Books for August, 2005

Jane and the Ghosts of Netley by Stephanie Barron. First time read, although I've read all the others in this series. I WANT TO READ THE NEXT ONE RIGHT NOW. Ahem. In paperback. Too cheap to spring for hardback. But seriously, I do like this series, and will keep buying it. The ending packed an emotional punch.

The Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I, Genius of the Golden Age by Christopher Hibbert. Grabbed from my mother-in-law's shelf because I ran out of books on vacation. Pretty good, although heaven knows I've read books about Elizabeth before. But she had such an interesting life, multiple takes on it are welcome.

Book of Isaac by Margaret Frazier. First time read. A spin-off series starting with Joliffe as the protagonist (a secondary character in the Dame Frevisse mysteries). I liked it, although I like the Dame Frevisse books a bit better, since I like Frevisse so well, and feel more points of connection with her as a P-O-V character (sometimes too smart for her own good, drawn to religion yet painfully aware that it doesn't come easily to her).

Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann Wyss. Re-read. Didn't get the translator's name before returning it to the library, sorry. This was NOTHING like the translation I remember from my childhood. Was irritated by the truncations. I couldn't get Fiona to read it (it was a library book) but hope to get her to check it out again. A better translation though, hopefully.

Silverlock by John Myers Myers. Re-read. I already mentioned the Anglo-Saxon Ballad of Bowie Gizzard-Bane. But dammit, I wanted some truly developed female characters. Becky Sharp didn't hang around long enough. *sigh*

Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood by Meredith Ann Pierce. Re-read. I'm sure glad you introduced me to this one, sdn; I will probably have this one in my favorites rotation.

Girls Will Be Girls: Raising Confident and Courageous Daughters by Joann Deak with Teresa Barker. First time read. Advice to parent stuff. Useful. A loan from kiramartin.

Elfquest: Vols. 1-9. Re-read. God, it's been years since I've read these. Introduced them to Fiona, and now Delia's reading them, too.

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross. First time read. Another loan from kiramartin. I have mixed feelings about this one. The Pope Joan legend is intriguing--although I don't believe it is true, yet I wanted to suspend my disbelief while reading it. I mean, if it were true, what a story! But Joan seemed so modern in her mindset (in the ninth century) that it was difficult to keep that suspension of disbelief. I think Frazier does perhaps a better job of helping us to understand how really alien the 14th century mindset is, and here Cross is trying to evoke the 9th century. Still, a very interesting tale.

Even though she had to drag the guy love interest in. *Sigh* I suppose it was inevitable.

Hey, that's a lot of reading for one month for me, considering my schedule. Go me.

Air America Radio's Public Voicemail - 1-866-217-6255

Gacked from be_bold:

Air America Radio's Public Voicemai
1-866-217-6255

Air America Radio's Public Voicemail is a way for disconnected people to communicate in the wake of Katrina.
Here's how it works:
Call the toll-free number above, enter your everyday phone number, and then record a message. Other people who know your everyday phone number (even if it doesn't work anymore) can call Emergency Voicemail, enter the phone number they associate with you, and hear your message.
You can also search for messages left by people whose phone numbers you know.
Air America Radio will leave Public Voicemail in service for as long as this crisis continues. You can call it whenever you are trying to locate someone, or if you are trying to be found.

Please spread this one around. It's totally free and may help families and friends who have been separated connect with each other again.

A flash of blinding insight

I know what I need to do! I need to put baaaaabyanimals back on my friends page again.

Yeah. Kittens and puppies may not bail out New Orleans, but they will provide some much needed emotional therapy for the media saturated and shell-shocked.

Why aren't the nation's flags at half-mast?

akamarykate raises a good point.

Why aren't the nation's flags at half-mast? She wrote this on the tail end of one of her entries here:

While I was out today I started feeling like something was off. And then it hit me: not a single flag was at half-staff. It's a little thing; certainly compared to just the generosity coming out of this city financially and otherwise it doesn't matter at all. It's just a bit of symbolism, after all. But it felt wrong. It felt really wrong, the more I noticed it. Are they waiting for some kind of official declaration? Because that sure wasn't the case the morning of the London bombings. I wonder if people are just so stunned they aren't thinking of the ceremonial stuff.

I replied:

The flags are at half-staff in Minnesota, because we had another soldier killed in Iraq. I remember hearing it on the radio: "Minnesota is lowering the flag for private so-and-so." And I heard that, and I thought, (no disrespect to private so-and-so) WTF, we're losing more people than we've lost in a natural disaster in over a century, since the Galveston flood, and this may be worse. And one dead private outweighs all those THOUSANDS of black folk down South? I mean there was no question about every flag going down on 9/11, right?

She replied:

Wow--this is just baffling.

I mean there was no question about every flag going down on 9/11, right?

And rightly so. So why not this? How can anyone who's paying attention at this point not understand the extent of this? I don't know if people are afraid to start mourning, because once we do I'm not sure when it's going to end, or--I'm not sure what the "or" is. But when the flags on fire stations aren't down, when the flag at the #@!*! Shell station is whipping around at the top of the mast while they raise the cost of gasoline every hour, it seems more than a little callous.

So how about it, folks? Should the flags not be at half-mast because this is a natural disaster and not an act of war (other than the man-made disaster of our government's screw ups, of course). SHOULD THE FLAGS BE AT HALF-MAST, and if so, WHY AREN'T THEY?

Edited to add: minnehaha K. pointed out that according to the Flag Code, the flags do not have to be lowered for a natural disaster. dreamcoat_mom had a thoughtful response here that I recommend. She has a very good point, too, that the partisan potshots should until the survivors are safe and the dead have been laid to rest. (And she's saying this as someone who does not support Bush and is genuinely sad for our country.)

I'm sorry. It is so so hard for me. I always thought of myself as being a pretty rational person about politics, but it is so very hard, when I see what is happening in the country, not to scream in rage at the radio. I just about lunge to turn it off when I hear Bush's voice because I'm so angry at so many things he has done. So it is hard to evaluate this objectively.

I just thought about it, though and realized I can honestly say this: even if we had a President I really really liked, I would still be disappointed not to have the flags lowered. Formal flag code etiquette, phooey. This nation is in mourning--or it should be--and with the scale of the loss being what it is, I think that it should be acknowledged with our national symbols.

Edited to add: Never mind. Now that Rehnquist has died, they'll probably lower them for him.

FEMA

See this amazing list that naomikritzer is compiling of all the ways that groups are trying to aid and FEMA is blocking.

Jabbor Gibson

Way to go, Jabbor Gibson.

Let's hope they don't arrest you.

Edited to add: Actually, I almost hope that they do. You will have no trouble whatsoever getting a pro bono attorney, and having the case thrown out of court, and you will probably end up with a college scholarship.

Rehnquist

Chief Justice Rehnquist is dead.

Hmm. Things should now really get interesting.

Edited to add: THAT will get the flags lowered!