Ron > Recent Status Updates

Another observation: It may seem like everything in the Old Testament is punishable by death, but entire generations would go by without an execution. The listed penalty only applied if all the rules were followed, e.g., a murderer states his intent, was warned of the penalty for said crime, and still did so in front of multiple witnesses. Didn't happen that often. Whippings and civil penalties were far more common.

Parts III and IV (I'm just starting on IV) are sort of an interpretation of how the Torah translates into ordinary Jewish life. These are the holidays, these are the important observances, here's the sort of work you're not supposed to do on the Sabbath, here's why we don't eat bread during Passover. Interesting from a cultural perspective, but it's more like Judaism for Dummies.

Through Leviticus. Lots of stuff about building the Tabernacle, setting it up, moving it, conducting services, what to sacrifice for various purposes, taxes, courts, contagious diseases, etc. etc. etc. On to Numbers, which opens with a census (yay?) but hopefully we'll start moving toward the Holy Land again.

(page number est.) Mikael's still reading the paperwork, Erika took a break from brooding and decided to come visit. Lisabeth's trying to put up with her new social worker, and it sounds like she might have a new job or something. Good atmosphere and interesting characters, but not a lot has happened in the last 40-50 pages.

(page number est.)
I've been told that the book is a bit dull at the beginning, but really picks up in the second half. So far, I'm really enjoying the atmosphere and character building, so this may turn out to be a really fun read. Mikael's taken the job and getting settled in at Hedeby. Lisbeth was just told to shelve the Wennerstrom job, but she seems too intrigued to simply drop it.

Another key point: understand and be clear with others about why you're having this meeting. What information needs to be shared, and what dialogue needs to happen? If you're not sharing information, or you don't need a multidirectional conversation, maybe a meeting isn't necessary.

A lot of this stuff comes down to clear communication and allowing autonomy. Help the attendees learn what the problem is rather than just telling them. Get their ideas about how the future should be, and be upfront about how much their input matters. Finally, be clear about your expectations; what is everybody supposed to do before the next meeting? Are they feeling valued? What can you do if they aren't?

The meetings at my office aren't that bad, but if I ever want to move into a management role, it's good to understand the principles behind a good meeting. TLDR so far: If employees don't care, if they don't feel like their opinions matter, they may as well not be there. Take some time at the beginning to get them involved and it'll pay off later.

Through Part I, chugging along on Part II. These still aren't action-packed books, and it seems like the ending to each story is sort of a deus ex machina, but it's at least somewhat entertaining. Again, reading this is like watching "Seinfeld". Compared to modern comedy, it's just okay. You have to temporarily forget about everything that's come after it so you can give it a fair trial.

It seems the author's as sick of the Israelites' crap as I am. They hear that the Promised land is awesome but populated by giants, and "As was their practice, they complained to Moses and told him that they wished they had never left Egypt. They wanted to know why God would bring them to a place where they would be killed, and they even considered deposing Moses, appointing a new leader, and going back to Egypt!"

In chapter 7, recapping the book of Numbers. This book isn't quite what I'd hoped for; I wanted something to highlight overlooked elements or provide interesting interpretations, but so far it's mostly a recap, and later chapters appear to be "how to be a good Jew." The author says several times that every word and letter is rich with meaning, but rarely gives examples.

(2/2) This is one reason I've heard for why the Israelites were made to roam the wilderness for 40 years. It allowed for a new generation to be born who weren't still living in that slave mindset. Also, everything the new generation had received since birth was visibly and literally given to them by the Lord, so they were willing to accept His decisions instead of demanding, challenging, or whining.

Up to Exodus 20, the Fifteen... uh, Ten Commandments. It really bugs me how whiny the Israelites are. They're walking behind a pillar of fire sent by the Lord and miracles happen left and right, but every time they run into the slightest trouble they wail and moan about how they've been left to die. (1/2)

The author and her mother have moved to America, and then in 1987 Gorbachev opened the borders somewhat, allowing the occasional visit back and forth. If only they knew how much things would change in the next few years.

If you only read the literal words, the Bible is just a bunch of pointless stories from eons ago, but like any great book, there's plenty of subtext. While we're all free to (and in many traditions encouraged to) arrive at our own understanding of the Bible, I think it's helpful to consult a scholarly interpretation for ideas. So far I've read Chapters 1-2, which are mostly overview and a few principles of Judaism.

Also, there are indications of a polytheistic worldview. Other gods are treated as real, even by Him; when He says not to worship other gods, He doesn't say they're false, but that He is a jealous god. Jealous of Whom? Also, three times He speaks in the plural, like Gen 1:26, "Let Us make man in Our image"(NKJV). This has a few interpretations: http://www.hebrew-streams.org/works/m...

Done with Job, starting on Exodus (33/365 readings done, on pace). One thing that strikes me about the Exodus story is how God "hardened Pharaoh's heart" to make him refuse Moses' requests, and then He drops all these plagues on Egypt. He says it's deliberate to demonstrate his strength, but why override someone's free will and then punish them for what you made him do?

Up to "The Thaw" of the 1960s. Though this era is known for clashes like Vietnam and the Cuban Missile Crisis, tensions were actually kind of dying down from WWII levels, and some limited cultural exchange was allowed between our countries. People also got individual apartments, and threats of imprisonment were far less than in Lenin and Stalin's times, allowing certain dissident elements to grow bolder.

Most of the way through Job (27/365 readings done, 5 days behind). Last time I read this, I was told to only read chapters 1, 2, and 42. That's because the middle 39 chapters are Job and his "friends" debating whether he deserved what happened to him and how to move forward. It's pretty dull, even for the Bible. If you're going to read it, get a colloquial translation like "The Message" and keep it handy.

Through the book of Genesis; Job's next. People talk about how the Bible was cribbed from earlier stories like the Epic of Gilgamesh, but that's only really true of Genesis. Legend has it that, while writing about the Exodus, Moses also assembled Genesis from oral legends so the Israelites would have some kind of historic record. Anyway, I'm still ten days behind, but if I keep moving I'll soon be caught up.

Today's chapters covered WWII, including the family's experience in the Siege of Leningrad. Struggle can bring out the best in us, but just as often it brings out the worst. There are obvious examples, like Hitler's plan to starve the Soviets into submission, but we could also talk about the dozens of people who stole food from a little girl's hands, knowing that could mean death for the girl and her whole family.

Also, people who say "The modern world is just like '1984'" either have never actually read '1984', or they need to read von Bremzen's book. Stalin-era surveillance and repression was of a completely different magnitude than anything happening in the West today.

The last few sections mostly focused on the food scene of the period between Revolution and WWII, when the USSR was at least somewhat open to capitalist ideas (though they knew they could do it better). For example, many of the treats that Soviet people enjoyed, like sausages, grilled meats, and ice cream treats, were based on products and processes Anastas Mikoyan and his wife saw during a trip to the USA in 1936.

The story can be hard to follow since it jumps between the present and several pasts, but there are some hard-hitting moments. She mentions the propagandized image of Stalin holding a happy child, but as with so much of the Soviet era, things could turn dark very quickly. The child's father was later accused of treason, and "the poster child of the ideal Stalinist childhood was deported and raised in an orphanage."

Favorite part so far: several years into the USSR era, Lenin (who was legendary for embracing bland food) led an inquiry into why the food from the Kremlin kitchen was so bad. Turned out the cooks didn't know how to cook. The Soviets kicked the Imperial chefs out for being part of the bourgeois establishment, and instead hired guys off the street with no particular expertise or interest in cooking.

Got caught up in "Foundation" this weekend, fell further behind schedule on the Bible. Twenty-five days into the year, I'm only through ten readings. As long as I get moving now, it shouldn't be too bad. I can get caught up by Feb. 10 by doubling up on the readings. The really tedious stuff is still ahead, so I need to focus on building a habit so I don't quit halfway through Deuteronomy and its hundreds of laws.

Part 1 was okay. Like previous stories, this ended not with a big conflict, but with a paragraph explaining how market forces perfectly and calmly resolved everything offscreen (seriously, nobody decides to go out in a blaze of glory or "take the bastards with me"?) Part 2 is on a similar path; I'm starting to enjoy the storyline, much more so than previous stories, but I know better than to expect a big finish.

Haven't moved on this in two days. I'm not terribly motivated to keep going, but I'm not even up to 10% yet, so I should really give it a chance.

I'm up to Genesis 28-29, wherein Esau goes to his uncle's house looking for a wife (not judging). I already read parts of this in November, but now we're getting into the side stories as well. In the abbreviated reading, after Hagar and Ishmael were sent out of Abraham's camp, they just sort of dropped off the map. Now we see that Ishmael turned out okay and has a tribe of his own.

I picked this one up on a whim. How can you not love a title like that? The book's description suggests it's part memoir, part "A People's History of the Soviet Union." Through three generations' experiences, von Bremzen presents a portrait of Soviet life as it was for the common folk.