Silver Window in a Pitch Black Wall

Silver window in a pitch black wall

Silver window in a pitch black wall
Letting in the light of another world.
What can you see?

Mercury light radiating from the depths
Calling me to look into the beyond.
What will I see?

Radiant harmony and calm and peace
Shinning as a beacon for those who observe.
Where do you lead?

The maiden. The wolf. The dreamer. And me.
Your court. Your gang. Your admirers Your children.
Lead on and we follow.

Daniel M. Allred
Oct 27 / 2015

Cornbellys and Missionary updates

This last weekend my family went to visit some friends that live by Thanksgiving Point. It's been a while since we've seen them and it was the first time we were able to get the kids together in a while. They've got three boys all between the ages of Tigger and Roo. Yes, they are very close in age. No, that was not intentional. All three boys are energetic and are pretty decent kids. I was glad that Kanga was able to enjoy herself being the oldest and the only girl. Our friends invited us down to Cornbelly's, which is basically a huge fair for kids and families. They had playgrounds everywhere, fair games, two mazes and a giant pit of corn kernels. We spent the majority of the day there and then went back to their house for dinner. It was a lot of gun to catch up with them and we've already planned our next activity up by us in a couple of months.

The day itself was long but very good. It's along drive from Brigham to Lehi, the kids enjoyed playing in the back and listening to music. I debated bringing the DVD player, but I don't like using it for trips under a couple of hours. We visited for a while before heading over, getting caught up on our respective goings on. Once there, I was impressed with how big Cornbelly's was. There where lots of little kids running around and there was playground stuff everywhere. Everything was made of wood, hay, and corn. We enjoyed some games, a long time at one of the larger playgrounds, and the smaller of the two mazes. We decided to stop for lunch at that point and so I went out to the car to grab ours. Due to our early arrival they weren't able to put together a lunch, so they bought some at the various food trucks. We all ended up sharing our lunches in what resulted in a demonstration of young children with particular tastes and a lack of fine motor control. After lunch the mothers took the three youngest children home for naps and Coach and I took the three oldest to  Corn Cob Beach, the giant corn pit. It wasn't too crowded and we enjoyed a good chat while the kids played. After a bit it started to rain so we joined them under the big tent that covered the corn pit. We continued chatting and playing with the kids for quite a while before deciding to try the big corn maze. We didn't make it our the front of the maze, but that was because it started raining a bit harder and we didn't have jackets with us (they were in the car) so we sneaked out the back. Before heading back to our friends Coach took us to a new drink place called The Fiz. We grabbed specialty drinks for a very decent price and then headed back for dinner. We left not long after dinner so we could drive back up in time for the kids to go to bed on time. All in all it was a lot of fun.

This weekend we also saw my in-laws and got to hear some news from Elder Chuuk, my brother-in-law. He is currently servicing a religions service missions in the Micronesia Guam mission and has been assigned to the islands of Chuuk.

Just for reference, his mission headquarters is in Guam,

which is over 600 miles away. Once a month he travels to Guam to receive mail and to send E-mail to all of us. Needless to say, we are always excited when we get letters from Elder Chuuk. He is doing well and realizing some things about himself and his life before mission that make us glad. It sounds like he is enjoying his experiences but does seem to miss sweets. Madre says that every letter has a request for something sweet. He sleeps on the floor, doesn't have any electricity, and the bathroom is a closet with a hole in the floor. I should point out that this is the new island he is on, his last area had electricity and a bucket for a shower. But he tells us that he is enjoying himself. He certainly have some challenges that I didn't have. It brought back memories and I hope I was able to share my thoughts accurately in my letters to him. I need to be more faithful in writing and sending letters. He's been out for about three months now and we miss him a lot.

Audible Book Review - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin

Pride and Prejudice is one of the most well known stories in the world. Written just over 200 years ago, it still strikes a chord in audiences today. I've read the story (both the original and the one with zombies), seen two period versions of the movie, one contemporary version, and one movie based on it. In fact, just this week my wife and I had a getaway and watched the five hour version while we were gone. While we were watching it, I wondered at the how the story has continued on for so long and been so universally received. When you look at the particulars, I would wager that most modern readers don't understand the significance of the Bennett's position. For instances Lady Catherine de Bourgh rants about Elizabeth's uncles and aunts and other relations, and her lack of "connections." I don't know if even I fully appreciate what that meant when Austin wrote it. The intricate social nuances that were a part of that era's manners and such are not the same as the more causal social norms we have now. With that said, I think that Austin's content, the details of which may be unfamiliar to modern readers, is such that it speaks to universal concepts of love, shame, pride, and, well, prejudice. The other Austin books that I've read and own videos of, Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion, are similar in this application of universal themes. Here is a link to the Audible page for the book. It was narrated with great skill by Carolyn Seymour.

Plot: The Bennett sisters (five in all) are varied in their differences. Jane, the eldest, is kind, tender, and very beautiful. Elizabeth is witty, if cynical, but also considered a local beauty. Mary is sever, introverted, and a tad plain. Kitty and Lydia are both impulsive, rather silly and delight in society. Lydia, although being the younger, tends to be the one that directs their paths. Their mother is anxious to get them all married off, particularly since their father's estate will, upon his death, revert to a distant cousin. The action begins when a single young man of independent wealth moves into the neighborhood. He brings with him a friend who is also single and far more wealthy. What's more, Mr. Bennett's cousin seeks to "heal the breach" between himself and his fair cousins from whom he will inherit. To top it off, the militia is in the area and officers make very dashing husbands. With all of the choices available is there any way this can go wrong?

My personal favorites: Mr. Bennett is my favorite character. I can see myself in him a bit - and that is not always a good thing. The character interactions are fantastic and their personalities feel real and unique. While considered the epitome of "chick lit" I know of several men who enjoy the story as the character drama it is.

Considerations: As I mentioned above, some details may not be as significant to modern readers, particularly younger ones, so I would suggest this as a mid young adult read. Beyond that there is nothing promiscuous or of questionable content.

It was a great listen and I'm glad to have it in my audio library. The total length was 11 and half hours.

Book Review - Vatta's War Series by Elizabeth Moon

The last of the first set of borrowed book from Dad. Vatta's War consists of five books: Trading in Danger, Marque and Reprisal, Engaging the Enemy, Command Decision, and Victory Conditions. These are military sci-fi with a good dose of intrigue and character drama. Dad recommend them since I enjoyed Honor Harrington and I'll agree that the two feel similar. I would have to say that a big chunk of that similarity comes from the strong, competent female lead, but there was a lot that was different about them too. For instance Honor Harrinton is a mature, up through the ranks officer while Ky Vatta got never graduated from the academy (not from lack of trying) and is young and impulsive. In short, so as to keep this from being an unnecessary comparison of two excellent worlds, I liked both of them a lot and they are quite different. There are a lot of good things I want to put in the personal favorites section.

Plot: Ky Vatta is the daughter the CEO of widely successful Vatta Enterprises. A family owned and operated shipping company, Vatta is widely respected across interstellar trade routes. Ky, however, is more interested in joining the Spaceforce than in running cargo or sitting behind a desk. That all comes crashing down when she gets kicked out of the Academy. Sent by her family to run an old ship to the scrapyard, Ky is not looking forward to the quite life of a trader. Unfortunately, fate has a way of giving people exactly what they ask for but don't want. Ky's first "milk run" of a trade attempt lands her in the middle of a civil war. While Ky is able to address the challenge and rise above it, fate has much more in store. When her family is attacked and interstellar communications go down Ky decides to put her training to good use. While Vatta started out as the victim Ky intends to make them the avenger.

My personal favorites: There are lots of good characters and great situations that they have to work through. Moon does a good job at keeping the tension going without it feeling overdone. All of the conflicts felt authentic and believable. Ky is a bit of a loose cannon (at first) and grows through her challenges well. The character dramas between the players felt real as well and provided a great context to the over-arching challenges the characters faced. The action was well done and there was some great stand up and cheer moments. I also liked how the characters had their own competencies and weaknesses and how they all played off each other. I was surprised by the direction the story, or elements of the story went at times and wasn't disappointed at all.

Considerations: There is violence, but nothing graphic or gratuitous. And there were some sexual references, but again, nothing overt, graphic, or explicit. There was not any strong language used and the writing was age appropriate for late young adult. In a final comparison with Honor Harrington, these books are lightly more appropriate for a younger audience.

I'm always a little anxious when starting a new series, worried that I'll be able to get into it and will find it enjoyable. The series starts off quickly and just keeps going, ramping up the challenges without leaving you feeling burned out. Trading was just over 300 pages, Marque was about 400, Engaging was just over 400, Command was just under 400, and Victory was just over 400.