tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121777932024-03-13T06:02:38.502-04:00CaroleMcDonnellThis will be a blog for Christians, for people who are part of a minority, for writers. I'm a poet, essayist, devotionalist, reviewer and writer of speculative fiction.Let God be true...and every man a liar.Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.comBlogger1648125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-44824679087931918192023-01-21T12:25:00.000-05:002023-01-21T12:25:05.917-05:00Poem: If Wishes were horses<p> A team of horses racing toward me</p><p><br /></p><p>Brown like the uniforms of soldiers fortressing me around</p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p>Speckled like a found family, salt of the earth</p><p><br /></p><p>White like picket fences</p><p><br /></p><p>Black like the cozy comfort of night.</p><p><br /></p><p>Dappled, gray, red, also among them</p><p><br /></p><p>bringing lesser-pondered but nevertheless still powerful dreams.</p><p><br /></p><p>Rainbow-like, a promise that destruction -- at least for a time-- is gone and peace has come.</p><p><br /></p>Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-19445285609128932612022-12-29T11:11:00.004-05:002022-12-29T11:11:00.254-05:00CDRAMA FIRST IMPRESSION: Homesick<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHmz-CujvA7oQ9KiUqqUZTdC_tftgud7yB4XNHhpJblYczpxiSnBosAI7rSMwVPo7AjB-oNA40BF2TWKz-17TGFEXUZ0n4gkCS1H2YnsN8ykS0KAeZXkV7_vfoKsUp_7LpsL6O-AC0EYN5DAzSuwMk2g6cYLYFWvBNBcJePTBeOnF8w1qR" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1274" data-original-width="900" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHmz-CujvA7oQ9KiUqqUZTdC_tftgud7yB4XNHhpJblYczpxiSnBosAI7rSMwVPo7AjB-oNA40BF2TWKz-17TGFEXUZ0n4gkCS1H2YnsN8ykS0KAeZXkV7_vfoKsUp_7LpsL6O-AC0EYN5DAzSuwMk2g6cYLYFWvBNBcJePTBeOnF8w1qR" width="170" /></a></div><br /> Homesick is a new cdrama on iqiyi and it is awesome. I still think Reset is the best cdrama of the year but Homesick is definitely up there. And if there's one thing that I will take away from this drama it's that inviting a new person into your house can cause one trouble after to another to ensue. What I love about this story is its economy of storytelling. It's a mystery and its pace seems laidback slice of life but the viewer is on a speeding train and doesn't realize it until it's too late. I envy this kind of storytelling. I like slow burns too but their slow style have influenced me too much. This drama does slow burn and speeding train at the same time. The information, backstory, everything is told so efficiently This is writing skill!<p></p><p><br /></p><p>The story so far --four episodes in-- is our heroine arrives from the orphanage region welfare home in a small town full of secrets and shady doings to find her lost sister/friend who was a maid in a family's house. This family had a daughter who mysteriously went missing when she was seven--ish and an intellectually disabled teenaged son who was normal but got a sudden fever as a boy which left him disabled. Heroine takes advantage of this info in order to find out about her lost sister and pretends to be the family's lost daughter returned. Housewife has doubhts but Dad is weepy doting and disabled brother is overjoyed. Housewife gets DNA surreptitiously taken of girl to disprove paternity. DNA confirms paternity but Housewife isn't shocked and tells no one the results.</p><p><br /></p><p>Meanwhile Heroine discovers that her sister had discovered the family's mom's affair with a local shady character. (Actually most everyone in this drama is shady. It's a small town after all. Not exactly Deliverance country but we all know how shady small towns can be. The police department is pretty much on the up and up, though.)</p><p><br /></p><p>Sister either blackmailed housewife for a watch or stole watch but either way is branded a theif and a loose woman who upped and disappeared. So the discovery of the affair is only the first trouble that comes from opening one's house to a stranger. It only gets worse. That watch only causes more trouble. Heroine had received it from her sister but gives it to her sister's Ex for safekeeping. He's kinda dumb so he wears it outside in the street to show off his bling ...only to be seen by thuggy cheater. Thuggy cheater goes to housewife to ask why she sold the watch. Housewife explains that missing girl blackmailed her for the watch and together they plan to get heroine returned to orphanage. Heroine by now is loving the dad and brother because she never had such love all her life. But she knows housewife knows the truth about her having the watch and well...the ruse is up.</p><p><br /></p><p>Meanwhile a shaman has come to the village. He performs some energy ceremony on disabled boy and boy improves exponentially but regresses when he returns home. Housewife asks shaman to give her son another ceremony. Shaman says the spiritual information he's received about the situation is heavy and says something vague about karma and folks getting served what they deserve. Housewife says she's a good person and pleads that her son is innocent and if he got healed even a little bit to get a tiny little job she would be happy. Shaman says helping her son in such a situation would deplete his own energy but after an offscreen talk with thug cheater gives in and says he'll come back in a month and the price will be 5000. </p><p><br /></p><p>Housewife returns home and finds that her hubby has put that savings into an account for their newly found daughter because daughter will be taking care of everyone when mom and dad get older. Housewife rages and says he's deluded and this girl is not their daughter. But doesn't show him the paternity paper. Husband says she is deluded that their son can get better. Husband cuckold decides to rent out a warehouse that isn't his because his boss gave him the key. With the extra bad money, he can start a savings account for newfound daughter.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cheater Thug decides that the best way to get rid of heroine is to show her a tape of her missing sister preparing to enter a local beauty pageant. Housewife, thug, and heroine watch very skeevy tape and heroine believes her sister has deserted her. Housewife is also disgusted by cheater thug's seductive moves on the missing girl. Heroine dashes out crying and tells her sister's stupid ex to look at the tape and to stop waiting for sister's return. </p><p><br /></p><p>Stupid Ex goes to room later and steals the tape. Instead of looking at it in that room. He goes to a room where he and his thuggy friends hang out and starts watching the tape. His friends gang up on him, take the tape, watch missing girl being seduced...but wait...there's something else on the tape. Housewife with thuggy cheater lover beside her long ago taped a confession to her hubby saying she's grateful that he took her in when she was an unwed mother and has taken care of her and her disabled son but she has not been able to get over her thuggy lover. Note: half the town's young men are watching this tape. Next morning, housewife is at some office and hears that her husband has drunk pesticides and is now in the hospital. End of episode four.</p>Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-74247671663310750372022-12-23T11:16:00.002-05:002022-12-23T11:16:32.107-05:00Ruminations: Epiphanies<p> Hubby and I sitting here listening to the Messiah and discussing the first time we realized something. Hubby remembers the first time he "got" biking. For me, it was the day I suddenly understood how to read music. I was in sixth grade orchestra, playing second violin. Mr Klingensmith, our teacher directing. The music sheet was on the stand before me. Some simple classical piece and I was busily watching the fingers of my fellow violinist and imitating his/her fingers. The only violinist I remember from that class was Randy Brown. A blonde cowboy from Colorado who was absolutely amazing in looks and skills. And a very sweet kid. I doubt he was playing second violin though. But I digress. My gaze bounced between the music sheet which I didn't understand and the fingers of the violinist which I was trying to imitate and keep up with. This went on for weeks and then suddenly as my gaze bounced from sheet music to finger to sheet music, I realized that when my fellow violinist played a C, he or she used the left index and middle finger on the violin A string. And when the B note was used, the index finger alone was used on the violin A string. And suddenly I understood how the notes on the music sheet were mirrored by the fingers on the violin string. An epiphany! </p><p><br /></p><p>I am sure we all have various epiphanies...especially when we were in school. The moment we understood that letters had sound, the moment we understood how a clock's hans worked, etc. All this to say that as I read Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop, Red Fish Blue Fish to younger son, I keep imagining son suddenly seeing and understanding. Understanding what? Lord knows! Preposition, Colors, Everything? I keep thinking that I am glad I always remembered my own epiphany. It makes me imagine the wonder and joy younger son will feel when sudden insight comes.</p>Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-19389061781820040952022-12-18T12:47:00.001-05:002022-12-18T12:47:33.078-05:00Sow Bountifully<p> Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Cor 9:6</p><p><br /></p><p>I know this verse is used in context for money. But it's a general principle for most things. So, let's think about sowing the word. The word of healing, specifically. One prayer can be enough, but why not sow many prayers into a situation? </p><p>So, if you're taking a shower and you think of a sick friend, say a prayer or command healing for them since we have the authority. Later, if that person comes to mind again, say another prayer for them or command another healing for them. Or if someone else comes to mind -- later that day or whenever it comes-- command a healing or pray for the sick person. Pray without ceasing. If you pray for or command for a person six or seven or eleven times a day, aren't you sowing bountifully? Let us all reap bountifully and speak the word of healing or blessing or prosperity over OTHERS and over ourselves whenever a prayer or a need or a person comes to our mind. </p><p>And water the word with thanksgiving in the same way. Always be giving thanks for blessings received and those not yet received.</p><p><br /></p>Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-45477738230936169632022-12-09T10:49:00.003-05:002022-12-09T10:49:48.056-05:00Take Every Thought Captive<p> God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and a sound mind.</p><p>Paul tells us in Romans not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. In Corinthians, he tells us to take every thought captive and to subject them to the knowledge of God. We are told to nail the decree against us to the cross. The Bible gives us knowledge of God. We have precious promises. We have been given gifts, strengths, authority, and righteousness in Christ. We use the weapons of our warfare and are told to seek God's rest. The rest of faith is how we fight. We fight by resisting the devil, the flesh, the world. We fight by resting. The world, the devil, and our own history have filled our minds with lies. But the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and he has given us everything necessary for life and godliness. We are seated with him in heavenly places and Christ has given us authority and power. The devil, of course, doesn't want us to know or trust in the Word sowed into our hearts. God has given us power through his precious promises. This is why we read our Bible. Each promise and Bible verse that we believe in is a living, active, powerful weapon.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are many lying thoughts that lie against the truth. Lies like: God doesn't hear me when I pray. God doesn't love me. God isn't helping me. I am powerless. The Bible is not true.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, how do we take our thoughts captive?</p><p>By speaking:</p><p>Example: if we are attacked by a thought that we are old and probably will get sickly and die at age 70, or if we are attacked by thoughts that we are losers and we never overcome anything, we have to speak.</p><p><br /></p><p>How do we speak?</p><p>We take the negative thought captive and we use the word of God spoken from our lips (and believed in our hearts) to declare the thought is false.</p><p><br /></p><p>Example: In the name of Jesus, I declare the thought that I will die at age 70 because such and such runs in my family is a lie. I take this thought captive to the truth of the word which says with long life God will satisfy me and show me His salvation. It is written in Gods word that The Lord is my healer. I choose to believe God. God does not lie.</p><p><br /></p><p>Another example: In the name of Jesus, I take the thought captive that I am powerless against my sin, flaw, habit, etc. I take that thought captive now and I choose to destroy it by making it subject to Christ. All my sin and the power of sin was nailed to the cross through the victorious death of Christ. The grace of God has appeared which teaches and empowers us to conquer sin. In Christ I have victory over this thought, habit, sin, etc. I choose to believe God's word.</p><p><br /></p><p>We can also command the thoughts to go. We have the authority to command them to go. But do it in faith.</p><p><br /></p><p>And always, always pray and hope. Trust that something good is happening.</p>Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-364361968475305872022-10-08T09:58:00.004-04:002022-10-08T09:58:53.402-04:00Pondering: A priest forever<p> Pondering: The Lord as sworn and will not relent. You are a priest forever. Just like Melchizedek.</p><p>This is said twice in Scripture referring to Jesus.</p><p>So what can we understand?</p><p>First: Melchizedek is a priest forever. If Melchizedek's priesthood is forever and unchanging, so is the priesthood of Jesus. God doesn't change his mind. So...is Melchizedek still doing his priestly work? Or has he been, so to speak, retired?</p><p>Second: God has given to Jesus a name above all names and everything and everyone must bow their knees to the name of Jesus. So whatever Melchizedek is or is not doing now, he is in no way equal to Jesus.</p><p>Third: Jesus is the high priest of our confession. We have been made kings and priests in his kingdom (definitely on earth but will this continue in heaven and the New Jerusalem?) How many eternal priests are there? A high priest is over many priests. </p><p>Fourth: No man comes to the Father but by Jesus. This is very important. The Bible doesn't say that no man comes to a good afterlife or to heaven without Christ. It says no man comes to the Father. So we have Lazarus in Abram's bosom. We also have Ezekiel speaking of those who serve the prince but never see his face forever. We have people outside the gates of New Jerusalem. We have the book of Romans and the concept that where there is no law there is no sin. Although sin and death rule over them, there is the law of their conscience. And we have Jesus speaking of those who didn't know the will of God being beaten with fewer stripes. We also have the Great Commission because even unsaved ignorant people who live by their conscience will sin against their conscience. I wonder if Melchizedek is the priest whom God has appointed over these people. But all will be Christ's and at last everything that is Christ will be God's.</p><p>Just going through a Biblical rabbit hole. We have to be careful when it comes to rabbit hole theology and doctrine.... especially if ultimately some theory doesn't matter to our own life. It's okay to ponder but our ponderings must always bow to Scripture and this is why we need to know Scripture. So many deceptions have come about in the church because someone missed a Bible verse. I remember a pretty famous preacher going on about God creating many humans in the beginning and calling their name Adam, as a collective. He decided on this because he figured the world couldn't have been so quickly populated. But he missed the verse in Genesis that says Eve was the mother of all living. And he missed the verse which states that through one man sin came to the earth. If Gid had made many Adams then did all the Adams eat the fruit? And if one of the Adams didn't eat the fruit, why didn't God use that tiny remnant? The same way of missing or ignoring or misunderstanding a Bible verse can be found in theology where hell supposedly doesn't exist, or even in the idea that Satan represents collective human evil and tendencies. So when they say Jesus battled Satan's temptation in the wilderness, they forget the verse that the Bible says Jesus knew no sin. This kind of thing goes on in small things...like those who believe in the Sethite theory (as if two different kinds of humans could be good and bad and marrying into the wrong race of humans could create strange beings.)</p><p>Anyways...all this is to say that Scriptures are our guidelines in all our ponderings. Or else we'll wrestle scriptures to our destruction.</p><div><br /></div>Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-48091447679440926192022-10-07T20:38:00.015-04:002022-10-11T11:02:18.559-04:00Mini review of Mr Harrigan's phone on Netflix<p> I just saw Mr Harrigan's Phone. I really liked it. Don't expect anything horrific. Man speaking from the grave notwithstanding. It's just a good little coming-of-age YA story. It has a quiet spirituality to it. Vengeance is such a part of Stephen King's stories and here is a story where the entire idea of vengeance is challenged. It shows the futility of getting back at evil. </p><p>The moralism isn't mostly about phones as some reviewers are saying. Yes, phones affect human connection. But the stories he reads are about power and the ability to use money or power to avenge oneself or to fight against the evil in the world. Craig has only a dead person to help him fight against evil. In the end, he grows and accepts that the world is full of wounded people and of wounds and perhaps having the power to redress evil isn't for him to decide. It's an anti-superhero kind of story. And for Stephen King who has created so many stories about vengeance, it's almost like an old man (old writer's) admittance that he has written a lot of vengeful tales and perhaps that isn't the way to go. I really loved that relinquishing of power. The protagonist basically noped out of being an avenger. </p><p>I'm one of those Stephen King fans who loves his YA and or mainstream slice-of-life stories. Having seen my share of Christian movies, I'll say that it's got that Christian vibe that i could never imagine a regular evangelical writer writing. Gently religious, gently supernatural, a subtle message in a slice of life ya story. Well, in this case "slice of supernatural life" story.</p><p>I loved loved loved it. It reminded me of Nope by Jordan Peele. We come to a Stephen King story looking for bloodshed and vengeance and Stephen gives us a character who learns the guilt and futility of vengeance. Literature in the film, Scripture in the film, are all about using power, money, etc to destroy those who want to destroy us. Power makes us play God. Our protagonist has the ability to avenge and destroy evil. Writers can uphold morality or socialism or vengeance or ....not. Stephen King showing literature s power makes me feel he's challenging himself. And perhaps apologizing for making a spectacle of vengeance. In the long run, protag learns that perhaps we should not be judge, jury, executioner, and CCTV camera. And we shouldn't indulge in literature that emphasizes our thirst for vengeance. A quiet antispectacle noping out.</p><p>The story is from the anthology is "If it bleeds" and that comes from the old journalistic adage, "if it bleeds, it leads." People like spectacle and they want bloodshed because it is more exciting. But King is very courageous in challenging his readers who expect bloodshed from him and who get bored with normalcy. I thought it was a great coming of age story for a culture that loves spectacle and revenge porn horror. It's not meant to be scary in a give me blood spectacle kind of way. Every quote in the story hints at stopping the misuse of power. Having the power to do harm is not the way to go. And if one uses power to do harm then that is what is horrific. Our hero is not in Death Note or even in Chronicle. He knows how to retain his humanity. By restraining his power... Even in the face of injustice, he's come of age. And if King's readers have come of age, they will understand that addiction to vengeance is not the way to go either.</p><p> Interestingly, one of the subtexts of the story is malice, gloating, vengeance, forgiveness. Which was one of the things we discussed when we talked about Obadiah in last week's Bible study.</p>Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-34703156566360323292022-09-20T10:27:00.000-04:002022-09-20T10:27:02.128-04:00Watching: A Romance of the Little Forest<p> Watching "A romance of the little forest" and wondering if the writer ever stepped aside to really study her characters. Heroine is a cute girl who bullies her way into the life of a curmudgeonly professor played by the absolutely exquisite Vin Zhang. Heroine is played by the absolutely adorable Esther Yu. </p><p><br /></p><p>Trouble is, though, the cute bullying pushy heroine trope can also be reframed as a stalker trope and it can be quite triggering if one has been watching way too many true crime dramas. Writer has also included another character who is bulldozing himself into hero's life. Bulldozing quiet shy person for shy person's own good is a common trope in Asian dramas but it's an unquestioned trope. The fact that heroine is determined to make the hero love her and that she does so many pushy, cruel, underhanded things is NOT cute. And showing her backstory seven episodes into the story is not going to help because if your mind is already against this girl, it's too late to quell one's annoyance with the heroine. Truth to tell, I don't know why I keep watching it. Maybe because i like both actors and i do have the ability to see the writer's intention despite how the story's playing out. </p><p><br /></p><p>Of course there will not be (and there has never been) a moment in any of these rom-coms where the bullying ditz apologizes for being manipulative and pushy. So the heroines often get away with selfish narcissistic aggressive behavior. When you start a story never questioning your heroine or your trope, you're bound to be unable to see how other folks outside of the trope will see such a story. At this point, all the pushy cuteness is just triggering and feels stalkerish and cruel to me. </p><p><br /></p><p>I do wish this trope would change but aegyo is a thing in patriarchal societies apparently. Not to mention the whole vindictive petty back-and-forthing in their fake dating. But my major trouble with this drama, though, is that heroine's mother is such a good cook. I keep wanting to go to the Chinese restaurant...or at least to make some of the dishes the mom makes. That chicken dish looked sooo good.</p>Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-19180401949174849982022-08-16T15:28:00.005-04:002022-08-16T15:28:59.390-04:00Movie Review: SPOOR -- Amazon Prime Video<p> </p><p> Spoor was quite good. A slooooow burn and not the horror movie i expected it to be. </p><p><br /></p><p>The heroine is definitely a wise woman stereotype but the depiction works. The bad patriarchy guys also work well too. So it didn't come off as a screedy polemic. </p><p>The story takes place in Eastern Europe. Our heroine is an older woman who loves animals. We're dealing with patriarchy here. In fact there's a young orthodox priest who is a nasty piece of work. He says stuff about animals that many-but-not-all Christians would have problems with. Women are also treated like crap. Our heroine has a connection with nature, the stars, etc and she lives near hunters, poachers, and a cruel research lab on the outskirts of the village. She's surrounded by men who basically think anything weaker than an adult man pretty much can be treated any kind a way - the law be damned. Her best friends are her animals, but the priest says it's a sin to call animals friends, to say animals have souls, and that burying animals is a sin of pride. </p><p>Well, suddenly heroine's pet dogs disappear, strange deaths keep happening, and deer start getting attitude. Heroine is already battling ageism, patriarchy, and a world that belittles and oppresses everything that is weak. The only mercy in this town is patronising the weak. The patronizing is no joke. Sadistic lab guy is being horrible to a girl in town and hunting season is on. Heroine is always showing up at dead bodies and animal tracks are near the corpses of murdered hunters. I liked this movie</p><p>Still...there were things that were problematic for me. </p><p>First: the patriarchy was represented and upheld by a christian priest. Of course, this often happens in real life but just because christendom does patriarchy and nature cruelty badly doesn't mean that the Bible affirms that kind of patriarchal cruelty. But alas, the history of Christendom does have a lot of cruelty to women, animals, the weak, etc. So that depiction was bothersome, but somewhat fair.</p><p> Second: the pantheism and panentheism was a bit much for my Christian soul. Heroine is a true astrologer, more so than the typical stuff one sees in newspapers or hear from friends. The worship of the star? The stars ruling and controlling our fate. Heroine could love nature without going so far. But heck, it's not my movie. So why argue? </p><p>Yes, why argue? Especially because i agree with so much of the socio-emotional issues in the movie. Thirdly: the ending. Again, problematic. A murderer gets away scotfree and i was happy about it. yeah, i know. My heart was conflicted. What can i say? I agreed with the filmmaker that the patriarchy had to be outwitted. Animals, the weak, and women were being treated so bad. I know that as a good Christian there are philosophies, story constructs, and story resolutions I'm supposed to dislike. But, the heart is the heart. I'm not saying it's wholly unredeemed aspects of my heart that made me like this movie. I think the redemmed and holy part of me also liked it. But these are stories and characters that American Christians don't deal with. We're kinda trained off certain things. For instance, how many evangelicals become anthropologists or feminist critics or climate activists? It is what it is. I so wish American Christian filmmakers would make movies like Spoor. But American Christian filmmakers rarely deal with matters of soul, animals, evil patriarchy. They deal with a totally different other set of americanized issues. Nothing spiritual generally. Anyways. Spoor. AmazonPrimeVideo. A slow movie but it really touched me.</p><div><br /></div><p><br /></p>Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-30780229148662633392021-05-16T11:33:00.007-04:002021-05-16T11:33:51.114-04:00Humble is the Way by David Jones<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Pj14cHNhsB1riNRXiNd3mqmqoLOep7qetSHJO04yMRLUIHHS8GLf_iKQnFpHmJ8JvwI77rdnUXPH31d7V4Bo0zR01vtBuEdPfEnAPFPgwm6Qbbf1N76gmjm0v4vL7gBMAcQ9/s1600-h/18038063.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236210608059288898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Pj14cHNhsB1riNRXiNd3mqmqoLOep7qetSHJO04yMRLUIHHS8GLf_iKQnFpHmJ8JvwI77rdnUXPH31d7V4Bo0zR01vtBuEdPfEnAPFPgwm6Qbbf1N76gmjm0v4vL7gBMAcQ9/s400/18038063.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" /></a>
Humble is the Way <div> by
David Jones </div><div>Publisher: McDougal & Associates </div><div>Pub. Date: July 2007 </div><div>ISBN-13: 9780977705368 </div><div>208pp <div><br /></div><div> I usually just post the info about a book but I've decided that maybe -- I won't promise this, mind you-- I'll just give a little intro before I go on to post the book info.
Last week I had a near run-in with my husband's boss. He's an okay person but let's just say that my husband has been the longest-employed guy at this firm. Because, well, the boss is a tough one. So I called hubby's office and the boss has this weird rule that if an employee gets a non-business-related call from family or friends -- and if the phone isn't picked up by said employee-- that the phoner should hang up the phone after the third ring. (yes, the guy is a bit on the anal side.) So I always follow this rule. But on this particular day I kinda faded out into a daydream while I waited for hubby to pick up the phone. When my mind returned to me, I realized the phone had rung about seven times. The secretary picks up the phone and says to me, "The boss said to remind you to not let the phone ring more than three times." I was so peeved with this jerk. I felt the holy spirit say to me, "you have got to learn to deal with folks who use authority badly. You have got to learn to be humble no matter how badly you are treated or no matter how cruel or stupid you think someone is." I realized, of course, that this was the same exact situation I had been in before...with asholey neighbor down the road. I hung up the phone. I wanted to call my husband later and tell him to quit this job (my husband is a super-asset in this company.) but then I thought, "Let's not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. Do something out of anger and God might not watch your back." I wanted to tell this boss off and say, "Excuse me! Everyone who works for you has left you. You are not exactly liked. Do you know why?" But I didn't. It took a whole lotta strength.
I can't say, though, that I won this battle of humility. I'm still pretty strongwilled and arrogant. Immediately after the secretary gave me that message from the boss, I called back the office and made the phone ring four times. Just to be a pain. I wanted to make it ring seven times. To really nag this guy. But I held back. Yes, yes, I know. Childish. My neighbor got a good laugh at it. Remember, she's the one who saw me being dragged off to the police station because I got pissed off at menacing gun-toting neighbor.
I think that those of us who have been abused and treated really shabbily by family, racists, etc...tend to have a chip on our shoulder. But as Canon Jim Glennon has said, "The devil of resentment is that it's justified." I find myself getting very short-tempered with Christians sometimes. I still haven't forgotten how cruel they have been to me. (Imagine being in a great deal of pain about one's son's illness and some minister who is supposed to be praying for you saying that black folks shouldn't be married to white folks.) I suspect that the reason many black christians have had nothing to do with the church is because of white racism and the slave trade. But what if the power of God cannot be manifested if we aren't humble?
Here it is on <a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Humble-Is-the-Way/David-Jones/e/9780977705368?tabname=custreview&crvAll=1&crvStart=1&displayonly=CRV">Barnes and Noble</a>
Here is the blurb: <blockquote> Humble Is the Way: The way to what? The way to God's favor, the way to form and then maintain a relationship with Him and, as surprising as it may seem, the way to maintain our human relationships as well. Humility is not just required before God; it is also required before one another. Because of this, humility is one of the most needed characteristics and virtues in the Body of Christ today.
The Bible clearly shows us that humility is indispensable in the Christian life. "The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honor is humility" (Proverbs 15:33). Jesus Himself demonstrated the greatest degree of humility in His earthly life and ministry, and in so doing, He set a pattern for us. The result was this: "God highly exalted him," (Philippians 2:9). So humble is where we must begin, and humble is where we must remain.
In these pages, Pastor David Jones masterfully lays out, in the simplest of terms, what terrible consequences pride will bring and what glorious rewards humility will bring, and, best of all, he shows us what is required for each of us to walk humbly before God.</blockquote></div></div>Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-67141180223545288612021-03-22T09:12:00.003-04:002021-03-22T16:06:15.763-04:00Adam weeping<p> </p><div style="font-family: inherit;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="ecm0bbzt hv4rvrfc e5nlhep0 dati1w0a" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" id="jsc_c_9z" style="font-family: inherit; padding: 4px 16px;"><div class="j83agx80 cbu4d94t ew0dbk1b irj2b8pg" style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: -5px; margin-top: -5px;"><div class="qzhwtbm6 knvmm38d" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql rrkovp55 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" color="var(--primary-text)" dir="auto" style="display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">How long did Adam weep </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">when he fully understood the totality of good and evil?</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">When he saw the fullness of it, i mean?</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Tiny bullets, great wars.</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Monstrous lies, subtle betrayals.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">When he understood death in all its fullness</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">The grief and devastation of the dying</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">The grief and devastation of the bereaved.</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Tiny cancer cells and the fear of them</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Mass hidden graves</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Broken hearts</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">He cried for himself, of course.</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">But for his children, grandchildren, great-greats</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">All the sorrows of his descendants before his eyes?</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">No doubt God comforted his regret eagerly</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">But regret is not so easily tamed.</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">All those pre diluvian years</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">With each new murder, calamity, woe</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Weren't his tears renewed?</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">How could they not be?</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">How could the parent of all mankind ever grow numb?</div></div></span></div></div></div></div></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="stjgntxs ni8dbmo4 l82x9zwi uo3d90p7 h905i5nu monazrh9" data-visualcompletion="ignore-dynamic" style="border-radius: 0px 0px 8px 8px; font-family: inherit; overflow: hidden;"><div style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="l9j0dhe7" style="font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><div class="bp9cbjyn m9osqain j83agx80 jq4qci2q bkfpd7mw a3bd9o3v kvgmc6g5 wkznzc2l oygrvhab dhix69tm jktsbyx5 rz4wbd8a osnr6wyh a8nywdso s1tcr66n" style="align-items: center; border-bottom: 1px solid var(--divider); color: var(--secondary-text); display: flex; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; justify-content: flex-end; line-height: 1.3333; margin: 0px 16px; padding: 10px 0px;"><div class="bp9cbjyn j83agx80 buofh1pr ni8dbmo4 stjgntxs" style="align-items: center; background-color: white; color: #65676b; display: flex; flex-grow: 1; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; overflow: hidden;"><span aria-label="See who reacted to this" class="du4w35lb" role="toolbar" style="font-family: inherit; z-index: 0;"><span class="bp9cbjyn j83agx80 b3onmgus" id="jsc_c_a2" style="align-items: center; display: flex; font-family: inherit; padding-left: 4px;"><span class="np69z8it et4y5ytx j7g94pet b74d5cxt qw6c0r16 kb8x4rkr ed597pkb omcyoz59 goun2846 ccm00jje s44p3ltw mk2mc5f4 qxh1up0x qtyiw8t4 tpcyxxvw k0bpgpbk hm271qws rl04r1d5 l9j0dhe7 ov9facns kavbgo14" style="border-bottom-color: var(--card-background); border-left-color: var(--card-background); border-radius: 11px; border-right-color: var(--card-background); border-style: solid; border-top-color: var(--card-background); border-width: 2px; font-family: inherit; height: 18px; margin-left: -4px; position: relative; width: 18px; z-index: 2;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="kb5gq1qc pfnyh3mw c0wkt4kp" style="background-color: white; color: #65676b; flex-grow: 0; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; width: 7px;"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-60370651207759251162021-03-10T18:40:00.000-05:002021-03-10T18:40:16.146-05:00Fractured Villanelle<p> <span style="color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Myth is perpetual</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;">Racism is stalwart</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;">The past is changeless and therefore everpresent</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;">Princes leave their kingdom</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;">To find their destined bride</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;">The myth is perpetual.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;">But kingdom must approve the far-off Bride</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;">And the Bride must always be fair.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;">Racism is stalwart.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;"> She enters the kingdom<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;">A descendant of the conquered</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;">Myth is perpetual</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;">The populace remembers the greatness of its conquerors</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;">They remember their ancestors' burden</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;">Racism is stalwart.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;">There is wrongness in the truest love</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;">if the myth of race and empire demand the perpetual</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;">Because the past is stalwart, changeless and everpresent</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;"><br style="background-color: #f9f9f9; box-sizing: border-box;" /></p>Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-19330142507793843292021-01-28T16:02:00.001-05:002021-01-28T16:02:07.481-05:00Short-short<p> Coffee – Whatever</p><p><br /></p><p>It's a new taste for me - coffee.</p><p>Some other new thing to add to a week of new things.</p><p><br /></p><p>He says, </p><p>"This is what my father does..</p><p>.brings coffee to my mom. </p><p>Every morning. Like clockwork. </p><p>And yes, I guess it's like the clock because sometimes he even wakes her up to drink it. Sometimes not, though. He puts it on the floor or on the table near her head."</p><p><br /></p><p>I am unsure what to think of this, this new thing on the first day of our marriage.</p><p>I've never liked coffee, but I could grow to like it. </p><p><br /></p><p>I smile, sip. As expected, it's bitter.</p><p>I am convinced I will resent having to grow to like it.</p><p>I'm not his mother. </p><p>I like the tradition.</p><p>But he loves the tradition and he adores his mother.</p><p><br /></p><p>I sip again and turn to him,</p><p>"Sweetie," I say, "all traditions grow and merge with the addition of new family members."</p><p>He nods, hugs my toes, waits.</p><p><br /></p><p>"Can we make it whatever?" I ask him.</p><p>"Not chocolate?" he asks. Because he knows I love hot chocolate.</p><p><br /></p><p>"No," I reply. "Whatever. Make it whatever. </p><p>Bring me whatever every morning. </p><p>Tea, chai, chocolate sometime, Ashwaghanda, ginger, lemon, peppermint. </p><p>Whatever. Let's keep the tradition, but let's make it our own. Not too rigid or set in our ways." </p><p>I wink. </p><p>"Let's make this fluid fluid."</p><div><br /></div>Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-91146600372910470702021-01-01T13:33:00.005-05:002021-01-03T10:24:11.278-05:00Bridgerton series on Netflix: Mini Review<p> I forgot to post a mini review on #Bridgerton. </p><p>Good points. Really good depiction of how eldest sons pretty much ruled everyone's life. Great multicultural take on Austen tropes. The costumes of the Featherington girls are amazing. </p><p>Downsides: It seems as if the societal change happened only in recent generations. Which makes the multiculturalism somewhat unbelievable. The solid working class servants are pretty invisible. The lovelorn girl is intelligent but plump. Why oh why? The girls with questionable mores and ethics are dark complexioned and fall into the 'tragic light-skinned mulatto' basin. Heroine is only blonde among siblings. Eldest son's love for his mistress is shown as primarily sexual with no internal commentary or balance like a sweet gentle picnic. Diva, she may be but the depiction of mistress is seamy wallowing and slummy. Not sure if these are all in the book and meta or even commented upon but it all makes me wonder. Playing with a genre means being hyper trope wary and often i wondered why these things weren't changed, updated, commented on, or thought through.</p><p>Not a lot of depth here at all. I remember a professor of mine telling hs how tobspot the jewish, racially tainted unworthy heroine in one book. The line was "Her hair had no sheen." The literature major in me likes the playfulness of Bridgerton but the same lit major in me just cringes at how entrenched racism, patriarchy, and judgmentalism is in a book which is using the cloak of multiculturalism. Heck, we even have a gay storyline. But of course the gay folk is an artist and a pretty young lord. It feels free from racism in a blatant way but it retains racism in and unthinking way. It feels as if it's pro woman but the judgment of women is still in it, especially good and bad women and skin or hair coloring. It feels well thought out but it's really fluff. I did enjoy the fluff but i had to put away my mind and my offense several times.</p><p> I hoped a black production company would have been more insightful and aware.</p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">There's something i encounter in stories. The missing character. Even worse than the missing scene, the missing character can make or break a book. The thing that could have made Bridgerton more racially balanced i think would be if there were a young black duchess in the story as someone looking for a suitor. In Thackerays Vanity Fair , there was Miss Schwartz a bi racial daughter of a Jewish character. She was mentioned in passing, with a bit of a sneer but her presence in the story intrigued me. I strongly believe that if the Duke had a sister the story would have to question some of its tropes of race, morals, and beauty. The duke would still retain his bitterness against his dad who was obsessed with having a son. The older sister would have issues too, and Duke would be protector of and friend to an aristo sister. And duchess would be a good balance to the biracial country cousin. I understand country cousin issues in regency novels but i dont like the fact that the country cousin who had such loose morals was black and was thus technically pushed away and deemed unworthy of the marriage pool. Duke's protector is also unmarried. This kind of subtle putting away people from the wrong race ethnic group or religion is done a lot. I remember for instance how they dealt with the Jewish character in The Big Chill. It's so dang common and it shows the writers subtle disdain and racism even though they try to seem enlightened.</span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">There's something i encounter in stories. The missing character. Even worse than the missing scene, the missing character can make or break a book. The thing that could have made Bridgerton more racially balanced i think would be if there were a young black duchess in the story as someone looking for a suitor. In Thackerays Vanity Fair , there was Miss Schwartz a bi racial daughter of a Jewish character. She was mentioned in passing, with a bit of a sneer but her presence in the story intrigued me. I strongly believe that if the Duke had a sister the story would have to question some of its tropes of race, morals, and beauty. The duke would still retain his bitterness against his dad who was obsessed with having a son. The older sister would have issues too, and Duke would be protector of and friend to an aristo sister. And duchess would be a good balance to the biracial country cousin. I understand country cousin issues in regency novels but i dont like the fact that the country cousin who had such loose morals was black and was thus technically pushed away and deemed unworthy of the marriage pool. Duke's protector is also unmarried. This kind of subtle putting away people from the wrong race ethnic group or religion is done a lot. I remember for instance how they dealt with the Jewish character in The Big Chill. It's so dang common and it shows the writers subtle disdain and racism even though they try to seem enlightened.</span></span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.hellomagazine.com/imagenes/film/20201230103542/bridgerton-season-two-release-date-plot-details/0-498-566/bridgerton-cast-t.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" src="https://www.hellomagazine.com/imagenes/film/20201230103542/bridgerton-season-two-release-date-plot-details/0-498-566/bridgerton-cast-t.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-82982299659956482382020-11-02T16:37:00.003-05:002020-11-02T16:37:14.871-05:00The Fan: Control, Disorientation, and the Genre of Regret<p> </p><br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As an eleven-year-old kid sitting in front of the TV
watching PBS’ weekly Janus film festival, I was deeply affected by two movies.
The first was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Heiress</i> with Olivia
De Haviland (which has nothing to do with this review) and the other was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rashomon</i>, the great Japanese movie that
explores experience, perspective, and self-serving humanity’s inability to see
truth clearly. The repetition of scenes with large or slight changes in narrative
was a perfect visual representation of theme and variations, and the fact that
the story ended without giving the viewer a clear final truth was sheer
perfection. So, as a kid I had discovered the great truth of “he said/she
said.” This is a great truth to know.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I also was a lover of puzzles, read a lot of Edgar
Allen Poe, and an avid studier of Bible prophecies. Thus I was primed to become
a lover of time travel movies and films about psychological confusion and the
giddy carnival that are part of movies about disorientation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Disorientation movies often fall into three
categories: Self-observance, the splintering of the self, and the Dante-esque
idea of suddenly finding that one is suddenly lost in the woods. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Time paradox movies follow this pattern also, but
there is that additional aura of regret and cachet of quantum physics and
multiverses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus we have stories where
main characters are mired in returning to the Road not taken, characters who worry
about the moment when their lives went askew, and the human passion for
puzzles.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Movies such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Enemy</i>,
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Inception,</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The One I Love</i> fall into these categories. Recently, I got so
caught up in studying time-travel that, like a chocolate addict who finds
herself in Hershey Pennsylvania, I had to throw off all fears of wasting time
and calories and delve into the substance I love abusing: time. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The more stories I
see about time, the happy I am at how time paradoxes are emerging as a genre.
And when those stories are filmed – as opposed to books—the riches of the genre
become even more magnified. With the camera’s ability to focus, misdirect, and
hide, we can end up with stories that confuse while simultaneously clueing us
in to the themes, games, and characters. For instance, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">11
Minutes Ago</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Coherence</i> are both indie films with
characters who attempt to understand time travel. But whereas the sophisticated
characters in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Coherence</i> are terrified
at the prospect of time being out of joint and get utterly bent out of shape in
their desire to control the singularity, the characters in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">11 Minutes Ago</i> are pretty chill with a main character who is
attempting to sort out the secrets of time with the help of bystanders who discover
his secret. The folks in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Coherence</i>,
on the other hand, are fueled by fear. And fear of what? Themselves. Because
examination of the self is often one of the aspects of multiple worlds. What
kind of person would we be if we were in another world or if we had walked
another path. So time travel is quite often </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">futuristic, psychological, historical,
spiritually existential, thriller, and puzzler all in one. Hence, my love of it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Having glutted myself on time-loops, time paradoxes,
and singularity I can assure you, Dear Reader, that I will not be overwhelming
you with yet another article on time-travel movies. At least not anytime soon.
Books await me and time must be put aside for the time being so I can use my
time in a timely manner for better things.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So here goes: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">11 a.m</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. South Korea 2013 CJ entertainment. Written by Lee Seung-hwan.
Directed by Kim Hyun-Seok.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After dwindling down the choices from the many
time travel flicks I’ve seen this month, the remaining contenders were <i>Time
Lapse</i> and<i> 11 a.m</i>. So, the first: <i>11 a.m.</i> because I like
Korean (and non-US) speculative fiction.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The story is pretty basic. Our hero Woo-seok is
leading a time travel research project called Trotsky -- so named because it
concerns the past and alternate timelines and because Trotsky would’ve been the
great Soviet leader instead of Stalin had if time had turned out differently. I
need not tell you that Team Leader Woo-seok has a past he wants to
change, do I? We pretty much know that all Mad Scientists have some horrible
event that happened in the past from which their passion came. So, yes, this
passion for time travel originated in the death of our hero’s beloved wife. Ah,
if he could only go back in time and fix things.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But her death happened waaaaaaaay back when. And
so far the Trotsky team have only been able to (theoretically) go back in time
for 24 hours. Not a bad start! But apparently not good enough for the Russians
who have been backing this project and who now are on the verge of shutting it
down.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Disappointed but valiant --and (as I’ve already
stated) led by a somewhat obsessed Team Leader, our scientists decide to try to
send Trotsky into the future. “For real, this time.” No more theories or
transporting non-humans into the future. Woo-seok and Young-eun are sent a day
ahead. At exactly 11: a.m. But when they arrive there, they find much amiss.
The station’s ablaze, some crazy guy is attempting to murder Woo-seok folks
have died, the CCTV tapes are scrambled and the walls are crumbling. Dear
me! What do these things mean? How did matters come to this pass? Have the
Russians been doing shady things? Or has knowing the future caused this bad
future to happen?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is a fun flick. It’s fast-paced and it
comes together well. I didn’t find any plot holes -- which is what one looks
for in time travel flicks-- but it’s possible I was so caught up in the story I
missed them. This film is streaming on the web. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Time Lapse</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> 104 minutes USA 2014 Written by Bradley D King and BP
Cooper. Veritas Production</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Time Lapse</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is not exactly a time travel pic. It’s more of a fortune-telling
advanced information pic. And it turns out to be the perfect complement to our
Korean time travel piece, <i>11 a.m</i>. We have three best buds -- consisting
of Callie, Finn, and Jasper. Finn and Callie are dating and Jasper is well,
hovering around them as best friends who are in love with their friend’s girl
often do.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A neighbor goes missing. In their search for
him, they discover a camera that takes pictures of coming events. Exactly 24
hours in the future. Dear me! What a difference a day makes! Well, for one, it
can make a difference between winning a lot of money on gambling and winning a
little. It can prevent -- or cause?-- murders. And if one or two of the main
characters are obsessed with greed or lust or passion, well, who knows what
will happen?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The funny thing about the course of events is
that yet again knowing the future creates the future. In <i>11 a.m.</i>, the
characters try to fight against what seems inevitable. In <i>Time Lapse</i>,
the hipster ever-so-sure-of-themselves friends believe that since a future
scene appears in a photograph, they are obligated to recreate what they see in
the picture. But like the scrambled CCTV tapes in <i>11 a.m.</i>, these folks
are working with incomplete information. I definitely recommend this movie.
This film is available on DVD and is streaming online and on Netflix. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Beauty Inside</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> 2015 South Korea. Yang Film. Directed by Baek
Jong-yeol</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our third entry of involves not time, not space,
but the human body and it has the feel of a transgressive fairy tale. Or
perhaps it would be more transgressive if it hadn’t played it so safe. I will
say though that some folks --especially those who are uncomfortable with
non-normative sexual relationships-- might not find it such a safe watch. (This
film is based on the original Intel and Toshiba “social” film, which I have not
seen so alas, no way for me to compare.)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On his eighteenth birthday, Woo-Jin discovers
that he is a monster. He wakes to find that he is not himself. Not externally
anyway. He soon realizes that it is his fate to look differently every day. He
wakes not knowing what sex, race, or age he will be. The only way he can keep
any one face is to not go to sleep. But sooner or later sleep overtakes him and
he awakes to a new self. One can imagine that this could be a problem. He lives
an isolated life as a furniture maker with only his mother and his best friend
privy to his secret.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then one day he falls in love. At first he
is content to simply visit Yi Soo, the object of his affection every day. Since
he looks like a different person, he can just pretend to be a customer. But
after a while, he decides to show her who he is. After the initial shock -- and
worry that she is dealing with a nutcase-- Yi Soo accepts him. But this
acceptance takes a toll on her mental health and on her reputation. After all,
her co-workers think of her as a man who sees a different man every day. And
the poor girl only knows who her boyfriend is when he takes her hand in the
morning or when he emails a photo of himself in the morning. We come to
understand that although human love is based on the beauty inside, there is
comfort in the routine of seeing the same person’s face every day.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So then, the safety and discomfort factor. True,
there are scenes where we see two girls lying in a bed caressing each other’s
faces but that’s pretty much it. Not that I wanted a full-on gay sex scene but if
the filmmakers are going to challenge society, they really should step up and
make some of us conservative folks in the audience cringe or cover our eyes.
But perhaps some conservative folks in Korea had that reaction. It would’ve
been neat too to have an interracial kiss on one of the days when our hero is a
Black person. Heck, I wouldn’t have minded a scene showing him as a Black
person walking around town. But the biggest problem in this incredibly
sweet and wonderful angsty movie is how incredibly sweet and wonderful and
angsty it is. And you know what that means, don’t you? While there are the
occasional ugly, old, plain, middle-aged folks thrown in as our main lead, the
guys who play our heroes are all incredibly hot and gorgeous. Korea’s culture
of beauty obsession is not challenged at all. So, how can one dislike a movie
when all of one’s favorite Korean stars are in it? Highly recommended. I
suppose the film does say something about love and appearances. I just don’t
know what. But it is beautiful and touching to watch. This film is
showing in art theaters.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ROWS
</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Runtime: 82 minutes</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The opening shot of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rows</i>, is a row of modern houses. Heroine’s dad is a real estate
developer who wants to destroy the creaky old house on the property. Trouble
is, an oldish woman named Haviland lives there and she won’t leave. Dad wants
heroine to give Haviland the writ of eviction. Because he has decided he must
be freed from her irrational fears of the house’s inhabitant.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Before we go any further, let’s pause a moment to ponder the
heroine’s name. It’s Rose. Yep. And in addition to the rows of houses, there
are rows of ominous <span style="color: black;">corn fields. Unlike <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Coherence</i>, which gives the viewer some
clues before it sends us into the plurality and which tells us early in the
plot that we are dealing with some wrinkle in time and place, the viewer of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ROWS</i> is floundering like its heroine. We
wonder what the heck is going on throughout all the rows and rows of
repetitions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Is this some intuition or some spell caused by
the aged woman who might be a long-lived witch? Is our heroine having
flash-backs or premonitions? When did heroine’s “time of trouble” begin? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Was all that time-looping representative of
Rose’s memory? Premonition of future events? Is it the result of breathing in
too much pesticides and chemicals? Why is our heroine on a bed? Is she
mentally-ill? Was there something in the cookies the woman gave her? Is this
movie for or against our desire to be rational? Is it against living by
intuition? Are dealing with a maze of mind? A maze of time? Or badly-done
film-making manipulation? Some films do confusion well, and some not so well. Sure,
there are nods to Hansel and Gretel and even a wink to Dante, but I don’t
understand this film. I won’t go so far to say the filmmakers did a crappy job
in clueing the viewer in because they might have wanted to leave us clueless.
But I felt seriously lost in the corn.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Signal</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2015 Streaming
online<span style="color: black;"> at Dramafever and will probably end up on Hulu
or Netflix.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Signal
</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">is a Korean drama I’m
currently watching about a profiler cold case cop in the present who teams up
with a cop in the past to solve past crimes. Easy enough one would think,
right? But no! Turns out, messing with past time can cause havoc in the
present. Do you really want to arrest the cold case guy back in the past? And
what happens if you arrest the wrong guy in the past and he gets out of jail in
the present and goes after the people who gave him grief in the past—leading to
modern deaths? How does one undo all one’s undoing? I will add that the
detective in the past whom the modern profiler cop’s talking to has died, and
there is a chance we could save him…ya know..if we go back far enough in time.
I will just say that this is one seriously fun drama and you definitely should
catch it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Til next time: happy times!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-33970314004481409392019-08-31T13:04:00.001-04:002019-08-31T13:08:47.515-04:00Review: Gift of Revelation by Robert Fleming<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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by <span class="author notFaded" data-width="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-declarative" data-a-popover="{"closeButtonLabel":"Close Author Dialog Popover","name":"contributor-info-B001HPK9OO","position":"triggerBottom","popoverLabel":"Author Dialog Popover","allowLinkDefault":"true"}" data-action="a-popover" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal contributorNameID" data-asin="B001HPK9OO" href="https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Fleming/e/B001HPK9OO/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Robert Fleming</a> <a class="a-popover-trigger a-declarative" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0;"><i class="a-icon a-icon-popover" style="background-image: url("https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/AUIClients/AmazonUIIcon@spritePackerImages-sprite_1x-003a05344e6a5263c945684c66748394b4cbb9a2._V2_.png"); background-position: -90px -5px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 400px 900px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 0px 0.385em; opacity: 0.6; vertical-align: text-top; width: 7px;"></i></a> </span><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85 , 85 , 85);">(Author)</span></span></span></div>
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Here's the blurb:</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In this third installment of the Gift series, Reverend Clint and Addie</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">are finally settling down in Harlem following their Alabama adventure, during which they help black farmers. Addie, a former schoolteacher, loves New York City, with its glittering tourist sites. When she meets Dr. Bentley Gomes, a missionary just back from Africa, she is alarmed to learn of the worsening human rights crisis in Sudan. Addie is intrigued by the need for volunteers to aid those caught in the bloody war in this region. Meanwhile, Reverend Clint encounters African refugees, and their stories of suffering and pain tug at his soul.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Before Reverend Clint realizes what is going on, Addie volunteers to go to Sudan. The pastor follows her on this unforgettable journey of discovery and revelation, into the dangerous region, where they confront famine, violence, and religious persecution. As Addie plunges into this hell, she wants Reverend Clint to make a lasting commitment to her. She wants something solid but wonders if they'll make it out alive. Will the Sudan adventure transform their admiration for each other into fully realized love? Or will Sudan, with its violent extremists, corrupt politicians, heroic doctors, and long-suffering refugees, derail them from intimacy and trust?</span></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: 700;">File Size:</span> 1115 KB</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: 700;">Print Length:</span> 288 pages</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Urban Christian (March 1, 2015)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: 700;">Publication Date:</span> February 24, 2015</li>
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My Review:</div>
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Christian Books that are written by Black American Christians often deal with subjects that white Christian Americans rarely touch upon. In addition, many Christian books written about country folk often depict rural America as a kind of pure Eden. In Gift of Hope, Robert Fleming shone his passionate and honest spotlight on racism in southern Christian America. Now the third installment of his series is more concerned with more global issues and often with Africa, the Black diaspora, racial and clan wars, and with inter-tribal, inter-clan African warfare.</div>
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The book is informative, well-researched and searingly honest. Which is a good and a bad thing. Mr Fleming, a well-known journalist and author, wants to put so much of his heart and passions into the novel that the book often comes off like a thinly-veiled journalistic article. His skills at writing horror are well used here as he writes about the horrors of war in Africa. </div>
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The main character, Reverend Clint, is a sympathetic character in the way most Christian fiction protagonists are sympathetic. And while the writer does lay it on thick that the main character has suffered, Reverend Clint is shown to be such a holy sufferer that he almost feels like a symbol instead of like a living breathing person. The same can be said for Addie, his love interest, who seems like a manic pixie dream girl wish fulfillment character. I know the character is still recovering from his wife's suicide and her murder of their children but I don't feel the suffering or the recovery. We are told repeatedly that his experience with his now-deceased crazy wife has damaged him, but we rarely see him missing or grieving for his kids. It makes me feel as if the writer didn't mine the personal aspects of the situation portrayed in the story. I found myself wondering if the story would have felt more real to me if the writer had simply made the wife kill herself and not the kids as well. </div>
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The main thrust of the novel feels less personal and intimate. For the first parts of the novel, the main characters are hearing a lot about Sudan and the hearts of the main characters seem somehow distanced from the reader even though the author keeps telling us about their hearts. Fleming's depiction of the violence and the disturbing images the protagonist sees feels realistic, but the depiction of the hero's suffering feels unrealistic here in the third installment as it did in the first two books of the series. There are moments when characters will suddenly start discussing religion, race, religious wars, and journalism that feel wedged in. I've read several of his novels and he truly is a good writer but his transition to Christian novel writing is still ongoing.</div>
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Christian fiction is stagnant in many ways and Fleming is taking it into new territories. Having read his excellent serial killer novel, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0758205759/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3" target="_blank">Havoc After Dark</a>,and knowing the skill of his horror collection <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0991082311/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0" target="_blank">Evil Never Sleeps </a>I would like to see him tackle a Christian urban horror novel. Fleming has changed Christian fiction by giving us realistic books about racism and war and I believe he is that author who is able to merge his horror talents with Christian fiction.</div>
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Three out of five stars. Recommended for church groups that may want to discuss African warfare.</div>
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Robert Fleming Bio:</div>
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Biography</h3>
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Robert Fleming, a freelance journalist and reviewer, formerly worked as an award-winning reporter for the New York Daily News, earning several honors including a New York Press Club award and a Revson Fellowship. His articles have appeared in publications including Essence, Black Enterprise, U.S. News & World Report, Omni, The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, and The New York Times. His non-fiction books include Rescuing A Neighborhood: The Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps, The Success of Caroline Jones, Inc., The Wisdom of the Elders, The African American Writer’s Handbook, Free Jazz, Rasta, Babylon, Jamming: The Music and Culture of Roots Reggae. His fiction titles include Fever in The Blood, Havoc After Dark, Gift of Faith, Gift of Truth, and Gift of Revelation. He edited the popular anthologies After Hours and Intimacy. He has taught journalism, literacy, and film writing at Columbia University, Marist College, City University of New York, and The New School.</div>
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Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-62353672860963537552019-04-20T11:16:00.000-04:002019-04-20T11:18:39.161-04:00The Scarred King by Rose Foreman<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlM3nmnLh7bL9ew_-aErXccty81J_OmJmCqZFH7-H3NGRTnpYmNxxmx4SaMJcXgZ94jJmA5TJm4cV_vzb-rWChQ269Clm2n3wbTW8hd6V3Owl-RWmSvlwvE5IzMEtzg6r7YI5I/s1600/56140524_431897660688842_3997103905203814400_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="960" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlM3nmnLh7bL9ew_-aErXccty81J_OmJmCqZFH7-H3NGRTnpYmNxxmx4SaMJcXgZ94jJmA5TJm4cV_vzb-rWChQ269Clm2n3wbTW8hd6V3Owl-RWmSvlwvE5IzMEtzg6r7YI5I/s640/56140524_431897660688842_3997103905203814400_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">"From the moment he could walk, Bowmark has trained for a fight to the death. The Disc awaits him: a giant bronze platform suspended over a river of lava. He dreads the day of proving—when he must kill or be killed—to claim the throne. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">His people have hidden from the rest of the world for generations. But when the discovery of a mysterious Atlas reveals forgotten lands and peoples, Bowmark begins to question his culture's traditions and laws. His unavoidable future seems grim and pointless when contrasted with another world full of unique civilizations populated with other intelligent species and marvelous creatures. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meanwhile new threats arise from the depths, hidden enemies emerge from within, and soon everything and everyone Bowmark knows and loves will be changed forever. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Torn between a desire to fulfill his duty, and his empathy for others, Bowmark must use all his intelligence and courage to navigate an uncertain future."</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I read some of this book in beta. I really like it. Soon to be up at amazon. Here is her page.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lelia-Rose-Foreman/e/B001KHO3KU%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share">https://www.amazon.com/Lelia-Rose-Foreman/e/B001KHO3KU%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share</a></span></div>
Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-71249078581526049322018-12-12T03:58:00.002-05:002018-12-12T04:10:11.420-05:00Aging<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Every day I grow a little more "old."<o:p></o:p></div>
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I become what "old" should be.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I fall into the dictate.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is a choice<o:p></o:p></div>
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Perhaps even a concession<o:p></o:p></div>
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Perhaps a conviction.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The choice, concession, conviction<o:p></o:p></div>
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is freeing<o:p></o:p></div>
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It hides me away.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Me who had youthful lusts<o:p></o:p></div>
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Me who had ambitions<o:p></o:p></div>
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Me, I, who had hoped for love and fame.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I can escape now into old age<o:p></o:p></div>
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and succumb to contentment.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was one who, as Hopkins states,<o:p></o:p></div>
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was marked when young<o:p></o:p></div>
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marked by death<o:p></o:p></div>
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marked for pain<o:p></o:p></div>
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And even in my youth I was never young.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That is what bothers me<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am to become old, having never been young.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am to slump toward death, having never lived.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was lovely once<o:p></o:p></div>
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But only for an instant.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I grew fat.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Loving eyes poured upon me once<o:p></o:p></div>
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But the wrong soul peered out at me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have felt joy some three or four times.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mine has been an embattled life<o:p></o:p></div>
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And I fought valiantly, though badly.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Since youth<o:p></o:p></div>
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death and holiness were poured upon me<o:p></o:p></div>
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Against death, I fought.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For holiness, I fought.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When young.<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">But now...old age has come.</span></div>
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Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-28007909180371142812018-11-16T08:46:00.000-05:002018-11-16T08:46:05.537-05:00Wavering seas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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You were always like that</div>
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Like fire and water.</div>
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They say the two do not mix.</div>
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But with you, they did.</div>
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Alternately passionate, burning everything before you</div>
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Then dousing it all, dousing us all</div>
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with waves of grief.</div>
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Your red hair too</div>
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curling around your face</div>
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like flaming waves</div>
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that the wind could not hold</div>
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like a <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">fiery halo</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">surrounding a passionate angel's face</span></div>
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Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-39889218874346888942018-11-07T08:32:00.000-05:002018-11-07T08:32:13.259-05:00Poem: Candlesticks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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My mother-in-law gave these to me on the day I got married.</div>
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Along with a conch shell, and something else i don't remember.</div>
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They were made of bronze, she said.</div>
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Had been in the family for years.</div>
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<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div>
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I imagined those candlesticks in their ancient setting</div>
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An embroidered or lacy white tablecloth flowing over a large rectangular table </div>
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and the table itself laden with food to feast on.</div>
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Turkey, ham, lamb on the like.</div>
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For, in my imagination, the mood had to be festal.</div>
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Bronze candlesticks were not for everyday usage.</div>
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Only holidays, marriages, births, would call them forth.</div>
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<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div>
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Of all her gifts on that day</div>
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I preferred the conch shell most.</div>
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Unlike the candlesticks, it did not speak of my husband's heritage</div>
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It did not call me to be what my mother-in-law wanted me to be.</div>
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<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div>
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It called me to nature</div>
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to the sea</div>
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Looking at the candlesticks, </div>
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I held my ears to the roaring within the shell</div>
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and listened.</div>
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Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-25340995628546540702018-10-30T08:56:00.000-04:002018-10-30T08:56:09.310-04:00Poetry: On inheriting my aunt's house in Jamaica<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This was my aunt's</div>
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This house</div>
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These gardens</div>
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These mango trees</div>
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In this yard</div>
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she walked, cooked, raised hell.</div>
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It was in that room there</div>
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that she argued with a ghost deep into the night</div>
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when he came and stood by our bed.</div>
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In our family</div>
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only ancestral ghost were allowed.</div>
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<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div>
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This was my aunt's</div>
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these apartments</div>
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this tenement</div>
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<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div>
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And there, there,</div>
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was where she cooked the corn meal porridge</div>
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she tried to feed me.</div>
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<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div>
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She was fierce about this place.</div>
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Hers! Hers! Hers!</div>
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Even on her deathbed, </div>
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she railed against giving it up</div>
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Against giving life up.</div>
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Although her life was nothing much then</div>
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Only ravings, and jealousies, and ownership, and greed.</div>
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No, i do not think i want this house.</div>
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Not its lime trees</div>
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its luscious mangoes</div>
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its gardens filled with hummingbirds and hibiscus.</div>
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<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div>
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Wouldn't she begrudge even the smallest mango i place on my lips?</div>
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Wouldn't her ghost continually roam it?</div>
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And i have neither the spirit nor the stamina</div>
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To argue long into the night with an angry ghost.</div>
</div>
Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-83302848158712153482018-10-12T08:51:00.001-04:002018-10-12T08:51:49.741-04:00Poem: Looking at my novel "The Constant Tower" which few have read<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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With conviction, hope, and endurance, i crafted this</div>
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I spun it from my heart</div>
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yes, and from illness too</div>
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And all my hope was intricately woven within it.</div>
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<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div>
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That is the way it is with most art</div>
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whether book or painting, music or dance.</div>
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For time, times, time and a half, we pour out our souls.</div>
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And, finished, we set it adrift</div>
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(without money or power, we can do little else)</div>
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We imagine a favorable wind </div>
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or some kind wave</div>
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or a groundswell will toss our making into the world's heart</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></div>
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Now, finished -- finished seven years now and writing newer stories--</div>
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I am tired and sick at heart at <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">the praises my famous friends receive.</span></div>
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My teeth and jaws ache when I see </div>
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their lists and posts of acclamation.</div>
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I am not as kindly or as saintly as I should be</div>
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The happiness of the famous and acknowledged</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">is too great a burden for my unwhole and petty heart to bear.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span></div>
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My dear sweet perfect little book</div>
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you who contain so much of my heart,</div>
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although my fame and <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">wholeness rested on you.</span></div>
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<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">I did love you for yourself</span></div>
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--for you are a thing of Beauty, and all who have seen you have praised you--</div>
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I grieve for you continually<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">.</span></div>
</div>
Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-7581637473409562762017-11-07T01:00:00.000-05:002017-11-07T01:00:07.190-05:00Interview for Annie Douglass Lima's new book The Student and the Slave!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: left;">Take a look at this exciting new young
adult action and adventure novel, </span><i style="text-align: left;"><b>The Student and the Slave</b></i><span style="text-align: left;">, now available for purchase! This is
the third book in the <a href="http://smarturl.it/Krillonian" target="_blank">Krillonian Chronicles</a>,
after </span><i style="text-align: left;"><b>The Collar and the
Cavvarach</b></i><span style="text-align: left;"> and </span><i style="text-align: left;"><b>The Gladiator and the Guard</b></i><span style="text-align: left;">. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: medium;">The series is set in an alternate world
that is </span><span style="font-size: medium;">very much like our own, with just a few major differences.
One is that slavery is legal there. Slaves must wear metal
collars that lock around their neck, making their enslaved status obvious to
everyone. Another difference is the popularity of a martial art called cavvara
shil. It is fought with a cavvarach (rhymes with "have a
rack"), a weapon similar to a sword but with a steel hook protruding from
partway down its top edge. Competitors can strike at each other with
their feet as well as with the blades. You win in one of two ways:
disarming your opponent (hooking or knocking their cavvarach out of their
hands) or pinning their shoulders to the mat for five
seconds.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_oPfPma5nimhZQr2OSPV3PVifUzas18lWAj6meT3Yxoe4yc5sDWgjz_yCClB4dvcSqAdVTtMrg6BbdsMoFVCp4w_TyH0MN-RVNeqZ48hrkjyLJIDQoAh0Akr_-li9DUQj0K34Zw/s1600/The+Collar+and+the+Cavvarach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The Collar and
the Cavvarach by Annie Douglass Lima" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_oPfPma5nimhZQr2OSPV3PVifUzas18lWAj6meT3Yxoe4yc5sDWgjz_yCClB4dvcSqAdVTtMrg6BbdsMoFVCp4w_TyH0MN-RVNeqZ48hrkjyLJIDQoAh0Akr_-li9DUQj0K34Zw/s320/The+Collar+and+the+Cavvarach.jpg" title="The Collar and the Cavvarach by Annie Douglass Lima" width="213" /></a><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;"><b>First, a Little
Information about Books 1 and
2: </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="http://smarturl.it/cavvarach" target="_blank">Book 1: The Collar and the Cavvarach</a></b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="http://smarturl.it/cavvarach" target="_blank"><br /></a></b><br />Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is desperate to see his little
sister freed. But only victory in the Krillonian Empire's most prestigious
tournament will allow him to secretly arrange for Ellie's escape. Dangerous
people are closing in on her, however, and Bensin is running out of time. With
his one hope fading quickly away, how can Bensin save Ellie from a life of slavery
and abuse?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: medium;">Click <a href="http://anniedouglasslima.blogspot.tw/2015/05/the-collar-and-cavvarach-available-at.html" target="_blank">here</a> to read chapter 1 of <i>The
Collar and the Cavvarach</i>.<br />Click <a href="http://anniedouglasslima.blogspot.tw/2015/05/realm-explorers-part-xxxxvi-visit.html" target="_blank">here</a> to read about life in the
Krillonian Empire, where the series is set.<br /><b><br /></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4P7DhF8GDiSQzqXbsFnGtS04uMeXBIa8LOI_heIdHIonUQCzbrY6VU5xXgGL19_RL6VF_ogmSrsOGDNrXas7v0QGlPLeVfvQQX3YCKglZ-X_eAS2yX07a9kFEHn3OpjTgkNrJw/s1600/The+Gladiator+and+the+Guard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Gladiator and the Guard
by Annie Douglass Lima" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4P7DhF8GDiSQzqXbsFnGtS04uMeXBIa8LOI_heIdHIonUQCzbrY6VU5xXgGL19_RL6VF_ogmSrsOGDNrXas7v0QGlPLeVfvQQX3YCKglZ-X_eAS2yX07a9kFEHn3OpjTgkNrJw/s320/The+Gladiator+and+the+Guard.jpg" title="The Gladiator and the Guard by Annie Douglass Lima" width="212" /></a><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="http://smarturl.it/gladiatorguard" target="_blank">Book 2: The Gladiator and the
Guard</a></b><br /><br />Bensin, a teenage slave and
martial artist, is just one victory away from freedom. But after he is accused
of a crime he didn’t commit, he is condemned to the violent life and early
death of a gladiator. While his loved ones seek desperately for a way to rescue
him, Bensin struggles to stay alive and forge an identity in an environment
designed to strip it from him. When he infuriates the authorities with his
choices, he knows he is running out of time. Can he stand against the cruelty
of the arena system and seize his freedom before that system crushes
him?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: medium;">Click <a href="http://anniedouglasslima.blogspot.tw/2016/04/realm-explorers-part-xcvii-visit-red.html" target="_blank">here</a> to read about life in the arena
where Bensin and other gladiators are forced to live and
train.</span></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">And
now, <i>The Student and the Slave</i>, with another
awesome cover by the talented <a href="http://jacklindesign.com/" target="_blank">Jack Lin</a>!</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="http://smarturl.it/StudentandSlave" target="_blank">Book 3: The Student and the
Slave</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Is
this what freedom is supposed to be like?</i> Desperate to provide for
himself and his sister Ellie, Bensin searches fruitlessly for work like all the
other former slaves in Tarnestra. He needs the money for an even more important
purpose, though: to rescue Coach Steene, who sacrificed himself for Bensin’s
freedom. When members of two rival street gangs express interest in Bensin’s
martial arts skills, he realizes he may have a chance to save his father figure
after all … at a cost.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Steene struggles with
his new life of slavery in far-away Neliria. Raymond, his young owner, seizes
any opportunity to make his life miserable. But while Steene longs to escape
and rejoin Bensin and Ellie, he starts to realize that Raymond needs him too.
His choices will affect not only his own future, but that of everyone he cares
about. Can he make the right ones … and live with the
consequences?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span> <b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://smarturl.it/StudentandSlave" target="_blank">Click here</a> to
order <i>The Student and the Slave</i> from
Amazon<span style="color: blue;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">for <strike>$2.99</strike><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span style="color: red;">a discounted price of </span><span style="color: red;">just 99 cents through November
31st!</span></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU4_ljB9lbfzPEa6S2AliRDaOz5unrmyifZzuR5C85iupNgxJbi1CARy9BL1caGDbv7BKFeyBEzRwWY2tW3zseYurd_JKm0g2Spk0fK6VdobjDdyPhi-wj1oLPB4YWp6rMgdXZ7w/s1600/Annie+Douglass+Lima.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1411" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU4_ljB9lbfzPEa6S2AliRDaOz5unrmyifZzuR5C85iupNgxJbi1CARy9BL1caGDbv7BKFeyBEzRwWY2tW3zseYurd_JKm0g2Spk0fK6VdobjDdyPhi-wj1oLPB4YWp6rMgdXZ7w/s200/Annie+Douglass+Lima.jpg" width="176" /></a><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">About the
Author:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Annie
Douglass Lima spent most of her childhood in Kenya and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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later graduated from Biola University in Southern
California. She and her<o:p></o:p></div>
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husband Floyd currently live in Taiwan, where she teaches
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Morrison Academy. She has been writing poetry, short
stories, and novels since<o:p></o:p></div>
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her childhood, and to date has published fifteen books
(three YA action and<o:p></o:p></div>
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adventure novels, four fantasies, a puppet script, six
anthologies of her<o:p></o:p></div>
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students’ poetry, and a Bible verse coloring and activity
book). Besides<o:p></o:p></div>
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writing, her hobbies include reading (especially fantasy and
science fiction),<o:p></o:p></div>
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scrapbooking, and international travel.
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<b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Connect with the Author
Online:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;"></span> Email: <a href="mailto:AnnieDouglassLima@gmail.com">AnnieDouglassLima@gmail.com</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Blog:
</span><a href="http://anniedouglasslima.blogspot.com/">http://anniedouglasslima.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Facebook:
</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AnnieDouglassLimaAuthor">https://www.facebook.com/AnnieDouglassLimaAuthor</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/princeofalasia">https://twitter.com/princeofalasia</a></span><br />
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Author Page: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://bit.ly/AnnieDouglassLimaOnAmazon">http://bit.ly/AnnieDouglassLimaOnAmazon</a></span></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">When did you realize this story was a trilogy? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">As I wrote book 1, <i>The Collar and the Cavvarach</i>, I assumed
that would be it (and that story can stand on its own). But a year later I
thought of a new situation to put my characters in, and their adventures
continued in <i>The Gladiator and the Guard</i>.
I gave them a nice happy ending in my first draft, but I just wasn’t satisfied
with it. Everything else in the story had been polished and felt right to me,
and my publication date was only a few weeks away, but I knew the ending was
all wrong. It took me a long time to figure out how to make it right, but finally
at practically the last minute I changed the final chapter, making the story a
lot stronger. That meant there would have to be a third book to show how the
characters got out of the mess I left them in. Still, it wasn’t until I planned
out book 3 in detail a couple years later that I knew the story would truly end
there.<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">What are the basic conflicts in your story? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">There are several. Steene spends
much of the book in conflict with his annoying young owner, Raymond. He also
clashes with Raymond’s dad, a wealthy businessman who sees slaves as objects
that exist for their owners’ convenience. Bensin gets involved with gang
members and ends up entangled in their problems, which include several street
fights.<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">What are the main themes of your story? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Freedom, family, responsibility,
morality, tough choices.<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Tell us about your main character? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Bensin is a slave who is also a very talented martial artist. In
the first book, his goal is to keep his little sister safe and somehow arrange
for her freedom, which is an almost impossible task in his world, but he is
determined not to give up. In the second book, Bensin’s own safety is at stake
as he struggles not only for freedom but for the right to choose his own
identity. Now in the third book, he struggles to forge a new life for himself
and his sister <i>and</i> arrange a rescue
for his coach in a setting where he can’t find a job and doesn’t feel as though
he fits in.<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Is there a villain in your story? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">There are a few different people who
could be considered villains. I’ll focus on Axel, a gang leader who hires
Bensin to train him and his street gang in combat techniques. <span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">What does he want? Why do you like your villain? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Axel values honesty, courage, skill,
and teamwork among the young men he leads. But when it comes down to it, mostly
he wants money and power, and he’s willing to do almost anything to get what he
wants. I guess I like him because he is just who he needs to be for his role.
He appreciates Bensin for what he can give, but when he decides Bensin’s
usefulness is over, he has no qualms about making use of him in a different
way.<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Who has influenced your writing? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">My high school English teacher, Mrs. Wood, was a big
encouragement to me, both personally and in my writing. She taught an after-school creative writing
club, and for various reasons all the other students dropped out one by
one. When I was the only one left, I was
afraid she would cancel the club, which was the highlight of my week. But she was willing to continue, so I met
with her every Tuesday afternoon. I
would bring in whatever poems and stories I had written that week, and she
would critique them and help me see ways to make them better. My writing improved a lot during the two
years she was there, and I will be forever grateful that she was willing to
invest so much time in me. I really
don’t think I would be where I am today if not for Mrs. Wood. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Tell us about some of your other books. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Besides
the Krillonian Chronicles, I have a fantasy series called the </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016QACIHU/"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Annals of
Alasia</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> There are three main books in it so far, but each of them can stand on its own.
Each book deals with events surrounding the same major political incident: the
invasion of the kingdom of Alasia by the neighboring kingdom of Malorn. </span><a href="http://smarturl.it/PrinceofAlasia"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Prince of Alasia</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> begins on the night of
the Invasion and describes what happens to twelve-year-old Prince Jaymin after
he is forced to flee for his life. </span><a href="http://smarturl.it/EnemysService"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">In the Enemy’s Service</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> features a girl as the
protagonist and tells the story of those who were not able to escape from the
Alasian palace when the enemy invaded. </span><a href="http://smarturl.it/PrinceofMalorn"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Prince of Malorn</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> begins several months
earlier and focuses on the Malornian perspective of the events leading up to
the Invasion. In each of the books, main
characters from the others make brief appearances and interact with each other
at the point where the timeframes and settings overlap. I also have a short
ebook of “interviews” that I conducted with the characters in the other three
books. <i>Annals of Alasia: The Collected
Interviews</i> is not available on Amazon, but I send a free copy to anyone who
</span><a href="http://bit.ly/LimaUpdates"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">signs up for my mailing list</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> (to receive updates
once or twice a year when I release new books).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I’ve
also written a short Christian puppet script (</span><a href="http://smarturl.it/Squawkylove"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Squawky Learns About
Love</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">)
and put together a coloring/activity book (</span><a href="http://smarturl.it/hideit"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Hide it In Your Heart</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">) that uses verses from
the Bible in colorable fonts. And I’ve compiled five separate </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071HVHCYD"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">anthologies of my students’ poetry</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh69bMi_xb3MWzplVbMRNj61QOC2TnmTxsuxa3svnC7UpYhm9DwZVD2s1l4PviqsSXufRg5N2iGMRm4JUe3nDsP-y95Ng782xTgSFa6Nsfs8mfREE44KerzOv2OPi1P3tPtKt6o/s1600/front+cover+with+border.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="436" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh69bMi_xb3MWzplVbMRNj61QOC2TnmTxsuxa3svnC7UpYhm9DwZVD2s1l4PviqsSXufRg5N2iGMRm4JUe3nDsP-y95Ng782xTgSFa6Nsfs8mfREE44KerzOv2OPi1P3tPtKt6o/s320/front+cover+with+border.jpg" width="254" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJbf6LOp5iEvWKg16TTy94Bsi4uGp_RfIl7FZSNsIThhwMae_mJUPfedSvmPCgqs3LC51AiiP5-dgPxQzIaTCfUxOehPe-HW2cXZ6vanfzmQz9nDShcS0NmiQz41YsK0Oe46tg/s1600/Squawky+243x387.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="243" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJbf6LOp5iEvWKg16TTy94Bsi4uGp_RfIl7FZSNsIThhwMae_mJUPfedSvmPCgqs3LC51AiiP5-dgPxQzIaTCfUxOehPe-HW2cXZ6vanfzmQz9nDShcS0NmiQz41YsK0Oe46tg/s200/Squawky+243x387.jpg" width="125" /></a><br />
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<img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="1600" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-O2Bma8a5rrvZedoG6s42Uq6rvOxu7Vp5a6iY-euzru_vVNXpVFxk3dFHEiNVXRUgEVB7kZc4gtiKVEFCXPTLaRMxuEDDWMba0cZxGKNO2z4HWUPQm5h9_iuFa-ckpHok4Cn/s320/5+Poetry+Books.jpeg" width="320" /></div>
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<div style="font-size: small;">
Books by Annie Douglass Lima:</div>
<div style="font-size: small;">
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://smarturl.it/hideit&source=gmail&ust=1509058629750000&usg=AFQjCNFk4do0Wcow5VL_utvPvo7Pd4NPFg" href="http://smarturl.it/hideit" rel="nofollow" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Hide it In Your Heart</a>: an adult coloring/activity book</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">the <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://smarturl.it/Krillonian&source=gmail&ust=1509058629750000&usg=AFQjCNHOwMDXsB5RLI5EKpFz6M1gkNngUg" href="http://smarturl.it/Krillonian" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Krillonian Chronicles</a>: alternate reality/action and adventure novels dealing with slavery and martial arts</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">the <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://amzn.to/1BoR1x9&source=gmail&ust=1509058629750000&usg=AFQjCNHgvBRlo6nYnqXczJ4MJq6PnR916A" href="http://amzn.to/1BoR1x9" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Annals of Alasia</a>: a young adult action and adventure/fantasy series (click <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://blogspot.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe?u%3Dcd675b0465d23462f01f2fc8f%26id%3Df411834174&source=gmail&ust=1509058629750000&usg=AFQjCNHpUk6jBXj4W-DAGY1xjJfxvB4j0g" href="http://blogspot.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=cd675b0465d23462f01f2fc8f&id=f411834174" rel="nofollow" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial";"> to receive a </span><span style="color: #cd232c; font-family: "arial";">FREE</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial";"> copy of </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic;">Annals of Alasia: the Collected Interviews</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial";">!)</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://smarturl.it/Squawkylove&source=gmail&ust=1509058629750000&usg=AFQjCNE63s0Ts217Q8L44b7dImGJJGil8g" href="http://smarturl.it/Squawkylove" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;" target="_blank">Squawky Learns About Love</a><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial";">: a short Christian puppet script</span></li>
</ul>
Student <var style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"></var><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial";">poetry anthologies edited by </span>Annie Douglass Lima<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial";">:</span><br />
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://smarturl.it/ragingstorm&source=gmail&ust=1509058629750000&usg=AFQjCNFAEKjkvoESjhne5MuiuHhTvbKa5A" href="http://smarturl.it/ragingstorm" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;" target="_blank">Right in the Middle of a Raging Storm</a></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://smarturl.it/BoomintheRoom&source=gmail&ust=1509058629750000&usg=AFQjCNF6Y7opt35bhlg8r4MlJF3Y-2iR3A" href="http://smarturl.it/BoomintheRoom" rel="nofollow" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;" target="_blank">A Boom in the Room</a></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://smarturl.it/SunshineLeaking&source=gmail&ust=1509058629750000&usg=AFQjCNGxd5OMwJUxagv_bH_ISRxeu80F_A" href="http://smarturl.it/SunshineLeaking" rel="nofollow" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;" target="_blank">Sunshine Leaking</a></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://smarturl.it/cottoncandy&source=gmail&ust=1509058629751000&usg=AFQjCNGwNSQNGWrQZUkj22yRABoLu-ootQ" href="http://smarturl.it/cottoncandy" rel="nofollow" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;" target="_blank">Better than Cotton Candy</a></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UI0GCKY/&source=gmail&ust=1509058629751000&usg=AFQjCNFgYGyH1EGHAc2-RDID9Yr02UCDQQ" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UI0GCKY/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;" target="_blank">What's That Noise?</a></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BJ322BG?tag%3Dsmarturl-20&source=gmail&ust=1509058629751000&usg=AFQjCNF3HDyDlzXgI_V780arOqg1pcf3Mg" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BJ322BG?tag=smarturl-20" rel="nofollow" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;" target="_blank">Down the Water Slide</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-71744588842585312462017-10-28T17:59:00.000-04:002017-10-28T17:59:00.363-04:00Heaven of Heavens<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">I always think that every religion has its own afterlife.And their own hells and heavens differ from the Christian versions. Buddhist hell for instance differs from Viking hell from Christian hell, etc. So, if we assume that everyone gets to their own religion's version of hell, we will have Hindus finally freeing themselves from the dreaded karmic wheel and entering into blessed nothingness or if they believe in transmigration and have lived horrible lives becoming cockroaches in their nest lives. The Islamic heaven, much like for instance the mormon heaven is pretty patriarchal and made for men and marriage but there is that bonus of being a god and creating your own world. And most of the moslems i know would challenge you on the idea that God loves. For them to call God Father is an insult and to say He loves is to depict him as weak. So we have to not be imperialistic in our spiritual inclusiveness because we are going to insult folks we think we are including. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">So....the typical christian heaven is for beings who want a God who loves, a God who so believes in free will that he allows you to leave him and to go to hell if you wish, and the heaven is sexless, a city, and consists of being like God because we can see Him as He is.</span><span style="color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let us not be imperialistic and put people into our kind of heaven who don't want to be there. Perhaps the Christian heaven isn't the best of heavens, but it's the one i like. Others may want their own heavens.</span><span style="color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">I believe what Peter said that God shows no favorites and anyone who truly trusts him in any nation will be saved. I also believe that Jesus is -- as Mohammed calls him-- "the great mercy." It is possible that Mercy (Jesus unknown to some folks in another religion) is saving people whom we may not consider Christian. But the Christian in me believes that any kind of "work" or human self-righteousness cannot be allowed to taint heaven. Thus self-righteous people of any religions, Christianity included, will not enter heaven. There is no "self" there.</span></div>
Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177793.post-73606955553214053092017-10-14T18:19:00.001-04:002017-10-14T18:19:12.899-04:00Review: The Inkblots: Hermann Rorschach, His Iconic Test, and the Power of Seeing <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Review: The Inkblots: Hermann Rorschach, His Iconic Test, and the Power of Seeing<br />
by Damion Searls<br />
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<li style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700;">Hardcover:</span> 416 pages</li>
<li style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Crown; First Edition edition (February 21, 2017)</li>
<li style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</li>
<li style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 0804136548</li>
<li style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-13:</span> 978-0804136549</li>
<li style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700;">Product Dimensions: </span>6.4 x 1.3 x 9.5 inches</li>
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This is a book that people will either love or hate. But seriously, how does one write a bio about a vanguard in psychology. Do you write more about the person or about his effect on modern psychology? Do you write about the person's life? Do you write about the effects of the new psychological method at the time of its beginning or its effect on modern culture? This is the balance the writer has to walk. If you like being taken on a lovely walk where you stop and look at various points of the journey, this book is for you. But if you have a rigid idea of what a biography should be like or what psychology was like before or after Rorschach, then you might find the book problematical. This biography tries to get a lot in and it really does. I didn't mind it. I grew to like Rorscach, and to perhaps understand how to see or how to think about seeing or how to imaginatively discern and see.<br />
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This book was sent to me free of charge in exchange for a fair and honest review. </div>
Carole McDonnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443401088634718848noreply@blogger.com0