We love our ceramic menorah that we unwrap each December and fill with colorful candles each evening during Hanukkah. As the Shamash candle is lit, we begin singing the blessing in our own multi-tuned rendition. My husband wasn’t schooled in religious tunes, or if he was didn’t retain them. And my religious tunes are limited to Herald Angels and Little Towns. Consequently, our prayer sounds much like a smaller rendition of Hogwarts school song.
Each of the 8 nights we add an additional candle, sing our prayer and enjoy the menorah for a moment or through dinner or while homework is being done. We love to watch the candle lights flickering and speculate where all that wax ends up. But we rarely focus long on the Maccabees or the blessings we remember in our own lives.
This year I thought we could think about what brings light into our lives and how we reflect that light. Each day of Hanukkah, we will each be observant for kindnesses we share and kindnesses we receive. Then when we light the candles we will each share a kindness from that day for each candle lit—one kindness each on the first night, two the second night and so forth. I imagine that this will be fairly straightforward on day one. However, I presume that by day 4 or 5 we will have to work to not just remember what we have done that day (for some of us a harder task these days than for others), but we will need actively be observant for moments when we can offer a kindness— from a word, to a hand, to a hug. I am sure it will take concentration to look for opportunities. Perhaps we will hold open a door or let the shopper with just one item to purchase step in line in front of us, or even refrain from a disparaging remark that was clamoring to be spoken. Eight is such a good number for creating a habit of being observant to where we can give a kindness and be mindful of saying thank you when we receive a kindness.
Stay tuned and I’ll let you know how well this works or doesn’t. Let me know what traditions you enjoy in December to show thanks for what you have received or be cognizant of what you share.
Let the Great World Spin Book Group Discussion Guide
Let The Great World Spin Discussion Guide
I enjoy leading book groups. When I lead, I write up a discussion guide to use. Feel free to ask your own questions or discuss your own observations or reactions in the comments section.
I have moved this discussion guide to my new blog, Group Reads which is a collection of discussion guides. You can find a guide for this book at Group Reads: Let The Great World Spin.
Stop by and see what other guides might interest you!
I have moved this discussion guide to my new blog, Group Reads which is a collection of discussion guides. You can find a guide for this book at Group Reads: Let The Great World Spin.
Stop by and see what other guides might interest you!
You Can Hide, but You Can't Run
Thanksgiving Day came and went with surprising little, family discord. So here I am relying on my faux pas over the last 2 days to sum up lessons learned while I was being thankful for those moments outside the all important thanks for family, freedom, peace, education and nourishment.
If I wash and dry my daughter's sweatshirt with her iPod in the pocket, the iPod will still work but all of the lyrics come out clean. I am thankful that some Apple engineer probably engineered this to work even if it's not advertised.
$2 hand warmers cost $3 when 10,000 cold people are waiting around before the Thanksgiving 5K race, unless you are the first customer.
iPods were made for the day after Thanksgiving:
Salt not only makes bread taste good, it also helps the rising. Corollary, four loaves of unsalted bread makes a lot of unsalted breadcrumbs.
Apple butter is a misnomer— it's really apple jelly. And it makes unsalted bread tasty! I am thankful for my niece's thoughtfulness in creating a fabulous gift basket just because.
In laser tag, you can hide, but you can't run.
If I wash and dry my daughter's sweatshirt with her iPod in the pocket, the iPod will still work but all of the lyrics come out clean. I am thankful that some Apple engineer probably engineered this to work even if it's not advertised.
$2 hand warmers cost $3 when 10,000 cold people are waiting around before the Thanksgiving 5K race, unless you are the first customer.
iPods were made for the day after Thanksgiving:
- You don’t need to listen to non-stop ads pushing Black Friday deals
- They are perfect for taking on a walk to burn off the Thanksgiving Feast
- Even if it’s raining you can plug in your ear buds and tune out any lingering family acrimony
Salt not only makes bread taste good, it also helps the rising. Corollary, four loaves of unsalted bread makes a lot of unsalted breadcrumbs.
Apple butter is a misnomer— it's really apple jelly. And it makes unsalted bread tasty! I am thankful for my niece's thoughtfulness in creating a fabulous gift basket just because.
In laser tag, you can hide, but you can't run.
Guidelines for Easy to Understand Technical Writing
Where did techies learn to write?! I like mysteries to have twists and surprises; I like novels to develop character and place; I like biographies to delve into history (actually I don’t like biographies). But I don’t want technical analysis or product descriptions to meander, use vague, ill-defined terms or stick to generalities. Tech blogs and articles need to get to the point.
There are plenty of bad examples out there from a myriad of independent blogs to some of the comments posted to widely read blogs. Rather than focus on the bad examples I come across daily doing research, here are two of my favorite good examples of technical writing:
David Pogue in nearly any of his blog posts http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/ lists what he does and doesn’t like in clear terms. He even wrote a whole post on tech terms he avoids (http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/tech-terms-to-avoid/#more-560 ) .
Wired Magazine, http://www.wired.com/wired/ , consistently publishes clear articles. Not only do they use understandable prose, they have outstanding graphic artists who create charts and diagrams that intrigue anyone who loves visualizing data.
Granted Pogue and the Wired Magazine writers are paid to write, so they have an economic interest in writing well and have had a lot of practice. Still with a few simple precepts, even a geek with limited linguist ability can make his or her point more effectively.
Three guidelines:
There are plenty of bad examples out there from a myriad of independent blogs to some of the comments posted to widely read blogs. Rather than focus on the bad examples I come across daily doing research, here are two of my favorite good examples of technical writing:
David Pogue in nearly any of his blog posts http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/ lists what he does and doesn’t like in clear terms. He even wrote a whole post on tech terms he avoids (http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/tech-terms-to-avoid/#more-560 ) .
Wired Magazine, http://www.wired.com/wired/ , consistently publishes clear articles. Not only do they use understandable prose, they have outstanding graphic artists who create charts and diagrams that intrigue anyone who loves visualizing data.
Granted Pogue and the Wired Magazine writers are paid to write, so they have an economic interest in writing well and have had a lot of practice. Still with a few simple precepts, even a geek with limited linguist ability can make his or her point more effectively.
Three guidelines:
- Give specific examples
- Only use terms that are well understood by your readers
- Use bullet points and lists wherever possible, or at least introduce your points with terms such as first, second and third.
Brilliant, Long Lasting Fall in New England
This is the longest lasting color I can remember in New England in a long time...
Teaching Moments from an Argument
Attempting to turn a political argument with my brother into a teaching moment for my children is difficult. For starters there’s my personal passion; add that to the baggage we’re carrying around as siblings and I’m way over the limit for any domestic or international travel.
Silver linings, I tell myself. Perhaps tangled in the stress radiating from my heart there is a kernel of a teaching moment to share with my children.
For starters, there’s what I have learned about have an effective argument, er, debate— everything from knowing my opponent to getting my facts straight to knowing when to stop so I don’t permanently damage the relationship. That seems like useful knowledge to pass on to my children, but it doesn’t seem to be key to making the world a better place.
There’s the “let’s learn from our mistakes” pitch. This would amount to me saying that passionate, heated arguments aren’t the only way to exchange different points of view. Somehow, I think showing them a more effective exchange of ideas rather than telling them would be a better teaching tool.
Perhaps I should focus on the whole package of world views. How did two children raised in the same family end up with such disparate views? Oh, wait, that’s my baggage, not what I want to impart to my kids.
What I want to do is to have a positive influence on my children’s world views. To help set their moral compass, to teach them how to gather, evaluate and analyze information in making decisions and to provide a foundation in forming beliefs and standing up for their beliefs.
And of course, there’s the value of a family relationship as great or as dysfunctional as it may be. I believe there is almost always value in maintaining a family connection. So mostly I want to tell them to know when to reset; to learn when the relationship is more important than the ideal.
Parenting to do list:
In the end, my analysis is in fact self-analysis— more instructional for me than my kids.
Silver linings, I tell myself. Perhaps tangled in the stress radiating from my heart there is a kernel of a teaching moment to share with my children.
For starters, there’s what I have learned about have an effective argument, er, debate— everything from knowing my opponent to getting my facts straight to knowing when to stop so I don’t permanently damage the relationship. That seems like useful knowledge to pass on to my children, but it doesn’t seem to be key to making the world a better place.
There’s the “let’s learn from our mistakes” pitch. This would amount to me saying that passionate, heated arguments aren’t the only way to exchange different points of view. Somehow, I think showing them a more effective exchange of ideas rather than telling them would be a better teaching tool.
Perhaps I should focus on the whole package of world views. How did two children raised in the same family end up with such disparate views? Oh, wait, that’s my baggage, not what I want to impart to my kids.
What I want to do is to have a positive influence on my children’s world views. To help set their moral compass, to teach them how to gather, evaluate and analyze information in making decisions and to provide a foundation in forming beliefs and standing up for their beliefs.
And of course, there’s the value of a family relationship as great or as dysfunctional as it may be. I believe there is almost always value in maintaining a family connection. So mostly I want to tell them to know when to reset; to learn when the relationship is more important than the ideal.
Parenting to do list:
- talk with my children about resolving disagreements and standing up for your beliefs
- engage in disagreements with individuals who can remain calm—have dinner with my kids and family friends with different political views during the week around election day
- listen to my children when they are wrestling with their own decision making, help them with the process more than the content.
- support my children in their efforts to stand up for their beliefs
- be respectful in my disagreements with them
- end disagreements without slamming down the phone and, if I’m feeling really good, with an invitation to dinner!
In the end, my analysis is in fact self-analysis— more instructional for me than my kids.
Family Politics
I fear my extended family is a microcosm of the political distrust and antagonism our country is facing today. I will try to present this without bias, but as I clearly represent one side of the political spectrum, I am sure that some of family members will vociferously denounce my objectivity. Fortunately, the most vocal of all, also has huge privacy hang-ups so is quite unlikely to leave comments in all caps following this blog. So we can keep our ranting and ravings confined to the holiday dinner table and the more and more infrequent phone calls.
The right-leaning among us watch Fox news and expound upon its objectivity. The left-leaning among us listen to NPR and say it presents news impartially.
“Well then”, the rightist replies, “you should listen to what Juan Williams had to say on Fox after he was fired, have you heard?”
”No, because I don’t watch Fox news,” the liberal retorts, “and clearly anyone who has just been fired is going to be angry at his former employer and not present unbiased facts.”
“Ah ha,” says the radical right, “you can’t make that judgment without watching his commentary, because he only presented facts!”
“Yes, but did he present ALL the facts?” the leftist responds. ”It’s easy to leave some facts out which in and of itself is bias. He could easily have presented only the facts that showed NPR to be in the wrong and Fox to be in the right.”
“Facts are facts. Listen to what he said and you’ll hear how biased NPR is.”
How did we get here, I wonder to myself. I thought we were talking about our children’s high school classes. I ponder the trip we took, let’s see, from high school classes, to leveling among students, to government being involved in education, to Carter creating the Department of Education, to Obama being a radical socialist, to Bush spending billions on a needless war in Iraq, to Clinton leaving office with a surplus to Reagan getting America on the right track and building a robust economy. Not sure how Juan Williams came up, other than the obvious that he’s currently in the news.
I sigh. “Well you are still welcome for dinner Saturday.”
“You sure?” my brother responds, “you can take back the invitation.”
“No, no, I’d like to see you. Let’s just not talk politics.”
Unfortunately, in the state houses across the country as in Washington D.C., they have nothing else to discuss, but politics. And as in my political discussion with my brother, no one is willing to compromise, no one is willing to bend, no one is even able to cede one point to their adversary. Those in office must internalize significant stress daily if they feel anything like I do after hanging up the phone. In the time we spoke, no, make that argued, no one, not me, not my brother, not any elected official has done one thing to make the world a better place, to bring enlightenment, even simply to extend an olive branch. Maybe my brother will get the hint if I serve olives with dinner. Oh wait, he hates olives. Therein lies the problem.
The right-leaning among us watch Fox news and expound upon its objectivity. The left-leaning among us listen to NPR and say it presents news impartially.
“Well then”, the rightist replies, “you should listen to what Juan Williams had to say on Fox after he was fired, have you heard?”
”No, because I don’t watch Fox news,” the liberal retorts, “and clearly anyone who has just been fired is going to be angry at his former employer and not present unbiased facts.”
“Ah ha,” says the radical right, “you can’t make that judgment without watching his commentary, because he only presented facts!”
“Yes, but did he present ALL the facts?” the leftist responds. ”It’s easy to leave some facts out which in and of itself is bias. He could easily have presented only the facts that showed NPR to be in the wrong and Fox to be in the right.”
“Facts are facts. Listen to what he said and you’ll hear how biased NPR is.”
How did we get here, I wonder to myself. I thought we were talking about our children’s high school classes. I ponder the trip we took, let’s see, from high school classes, to leveling among students, to government being involved in education, to Carter creating the Department of Education, to Obama being a radical socialist, to Bush spending billions on a needless war in Iraq, to Clinton leaving office with a surplus to Reagan getting America on the right track and building a robust economy. Not sure how Juan Williams came up, other than the obvious that he’s currently in the news.
I sigh. “Well you are still welcome for dinner Saturday.”
“You sure?” my brother responds, “you can take back the invitation.”
“No, no, I’d like to see you. Let’s just not talk politics.”
Unfortunately, in the state houses across the country as in Washington D.C., they have nothing else to discuss, but politics. And as in my political discussion with my brother, no one is willing to compromise, no one is willing to bend, no one is even able to cede one point to their adversary. Those in office must internalize significant stress daily if they feel anything like I do after hanging up the phone. In the time we spoke, no, make that argued, no one, not me, not my brother, not any elected official has done one thing to make the world a better place, to bring enlightenment, even simply to extend an olive branch. Maybe my brother will get the hint if I serve olives with dinner. Oh wait, he hates olives. Therein lies the problem.
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