Ian McEwan - two books

        Recently I read a couple of titles by Ian McEwan and I've had a few thoughts. McEwan was one of the writers to praise 'The moral landscape'. I'll admit I did not enjoy that book but I decided to find some of McEwan's works. I cannot yet get hold of 'Atonement', which has won him a bucket of awards so I tried a couple of other titles. First I took in 'The child in time', which looks at an English writer's life after he and his estranged wife lose their three year old daughter in a department story. McEwan weaves a great atmosphere but the story falls out in a disjointed boring mess. The B-plot held almost as much weight as the A-plot but it was just as disjointed.

        The only thing this book had going for it was the fact that it was less than 300 pages long. On the other hand, had it been longer, McEwan might have used the room to develop the characters better. I finished up by rating 'The child in time' 2 out of 5 stars. Meh on so many levels and not recommended unless you have several hours to kill. The next McEwan book I took up was 'On Chesil Beach'. It's even shorter than 'The child in time' and with fewer characters. Newlyweds in 1962 England looking to consummate their relationship. In my diary, I wrote that 'Consummation might be for him a source of celebration but it's a source of consternation and trepidation for her.' Yes, I write meaningless doggerel in my journal; what of it?

       The ending of the book cracked my cynical heart. You never know what you had until it's gone. 4.5 out of 5 stars. I thought that it should have been longer but the characters and development flow much better here. Anyway, that's what I've been reading of later. I also read a series of interviews with Noam Chomsky that flat out depressed me. Makes one want to embrace nihilism wholeheartedly. 'Optimism over despair' indeed! So July is coming to an end. I'm ready for September to start.

BYE.

A Quiet Man (05)

Glorious spring stole across Sunset Valley before long, and Davis was dreaming of his totem once again. It lead him down innumerable dream-paths and showed him secrets he'd only heard whispers of. By day, he kept busy with a nearby apiary and with the constant struggle of putting bins to rights.

By now, Davis had spent two years in Sunset Valley; and all this time, he'd never felt those vague stirrings before. You know; those stirrings that tempt the wandering monk away from his solitude and toward a stranger's arms. One evening, while touring the annual spring festival, the stirrings hit.

Her name was Mallory. Her father was on the town council and she herself taught kindergarten. What was she doing running a kissing booth? Davis ventured a few encouraging words and heard a few in turn. She was beautiful and hard-working. What harm would it bring to go on a date and live like a real person for once?

Davis found himself in a quandary. He retreated after a few more polite words and sought solace in the library. Would even one date distract him? Was a woman's touch enough to drive his totem away? He'd heard grim stories of other monks going mad after refusing the deeper secrets because they wished another's touch. He spent much of the night meditating and contemplating in the library.

Before dawn broke, he went for a long swim. He knew Mallory could do much better than him. Let another one plumb her secrets. He had his own secrets to discover. He would find her and thank her for their chat but that was as far as it could go. He was a monk and that's all there was to it.

END.

Profile: Merril Dell

The golden ray of sunlight to the right is our Merril. She casts a jaundiced eye upon much of the world around her but for her family, she's nothing but the best kind of gold. On the weekends she can be found in front of the tube going to head-to-head with her sister-in-law Beth.

Today Merril's married and moved out but in the past she lived with her brother and sister-in-law and routinely blasted Beth to 16-bit bits. Her brother Declan admires her skill.

Merril also enjoys rocking with her amp, three chords, the truth, and her bassist baby brother. Here in the family home they practice their duets Thursdays after work. After she married her beloved Reilly she moved out but music and gaming remained important to her.

Mind you, she's not one to suffer fools. Especially not when expecting. Instead of fixing the T.V. her husband decided to be goofy. Small wonder she's so jaundiced!


The End.

Healing is a Slow Process

After the storm of his heartbreak had passed Paulus kept to himself for several years. While his wife raised the kids in their house he rented a shack by the water and spent his nights playing pool. He refused to come home; terrified that he might find her in bed with that vile vampire.

Sometimes Delaney, awash with guilt, would send Niamh or Declan over with dinner and a cheque. She knew they had both made mistakes and she could at least start making up in some way.
One evening he met the kids not far from his shack and said, his voice thick with tears. "I'm ready to come home now."

 Paulus and Delaney still slept in separate beds for another five years after that. It was only after a great deal of counselling and the fact that Allan was arrested and sent to prison for attempted murder, arson, and trying to bomb City Hall that Paulus felt he could start trusting his wife.

 Now retired, Paulus works on his memoirs while Delaney checks up on the children. They've all moved out and are living their own lives. She worries especially about Declan, who still doesn't know what he wants to do with himself and Niamh, who's career in street magic isn't doing that well.

Today, when not cooking family dinners and going for walks together, Paulus and Delaney enjoy each other's company and cruising on electric skateboards.



The End.

Kristen and Brian: the Early Days

Brian's deep introspection lead him to understand that man should not be alone.

Kristen came to the conclusion that love was conducive to life.

New love, true love?

Brian and Kristen were both quite thoughtful and introspective people, and they agreed to a quick and casual ceremony. Brevity being the soul of wit and all that.

When the weather didn't cooperate Kristen ran in to get her bathing suit while Brian did a silly walk in the rain.

When the storm passed the young couple went to the park for a very casual reception.

Thoughts on Da Finn

Having a third look at 'Phineas redux', and amazingly, I'm coming across things I either didn't see before or things that I saw before but only move me now. To say that Phineas has loved and lost is true a number of times over. He returns from 'Phineas Finn' seemingly back at Square One, and is back to dealing with political life and tons of unresolved sexual tension. His lovely and influential lady friends Madame Max and Lady Laura have their own problems but very much want to help him get back to a place of prominence. Lady Laura has a bigger problem than Madame Max, however. She chose the wrong guy and paid a fairly steep price for it. Now trouble's brewing between her, her estranged husband, and Phineas, who has the roughest time though he's more innocent than either of them. What drove this woman to first choose than leave her mate? What drove this man to lose her? Incompatible folks, but why should Phineas (the 'Other Man', on the other hand) be the one to get shot at? Apologies for any possible spoilers. It's a great book - better than 'Phineas Finn', although the latter is also a very good book.
Admittedly, the game between X and Y is quite the mystery to me, and will probably remain one for the rest of my days. Also, I fear that I will have to cut this entry short. Supper's calling me. I will doubtless make another Phineas-related post once I have come to the end of the book. BYE.

Proper mentality?

I've come to the conclusion that I'm a pretty cold fish. I was driving home the other day when a song came on and the guy was singing about how he would die if the she in his life were to leave him. Warning! This post might get a little edgy, but please keep reading even if it doesn't! Several impulses go through my head whenever I hear a song like this, and I worked through these mental impulses as I was driving home the other day. First off, the singer who says 'I'll die if you leave me/don't love me... etc...' is problematic. Either he/she is emotionally troubled or is completely insincere. Either way, the one who puts death into a sentence like that is better off left alone until they change their perspective.
Now, I know that these songs are figurative for the most part. Just the length a person is willing to go to prove how important someone is for them, and to be without this other person would be a very rough time. However, if someone were to tell me, be it in song or otherwise that they would die if I left them or did not love them, I would probably tell them off. First off, if they earnestly promise to go through with this and don't, I have the right to call them insincere and dangerously in need of help. A person like this I am better without anyway. I would hope that such a person means it only in jest, or else I foresee trouble ahead. On the other hand, going through with such a decision indicates something far worse than insincerity.
I wonder if I was looking at this concept with my semi-Buddhist eyes, for I've been applying karmic balances and debts to various thoughts/words/deeds lately. I refuse to accept blame for someone's suicide. If someone came to me and sang 'I'll die if you don't love me etc...' I would (hopefully) say. "Do not lay your death on my doorstep!" I am not responsible for someone else's death unless I either orchestrate said death or do it myself, and I do NOT accept responsibility for someone taking their own life. Their grim deed gathers karma for them, not for me or for anyone else, and I refuse to take any responsibility for it.
Romantics would probably say that since I am not in love with anyone, I am not able to look past such lines and understand the real meaning. If I were in love, they might say, I would say something like 'How touching! Why can't my he/she say something like that?' Agreed, I am not in love with anyone, so my mindset is possibly totally out of whack. However, I would rather have this mindset and wonder why the singer would go to such lengths to prove him/herself to someone else.
Hmmm. This looks like an interesting vein. Maybe I'll ponder it further and get back to you. BYE.

Men

There are thousands of articles and books out there where women are looking at men with all manner of lenses and thinking about men from every angle. I'm rereading Sam Keen's 'Fire in the belly' these days, and I asked my dad if he was interested in reading it. He politely declined. For those not in the know, 'Fire in the belly' documents 'the path' men must take if they are ever to feel comfortable with their gender; especially in relation to the female of the species. Contrary to popular belief, men are not in charge and they never really have been. Although men still receive higher salaries (for the most part) than women do, women have always had power over men on a psychic level. Anyone remember Oedipus and his problems? Keen's remedy for men lost and fumbling is to first get as far away from Woman as possible, and then rediscover their maleness while surrounded by other men.
I don't know if Keen is right, but looking at my pater, I'm tempted to disagree with Keen. My dad was an only child; he's married with two daughters (which is plenty of Woman for any guy), and is doing rather well. My dad never (as far as I know) went through the supposed mid-life crisis when he hit his forties (mid-fifties right now, and no crisis in sight). It makes me wonder if this mid-life stuff is really as intense as popular culture insists it to be. But, getting back to Men in general.... There seems to be an intense reliance on Woman if one looks through the history of music and literature. One song that's been echoing through my head (and my radio) lately brings this reliance to life. Prince's 'Raspberry beret' from the 1980's.
First off, I'm not that fond of the song, and the video could be better (even considering the decade it was done). I've had the time lately to listen to the lyrics and it seems to me that, for the 'hero' in the song (too-leisurely him that works in the local five-and-dime), nothing really changes until 'the girl' walks through the 'out' door with her second-hand story raspberry beret and very little else (listen to the lyrics for more info). She knows how to kiss, according to Prince, but it seems that before she walks through the door, nothing matters. Just a really silly and illogical example of Man's intense reliance on Woman one sees in pop culture.
Anyway, I'm going to continue reading 'Fire in the belly'. Do I agree with the message Keen's presenting? There is no doubt that men these days are stuck in a kind of paradox, and without one you cannot have the other, so I guess Woman has him trapped again. Perhaps I do agree with the message, but for some men, this paradox is not a real big deal. Anyone out there thinking differently? Drop me a line. Thanks and have a great weekend.