One of my sources of sanity in recent days has been reading. In recent years I have fallen out of the practice of reading good fiction. I have always been a avid reader of non-fiction, news, and political commentary, but relishing in good story telling has sadly taken a back seat.


That has changed though with two recent books that have grabbed my imagination.


The first one, is the first volume of The Lord of Rings (To devoted followers of Tolkien, I am referring to the first section of the single work.). I had attempted to read Tolkien in the past, but didn't get into it... now though... I must have been smoking crack back then to not get into it. I have fallen in love with the characters, Frodo, Gandalf, good old Sam, Aragorn (a.k.a. Strider), to a level that hasn't been achieved since my high school obsession with the original Star Trek television series.


I am also mesmorized by the density of description and the wonder of the world that Tolkien created. In what I have read so far (I have been reading this for a month and am still not finished with it.), Tolkien has played poet, geneaologist, linguist, bard, the whole nine yards in weaving an epic tale that IMHO is only rivaled by The Holy Bible.


Sheesh, I admit I am getting obsessed by this book, but it is so amazing. I will though refrain from writing only in the Elvish toungue on JMBzine, as tempting as it may be.


OK, on to book #2. My friend Kimberly (the source of many keen music and literary recommendations) gave me a fascinating anti-war book that is wickedly funny, Slaughterhouse Five. It is so unlike any book I have ever read before, and is some of the darkest comedy have ever heard in my life. It deals primarily with a veteran gone mad, who in his early days saw first hand the devastating firebombing of Dresden, Germany (which I had heard of, but had no idea the level of evil that it was until reading this book... I will try to find more on this subject to post later).


Other than this briefest of descriptions I don't know what else to say. It is crude and brutally real without being pornographic. It is hillariously funny while describing the most horrible of situations, and it has lines in that will curdle your blood when you least expect it. It is irreverent to the point of excess in describing human life, but in doing so illuminates the incredible worth of life.


What else can be said? I don't know, but I highly recommend that you read it. I am planning re-read this one very soon.
posted by J.M. Branum at 12:44 PM | link

• Just got some crazy news from Austin... my good friend Kimberly Hall's documentary in progress on feminist crafters got plugged in the Austin American-Statesman Look for the mention at the end of the story where Jen (a subject in the documentary and the creator of the delightful www.naughtysecretaryclub.com website is said to have "stirred up enough of a buzz to earn herself a spot in an in-progress local documentary on crafty women."
  

• Independentsdays.org
  

• VH1.com: Grammy Award Wrap-up --- big news is O Brother Where Art Thou wins 6 awards, most of any album!!!
  

• NY Times: Big Winners at the Grammys: Alicia Keys, U2 and 'O Brother'
  
  . . . again and again, the winner's circle was dominated by bluegrass and roots music. What does this mean?
  

  In the press room backstage, musicians shared their answers. "I think it means good music," said Earl Scruggs, the 78-year-old banjo player whose latest version of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" won for best country instrumental. (His only other Grammy was in 1968 for this same song.) Jerry Douglas of Alison Krauss and Union Station (which won two Grammys, apart from the "O Brother" soundtrack) said that he believed the events of Sept. 11 caused Americans to search for the roots of their culture and yearn for earlier times.
  

  Emmylou Harris, who sings on the "O Brother" soundtrack, said backstage that she was surprised that the album was even nominated. "To win it," she said of the album of the year award, "something's going on but I don't know what it is."
  

  Ralph Stanley won his first Grammy ever by beating younger stars like Tim McGraw and fellow legends like Johnny Cash in best male country vocal performance (for "O Death."). Still glowing from the award, Mr. Stanley said that, as a result of the awards, this type of music "is going to take over for a while and do great, and replace some of the music that they've had for the past couple of years. . .

  
  

Oh my word... you have to read this poem by Ani DiFranco. It is a response to the Sepember 11th attacks. It is one of the most profound statements I have heard on what has happened. There are a few lines I disagree with, but as a whole I think she is right on the money.

Here are a few notable quotes...

and i'll tell you what, while we're at it
you can keep the pentagon
keep the propaganda
keep each and every tv
that's been trying to convince me
to participate in some prep school punk's plan to perpetuate
retribution
perpetuate retribution
even as the blue toxic smoke of our lesson in retribution is
still hanging
in the air
and there's ash on our shoes
and there's ash in our hair
and there's a fine silt on every mantle
from hell's kitchen to brooklyn
and the streets are full of stories
sudden twists and near misses
and soon every open bar is crammed to the rafters
with tales of narrowly averted disasters
and the whiskey is flowin
like never before
as all over the country, folks just shake their heads
and pour


...


cuz take away our playstations and we are a third world nation
under the thumb of some blue blood royal son
who bought the oval office and that phony election
and i'll tell you what, while we're at it
let me state unequivocally
he is not president of me
cuz i am a poem heeding hyper-distillation
i've got no room for a lie so verbose
i'm looking out over my whole human family
and i'm raising my glass in a toast


here's to our last drink of fossil fuels
let us vow to get off of this sauce
shoo away the swarms of commuter planes
and find that train ticket we lost
cause once upon a time the line followed the river
and peeked into all the backyards
where laundry was waving
and graffiti was teasing us
from brick walls and bridges
we were rolling over ridges
through valleys
under stars
i dream of touring like duke ellington in my own railroad car
...

• Bluepear.org - interesting zine/internet radio station
  

• Download a very nice retro-style wooden radio Winamp skin
  

• ArmyofNone.com - a parody of Goarmy.com and the "Army of One" ad campaign
  

• Military Clipart
  

• A collection of great speeches from history. --- Some are inspiring, some are creepy, but most are thouroughly interesting.
  

• Excellent collection of US & World Maps
  

• Shadowlands - movie about C.S. Lewis - I haven't seen it yet, but it looks interesting.
  

• The ACLU's list of proposed dopey laws for Oklahoma --- the flag salute laws are particularly stupid. Compulsory displays of patriotism are wrong. (Does anyone remember the Nazi's "Heil Hitler" salute?) I'm not opposed to displays of patriotism, but they should be completely voluntary.
  

• Checkpoint-online.ch: Operation Enduring Freedom, Psyops over Afghanistan - Disgusting.
  

• NY Times: A Deposit Plan With No Return for Scavengers
  

  Well it didn't take ol Mayor Bloomberg long to take up Guiliani's mantle of being the designated oppressor of the poor. Stopping the NYC redemption program is a stupid, stupid idea. For once, people on the bottom actually have a good chance for some means of independent living, but Bloomberg wants to take it away from them. Shame on him!
  

• CNSNews.com: Congressman Istook urges school prayer constitutional amendment --- This sounds interesting but redundant. I think the right for voluntary prayer in schools is already protected by the Bill of Rights.
  

• USC News: Sociology: Boomers keep a tight rein on their children --- Elaine Bell Kaplan has found that even so-called progressive parents are violating their children's privacy – believing it is necessary in a world plagued by gangs, AIDS, drugs and school shootings.
  

• MSNBC: Sins of the Father --- For years, Boston’s cardinal kept on priests who had been accused of molesting children. Now Catholics across America are confronting similar scandals and questioning the secretive culture of the church
  

  This story is extremely disturbing, but I also think it is an extreme case. This particular dioscese had some bad policies, but I don't think that such cases are as common in other areas. In general, I think priests are malligned by the popular media, and the rates of sexual crimes are not that different from that of the general population.