Banned Books Week

The burning and banning of books is not just a thing of the past with the Nazis, it still happens today! For those of you who are trying to figure out what Banned Books are, here is the American Library Associations definition for Challenged and Banned Books:

"A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenged do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom and speech and choice"

One example of what book banning looks like today, is the efforts of Laura Mallory. From 2005-2007 she unsuccessfully tried to ban the Harry Potter books from the libraries of Gwinnett County School System in Georgia. This seven-part series by J.K. Rowling ranks as the most challenged set of books since 2000. Mallory's efforts are among the more than 3,00 challenges against the book based on what opponents perceive to be Satanic undertones.

Statistics say that the largest group of challenged and banned books are children's books, mostly because of these three things:

1. the material was considered to be "sexually explicit"
2. the material contained "offensive language"
3. the materials was "unsuited to any age group"

Children's authors like A.A. Milne, Dr. Seuss, and Silverstein, classics like Tolkien, Hugo, Orwell, Dickens, London, and more would be banned from all libraries and classrooms. Sad day. I wouldn't be able to read any of these books from my library... and this is only one of three piles that would be considered banned!

Annihilation to Me and Identification with Him

When I was little- during my Awana days- I was always memorizing verses the fastest and could spit them out like watermelon seeds. I did like memorizing, but I think a big factor was because whoever memorized the most got to throw a pie in the Director's face; which, for me, was my Grandmother's face :) Now I'm a big advocate of memorizing sections, if not chapters and books of the Bible. The context is so important and so key to understanding what the Lord is trying to say! I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here.

One of the chapters I've memorized is Philippians 2 and lately I've been dwelling on '[Jesus] did not consider equality with God something to be grasped'. Jesus, Second Member of the Trinity, now with the human aspect, doesn't think about it. What's one of the first things we read in the Bible? The Serpent saying, "You will be like God" (Gen 3:5) and the people of Babel building a Tower to Heaven (Gen 6:3-7). We try so hard to be like God when Jesus gave up all that glory up to come down here to serve the people who would crucify Him.

Oswald Chambers touches on this a little in this devotion. We must not long to become like God- and when I say that I do not mean that it is wrong to long to imitate Him, for we are ordered to do so (Eph 5:1, I Pet 1:16), but wrong to think that we are perfect, omniscient, and eternal. What we must long for is to be like Him in character- and Jesus is the best example for us in that!!!

O. Chamber's words things so much better than I ever could, read what he has to say :)

The rich young ruler had the master passion to be perfect. When he saw Jesus Christ, he wanted to be like Him. Our Lord never puts personal holiness to the fore when He calls a disciple; He puts absolute annihilation of my right to myself and identification with Himself- a relationship with Himself in which there is no other relationship. Luke 14:26 has nothing to do with salvation or sanctification, but with the unconditional identification with Jesus Christ. Very few of us know the absolute "go" of abandonment to Jesus.

"Then Jesus beholding him loved him." The look of Jesus will mean a heart broken forever from allegiance to any other person or thing. He Jesus ever looked at you? The look of Jesus transforms and transfixes. Where you are 'soft' with God is where the Lord has looked at you. If you are hard and vindictive, insistent on your own way, certain that the other person is more likely to be in the wrong than you are, it is an indication that there are whole tracts of your nature that have never been transformed by His gaze.

"One thing thou lackest..." The only 'good thing' from Jesus Christ's point of view is union with Himself and nothing in between.

"Sell whatsoever thou hast..." I must reduce myself until I am a mere conscious man, I must fundamentally renounce possessions of all kinds, not to save my soul (only on thing saves a man- absolute reliance upon Jesus Christ), but in order to follow Jesus. "Come, and follow Me" and the road is the way He went.

~Mark 10:21

Banana Muffins

5:50am- Groan and moan as I roll out of bed.
6:00- 2mile walk/jog
6:30- MAKE BANANA MUFFINS!!!!!
6:45- ...wash all of yesterday's dinner dishes...
7:00- EAT BANANA MUFFINS!!!!
7:15- Sit down and answer emails while drinking Chai and munching muffin. Love.

This was a recipe that was off the top of my head- I didn't want to dig out a recipe or spend time online looking for one. I hope I remember all the ingredients and correct measurements! Next time I make these, I'll follow this recipe and make sure its right!

*Makes One Dozen*

Dry Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cups flour

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1 tsp nutmeg

- 1 tsp baking soda

- A Pinch or two of salt

Wet Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup canola or veggie oil

- 1/4 cup brown sugar

- 1 egg

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 1 cup mashed super ripe bananas

- 1/3 cup of whatever you want. Chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, etc

Method:

1. Set oven to 350 degrees and grease muffin tin.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
3. Mix all wet ingredients in a large bowl.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.
5. Fill muffin tins half way, and if you want sprinkle some coconut on top to make them look like the ones in the picture.
6. Bake for 15 mins. They will be moist and semi-mushy inside. Its not that they aren't done baking, its just that the bananas make it that way
7. Eat hot with a glass of milk, warm with a cup o' tea, or cold with a mug of coffee!

Nothing Serious: P.G. Wodehouse

A compilation of short stories that P.G. Wodehouse wrote. The main reason I bought this book is because of one story in here: the Rodney Has a Relapse story. Yes folks, this is the story where is slams A.A. Milne!!! A father decides to go into writing children's book using his son as an inspiration and it affects his entire social group. The worst thing about his obsession with writing, they all say, is that he's given up golf. Ridiculously hilarious story.

Oh! and not that I have anything against Milne, but come on, you know it has to be funny when someone makes fun of Pooh Bear! The other stories in this book are all fine, but Rodney's is the best one :D

What I Liked:

It's Wodehouse- so far I've enjoyed everything of his that I have read. You can go and read my previous posts on his work, I'm not writing them again ;)

What I Didn't Like:

This book was a little harder to sit down and read for an extended amount of time because it was all short stories. Once you finished a story you would think, "Ah that was nice. next book" but no. Same book, next chapter, and no plot thickening or deepening of the characters personalities. Good book, but not for long reading.

Favorite Quote:

"Timothy Bobbin has a canary.

As regards to it's sex opinions vary.

If it just goes tweet-tweet,

we shall call it Pete,

but if it lays an egg, we shall switch to Mary."

~ excerpt from Rodney Has a Relapse

Crocheted Nerdiness

Yes, I made an R2D2 beanie this week.

That really sad, nerdy part?

...I made 2 of them in 8 hours.

Don't look at me, I have no make-up on.
Just look at the beanie :)

The Unholy Pursuit of God in Moby Dick: R.C. Sproul

I read this and thought to myself, "Hmm... I need to go read Moby Dick again!" Wish I had read this or some kind of study on the book before I read it. This was an article from Ligonier's magazine TableTalk.

"It seems that every time a writer picks up a pen or turns on his word processor to compose a literary work of fiction, deep in his bosom resides the hope that somehow he will create the Great American Novel. Too late. That feat has already been accomplished and is as far out of reach for new novelists as is Joe DiMaggio’s fifty-six-game hitting streak or Pete Rose’s record of cumulative career hits for a rookie baseball player. The Great American Novel was written more than a hundred and fifty years ago by Herman Melville. This novel, the one that has been unsurpassed by any other, is Moby Dick.

My personal copy of Moby Dick is a leather-bound collector’s edition produced by Easton Press under the rubric “The Hundred Greatest Books Ever Written.” Note that the claim here is not that Moby Dick is one of the hundred greatest books written in English, but rather that it is one of the hundred greatest books written in any language.

Its greatness may be seen not in its sometimes cumbersome literary structure or its excursions into technicalia about the nature and function of whales (cetology). No, its greatness is found in its unparalleled theological symbolism. This symbolism is sprinkled abundantly throughout the novel, particularly in the identities of certain individuals who are assigned biblical names. Among the characters are Ahab, Ishmael, and Elijah, and the names Jeroboam and Rachel (“who was seeking her lost children”) are given to two of the ships in the story.

In a personal letter to Nathaniel Hawthorne upon completing this novel, Melville said, “I have written an evil book.” What is it about the book that Melville considered evil? I think the answer to that question lies in the meaning of the central symbolic character of the novel, Moby Dick, the great white whale.

Melville experts and scholars come to different conclusions about the meaning of the great white whale. Many see this brutish animal as evil because it had inflicted great personal damage on Ahab in an earlier encounter. Ahab lost his leg, which was replaced by the bone of a lesser whale. Some argue that Moby Dick is Melville’s symbol of the incarnation of evil itself. Certainly this is the view of the whale held by Captain Ahab himself. Ahab is driven by a monomaniacal hatred for this creature, this brute that left him permanently damaged both in body and soul. He cries out, “He heaps me,” indicating the depth of the hatred and fury he feels toward this beast. Some have accepted Ahab’s view that the whale is a monstrous evil as that of Melville himself. That the whale is not a symbol of evil but the symbol of God Himself. In this interpretation, Ahab’s pursuit of the whale is not a righteous pursuit of God but natural man’s futile attempt in his hatred of God to destroy the omnipotent deity. I favor this second view. It was the view held by one of my college professors — one of the five leading Melville scholars in the world at the time I studied under him. My senior philosophy research paper in college was titled “The Existential Implications of Melville’s Moby Dick.” In that paper, which I cannot reproduce in this brief article, I tried to set forth the theological structure of the narrative.

I believe that the greatest chapter ever written in the English language is the chapter of Moby Dick titled “The Whiteness of the Whale.” Here we gain an insight into the profound symbolism that Melville employs in his novel. He explores how whiteness is used in history, in religion, and in nature. The terms he uses to describe the appearance of whiteness in these areas include elusive, ghastly, and transcendent horror, as well as sweet, honorable, and pure. All of these are descriptive terms that are symbolized in one way or another by the presence of whiteness. In this chapter Melville writes,

But not yet have we solved the incantation of this whiteness, and learned why it appeals with such power to the soul; and more strange and far more portentous—why, as we have seen, it is at once the most meaning symbol of spiritual things, nay, the very veil of the Christian’s Deity; and yet should be as it is, the intensifying agent in things the most appalling to mankind. Is it that by its indefiniteness it shadows forth the heartless voids and immensities of the universe, and thus stabs us from behind with the thought of annihilation, when beholding the white depths of the milky way? Or is it, that as in essence whiteness is not so much a colour as the visible absence of colour; and at the same time the concrete of all colours; is it for these reasons that there is such a dumb blankness, full of meaning, in a wide landscape of snows—a colourless, all-colour of atheism from which we shrink?

He then concludes the chapter with these words: “And of all these things, the albino whale was the symbol. Wonder ye then at the fiery hunt?”

If the whale embodies everything that is symbolized by whiteness — that which is terrifying; that which is pure; that which is excellent; that which is horrible and ghastly; that which is mysterious and incomprehensible — does he not embody those traits that are found in the fullness of the perfections in the being of God Himself?

Who can survive the pursuit of such a being if the pursuit is driven by hostility? Only those who have experienced the sweetness of reconciling grace can look at the overwhelming power, sovereignty, and immutability of a transcendent God and find there peace rather than a drive for vengeance. Read Moby Dick, and then read it again."

Chai Biscotti

It's gray and drizzly outside.

I was going to work in the garden, but as soon as I stepped outside my hair went "poing!". Seriously, it made that sound. Now, I know that is no excuse for not gardening, but my kitchen was calling my name.

Here's what I ended up making today :)

This recipe makes about a ten 8x1 inch Biscotti.

Ingredients:

- 2 tbsp Canola Oil

- 2 Eggs

- 1 tbsp vanilla

- 1/2 tsp fresh ground ginger (unless you have dry, then go ahead and use that instead)

- 1 cup flour

- 1/4 cup brown sugar

- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

- 1/2 tsp cardamom

- 1/2 tsp cloves

- 1/2 tsp nutmeg

- Pinch of salt

- 1/4 cup of anything.

Chocolate chips

Nuts

Raisins

Whatever.

Method:

*Preheat oven to 350

1. Mix the wet ingredients- eggs, oil, vanilla, and ginger. If you only have dry ground ginger, mix that with the dry ingredients.

2. Sift the dry ingredients together- flour, sugar, baking powder and spices. This way you'll have a nice, fine mix and no clumps. You may have to break up the brown sugar for it to go through the sifter.

3. Add the wet to the dry...

... and mix thoroughly.

Mmm smell it! So good!!!

4. I couldn't help it. Add a handful (1/4 cup) of chocolate chips or any kind of nuts you want- I'd suggest almonds or hazelnuts.

5. Spread out in the shape of a rectangle on a baking sheet. Use parchment paper, foil, or even just spray it with Pam.

Bake for 20-25mins.

6. While baking, be productive and do your dishes...

7. Take the dough out and cut it into 1 inch wide strands with a long sharp knife.

8. Flip them on their sides and bake for another 10 mins.

9. Eat fresh! And enjoy with a glass of milk, spot o' tea, or mug of coffee... mmm!!!

An Operatic Post

Hansel & Gretel

Take a tour of how an Opera runs! Learn about the music, the staging, choreography, the light technicians, the costuming, and everything else that goes into an Opera!

A wonderful, fun, interactive game for kids to play. There is a witch, so be wise with young ones.

Since we're on the topic of Operas, here's one that the LA Opera is doing this season: Eugene Onegin by Peter Tchaikovsky. Yep, the same Tchaikovsky that did the Nutcracker Ballet! Music must be amazing... *sigh*

One day I'll get to see an opera... one day.

The Song of Roland: Unknown

If you like history and you like the style of someone who writes like Sir Walter Scott, you'll enjoy this book! The author is unknownand the original writings were written in old French; now we just have copies and transcripts. This particular one from Signet Classics was beautifully translated by Robert Harrison. He also has a wonderful introduction that gives you background to the current history of the times, the culture they lived in, and discusses questions that are raised from the text- both historically and literary.

Some background- Charlemagne is conquering Spain during the time of Marsilla's rule. Marsilla is in cahoots with one of Charlemagne's men, Ganelon, who plot to supposedly surrender to Charlemagne, and the plan to rebel when he isn't looking. As news comes to Charlemagne that Spain has surrendered, Ganelon suggests that his step-son, Count Roland (who is also the favorite nephew of Charlemange) be sent with a troop of men to keep watch over Spain.

Count Roland- for whom the book it titled- is a knight in every sense of the word. Chivalrous. Brave. Just. Patriotic. A courageous leader and a man among men- unlike his traitorous step-father, Ganelon. As Roland and his group of faithful men watch over the Saracens of Spain, they find themselves in the battle for their lives as the Saracens turn against them. If you have every seen or read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, this whole book is like all the war scenes from LOTR. Great, heart-tugging action.

What I Liked:

I love the way Robert Harrison translated this. You always loose something in translation, but you can tell he worked hard to get the essence across. He also laid out the poem very well, making it not only easy to read, but to keep track of where you stopped. And the intro, the intro! Don't think of skipping it. Even though it took me more time to read the intro than the rest of the book, it was well-worth it! Wonderful discussion of the history of France during this time, the history of this piece of work and how it came to be what it is now.

What I Didn't Like:

Not much. What I didn't like is actually more funny than anything. For the sake of not spoiling it for you, I'll just say one of the character's who dies has a very long drawn out death. Phrases like, "Wounded unto death" (1990) and "realizes death is near" (2259) are used... but he doesn't die for another 50 plus lines. I just felt sorry for him- let him die and be put out of his misery!

Favorite Quote:

"The Count [Roland] says: God, I don't know what to do.

Your [Olivier] valor was for naught, my lord companion-

there'll never be another on like you.

Sweet France, today you're going to be robbed

of loyal men, defeated and destroyed..."

Half Off Books: Whittier

A gloomy day, lower 70's degrees, and drizzly.

Perfect for some bookstore hunting :D

Today I sought out Half Off Books in Uptown Whittier. After driving around for about 10 minutes looking for the shop and trying to find a parking spot, someone pulled out of one right in front of the shop! I walked in, pulled off to the side out of everybody's way, closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. I probably look funny, but that's what I do when I walk into a bookstore I've never been in.

This one smelled of pledge. Probably because there was a girl to the left of me cleaning the bookshelves. Yeah, that would account for it.

The shop itself is very warehouse like. A tall ceiling, bookshelves 10ft high. The floor creaks everywhere you walk, it's like a built in burglar alarm!

H.O.B. has Open Poetry Mic Night every 2nd Wednesday of the month and they feature work from local artists. I figure it's geared to draw a younger generation with those and the pop music that they play. It's like a young soul in an old body.

I spent a lovely hour searching through the yards and yards of books and found these two beauties! Both in really good condition, the hardback being very well-bound!

Jane Austen's Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon

$1.75

H.W. Longfellow Selected Poems includes 60 pieces of work, among which is the famous Song of Hiawatha

$7.50

The Hunt Is On

... for decent bookstores in the area! A place that smells of fresh and old paper without the crazy loud music and a comfy chair to sit in and read the book you are about to buy or have already bought :)

This is a list of bookstores in my area that I want to check out and evaluate. I'd like to hit at least one a month, so we'll see how it goes.

If there is one you know of that's not on my list, let me know!!!

• Copper Penny Bookstore: Brea
• Apostrophe Books: Long Beach
• Gatsby Books: Long Beach
• Redux Books: Yorba Linda
  
• The Corner Bookstore: Santa Ana
• The Bookman: Orange
• Half Off Books: Whittier
• Secret Passage Bookstore: Long Beach
• E&A Cogan Books: La Mirada
• Grace Book World: Fullerton
• Book Baubles: Fullerton
• Bucks 4 Books: Fullerton
• Aladdin Books: Fullerton
• Nused Books: Long Beach
• A Castle of Books: Long Beach
• Acres of Books: Long Beach
• Open Books: Long Beach
• Little Professor Book Center: Fullerton

Bauman Rare Books

I've been doing some research for bookstores. See, I have this fantasy in my head of starting a penpal - like relationship with someone in a shop like this. Someone I can go to with questions on the classics, someone who shares the same love of the smell/feel of old books, someone like Frank Doel from 84 Charing Cross Rd. Haha, if you get that movie reference then props to you!!! I'll send you a box with eggs, ham, and raisins ;)

Here's a place I've written to, Bauman Rare Books, to see if they have a small book of Yeats poems containing Cloths of Heaven. I've found many mass manufactured, glue bound, blindingly white paged books containing this poem; not that those are bad, just not my style. I want a book that smells like my grandfather's attic, pages slightly yellowed with age, with no picture of the author plastered on the back. A book that's been around the block a few times so that it not only contains a story, but could probably tell a few stories itself. Is that too much to ask?

The Borrower: Rebecca Makkai

Not to be confused with The Borrowers *wink*

This woman, Rebbeca Makkai, was either a librarian or she really did her research! She thinks like a librarian- quoting from movies and books, making fun of Penguin Classics and Mr. Popper's Penguins, referencing movies like Music Man with Marian the Librarian and It's a Wonderful Life when George's wife turns maiden librarian in the world without him, and she even pokes at the type of shoes that librarians wear... this woman's got the stereotype down!

The Borrower is a story of a children's librarian, Lucy, who has a soft spot for a boy, Ian, from a strict family. One day he decides to run away, and in a sense the Ian kidnaps Lucy... but the police would see it more as she kidnapped him! As they drive, and drive, and drive some more, Lucy starts off thinking of it as a small adventure, like the ones she reads as she sits behind her desk in the Children's Center. But the more they drive, the more she realizes she likes sitting behind that desk... and now she can never go back to that life. A funny and thought-provoking story of ethics and morals. I was yelling at Lucy in my head for the last half of the book! And the question remains... who borrowed who?

What I Liked:
How the life of a Children's Librarian was depicted. So true- down to your legs itching from the material of the chair you sit in! Rebecca has a way of captivating your attention right from the beginning and holding it throughout the entire book. The relationship between Ian and Lucy is so natural, too. Seeing what parent's do to their kids and you want to help the kid out as much as you can in your way.

What I Didn't Like:
The sense that Lucy had no choice but to help the kid run away. The sense that it was OK to lie to everyone. The way Christianity is depicted as a group of people forcing their beliefs on you- though sadly many are that way. A funny book, but the morals and ethics are rather skewed. Makes you think and argue with Lucy in your head. Lucy pays for her crime in that she never goes back to work at that library, moves out of the city, and has to restart her life, but she never gets caught in her web of lies and doesn't truly repent of what it is that she's done.

Favorite Quote: (that isn't even from the book, it's from the acknowledgements!!!)
"Although I've had to demolish my childhood fantasy that Penguin Books is somehow run by Mr. Popper's Penguins, I've happily replaced it with the knowledge that it is populated by wonderful people who were willing to arrange an editing and production schedule around the birth of my second child."

The Librarian Strikes Again!

Did you know that Border's is/went out of business? Such a bittersweet time for Bookhuggerz everywhere! Today our family went to pay our respects to the well-loved store with one last fling. I went in with a line-up in my mind: something French- language, history, what have you- and anything Anthropologic. If there's one thing I was reminded of today, it was never go in search for something specific, you'll miss what's right in front of your nose!

After about an hour or more of slowly walking, head tilted sideways, fingering the shelves and spines, I found a few that may turn out to be treasures :) None of what I was looking for, but they still have promise.

Take a look at this line up!!!

-The Song of Roland

-Master and Commander

-Isaac's Storm

-The Borrower

-Wading Home

-Terrific Majesty

-Anthology of Western Reserve Literature

7 books for a grand total of....

$13.78!

Borders, you shall be missed, but...

Oh happy, bittersweet, lovely day!

Something Fresh: P.G. Wodehouse

I love the way this man writes. I need more of his books and more authors who write in this style in my life! One thing that I see a lot in the 3 books of his that I own is the individualistic spirit and fairy-tale endings; though I'm sure that living through both World Wars developed the desire to write books with happy endings instead of sad ones.

My Synopsis: In typical Wodehouse fashion, the characters all have their quirks, interesting pasts, and the book is filled with the mandatory Wodehouse Cast of butlers, aunts, younger sons, detectives, lovers, and imposters. The center of everyone's attention? A Scarab- a Cheops of the Fourth Dynasty, to be exact- which has been stolen from a certain Mr. Peters who is now offering a 1,000£ to the person who retrieves it!

Favorite Quote: WANTED: Young man of good appearence, who is poor and reckless, to undertake a delicate and dangerous enterprise... Good pay for right man.

Fig, Date, and Goat Cheese Scones

I'm not sure I would call these scones... more like 'Heaven In Your Mouth'. Also, they're moist. I don't think scones are supposed to be moist. So HIYM it is :)

This is a soft, moist scone that makes me want to sit down and watch The Odyssey... or go buy a goat.

... I need to get to Greece.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1/3 cup cold butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup goat cheese
• 3/4 cup diced figs
• 1/2 cup diced dates

Method:

1. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, sugar, and butter.

2. Chop dates...

...figs...

... and goat cheese. Add them all to the mix.

3. Add 1/2 or less of milk until...

4. ...this consistency. Drop by spoonfuls on a baking sheet.

5. Bake at 350 for 10-15 mins, let cool and enjoy!

Crocheted Rose Purse

Made this a while back for a friend who was graduating from high school. When I do a project for people, I like to find out their colors, their style, and whatnot, then I tackle Google images or Etsy and look for inspiration. I have no creative juices- I can't come up with an idea all by myself, I need to feed off of other people genius. Yeah, I'm a crocheting Neal Cafry (for those of you who watch White Collar).

Give me some figgy pudding... or newtons, or cobbler

I love where I work- you can't meet nicer people with funnier stories or more amazing experiences! After working there since March, I've gotten to know the patients fairly well and they have gotten to know me too. They all want post cards when I head to Cameroon :)

The other day one of the patients brought figs from their tree, and now I have about 1 1/2 dozen of them sitting in my kitchen

... what should I do with them??!?!!?!!??!

Help me out by choosing which one you would like to try- check out the poll to the right!