An American in Brussels

Hello, friends. This will be my last post for a couple of weeks, as I'm leaving on vacation Monday morning. So I thought I'd leave you with some morsels to work your way through while I'm gone:

- "The iPad and I: Of Love and Meh." I found the author's comments on the weakness of adapted e-books being like that of TV--in that it's a "one-way experience" that doesn't engage the brain of the "reader" much at all--very interesting. It related to what I've always said: that I feel letting kids watch very "mature" movies and TV shows is much worse than letting them read a book with the same content--because with a book a reader can interpret the material for himself, and may not understand the parts that are still too adult for him, but with a movie a child is pretty much handed the director's vision on a platter, with little room for dissection and introspection by a naive audience. Do you know what I mean?

- I saw this advertised on GoodReads, and thought it was pretty funny.

- "Compelling Stories, If Not Literature." One of my clients sent me this one, and I thought it was worth sharing. Writing as therapy, indeed.

- While we're at the NYT, anyone else see this article? "Food Is the Thrill at Some Bachelor Parties." While I'm still not certain I understand the point of bachelor/bachelorette shindigs, I sure do understand the point of eating delicious food. And though as a vegetarian, much of the meat-heavy meals described in the article have no appeal for me, I do think it's a welcome alternative to treating people like pieces of meat! (Badum-bum. Thanks, folks! I'll be here all week. . . . Umm, well, actually, not really.)

- As my husband earnestly said the other day (and then tried to retract right after), "I don't understand why Oprah's ending her show. She helps so many people." Just one example: Her Debt Diet series (which just ended) was so great, and the Spending Plan Pie Chart they talked about on the show is so simple yet so smart that I want to share it with everyone.

- Finally, some bleak-and-yet-inspiring words via the Yes Means Yes blog: "At this point, thinking you are beautiful the way you are is an act of rebellion."

Indeed, "We all have a right to our own beauty." So embrace and fight for all your rights! . . . And have a very happy Independence Day!

- L'Editrice

Things that are making me happy today

- Barbara's summer reading list.

- A magical cottage (I will make one someday, only mine will be a treehouse!) and terrariums. (And apparently both these things fall under the label "Victoriana," so finally I have a word to describe my aesthetic tendencies toward chandeliers, canopy beds, and all things whimsical and cute--but not in a treacly, "country" way.)

- Pretty boys in great outfits. (Which also applies to this.)

- And on a more serious note, this piece on fellow Texan Bill Moyers. (I am behind on my podcasts, clearly.)

My favorite quotes from the interviews:

• "There are things in this country that the market will not provide: public education, public art, public schools, public broadcasting, public toilets. I mean, there are things that are not profitable, but that still serve a value. And I think the most important thing that we can do is to continue to treat Americans as citizens, not just consumers. If you look out and see an audience of consumers, you want to sell them something. If you look out and see an audience of citizens, you want to share something with them--and there is a difference."
• ". . . [P]residents shouldn't go to war unless it's a war of necessity, not a war of choice, beccause you can't fight a war in a democratic way without undermining the success of the war. And if you don't fight in a democratic way, you undermine democracy itself. . . . [I]f you start a war on tragic-- on flawed premises, you're going to have terrible things happen, and ultimately, you're going to come to grief."
• On the importance of the Freedom of Information Act: "I really do think that we need more openness, not more secrecy. . . . We are living in a closed society today."

- L'Editrice

Dads, daughters, mothers, sons

Hope everyone had a lovely Father's Day. Though hopefully all of you already gave your dad his present, if not (or for any future occasion) I thought these ideas were great.

And here's a priceless gift you can give for free, which I'm sure many hard-working dads (and moms) would be very grateful for: Take a minute to speak out in support of the very important DREAM Act.

- L'Editrice

Short and to the (important) point

. . . At least my post today is. The must-read in this week's PW Shelftalker is quite long, but necessarily so.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

- L'Editrice

Listen up

My recent NPR-listening has my to-read list growing longer and longer!

Here are a couple of recent books--and links to the fascinating, worth-a-listen discussions they prompt--that piqued my interest:

- Getting it Wrong: Ten of the Greatest Misreported Stories in American Journalism, by W. Joseph Campbell. Certainly such myths continue today, so it's a good wake-up call to us to always analyze the news/"facts" we hear/see/absorb/consume--whatever the source--with a critical mind.

- Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths about Our Air-Conditioned World, by Stan Cox. Just in time for summer! (Here's an abstract of the Adaptive Model of Thermal Comfort Cox mentions.) Not to sound like a luddite, but does anyone else also feel that sometimes our "advanced" technology (be it in digital media, air conditioning, or what have you) sometimes takes us too far, leading us to forget the simple facts and pleasures of nature and being human?

- I also learned about this amazing series/project this morning: Hidden World of Girls.

Finally, I love librarians, not least because of their staunch defense of civil liberties. For example, there have been many instances when libraries have refused to release the list of books a particular patron has checked out, even when the government/court tried to get force them to, because they belief in personal privacy. So, I hope that everyone else's librarian keeps in mind this importance of respect for and liberty of the individual, and there is no one else out there who gets snarky comments from the librarian on the books she is checking out, as I did this morning.

Bookishly,
L'Editrice