Strange Words

Did you ever notice that the word "latchstring" has six consecutive consonants? What a stellar segue into...I am looking for an English word with a Colyer Consonant Rating of better than 13. First, let me explain:

A friend from my Iowa State days, Josh Colyer, was in his usual state of deep reflection when he suddenly became irrationally excited about a formula:

CCR = X/v + Y,

where 'CCR' stands for the Colyer Consonant Rating, 'X' is the total number of consonants in the word, 'v' is the total number of vowels, and 'Y' is the longest run of continuous consonants. The earth-shaking ramifications of this breakthrough formula are, well, none. It was just an attempt to quantify seemingly "odd", consonant-rich English words. But for the next week at Alpha Sigma Phi, everyone was quite entertained in the attempt to find the highest-scoring word. Some of the respectable submissions were:

schticks [CCR = 7/1 + 4 = 11]
borschts [CCR = 7/1 + 6 = 13]
strengths [CCR = 8/1 + 5 = 13]
twelfths [CCR = 7/1 + 5 = 12]
angsts [CCR = 5/1 + 5 = 10]

I also found another questionable spelling of the Russian beet soup, "borschtsch", but is it English? The general selection guidelines are [1] proper names shall not be submitted, and [2] the Oxford English Dictionary shall have the final word.

Video Test

Violet's tongue trick, compliments of a Samsung M510 cellphone.

John Adams by McCullough

It has been some time since affording myself the leisure to sink my teeth into a good book. More correctly, now that we've made our TV "disappear," I've had more time in the evenings to read.

History has never been my strong suit. But perhaps this stems from the lack of exposure to great biographies [like this one]. As a result of carefully plodding through "John Adams", I'm enjoying an improved understanding of the events leading up to 1776, the American revolution, and American politics through the 2nd presidency. This tome has fostered my appreciation for Adams' philosophy of government, his devotion to liberty, and his affection for simple living.

At many points in the text, I felt frustration. His duty to public service, which, when asked for was always rendered, demanded much sacrifice. Long periods of his life kept him away from the most important people in his life, his wife and family. Bitter separations and joyful reunions were constantly recurring themes. Ever introspective, Adams' also recognized his weaknesses of vanity and ambition. But I believe it to be a deeply-entrenched sense of duty to God--and not these particular vices--that was his driving motivation. He was placed in a unique position in history and society in order to make the world for his children, and childrens' children, a better place.

I was impressed by Adams' own letter-writing and journaling, which is considered a national treasure. The "art" of it is mostly lost in today's world of instant-messaging, wireless handsets and e-mail. In numerous excerpts referenced in the biography, we get an intimate look at Adams' personal struggles, his sharp reasoning, and his education--both deep and broad by today's standards. But it is especially in his correspondence with Abigail, that we see the tender love and depedence on one another that they shared. Their tireless attempts to connect with each other on paper, when unable to be with one another in person, is a challenge to me. How often do I take my relationship with Sara for granted?

My mind being what it is, I read "John Adams" side-by-side with my trusty Merriam-Webster's dictionary. Despite the risk that I embarass myself for listing words that everyone else already uses on a regular basis, I'll share a few that I struggled with:

argosy -- a large merchant ship, or fleet of merchant ships
calumny -- a misrepresentation spoken to damage one's reputation or slander one's character
erudite -- well-learned, eloquent, bookish
epicurean -- philosophy of giving oneself to "fine tastes", sensuality, or living to please one's senses
avarice -- excessive, disgusting greediness for money
vizard -- a disguise, guise, mask
aphorism -- a concise statement of a principle, truth, or sentiment; a maxim
foldorol -- a useless ornament or accessory; a trifle; nonsense
intriguer -- a cheater, an entangler; one who tricks
allay -- to subdue or reduce in severity; to alleviate
probity -- an adherence to highest principles and ideals

And best of all--never again in a political discussion will I let slide the vital distinction between "democracy" and "republic."

Harry Potter Reviewed

I just finished the Harry Potter series and thought I would do a book review.
I read the first one several years ago now, and didn't read anymore after that until roughly a week ago. Then I zoomed through the last six (required reading level=6th grade), and thought to write out my thoughts since there's been so much controversy surrounding these books.

Initially I was reluctant to read these books. I have to admit the main reason was sheer snobbery. I figured if everyone in the world and their uncle liked these books then they must be over-hyped rubbish (which isn't the case).

My personal disclaimer would be this: Around book 4, the characters are becoming teenagers and the content is more suited to young adults rather than the age 9-12 bracket the first three books were meant for.
In books 4-7 the mood is darker and the stakes are higher as the battle between good and evil ramps up, so aside from the teenage hormones and occasional mild cursing, there is some dark and violent content that could be quite frightening for younger children. The series as a whole I think is more suited for children age 12 and up.

The basic plot is about an orphan boy named Harry Potter. He lives with his aunt, uncle, and cousin, who mistreat and abuse him. At the age of ten, he finds out that he is a wizard which explains why odd things are always happening around him, and he is sent off to Hogwarts, a school for magical children.

At Hogwarts he is already famous because of the reason that he was orphaned. As a baby, a very dark and powerful wizard named Voldemort tried to kill him, and his parents died trying to protect him. The dark wizards "killing curse" backfired upon himself for some mysterious reason, nearly obliterating him physically.
Harry is the only known person to ever survive the killing curse, and is celebrated because he survived and also because he inadvertently brought about the downfall of the dark and evil Voldemort.

However Voldemort was not completely destroyed and through the rest of the series he attempts to regain physical strength, power and control, and revenge upon Harry Potter.

A lot of people (so I've heard) have objected to these books on the basis that books talk about magic and accordingly those who practice it are called "witches" and "wizards", and is therefore too close to pagan reality to be safe for children to read. I don't know much about how witchcraft in the real world works, so I have no idea if any of the details in the book line up with real pagan practices (I find it hard to believe that they would), however to me this was just a very well-written fantasy story.

It's true that children's minds are more susceptible to believing whatever they read, but if we were to always act according to that fear, as parents, I suppose we would only allow our children to read non-fiction.
I think with adult discussion and guidance the concepts brought forth in this series would provide hours of wonderful conversation for parents and children.

Even the most obtuse child would probably understand that magic, in the Harry Potter sense, isn't real.

Elves don't exist, neither do orcs, hobbits, talking animals, or magical wardrobes, but there *IS* an epic battle between good and evil raging in our world, and even within ourselves. This is the part of the book to discuss with your children. What it means to be brave and courageous, to have conviction and to be loyal, to know pain and sacrifice and to love in a world where there is both good and evil.

Those themes crop up plenty in this series.

The other objection one might have to the series is that shortly after the final installation was complete, Rowling came out of nowhere and whacked people everywhere with the knowledge that Dumbeldore, one of the main fatherly figures in the books, is gay.

She can say whatever she wants, but it's not written into the story.
I'm not sure why she felt the need to declare this. Making a statement about one of the characters supposed sexuality seems utterly superfluous and completely political. Please. Outing a fictional character after the fact? It seems pretty silly to me.

It's not important to the storyline whether he is or isn't (there is not even a whiff of a romance sub-plot involving Dumbeldore), and there isn't a single hint (even a very sly and subtle one) that points to him being gay. And I looked carefully, fully expecting to find one.

Aside from the political and personal views of the author, there is very little about this series to be offended about, in my humble opinion.

As far as the literary quality, I would have to say it is very good. There are enough characters to rival "Lord of the Rings" and almost all are marvelously well written. My favorite being the mysterious Severus Snape.
Rowling has created an engaging and fascinating, magical world.
Even now, I feel a mixture of awe and envy at the amazing alternate reality that she managed to weave together in this series.
Truly, our ability to create and imagine is an amazing gift from God. I am reminded of this every time I read a good book :)

I will say I was a tad disappointed with the last book. I know the pressure must have been great when she sat down to write the final book, and there were about a million loose ends to tie up, so all in all she did an amazing job, but I couldn't help feeling a little bit unsettled when I finished.

I think Rowling may have got a little in over her head, and the final wrap ups/show down were too complicated, as evidenced by the fact that they required a lot of out-loud monologuing so that, we, the reader could understand what was happening. Some of the characters started acting out of character, new stuff was introduced that unnecessarily complicated and clouded the main issues, and the story was starting to stretch the bounds of believability (that is, the bounds in the world she had created). Conversely, (and ironically) the epilogue was so simple and cliched that it was almost deflating.

I will have no problem with my kids reading this series after age 10, as long as we can talk about it as they go through it.
Honestly, I think I'll have a harder time discussing the concept of teenage dating, then trying to teach them that magic isn't real.

When all is said and done, it was very good series and well worth reading--as long as fiction is worth reading (and I happen to believe it is).
Life sure would be dull without the ability to dream or imagine.

John Adams on ...

On investing:

"I had heard my father say that he never knew a piece of land run away or break."

On the limits of government:

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

On republic:

"They define a republic to be a government of laws, and not of men."

On democracy:

"Democracy ... while it lasts is more bloody than either aristrocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."

On training children:

"It should be your care, therefore, and mine, to elevate the minds of our children and exalt their courage; to accelerate and animate their industry and activity; to excite in them an habitual contempt of meanness, abhorrence of injustice and inhumanity, and an ambition to excel in every capacity, faculty, and virtue. If we suffer their minds to grovel and creep in infancy, they will grovel all their lives."

On the corrupting influence of power:

"Because power corrupts, society's demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases."

Staking Tomatoes

I wish I could be on the victorious end of this conversation and post about my "success", or give a great tutorial, but I can't!!! I'm at the very messy beginning.

The long story made short: my kids are driving me up the wall!! Absolutely crazy. With disobedience, and with the plain old, irritating things that kids do that drive adults nuts. Plus, there's four of them, so quadruple the screaming, the constant "I wants" and "I needs" (the absolute worst is the "I'm hungry" 's that I hear 50 million times a day, what do these kids need, their own grocery store?).

Also, you can quadruple the guilt I feel, for not always addressing these needs and correcting the disobedience with the utmost of self-control.

Okay, so I've got roughly an hour long window each day to figure out the answers to all of the questions of life. (that would be naptime)

After a lot of praying (and some kicking and screaming) on my part I've decided that my kids are driving me nuts, not because I'm spending too much time with them, but rather because I'm not spending enough time with them.
I'm not sure I entirely belive this, but I guess I'm going to find out.

I have removed our TV from the living room and put it in a place where it is very unlikely to be retrieved (I'm counting on my own laziness here).
I have three methods for losing my kids when I have something I need to get done: the most reliable is the TV, then there's always the play-room in the basement, and if all else fails, forced outdoor play.

But there's always something that needs to be done, and the TV is the one that I feel the most guilt about, because it's obviously altering their toddler brains, and later on I get whatever one-liners they learned from their favorite movies (When I get: "Don't you shush me." in a very sassy black-lady from the Bronx voice, who is there to blame except myself? Maybe, Dreamworks for making the dumb movie...).

An Anology I can be Excited About

Staking tomatoes (raisinggodlytomatoes.com). We just staked our tomatoes last week. We drove a big bar in the ground really really far so it wouldn't sway around in the wind, and tied our tomatoes to it with flexible pantyhose.
So, I'm the bar (grounded in God's word), the kids are the tomatoes.

And I know, it isn't in the original analogy, but let me just speculate that maybe the pantyhose could stand for flexibility for each individual tomato plant, grace or mercy, or something like that.

Pantyhose=grace.

So, I read nearly every article on that site, and took this away: if I want my kids to obey consistently, I need to correct them consistently, and to correct them consistently I need to be around them 100% of the time.
I.e. If I don't want my kids to go all "Lord of the Flies" on me, I should not leave them alone to act like little savages so much.

Sheesh. Sounds more obvious than it is.

I don't know how we're going to make it through the day without TV. But I feel encouraged by that one statistic I found through Google that said that most parents find their kids easier to manage without TV. So um...yeah. I feel a lot better.

At least season five of Lost isn't coming out for a while....

So, here we go, kids...in the words of Elvis:

I'm gonna stick like glue, stick because I'm stuck on you.

Growing Children and a Growing Garden

June 16 was Jude's 2nd birthday. I just can't believe how messed up my sense of time is! I looked at Jude on his birthday and I thought "I cannnot believe he is already 2, but wait....shouldn't he be older?"

Sadie helped make the cake, which we all enjoyed. Not the most beautiful cake, it fell apart on us, however that did not affect the chocolately goodness.

The garden is growing, and everything is up. Now to fight off the weeds and the rabbits.
I'm starting to feel like I'm in "Wallace and Gromit and the Were-Rabbit".

I hate those bunnies and their "anti-social, veg-ravaging behaviour".

1 of 5 apples that we *might* harvest this year.

8 plots of vegetable goodness.

Perfectly formed lettuce amongst the onions.

Zucchini.

Corn!

Have you ever seen a potato flower? I hadn't until this last week. They are actually quite pretty.

Here is our Judah, just a few days old.

Baby model.

Almost 1, how the time flies!

Our happy boy. What a joy he has been! Your laughter is contagious! And boy, do you laugh hard!

Happy Birthday, Jude. Dig in!

2 years old!