Saturday Morning Walkers - June 30, 2007

Hi everyone,

Well, it has been a pretty busy and exciting week around here - Jexy and Jacob came back with us from Los Angeles. Jacob had a great time at CU's Wild and Wonderful Day Camp at Chautauqua Park.

And as most of you know by now, The Grillo Center Labyrinth is complete and open to the public. Although it has taken almost 8 years to make this happen, it ended up taking less than 3 weeks to build, thanks to so many enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers.

We also had a wonderful visit on Wednesday with Rae's daughter and son-in-law Wendy and Jon, and grandkids, Jack and Calla. They were in Boulder briefly before heading up to Winter Park for a wedding.

Book Report:

Jexy is reading the memoir The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls - see http://cookinandbookin.blogspot.com/search?q=glass+castle for an earlier review.

Jacob is enjoying a somewhat controversial The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden. The controversy is two-fold - feminists may object to the fact that this is a book designed for boys; and they are teaching certain activities which you might not want your child to know about - Jex will be reading it very selectively.

Amazon.comEqual parts droll and gorgeous nostalgia book and heartfelt plea for a renewed sense of adventure in the lives of boys and men, Conn and Hal Iggulden's The Dangerous Book for Boys became a mammoth bestseller in the United Kingdom in 2006. Adapted, in moderation, for American customs in this edition (cricket is gone, rugby remains; conkers are out, Navajo Code Talkers in), The Dangerous Book is a guide book for dads as well as their sons, as a reminder of lore and technique that have not yet been completely lost to the digital age. Recall the adventures of Scott of the Antarctic and the Battle of the Somme, relearn how to palm a coin, tan a skin, and, most charmingly, wrap a package in brown paper and string. The book's ambitions are both modest and winningly optimistic: you get the sense that by learning how to place a splint or write in invisible ink, a boy might be prepared for anything, even girls (which warrant a small but wise chapter of their own).

Susan is going to make a valiant effort to get into our upcoming book club selection - book club is at my house next week! The selection is The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea. Urrea is one of the writers who will be at The Literary Sojourn this October in Steamboat Springs - www.literarysojourn.org

From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. "Her powers were growing now, like her body. No one knew where the strange things came from. Some said they sprang up in her after the desert sojourn with Huila. Some said they came from somewhere else, some deep inner landscape no one could touch. That they had been there all along." Teresita, the real-life "Saint of Cabora," was born in 1873 to a 14-year-old Indian girl impregnated by a prosperous rancher near the Mexico-Arizona border. Raised in dire poverty by an abusive aunt, the little girl still learned music and horsemanship and even to read: she was a "chosen child," showing such remarkable healing powers that the ranch's medicine woman took her as an apprentice, and the rancher, Don Tomás Urrea, took her—barefoot and dirty—into his own household. At 16, Teresita was raped, lapsed into a coma and apparently died. At her wake, though, she sat up in her coffin and declared that it was not for her. Pilgrims came to her by the thousands, even as the Catholic Church denounced her as a heretic; she was also accused of fomenting an Indian uprising against Mexico and, at 19, sentenced to be shot. From this already tumultuous tale of his great-aunt Teresa, American Book Award–winner Urrea (The Devil's Highway) fashions an astonishing novel set against the guerrilla violence of post–Civil War southwestern border disputes and incipient revolution. His brilliant prose is saturated with the cadences and insights of Latin-American magical realism and tempered by his exacting reporter's eye and extensive historical investigation. The book is wildly romantic, sweeping in its effect, employing the techniques of Catholic hagiography, Western fairy tale, Indian legend and everyday family folklore against the gritty historical realities of war, poverty, prejudice, lawlessness, torture and genocide. Urrea effortlessly links Teresita's supernatural calling to the turmoil of the times, concealing substantial intellectual content behind effervescent storytelling and considerable humor.

Jexy gave me a lovely book on Labyrinths - The Complete Guide to Labyrinths by Cassandra Eason - it is a great addition to my growing library on labyrinths!

Book Description
A universal symbol of transformation, the labyrinth was created in ancient times to represent humankind’s search for the core of divinity. Unlike a maze, which may have a confusion of circuitous tracks leading in all directions, a labyrinth has a single, winding pathway composed of 7, 11, or 12 circuits that spiral inward to a center. In THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO LABYRINTHS, renowned British psychic and folklorist Cassandra Eason explores the mystery of this sacred symbol and explains how to harness its power for personal transformation, protection, healing, and enlightenment. Featuring rituals to honor grief or loss, nourish fertility, confront and resolve conflicts, and celebrate new beginnings, LABYRINTHS is a deeply spiritual guide to the meditative, intuitive, and creative power of this age-old symbol.


Website of the Week: www.gocitykids.com - a great guide for finding out what's happening for kids in cities all over the country - perhaps you're expecting out of town guests with kids this summer and would like to find out about all the fun things going on around town.

Podcast of the Week: Filmweek with Larry Mantle - http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/filmweek.html - FilmWeek is a locally-produced show, hosted by AirTalk's Larry Mantle, which offers up a mix of entertainment and film related live interviews and call-in discussions. Each show ends with reviews of new films and video releases from critics Peter Rainer of the Christian Science Monitor; Jean Oppenheimer of Village Voice Media; Lael Loewenstein of Variety; Henry Sheehan of HenrySheehan.com; Andy Klein, film editor and chief critic of CityBeat; and Charles Solomon, animation critic for amazon.com.

Vocabulary Word of the Week (from the Dangerous Book For Boys): Latin phrase every boy should know - iacta alea est -
Alea iacta est (also seen as alea jacta est) is Latin for "The die has been cast".

Actually quoted by Suetonius as iacta alea est [ˈjakta ˈaːlɛa ɛst], it is what Julius Caesar is reported to have said on January 10, 49 BC as he led his army across the River Rubicon in northern Italy. With this step, he entered Italy at the head of his army in defiance of the Roman Senate and began his long civil war against Pompey and the Optimates.

The phrase is still used today to mean that events have passed a point of no return, that something inevitable will happen, i.e., he cannot take back what he has done, much like the gambler who has wagered everything on a throw of the dice. Caesar was said to have borrowed the phrase from Menander, his favorite Greek writer of comedy. Plutarch refers that this words were said in Greek language:

Ἑλληνιστὶ πρὸς τοὺς παρόντας ἐκβοήσας, "Ἀνερρίφθω κύβος," [anerriphtho kybos] διεβίβαζε τὸν στρατόν.

He [Caesar] declared in Greek with loud voice to those who were present 'The die has been cast' and led the army across.

– Plutarch, 'Life of Pompey, Ch. 60'

By some accounts, Caesar used the imperative "iace" rather than the passive "iacta est" ("Cast the die!").[citation needed] In another context, "iacta est" could be translated as "was cast, i.e., as a "simple past." It is generally assumed, e.g. by Shakespeare, that Caesar here meant "The die has been cast" i.e., "The die is now cast" and not "The die was cast."


[edit] References in Popular Culture
In each edition of the enormously popular French comic book Asterix, once Asterix sinks the pirates' ship, the first mate says to the captain, "Alea jacta est."
In the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, there is an episode by this very name, instead it references the crossing of a joint Cardassian-Romulan fleet entering the Gamma Quadrant.
Alea Iacta Est is the password of Alpha Omega Theta Fraternity Inc, chosen by the fraternity's founder John Stefano in 1946. "Alea Iacta Est, The Die is Cast, Once it's Started it Can Never End." link AlphaOmegaTheta.com
The phrase is displayed on one of the opening screens to the Playstation puzzle game Devil Dice.
"Alea jacta est" is the subject of a classroom lecture in the 2002 film, The Emperor's Club.


Cooking and Food Report - a couple of recipes worth mentioning

From Epicurious. com, we made Spaghetti and Mussels,Tomatoes and Oregano - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/104150 - it is a keeper.

From Rachel Rays 30 Minute Meals for Kids - Cooking Rocks, Jacob made Purple Burping Cows - Jacob says, "I would never, ever, ever make them again. They were the worst thing on earth" - so there you have it - start with one 12oz. can of grape soda, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and topped with mini-marshmallows. It sounded better than it tasted!

We had a lovely brunch with Wendy, Jon and kids while they were here - it is a favorite menu of ours for brunch:

Scrambled eggs garnished with chopped scallions
Bagels, cream cheese and lox
Tomatoes and red onions
Caperberries (capers on speed!)
Cantalope and figs with proscuitto
Rugulah

That's it for now! Have a lovely week, stay cool and visit the Grillo Center Labyrinth!

Love,
Susan