"austenland" by shannon hale*

Within just a few days, I had two friends recommend the same book to me: Austenland by Shannon Hale. When I picked up the book from the library, I have to admit that I had a little bit of hesitation, after reading on the flap that Shannon Hale lives in Salt Lake City. Now, I’m not saying that all writers from Salt Lake City are bad – I just was a little worried that Hale’s writing style would be, um, geared towards a "Utah market." And I don’t usually like books that are popular in Mormon culture (even though I have no idea if Hale is a Mormon). But I trusted the recommendation of my two friends, and decided to read the book anyway.

Anyhow, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Hale is quite a fun writer. And I didn't think that her book was Mormon-pop-culture-y, per se. The novel definitely appeals to general popular interest, though, which is just fine. It's a lighthearted story and an easy read. I think I read the whole thing in four hours.

The story is about a single woman named Jane, who has an obsession with Mr. Darcy. Because of her obsession, she hasn’t been able to form a meaningful relationship in her life since she always compares men to Darcy. Her great-aunt, perhaps in hopes of helping Jane overcome this obsession, sends her grandniece on a vacation to England. There, Jane spends three weeks staying on an estate that is decorated in the Regency style, manned with actors in period clothing. Jane has to dress as a Regency woman as well, and follow the social protocol of the era.

It’s quite a fun book, and I thought that Hale put an interesting twist at the end regarding Martin, the gardener. If you like Jane Austen, and if you have ever pulled an all-nighter watching the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, then you’ll like this book. I have to admit, some of the references to Colin Firth made me laugh out loud.

* This post was written at 30,000 feet.

potiphar (or, "rethinking Andrew Lloyd Webber")

Rembrandt, Joseph Accused of Potiphar's Wife, 1655

The most interesting thing I learned in church today was the possibility that Potiphar may have been a eunuch. This definitely puts an interesting twist on the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife, since Mrs. Potiphar may have had sexual needs that were unfulfilled (and consequently turned to Joseph). Or perhaps she wanted children.

Anyhow, it seemed a little strange to me that a eunuch would have a wife. So, after church I decided to research about Potiphar and the history of Egyptian eunuchs. (J laughed when I told him my research project.) Some have assumed that eunuchs were in charge of guarding harems or the bedchamber of the queen (which would ensure that there would be no sexual intercourse between the women and eunuch). However, Frans Jonckheere has an interesting argument (see halfway down the page of that link) that the word saris (the Hebrew word used to describe Potiphar) not only refers to eunuchs, but can also be interpreted as "chief." Now, I realize that Egyptian officers in high positions may have been eunuchs too, but it can't be concretely proven that all officers were eunuchs.

It's also interesting to note that Martin Luther argued that the Hebrew word saris means "keeper of the king's bedchamber" (i.e. "chamberlain") instead of "keeper of the queen's bedchamber."¹

Anyhow, as soon as our Sunday School teacher brought up the idea of eunuchs and Potiphar, this was my initial thought:

Andrew Lloyd Webber completely miscast the role of Potiphar. He shouldn't be a baritone or a bass, he should be a castrato.

Ha ha! Can't you just imagine a castrato tenor "letting out a mighty roar" and singing, "Joseph, I'll see you rot in jail, The things you have done are beyond the pale" (see 3:42 of this clip). Ha!

1 Mickey Leland Mattox, Defender of the Most Holy Matriarchs: Martin Luther's Interpretation of the Women of Genesis in the Enarrationes in Genesin, 1535-1545 (Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2003), 236. Available online here.

picture and video from today

Yellow has been a popular color in our house today:

Sam insisted on wearing a pair of grandma's glasses in this picture. These purple glasses have become one of his favorite toys.

Below is a video of Sam playing the rhyme/action game "Criss-Cross Applesauce." Sam breezed through some of the actions (and also skipped some of the phrases), but this is how the rhyme is supposed to go:

"Criss-cross, [draw an 'X' on the back of the other person]
applesauce [pat the person on the shoulder three times, for each syllable of "ap-ple-sauce"],
Spiders crawling up your back [tickle up the back],
Cool breeze [blow on person's neck]
Tight squeeze [give a hug],
Now you got the shiiiiiivers [tickle on the last word]"

"the help" by kathryn stockett

When my schedule gets busy but I still want to make time to read, I give myself little reading assignments. Last week, I figured out that if I read forty pages of The Help each day, then I would be able to finish the book before it was due at the library.

Despite my busy life, I'm surprised that I was able to finish this book way before my deadline. The writing was so compelling and the story was so interesting, I had a hard time putting it down.

The Help is the story of several black domestic maids who work in the homes of white families during the 1960s. The story is written in the first-person, from the perspectives of three different women (two black maids and a white woman). When I started to read this book, the feel of it reminded me a little of Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible.

This is a really interesting book, and it made me not only think about the issues of segregation/discrimination that took place in the 1960s, but I also learned interesting historical facts too: did you know that the zip code was invented in the 1960s? And did you know that the classified ads were divided into positions for males and females? Although it completely makes sense that the ads were divided that way, I never considered that before.

Oh, and there is one completely strange incident in this book. I'm still trying to figure out the scene when a naked man tried to break into Miss Celia's house. It was so bizarre and strange - I laughed out loud one time, because I didn't know how to react otherwise. I wonder if there was some sort of historical precedent for that incident, because it seemed so strange. That being said, though, I can see how the scene is really important to the novel, since it becomes a turning point in the relationship between Miss Celia and her maid, Minny.

Has anyone else read this book? Did you like it?

aw...

I just finished submitting the final grades for my class. Ironically, just after I finished grading the last final exam, I went out to the mailbox - and found that the contract for my new teaching position had just arrived. There's no break for me, but I'm okay with that.

As I was grading exams early this morning, I found that a student has nestled a note to me in-between her essay responses. This is what she said:

"I enjoyed this class very much and I am very glad I took it in my senior year, because I had forgotten how much I like [art] and how happy it makes me. Thank you for making it cool."

Aw. That little note made my day.

accumulation

Stuff has been accumulating at our house lately. With this emergency job to teach contemporary art, I've had to buy five or six textbooks this week, since there isn't time for me to contact publishers and receive textbook examination copies. On top of that, we went to a library book sale this morning, which resulted in about 15-20 more books for the family. With all of these new books, J and I had to reorganize our bookshelves this evening, just so we could find some more shelf space.

Speaking of accumulation, I thought I'd show you how much paperwork (i.e. lecture notes, activity plans, handouts, etc.) has accumulated while I taught this past quarter. Behold the fruits of my labor:


It may not look like a lot in the picture, but trust me, it's quite a large stack. Keep in mind, too, that this does not include the 20+ Powerpoint presentations I created for lectures. It's crazy to think of how much work I've done over the past few months. I administer the final to my class next week, and then I'll be done (sniff, sniff).

Well, I guess I won't be done, since then it will be time to start creating stuff for this contemporary art course. Luckily, though, I'll be able to save a couple of trees and not print out so much material, since this new course will be online. I'll only need to accumulate computer files for the next while.

the cat sam in the hat

For weeks I have been trying to find a copy of "The Cat in the Hat" at the library. Sam loves the book "Green Eggs and Ham," so I was pretty sure that he'd like other books by Dr. Seuss. And I was right. "The Cat in the Hat" has been a big hit this week - so popular, in fact, that Sam has traded in his cowman hat for a Seussian one.

barbery: the elegance of the hedgehog

Last night I had a hard time focusing on much - I don't have enough information to start prepping for this new class (I'm going to accept the offer this morning), and I don't need to do much more prep for tonight's lecture.

So, I didn't do anything related to art history. I finished reading Muriel Barbery's The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I have wanted to read this book for some time, and have even given it to people as gifts. I'm so glad that I finally read this book. It's interesting, thought-provoking, but also a fairly easy read.* I can see why this book is a New York Times bestseller.

The story is told from two different perspectives: an extremely intelligent concierge who works in a high-end French apartment building, and an extremely intelligent twelve-year-old girl who lives in the same building. I especially love the concierge's character. She loves to read Tolstoy, think about philosophy, watch Japanese art films, and listen to classical music and opera. But in front of the rich apartment residents, she likes to keep up the pretense that she is a low-class, ignorant concierge. She purposefully modifies her speech and behavior so that the residents will believe that she is uneducated.

The book revolves around the thought-patterns and musings of these two characters. I really grew to love both of these characters, as well as another apartment resident, Monsieur Ozu. The ending of the book - I won't give it away here - completely took me by surprise, but as I finished reading I realized that the conclusion was extremely appropriate.

Has anyone else read this book? Did you think it was easy or difficult to follow the discussions of art, music, literature, etc.? What did you think of the ending?

*I should say that the book might not be as easy for people who are completely unacquainted with art, music, philosophy or literature. I'm not an expert in any of these fields (except art), but I have a strong enough background and interest that the following the conversation was easy.

no respite

My class is ending soon. I teach my last two lectures this week, and I administer the final exam next week. It's been rather bittersweet for me to reach the end of this course. It has been a lot of work to start a course from scratch, but I have enjoyed the work. And I've really needed this job as a form of distraction. Honestly, teaching this class has been the best thing that could happen to me right now.

Last weekend I started to think of all the things that I can/will do after my course ends: clean the refrigerator, do taxes, finish reading the three books on my nightstand, etc. But just about an hour ago, my priorities completely changed. Another local university is in desperate need for someone to teach their contemporary art class...which starts in about three weeks. The head of the department called me up, and basically offered me the job after a five-second introduction. They are willing to work with my schedule and even suggested that I offer the course online. Teaching an online course is especially appealing, but I'm still a little bewildered - I told the department head that I'd call her back tomorrow with my final decision. I really want to teach this class (I feel like this opportunity/distraction is an answer to prayer), but I'm a little nervous. This course covers recent art (from the past twenty-five years), and the last time I took a contemporary art class was about ten years ago. I already feel out-of-the-loop. If I accept this job, I better start refreshing my memory right away...

sam the "cowman"

About two weeks ago, Gram pulled out a small cowboy hat that was just Sam's size. For Sam, it was love at first sight. Ever since then, Sam has worn his hat consistently around the house. After only a few days, the hat began to show signs of wear: it's not as shapely as it used to be, largely because Sam doesn't always put the hat on correctly.

Each day Sam's "Yee-haw!" gets better and better (although right now it still at more like an "Ah-haa!"). However, I should clarify that Sam does not think that he's a cowboy, but a cowman. He corrected me yesterday, when I inadvertently called him a cowboy. (I can understand his logic about being a "cowman" - especially since he knows the words "fireman," "policeman," and "mailman.")

He looks so cute in the hat (especially when he wears it backwards or sideways), that I've been taking pictures of him almost every day.
Here are some of my favorites:

This was taken just minutes after Sam was introduced to his hat

Real cowmen carry blankies and wear their hats sideways (sombrero style?)

Demonstrating that a cowboy hat can also be a "backpack"

Real cowmen also play "ma-cas" ("maracas" - his new word of the week)

j as cartoon and fictionist plug

J's old band, Fictionist, just released a new album, Lasting Echo. I have to admit, I was a little sad when I first saw their new music video yesterday (see below), just because if J had stayed in the band, then he could have been made into a cartoon character.

Wouldn't it be fun to see what you would look like an animated cartoon figure? As I was lying in bed last night, wishing that J could have been a Fictionist cartoon, I realized that I already know what J looks like in cartoon form. A couple of summers ago, I made this avatar of J right before "The Simpsons" movie was released. So, my friends, I give you J as a Simpson (2007):