Queen Amaranthine

Life is short, time is tight--if a book isn't grabbing me, I'll either abandon it, super-speed read or skim more of it to see if anything eventually does grab my interest, or look up something about it online to see if it's worth plowing through.

As for rereading books, I don't generally do that, but I have a number of nonfiction books that I get out again from time to time and skim or refer to parts as needed, such as health guides or spirituality that help me now and then. For fiction, there are just too many on my want-to-read list that prevent me from taking the time for rereading.

I too have many, many books. Now and then I go through a weed-out stage to get rid of some. Later this summer we're having a neighborhood garage sale, so I've been in the process of weeding out, and I've been in the mood to do it. I have over 1,000 books which I tell myself are well organized and not cluttery. Really, though, I ought to get a kindle or nook, or maybe an ipad (isn't there a kindle app?) and read more that way. I have ibooks on my iPod but it's hard to read for long lengths of time on a small screen.

That brings up a question--what do you all recommend? Kindle, nook, or ipad apps? As much as I'd LOVE to have an ipad, I'd rather not spend that much money right now, but I'm open to suggestions about all of these options.

Is the book available strictly on iPad? It won't show up at all in iBooks on the iPod.

Zoinks--some of the best kids' TV shows (Scooby Doo, Spongebob, Upside Down Show) are, like, total stoner humor in loose disguise!

Receiving handwritten letters or cards from friends and family in the mail. All we get in the mail anymore are ads, junk mail, and bills. Packages ordered from Amazon and the like are expected and not quite the same as a surprise friendly note. E-mail, Facebook, texting, etc. are great, but something handwritten has a special touch that is becoming a lost art.

That is a good quote above. It brings to mind a quote I saw recently, something about doing what you love regardless because you'll be criticized either way.

It must be tedious to be interviewed so many times by so many writers, answering similar questions like they are fresh and new each time. Still, each article is no doubt read by a new fan or someone new to Wilco. Longtime fans do find "ashes of Uncle Tupelo" cliche, of course.

That's weird. I've been using Firefox. It doesn't seem to want to cooperate on anything else. Here's the link I borrowed it from:

http://www.interstat...afael_swell.jpg

As for the Yosemite photo, you missed what I was saying...it's updating with the webcam, so I couldn't see a thing last night except a big black rectangle! Now that it's daytime I can see it fine. ( I expect a recurrence of this problem tonight.)

Oh, duh, I get it now. Last night when I logged in here it was getting dark here in Central time, but it would have been early evening on the live webcam there at that time, two hours earlier West coast time. So I didn't catch what you meant because I was seeing light in that image when it was dark here, so I mistook it for a still picture. If that makes any sense. Sometimes I'm slow....

I was hoping their fall tour schedule would help me decide something. This fall I have two opportunities to rack up professional development hours for work through conferences in neighboring states, but the two are on the same dates. By the time I balance out conference content, professional benefit, personal interest, fees, travel costs, colleague interest to share expenses, etc., it's a wash either way. I was hoping Wilco or Tweedy would be in one place or the other on one of those conference dates so my decision would be made for me. No such luck; the band is in Europe that weekend. Back to flipping a coin!

Donna, is it your browser? Both your Yosemite picture and my Utah one show up just fine here.

Cool stuff pictured in this thread, and this is particularly awesome!

 

600+ pages! but a great engaging read. I'm about halfway through it.

Finally I am nearly finished with this. (In the meantime I've read more children's picture books aloud than I can count! "Grown up" books take me awhlie to complete these days.)

I'm finding Dickinson's personal life intertwined into her poetry highly interesting. In college I studied her work, but in the context of the American Renaissance literary and Civil War eras, as well as a generic expression of personal solidarity. None of my classes dove as deeply into her personal life as this book does. In it, this poem in particular caught my attention:

I could die -- to know --

'Tis a trifling knowledge --

News-Boys salute the Door --

Carts -- joggle by --

Morning's bold face -- stares in the window --

Were but mine -- the Charter of the least Fly --

Houses hunch the House

With their Brick Shoulders --

Coals -- from a Rolling Load -- rattle -- how -- near --

To the very Square -- His foot is passing --

Possibly, this moment --

While I -- dream -- Here --

It is said to have been written about a man she fell in love with who moved to San Francisco. The city imagery and its context of Dickinson's expression of unavailable love bring to mind Capitol City ("Secretaries at the hotdog vendors/Cabs honk at bicycle messengers/Rolling by..."). Then, "While I--dream--here" has the same whistful tone as "I wish you were here/Or I was there with you."

I know Jeff used some Dickinson lyrics to write a song--wasn't it Born Alone? But I wonder how much of her stuff he's read and if the parallels between that poem and Capitol City were at all conscious. He takes all his words from the books he thinks we don't read anyway, you know.

The Black Hills of South Dakota and highway 16A in Wyoming are gorgeous. The Black Hills area is one of my husband's and my favorite vacation spots.

The Rockies through Colorado and the red rocks of south central Utah along I-70 are the most magestic, breathtaking scenery I've seen. This picture of that stretch of road in Utah doesn't even do the view justice:

That's a creative contest & quote, and cool design! I voted for yours.

But I would have to eat it, out of love.

By the way, speaking of Being There, anyone going to Iowa shows in July, if you're passing through the state on I-80 near Des Moines, stop at my friend's coffee shop, Being There. It's in Altoona, a Des Moines suburb, right off I-80.

http://www.beingtherecoffee.com/

Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there! Did you get breakfast in bed? Any sweet presents? Flowers?

I've been meaning to start a parenting thread, so this is a good opportunity to do that. Do you have kids? What are the best and most challenging aspects of parenting for you?

This morning my daughter gave me a homemade necklace. My son made me a book about spiders--he drew the pictures and had me transcribe his sentences about spiders onto the pages. They are 5 and 6 years old and aspiring zoologists!

My husband and I didn't think we wanted kids for the longest time. I don't know if it was midlife crisis, biological timeclock, or what, but nearly 10 years ago, after nearly 15 years of marriage, we decided to try. I'm so glad we did, since they are so much fun, very artistic, curious and smart, with great senses of humor.

The challenges: Bedtime! Both are night owls like their Mom who is nocturnal by nature but, though, is exhausted these days after a long day of parenting and referreeing two kids. Plus, there's my flagging middle age energy level as an "old" mom. I had them when I was in my late 30s, and it's clear that parenting is a younger person's game for the energy level alone! There are benefits to being an Old Mom, though; I'm probably more patient than I would have been 10 years ago and realize the value of spending a lot of time with them.

We have a big backyard but this year haven't done anything yet and are hoping it's not too late. We're kind of amatuers at all this but enjoy it.

Two years ago we had lots of earth boxes and those hanging tomato plant things with all kinds of herbs and veggies--basil, oregano, tomatoes, parsley, green peppers, just a few strawberries, etc., etc. There's nothing like fresh herbs in a recipe! One night, deer jumped the fence we thought would be enough to deter them, got into our backyard, and ate practically EVERYTHING save for the onions, spinach, and carrots (they munched the green tops but didn't dig up the actual carrots). Last year we didn't do as much because we were remodeling the backyard and it was pretty torn up (in fact, still not finished!).

We have flowers around the tree in our front yard, mostly petunias that flourish every year.

The owners assured me they will do a special Wilco-themed grilled cheese sandwich that week, called "Cheesus, etc." perhaps featuring some artisan (you can rely on me) honey.

Wonderfully clever! Although those Florida shows are not in my future, I might keep this place in mind. Last winter my family spent the holidays in Florida and hope to do so again this winter or next. Sarasota isn't too far from where we stay.

It is sad, but he lived a long, interesting life.

LOVE his children's books and illustrations. The Little Bear books--which he illustrated--are a recent favorite at our house.

Sorry to hear about that, Sarah! It sounds like you were blindsided. Wonder how many students know about that rule until it's too late?Things like that are sometimes evident, yes--but in the fine print where it's easy to overlook.

Are there other kinds of grants available?

Another idea is to see if there's a local community college there that has a 2-year career prep program in journalistic writing or some other career prep area that interests you or that you're suited toward.
Good luck! Advice is always take it or leave it, of course. And if you have to drop out--at least for now--it isn't a dead end. Things change and you never know what will happen in the future to land you back into an education.

This morning I'm trying to figure how I can fit in Sunken Treasure, Rising Red Lung, and The Whole Love into my list, and what if anything could be bumped out of my at-the-moment top 10.

My #1 is Far, Far Away. Others in no particular order:

Dash 7

Black Moon

One by One

Wishful Thinking

I'm a Wheel

Jesus, Etc.

Pot Kettle Black

Poor Places

Via Chicago

I might have a different list tomorrow.

Spencer sounds very mature, level-headed, and intellectual. How many even "grown-ups" use the word visceral?!

Playing for toddlers couldn't be all bad. The more little ones are exposed to a variety of good music, the better.

I think some of those stats are influenced by how aggressive some states/localities are in addressing the meth issue. I read somewhere that NC shot up the charts because of the concerted efforts to get the meth production in check before we end up like our western neighbors.

It makes sense that factors like that would influence the numbers on the map. The map does give a good picture of how prevalent the drug is in various regions, but as discussed above, there are some questionable numbers. Also, Iowa's number must be higher than that. Then I look at neighboring Minnesota and wonder how can that be so low?

Wow, this is a surprising--and heartbreaking--bunch of stories. I'm barely aware of this in my area (Norfolk, VA), so either I've had my head in the sand or it's not that big a problem locally.

 

Considering how easy it is to get a legal prescription for "soft" stimulants like amphetamine salts (adderall, etc.) and the fact that they can give you that jolt of energy with few negative effects, it's honestly puzzling to me how prevalent it sounds like this drug is. It must be a whole other experience.

Much of it is underground, it seems. Kidsmoke mentioned seeing users in public, and on occasion in my town I see people strung out too, but not often. However, from what I hear from acquaintances I mentioned above, it's a very real, close problem. It's probably used behind closed doors for the most part, at least once users develop that level of paranoia. Thank goodness I don't know that much about it.

Given what all is out there, it really is puzzling! It's cheap and easy to make, which is probably its appeal. Plus it probably is quite lucrative in the drug trade.

I live in meth heartland (Iowa and Missouri are among the country's meth capitols, since the ingredients are plentiful in the agricultural community and are easy to steal or access freely). Sounds like North Carolina is up there in rank too. I know of Olwein, IA and sadly it's kind of typical of many small towns now.

On my way to work I drive through a neighborhood that includes a couple of blocks notoirious for the occasional meth lab explosion. I suppose I could take another route to work, but this is the quickest route, and during the day it is a quiet neighborhood posing no problems for commuters passing through. Sad to see, especially given that I live in a pretty small community. So much for small town wholesomeness--there is no such thing. It brings to mind the movie Blue Velvet.

Living in a community this size, I know a few recovering meth addicts, and on the positive side of the whole mess, it's amazing how some people are able to overcome their use/addiction. The ones I speak of are now active members in the community--one is a counselor for drug abusers and alcoholics, and clearly he knows the demons they face. Others are employed in other jobs; one is even a successful business owner raising a family. When one young man I know told me that he was a recovering addict, although I chatted with him about it (if one can "chat" about such things, we did), I thought to myself that I didn't believe him--he was too clean cut, too bright, and too "with it" to possibly have been a meth addict. However, awhile later a coworker of mine who I know is in AA, spoke highly of that younger guy, who attends AA meetings for support and whose story is shockingly true. Of course these individuals are exceptions, though.

Theoretically, legalization of drugs is a good idea for eliminating drug trafficking and underground drug trade. However, the ease of meth and the power of its addiction is just too great. It's not something to mess around with recreationally, yet too many people just don't get that. It's arguably the primary reason drug legalization wouldn't be feasible.

Fun and addictive!

A whole bottle?!

Autumn Defense:

1 bottle organic red wine

Serve at room temperature.

Sweet!

Flaming Lips

8 oz. microbrew

8 oz. ice cream

Combine in highball glass and serve.