Reading for just six minutes a day can reduce stress by 68%
Have a reduced stress Christmas everyone!
Baron
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Thursday, December 1, 2016
SEPTEMBER MEETING NOTES (2nd try, now in December)
Howdy Spirits,
Since it took me longer than expected to weave my lyrical magic in the last post, I'll try again at the September meeting notes post now. Wish me luck. Although it looks like it won't be too long since the notes are rather short. Here we goooo.... (said like Peter Pan)
Old Business:
Deuce has posted some pictures to our Pinterest Board. The secret one, sshhhhhhh.
We must have talked a bit about a previous book, KINGS MOUNTAIN, since there is a note saying that most of the prisoners escaped. I think though that we talked some about how it would be a logistical challenge for the Overmountain Men to maintain so many prisoners during the the trek back home. Having to feed, keep watch over, and travel with all those prisoners would complicate and slow things down considerably. As Sir Toppemhat might say, "You are causing confusion and delay!" On a side note about Kings Mountain: we went to spend Thanksgiving with JB's side of the family out in the midwest. I was talking to my Aunt and found out that she too is in a book club. She started it actually. And the book they are reading right now is Sharyn McCrumb's latest book PRAYERS THE DEVIL ANSWERS so I thought that was a pretty cool coincidence. Book clubs are cool! I'm sure that her club isn't nearly as hard core as The Spirits though. Another side note on our trip out to the midwest. I ran a 10k road race on Thanksgiving morning. Several mistakes with that decision: 1. It was at 8:00 in the morning. That should have disqualified it right there. 2. It was 39 degrees. That should have disqualified it right there. 3. It required running 6.2 miles. That should have disqualified it right there. 4. I had to pay $25 to go run 6.2 miles at 8:00 am when it was 39 degrees. But as my North Carolina real estate agent once said, "Some people got more money than they got sense". Fair enough Horace, you got me.
New Business:
On September 24th (2016), there was an Overmountain Men re-enactment at Sycamore Shoals. So if this is the first you've heard of it, I apologize for providing this information just a tippy tap tip tap bit late. At this time please refer to my previous post with a nice little apology song. It's a real catchy tune. :-)
And this month's book, ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE is our 20th book! If I remember correctly, we had cake, food and wine. I know food and wine is standard issue for The Spirits, but the cake was a new addition. So now the question is: how often (brief aside: Chief informed me that the proper pronuncion of "often" is "off-un". The "t" is silent. I've been saying it wrong for as long as I can remember. Ugh) so anyway, the question is: how often should we celebrate a bookiversary? Every 5th time around? So the next one would be 25. We can discuss at the next meeting.
We also discussed doing a private painting class for the club. I think that would be a really cool thing to do. It is fun, the painting turns out much better than you would probably expect, and you can bring food and wine/beer! I mean, "Why in the world would you NOT?!" Sorry, that quote is from one of the super cheezy car dealership commercials on TV. I bet you've seen that commercial too? But the price isn't really that bad either, I think maybe around $50 per person, which we could raid the Spirit Fund to finance.
Soooo, yeah about the Spirits Fund, so I was presented with a foolproof investment idea for which to triple our funds in just a few short weeks. As the club Treasurer, I made a wise, quick, unilateral decision to invest all our funds in this guarenteed money-making opportunity and you can thank me later as the dolla bills are raining down upon us in 2017. Don't worry, I know a guy. Just keep your eyes on the pet spa market. It's getting ready to go through the roof!
Chief told us about a book idea he had: it takes place in the future on another planet. The planet is covered with seas/oceans and there are lots of sea creatures inside them. Hopefully he can continue brainstorming creative ideas and really write a book one day. That would be awesome.
Boss read two books: IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A MUFFIN, and IF YOU GIVE A CAT A CUPCAKE. He's been reading like a champ!
These dudes are the future of the Novel Spirit Empire we are currently building. Until next time Spirits
Baron
Since it took me longer than expected to weave my lyrical magic in the last post, I'll try again at the September meeting notes post now. Wish me luck. Although it looks like it won't be too long since the notes are rather short. Here we goooo.... (said like Peter Pan)
Old Business:
Deuce has posted some pictures to our Pinterest Board. The secret one, sshhhhhhh.
We must have talked a bit about a previous book, KINGS MOUNTAIN, since there is a note saying that most of the prisoners escaped. I think though that we talked some about how it would be a logistical challenge for the Overmountain Men to maintain so many prisoners during the the trek back home. Having to feed, keep watch over, and travel with all those prisoners would complicate and slow things down considerably. As Sir Toppemhat might say, "You are causing confusion and delay!" On a side note about Kings Mountain: we went to spend Thanksgiving with JB's side of the family out in the midwest. I was talking to my Aunt and found out that she too is in a book club. She started it actually. And the book they are reading right now is Sharyn McCrumb's latest book PRAYERS THE DEVIL ANSWERS so I thought that was a pretty cool coincidence. Book clubs are cool! I'm sure that her club isn't nearly as hard core as The Spirits though. Another side note on our trip out to the midwest. I ran a 10k road race on Thanksgiving morning. Several mistakes with that decision: 1. It was at 8:00 in the morning. That should have disqualified it right there. 2. It was 39 degrees. That should have disqualified it right there. 3. It required running 6.2 miles. That should have disqualified it right there. 4. I had to pay $25 to go run 6.2 miles at 8:00 am when it was 39 degrees. But as my North Carolina real estate agent once said, "Some people got more money than they got sense". Fair enough Horace, you got me.
New Business:
On September 24th (2016), there was an Overmountain Men re-enactment at Sycamore Shoals. So if this is the first you've heard of it, I apologize for providing this information just a tippy tap tip tap bit late. At this time please refer to my previous post with a nice little apology song. It's a real catchy tune. :-)
And this month's book, ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE is our 20th book! If I remember correctly, we had cake, food and wine. I know food and wine is standard issue for The Spirits, but the cake was a new addition. So now the question is: how often (brief aside: Chief informed me that the proper pronuncion of "often" is "off-un". The "t" is silent. I've been saying it wrong for as long as I can remember. Ugh) so anyway, the question is: how often should we celebrate a bookiversary? Every 5th time around? So the next one would be 25. We can discuss at the next meeting.
We also discussed doing a private painting class for the club. I think that would be a really cool thing to do. It is fun, the painting turns out much better than you would probably expect, and you can bring food and wine/beer! I mean, "Why in the world would you NOT?!" Sorry, that quote is from one of the super cheezy car dealership commercials on TV. I bet you've seen that commercial too? But the price isn't really that bad either, I think maybe around $50 per person, which we could raid the Spirit Fund to finance.
Soooo, yeah about the Spirits Fund, so I was presented with a foolproof investment idea for which to triple our funds in just a few short weeks. As the club Treasurer, I made a wise, quick, unilateral decision to invest all our funds in this guarenteed money-making opportunity and you can thank me later as the dolla bills are raining down upon us in 2017. Don't worry, I know a guy. Just keep your eyes on the pet spa market. It's getting ready to go through the roof!
Chief told us about a book idea he had: it takes place in the future on another planet. The planet is covered with seas/oceans and there are lots of sea creatures inside them. Hopefully he can continue brainstorming creative ideas and really write a book one day. That would be awesome.
Boss read two books: IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A MUFFIN, and IF YOU GIVE A CAT A CUPCAKE. He's been reading like a champ!
These dudes are the future of the Novel Spirit Empire we are currently building. Until next time Spirits
Baron
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
SEPTEMBER MEETING NOTES (iinnnnn November)
Hey Spirits,
Anyone seen Moana yet?? Great movie! It's the newest Disney/Pixar movie and we really enjoyed it. In fact here's a brief refrain that can be sang or sung in the melody of Maui's song called "You're Welcome" It's sort of a way to apologize for not posting in so long. Hopefully, these lyrics can fit in with the melody of the chorus portion of the song. Give it a try, or disavow knowledge of me altogether....
Hey, don't agonize or chastise my devotion
I've just been inert or asleep in the rack.
I know this implies I despise locomotion
But at least I can strive to be slack!
So I know I need to say that I'm sorry
I seem to set my goals too high
It's safe to say I won't get my Ferrari
I'm just a mediocre, fairish guy!
So okay, I'm trying to say that I'm sorry,
I'm sorry, I'm sorry!
Well it took me a long time to try to make that rhyme, so I think the actual blog post won't come tonight. I might have to make a whole new song for that too!!!
I just finished THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN btw, and I'm halfway through CATCH-22, so I'll be good to go for next meeting.
Baron
Anyone seen Moana yet?? Great movie! It's the newest Disney/Pixar movie and we really enjoyed it. In fact here's a brief refrain that can be sang or sung in the melody of Maui's song called "You're Welcome" It's sort of a way to apologize for not posting in so long. Hopefully, these lyrics can fit in with the melody of the chorus portion of the song. Give it a try, or disavow knowledge of me altogether....
Hey, don't agonize or chastise my devotion
I've just been inert or asleep in the rack.
I know this implies I despise locomotion
But at least I can strive to be slack!
So I know I need to say that I'm sorry
I seem to set my goals too high
It's safe to say I won't get my Ferrari
I'm just a mediocre, fairish guy!
So okay, I'm trying to say that I'm sorry,
I'm sorry, I'm sorry!
Well it took me a long time to try to make that rhyme, so I think the actual blog post won't come tonight. I might have to make a whole new song for that too!!!
I just finished THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN btw, and I'm halfway through CATCH-22, so I'll be good to go for next meeting.
Baron
Sunday, November 27, 2016
GOOD ARTICLE
Hey Spirits,
I came across this Wall Street Journal article about reading. I enjoyed it, and it is pretty positive and encouraging so I thought I'd pass it along if you all would like to read it....
The Need to Read
I came across this Wall Street Journal article about reading. I enjoyed it, and it is pretty positive and encouraging so I thought I'd pass it along if you all would like to read it....
The Need to Read
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
Hey Spirits
We have a new record to set.....
42 years
A man who checked out William Shirer’s “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” in April 1974 from the Guilderland Library returned the book last Tuesday. The late fee for such a wait would be $3,106.20, but a man such as this presumably knows to live a life on the run, dodging the law and other library enforcement authorities, and presumably set up the book drop up so they’d be sipping a cocktail on a brach in Zihuatanejo, Mexico by the time anyone was all the wiser to his escape from New York. [NBC New York]
Thursday, September 1, 2016
AUGUST MEETING NOTES
Hello Spirits. Dag where did the summer go? I mean its still as hot as George Kellogg's bones inside the giant, boiling vat of butter he got chucked into, but I'm not really referring to the weather. I mean since Chief and Boss are back in school, vacations are complete, I'm transitioning into making fall beers, and we're currently about 23 minutes from September, it feels to me like the immaculate summer wave I've been surfing has just crashed me onto the beach, completely unsympathetic to freshly open wounds filled with sand and shell fragments. After reading all the books from book club, that was my poor attempt at superb metaphorical prose. I'll be a writer one day Spirits, mark my words. Riiiiiiight.
"Who we talking about??" There was your movie quote, from Chicken Little. Chicken Little himself says that a couple times while confused, which seems rather appropriate for me since I spend a considerable amount of my time confused also.
Ok, let's get down to business...."to defeat... the huns!" There's a two-for for you all!! Two quotes in one blog, that one from Mulan. I am on fire today :-)
Okay, enough tom-foolery: to business, "You'll love Biz niss." Sorry, I just can't stop myself, that one was from Muppet Christmas Carol. The big, blue, serious, business bird said that. I've slapped myself on the wrist and now ready for......
Old Business:
"Shirts - Praise to Baron" I accept your praise spirits and any gifts that may follow...... :\ Yes, we now have club shirts folks! I think they turned out fairly well. I acknowledge that we decided on gray and I actually ordered white, but if you just sprinkle some charcoal in your eyes, squint and look at them at dusk, they will look pretty close to gray. We discussed the major cost difference between ordering white or any other color, so I made an executive decision to go with white. Of course, President Deuce may send the thought police in to haul me off to the Ministry of Love for some reconditioning. My greatest fear is not spiders, I promise.
Or maybe Deuce won't call in the thought police, because this meeting was uncommonly cordial and gracious. I don't think there were any chastisements if you can believe that! Maybe no one had the heart to tell me the shirts were slightly too transparent or my spinach dip looked and tasted more like something that rock guy from the Neverending Story would have enjoyed. So basically, it boils down to pity! The Spirits just couldn't bare to break me down anymore. Well I appreciate it Spirits, regardless of your motivation.
Indy agreed to swap out dates with JB and Cat for hosting the meetings. So the September meeting (September 11th to be exact) will be at JB and Cat's Mountain Retreat. I really hope I got that name right. For some reason I forget everyone's home names every single time! Even mine. Its pitiful I know. I have the memory of a jellyfish. Who we talking about? So Indy now hosts the October meeting at the Lodge.... is possibly its name.
Boss read THE PIGEON NEEDS A BATH which I personally found very entertaining. Those are a pretty good series of books, and Boss and Chief have always enjoyed them.
Confession time: As you all know, my soul is as pristine as an angel. I drink up whatever evil I see in this world and spew out virtue and goodness in return. I am a bad liar. The confession is that I read ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell. Yes its true. I feel like I just ended my grace period of no chastisements. I can't help it, I really like these dystopian, philosophical, political fictions. Perhaps I drink up the virtue and spew out evil. Sometimes I get them mixed up.
New Business:
20th Bookiversary!! Remember when I changed the blog theme and made you wait until the August post? Well here is the big reveal: Our next book ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE is the 20th book the club has read! Cool right? I haven't been around for all 20 but all you original Novel Spirit veterans can toast a drink with pride tonight. And every one of the next 20 nights too, why not? We should celebrate. I have an idea: let's all get together, make good food, drink good wine and just have a good time? I like it. I think its a good idea. I am considering bringing a piniata to the next meeting but that might not be very polite to our hosts. But how fun would that be right?
And Archimedes found a very cool article that I linked below. Here's a hint: reading is good for our health!!
Read more, live longer
BTW, I've got a new batch of Kolsch beer aging in the bottles. I'll bring some to any beer lovers in the group.....(crickets chirping)
Have a good night Spirits, looking forward to our next meeting
Baron
"Who we talking about??" There was your movie quote, from Chicken Little. Chicken Little himself says that a couple times while confused, which seems rather appropriate for me since I spend a considerable amount of my time confused also.
Ok, let's get down to business...."to defeat... the huns!" There's a two-for for you all!! Two quotes in one blog, that one from Mulan. I am on fire today :-)
Okay, enough tom-foolery: to business, "You'll love Biz niss." Sorry, I just can't stop myself, that one was from Muppet Christmas Carol. The big, blue, serious, business bird said that. I've slapped myself on the wrist and now ready for......
Old Business:
"Shirts - Praise to Baron" I accept your praise spirits and any gifts that may follow...... :\ Yes, we now have club shirts folks! I think they turned out fairly well. I acknowledge that we decided on gray and I actually ordered white, but if you just sprinkle some charcoal in your eyes, squint and look at them at dusk, they will look pretty close to gray. We discussed the major cost difference between ordering white or any other color, so I made an executive decision to go with white. Of course, President Deuce may send the thought police in to haul me off to the Ministry of Love for some reconditioning. My greatest fear is not spiders, I promise.
Or maybe Deuce won't call in the thought police, because this meeting was uncommonly cordial and gracious. I don't think there were any chastisements if you can believe that! Maybe no one had the heart to tell me the shirts were slightly too transparent or my spinach dip looked and tasted more like something that rock guy from the Neverending Story would have enjoyed. So basically, it boils down to pity! The Spirits just couldn't bare to break me down anymore. Well I appreciate it Spirits, regardless of your motivation.
Indy agreed to swap out dates with JB and Cat for hosting the meetings. So the September meeting (September 11th to be exact) will be at JB and Cat's Mountain Retreat. I really hope I got that name right. For some reason I forget everyone's home names every single time! Even mine. Its pitiful I know. I have the memory of a jellyfish. Who we talking about? So Indy now hosts the October meeting at the Lodge.... is possibly its name.
Boss read THE PIGEON NEEDS A BATH which I personally found very entertaining. Those are a pretty good series of books, and Boss and Chief have always enjoyed them.
Confession time: As you all know, my soul is as pristine as an angel. I drink up whatever evil I see in this world and spew out virtue and goodness in return. I am a bad liar. The confession is that I read ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell. Yes its true. I feel like I just ended my grace period of no chastisements. I can't help it, I really like these dystopian, philosophical, political fictions. Perhaps I drink up the virtue and spew out evil. Sometimes I get them mixed up.
New Business:
20th Bookiversary!! Remember when I changed the blog theme and made you wait until the August post? Well here is the big reveal: Our next book ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE is the 20th book the club has read! Cool right? I haven't been around for all 20 but all you original Novel Spirit veterans can toast a drink with pride tonight. And every one of the next 20 nights too, why not? We should celebrate. I have an idea: let's all get together, make good food, drink good wine and just have a good time? I like it. I think its a good idea. I am considering bringing a piniata to the next meeting but that might not be very polite to our hosts. But how fun would that be right?
And Archimedes found a very cool article that I linked below. Here's a hint: reading is good for our health!!
Read more, live longer
BTW, I've got a new batch of Kolsch beer aging in the bottles. I'll bring some to any beer lovers in the group.....(crickets chirping)
Have a good night Spirits, looking forward to our next meeting
Baron
KING'S MOUNTAIN BOOK DISCUSSION
With this month's book we returned to a recurring theme in the Spirit's selection - a book with a local setting. The locations in King's Mountain spanned from Sycamore Shoals in Elizabethton, Tennessee to Abingdon, Virginia to the northwestern part of South Carolina. It really adds another layer of interest to the book to know the area the author is describing. And in this instance, we all got a little bit of a local history lesson. I have been amazed by how many local events surrounding the "overmountain men" and the march to the Battle of King's Mountain I have noticed since we read the book.
JB, who chose King's Mountain, noted that the battleground site at King's Mountain was worth a visit. He visited the site recently with his mom and sister, who has been doing some family history research. JB chose this book and author because of the in depth research of local history and lore the author conducts for each of her books. He highly recommended some of her other books, which are also set in the local area.
One of the things we liked best about the book was its nuanced presentation of characters. Particularly in "war" books, authors have a tendency to present characters on one side of the conflict as good and noble while presenting characters on the other as evil. Real life just isn't like that. I believe Deuce made the observation that it was easy to sympathize with characters in the book, like Virginia Sal, who were just trying to do what they could do survive the war, or others who felt loyalty to the crown. The characters were all believable and relatable characters. There were "rascals" and "heroes" on both sides.
A discussion ensued comparing the Battle of King's Mountain to Pickett's charge. I'm sure many good and thoughtful points were made, but somehow they didn't make it into my notes. Relatedly, we sorely missed Diesel's presence at the August meeting. What can I say, Spirits, battle strategy is not my jam.
One character that had many of the Spirits scratching their heads was Virginia Paul. I think she was a vehicle for tying in some of the local lore about banshees, but it was a little vague. Was she a banshee? Was she the same girl that young Ferguson met in the graveyard at the beginning of the book? I guess it is up to us to reach our own conclusions. Another somewhat supernatural element was the foreshadowing of the fates of Sevier and Ferguson.
We also contemplated whether the war would have turned out differently if Ferguson had taken the opportunity to shoot George Washington in the woods. The consensus was that it probably would have, simply because he was a unique person in a unique time.
There was also consensus that the hangings after the battle were completely arbitrary and offensive to the notion of justice. I will stop myself here or your eyes will glaze over as I launch into a legal diatribe. I will save it for the legal brief that I'll be working on all day tomorrow. :)
I think this may have been our highest rated book since Huck Finn! The lowest rating anyone gave it was 4 stars and it even garnered the ever allusive 5 star rating from Indy! And we know that Spirits don't dole out 5's willy nilly.
I am still working on All the Light We Cannnot See (so no spoilers!), but I can tell it will be a "spirited" discussion. Get it?? "Spirited"?? HAHAHAHAHAH, I crack myself up. On that corny note, I will bid you a fond adieu. See you soon!!
JB, who chose King's Mountain, noted that the battleground site at King's Mountain was worth a visit. He visited the site recently with his mom and sister, who has been doing some family history research. JB chose this book and author because of the in depth research of local history and lore the author conducts for each of her books. He highly recommended some of her other books, which are also set in the local area.
One of the things we liked best about the book was its nuanced presentation of characters. Particularly in "war" books, authors have a tendency to present characters on one side of the conflict as good and noble while presenting characters on the other as evil. Real life just isn't like that. I believe Deuce made the observation that it was easy to sympathize with characters in the book, like Virginia Sal, who were just trying to do what they could do survive the war, or others who felt loyalty to the crown. The characters were all believable and relatable characters. There were "rascals" and "heroes" on both sides.
A discussion ensued comparing the Battle of King's Mountain to Pickett's charge. I'm sure many good and thoughtful points were made, but somehow they didn't make it into my notes. Relatedly, we sorely missed Diesel's presence at the August meeting. What can I say, Spirits, battle strategy is not my jam.
One character that had many of the Spirits scratching their heads was Virginia Paul. I think she was a vehicle for tying in some of the local lore about banshees, but it was a little vague. Was she a banshee? Was she the same girl that young Ferguson met in the graveyard at the beginning of the book? I guess it is up to us to reach our own conclusions. Another somewhat supernatural element was the foreshadowing of the fates of Sevier and Ferguson.
We also contemplated whether the war would have turned out differently if Ferguson had taken the opportunity to shoot George Washington in the woods. The consensus was that it probably would have, simply because he was a unique person in a unique time.
There was also consensus that the hangings after the battle were completely arbitrary and offensive to the notion of justice. I will stop myself here or your eyes will glaze over as I launch into a legal diatribe. I will save it for the legal brief that I'll be working on all day tomorrow. :)
I think this may have been our highest rated book since Huck Finn! The lowest rating anyone gave it was 4 stars and it even garnered the ever allusive 5 star rating from Indy! And we know that Spirits don't dole out 5's willy nilly.
I am still working on All the Light We Cannnot See (so no spoilers!), but I can tell it will be a "spirited" discussion. Get it?? "Spirited"?? HAHAHAHAHAH, I crack myself up. On that corny note, I will bid you a fond adieu. See you soon!!
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