Tom Kepler's Blog, page 6

Talkin' Dylan's "Murder Most Foul"

"Murder Most Foul" is Bob Dylan's longest song and, according to the headlines, also his first #1 hit. Strange for the "voice of his generation," a label Dylan has evidently never liked. Do I like the seventeen minute song? I'm not sure that I do, but does anyone really "like" a song that long? And we're not talking or including classical music here. Probably liking the song isn't the right question.

I've interacted with the song "Murder Most Foul" in three different ways: the official video release, a video with visual lyrics, and then just the print lyrics.
Official AudioAudio with Visual LyricsWritten LyricsMy best experience with the song was listening to the song while following along with the visual lyrics.

When Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize in Literature was announced in 2017, it was with the following observation: “He can be read and should be read, and is a great poet in the English tradition," by Sara Danius, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy. Darius continues on to say that Dylan has been "reinventing" himself for fifty-four years. It's not controversial to say that "Murder Most Foul" unfolds another iteration of Bob Dylan the bard.

The song is more of a chant than a song in the traditional three-minute servings most folks are familiar with. The music is supportive, amplifying mood and creating a tonal milieu for the song. The lyrics are contemplative, even casual, lacking the intensity and focus of songs such as "All Along the Watchtower" and "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," for instance.

Ironically, I don't think "Murder Most Foul" would make it as a three-minute cut, and it certainly wouldn't have been a #1 hit. The song's strength won't be discovered by comparing it to other popular hits, even though the song references a great many tunes. A more compelling affirmation of the song can be made by comparing it to the work of two American poets: Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg and their respective poems "Song of Myself" and "Howl." The strength of these poems is the poetic technique of listing or cataloging--of heaping on image after image. This technique can also be seen in epic poems, where tribes or city-states and their heroes are listed.

The strength of cataloging is that quantity has its own quality. The rolling on of the images, the creative evocation which stimulates our sense memory has a unique power to create a powerful emotional landscape for a reader/listener's journey. The speaker in the poem reminisces about a generation's loss of innocence with the assassination of a president, the loss of an ideal vision (hardly a new observation, one reviewer notes). The reminiscing is a stream of consciousness ramble, seventeen minutes of on-and-on, and all that ultimately hold the song-poem together is the cataloging of songs and musicians, a long rambling list of associations, that ultimately creates an effect: we have lived a good life, a varied life, and a worthy life, which can be appreciated best from a cosmic perspective, in its totality. The points and pieces seem random and pointless, but all together, meaning exists.

I'm reminded of Milton's Paradise Lost and Alexander Pope's "Essay on Man," where Milton sought to justify the ways of God to man, and Pope sought to vindicate the ways of God to man. Milton wrote from a climate of belief and faith; Pope wrote from the time of the Age of Reason, where skepticism and satire were the darlings of the time. "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" justified that Flower Power spirit of protest and idealism. It resonated in a timely manner the emotions of many during Dylan's early recording years. "Murder Most Foul" vindicates that spirit of protest and idealism in the current "OK boomer" climate, a climate where younger generations are asking, even mocking or ridiculing, the accomplishments of the grey-haired Boomer generation.

It's appropriate that Dylan released the song at this time when our culture is being challenged by an impartial host, the novel coronavirus. Isn't it healthy to look back and see that the perfect idealism and hopes of youth don't need to be reassessed as failures just because time has worn and blurred the vision? Lack of perfection is not failure. I'm reminded of what William Faulkner said in his  Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

“I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help a man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.”

It's notable that in order to fully appreciate "Murder Most Foul," one has to examine the wholeness. One has to consider the poem in relation to the great works of literature. One has to pay attention. And, finally, just like many great works of literature, one interacts with "Murder Most Foul," appreciates its message, and then sets it aside. It's fulfilling interacting with the song/poem, but it's not light entertainment. I'm not going to be listening to the song while cruising down the road. Maybe "Lay Lady Lay."

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Movie Review: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Having sat on my Amazon streaming "Watch List" for over a month, last night my wife and I finally watched the Tom Hanks' movie A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. We chose the movie because we felt it would deliver a "feel good" experience, and certainly our lives in the time of COVID-19 can use a little respite from the tension. I was surprised, though, at just how good the movie is, just how good the script, the acting, and the direction of the human moments in the film resonated with me.

The IMDb describes the storyline of the movie as being based on the real-life relationship between Fred Rogers and a journalist.

Two-time Oscar®-winner Tom Hanks portrays Mister Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a timely story of kindness triumphing over cynicism, based on the true story of a real-life friendship between Fred Rogers and journalist Tom Junod. After a jaded magazine writer (Emmy winner Matthew Rhys) is assigned a profile of Fred Rogers, he overcomes his skepticism, learning about empathy, kindness, and decency from America's most beloved neighbor.

In a RogerEbert.com review of the movie, reviewer Brian Tallerico makes two important points about the film. One is that A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is not just a straight-up documentary of Fred Rogers: "However, this is not a biopic of the man who helped raise millions of Americans. In fact, Rogers is a supporting character, which is in itself a daring way to tell this story. This is more a movie about how Rogers’ beliefs about acceptance and forgiveness could help anyone, no matter their age." His other observation is that the movie is a feel-good experience, but that the movie doesn't lapse into saccharine-sweet platitudes. "Clearly, 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood' is what could be called 'a message movie.' It’s designed to make you call your estranged parent when it’s over, and pull on those emotional heartstrings, but it does so in a way that doesn’t feel manipulative. It’s on the right side of that line that divides things that are genuinely sweet and calculated in their manipulations. " Tallerico's observations are accurate. The movie is dramatic look at the Rogers/Vogel relationship, and the cinematic exploration of that relationship inspires one to examine one's own relationships and life goals.

So I've been thinking about the movie--and, yes, my life in the time of this pandemic--and as sometimes happens with me, I am serendipitously reminded of two other American icons, Henry David Thoreau and E.E. Cummings.
Thoreau: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." (Chapter 2, Walden)Cummings: "since feeling is first / who pays any attention / to the syntax of things / will never wholly kiss you". First, I did some research on Fred Rogers' life, mostly to find out if the urban legend that he was a Special Forces soldier prior to his work with children and television. The answer is that he was not. He registered for the military draft but was found physically unqualified later. He graduated from college with a degree in music composition and also later graduated from divinity school and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister, being asked by the church to continue his work with television and children. Later in life he became a vegetarian, saying that he didn't want to eat anything that had a mother, a line used in the movie.
I had thought that if Rogers had been a Special Forces soldier, then it would perfectly explain his intense focus and commitment seen in the movie. It would provide an inner motivation for him to live a nurturing, supporting life. Research ousted that convenient motivation, though. He was shy and overweight in his youth, though, so he did have his struggles with social interaction. The simple truth is that Rogers was an individual with a strong inner life and with a desire to make the world a better place. Puppets, music, and a deliberate lifestyle were aspects of his life that helped him be the man the world came to know and admire.
I was reminded of Henry David Thoreau's time at Walden Pond, when he simplified his life in order to pare his existence down to the essentials "to life deliberately." In the movie and in my research of Rogers' life, there was a sense that he had a goal in life for himself, a sort of spiritual benchmark that he held himself to, developing activities to help him refine and improve himself, as Thoreau chose time alone at Walden Pond. Thoreau built a cabin; Rogers built a routine and style of behavior and a children's educational television program. The movie, especially in its one-on-one scenes between the Rogers and Vogel characters, captures the inner intensity of the man. 
E.E. Cummings' poem was conjured by the quiet intensity of the Fred Rogers character that actor Tom Hanks captured so well. (By the way, research mentioned that Hanks was cousins with Rogers, six times removed.) Hanks captures the intensely inner life that was central to who Rogers was, an inner life that included insecurities and anger along with great personal strength and integrity. I am reminded of an acetylene cutting torch, which once lit can be focused down to an intensely hot, defined cutting flame. Rogers' passion was intensely focused, highly effective, and yet also at times eccentric because of that intensity.
The movie's focus on the journalist's life with Rogers as a secondary character was brilliant. Rogers' life was one of service, and how better to portray that than have his character in a supporting role? My wife and I watched the movie twice, two nights in a row. In this time of pandemic, it was truly uplifting and inspiring to watch a movie about rebirth, about spiritual strength and goodness. Rogers' wife tells the journalist at one point in the movie that her husband isn't a saint, that he had to work hard to be who he was. But it's good work, and "Mercy!" (as Rogers exclaims in the movie), how important it is for us to work at being good so that we can do good work in our lives. 
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The Mysterious 10,896 Page Views

Mount Shasta, Northern California.
"Just a Tiny Trailer and a Bit of Snow"I was feeling okay with the 4,000-5,000 page views per month for my tiny trailer camping blog Green Goddess Glamping. There are other camping blogs with many more readers, for sure. After being the sole writer and administrator for my blog's eighteen-month existence, though, I was happy to see the monthly page views creep up to the six and seven thousand range. Then came last month with a page views count of 10,896, and I had to ask myself, "What's that all about?"

I use the Blogger platform for my blog. I've heard others are better--"more versatile"--but I'm familiar with Blogger and have learned a few tricks that allow me to meet my blogging needs. The Blogger dashboard does have a "Stats" option as part of the Blogger service.

"Stats is an important piece of the blogging puzzle, as it allows you to track your blog's traffic and find out exactly what your audience is looking for. As such, integrated, real-time stats has been one of the most frequently requested features from our users."

Blogger Stats is telling me that last month Green Goddess Glamping received 10,896 page views. Studying the graph Stats supplies (vertical Views/horizontal days of the month), the views ranged from around 750 to 50, reflecting the day/night cycles that are usual . . . except for February 16, which recorded almost 2,000 page views. Then for the next 10-11 days, there was strong page hits. Why?

Here are the Green Goddess Glamping page views per post during that time, revealing consistent viewing of the articles. The odd detail is that I had not posted an article on February 16, when the viewer page hits spiked. Another graph provides information on Top Referrers, the major being Facebook because of my tiny trailer group activity. Google and the Tear Jerker forum were listed. I have recently joined Tear Jerkers. Continuing down the list of declining referrers, we get to the last: "Other," which lists 6.58K--and there we have the source of that great increase in page views. And yet we don't, do we? I mean, how does an identification of "Other" help me?

Feb. 28. 658 view count. Love at First Sight: a Tale of a New Trailer Pick-up Feb. 25. 518 view count. Just a Tiny Trailer and a Bit of SnowFeb. 21. 299 view count. I Join the Tear Jerkers Tiny Trailer CommunityFeb. 18. 772 view count. Retro Reads: Why Such a Tiny Trailer? Teardrop Owners Speak OutFeb. 14. 786 view count. Disneyland and the Tiny Trailer as a "Bed on Wheels"Feb. 10. 718 view count. On-the-Road Tiny Trailer Storage Strategies from the ProsFeb.7. 1,036 view count. Mary, Ava, and Retirement in Their Tiny "Woody" Teardrop
The next Stats lists provides URLs for referrers, but the list still lumps the large number of Other also for the URLs, providing no detail. The next chart lists browsers, with no surprises, the majority being Chrome, Safari, Mobile, Firefox, and Mobile Safari, with a long list of minor browsers.

I thought that perhaps Facebook Ads might be the source of the increase. I sometimes boost a post that I think will have wider appeal in order to increase my exposure to readers with the same interests that my blog covers. However, my last ad had finished on January 24, so there was no correlation.

In the end, it doesn't seem like I'm going to be able to get that bit of information about what I did right to create that spike in page views. Maybe it wasn't anything I did, just some random bit of attention. Maybe the "Other" views were really some attention from China, which is not listed on the views list. However, I do have a Stats map that marks where the views come from, and the overwhelming page hits were from the United States.

It's a mystery, so I'll just keep on keepin' on. I wish I could find out, though. If anyone has insights, please contact me!

Building a Blog with Content

I've read quite a few articles about how to develop a readership for a blog. Some have focused on procedures, such as labeling the properties of photos so links will result when searching for particular photo subjects. Some articles have focused on strategies, such as including key words in titles and opening paragraphs. All the articles, though, have mentioned and circled back to the importance of content. If articles aren't interesting, timely, and written well, eventually readers will drift away.

I've been connected loosely or closely with about a dozen periodical publications over the years, both print and online. For some I was a contributing writer, for some an editor, and for a few online blogs the writer and administrator. With all of those varied experiences in the regular publication of content--newspapers, literary journals, school publications, and blogs--success always circled back to good content, providing what the reader wanted to read.

Even this blog, Tom Kepler Writing, containing subject matter pretty much determined by whatever activity I'm involved with at the moment, is successful because of its content. Having written here for over ten years, I've accumulated a "backlist" of articles that still attract readers so that my monthly page views maintain a fairly good number--at least for a small, private blog. I've referred earlier to the "backlist" phenomenon in my article celebrating ten years of publishing this blog.

My more recent blog about tiny trailer camping, Green Goddess Glamping , has been more successful, I think, even though I've been posting articles for less than two years. There are two reasons to which I attribute this success. One is that I've learned a lot from my previous writing and blogging experience, especially how to structure and promote the blog. The second is that the greater focus of the blog (on tiny trailer camping) has helped me attract readers.

The articles still have to be interesting, timely, and well-written, though. I continue to write using a strategy I've read about in the past--to vary the content of the blog's articles in a rotating pattern of informative, personal, and feature stories relating to tiny trailer camping. An example of the changing content can be seen in the three links below from a year ago--or even by the titles of the articles.

The Tiny Trailer Winterized BluesTiny Trailer Owner Profile: Lee and Lori GandyWhy Choose a Teardrop of Tiny Trailer?Of course, it isn't always easy to maintain that cycle of content. During the winter, I'm not out camping so much. Sometimes my feature stories run thin because people are too busy to respond. And as for "how-to" articles, there are only so many times I'm willing to write an article about portable toilets. (Although, interestingly enough, my portable toilet articles are among my most viewed!)


I do try and mostly achieve a publishing schedule of two articles a week, sometimes easily done and sometimes a challenge. This self-imposed two-per-week goal has had some interesting consequences for me. One is that as a retired school teacher, it's provided a personal focus in my varied responsibilities during retirement. The publishing schedule has established a certain rigor to my writing, and I like that. I like knowing I have a deadline coming up.

Another interesting consequence of my regular posting of articles to meet my two-a-week goal is that my creativity is stimulated. Two a week is not a burden, but does create enough time pressure that I have to keep alert for story opportunities, especially in keeping with the rotation of subject content. Both the need to be creative and the stimulation of my creativity has led to unexpected articles and unexpected contact with other trailer owners and campers. For instance, I've written eight articles aggregated under the Art and Craft Activities label for Green Goddess Glamping, stories about fine artists, a blacksmith, a photographer, and a computer artist who also camp, to name a few. I've also published five articles on Camp Cooking, which include an article on campfire cooking and an article on Dutch oven cooking.

My publishing goal of two articles each week with varied subject material has increased my creativity in finding interesting subjects to write about. After that, it's my responsibility to research and write readable articles about my article topics. It's been a fun experience this last year and a half. As an added bonus, maintaining my camping blog has also re-enlivened this blog. The more writing I do, the more I have to write about writing and publishing! I believe, following my experience of the last ten years, I will eventually use the camping blog's content to produce some camping books--or perhaps manuals and travelogues would be more specific.

I also feel that my current writing, just having ideas and words flow, will eventually lead to my diving back into fiction again. I've recently written two flash fiction rough drafts. I'd like to publish a fantasy short story collection, with the stories set in the Stone Dragon universe. I feel that egg hatching. It's a good feeling, and I have to thank my blog writing for providing some continuity, some connection--thoughts in the mind, fingers on the keyboard, and something to share with my readers.

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Liars Are Among Us: Be Forewarned and Forearmed

Yes, liars are among us and always have been. I'm old enough to remember that the publishing world, at least, used its editorial board to sort out the liars--not all liars, mind you. A book or magazine article by an artful liar can actually be a pleasure to read. Editors did try to sort out the sneaky liars, though, the ones who told lies in all their various forms for personal gain, at the disservice to others, the readers included. Anybody can publish on the internet, though, with no "gatekeepers" watching for lies. We need to be forewarned and forearmed.

Examples?
Politifact  is a non-profit, fact-checking organization. I researched two presidents: Barak Obama and Donald Trump, and here are the results. Obama: 613 fact checks. 19% True (124 checks); 26% Mostly True (167 checks); 25% Half True (164 checks); 11% Mostly False (73 checks); 11% False (75 checks); 1% Pants on Fire (10 checks). Trump: 764 fact checks. 4% True (34 checks); 10% Mostly True (79 checks); 14% Half True (113 checks); 20% Mostly False (161 checks); 34% False (266 checks); 14% Pants on Fire (111 checks). Allsides is a news website dedicated to providing a spectrum (left/center/right) of news articles for current topics. The site's logo states: "Don't be fooled by media bias and fake news. Unbiased news does not exist; we provide balanced news and civil discourse." I think their mission statement is a little over the top, but having a site that seeks to present three viewpoints of any current news topic is a healthy practice. Reading the articles from left/center/right about Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, a witness at President Trump's impeachment, who was then later "escorted" from the White House, is one example of how news stories can have different perspectives.  Media Bias/Fact Check is a source for finding non-biased media sources, or for at least determining the status of a news source. It assigns bias from "least-biased" through the left and right ranges and also includes sources classified as "Conspiracy/Pseudoscience." The Des Moines Register, for instance, is gauged to be "least-biased."Searching "fact checking" online results in quite a new resources for determining whether a statement is accurate or not. Online sources beyond those above are also provides, such as the Poynter Institute and Snopes. We can find out the general leanings of any publication source and whether or not specific statements are accurate--if we make it a goal to be a discerning reader. Bias, according to the fact-checking entities, is delivered not just be inaccuracies (or fake facts) but often by using vocabulary that has emotional or judgmental overtones. For instance, in the Vindman articles, the words "vengeance" and "appears to be" are used in the left- and right-leaning articles to describe actions and the words of the main players in the story. The center-biased story (written for NPR) reported the actions and quoted the main players, but left the interpretation up to the reader.

Yes, what we read and hear about news events often comes with an agenda. We are forewarned.

I think it ironic that our biggest danger as readers is disinformation on subjects that we agree with the bias. We may agree with the concept or sentiment, and then even though the facts are wrong, we buy in. Having "bought in" with the inaccurate article, our world view is skewed. We become "radicalized," to use a current term. In our innocence, we blindly accept that which we want to believe, even the mis-information. We feel suffocated by too much government and don't have the habit of mind of questioning and discriminating between the validity of sources, then of course the articles about how the moon walks by NASA were faked seem a plausible theory.

It's a wonderful feeling to have someone stand up and loudly proclaim the same emotion we are feeling, even if the facts are wrong and the emotions are suspect. At the very least, as readers and listeners, we should ask ourselves these questions: How reliable is this source? Is this article an opinion piece or a news story? How many "loaded words" am I hearing? And we should especially be asking ourselves whether the emotions some outside source is stirring are our best emotions or our worst. We need to be informed citizens, not unthinking shouters in a mob.

Independent thinking and questioning what we read and hear should be taught in schools. We should gain the habit of checking the source of what we read and hear. And mostly we should be careful to not believe something that we read or hear just because it happens to evoke a warm, fuzzy feeling regarding our view of the world. We need to be more discriminating in our evaluation of the information coming our way. There be liars among us. 

Orson Welles' 1938 radio broadcast of War of the Worlds led to chaos because listeners believed Earth was being invaded by aliens. Much of that hysteria was the result, it is felt, of subconscious fears arising from the war in Europe, the feeling by many views that the United States was slowly being pulled into another world war. We need to be more discerning in our acceptance of what we read and hear. We need to question our own emotions and beliefs when the world stirs us up inside. Perhaps we will learn and grow. Perhaps we will not be deceived by those who seek to con us, to take advantage of our gullibility. We need to not assume that just because the tail is wagging that the dog will not bite. Cynicism? No. Healthy skepticism or balanced, independent thinking? Yes.

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2020 Iowa Caucus: First-time Impressions

Media impressions of the 2020 Iowa Caucuses has not been positive, especially with the flawed app for reporting results. This was my first time (even at sixty-eight years of age) to an Iowa Caucus, and prior to the event I was both encouraged and cautioned regarding the process. I am reporting that my experience was positive, unifying, and--how can I phrase this?--a glance back in time.

Arriving at the caucus site at my town's local convention center in SE Iowa, 451 Democrats showed up to represent my ward. I had arrived thirty-five minutes early, had signed in to confirm that I was a registered Democrat, and then received a number that I stuck to my shirt to verify my registration. I wandered around the center "unaligned" area, chatted with a few friends, a former student, and then sat down in my group with some friends.

There were some formal organizational procedures--the temporary ward leader-designate read a statement from the state organization, explained the early organizational steps, and then we moved forward: electing a presiding officer for the caucus, a couple of other officers, and then listening again to the protocols.

Heading to the first counting of supporters for candidates during a thirty-minute time period (there were three counts), the various captains brought the totals up to the presiding officer, the mathematician counted to determine if the various groups added up to 451, and when that number was verified, we all realized only two candidates (Sanders and Warren) were "viable" in that they had received at least sixty-eight endorsements, fifteen percent of the 451 total. Supporters for those two groups filled out first-run pledge cards. Then there was a time segment allowing the other non-viable candidate groups to see if they wanted to combine. I was in a viable groups and just watched that for a while, but the process didn't seem to be going much of anywhere. I couldn't participate in the second accounting because my candidate was already viable and I couldn't switch.

I left early, not feeling ready to participate in choosing delegates for the state meeting or for hammering out our platform requests. It was my first caucus, and I thought I'd leave while I was ahead.

Listening to NPR Iowa radio on the way home, it was announced that at five A.M. the next morning, the results would be announced. I happened to wake up at five and turned on the radio, where I learned that the new app for submitting results had failed and that there was a lot of mean-mouthing by media about Iowa and the Iowa Democratic Party. I listened for a while, then shut off the radio.

Later in the day, I turned the car radio back on and heard NPR Iowa hosting a call-in segment, which included folks speaking of their positive and negative experiences on Tuesday night. There was also some analysis of why some folks think Iowa shouldn't be the first primary in the nation, chief among the ideas presented that Iowa demographics don't represent those of the nation. I get the point, but then I wonder what state will represent the entire nation--our four corners and middle, our races, ethnicities, age and gender, rural and urban, and wealth or lack of it. As an Iowan, though, I acknowledge the point and am certainly willing to listen and learn.

My experience at the caucus was good. Let me iterate the reasons.
The procedures and protocols were clearly explained, and the process went smoothly. While in the room, I scanned the make-up of the group and feel the leaders and participants were truly representative of our nation--age, gender, race, and ethnicity.People were polite, respectful, attentive, and willing to discuss without sledgehammering others with their opinions. I thought folks showed up willing to share, listen, and respect. Because of the inclusive vibe of the evening, I enjoyed the process of chatting with friends and candidate advocates early in the evening. It was different talking to neighbors and community members rather than just reading articles, web posts, and listening to media talking heads. It was nurturing, coming together as a community, agreeing on the democratic idea of working together to choose a candidate, and that although we maybe didn't agree on who was the best candidate or perhaps weren't happy with the evening's results, I thought there was still a unity of democratic purpose. I had voted in primaries before when living on the West Coast, but I can see how the caucus process fits with the history and geography of Iowa. Iowa has many small communities, pretty much evenly distributed across the state. Back in time, let's say a hundred years ago, one can imagine farmers coming to local caucus centers, say the local grange hall, where they would share what they had read and heard, where more knowledgeable individuals could speak about the candidates. The level of rural isolation would encourage more sharing and discussion in the community.

I arrived for the caucus with my list or candidate priorities, but my choices certainly weren't carved in stone, in part because I felt the candidates all had good strengths. Therefore, I enjoyed the early general discussion and the further in-group discussions. In many ways, the caucus process for me was both a political and social affirmation. It wasn't a perfect experience; the after-glow certainly didn't last long. Iowans humbly and responsibly have worked through the experience, even though the glitch has ticked off the media--have to meet those broadcast timelines, you know!

Once I stepped away from my technology, all that babble just went away. Iowa made its choices, worked through its glitches, and now its everybody else's turn. My attention now is turning to patiently waiting for spring, my garden, and a little silence and sunshine.

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The Messiah Has Come, So Whaddya Think?--A Review of the Netflix Series

Sometimes it's not what we know that's a big deal but rather what we don't know.

In Netflix's Season 1 of Messiah, that is certainly the case. Individuals, the media, organizations, religions, and nations are gathering information and trying to figure out who the heck this guy is. Here is the IMDb's description of the streaming series.

"When a CIA officer investigates a man attracting international attention and followers through acts of public disruption, she embarks on a global, high-stakes mission to uncover whether he is a divine entity or a deceptive con artist."

The writers of the series do a good job of providing information about this mystery man, known as Al-Masih, in such an even-handed manner that just as soon as the viewer begins to arrive at a conclusion, the scales balance again. In the series, individuals and leaders of the main religions in the Middle East have opinions about this man. This review is not going to discuss the religious connotations of a second coming. Messiah is, after all, just a TV show. So how good of a show is it?

I'm going to include two references to the TV series, not really spoilers but more information to provide perspective. At one point, Al-Masih states, "I walk with all men," generalizing his spiritual path and refusing to be identified with any one religion. In a later episode, he challenges those listening to him to realize that he is not the important focal point--that each of them should be considering who they are rather than focusing on who he is.

This is really the point of interest of the series for me. The writers focus on those characters who, for various reasons and with different motivations, have been pulled into Al-Masih's orbit of influence. Al-Masih remains the constant in the series, even when we gain new information about him and his past. His behavior and message remain constant. However, the characters around him are pushed and pulled from within and without, and that creates significant tension in the story. A few come to believe; all come to question.

Those "acts of public disruption" are significant to the storyline. Social evolution implies change, and when change arrives, then the possibility of growth occurs. The powers that be and individual characters in the series (and the TV viewership) are forced to wonder if this process of introducing disruption to the social norm will produce positive or negative long-term changes. Is Al-Masih a social anarchist or a spiritual master?

Even though this TV show is not the story of Jesus, there are subtle parallels to the life of Jesus: the attraction of followers and then attention of the existing governments and religions. Crowds listening to Al-Masih's preaching . . . and the disruption his message and their need to believe cause. Is the United States the new Rome in the series? Is there a Mary Magdalene, a Judas Iscariot? How will the characters of Season 1 change in the second season?

The secret of enjoying this show, I think, has its metaphor in chemistry. Don't pay attention to the catalyst. Pay attention to the solution into which the catalyst has been introduced. As both Jesus and Al-Masih--and many other seers and prophets--have said, it's not about the messenger. It's about the people who hear the message. Netflix describes this show as a "fictional story not based on true events." Perhaps they should have used the word "factual" instead of the word "true."

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125 New York Library Years--and the Books Checked Out the Most

Children in the Bronx visit a New York Public Library bookmobile in the 1950s.
The New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is celebrating its 125th anniversary. The library system has 92 locations in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. As part of its celebration, it recently announced the top 10 all-time books with the highest circulation. The story about which books have been checked out most is not as straightforward as it might seem.

First of all, most of the top ten are children's books because they are shorter and are checked out more frequently (and finished more quickly). The number one book checked out in the library's history is The Snowy Day, a children's book written by Ezra Jack Keats. A 1963 Caldecott Award recipient, it has been checked out 485,583 times. A Wall Street Journal article mentions that the book has remarkable diversity, having a main character that is black and a longevity that has spanned generations.

As an aside, Margaret Wise Brown's children's book Goodnight Moon was not on the list. Here's why, according to a National Public Radio story.

"The library also awarded an 'honorable mention' to Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. That book might have been a contender for the all-time top spot, but NYPL children's librarian Anne Carroll Moore so disliked the 1947 book that the library didn't carry it until 1972. That late entry kept the book off the top 10 list — for now."

 Two dystopian novels are on the list, Orwell's 1984 and Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. The only non-fiction book on the list was Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People.

First edition coverOne of the greatest novels I've ever read is on the list: Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. There aren't many recent works on the list because time in circulation is a significant factor. However, R.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone made number 9 on the list.

It would be interesting to find out more history about the NYPL's books and this list. For instance, was Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn  ever banned by the library, and for how long? This is a novel that has alway been controversial, one that I taught as a classroom teacher, and even wrote an essay about: "Is Huck Finn an Archetypal Hero?" I think it would also be interesting for the library to issue a list of the top 10 novels, if possible.

The Snowy Day was the first picture book with an African American protagonist to win a major children’s award.
[Martin, Michelle H. (2004). Brown Gold: Milestones of African-American Children's Picture Books, 1845-2002.]
Here is the list of the top 10 books checked out in the history of the New York Public Library.
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats: 485,583 checkouts The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss: 469,650 checkouts 1984 by George Orwell: 441,770 checkouts Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak: 436,016 checkouts To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: 422,912 checkouts Charlotte's Web by E.B. White: 337,948 checkouts Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: 316,404 checkouts How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie: 284,524 checkouts Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling: 231,022 checkouts The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle: 189,550 checkouts Enter your email address:


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"A Discovery of Witches," "Shadow of Night," and "The Book of Life": A Review of Deborah Harkness's Trilogy

Goodreads, Discovery of WitchesWhat if our world were composed not just of ordinary humans but also vampires, witches, and daemons? And what if these additions to the human world were developed not as fantastic creatures but as other alternatives to evolution, such as the neanderthals, but with still paranormal abilities?

Deborah Harkness entered into the gothic realm of the supernatural novel about six years after young adult author Stephenie Meyer splashed into our awareness with her novel Twilight . It would not be inappropriate to mention similarities: handsome vampire, Romeo/Juliet romance, and if not sparkle, then at least a bit of glimmer. However, Harkness plants her feet more firmly in science and the adult world. The female protagonist, Diana Bishop, is a scholar albeit a witch who has renounced her abilities. Vampire Matthew Clairmont is a doctor and researcher who is pulled into the world of "creature" politics by Bishop's inadvertent discovery of a historically potent book of spells and knowledge, the Book of Life, also catalogued in an Oxford antiquities library as Ashmole 782.

Author Deborah Harkness is a scholar and professor of history, and even though her trilogy surfs the vampire fad of the early 2000s, she adds historical credibility and detail to the romance and bloody bosom-bearing passages. I checked the trilogy out of my local public library, and at about 1,600 pages of reading, I have to honestly say that if the narrative did not drag, it did at times bog down in excessive minutiae of plot, perhaps a scholar's fascination for reconstructing history? The overall arc of the plot, though, which is both globe-spanning and time-spanning, does introduce a fascinating variety of settings and characters. Sir Walter Raleigh, anyone?

One powerful tool Harkness uses in her trilogy is science. The vampires and the witch tradition have existed long enough in the series to allow for a lively interaction between the advancement of scientific knowledge and the hidden existence of the magical "creatures." How do they exist, and why? What is their place in the world in relation to plain old humanity? The interplay between ancient lore and modern science promotes quite a bit of the novel's drive.

Another strength of the trilogy--and I have to say that I admire Harkness for this skill--is the author's ability to create and develop a wide range of interesting and unique minor characters. Sometimes the main characters become foils to highlight the fascinating personalities of the minor characters. Some of these characters are historical and some are creations of the author. I found them all enjoyable and couldn't get enough of them, especially since these minor characters not only became themselves on the page but also came to define through example the characteristics of vampire, daemon, witch, and human. And, yes, some of the most dynamic minor characters were human.

Finally, this series would be just another foray into the twilight without the underlying thread of discrimination, persecution, and intolerance that laces the story together. Humanity is a study of these cruelties, and the novels intelligently weave man's inhumanities along with devoted love and objective science to create a perspective, I think, that transcends the genre. Deborah Harkness has added another novel to the trilogy-- Time's Convert , which continues the saga, continuing to utilize the organizational structure of combining present action with the characters' past actions. I plan to give the series a bit of a rest, and then I'll pick up the fourth book and give it a go.

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"Red Sister," "Grey Sister," and "Holy Sister": A Review of Mark Lawrence's Fantasy "Book of the Ancestor" Trilogy

That sharp edge of the blade where fantasy and science fiction meet is a precarious perspective for a writer of speculative fiction to adopt. Anne McCaffrey did so with her Pern series, C.J. Cherryh did so with her Morgaine saga, and Lawrence has done so with his Book of the Ancestor trilogy: Red Sister, Grey Sister, and Holy Sister. That's distinguished company for Lawrence to rub elbows with, but this trilogy earns him the privilege.

The science fictional premise is that a star-faring race colonizes the planet Abeth. Its sun dying, the original colonists (the ancestors) set up a means of keeping a thin strip of the planet around the equator unfrozen so that their descendents can survive. These colonists consist of four races, each with unique abilities, some physical and some mental, and at the time of the trilogy's action, these races are mixed to varying degrees among the surviving population. 
Enter Nona, a child of eight years, whose powers unfold as the storyline progresses through the three books. She is adopted by the nuns of Sweet Mercy, where the lowest order of the nuns is the most physical--kickass nuns. Environmental and political crises unfold, Nona grows and evolves over the next decade, and readers are swept into the intrigue and magic Lawrence's universe.
Abeth is cold, but do not think of soft, pristine snow. Think of cold, cold winds, encroaching glaciers scouring the land. Think of dirty snow, rotten snow, winter noir, and the tone of the novels, which colors Nona struggles to survive in a harsh world. And then there are the ruins of the Lost Ones, ancient aliens and their mysterious artifacts. 
The characters seek to walk the Path in order to control the basic power of the universe. They seek to pull the Threads of reality to activate the laws of nature. They seek to manipulate how others perceive reality in order to control the actions of individuals and armies. Lawrence convincingly describes battle with swords, martial arts, and mind-bending powers. And Nona and her Sisters are central to the action of saving the world by saving themselves. 
Lawrence's universe is believable, and his focus on action and the evolution of Nona provides all the suspense and conflict--and revelation and achievement--that one can ask for. I end this review by passing on words of wisdom from the good Sisters: "It is important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size. For Sister Thorn of the Sweet Mercy Convent, Lano Tacsis brought two hundred men."
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