Tuesday, July 22, 2008

From Pride and Prejudice to Brave New World

Thanks to all who attended our first colloquium at Pandemonium! We had some good conversation about our collective latest read, Pride and Prejudice.
Our next book to discuss is Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley. I'm currently reading a required-reading book for a colloquium at a seminar I will be attending this weekend, but I can't WAIT to dig into Brave New World. It looks absolutely intriguing (and a bit frightening :-) I so look forward to the discussion that ensues after this read. And hey, these rainy days are perfect for cuddling up with a good book and a cup of tea. (I realize that we all have kids, so the picture that comes to your mind when you envision this may or may not be idyllic. But we can dream, right?)
We will meet again at Pandemonium, but this time we have decided to try out their room in the back. Sitting up front in the cafe was a bit distracting. BUT...the calender for that room has filled up very quickly upon their opening. We will meet on Thursday, August 21st, at 7:00 pm. I hope everyone can make it. Let me know...
ALSO, everyone please bring three titles of classics YOU would like our group to read. We will vote on each person's choices and plug it in on the calender.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Details on the Colloquium

We will be meeting at the new cafe/bookstore, Pandemonium, on Tuesday, July 15th, at 7:00 pm to discuss Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I hope all who are interested are able to attend. Please bring any points of interest that you would like to discuss.
See you then!!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Arctic Thunder

Last Sunday, we skipped church, packed lunches, loaded up and drove into Anchorage for the Air Show. This year, they featured the Thunderbirds. Some of the boys' favorites include the F22-Raptor flying with a Mustang- a little yellow stunt plane. (Ryley's currently reminding me of all we saw, complete with their "real" names. It was just a bunch of cool aircraft, to me!) We got to sit in a C-17. We saw the Globlemaster III and the new F-16. We waited in line to go up and see in the cockpit while an enlisted answered our questions and gave the "tour".
The Thunderbird show was amazing. I got a bit choked up and patriotic as the music played and I thanked God for our military, the strongest in the WORLD! I'm so proud to be American and am incredibly blessed to have been born here. I'm astounded at the geniuses who put together these aircraft. All the controls and buttons and levers and dials serve a purpose and I am completely stunned by them.

One of the highlights was sitting inside a Blackhawk helicopter. The kids' Uncle Brendon is currently undergoing training to fly this aircraft in the Army. When we got to the front of the line, the man in the pic. put his arm out to stop my kiddos after Ryley climbed aboard. "One at a time, please, kids", he said. I implored him to make an exception. "Would it be possible for all of them to climb up together for a picture? Their uncle flies this helicopter, but he lives out of state and I'd love to send him a picture." "Well," he said, "I guess that would be alright, this one time." So he proceeded to lift them up one by one and allowed me to snap a shot.