remembering my childhood theology

"You'll understand when you see him."
...
"Ooh!" said Susan, "I'd thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."
"That you will dearie, and no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver, "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."
"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you have what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."
"I'm longing to see him," said Peter, "even if I do feel frightened when it comes to the point."

where's toto?

"Kansas is a state of the Union, but it is also a state of mind, a neurotic condition, a psychological phase, a symptom, indeed, something undreamed of in your philosophy, an inferiority complex against the tricks and manners of plutocracy -- social, political and economic."- William Allan White


we made it home. 7 1/2 hours in the backseat of an explorer with your 6'5" baby brother is a treat. almost 40 members of my mother's family gathered together for thanksgiving. im still tired.

hey, Boo

its not the best line in any novel.
its probably not the best line ive read today.

but somehow it has always resonated with me. i can recall sitting in eighth grade english, thinking superior thoughts and brooding about whatever was trendy to brood about, and this line bringing tears to my 13 year old cynical eyes.

im not sure if im more or less cyncial than i was 10 years ago. but yesterday i read the last few chapters of harper lee's swan song and there were tears. or at least something that was trying to develop into tears.

it makes me want to put away blogs and teaching and cable and whatever else sucks away my time- and just read. and then maybe one day when ive absorbed so much that theres not room for much more than a william carlos williams poem- ill have something to say. and ill put pen to paper. and ill have a swan song that would make miss lee green with envy.

"I willed myself to stay awake, but the rain was so soft and the room was so warm and his voice was so deep and his knee was so snug that I slept."

with regards to mr. kholi

i have found meaning and direction during this chaotic time. i have had a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad week (apologies to alexander). i have been told my job is in jeopardy,a praxis III observation and various other inconviences.

but there was one bright star in this dim dim week.

bride and prejudice.
rent it tonight. as soon as this undiscovered masterpiece is seen for what it truly is ( an intelligent commentary on all aspects of life accompanied by brillant musical numbers), it will be flying off of blockbusters shelves.

the curly-headed roomie & I watched in this weekend. once all the way through and twice just hitting the high points- namely the bollywood musical numbers.

Bollywood is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based film industry in India.
The name is a conflation of Bombay, the old name of Mumbai, and Hollywood, the center of the United States film industry. Though some purists deplore the name (they say it makes the industry look like a poor cousin to Hollywood), it seems likely to persist and now has its own entry in the Oxford English Dictionary.

and now we have gained new knowledge and insight on many issues; the appropriateness of sequins, qualifications for matrimony, the misunderstood wisdom of gloria estefan, why ashanti would be in india, and the answer to the age old question "can you screw in a light bulb and pat the dog at the same time?"

this is truly one of the simple pleasures in life.


Lonely Mr. Kholi from Las Angeles
Came to Punjab on one bent knee
He had a green card, new
house, big cash
So made a wish with every fallen lash
For you to do the journey with him
To smile when he got home ask how his day had been
He wants you by his side in joy and strife
Poor Mr. Kholi he has no life without wife.

No life Without Wife
Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
No life Without Wife
Oh yeah yeah yeah Oh yeah yeah yeah

I don’t want a man who ties me down
Does what he wants while I hang around
I don’t want a man who’s crude and loud
Wants a pretty wife to make him proud
I don’t wanna man who can’t be funny
Who tells tall tales about making money

5 things i...

like & should:
1. Jesus
2. fiddles
3. garrison keioller
4. faulkner
5. pumpkin spice lattes

dont like & should:
1. milk
2. hemingway
3. puritans
4. classical music (most of it)
5. carrots

dont like & shouldnt:
1. madonna (old or new version)
2. regular beer
3. lifetime network
4. stryper
5. canadians (except those that wander onto snl)

like but shouldnt:
1. npr
2. billy joel
3. philippa gregory
4. the biggest loser
5. diet coke ( i could give it up,i just dont want to)

now i hear her whisper soft and low through every mile i run as i travel through this world of woe with a Bible and a gun

i survived aea conferences. barely. friday morning i listend to a man who had perfected the art of speaking entirely in cliches. "aim for the moon and even if you miss you'll land among the stars. acheivement equals dreaming plus iniative. no two snowflakes are alike." at the 2 hour mark i had moved beyond questioning my career choice & and had begun to list marketable skills and interests.

this weekend i decided to take a break from life altering pondering & potential decision making. memoirs of a geisha came in the mail & i finally picked up the grass is always bluer from b&n. this weekend was filled with steve earle, the be good tanyas & images of white faced women. it was a good weekend.
saturday night i went to hear zach-my younger brother- & his band paper locust play at blank generation. they played a couple of their original songs plus some covers- nirvana, ramones, etc. they closed with "blister in the sun" from the violent femmes. zach told me later that the first time he ever heard that song was in the volvo while i was driving him to school circa 6th grade. i love that kid. saturday night was the best ive heard from them. zach is lookig at music production programs. he should definitely do something with his music. all they need now is a record deal and a pr person. and maybe an emt. zach managed to bleed all over his guitar...