me on this. I've seen folks drop their jaw when told we have only one stoplight. It had not occurred to them that such a thing is possible. Go figure.)

For as long as I can remember there have been plans by city fathers and state-level do-gooders to add more stoplights, and for as long as I can remember the population in general has protested that it is fun - distinctive - a selling point - a badge of honor - to be a county with just one stoplight. This spirited defense of the status quo is to a large extent tongue-in-cheek, you understand -- at least for most people. (Some people can be fanatics about anything, can't they? Even the dubious distinction of having just one traffic light, sorry to say. Sigh.)

The intersection with the stoplight also comes complete with large buttons at about waist level that pedestrians can push to change the light, to hurry things a bit. If you sit at the Dairy Queen, which sits at this intersection, you can learn a lot about people, just by watching how they punch those buttons. (Or not punch the buttons. A certain variety of human being apparently takes great satisfaction in ignoring both walk/don't walk signals and the buttons provided to manipulate them. Perhaps it is coincidence, but many of these people don't look like the sort of person you'd like to have living next door or working at the same place as yourself.)

I realize that not everywhere is as 'unsophisticated' as here when it comes to aiding and trying to control pedestrians. Many years ago, when I was in Japan, one of my hostesses and I were walking around and came to a large, very busy, multi-laned intersection. When it was time for pedestrians to cross, music blared at the appropriate corners. My hostess explained that it was to make it easier for blind people to know where to go. That was fine as far as that went, but, as I recall, the music selection was "If a body meet a body, coming through the rye, and a body kiss a body, need a body cry?" Somehow it seemed a teeny bit incongruous. Delightful. But strange.

Around here, call us silly, but it's considered good manners to offer a person our arm if she looks like she needs help finding her way from one corner to the other. It's a bit old-fashioned and low tech, but we like it. Blaring music from street corners would just annoy people, I think. It's a quiet town, on the whole.

Then there's England, which apparently takes directing pedestrian/vehicle inter-mixing quite seriously. Katherine at K's Cafe has a primer on zebras, pelicans, puffins and toucans -- not the animals, but the various kinds of pedestrian crossings by the same name.

So, if I came to your town, what would I find?

Update: Thanks to Barb's comment, I have now been introduced to the term Jughandle. I've driven on them before, but had no idea they were called that.

Giuliani-recommended biographies

Rudolph Giuliani recommends biographies of leaders (OpinionJournal, June 10, 2006). Of the books mentioned in the article, these five are highlighted: "Churchill: A Study in Greatness" by Geoffrey Best (Hambledon & London, 2001); "Jefferson and His Time" by Dumas Malone (Little, Brown, 1948-81); "Herndon's Lincoln" by William Henry Herndon and Jesse W. Weik (Belford, Clarke, 1889); "Profiles in Courage" by John F. Kennedy (Harper, 1956); and "President Reagan" by Richard Reeves (Simon & Schuster, 2006).

Nice kitty. Down boy.

One thing that amazes me about many (most?) pet cats is that they don't seem to have any concept of their own size. That they are horribly outmassed by someone or something just doesn't seem to give them pause quite as often as it might. But chasing a bear? Twice? They grow some kinda cat back there in New Jersey.

(Side note: As I noted back in back in March, New Jersey has apparently developed a serious wildlife problem, including bears.)

"What to do when a storm approaches"

I'm tempted to try this, minus step one (since I'm a grown-up), in the back yard where the neighbors can't see me easily ;). Heaven knows we've been having the weather for it.

Technical difficulties...

Blogger has been doing some major overhauls and I have been blocked from posting much of this week. The good folks who provide me with email are apparently revamping something, and so, off and on over several days, I have been unable to send email. I have had difficulty getting into my Barnes & Noble account, so even when I could post, I couldn't link to a book. That's when I could get on and stay on the Internet. My computer is having software problems, which scared me so much this morning that I turned everything off until my husband could come take a look late this afternoon. All in all, its been an interesting few days on the technology front -- and it doesn't look like it's over. Expect me to be on and off for a while as far as blogging goes.