From Amoeba to Canyons Grand (Now with pictures!)

Prius count 150 (they are EVERYWHERE in Berkeley. Go figure.)

I suppose I should get on with it. Though it is starting to feel a bit ludicrous. Any blogging of our trip at this point promise to be nostalgic ramblings at most--yet I proceed.

Before I get on with our visit with Tina's aunt, I should mention one other thing from the night in San Francisco. After we returned from Jeff and Millan's house, the kids went down, but we had by then nearly a week's worth of dirty laundry to do. I was commissioned with the task to go out and find a place to do it and so I ventured out.

I knew it wouldn't be difficult to find a laundromat. Doing one's laundry outside of the home is fairly common in San Francisco, as you might imagine. So I went out and found one. I bring it up tonight because of all of the moments in San Francisco, this one felt most like my memories. I was not, for that moment, just a visiting tourist. I was a part of the landscape again, a resident. I had a nice conversation with the Filipino man who ran the place. I wondered if I had arrived too late to be able to finish drying my loads. He assured me that he always stays until the last load is done, even if it is posted that the place closes at ten. He was very friendly and added to the feeling of home. I enjoyed that night and my clothes weren't stinky anymore as a result of it.

So, Berkeley. We arrived in the early evening, around 5. Tricia was due to be off at work around then, so in order to give her some time to get home and situated, I was able to talk Tina into letting me quickly peruse the Amoeba records that I knew to be near the University. With some over-the-phone directions from Tricia, we quickly found it and I ran up the street to get to it while Tina nursed Jonas and the kids watched Peter Pan for the 9th time. I

It's likely that you, the reader, have never been to Amoeba and so for your sake, I will briefly try to describe it to you. Imagine the biggest, coolest used record store you have ever been in. Maybe you are picturing Zia records in Tucson or perhaps some other similar radical used record store in your city. Now imagine the record store you have in your mind's mother. Amoeba is the mother of all record stores. It is what a used record store might, in it's wildest dreams hope to be like someday. I don't mean to be unclear here. What makes Amoeba so awesome, isn't actually it's size. It is quite large--but not as large as some Tower records I have been in. What makes Amoeba records so awesome, no matter which of its three locations you are in (San Francisco, Berkeley, Hollywood) is the dueling power of its selection and prices. It has everything you could ever want and then several things you never knew existed that when you see them you want them too. It also has amazing prices. For example: While walking past the Vs I happened to see Veruca Salt--an old favorite. Tina has become quite a fan of Nina Gordon, one of the founding members of VS. I glanced over and noticed that Nina had released a second solo album that I was unaware of. How much might that go for, I asked myself. $6.99. Done deal. Amoeba has a whole section of discs that are $2.99 and under. Do I really need that old Stone Temple Pilots album that has all their hits on it? Not really. Can I pass it up for $1.99? Nope. Needless to say, I went a little wild. I left the store with no less than 7 new/used discs. While waiting in line, I noticed a sign that said that students get a 10% discount. Can this place give any more love? 7 discs, a mere $40.

After a minor scolding for being gone longer than expected (time flies...) we were off to Aunt Tricia's house. Her house, that she shares with boyfriend Jordan, is just amazing. Its like one of those houses that you see from the outside and think, "gosh, can this be as beautiful inside as it is on the outside?" It is. And on a clear day, you can see both bridges, the City, Alcatraz, Treasure Island--basically the whole Bay Area, from their large living room windows. And not only was the atmosphere unbeatable, the company of Tricia and Jordan was exquisite. They are such great people and were so nice and accommodating of our horde. Tricia seemed to have endless patience with our kids and had dozens of books and toys for them to play with. Jordan helped me solve a complex tech problem I was having and didn't seem to mind too much when I thanked him for being a smarty-pants.

The next day (Prius count 175), this hospitality was extended when Tricia spent two hours (plus) in her cute cup-cakery with the kids. Letting them decorate, and help bake cupcakes for the store (all while I waited to have a screw in my tire repaired in downtown Berkeley--i should also mention that it was downtown that I found the cable I needed for my laptop and bought it. Finally.). We parted ways at last and were off for one final hurrah in San Francisco. After stopping briefly at a toy store, we cruised across the Bay bridge one last time and into the heart of the city. We stopped in China Town and looked around for cheap t-shirts but only found roasted geese hanging in the window and a wide assortment of dried fish in cardboard boxes. We then drove out to the Mission district (one of my old haunts) and stopped at my favorite taqueria at 24th and Mission st. for an amazing burrito (but not before Tina scored some shoes at the Sketchers outlet, and we also found the kids their t-shirts and me an awesome, four dollar cap). While eating said burrito and thinking to ourselves "this is the only burrito that I have ever eaten that bests the conveyor-belt happiness that is Chipotle", we cruised through the city, sad to be leaving so soon, towards the Golden Gate.

We crossed the Bridge, and drove through beautiful Marin towards Sonoma county and Petaluma where we had a dinner date with John and Kim Kai and co. The drive was somber and golden. I had forgotten how quickly luxurious bustle gives way to cow and field. They were a welcomed sight. We met up with John and Kim--our first visit with them for seven years--and got reacquainted with them and their now quite large and grown up family. John, a man I met tracting on my mission, is currently his ward's Elder's Quorum President. Nothing much sweeter than that, I must say. They took us out for dinner and our kids played and we visited and reminisced. I wish we could see them every month.

We didn't make it to the KOA north of Petaluma until around 10pm. We quickly set up the tent and get settled. Only downer of the whole day: I paid for electricity at the campsite and all we got was a hook-up for RV electricity. This is a picture I took in the morning.



***
I was tempted to quit there for the night, and you must certainly be tired of reading by now. But, there is only one more California day to go and it is a short day, so let's be done with it, shall we?

The last day of our California trip was spent down in Sausalito taking a few touristy pictures of the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge and then in Mill Valley for lunch. These were both areas that I served in for nearly 6 months (though I was there during the gloomy winter months and not during the bright and beautiful summer). We had a lot of miles to cover that day, so we got moving toward Idaho falls. We stopped in Sonoma for cheese and potty. And then we drove and drove and drove.

Final Prius count: well over 200. We didn't see many in Idaho or Utah and saw less in Phoenix. I have actually started noticing them in Tucson quite often-at least one every time I venture out.

***
I don't mean to sell short our visit with my family. Hopefully our time with them has been sufficiently blogged about by Michelle and Nick. We had a wonderful wonderful time with my parents. We always do. We love them so much and this, the "trellis" trip will live in legend. It's nice to get along so well with my parents, siblings and with Brandon, Michelle's husband. We always have something exciting, important, or thought provoking to talk about. Let's be friends forever, ok guys?

Our final stop on the trip was the Grand Canyon. I had never been there before and we took the detour off the beaten path to see it. It added an additional 3 hours to our already 12 hour day, but I was glad we did it. There was something symbolic about standing before that great, beautiful void with my family. We are, ourselves, about to venture into an unknown void of sorts--though it also promises to be... beautiful.

Artichoke me any time you want.

I gotta get this roadtrip narrative under the bridge. Time is marching on!

Prius Count 70

When we left our weary campers, they were at a KOA in Santa Cruz freezing their booties off. We rose that morning to the click and clank of the campers across from us, some speaking an unrecognizable, if pleasant, European language. It wasn't too loud though and the kids slept through it (as you can see here).

We readied ourselves for the day's journey which was to include the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium and then the final leg of the drive to San Francisco.

The Aquarium was magnificent. The kids enjoyed it. Since it was our first time there, though, we didn't know about the cool new interactive, "wet," play area until we had been there for a few hours and were getting antsy to be leaving. The kids, then, had the best time at the place we felt the most rushed at—one of the many vacation ironies.

We then hit the road (after squishing a souvenir penny—the thing that Seth was the most interested in doing and also the thing that only costs $.50 and is OUTSIDE of the aquarium) a little before lunch.

In between Monterey and Santa Cruz is artichoke country—and we had to, therefore, stop for the local delicacy: deep-fried artichoke hearts. Holy Crap (do you capitalize the C in Crap when you use the exclamation "Holy Crap"? I never thought of that phrase as blasphemous until this minute.) Let's just leave it at that. Holy Crap.

The drive to SF was lovely. We opted away from the one for those few miles and probably saved a few hours because of it. We still got to see Crystal Springs, a favorite sight of mine, of the 280. It was very interesting noting the climate/environment change as we passed into SF county. Just a few miles south it was sunny, but Pacifica, Daly City, and SF were totally foggsville.

We made it to the motel in time to get over to my old friend Jeff Freebairn's house for a yummy Thai dinner. It was fun to see him struggling with similar child-raising issues. We met he and his wife Millan at Fisherman's Warf the next morning after a really cool (if windy freezing) cable car ride from Powell and Market. We et crab, walked around a bit, enjoyed the beautiful sites and cruised back up the cable-car and to our car. Due to a recent Little Einsteins, Seth knew many of the sights, including Coit Tower, which loomed in the distance.

(You gotta love that lady up there who smiled for our picture. They were very nice and understanding of our squirmy family.) Our next destination was Tina's aunt Tricia's house in Berkeley. This stop was a definite highlight for me and Tina (and the kids!). Let's hit that tomorrow—it deserves it's own entry.

Highway 1 (May 13)

Prius Count 42

All of my good intentions of blogging everyday about our trip have faded as I now sit, vacation over, back in Mesa with only memories. (Update: Now I am in Tucson, move over with sore back and feet. We are very glad to be here.)

Alas, the trip log must continue and so I begin this blog where we ended the last. In the LA area with Disneyland behind us. We stayed the night of the 12^th with my good friend and former mission companion Mike Daines and his wife Brooke. They have a nice pad on a hill in South Pasadena. As is becoming tradition during my visits with Mike, our conversation moves from talk of the intersection of our two career interests (graphic design and rhetoric) to the days of the mission. I am amazed at what he can remember about the mission that I have completely forgotten. Visits like the one I had with Mike make it clear that if I am serious about writing a mission memoir (and I would really like to do some serious work on it this summer), I will need the help of the memories of Mike and other mission bros if it’s going to be good.

We left Mike’s on Sunday morning with the intention to drive up the coast to Santa Cruz and our first night of camping—what we didn’t intend was that it would take us 12 hours in the car to accomplish this. But what a 12 hours they were (at least, what a first 9 hours they were). The Pacific Coast Highway, or Highway 1, from LA to San Francisco offers a variety of sights to behold, from fancy-schmance beach houses to cliff side hotels and from amazing beaches to steep, windy forest roads. The first major beach town is Malibu. It was funny to see that almost every beach house has a super nice car parked in front of it—an indication that even though most of the houses are small, they are not, by any means, cheap. We drove by the beautiful Pepperdine college and then up to Santa Barbara. I would have to say that UC SB is now at the top of my list for future, hope-to-work-and-live destinations. Talk about awesome location! (A quick peak at their web space has revealed that they don’t really have a rhetoric and composition emphasis in their English department—crap!). At some point just south of Santa Barbara, we stopped for a picnic lunch on the beach. It was lovely, but of course, as soon as we had climbed down the rocks from the car and were sitting on the beach enjoying the sand and surf, Seth whined that he needed to use the bathroom. And of course it had to be the less-convenient number two that he had to do. And of course a quick look up and down the beach confirmed that there was no bathroom for miles. So what did we do? It’s gonna sound cruel, but I put one of Maryn’s diapers on Seth and told him to do his business if he could and tried to enjoy the beach. We did enjoy it, even if it was only a few minutes. Seth couldn’t manage his business without a toilet—which isn’t a bad thing. We found one a few miles up the road.

I should mention briefly, that this was the first day that the Prius sightings started to pour in. They were everywhere. We saw at least 30.

Between Santa Barbara and Monterey, there aren’t many big towns—so I need the reader at this point to imagine breathtaking view after breathtaking view. A new beautiful sight was literally around every corner. How I wish I could have just stared at the beaches and ocean the whole drive. Keeping one’s eyes on the road in an environment such as that was akin to having to keep your eyes closed in a movie theatre—and only open them every 30 seconds or so.

We stopped for dinner in the tiny beach town of Cayucos where we ate chowder and fish and chips at a friendly Mom and Pop diner. It was nearing sunset and was getting cooler. For whatever reason, this was a highlight of the trip up the coast for me. I just loved being there with my family in that little coastal town eating fish. The kids were well behaved; Tina and I were having nice conversations; it was just—for me—perfect. I won’t soon forget the feeling. As we started getting further north, we started ascending into the forest that surrounds Big Sir. This was the windy driving, car-sick inducing driving that you might have heard about in reference to Highway one. It was a bit tedious, if only because it was getting late and we were still hours away from our destination. The sun went down, we finally passed through Monterey, but it was another 45 minutes up to Santa Cruz and the KOA.

When we finally got to our campsite—it was about 10:30. You’ve never seen a man and his wife set up a tent so quickly. Our children, unaccustomed to watching their parents work with such ferocity, were beside themselves in the car, a trio of tears and wails. When we all nestled into our blankets and sleeping bags, they fell asleep almost immediately.

Despite its length, I would love to make this drive every summer—though I know that will never happen. For your future trip planning, there are some great campsites at Big Sir and, right near, in my opinion, the most striking site of the trip. The campsites are located about 8 hours north of Malibu and are right on the coastal cliffs. If and when we do this again, we will be staying there.

Disneylanding

(Prius Count 11, two on the way to Disneyland both days)

I wonder what it is like for a kid. You tell them for weeks that they are going to Disneyland and, man, are they excited. And then you get there. Does it meet their expectations? Is it all they ever dreamed it would be?
As we walked through the gates to the Happiest Place on Earth, Seth didn’t seem to know that we were there yet. All he saw was a road with stores to the left and the right. We weren’t IN Disneyland until we walked through the middle of the Sleeping Beauty castle. “Now we are here, Daddy” he said.

I hope that he had fun. I think he did most of the time. Here are some highlights:

• The very first ride we went on was Snow White. MISTAKE! It was dark and scary (and thankfully short). I felt like a liar after I made Seth repeat the mantra “Even though it’s sometimes dark, nothing at Disneyland is scary.” I kept up the mantra anyway.
• He got scared again in line to go on Star Tours. We almost had to force him to stay in line with us. Luckily, when we went on the ride, it ended up being a favorite.
• We then asked him if he wanted to go on a roller coaster. He said yes. So we took him on Space Mountain. Gosh, I feel like a horrible parent reporting on these things. Not only is Space Mountain one of the best and fastest coasters at the park, as you know, it is nearly completely dark on the ride! But we took him anyway. I couldn’t see his face during the whole ride so I didn’t know if he was in a state of absolute terror or not. Near the end of the ride, I heard him woo-hooing along with the rest of us. And when we got done—he was smiling and happy (with tears running down his face—maybe from the wind and speed?). I wanted to go again immediately—the wait was short. When asked if he wanted to go again Seth said: “Maybe not.”
• One of the coolest “shows” we watched was the production of the Jedi Academy. For those who haven’t seen this, here’s how it works. The stage that it takes place is the one just outside the hamburger joint in Tomorrowland. It has the rising section—remember it? Anyway, a bunch of kids line up behind some retaining string—then the Star Wars music starts and these AWESOME Jedi-folk come out. They proceed to choose lucky Jedis-to-be from the audience (about 25 kids—Seth didn’t want to participate, so we just watched) and put cute little brown Jedi-robes on them. The Jedi then proceed to instruct the kids on the finer points of light saber wielding. The main Jedi guy is funny and drops many force-speak one-liners. Anyway, when the kids are ready, Darth Vader and Darth Maul come out to challenge the new Jedis. The Darth Maul looks totally authentic. The whole thing was awesome—I’m not doing it justice here. If you are there—go see it. Even if your son doesn’t want to participate.
• On the first day we also discovered Seth’s favorite ride: Grizzly Rapids in California adventure. He absolutely loved that he got "soaking wet" even when he only got a few drops on him. Also on the first day: Matterhorn, Jungle Cruise, Dumbo (Maryn loved this one—you can tell when Maryn loves a ride because she cries when it’s over), California Screaming. One other honorable mention on the first day was the Pooh ride. When we went on it a few years ago with my parents, the line was an hour and the ride is only 3 or 4 minutes. This time there was no line at all and so we went twice.
• We love the free tortillas in the Mission tortilla factory in California Adventure—but skip the taco/burrito shop. We waited in line there at least 4 times longer than any ride line (over an hour).
• The second day seems like a blur (maybe I am just growing tired of writing—as you are sure to be tired of reading). The highlight of the day for me was this cool food demonstration on balsamic vinegar in California Adventure. At the end of it, everyone got a sample of lamb with reduced balsamic sauce. Yummy.
• Seth and I went on the Grizzly Rapids ride two more times. As a family, Jonas, Grandma, Papa and all, we also went on the large Ferris Wheel in CA and Pirates of the Caribbean (which has some cool Captain Jack Sparrow additions, I might add).
• A family favorite is California Screaming. As roller coasters go, it’s nothing special. But it’s really fun within the context of the rides at CA.
• The kids absolutely loved the bug’s land—little kid rides and water to splash in galore.
• If you have never seen the show at the Golden Corral in Frontierland you gotta. It is my favorite thing about Disneyland, period.
• There was a cool moment at the end of the second day. We left the kids (all three of ‘em) with Grandma and Papa and Tina and I raced off together to go on the Hollywood Tower of Terror in California adventure. It was so fun to just be with my wife—almost like our honeymoon again (which is coming up on being 7 years ago). We had a nice time visiting and snuggling a bit (not too much) in line. Tina was nervous about going on the ride, which made it all the funner when she had a great time. Also, the kids got to go on Autopia and the rockets in Tomorrowland which ended their ride experience in the park.

• After the fun date with my wife, we watched a great fireworks spectacular. Also a must if you can see it. It’s from last year’s 50th anniversary year. Speaking of the 50th anniversary, on the way out of the park, we went to a little movie about the 50 years of Disneyland. The theatre lobby was gorgeous and was done up with a bunch of old stuff—models, paintings, photographs of the history of the park. I realized again when we were there that my favorite parts of Disneyland are not the rides. What I love about the park is its history of Quality (wow—tying Pirsig's Zen into Disney). Everything about the park is meticulous—there is really no (or almost no) evidence of slack in Disneyland. From the flowers, to the barber shop quartets and marching bands, to the variety of friendly “cast members”, to the look and feel of each of the “lands”, Disneyland is all about attention to detail. You are really hard pressed to find any decay in the park. The only place that I saw it (decay or slack) was in those parts of the park that have kind of moved out of the main wave of the force of the Disney Machine. Toontown is a bit outdated (who really knows about Gadget and Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers anymore, anyway?). The only other evidence of a bit of slack would be the things that are NOT a part of Disneyland but are a major part of what we know Disney to be—namely Pixar. But the park is rapidly moving in that direction. There is a new Monster’s Inc. ride, a soon-to-open Finding Nemo ride, and apparently more on the horizon. It is quite the amazing thing, that Disneyland. If you go and aren’t impressed, check out the competition: Knotts and Magic Mountain. You might find more thrilling rides there, but you will also find garbage, grumpy employees, and an altogether lack of Quality.

Welcome to California (or questions I have about a question mark)

As you might have gandered, the whole blog-as-you-go vacation plan didn’t work out. There was this great moment of truth when I got to Mike Daines’s house in Pasadena, and there on the table was the box from Nick with the cable in it. We took out the cable, gave it a look over—all was in line! This was going to be a successful venture… but then… tragedy stuck. The male connection was just too small—it didn’t fit. And there was much lamenting in the OC.

So, here I am, with my first chance to post. It’s Sunday afternoon; we successfully made it to my sister’s house in Idaho Falls on Friday night. And while we have had many happy reunions with my siblings and parents, leaving California behind was harder than I expected. We had a wonderful time there, and will not soon forget the experience—but before I get ahead of myself, let’s back up a bit.

Day 1 (Prius count: 7)

We left our house around 9:30 and we only had to go back once (I forgot the Ipod). Luckily, we weren’t off Polytechnic campus yet. We strategically left so that I could drop my student teaching paperwork off at ASU on our way out of town. It was on campus that I realized that this may be my last time on main campus for a while. And while I feel a stronger connection with the campus where we live (and where I work), I got nostalgic just for a second. ASU has been the place of my redirection in life. I’m glad I went there and feel proud that it is my new alumnus. I got school spirit, how ‘bout you?

We were off to California at about 11:00 and the trip officially began. Tina and I have seemed to become car friends. We use to not be car friends—or at least it seems that in the past car trips had more tension than they have in the last year. Our secret, oh weary travelers? Good somethins to listen to that stimulate the ol’ intellect.. Last year we listened to Potok’s The Chosen. Then at Thanksgiving, we listened to Life of Pi. This year, I made about 16 CDs, each with an episode of Ira Glass’s Chicago radio program This American Life. The website has a “greatest hits” of sorts for this Saturday running NPR program. Since it finally became available as a podcast, I have become a fan. Tina, I think, has become a fan as well and we listened to at least two of them on the way out to LA.

The kids were great (and have been really good on 90% of the now 2000 mile trip—it will break 3000 by the time we get home). The movie in the car thing is the only way to go—so if the kids don’t get much mention on the actual in-car part of this report, don’t fret. They’re watching Cars.

The best story of the day occurred when we crossed the Colorado River into Blythe. At the entrance to any town—but especially those with mid-size/smaller populations, there is a “Welcome to…” sign (in this case “Welcome to Beautiful Blythe”) with smaller signs underneath alerting travelers to the amenities to be found within the town: Food, Camping, etc.—each with little pictures to go along with the words (perhaps for the less literate traveler?). Underneath the Blythe sign were these familiar sub-signs along with one that stuck Tina and I funny (though I admit that, having explained this story to my family since arriving here, they were politely responsive but not knocked down by the funniness of it. I guess Tina and me are weird). The sign was very simple: it was a simple question mark: ? For whatever reason, we thought that it was hilarious. Of course, we understand the meaning of the sign: travelers interested in information gathering, or with questions that need answering are sure to be able to find answers in town—probably provided by a visitor’s center of some sort. But to us, grouped with the gas and food signs, it just looked like “?—we don’t know what the crap else you’ll find here. It’s a mystery to us as well.” Or: “?—it’s a surprise!).

We laughed about that for a while. The Colorado was surprising to us as well (maybe it was the answer to the ?—surprise!). It was very pretty. Especially after that bleak western Arizona drive. Very oasis-like. And it proved to be a subtle preview to the beauty that would slowly build over the next week.

Almost immediately upon entering California, we saw two identical, interesting cars within seconds of each other. A minute or so later we saw another—Toyota’s hybrid Prius. I had heard about the Prius boom on the radio. Apparently, they sold out of the 2006 model because they were so popular. I hadn’t really seen many in Arizona to speak of, but we decided after seeing so many in a row that we would make it a game while on our trip. Thus, Prius hunting commenced.

We arrived in LA without much further incident and ate cheap Costco food for dinner. Disneyland beckoned, and we would loudly answer the call for the next two days.

Stay tuned for the full report…

Motorcycles and Bull Fights or How the Semester Ended and Summer Began

The semester is finally wrapping up for me. I am set to graduate again on Thursday, but I won’t be there. Wednesday, as many of you well know, we will be taking off on a marathon vacation. It is my intention, if all goes as planned, to be able to blog about the trip as we go. My magic brother Nick said “abracadabra” and a power cord/AC adapter that should fit my laptop appeared in his office. He sent the cord to my buddy Mike in Pasadena with whom we are staying on Saturday night this week. (Again,) If all goes as planned, the cable will be retrieved and will provide the spark necessary to power said laptop and we will be in business. So—those in the blogosphere who are anxious for a play-by-play—get excited (and cross your fingers that the cable works—and thanks be to Nicky).

This post is to get you up to speed on the two most recent books that I read. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – Robert Pirsig

First a bit about Zen. The question is, what bit? I am torn about how to report on this book. I really liked it, but I really had to slog through it. The good parts were enough to keep me slogging as well as the fact that the book had been highly recommended to me by one of the smartest people I know, my mission buddy Brian Hall.

Here is the breakdown: As I mention in an earlier post, Zen is a travel narrative interspersed with intellectual bits about Pirsig’s philosophy of Quality. Defining what Quality is in this short post in a way that would justify how Pirsig defines it (or admits to its in-definability) is impossible. Basically, and to use his motorcycle maintenance metaphor, we, our lives, and the way we view those around us, are the motorcycle. That motorcycle, while being operated, is in a constant state of deterioration. If we don’t do anything about that deterioration by maintaining the quality of the machine, the machine will first cease to operate smoothly and eventually quit all together. Quality can be defined (in this simplistic analysis) as that spark (to use that word again) that motivates us to maintain. If we maintain the motorcycle, we will find that this maintenance (and not necessarily the object maintained) brings us joy.

So there you go. The tough thing about the book is that Pirsig seeks to carve out quality as a kind of missing link in western philosophy. So, he goes about describing the threads of this thought very thoroughly and very intellectually. This high-brow intellectualism can be daunting to the reader and, if you are just a casual reader, frankly get pretty boring. You really have to pay attention.

Two things kept me moving. The travel narrative is top-rate. The narrator and his son start in Minnesota and end their road-trip in San Francisco. The description of that journey, which includes a significant stop in Bozeman, Montana, is lovely. I really wish there was more to it.

The other thing that kept me going is that the narrator is a rhetoric professor. I had no idea that this was the case when I started reading. Much of the novel focuses on his own back story—told in a weird, third-person sort of way in which he names himself Phaedrus (there is a good reason for this, but you’ll have to read the book to find out). Phaedrus was an English professor at the University of Montana and a lot of the story is about his experiences teaching rhetoric—which, for me, is fascinating seeing as that is what I will be doing with my life as well.

So, do I recommend it? Yeah—I can’t not. Will I feel bad if nobody takes my recommendation? Not one bit. (Do I enjoy asking myself questions and then answering them?—definitely. I picked it up as a wrapping-up strategy from my mission president. Charming, huh? Yes it is.)

The Sun Also Rises – Earnest Hemingway

I just finished this novel, my first full length Hemingway. It was interesting, to be sure, and I think I would like to read another. Published in the early 20s, The Sun Also Rises was Hemingway’s first commercial success. Most of us have read The Great Gatsby and F. Scott Fitzgerald was Hemingway’s contemporary and friend (and later, competitor). This might help those of you wondering what the style of the writing is like. It has the same kind of bleak, spare, beauty that is present in Fitzgerald’s work, but pared back even further. Hemingway is famous for his short, non-flowery sentences and the long, simple, uninterrupted dialog of his characters.

Hemingway and Fitzgerald, as well as many other American writers and artists in the 20s, were expatriates living in France. Hemingway was a World War I veteran and was a part of what Gertrude Stein called “The Lost Generation.” The Sun Also Rises is a thinly veiled autobiography, in that sense. It is about a veteran writer living in Paris, trying to come to terms with the aftermath of the war as well as his own sense of self. He is lonely. War wounds have left him literally emasculated (eek) and the woman he loves (and who loves him) won’t settle down with him for this reason and spends her time roving.

The novel takes the reader on a trip to Spain and I guess is the reason that the running of the bulls and bull fighting became well known in America.

Like Fitzgerald novels, the characters in Sun are seldom seen not drinking. This is a part of the pathetic loneliness that pervades the novel. However, the characters in the novel use a funny word for “drunk.” When a character is drunk, they will often refer to themselves as “tight.” I thought this was kind of a funny way to express that unfortunate condition and it also shows how the use of slang changes over the years. When I was growing up the word “tight” meant something akin to “awesome.” I might say to Andy Hunt: “Dude, those shoes are tight man. Where did you get them?" I guess there are other meanings: “tight-wad” means something quite different than awesome or drunk.

Can this wise readership think of any other words that have come to mean something other than what they were originally intended?

***

I’m currently reading Steinbeck’s The Winter of Our Discontent and C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity (at Michelle’s suggestion)—so far so good.

Attempt at some interaction--the Favorite Three

When I was a freshman in high school, me and my best buddy, Andy Hunt would lay on his living room floor and try to guess the next song that would come on the 5-disc CD changer that his parents had recently purchased (and let me tell you--that thing was high technology!). You got points (it was never determined how many) if you got the right artist (there were always at lest two discs in the changer by the same band--usually The Cure or Morrissey), more points for getting the album right, and then the closer you were to the actual track--you guessed it--more points. If you actually chose the song--well, I don't know that it ever happened. Perhaps the room would have been sucked into a new dimension.

That cute story from my past aside, I know that there are several of you who read this blog who have a favorite group or maybe even a few bands or singers you like. Here's how you play this game. Think of a group that you like and then post a comment that has your top 3-5 songs by that group (I know how hard it can be to boil it down) and some words about why (optional). Then we can post in agreement or disagreement with words of our own.

I'll start:

Ben Folds is probably my favorite songwriter of all time. Yes, even more so than Robert Smith or Billy Corgan. Here are my top three songs by him:

"Selfless, Cold, and Composed"- I already have a soft spot for songs in 6/8. This song came out in the months before I left on my mission and it (as well as "Missing the War" and "Evaporated") had just the right forlorn twinge that suited me then and suits certain moods of mine now (though the other songs I mentioned were more acute back then--"Selfless" has jumped in the rankings since). It is, for me, the consummate Ben Folds tune.
"Army"- you know you can't resist those horns! This song starts off with a swear that I can't condone (though for some reason when BF swears, I can't help but smile usually--kinda like your dad swearing. It's funny!), "Army" is Ben Folds Five at their best. Harmony and Horns--that's all you need (and fuzz bass).
"Trusted"- this tune in on Ben Folds's most recent solo album. I love it. I love how he can be super funny on one track and then super serious on the next. This is one of those serious moments. When I heard this tune I knew my boy Ben would be around for a long time.

Tina and I are going to see Ben Folds and John Mayer together this summer (you got John Mayer, Nick? Tell us your fave three!). It is sure to be magnificent.

The End of an Era..?

About a year ago, my buddy who hosts jonstone.com for me (Mat Richins) got an email from Jon Stone offering $500 bucks for the domain. Yes, there are many other Jon Stones out there, I guess, and this one has his eye on my site. I scoffed when I heard--HA! I am the only Jon Stone who really matters (except that dude with the big beard who was the writer for Sesame Street before he kicked the bucket). I laugh in the general direction of your $500!

A few months later he upped the ante to $1000. My pride bubble grew--dollar signs in my eyes. If i sit on this long enough, I thought, it could be my chance at millions!

Well, as we tabulate the costs of moving, paying a rent deposit, going on extended vacation, etc., that $1000 bucks is looking a bit more appealing. So- I offered the dude $1500. He was all over it. (Man! should have offered it for 2K!). I have to give him time to drum up the cash, but it looks like jonstone.com is in its final stretch.

Fear not, dear family! I will be able to very easily transfer all of the happiness on the site to a new domain. Unfortunately, most of the good ones (stonefamily.com, thefamilystone.com, jonathanstone.com, and on and on) are taken already. Right now, the best I can do are thehouseofstone.com and jonstonefamily.com. So--your job, should you care to participate, is to vote on either of those or use your creative juices to come up with another site with an appropriate title to host the picture vault that is currently jonstone.com. You can check and see if that domain is available by plugging it into a domain availability search engine like the one here or here.

I actually like thehouseofstone.com It has a nice ring to it and works well as a place where many of us with stone connections can post pictures of our families. I don't doubt in your abilities to come up with something better, though. Go for it!

Gathering Blue & Messenger

I just finished the second and third book in the Lois Lowry series that begins with The Giver. I posted earlier about my affinity for The Giver but about my frustration at its length and failure to offer any real closure in regards to the central conflict in the novel. This tradition continues into the second novel, and (while not as prevalent) is also present in the third. These problems do not outshine the warmth and quality of these latter two novels, but still leave the reader wanting (maybe that is the point though).

The second novel in the series is titled Gathering Blue. I should mention, however, that the series is not really a standard one as series go. There are no characters that appear or speak in the second novel that were in the first. The only reference that we get to the other story at all is a mention of a young man with pale blue eyes who lives in a different village from that of the protagonist. We assume that this pale blue eyed fellow is Jonas—though he is no longer referred to by that name in the second or third book.

The third novel is titled Messenger. Because the books are both so short, I will keep a rehashing of plot elements to a minimum—what is important to know is that both books take place on the same “world” as The Giver did—a post apocalyptic Earth. Each introduce and describe different utopias in this world, though each are vastly different from each other (which is kind of cool since they are all on the same planet). Each book, like The Giver, centers on a protagonist with a special power that can be used to serve others. The books are all about how these young people come to terms with their inner power and how they learn how to use it for good.

The thing that I like about these novels is that the “broad strokes” (there’s that term again!) are colorful and bright. The picture that they present to the reader leaves much to the imagination—in other words, the reader is really only told a few details about the environments in the book and is left to fill in the blanks. Unfortunately, these broad strokes are where the novels are lacking for me as well. Lowry introduces (in all three books) potential antagonists with which a detailed conflict would be very interesting and then never uses them. It’s a bizarre choice for me, dramatically. Gathering Blue has almost no conflict in it at all—so the story arc ends up a little weird. Like The Giver it seems to end just when it starts to get good. This is alleviated a bit by the fact that Messenger deals with many of the same characters as Gathering Blue does, so we get a bit of closure on some plot points (plus the Jonas character gets a supporting role). In a word, the books are soft. If you like that kind of thing (and I am thinking particularly of you, Dad), you should really enjoy them. I did—though they all left me a bit hungry.

I should also mention here that I am halfway through Pirsig’s famous Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I really like it—though it is a very different kind of book. It is ½ philosophy theory, ¼ self-help, and ¼ travel narrative. The theory gets a bit complicated and thick at times, but the self-help stuff is well disguised and isn’t preachy or toot-your-own-horn-y like some self-help stuff I have read. The travel narrative is the part of the book that I wish there was more of. I love reading about places and scenery—I guess I am just at the part of my life right now. Anyway, more on this book in a few weeks when I finish it.

Come on feel the Illinoise

Sears Tower pictures
Chicago looking northeast

north
Champaign church (Stake Center)
English building at UIUC

place we will probably live...(still working out the details here--notice the picture changed)

broad strokes from the heartland...

Tonight is my last night in Illinois for a few months. It has been a wonderful time. I only wish that my family could have been here to experience it with me. I have been promising detailed descriptions to help fill in some of my "broad strokes" but I guess I can't promise that tonight. Here is what I can promise. When I get home I will post all of the pictures that I took. Then you ask me for details and I promise to give them--ok?

A few moments stick out--but one overarching theme. It can be summed up by the first moment. The Art Institute of Chicago was one of the single most amazing two hours of the trip. Of the literally hundreds (maybe thousands!) of pieces I saw, I couldn't believe the difference of looking at masterpieces in person rather than in a book. This Renoir painting, for example:
I have seen it over and over again in books and on the cover of Impressionism books. Not until you see it in person can you know what it is really like and feel the power of the blue in those flowers and in the smaller girls eyes. It is incredible.

This has been the case over and over again on this visit. Sure, I saw a picture of campus on the website, I looked at the map of the towns online--but it wasn't until I was here and could experience the details of the place did those broad strokes (thanks for that term Dad! it is coming in handy!) and impressions begin to form images that were more literal in my mind. I had another moment inside the English building where I will be spending so much time over the next years. I think when wonderful people inhibit beautiful spaces, those spaces become that much more beautiful. That is how I felt about my visit to the campus. Aesthetically, it is gorgeous...but it was the people that really made it glow for me.

Finally, I would be remiss not to comment on the closing song tonight in the priesthood session. Since I was hard charging around looking for a place to live, I wasn't able to see any of the other sessions today, so I was lapping up the spirit in tonight's meeting. The "new" Be Still My Soul tonight was one of the most beautiful pieces/arrangements that I can remember EVER being sung in a priesthood meeting. I was touched.

I can't wait to return to this town. I wish that we could move out tomorrow. It makes me excited that I get to raise my kids in such a neat town. I think it is going to be wonderful for them.

February Books (and a first Fighting Illini post)

I have been holding off on this post until I finished with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but with all the excitement of late, I couldn’t wait any longer—I only have 15 pages left anyway. First things first…big news! Most of you know by now that I was ACCEPTED to the Writing Studies MA/PhD program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I couldn’t be more relieved and excited. The U of I has a top twenty English department—which basically means that, in a relatively competitive job market, I should have my pick of universities to begin my career at in 6-7 years when I finish. Yup—you heard that right. It will take me about two years to complete the Masters and then another good four to get the PhD done (which basically equates to about 2 years of coursework beyond the Masters and then 2-3 years to write the dissertation). It all sounds very nebulous to me at the moment—but it’s true. It’s hilarious to me that when I finish I am going to have been in school pretty much continuously for nearly 14 years. Class of 2013. Ha! I guess that is what I get for taking 7 years to find the right bachelor’s degree. Anyway—that is all the groaning you will hear from me on the subject. Sure, I will be 6-7 years older than most of my classmates—but who cares? Tina is happy because Illinois has a great basketball team, and I was perfectly content and pretty much set on going when I found out that Champaign has a Chipotle. Yes!

This entry is meant as a book review. I have four more books to talk about that I have read over the last month and a half or so… here goes:

The Gift of Asher Lev- Chaim Potok

This is the sequel to the book that I read earlier in the year, My Name is Asher Lev and while not delivering in as complete of a way that the first book did, Gift was a great book, and a great continuation on some of the themes that are first addressed in Name. Asher Lev is now a middle aged man, living in France with a wife children of his own. He has experienced a bit of exile from his community in New York due to the controversy of his art and while embittered by this fact, he remains a devoted Hasid while continuing his (still often controversial) work oversees. Gift is about Lev’s return to his home community, a mid-life crisis he goes through trying to remain “fresh” as an artist, and to what extent he is willing to sacrifice a part of himself to his God.

The Gift of Asher Lev is great and I had read that it was the second book in a series of what was intended to be three books but that Potok hadn’t yet written the third. The plot of the second book is left wide open at the end and almost begs a sequel. Imagine my disappointment when a little research uncovered the fact that Potok died of a brain tumor five years ago.

The Handmaid’s Tale- Margaret Atwood

I saw a copy of this book on the shelf of one of my former professors. I had very much enjoyed the class and trusted her judgment on books and so, because the fame of this novel also precedes it anyway, checked out a copy of it from our campus library. I’ll say right up front that this isn’t a novel for everyone. I can’t recommend it. But it was an interesting dystopian look at the future. Basically the gist is this: World War III (or whatever you want to call it) has occurred and what the US government is defunct. What remains is a throwback to Old Testament traditions and culture—very patriarchal and debasing towards women. It goes much deeper than this—there are very strict rules that must be lived by, only the elite have access to media and what media there is controlled (1984 style) by the government, etc. etc. Anyway, the story is about a handmaiden who is assigned to a family as a concubine to the man of the house. Many of the men and women of the community have become sterile due to the radiation of the war, so such measures are put in place to stimulate the population growth. The Handmaid’s Tale is an accounting of this society and tells of the escape of the protagonist to an Underground Railroad kind of asylum. Anyway—very interesting—some questionable content—you could probably skip it and be ok.

The Pearl- John Steinbeck

The Pearl is another novella, much like the Red Pony, and despite it being very widely read in jr. high/high school, I never read it. So, I read it in a few hours (it’s really short—I am not a fast reader). It is a great book! Definitely read this one. The novel examines a classic theme: what in life is of true worth? The book is about an indigenous Mexican tribe who live in huts on the beach. One blissful and perfect morning (blissful and perfect because of its complete and total lack of remarkableness), the protagonist’s infant son is stung by a scorpion. Having no money, the man takes his son into town to the doctor who refuses to treat his son (indirectly) because he has no money. When the frantic father finds a large and valuable pearl in the bay close to his home, what should be new found fortune turns quickly sour and the family finds themselves struggling to understand the true weight of monetary wealth.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Mark Twain

Even getting an English degree from a major university didn’t ensure that I read this book from cover to cover. Seriously, sometimes I think that I was terribly undernourished as a high school English student. Don’t you usually read Huck Finn as a sophomore or something!? Anyway—I can’t believe it took me this long to read such a marvelous, tragically sad, bitingly satirical, and heart-warmingly (warmingly?) moving novel. If you haven’t read it, you must. If it’s been since you were a sophomore that you read it, read it again. Anything I try to say about it here won’t be able to justify how good it is. Huckleberry Finn is a walking paradox. He is at once the most stupid and the wisest person in his universe. His decisions and actions are completely ridiculous, but totally logical. He has no moral compass, but he is consistently the character with the most morals in the book. I love it; I love it; I love it! Can’t wait to read more Twain.

Riddles

Well, I read Bourne Identity for about 100 pages... eh. I'm sure it's a great book. I just kept thinking--I'd rather just watch the movie. Pretty lame for those of you who might have actually read it through. Oh well.
I've switched to the Asher Lev book and must say that I like it much more. The protagonist doesn't wield any handguns with silencers and there haven't been any car chases yet, but--well--what can I say? I get just as much excitement from a book about religion and art. Snob? Probably. The book has more great stuff about the paradoxes in life--especially religious life. It mentions riddles on several occasions and one that I liked was this (each phrase has a different answer and each has to do with life):

One I don't know
The second I don't see
The third I don't remember

I'd be interested to hear some of your guesses. I am horrible at riddles, but I know there are some smart people in this family. I'll post the answer in a day or two.

As most of my readership (of 4) knows, I got an unofficial acceptance from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York today. I was telling Tina this evening that RPI is probably tied with UT Austin for my top choice as their program emphasizes nearly every aspect of rhetoric and communication that I find most interesting: visual rhetoric, graphic design, web design, etc. The riddle here is that tuition is over 30K a year, so we can't afford to go there unless we get funded; we might not. Only 6 students are offered funding of the 12 or so admitted. There are other riddles: Troy, NY is part of the Albany 2nd Branch (gulp) and Troy is 2,500 miles from Tucson and 2,200 miles from American Fork. The move alone would be a monumental undertaking in and of its self.

But can I just say this? I got accepted to something prestigious. It feels really good.

Guide to books- January

I must say that I have enjoyed the recent surge of Stone bloggers. It’s fun to keep up with my siblings in their almost daily posts. I am enamored by Michelle’s wit and frankness and also by Nick’s sense of humor and interest in film and audio stuff (not to mention, Brandon's debut post basically proving how smart he is :)). They are good people and I am glad to be their brother. Keep it going!

I have been meaning to do a book report, as the count of books read since I began student teaching has now reached four (in three weeks—ain’t bad!). I have thoroughly enjoyed each of the books for various reasons—though I don’t usually keep reading a book that I am not into (Angels & Demons by Dan Brown was near exactly the same story as The Da Vinci Code plot element-wise—I was glad that I read the second story in the series first because I quit reading A&D, no offense Brown lovers.) Anyway, what follows below is a brief accounting of the four novels and what I liked about them.

My Name Is Asher Lev- Chaim Potok

I have been hearing about how great this book is for a long time now. A couple in my ward whom I respect go as far as to say it is their favorite novel of all time. All I had heard about it before (and before I read/listened to Potok’s The Chosen over the summer) was a bit of controversy when Nick’s high school English class read it and a few parents were offended. Anyway—as I mentioned in my last post—I really enjoyed the book. It explores the conflict and paradox of clashing traditions: in this case, the tradition of orthodox Judaism and the equally dense and multilayered tradition of fine art. The story, in essence, is how this paradox plays out in the life of Asher Lev—an prodigical art genius and a strict Hasidic Jew. While the book appeals to me on many levels, I was particularly struck by the fact that Asher manages the paradox. Many successful stories (and I hope that this doesn’t give the book away—I don’t think it will) might center on how one piece of a persona must be sacrificed in order to let another flourish. In Asher Lev’s case, the story might have written so that either religion or art might have to be (difficultly) sloughed in order to become something more true—a real artist or truly devout. But Asher remains, unequivocally, both… even though the decision to do so requires significant sacrifices. The Chosen deals with a similar theme, though in this case it is intellectualism instead of art and the character does seem to make a choice.

Anyway as a man of devout, religious convictions but also as a man with strong feelings and opinions about the beauty and importance of art (and the importance of intellectualism), Asher’s story was one of inspiration. Managing the paradox is possible though it requires significant discipline and maturity (which I often lack). For some reason it rings the same chord as a conversation that I have had with my dad a few times about the importance of understanding the exceptions in life. Anyway, a good friend of mine recently read the book as well and though we usually agree about books, she didn’t care for it as much as I did. So, though I recommend it highly, I recommend it with that one caveat.

The Red Pony- John Steinbeck

After reading East of Eden a few years ago, my dusty, freshman memories of the Grapes of Wrath and the lingering adolescent distain that it left could no longer be justified. I was a bonafide Steinbeck fanboy—so much that I thought that maybe Steinbeck could be my focal point for graduate school. I subsequently bought all the Steinbeck novels I could find at used book stores and am only now getting around to starting to read them. Red Pony is a novel that I think most people read as a young student—maybe even in middle school. And I can see why—its short, and could even be classified as a young adult novel since it centers on the life of a pre-teen Jody. But it really is a great book—and surprising. For those of us not into lame books about a boy and his animal and the coming of age that is sure to happen because of their tender relationship, no worries—this isn’t that book. In fact, the book is episodic and each of its four or five chapters is different stories that aren’t really connected. They could be read completely autonomously. The red pony is only present in the first story. What is present in all of the stories, however, is Steinbeck’s lush and beautifully familiar Salinas California-in-the-early-twentieth-century landscape. Familiar because he tends to set a lot of his book there (Salinas could be thought of as its own separate character in East of Eden). The Red Pony is a quick but poignant read and would be a great book for you book clubbers out there who want your classics in small dosages.

Maggie: A Girl of the Streets and Other Stories- Stephen Crane

When I mentioned in my “best of 2006” entry that I had discovered Stephen Crane, and that he had become one of my favorite writers, I admit that I was making this declaration after only reading two of his short stories The Open Boat and The Blue Hotel. I have still yet to read his most famous work, The Red Badge of Courage, but will—oh yes—I will. The stories that I had read as a part of my American Lit after 1860 survey class were striking in their imagery, language, and their stark sense of reality. Crane is a realist and his stories are portraits of life at the turn of the twentieth century as it really was—no gloss or silver lining. The stories, however, often center around a character who is exhibiting courage and the majority of the stories in the Maggie collection are of this type. I admit that Crane is, for me, advanced reading. I have to sit with my Oxford English dictionary close at hand to look up all the words that I don’t know (a habit I have tried to get into since my vocabulary baptism of fire while studying for the GRE). But the reading is rewarding and the stories are memorable. One of my favorites in this collection is titled The Monster and is about a free black man who is severely burned while saving a woman and her son from a burning house. He doesn’t reemerge into the town until after the hubbub of praise for him has passed and when he does reemerge he isn’t recognizable any longer as the fire has burned off his face. He’s also gone a little coo-coo. So it ends up being one of those funny/sad/ironic stories as the burned guy goes around unknowingly terrorizing the town who has just finished praising his name.

Twilight- Stephanie Meyer

I have been meaning to read this vampire book for a few months now as it was one of the books that were praised often last semester in my Young Adult Lit class. Two things hastened the process. I did a little research on the author and discovered that she is a BYU grad and lives in the Valley here. So that was the first thing that got me interested—an LDS author writing vampire books!? But Meyer is so charming! Read a bit about her here and you too will think the same thing. Second, Tina’s book club decided to read it—so I checked it out. I am kind of embarrassed by how much I liked it because it is definitely a romance and also definitely for a target audience of teenage girls…but I found it fascinating—for one reason in particular: on many levels it is a book about abstinence. Consider this: Girl meets boy. Boy is nearly insatiably attracted to girl—he’s a vampire after all. Girl finds out that boy is vampire, but a “good” vampire who is lives with a group of other vampires who have all decided to give up biting people and feed rather on animals (“Fish are friends, not food!”). Boy struggles mightily to first not start relationship with girl and then (because of course he does) to not bite her! It sounds kind of cheesy as I write it, but seriously: it’s a good, fun, book set in both Washington and Phoenix (two of our favorite places!). And the abstinence thing is subtle—I don’t even know if it was intentional, but it still adds some extra depth to the story. Read it, especially if you like long, detailed descriptions of really attractive dudes (you know I do!).

So that’s it for now. I have picked up the sequel to Asher Lev called The Gift of Asher Lev but also thought I’d give the Bourne series a try. I haven't done much action/adventuring in my reading endeavors, so I thought-Why not? I really like those movies and have heard that the books are different and well done. I started The Bourne Identity last night.

Tales of a 7th Grade Nothing

I'm back in full swing with student teaching, working at the center, and bishopric duties--all at full tilt. It's going well, but the all day--often 12 hour--schedule is pretty rough. The kids in my classes are pretty good though and it's funny to remember middle school. It is SO much different than high school. Here is a funny conversation I had with a student in my 4th hour class (keep in mind that this is 7th grade):

"Did you know that my brother and sister are models?"
To which I replied, "Hmm... that sounds an awful lot like a brag to me, wouldn't you say?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well--it's kind of like saying 'My parents are really rich!'"
"Oh. Well, my parents ARE rich!" she said with a giggle.

Silly girl.

My own son said this to me on my first day of being gone from 7am-9pm. He was in my room trying to fall asleep on my bed (this is the current protocol as the kids have a hard time falling asleep in the same room--they just talk to each other--so we just move Seth into his own bed when he falls asleep) and this is what he said when I told him I had been missing him all day:

"I've been missing you too, Daddy--'cause you are a really great man."

At least somebody thinks I am.

He said something else funny a little while ago that he must have seen on a commercial for Go-gurts. He said that he really needed to get them because (and then he quoted from the commercial exactly) "kids on the go need Go-gurts to grow, Daddy."

I thought that was pretty funny.

One good thing about my student teaching situation at the moment is that since its 7th grade and there is a heavy emphasis on reading, the kids spend a lot of time in class doing required silent reading. I have already finished one book in the four days I've been here because of this extra reading time (My Name Is Asher Lev--I'll comment more on this book later--I absolutely loved it) and am almost finished with a thin Steinbeck novel (The Red Pony). It's nice to just read. It's also awesome that my mentor teacher is so chill and doesn't make me pretend to be doing something more productive when there isn't anything to do. In fact, I am typing this during our third hour prep. While very time consuming, this semester should be pretty low-key...which is exactly how I wanted it.

Guide to 2006

I wanted to get my two cents in on my greatest influences in music, film, and books during 2006 as it seemed a year of shifts and new experiences. You may or may not notice that many of these things were not new in 2006, rather they were new to me in 2006.

Music:

1. Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas- I posted about my discovery of this great singer and bluegrass band earlier in the year and my respect and love for the music, especially as egged on by Dave Bertoglio, has only grown. Alison Krauss and her band have been around forever, so they are nothing new, per se, but for some reason, their music just clicked for me this year. It’s funny, because there were inklings years ago that I might like this kind of music when Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? and their song “Man of Constant Sorrow” came out way back in 2000 (There exists a video tape of me and Nick singing this tune together at my parent’s house in Laramie). But it has taken me this long to jump on the horse (as it were). And while I really love Alison’s signature voice, it is really the other elements of the band that have grabbed me. I have to admit that I have become quite the bluegrass fan and can’t help but perk up whenever I hear a banjo and though I now know the instrument that Jerry Douglas plays is called a dobro, I didn’t know at first and thought that he was making a regular guitar sound that way. I have since also learned that he is considered the best dobro player in the world. I have enjoyed seeing him play with and sans Krauss on such programs as the wonderful James Taylor tribute concert that aired on PBS over the holidays and playing with Garrison Keillor’s band during his New Year’s Eve special. I look forward to seeing them in concert someday.
2. Sufjan Stevens- At the end of 2005, I had only just begun listening to the radio program All Songs Considered and was officially hooked on it after listening to their annual “best songs of the year” countdown. Sufjan’s 4^th album Illinois was consistently being ranked in the number one spot, so I knew that I better hop on the bus and see what the fuss was all about. It is safe to say, now, that Steven’s (a former creative writing major) sometimes pop, sometimes not music was very much the soundtrack of my year. I have listened to the songs on each of his albums (as well as all of the songs from his Christmas songs collection) hundreds and hundreds of times. I wonder if it will be hard for me in the future to listen to his music and not think about Norton Anthologies and the ASU shuttle. I am now (as well as every other kid in America) a life long fan and can only hope that he completes his 50 States album project. Check out this performance from Austin City Limits. This too.
   
3. Iron & Wine- One of the shifts that occurred for me this year was a shift toward more quiet, acoustic music. In addition to the five groups listed here, I have found myself listening to more classical and jazz music and spending much more time with my own acoustic guitar (I even bought a new one this year!). Iron & Wine is, essentially a guy named Sam Beam. And while he is in the same genre (maybe) as some of the other artists that I have mentioned here, I think that he is very different. His music is almost like a whisper when compared to these other groups. I love it. His collaboration with Tucson’s Calexico and the album that they produced (In the Reins) along with Beam’s 2004 album Endless Numbered Days got top spots in Ipod consumed tunage this year.
4. Jose Gonzales- Gonzales was a late entry for me, but he stuck fast. I don’t quite know what it is about his 2005 album Veneer that moves me—especially since I am usually not very complimentary towards overly short albums (his clocks in at just over 30 minutes). But it does—move me, I mean. The songs are short and soft, but they are intense. His guitar playing, which is entirely done on a classical guitar, is droning and full and his voice is melodic and has a comforting quality to it. Besides Alison Krauss, his music is the easiest for me to recommend and it has almost universal likability. I missed seeing him in concert at a very small venue in Tempe last autumn—mostly, I think, because I had only really head of him when he came through. I didn’t know!
5. James Taylor’s complete catalog (instead of just his ever-present Greatest Hits album) has come to be much more meaningful to me this year(especially songs like: “Don’t Be Sad ‘Cause Your Son is Down” and “Frozen Man” but with new respect for “Sweet Baby James”). I have always been a fan, but JT has now moved to everyday listening status.
6. The Decemberists- In a lot of ways, Collin Meloy is, for me, this year’s Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie/Postal Service). The dudes look like they could be brothers, but this added to the fact that they both sport high tenor voices and front post-Indie rock bands kind of seals the deal. The two artists’ music, though, is quite different. The Decemberists are to Irish seafaring folk music what the Postal Service are to the Pet Shop boys. My dad would be proud to know that with the help of bands like the Decemberists, the accordion is making a comeback.
7. John Mayer’s “Stop this Train” Off the 2006 album Continuum (also a big album for me last year), might just be my favorite song of the year. For some reason, the lyrics to this song got to me. I think it may have something to do with the fact that John Mayer and I are nearly the same age (he is only four months older), share the same first name (which he refers to in the third person in this song), and it is a song about getting older and not knowing what to make of it. Plus it is one of those songs that you can listen to over and over without getting tired of it. John Mayer is consistent—but he always manages to be innovative as well. I loved his Trio album—who can’t get behind a lyric like “Gravity is working against me; gravity always gets me down”?—and (maybe minus “Waiting on the World to Change”) really love Continuum. I also just found out that he was nominated for 5 Grammys this year.
8. Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”- Is Gnarls Barkley a fad band? Probably. Was “Crazy” one of the best songs of 2006? Absolutely.

Movies & TV:

I don’t know that I can go to one or really even a group of movies as being stand out for me this year, but thought I should mention that due to the amazing Tivo ability to search and record any movie you may have ever wanted to watch in your entire life—ever. So, this year, I have tried to watch as many of the classics as I could find.

Tina and I have also enjoyed 24, Lost, Heroes, Scrubs, and only recently (technically not qualifying for this 2006 report) the Office.

Books:

While you might think that a Literature major would have read a lot of books in the past year…well you’d be right. I read like crazy last year. My favorites were: Moby Dick, Empire Grill, Cold Mountain, The Chosen, Life of Pi, and the Giver. I also discovered a love for American author Stephen Crane, English legend John Milton, and found out what the big whoop is about Mark Twain. I have also tried to start reading my Best Short Stories series and made it through 1989 and can’t wait to read the rest of them.

Websites: see my “Waste Your Time on My Dime” entries below.

Let's go away for a while...Holiday update

Tonight, finally: a lull. It has been a busy season. Classes ended for me on the 15th, and with what I thought would be another successful semester in the hole (and it was! Straight As and summa cum laude are now mine!), I started the process of—one by one—finalizing my applications for graduate school. Wisconsin Madison, Pitt and the U of A were all due on the 15th, Rensselaer was due on the 1st and I tossed the application for Texas in the mail this afternoon (hoping that the Ford holiday doesn’t foul up the postmark requirement). It has been a good time here in Tucson—though it’s hard not to miss my family during Christmas. Here is an excerpt by Dave of a letter to Scott on his mission that sums up a lot of the holiday activities:

Well, we had a snow adventure yesterday. With all the rain (and consequently snow) recently there was a bunch of snow on Mt. Lemmon. We had gone up to Mesa Friday for a doctor appointment for Maryn and went to the temple. On the way back to Tucson, we stopped at Matt and Mindy’s house and they loaned Tina a few things for the snow; boots, gloves (“glums” Seth calls them), bibs and a cool sled which is like a boogie board with handles. So we left home about 3:30 and passed hundreds of cars pulled off the side of the road as low as Bear Canyon picnic area. We trudged on up to the Mt. Bigelow road to the meadow there. There weren’t as many cars there but the road was icy and we drove up as far as we could and then parked and walked a hundred yards or so. You might recall that the meadow is in the shade and when the wind blew, the snow on the tree branches came down on us. Yeah, it was cold. But Seth loved it and rode down the hill on the sled with Jon several times (he made a snow angel with Rachel too). He would dig his heels in at the bottom to stop and spray them both with snow. I took Maryn down a short version of the hill and she liked it too. Jon HAD to start at the road above us and go all the way down by himself. When he hit the first bump he caught some glorious air and landed hard on his coccyx (pronounced “kok-kicks”). He was injured… injured bad… and is sore today. Carlie and Trevor came up and met us there and Trevor rode down the hill a couple of times. It was very fun but Seth was very sad that we did not build a snowman. But it was getting colder and dark (and Mom and the sisters had about had it) and the snow was pretty powdery. Besides, we pretty much had had all the fun we wanted to have. At one of the pull outs someone had made a very cute snowman and people were lining up to have their picture taken beside it (On the ride down we drove into the sunset up to a long line of cars lined up at the Houghton/Catalina highway intersection. Maryn screamed the whole way. My theory is sore ears from altitude change. But when we got home Mom made TWO kinds of soups to warm us up (clam chowder and ham and potato). Yum.

We have been doing some serious chillaxing here these days. Playing Mexican train (a domino game), Settlers of Catan, Apples to Apples, watching DVDs, playing Nintendo (including Mom’s favorite, Tetris), staying up late, getting up late and eating… a lot. On the Jon Stone Coke Zero can count, he is currently at about 35 for the vacation. He is hoping for a record. He also is rockin’ on Picmin 2 (a game he claims he bought for you last time they were down—it was only $10 at Circuit City). This week we are going to paint over the drywall repairs that Handy Manny George made for us and probably put the decorations away. Seth loves to play Nintendo. Just give him a controller (plugged in or not) and he will have a great time. He also loves the DVD “The Polar Express” and we have already watched it while drinking hot chocolate. It’s his new favorite movie.

Anyway—back to Mesa tomorrow. The Illinois application is due postmarked by Friday and then it starts again on the 15th. Writing these letters and spending so much time looking at the University websites and faculty articles that have been published is making me excited at the prospects of getting in somewhere. Every school that I have applied to has its virtues and so far I haven’t felt like I have wasted any time or money (though the money thing is huge—I figure that by the end of the process it will have cost us as much as a semester in school costs to apply to grad school.). It’s hard not to dread the possibility of not getting in anywhere. Another seminary-like rejection. We found something out, though, recently that helped to curb some of that dread. We discovered that school districts in Texas hire teachers for almost 10K more per year than they do in Arizona (around 38K a year) and housing there is half as expensive. This perked me up a bit—all that I have really wanted in all of this is to have a job that I enjoy that pays enough for us to be able to buy a house and not have Tina work. So, it looks like we have a very viable plan B.

So that is the update. Stay tuned above for the best of 2006 entry. Coming soon.