The Next Dark Age
We're in it Now
Bragging about my Dog Again
We gave this to Gibbs for Christmas:
I gave him a quick demo by putting a small treat into two compartments. One was open and he snatched it up. Then he watched me open the other so he could grab the second treat. Then I picked it all up and loaded it all up. Then I gave it to him and this is what happened (only the first minute is really worth watching):
That moment he was distracted was because Kiwi the Grey flew over our heads. He didn’t get the last two, but came back to it later.
I love this dog.
2011 Reading Recap
Not long ago, my friend, Nyla asked what my non-fiction to fiction ratio was. I really didn’t know, because I enjoy both, so she put me in the 50/50category. Not this year:
24 non-fiction to 40 fiction
My favorite fiction reads were The Help and The Book Thief, followed by Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Favorite non-fiction was My Life in France and Mornings on Horseback.
The most important thing I read was Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, which introduced me to many non-profits doing great work across the globe including Women for Women International. I am now an active sponsor.
New for me this year was diving into the audio books. I am going through books much more quickly when I can sit and work on a Project Linus blanket at the same time. I wonder if that isn’t why I read fewer non-fiction – there are definitely fewer non-fiction books on audio in the library.
I still buy books faster than I read them. And I don’t do as much on the Kindle as many people. Here was the final tally (the links are to the appropriate page on Librarything. If you are interested in my “reviews” you might find the “50 Book Challenge 2011” tag down the right-hand side of the page and scroll through):
In the Dark Streets Shineth: A 1941 Christmas Eve Story
11 Days in December: Christmas at the Bulge, 1944, by Stanley Weintraub
Book 64 of 50 Book Challenge and Book 9 of Holiday Reading Challenges
Closing out the year with a quick audio book. Weintraub wrote another Christmas book that I read awhile ago, about George Washington. So when I saw this at the library’s holiday display I picked it up.
I thought I was done with the holiday thing.
The jacket description lays this out with the old story of General Patton trying to get off an air campaign, being held off by weather and asking God whose side he was on. The book spends almost no time on that subject.
There was a lot of politicking among the generals in December 1944. Normally, I like to read about the politicking. But this was more about who was endorsing whom for more stars and who thought whom wasn’t agressive enough in the campaigns. I didn’t need to hear about how Churchill didn’t like Ike. I was really hoping for a book about the guys in the field that Christmas – like that part of Band of Brothers (who made an appearance in this book).
There were a couple of very worthy anecdotes. American soldiers end up at a lady’s farmhouse on Christmas and she is sharing the little she has when the German soldiers show up and they all manage a peaceful holiday together. The one where the mail had been held up, but Christmas arrives and Dick Byers receives two boxes of treats from his fiancee in the States. I wish there had been more of those.
And that just about does it for the year. I will work on a 2011 book recap soon.
The Autobiography of Santa Claus, as told to Jeff Guinn
Book 63 of 50 Book Challenge, Book 8 of the Holiday Reading Challenges
I am pretty sure I found this at the Library’s Used Book Store, and it received an enthusiastic thumbs up from one of the Holiday Challenge Readers.
Loved it. In fact, I daresay this was the best of all the holiday books I read this year.
This book is Santa Claus explaining himself. Laying out the historical truth and the evolution of the myth, beginning with his childhood in modern day Turkey. Nicholas was an orphan with a trust fund who was uncomfortable with his wealth in the face of so many in need. As an adult, he became a priest. His good works continued and he became a bishop. As rumors of “miracles” spread, so did his fame and he felt the need to abandon his life to continue his mission of giving gifts to those in need.
The book goes on to explain the sainthood of St. Nicholas (which embarrasses him) and frequently returns to a theme of Magic vs. Illusion. Travels begin (dude was on the damn Mayflower) and assistants are recruited – many historical figures – and they are all unnaturally long-lived.
My suspension of disbelief held pretty well. Although Santa kinda skipped over the part wherein he broke his eternal vow of celibacy in order to marry Mrs. Claus. (Even if you are a couple hundred years old, an eternal vow is an eternal vow.) I even got a little misty hearing Santa describe his reading of the “Yes, Virginia” column – reprinted in its entirety.
I can’t say this is an Every Year classic. But I am pretty certain it will be a repeater in my house.
How the Target Pharmacy Lost my Business
or Today’s Rant of My First World Problems.
The stupidest use of legislation ever was the State of Illinois deciding that it would combat the evil meth labs by making it painfully inconvenient for the Good People to obtain pseudoephedrine. Without which I cannot breathe.
Until recently my drug of choice, Allegra D, was only available by prescription. So I ordered it in 90 day supplies from the mail order pharmacy preferred by my health insurance. When I went to reorder this month, the mail order pharmacy said they are no longer distributing Allegra D because it is an over-the-counter drug.
Knowing about the Stupidest Use of Legislation Ever, I asked what my options were. Going to the pharmacy every 10 days to buy a new box is unacceptable. Mail order pharmacy suggested that I call my doctor for a new script and take it to my local pharmacy. They would probably give me 90 days if those were my doctors orders.
I called the local pharmacy and my doctor’s office and confirmed that I could do this. I picked up the script the next day and figured I would pick it up the next time I ran by the pharmacy.
Then I went goofy.
I happened to be in Target for last minute Christmas stuff. They have a pharmacy. I haven’t been entirely happy with my regular pharmacy, so I took my script to the Target pharmacist. He told me the state law said that he couldn’t give me more than a ten day supply. It didn’t matter that I had a prescription. He had to take my driver’s license, put it into a national database and confirm that I was allowed to have it before he could give me a ten day supply. When I told him that my local pharmacy said they could do it, he said, “Their systems must not be as good as ours.”
I took the ten day supply.
Fast forward to today. My mother saw our doctor, and having heard the first part of my story, got him to write a script for Claritin D, which has the same regulatory issues. She took hers to a third pharmacy and it was filled with no problem. I went back to my regular pharmacy tonight and got my 90 day supply.
Perhaps because I work in HR, there are few things that irritate me more than people telling me what “the law says” when they have no idea what they are talking about. I understand the rules with this drug are crazy, but if I can’t count on the pharmacist to know them better than I do, I will be taking my business elsewhere.
Sorry, Target. That was your shot.
Everything Old is Still Old
The Christmas Conversation at my House
Ainslie (age 3): Alex! Alex! Sing “Jingle Bells Batman Smells!”
Alex (Age 6 1/2): (complies)
Mom (to my brother, Scott): Wonder where he got that?
Scott: I didn’t do it!
Mom: Oh, yeah? It was your favorite..
Scott: School kids, kids in the neighborhood…
Me: (completely believing him) Seriously. An entire generation later and the kids can’t come up with anything better than “Jingle Bells Batman Smells?”
Scott: Guess not.
This reminded me of a day my freshman year of high school. I had been passing notes in Geometry with my friend, Todd. He wrote out an entire dirty joke on a piece of notebook paper that (of course) fell out of my back pack when I got home. I don’t remember what the joke was.
My mother grabbed it, read it and handed it to my father. As I thought I was about to be scolded, I prepared for battle. But my father said, “I’ve got news for you, kid. I heard that joke when I was in high school.” My mother said, “I didn’t hear it until college. When your father told it to me.”
I grabbed my stuff and went to my room, totally disgusted.
Santa Clawed, by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown
Book 62 of 50 Book Challenge, Book 7 of Holiday Reading Challenges
“Sneaky Pie Brown” being the author’s cat. My mother used to read these novels – small town Virginia farm lady solves mysteries with the help of her dog and two cats. The animals can talk to each other but not to the humans, similar to Bunnicula. So this was the holiday-themed one.
The novel did start with the heart-warming country Christmas stuff, but it didn’t last very long. The ladies decorating the church for the Christmas social or whatever. Gossiping about a guy with whom they attended high school who grew up to be convicted of securities fraud and joined the local monastery upon being released from prison. Our heroine meets him again at the monks’ Christmas tree farm, Later that night, when she brings her husband and the pets (really?!) to pick up the tree, the dog finds the monk with his throat slit.
I found it very interesting that such a cutsie concept could be wrapped around what came to be a rather sordid tale. I’m not sure it was necessary. The mystery was doing just fine without the dog and cat quibbling over…whatever. When I asked my mother about it, she said that she liked when the horses got to talking, but that didn’t happen very often.
Having said that, this was a lot of fun. I liked the main character and I liked the small town cops. I’m not planning to seek out more of these books, but it is nice to know they are readable in a pinch.
My Three Trees
The first thing is that we really like Christmas ornaments. Factor in that we combined two households. That has lead to not even unpacking a whole bunch of ornaments for years. We thought about getting a second tree, but it seemed like to much work. Enter pre-lit trees. And dropping prices. So this year, I bought the second tree. A small, four foot pre-lighted that we put on a kitchen cart in our family room:
About a day later, I made my one trip of the season to Crate and Barrel and found this “ornament tree”:
This is a terrible picture, as the angle I had to take in the hallway doesn’t do it justice, but I also think that next year I will focus on spherical ornaments here, rather than just “small” ones. I think it’ll fill out nicely that way. Finally, the main event:
In the front window of my living room. Sorry about the glare. There are an awful lot of gifts here, but that is because my brother sent his over already. So my house is officially ready for guests and I am watching the Bulls game.
Merry Christmas.
A Week in December, by Sebastian Faulks
Book 62 of 50 Book Challenge, Book 6 of the Holiday Reading Challenges
I found this at the library in a display of holiday-themed audio books. It sounded really good, so I picked it up.
It is not a holiday book.
It is one of those books about various different strangers with nothing in common whose lives intersect over a big event. As I read through the book..and it is a very slow burn..I came to understand the event was going to be a terrorist bombing. And I hung around trying to figure out who would live and who would die.
The other thing this novel has is the point of view of one of the big shot hedge fund guys right before the financial collapse. The setting is London, but the feel of the super-wealthy getting super-wealthier and the impending doom for everyone else is there.
There is also some commentary of what I think of as evidence that we are descending into the next Dark Age. In fact, one of the characters lays it out that there was a “Golden Age” of education from about 1925 to 1975 when education was relatively universal and teachers would teach. After that, we as a society decided that we didn’t want to leave anyone behind so we taught less to everyone. The theory posited is that the coming generation (I couldn’t quite pinpoint which that was) would know less than the one before it and that is when society is officially backsliding.
(Side Note to my 8th grade civ teacher, Mr Pielin: It is absolutely your fault that I obsess over this concept.)
Faulks also takes a shot at Reality TV by having a character rant that it is the product of bad people taking advantage of stupid people. So true.
So. There was no warm and fuzzy holiday anything, and I think I will have to have a talk with the librarian.
The Next Dark Age 