Last night was a first for me, too. I ate Spam.

The only other time I ever came close was when I was 6 years old and we went on one of our many family visits to western North Carolina. My Dad had spent his late twenties there, in a mountain shack; philosophizing, writing a book and eating beans out of a can. In the process, he met and befriended his only neighbors, the Anders family- Bob and Janet, their four kids, and a dozen hunting dogs.

The Anders' house was humble, but there were fresh baked biscuits on the table at every meal (made in a woodburning stove). Janet would open a jar of green beans or cabbage, made with vegetables they grew on a patch of land beside the house, and we would feast. I was pretty young, so I don't remember much about what was discussed around that rustic kitchen table, but I imagine it was a mix of local legend, hunting stories, and cursing.

One day we went to Grandma Anders' house for lunch. It was a beautiful little place a mountain or two over, with a fresh little stream rambling by. She had set her table with a simple linen cloth, white china, and an entirely different spread. Everything was store-bought, and included coffee for the adults, a stack of buttered white bread, mixed pickles, and a small, smooth pink brick on a plate. It reminded me of modeling clay.

Raised in D.C.'s suburbia, I'd never seen Spam face to face, and waited for someone else to cut a piece before I dared to try. Unfortunately, not a single person touched the thing and I left just as mystified as ever.

So, how could something as inedible-looking as Spam be made appetizing? How could something so ridiculed be taken seriously?  And who really eats this stuff?

I first heard about musubi in Linda Stradley's genius I'll Have What They're Having, Legendary Local Cuisine - part cookbook, part anthropological survey - featuring our most beloved, multi-cultural American snacks, from California date shakes to New York knishes. According to the book:

"Residents of Hawaii consume more Spam than populations anywhere else in the world: More than four million cans every year, or an average twelve cans of Spam per person per year."

Stradley offers a recipe for musubi, a Hawaiian "sandwich," or slice of fried Spam layered on a square of rice with a strip of nori to hold it all together.

I was intrigued. I'd tried and liked onigiri, the triangular japanese rice balls filled with fish or meat, and musubi was like its tanned, beach bum cousin.

Last night, my friend and fellow sushi-lover Malika and I went to St. Mark's Place. Since we are both on a budget, she suggested we try Park Sushi - a place she frequented in her NYU days - where they offered 50% off specials. It turned out to be right next door to Pommes Frites, and is now called May's Place. Just look for the place with the schoolgirl-clad waitresses (sorry; knee-length).

We took our seats in the back of the long, busy, wood-paneled room, ordered sake, and opened our colorful menus. 

Something about the phrase "dollar menu" sends my cheapskate heart a-flutterin,' and when I saw that page, I thought "this is my kind of place." Among the same-old miso soup and edamame selections was $1 musubi! Now was my chance.

We each ordered a salad off of the regular menu (seaweed and tuna-avocado), and an assortment of $1 sushi. And at the last minute I excitedly ordered my musubi.

The musubi arrived and looked quite appetizing. The meat (can I call it that?) was slightly charred around the edges and gleamed with a think layer of fresh grease. The rice was seasoned and plump, and the taut nori completed the package.

It took some muscle to pick the thing up with my chopsticks, but I managed to get it from the plate to the soy sauce and up to my face. My first bite was juicy and flavorful. Spam tastes like a tangy hot dog when grilled, and the wasabi I put in the soy was perfect for balancing out its subtle brininess. The next two bites went by much too quickly...and then it was gone.

It was a fun, yummy and memorable snack.

The salads tasted a little off. The $1 sushi was $1 sushi. The sake was gone too fast. But I will be back for more musubi.

Next time, I'll grab a few to go, order some fries from Pommes Frites, and have a sidewalk picnic. Or walk over to Thompson Square park.

This would also be a fun accompaniment to the six pack of beer you are bringing to a party...especially if that party is at my house!

May’s Place Sushi

121 2^nd Avenue, between 7^th and 8^th

East Village

I'm totally addicted to 90210. I love it. I just thought I'd put that out there.

Tonight should be fun. One of my old college roommates (Cori) is coming out (she lives on the other side of VA). My friend Jordan from high school is also coming just for tonight, along with one of his friends who also graduated with us, but whom I don't know very well. He's Jordan's driver for the night since J. just flew in from Arizona. I don't think I've seen him in about a year when me, him, and Cori went to Cinco de Estrada at the Curve and met Erik Estrada again, haha. We're all going over to Gina's tonight with a big group of my friends from Fred Vegas.

I can't believe I have to start class again in 2 weeks. I was just starting to enjoy this break with nothing to do and the freedom to read all I wanted, and I still wasn't able to read much. I'll finish my fluff book (my brain needs a rest! I'm an English M.A. student!) this weekend maybe. And then I'll move on to even more fluff (fluffier): sTori Telling by Tori Spelling. Laugh all you want, but I'm so excited to read Tori's autobiography, haha.

And I'm spent.

Previous reports of mayhem can be found here and here.

New home - I have had my new sofa, armchair and storage foot stall delivered on Monday. They are stone in colour and just the most gorgeous things you have ever seen! So now I have neutral furniture I can FINALLY redecorate my lounge in 'plum'. So I ordered some aubergine curtains and new voiles on Monday. I was told there was an eight week wait so imagine my joy when I got home yesterday and found a note saying they had been left with a neighbour! So as they had arrived I then went and got some paint which I liked and this evening I have been painting a feature wall 'juniperberry' which is a browny purple and matches my curtains perfectly!

New hair - On Wednesday I went for my regular hair colour and had lots and lots of pink streaks put in as well. They actually look really really good and I havn't washed my hair since as I don't want them to faid.....

New car - Today I picked up a lovely shiny new car! It's all clean and gleaming and has that new car smell. It is lovely to finally have a car with the 'mod cons' such as remote central locking and electric windows! But one of the best features is the quickclear windscreen, which will be very handy in the winter to get rid of the pesky frost, ice and snow!

New books - I have received three review books this week and one book from Read it swap it. The review books are: Lost and Found by Jacqueline Sheehan, The Ingenious Edgar Jones by Elizabeth Garner and Before the Storm by Judith Lennox and the RISI book is A Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown. All of these books look very good so I can't wait to get started on them! :)

Old friend - An old friend who I went to college with tracked me down yesterday on Friends Reunited. I was so touched that she went to the effort to find me as I am only listed on there for my senior school, not college. We have been exchanging emails since then catching up on the last 15 years and even better she is on Facebook as well! The only bad bit is she now lives in India so I don't reckon I will be seeing her anytime soon!

The only bad thing about this week is the weather...what's happened to it? This time last week we were basking in temperatures of 26 degrees and today it was 13 degrees and I was blimming freezing.....

One of our main goals when we developed ArtRev.com was to become a leading fine art retailer as well as an art educator. We have stayed on track with our plans and are now offering our registered website users many ways to learn about art and new ways to expand their knowledge and creativity.

Our Learning Center encompasses an extensive Art Terminology Dictionary, The Essential Guide to the World of Art, Art Video Lectures and Exclusive, Décor, Design and Home Improvement Articles.

The ArtRev.com blog is a dynamic platform that keeps you updated with the latest global art news and trends and provides an interactive stage for you to exchange your views and ideas with like minded individuals.

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The Official Catalog of the Graphic Works of Salvador Dali

Duaiv (The Book) by Duaiv

Sung Sam Park, New Impressionism

Sarah-Jane Szikora, Infatuation

Douglas Hofmann, Light and Grace

Douglas Hofmann, Light and Grace (Collector’s Limited Edition w/ enclosed limited edition giclee)

Govinder Nazran, Brimstone & Treacle

Nicola Simbari, Simbari

See more fine art books on ArtRev.com

After a hectic Friday, you can hear the team review the day's events in our Daily Festival Wrap - Friday. Our own Richard, Joyce, Donna and Philip are joined in conversation by special guests Brit writers/poets John Burnside, Sarah Hall and Jacob Polley, who share their thoughts on the festival and Auckland itself. Duration 7 mins 30 secs. Listen on our Festival page, or right here.

[audio http://library.christchurch.org.nz/Guides/GoodReads/WritersandReaders/2008/Auckland/audio/DailyFestivalWrapFriday.mp3]

On the ground in Auckland, the library team have their eyes on a few events in particular today:

• An hour with J.M. Coetzee. The Nobel winner will be reading from, and talking about his work, but won’t be answering questions as our team mentioned in their Daily Festival Wrap – Thursday. Read our profile of him. Event details
• Tessa Duder launches her new book Is she still alive. Our own Richard caught up with Duder at the festival, and you can read his interview with her. “I think this book fits quite nicely into the idea of crone-lit,” she says. Event details
• The Michael King Memorial Lecture: An hour with Hermione Lee, biographer of Virgina Woolf, Willa Cather, and most recently, Edith Wharton. Our profile of Lee. Event details
• Running throughout the day is Open Mike, giving budding poets attending the festival the chance to recite their work alongside James Brown, Alison Wong, John Burnside, Ryan Knighton, and Karlo Mila. Event details

Keep sending your comments through, including questions you’d like us to ask at the festival, and you can find all our author profiles, interviews and audio wraps on our Festival page.

Gypsy Kelso

The Glass Castle

by Jeanette Walls

It is a memoir of her amazing survival of a childhood most people can not imagine. She grew up with a home life so unconventional and bizarre that it seems a miracle that she even survived, let alone became a successful news correspondent and writer. She tells her life story in a simple, touching, and often funny way that makes the reader feel an incredible mix of sympathy and admiration for the little girl that she was. The stories she tells of her parents choices and their inability to see the impact those choices made on their children are both fascinating and frightening. Somehow Jeanette has managed to tell a potentially very sad story in a way that leaves you feeling uplifted and inspired. This book is an excellent read for anyone who ever thought their childhood was odd, and for anyone who needs clear proof that children can overcome incredible odds and succeed in life, no matter what challenges they face.

Robin Hohn

Fowles, likening his own writing style to that of his literary mentor and influence Thomas Hardy (Tess of the d'Urbervilles), frames the Victorian era and the emergence of scientific empiricism over romanticism within the narrator's 20th century lens.

Fowles confronts issues such as societal duty, custom, class, gender roles, pursuits of knowledge, and the struggle between religion and mystery and the cold, hard facts of scientific proof and reason.

Those who enjoy the writers of the Victorian era, including Hardy, Tennyson, Matthew Arnold, Darwin, John Stuart Mill will find Fowles' incisive perspective on the tumultuous period both enlightening and profound.

Fowles cannot avoid delving into the existential depths of human freedom and personal sovereignty through his two protagonists, Charles Smithson and the mysterious Sarah Woodruff.

This book is hard to put down.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has released no less than 160 formerly classified files detailing their investigations of UFO's (Unidentified Flying Objects) and the monitoring of extra-terrestrial activity. These are considered by some to be the UK equivalent of the 'X-Files', whose entry into the public domain has been long awaited by British UFO enthusiasts across the land.

The files contents sound pretty eclectic - there is an account of a person who claimed to have had 'relations' with an extra terrestrial from the tender age of seven, a happy state of affairs that dramatically ended when the unfortunate alien was killed by members of another intergalactic race. There is also the tale of the person who was astounded by the sight of a flying object with flashing coloured lights that was heading very rapidly towards...Heathrow Airport! Quelle suprise!

Since much of the evidence is of this high calibre, the information contained in the MOD data proves absolutely didly squat about the existence of alien life forms.

 Take me to your leader

Another thing that seems a bit of a croc is the alien visitation and abduction claims. These have an underlying assumption that a race of beings, capable of time and interstellar travel, will naturally choose the local hillbilly wino as a first point of contact on reaching Earth. Yeah right. An absolutely brilliant publicity stratagem.

Personally, I would love it if there was proof of something else being out there. It is certainly a statistical possibility, and I have always been a bit of a sci-fi fan since childhood, but judging by the evidence produced so far, the only hope I have of encountering aliens is by watching 'Star Wars'.

http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=2719491

You will recall that yours truly picked Nancy Farmer's The Land of the Silver Apples earlier this year as one of her favorites! : )

HungarianLibrarian

I was so happy, joyous really, to see a vegan recipe for the majestic Black & White included in Hannah Kaminsky's My Sweet Vegan, which only just arrived at my house last week. I get to indulge in one of my all-time favourite treats and it's dairy-free, egg free and vegan all the way baby. My initial indecision at which tasty treat to try first upon the book's arrival, so overwhelmed was I by all the fabulous possibilities contained therein, caused my vote to be forfeit - hubby then cast the tiebreaker in favour of Peanut Butter Bombs. Those turned out really fantastic. I knew what my second foray into the book would have to be - the Black & White.

After getting the batter together I placed generous fluffy dollops on prepared baking sheets. They looked like ethereal little clouds before going into the oven.

I might have left them in a minute too long - ok I did leave them in too long - I was distracted by a cat, but I think they were none the worse for wear.

These were really fun to make. The taste of the batter, which I sampled repeatedly, immediately took me back to being four years old when I used to steal cake batter when my great grand mother wasn't looking and then she'd chase me around the kitchen with a wooden spoon until I dove under the table for cover. I was safe there because she couldn't bend too well. Sorry nagy.

Great tasting batter aside, the assembly is where the true fun comes in - all that painting of the two glazes, reminiscent of finger painting. Delightful.

One thing I quickly realized was that in using organic confectioner's sugar I was not going to get a true snow white for the white side of my cookies, rather mine would be a slight cream - against the dark chocolate glaze they look white enough though.

I even broke out my coveted Endangered Species dark chocolate baking rounds, which I'd been hording for some time.

The chocolate is so darn tasty I was tempted to slather it all over the entire cookie but I resisted. Next time perhaps.

Worth noting is that, if you work slowly like myself, you may need to nuke the chocolate glaze for ten seconds to soften it up again or you may find it start to seize up on you. We want our cookies to have perfectly smooth little Black & White tuxes thank you very much.

Et voilà! - c'est magnifiqe. I love them - so sweet and decadent and, most importantly, delicious. I enjoyed more than one with an equally humongous mug of coffee - and we're two for two.

Now what to try next...

C.S. Lewis - "Mere Christianity"

Woah, hey, check this out! I have a blog!

I must apologize to my masses of faithful readers, I just haven’t gotten up the motivation to write much lately (obviously). So what have I been up to the last month or so? Long story short, I finished my internship and now I go to the gym, read, and sit at Caribou using their free internet. Short story long? Well, here ya go.

April 25 was a wonderful day. I finished my internship and managed to go only 43 hours over the requirement! That’s what I get for putting in so many 12 hour days. I suppose it paid off though, because my evaluation was surprisingly decent and I even started getting some positive feedback during the last couple of weeks. I was given the opportunity to wrap things up with the patients I’d been working with, most of whom were discharging the next week. That’s quite a satisfying feeling to know that you’re sending them home armed with the resources and knowledge they’ll need to have enjoyable and healthy leisure lifestyles. So much of the internship was challenging. Emotionally, physically, mentally, but I learned so much.

Probably most importantly, I continued to develop my philosophy of Therapeutic Recreation and now know that the way I want to be involved in TR is by providing people with opportunities they may not otherwise have, whether it be due to a disability, socio-economic status, age, location, whatever might be holding them back. There is a great deal to be said in praise of providing leisure education to people whose lives have been turned upside down by sudden disability, and I enjoyed that aspect of the internship. However, the highlights of the experience were

• the hunting trip where a 16 year old kid with a pretty high level injury killed a turkey,
• aquatic therapy where people discovered they had so much more mobility than on land and actually enjoyed the exercises in the pool,
• the zoo outing I led during my last week where a 21 year old got to spend some quality time with his year old daughter in the petting zoo,
  and finding out that one of my patients took my video game controller manual and bought a new game system, something he’d figured he’d never be able to do again!

In fact, the whole thing that even got me into TR in the first place was the workshop that introduces people with spinal cord injuries to all of the adaptive ways they can still enjoy outdoor activities like climbing and kayaking and water skiing. I don’t know where this career is going to take me, but I hope that I can find something that allows this passion to continue because, as stressful as the internship was, I still feel that TR is where I’m called to be.

Huh, that was actually quite a relief to write! I’d begun to wonder if I was headed in the right direction, but I’m pretty sure I am :)

So now you’re thinking, “April 25? That was 3 weeks ago! What has she been doing since then?” And the answer is, enjoying my new-found leisure time! Sure, it doesn’t have a paycheck with it, but this is MY time to work on me and figure out what’s next. Seems like I have that every few years. I wonder if I’ll ever stick with the “what’s next.”

I’ve had a busy wedding season, with 4 friends getting married and A's baby on the way, and then there are all the showers and bachelorette parties that go along with that. I threw a Dos de Mayo party with MF, which was a ton of fun and left me with a lot of leftover Mexican food. I’ve reclaimed my Sunday afternoons so that, rather than spending hours working on weekly reports and projects, I can spend 2 hours at lunch after church, go for leisurely walks, hang out with friends, and not have to worry that I’m not getting anything accomplished. I went to a concert, rented a movie, went to a baseball game, and have books piled up on my bedside table which I’m slowly working through again. I cleaned my closets and desk and sorted through some old pictures and finally rode my mountain bike. I got a massage, have been helping to plan the Young Adult beach retreat, playing Scrabulous, and keeping up with the latest Doctor Who and X-Files news.

I’ve also been taking advantage of living across the street from the church and have gone to the gym almost every day. There’s a beach retreat coming up and I at least want to feel comfortable in my swimsuit. I also volunteered with a program there that works with Hispanic kids, helping them with their homework and spending some quality time in constructive and even educational recreation. I don’t speak a lick of Spanish (except for 1-10, thanks to Sesame Street), but all the kids speak almost perfect English and are so much fun. I even helped a first grader with his math homework! That’s almost laughable, if you know me and my intense fear of numbers. I have been trying to drive a little as possible, which isn’t too hard living across from the church (gym, volunteering, choir, bells, weddings) and not far from bars and restaurants. I have about a 2-mile radius that seems to take care of everything I need for right now, so when I do drive, it’s not very far and I’m trying to be better about combining my trips.

I just feel so relaxed, it’s wonderful!

So, what’s next? Good question. I’m waiting to hear back about a summer job while trying to figure out what to do about my apartment if I get the job. I’m keeping an eye on jobs around Atlanta, but haven’t actually applied for anything yet. I’m sure this idyllic lifestyle will come to a screeching halt as soon as not having an income sinks in, but until then I’m just happy to feel relaxed and stress-free!

From what I have heard from people who enjoyed the book, is that Mr. Darcy is such a dreamy young man whom many of them would enjoy meeting. Although I do not disagree, I do find that Mr. Darcy's countenance is one that intrigues me. While I did not get the giddy, happy feeling of instance love, I was more inclined to learn of his actions and why he did the things he did. It was his arrogance that drew me to him, his abrasive attitude, and his quick judgement of character. By the time Mr. Darcy changes his manners and begins to act more civil, I was in love, not from his apperance or his wealth, but by his attitude. By working hard to find humility and prove to Elizabeth that he can change for her, Mr. Darcy puts forth his best side and it is well received.

Although Elizabeth is a smart girl with quick wit, and a lovely face, she, like Darcy jumps to judgement too quickly. In a way, Elizabeth finds herself to be better than her "foolish sisters" through the way she talks of them to her father, begging him to knock some sense into them. Likewise, Elizabeth judges Mr. Darcy as well even though he gives her plenty of reasons to.  But disregarding this, she is a wonderful girl, who holds her head high even though Miss Bingely abuses her at every moment.

An interesting symbol Austen paints in her story is Pemberley, Darcy's estate. It is a very beautiful place, full of natural beauty. It has running waters, wonderful flowers and is the epitomy of a beautiful countryside landscape. In one discription, Austen calls the river in the front of the house a "natural importance", which could possibly reference Mr. Darcy's own views on his importance and social status. It is an unmasked beauty full of memories and paintings that could also allude to Darcy's life.  Mr. Darcy is a man who lives behind his arrogance and his wealthy. Upon meeting people, he is quiet and withdrawn. In contrast, his home is open and free, it is full of beauty and vulnerability.

While the character's can go deeper and there are many more symbols and themes, these are just a few of my thoughts and ideas. I enjoyed the book a lot and look forward to seeing the 2005 movie, which I haven't seen.

We were lucky enough to catch some daffs still blooming, though it was a bit late in the season, and we also lucked out with terrific weather (no rain and sunny skies, which is no small miracle for April in the north of England.)

The highlight of the trip was visiting the two Wordsworth homes in the area, rustic Dove Cottage in Grasmere, and the much more luxurious Tudor house known as Rydal Mount, located just outside of Grasmere. It was interesting to see the contrast between the two homes, the first being the poet's residence early on in his career, and the second being the house he went on to live in after his poems had achieved great acclaim during the Romantic age. The slate-roof Dove Cottage was originally an 18th century inn, and it remains little changed from the Wordsworths' time there. Many of his possessions are on display, including his marital bed and a traveling suitcase with his name sewn quite crookedly in cross-stitch.

Sprawling Rydal Mount contains many of his posessions as well, and interestingly enough, is still owned by the poet's descendants, who often stay there. I loved looking at all of the framed family photos of the current Wordsworth family members on the house's living room end tables--it was just like visiting a friend's home! Unfortunately, Rydal Mount was home to a lot of sad memories for the poet, as both his beloved daughter, Dora, and his vivacious sister, Dorothy, died during his time there, events which forever silenced his pen. In addition to the 4 acres of gardens on the property that the poet landscaped himself, be sure to check out the adjacent Dora's Field if you visit in March or April. It's home to thousands of daffodils the poet and his wife planted as a memorial to their daughter.

 --Joni Rendon

On todays program, Mike shares an audio clip of a sermon by Mark Driscoll on the book The Shack, and its heretical teachings. Also, discussion on a recent Christianity Today interview by Collin Hansen with Dr. David Wells, concerning his new book The Courage to be Protestant; then  Mike addresses listener email dealing with worship and music, exposing and the myths of Arminianism.

• Mark Driscoll full sermon on doctrine
• Collin Hansen interview with David Wells
• Steve Camp- Denominational Light Bulbs

On the surface, The Pill is a wonder-drug.  No babies, no acne, regular and lighter periods.  For all of these reasons, I, and millions of women like me, are on The Pill and have been for some time. I have personally been on it for about 10 years (and I'm only 27).  I started it because NOTHING else would clear up my skin as a teenager, plus my cycles were infuriatingly irregular and unpredictable.  Little did my 17 year old self know that in 10 years, I would feel like a slave to these tiny pills.  Due to medication that I am on that can cause severe birth defects, I HAVE to be extremely vigilant about not getting pregnant.  My partner and I both feel that condoms are not a reasonable alternative due to their propensity for misuse as well as our simple desire not to have to use them.  And after condoms there are VERY FEW non-hormone based contraceptives.

About a year ago, I got fed up with The Pill and took my grievances to Planned Parenthood for the purpose of getting an IUD (intra-uterine device) - the copper kind, not the one that just sits in your uterus pouring hormones into it.  First of all, the entire visit to PP was unpleasant.  The nurse who took my vitals asked why in the world I wanted to get off The Pill.  She poo-pooed the idea of a diaphram (not that I want one, but she shouldn't have made that assumption) as being "messy" and hard to use.  In my actual consultation with the doctor, she dismissed my complaint that The Pill was causing bloating and weight gain.  I've never been a skinny person, but I know my body and I knew that this constant stream of progesterone - the hormone that pregnant women produce that tells their bodies not to lose fat - was doing nothing good for my weight issues.  This doctor also told me that IUDs are only appropriate for women who have already had children.  While this may be the more standard application, I don't feel that it is exclusive, this particular doctor just didn't feel comfortable implanting them in childless women - and she told me as much.  So I left PP feeling demoralized, dejected and without any options.  They practically threw a new prescription for Pills at me.  I got the distinct feeling that PP is being subsidized by Pill-producing companies.  Probably not true, but that was my impression.

So this brings me back to Bonk.  Mary Roach was discussing how a woman's hormonal cycle normally causes an increase in sexual drive during the time of month while she's ovulating (makes sense).  But women on The Pill are receiving a constant and steady stream of estrogen and progesterone which levels out their hormones, basically dulling their natural cycle and urges.  Much worse yet, The Pill induces a protein which binds to and inactivates testosterone in the blood.  Why do women need testosterone you may ask?  Well, it is the "hormone of desire".  Without testosterone, women have greatly lowered sexual drive.  I was enraged by this.  I was NEVER told of this side-effect.  I guess diminished sexual desire is not anything worth discussing as a possible reason women would not want to use a particular drug.  I knew that I was taking estrogen and progesterone and I was already none too happy with the possible and actual side-effects of those two hormones, but now to know that my testosterone levels are also being diminished?  Holy Hell.  Can you even imagine if a birth control medication for men blunted their libido?  There'd be outrage.  No no, there wouldn't because no drug like that would be taken by millions of men for most of their lives.

I'd love to hear from anyone else interested in this topic as well.  Has anyone heard about the use of copper IUD's in women who have not been pregnant?  Its still something I am seriously looking into.

Once more riding down to Venice on borrowed horses,


the air free of misdemeanor, at rest in the inns of our fathers.

Once again whiteness like the white chandelier.

Echoes of other poems...

That was not part of her plan. So she buttoned her lip, held up her head, tried to forget about it and walked calmly back to the office. Well, to call it an office is stretching things a bit. Four officers shared this 3X3m space for all their admin duties i.e. a fair part of each shift. They were packed in like sardines, chairs pushed hard against each other. There were no windows in the office, a radiator which was constantly fixed on “High” even in the summer and just one computer which they all had to fight to access. Whenever she entered the office, Jo felt like one of those women in Tenko (a Japanese prisoner of war camp). The place was like some sort of psychological testing ground, it seemed like the environment had been planned to make conditions perfect for explosive arguments if not bare knuckle fights. And there would indeed have been many such arguments if it wasn’t for Damo.

Damo had been posted to Shalemouth the same time as her. They knew each other well. They had gone through police training together and from day one it was obvious everyone liked Damo. He was the class joker, “Goldenballs” they had called him back then. He was a bit of a dream boy, tall, fit body, good looking with blonde hair and a constant grin. It was hard to remember a time when Damo wasn’t smiling. He was a real “jack the lad”, one of those guys who people took to instantly, from sweet old ladies to lads in the pub. With his ready smile and engaging banter he never appeared threatening to anyone and so tended to bring out the best in folks.

Damo called the office the “broom cupboard” and it was his constant humour that kept everybody cool. Some people thought Damo played the “daft laddie” but that wasn’t the case at all. He was completely genuine, Damo was the “daft laddie”. That was his one weakness, he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box. For all his luminosity, Damo was naive and gullible, incredibly gullible. Many people thought that would be his downfall some day and maybe they were right. “Welcome to the pleasure dome” he sang as Jo squeezed into the cupboard and climbed into her chair. He then burst into the theme tune from an old TV programme “Cheggers plays pop… da da da… dad da da… Cheggers plays pop!” he screamed while playing air guitar and feigning grimaces of pain. Mitch who was sitting next to him, spat out a mouthful of sandwich and burst into laughter “Stop it Damo for fuck’s sake! You’re bloody choking me here”. Mitch looked to Jo and asked “So what happened then?”. She looked at Mitch and despite her determined efforts she couldn’t help but blush. She still had a thing about Mitch.

This, of course, is a great idea for a public library featuring local writers or regionally-relevant titles. Genealogy, anyone?

(Thanks, Mike!)

Stephenie Meyer, Twilight and New Moon

As with the Harry Potter books, I am once again late to the party, but that has its advantages - I was able to race through the first three books without more than a minimal delay. (I've lent plenty of books to students but this may be the first time I ever borrowed from one....) In terms of prose style, I liked these better than the HP series - very few clunkers. In terms of plot, pretty good, though the 'preface of impending doom' was getting a bit old by book 3, and the event that triggered the great calamity of book 1 seemed kind of random and rushed.

Apparently book 4 is the final from Bella's point of view, and it seems a good place to stop, as I think there's only so far that teenage vampire angst can go without crumbling into self-parody - although Laurell K. Hamilton seems to have built a pretty good career out of a Mary Sue, and lots of paranormal sex. (These books do not, I hasten to add, have sex of any kind, paranormal or otherwise. Three books in, Bella's vampire has barely gotten to second base.)

Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis

I haven't read many graphic novels - and a few people I know who love the genre are complaining that this isn't a very good example of one - but it's interesting to watch the interplay between image and word. Ooh, that sounds moderately highbrow.

Eh, as I've said before, I can't write book reviews. Go read these. If nothing else, you'll have something to talk about with other people who have read them.

Apparently, NY's position is that Amazon is liable for sales tax collection, despite not having a physical presence in the state, because they accept click-through purchases from Amazon Associate websites whose operators are located within the state.

Amazon is challenging this ruling from several angles, including violations of due process and anti-discrimination rules. I guess they see no problem with violating those same rules when trying to grab as many pieces of the book publishing value chain as possible. (See Amazon Just Doesn't Understand Ethics.)

Maybe this lawsuit is distracting Amazon from working their way down the POD food chain to the smaller publishers relying heavily on digital printing. Or maybe they're regrouping after seeing the angry responses and reactions from those publishers. Or maybe this is just part of their original plan -- slap 'em around a bit, let the dust settle, then hit 'em again with the next round of attacks.

Is it good that states are trying to get online retailers to collect sales tax? Not from where I sit. I buy a lot of stuff from out-of-state vendors, especially those who don't charge shipping if your order is larger than some threshold. I save on sales tax and, if I plan ahead, save on shipping by holding my order until I can hit that threshold.

Many states, including Michigan where I live, charge a "use tax," which is nothing more than a way to get some sales tax from out-of-state purchases. Luckily, we get to choose an option -- either take the flat rate based on taxable income or add up our receipts and pay 6% of the total. The former is always cheaper for us, both personally and for our businesses.

This issue is not going away, however. The state governments are going to keep dreaming up ways to get more tax revenues. After all, this is not at all about fairness to in-state businesses. No, it is about collecting more tax money. Period. No matter what rationale they use. And collecting taxes is really about growing the bureaucracies and grabbing more power over our daily business and personal lives.

We're going to see more and more aggressive efforts to create some kind of national sales tax bureaucracy to centralize that collection and subsequent distribution back to the states.

Can you spell Value Added Tax? Brace yourselves, kiddies, they're going to try to create one for the US and, eventually, one for the coming-to-a-theater-near-you North American Union. And none of it will be good for small businesses.

So, what's your take on this whole sales tax brouhaha?

(deliciousness requiring all centered content)

Library Porn

When I was kid, my mom used to drop me off at libraries and book stores while she ran her errands.

She loved the fact that I could read an entire book between the time she dropped me off and when she picked me up. Cheaper that way.

I think the word you're looking for is "voracious."

When I was young, I gobbled up books like they were M&M's.

The quiet of a library still makes me happy. It brings me peace.

I mean, what can go wrong in a place dedicated to books?

My eternal thanks to Stumble Upon and the nonist. I don't know what a nonist is and you seem too smart for us to have a conversation that would satisfy either of us (you'd be talking about MOMA and I'd be talking about Mona from Who's The Boss) but these shots of libraries you so graciously excerpted from Candida Hofer's book Libraries have made my morning. I tip my ironic, feather-plumed hat to you, sir.

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to pick my favorite one. I think I found one of your lovely places.

There are so many different things you can do when strip piecing before cutting the wedges. It's great fun to play around and see what happens. I prefer the visual impact of the upper left wheel but still had fun making up the others. These will finish to 11" blocks. I'm planning perhaps some wedge pieced sashing. Can you tell I'm also enjoying the new Martha Negley fabrics and the new Bell Bottoms fabric??

Just in time for next week's major holiday, I received this in the mail today:

SQUEAL! This is my custom-made messenger bag from SplatGirl Creates. Lara made a messenger bag that I saw on the Supereggplant blog. I could tell it was very well made...not to mention cute. I've had the Amy Butler Forest Seedpod fabric for a brief time and knew I wanted it for a bag. I didn't, however, trust myself to use it wisely and well. I sent it off to Lara who worked her magic and created the perfect bag for me. The workmanship is exceptional. There is not a wayward or wonky stitch as there would have been had I undertaken a bag. I LOVE IT! It has a water bottle older on the side there. Awesome stuff. You can see more of Lara's lovely wares on Etsy--her Moo card holders are lovely and she has a covetous robot Moleskine cover up right now.

It is also book week around here. I've had an Amazon gift certificate I've been spending down. So handy to have that "in the bank," so to speak.

Amazon kept recommending this book to me. They finally wore me down because I couldn't resist the quilt on the cover. I suppose they will continue to recommend this thick and interesting tome:

And how is it possible that I didn't already own this book???

I think this is my favorite quilt in it so far:

That's it from here. I hope you all have a festive weekend, whatever you do!

Of course, we're now in an era in which academics hold conferences on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and rock n' roll is treated with a studious reverence that would make Theodor Adorno turn over in his grave. Fans of highbrow cultural products are increasingly likely to also dig comic books, television shows, and gossipy blogs. And the walls between independent and mainstream have also become increasingly porous: Chabon himself publishes with both a conventional corporate house and also with McSweeney's.

So, I think Chabon is more closely describing an attitude of generations recently past. But: he does all the same do a very good job of articulating some of the underlying reasons why the kids these days have mostly stopped worrying and learned to love entertainment.

Most notably: Chabon does a good job of unpacking exactly why people might turn up their noses at entertainment. He points out that there's a kind of guilt-by-association here: because the mainstream entertainment industry produces seemingly infinite numbers of trashy, exploitative reality shows for every rare masterpiece like The Wire, it's hard for us not to be suspicious of the thrill of pleasure, when we've become so accustomed to experiencing it only in debased, degraded, hollowed-out forms. And though Chabon doesn't mention this, I think it might also be the case (for Americans, at least) that there's still some lingering cultural Puritanism in operation here: we just can't quite get over the sense that there's something bad about enjoying ourselves. And then on top of that there's some American capitalistic pragmatism, too: if we're not working, we're wasting our time, and the pleasure of entertainment sure doesn't feel like work.

Chabon doesn't explicitly mention the fact that consuming highbrow cultural products often bears some relationship to class and status: that there might be some sociopolitical underpinnings to why some folks gravitate toward NASCAR and others to Proust. That said, I don't think there's anybody out there who actually reads all 1.5 million words of À la recherche du temps perdu solely for the sake of impressing the neighbors. (If that's their only intention, they'll just buy the fanciest leatherbound edition they can find and leave it untouched on the shelves.) Education, status, class, and past experience no doubt all play roles in shaping our tastes—but in all cases, pleasure is a big part of what all of us are after. Alluding to Kafka's famous saying ("A book must be an ice-axe to break the seas frozen inside our soul"), Chabon writes:

But in the end -- here's my point -- it would still all boil down to entertainment, and its suave henchman, pleasure. Because when the axe bites the ice, you feel an answering throb of delight all the way from your hands to your shoulders, and the blade tolls like a bell for miles.

We're always going after pleasure and entertainment in art: we just sometimes define those terms too narrowly. Chabon explains this as a reaction to the cheapening, deadening effects of mass produced culture; I'd say that's part of it, and part of it you can blame on class and the Puritans. But in any case: this idea—that the experience of art should be pleasurable, period, regardless of its lowbrow or highbrow origin—is exactly why most younger readers and viewers don't generally lose much sleep over the debate Chabon wrestles with here. And it also no doubt at least in part explains Chabon's great popularity with the McSweeney's set, and with readers in their 20s: his books are very sophisticated and literary, and give off many highbrow signals, but they're also unabashedly entertaining, and frequently take on themes, characters, settings, and situations (comic books, detectives, etc.) that in years past might have been excluded from highbrow literature. So: there's nothing in Chabon's argument here that I disagree with—but the battle being fought here has already been won.