Well, it has been an full weekend around here. Jack and I are celebrating our 39th wedding anniversary today! Part of our weekend celebration included Friday night seeing Macbeth at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. We've never been to that before and were so delighted with the production. I'm not much of a Shakespeare "buff" but I did some homework in advance - that helped a lot! Last night we went to L'Atelier on Pearl Street - the decor is quite lovely and the menu is wonderful. More about that in the cooking and dining report.
Saturday morning was my turn to lead our walk - we started from the Ideal Market parking lot and did a neighborhood tour around North/Central Boulder, ending up back at Trattoria Radda for breakfast. It was a beautiful, warm morning and we enjoyed sitting outside.
Book Report:
Jan told us about a fascinating book called Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions and Hurtful Acts by Carol Tavris and Eliot Aronson.
Review
"This book casts a bright and penetrating light on how and why nation-states, organizations, and individuals get into malignant messes. But it also shows how they (NOT us) cluelessly keep repeating these offensive, sometimes criminal acts. Tavris and Aronson don''t let any of us off the hook but they do teach us how to avoid hanging ourselves on that hook again and again. One of the most needed and important books for our time." (Warren Bennis)
Review
"This book casts a bright and penetrating light on how and why nation-states, organizations, and individuals get into malignant messes. But it also shows how they (NOT us) cluelessly keep repeating these offensive, sometimes criminal acts. Tavris and Aronson don''t let any of us off the hook but they do teach us how to avoid hanging ourselves on that hook again and again. One of the most needed and important books for our time." (Warren Bennis)
Libby just told me about the book of historical fiction she is reading and enjoying right now, Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors.
From Publishers Weekly
Shors's spirited debut novel tells the story of the eldest daughter of the 17th-century emperor who built the Taj Mahal. From her self-imposed exile, Jahanara recalls growing up in the Red Fort; the devotion her parents, Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, had for each other; and the events that took place during the construction of the fabulous monument to their love. Although Jahan is the emperor and has many wives, Mumtaz (he calls her Taj) is his soul mate, a constant companion and wise political consultant. She even travels with him into battle, where she eventually dies giving birth to their 14th child. Fortunately, she has the foresight to begin preparing her favorite daughter, Jahanara, by instructing the girl in the arts of influence and political strategy. Thus the young woman is able to pick up where her savvy mother left off. From then on it is Jahanara who advises the emperor, often instead of her dreamy brother, Dara, who is the rightful heir to the throne. It is she who helps with construction of the magnificent mausoleum for Mumtaz's remains and who falls in love with its architect, Isa, a man whom she can never marry. And it is she who leads a failed effort to defend the throne against a coup by her evil brother, Aurangzeb. With infectious enthusiasm and just enough careful attention to detail, Shors give a real sense of the times, bringing the world of imperial Hindustan and its royal inhabitants to vivid life.
In preparation for a workshop that Rae and I are doing with Buddhist meditation teacher and psychologist, Jack Kornfield, Rae has read his most recent book, The Wise Heart.
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Author, psychologist and pioneering Buddhist teacher Kornfield writes his best book yet (and his previous ones were pretty good). His newest uses the same sweet narrative voice, provides convincing and illustrative anecdotes and stories, and reaches into world traditions and literature as well as contemporary scientific research. This book offers a systematic and well-organized view of Buddhist psychology, complete with occasional diagrams. Concepts and practices are placed in a framework that explains and connects them. It's all done with an eye toward application; most chapters end with exercises. Kornfield has been practicing Buddhism for close to 40 years, a lasting discipline that has produced this masterful book and a seasoned view of life that acknowledges a lot of oopses. As a mediator and psychologist, he has also witnessed some serious angst, including his own, and draws on it for illustrative power. Not everything here is new, least of all the title, but then the Buddha isn't either. The best is left for last: joy you can seek for yourself and others. Just keep your meditative seat, and this book by your bed. Kornfield comes across as the therapist you wish you'd had. (
Karen told me about a dvd that she and Tom love and strongly recommend - Across the Universe
Amazon.com
Set in America during the Vietnam War, Across the Universe is a powerful love story set against a backdrop of political and social unrest: it's a story of soul-searching, self-doubt, and individual powerlessness cleverly conveyed through a multitude of Beatles songs. Like young adults all across America during the 1960's, Jude (Jim Sturgess), Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), Max (Joe Anderson), Sadie (Dana Fuchs), Prudence (T.V. Carpio), and JoJo (Martin Luther) are in turmoil over the war; questioning their individual roles in the war effort and struggling to find a way to hold true to their beliefs while making a difference in the world. While love proves a powerful uniting force, its limitations become clear as relationships are strained and broken over individual perceptions of responsibility to cause and country. A fairly bizarre juxtaposition of extremely stylized, almost hallucinogenic scenes of swirling colors and reflections, highly choreographed dance segments, seemingly commonplace character interaction, and emotionally packed close-up footage of characters lost in contemplative song, this film imparts a good sense of the confusion and passion of the time and is at once powerful, invigorating, and disturbing. The film runs a bit long at 2-hours 11-minutes and several segments drag noticeably thanks to some incredibly slow song tempos. Warning: this production may change how you think about a favorite Beatles song forever. --Tami Horiuchi
Website of the Week - www.tumblr.com - I discovered this site thanks to a very dear friend of Jexy's. Sara and Jon's 3 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with childhood leukemia and is going to be hospitalized at the Children's Hospital of Cincinnati for an extended period of time. In an effort to easily communicate what's going on with little Robin, her uncle set up a blog on this site. It is incredibly simple to do and has been helpful to them and those of us who want to stay updated. By the way, Robin is a very brave little girl who seems to be making good progress. If you've ever thought about doing a blog, this is a really simple way to get started. It takes about 5 minutes to set up and then you just enter text - you can also include audio, photos and video if you really want to get fancy. You do have the option of keeping your blog private or have it be open for public viewing. It is a great way to keep a journal.
Podcast of the Week - http://www.kcet.org/explore-ca/on-demand/podcasts/archive.php - KCET is a California public radio station that offers a variety of podcasts - check them out!
Vocabulary Word of the Week - equanimity ( I wish this for all of us!)
Pronunciation:
\ˌē-kwə-ˈni-mə-tē, ˌe-kwə-\
Function:
noun
Inflected Form(s):
plural equa·nim·i·ties
Etymology:
Latin aequanimitas, from aequo animo with even mind
Date:
circa 1616
1 : evenness of mind especially under stress
synonyms equanimity, composure, sangfroid mean evenness of mind under stress. equanimity suggests a habit of mind that is only rarely disturbed under great strain
Cooking and Dining Report:
Big dinner out last night for our anniversary - L'Atelier at 1739 Pearl Street here in Boulder http://www.latelierboulder.com/. This is one of the most aesthetically pleasing restaurant spaces we've ever seen - just beautiful. The menu is outstanding - so many things we wanted to try. Here's what we settled on:
Jack - Clams Oreganata, Kobe Ribeye Steak and Warm Verona Cake, a rich chocolate cake with a molten liquid center.
Susan - Crispy (not so much) Gnocchi with Sage, Butter and Garlic, Lollypop Lambchops and Roasted Potatoes and Chocolate Foam and Vanilla Custard Parfait.
Everything was quite delicious, the service attentive and not outrageously priced for a very fine restaurant.
I did a bit of cooking this week - here are a few of the recipes
Grilled Proscuitto, Fontina and Sun-Dried Tomato Sandwiches from Fine Cooking - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/grilled-cheese-prosciutto-fontina-panini.aspx
Broiled Lamb Skewers with Baby Arugula and Lemon Vinaigrette from Fine Cooking - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/broiled-lamb-skewers-arugula-salad.aspx
Peach and Blueberry Crisp with Spiced-Pecan Topping from Fine Cooking - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/peach-blueberry-crisp-pecan-topping.aspx - serve with vanilla ice cream!
That's all for now - have a wonderful week - I'm excited that Rae is coming to Boulder on Thursday and we're both looking forward to Jack Kornfield's Meditation Workshop. We'll be cooking together on Thursday!
Love,
Susan
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