Habibi

If they are this marvelous, I could get hooked on graphic novels.


From: habibibook.com

Habibi, or ﺣﺒﻴﺒﻲ  if you will.

I have had a lifelong interest in the culture and language of the Middle East.  In college I took a one-semester course on Islam, taught by a Catholic priest.  Fascinating class - and with all the politics and strife of the last decade+, I think it has enabled me to have more insight into what Islam is, and isn't.

Don't Lick the Minivan

Things I Should Have Been Doing Yesterday:

1. Laundry

2. Cleaning

3. Going for a training run

Things I Did Instead

1 Drink coffee.

2. Read Leanne Shirtliffe's Don't Lick the Minivan

3. Howl with laughter

"Remember the show Survivor?  That's what parenting is like.  We need to outwit, outlast, and outnumber our kids." (p. 95)

"Parenting tip: Lazy parenting creates kids who are self-starters" (p. 117)

Amen, sister.

Snoop!

There's nothing like having significant renovation work done to one's home to make you feel more than a little... revealed.

How appropriate that in the thick of home deconstruction / renovation, I should finish Sam Gosling's Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You.

Yesterday we removed our several-years-defunct masonry chimney, original to our circa-1950 house.  For the last 63 years, a feng shui master would have had nausea and vomiting upon entering because the dang chimney ran RIGHT UP THE CENTER.  And when I say "up the center," I don't mean snugged up against a wall, closet, or stairwell.  I'm talking right up the very middle of both our living room and the master bedroom (and considering the modesty of our home, I use "master" extremely loosely).  Like an ugly square pillar.  Like an 800 pound gorilla.  Like Jack's Beanstalk. 

A first foray into fermenting food

I learn the coolest stuff from the "New Book Shelf" at the library. Because I pick up books that pique my fancy, but that I would likely never go on the hunt for.

A month or so ago I noticed The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fermenting Foods. Hmmm....

Pat, Wil. Wil, Pat! Now we're all friends!

Let me tell you about this cool thing that happened!

Wil Whalen



My friend Wil Whalen writes DangerWilRobinson, a blog focusing on the local (Maine) music scene.



Pat Keane



My friend Pat Keane is my son's (extraordinarily patient) guitar teacher and is a mastering engineer par excellence.

Last year there was a moment of connection between the three of us (for the life of me, I can't remember the details, gentlemen... was it that Pat was finishing the mastering for a band that Wil was featuring?)

Wesley McNair, The Words I Chose

Confession: This isn't a review as much as a jumbled mess of thoughts and feelings.

Reading Wesley McNair is surreal in the extreme for me. I am still processing.

Wesley McNair

He writes about people and places I know with aching frankness.  He writes about the abuse and sadness inflicted on him, in particular by his stepfather.

Even the photos are familiar.

Wesley's stepfather, Paul Joly, is my great-uncle.

Library budget cuts are penny wise, pound foolish

The City of South Portland is proposing a $5,000 cut to the "collections" budget at the public library.

Now, I understand that it's not the only city department facing cuts, but the cost/benefit ratio of keeping our library current is HUGE.

South Portland is a great community because we pull together and benefit together as a community.  I don't have a swimming pool, but my son is learning to be a great swimmer because we have an indoor community pool.  We have wonderful parks, the rec center, athletic fields, a municipal golf course.  We share these because we've decided we'd rather own these as a community than close them off to all but the well-heeled members of a country club.