20 August 2008

Organized Chaos and all of its siblings

It's been over a month....sorry Deb....I told her I would try to do this more frequently and I have lapsed. No excuses really just friends, food and beer. The chaos of summer. Soon (next week) to give way to the rigor (organization) of class schedules. I look forward to the infusion of intellectual pursuits and their petitions on my mind and time. Chaos is grand for a wee bit but I need the balance of some resemblance of boundaries as well.

Since the last entry my reads have been mostly journals, magazines and newspapers. With all that flitting about I still managed to finish off three books. First off. "Me and My Bleeding Mouth" by Sue Weller. It's the story of an Irishman by name of Gary McCormick. Gary was one of the men in the television series "Finding Sanctuary" that I told you about in my last entry. It's short and compelling, although a little sad and disturbing. He was given a rough hand but then made choices that are probably demonstrative of a substantial slice of of todays youth. Still you root for him as he struggles. While this one isn't overtly English the connections are there.

Book two has me leaving England and heading straight for the beaches of Normandy. "D-Day" by Stephen Ambrose is as extensive and interesting as anything else he puts pen to. He just immerses you with facts and personal experiences from all angles. I love that. It gave me a richer understanding about the mechanics involved in the build up of troops and machinery. That alone was phenomenal but the implementation of it all leading to eventual success is still more than amazing. My Grand-Fathers were in WWII. One was part of the Allied invasion at Omaha Beach and so D-Day is part of my personal history as well as my cultural history. Great stuff by a great writer.

Last on the list is "In the Spirit of Happiness" centered around the monks at New Skete, an Orthodox monastery in upstate New York. Although it's not so much about the Orthodox way of doing things but about insights into a spiritual way of looking at life in this age. How important true self-knowledge is in the attainment of happiness (at all levels) and how our lack of acceptance of our own connection to divinity inhibits us. Lot's to chew on.

I have a few other books that I am slowly making my way through. Diverse topics (like a family) but somehow related in my mind. Strands out there in the wind. Eventually the wind dies down and they all flow back together and I can see how they (like siblings) relate to each other and to my own interpretation of the world. So, from the world of organized chaos (and all of its siblings) I bid you adieu.

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