I am in awe of how much I read in March. And in love. I felt like my brain was sparking and sparkling all month long. I do love to read and think. Now I need to figure out how to write more about these shiny new ideas.
My favorites from the month:
Seven Days in the Art World, by Sarah Thornton
Just Kids, by Patti Smith (both described here)
String, Felt, Thread: The Hierarchy of Art & Craft in American Art, by Elissa Auther
This one was where I first started feeling like I was waking up from a long sleep. Reading about art theory and criticism and understanding it, referencing the notes and the bibliography, realizing I had some of the books referenced already and then getting a bunch more for my birthday... it made me feel hungry. In the words of J.C. Brooks and the Uptown Sounds, "I want - what? More - what? More - what? More. I want some more!"
"Expeditions" (Milwaukee Art Museum)
This accompanied the exhibit of Isaac Julien's film pieces "True North", "Fantome Afrique", and "Western Union: Small Boats" at the Milwaukee Art Museum. We'd gone last summer (we love this museum) but with the kids, so I only got a quiet few minutes viewing "Western Union: Small Boats." I haven't seen much video art so had nothing to compare it to, but I loved standing in that room, hearing the sounds of the water and entraced by the images and wondering, what is being told here? When I saw this in the gift store I picked it up hoping I would learn more about the artist (I love buying exhibition catalogs as a souvenir of museum visits), and I did, but I was also impressed with the critical essays, and the way the photos were laid out gave a sense of the piece itself, the pace and the scale. I also have some new books to consider from the essay notes!
Bright's Passage, by Josh Ritter
Right from the beginning I was so concerned for the characters that I could barely read this. Except of course it is a breath-taking book. From his songs I knew he writes beautifully, and is skilled at story-telling, but I also knew he wouldn't necessarily keep us from heartbreak! In the end I had to peek ahead, just enough to see if I could stand to go on. And even then I was surprised - mark of a good storyteller again! I'm hoping we can go see him in concert at the end of the month. And I was very happy to see in a recent interview that he's at work on his second novel.
African Art (Taschen Books), by Stefan Eisenhofer.
Interesting introductory essay, detailing not the history of African art, but rather a brief history of Western engagement with African art (the pieces included here are ones that have been particularly valued by Westerners over time). And then the images were beautifully photographed with a short essay about what is known about them. I felt the image essays got repetetive after a while, and I wished for a resource list or even notes, but this definitely made me want to learn more.
Food & Faith: A Theology of Eating, by Norman Wirzba
Beautiful. I think for me the purpose of reading theology is to feast on thinking in new or fresh ways about God (or a reminder of valuable ways to think about God), which then opens me anew in how I orient myself to God. One biblical phrase I have been living by is from Romans 12: "Be transformed by the renewing of your minds" and this book is an expansive example of that. I have so much underlined here (and there are such a marvleous notes and bibliography) that I think this will continue to feed me for a long time. Funnily enough, I wouldn't say that I came away with much new about food or eating, perhaps because these are already concerns of mine, but with much, much new to think about the Trinity, the Eucharist, and kenosis theology.
And these were just the ones I thought were especially good (or especially likely to get me thinking/reading more)! April seems to be moving more in the direction of Africa, I've read a couple already though I've just started chewing on a dense book on modern art and three female artists.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
"I Choose Earth"
From Patti Smith's "Just Kids"
The artist seeks contact with his intuitive sense of the gods, but in order to create his work, he cannot stay in this seductive and incorporeal realm. He must return to the material world in order to do his work. It's the artist's responsibility to balance mystical communication and the labor of creation.
I left Mephistopheles, the angels, and the remnants of our handmade world, saying, "I choose Earth."
The artist seeks contact with his intuitive sense of the gods, but in order to create his work, he cannot stay in this seductive and incorporeal realm. He must return to the material world in order to do his work. It's the artist's responsibility to balance mystical communication and the labor of creation.
I left Mephistopheles, the angels, and the remnants of our handmade world, saying, "I choose Earth."
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Books to Read in March... (We'll See)
The author Nick Hornby used to have a column in Believer magazine where he listed which books he'd bought over the course of a month and which ones he'd actually read. These columns were collected into a series of books, which I own, and love, and which inspired me six years ago to start a journal of what I was reading. I don't keep elaborate track of my books, just writing down what I read in a given month and occasionally marking really good ones with a star. But it's interesting to look back at what I've read at a given time.
Do you have specific types of books for different times? (And am I the only one who derives pleasure in just gazing upon them, or in rearranging my bookshelves?) My day's reading goes like this: serious study on the way to work, books for work during the day, then lighter study or just pleasure reading on the way home (I'm particularly fond of memoir for lighter reading). Magazines or art books in the early evening if I get 5 minutes to myself, and then maybe 10 minutes of art books or devotional reading before bed. Graphic novels only when I have a day off to myself (so I can finish them in one sitting). With occasional novels or books about music for the odd evening spent reading instead of TV.* But nothing that will excite me too much since I need to stop for bed, especially since those nights are usually when The Dude is at rehearsal and it would be way too easy to stay up late.
Anyway, I've been keeping track of my reading on Goodreads lately, and while I like aspects of it, I'd rather be writing about them here. So here's what I'm currently reading, and hoping to finish by the end of the month.
Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton
String, Felt, Thread: The Hierarchy of Art and Craft in American Art by Elissa Auther
Destroy the Picture: Painting the Void, 1949-1962 by Paul Schimmel
Ah, my art books. I just finished the Thornton book, it was my "light" reading for on the way home. Fascinating stuff, each chapter was devoted to a separate section of the art world - the "world" however involving some aspect of commerce (or reaction against it) and so there was no separate section on art museums or art history except as they intersected with the other spheres (auctions, schools, fairs, prizes, magazines, biennales, and studios).
I just went for a brief visit to the exhibit "Destroy the Picture" at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art and since I got some birthday money I splurged and bought the exhibition catalog. So now that's supplanted the Auther book as my current art history/criticism book as I want to read it before visiting the exhibit again.
Radical Spirits: Spiritualism and Women's Rights in 19th Century America by Ann Braude
My "study" book for the month. I'm such a nerd, during this first part of the year when we have Black History Month, Women's History Month, and then Child Abuse Prevention Month all in a row, I read something related to each during that month (having the time frame also helps me focus on getting it finished). Last month I read an excellent book on Sojourner Truth (Sojourner Truth's America by Margaret Washington) and a comment in there got me interested in the connection between spiritualism and women's rights.
Honoring the Body: Meditations on a Christian Pratice by Stephanie Paulsell
Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating: Norman Wirzba
These two I'm reading as my Lenten study with a friend. I actually just finished the Paulsell book last week (we met to discuss it Friday). I read this years ago and thought it was fine but it didn't really speak that much to me then. Now, years later, with kids, and getting older, I found it much more meaningful. I don't know that I'll make any changes in my life as a result of reading it, but I thought it gave good language to some of my experience, and that is often useful.
Switch: How to Changes Things When Change Is Hard by Chip & Dan Heath
Listening to Olivia: Violence, Poverty, and Prostitution by Jody Raphael
Books I'm reading for work. Well, for myself, really, but I think they might be useful for my work (or maybe that's just wishful thinking) and so I read them when I need a break from the computer or the phone.
The Road to Assisi: The Essential Biography of St. Francis by Paul Sabatier
Selected Works from the Dayton Art Institute Permanent Collection (DAI)
These two are my current "just before bed" reading. I get into bed, read a little scripture, read a little from one of these, and turn off the light.
I've been working through the Dayton Art Institute book for months and imagine it will take months more. Mostly I read from whatever devotional book I'm working on instead. Often lives of the saints. This one is not so inspiring as they go, but I've started it, so now I'll finish it. One of the few biographies I've come across that is leaving me less interested in the person than I was when I started. Oh well.
Just Kids by Patti Smith
I gave this to The Dude last year and finally got around to reading it myself. Woah. Fabulous. So inspiring. There's so much I want to underline but it's not my book... I really wish this had been around when I wrote a college essay on Mapplethorpe because looking back I so clearly had no clue, but oh well. I feel that way about most of my college career (and have pretty much regretted it ever since).
*And before anyone points out that I could read any night instead of watching TV/DVDs, that is pretty much the only way The Dude and I get to spent time together on a regular basis. Luckily we both love movies and similar TV shows.
Do you have specific types of books for different times? (And am I the only one who derives pleasure in just gazing upon them, or in rearranging my bookshelves?) My day's reading goes like this: serious study on the way to work, books for work during the day, then lighter study or just pleasure reading on the way home (I'm particularly fond of memoir for lighter reading). Magazines or art books in the early evening if I get 5 minutes to myself, and then maybe 10 minutes of art books or devotional reading before bed. Graphic novels only when I have a day off to myself (so I can finish them in one sitting). With occasional novels or books about music for the odd evening spent reading instead of TV.* But nothing that will excite me too much since I need to stop for bed, especially since those nights are usually when The Dude is at rehearsal and it would be way too easy to stay up late.
Anyway, I've been keeping track of my reading on Goodreads lately, and while I like aspects of it, I'd rather be writing about them here. So here's what I'm currently reading, and hoping to finish by the end of the month.
Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton
String, Felt, Thread: The Hierarchy of Art and Craft in American Art by Elissa Auther
Destroy the Picture: Painting the Void, 1949-1962 by Paul Schimmel
Ah, my art books. I just finished the Thornton book, it was my "light" reading for on the way home. Fascinating stuff, each chapter was devoted to a separate section of the art world - the "world" however involving some aspect of commerce (or reaction against it) and so there was no separate section on art museums or art history except as they intersected with the other spheres (auctions, schools, fairs, prizes, magazines, biennales, and studios).
I just went for a brief visit to the exhibit "Destroy the Picture" at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art and since I got some birthday money I splurged and bought the exhibition catalog. So now that's supplanted the Auther book as my current art history/criticism book as I want to read it before visiting the exhibit again.
Radical Spirits: Spiritualism and Women's Rights in 19th Century America by Ann Braude
My "study" book for the month. I'm such a nerd, during this first part of the year when we have Black History Month, Women's History Month, and then Child Abuse Prevention Month all in a row, I read something related to each during that month (having the time frame also helps me focus on getting it finished). Last month I read an excellent book on Sojourner Truth (Sojourner Truth's America by Margaret Washington) and a comment in there got me interested in the connection between spiritualism and women's rights.
Honoring the Body: Meditations on a Christian Pratice by Stephanie Paulsell
Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating: Norman Wirzba
These two I'm reading as my Lenten study with a friend. I actually just finished the Paulsell book last week (we met to discuss it Friday). I read this years ago and thought it was fine but it didn't really speak that much to me then. Now, years later, with kids, and getting older, I found it much more meaningful. I don't know that I'll make any changes in my life as a result of reading it, but I thought it gave good language to some of my experience, and that is often useful.
Switch: How to Changes Things When Change Is Hard by Chip & Dan Heath
Listening to Olivia: Violence, Poverty, and Prostitution by Jody Raphael
Books I'm reading for work. Well, for myself, really, but I think they might be useful for my work (or maybe that's just wishful thinking) and so I read them when I need a break from the computer or the phone.
The Road to Assisi: The Essential Biography of St. Francis by Paul Sabatier
Selected Works from the Dayton Art Institute Permanent Collection (DAI)
These two are my current "just before bed" reading. I get into bed, read a little scripture, read a little from one of these, and turn off the light.
I've been working through the Dayton Art Institute book for months and imagine it will take months more. Mostly I read from whatever devotional book I'm working on instead. Often lives of the saints. This one is not so inspiring as they go, but I've started it, so now I'll finish it. One of the few biographies I've come across that is leaving me less interested in the person than I was when I started. Oh well.
Just Kids by Patti Smith
I gave this to The Dude last year and finally got around to reading it myself. Woah. Fabulous. So inspiring. There's so much I want to underline but it's not my book... I really wish this had been around when I wrote a college essay on Mapplethorpe because looking back I so clearly had no clue, but oh well. I feel that way about most of my college career (and have pretty much regretted it ever since).
*And before anyone points out that I could read any night instead of watching TV/DVDs, that is pretty much the only way The Dude and I get to spent time together on a regular basis. Luckily we both love movies and similar TV shows.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Racing Plans 2013
I've got my racing schedule for the year. Woo-hoo!
April 28: Ravenswood Run 5K.
This is in my neighborhood and benefits the community food/health program that runs out of my church.I have volunteered in different years and now run it two years in a row. I'm excited to support it again and take some time off last year's PR!
June 23: Chicago Women's Half Marathon
I ran this last year and had a great time. It was my first half marathon and convinced me that this is my sweet spot in terms of distance. (I had run this event before when it was the Fleet Feet Women's 5/10k Festival.) This one is also meaningful to me because it's connected to the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women campaign, an effort directed at educating women about the risks of heart disease, which is (still!) frequently thought to affect mostly men and has different (and more subtle) symptons in women. Heart disease runs through both sides of my family so this is a health issue "close to my heart", so to speak.
October 13: Chicago Marathon
A week later, and registration is still closed due to the technical problems with Active.com. But somehow I managed to get in during the three hours they were open last Tuesday.
Seriously, it makes no sense for me to do this, this year or anytime in the near future. I won't be able to train to the extent that I would really like to be able to. And yet...
Though it's not an official charity of the marathon, I will be raising funds for Chicago Lights, the non-profit arm of the church I work for that does amazing work in fighting poverty, specifically in the areas of education and literacy, and hunger and homelessness. I'll have more information about them as the year goes on.
So those are the ones I'm training for. I'll also run a couple for fun, probably the Elvis Is Alive 5K in August, the Run Against Traffick 5K in September, and then something in November/December, just so that my running season doesn't end with the marathon.
I gave serious, serious thought to getting a coach this year. For so many reasons. And I probably will in the future. But this year the money picture is just a bit too tight...
The other issue is that I can safely say that over the past four years, I've managed to keep to my training plan about, oh, one week in the month. If that. Between work and kids my schedule is not truly my own. And I think I would be frustrated to be paying for a coach and then unable to take her advice. Once they're old enough that I can leave the house in the morning and come back before breakfast, well, then it's a different story. By then we'll also only be paying one daycare fee and the money issue will be resolved. So, maybe in 2015... Which would be when I'd likely be itching to do another marathon again...
Happy running!
April 28: Ravenswood Run 5K.
This is in my neighborhood and benefits the community food/health program that runs out of my church.I have volunteered in different years and now run it two years in a row. I'm excited to support it again and take some time off last year's PR!
June 23: Chicago Women's Half Marathon
I ran this last year and had a great time. It was my first half marathon and convinced me that this is my sweet spot in terms of distance. (I had run this event before when it was the Fleet Feet Women's 5/10k Festival.) This one is also meaningful to me because it's connected to the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women campaign, an effort directed at educating women about the risks of heart disease, which is (still!) frequently thought to affect mostly men and has different (and more subtle) symptons in women. Heart disease runs through both sides of my family so this is a health issue "close to my heart", so to speak.
October 13: Chicago Marathon
A week later, and registration is still closed due to the technical problems with Active.com. But somehow I managed to get in during the three hours they were open last Tuesday.
Seriously, it makes no sense for me to do this, this year or anytime in the near future. I won't be able to train to the extent that I would really like to be able to. And yet...
Though it's not an official charity of the marathon, I will be raising funds for Chicago Lights, the non-profit arm of the church I work for that does amazing work in fighting poverty, specifically in the areas of education and literacy, and hunger and homelessness. I'll have more information about them as the year goes on.
So those are the ones I'm training for. I'll also run a couple for fun, probably the Elvis Is Alive 5K in August, the Run Against Traffick 5K in September, and then something in November/December, just so that my running season doesn't end with the marathon.
I gave serious, serious thought to getting a coach this year. For so many reasons. And I probably will in the future. But this year the money picture is just a bit too tight...
The other issue is that I can safely say that over the past four years, I've managed to keep to my training plan about, oh, one week in the month. If that. Between work and kids my schedule is not truly my own. And I think I would be frustrated to be paying for a coach and then unable to take her advice. Once they're old enough that I can leave the house in the morning and come back before breakfast, well, then it's a different story. By then we'll also only be paying one daycare fee and the money issue will be resolved. So, maybe in 2015... Which would be when I'd likely be itching to do another marathon again...
Happy running!
Thursday, January 24, 2013
More Random Notes
Love, love, love my new Garmin (Forerunner 10). I love being able to make up routes on the fly. I love being able to get accurate mile splits. I'm going to love keeping track of my pace as I go, once my tempo and speed runs are outside again (and occasionally run on the way to work). Plus, it's bright green.
I'm leaning back towards the FIRST method of marathon training (after seriously flirting with the Hanson method). More cross-training, fewer miles on the feet, an extra rest day each week. I think that will make up for the more frequent long runs that the FIRST method asks for.
It's neat to see my progress from when I first read the FIRST book, back when I was training for my first marathon. In the end I didn't use it because I wasn't where they recommend you be (in terms of mileage) before starting the training, and the cross-training components scared me a bit. But now, three years of running and cross-training later, there's nothing scary about it. Of course they're completely updated the book so I need to buy a new copy.
I had something cute to share about my children but in my sleep-deprived-and-cold-addled state I've forgotten what it was. Oh well. Trust me, it was adorable.
Oh, and we have a new cat. The Dude's sister is moving to Guatemala and needed a new home for her kitty, so now we have her. She is, of course, adorable, but is also 25 pounds of personality packed into 5 pounds of cat. Simon doesn't yet know what to make of her. I'll get some photos up of all the cuteness soon.
Up next: resolutions 2013.
I'm leaning back towards the FIRST method of marathon training (after seriously flirting with the Hanson method). More cross-training, fewer miles on the feet, an extra rest day each week. I think that will make up for the more frequent long runs that the FIRST method asks for.
It's neat to see my progress from when I first read the FIRST book, back when I was training for my first marathon. In the end I didn't use it because I wasn't where they recommend you be (in terms of mileage) before starting the training, and the cross-training components scared me a bit. But now, three years of running and cross-training later, there's nothing scary about it. Of course they're completely updated the book so I need to buy a new copy.
I had something cute to share about my children but in my sleep-deprived-and-cold-addled state I've forgotten what it was. Oh well. Trust me, it was adorable.
Oh, and we have a new cat. The Dude's sister is moving to Guatemala and needed a new home for her kitty, so now we have her. She is, of course, adorable, but is also 25 pounds of personality packed into 5 pounds of cat. Simon doesn't yet know what to make of her. I'll get some photos up of all the cuteness soon.
Up next: resolutions 2013.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Notes from a Month
Work, holidays, and sickness have disrupted, well, everything this last month.
- The baby's sleep schedule has been ridiculous, making everyone suffer. We've made a plan, though, and it seems to be working. Very happy for the return of Happy Goo!
- I've taken a break from serious training the last couple of months (so thankful that my training break coincides with the work/holiday/illness season each year). But am starting up again as I prepare for a 5K at the end of April and the marathon in October. Haven't decided yet if I'm going to do any significant races between them.
- Eating has been for sh-t, and it's been hard to claw my way back into better eating, especially as I'm not feeling inclined to be super restrictive right now (not that I necessarily recommend that, it's just easier to get back into better eating that way). But as I head back into training mode the food will likely follow.
- No sewing to report, though lots and lots of ideas have been flowing. Still thinking about a plan for the year (I seem to have the most consistency when I have a plan).
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
My Office Mate Thinks I Should Just Set Up A Cot
Remind me in the future not to plan to have a major multi-event building celebration at the same time as my annual gift drive (700+ kids) and fellowship group Christmas parties.
Oh, wait. I didn't. I just get to make them happen.
To quote a phrase I've been seeing around lately: "Le sigh."
Oh, wait. I didn't. I just get to make them happen.
To quote a phrase I've been seeing around lately: "Le sigh."
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