Home to Harmony

By Philip Gulley. Sentimental and moralistic, but all the same warm, loving, and generous. Phil’s Christianity isn’t willing to leave anyone behind. Harmony is a well-drawn portrait of small-town life with affectionate pokes at most everyone.

Botany of Desire–finished!

The chapter on apples confirmed my impulses to buy locally-grown, heirloom varieties (of anything, not just apples). The second chapter was really more about people than tulips, and made me hope never to get caught up in financial speculation. The pot chapter made me want to fly off to Amsterdam. . . . The final chapter, on potatoes, made a trip to McDonald’s sound scary. Makes me want to buy only organic produce.

Friday Five

1. What is your favorite scary movie?

I’m not much for scary movies, so I don’t have one.

2. What is your favorite Halloween treat?

Candy corn.

3. Do you dress up for Halloween? If so, describe your best Halloween costume.

Sometimes. Probably the best costume I’ve ever done was when I dressed as a Trill civilian. I just wore plain black, and gave myself spots, and there I was, plain to see for anyone who knew.

4. Do you enjoy going to haunted houses or other spooky events?

No.

5. Will you dress up for Halloween this year?

I don’t think so.

Tuesday Too #34

1.) What would you like the world to spend research money on (inner space, outer space, stem cell, you name it research), and why do you give it top priority?

Conflict resolution research. AIDS would be better addressed in Africa if there were better methods of conflict resolution. U.S. dependence on oil for energy would lead to fewer wars if there were a better and wider understanding of how to resolve conflicts. U.S. inner cities would be safer places if conflict resolution were a serious field that was widely taught.

2.) Where’s the beef, Carmine Miranda, or what’s bugging you lately?

George W. Bush is leading the foolish sheep of the U.S. public down the primrose path to the slaughterhouse. (How’s that for a bunch of mixed metaphors?)

3.) Elliott would like to know, do you type without looking at the keyboard; in other words, are you a hunt and peek (in his case that would be hunt and claw), or a “true typist?”

I am a touch typist (or “true typist” as Elliott puts it). I learned in a summer-school class between junior high and high school.

Friday Five

I just found the whole Friday Five bit.

1. How many TVs do you have in your home?

There are either one or two, but I don’t own them. I do own a TV, which is stored in a friend’s basement.

2. On average, how much TV do you watch in a week?

The average would have to be very close to none for the last year.

3. Do you feel that television is bad for young children?

I haven’t watched children’s television for years, but I remember some of it as being of value. I do feel that much of the TV I do happen to see isn’t good for children.

4. What TV shows do you absolutely HAVE to watch, and if you miss them, you’re heartbroken?

Right now, none. Previously, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine would top the list.

5. If you had the power to create your own television network, what would your line-up look like?

Star Trek reruns (all the series); My Mother the Car; Knitting with _fill in the blank with a great knitter_; Will and Grace