Excuses Excuses Excuses

I will have to admit I have totally slipped off the bandwagon. For the past couple of days I have read nothing but paranormal romance novels.  Common theme seems to be this obsession with soul mates, perfect love and devotion. Also oddly enough chasteness.There are many variations of this theme and you'd think it would get redundant. Well you would be right, but I was in need of some distraction as my life has become more eventful than I really like it to be.

Monday night a lady in the adjacent apartment triggered the fire suppression system with a grease fire. This caused my apartment to have a small flood. Nothing was damaged but the resulting clean up made my apartment uninhabitable for the next few days.

The next day my husband got a flat tire, so instead of spending my afternoon washing clothes at a generous friend's house I spent the time spending money on a tire that I could ill afford. I had to wash the clothes later that evening. I finished around 2 am.

The next day was filled with taking a sweetheart of a four year old to dance practice and then I went to the 12:01 am showing of Star Trek: Into Darkness.

Abrams has delivered a pretty awesome film. He makes movies that you want to see, over and over again. I really enjoyed being surprised by the film, so I won't go into detail until I am sure all of my friends and family have had the pleasure to view it for themselves. Anyway I got to see actors from some of my favorite series, SHERLOCK, DOCTOR WHO and STAR TREK, so all in all not a terrible week.

We are in our house but there are no finished floors in the Laundry Room, Kitchen or Master Bathroom. It is however nice to be in one's own home.

I know, none of this is an excuse to completely fall off the wagon but in times of stress I tend to give into anything that will help me to escape. Paranormal Romance, not matter how convoluted or strange is pretty effective and exercising that part of you that allows you to practically switch off your brain and just react instinctually without much reasoning.

Tomorrow I will do better.

Benjamin Franklin Again

Why am I writing all of this on a blog?

I have learned over the years that notebooks get lost. I hope to really finish this project and not lose any of the things that I have discovered. We tend to move a lot.

Mother's Day is tomorrow. Here is some free advice in the spirit of Benjamin Franklin. Plan something for your Mother or the special Mom in your life. Don't ask her what she wants to do because that means she has to figure out for you how much you appreciate her. This is not in the spirit of the holiday.

I wish I could give advice in pithy little statements like on page 19.

Men Should be taught as if you taught them not, And things unknown props'd or things forgot . . . For want of modesty is want of sense.

Not Benjamin Franklin by the bye, but some one else a guy named Alexander Pope. Franklin was smart enough to quote someone who by all accounts is pretty learned himself.

Anyway I wanted to discuss Franklin's take on finding a persuasive writing style. As a influential senior statesmen I'm pretty sure his advice on discovering one's own style  is important. However all of the information about writing is pretty lengthy and dense. It occupies several paragraphs on pages 17-19 and isn't the most exciting thing to read.

I have also read another teen fiction romance. It was a bit heavy on the Jesus takes the Wheel references. I am all for people living a faith filled life, however for entertainment no matter what the message is I don't want to beat over the head with it. reading this novel It's All About Us by Shelly Adina is similar to watching a Tyler Perry movie. No matter the funny or dramatic devices employed I still feel like I'm being preached to. Oddly enough I don't mind sermons, I just don't like the back door approach just tell me what you are trying to say to wrap it up in some weird dressing.

Anyway,

I have also started on another novel this time from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die, Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. I don't know if it is because of the frequent interruptions from my 21 month old child but I can't seem to get into it. There is a lot of talk about this community/school, there are tons of hints that something is not quite right about these people. It feels like the hints are to few and far between to really get me interested about the mystery of this place, I also feel like I might already know,  like the Author told us within the first couple of pages.

Wish Me Luck!

Vol.1 of the Harvard Classics  Edited by Charles W. Eliot, LL.D

Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
The Journal Of John Woolman
Fruits of Solitude by William Penn


Who was this Charles W. Eliot? Another question for another day.

I read the introduction to the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and have gotten through a couple of pages. (i.e. 1-9) It's not as gripping as a bodice ripping romance set in the same time period but the rather boring green and gold-leaf hardcover tome with its Veritas crest is rather effective at conveying a sense of importance. It is rather sensual in it's own rights, the romance of picking up knowledge and enlightenment.

I can only sigh and marvel at how much I am deluding myself. I really hope this gets easier. I have digested about three other books today which were much more like Meyer's Twilight than Dante's Inferno.

Anyway in the first nine pages I was really struck by one theme in particular. Franklin's discussion about Vanity

Herby, too, I shall indulge the inclination so natural to old men, to be talking of themselves and their own past actions; and I shall indulge it without being tiresome to others, who through respect to age, might conceive themselves obliged to give me a hearing, since this maybe read or not as anyone pleases. And, lastly (I may as well confess it, since my denial of it will be believed by nobody), perhaps I shall a good deal gratify my own vanity. Indeed, I scarce ever heard or saw the introductory words, "Without Vanity I may say," &tc, but some vain thing immediately followed. 

Albeit it's pretty vain that I deign to write my observations about a historical figure whose import makes my existence seem a little insignificant (though to my point our whole existence is an unlikely and insignificant event when considering the whole of space and time). Anyway, whenever I write I can't seem to get beyond myself. I will also admit my writings seem aware and slightly apologetic of this, leading me to believe that my offerings are slightly milquetoast at best.

Franklin acknowledges this vanity, gives a pretty funny apology about it and quickly gets down to the business of writing the tale of his life.

Also pretty awesome that several contemporary humorists (I'm thinking garden variety stand-up comedian, can't remember who exactly) use this very familiar device of "Why is it whenever someone says 'I don't mean to be [rude, racist, sexist, homophobic, etc.]' then the most [rude, racist, etc.] statement follows. I'd like to think that these humorists are very aware of this lineage. I wonder how far back this device goes?

Just goes to show you Benjamin Franklin was pretty great at innovation.

Trying to Break a Romance Novel Addiction

I hadn't always started out as an addict. Yet like every bad cliched story of someone's drug addled decline, it had started out with an innocent repast of stress alleviating bliss.

There isn't a Harlequin's Anonymous, at least I don't think there is. Anyway I would be way to self conscious to actually ask about or attend such a meeting. I have decided to break this reading habit by trying to thread weightier selections into my diet.

I have several ideas as where I am to start.

1001 Books to Read Before You Die
Harvard Five Foot Shelf (Classics)
Harvard Classic Shelf of Fiction

I will admit that I have read several selections from each of these lists. I did have a pretty standard educational background, i.e. a BA from a fairly respected private not for profit University, and a few ill advised years of graduate school trying to convince myself to become a librarian. I stay at home with my daughter all day and have this suspicion that my brain is slowly turning into mush.

Enough of the boring stuff.

Wish me Luck!