Mommy Brain

We just got back from the fair and I’m pooped. I’ve been entertained out this summer, I think. Vacation was wonderful - so fun - but I have no desire to do anything else. I want to start school and have normal life back! But, that won’t happen until after Tuesday, because on Tuesday, I’m taking the kids here. I don’t want to. at. all. But, the kids read their 10 hours each (over and above normal school reading time) to earn their free tickets, so I kinda half to, or I’d be a really mean mommy. Sigh.

I am really looking forward to tomorrow night. All three boys are going for a sleepover at Michelle’s house in honor of her Jacob’s birthday, and Natalie is heading south to Grandma and Papa’s for the night. So Kevin and I are going to go out to dinner and have an evening all to ourselves. Then Saturday afternoon, he’s taking Josiah on an overnight camping trip, just the two of them. It’s Josiah’s turn for time with Daddy.

It’s been a great week, book-wise. I received a review copy of…

The Grift by Debra Ginsberg

…and an ARC of…

The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway.

I also ordered the first four books in the History Lives series, which are books for young readers that tell the history of the church from St. Paul through John Wesley. (Book 5 continues the story from there, and is due out later this year.) Westminster Books has the first four books for only $25.17 - 30% off! The series is written by Brandon and Mindy Withrow, whose blog I’ve enjoyed for a couple of years now. Anyway, I’m going to read these aloud to the kids for part of our Bible studies.

Well, Kevin’s come upstairs and wants to watch a DVD, so I better get to the links.

~ Angela Hunt posted this Urban Legend Amalgam. If you’ve ever received a forwarded e-mail, you gotta click over.

~ Confused baby sea turtles - I would have loved to be there for this!

~ If you’ve read or heard anything about the “revival” going on in Lakeland, Florida, this is a must-read.

On April 3, 2008 Canadian evangelist Todd Bentley was invited to speak to the Ignited Church of Lakeland, FL. Though he was only scheduled to be there for 5 days, he remained for 3 months during what he considered to be the biggest pentecostal revival since the Azusa Street revival. To put it mildly, the “Lakeland revival” has been controversial. Claims of people being raised from the dead? Violent healing? Now it appears Bentley is stepping down after filing for separation from his wife and admitting to an inappropriate relationship with another woman…

(snip)

Yet, when I see things like this, it is just hard not to ask: does anyone still have a Bible and some common sense?

Let me add: I do not think this is a Pentecostal issue. That is why the title is, “Evangelical Gullibility.”

In other words, all kinds of Christians are forwarding emails about the FCC’s phony plan to ban religious braoadcasting, signing up to have emails sent to the loved ones after the rapture, and watching Christian television for its theological depth. For that matter, I have just as many odd people come up to me with “something they discovered in the Bible that no one has ever noticed” after I speak at a Baptist, Wesleyan, of non-denominational meeting as I do when I speak at a Pentecostal one. Furthermore, many Pentecostals and Charismatics HAVE expressed concern about this movement– including some when I visit the Assemblies of God office a couple of weeks ago.

I just have to wonder with Grady if Christians really are just gullible.

~ If you need some Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince buzz to tide you over until the movie’s (new) release date of July 17th, EW has an article with some scoop about the film.

~ Why is it that Dan Brown could publish The Da Vinci Code, a fictional novel which offended many Christians by stating that Jesus was married and had kids, but Harper Collins won’t publish a fictional novel about one of Mohammed’s wives?

“Random House made the decision to cancel its US publication of the novel ‘The Jewel of Medina’ after much deliberation and with great reluctance,” a statement from the publisher sent to AFP said.

“The decision was based on advice from scholars of Islam, among several creditable sources, that publication of this book might be offensive to some in the Muslim community and could incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment.”

~ If you want to watch a slideshow and some video clips of our vacation, head over to Kevin’s site.

~ Hey - it turns out I’m raising three future surgeons.

~ This video of the a cappella group Naturally 7 is pretty awesome.

~ It’s time to sign up for this year’s Pizza Hut Book-It Program.

~ Homeschool stereotypes vs. public school realities - a must-read at Principled Discovery.

At Books and Movies this week:

~ The Sunday Salon

~ Musing Mondays

~ Teaser Tuesdays

~ Review of The Great Debaters

~ Booking Through Thursday

(Camp Rock was provided to me by Click Communications for the purpose of review.)

This summer is gonna Rock! Get ready to sing and dance like never before with the electrifying Disney Channel Original Movie Camp Rock! Disney’s exclusive DVD explodes with “Too Cool” bonus features, including an exclusive extended ending and “How To Be A Rock Star,” a sensational series full of tips and secrets from the Camp Rock cast to help make your real-life rock star dream come true!

When Mitchie gets a chance to attend Camp Rock, her life takes an unpredictable twist, and she learns how important it is to be true to yourself. Join the platinum-selling Jonas Brothers and the hottest cast of performers at the coolest summer camp anywhere! Experience Camp Rock in a whole new way in this Extended Rock Star Edition DVD, packed with hit music, hip dance moves, and bonus features that will have you singing, dancing and rocking over and over again.

(Were there enough exclamation points in the above description for you? )

If you have a tween or teen in your home, chances are you know who the Jonas Brothers are. Natalie is a huge fan, and was very excited to have the chance to review Camp Rock, especially since I forgot to set the VCR to record it when it was on TV. Oops.

Here’s what Natalie thought:

This movie is like a dance and sing movie. I like those kinds of movies especially if there are really good singers in the movie. I really like the Jonas Brothers and the main girl, Demi Lovato, is a great singer also.

Mitchie gets to go to Camp Rock where all the people that want to be like, famous, go there. Well, when she goes there, she is living a lie. Trying to be popular. But when the lie comes unfolded she sees how she can just be herself here.

I really liked this movie and I advise you to watch it!

Camp Rock will be available on DVD on August 19th. The DVD Bonus Features include: “How to Be a Rock Star,” “Jonas Brothers: Real-Life Rock Stars,” “Introducing Demi Lovato,” “Camp Memories,” “Hasta La Vista - from Rehearsal to Final Jam” and “Too Cool: Setting the Scene” - as well as music videos and a sing-along with the movie option.

Well, we had a little excitement in our neck of the woods yesterday. Winds that were 55 to 60 miles per hour hit our town. We were lucky - we still have power, and we don’t have any trees down in our yard. Others weren’t that lucky - including our city park, where a few trees were uprooted by the wind. Here are some pictures, if you’re interested - click on slideshow.

While the winds were dying down, and our husbands had the kids at Tae Kwon Do, Michelle and I went to see The Incredible Hulk. Not the usual chick flick for a girls’ night out - in fact, I think we might have been the only women there who weren’t accompanying children of the male gender. But, we both needed a night out, and we both like Edward Norton, so…

No big plans for the weekend, other than sending my only daughter off to sleep-away camp for the first time. Sniff. Any of you done this before? How do you not worry?

At Books and Movies this week:

~ Thoughts on the film Into the Wild.

~ Review of Booked to Die, the first of the Cliff “Bookman” Janeway mysteries.

Other links:

~ Anyone else excited about TNT’s The Closer returning Monday night? Here’s an interview with Kyra Sedgewick.

~ William-Adolphe Bouguereau is an incredible artist - I love his paintings of children:

~ I may not agree with Christopher Hitchen’s views on religion, but this article he wrote for Vanity Fair about the interrogation practice of water-boarding is chilling. He agreed to undergo the procedure for research - but be warned: the video is disturbing.

~ On a completely unrelated and much lighter note - I scored 15 out of 20 on this Candy Bar Identification Quiz. Not sure if I should be proud of that, however.

~ This video of a new instrument called an Air Piano is pretty cool.

~ Stephen King’s advice to aspiring writers.

~ A scene from the BBC’s Black Books about responding to a rejection letter from a publisher. Hilarious!

Have a great weekend!

Our week of endless VBS is almost at an end. I must admit that the free time in the mornings and evenings has been very nice, but I’m not sure it’s worth the over-tired and cranky-from-too-much-sugar kids. Next year will be different, since Natalie will have finished 6th grade, and therefore aged out of the VBS they’ve been attending for the past several years. I’ll have a daughter entering junior high next August - how did that happen?

Our weekend is looking to be much slower and quieter than our week, and that’s just fine with me. We need a quiet week to gear up for Independence Day weekend, when my sister and her family will be visiting, and we’ll be spending the bulk of our time at Mom and Dad’s. The following weekend we take Natalie to Bible camp. She comes home on Thursday the 17th, and on Saturday the 19th, the kids will participate in a Tae Kwon Do tournament. The following weekend, we leave on our trip. When we get back, it will be three weeks until school starts again. When I look at it like that, the summer’s almost over already!

From the news:

~ This is scary and ridiculous: a Canadian court rules that a father cannot discpline his daughter by grounding her from a school camping trip. The judge said that the punishment was excessive. The father was attempting to discipline his 12-year-old daughter for posting her information on an internet dating site and for fighting with her step-mother. The girl took her unhappiness with the situation to court - and won.

~ Owners of a family plantation in Maryland discovered a treasure trove of documents in their attic - dating from the 1660s through World War II.

~ Yellow Science at the Wall Street Journal:

Nevertheless, over the past several decades an increasing number of scientists have shed the restraints imposed by the scientific method and begun to proclaim the truth of man-made global warming. This is a hypothesis that remains untested, makes no predictions that can be tested in the near future, and cannot offer a numerical explanation for the limited evidence to which it clings.

Some great videos:

~ Electric strings group Scala appears on Britain’s Got Talent. These girls are amazing! Hat tip: Angela Hunt.

~ Where the H*ll is Matt? Hat tip: Chris Rice’s blog. Check out Matt’s web site, and his about page that explains how we had the opportunity to travel all over the world to make the video.

~ BBC Worldwide has its own YouTube page. Check out the QI clips - they are hilarious!

Movie stuff:

~ The movie version of Inkheart is coming in January - here’s the trailer. Looks like they made quite a few changes to the plot. I’ll reserve judgment until I actually see it. I guess.

~ Another book to movie: The Tale of Despereaux - coming in December. Here’s the trailer.

Education and learning:

~ Homeschoolers in college can sniff out the BS. Of course they can.

~ David McCullough’s commencement address at Boston College. Hat tip: Mental Multivitamin.

Read. Read, read! Read the classics of American literature that you’ve never opened. Read your country’s history. How can we profess to love our country and take no interest in its history? Read into the history of Greece and Rome. Read about the great turning points in the history of science and medicine and ideas.

Read for pleasure, to be sure. I adore a good thriller or a first-rate murder mystery. But take seriously –read closely –books that have stood the test of time. Study a masterpiece, take it apart, study its architecture, its vocabulary, its intent. Underline, make notes in the margins, and after a few years, go back and read it again.

Make use of the public libraries. Start your own personal library and see it grow. Talk about the books you’re reading. Ask others what they’re reading. You’ll learn a lot.

Win a book:

~ Head over to Puss Reboots for a chance to win Virus Games, the first in a new series geared toward 9 to 12 year olds.

At Books and Movies this week:

~ Review of Anansi Boys

~ Review of Maus

~ Great audiobooks

~ EW’s 100 New Classic Books

I guess that’s it - that’s enough, right? Oh, I also joined Facebook, so let me know if you’re there, too, so I can add you to my friends list.

Michelle’s two boys, Jacob and Nicholas, are here for the weekend, which means many Orcs will be killed, Pokemon battles fought, Nascar races won, and Madden NFL games played. The boys are ODing on gaming this weekend before we have our 2nd Annual Two-Month Game Free Break. That’s right - June and July will be game-free at our house. At least for the kids. And me, but I don’t game anyway. I don’t think it’s likely Kevin will completely give up Call of Duty 4, but he limits his gaming to evenings anyway. The kids and I will be spending lots of time at the park and the pool, and enjoying the good weather before the unbearable hotness known as August in Eastern Washington descends upon us.

So, anyone watch the Lost finale? Man, that was good.

While the boys are gaming this weekend, I plan to finish Gone and Tigerheart and then start and make a good dent in New Moon (the sequel to Twilight), which came yesterday.

Here are a few links for your weekend surfing:

~ Volumes to Go Before You Die - the NYT on 1001 Books to Read Before You Die.

Assume, for the sake of argument, that a reasonably well-educated person will have read a third of them. (My own score, tallied after I made this estimate, was 303.) That leaves 668 titles. An ambitious reader might finish off one a month without disrupting a personal reading program already in place. That means he or she would cross the finish line in the year 2063. At that point, upon reaching the last page of title No. 1,001, “Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro, death might come as a relief.

~ In case you’re curious about which books are actually on the list, you can find all 1001 of them listed here. The above quote says that a “reasonably well-educated person will have read a third of them.” I am definitely not “reasonably well-educated.” I counted 39 that I’ve read, 29 that are on my to-read list, and 2 that I started, hated, and didn’t finish.

~ Spunky has blogged about the embarrassment that is being called Subwaygate. She sums up my feelings nicely. Here’s a snippet:

Let’s be a bit more adult about it, accept their decision, and if you must quietly remind them that you exist too, but then it’s time to move on. Let’s not shoot ourselves in the foot clamoring for a boycott. Marketing expert, Ned Barnett said that Subway made a marketing blunder with this contest, but this outcry makes us appear arrogant and immature. Do we really want to cultivate that image?

I’m actually surprised that Tennesse state officials can tell homeschoolers in that state that they need not apply to any government job and there is nary a peep from the homeschool community, but let a company exclude homeschoolers from an essay contest and the homeschool community cries foul, demands their right to enter, and starts eating at Quiznos!

I say, let Subway exercise their right to hold a contest and allow the entrants to be of their choosing not ours. It’s not fun to be excluded from a contest, but the alternative is to limit their freedom based on our choices. As homeschoolers, is that the message you want to send out to the watching world?

~ Our worship leader showed this video at church on Sunday - pretty wonderful stuff. I love to see creative ways to express worship.

~ I’ve decided to give Twitter a try.

What will you be doing this weekend?

(Snack Time! was provided to me by Special Ops Media for the purpose of review.)

Barenaked Ladies is a Grammy-award winning Canadian alternative rock group - not the type of band you expect to release a children’s music CD - but they have. It’s called Snack Time!, and it’s great. The kids and I have been rocking out to this CD full of quirky and odd songs for the past week. (Of course, it took the boys about fifteen minutes to stop giggling about the name of the group.) If you’re one of the parents who can’t stand most kids’ music, you must listen to this CD.

SNACKTIME is Barenaked Ladies first collection of original children’s songs. The album was produced and mixed by Michael Phillip Wojewoda, who also worked with the band on their debut Gordon.

“Our collective kids now outnumber the band more than 2 to 1,” explains vocalist/guitarist Ed Robertson. “We set out to make a record that would be entertaining for them…not strictly a children’s record, but a record that children would really enjoy. Our kids are in to all kinds of music. They love the They Might Be Giants kids records, but they also love The Beatles, Fountains of Wayne, Randy Newman, Black Eyed Peas and Green Day. Making the focus about what our kids like was a truly liberating process and fun for the whole band.”

For a taste of the quirky sensibility behind this CD, check out the video of the first track “7-8-9.” You can also get a free download of that song at their official web site. You can listen to several of the songs at their MySpace page.

Track listing:

1. 7 8 9
2. The Ninjas
3. Pollywog in a Bog
4. Raisins
5. Eraser
6. I Can Sing
7. Louis Loon
8 Food Party
9-11. The Canadian Snacktime Trilogy: Snacktime, Popcorn, Vegetable Town
12. Drawing
13. Humungous Tree
14. My Big Sister
15. Allergies
16. I Don’t Like
17. What a Wild Tune
18. Bad Day
19. Things
20. Curious
21. A Word For That
22. Wishing
23. Crazy ABCs
24. Here Come the Geese

I have to say that “Crazy ABCs” is one of my favorites. “A is for aisle, B is for bdelium…” Listen to it at the MySpace link above.

This CD is available now.

It’s been a wild and crazy week. On Monday, Kevin called from work and said he wasn’t sure if his van would make it home, so please stay by the phone in case he needed picked up. This wasn’t a surprise. His van is a 1992 Grand Voyager with close to 200,000 miles on it - he’s pretty much driven it into the ground. It needs thousands of dollars of work, but isn’t worth even a thousand.

So, Tuesday, we went out and bought a new van - you can see a picture at Nan’s blog. Actually, it’s not new - it’s a 2003 Plymouth Voyager, but that’s the closest to a new vehicle we’ve ever come. He will take my 1995 Ford Windstar, and I get the new one! I love the color - and the best thing is that it only has 31,150 miles on it. Oh, and it has sliding doors on both sides, so when I go shopping and there are too many bags to fit in the back, the kids can get out without cracking the eggs.

Other than that, nothing much is happening around here. We’re still plugging away at school, and enjoying the nice warm days amid the rainy, thunder-and-lightning ones.

~ My brother-in-law Hans just completed a composition course at Moody Bible Institute in preparation for starting at Covenant Theological Seminary in August. His final paper was titled “For Goodness’ Sake: How a Particular Longing for Purity Can Undermine the Spread of the Gospel”. You can read it here - it is very well-written and he makes some great points about engaging culture.

~ Chris at Book-a-rama posted this YouTube video of various BBC actors playing Consequences with the books they are reading in honor of the 2008 National National Year of Reading.

~ Michelle e-mailed me the link to this blog that is all about bookshelves. Be sure and scroll through the past pages, there are some amazing and bizarre ways to shelve books.

~ Entertainment Weekly has posted a slideshow list of 24 Bad Romantic Comedies. Hat Tip to Robin Lee Hatcher. Okay, I’ll tell you which ones I really like - or even love - if you’ll share, too. I liked Maid in Manhattan, Nine Months, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, I Love Trouble, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. I LOVED Fools Rush In, Father Goose, and Two Weeks Notice. I guess I’m just a sucker for a romantic comedy. Anyone have a bad one that should have made their list?

~ Switchfoot has recorded a song for the closing credits of the upcoming Prince Caspian movie. You can watch the video - which has scenes from the movie - here. Hat tip to Challies.

~ Think you can trust Amazon reviewers to be objective and unbiased - the common person’s review? Think again.

Full disclosure: It was late at night, in a fit of furtive self-Googling, that I discovered the first Amazon customer review of my debut book of fiction. “Superb,” wrote Grady Harp of Los Angeles. “Fascinating … addictive.” Not to mention “profound.” Such extravagance should have aroused suspicion, but I was too busy basking in the glow of a five-star rave to worry about the finer points of Harp’s style. Sure, he’d spelled my name wrong, but hadn’t he also judged me “a sensitive observer of human foibles”? Only when I noticed the “Top 10 Reviewer” tag did I wonder whether Grady Harp was more than just a satisfied customer. After a brief e-mail exchange, my publicist confirmed that she’d solicited Grady Harp’s review.

~ If you’re nostalgic for the ’80s, check out this collection of the Top 15 Most Awesome Celebrity Mullets. Hat tip to Cindy Swanson.

Have a great weekend, everyone - and Happy Mother’s Day to all of my mom readers.

First, of all, I can’t believe that I forgot to draw the winners for the All-Girl Getaways Contest! Well, the really cool thing is that I am receiving five prize packages - each one includes a traveling toiletries bag and a free issue of Travelgirl Magazine - to give away, and I received exactly five comments. So, Lawanda, Laura, Brandi, Karen, and Crissy - you all win! Watch your e-mail inboxes; I’ll be contacting you for mailing info.

Now, onto the weekly wrapup and links. First of all, I finished Neverwhere last night. I’m not going to take the time to write a complete review, but I will just say that if you like fantasy, you have to read this book. I gave it a five-star rating, and I’m pretty stingy with those.

I’m planning to read some more modern and light stuff - my brain is still worn out from Anna Karenina! I started an ARC of The House at Midnight (link in sidebar) today - so far, so good. Oh, and another volume of poetry - What the Light Was Like by Luci Shaw. She was a close friend of Madeleine L’Engle’s, and they even wrote several books together, so I’m finding it interesting to read some of Ms. Shaw’s work so close after finishing Ms. L’Engle’s collected poetry.

We have another Tae Kwon Do promotion Saturday. Jonathan wasn’t quite ready to go for his green belt when the older two did, but he is now, so that’s how we’ll be spending Saturday morning. Then next weekend is Mother’s Day! Kevin said he wanted to take me out to brunch. I won’t argue with that.

Lost is on tonight - but not till 10pm, so I’ll have to record it to watch tomorrow. Any other Losties out there? If so, be sure to check out the weekly recaps at Semicolon and Rocks in My Dryer. Did any of you know that Henry Ian Cusick, who plays Desmond, played Jesus in the movie The Gospel of John?

I guess I’m done rambling for now. Here are some links to keep you busy:

~ 33 of the most intricate and realistic Lego creations. Hat tip: Moomin Light.

~ Here’s a new Book Blog community to check out.

~ Not on the Test - a YouTube video of Tom Chapin doing the song he wrote with John Forster to protest the lack of arts education in the public school system. Hat tip: Principled Discovery.

~ Don’t miss Katy at Fallible’s Statement of Belief. Very funny.

~ Sign your kids up for Brain Food’s Summer Reading Program. Hat tip: Semicolon.

~Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent is having another writing contest at her blog. The challenge is to write a complete short story in six words. Think it can’t be done? Check out the contest link for her example - by Ernest Hemingway.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

(I was allowed to listen to Clay Aiken’s On My Way Here online for the purpose of review. This was arranged by Special Ops Media.)

I didn’t watch American Idol the first season. My first experience with AI was the season that involved Clay Aiken winning second - and I felt like he was robbed. I am so happy for him that he has had so much post-AI success. Yes, I bought his first album, and his Christmas album. They are frequently listened to at our house - and my boys love his music.

Well, Clay finally has an album of all-new material coming out on May 6th:

On My Way Here chronicles Aiken’s experiences over the past five years, ascending from popular contestant on the second season of American Idol to pop superstar. The album’s theme came to Aiken when he and his executive producer Jaymes Foster fell in love with a song co-written by Ryan Tedder called “On My Way Here.” The message of the lyrics - how the lessons we learn while growing up shape us into who we become as adults - struck a very deep chord with the artist. The title track “On My Way Here” is the first radio single from the album and it debuted at Number One on the AOL Top 40 Songs Chart on April 15th.

When I was given a chance to listen to On My Way Here online before the release date, I was ecstatic. I enjoyed his first CD very much, but I loved the music on this CD. Clay has done a lot of growing up since he was almost the American Idol, and it shows in the songs on this CD. His Christian faith comes through in many of the songs, as well as the experience of being single and waiting for “the one.”

Track Listing:

1: On My Way Here
“Faith has conquered fear, on my way here…

2: Ashes

3: Everything I Don’t Need

4: Something About Us
This is a beautiful love song: “The words on every poet’s tongue, every love song ever sung is about us…”

5: Falling

6: Where I Draw the Line

7: The Real Me

8: The Weight of the World

9: As Long As We’re Here
“Some people live their lives holding their fear inside of them, afraid to build windows to let the light of the world in…”

10: Sacrificial Love

11: Grace of God

12: Lover All Alone
“As hard as love can be, it’s harder still it seems, to be a lover all alone without love.”

On My Way Here will be available to purchase on May 6th, but you can pre-order at Amazon.com now.

It seems spring has finally sprung in our neck of the woods. The snow is all gone, and we’ve had some sunny days. Of course, on Sunday when I was overly optimistic and took the boys to the skate park, I froze. The sun was out, but the breeze was still frigid. A few more weeks, though, and we should be able to pack away the sweatshirts and bring out the t-shirts.

I’ve had more time to read this week, since my freelancing has dried up for a few months (unless I pick up another client, of course). Anna Karenina has finally grabbed me - it sure took awhile! I also finished listening to the audiobook of Blasphemy by Douglas Preston. It was a good sci-fi thriller, but it was sure apparent that he has a very low opinion of Christians. Or maybe just Christians in the media. Sadly enough, the horrible things that the televangelist and other “Christian” characters do in the book seem altogether plausible given the state of the church, which is terrible to admit, but true.

I started listening to Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman. Usually, I do not like it when authors read their own books on audio. I put up with Frank Peretti’s reading of Monster, although it was extremely exaggerated; I could not listen to Elizabeth Berg read her Dream While You’re Feeling Blue. If you’re an author, you should never read your own book aloud unless you have been assured repeatedly (by people not on your payroll) that you are a terrific read-aloud-er; just don’t do it. Gaiman, on the other hand, is a wonderful reader. You can tell that he loves words; he seems to taste each one as he speaks it. I read his Coraline aloud to the kids (we all loved it) and I tried to read American Gods, but couldn’t get past the graphic nature of it. Michelle read Ananzi Boys, though, and assured me it was completely different, so I guess he’s one of those authors who writes a completely different book each time. Fragile Things is a collection of short stories and poems, and so far I’m enjoying it very much. Anyone else read any of his work?

~ Hey, it’s not a rumor! The New Kids on the Block are reuniting for a CD and a tour. The music of my high school years.

~ Poetry180 is a web site sponsored by the Library of Congress. It contains a list of 180 poems - one for each day of a school year. The poems are meant for high schoolers, and I haven’t read them all, so definitely pre-read before sending your students there.

~ This Grand Avenue comic should give fans of math and art alike a few chuckles.

~ The Telegraph has an interview with author Jodi Picoult.

~ Lawanda is celebrating her 3rd Blogoversary - head over, congratulate her, and enter to win a free book.

I am nobody.
I hide in myself,
Velvet-lined
Against the cold stares
Of the world.

I am nobody.
I keep away from the hatred,
Stone-clad
Against those who mock
And deride.

I am nobody.
I remain in darkness,
Wool-insulated
Against the pain
Of their contempt.

But when I am asleep
I am somebody.
Stripped naked
Of all the trappings of myself.
An empress of lands of plenty,
With sackfuls of love, respect
And self-worth.

So please,
Let me sleep.

Author’s Note: I wrote this poem in empathy with anyone who suffers at the eyes of others whether disabled, depressed or just a bit sad. My nights are filled with such joy travelling the worlds beyond wakefulness and I wish such release for everyone who needs it.

~ The above poem was written by this amazing 10-year-old girl who has cerebral palsy. My mom e-mailed about her after she saw her story on ABC News. Be sure to click on the link to read her essay that won the Times Educational Supplement Write Away Competition in Jan. 2006. She’s truly remarkable.

People in Glass Houses

I build my house of shining glass
of crystal
prisms
light, clear,
delicate.
The wind blows
Sets my rooms to singing.
The sun’s bright rays
are not held back
but pour
their radiance through the rooms
in sparkles of delight.

And what, you ask, of rain
that leaves blurred muddy streaks
across translucent purity?
What, you ask,
of the throwers of stones?

Glass shatters,
breaks,
sharp fragments pierce my flesh,
darken with blood.
The wind tinkles brittle splinters
of shivered crystal.
The stones crash through.

But never mind.
My house
My lovely shining
fragile broken house
is filled with flowers
and founded on a rock.

~ from The Ordering of Love: The New and Collected Poems of Madeleine L’Engle

How’s your April going so far? Did anyone prank you on the first?

We started into our normal week on Tuesday after a long weekend of visiting with family, and it was hard. We had such a great time visiting, but it made for a very busy few days and none of us were ready to jump into school on Tuesday morning. It didn’t help that the rest of the neighborhood kids were all out playing, since this was the public school system’s Spring Break.

It also didn’t help things when I realized I’ve been too lax about doing history this year and we won’t finish by June, and will be continuing with history through the summer if we want to finish The Story of the World II: The Middle Ages in time to start book 3 in September. Sigh. Oh, well, at least we’ve been enjoying what we have learned and the kids seem to be retaining names and people groups well, if not exact dates.

After last weekend, I’m really craving a few days of down time, but I won’t be getting it. Saturday, Noah and Natalie will go through promotion at Tae Kwon Do, testing for their green belts. Sunday, I hope to take the kids to see Nim’s Island, which is playing in our little one-screen theater.

I’ve got lots of links for you this week, and I’ll start off with the poetry-related in honor of National Poetry Month:

~ The Telegraph ran a series called English Poetry Masters, with articles on Chaucer, Shelley, Christina Rosetti, Milton, and Robert Browning. Each article also includes a sample poem.

~ Sherry at Semicolon linked to The English Room’s 30 Days of Poetry. This is a great way to get your middle-grade kids writing poetry. You might even want to write along with them.

Now, on to the book-related:

~ The Guardian has an interview with Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief (which I loved).

~ Literary Feline is having a book giveaway in honor of Give a Friend a Book Week.

~ I’m a little behind the times, but I guess the latest craze in evangelical circles is a book called The Shack by William P. Young. I have not read the book, and so will not give an opinion, but I encourage you to read this review by Tim Challies. If you’d like, you can also check out this You Tube video from a Mark Driscoll sermon.

Now, for some opinion pieces:

~ It’s a Bratz Country, by Rod Dreher of Crunchy Con. Hat tip: Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer. Here’s a quote to peak your interest:

You will hear from very few people that the toxic culture in which we’re raising our children of all races is destroying them. The facts from the new study are pretty shocking for all Americans. What is it going to take for adults to realize how badly we are failing the younger generations? We’re going to keep on and keep on sexualizing little girls, acculturating them to the idea that they are sex objects. We are not, apparently, going to raise any effective objection to the increased sexualization of our culture by taking concrete and proactive measures in our own families, churches and communities to be countercultural in this regard. We’re simply going to assume there’s nothing we can do, or even blame the Other (it’s the right-wingers who fight comprehensive sex ed; it’s the left-wingers who are turning the culture trashy) instead of asking ourselves what we can and should do to build up a healthy and morally sane self-image in girls and boys.

~ The Nice Squad: Would you dare to say turn the music down?

I use Debrett’s Guide To Etiquette as my bible, and am lucky enough to know gentlemen who make me swoon by rushing ahead to open a door for me, or by insisting they take the correct side of the pavement. I’m clearly living in Brief Encounter, aren’t I?

So you can imagine how well it goes down when I get on a bus and an MP3 player mobile phone is tinnily blaring out some R&B nonsense about gold-plated Bentleys, b*tches and bling to the annoyance of everyone else.

On to politics:

~ Senior Democrats mull Al Gore’s nomination. Wouldn’t that make things interesting? (Shudder)

Some links to make you laugh:

~ Cathy Thorne who draws the wonderful Everyday People comics has a new website. Here’s one my favorites.

~ Another great edition of Zits.

~ This reminds me of how Natalie remembered acute, right, and obtuse angles.

~ I Am Woman - Size 36 D from Melanie at The Refrigerator Door.

~ Hugh Laurie from House singing his original song, America.

~ The Ultimate Cubicle Prank - Hat Tip: Don’t Try This At Home.

That list should keep you busy! Have a great weekend.

(Puppy Plays the Classics was provided to me by Special Ops Media for the purpose of review.)

When my kids were younger, Puppy Plays the Classics would have been a huge hit! The kids still enjoyed it, but it’s geared toward preschool and toddler age kids. Little ones tend to like to watch their favorites over and over again, and this DVD would be a great way to familiarize them with the great themes from classical music.

On behalf of Movies Plus and HBO Family, we are pleased to present Puppy Plays the Classics, an entertaining and educational half-hour live-action special that introduces classical music to children and their families.

Catch the premiere of PUPPY PLAYS THE CLASSICS on HBO Family on February 10th, 2008 at 6:30 EST! Visit www.puppyplays.com to buy the DVD, available on February 26th!

Ollie is a playful puppy whose colorful imagination turns every day into an adventure. Join him as he journeys through his doggie daydreams and transforms the ordinary world into a showcase for fanciful puppy fun!

In this first exciting episode of the series, PUPPY PLAYS THE CLASSICS, adorable Ollie introduces you and your child to the wonderful world of classical music. Now you’re invited to play with Ollie as he ventures through the music classroom, where exploration and imagination help him learn and grow! While exploring a classroom of instruments, Ollie imagines his other puppy pals overcoming challenges similar to the ones children face growing up – from sharing, to proper bedtime, to puppy love! Each puppy tale is set to a classical music piece from some of the greatest composers of all time, including Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Wagner.

I don’t have an iPod, but I do have an MP3 player that has a shuffle feature, so I am going to play along with this fun meme I saw at Praise the Lord and Pass the Prozac.

Here are the instructions:

1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question.
4. NO CHEATING.

Q: What does next year have in store for you?
Show Me the Way to Your Heart - Sara Evans

Q: What does your love life look like next year?
Cinema Paradiso - Josh Groban

Q: What do you say when life gets hard?
Blessing in Disguise - Christine Dente

Q: Song that reminds you of good times?
Tim McGraw - Taylor Swift

Q: What do you think when you get up in the morning?
Never Going Back Again - Fleetwood Mac

Q: What song will you dance to at your wedding?
Already married, but here’s the song that came up: Bold Riley - Kate Rusby

Q: Song that reminds you of your first kiss?
Bless Me Indeed - Mercy Me

Q: Your favorite saying?
No One Like You - Barlow Girl

Q: Favorite place?
I’ll Take Care of You - Steven Curtis Chapman

Q: Most Missed Memory?
Starts With Goodbye - Carrie Underwood

Q: What song describes your best friend?
The Sleepless Sailor - Kate Rusby

Q: What song describes your ex?
The First Cut is the Deepest - Sheryl Crow - ha!

Q: Where would you go on a first date?
When God Fearin’ Women Get the Blues - Martina McBride

Q: Drug of choice?
The Power of a Moment - Chris Rice

Q: What song describes yourself?
Let Me Go - Susan Ashton

Q: What is the thing you like doing most?
The Maze - Taylor Hicks

Q: The song that best describes the president?
China Grove - Doobie Brothers

Q: Where will you be in 10 years?
Only Getting Started - Steven Curtis Chapman

Q: Your love life right now?
Scribbling in the Sand - Michael Card

Q: What is your state of mind like at the moment?
Whiskey, Yer the Devil - An Dochas - lol

Q: How will you die?
Heaven Knows - Kathy Troccoli

That was fun - let me know if you play along!

I am beginning to think this winter is one for the books, in two ways - the amount of snow we’ve gotten (more is supposed to be on the way) and the amount of sickness we’ve had. I know it’s only January 18th, but I am ready for Spring.

With our sick week, we have done a lot of movie watching. If you haven’t yet seen Akeelah and the Bee, you must go Netflix or rent it right now. It is a truly wonderful movie. Kevin and I watched 3:10 to Yuma. Brilliant acting, gorgeous men, and a plot and characters that keep you thinking for a long time. What more could you want from a movie? We have also discovered a new series through Netflix - The Dresden Files. Dad had watched it on the Sci-Fi channel and recommended it, so we’re watching Season One. Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Harry Potter meets CSI. Very entertaining.

I am praying and hoping that everyone is over the worst of it by Sunday afternoon so that we can go see National Treasure 2 at the theater. It is finally playing at our little theater in our little town. I plan on thoroughly enjoying our weekend, since we will be having some extra school time during the next couple of weeks to get caught up, and our February is shaping up to be a busy month - but busy with mostly fun stuff, thank goodness.

Before I give you my links, I have a favor to ask. One of my article assignments this week is to write about the 10 most popular chocolate bars. For research purposes, I’m going to take an informal poll: please leave a comment listing your top three candy bars. (I know, it sounds like a fun topic, but just so you don’t think it’s all candy, last month I had to write about composting toilets. Ugh.)

Now, on to this week’s links:

~ Don’t forget to leave a comment on this post to win a copy of Ayo’s Joyful CD. Come on, people, I have two free copies to give away and no takers so far.

~ The Library of Congress is uploading their photo archives to Flickr. Thousands and thousands of historical photos for perusing. Check it out, but be prepared to spend lots and lots of time. Hat tip: Meg.

~ Hollywood Jesus has a fantastic article - the best one I’ve read about the whole “Dumbledore is gay” issue.

~ 5 Minutes for Mom is having another great giveaway - they’re giving away an Insignia Bluetooth MP3 player from Best Buy! Head on over to find out how to enter.

~ This video on the Amazon blog is amazing - a protest artist released 500,000 colored plastic balls down the Spanish Steps in Rome.

About three months ago, I held a giveaway for this CD. Andrea at Atypicalife won, but last week I had to send her an e-mail apologizing, because I still hadn’t received the CD from the company sponsoring the giveaway. Guess what? It showed up in today’s mail - along with two other copies! Since Ayo’s music isn’t really my style, I now have two extra copies to give away. Andrea, yours will be going in the mail as soon as I’m sufficiently recovered from the flu to brave the 16 degrees (F) weather to go to the post office. Actually, it would be nice to only make one trip, so let’s do the giveaway like this: if you’re interested in winning one of the other two copies, please leave a comment here by Saturday morning. I’ll randomly draw two more winners, and that should give us sufficient time to trade e-mails with mailing info. Here’s the original info on the CD, with some links where you can listen to samples and see if you’re interested:

Ayo is a supremely talented artist. She broke through in Europe last summer with the hit single “Down On My Knees”, followed by her Platinum album Joyful, produced by Jay Newland (Norah Jones). She has since rapidly conquered such diverse markets as France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Argentina, Korea and Australia .

Ayo was born of a Nigerian father and a Romanian Gypsy mother. She was discovered in New York and was signed worldwide by Polydor France (Universal/Interscope in the U.S).

Ayo is being compared to everyone from Sade to Stevie Wonder, to Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Joan Armatrading and even Otis Redding, but Ayo is Ayo. Her songs are very ‘personal’ and her audience hits all age categories evenly, from very young to mature.

Check out Ayo’s official web site, listen to some samples of her songs here and here, and then leave me a comment if you would like to win a copy of her upcoming CD Joyful.