It's a movie everyone should watch, in the same genre as "The Killing Fields" for Cambodia and "Schindler's List" for Germany, "Sometimes in April" is set in Rwanda, just 10 years ago.
Friday, May 27, 2005
The "Lost" Mystery
What's your guess? What's the purpose of the island on "Lost"?
I'll tell you my thought, but it's not original.
The island is Purgatory. A second chance to clean up, clear your mind, do the right thing.
Charlie was forced to clean up. A heroin junky who detoxed, but not of his own volition. Now, the temptation is presented to him... will he beat it back?
Claire didn't want her baby. She didn't even name him after he was born. Now she's faced with being his only hope for survival and when he was at risk she named him and wanted him back. Is that enough to save her?
Mike didn't even want Walt before they boarded the plane. Now, Walt is taken and Mike is free of his responsibility. But it's obviously not that easy, is it. The island changed both of them.
And the stories go on and on.
Those who die seem to be the ones at peace, the strong and faithful ones. Why is the French woman still there after all these years? Because of her son, is my guess.
We're going to miss this show when we're gone. But thank goodness for DVD.
I'll tell you my thought, but it's not original.
The island is Purgatory. A second chance to clean up, clear your mind, do the right thing.
Charlie was forced to clean up. A heroin junky who detoxed, but not of his own volition. Now, the temptation is presented to him... will he beat it back?
Claire didn't want her baby. She didn't even name him after he was born. Now she's faced with being his only hope for survival and when he was at risk she named him and wanted him back. Is that enough to save her?
Mike didn't even want Walt before they boarded the plane. Now, Walt is taken and Mike is free of his responsibility. But it's obviously not that easy, is it. The island changed both of them.
And the stories go on and on.
Those who die seem to be the ones at peace, the strong and faithful ones. Why is the French woman still there after all these years? Because of her son, is my guess.
We're going to miss this show when we're gone. But thank goodness for DVD.
Never boring in the Philippines
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4585287.stm
In Mindanao, presumed Japanese soldiers left behind from WWII were found living with a rebel group and Japanese officials are investigating.
"The pair, in their 80s, were reportedly found on southern Mindanao island.
The men were expected to travel to meet Japanese officials on Friday, but have yet to make contact.
The claim drew comparisons with the 1974 case of Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda, who was found in the Philippines jungle unaware the war had ended.
'Incredible if true'
The two men on Mindanao contacted a Japanese national who was collecting the remains of war dead on Mindanao, according to government sources.
They had equipment which suggested they were former soldiers.
"It is an incredible story if it is true," Japan's consul general in Manila, Akio Egawa, told the AFP news agency.
"They were found, I believe, in the mountains near General Santos on Mindanao Island.
"At this stage we are not saying either way whether or not these two men are in fact former soldiers. We may be in a better position later today," he said.
According to Japanese media reports, the pair had been living with Muslim rebel groups and at least one of them has married a local woman and had a family.
The BBC's Tokyo correspondent says the likelihood is that they are well aware the war is over but have chosen to stay in the Philippines for their own reasons.
Remote jungle
Mindanao has seen more than two decades of Muslim rebellion and many areas are out of central government control.
Japan invaded the Philippines in 1941, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and set up a brutal puppet government.
In the closing months of the war, there was heavy fighting with US troops in the mountainous, heavily forested islands.
The Sankei Shimbun daily said the men would most likely be members of the Panther division, 80% of whom were killed or went missing during the final months of the war.
It speculated there could be as many as 40 Japanese soldiers living in similar conditions in the Philippines.
When Lt Onoda was found on the Philippines island of Lubang in 1974, he initially refused to surrender.
Only when his former commanding officer was flown over from Japan did he agree to leave the jungle.
He later emigrated to Brazil."
In Mindanao, presumed Japanese soldiers left behind from WWII were found living with a rebel group and Japanese officials are investigating.
"The pair, in their 80s, were reportedly found on southern Mindanao island.
The men were expected to travel to meet Japanese officials on Friday, but have yet to make contact.
The claim drew comparisons with the 1974 case of Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda, who was found in the Philippines jungle unaware the war had ended.
'Incredible if true'
The two men on Mindanao contacted a Japanese national who was collecting the remains of war dead on Mindanao, according to government sources.
They had equipment which suggested they were former soldiers.
"It is an incredible story if it is true," Japan's consul general in Manila, Akio Egawa, told the AFP news agency.
"They were found, I believe, in the mountains near General Santos on Mindanao Island.
"At this stage we are not saying either way whether or not these two men are in fact former soldiers. We may be in a better position later today," he said.
According to Japanese media reports, the pair had been living with Muslim rebel groups and at least one of them has married a local woman and had a family.
The BBC's Tokyo correspondent says the likelihood is that they are well aware the war is over but have chosen to stay in the Philippines for their own reasons.
Remote jungle
Mindanao has seen more than two decades of Muslim rebellion and many areas are out of central government control.
Japan invaded the Philippines in 1941, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and set up a brutal puppet government.
In the closing months of the war, there was heavy fighting with US troops in the mountainous, heavily forested islands.
The Sankei Shimbun daily said the men would most likely be members of the Panther division, 80% of whom were killed or went missing during the final months of the war.
It speculated there could be as many as 40 Japanese soldiers living in similar conditions in the Philippines.
When Lt Onoda was found on the Philippines island of Lubang in 1974, he initially refused to surrender.
Only when his former commanding officer was flown over from Japan did he agree to leave the jungle.
He later emigrated to Brazil."
Monday, May 23, 2005
Busch Gardens and Williamsburg, Sith and #9
I'm tired but I'll write anyway. Ian just gave me a guilt trip by stating our hit count is in the toilet this month because I'm such a slacker.
So I'll put aside my deep desire to crawl into bed at 8:30 this evening and make him happy by writing and writing and writing until my fingers bleed.
OK, not really. He's making me an ice cream sundae as I type, so he can't be all that bad, right?
As the title says, much has happened in the past few days. I'll start with the last and work my way backwards... #9.
Wednesday was our 9th wedding anniversary. We successfully survived the First Year Hardships (usually a good year, but tough with an infant and being poor as church mice), the Fourth Year Uncertainties (I know too many people who divorced at the 4-year mark) and the Seventh Year Itch (did we just not itch or did we scratch it just right?). And next year we face the 10 year mark. Amazing and wonderful, I say. This year was our "leather" anniversary, or was it pottery? Anyhow, Ian gave me the most awesome leather carry bag from L.L. Bean called the Healthy Back Bag which has about a dozen pockets to hold my wallet, camera and other assorted items, and room enough to carry the video camera, a change of clothes for Jonathon, a book and plenty more. Even better, it's a bag Ian doesn't mind carrying if my arms are full. I'm thinking that next year I need to pay more attention to the anniversary gift guides, but what are my options since I've sworn off diamonds? Ideas anyone?
The kids were excited about the anniversary and worked together to buy flowers and make dinner for the family. Very thoughtful and well executed, the spaghetti was perfect.
Our anniversary continued on Friday night after we dropped the kids off at grandma's house for the night. Ian and I had dinner at the Rock Bottom Brewery before watching "Revenge of the Sith". Our waitress was quite chipper and we had a pleasant meal of foods all baked with beer, though we passed on the discount card that's good at their restaurants "all over". For some reason, I don't think Togo is what she meant. (Speaking of Togo, it seems post has petitioned to have the Authorized Departure status lifted).
Ah, the Sith. I agree it's not for little kids. I also don't want to give anything away for those who haven't seen it yet. We all know that it's the final story that bridges the first two movies to the last three, but I do have one negative thing to say about it. George Lucas should stay far far away from making -any- romantic/emotional/love stories. He can't do it. Contract it out, man, your dialogue is miserable. You ruined a wonderful, strong-willed character and the potentially spark-filled powerful attraction was devoid of life. But Anakin's fall to the dark side was believable (in a Star Wars kind of way) and complete. Since that was the point, and it was done fabulously well, I say the flick was awesome.
I'm sad though, almost to the point of being sappy. Star Wars is complete and it's hard to believe there won't be any more to anticipate.
What will George Lucas do now? And what will we, the Star Wars fans (even those who aren't completely rabid about it.... like me), what will we do now? Will I be reduced to reading those awful Star Wars novels that come out in droves?
I put aside my contemplations on "what happens now" over the weekend.
Bright and early Saturday morning we (us, the kids and my parents) drove down to Busch Gardens, Williamsburg. The weather cleared up nicely, the drive was easy and we enjoyed the park immensely. The girls took on the new ride, the Curse of DarKastle, with Ian and grandpa. Nicholas took on the log flume with dad and will never say that he enjoyed it. The picture proves that he didn't, there was terror all over it, but he's proud that he made it. "I goed down" is all he'll say about that. We all watched the Irish dancing show, the boys loved the Land of Dragons and the Roman Rapids was the big hit. Aside from the funnel cake of course. Even better, De Witty came to the park and spent her afternoon with us. She's doing really well and we've made a date to try to get together in August when we're at Sandbridge. De is a college friend of mine and she's such a warm, friendly and outgoing person that no matter how much time has gone by, it feels like none when we see each other again.
The kids were each given $5 to spend on a souvenir as we were leaving the park. Oh sure it was after 9 p.m. and they were beyond hungry and tired but there was shopping to be done. We hunted through stores and were disappointed to see that the favorite price of $6.99 for the smallest gifts. It was a lesson though and the kids -were- successful. The boys each purchased a knight's helmet for $3.99, Katherine found a keychain for just over $1 and then she shared her change with her sister so Rebecca could purchase a $6.99 DarKastle thermos she'd been eyeing all day.
We finally made it to the Embassy Suites, ordered some room service pizza and slept like rocks. Jonathon didn't even make it to the pizza. He'd fallen asleep in the car and nothing was going to wake him up.
We attended church at St. Bede's on Sunday morning, a lovely bright and new church-in-the-round with gorgeous grounds that included a pond filled with tadpoles. Church went long as they asked for funds to pay off the new organ, so Jonathon fell asleep on my lap and missed all the tadpoles. It was almost 1 before we left and made our way to Colonial Williamsburg for lunch. We checked out Berret's first, a seafood place. The hostess said it would be a 15 minute wait and we debated looking elsewere. A lady sitting on the bench, apparently waiting herself, said that a 15 minute wait was great. When I replied that it was a little long with hungry kids she commented she had two kids herself (who I didn't see anywhere around) and that 15 minutes was a blessing, or something along those lines. And that we wouldn't find anywhere else any better.
We walked to the Seasons restaurant on the other side of the block, were seated immediately and had a wonderful lunch that didn't need to be worked around (my dad can't eat fish or many of the other items on the Berret's menu).
I guess you could say we found that "helpful" lady more obnoxious than anything.
The past few weeks we've been reading history books about Colonial Williamsburg including the American Girl Felicity series and Mary Geddy's day. During our walk down Duke of Gloucester street we checked each house we passed to find the Merriman house (sadly, we didn't) and the Geddy house (we did). We passed the magazine where the British loyalists stole all the stored Patriot gunpowder, and the Capitol building where the vote was taken to become an independent state. It was fun and the girls were excited to purchase their very own quills and ink to try out at home. Every since Katherine saw her first Harry Potter movie she's wanted a quill. OK, so it's not exactly American History there.
We were a little warm and treated the kids to ice cream before departing home. My parents left first trying to avoid some of the traffic and we meandered through a store where I picked up an ornament for our Christmas tree. Katherine showed me a beautiful Christmas ball which shattered in her hand, and her as a result. Poor girl, she has the worst luck sometimes. The store wouldn't let me pay for the lost ornament, and Ian took good care of stricken Katherine while I paid for our trinket.
It seemed to take us forever to get back, though it was a pleasant drive. My mom has discovered the joy of texting and since they were so far ahead of us we received regular traffic reports. Jonathon needed a bathroom break at Rt. 17 so we stopped at McDs to let the kids burn off some energy and while there, mom texted that I95 was completely stopped and they were bailing onto Rt. 1. I mentioned that to another lady sitting with her family and someone else overheard and stated it was awful up there and we should all take 17 to 28 instead. Which is exactly what we did, passing farms that give tours, lots of cows, Wat Lao and a beautiful sunset. The kids were great and we all came home tired but happy.
Now this week is Katherine's SOL tests, so early to bed and hearty breakfasts all around.
So I'll put aside my deep desire to crawl into bed at 8:30 this evening and make him happy by writing and writing and writing until my fingers bleed.
OK, not really. He's making me an ice cream sundae as I type, so he can't be all that bad, right?
As the title says, much has happened in the past few days. I'll start with the last and work my way backwards... #9.
Wednesday was our 9th wedding anniversary. We successfully survived the First Year Hardships (usually a good year, but tough with an infant and being poor as church mice), the Fourth Year Uncertainties (I know too many people who divorced at the 4-year mark) and the Seventh Year Itch (did we just not itch or did we scratch it just right?). And next year we face the 10 year mark. Amazing and wonderful, I say. This year was our "leather" anniversary, or was it pottery? Anyhow, Ian gave me the most awesome leather carry bag from L.L. Bean called the Healthy Back Bag which has about a dozen pockets to hold my wallet, camera and other assorted items, and room enough to carry the video camera, a change of clothes for Jonathon, a book and plenty more. Even better, it's a bag Ian doesn't mind carrying if my arms are full. I'm thinking that next year I need to pay more attention to the anniversary gift guides, but what are my options since I've sworn off diamonds? Ideas anyone?
The kids were excited about the anniversary and worked together to buy flowers and make dinner for the family. Very thoughtful and well executed, the spaghetti was perfect.
Our anniversary continued on Friday night after we dropped the kids off at grandma's house for the night. Ian and I had dinner at the Rock Bottom Brewery before watching "Revenge of the Sith". Our waitress was quite chipper and we had a pleasant meal of foods all baked with beer, though we passed on the discount card that's good at their restaurants "all over". For some reason, I don't think Togo is what she meant. (Speaking of Togo, it seems post has petitioned to have the Authorized Departure status lifted).
Ah, the Sith. I agree it's not for little kids. I also don't want to give anything away for those who haven't seen it yet. We all know that it's the final story that bridges the first two movies to the last three, but I do have one negative thing to say about it. George Lucas should stay far far away from making -any- romantic/emotional/love stories. He can't do it. Contract it out, man, your dialogue is miserable. You ruined a wonderful, strong-willed character and the potentially spark-filled powerful attraction was devoid of life. But Anakin's fall to the dark side was believable (in a Star Wars kind of way) and complete. Since that was the point, and it was done fabulously well, I say the flick was awesome.
I'm sad though, almost to the point of being sappy. Star Wars is complete and it's hard to believe there won't be any more to anticipate.
What will George Lucas do now? And what will we, the Star Wars fans (even those who aren't completely rabid about it.... like me), what will we do now? Will I be reduced to reading those awful Star Wars novels that come out in droves?
I put aside my contemplations on "what happens now" over the weekend.
Bright and early Saturday morning we (us, the kids and my parents) drove down to Busch Gardens, Williamsburg. The weather cleared up nicely, the drive was easy and we enjoyed the park immensely. The girls took on the new ride, the Curse of DarKastle, with Ian and grandpa. Nicholas took on the log flume with dad and will never say that he enjoyed it. The picture proves that he didn't, there was terror all over it, but he's proud that he made it. "I goed down" is all he'll say about that. We all watched the Irish dancing show, the boys loved the Land of Dragons and the Roman Rapids was the big hit. Aside from the funnel cake of course. Even better, De Witty came to the park and spent her afternoon with us. She's doing really well and we've made a date to try to get together in August when we're at Sandbridge. De is a college friend of mine and she's such a warm, friendly and outgoing person that no matter how much time has gone by, it feels like none when we see each other again.
The kids were each given $5 to spend on a souvenir as we were leaving the park. Oh sure it was after 9 p.m. and they were beyond hungry and tired but there was shopping to be done. We hunted through stores and were disappointed to see that the favorite price of $6.99 for the smallest gifts. It was a lesson though and the kids -were- successful. The boys each purchased a knight's helmet for $3.99, Katherine found a keychain for just over $1 and then she shared her change with her sister so Rebecca could purchase a $6.99 DarKastle thermos she'd been eyeing all day.
We finally made it to the Embassy Suites, ordered some room service pizza and slept like rocks. Jonathon didn't even make it to the pizza. He'd fallen asleep in the car and nothing was going to wake him up.
We attended church at St. Bede's on Sunday morning, a lovely bright and new church-in-the-round with gorgeous grounds that included a pond filled with tadpoles. Church went long as they asked for funds to pay off the new organ, so Jonathon fell asleep on my lap and missed all the tadpoles. It was almost 1 before we left and made our way to Colonial Williamsburg for lunch. We checked out Berret's first, a seafood place. The hostess said it would be a 15 minute wait and we debated looking elsewere. A lady sitting on the bench, apparently waiting herself, said that a 15 minute wait was great. When I replied that it was a little long with hungry kids she commented she had two kids herself (who I didn't see anywhere around) and that 15 minutes was a blessing, or something along those lines. And that we wouldn't find anywhere else any better.
We walked to the Seasons restaurant on the other side of the block, were seated immediately and had a wonderful lunch that didn't need to be worked around (my dad can't eat fish or many of the other items on the Berret's menu).
I guess you could say we found that "helpful" lady more obnoxious than anything.
The past few weeks we've been reading history books about Colonial Williamsburg including the American Girl Felicity series and Mary Geddy's day. During our walk down Duke of Gloucester street we checked each house we passed to find the Merriman house (sadly, we didn't) and the Geddy house (we did). We passed the magazine where the British loyalists stole all the stored Patriot gunpowder, and the Capitol building where the vote was taken to become an independent state. It was fun and the girls were excited to purchase their very own quills and ink to try out at home. Every since Katherine saw her first Harry Potter movie she's wanted a quill. OK, so it's not exactly American History there.
We were a little warm and treated the kids to ice cream before departing home. My parents left first trying to avoid some of the traffic and we meandered through a store where I picked up an ornament for our Christmas tree. Katherine showed me a beautiful Christmas ball which shattered in her hand, and her as a result. Poor girl, she has the worst luck sometimes. The store wouldn't let me pay for the lost ornament, and Ian took good care of stricken Katherine while I paid for our trinket.
It seemed to take us forever to get back, though it was a pleasant drive. My mom has discovered the joy of texting and since they were so far ahead of us we received regular traffic reports. Jonathon needed a bathroom break at Rt. 17 so we stopped at McDs to let the kids burn off some energy and while there, mom texted that I95 was completely stopped and they were bailing onto Rt. 1. I mentioned that to another lady sitting with her family and someone else overheard and stated it was awful up there and we should all take 17 to 28 instead. Which is exactly what we did, passing farms that give tours, lots of cows, Wat Lao and a beautiful sunset. The kids were great and we all came home tired but happy.
Now this week is Katherine's SOL tests, so early to bed and hearty breakfasts all around.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Future Goals
Yesterday was Rebecca's last day of reading assistance. She is officially caught up with her peers. In celebration we went to Bertucci's for dinner and let her pick a brand new book from Barnes and Noble. She chose the first in the American Girl Samantha series. We also purchased _You Read to Me, I'll Read to You_ as a Thank You gift for her reading instructor.
I'm impatiently waiting for a book from Amazon, also for Rebecca, about writing/designing/illustrating your own stories. She loves to write stories so we'll guide her into how to do it well, including the spelling. Her spelling is still awful, but it's improving ever so slowly.
On our walk to dinner, the topic of "What do I want to be when I grow up" began and then continued all through our meal.
A few snippets:
-Jonathon: I want to be an art teacher, a math teacher, a duckling teacher and a chick teacher.
-Dad: Katherine, you could be an engineer.
-Katherine: Oh, I don't think so.
-Dad: Why not? What do you think engineers do?
-Katherine: They drive trains.
-Nicholas: I want to be a space man. And then an art teacher. *he looks around the table* Who else is going to be an art teacher? [The answer: all the kids]
I'm impatiently waiting for a book from Amazon, also for Rebecca, about writing/designing/illustrating your own stories. She loves to write stories so we'll guide her into how to do it well, including the spelling. Her spelling is still awful, but it's improving ever so slowly.
On our walk to dinner, the topic of "What do I want to be when I grow up" began and then continued all through our meal.
A few snippets:
-Jonathon: I want to be an art teacher, a math teacher, a duckling teacher and a chick teacher.
-Dad: Katherine, you could be an engineer.
-Katherine: Oh, I don't think so.
-Dad: Why not? What do you think engineers do?
-Katherine: They drive trains.
-Nicholas: I want to be a space man. And then an art teacher. *he looks around the table* Who else is going to be an art teacher? [The answer: all the kids]
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
One day they'll listen.
When I tell the kids it's time to leave the park/library/pool/wherever we happen to be, maybe next time they'll listen. And maybe I won't say "OK, just a few more minutes."
Because invariably, if I say "OK, just a few more minutes" one of them will take that time to cause harm to someone or something, usually themselves. I'm not saying intentionally, but it will happen. Today, it was Jonathon's turn.
We decided to stop at the playground right behind our apartment building on our way back from Barnes & Noble (where I didn't buy -anything- today! Go me!). A group of daycare kids was there, playing with bubbles, balls and shovels whenever they weren't on the playground equipment. My boys asked to play too and moved from kicking the soccer ball to tossing a football. It was lunchtime but I said that fateful phrase "OK, just a few more minutes." The football promptly rolled under the bench where Jonathon retrieved it and misjudged the the distance to back of the bench.
Crack went his head.
OK, this sort of thing happens all the time and in order not to freak out the kids, we've always been nonchalant about it, especially if they don't get upset. We all know that kids feed off our reactions. So, he cried a bit from whacking his head and I reassured him all was well. He was heading back to his game when one of the daycare workers took a look at his head and freaked.
Yup, blood gushing. Head wounds always gush more than you'd expect, but she went a bit overboard. The other caregiver came over and offered a wipe to get the blood. His hair was getting matted and the presence of a bloody rag did more to concern Jonathon than anything else, so we discussed whether he would need stitches before we made the short trek home. At home he patiently allowed me to wash his head and the wound itself was only about 1/2 centimeter long, though it was open. Honestly, it could probably have taken a stitch or two, but it's on the top and back of his head, covered by hair. It won't be noticeable once it's healed and it wasn't bothering him at all. Not once did he say it hurt, even before the Motrin kicked in. He had a snack, watched some TV, played with his brother, took a bath and didn't say once he had an ache.
So, all is well, and he'll be fine. But one of these days I'll learn to not say that phrase and just go home while everyone is still in one piece.
Because invariably, if I say "OK, just a few more minutes" one of them will take that time to cause harm to someone or something, usually themselves. I'm not saying intentionally, but it will happen. Today, it was Jonathon's turn.
We decided to stop at the playground right behind our apartment building on our way back from Barnes & Noble (where I didn't buy -anything- today! Go me!). A group of daycare kids was there, playing with bubbles, balls and shovels whenever they weren't on the playground equipment. My boys asked to play too and moved from kicking the soccer ball to tossing a football. It was lunchtime but I said that fateful phrase "OK, just a few more minutes." The football promptly rolled under the bench where Jonathon retrieved it and misjudged the the distance to back of the bench.
Crack went his head.
OK, this sort of thing happens all the time and in order not to freak out the kids, we've always been nonchalant about it, especially if they don't get upset. We all know that kids feed off our reactions. So, he cried a bit from whacking his head and I reassured him all was well. He was heading back to his game when one of the daycare workers took a look at his head and freaked.
Yup, blood gushing. Head wounds always gush more than you'd expect, but she went a bit overboard. The other caregiver came over and offered a wipe to get the blood. His hair was getting matted and the presence of a bloody rag did more to concern Jonathon than anything else, so we discussed whether he would need stitches before we made the short trek home. At home he patiently allowed me to wash his head and the wound itself was only about 1/2 centimeter long, though it was open. Honestly, it could probably have taken a stitch or two, but it's on the top and back of his head, covered by hair. It won't be noticeable once it's healed and it wasn't bothering him at all. Not once did he say it hurt, even before the Motrin kicked in. He had a snack, watched some TV, played with his brother, took a bath and didn't say once he had an ache.
So, all is well, and he'll be fine. But one of these days I'll learn to not say that phrase and just go home while everyone is still in one piece.
Monday, May 9, 2005
More books
I almost feel like I shouldn't clutter up the blog with this stuff, and just put the books on a page all their own. Anyway...
I recommend _The Devil in the White City_ by Erik Larson and _Wicked_ by Gregory Maguire. The first is a true story about the building of the Chicago World's Fair and the second is the not so true story of life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I only wish that three small sections had been cut from the final editing, then I could read it to the kids! OK, maybe that's pushing it, but it really is a wonderful retelling of the Wizard of Oz from the Witch's POV.
Did I mention that I finished L'Engle's _Many Waters_? I really enjoyed that one as well, more than her other books definitely. The twins are pulled back to Noah's time.
The central library has an entire wall devoted to children's books on tape/CD. I happened to pick up one labeled for the 2004 Middle School reading list, called _The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm_ by Nancy Farmer. It took too long to listen in the car (everywhere I go around here is about 8 minutes away) so I borrowed the book and finished the story at home. A fun read set in 2194 Zimbabwe. I've picked up _The House of the Scorpion_ also by Farmer and would like to read her other works as well.
I recommend _The Devil in the White City_ by Erik Larson and _Wicked_ by Gregory Maguire. The first is a true story about the building of the Chicago World's Fair and the second is the not so true story of life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I only wish that three small sections had been cut from the final editing, then I could read it to the kids! OK, maybe that's pushing it, but it really is a wonderful retelling of the Wizard of Oz from the Witch's POV.
Did I mention that I finished L'Engle's _Many Waters_? I really enjoyed that one as well, more than her other books definitely. The twins are pulled back to Noah's time.
The central library has an entire wall devoted to children's books on tape/CD. I happened to pick up one labeled for the 2004 Middle School reading list, called _The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm_ by Nancy Farmer. It took too long to listen in the car (everywhere I go around here is about 8 minutes away) so I borrowed the book and finished the story at home. A fun read set in 2194 Zimbabwe. I've picked up _The House of the Scorpion_ also by Farmer and would like to read her other works as well.
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