Planning a trip to a National Park this summer? or Want to enjoy some of the natural beauty from afar? Check out University of Iowa Digital Library’s collection of thousands of images of U.S. National Parks taken by University of Iowa Geosciences Department (http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/geoscience/). You can browse the entire collection or search for a specific park, landmark, or natural formation. Here are a few of my favorites I found by searching for flowers and lake respectively:
The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
One decision can alter a life forever – turning left instead of right, stopping instead of going straight home, holding onto a piece of information. That a life can be saved or shattered by the smallest gestures is movingly illustrated in The Postmistress by Sarah Blake.
Set during the early stages of World War II when London is staggering under the relentless German bombing from the Blitz and America is teetering on the verge of entering the war, The Postmistress looks at how simple decisions change and connect the lives of three women. Frankie works for Edward R Murrow in London, reporting on how the bombing is affecting the people and their lives. Newlywed Emma Trask, just arrived in a small Cape Cod town, waits for her doctor husband, who has gone to London to volunteer. And the town’s postmistress, Iris James, holds onto a crucial piece of information that will impact all of them.
The scenes set in London and Europe are especially good; Blake brilliantly evokes the atmosphere of the Blitz where panic gradually gives way to resignation, and death is random and arbitrary. Frankie’s journey through Europe (as an American she is still able to travel through German-occupied countries) is tense and heartbreaking and terrifying. I felt that the parts of the book that are set in Cape Cod are not as strong – less action, less immediate – and that the ending suffered because of this. However, many readers felt differently; this book is worth reading to find out how you feel.
Free Comic Book Day 2010
Be sure to stop by one of our local comic book shops on Saturday, May 1st, in order to pick up a free comic book!
DVDs for May
May 11
Daybreakers – Willem Defoe, Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill
In the year 2019, an unknown plague has transformed the world’s population into vampires. As the human population nears extinction, so does the blood supply. Now the vampires must find a blood substitute before time runs out. Researcher Edward Dalton and a clandestine group of vampires have made a remarkable discovery, one which has the power to save the human race.
May 18
Extraordinary Measures – Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser
On the fast track and ready to taste the success of corporate America, John Crowley walks away from it all in hopes of finding a cure for two of his fatally ill children. With his wife Aileen by his side, he teams up with brilliant but unconventional scientist Dr. Robert Stonehill, and together they form a company to develop a life-saving drug. But just when it appears that a solution may be found, the relationship between the men is tested and the fate of John’s children is at stake.
Invictus – Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon
Nominated for two Oscars
Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa’s underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match.
Mandela’s Way by Richard Stengel
I have long been fascinated by Nelson Mandela — intrigued by how an individual could endure 27 years in prison and then become South Africa’s charismatic leader during a critical phase in its history. Though not a biography, this compact book, subtitled Fifteen Lessons on Life, Love, and Courage, gives us insights into the man’s character and allows us to easily absorb some of his life’s essentials truths. Here are a few examples:
- Courage is Not the Absence of Fear
- Have a Core Principle
- See the Good in Others
- Know When to Say “No”
The author, Richard Stengel, editor of Time magazine, spent nearly three years with Mandela, eating with him, traveling with him and watching him interact with other dignitaries — and it shows. Stengel obviously has deep affection for his subject, and he uses events in Mandela’s life to illustrate the lessons — how as a child, Mandela was raised by a tribal king as a companion for his own son — how he became a freedom fighter and seldom saw his own family — and how he found new love and remarried at the age of eighty.
I enjoyed this easy-to-read book and would recommend it not only to adults eager to gain new leadership skills, but also as an appropriate gift for those soon-to-be graduates on your list.
Nothing changes until you do: Prom Night in Mississippi
Proms are known for having high levels of high school drama, but for the 2008 Prom for Charleston High School of Charleston, Mississippi, the drama engulfed the entire town. Earlier in the school year, actor Morgan Freeman made an offer to the Senior Class: he would pay for their entire prom if they would end the school’s tradition of separate events for white students and black students and have the first racially integrated prom in Charleston history.
The documentary Prom Night in Mississippi follows a group of Charleston High School students in 2008 as they deal with the town’s racial tension, choose their prom dresses, fight with fellow students, find dates, and explain their decisions for why they will or will not attend the parents-sponsored “white-only” prom. Although witnessing the town’s undercurrent of racial prejudice that supported the continued segregation of the school’s prom (the school itself was integrated in 1970) is disheartening, the students’ honesty and their determination enjoy their prom is challenging and uplifting.
The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
Emily Shelby has never met her grandfather, but after her mother dies unexpectedly she has nowhere else to go. Returning to the small North Carolina town that her mother fled as a teenager, Emily discovers that the past is still very much alive, that Mullaby NC is a town that is both ordinary and magical and that family ties can strangle you or free you.
Filled with vibrant characters and a sprinkling of magical realism, The Girl Who Chased the Moon follows Emily’s quest to learn more about her mother and to fit into her new home. Her grandfather Vance is, literally, a giant, so tall he can “see into tomorrow”. The wallpaper in her bedroom changes according to her mood – lilacs when she’s calm, colorful, fluttering butterflies when she’s worried – and a mysterious bright light moves through the garden at night. Her neighbor Julia, who has her own painful secrets in Mullaby’s past, bakes cakes, trying to summon what she once lost.
Throughout, the characters must learn to make peace with the past, accept how it’s shaped them into the people they’ve become, and move on to the future. That this future holds so much more than they imagined – or thought they wanted – is part of the magic of this book.
Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
The title of this amazing book, full of incredible stories about women overcoming obstacles, is taken from an old Chinese proverb: “Women hold up half the sky.” The authors, Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, received the Pulitzer Prize in journalism, and I first saw their work featured on the Oprah show. Their primary premise is that, “Throughout much of the world, the greatest unexploited economic resource is the female half of the population … Unleashing that process globally is not only the right thing to do; it’s also the best strategy for fighting poverty.”
Rather than tire the reader with boring statistics, the authors wisely chose to illustrate their point by letting us “get to know” individual women. Warning — the majority of these reports are very sad, even horrific at times, dealing with subjects such as sexual slavery, inequities in gender education, and maternal mortality. However, each chapter is also followed by a success story, proving time and time again that one person can make a difference.
April 18-24 is National Volunteer Week; I can’t think of a better book to read for it than this. Besides a plentitude of inspiration, the final chapter gives suggestions on “What You Can Do” with “Four Steps You Can Take in the next Ten Minutes.” Step One? Go to GlobalGiving or Kiva and open an account.
Earth Day – April 22nd
Can you believe that we’ve been celebrating Earth Day for 40 years? I remember the first one, so I guess that dates me!
Anyway, while reading my Mid American Energy bill last month, I picked up an easy tip to help save water — and thus save energy, which in turns helps preserve our beautiful planet. Did you realize that a leaky toilet can waste up to 7,000 gallons of water a month? I didn’t. Plus, this is so easy! All you do is just put a little food coloring (about a teaspoon) in the tank part of your toilet — then check it about 15 minutes later. If you then find colored water in the the bowl, you have a slow leak! (Remember to flush it a few times afterwards, so you don’t end up with any permanent stains.)
I didn’t have any reason to suspect that any of our loos were leaky, but apparently, one was — the fancy one (a so-called “quiet flush” in the powder room). So now I just needed to replace the flapper valve. And I found out how to do it myself at this website: www.doityourself.com/stry/replacetoilettank
One small leak stopped — one very small step closer to a healthier earth. What small step can you take? Share your solutions with us and help others to help save our planet, too.
Remember Euell Gibbons?
My favorite essay in John McPhee’s book, The Silk Parachute is “My Life List.” McPhee talks about the weirdest things he’s ever eaten, and, in doing so, he describes an encounter he had with that icon of the 70’s, Euell Gibbons. He shared boiled dandelions and water mint tea (remember the Grape Nuts commercial?) with Euell.
This seems mighty tame compared to the weasel, lion, whale, grizzly bear and bee spit meals he had.
McPhee’s great skill is to make any subject, no matter how arcane, fascinating. He supplies just the right detail and sets the scene and before you know it, you’re sucked in.
In this series of essays written for the New Yorker, he often refers to feedback he received from legendary editor, Wallace Shawn.