Outside, snow blanketed the backyard.
Here are some pictures of the remains on Tuesday:
Our backyard patio
Our statue all decked out for the holidays.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Let It SNOW!
The first snow of the Christmas season has arrived in town, with perfect timing too. Exams were scheduled for this week, but with several inches of snow and ice on Sunday we have managed to squeeze our way out of school on Monday AND Tuesday. Procrastination and nature at their finest!
Outside, snow blanketed the backyard.
Here are some pictures of the remains on Tuesday:
Our backyard patio
Our statue all decked out for the holidays.
Outside, snow blanketed the backyard.
Here are some pictures of the remains on Tuesday:
Our backyard patio
Our statue all decked out for the holidays.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
15 (20) authors that have influenced my life
A friend of mine recently posted a list of the 15 authors who have influenced him. His were mostly Latin American, in keeping with his profession, but here is my list off the top of my head (and in no particular order): I can't count, so I ended up with 20. Looking at this list, I recognize that authors/books read late in high school and early in college seem to be more influential in the development of my thinking than many read later in life. Maybe others will come to mind later.
1. Dostoyevsky--When I was young, mostly Crime and Punishment, the Idiot, and Notes from the Underground, but later the Brothers Karamazov probably became my favorite.
2. Leo Tolstoy-I didn't like War and Peace that much, but Resurrection and Anna Karina were both powerful and moving. Also his short story, "How much land does a man need?"
3. Mark Twain-when I was young, it was his short stories and Tom Sawyer, as I got a bit older Huckleberry Finn.
4. John Steinbeck-certainly Of Mice and Men was one of the first books were death seemed very real. I didn't read Grapes of Wrath until I was a graduate student, but oh my, what a book!
5. Robert Pirsig-his Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was probably my favorite book in high school and as an undergraduate. Quality stuff.
6. Ray Bradbury-Just recently re-read Fahrenheit 451, and loved it. When I was young, Dandelion Wine was probably the most influential.
7. Arthur Miller-By far my favorite playwright when I was young, with Death of a Salesmen being the primary reason, but I loved All My Sons and the Crucible nearly as well.
8. August Wilson-Another influential playwright in my late adolescence and early adulthood. Primarily for Fences and later The Piano Lesson.
9. Henrik Ibsen-Another playwright. Originally for Ghosts, one of my all time favorites plays. But then for A Doll's House, Enemy of the People, and for the bizarre Peer Gynt.
10. Ernest Hemingway-Old Man and the Sea still remains as one of the most powerful books that I have ever read. But Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and A Moveable Feast certainly still resonate.
11. Graham Greene-The Power and the Glory was pretty influential in high school, and The Quiet American in college.
12. Orson Scott Card-I read the original Ender's Game series early on during college (rather late for most Mormon boys, I know) and found Speaker for the Death quite moving. The notion of truly understanding the motivation for a person and speaking the truth about their strengths and failures still resonates with me.
13. Isaac Asimov- Primarily because of the Foundation Series and the thinking about what it takes to predict and control political forces and for the clever thoughts of behavior regulation in I, Robot.
14. Wallace Stegner-I only became aware of him in graduate school, but his writing about the West reshaped much of my thinking of the place I still think of as my home.
15. J.R.R Tolkien-Lord of the Rings is still one of my favorite books.
16. Toni Morrison-originally because of Beloved, but also Sula and the Song of Solomon.
17. Ralph Ellison-Invisible Man
18. Joseph Conrad-Heart of Darkness
19. Albert Camus-primarily because of the doctor character in the Plague
20. Charles Dickens- primarily for Tall of Two Cities, but also A Christmas Carol, both of which are powerful stories of redemption.
Others Hawthorne-the Scarlet Letter, Crane-Red Badge of Courage, Jack London-Call of the Wild, Walt Whitman-Leaves of Grass.
1. Dostoyevsky--When I was young, mostly Crime and Punishment, the Idiot, and Notes from the Underground, but later the Brothers Karamazov probably became my favorite.
2. Leo Tolstoy-I didn't like War and Peace that much, but Resurrection and Anna Karina were both powerful and moving. Also his short story, "How much land does a man need?"
3. Mark Twain-when I was young, it was his short stories and Tom Sawyer, as I got a bit older Huckleberry Finn.
4. John Steinbeck-certainly Of Mice and Men was one of the first books were death seemed very real. I didn't read Grapes of Wrath until I was a graduate student, but oh my, what a book!
5. Robert Pirsig-his Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was probably my favorite book in high school and as an undergraduate. Quality stuff.
6. Ray Bradbury-Just recently re-read Fahrenheit 451, and loved it. When I was young, Dandelion Wine was probably the most influential.
7. Arthur Miller-By far my favorite playwright when I was young, with Death of a Salesmen being the primary reason, but I loved All My Sons and the Crucible nearly as well.
8. August Wilson-Another influential playwright in my late adolescence and early adulthood. Primarily for Fences and later The Piano Lesson.
9. Henrik Ibsen-Another playwright. Originally for Ghosts, one of my all time favorites plays. But then for A Doll's House, Enemy of the People, and for the bizarre Peer Gynt.
10. Ernest Hemingway-Old Man and the Sea still remains as one of the most powerful books that I have ever read. But Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and A Moveable Feast certainly still resonate.
11. Graham Greene-The Power and the Glory was pretty influential in high school, and The Quiet American in college.
12. Orson Scott Card-I read the original Ender's Game series early on during college (rather late for most Mormon boys, I know) and found Speaker for the Death quite moving. The notion of truly understanding the motivation for a person and speaking the truth about their strengths and failures still resonates with me.
13. Isaac Asimov- Primarily because of the Foundation Series and the thinking about what it takes to predict and control political forces and for the clever thoughts of behavior regulation in I, Robot.
14. Wallace Stegner-I only became aware of him in graduate school, but his writing about the West reshaped much of my thinking of the place I still think of as my home.
15. J.R.R Tolkien-Lord of the Rings is still one of my favorite books.
16. Toni Morrison-originally because of Beloved, but also Sula and the Song of Solomon.
17. Ralph Ellison-Invisible Man
18. Joseph Conrad-Heart of Darkness
19. Albert Camus-primarily because of the doctor character in the Plague
20. Charles Dickens- primarily for Tall of Two Cities, but also A Christmas Carol, both of which are powerful stories of redemption.
Others Hawthorne-the Scarlet Letter, Crane-Red Badge of Courage, Jack London-Call of the Wild, Walt Whitman-Leaves of Grass.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Gettysburg
The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. ...
May 1863, after successful victories over the Army of the Potomac in Northern Virginia, General Robert E. Lee decides to end the war by invading Pennsylvania, destroying support infrastructure for the Union army, and thus sapping the will of the Northern States to continue their efforts to subdue the rebellion. His troops move unopposed and undetected through the Shenandoah Valley. Gen. Hooker, as always, is slow to respond, but finally begins moving Union troops to head off the invasion. He is relieved of command by President Lincoln. On June 30, 1863 Union Calvary General Buford, riding well in advance of the main Union forces, runs into elements of Confederate forces scavenging around Gettysburg for supplies and engages in brief skirmish. Early the next morning, July 1, Confederate Gen. Pettigrew decides to engage Buford troops to determine their size and strength. Buford men, reinforced by Reynolds troops, are slowly driven out of Gettyburg, but occupy and hold the large rolling hills including Culp's Hill southeast of the town. Throughout the day and into the night both Confederate and Union troops send hurried word to their main armies to move quickly before the other can gain the decisive advantage. Lee decides this is the place he can finish off the Union army and engages all his forces. General Hancock, the de facto commanding general in the field, decides this is the place the Union army must hold or perish. So suddenly, unexpectedly, the two armies are fully engaged.
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| Observation Tower from Confederate lines looking at Round Tops. We used it to watch for the Goates. |
On the morning of July 2, Confederate forces form a large arc coming from the northwest, while Union troops form a fishhook with Culp's Hill most northern position, and occupy Cemetery Ridge in the the center of the fishhook. Union Gen. Warren surveys the area, recognizes the vulnerability of the Union flank, sends a regiment to hold at all c occupy Little Round Top at their southern most flank. Confederate forces under Longstreet sweep through Devil's Den and the wheatfields at the lower slopes of the Round Tops and nearly completely surround the Union flanks at Little Round Top, but at the end of the day, the Union troops still possess the high ground thanks to the 20th Maine and Josh Chamberlain desperate bayonet counter charge. Thousands of men lie dead strewn everywhere on the battlefield.
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| ME looking out over Devil's Den from the crest of Big Round Top, the labyrinth of rocks that slowed the Confederate advance , but cost many lives to defend. |
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| Another view from Big Round Top |
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| Gen. Warren statue |
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| The Angle, point of the Confederate breakthrough. |
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| The copse of trees. Landmark used for Confederate advance. |
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| The open fields through which Pickett's men charged. |
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| The Pennsylvania Monument to Union Troops who defended the center line. |
23,000 Union troops are dead, wounded, or captured. About the same number of Confederate troops are casualties. As the Confederate troops retreat, the Union troops follow and the town of Gettysburg is left to bury the dead. The stench of death is everywhere. Many of the dead can not by identified. Confederate dead thrown together in large burial trench.
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| Some of headstones for Union Troops |
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| The monument Lincoln came to dedicate. |
I highly recommend the Museum for those 12 and over. Its a bit pricey to do the film, cyclorama, and museum, but we've been to lots of Civil War museums and few invest in telling the story of the conflict, not just the single battle, in the great detail of this one.
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| The girls sit with Abe. |
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| Photo of the cyclorama depicting Pickett's Charge. |  |
It is worth remembering Lincoln's earlier words:
| "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to "preserve, protect, and defend it." | |
| I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." |
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Why we went to Washington.
We had talked about a Washington D.C. trip during fall break last year, before JP band scheduled practices throughout the break. This year they didn’t have practiced schedule so we were debating whether we should. The deciding factor was a conversation I had with JA a few weeks ago, where I mentioned to her something about Thomas Jefferson and she looked at me blankly and said, “Who was Thomas Jefferson”. I probed deeper and found that she knew almost nothing about the Declaration of Independence, what the three branches of government were, or such. Now I had previously realized that we have horrible public schools here in Tennessee, but I had not realized how bad. So my mission was to teach her about the origins of our government and those who had shaped it for good or ill. So in my mind our trip became a four day civic lesson.
In the book store of the National Archives we picked up one of those President’s Brain Quest games that has lots of questions about various presidents and historical events. I am happy to report that now on our way home she can answer probably over 90% of them. So I feel our mission was accomplished.
An overview of what we did and saw.
National Art Gallery (East wing.
Sculpture Gardens.
Air and Space Museum (including a Wright Brothers glider, the Spirit of St. Louis, the Apollo 11 command module, Space Ship One.)
Competitive Kickball tournament.
US History Museum (including the Star-Spangled Banner).
Viet Nam War Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
Gettysburg Battlefield ( including the Visitor Center film, cyclorama, and Museum and stops at Big and Little Round Top, the Pennsylvania Memorial, the High Mark of Pickett’s Charge, and the Solider’s Monument where the Gettysburg Address was given.)
Shippensberg.
A Mennonite market (to pick up some extremely tasty apples).
Turkey Run State Park (for an emergency pit stop.)
U.S. Capitol building (which has a beautiful new visitor center.)
Library of Congress
Supreme Court (walked by only.)
National Archives (houses original copies of Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.)
Smithsonian Natural History Museum (including the Hope Diamond and lots of bones.)
Jefferson Memorial.
George Mason Memorial.
Trip up to top of Washington Memorial (except AM who is afraid of heights)
World War II Memorial
Some general travel tips we got out of it:
Expect to walk about five miles each day, probably good to get the kids prepped for this with regular work-outs carrying 10 pound packs.
In the fall, the Smithsonians and most other locations open at 10 am and close at 5:30 pm. Everything is much less crowded after the summer season, so it’s a much better time to go. Memorials are open until 9 pm (perhaps later in some cases.) so these are best visited in the evening or early morning.
All major sites require screening, which mostly consists of metal detector and bag x-ray. In general, small backpacks are allowed and you can bring unopened food and water bottles inside. U.S. capitol is more strict. Cameras are allowed everywhere, but there are some exhibits that one can not photograph. The Declaration and Constitution can no longer be photographed.
Making reservations for visits. You can get a better tour if your arrange with your Congressman for tours of the Capitol building or the White House, but this needs to be done 30-60 days in advance, so plan ahead.(We didn’t, so we didn’t get to go inside the White House but it will be in friendly hands for at least another two years.)
Hotels near the National Mall usually range from $200-$350 per night. Much cheaper to stay outside the beltway and commute in. It is slightly cheaper for a family to park in Washington D.C. than to take the Metro.All day parking on weekends is $10, and for weekdays is $18. Metro fares are $2.50 one way, for off hours and $5 for peak hours which is pretty much when you will be traveling. There is free 3 hr parking on the perimeter of the National Mall is you arrive promptly at 9:30 am (you can’t park before then). Might be available after 9:35 am if you are very lucky. Later on in the evening it might be possible to find spots as well.
We had talked about a Washington D.C. trip during fall break last year, before JP band scheduled practices throughout the break. This year they didn’t have practiced schedule so we were debating whether we should. The deciding factor was a conversation I had with JA a few weeks ago, where I mentioned to her something about Thomas Jefferson and she looked at me blankly and said, “Who was Thomas Jefferson”. I probed deeper and found that she knew almost nothing about the Declaration of Independence, what the three branches of government were, or such. Now I had previously realized that we have horrible public schools here in Tennessee, but I had not realized how bad. So my mission was to teach her about the origins of our government and those who had shaped it for good or ill. So in my mind our trip became a four day civic lesson.
In the book store of the National Archives we picked up one of those President’s Brain Quest games that has lots of questions about various presidents and historical events. I am happy to report that now on our way home she can answer probably over 90% of them. So I feel our mission was accomplished.
An overview of what we did and saw.
National Art Gallery (East wing.
Sculpture Gardens.
Air and Space Museum (including a Wright Brothers glider, the Spirit of St. Louis, the Apollo 11 command module, Space Ship One.)
Competitive Kickball tournament.
US History Museum (including the Star-Spangled Banner).
Viet Nam War Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
Gettysburg Battlefield ( including the Visitor Center film, cyclorama, and Museum and stops at Big and Little Round Top, the Pennsylvania Memorial, the High Mark of Pickett’s Charge, and the Solider’s Monument where the Gettysburg Address was given.)
Shippensberg.
A Mennonite market (to pick up some extremely tasty apples).
Turkey Run State Park (for an emergency pit stop.)
U.S. Capitol building (which has a beautiful new visitor center.)
Library of Congress
Supreme Court (walked by only.)
National Archives (houses original copies of Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.)
Smithsonian Natural History Museum (including the Hope Diamond and lots of bones.)
Jefferson Memorial.
George Mason Memorial.
Trip up to top of Washington Memorial (except AM who is afraid of heights)
World War II Memorial
Some general travel tips we got out of it:
Expect to walk about five miles each day, probably good to get the kids prepped for this with regular work-outs carrying 10 pound packs.
In the fall, the Smithsonians and most other locations open at 10 am and close at 5:30 pm. Everything is much less crowded after the summer season, so it’s a much better time to go. Memorials are open until 9 pm (perhaps later in some cases.) so these are best visited in the evening or early morning.
All major sites require screening, which mostly consists of metal detector and bag x-ray. In general, small backpacks are allowed and you can bring unopened food and water bottles inside. U.S. capitol is more strict. Cameras are allowed everywhere, but there are some exhibits that one can not photograph. The Declaration and Constitution can no longer be photographed.
Making reservations for visits. You can get a better tour if your arrange with your Congressman for tours of the Capitol building or the White House, but this needs to be done 30-60 days in advance, so plan ahead.(We didn’t, so we didn’t get to go inside the White House but it will be in friendly hands for at least another two years.)
Hotels near the National Mall usually range from $200-$350 per night. Much cheaper to stay outside the beltway and commute in. It is slightly cheaper for a family to park in Washington D.C. than to take the Metro.All day parking on weekends is $10, and for weekdays is $18. Metro fares are $2.50 one way, for off hours and $5 for peak hours which is pretty much when you will be traveling. There is free 3 hr parking on the perimeter of the National Mall is you arrive promptly at 9:30 am (you can’t park before then). Might be available after 9:35 am if you are very lucky. Later on in the evening it might be possible to find spots as well.
Visiting the Billy Goats Gruff
Some of our dear friends from TN relocated to Pennsylvania several years ago. Since we were in the neighborhood (sort of), we stopped by. We were suppose to meet them at their stake conference just outside of Gettysburg, but thanks to a very late start (not used to just having one shower and being on EDT) we just ended up meeting them at the battlefield. After a ranger-shortened picnic , (and after we toured the battlefield), we made the very scenic drive over to Shippensberg.
Ain't he a cutie. Hard to imagine that just last year he was battling cancer.
Superstar is getting pretty big as well!
An intense discussion on the merits of various iPod apps.
It such a pleasure to meet up with old friends.
Superstar is getting pretty big as well!
An intense discussion on the merits of various iPod apps.
It such a pleasure to meet up with old friends.
I'm Just A Bill
The new visitor's entrance to the US capitol. Much nicer than the old tent they used to use. The underground entrance was apparently the old metro station, no longer in use since 9/11. They have moved many of the statues previously in the old House of Representatives chamber (Statuary Hall). Also not so many guys standing around with M-16s like last time I visited in 2007. 
Some rather famous painting hang in the Rotunda. You know you've made history if your image makes it here. Almost as a high an honor is if you are allowed to lay in state here.
We took the secret tunnel from the Capitol to Congress's library...
And I still don't understand the filing system...
