Malcolm R. Campbell's Blog, page 20

Fruit of the Vine

A recent headline in Forbes said, “France Has So Much Extra Wine, It’s Paying Farmers $215 Million To Destroy It.” That’s just sad. Not because I drink French wine, but because wine is a magical drink that does wonderful things for the world.

France should sell all that wine to the countless Facebook users who claim to drink wine like there’s no tomorrow. There are countless memes, including, “I cook with wine. Sometimes I put it in the food.”

Facebook has 2.9 billion active users. France produces eight million bottles of wine a year. France’s wine surplus might, perhaps, be raken care of if Facebook bought France rather like Musk buying Twitter. However, there a culture clash here since French  wines are intended to be paired with food and Facebook consumption of wine is paired with everything else.

Biltmore Winery

When I visit the Biltmore estate in Asheville, NC, I do pair my wine with food inasmuch as their restaurants serve wine from the estate’s winnery. These are some of my favorite meals because the wine and the food are superior. Elsewhere, I usually drink the most inexpensive wine on restaurant menus (not founting the stuff sold in 55-gallon drums).

In “Fruit of the vine, our spiritual drink,” Stacy Woods writes that,  “Instead, let’s talk about wine in religious settings. For many Christians and Jews alike, the fruit of the vine is holier than any other and plays a significant role in the celebration of faith. A spiritual drink is used to sanctify daily prayers, on holy days, and at weddings, births and deaths. It can be red, white, pink, dry or sweet wine, or even simply grape juice.” This view is, I think, important to many people’s consumption of wine.

Unlike people who drink beer by the six-pack, wine drinkers don’t normally plan to get drunk. They intend to enlarge and, perhaps, santify, their experiences on the journey of life. Wine can be paired with anything meaningful.

I am thinking of wine today because I’m having my first glass in many weeks inasmuch as the antibiotic I was taking could not be paired with alcohol. I don’t know yet if the antibiotics did what they were suposed to do, but I do know that several glasses of Yellowtail Shiraz have paired wll with my mood.

—Malcolm

‘America’s Most Influential Journalist and Premier Political Cartoonist: The Life, Times and Legacy of Thomas Nast’ by John Adler

“America’s best-ever political cartoonist is renowned for creating the Republican Elephant and popularizing the Democratic Donkey. He also created the modern images of Santa Claus and Uncle Sam, influenced five victorious Presidential elections, and satirically commented on seven administrations.” – John Adler’s website (This website is a treasure trove of Nast’s political cartoons and other drawings, including the iconic image of Santa shown here.)

“Thomas Nast, September 26, 1840 – December 7, 1902) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist often considered to be the “Father of the American Cartoon.'” – Wikipedia.

From the Publisher

“Summary review by 19th Century cartoon historian and author Richard Samuel West:

“‘After more than 100 years of having to rely on Albert Bigelow Paine’s entertaining but hagiographic and error-filled Thomas Nast His Period and His Pictures (1904), we finally have a biography of America’s greatest political cartoonist worthy of replacing it. John Adler has created a meticulous, comprehensive, fair, and accurate biography of the father of American cartooning. With more than two decades devoted to studying Nast’s entire massive output behind him, Adler is the perfect guide for 21st century readers interested in understanding Nast’s cartoons, learning about the politics that prompted them, and discerning the impact they had. At the end of journeying through this massive tome, we are left with an appreciation of Nast and his extraordinary achievement like never before.'”

“The power and influence of Nast’s cartoons largely emanated from their repetition over weeks or months as his stories unfolded and he banged his points home in Harper’s Weekly, whose financial strength, reach and dominance made it the country’s leading illustrated newspaper. This 830-page biography contains 1,000 Nast cartoons, illustrations, sketches, and paintings — 800 from Harper’s Weekly and the balance from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper (25), New-York Illustrated News (47) and other publications, plus 100 cartoons on Nast-related topics by 20 other artists like Joseph Keppler of Puck — each with its principal characters identified and its content and context explained. The manually-created Index, predicated solely on Nast’s work — provides a unique, encyclopedic reference resource. Visualize the downfall of corrupt Boss (William M.) Tweed and his Ring of Thieves, the Civil War, Reconstruction, six Presidential campaigns, and Nast’s legacy: the Republican Elephant, modern images of Santa Claus and Uncle Sam (all created by him) and the Democratic Donkey (popularized by him).”

We studied Nast’s work in journalism school as well as American history classes. I’m pleased to see this definitive biography published last year and hope that it brings is work to a wider adience.

–Malcolm

‘The Urantia Book’

“The Urantia Book (sometimes called The Urantia Papers or The Fifth Epochal Revelation) is a spiritual, philosophical, and religious book that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States sometime between 1924 and 1955. The authorship remains a matter of debate. It has received various degrees of interest ranging from praise to criticism for its religious and science-related content, its unusual length, and the unusual names and origins of the authors named within the book.” Wikipedia

I read this 2000-page book thirty or forty years ago. For an individual reared in a Presbyterian household, I found it strange but fascinating, and when I reached the end I had no doubt that I would never subscribe to its point of view.

While the book is available from Amazon, it’s in the public domain, and with a little searching around, one can find free copies. If your curiosity exceeds the scope of the publisher’s description, you can find more information on the website of the Urantia Foundation. The Wikipedia article, quoted above, includes some of the book’s criticisms including the charge that some portions were taken without attribution from other works.

From the Publisher

“You have just discovered the literary masterpiece that answers your questions about God, life in the inhabited universe, the history and future of this world, and the life of Jesus. The Urantia Book harmonizes history, science, and religion into a philosophy of living that brings new meaning and hope into your life. If you are searching for answers, read The Urantia Book!

“The world needs new spiritual truth that provides modern men and women with an intellectual pathway into a personal relationship with God. Building on the world’s religious heritage, The Urantia Book describes an endless destiny for humankind, teaching that living faith is the key to personal spiritual progress and eternal survival. These teachings provide new truths powerful enough to uplift and advance human thinking and believing for the next 1000 years.

“A third of The Urantia Book is the inspiring story of Jesus’ entire life and a revelation of his original teachings. This panoramic narrative includes his birth, childhood, teenage years, adult travels and adventures, public ministry, crucifixion, and 19 resurrection appearances. This inspiring story recasts Jesus from the leading figure of Christianity into the guide for seekers of all faiths and all walks of life.”

–Malcolm

PEN AMERICA APPLAUDS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR WRITER AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST NARGES MOHAMMADI

Nobel Committee recognizes the immense courage and dedication of PEN America Honoree Narges Mohammadi and all the writers and cultural workers like her in Iran

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 6, 2023

(NEW YORK)— The Nobel Peace Prize awarded today to imprisoned Iranian writer, human rights activist, and 2023 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award honoree Narges Mohammadi recognizes her singular courage in standing against government repression of women, writers, activists, intellectuals, and cultural figures who face unspeakable consequences for daring to speak out or write, PEN America said.

Narges Mohammadi

Commenting on the award, PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said, “The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Iranian writer and activist Narges Mohammadi is a tribute to her courage and that of countless women and girls who have poured out into the streets of Iran and faced down one of the world’s most brutal and stubborn regimes, risking their lives to demand their rights. For those of us at PEN America, Narges is an inspiration and also a personal friend, a woman whose story of unyielding defiance at crushing personal costs awakens the righteous indignation within each of us. We applaud the Nobel Committee for putting the weight of its Prize behind the struggle of Narges and all Iranian women for their freedom to dress, behave, think, and write as they wish.”

“Narges’ indefatigable will to be heard, even from the darkest, coldest, and most isolated corners of an Iranian prison, is astounding. She championed change in Iran from her jail cell with a passion and bravery that can truly be described as heroic. As a witness to decades of atrocities, she has used her voice as a catalyst to awaken a new generation to understand that their words are one of humanity’s greatest tools. PEN America enthusiastically congratulates Narges Mohammadi and calls for her immediate release.”

PEN America honored Narges Mohammadi with the 2023 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, which her husband, Taghi Rahmani, accepted on her behalf at the PEN America Literary Gala in New York City in May. Conferred annually, the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award recognizes writers who have been jailed for their expression. PEN America galvanized celebrities including John Mullaney, Colin Jost, Candice Bergen, Diane Sawyer, Alec Baldwin, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and others to rally to Mohammadi’s cause, drawing international media coverage and global recognition of her plight. Of the 53 jailed writers who have been honored with the PEN America Freedom to Write Award since its establishment in 1987, 46 have been released from prison within an average of about 18 months due in part to the global attention and pressure generated by PEN America’s recognition. This is not the first time PEN America’s Award has led directly to the conferral of a Nobel Peace Prize. PEN’s 2009 Freedom to Write honoree Liu Xiaobo, the President of the Independent Chinese PEN Center, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, the culmination of a campaign set in motion by PEN America.

Narges Mohammadi has been forced to make unimaginable sacrifices for her work, including currently serving multiple sentences totaling more than 10 years in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison, where she has been threatened, beaten, and kept in periods of solitary confinement, a practice she has termed ‘white torture’ in her books and writings. Additionally, it has been almost nine years since Mohammadi last saw her husband and two children, who are now in exile in France. And yet, despite these arduous circumstances, Mohammadi continues to defend human rights and speak out against authoritarianism from within prison, drawing attention both to ongoing political events and to abuses against her fellow prisoners. “They will put me in jail again,” she wrote in her book, White Torture. “But I will not stop campaigning until human rights and justice prevail in my country.”

Mohammadi’s case is among dozens of cases of writers and activists who have faced political repression in Iran in the last year alone. Starting in September 2022, the country was swept by a widespread protest movement in favor of democracy and women’s rights following the state’s killing of Mahsa (Jina) Amini. In response, the Iranian regime further cracked down on free speech and arrested thousands for their participation in, or support of, the demonstrations. Iran’s literary and creative communities continue to use writing, art, and music as vehicles to express political dissent, even in the face of the brutal government crackdown.

‘Other Birds’ by Sarah Addison Allen

Southern author Sarah Addison Allen (Garden Spells) writes books that blend magic, magical realism, and well-drawn characters into delightful stories that seem as real as the world outside my window. I haven’t mentioned her work here since Lost Lake was released in 2014. So, let’s get up to date with Other Birds which came out in the summer of 2022 from St. Martin’s Press. As Readers Digest aptly notes, “Allen’s gift for whimsical, poetic language, makes Other Birds one of our most-anticipated books for 2022. You’re going to want to read this one with your book club.”

From the Publisher

“From the acclaimed author of Garden Spells comes a tale of lost souls, secrets that shape us, and how the right flock can guide you home.

“Down a narrow alley in the small coastal town of Mallow Island, South Carolina, lies a stunning cobblestone building comprised of five apartments. It’s called The Dellawisp and it’s named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy.

“When Zoey Hennessey comes to claim her deceased mother’s apartment at The Dellawisp, she meets her quirky, enigmatic neighbors including a girl on the run, a grieving chef whose comfort food does not comfort him, two estranged middle-aged sisters, and three ghosts. Each with their own story. Each with their own longings. Each whose ending isn’t yet written.

“When one of her new neighbors dies under odd circumstances the night Zoey arrives, she’s thrust into the mystery of The Dellawisp, which involves missing pages from a legendary writer whose work might be hidden there. She soon discovers that many unfinished stories permeate the place, and the people around her are in as much need of healing from wrongs of the past as she is. To find their way they have to learn how to trust each other, confront their deepest fears, and let go of what haunts them.

“Delightful and atmospheric, Other Birds is filled with magical realism and moments of pure love that won’t let you go. Sarah Addison Allen shows us that between the real and the imaginary, there are stories that take flight in the most extraordinary ways.”

From Book Page

“What does it mean for a story’s setting to really act as an additional character? It can’t just be a well-defined place where players act out their roles. Rather, it must feel like an extra layer where secrets might be kept—and possibly revealed. An apartment building on Mallow Island, South Carolina, beautifully illustrates this principle in Sarah Addison Allen’s sixth novel, Other Birds.”

–Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of magical realism and contemporary fantasy novels and short stories available via at books stores and online sellers from from Thomas-Jacob Publishing.

OMG, I’m drinking green tea again

“Green tea is a type of tea that is made from Camellia sinensis leaves and buds that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process which is used to make oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China, and since then its production and manufacture has spread to other countries in East Asia.” – Wikipedia

If you were around in 1969 (you probably weren’t) “we” (lots of people) jumped in the Celestial Seasonings band wagon swilling down “Sleepy Time,” “Red Zinger,” and others. After all, there was a war on.

Years went by and, due to bad spirits, my stomach started rebelling against tea, even Earl Grey. But now those spirits have gone away, due to high-quality conjuring work on my part, and now I’m drinking green tea and honey to settle my stomach.

Wikipedia photo

Even sites like WebMD say that there are numerous health benefits to drinking green tea: “As a drink or supplement, green tea is sometimes used for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, to prevent heart disease, and to prevent ovarian cancer. It is also used for many other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support most of these uses.”

Jeanine at Love & Lemons–a great food site–writes, “Regular green tea is already touted as an antioxidant powerhouse, but Matcha has even more benefits. Here’s why: when you make other forms of green tea, you steep the leaves in hot water and then discard them. When you make Matcha, you whisk the powder into hot water or milk. As a result, you actually consume the entire tea leaf when you drink it! The antioxidants it contains may lower blood pressure, reduce your risk of heart disease, and even boost your metabolism.”

I started drinking this brew as a medicine. Now I’ve come to like it.

—Malcolm

‘Erosion’ by Terry Tempest Williams

Erosion came out in 2019. My apologies for not mentioning here sooner. Perhaps my bias in favor of Williams’ activism and writing made me too cautious to talk about it as though I might inadvertently “oversell it.”

Wikipedia provides a quick overview of her life and work: “Terry Tempest Williams (born 8 September 1955), is an American writer, educator, conservationist, and activist. Williams’ writing is rooted in the American West and has been significantly influenced by the arid landscape of Utah. Her work focuses on social and environmental justice ranging from issues of ecology and the protection of public lands and wildness, to women’s health, to exploring our relationship to culture and nature. She writes in the genre of creative nonfiction and the lyrical essay.” You can learn more on her website here.

From the Publisher

“Timely and unsettling essays from an important and beloved writer and conservationist

“In Erosion, Terry Tempest Williams’s fierce, spirited, and magnificent essays are a howl in the desert. She sizes up the continuing assaults on America’s public lands and the erosion of our commitment to the open space of democracy. She asks: “How do we find the strength to not look away from all that is breaking our hearts?”

“We know the elements of erosion: wind, water, and time. They have shaped the spectacular physical landscape of our nation. Here, Williams bravely and brilliantly explores the many forms of erosion we face: of democracy, science, compassion, and trust. She examines the dire cultural and environmental implications of the gutting of Bear Ears National Monument―sacred lands to Native Peoples of the American Southwest; of the undermining of the Endangered Species Act; of the relentless press by the fossil fuel industry that has led to a panorama in which “oil rigs light up the horizon.” And she testifies that the climate crisis is not an abstraction, offering as evidence the drought outside her door and, at times, within herself.

“These essays are Williams’s call to action, blazing a way forward through difficult and dispiriting times. We will find new territory―emotional, geographical, communal. The erosion of desert lands exposes the truth of change. What has been weathered, worn, and whittled away is as powerful as what remains. Our undoing is also our becoming.

“Erosion is a book for this moment, political and spiritual at once, written by one of our greatest naturalists, essayists, and defenders of the environment. She reminds us that beauty is its own form of resistance, and that water can crack stone.”

–

“Williams makes a poignant connection between the political and the personal . . . If Williams’s haunting, powerful and brave book can be summed up in one line of advice it would be this: try to stare down the grief of everyday life, speak out and find solace in the boundless beauty of nature.” ―Diane Ackerman, The New York Times Book Review

–Malcolm

Banned Books Week

I suspect that a lot of us feel a great distance between our reading habits and banned books because we don’t go to the library or have children who are impacted by what’s suddenly not available in the classroom or the school library.  We live busy lives. So if a book is banned in Peoria, we have little or no reason to notice it because nobody is stopping us from buying and reading the book.

This year, Banned Books Week runs between October 1-7.  According to one of the sponsors, the American Library Association (ALA), “This year’s theme is ‘Let Freedom Read.’ When we ban books, we’re closing off readers to people, places, and perspectives.”

According to Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, “This is a dangerous time for readers and the public servants who provide access to reading materials. Readers, particularly students, are losing access to critical information, and librarians and teachers are under attack for doing their jobs.” The number of challenged books and attempted bans is increasing.

You can find a list of Banned Books Week events here, along with book ban data.

We need to be aware of all this,  I think, to protect our freedom to read what we want even if the issues appear to be far away.

—Malcolm

Tomorrow, a visit to a demigod

There’s a game show on TV called “Snake Oil” in which contestants try to figure out which of the products they’re shown are real and which are snake oil. Goodness knows, that before the FDA was created, a lot of people made a lot of money selling patent medicine, otherwise known as snake oil.

In general, the Pure Foods and Drugs Act was a good thing except for the part which led to medicines being labeled as “prescription only.” As a Libertarian, I resent this and believe that after reading the pros and cons and contraindications of a medication, I should be allowed to buy it over the counter even if I have to sign an acceptance of liability statement.

Kavevala a demigod from Finish folklore

Doctors have saved my life twice from cancer and have been instrumental in curring other ailments. I’m in awe of their knowledge and skill. Nonetheless, I don’t think they should have the right to prevent me from buying a medication that has been working. This control casts them in the role of demigods and I don’t like that.

I was taking a medicine this summer that was working to get rid of a summer-long infection. However, due to a miscommunication between doctors, it wasn’t renewed when another round was needed. Now I’m stuck without it because it got rid of enough of the infection to keep new  tests from showing I still have it. The fact that I can feel the difference between being on the the medicine and not being in the medicine isn’t considered relevant.

What this comes down to is a four-month infection for which I received two weeks of treatment that was effective but I’m barred from continuing the cure because I cannot buy the medicine with a prescription. I’m going to be talking to the “demigod” tomorrow, though I think it will come to nothing.

So, more green tea and honey. I don’t think the FDA controls that yet.

—Malcolm

Writing is the Lifeblood of a Writer

Didion in 1970

“When she was a teenager, [Joan] Didion taught herself to type and to write by pecking out stories by Ernest Hemingway and Joseph Conrad on an Olivetti Lettera 22. Her goal: ‘To learn how the sentences worked,’ she told the Paris Review. Thus began her immersion in the physical act as well as the craft of writing. Call it a form of machine learning. ‘I’m only myself in front of my typewriter,’ Didion once told an editor at Ms. magazine.” –from “’To Be A Writer, You Must Write:’ How Joan Didion Became Joan Didion” by Evelyn McDonnell.

“I’m only myself in front of my typewriter,” updated to include “computer keyboard” explains a lot about those of us who write. That might include hints about why many of us are awkward when we have to talk to people–or think.

I like Didion (1934-2021) because she came on the scene during the exciting and controversial days of “new journalism” in which reporters in many ways became part of the story they were reporting. Tom Wolfe, Gay Talese, and Norman Mailer were leaders in this genre. The style purportedly communicated what the “just the facts” of standard reporting couldn’t address.

While Didion was, in large part, an essayist who could be found in major publications, it’s likely that those who remember her are probably more familiar with her fiction, including Play It as it Lays and A Book of Common Prayer. Others remember her from her nonfiction book  The Year of Magical Thinking about her daughter’s illness and the death of her husband, author John Gregory Dunne (Crooning, Playland) in 2003.

If you want to know more about Joan Didion, McDonnell’s book is a worthy starting point that, according to Booklist is “Shaped by intellectual rigor and artistic grace … McDonnell’s portrait is vibrant, fluent, sensitive, and clarifying.”

—Malcolm