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Today, I opened up my files for class, and realized that something had disappeared. I don't go right from WWI into WWII. I mean, stuff happened in between, major stuff! So I spent the majority of the day organizing myself and creating a presentation about Marxism and the Russian Revolution.
I love this subject. Well, the Russian part, anyway. While I've never been into royal lines, I am fascinated with the Romanov's in general, but more specifically the last Tsar, his family, and their unfortuate demise. And I'm fascinated with another part of their story--Raputin. If there had been rock stars back then, Rasputin would have been Elvis. (I know what you're thinking, but remember grunge?) From his life to his death, there seemed to never be a dull moment.
I felt like a storyteller today, such great characters and legends to talk about. I did stop short of showing them the one piece of Rasputin that reportedly made it into the 21st century. His woo-hoo. But if you MUST. As for the royal family, their remains were discovered in 1991, and underwent DNA testing against contemporary royal relatives (including Prince Charles). The Tsar and Tsarina along with three of the five children were identified, but missing were the remains of the Tsarivich, Alexei, and one daughter, alternately believed to be either Maria or Anastasia. The family was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000 as passion bearers.
It finally happened. My favorite pair of jeans gave out. Bound to happen, but sad nonetheless. I'd searched high and low for these pants. You ladies know how it is. Finding the right fitting jean is like finding the lost city of Atlantis. To be blunt, I have a size double-digit arse, and a size single-digit waist. I'm also tall, and it's all in the leg. Anything I buy pretty much sits on my hips rather than fitting my waist, and it must have the letter "L" after it (for LONG, fyi). To top if off, I'm not a tryer-oner. I'd rather just buy a size and return it if it doesn't work.
Which it never does. Today, I went on the hunt. I polled some friends--I mean, there IS a fashion program in the school where I work--so I asked around. Where might a woman with my...curves...find the right pair of jeans? I narrowed it down to two possibilities: Gap or Limited. The Gap has a jean actually called 'Curvy'. To be sure, however, I tried every style in The Gap. And none of them worked (not even the seemingly pre-destined Curvy). After a deep breath and a sniffle, I headed to The Limited. The uber-helpful androgynous salesman pointed me at their two styles. The 'Cassidy' is tailored for a woman, while the 'Dina' appears to be made for a stick figure.
I tried them both on, which was the last thing I wanted to do after my lightning-round in The Gap. Glory of glories. The Cassidy fit. And fit right. Everywhere. The heavens opened and doves flapped through the fitting room. I heard a voice say, "These are my jeans, in which I am well pleased. Wear ye them." And it was good.
Then, the conspiracy hit. It's subtle, but dangerous, so be warned. All of these stores are in league together. They make you try on ungodly amounts of denim only to become exasperated when you can't find THE ONE right pair. Either you compromise, and spend money on a product that isn't quite right OR you scour the stores until you find The Ones. Of course, when you find them...you don't give a rat's ass how much they cost.
I'll still be wearing them in the nursing home.
Sometimes I read something that goes beyond. It stretches my mind, and usually leaves me feeling a little green that my mind wasn't heretofore at those limits. Which is ridiculous, of course. Having that particular experience is one of the best reasons to read in the first place.
I came upon this while reading The Alphabet Versus the Goddess this evening (so my headache must be better!): There exists another dimension also; the sheer aesthetic pleasure that accompanies reading. Breaking the confines of the shell that more or less encases each individual, literature allows readers' minds to merge into the imaginations of the most thoughtful writers who have ever lived (p. 430).
And in thinking about how writers refuel their minds, reading is definitely one of those ways. I've had this joyous experience a few times. While I always enjoy reading (because if I don't enjoy it, I put it down), there have been a few works that have been more stimulating to my imagination than others.
Island of the Blue Dolphins - While I was young, I read this story several times. It took me to that island, and I was that girl. And it was so simply written that I remember thinking, "Maybe I can do this, too."
Jacob Have I Loved - I didn't realize it at the time, but this YA story weaves together two things that have become themes for me: a 'vintage' setting and an emphasis on the battle between religion/duty and passion/hunger.
Interview with the Vampire - This may be on many people's lists. The first read was for fun and curiosity. Something in the story or characters, however, made me read it again. And again. Anne Rice admits that religion figures in her writing, and this story in particular gives me something new every time I ready it (which is annually). Her following stories were more transparent in their delivery, and never really matched up--until maybe Christ the Lord, which made me curious about other things.
The Secrets of Jin Shei - I don't know how to describe the read except to say it opened the lid to my box. We all have boundaries on our imagination, whether formed by nature or nurture. When you encouter someone whose imagination is more open, bigger, than yours, you know, and you want to learn.
I'm searching for more of these experiences. I feel a reading binge coming on. I've ordered the follow up to Jin Shei, The Embers of Heaven, and tonight ordered Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon. Looking at The Fledgling, by Octavia Butler, and the Grigori series from Storm Constantine.
Who does it for you? Who's popped your cork, lifted the lid, or opened the door to your imagination?
This, the first of at least two historical novels by Jeff Shaara, chronicles World War II in North Africa. In his usual, involved style, Shaara connects the reader to both the common soldier--in this case a paratrooper named Adams, and a tank gunner named Logan--and the larger personalities, including Patton, Eisenhower, and the Desert Fox, Erwin Rommel. This is the story of the Allied victory in North Africa and Sicily, the upsweep of the tide that would carry the Allies toward the rather inevitable invasion of Normandy.
What you won't get: an overall generalizaton or birds-eye view of the action. What you will get: the personalization of the action you do see. It's layered, textured, and you start to understand what motivates both the generals and the fighting man. North Africa is an often overlooked theatre of the war, and typically focuses only on the 'unbeatableness' of Germany's Rommel. However, this gritty, meticulously researched novel will show the other side of the coin--how the Allies struggled to work together, and to catch up to the head start of the Nazi war machine (which experienced problems as well). I'm still picking sand out of my shorts on this one. A+.
Special thanks to Chef Zink today for the cherry truffles. It's a necessary part of the Valentine's Survival Pack.
Thanks to Bailey for pointing me at LibraryThing, an online catalog for your library, or your TBR pile. You can upload your collection, your wish list, or reviews, connect with others who read the same stuff, and get recommendations (in case you have trouble finding material). Of course, it wouldn't be COOL if you couldn't pop your library into your blog, myspace, or website:
I don't have everthing loaded (yet), and I realized just how many books I'd gotten rid of - and by that, I mean donated - as my apartments grew smaller and smaller. The good news is that now I have room to grow!
Project #1: The Wild Rose Press announced during the weekly chat the development of their first series: The Brooch Legacy. One story from each line that involves this...brooch. Bailey, you may stop laughing at any time. Now you know. (If you're wondering what up, check out THIS POST) My story will be the fourth in line, to be released April/May-ish. It is a Vintage Rose novella tentatively titled Bootlegger's Bride. I hope to finish the first draft this weekend. Expect more info in early February on the series as a whole.
Project #2: Vintage novel All in Good Time. I've done my first read-through, written the query, and started the short synopsis. I want to add a few pages to the book--nothing major--but it will take some time to get the detail I want. I'm in no rush here, it's secondary behind the novella.
Project #3: Editing a large section of research done by my friend, the head librarian at The Mint Museum. When she started there, she found the entire collection in both disarray and disrepair, and applied for several grants. The woman she initally hired did the archival digging, but her writing was found lacking. Apparently some kind of brain trauma she failed to disclose. So I'm stepping in. We have our first meeting next week. It'll look hot on my resume, and I like helping a friend.
Project #4: The Interactive Electoral College. I've been tapped as the historial fact-checker for a large, interactive electoral college map. See the prototype for a visual. This is still in the grant writing phase, of which I'm nothing but a blurb. The project is meant to stimulate interest and participation in the political process. It will also add a nice bit of color to the CV.
In other news, I've joined EPIC, and made plans to attend EPICon in early March. I'll also be interviewed by Margaret Marr for for her e-author Spotlight on Nights & Weekends. This month, she's interviewing Shelby Reed of Ellora's Cave, so I'm in excellent company ;)