April 25, 2008

Let's All Agree Not to Use the Word "Convo"

Because it's stupid.

Anyway, I chuckled over these famous "convoes" I snagged from somebody else's blog. (Um, A. Harner's I think.) Enjoy.

Posted by WonderGirl at 12:29 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 21, 2007

C. S. Lewis says...

"Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all
entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket -- safe, dark, motionless, airless -- it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.
To love is to be vulnerable."

Posted by WonderGirl at 4:06 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

October 18, 2007

A Wrinkle In Time

"Do you know how lucky you are?” She smiled at him wryly. “Not most of the time.”

Oh, how do I love Meg, how do I love this book! It was the first piece of literature that caught my imagination on fire. I remember reading it as a child in utter amazement that there could be stories so fantastical, so adventurous. I was in awe at the idea of worlds different from my own, of creatures and things brought into existence only with an author's words. Madeleine L'Engle hypnotized me with her story, entranced me with her characters and language. Before I read this book, I understood sentence structure and plot lines and happy endings. I understood card catalogs and main points and "the moral of the story". But I had never been swept away, never cried along with the storyteller. I had never felt my heart pounding with excitement and fear, never before walked to school with my nose stuck in the pages, leaving my feet to find their way alone on the gravel road.

This is the book that called me by name.

It's why I want to be a writer.

But more importantly, it's why I want my children to be readers. I want them to discover what words can do, where they can take you. I want them to be swept away, to cry, to laugh. I want them to live on different worlds with strange creatures. I want them to sail ships, and fight dragons, and rescue the needy. I want them to befriend monsters, and discover treasure, and ride dolphins.

What better gift to give?

I don't know who put A Wrinkle In Time in my hand. I don't know if was a birthday present, or a Christmas gift, or a hand-me-down. But I do know who gave me the love of reading- my parents. My mother, who pulled us onto her lap and read Dr. Seuss, and Giving Away Susanne... my dad, who read passages from The Hobbit, who used scary voices for giants, and deep and wise voices for wizards. My parents, who let us, all four children, get our own library cards. Who took us faithfully every week to the Summer Reading Program. My parents, who insisted we learn the meaning and spelling of words, who cared about our English grades, and spelling tests and book reports. My parents, who gave (and read) me books of all sorts, knowing that eventually, one would be the key that unlocked a lifetime of reading.

Thank you, Mom and Dad. What you did for me, not all parents do. Thank you for taking the time, for caring. It is a heritage I will pass along to my own children, and they will have their grandparents to thank for it.

"Do you know how lucky you are?" asks Calvin O'Keefe.

Oh yes. Yes, I do.

Posted by WonderGirl at 10:00 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

October 16, 2007

Borrowing Beauty

I thought this, posted on Cindy's blog today, was just beautiful.

If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character.
If there is beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world
.....So let it be.

(A Scottish Blessing)

Posted by WonderGirl at 9:45 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 1, 2007

Listen to Diz

"There are fashions in reading, even in thinking. You don't have to follow them unless you want to. On the other hand, watch out! Don't stick too closely to your favorite subject. That would keep you from adventuring into other fields. It's silly to build a wall around your interests." Walt Disney

Posted by WonderGirl at 11:40 PM | TrackBack

April 4, 2006

Woodshed Shenanigans

Yesterday, I saw a bumper sticker- plain white with black text. It read,

"I Saw Something Nasty In The Woodshed"

That's it.

I find myself intrigued, and slightly horrified. What did you see, you poor thing? Did it require therapy to overcome? It wasn't some V.C. Andrews scene, was it? What, just tell me!!

I googled the phrase, and "Cold Comfort Farm" comes up, which is a novel by Stella Gibbons. Apparantly, Aunt Ada sees "something nasty in the woodshed".

Well, I'm hooked. I just gotta know, now.

Posted by WonderGirl at 9:04 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

March 29, 2006

Imogen Heap

I'm not a lyric poster. But I'm making an exception for this little lady and her song, Hide and Seek. This song rips me up. Love. It. It's a cappella- and totally haunting. If it didn't make me want to jump off a bridge, I'd listen to it more often. (but in a good way- if there is one.)

Try to listen to this one, if you can.

Hide and Seek

Where are we?
What the hell is going on?
The dust has only just began to fall
Crop circles in the carpet

MORE...

Continue reading "Imogen Heap"

Posted by WonderGirl at 6:57 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

January 17, 2006

A Chocolate New Orleans

Hey, don't blame me for that one. Mayor Ray Nagin was the genius behind those words, in a speech about rebuilding New Orleans and maintaining a black majority in the population. "This city will be chocolate at the end of the day." Mmm. Lovely expression there, Mr. Mayor.

Who cares? Seriously- why does it have to be an issue at all? What difference does it make? Peoples is peoples. That's what I say. Rebuild the dang thing and let whoever wants to come back, come back.

(Rest of the article here.)

Posted by WonderGirl at 10:48 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

October 10, 2005

You're Telling Me!

Quote for the moment:

"This isn't mere exercise, I tell her silently.
This is desperation."

from The Time Traveler's Wife

Posted by WonderGirl at 1:10 PM | TrackBack

September 19, 2005

Kinetic

"Tears are a river that takes you somewhere…Tears lift your boat off the rocks, off dry ground, carrying it downriver to someplace better."

Posted by WonderGirl at 4:37 PM | TrackBack