Carlene Havel's Blog: Carlene, page 15
August 25, 2012
Saturday Morning
It's Saturday morning, and the television is not on. Obviously, there are no kids in the house. What is it about that crazy cartoon logic, fast-paced action, and nonstop goofyness? It kept me glued to the TV as a kid and drives me nuts as an adult. I suppose it's all wrapped up in perspective and priorities. As a child, I didn't think about what I should have been doing "instead", just enjoyed the moment. Maybe I've lost something by no longer being hooked on Saturday morning cartoons.
August 24, 2012
Ancestry
One of my brothers has become immersed in our family history. Along with old census records, wills, and stories some relatives hoped would never come to light, he often finds pictures taken as far back as the 1800s. It's not difficult to distinguish different sides of the family. My mother's folks sit in front of fancy drapes, men in suits, women in long, flowing dresses. There's often a lace collar or a child in what could pass for a christening gown. Dad's people? Overalls, bare feet, oodles of stairstepped kids, and--in the background--a ramshackled house that never saw a coat of paint in its lifetime. How did this couple ever get together I wonder???
August 23, 2012
Reviews of Moby Dick
I'm easily distracted. Yesterday, looking through the free ebooks on a website, I noticed the classic Moby Dick was one of the offerings. Then I noticed the average rating - four stars. Assuming many people had awarded the coveted five star rating, I became curious (i.e., sidetracked). So I read the narratives accompanying the one and two star ratings. It's easy to make me smile, but takes some effort ot make the laugh aloud. These reviews did it! Obviously some of the reviewers read Moby Dick as a school assignment--and they were annoyed mostly by the book's length. Along with the usual complaints about lack of plot, too much description, and difficulty following the action, one comment totally captivated me. The second most boring book I've ever read, the reviewer said. I spent far too much time wondering what took first prize. The Scarlet Letter? A Tale of Two Cities? It's a mystery I cannot solve. Oh, yeah, now back to what I was doing before I saw Moby DIck on the freebie list...
August 22, 2012
Where's the Party?
It's at http://www.prismbookgroup.com/
Starting tomorrow, register to win prizes--a kindle, book bags, and more! During the festivities, all Prism books are half price. Visit the website and get a free download of the short story “Lightning Strikes”.
Starting tomorrow, register to win prizes--a kindle, book bags, and more! During the festivities, all Prism books are half price. Visit the website and get a free download of the short story “Lightning Strikes”.
August 21, 2012
Stars
Stars. Every sighted human being can see them when the clouds get out of the way and city light don’t blind us to their soft light. They are beautiful and somewhat awe-inspiring.
I’ve never known anyone who didn’t like stars. There are songs and poems rhapsodizing about them. I once heard someone remark that if the stars were visible only once a year, the whole world would stay awake that night to see them. But they are there all the time, so we take them for granted.
From my vantage point, stars all look pretty much alike. Some look brighter than others, which I always chalked up to distance. Reading up on them, I learned they are different sizes, colors, and intensity. And scientists say they are all in motion. According to Wikipedia, stars are every color of the rainbow. In fact, there are star colors that don’t appear in the rainbow, such as red and brown. Apparently that piece of trivia can be verified with strong telescopes.
What are stars made of? People who write for the internet say stardust is composed of the same basic chemicals we are - though how they know that is beyond my understanding. Scientists also say the average life span of a star is about ten billion years.
Who among us hasn’t gazed up at the night sky and wondered how many stars there are? In the middle ages, thousands of stars were catalogued. As viewing devices improved, people began to see more stars, further out than previously thought--and that still happens. Every time there’s an advance in what I’ll call telescopes, we turn them on and realize there are a newly visible multitude of stars “out there”.
The latest popular figure is 7 followed by 22 zeros or, more accurately, 70 sextillion, calculated by a team of stargazers from the Australian National University. The number was drawn up based on a survey of one strip of sky, rather than trying to count every individual star. That number was then multiplied by the number of similar sized strips needed to cover the entire sky and then multiplied again out to the edge of the visible universe.
The head of the study conceded there were likely to be many million more stars in the universe but the 70 sextillion figure was the number visible within range of modern telescopes.
The actual number of stars could be infinite he said. The universe is so big, light from the other side of the universe "hasn't reached us yet," The Age newspaper quoted him as saying. Asked if he believed the huge scale of the universe meant there was intelligent life out there somewhere, he told the paper: "Seventy thousand million million million is a big number ... it's inevitable."
I’m no scientist, but I can’t imagine looking up at the sky on a clear night without recognizing there is an intelligent power far beyond our limited understanding managing this vast universe.
I’ve never known anyone who didn’t like stars. There are songs and poems rhapsodizing about them. I once heard someone remark that if the stars were visible only once a year, the whole world would stay awake that night to see them. But they are there all the time, so we take them for granted.
From my vantage point, stars all look pretty much alike. Some look brighter than others, which I always chalked up to distance. Reading up on them, I learned they are different sizes, colors, and intensity. And scientists say they are all in motion. According to Wikipedia, stars are every color of the rainbow. In fact, there are star colors that don’t appear in the rainbow, such as red and brown. Apparently that piece of trivia can be verified with strong telescopes.
What are stars made of? People who write for the internet say stardust is composed of the same basic chemicals we are - though how they know that is beyond my understanding. Scientists also say the average life span of a star is about ten billion years.
Who among us hasn’t gazed up at the night sky and wondered how many stars there are? In the middle ages, thousands of stars were catalogued. As viewing devices improved, people began to see more stars, further out than previously thought--and that still happens. Every time there’s an advance in what I’ll call telescopes, we turn them on and realize there are a newly visible multitude of stars “out there”.
The latest popular figure is 7 followed by 22 zeros or, more accurately, 70 sextillion, calculated by a team of stargazers from the Australian National University. The number was drawn up based on a survey of one strip of sky, rather than trying to count every individual star. That number was then multiplied by the number of similar sized strips needed to cover the entire sky and then multiplied again out to the edge of the visible universe.
The head of the study conceded there were likely to be many million more stars in the universe but the 70 sextillion figure was the number visible within range of modern telescopes.
The actual number of stars could be infinite he said. The universe is so big, light from the other side of the universe "hasn't reached us yet," The Age newspaper quoted him as saying. Asked if he believed the huge scale of the universe meant there was intelligent life out there somewhere, he told the paper: "Seventy thousand million million million is a big number ... it's inevitable."
I’m no scientist, but I can’t imagine looking up at the sky on a clear night without recognizing there is an intelligent power far beyond our limited understanding managing this vast universe.
August 20, 2012
Bad News Book
I've been punked again. Got a good-looking ebook for my kindle. The blurb described a combination travel adventure and romance. So I grabbed the hook and bit so hard I actually paid money (not much) to download the book. Before the first chapter ended, there was so much foul language I quit reading. Then I deleted the book. Doesn't a reader deserve a warning when a book has offensive language content? I used to say, "I'm not a prude..." but maybe I am in the context of today's culture, where the "F word" and profanity involving the names of God seem to be acceptable. I'll never read one of this author's books again. She has a right to pen whatever she wishes, but I have a corresponding right to know what to expect before I dive in to read it.
August 18, 2012
Fashion
Am I the only shopper in America who's sick and tired of having to buy two garments to cover a portion of my body for which one shirt or blouse should be sufficient? Do the designers, buyers, and retailers, understand at least one woman wants something she can wear without blushing, pinning together, or undergirding with a lacy camisole? It's too hot in the summer to wear that extra layer. Is this a relaxing of morals? Maybe, but I really think the motive is greed. Why sell one thing when you might be able to sell two? Don't make me get out that sewing machine!
August 17, 2012
Taxi Drivers
Taxi drivers. Some are stone-faced; others make you laugh all the way to the airport. I’ve had one or two who asked me for directions to my destination. Another cadre of them scared the daylights out of me—some with their driving, others with their apparent insanity. Overall, some of the nicest, most interesting people on this planet drive taxis. For example: I was hopelessly lost once in Hong Kong. What to do? Get in a taxi, of course. No English on one side, no Chinese on the other. Worse yet, I have no comprehension of the Chinese alphabet, and he just stared at that strange writing I offered. I pulled out the key to my hotel room. Sure enough, there was something I couldn’t understand plastered on one side of the key fob. What kind of airhead hands her hotel key to a stranger she can’t communicate with? But that’s what I did. And this gentleman took me right where I wanted to go, to my temporary home. I think I tipped him well. That was back in the day when the currency had pictures of the British royal family and as I recall some numbers I understood. Interesting--Arabic numbers on British bills used by an American in Asia. So by the grace of God and the honesty of a taxi driver, this American girl from Farmers Branch, Texas, got back to my hotel room.
August 16, 2012
Land of the Sultans
I admit it. I am in love with the land of the sultans, especially the rural area of Turkey between Yalova and Karamursel. I love the farmers' market, with its fruits and vegetables in season, women in traditional dress, and gypsies selling hand-woven baskets. In the spring, lambs cavort on the hillsides. The sound of a shepherd's pipe often floats on the evening breeze. Families in pantaloons plant and tend crops during the growing season. In winter, women stay inside while the men gather in tea houses to smoke, drink tea, and socialize.
Ancient ruins dot the landscape to the south, toward the Mediterranean coastline. I remember going to Ephesus on a cold wintry day. There were no tourists, just my traveling companions and a local guide. Another treasured memory: haggling for hours to buy a hand-knotted Turkish carpet. Naturally, this included many cups of tea.
Yalova is a short ferry ride (an adventure in itself!) from exotic Istanbul, with its pungent spice bazaar and slender minarets. The Grand Bazaar offers a variety of colorful wares, with vendors addressing shoppers in a cacophony of languages. I could never tire of strolling through the old graveyards, the Topkapi museum, or the Dolmabachi Palace.
The smell of kebabs cooking can transport me back to Turkey in an instant!
Ancient ruins dot the landscape to the south, toward the Mediterranean coastline. I remember going to Ephesus on a cold wintry day. There were no tourists, just my traveling companions and a local guide. Another treasured memory: haggling for hours to buy a hand-knotted Turkish carpet. Naturally, this included many cups of tea.
Yalova is a short ferry ride (an adventure in itself!) from exotic Istanbul, with its pungent spice bazaar and slender minarets. The Grand Bazaar offers a variety of colorful wares, with vendors addressing shoppers in a cacophony of languages. I could never tire of strolling through the old graveyards, the Topkapi museum, or the Dolmabachi Palace.
The smell of kebabs cooking can transport me back to Turkey in an instant!
August 15, 2012
That Woman
Part I was in yesterday's blog. This is the conclusion, Part II:
So there she was, surrounded by accusers and thrown down in front of the young rabbi. She had no way of knowing she would survive this ordeal let alone that what happened to her that day would be written down, translated into many languages, and still be a topic of discussion two thousand years later. Certainly she could not know her legacy would emphasize not her wrongdoing but the teacher’s compassion.
The leaders of the crowd had to feel some smug satisfaction. They had the hated young carpenter who fancied himself a rabbi right where they wanted him. Now this upstart teacher who had such a reputation for wisdom would have no choice. He either had to pronounce the death sentence on this pitiful woman, or take a public stand contradictory to the Law of Moses. At worst they were going to take this young radical down a peg or two. At best, he would slip up and say something against the sacred law, thus dooming himself to the stoning that already awaited the ruined woman. Or so they thought.
A spokesman revealed the essential fact, the crime the woman had committed. Go ahead, the teacher told them, whoever among you has never done anything wrong, you be the one to step up and throw the first stone. After thinking it over, they all slipped away--leaving the woman, Jesus, and a pile of unused rocks. Life unfolds in extraordiary ways when He is involved.
Source: The Bible, New Testament, Book of John, Chapter 8.
So there she was, surrounded by accusers and thrown down in front of the young rabbi. She had no way of knowing she would survive this ordeal let alone that what happened to her that day would be written down, translated into many languages, and still be a topic of discussion two thousand years later. Certainly she could not know her legacy would emphasize not her wrongdoing but the teacher’s compassion.
The leaders of the crowd had to feel some smug satisfaction. They had the hated young carpenter who fancied himself a rabbi right where they wanted him. Now this upstart teacher who had such a reputation for wisdom would have no choice. He either had to pronounce the death sentence on this pitiful woman, or take a public stand contradictory to the Law of Moses. At worst they were going to take this young radical down a peg or two. At best, he would slip up and say something against the sacred law, thus dooming himself to the stoning that already awaited the ruined woman. Or so they thought.
A spokesman revealed the essential fact, the crime the woman had committed. Go ahead, the teacher told them, whoever among you has never done anything wrong, you be the one to step up and throw the first stone. After thinking it over, they all slipped away--leaving the woman, Jesus, and a pile of unused rocks. Life unfolds in extraordiary ways when He is involved.
Source: The Bible, New Testament, Book of John, Chapter 8.
