Scattered Svithetacular 181.5

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So today I will not be doing a good job of note-taking. Of course, with the advent of new social media, I'm not convinced the Svithetacular fills much of a need anymore, but whether it does or not, I'll still be leaving to go bring some people in from the plains. So I figure I've got a good excuse.

I may not, however, have a good excuse for sleeping in.

Special thanks to Lady Steed who is taking some notes while I'm gone.

==========================

SUNDAY MORNING

Elder Richard D Scott (12)

Spoke


Sister Barbara Thompson (RS2)

She used to be in college.

Sound practical advice re personal revelation: what it is, how to get it, how to recognize it.

"I didn't keep a testimony during those times --- a testimony kept me."


Elder L. Whitney Clayton (70)

exciting things in Chile, Babylon

(Theric has left to give service to a sister in our ward, so I , Lady Steed, will try to take some notes, but will be often interrupted by Baby A)

President Monson

Is making the audience laugh. He is announcing new temples. 2 temples in Provo! Audible gasps from the audience. Wow! The Provo temple is the busiest in the church, so another is needed to accommodate all the members there that want to attend the temple. Many other temples, Star Valley Wyoming (he's going to dedicate that one, good fishing up there) and Paris, France! Very exciting.

Boyd K Packer
Young crows, Old Crows. You young people are being raised in enemy territory. Loosening of morals in our society. Satan is abroad in the land. Despite his temptations, you need not fail or fear. Packer was in High School when WWII started. Today there are wars and rumors of wars and the whole earth is in commotion. I want to counsel and teach you and give you a warning of what to do and what not to do: The Family is the center of the Lord's plan. In the pre-mortal existence all were created in HIS image, gender is essential and was established in pre-mortal existence. Procreation ONLY in marriage. Many of the temptations you face have to do with your bodies. All beings that have bodies have powers over those who do not--all with body have power over the adversary.
By the time Packer graduated high school, many had gone off to the war never to return. Packer joined Air Force. Testimony was not strong. But I knew my seminary teachers had strong one, I will lean on theirs until I gain my own. Patriarchal Blessing: he got one from a patriarch he had never seen before and received great instruction. Studied the BoM. Single greatest thing learned: the voice of the Spirit comes as a feeling and not as a sound. The gift of the Holy Ghost will guide and protect you and even correct your actions. A spiritual voice that will come into your mind and your heart as a feeling. A major mistake will be preceded by a prompting by the Holy Ghost to not make that mistake.


Ucthdorf

Encourage the you people to please heed the counsel from Pres Packer.

We are blessed to live in a time when there are prophets and apostles to lead, guide and instruct us.

Let me reference to another great prophet: Moses. One of the greatest the world has ever known. Moses spoke to God face to face. God showed Moses the' workmanship of His hands' then Moses fell to the earth for many hours. And the he realized "Man is nothing" something which had never occurred to him while living in pharaoh's court.

Awe at flying in the night and seeing the stars. The greatness of GOD and our own nothingness. But the worth of souls is great in the sight of God. But what is man in comparison to the glory of creation. But God has said that HE created this universe for us, for man. All of it was built for the benefit for ordinary mortals, that we might reach our potential as HIS sons and daughters. We are everything to GOD. We have the promise of exaltation , worlds without end in our grasp. and it is Gods desire for us to gain that promise.

Satan tells men things to make them think that they are set apart from all other men. To make them prideful.

Disciples of Christ know that your true value has little to do with what the world esteems.

Satan deceives through discouragement. He tells us that we are too small, that we are forgotten, especially by God.

Man may be nothing in comparison to the universe, but remember you matter to HIM. God loves the humble and meek, they are greatest in Heaven. The Lord trusted His gospel to be proclaimed by the weak of the world. No matter where you live or how humble your circumstances or limited your abilities or how little your calling my appear to you, you are not invisible to your Heavenly Father, He loves you and knows your heart and your acts of kindness. Please understand that what you see now is not, nor forever will be, you will not feel sorrow, loneliness, discouragement forever. Incline their hearts to Him. If you but hold on and believe in Him and remain faithful, one day you will experience the promise revealed to prophet Paul. The most powerful being in universe is the father of your spirit. He loves you,Hhe knows you. He sees you as his child. He sees you as the being you are designed and capable to become. He wants you to know that you matter to him. May we align our lives so that we may understand our potential.



SATURDAY AFTERNOON

Elder Bednar (12)

Shoutout to Malachi. (I sense a talk on . . . temple work?)

(ugh --- sorry, I seem to be having stomach issues.....)

Hey! Texting and tweeting for not just fun but proselyting? What?

Invite the young to experiment and learn for themselves. Not just good advice. Necessary advice.

I like his optimism, trying to get them kids doing family history.

I like any story that gets kids doing actual work. Give youth meaningful work/callings. Give them a chance.

Of course, any kid that says "muster" you have to wonder about.


Elder Anderson (12)

Pretty sure that was a Don Williams quote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0AfwJhIkRg.

Lady Steed wants to know if he's asking us to have more kids.

In telling story about meeting spontaneously with Elder Kimball, Elder Anderson reminds you he won't be quote so easy to meet with.


Ian Arden (7)

We must be sure that being busy also equates to being productive.

Our greatest happiness comes as we tune into the Lord.


Carl Cook (70)

Is a litterer.


LeGrand R. Curtis, Jr.

Has quite the name.

Lady Steed says I am not following counsel, what with paying more attention to the #TwitterStake than #ldsconf. She may have a point.

Price having been paid by the redeemer is good news for all of us.

Want to get baptized to be cleansed from that terrible sin I've been doing, yo.


D Todd Christoffersen (12)

(stomach)

the choice to repent is a choice to burn bridges in every direction (except for the one, I guess)

(baby diaper time)


Elder Perry (12)

Another shoutout for the ole Internet.

truth distortion does exist as a minority, but most are fairminded people who are curious

John: There is no fear in love, but love casteth out fear.

Do not hesitate do add your voice to these conversations.



PRHD SESSION

SUNDAY MORNING

Elder Eyring (FP)

Forgive me if I'm a bit hazy today. I'm now ill.

I think the main thrust is about the exemplars from the Book of Mormon

A story about speaking at a university that warned him not to talk about Jesus

Finding a clever work around

Then: thinking of Abinidi

The Book of Mormon provides plenty of ways to bring truth into practical practice


Elder Hales (12)

clearly not healthy

life is a series of tests and trials and such that lead to growth and development and betterment

all these things shall be for our experience and good

oh god where are though

yes, when a spouse dies a companion may wonder (plus other examples of unpleasantness)

he seems to be speaking from a place of person suffering

let us be kind to each other and even kinder to ourselves

in my Gethsemene and yours we are not alone --- he who watches over us does not sleep


Tad R Callister (70)

the Book of Mormon allows no middle ground

the Book of Mormon makes the Bible clear


Sister Dalton (YW)

how do you raise a child? with your example

practice virtue and holiness with eliminating everything that ain't

then shall your confidence wax strong in the presence of God

i love the challenge of trying to follow his every footstep


Russell Ballard (12)

discourse on the name of the church

each word is clarifying and indefensible


Pr Monson (FP)

His main theme, both in speaking himself and when being quoted, is how far our morality has slipped.

WSJ article cited h/t @bycommonconsent

it is essential that we reject anything that does not perform to our standards

whatsoever you shall ask of me in Jesus's name that is right, believing that ye shall receive, ye'll get it, yo

$5 & Prayer

(two days in a row I've heard a Monson story I hadn't before)

Here's come another new story! Incredible!

A story about surprising inspiration.

And a speeder.


SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Elder Nelson (12)

Back to the USSR!

Covenants (legal)

Abrahamic covenant not to be fully fulfilled until the latter days

...if we seek out the Lord and obey his commandments

eternal marriage is the covenant of exaltation

greatest compliment is You Are a Covenant-Keeper




Elder Oaks (1@)

What think ye of Christ?

we should start by considering what Jesus said of himself

eg, the only begotten son

through him we will all live again

not everyone who says lord lord will get into heaven

those things which do not sustain eternal life

"Jesus Christ is the only begotten and beloved son of God"


Matthew Richardson (SS)

REAL missionaries

REREAD re:teaching

REAL hikers

teachers teach PEOPLE not lessons

real teaching is much more than just talking and telling

they pause to listen, observe, and to learn what to do next

plus, natch, the HOLY GHOST, yall


Elder Yamashita (70)

conversion story

the type of face we carry and display

a blessing

now, to talk to future missionaries


Randall Bennett (70)

you can't make eternal decisions without eternal consequences (good or ill)

are we CHOOSING eternal life?

(every choice is a choice for accompanying consequences)

his granddaughter is going to be a very successful attorney

we must be self-disciplined enough to make early course corrections


J. Devin Cornish (7)

A nickle?!?!

Hitting up God for a quarter.

what about tithing on this quarter?

things that are important to us are important to God (like any good father)

it is contrary to the economy of heaven for god to do for us what we can do for ourselves


Elder Q Cook

tragedy

"the evil exercise of agency"

(feed problems)

bear one another's burdens

great blessings come to those who are faithful

the wicked will be held accountable

i need to pay better attention

not enough lightbulbs (part of why the Titanic sunk)

dying with your music still inside you


Pr Monson (FTW)

we are all important in furthering the work of the lord

as they pray for us, let us pray for them

May God give us the strength and the ability and the determination to play our part well.



last week's svithe

General Conference Svithetaculars at Thutopia
176.0 * 176.5 * 177.0 * 177.5 * 178.0 * 178.5 * 179.0 * 179.5 * 180.0 * 180.5 * "181.0" * 181.5

Goodbye, baseball

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The season's not over yet, not till tomorrow. It won't be till tomorrow that we know who won the wild cards (possibly not even tomorrow in either league, given all the ties), but it's over for my team and my sons' team. Sure, A's fans can hold their collective breath and see if Coco Crisp gets his fiftieth steal, or if Josh Willingham gets thirty home runs or a hundred RBIs, but, for the teams, the season is over. And the Pirates, you may have heard, not only failed to make the playoffs (more than I was willing to ask for), but racked up another losing season, breaking their own record. Again.

Sigh.

Although Giamatti has convinced me that sport is as worthy of my attention as art, still, at this point, I have to wonder: what was the point?

I mean --- I'm feeling happy for the Brewers and I'm always available to root against the Yankees --- yet all this ritual &c, I don't know.

I do like baseball, but maybe I'm not convinced it's as good as art.

Well. Let me retract. It's better than Transformers. Not as good as The Royal Tenenbaums.

Svithe: a vote against rationalization (one specific instance thereof)

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At church the other week, Femtoman (so named because he makes lasers measured in femtoseconds --- did you know there are more femtoseconds in a second than years between us and T.Rex? in fact, there're about as more femtoseconds in a second than seconds in 30 million years) made an interesting point as regards these two scriptures:

John 3:5

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

D&C 137:5

I saw Father Adam and Abraham [in heaven, natch]; and my father and my mother; my brother Alvin, that has long since slept

And suggested that because Joseph Smith took the first verse literally, he didn't assume it was wrong or it wasn't to be taken at face value --- nothing like that. Instead he marveled and this led to a revelation that led to work for the dead.

I found this a moving thought. Rather than relying too much on our own understanding, we should assume there is yet much for us to know and we should ask and wait and expect.

That seems right to me.

previous svithe

Brilliant new bit of spam that I just love. Every detail is so right.

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William Brown william-brown89@msn.com
reply-to williambrown_3811@hotmail.com
date Fri, Sep 23, 2011 at 1:12 PM
subject ATTENTION:


Hello Dear,

I am Sir William , a United States Citizen working here in England, my proposition to you is both business and humanitarian based, humanitarian in that we shall be securing the future of a teenage girl, 13 yrs of age,and business in that you and i will be getting a financial reward of 6Million Pounds just by helping the teenage girl secure a quality education and investment abroad . I believe we can handle it together, once we have a common understanding and mutual cooperation in the execution of the modalities. I work with a financial institution here and will provide you more information when i hear from you.

Should you be interested,I await your earliest response.

Yours Sincerely,
Sir William Brown.

The fiction of Irreantum 13.1(in brief)

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Karen Rosenbaum "Aunt Charlotte's Secrets"

A dying woman, her husband, her beloved niece --- three lapsed Mormons --- in a concise story, constrained by one apartment, one afternoon.

I love how small everything is in this story about a topic so large as what is life, what is death, what is meaning.

Josh Allen "Conceiving God"

As James Goldberg pointed out, the only Mormon "character" in this story is the Boise Temple. Which I admit rather threw me. But the story is beautiful and surprising and ends with an act of sex that has religious symbolism, almost as if Allen wrote the story hoping I would write about it.

Courtney Miller Santo "Flight"

I agree so completely with Wm on this story, that I'm just going to quote him:

I love that it’s an old couple and how their oldness and their coupleness plays out and how real, yet unique, yet fictional it seems. I enjoyed the background presence of the mommy blogger daughter (although it’s maybe a little too hammered home in the end). The imagery with the hummingbirds somehow feels like it’s adding to the whole mix without screaming allegory.

Email Svithe: The Way of the Disciple

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[This is part of a continuing series in which I take old emails I once sent out preclass as part of a calling I once held. This particular email was sent 10/20/09. Certain identifying details have been redacted or changed.]

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Teachings for our times this week, brethren --- "The Way of the Disciple" from President Uchtdorf ( http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1032-23,00.html ).

Given some of the people I've been spending a great deal of time with lately, this part of Pr U's talk stuck out to me:

A friend of mine recently wrote to me, confiding that he was having a difficult time keeping his testimony strong and vibrant. He asked for counsel.

I wrote back to him and lovingly suggested a few specific things he could do that would align his life more closely with the teachings of the restored gospel. To my surprise, I heard back from him only a week later. The essence of his letter was this: “I tried what you suggested. It didn’t work. What else have you got?”

Brothers and sisters, we have to stay with it. We don’t acquire eternal life in a sprint—this is a race of endurance. We have to apply and reapply the divine gospel principles. Day after day we need to make them part of our normal life.

I'm reminded of the old chestnut President Lee originated: "Testimony isn't something you have today, and you are going to have always. A testimony is fragile. It is as hard to hold as a moonbeam. It is something you have to recapture every day of your life."

I think of Peter who knew as much as any mortal could reasonably hope to know, and how he blew it, falling into sleep then violence then denial that last night.

I think of the Brother of Jared who forgot to pray.

I think of Moses who, in his impatience, forgot to give glory and honor to Jehovah.

How can any of us, struggling to hold onto the iron rod, hope to attain great faith without a lifetime of uninterrupted effort?

Life is a struggle. Faith sustains us, but God doesn't hand it out like credit cards to college freshmen. Faith also requires work.

Discipleship is hard.

How can be be worthy of the challenge?

previous svithe

Bewildering history

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064) Alice in Sunderland: An Entertainment by Bryan Talbot, finished September 21


It's not often a history book will ask you to doubt the reality of its very subject. And while I could have 2011ed it and just asked Wikipedia, I chose not to, but instead let the book lead me along, wondering if all I was told was true or if it was an elaborate fiction masquerading as fact. It was dizzying. And tempting.

In a world where lying books are shocking, why not just tell a lie. Write an out-and-out verifiable lie yet claim its reality and demand readers accept an obvious fantasy --- not as fiction, but as fact. Why not? Why not lie with the intent to deceive even when deception is utterly impossible? I'm not talking about these faux memoirs about personal lives. I'm talking about grand histories based on utter nonsense which anyone can uncover for themselves. Why not?

What else is there left to lie about save public truth? Not like politicians do it, not like business does it, but like history won't do it.

Tell a lie but tell it slant.

Why not?

perhaps two weeks

Two better reviews (in that they are more reviewy and have pictures): Why is a Raven Like a Writing Desk? by Karen Green / Review: Alice in Sunderland by Steve Flanagan

=====================

Previously in 2011 . . . . :

63-59
063) Blacksad written by Juan Díaz Canales and drawn by Juanjo Guarnido, finished September 5
062) 21 by Wilfred Santiago, finished September 4
061) Bone by Jeff Smith, finished August 29
060) Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: Race to Death Valley by Flody Gottfredson, finished on a date that's a little hard to identify exactly
059) Shakespeare Wrote for Money by Nick Hornby, finished August 18


58
058) Take Time for Paradise by A. Bartlett Giamatti, finished August 11

53-57
057) The Shining by Stephen King, finished August 9
056) I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells, finished August 6
055) Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, finished August 2
054) Moneyball by Michael Lewis, finished July 12
053) Madman New Giant Size Super Ginchy Special by Mike Allred et al, finished approximately July 9

51-52
052) The Influencing Machine by Brooke Gladstone and Josh Neufeld, finished July 8
051) Wilson by Daniel Clowes, finished July 6

46-50
050) Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut, finished July 1
049) Housekeeping vs. The Dirt by Nick Hornby, finished June 25
048) The Light Princess by George Macdonald, finished June 22
047) Half a Life by Darin Strauss, finished June 17
046) Babymouse: Cupcake Tycoon by Jennifer L. Holm and Matt Holm (siblings), finished June 16

42-45
045) Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card, finished June 10
044) Writings from The New Yorker 1927-1976 by E.B. White (edited by Rebecca M. Dale), finished June 7
043) The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, finished May 31
042) Unnamed book by unnamed client (MS POLICY),
finished May 27

33-41
041) Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O'Malley, finished May 14
040) Scott Pilgrim Versus The Unverse by Bryan Lee O'Malley, finished May 14
039) Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together by Bryan Lee O'Malley, finished May 13
037) The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse, finished May 11
036) Scott Pilgrim Versus The World by Bryan Lee O'Malley
035) Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley
034) The Complete Peanuts 1975-1976 by Charles M. Schulz, finished May 1
033) Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli finished approximately April 27

32
032) Golden Gate by Seth Vikram, finished April 20

27-31
031) Batman: Year 100 by Paul Pope, finished April 18
030) The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby, finished April 9
029) iZombie: Dead to the World by Chris Roberson and Mike Allred, finished April 2
028) A Sense of Order and Other Stories by Jack Harrell, finished April 1
027) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, finished March 30

26
026) The Black Dogs by Ian McEwan, finished March 21

23-25
025) Stitches by David Small, finished March 20
024) Arkham Asylum: Madness by Sam Kieth, finished January 19 or 20
023) Hamlet by William Shakespeare, finished March 18

21-22
022) Red Rocket 7 by Mike Allred, finished March 10
021) Missile Mouse: Rescue on Tankium3 by Jake Parker, finished March 10

20
020) The Hotel Cat by Esther Averill, finished February 28

18-19
019) Wonderland by Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew, finished February 21
018) Redcoat by Kohl Glass (MS POLICY), finished February 18

14-17
017) Best American Comics 2010 edited by Neil Gaiman, finished February 12
016) Little Bee by Chris Cleave, finished February 10
015) Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck, finished February 2
014) Cursed Pirate Girl: The Collected Edition Vol. I by Jeremy Bastian, finished January 31

13-9
013) Sweet Tooth: In Captivity by Jeff Lemire, finished January 30
012) Sweet Tooth: Out of the Woods by Jeff Lemire, finished January 30
011) Essex County: The Country Nurse by Jeff Lemire, finished January 30
010) Essex County: Ghost Stories by Jeff Lemire, finished January 29
009) Essex County: Tales from the Farm by Jeff Lemire, finished January 29

8
008) Magdalene by Morah Jovan, finished January 27

7-6
007) Knightfall Part Two: Who Rules the Night by a slew of DC folk, finished January 23
006) Bayou by Jeremy Love, finished January 17

5-1
005) Mr. Monster by Dan Wells, finished January 10
004) The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, finished January 6
003) The Mystery of the Dinosaur Graveyard by Mary Adrian, finished January 5
002) Batman - Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham by John Wagner and Alan Grant and Simon Bisley, with lettering by the famous Todd Klein; finished January 4
001) Batman: Venom by Dennis O'Neil et al, finished January 2

Svithe (one on simplicity)

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[This is part of a continuing series in which I take old emails I once sent out preclass as part of a calling I once held. This particular email was sent 5/21/09. Certain identifying details have been redacted or changed.]

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Mr X will be leading both the elders and the old guys in discussion this Sunday around "Let Him Do It With Simplicity" by L. Tom Perry (http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-947-2,00.html). I'm fairly certain Elder Perry doesn't mean simple in the stupid sense, but in the Thoreavian sense.

It's common knowledge (or would be if you were all stalking me) that I think Thoreau is mostly simple in the stupid sense, but he's better known for saying things like "Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!" and "Simpligy, simplify." (cf) which sort of prove my point, come to think of it.....

Anyway! Elder Perry!

I actually quite enjoyed Elder Perry's talk overall.

From his experiences at Walden Pond, Thoreau determined that there were only four things that a man really needed: food, clothing, shelter, and fuel. I would like to expand on each of these four basic needs of life, as well as the spiritual benefits of a simplified lifestyle.

He then takes these four basic needs and metaphorizes them all over the place. Or, more accurately, applies the first four to Church standards and policies and metaphorizes the final one. The talk is rather short and pithy and easy to get through.

One of his points related to discussion we've had a few times in the last couple months relates to tight times. But let me broaden the question and ask you this: What principles of simplicity should we master now that will benefit us in the years to come?

previous svithe

By Common Consent

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I have four guest posts that will be appearing on By Common Consent in the next little while. (This is the first.) So I plan on using that as an excuse to remain more or less static here on Thutopia (though I'm sticking with my goal to keep svithing!).

In other news, the boys and I are going to make some Pucker Doodles this afternoon. So that'll be delicious.

Head aching nose running mind stalling

.

Not the best time to start writing a new blog post.

More books! Just as you were secretly hoping!

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072) Blacksad written by Juan Díaz Canales and drawn by Juanjo Guarnido, finished September 5


This volume contains three stories previously published. This volume contains three awesome stories.

I just heard of Blacksad a week or so ago and requested it through the library. It showed up and I read it. And it's terrific.

While this book has anthropomorphic animals, I mostly agree with his statement from Jim Steranko's introduction: "Rather than animals who act like people, the creators' approach is predicated on people who resemble animals." It's true. This isn't Mickey Mouse (see below). This is something different entirely.

And the art is just astonishing. Canales has a mastery of human expression in body and face that I've rarely seen in comics. I can't get over his work.

One downside though. The male characters who get to be animals. Generally, the female characters look more human than the males. And they're fewer of them. And the most animal characters are always male. The noirish nature of the tales lets Canales get away with this, but ultimately it seems a bit of the easy way out.

Anyway. The stories are dark, noir tales. The first more classic setup. The second in a segregated city. The third during the McCarthy red-scare era. So, yes, American stories. But because the writer and artist are Spanish, they understand the Mythic America better, I think, than an American artist could. For American artists, we always know the real America best. Only someone from the outside can believe in the myth as well as someone who makes a living drawing Bible stories understands the Mythic Israel.

Good book. Some sex and violence (be warned) but I loved it. (Lady Steed though, read a couple pages, got bored, set it down.)

Clicking on most of these images will take you to more images.

three days



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071) 21 by Wilfred Santiago, finished September 4

As a Pirates fan, the great baseball hero is Roberto Clemente. And since I like comments (and haven't read the apparently great biography), this book was a necessary read for me.

The book is lovely, as you can see from the art above (click either to see more pages), but it wasn't what I expected. And although the review linked to in the pictures thought the book told a terrific story, my complaint is that it didn't seem to tell a story at all. I can't tell for sure as I already know the major details of his life, but I'm not convinced someone without the basics could tell what's going on. For instance, Clemente's humanitarian work is barely touched on, then, at the end, is made to seem his defining attribute. But we hardly saw it! If we didn't already know, would we now?

Maybe the audience was only people who already know the broad stripes and are just interested in a beautiful telling?

I don't know. If you don't know anything about Clemente (or even better: baseball), please read this book and tell me what your experience was.

Periodically, the action pauses for quotations from nonfiction texts about Puerto Rico. Although, putting on my literary-analysis cap, I can find good reasons for all of them, I'm not convinced the lengthy National Geographic but on traditional drum music was a good reason to break the death in half. (I felt similarly about the text by an occupying American soldier, though it was fascinating. You can read the clip here for yourself. I'ld love to talk to you about it.)

Anyway, beautiful book. Not what I wanted but, well, that other biography's still available to me. I shouldn't blame a book for not being what I want. It did succeed on most levels. I'm just not convinced it's impressionistic timejumping and borderline-pointless framestory and bitsandpiecing sampling methods add up to a book nonfans can enjoy. All that said, I learned about this song:



several months


AND NOW. SOME EPIC ADVENTURE IN FUNNY PICTURES

071) Bone by Jeff Smith, finished August 29

I started to read Bone about ten years ago and loved it. I could see why everyone was talking it up back when the single issues were coming up. But then it got tough to find a certain one of the trade paperbacks and the library and weeks turned into years until finally, last February, I bought myself the one-volume edition. And read it with my kids.

Who loved it.

Truly: this is one of the great comics to read with kids. Exciting, smart, funny, dangerous, scary --- it has it all. And don't let the idea of spending twenty bucks slow you down. This book runs well over a thousand pages with nary a dull moment.

The story begins with three Pogo-looking characters run out of their hometown and lost in the mountains. The get involved in a Tolkeinesque drama with monsters and talking bugs and dragons and magic and dreams and the risk of losing the world. Only with more gag panels.

If you don't follow comics, you might not know how legendary this book is. But it is and it has earned that status. Listen to Time:

Combining the instant gratification strong cartooning with the deep engagement of epic storytelling and the universal appeal of humor, Jeff Smith's "Bone" has becomes the best all-ages graphic novel yet published. While older readers will tune into such themes as the folly of blind fanaticism and the corrupting nature of power, the younger set will simply thrill to the adventure and delight at the huge cast of characters. Hardly a folly anymore, "Bone" now deserves to go from hipster cult item to mainstream literary success.

several months



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060) Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: Race to Death Valley by Flody Gottfredson, finished on a date that's a little hard to identify exactly


Note that I received a free copy because I will be reviewing this for Dialogue. As a preview, let me say that this was okay but hasn't aged as well as some comics and I mostly take hope in its potential and the rumors that in a half-decade or so, the stories really start to pop.

about three months



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NOW BACK TO READING ABOUT READING




059) Shakespeare Wrote for Money by Nick Hornby, finished August 18


Just as the first and second books, this is just Hornby commenting on books he's read. And it was great fun to read. And I'm sad it's all over now.

But I hear Daniel Handler is writing the column now, so maybe I should just subscribe to The Believer.....


rather a while ===========================================================


Previously in 2011 . . . . :

58
058) Take Time for Paradise by A. Bartlett Giamatti, finished August 11

53-57
057) The Shining by Stephen King, finished August 9
056) I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells, finished August 6
055) Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, finished August 2
054) Moneyball by Michael Lewis, finished July 12
053) Madman New Giant Size Super Ginchy Special by Mike Allred et al, finished approximately July 9

51-52
052) The Influencing Machine by Brooke Gladstone and Josh Neufeld, finished July 8
051) Wilson by Daniel Clowes, finished July 6

46-50
050) Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut, finished July 1
049) Housekeeping vs. The Dirt by Nick Hornby, finished June 25
048) The Light Princess by George Macdonald, finished June 22
047) Half a Life by Darin Strauss, finished June 17
046) Babymouse: Cupcake Tycoon by Jennifer L. Holm and Matt Holm (siblings), finished June 16

42-45
045) Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card, finished June 10
044) Writings from The New Yorker 1927-1976 by E.B. White (edited by Rebecca M. Dale), finished June 7
043) The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, finished May 31
042) Unnamed book by unnamed client (MS POLICY),
finished May 27

33-41
041) Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O'Malley, finished May 14
040) Scott Pilgrim Versus The Unverse by Bryan Lee O'Malley, finished May 14
039) Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together by Bryan Lee O'Malley, finished May 13
037) The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse, finished May 11
036) Scott Pilgrim Versus The World by Bryan Lee O'Malley
035) Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley
034) The Complete Peanuts 1975-1976 by Charles M. Schulz, finished May 1
033) Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli finished approximately April 27

32
032) Golden Gate by Seth Vikram, finished April 20

27-31
031) Batman: Year 100 by Paul Pope, finished April 18
030) The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby, finished April 9
029) iZombie: Dead to the World by Chris Roberson and Mike Allred, finished April 2
028) A Sense of Order and Other Stories by Jack Harrell, finished April 1
027) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, finished March 30

26
026) The Black Dogs by Ian McEwan, finished March 21

23-25
025) Stitches by David Small, finished March 20
024) Arkham Asylum: Madness by Sam Kieth, finished January 19 or 20
023) Hamlet by William Shakespeare, finished March 18

21-22
022) Red Rocket 7 by Mike Allred, finished March 10
021) Missile Mouse: Rescue on Tankium3 by Jake Parker, finished March 10

20
020) The Hotel Cat by Esther Averill, finished February 28

18-19
019) Wonderland by Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew, finished February 21
018) Redcoat by Kohl Glass (MS POLICY), finished February 18

14-17
017) Best American Comics 2010 edited by Neil Gaiman, finished February 12
016) Little Bee by Chris Cleave, finished February 10
015) Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck, finished February 2
014) Cursed Pirate Girl: The Collected Edition Vol. I by Jeremy Bastian, finished January 31

13-9
013) Sweet Tooth: In Captivity by Jeff Lemire, finished January 30
012) Sweet Tooth: Out of the Woods by Jeff Lemire, finished January 30
011) Essex County: The Country Nurse by Jeff Lemire, finished January 30
010) Essex County: Ghost Stories by Jeff Lemire, finished January 29
009) Essex County: Tales from the Farm by Jeff Lemire, finished January 29

8
008) Magdalene by Morah Jovan, finished January 27

7-6
007) Knightfall Part Two: Who Rules the Night by a slew of DC folk, finished January 23
006) Bayou by Jeremy Love, finished January 17

5-1
005) Mr. Monster by Dan Wells, finished January 10
004) The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, finished January 6
003) The Mystery of the Dinosaur Graveyard by Mary Adrian, finished January 5
002) Batman - Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham by John Wagner and Alan Grant and Simon Bisley, with lettering by the famous Todd Klein; finished January 4
001) Batman: Venom by Dennis O'Neil et al, finished January 2

Shafting Sunday School (a svithe)

.

For most Latter-day Saint congregations, the Sunday meeting schedule is this:

Sacrament meeting (~70m)
Sunday School (~50m)
Priesthood / Relief Society / Young Women (~60m)

Sacrament meeting, by general agreement, is the most important. Certainly, it's the most likely to go over.

Sunday School, by general agreement, is the least important.

Result? Sacrament meeting goes over, people dally on their way to Sunday School, Sunday School gets shorter and shorter.

Many people, I should also point out, have a bad attitude about Sunday School. (This is not generally true in our ward where Sunday School is awesome.)

I'm currently teaching Sunday School to kids from age 12 to 14. It's a good class and I'm trying to be ambitious and really make this a class that ends up mattering. But it seems like the class just isn't long enough! It usually ends up being probably 30 minutes on a good week.

(Note: I might find this additionally frustrating because, professionally, my teaching periods are 100 minutes, so 30 is unfathomably slow.)

So I'm not sure what to do about this though. Not even sure what to feel about it. Even what questions to ask about the problem.

But I will say this: Sunday School is not a waste of fifty minutes. Sunday School can be awesome. It can be a highlight, both spiritually and intellectually, every week.

But how do we fit a highlight that inbetween two better respected meetings?

Tell, tell me do.

previous svithe

All your Mormon sex in one convenient post

.

For reasons that will become clear in a couple weeks, I'm making a convenient list of the "official" LDS Eros posts. That's all this is. Nothing new here. Just lots of well aged awesome sex.

The Erotic in LDS Lit Part I: Why? (I introduce the topic in response to an excellent Dialogue article by Levi Peterson. Includes longhaul trucks and flowcharts.)

The Erotic in LDS Lit: Part II: Jorgensen's Take (I continue the discussion with an article that responded to Peterson's. Includes poison or the lack thereof.)

The Erotic in LDS Lit Part III: Test Case (I discuss an excellent novella by Todd Robert Petersen.)

The Erotic in LDS Lit Part III.V: Breaking down the controversy over Angel Falling Softly (Or, Theric is always right.)

The Erotic in LDS Lit Part IV: The Sex Talk (Nonfiction sex.)

The Erotic in LDS Lit Part V: Can there be a “Moral Pornography”? (Maybe. And that's my final answer.)

The Erotic in LDS Lit Part VI: Theric replies to your questions and comments (a) (yes)

The Erotic in LDS Lit Part VII: Theric replies to your questions and comments (b) (no)

The Erotic in LDS Lit Part VIII: Theric replies to your questions and comments (c) (maybe so)

The Erotic in LDS Lit Part IX: What I heard in General Conference (And at the end of those articles, the prophets spoke. Specifically, Elaine S. Dalton and Richard G. Scott.)

The Erotic in LDS Lit Part X: Reengaging the Unengaging Jorgensen (who won't engage me) (Not a highlight, the reading that inspired this reading.))

(all lds eros posts, literary or not)

Yawn, in seventeen Rs

.

RRrrRrRRRrrrRrrRr

A Return to Svithing

.

So since taking my more relaxed view of svithing, my amount of svithing has dropped more than I expected.

=========================================

REMINDER:

For those who don't know or recall, svithing is an idea I hit upon back in 2006 when Lady Steed and I first started paying for internet. This is from the post when I first explained the concept:

I love me a good portmanteau. Such is the word svithe: a blending of seven and tithe. And if a tithe is the tenth given to God, then a svithe is the seventh given to God.

I did not make up this idea; I took it from the Sabbath--the one day in seven dedicated to God. The properly observed Sabbath would be a svithe.

In other news, I have an addictive personality. I don't say this to warn you against meeting me in person lest you lose control of yourself and lock me in your backwoods cabin in order to enjoy scintillating conversation the rest of your life. No, what I mean is that I tend towards addiction. (As if I didn't have enough reasons already not to try heroin just one time.) I will often spend too much time doing my current fancy at the expense of more important things.

I maybe might just maybe be addicted to blogging.

Part of my redemption is this svithing. Every Sunday I write a post that is intended to be godly. The idea being that I may do some good somehow someday for someone. Certainly the svithes a have better chance than posts about poop.

Sometimes I will not have much to say, but whenever I can be online on a Sunday, I will svithe.

=========================================

While I still feel that forcing myself to write a svithe every week even when crappy isn't necessary --- especially now that I'm not blogging every week --- I am going to be more regular.

One reason svithing got difficult that I never mentioned was that I was writing svithe-like emails to my elders quorum on a near-weekly basis for over two years. And I didn't want to be redundant, but coming up with two religious "treatises" a week weren't easy.

But now those are fallow and forgotten and those that will work for a more general audience, I think I will recycle. Plus, I can start posting Classic Svithes again. Really, I can start svithing again without ever writing an original word. Ever.

But next week we'll start with something fresh and new and we'll go from there.

Will I post every week? I don't guarantee it. I'm too forgetful. But I am going to start svithing more regularly.

Promise.

How else will I know what's important, if I don't write and figure it out?

Svithe you next week.

previous svithe

The Lysol Story

.

Large S has had the mad vomits today and so I lamented that we didn't have any Lysol to, you know, kills germs the easy way with.

Lady Steed said we did so have Lysol.

Ha ha, I said, mocking her unwarranted certainty.

She told me where, but I didn't bother to look until I was passing by anyway. Sure enough, three new bottles bundled in plastic. So I meaculpaed and started to open them when Lady Steed told me to STOP! We have some already opened!

Ha ha, I said. This is too much.

I have not seen any Lysol in our house in years. In large measure because Lady Steed accused me of buying it to frequently so I stopped using it entirely to . . . makes some sort of point.

But I stopped opening out of respect for marital harmony and Lady Steed disappeared to somewhere (the garage) and returned with two more apparently full Lysol bottles.

So I sprayed down the bathroom.

And, you know what? Maybe I did used to buy too much Lysol.

Thinking thoughts about thinking

.

Please, she said. Please. Then she cast her eyes past my shoulder and sighed that maddening smile that had been the reason her uncle had killed those cats. Please.

I shook my head, but I shook it with genuine sadness. It wasn't as if I enjoyed marking the fences with my own urine. And accumulating sufficient urine hadn't been a joy, either. And in these days of postrefridgeration, I knew it hadn't been a joy for her either. I thought of apologizing, but my pride had already taken too many beatings that month.

She turned around and watched the hairs on a rabbit skull blow in the wind. I know, she said. I knew, rather, I knew.

You didn't know anything, I snarled, then felt immediately embarrassed. Although most of our suffering had, yes, been her fault, I knew it wasn't fair to blame her --- or, rather, I knew I couldn't blame her more than she already blamed herself. But I stopped short of apologizing.

The sweat on the backs of her calves sparkled in the setting sun, and for the first time in weeks I took notice of her shape as a woman and of the ragged yellow remains of a sundress that hung from her tired, dirty, emaciated frame. And felt glad I could not see myself.

It has to be done.

I know.

I'm --- But I still could not apologize. But to what end? For what could I be blamed.

I know, she repeated.

So I continued sloshing out my urine and tried desperately not to look at her, not to remember, not to apologize, not to hope to dream to hold to repair. We could not go backwards. So I would not go backwards.

I just continued down the fenceline, trusting she would follow me. Or if not, hoping that we would forgive.

Philosophy & Baseball

.

058) Take Time for Paradise by A. Bartlett Giamatti, finished August 11


This is a book about baseball. Sort of. It's supposed to be about baseball. The subtitle, "Americans and Their Games", the cover image (Fenway Park), and the number of times the word "baseball" is used on the cover (nine on my ARC), one might expect a bit more baseball than is actually featured.

But here's a list of his other books, to give you a sense of who this author is:

The Earthly Paradise and the Renaissance Epic Play of Double Senses: Spenser’s Faerie Queene The University and the Public Interest Exile and Change in Renaissance Literature

Giamatti, before becoming commissioner of Major League Baseball, was Yale's youngest president and before that a professor of literature thereat. So that's the person writing this book.

The book is broken into three sections, which I'll talk about separately.

Self-Knowledge

Even though it's not really about baseball (at all), this is my favorite of the three sections. In essence, Giamatti argues that work should be defined as that which staves off death. Leisure, in contrast, is what we do to celebrate death staved off.

Leisure includes school (our English word comes from the Greek word for leisure, incidentally --- Giamatti can never resist a chance to poke in a bit of etymology) and sport, both. Leisure activities such as these exist in a space outside death / not death. It is our original Paradise. It is freedom of mind and body.

Art and sport and study are all activities we do outside our battle with death.

Compelling stuff and fun arguments.

Community

Here we get a similar set of arguments that suggest that cities are the great artifacts of human culture and what cities mean and how sports tie into citylife. Interesting, but I'm kind of ready to see how baseball is more compelling than other sports already.

Baseball as Narrative

In this sliver of a book, this is a sliver of a section.

I have often argued that sports --- let's be specific and say football --- is symbolic warfare, two armies battling it out on the field. But that story doesn't work so well with baseball. And Giamatti makes a compelling argument that the archetype baseball calls on is the Odyssey. Leaving home and, through dangers, attempting to return home.

And then he shows why this story applies especially well to Americans. This part got short shrift, imho, but I got the gist.

And then he tells a story about the 1987 NLCS which I suppose is illustrative of his arguments and that is certainly poetically written.

And then the little epilogue which is a nice little summary. The end.

Did I like the book? Yes. Would I recommend it? Yes. It's only 100 pages and well written and smart, which is nice. I like a bit of philosophy with my sports. But it wasn't quite what I was expecting and I think it's a little less baseball than promised. So expect that. Because it's not how they're selling it


a monthish

skip to comments

===========================================================


Previously in 2011 . . . . :

53-57
057) The Shining by Stephen King, finished August 9
056) I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells, finished August 6
055) Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, finished August 2
054) Moneyball by Michael Lewis, finished July 12
053) Madman New Giant Size Super Ginchy Special by Mike Allred et al, finished approximately July 9

51-52
052) The Influencing Machine by Brooke Gladstone and Josh Neufeld, finished July 8
051) Wilson by Daniel Clowes, finished July 6

46-50
050) Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut, finished July 1
049) Housekeeping vs. The Dirt by Nick Hornby, finished June 25
048) The Light Princess by George Macdonald, finished June 22
047) Half a Life by Darin Strauss, finished June 17
046) Babymouse: Cupcake Tycoon by Jennifer L. Holm and Matt Holm (siblings), finished June 16

42-45
045) Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card, finished June 10
044) Writings from The New Yorker 1927-1976 by E.B. White (edited by Rebecca M. Dale), finished June 7
043) The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, finished May 31
042) Unnamed book by unnamed client (MS POLICY),
finished May 27

33-41
041) Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O'Malley, finished May 14
040) Scott Pilgrim Versus The Unverse by Bryan Lee O'Malley, finished May 14
039) Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together by Bryan Lee O'Malley, finished May 13
037) The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse, finished May 11
036) Scott Pilgrim Versus The World by Bryan Lee O'Malley
035) Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley
034) The Complete Peanuts 1975-1976 by Charles M. Schulz, finished May 1
033) Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli finished approximately April 27

32
032) Golden Gate by Seth Vikram, finished April 20

27-31
031) Batman: Year 100 by Paul Pope, finished April 18
030) The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby, finished April 9
029) iZombie: Dead to the World by Chris Roberson and Mike Allred, finished April 2
028) A Sense of Order and Other Stories by Jack Harrell, finished April 1
027) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, finished March 30

26
026) The Black Dogs by Ian McEwan, finished March 21

23-25
025) Stitches by David Small, finished March 20
024) Arkham Asylum: Madness by Sam Kieth, finished January 19 or 20
023) Hamlet by William Shakespeare, finished March 18

21-22
022) Red Rocket 7 by Mike Allred, finished March 10
021) Missile Mouse: Rescue on Tankium3 by Jake Parker, finished March 10

20
020) The Hotel Cat by Esther Averill, finished February 28

18-19
019) Wonderland by Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew, finished February 21
018) Redcoat by Kohl Glass (MS POLICY), finished February 18

14-17
017) Best American Comics 2010 edited by Neil Gaiman, finished February 12
016) Little Bee by Chris Cleave, finished February 10
015) Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck, finished February 2
014) Cursed Pirate Girl: The Collected Edition Vol. I by Jeremy Bastian, finished January 31

13-9
013) Sweet Tooth: In Captivity by Jeff Lemire, finished January 30
012) Sweet Tooth: Out of the Woods by Jeff Lemire, finished January 30
011) Essex County: The Country Nurse by Jeff Lemire, finished January 30
010) Essex County: Ghost Stories by Jeff Lemire, finished January 29
009) Essex County: Tales from the Farm by Jeff Lemire, finished January 29

8
008) Magdalene by Morah Jovan, finished January 27

7-6
007) Knightfall Part Two: Who Rules the Night by a slew of DC folk, finished January 23
006) Bayou by Jeremy Love, finished January 17

5-1
005) Mr. Monster by Dan Wells, finished January 10
004) The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, finished January 6
003) The Mystery of the Dinosaur Graveyard by Mary Adrian, finished January 5
002) Batman - Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham by John Wagner and Alan Grant and Simon Bisley, with lettering by the famous Todd Klein; finished January 4
001) Batman: Venom by Dennis O'Neil et al, finished January 2