After winter, and a particularly cold day yesterday, spring was back in full force today. My mood improved 150%.
Out of the Silent Planet tells the story of a man named Ransom, who unwittingly becomes the captive of two men, Weston and Devine. He soon finds himself aboard a spaceship, headed to the planet of Malacandra. Through a series of mishaps, he finds himself running for his life and making friends with the planet's inhabitants. The planet is a sort of utopia, and Ransom quickly finds himself at home. The story winds through his adventures there, with many spiritual allusions that Lewis is so famous for. Most notably, he learns of a "silent planet", where there is no spiritual activity being reported to the rest of the universe. Ransom is devastated to learn that the silent planet is none other than earth.
I guess Perelandra may be considered a "what if" exposition. What if Adam and Eve had resisted the serpent? What would life be like had there been no fall of man? And, given a second try, would we fall again?
All three novels center on choices. Lewis is not ashamed to preach through them. However, despite the religious undertones, I still enjoyed the trilogy.
I may, actually, now find motivation to read The Chronicles of Narnia.
A rather candid shot taken during Governor Richardson's endorsement of Senator Obama.
I wouldn't be disappointed at all to see both those names on a ballot in November.
If the biggest critique of Obama's candidacy is his lack of experience (and I would like to point out that many of our greatest presidents had only as much, if not less, experience as him - Abraham Lincoln, FDR, Woodrow Wilson...) Governor Richardson would certainly bring that to the ticket.
His accomplishments, in brief:
- US Congressman, with plenty of foreign relations experience
- US Ambassador to the United Nations
- US Secretary of Energy
- Governor of New Mexico
Yes, I think an Obama/Richardson ticket would be fantastic.
Phenomenal?
Challenging?
Amazing?
Words fail me. Yesterday Senator Obama took the greatest challenge presented him so far in his campaign, met it head-on, and then took it to the next step, using the negative comments delivered by his former pastor in a sermon to tackle the issue of racism in the United States. In it, he encouraged Americans to talk about this issue, rather than avoiding it:
The full text of his speech can be found here.For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle - as we did in the OJ trial - or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.
We can do that.
But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.
That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.
This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.
This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.
This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.
I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation - the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.
Last night I learned that I have been selected as an alternate delegate to the Democratic National Convention. That's right! I am going to Denver!
Back in 2004, when Democrats took over Boston for the last nominating convention, my eyes were glued to the television and I thought, "I wish I could be there." Of course, no moment of that event captured my attention as when Barack Obama, not yet elected as a US Senator delivered the keynote address.
But despite wanting to be there in person, to experience first hand the excitement and mayhem that is a nominating convention, after the 2004 election I didn't give it a whole lot of thought.
Skip ahead to December of 2007. I've been watching the campaigns unfold, eager to see who would emerge as the leader. Back then I'd decided that I wasn't going to choose a candidate until a nominee emerged. (Oh how little did I know!) I'm at a Christmas party, when I notice three of my friends are wearing Obama stickers. At that point, Senator Obama was the candidate I was leaning toward, so I asked them about the stickers. One of my friends told me she was helping to head up the local campaign. "Awesome," I replied. "I've been thinking about getting involved."
Do you know that look that people who are looking for volunteers get when someone suggests that they may be interested in helping out? Having volunteered with many organizations at different times in my life, I'm well accustomed to that look. It was then that I knew I was part of Team Obama.
January 3, 2008. The local Obama campaign members are gathered in front of a television, watching the Iowa caucus play out. I'd never watched a caucus in action before. This was an entire side of politics I couldn't have imagined. It was crazy, maddening, and beautiful all at the same time. The results came in, and Obama had won the state.
Wow, I thought. This guy may actually have a chance.
That night, the same friend who had recruited me told me how to become a delegate. Applications were due that month, and me, being the procrastinator that I am, waited until the deadline.
I filled out a district-level application, and an at-large application, pledging my support for Obama.
The following weeks were a flurry of campaigning. Phone calls. Canvassing. Meetings. A trip to South Carolina. More wins. A loss or two. I didn't actually vote on Super Tuesday because Tennessee has early-voting. Rest assured though, I did vote!
Obama didn't win Tennessee, but due to the nature of the Democratic nominating process, he still won delegates in the state. I first attempted to become a district-level delegate, by attending the county delegate nominating convention. At the county-level, so many delegates are selected to go on to the actual district nominating convention. From there, national delegates are selected to go onto the national convention. Senator Obama had only one spot available in our district, and my chances were slim-to-none.
I didn't get it.
However, at-large delegates were still needed. These delegates could be from anywhere in the state, and again were based on the percentage of the vote that the candidate took. There were six at-large positions available, and the meeting for that took place on Saturday. The state party's executive branch decided those, and again, I did not get a spot.
But! I did become an alternate delegate! This means that I will be going to the Democratic National Convention, but chances are I will not be voting. Instead, I will be there in case one of the actual delegates is unable to attend a roll-call, or a vote. It may not be as cool a job as actually voting for my candidate, and there expenses to think about travel arrangements to be made, all sorts of things to worry about soon enough.
For now, I know this convention is sure to make history and I will be there to witness it all, in person.
Yes, I am excited!
Sometimes I wonder if the only times I'm living as if every moment counts are when I'm waiting in line or running late. Otherwise, I seem to think I have forever, but under those two conditions I become gravely aware that the minutes are flying by.
I think this may be the makings of a tragedy, but one I can prevent.
Also, I am far too impatient as I wait in the drive-thru line at Wendy's at 11:30 p.m..
Veronika is young, has a decent life, but she finds it all rather dull and repetitive. As such, she has decided that the time has come to die. So she overdoses on pills, expecting the end.
Instead, she wakes up in a mental hospital, very much alive for the time being. However, the doctor informs her that she has done irreversible damage to her heart, and so she only has about a week left.
The trouble is, Veronika has decided she doesn't want to be dead at all. She wants to live. As this book explores her last week, it challenges her and the reader to reconsider what it means to be alive.
I have a feeling that all of Coelho's novels have some sort of underlying message. I don't think I mind that though.
The Alchemist is a fantastic book, and though Coelho is preachy at times and not at all interested in hiding his overall message from the reader, that message makes sense. Pursue your dreams. Fulfill your life's destiny. Don't let life's distractions keep you from your true purpose.
Now, I'm not so sure I know my "true purpose" so to speak, but I do have dreams. And I have already admitted that I don't always work to pursue those dreams. But The Alchemist is rather inspirational.
The story itself centers around a young shepherd, who dreams of discovering a treasure. The treasure itself is a mystery, but he sets off on a journey to find it. Along the way he meets people who purposefully and inadvertently help him make progress toward his goal. It is a well-written story, and if you don't intend on taking it as gospel truth, well worth the hype that has surrounded it.
So if you haven't, read the book. And if you have, I'd be interested in knowing your thoughts.
A PSALM OF LIFE
WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN
SAID TO THE PSALMIST
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,--act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;--
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Tammie said:
Wonderful!!! I think spring seems to make us all feel much better, I know it certainly makes me feel much... read more
on Spring Returns -
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Tammie said:
These sound very good. I haven't read these, but my daughter has read the Chronicles of Narnia, and she really... read more
on 5-6-7/50. The Space Trilogy.
on Spring Returns