The noise filters are doing their job well today

I accompanied my family to "Taste of Chicago" and found the radio commercials much too loud. Maybe I am a geezer. I walked out of the restaurant, the radio volume was that loud. Not only that, the television was going too. We were the only customers in and we didn't request the television nor the radio. I don't want to go to "Taste of Chicago" anymore, although the person on staff did turn down the commercials. Ten minutes of ads! How do people cope

More readings:
Readings: Essays and Literary Entertainments by Michael Dirda
Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Prose

Van Gogh's room at Arles : [three novellas] / Stanley Elkin.

Reading in bed : personal essays on the glories of reading / selected and edited by Steven Gilbar.

The best American short stories of the century / John Updike, editor ; Katrina Kenison, coeditor ; with an introduction by John Updike.

Pieces of soap : essays / by Stanley Elkin.
Esquire's big book of fiction / edited by Adrienne Miller.

There are so many readers here in Seattle. I don't meet them because they read. There are umpteen book clubs, but I don't read in book clubs, so I don't meet them. What I'd love is for someone with whom to share reading recommendations and experiences. Maybe making food is a better way of connecting: people in general are happier when their stomachs are full of good food; show me who is satisfied when his or her mind has digested a terrific novel.

The last great novel I read was Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers. Before that it was The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. I read Geek Love and although it cried out to be for 17 years, its message wasn't worth waiting that long for.

I'm very sensitive to input these days. When the input is positive, that is good. I went to school today and three people said hello. I met some parents while we waited for the school bus to return our children to us. That was a golden, neighbourly moment. Now I'm going to watch "Heima."

titles for "next time"

Fantomas -- Louis Feuillade's silent films
Reel Baseball - America's national sport depicted in the flickering tintypes 1896-1926
Revolution from Within
Out of Africa
Post Office - Bukowski
How to Have a green thumb
Trust me on this - Donald E. Westlake
What Colour is Your Parachute
Secrets of the Flesh - possibly a Colette biography
Ladder of Years - Anne Tyler
A Shining Thread of Hope
Random Acts of Hope
Simple Abundance
Honey for a child's head

thirty-day social media fast

you'd think this would include blogs. I'm not cutting people out of my life: I am still using e-mail. I read Jack Baty's cached 30-day media fast blog post, and Steve Pavlina's book Personal Development for Smart People, and it seems to me that I could do more decluttering, volunteering, exercising. I'm also in a rut, and think some new experiences would be beneficial.

I am not sure if this would include blogs. Yes, blogs are social media, but they don't take much of my time: there are only four that I read. I'm looking forward to gardening, reading (e-mail, letters, books) and writing (cover letters, e-mails).

Drop me a line, if you're so inclined.

Accepting the new

Playing Happy Songs for Happy People, by Mogwai. Lots of books, CDs and DVDs rented. After all, you're better off with libraries and no money than you are with money and no libraries.

Other Library treats:
upgrade your life edition 2, by Gina Trapani
The book of general ignorance, from John Lloyd, who brought us 'QI'
Heima, the Sigur Ros DVD
Bobby, Noel & Cole 2 DVD-set where Bobby Short sings and plays the music of you-know-who
After the Rain, the soft sounds of Erik Satie
The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players DVD
Diamond Settings: Hommage a Satie, by the Seattle Symphony (score! I didn't know they recorded; more aware of the Montreal Symphony)
Mozart: 3 KlavierSonaten by Mitsuko Uchida

books for the boy, card game rules, chess for children, eating fractions, Velveteen Rabbit (love this book)

To borrow SOON: Wallace Wang's Steal This File-Sharing Book. Guided by Voices DVD box set, Robyn Hitchcock DVD box set.

not off to a great start this morning

1. Husband reported cat did not come in. We both went out at separate times to look for it. I did some energy medicine exercises to relieve stress and tension, I affirmed that I was filled with serenity and light. I took two melatonin. I barely slept. I did cry and fantasized leaving my family. I know it's only a cat, but I rarely let the cat out, repeatedly ask my spouse not to let the cats out, and he ignores me just as much. Although, that day I read to him that cats of a certain breed (of which my cat is one) should not be let out because they are much too trusting.
Cat ends up to have been in the house, just cleverly camouflaged. I have to forgive my spouse, but I will not forget this.

2. I burned breakfast because someone called me and I didn't give her boundaries ("now is not a good time to talk, I have breakfast going."). I have only myself to blame for that.

3. School staff survey show a calamitous slide in teacher confidence/approval of principal at my son's school. I must find work: I must afford private school and a replacement car. Math textbook series adoption sucks. The advanced learning opportunities math teacher my son loves is no longer affordable, so she is gone. My son reads at the third grade level but the school focuses, justifiably, on those who are slow or beginning readers. When you're at teacher in my city, it's a non-issue that a kid reads beyond his age. Assumption is the kid likes reading and can keep up.
Am considering unschooling, part-time job, volunteer. Anything to get out.

Seattle Public Library System shut down for a week

Seattle libraries are closed Monday and won't reopen until Sept. 8. Locking the doors and sending the librarians home for eight days will save more than $650,000.

Meanwhile, the city of Seattle expects to save up to $20 million next year by having most city workers take off 10 unpaid furlough days.

A coalition of 14 city employee unions approved the plan last week that covers nearly 6,400 workers. Uniformed police and firefighters are not part of the furlough plan.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_seattle_cuts.html?source=mypi

For some reason I thought I'd get one extra week of reading. No.
I do treasure the fact that our family makes library time a regular part of our schedule. Jazz/funk/ambient/chill CDs, Pokemon/Electric Company DVDs, books on geography, and my 'whichever way the wind blows' tastes, which right now are on exercise and spirituality.

So I have one week with the boy with no library time. I wish he'd chosen some meatier chapter books, but apparently the best way to encourage boys to read is to let them pick out what they want. My kid reads beyond his grade, but he likes Garfield comics. So he takes out Garfield comics. He also likes poetry. Guess we'll clean up the garage. After I finish my novel.

I need a new decision-making matrix

To do:
1. Return books/CDs to Library
2. Get maybe new books while Library is shut down for a week
3. Go to gym or do yoga here
4. Plan meals
5. Clean rooms
6. Initiate project plans for furniture, office, personal space
7. Initiate novena
8. Return chess book

I see where Utah has the right idea of sending texting drivers to prison for fifteen years when they cause fatalities. I wish my state were as strict. Texting drivers scare me.

weird msg from Google: Your Google Account recovery code is: #######. If you did not request this code you can safely ignore this message. Yay. Time to check what Phone # I gave Google. I don't need a recovery code.

Update: apparently someone with an e-mail address very similar to mine lost her password. Somehow Google thought it was mine. No, Google didn't send me her password. That would have been bad.