The Obscure Reading Group discussion
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Mod
Seems the whole country is online now. Hope Ye Olde Internet holds up. If that goes down, then EVERYone will be Goodreaders (even if they don't read).
Here in Maine we have 23 confirmed and 9 presumptive positives, which probably means we have over 320---this based on the fact that there are probably 10 actuals for every one identified. This is due to the sparsity of tests and the crazy rules ("Have you traveled to China? Italy?") you need to meet to get one. Or perhaps that's beginning to change now that the whole world is turning into China.
Take that back. China is actually looking better now. Maybe we should emigrate.
As for here in the greatest country on earth (insert note of sarcasm here), it's the usual reindeer games with our leader, who belittled the virus for weeks, then yesterday claimed he knew it was a pandemic before others knew it was a pandemic. I know we're short on hospital beds, but the man-child truly needs one---in the mental ward.
Your Shanti Arts link goes to a Google Mail sign-in, which not everyone has. This is a more general link, no?
http://www.shantiarts.co/SPAQ/SPAQ_ca...
OK, then. Keep the positive spirit. Remember Shakespeare, cooped up by the Plague, took advantage of the time to write Macbeth, King Lear, and Anthony & Cleopatra in a single year.
Years later, different man but same Plague, Isaac Newton, cooped up, dreamed up his laws of motion and gravity. What else do you do with a grave situation and a lot of time?
Thank you for the clarification! I'm going to go back and find Christine's message. I'll add her comments to an edited message, and then I'll add that link. Yes, we need to keep the spirit of those who came before us. I'm going to pass on your hopeful message to Steve. His courses are now officially to move to "remote classrooms" (KC Art Insitute's terminology), and I'm preparing for my school's announcement that we'll soon engage in "full distance education."
Ah, yes, I'm horrified by what I've been watching in the news. I have been for quite a while. The lack of humanity, unbridled greed, and arrogance both lash deeply and gnaw at me. How could we have come to this point? More than that, how can we turn this around?
Well, I'm going to edit my message.
Please, please take care of yourself and your loved ones.
Thank You!
Jan
Ken wrote: "Good morning, Jan. Seems the whole country is online now. Hope Ye Olde Internet holds up. If that goes down, then EVERYone will be Goodreaders (even if they don't read).
Here in Maine we have 23..."
Hello, Ken,
I made the edits.
I'm sorry to read what is happening in Maine. How humbling to realize that even if the parts of the country we often see as ideal are suffering now. I can't even begin to imagine the wide scope of influence and the pain people are undergoing.
As of this morning, I do not have the numbers here in Missouri and Kansas (I'm right on the border), but I'll find out later. Right now, just down the street from where I'm living, we have a potential child detention center which I'm lending my strength to fight. Also, Iast week I helped other ruptured aneurysm survivors get to their appointments or to our support meetings. Sadly, we are facing medical cancelations for non-urgent appointments. Some survivors are struggling as it is, so the isolation makes it harder.
I agree with your disgust regarding our "leaders." The cruelty and self-righteous ignorance are damaging our whole world.
I need to return to my course planning now. Spring Break allowed me a few days of reorganization, and I'm grateful for the extra time. Some of my colleagues at other schools had less than a day for transitioning to distance education.
Onward with grit and grace. . . .
My Best,
Jan
Thanks, to both of you - what nice, peaceful comments in this in-your-face, grasping world! Like you, I’m grateful to have this on-line resource in which to find a modicum of hope, humanity and kindness. Wonderful - thanks much.
Mod
(This is an excerpt from Chapter 10 of Atomic Habits, by James Clear)
My college strength and conditioning coach, Mark Watts, taught me an important lesson about how to be thankful that applies to life outside of the gym as well as inside it…
As adults, we spend a lot of time talking about all of the things that we have to do.
You have to wake up early for work. You have to make another sales call for your business. You have to work out today. You have to write an article. You have to make dinner for your family. You have to go to your son’s game.
Now, imagine changing just one word in the sentences above.
You don’t “have” to. You “get” to.
You get to wake up early for work. You get to make another sales call for your business. You get to cook dinner for your family. By simply changing one word, you shift the way you view each event. You transition from seeing these behaviors as burdens and turn them into opportunities.
The key point is that both versions of reality are true. You have to do those things, and you also get to do them. We can find evidence for whatever mind-set we choose.
I once heard a story about a man who uses a wheelchair. When asked if it was difficult being confined, he responded, “I’m not confined to my wheelchair—I am liberated by it. If it wasn’t for my wheelchair, I would be bed-bound and never able to leave my house.” This shift in perspective completely transformed how he lived each day.
I think it’s important to remind yourself that the things you do each day are not burdens, they are opportunities. So often, the things we view as work are actually the reward.
Embrace your constraints. Fall in love with boredom. Do the work.
You don’t have to. You get to.
Wonderful! It’s GREAT to be so blessed as to fall in love with boredom. Another integral part of the Christian message that we’ve somehow lost!
Mod
I think you keep hitting the nail on top of the head, Ken. We don’t need to put our saints into plaster casts - we need just to see ourselves in them - faults, foibles and beauty included. We need to think for ourselves again...
I'm a retired introvert, so I am most happy to self isolate. However, no one can isolate themselves from the economy, and that's going to create more victims than the virus. I am just happy to see that the doctors and scientists are in charge right now, along with state and local government leaders, and, to some degree, the corporate world. Why don't we just put our president in one of those cruise ships that are out of commission and send him out to sea? We may need that hospital bed.Suggested reading: The Decameron, by Bocaccio. It's actually pretty funny.
Oh, love that Decameron😊❗️
Mod
Mod
I haven't been to the supermarket since last Friday, when only TP, water, hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, thermometers, etc. were gone. I'm hearing now that it's much, much worse, with panic buyers scooping up and stock piling fruits and vegetables, meat (esp. chicken), loaf bread, etc.
People have got to stop hoarding for the good of themselves and think about the good of all. I speak in particular of people with things like large freezers in their garage and second refrigerators filled to the brim.
If we all shop like we normally do each week by week, we can get through this.
(And now, back to our regularly-scheduled bawdy tales from the Plague Years....)
Good evening. It sounds like most of us are doing okay given the circumstances. I am working from home every day now and my youngest kid is home from college doing the same.While I can work from home one day a week as a normal part of my job, I have never gotten used to the idea as I like the structure of going into the office each day and having a schedule that is to some degree predetermined for me. I am adapting, however and finding ways of being focused for a full 8 hour day here on my couch, in my pjs and with a warm dog next to my thigh. That doesn't suck too bad.
Once my day is done, however, I find myself nowhere near as tired and having more time on my hands to read, work on genealogy, work on my stamp collection, cook, and work outside. I am currently reading Cormac McCarthy's The Crossing which will be done soon and I have stacks of books at home to read after that so life is good.
My introversion runs deep so not going out amongst the masses is just fine with me. Probably the biggest frustration is for my wife because she can't go to the Y to do her workout. She is now weightlifting in the living room instead...after 27 years of marriage I still don't understand how she hooked up with a couch potato like me.
Mod
Another sad sign: Interlibrary Loan has stopped here in Maine. No more getting the many books my town library does not stock. Damn, meet nation.
And you do know that McCarthy book is part of a trilogy (er, or so I recall). All the Pretty Horses is one. I read them in the 80s, which seem like a very very long time ago now.
Running the gauntlet is exactly how it feels. Hwaja and I are planning on doing some shopping on Friday while waiting for some recall work on our Subaru to be done. I have already seen how bad it is in the grocery store. Have you tried to buy ice cream? We don't buy unless our son is home but the other night I was surprised to find the grocer's freezer looked like a war zone. I just rolled my eyes, grabbed two quarts of chocolate fudge (one for me, of course) and brought my small basket of items to the mile-long checkout line and waited patiently behind all the hoarders.I read All the Pretty Horses in November of last year and have Cities of the Plain in the queue. I am doing a relaxed McCarthy binge.
I bought all of the Border Trilogy, as noted, Blood Meridian (read last year also), No Country for Old Men and The Road (read once but will read again). I have found a go-to online bookstore in Thriftbooks.com and buy used books there.
All our libraries are closed too. I hadn't thought about ILL but that makes sense that it would be closed here also. I use it frequently.
I am having trouble concentrating on read. I read the Decameron years ago and loved it. I have mostly been hanging out with a three year old. He is articulate and funny. The other day he used the word big for something. I asked him if he knew another word that meant big. He said humongous. I said what is another word for humongous , he said gigantic. So we have been playing word games. Guess he is ready for his first novel. Lol
Mod
The introvert in me has no problem with social distancing. It's the planner in me that is having trouble letting go. Life is complicated and I'm trying to figure out how everything is going to get done, and I usually cope by planning, but ... too much unknown in this situation. So, as Jan shared from Pema Chodron, I must be open to what scares me. Thanks Jan! And also for that website--it's so comforting to look at art right now.
Speaking of which, have you seen #songsofcomfort? Nice.
Mod
Entrance to Rabbit Hole Here
Do any of you listen to podcasts? There are a few that I listen to on a regular basis but only one is my favorite, The History of English Podcast...https://historyofenglishpodcast.com/.Starting with it's Indo-european roots, the podcast explores the English language in depth and is currently up to the 1400s. It is not intimidatingly full of linguistic technical jargon and the narrator, Kevin Stroud, has a pleasant and interesting voice to listen to and presents the material in an interesting way.
With 134 episodes, there is plenty of material to listen to while being socially distant in our homes. I thoroughly recommend this podcast for readers like us.
Mod
I'll keep that bookmarked for a try someday when I'm ready to sit down and not write or read but listen only. Who knows but I might pull it off? Already I am upsetting well-entrenched tradition.
Example: The last sitcom I watched regularly was Cheers from the 80s. Since then, my TV habit has pretty much been reduced to the occasional sporting event: some tennis, some Red Sox games (though never in their entirety), some NFL games, and all UConn basketball games (the alma matters, as they say in Latin).
Anyway, my daughter is a TV buff and she recommended something called Schitt's Creek on Netflix. You know, to pass these Dark Ages that have, like the Carpenter's, "Only Just Begun."
Hey, Mikey! I liked it! My wife and I are already up to Year 3 (I guess they're in their sixth and final year).
It sure beats watching "breaking news with Lester Holt." For some reason, his news is fragile as hell. And depressing as hell. And scary as hell. But if you're watching something stupid as hell instead, you get a chuckle in spite of yourself and feel a little less like a three little pig with big bad wolves outside.
Invisible ones with big teeth.
My favorite time to listen is when I am doing the dishes and generally cleaning up the kitchen or in the evening when I am working on my stamps.
Darrin wrote: "Good evening. It sounds like most of us are doing okay given the circumstances. I am working from home every day now and my youngest kid is home from college doing the same.While I can work from ..."
Hello, Darrin,
Wonderful that you're doing well! I enjoyed reading your reflection above. It seems that you are finding different joys during these days, and you're taking everything in stride. During my most intensive days of transition, I left my computer depleted and with strained eyes. It was then that the afternoon and evening walks refreshed me.
What are you reading right now? What other interests are you exploring?
I've just finished _By The Lake of Sleeping Children_ and suspect I'll be haunted by the stories of those living on the Mexican-US border. I'm about to start reading a book for my college alumni book club; the selected memoir is _Heartland_ and will also deal with poverty, this time with stories from the Midwest (specifically in Eastern Kansas, close to where I live).
What a wonderful podcast! I've marked that right here, and I couldn't help but click on the episode about culinary terms, "Breaking Bread with Companions." I'm going to break the rules by listening to that first, going back to the original later on. Thank You!Did you see this BBC documentary? Here is the first episode, and the next can be found on _Youtube_ as well. https://youtu.be/K1XQx9pGGd0
Have you read Don Quijote? I've read that various times, and I also got the digital recording of the 2005 edition translated by Edith Grossman. I will look for a public presentation of that digital recording; I'm afraid I do not have the time or technology to copy the whole book to share, so I'll look for it instead. (A quest, perhaps?)
Thank you again, Darrin, for sharing here.
I'm only now returning to _Goodreads_ after some whirlwind days of improvisation. Seeing so much conversation is encouraging, indeed.
So, my podcast is now addressing "foccaccia bread" referring to the fire of Italian ovens. Now I'm learning about the reputation of bakers, similar to the poor reputation of millers earlier in history. Quite fun to learn so much. . . .
Enjoy your new day.
Keep Reading! Keep Learning!
Jan
Darrin wrote: "Do any of you listen to podcasts? There are a few that I listen to on a regular basis but only one is my favorite, The History of English Podcast...https://historyofenglishpodcast.com/.
Starting w..."
Darrin wrote: "Do any of you listen to podcasts? There are a few that I listen to on a regular basis but only one is my favorite, The History of English Podcast...https://historyofenglishpodcast.com/.
Starting w..."
Ken wrote: "I'm not sure if this link will work if you do not subscribe to the NY TIMES, but it's an article of so-called "comfort reads" suggested by well-known (many of whom are unknown to me) writers:Entr..."
Thank you, Ken!
Fergus wrote: "Thanks, to both of you - what nice, peaceful comments in this in-your-face, grasping world! Like you, I’m grateful to have this on-line resource in which to find a modicum of hope, humanity and kin..."Ah, Fergus!
I couldn't help but smile something big when I read your post here.
How are you doing? Please know, I have enjoyed your different reviews, and I'm setting some time aside to peek into your current readings and reflections.
Ken wrote: "Hi, Fergus. Here's some more positive vibe before I go out for my daily walk along the beach (everything seems normal there):Oh, Ken and Fergus,
You both have such strong, positive attitudes.
I honestly appreciate the leadership and tone you continue to bring to this group.
I'll admit that I laughed outright reading this, too, but perhaps without the same delight as earlier. OK (and I sighed deeply writing that and saying it aloud), I'm going to work on creating a new mantra for these transitions -- "I get to" instead of "I have to." Wish me luck, and please wish me patience, too.
Oh, yes, I'll look up _Atomic Habits_ as well.
All My Best,
Jan
(This is an excerpt from Chapter 10 of Atomic Habits, by James Clear)..."
Wow, Jan. Thanks for liking my crazy reviews - and you know, a few minutes ago, when you said you liked MidWest authors it made me think of a post of mine from back in my GR Teething Days about a a wonderful midwestern writer named Judie Gulley. So I searched for it & reposted it just now, just for you...😊❗️
Jan wrote: "Darrin wrote: "Good evening. It sounds like most of us are doing okay given the circumstances. I am working from home every day now and my youngest kid is home from college doing the same,"Jan, I have been doing a slow binge read of Cormac McCarthy's novels including Blood Meridian and the Border Trilogy. I am about to start Cities of the Plain. One thing that has been really brought home to me is the historically fraught relationship with colonial Spain and later Mexico and the interactions of American settlers as they moved west at at our southern border. As I have read these novels, in addition to appreciating McCarthy's beautiful writing, I found myself wanting to read more about the southwest area and specifically this relationship. Perhaps you or one of our other members has a recommendation or two along the lines of non-fiction history so I can learn more. I put By the Lake of the Sleeping Children on my to-read list.
Kathleen wrote: "How nice to share thoughts, struggles and help!The introvert in me has no problem with social distancing. It's the planner in me that is having trouble letting go. Life is complicated and I'm try..."
Hello, Kathleen,
Like you, I'm caught between the comfort of introverted time at home and future uncertainty. That's the hardest part now -- just accepting the uncertainty. Discussions of value being in who we are, -- not what we do -- come to me often during my walks and wanderings.
I look forward to learning more of your discovery during this time. Do you write or create art? If so, I'd enjoy learning more about your generative process.
I've been calling my students directly on old-fashioned phones and going "old school" (so they've informed me), and we talk about what's coming. Oddly, with each conversation, I grow calmer and more confident. We're making it through, and I've been telling them that we will be creating something new together. I'll share #songsofcomfort with them. Thank You!
Ah, I do believe I'm going out to walk in the fresh air now. After that, back to my computer and planning (ah, I just giggled a bit writing that). Onward!
Jan
Jan wrote: "What a wonderful podcast! I've marked that right here, and I couldn't help but click on the episode about culinary terms, "Breaking Bread with Companions." I'm going to break the rules by listening..."It has been my go-to podcast for about a year or more now. There are so many interesting episodes. For me some of the most interesting parts are after the fall of the Roman empire and the fracturing of Europe into smaller independent areas/states/countries all speaking their slowly evolving Latin-based or Gemanic languages.
Learning about Grimm's Law also gave me a huge insight into how language changes and how interconnected all of these are, even our more distant linguistic relatives like Sanskrit.
Those recent episodes about cooking, baking and food terms generally I thought were very interesting.
I thought that once I got into the nuts and bolts of how English developed I would become bored but that has turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the later podcasts. It also gave me a really good context for reading Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure.
Thank you for the Youtube rec. I subscribed to it and will start watching this Sunday after my oldest son and his girlfriend head back to the east side of the state after their visit.
Jan, I had an Advanced English class in high school and we read Don Quixote at that time but I don't think I finished it. Perhaps it is time to re-visit and really read this classic.
Carol wrote: "I am having trouble concentrating on read. I read the Decameron years ago and loved it. I have mostly been hanging out with a three year old. He is articulate and funny. The other day he used the..."
Carol,
I love that wordplay you're engaged in! The Decameron sounds like fun, but I suspect nothing is as much fun as your conversations with a (soon to be novelist) three-year old. Yes, there's always Dr. Seuss for fun, but I loved Roald Dahl's book from my library, piles of fairy tale books, and old-fashioned records of musicals for wordplay. I loved going to each library here in Kansas City, especially the one that had a magical mural of the circus -- a work by one of our local artists, Arthur Kraft.
https://arthurkraft.files.wordpress.c...
https://arthurkraft.files.wordpress.c...
In one of our morning conversations, I asked Mom about some of her favorite memories from my childhood snow days. She said she loved naptime best of all. I laughed quickly assuming that she meant she was tired of keeping up with all of my sisters and me. Her response delighted me, "I loved your nap time because we all would listen to stories and songs: Danny Kaye reading children's stories, choirs singing folk songs, well, just about anything." Immediately I thought of those long-ago memories. It was a lovely conversation.
Yep, come to think of it, I'm so happy you're having fun with that keen little three-year-old!
With a smile,
Jan
Carol, sorry - forgot to thank you for your wonderful comment which came to me on a very Off Day. You gave me a Big Smile! And thanks, Jan, for reminding me of a moment which, with Carol’s help, was Sheer Serendipity.
You all are so sweet, and yes he is a joy(three year old grandson). I don’t know if I mentioned it here in this group or another one, I am in a poetry prompt group on Facebook. I love the spontaneous poems that people are sharing.Here is one that I did about a waterfall
You are not silent in your journey
you demand to be heard.
Your lazy sighs turn into roaring Ululations
As you celebrate running free.
Your mark cuts deep into the rocks and soil.
Only to return to gentle sighs
Of your passing.
I am not a poet by the way. Just more a gut reaction to the photo she put up.
That’s SO nice, Carol. And out of a spontaneous Poetry Prompt group... that sounds like something Ken woulda introduced into the Obscure Group for the Next total self-isolation!
Mod
(Back to the whiteboard.)
Mod
(Back to the whiteboard.)"
Ha! So true, Ken. I feel the same way about fiction writing. Who knew it was so hard? And publishing, poetry especially, is an amazing accomplishment--congrats to you.
A beautiful poem, Carol. I love the celebration of running free line, especially poignant now!
Oh, Ken, I’m with you all the way... Whenever I see my own foolhardy efforts to wrestle with words poetically, with the hindsight of time, my vainglory cracks me up to the extent it completely quashes my writing bug!
Carol wrote: "You all are so sweet, and yes he is a joy(three year old grandson). I don’t know if I mentioned it here in this group or another one, I am in a poetry prompt group on Facebook. I love the spontaneo..."This is beautiful, Carol. It's raining here in Kansas City, far from lovely silver days. Reading your poem made me think of the many forms of water, the passage of time in "small days," and the impact we hope we leave but may never see. Whether poet or not, you wrote a lovely poem. Claim it.
Enjoy a peaceful day.
With a smile, Jan
Darrin wrote: "Jan, I had an Advanced English class in high school and we read Don Quixote at that time but I don't think I finished it. Perhaps it is time to re-visit and really read this classic."It's well worth reading it again. I saw the musical and various cartoon versions in grade school and read various excerpts in high school. When I studied in Madrid, I read the whole book for the first time and was enchanted. After that, I found my way to it during significant life changes. The last time I read it through was the summer of 2016, a time I was healing from a ruptured brain aneurysm. Tomorrow when I go to my office to gather essential materials and resources, I believe I'm going to gather my cds of the book, various related books, and my Don Quijote images because they'll inspire me as I teach from home. Ah, I just started crying silent tears writing that last sentence. I need to go now.
Please enjoy a peaceful day.
Jan
I enjoyed Don Quixote. I read it on my own , but it would be fun reading with a group of people.Thank you all for the kind words. Jan I am happy that my little musing led you to a happy place.
I've shared this Shanti Arts site with a few of you previously.
http://www.shantiarts.co/ (home page)
http://www.shantiarts.co/SPAQ/SPAQ_ca... (submissions)
If you are a writer, please consider this organization. If you are a reader (and I know you are!) you'll find many new works. In that group, like this one, I've found a lovely community.
This is what the founder/editor, Christine Cote, wrote in an email yesterday:
Given the risks associated with COVID-19, we face tremendous uncertainty right now. None of us has experienced the kind of disruption to our social fabric that we are now seeing. . . .
Pema Chodron's words seem relevant: “If you're invested in stability and certainty, you're on the wrong planet.” When life is uncertain, it's often because of things happening in our personal lives, but what we are dealing with now is global uncertainty—a far different experience, an unknown for nearly all of us as something like this hasn't happened since World War II. We're all in this together. Indeed, to get away, we'd have to escape to another planet.
Let's be mindful of one very important truth—all we have is now, this single present moment. Every time I find myself worrying about how bad this situation might get and how it might impact people's lives and futures, including my own, I pull myself back to the moment. More from Pema Chodron: “We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and make us kinder and more open to what scares us. We always have this choice.”
Please do everything you can to stay healthy and keep others healthy. Keep an eye on those around you who might not have anyone to care for them. Let's be kind through this chaos.
What can we do to show we choose kindness, generosity, and compassion? Send us your ideas, and we'll share them with the entire Shanti Arts community. Email us now.
* * * * *
So, my enlightened -- definitely NOT obscure -- friends, please continue to take care of yourselves and your many loved ones.
All My Best,
Jan