A Journal to impart knowledge and facts |
July 22, 2015 I'm going to start today to record on a daily basis whatever happens to strike my fancy. So, it is a very cool breezy day. I just posted 5 short book reviews to The Monthly Reading Challenge. I'm suppose to put away some winter wood today from the woodpile outside but I'm playing hookey from work to write so starting this blog will get done. I'm having a daily fight with a flock of English Sparrows that are trying to take over my barn. They are making a terrible mess so they have to go. I have destroyed several nests so far they don't leave but they get out of the barn when I am around. I'm just starting the fight so I guess I don't know how far I have to go to discourage them. I'm trying not to spread myself to thin on WDC because I find so many things that are interesting here and I am trying to work on a new story. I really enjoy sitting at my desk with a cup of tea and reading blogs on WDC. |
“February is a suitable month for dying. Everything around is dead, the trees black and frozen so that the appearance of green shoots two months hence seems preposterous, the ground hard and cold, the snow dirty, the winter hateful, hanging on too long.” ― Anna Quindlen For BCoF: Just not true for where I live. The days are getting longer. The sun is going to be able to reach us each day after the winter equinox with more rays. Not only that but, I was born in Florida, and I spent 9 years in Texas. When I came back to Pa., we were having long winters starting in November and snow then would last until end of March. I could not get use to the cold. Then, one day in January I found clumps of grass growing behind a piece of plywood that was leaned up against a building outside. I began to look around. I got a reality check. There was living greenery everywhere it could find to steal a ray of sun. Pollywogs under the ice on the pond, grass in the oddest spots sheltered from the ice and snow. Even flowers will rise out of the ground after a snowstorm melts and begin to grow even if they freeze and have to start again when snow melts again. Buds on the trees get larger a little at a time just don't burst into leaves until a certain time of spring is reached. There are always things growing around us we have to open our eyes and search them out. |
“Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry.” ― Cassandra Clare For Blog City. If weak-minded means lacking emotional strength, determination, or intellectual ability I think there are other reasons some people resist reading, or a desire to learn. literature and poetry influence both. Plus, sometimes reading is influenced by what you like to read about. Poetry is an amazing visual of emotion. Again, what do you see when you read it? I think of lacking emotional strength as people who have been broken by abuse. Determination has to be taught by backing up people, who learn to handle the problems forced into being by society. Intellectual ability is only nurtured by the niche we live in. The use of the words weak-minded does not reveal the behind-the-scenes actuality of human mental formation. |
Andre the Blog Monkey's Banana Bar / Share the Love Event Personal Prompt 2: Highlights of Salman Rushdie I first heard about Salman Rushdie in the news, when there was a contract put out on his life for writing "The Satanic Verses". Just recently news about Rushdie is, he is still healing from the latest attack on his life. Even though "The Satanic Verses" is a fiction story it was considered an embarrassment by some Muslims who put out a contract on his life in 1989. On August 12,2023 Rushdie was attacked when about to start a speech in Chautauqua, New York. The attacker Hadi Matar was arrested and charged with assault and attempted murder. Rushdi was seriously injured. He is recovering from the attack. Rushdie's writing is historical fiction and magical realism. He has written 26 books, 5 of them are nonfiction. His writings also contain short stories and musical lyrics. Rushdie was born into a Muslim family in India. He is a citizen of the United Kingdom and holds a degree from King's College, Cambridge. Awards to Rushdie's books are many. "Midnight's Children" won, Best of the Bookers/ "Shame" 1983 awarded from France, Best Foreign Book/ St. Louis Literary Award, as well as 10 Best Books of the year, and a Commonwealth award of Distinguished Service. Personal comments: I read the story about Salmon Rushdie's recovery from a news site online. It made me realize I have read other stories about him being in danger from terrorists. I've never read any of his books, so I looked him up online. I was interested to find out how diverse and well known his work really is, but I've never read any of his writings. Off to the library I went on my kindle. sure enough, there are copies of some of Rushdie's books in the library I use. "The Satanic Verses" is there. Even though it shows two copies, you still have to put it on hold to get it, and it is a 3 month wait before my turn would come up. I was able to start reading "The Golden House" which gained an Andrew Carnagie Medal Nominee in 2018. The book was published in 2017. Different reviews of this book say it deals with American lifestyle and culture. I'm through the second chapter. The character descriptions paint pictures. Which means, this is my book for the weekend. Read On! All word count on WDC:396 References: Bing information look up. www.wikipedia.org. www.salmanrushdie.com |