Blogs to think about

Thank you, Tim's Mom. I'm very humbled.

These are the rules:
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn’t fit your blog).

And here are my nominations:

Fire in Mine Ears
Dominion Family
The Beehive
U Krakovianki
Dewey's Treehouse

Anglo-Saxon Aloud

I have always loved the sound of Old English, whether Beowulf or, like here, the Bible. It has a rough but musical quality, and the excerpts you can find at the link are lovely to listen to.

Idealizing democracy

“Thus, it is fair to think that an irksome law, whose real value was not observed by the majority, would neither be passed nor obeyed.” Alexis de Tocqueville on the benefits of government by the people, in Democracy in America.

It is just this naive and idealistic view of government that makes me want to throw this book across the room. Just as it is easy to make socialism look like a good idea if you speak only idealistically, so can democracy be written as the golden dream that will solve all legislative problems. Despite the fact that Tocqueville was merely observing what he saw in America, he only saw the start of a new plan. And as anyone who has ever started a new schedule, diet, to do list, etc., knows, everything goes well in the beginning. Everyone is full of enthusiasm, everyone wants to get it right, and it looks like you’ve found something that will actually work.

Unfortunately, reality kicks in. Republican democracy, just like every other system of government, is by no means perfect, as shown by the present condition of the United States. And why? Because humans are imperfect, and no matter how perfect the system, it is humans who will have to administer it. Monarchy works very well—if you can assure that character and leadership are hereditary. Socialism works very well—if you can assure that poltiicians are honest. Republican democracy works well—if you can assure that your representatives actually represent. Sadly, no matter how many laws and regulations there are, men will always have sinful natures, and power will always corrupt. We should not view our government through rosy glasses, as Tocqueville did, seeing only the hypothetical government and not the real one. Neither should we say that democracy doesn’t work simply because it isn’t perfect. Democracy isn’t perfect, but it is certainly the lesser of many evils.

As Winston Churchill said, “Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except all those others that have been tried from time to time.”

The Gospel According to Disney

I recently finished a book called The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust by Mark Pinsky, which examines each and every Walt Disney production and its worldview from a Christian perspective. The author is very liberal, and his comments at times were annoying on that count, but overall it was a fascinating read.

In the end, he concludes that the Disney gospel is “Trust in yourself and follow your dreams”, but is surprisingly lenient to the films even after unveiling that incredibly unBiblical worldview. And, even among the universe populated with weak or overbearing fathers (with not a good mother to be seen) and rebellious children, where nature is king, it is perhaps this message that is the most damaging. For when you look at them, every Disney hero or heroine is thinking about his or herself first of all. Perhaps they serve and care for others along the way, but the point of the movies is shown by the happy endings: the hero or heroine they get what they want and live happily ever after. The movies hardly promote Christian ideals. In fact, Disney did an animated version of the Chronicles of Prydain (called "The Black Cauldron"), and while the books were full of themes such as servant-leadership, humility, and being content in all circumstances, the whole point of the Disney adaptation was—take a guess? Trust in yourself and follow your dreams.

A contrast with the Pixar movies came to me when I was thinking about this, and I realized that there the opposite worldview is true. For example, in "Toy Story 2", Woody gives up personal glory to make a child happy. In "Monsters Inc", Sully cares for a child more than himself, even losing his job because of her. In "Cars", perhaps the most obvious example, the whole movie is about how a selfish car learns to care for others more than himself. This more wholesome focus is conspicuously absent from most Disney movies.

Heartwarming

There's nothing that will cheer your day quite like one of your brothers coming upstairs with a fuzzy sock infected with static cling, and saying with a big grin: "Look! It's Albert Einsock!"

Two good movies

Last night we watched The Nativity Story, which I actually liked more than I thought I would. Surprisingly, it didn’t extrapolate much, and what it did add was not jarring. True, it was a bit underacted and underdramatic, but I think it worked well, because, after all, it was not a showy affair. This is the story of a very humble birth, and the quiet tone made it feel real and not contrived. The biblical events were followed, there was nothing objectionable, and it was an interesting movie overall. I especially appreciated the portrayal of Joseph, a quiet good man who gives to others before himself.

The other movie we saw recently was Amazing Grace, which we watched on its last day in theaters. That was definitely worth the ticket price! Unlike most movies I see, there was nothing I would have changed about this one. There was no bad actor, no line that felt out of place, no spots that were too slow, a good use of music, and a good beginning and ending. Since we watch so many British movies, this movie was sort of like a game of “Place That Actor”, where there were only two or three people in the whole movie that we did not recognize from somewhere. In fact, the two actors who played Fanny and Edmund in the old BBC Mansfield Park played a husband and wife in Amazing Grace. It was a wonderful movie, with only a couple bad words to mar it, and an inspiring story.

Chamomile conditioner

I have been using this instead of storebought conditioner for a couple months now, and have only good to say about it. Chamomile softens, moisturizes, and subtly lightens fair hair, and is both natural and inexpensive. The only possible downside is that your hair smells of chamomile tea. I use it with baby shampoo currently, but have been researching more natural substitutes.

Chamomile Conditioner (for shorter hair: for longer hair, use double the recipe)
2 cups boiling water
1/8 cup dried chamomile flowers (or 1/4 cup fresh)
1 tsp lemon juice

Mix ingredients and let sit, covered, until lukewarm or cool. Pour through clean hair, catching the runoff in a bowl. Repeat 8-10 times for best results.

Sandwich mystery

We attended a wedding on Saturday, and they provided a lunch of sandwiches afterwards. While they appeared to be ordinary lunchmeat sandwiches, there was a pasty pale yellow substance on the bread, that at first was taken to be mustard by those of us at the “teen” table.

“It doesn’t look like mustard; it’s too light,” said one of my friends.

“Perhaps it is mayonnaise,” said his sister. “Or butter.”

For a moment we pondered this, and then someone got up to ask. She came back, saying with surprise: “It’s actually margarine!”

At this point, Aragorn broke in with a perfectly straight face, and said, astonished: “I can’t believe it’s not butter!”

A homeschooling moment

While in the kitchen peeling potatoes, Purring Piggy and I were having a conversation with The Queen (who is seven) about reading.


TQ: ...I read Discovery books, where I discover things.

PP: (mock shock) You discover things!

MK: You can't learn things when it is not school time!

TQ: (dark and bitter) I know, you never let me do school. I want to do math so bad I will die!


We are so cruel to the poor child...

Step to the right, step to the left, turn a single

I have always been interested in learning historic dance, and recently we found a wonderful opportunity to do so. After an article in the newspaper about a Viennese style ball, we looked for a person who could teach us English Country Dance (i.e. the sort of dancing in Jane Austen movies), and amazingly found one who was so happy to teach again that she only charged us for gas money. So for the past four weeks, we and many other families have met after church on Sunday to learn how to dance like Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennet. While the idea of dancing did not at first appeal to the men and boys we invited, they quickly came to enjoy it as much as the women.

English Country Dance is different from many forms of dance, because it is a social action rather than a performance. You not only interact with your partner, but also with every other partner in the dance as well, because of something called progression. The dances are usually performed in lines, a row of men facing a row of women, and almost everyone does the same thing together in a very symmetrical manner. (The dance figures in many ways resemble the knot gardens that were common in the time period.) I say almost everyone, because the way it works is that every other couple (i.e., couples 1, 3, 5, 7, in the line, etc.) does one figure of the dance, while the other couples (couples 2, 4, 6, 8, in the line, etc.) dance a different figure. Because of the way the dance works, the couples move up and down the line, performing the same figure each time, making it so that every couple eventually dances with every other couple in the dance. While this sounds complicated, it is actually a very simple idea, and the dances are easy to carry out. Because the dances simply repeat the main figure over and over in this manner, and because every step is some form of walking or turning in some direction, this leaves plenty of time for the long conversations that can be found in Jane Austen's novels.

Of course, the hardest part of any new skill is learning the terms and vocabulary. After watching Jane Austen movies and drooling over the lovely dancing therein, I first searched for a website that might offer instructions. I found one, but though there were explanations of the terms, they were not clear enough for me to imagine (you can see the instructions here, with the music, if you are interested). But after only a couple classes, I was able to revisit this site and understand all the steps.

If it is possible, English Country Dance is a wonderful thing to learn, for not only is it enjoyable and a form of dance that anyone can easily learn (the students range from 7 to 50 years), you also learn the deportment and manners that go along with it, which is a valuable thing for everyone.

Twisted marketing

While shopping for seed-starting supplies, I noticed children's starter kits in the gardening center. While most of them were just cute little pots with seeds and instructions, some of them had a Veggie Tales theme. The reasoning behind this marketing completely escapes me. Is the reaction from kids supposed to be: "Look, Mom! Bob and Larry! Let's grow them and eat them!" *shakes head in disbelief*

A New Breed of Homeschooler

The Headmistress was addressing some comments from a new homeschooler and I was reminded that I had written this months ago and never posted it. I guess it is time.

We decided to homeschool just after our first child was born, about 17 years ago and I have been involved with our local support group for much of that time. My dear friend and mentor used to invite me on field trips with other homeschooling families when my children were infants and toddlers. I started going to monthly support meetings when my oldest was a pre-schooler. As a result I had a slow, easy introduction to homeschooling and I was very, very blessed.

Some of the wonderful moms that I met early in my homeschooling career were part of the vanguard in my state, some of them homeschooling before it was even legal. They were not afraid to stand against the tide, holding their ground in a world that mostly had never heard of homeschooling, and once they did hear of it, they were usually against it. These moms didn't have much curriculum to choose from, often just workbooks sold at Safeway or curriculum caste offs from schools. Yet these moms did whatever they needed to do to give their children a wonderful education. They were creative and many were strong willed, and they supported each other, because there was very little support from anyone else. I am blessed to know many of these women. The forerunners of my calling.

For years now, the homeschooling community has been changing. With public school sponsored programs, internet learning, co-ops, and a plethora of opportunities, the face of homeschooling has changed. Now before I get too far into this hear me out...I am thankful that so many children are getting out of the public school system. I am thankful that there are choices now that make it so more parents choose homeschooling. And I am thankful that more families are able to find a way to school their children outside of the public school arena. I support the freedom of each family to choose the educational choice that best fits their own values, even if it differs from the one I choose.

I have noticed a surprising trend in the new homeschoolers I come in contact with in person and on the internet. Many are choosing to homeschool the way someone chooses to try a new flavor of coffee. We'll buy a jar, try if for a couple months and see if we like it. This lack of commitment (and lack of conviction) is troubling to me. What often happens is that people try a certain flavor of homeschooling for a short time, think that is what homeschooling is all about, quit when it doesn't work for them, and then go on telling folks, "We tried homeschooling and it didn't work for us." They often carry other negatives with them when they leave. Since they laid out a chunk of change for some curriculum they tell others how expensive homeschooling is. They may meet some families once at a support group or field trip and think they are "weird" or their children are "unsocialized" and draw sweeping conclusions about all homeschooling families.

We had a mother come to our local support group and ask if there was some easy way to get teach her children to read and write...maybe a tutor or something. We misunderstood and thought she needed ideas on how to teach these subjects while still having a busy schedule or maybe she needed encouragement that moms are capable of teaching their own children and don't need outside help. When we pressed her for specifics, she said she didn't want to bother teaching her children boring subjects like reading, writing and math...she just wanted to do the fun stuff with them, like field trips and science experiments. We stared at her in amazement and kind of umed and awed. What do you say to that?

There is a concern that "old fashioned" homeschooling will become a thing of the past. More and more homeschoolers turn to school district programs, tutors, internet academies or others to teach their children for them...they just do it from home instead of at a school building. The homeschool advocacy group in our state is very concerned that the government will look at all these families who call themselves homeschoolers but are actually enrolled in school district programs, and they will wonder about all those non-conformist families who won't enroll and be accountable to the school district. The fear is that legislators will ultimately declare that families in those programs are true homeschoolers and the rest of us are renegades that need to be reformed.

Lord of the Rings quiz

To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?

Elvish
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*blinks* That was slightly surprising. And, since I love to play with the answers of these sorts of quizzes, it seems that the one question that decided Elvish vs. Numenorean was which leader I should follow. Sorry Faramir: you may be my favorite character, but I'd rather have as my leader an elf who has been fighting for 20,000 years.

Don't share the germs!

It looks like most of our church family is sick, from what I hear...church was cancelled last night. The entire Clan is sick, except for Emma Darcy, who is strolling around *commanding* others to get her food and drink, and then smiling a most charming grin! Boy, have we spoiled her. It is kind of nice to have everyone sick at once so that the illness doesn't drag out over weeks while different waves of people get it. Plus I don't really have to feed anyone much since no one really wants to eat, they just sleep all day and night.

Aragorn passed out in the kitchen when he came up to get food yesterday morning before any of us were awake. From the dried blood and bruise, it appears he hit his cheek and ear on something. Adaon was sleeping on the living room couch and saw him "trip" and fall onto the floor of the dining room. Thankfully, except for not being able to sleep on one side of his face, he appears to be fine.

Locally, a high school closed for the remainder of the week because 300 of their students were sick, but public officials claim this is just normal for flu season. At least some of us are able to function minimally, for which I thank God profusely. I've been able to make gelatin and pudding and serve up vitamin-C and fluids to all. Prayers would be greatly appreciated, especially for Clankeeper whose immune system is much weaker than ours.

And if you don't know your patriotic duty concerning the spread of germs...take the time to go HERE and enjoy this educational (and humorous!) public service announcement.

Sometimes, being literal goes too far

Purring Piggy: Last year—
Aragorn: That would be a month ago?
Purring Piggy: No, last fall.
Aragorn: Three months?
Purring Piggy: A year plus three month ago.
Aragorn: Then why didn't you say fifteen months?
The Queen: Yes, Mr. Smarty Pants.
Aragorn: I don't see any Smarties on my pants.

Engineering minds...you have to learn to live with them.

Say hello to Mr. Bingley

Here is my favorite item purchased with my Christmas money, my own personal penguin:



He is about two feet tall, and the perfect size for cuddling. His name is Mr. Bingley, because whatever you do to him, he will always have that slightly goofy smile that is so adorable. Already beloved by our entire family, I have to keep a close eye on him, or he is penguin-napped by sibling who want a turn to snuggle with him.

Matchmaker, I need a pet

We watched Fiddler on the Roof recently, and apparently Martin the Warrior and The Queen thought it catchy, even if they didn't quite grasp what the songs meant, for today they were doing their chores singing:

"Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match
Find me a fish
Catch me a cat"

Ponytail's meme

from Dewey's Treehouse

How much snow is there on the ground where you live?
-- Strangely, about four inches. This is the most snow we've had in years.

How do you make a snowbear?
-- I don't?

Do you know the song "The Minstrel Boy?"
-- I do.

Do you like the song "The Minstrel Boy?"
--Rather.

What do you put in baked peanut butter cookies?
--Since I don't bake peanut butter cookies, I wouldn't know.

Do you like writing stories?
-- I do indeed! Right now, in fact, I have twelve that I am in the middle of writing, and eighteen ideas that need to be written. Do I have an overactive imagination, you ask? Why, of course!