Bits and Pieces

I'm feeling a little random tonight. I spent the day making sauerkraut (for the first time - I'll find out in 10 days if it worked), dill pickles and cabbage rolls. We enjoyed one batch of cabbage rolls for supper. The other pan is for a potluck at church tomorrow. I should actually say that "some of us" enjoyed cabbage rolls for supper - others just picked out the filling and tried not to complain. But that's OK - it was a great treat for the three of us who like them.

We've been listening non-stop to a new album, Mockingbird, by Derek Webb. If you would like to get your hands, I mean, ears, on this album, go to FreeDerekWebb. You may still be able to download a copy for free. I'm not sure I agree with every song but he certainly has a lot of food for thought. I like the style of his music very much.

I'm going to link to another article that I really enjoyed. It's from the New York Times. The other day to get to it, I didn't have to sign in but today I had too. (Hopefully my readers won't have to). Anyway, I hate registering to read an article so I always use "stupid" or some form of it as the registering name. Well, apparently, there are other people who think the same thing. "Stupid" wasn't available but "stupid78" was. 78 people have tried to use "stupid" as their sign-in name. You'd think that sooner or later these companies would get the hint.

The article is entitled "Why I Can't Stop Starting Books". It's hard to choose just the right quote for here but I think this one will work for starters.

But I am never reading fewer than 25 books. I am not talking about books I
have delved into, perused and set aside, like “Finnegans Wake” or Pamela
Anderson’s first novel — that would get me up way over a hundred. I am
talking
about books I am actively reading, books that are on my nightstand
and are not
leaving there until I am done with them. Right now, the number
is 27.

I'm not sure that I've ever reached 27 books at a time. I know that I often have 3-5 on the go. After all, a person needs a book for different rooms or for different moods. Do I want to go to sleep or stay awake? Do I want something light or something that makes me think? And when something new comes home from the library, well, I just have to make sure it's going to be
worth reading. If you enjoy reading, you'll probably enjoy this article.

On a different note, Michael Totten has had a lot to report from his travels in the Middle East, and especially in Israel and Lebanon. Good reads and lots to think about.

An interesting article on college education and the number of students needing remedial work before they can enter college. It's a good reminder of the high standards I need to hold before my kids.