Pajamas. Yes, I am sleeping through this one, 100% convinced that anything I might gain from watching the wedding will be just as valid in the replay as it is in the live version.
If it's any consolation, they're my dressiest pajamas.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Something Out of Nothing
Our book group recently read The Faith Club, a collaboration between an Islamic woman, a Jewish woman, and a Christian woman who were searching for answers within their faiths after the events of September 11th, 2001. The women met regularly and worked through their stereotypes and misconceptions of their own and each others' faiths while exploring the common links between these major world religions.
I lost interest in the book fairly early on, when it became clear to me that none of these women had taken the time to study and explore her own faith tradition. This lack of knowledge enabled them to embrace the "feel good" portions of their religions while discarding anything that made them uncomfortable. Since I sort of think that the whole point of religion is to make you uncomfortable, I was hoping for more from them and from the book.
The positive result of reading this book is that it made me curious to learn more about the culture of Islam. With a minor in religious studies, I am vaguely familiar with the basics of Islamic doctrine, but I have never heard much of the stories and music of the Muslim world. It helped that a couple of local women have written engaging books on the subject.
The first book I read was Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher, a young adult novel which takes the famous tale of Shahrazade and embroiders it with the engaging characters and vivid scenery of ancient Persia. Everyone has heard Shahrazade's famous tales of Aladdin and Ali Baba, but who has paused to wonder how the young herione of 1,001 Arabian Nights learned all of those stories in the first place? Although the plot sort of falls apart at the end of the novel, it's a quick and rewarding read.
The second book I read was Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber. Set in turn-of-the-(21st)-century Los Angeles, the story focuses on Sirine, the daughter of an Iraqi father and an American mother. Sirine's parents were aid workers who died when she was a child; since then she has lived with her bachelor-professor uncle and inhabited his world of Middle Eastern academics while making a living cooking at a Lebanese cafe. Perhaps inevitably, Sirine falls for Hanif, an Iraqi exile who teaches Arabic literature at UCLA. Their love story is observed and complicated by a plethora of characters including Sirine's co-workers at the restaurant and Hanif's students and fellow faculty members.
My favorite part of this book was the interwoven tale narrated by Sirine's uncle, following the fantastical exploits of one Abdelrahman Salahadin as he falls under the spell of a mermaid, is pursued by his mother, and ends up... well, I don't want to give it away. Let's just say that my favorite movie unexpectedly plays a minor role in the story.
Based on these two very engaging books, I am looking forward to seeking out more literature that focuses on Middle Eastern culture.
I lost interest in the book fairly early on, when it became clear to me that none of these women had taken the time to study and explore her own faith tradition. This lack of knowledge enabled them to embrace the "feel good" portions of their religions while discarding anything that made them uncomfortable. Since I sort of think that the whole point of religion is to make you uncomfortable, I was hoping for more from them and from the book.
The positive result of reading this book is that it made me curious to learn more about the culture of Islam. With a minor in religious studies, I am vaguely familiar with the basics of Islamic doctrine, but I have never heard much of the stories and music of the Muslim world. It helped that a couple of local women have written engaging books on the subject.The first book I read was Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher, a young adult novel which takes the famous tale of Shahrazade and embroiders it with the engaging characters and vivid scenery of ancient Persia. Everyone has heard Shahrazade's famous tales of Aladdin and Ali Baba, but who has paused to wonder how the young herione of 1,001 Arabian Nights learned all of those stories in the first place? Although the plot sort of falls apart at the end of the novel, it's a quick and rewarding read.
The second book I read was Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber. Set in turn-of-the-(21st)-century Los Angeles, the story focuses on Sirine, the daughter of an Iraqi father and an American mother. Sirine's parents were aid workers who died when she was a child; since then she has lived with her bachelor-professor uncle and inhabited his world of Middle Eastern academics while making a living cooking at a Lebanese cafe. Perhaps inevitably, Sirine falls for Hanif, an Iraqi exile who teaches Arabic literature at UCLA. Their love story is observed and complicated by a plethora of characters including Sirine's co-workers at the restaurant and Hanif's students and fellow faculty members.My favorite part of this book was the interwoven tale narrated by Sirine's uncle, following the fantastical exploits of one Abdelrahman Salahadin as he falls under the spell of a mermaid, is pursued by his mother, and ends up... well, I don't want to give it away. Let's just say that my favorite movie unexpectedly plays a minor role in the story.
Based on these two very engaging books, I am looking forward to seeking out more literature that focuses on Middle Eastern culture.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Archivist Fashion in Providence, RI
Yesterday was the spring meeting for the New England Archivists (NEA) in Providence, Rhode Island. Three of my friends and I took the train to Providence on Friday evening. We went to a cute restaurant near Brown University (the meeting site), and then spent all day Saturday at the meeting. The program was excellent, and we looked fabulous.
In fact, the weekend turned out remarkably well considering that, as an April Fool's joke from Mother Nature, it snowed in Boston on Friday. It did not snow a lot, but any snow is too much snow for April. I must say that I was not prepared for the snow. I wore flats, and my umbrella broke. By the time I arrived at the train station on Friday to meet the girls, I was looking (and feeling) rather bedraggled.
I managed to pull myself together on Saturday (which was a beautiful, sunny day) and wore one of my new Ann Taylor blouses (one of two that I purchased on extra clearance). It is a long-sleeved, button up, navy blue blouse with ruffle detail along the neck and buttons. A gorgeous material, cotton-silk blend, was both comfortable and warm for the day. I paired the blouse with a khaki skirt and my gray suede pumps. A small gold necklace with tiny flowers (my sixteenth birthday present from Aunt Sue) was the finishing touch.
One of the best things about archivist meetings are the vendor tables where they have all kinds of goodies. I managed to snag a gold pencil and a silver pencil as well as two miniature boxes: one that would be used for moving books or manuscript collections, and an archival Hollinger box. Score!
Although the girls and I were exhausted by the end of the day, we learned a lot, met some interesting people, and were able to relax. A quick pizza dinner in Providence, and we caught the evening train home to Boston where Pablo and George (husband and cat) were waiting with hugs.
Since we hadn't seen each other all day Friday or Saturday, Pablo and I went for an ice cream date this afternoon. He had coconut chip ice cream in a waffle cone, and I had strawberry ice cream in a waffle cone. Even though it is a bit windy outside, the day is sunny and fairly warm. We sat on a bench in Brookline, held hands, and ate our ice cream. All in all, a lovely weekend.
Happy April, welcome spring... and the here I go for the last month of school!
In fact, the weekend turned out remarkably well considering that, as an April Fool's joke from Mother Nature, it snowed in Boston on Friday. It did not snow a lot, but any snow is too much snow for April. I must say that I was not prepared for the snow. I wore flats, and my umbrella broke. By the time I arrived at the train station on Friday to meet the girls, I was looking (and feeling) rather bedraggled.
I managed to pull myself together on Saturday (which was a beautiful, sunny day) and wore one of my new Ann Taylor blouses (one of two that I purchased on extra clearance). It is a long-sleeved, button up, navy blue blouse with ruffle detail along the neck and buttons. A gorgeous material, cotton-silk blend, was both comfortable and warm for the day. I paired the blouse with a khaki skirt and my gray suede pumps. A small gold necklace with tiny flowers (my sixteenth birthday present from Aunt Sue) was the finishing touch.
Since we hadn't seen each other all day Friday or Saturday, Pablo and I went for an ice cream date this afternoon. He had coconut chip ice cream in a waffle cone, and I had strawberry ice cream in a waffle cone. Even though it is a bit windy outside, the day is sunny and fairly warm. We sat on a bench in Brookline, held hands, and ate our ice cream. All in all, a lovely weekend.
Happy April, welcome spring... and the here I go for the last month of school!
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