The Next Dark Age
We're in it Now
Merry Christmas – I’ve Been Looking for This Metric
As e-readers become more popular, many people have been wondering about the impact of the devices on the environment. Obviously, if you read alot and exclusively use the e-reader, you are doing some good. But how many books do you have to read on the device in order for it to be the “green” choice? USA Today had an article that looks for an answer:
“The Sierra Club’s “Mr. Green” has concluded that unless you’re a fast and furious reader, the energy to manufacture and dispose of an e-reader is probably greater than that of a traditional book. If you read at least 40 books a year, the Sierra Club says, the e-reader may be greener, but if you read a lot less, stick to a regular book.”
I do read more than 40 books a year. I don’t think more than five of those have been on the Kindle. My mother downloaded two or three more. Apparently, we do the environment better with paper.
Memories of John Lennon, edited by Yoko Ono
I first listed Memories of John Lennon on my LibraryThing page in 2007. That means I started reading it in 2007. I put it down because I was (sorry) bored. It has been sitting on my TBR shelf for three years.
I picked it back up after the anniversary of Lennon’s murder, and some of it is really good. Yoko Ono pulled together a whole ton of stories – vignettes might be a better word – with photographs and sketches from John’s friends, colleagues (none of the Beatles, of course) and otherwise famous fans.
Some were really short. Norman Mailer contributed this:
Bono contributed a sketch of Lennon. And some people wrote on for days. The trouble is, so many were saying the same things: how admired, genius, clever, warm, loving, blahblahblah. You know what I really liked? Yoko offered up a story at the end involving an art gallery showing her work and being snubbed in a junior high sort of way and how John Lennon held her hand and kept his chin up and got her through it. I could have read a whole book full of stories like that.
Christmas Classics from the Modern Library
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=leartojugg-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0679602828&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrBook 48 for the 50 Book Challenge
Book 5 for The Holiday Reading Challenge
I forget when I picked up Christmas Classics, but it has been on my shelf for awhile. And I don’t know what I was thinking, because I had already read most of what was in there and believe me, except for the Linus speech from the Bible, these exerpts are better taken in their entirety from the original source.
There were pieces from A Christmas Carol and Little Women (gag) and The Pickwick Papers. I hadn’t read O. Henry’s “Gift of the Magi” before, and I enjoyed that. But “The Fir”, by Hans Christian Anderson is (don’t laugh) part of the reason that I can’t have a real Christmas Tree!
The most enjoyable piece was a Sherlock Holmes tale set over the Christmas Holiday, that has little to do with Christmas other than the proverbial goose.
Overall, if you have a family that likes to sit around the fire and read these things, Christmas Classics is a great book. I’d rather taken my Dickens straight up.
This was my last book for the Holiday Reading Challenge. Thanks to Nely for setting it up. I wouldn’t have read five holiday books otherwise!
BTT- Life-Changing
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=leartojugg-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0142000671&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrWhich Book Changed Your Life?
Hm. My gut reaction to this one is, “No one book changed my life. Books in general changed my life.” But in an attempt to get in the spirit of the question, I am going with Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. (I could also say The Outsiders, but I’ve already written about that.)
We read it in the 8th grade and it is the first book that I recall where I could see the message and it made me really think. You might remember:
In a scientific sense, humans are pack animals. Social creatures that need companionship and sometimes validation from other humans. George knew that, even if Lenny was the only person’s company that he could stand (or could stand him) for very long.
In a spiritual sense, people need something to work for. Something to hope for, something to look forward to. A reason not to blow every paycheck on booze.
I don’t guess it counts as a SPOILER since the book is over 50 years old. But in the end, it is not Lenny’s fate that is so tragic. I understood, even at 13, that Lenny had a rather happy life. George gave him that. George’s choice – to end Lenny’s totally inevitable suffering before it really even started – was heartbreaking. In the end, it is George’s fate that makes us anxious.
If George is not one of two, then who is he? Is he still working for a farm of his own? Will he ever really stay in one place? But most importantly, will he ever again make that kind of connection with another human being?
Of Mice and Men was when I learned that classics are classics for a reason.
Living Philanthropic
This afternoon, I wrote about that MSN article on microphilanthropy. There was a guy featured named Carlo Garcia, who donates his Starbucks money every day to something. What I hadn’t realized, until I saw the MSN headline again, is that he is blogging about it.
As Mr. Garcia is from Chicago, there were plenty of organizations that I recognized in his archives. But even if you don’t live here, this is a great ongoing project and an example of what the Internet is (or should be) all about:
http://livingphilanthropic.tumblr.com/
Holiday Parties
Weekend Assignment # 349: Party Hardy or Party Hardly?
This is the time of year for office parties, family reunions, New Year’s Eve parties and holiday parties in general. Are you a party animal or a party avoider? Do you go to parties because you want to, or out of obligation, or not at all?
Extra Credit: How many parties are you likely to attend between now and New Year’s Day?
I generally enjoy a party. Sometimes, at this time of year, I just want to hole up and do nothing. It is dark so early, and cold and often the streets are terrible and the traffic is worse. In fact, that is the secret to getting me to a party: starting it as early in the day as possible. The later people start gathering, the less likely I am to show up. But I always enjoy myself.
At the places where I volunteer, the holiday parties are a lot of “putting the name with the face”. I meet people that I have heard about all year long, but never see because we are on different days.
At the office party, it is about meeting the spouses (and other partners) of my colleagues. You learn a lot about people by meeting their spouses.
New Years Eve I am generally with friends. (Did I RSVP yet? I’ll be there, Jen!) Schedules being what they are, I see these people only a few times a year (outside of Facebook), so there is plenty of catching up.
Because both the rescue and my office are having January parties this year, New Years is the only party I have remaining for the season. My family gathers at my house on Boxing Day, but I don’t count that. It doesn’t involve any booze.
Microphilanthropy
MSN had an interesting article talking about “microphilanthropists” – people that make small donations to charitable causes on a regular basis.
Acknowledging that most causes still rely primarily on the Bill Gateses of the world, we are seeing more people giving a bit of support here and there. Social media is responsible for a lot of it, most notably after the earthquake in Haiti where a huge amount of money was raised through text message giving.
And interesting observation was:
“Since most of the money charities receive is from an older population, and the strongest demographic of Web users is a significantly younger one, asking for micro-donations online has bridged the gap.”
Yeah. Historically, my contributions have been:
1. At the holidays.
2. In the aftermath of a natural disaster.
3. When a friend (or a friend’s kid) is doing something to actively support a cause.
I guess that third one is where the social media comes in. Although I want to say that the word “actively” is operative in my sentence. I don’t support causes because my friends “Like” them. I will support a friend participating in a walk/run, or shaving his head. And a colleague’s kid was in a jump rope marathon. I am totally behind a kid in a jump rope marathon. The point is it is the doing that impresses me.
Where I could do better is incorporating it into my everyday life, as opposed to “event” giving. But something really rubs me the wrong way about direct depositing (or whatever) gifts to causes. And I rather figured that concentrating my efforts would do the most good.
I don’t have the answer here, but I am glad to know that organizations are finding more ways to reach out to people, and that people are responding to those efforts.
A Christmas Carol, Again
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=leartojugg-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B003NFM3JK&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrI have seen an awful lot of versions of A Christmas Carol, so I wasn’t in a hurry to see the CG Jim Carrey version. But my mother picked it up on DVD so I watched it tonight.
Pretty standard, I have to say. I have only one thing to complain about – the Alice-in-Wonderland-shrinking-of-Scrooge by The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Complete with helium voice. That was lame.
Otherwise, it was pretty faithful and the animated effects added rather than detracted from the story. In my opinion, though, (if you really want a kid friendly version) Michael Caine did it better with the Muppets.
And of course, the definitive was George C. Scott.
BTT – Character
The question was:
If you could be a character from any book, who would you be? And why?
I am so sorry to say that since Sherlock Holmes had a drug habit, and Indiana Jones went to the Temple of Doom, and Princess Leia had her home planet destroyed, I have a really boring answer. I’m going with Elizabeth Bennet.
She has a fabulous family. OK – two or three of her sisters are ridiculous creatures and her mother is the most annoying woman ever invented. But they aren’t bad people. Her sister is her best friend and her father is wonderful.
She seems intelligent, educated and well-read. Well liked by her neighborhood. And nothing really, really bad ever happens to her. Then there is that guy.
Mr. Darcy is no Rhett Butler, but he is all sincerity. Pemberly seems like a nice enough place to live. So if he actually looks like Colin Firth, I am sold.
I could do that life.
New Favorite Causes
I was at my local salon and saw they have a “Giving Tree”. Once of those that have paper ornaments with a child’s name and a few things one might buy him or her for the holidays. I was told that it was in support of Alliance for the Children, a group based in Northbrook that supports schools and children in multiple states. I grabbed two on my way out and it was really fun to buy a Star Wars toy again. I “happened” to grab the list of a ten year old boy that likes Star Wars. You got something to say?
So I was participating, anyway, but then I went to their website and found they have several really interesting programs, including a “Rewards Program” that has been piloted at a school in Virginia:
“Qualifying schools receive numerous toys and other items which can be earned by students. This program is not based on a student’s academic achievement but rather on students who exemplify positive character traits and appropriate behaviors both during the school day and within the community. School administrators will share with students, staff, and parents, clear expectations and guidelines as to how the Rewards Program will be implemented in their buildings.”
Points for trying something.
The second group is Project Linus. I had heard of them before and in fact, I think my mother may have contributed some work to them. Project Linus provides handmade blankets to kids that are ill, traumatized or otherwise in distress. According to their website, they have delivered more than 3.5 million blankets as of September 30.
Project Linus is a good example of the different ways that people can find to volunteer. Some opportunities are for a day, or an event, or a drive. Some, like the Library and the Refuge, are weekly assignments. Project Linus allows us to contribute to the cause on our own time, at our own pace as schedules allow.
They are headquartered downstate and there is a local chapter in the neighborhood. I am not a particularly crafty person, but since I seem to be watching sports more than I am reading books these days, (Hey – Chicago has contenders in three sports. Before you even count the semi-pros!) I ought to be able to participate.
The Next Dark Age 