20th Anniversary of Challenger Crash

Today is the 20th Anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger Crash. For those of you who don't remember, or wasn't around, it was the space shuttle carrying the first civilian, Christa McAuliffe, a teacher, into space. All aboard were lost.

I remember exactly where I was too, its one of my clearest and earliest memories. I was in first grade, and I remember that I had walked into my classroom after eating lunch to get my coat to go outside for recess. My teacher, Mrs. Levang was there, and she was watching the Challenger launch on TV. I don't remember if I got to see it take actually take off, but I do know that when I went to my classroom, the TV was showing a black spiral twist going up into the air. I'm also not really sure if I actually saw it explode, but I believe I did. I was six or seven at the time. I didn't understand the significance of what happened then, but after the 2003 explosion of the Columbia 17 years later, I completely understood the importance of both explosions and what it meant for America and the continuation of the Space Program.

A quick review of some books I've read recently

~Ok, so here's the really big list (sort of) of books I've read~

The Complete Artemis Fowl Series - by Eoin Colfer - It's About a super genius kid criminal and the Fairy World. Its entertaining, but only that. I finally figured out what I don't like about these books, and its the writing style. Very much a Dean Koontz, or Stephen King, or even James Patterson. I find this style rather boring, and much in need of a whole lot more details.

Wicked - by Gregory Maguire - I liked it. It tells the story of the Wicked Witch of the West thought the viewpoint of the Witch. Its a completely different story than Wizard of Oz. When I finished this book, it really left me thinking, so what is Wicked?- Also there's a new Broadway musical based on this book.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and The Collision of Two Cultures - by Annie Fadiman - A very well written real life story about Linn, a Hmong child with diagnosed with severe seizures, and a brief, but accurate look about the culture of her people, and how the Hmong people relate to American Culture. Basically what it comes down to, is that the Hmong do not think, act, or want the same thing as what Western Culture wants. A very good book. Well worth reading.

On Human Bondage - by W. Somerset Maugham - Basically a look at a poor gentleman in 1890 and the choices he makes. Its a book about relationships. It is not a difficult book, and it is fairly easy to read, but it is dense, my copy of this book at 656 pages, of small type. I think the thing that makes this book a favorite is that the main character, Philip Carey, that almost anyone can relate to him. I highly recommend this classic from the early 20th century.

The not so mysterious Newspaper Thief

My cat Bentley, is a loveable white and orange cat. He's a little shy, but he's stubborn. He also likes to sit on newspapers, and today, I discovered he likes to do it while I'm reading them. It started innocently enough, I'm sitting on the couch, the newspaper in front of me. Bentley jumps up and sits on the paper. I moved him to my lap, where he prompltly goes back to sitting on the newspaper. We did this a total of eight or nine times, with me moving him back to my lap, and him going back to the paper. There were a few moments where I let him sit on the paper because I wasn't reading that section, and once he even sat on my lap while I went through two whole pages, all cat free. It was a will of mights. After a bit of time, he got mad, or maybe the bird flying outside the window was just more interesting. But either way, I won, against a nine pound cat.

Great Signage

It's definitely a sign of the times when the local farmers co-op is providing ways for people to practice safe sex.

Square Eggs, and the Amazon

Do ever have one of those couple of weeks where you start finding a whole bunch of references to a place or item?

In the last two weeks, I have seen two references to a Square Egg Maker. One was in a book called the Dogs of Babel and the other one was in a book about how to get rid of junk that I checked out from the library. I have never even heard of a square egg maker. What are the chances of that? Is this a sign from above? Anyway, in my curiosity, and in search of the square egg maker message, I did a search in Yahoo!. Nothing. Nada. I was slightly disappointed. So I tried the place that has everything, eBay, and came up with one lonely hit. But, that one lonely hit was more than enough to educate my brain about the wonders of a square egg maker. Here's what I found: It was a 1960's kitchen item made out of high quality, amber colored plastic, and it was made in Japan. and here's something else, I want it! For those of you looking to buy me a gift, here's the auction link.

Now about the place, I've been seeing all sorts of references to the Amazon river. It started with a Discover Channel special about the undiscovered fish in the Amazon. Then it was a book about a lost tribe in the Amazon. And then, a National Geographic about Amazon tribes. And if you go back to right before Christmas, I had a conversation with a friend about Amazon Women. Hmm. Could it possible be another sign? Am I suppose to go to the Amazon River and live with strange native folk? Hmm Probably not. But, I will still be on the lookout for any Square Egg Makers, or mysterious Amazon references.

A Tribute to Roald Dahl

Willie Wonka- the creepy kids movie from the 70's was on TV last night. No, this was not the remake starring Johnny Depp that had recently come out, but the full blown trippy version, that makes me think if I had ever done LSD, I would make sure I would watch this movie while doing it. Now this movie is incredibly creepy, there is something not right with this movie, and yet kids of all ages love it, regardless of late night dreams filled with Oompa Loompas singing songs of horrible children and there horrible endings.

Now, I suppose you are thinking this post is about Willie Wonka, Its not. I'm sorry to disappoint. Its really about Roald Dahl, and the books he wrote. I'm not going to claim to have read them all, just some, but all his kids books, and even the one adult short story book I have read, are all a little creepy, very dark, but most entertaining.

My favorite is Matilda. I have read this book at least once a year since I got it back in the late 80's (wow, that makes feel old, I was something like 10 or 12 when I first read it, now, I'm 27) Anyway, the plot goes something like this:
Matilda lives with her horrible family. Her dad is a used car salesman who, well, lets just put it this way: Don't buy a car from him. Her Mom is dyes her hair platinum blond and plays Bingo every afternoon. Her brother, well, he's perfectly average. But Matilda is a genius. She taught herself how to read at the age of two, reading Charles Dickens at age of 3. When Matilda goes to school, Her Teacher Ms. Honey, realizes Matilda's a genius, and tries to get Matilda in harder classes, unfortunately, the Headmistress (this story takes place in England, like most of Roald Dahls Works), Miss Trunchbull,Now, Miss Trunchbull is a horrible person. She used to throw the Shot Put for England's Track and Field team. While not in training currently, she like to stay in shape by throwing kids who have made her angry. She thinks a small child weighs about the same as the shot put. Now, I'm not going to tell you the rest of the story, but because its Roald Dahl, its a little creepy, and everyone gets what they deserve.

Another book I really like is James and the Giant Peach. Basically, magic crystals make some bugs really smart, and a peach grow really big. James escapes from his bad greedy aunts, and after some adventures, ends up in New York

I have also read "The Witches" in which a small boy gets turned into a mouse, and I believe, the book "BFG", which stands for Big Friendly Giant. I don't remember too much about that one. Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory has a sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. This book is not as good as the first Charlie book, and definitely not as good as Matilda. So if you haven't read these books yet, go do so, as kids books, they are easy to read, but very very enjoyable.