Book Purge

 I’ve admitted that I have a hard time throwing books away. However, I don’t have a hard time giving books away. In fact I like it when books find a good home. I bring this up because I’m going through a bookshelf purge. This happens a couple times a year when my bookshelves become so full of new books that I have to find a home for some of the ones I haven’t read in awhile, have two or more copies of, and/or no longer have an interest in having them on my shelves.

Instead of donating these books to a local thrift store, I thought I’d see if any of you are interested in them. I thought I’d start with three books and see how they were received. If the program proves to be popular I may add a couple more books next week.

The three books I’m giving away are the following:

• Skinny Dip (Hardcover) by Carl Hiaasen. This was the first book I read by Hiassen and I must admit it was a quick, fun read. Looking forward to reading more of his work.
• Astronauts & Other Stories (Hardcover) by Matthew Iribarne. This book is a collection of short stories. I actually blogged about one of the stories in this book many years ago. I had a love-hate relationship with his work. I either really liked his stories or really hated them.
• She’s Come Undone (paperback) by Wally Lamb. I had a hard time with this book. Too depressing for my tastes. Good story though, once I made my way through it.

Update: Skinny Dip and She's Come Undone have been spoken for.

If you would like one of the above books, please read the following rules:

• You have to send me an e-mail stating which book you would like. Don’t email any shipping info. I’ll email you back and let you know if you’ll be received the book. At that point you can send me a mailing address.
• You can only request one book. No fair asking for all three. However, if you first choice is already taken, you can e-mail me again and request another.
• Books are sent out on a first come, first serve basis. So if you’re the first one to e-mail me about one of the above books, you’ll get it.
• I’ll mail the books anywhere in the world. However, if you live outside of the United States or Canada I might have to slow boat the books to your country if shipping them first class is too expensive. You’ll still get the book, it just might take awhile for it to arrive.
• I reserve the right to add more rules at any time and without notice.

If you’re still reading and want one of the above books, what are you waiting for? Send me an email!

 

Broken Fibula

 

About 10 days ago Marathon Girl paid a visit to a very good sports medicine doctor– one that she’s seen since high school – to see why her leg was hurting so much when she ran.

The verdict wasn’t great: She has a stress fracture in her fibula.

The good news was that the injury was healing and should be completely healed before the end of June. The doctor also said she could run the dam marathon without risking further iinjury to her fibula but she'd probably have to run it very slow and with a lot of pain.

Needless to say Marathon Girl was heartbroken at the prospect of not running a marathon fast. She’s been training very hard since Molly was born and was really looking forward to competing again. She loves running so much and it’s hard for her when she can’t do it.

Since the diagnosis, Marathon Girl has been doing her best to stay in shape without running. She’s been swimming like a madwoman at the local pool. (The swimming has had some nice side benifits -- for me anyway. It’s added some very nice tone and definition to her arms and shoulders that I find very sexy.)

Her leg is feeling tons better since she hasn’t been running on it. Should all go well, she’s going to train for the Deseret News Marathon on July 24. This should still give her plenty of time enough time to adequately train for the St. George Marathon in October.

Despite her inability to run the marathon this weekend, we're still heading to Idaho for a much wanted and needed vacation. The dam marathon, however, won’t be part of it.

Note: The above image is not an x-ray of Marathon Girl's fibual. Marathon Girl's fibulas are much sexier.

London's 2012 Olympic Logo

I’m probably one of the few people who actually like London’s new 2012 Olympic logo. Admittedly, the first time I read about it, my thought was “What the….?” But I have to admit it’s grown on me. It’s a bold new step in Olympic logo design and more interesting than the China’s 2008 Olympic logo and Vancouver’s 2010 logo. This isn’t to say the logos for 2008 and 2010 games aren’t interesting. But they’re really just a repeat of what most Olympics have done for awhile: colorful logos in an eye-friendly pattern or some cute design.

Boring. Boring. Boring. It's like you stretched out the Olympic rings. What did that take you? Two mintues?

Isnt' that cute. I bet the dolls based on that logo will be a big hit.

And London’s logo is vastly superior to Salt Lake’s Olympic Logo which I thought was dumb and boring the first time I saw it. (Then I had to see it every day for many years until the Olympics came and went. It was like a living hell only with snow every six months or so.)

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Maybe the more standard Olympic designs sell a lot of t-shirts (or stuffed animals) but people will get sick of it once the games are over and they realize how uninteresting and unimaginative it really is.

So my hat’s off London’s edgy design and their attempt to make something that people might appreciate years after the games are over. And it was a good idea to have the logo come in four different colors. (I'm a fan of all of them except the pink one.) May it last well past the 2012 games and influence Olympic logo design for the next 20 years.

Update: ChicagoJo pointed out that Chicago has a very cool logo for it's 2016 summer games bid. I do like it better than London's logo. See image below.

Breaking the Rides

I think Aidan was under the impression that the carnival in the park across the street would stay forever. He and Steven had a great time Friday night riding the rides and looking at all the people and lights. They didn’t want to go home. After church yesterday I found Aidan staring out his bedroom window with a long look on his face as he watched the carnies dismantle the rides.

Aidan: Why are they breaking it?

Me: There taking them down so boys in other towns can ride them.

Aidan (voice full of hope): Maybe they’re making it bigger!

Me: No, they’re packing them up. They’ll be back next year.

Aidan: Next year?

Me: Yeah, next summer. They’ll come back and we can ride on them again.

Aidan: Why can’t they stay for this summer?

Me (quoting from Madeline and the Gypsies – one of Aidan’s favorite books): Gypsies do not like to stay. They only come to go away.

Aidan: But they’re coming back, right?

Me: Yes. Next year.

Aidan (smiles): Okay. Let’s go read books Daddy!

[Aidan takes my hand and walks me to the bookshelves where we spend the next 30 minutes reading.]

Say It Ain't So

Well, this sucks. Nothing Good About Grief has stopped blogging. And she was one of my favorites reads. I understand and respect her decision. I made the same decision many years ago and for similar reasons. However, I did come back later and started blogging about my new life. (Hint, hint.)

If you ever start blogging again, Lisa, let me know. I'd love to read it.

Q&A with Abel: The Detroit Tigers

Q: It’s been forever since you’ve blogged about the Detroit Tigers. Are you still a fan even after their disappointing World Series loss last October? A: Of course! I still follow the Tigers and will always be a fan.

Q: Then how come you haven’t blogged about them recently.

A: I only have so much time to blog and just haven’t had much time to write about them yet.

Q: So what’s your opinion of this year’s team?

A: They’ve been inconsistent. I man they take a series from division leading Angels, then get swept by the Indians and lose a series to the Devil Rays of all teams. I’m glad they have a winning record but they don’t seem to be playing quite to the level they were last year. They shouldn’t have any problems with a team like Tampa Bay.

Q: Do you think they’ll make the playoffs?

A: Yes, but mostly because teams like the Yankees that are a usual playoff lock are faltering. (Ha ha ha!) Also the Indians seem to be

Q: What’s the weakest part of their team?

A: Middle relief. Their starters are solid and Todd Jones can be counted on to close out the game. It’s what happens between where the problems begin.

Q: Will you blog about them more in the future?

A: Count on it.

Q: You’ve never given us an update about Marathon Girl’s injury. Is she still running The Dam Marathon?

A: That has nothing to do with the Tigers. And, yes, I do have an update on her injury but can’t write about it quite yet. Look for an update early next week.

They're Baaaaaaaaack

The park across the street is crowded with semi-trucks stacked with games and rides -- all of which should be unpacked and set up later today.

Yes, it’s that time of year again when the carnies transform the park across the street into a carnival in celebration of the city's founding (or something like that).

Last night Aidan stared out his bedroom window with big eyes at the trucks. He asked about them and to explain the different rides. I think once these things are set up, he’s really going to want to ride them.

The last two years the carnival hasn't been a big deal for the kids because they've been too young to really care about them. Not this year. We're going to have one, at least, who is going to be very interested in the rides, noises, and flashing lights.

What I Did All Weekend

 

If you can’t tell from the photo above, I received the edited version of Room for Two from the publisher. It came Friday afternoon and I spent pretty much the entire weekend going over their changes and making final suggestions and corrections.

I quite happy with the editor and her changes. I think the story flows and reads much better. The suggestions and changes I submitted back were rather minor. According to the editor, there’s a chance my book may go to press in June – a month earlier than planned – so it will be ready for a big state book convention in August. Nothing final on the actual press date, though. Stay tuned for details.

Running Injuries?

Marathon Girl is hurt. Not sure what’s wrong with her exactly but she’s been having some problems with her right calf which has slowed her running time down considerably this last week. Fortunately she has a great sports-medicine doctor and has an appointment to see him today. The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for her. The Dam Marathon is two weeks away and it’s hard for her to put all this time and effort into training only to get hurt. Running as much as she does takes a toll on the body. Hopefully the doctor will have some good news for her and a couple of days rest will be all it takes to get her running fast again.

LOST: Through the Looking Glass

Note (05/29/08): If you're looking for the Jeremy Bantham (also spelled Jeremy Bentham) refrence, scroll down to comment number six. My friend Jon called it a year ago!

I can't think of any time a television show has left me speechless. However, after the season finale of LOST last night, I don't know what to say.

Don't misunderstand. I LOVED the episode. If anything the finale proved that LOST is the best damn show in the history of television and I'm anxiously awaiting season four.

*** Major Spoiler Warning ***

But seriously, a flash forward to where Jack is miserable, his ex-wife is pregnant with another man's child, someone connected to the island (I think so, anyway) is dead, and Jack wants to return to the island.

Yeah, the clues that this was a flash-forward were all over the place, weren't they. Jack was wearing contemporary sunglasses and using a modern cell phone, he was sprawled out in a room full of maps of the Pacific Ocean, and flying on Oceanic Airlines with a glimpse of the Los Angeles Times with a headline from April of this year. But most everyone didn't catch that, did they. Instead we were trying to piece together when in Jack's past this was taking place so we were ignoring the obvious clues.

I was listening to the official podcast a couple weeks ago where and Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse were talking about knowing the show would end in 2010. One of the things they said was that now that they knew how many episodes were left, they could create a beautiful tapestry that would not only answer all the show's mysteries but would show us who the charters would become in the future. I think that little clue was lost (no pun intended) on just about everyone. I think we can look for more flash-forwards in upcoming episodes next season.

So most of the Others are dead and a "escue boat" is on it's way to the island. The good news is that at least Kate and Jack will be rescued at some point. The bad news is that for one of them, that may not have been the best thing.