Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
What are U doing today?
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What are U doing today? (Ongoing thread)
Biography of Louisa May Alcott tonight on PBS, 9PM Eastern Time.
Katherine wrote: "Biography of Louisa May Alcott tonight on PBS, 9PM Eastern Time."Thanks,Katherine, I happened to catch that program, or at least the last part of it. It was on our PBS Channel 11, (HDTV 1811), WMHT. I learned so much about Alcott, including the fact that she once wrote under the pseudomym of A.M. Barnard.
The program was based on the book: _Louisa May Alcott The Woman Behind Little Women_ by Harriet Reisen. Below are excerpts from the Goodreads review of the book:
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"A vivid, energetic account of the life of Louisa May Alcott ... addresses all aspects of Alcott’s life: ... her family’s chronic economic difficulties and frequent uprootings; her experience as a nurse in the Civil War; the loss of her health and frequent recourse to opiates in search of relief from migraines, insomnia, and symptomatic pain.
"... details culled from Alcott’s journals; her ... letters to family, friends, publishers, and admiring readers; and the correspondence, journals, and recollections of her family, friends, and famous contemporaries provide the basis for this lively account of the author’s classic rags-to-riches tale.
"Alcott would become the equivalent of a multimillionaire in her lifetime based on the astounding sales of her books, leaving contemporaries like Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Henry James in the dust. This biography explores Alcott’s life in the context of her works, all of which are to some extent autobiographical. A fresh, modern take on this remarkable and prolific writer, who secretly authored pulp fiction, harbored radical abolitionist views, and completed heroic service as a Civil War nurse, Louisa May Alcott is in the end also the story of how the all-time beloved American classic Little Women came to be. This revelatory portrait will present the popular author as she was and as she has never been seen before."
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Alcott wrote compulsively. She was also motivated by her need to earn money.
Wiki says: "She also wrote passionate, fiery novels and sensation stories under the nom de plume A. M. Barnard." She also wrote stories for children.
I think the Alcott presentation sounds wonderful and wish I had seen it. But I do plan to read the book. I wonder if you have read, "Marsh?" It is fiction but I thought it was great. It also gives an insight to the Marsh family and I assume the research was accurate. nina
Nina wrote: "I think the Alcott presentation sounds wonderful and wish I had seen it. But I do plan to read the book. I wonder if you have read, "Marsh?" It is fiction but I thought it was great. It also gives ..."Nina, I couldn't find any links to _Marsh_. Is there a link?
Would it be spelled "March," like it is in Little Women?
Werner wrote: "Would it be spelled "March," like it is in Little Women?"Ah! Thank you, Werner! _March_ by Geraldine Brooks
Below is from the GR description:
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"From Louisa May Alcott’s beloved classic Little Women, Geraldine Brooks has animated the character of the absent father, March, and crafted a story ... ... Brooks follows March as he leaves behind his family to aid the Union cause in the Civil War. His experiences will utterly change his marriage and challenge his most ardently held beliefs. A lushly written, wholly original tale steeped in the details of another time, March secures Geraldine Brooks’s place as a renowned author of historical fiction."
Literary Awards - Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2006)
FROM: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...
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Today I'm waiting for the ball to come down at Times Square at midnight. Somehow it's always exciting, even if we're just sitting alone in our living room watching it on TV. Eddie and I always toast to the New Year with a cocktail and some hors d'oeuvres. My favorite New Year's cocktail is a Crown Royal Manhattan.I've posted my New Year greetings at a new thread here: ====>
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2...
Perhaps you'll have time to add your wishes there too. It's at the top of the "Discussions" page.
Just click on the link above.
Right now, I'm watching and listening to the New York Philharmonic New Year's Eve Concert, live from Lincoln Center. It's on WMHT PBS TV. A great way to spend New Year's Eve. The female musicians are all wearing beautiful gowns of all colors and the male musicians are wearing colorful bow-ties with their tuxedos. Beautiful blue bunting is draped on the stage and large blue glass globes are hanging over the stage. A lovely sight.Now they're singing Auld Lang Syne as the program ends.
The program repeats at: 10:00 PM - 12:00 PM.
Also from 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
PS-For more info about the New Year's Eve Concert, see:http://www.pbs.org/livefromlincolncen...
Excerpt:
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"The Philharmonic will play two seminal works in the American orchestral repertory: the Suite from Aaron Copland's ballet "Appalachian Spring" and George Gershwin's "An American in Paris." They will be joined by the newly-appointed first Artist-in-Residence of the orchestra, the great American baritone, Thomas Hampson, who will sing a group of Copland's settings of Old American Songs along with a collection of some of the greatest songs by Cole Porter."
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I checked the backups at work & they're fine. Yeah! I have the rest of the weekend off now.
Jim wrote: "I checked the backups at work & they're fine. Yeah! I have the rest of the weekend off now."Enjoy your weekend, Jim. I've been enjoying the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade on TV. I can't believe all the work that goes into those floats! The Travel Channel is still airing the parade.
PS-The Roses Parade includes many beautiful horses. The Travel Channel hosts explain the history and features of each type of horse going by. Very interesting.
P.S. Ooops, I was mistakenly posting using my alter-ego, Seadancer. I use that I.D. to test certain displays at Goodreads.
The Roses Parade hosts just explained about the beautiful Peruvian horses going by. They have an unusual gait.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peruvian...
EXCERPTS:
"The Peruvian Paso or Peruvian Horse is a breed of light pleasure saddle horse known for its smooth ride. It is distinguished by a natural, four-beat, lateral gait called the paso llano."
...
"Instead of a trot, the Peruvian Paso performs an ambling four beat gait between the walk and the canter. It is a lateral gait, in that it has four equal beats and is performed laterally — left hind, left fore, right hind, right fore."
...
"This characteristic gait was utilized for the purpose of covering long distances over a short period of time without tiring the horse or rider. The gait is natural and does not require extensive training. Purebred Peruvian Paso foals can be seen gaiting alongside their dams within a few hours of their birth."
...
The gait supplies essentially none of the vertical bounce that is characteristic of the trot, and hence posting (moving up and down with each of the horse's footfalls) is unnecessary. It is also very stable, as the execution of the gait means there are always two, and sometimes three, feet on the ground. Because the rider feels no strain or jolt, gaited horses such as the Peruvian Paso are often popular with riders who have back trouble."
...
"Breeders and judges look for Brio, often translated as 'spirit,' but this does not capture the complexity of the term. Brio describes a somewhat contradictory temperament, which combines arrogance, spirit, and the sense of always being on parade, with a willingness to please the rider. Brio is an intangible quality of controlled energy that creates a metamorphosis in ordinary-looking horses and is an important trait of the Peruvian Paso."
(You can see that our Jim of KY has stimulated my interest in horses.) (g)
I got a big pickup truck load of hay moved from the storage barn into the horse barn. I also got all the outside lights down & almost all the Xmas decorations put away.Erin doesn't know it, but tomorrow she should be getting a rolling pin made from Beech that came down in the ice storm last year with Brazilian Cherry handles. I'm trying fixed handles this time. We'll see how they work. I have some more Beech so I can make another if this one doesn't pass muster.
I also finished two books & spent a lot of 'quality' time with my Sony eReader.
Jim, I don't know how you can fit all that activity into one day! Our decorations usually stay up until sometime in February. I hate to put away that Christmas feeling and atmosphere. Besides it's a lot of work putting all our stuff out and then putting it away. :)
It just sounds like a lot, Joy. It was a pretty lazy day.
Jim wrote: "It just sounds like a lot, Joy. It was a pretty lazy day."I LOVE lazy days!
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A POEM BY RAYMOND CARVER:
"Loafing"
I looked into the room a moment ago,
and this is what I saw--
my chair in its place by the window,
the book turned facedown on the table.
And on the sill, the cigarette
left burning in its ashtray.
Malingerer! my uncle yelled at me
so long ago. He was right.
I've set aside time today,
same as every day,
for doing nothing at all.
-Raymond Carver, from All of Us: The Collected Poems. © Alfred A. Knopf
From Writer's Almanac for May 25, 2004
http://www.writersalmanac.org/
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I'm not doing much outside today. It's 4 freaking degrees out! 4! Ugh. I guess I'll go around & make sure outdoor spigots aren't frozen. I'll probably have to put a trashcan with a light over they hydrant by my shop.Brrr!!!
Four degrees! Brrr- is right! We have 12 degrees at our county airport.http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick....
Hope your horses are comfortable.
We're not supposed to get near the freezing mark for at least a week. Yuck. Mid 20's as the highs.
This will be a frigid week for us. We have 14 degrees right now.I notice it's unusually cold down south too.
Miami FL: 48 degrees right now.
Vero Beach: 39.9
Daytona Beach: 35.6
Myrtle Beach: 27.7
The temperature right now in Omaha is -12 and the wind chill is -29.I am staying right her in my house! But, it is a bit chilly even in here!
Mary JL wrote: "The temperature right now in Omaha is -12 and the wind chill is -29. I am staying right her in my house! But, it is a bit chilly even in here!"Brrr!!! It's hard for heating systems to keep up with such cold temps. Bundle up! Hope your pipes don't freeze.
Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Jim wrote: "It just sounds like a lot, Joy. It was a pretty lazy day."I LOVE lazy days!
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A POEM BY RAYMOND CARVER:
"Loafing"
I looked into t..."Loved the poem and here's one from a "Thank you," card from Ireland:
I am tired of planning and toiling
In the crowded hives of men;
Heart-weary of building and spoiling
And spoiling and building again.
And I long for the dear old river,
Where I dreamed my youth away;
For a dreamer lives forever
and a toiler dies in a day.
John Boyle O'Reilly(1840-1890) The Cry of the Dreamer
Mary JL wrote: "The temperature right now in Omaha is -12 and the wind chill is -29.I am staying right her in my house! But, it is a bit chilly even in here!"I am escaping to 70 degree San Diego tomorrow just in time to miss our Friday forcast of thirteen below zero; the coldest in twenty years here or longer. nina
Nina wrote: "Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Jim wrote: "It just sounds like a lot, Joy. It was a pretty lazy day."I LOVE lazy days!
A POEM BY RAYMON..."I sent the poem about the Dreamer but somehow can't get it to add my name even If I push EDIT so the poem was submitted by NINA, in case you are wondering.
JOY H; By a not very funny coincidence, they were working on the piples in the apartment next door.So far I am okay--just a little stir crazy from being in.
Interesting, as soon as you CAN'T get out easily, you think of lots of pleaces you need or want to go.
Nina, thank you for the apropos poem by John Boyle O'Reilly. I found the complete poem at the following webpage:https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/ht...
Enjoy every minute in San Diego!
Mary, read a book. Watch a movie. :)Looks like a good movie on TCM-TV right now (6:00 PM - 800 PM):
"A Thousand Clowns" (1965)
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/A_Thousa...
Stars Jason Robards, Barbara Harris, and Martin Balsam, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role.
Today we did a marathon of errands:-the post office
-the library
-the pharmacy
-the pet store
-Walmart's
It helps when Eddie drives and waits in the car with our dog, Romeo, who loves the ride.
At the library I picked up 2 books, which I'll mention in the reading thread.
Meanwhile, I'm in the middle of watching a Netflix DVD, which I'll mention in the movies thread.
Such a busy, exciting life... ...while Nina is off travelling from Kansas to San Diego! :)
We had another 7 inches of snow in Nebraska last night to go with the 18 inches already on the ground.The winds are now creating blowing and drifting snow , with a current wind chill index of -21!!!
Needless to say, I will be in the house all day--I am not goingout in this for anything!
Well, at least I am getting some things done In the house!
Mary JL wrote: "We had another 7 inches of snow in Nebraska last night to go with the 18 inches already on the ground. The winds are now creating blowing and drifting snow , with a current wind chill index of -21!!! ..."Mary, that sounds like mighty rough weather.
Try to enjoy your cozy stay indoors.
Make lemonade out of lemons. :)
Hope you have some good books you can get caught up in.
Joy: Yes, one of the delights of having a large TBR pile is I will not run out very soon.Plus, of course you can ALWAYS re-read old favorites, can't you!
If the forecasters are correct--we are all hoping, by Sunday the winds will drop significatly and we will all fee better!
Mary, on NPR radio just now, I heard them mention the terrible weather in Nebraska. Hope you have found a good book you can curl up with.One time in the newspaper, I found what must have been a misprint... it said: "Curl up with a good cook."
I came home from work at 11. We had under an inch then. Now we have a couple of inches of snow & it's falling faster & thicker than ever. Normally I'd be on my way home right now. Glad I'm not. It was bad enough 4 hours ago. The commute home is going to be UGLY.
Jim, good thing you left work early.Glad you're safe and sound.
I've got two really good books going.
What more could one ask?
Today I feel as if I could stay home forever.
That's what winter does!
I'm heading out to the shop now to continue to work on a new case for my Sony Ereader. The one it came with is OK, but it has two issues that bug me. The first is that if I close the cover & it is on, buttons can be pushed. It turns on & off quickly through a switch on the top, so this isn't a big deal, though.The second issue is a bigger deal. It is hinged so that the reader sits on the right hand side when you open the cover. I keep a notepad stuck to the opposite side & that means when I try to write, I have to cross my arm over the Ereader, covering it as I jot notes. Or I could put the note pad behind the reader, but either way, I still can't see both the reader's text & my notes at the same time comfortably.
I'm going to try to make a wooden cover that will let me mount it on the left side, which will solve the problem. We'll see how it comes out. It needs to be really thin or it gets too bulky. That makes attaching catches & hinges a problem, though. Finishing it with clear epoxy should help toughen it up, though.
Jim wrote: "I'm heading out to the shop now to continue to work on a new case for my Sony Ereader. The one it came with is OK, but it has two issues that bug me. The first is that if I close the cover & it i..."Jim, sounds like you're inventing something very useful. You're "ironing out the kinks".
We all like to have something handy for jotting things down easily as we read. My entire end table is dedicated to that feat! What a mess! :)
I use one of these leather book weights to hold the pages open while I copy from the book:
http://www.amazon.com/PhotoFramesPlus...
My uncle once designed an ashcan he could use when dumping ashes from his indoor fireplace with a shovel. The ashcan was designed so that all the black ash would be confined to the ash can and not fly around the room as he dumped the shovel. He was so proud of his invention. Anyway, he soon moved from the snowy Catskill Mts of NY to Florida where he didn't need a fireplace. LOL
Today I'm wishing a Happy Birthday to Jackie!
Happy Birthday and many more! Best wishes, Joy
Happy birthday, Jackie! Just remember, even at your age, it's better than the alternative.
;-)
Great looking cake! Have a lovely day, Jackie.
Thank you Joy! That was very sweet. My boys better get me a cake. It's next week but I'll celebrate any chance I can get. Jim, you got that right, LOL
Yes, Jackie, we all wish you a wonderful birthday, and a very happy coming year! Hope the latter is filled with family, friends, and lots of good reading (and movies).I'm back online (yay!), though $70.00 poorer. :-) I did learn a tip on Internet safety --if a program you didn't initiate (or supposedly one you're already running --virus-bearing programs can disguise themselves as your ISP, for instance, something I didn't realize before) requests access to your computer, "just say no!"
Congrats on getting the computer fixed, Werner.
Welcome back, Werner!Sometimes windows pop up on my screen with requests from Mozilla Firefox to allow updates. I hope they are all legitimate.
Thanks, Werner. Glad you got your computer straightened out.
If you're ever unsure of a popup window (Firefox updates are OK) close it by pressing Alt F4 (hold down the Alt key & tap the F4 key). Do NOT click on 'Yes' or 'No' or even the little 'X' at the top right corner. Any of those can actually run the program. Clicking any where in the window can let the program run. Alt F4 is a keyboard shortcut that closes the active window. Alt Tab allows you to choose the active window with out using a mouse.
There is a 'Windows Pro' or 'Windows Virus Scan 2009' (date can change) that is especially horrible. Clicking anywhere on any of the windows installs it & then it takes an expert to get rid of it. If you Alt F4 out of it & close the browser, you're usually OK, though.
A lot of these bad things come at you through the ads on web pages. I generally avoid the site for a day or so after hitting one, but it is really a crap shoot. One infected ad out of 100 isn't unusual & since they're often random, that means most sites are pretty safe. I got one at IMDB a few weeks ago & haven't been bothered since, for instance.
Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
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There's so much to learn! This personal tutoring is invaluable. I couldn't function without it, especially with all the lastest changes constantly happening in the computer world. Things seem to get more complicated all the time.