partsofspeaking

 I'm going to post this on Amazon, although I didn't buy the book there. That's a different story.... I was walking into the campus library and saw a display on new releases. This one looked inviting, New York Times Bestseller and all that (more on that subject below), so I checked it out.  Why? I don't really have time to read contemporary fiction. I'm trying to write my own tenth novel, get the eight published, and revise the ninth. But....one thing agents and publishers want to know is what your book is like that's on the market, so, maybe this would be a point of comparison.  Within a couple of days I spilled water/diluted juice on it and it was soaked. I tried to dry it out, but it was ruined. I returned it and paid $27.00 for its replacement.  Lesson learned. I can safely say I paid at least $25.00 more than it was worth.  That's mean. It's not terrible. It's a page turner. I did want to know what happened to the mystery man/husband and such.

I don't recommend movies. But I'll make an exception.  It's not just that "We don't talk about Bruno" is impossible to get out of one's head. It's a beautiful movie. Here are two good articles to read after watching it: https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/18/health/encanto-therapy-immigration-wellness-cec/index.html https://www.buzzfeed.com/andriamoore/encanto-themes-first-generation-americans (Side note: My boss's name is "Bruno." We do have to talk about him, though. It's rather like when at a former job the Vice President for Academics was named Daryl and the assistant VP was also Daryl. "Here's my boss Daryl and my other boss Daryl," which some will remember from the Bob Newhart show in the '80s. ) What I liked about the animated film was that the magic was simply a metaphor for what each person brings. In the end, magic didn't solve the problems of the family; it had caused some of the

For the literary: One time I met Eudora Welty. She was coming to appear at the Southern Writers Conference in Chattanooga--this would have been early '90s. A former professor at UTC was helping her out of her car. Yeah, Eudora Welty. I'm sure I made no impression on her (I think she was in her early '90s!) but the reverse was not true.  I met Zell Miller in the late 1990s or early 2000s when he came to dedicate a building on a campus where I was teaching. He was quite charming, a total politician, but he seemed sincere.  Last night I met someone who I think will change my life. But she isn't famous. I teach ESL at my church on Sunday nights. Actually I teach GED prep, which for me is work in reading, culture, and writing with the goal that they can go to college if they want, or at least get a better job. We also want to have a ministry to them in other ways.  My Sudanese marvel/entrepreneur/budding activist "Mary" (not her name; one must be sensitive about th

Link to Christianity Today article on 50 worst persecuting nations  

  China, Olympics, oppression, athletes Absolutely shameful. Please check everything you buy. Do no support China!  

 There are some high profile conservatives (such as George Will) who are atheists. I have trouble understanding how someone who rejects a transcendent existence in their ontology can see any reason to hold to universal principles in their politics. it perplexes me. 

I saw a meme on Facebook about "What do you remember about your grandmother?" and a lot of people put a food item, such as coconut cake. Although I do get pleasure from cooking for people,  I don’t want to be remembered mainly for something I cooked, no matter how much my grandchildren enjoy it.  There was a story in the news about how the Pope wanted to go incognito to visit a record store in Rome, but he was discovered.  It might help if he didn't wear his official robes.  https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/national/pope-francis-caught-making-surprise-stop-at-record-store   Speaking of the Pope, Joe Biden referred to him as a "decent guy" after he met the Pontiff.  I thought as a Catholic he was supposed to believe the Pope is the vicar of Christ. Decent guy? I finally took down my last Christmas tree today. (I had three.) The percentage of interracial and same sex couples on television commercials seems more than representative. I think i

 I'm thinking through a series of posts on the Pandemic, which I'm calling "The Great Disruption." I am finishing a novel about a character in the Spanish Flu Pandemic, so this is on my mind.  I would appreciate comments about your own experiences.  Update January 22 I haven't returned to this post: finished the second draft of a novel and have a huge project at work related to accreditation, which you don't mess around with if you lived in the Southeast(!)  The great disruptions are in economics, education, mental health, medicine, politics, public trust in government,  demographic (age span and population growth), relationships, religion, communication.  The Spanish flu pandemic was more deadly but it was much shorter, over in about a year. Herd immunity came faster, I supposed (sardonic humor there). And with the lack of some mass media (no radio, TV, Internet) and all social media (except letters and talk), it receded into personal memory more than widely

A fresh look at habit https://harpers.org/archive/2022/01/routine-maintenance-embracing-habit-in-an-automated-world-meghan-ogieblyn/?utm_source=pocket-newtab Dulcimer! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdbAMD6cIbw Time management be darned https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/04/waste-time-thoreau-walden/618732/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20211229&utm_term=The%20Atlantic%20Daily   Don't follow these trends https://www.fastcompany.com/90707314/the-7-most-overhyped-trends-of-2022?utm_source=pocket-newtab Time Management Revisited https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/january-web-only/covid-19-pandemic-motherhood-disruption-new-routine.html   1619 Project https://theweek.com/us/1007146/the-muddle-at-the-middle-of-the-1619-project?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=wsu-usa-paidfb-sha

Walgreen’s Christmas commercial with the people (women) almost cussing about some aspect of Christmas. Point? Totally inappropriate for the season? The Chevy commercial where the daughter has her dad’s old car restored. Do they know how long it takes to do that kind of body work? The Verizon commercial with the little girl obsessed with her snowman. Parents should not encourage pathologies. A lot of prescription drug commercials.   Recently, the one with the woman who keeps taking off the sunglasses to reveal she’s wearing another pair and another. It’s like the movie Ground Hog Day but about sunglasses. Now, I know, what she’s (theoretically) hiding is disturbing (bulging eyes due to Graves Disease) but it’s still annoying. As I’ve said before, anything with Sebastian Gorka talking about his back pain in that Plan Nine from Outer Space Voice about his back pain. Actually, a lot of the Relief factor ones. Jimmy Dean speaking from the dead about breakfast and sausag

I would bet that some young people today would not understand this because they do not write checks. I write far fewer than I used to, so I cannot rant about that. Maybe four or five a month!  

Another spoiler about an upcoming rant/critique, but it ends more upbeat, I think. Blog note: Yesterday I got 146 views, and typically I get 30 or so. This is always such a mystery to me. This one may make people mad. I think in the end I agree with James, "Be not many teachers," or, "do not take the public platform of teaching the Word lightly, do not desire it for itself." Back in the late summer two high-profile Christians affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention publicly left it. They both happened to have the last name of Moore and their reasons were similar but different. Beth Moore, known to most women in evangelical circles, loved by some, envied by others, and disdained by some others, left because of the failure of the SBC, in her view, to deal with sexual abuse allegations against pastoral staff members, and because of basic anti-women attitudes, especially in regard to church leadership. Russell Moore, whom I greatl

Spoiler alert: Curmudgeon Sighting   On Friday anyone connected to media (who isn’t?) heard that Betty White had passed away, less than three weeks short of her 100 th birthday. People who never met the woman were posting links about it on Facebook, and I sat through two short retrospectives of her life.   I am not sure if it was her age, her willingness to keep “performing” into her nineties (and being well paid for it) and relate to young people (by being *blue in her comedy, often). We do like to see people in their nineties defying stereotypes about aging, rather than succumbing to lethargy. Some are blessed with better genetics, of course. And she did almost make it to 100, which is not so rare any longer (They make up less than one percent of the US population, but that’s still a large number). And she was funny. I found these clips from her SNL appearance in 2013 funny.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbI1eJ_zAB8     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb4rS3V

  https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-only-real-way-to-detox-your-body?utm_source=pocket-newtab  Short version: Detoxes are a waste of time. Drink water, sleep well, eat right, avoid toxins in the first place, and skip the green teas and charcoal. EEEHHH.  (That's me shuddering with a disgusted look on my face.) Also, your body is designed with amazing abilities to fight off enemies. I am writing a novel about people in the Spanish flu pandemic, and like the COVID one, that virus didn't target children (their immune systems) but those of adults 20-40 (it caused a "firestorm of over-reaction" in their immune systems that led to other problems and death). No one knows when these things start who will survive it and who won't. But most are able to survive.

  We had a relatively small service this morning; no choir, but still wonderful music. Stephen Humpries, a hammered dulcimer player, gave us “Blessed Assurance.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdbAMD6cIbw Our interim pastor taught Nehemiah 8, reminding us Nehemiah is not about how to do “leadership.” It is about creating a community of faith. And one of the worship leaders made an excellent point:   “Luke 19 says that if we do not praise God, the rocks and trees will cry out. I don’t want a rock or tree to replace me in worshiping God.” And I almost missed it! I woke up at 9:20 (having trouble sleeping) and finally got my b--- out of bed, showered and washed my hair, gulped coffee, and left the house by 10. Why was I even tempted not to join the people of God for worship? To see my friends? To stay in my pajamas? The Internet memes have given us the term “first world problems.” I think Christians might be the biggest purveyors of “first world problems.” Choosing not, o

 I wish everyone who comes to this blog, for whatever reason you do, a blessed New Year. I have hopes for it, as seen here (this blog needs a lot more visuality). Enough has already been said about the travails of 2020 and 2021: race relations, the threats to democracy (from both sides of politics), and the obvious. Yet, life has gone on, babies have been born, couples married, "buying and selling" (the stock market did well for those with such funds), and death has gone on as well, in all its forms. As one of the pundits I listen to said, the biggest losers, other than those disabled or killed by COVID, were the people--especially the women and the non-Muslims--of  Afghanistan. I can overlook a lot of Biden's nonsense, but that, no. The Christians in Afghanistan need our prayers. Thankfully prayer is not a zero-sum game (although we act like it is). I still believe that the worst part of COVID, and proof it is manufactured, is its startling unpredictability. Whether ther