Show & Tell Friday: Coming Back

Slowly but surely, I’m emerging from the cave of Newbornland. My newest daughter is now 38 days old. Everyone in my house except for my 3 year-old–including myself, my husband, and our dog–is exhausted. The 3 year-old is fueled by some energy source we can’t find. We’ve looked for it.

We are happy and sleepy. And we have no idea what day it is.

Oh, yes–Friday! I’ve got some things to share that popped up while I was in Newbornland:

 

1.) The Girls of Atomic City: the Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win WWII

I may have already mentioned this, but I can’t wait to read this book! It’s all about the young women who were recruited to work in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, during WWII. On the Manhattan Project (you know, the Atomic Bomb). My grandmother was one of those girls. She was recruited right out of Winthrop University (then College) in South Carolina, with a friend, but when the friend bailed, she still went. She met my grandfather, a nuclear physicist and a Yankee to boot, at a dance. He told her he was going to marry her the night they met. My mother and aunts were raised in Oak Ridge, the “Secret City.” And the rest is history.

Speaking of history, these women, and their stories, are incredible. A must read for your nonfiction stack this summer. It’s already on mine.

2.) Brave

Have you seen this movie? It’s not just for kids. About a strong-willed young Scottish princess, Merida, and her quest to break from tradition in order to live her own life. It’s set in the Highlands of Scotland and is a great big adventure, complete with a legend, a witch, and ill-fated wish, and a host of unforgettable characters. The animation is absolutely gorgeous, and truly different than anything I’ve seen before.

We watched it over the weekend with my 3 year-old (who’ll be 4 in late July), and she loved it!

My husband and I backpacked and traveled through the Scottish Highlands several years ago, and came away forever changed–not to mention determined to get back there one day. Disney Pixar gets it right with this one. It’s a good movie for everyone–battles and humor and danger and redemption–but it’s great for girls. All hail the female hero! Plus, it won the Academy Award for best animated film.

3.) “Being But Men” by Dylan Thomas

This was the featured poem-of-the-day on Wednesday at The Writer’s Almanac. I love Thomas, and this poem demonstrates why I think he’s a poet for the ages. I think it speaks to quiet truths about nature and humanity; that it’s lovely and sad at the same time.

Poets slay me. I don’t know how they do it.
 



4.) And last, some quotes to welcome the unofficial start of summer:

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” ~ Henry James

“A man says a lot of things in summer he doesn’t mean in winter.” ~ Patricia Briggs

“Come with me,’ Mom says.
To the library.
Books and summertime
go together.”
~ Lisa Schroeder

“Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”
~ William Shakespeare

“The summer demands and takes away too much. /But night, the reserved, the reticent, gives more than it takes”
~ John Ashbery  

“If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance.”  ~ Bern Williams

“The summer night is like a perfection of thought.”  ~ Wallace Stevens

Show & Tell Friday - The Ides of March Edition

The Death of Caesar by Vincenzo Camuccini

Ah, the infamous ides of March: the first month of the year in the original Roman calendar (the Romans celebrated the New Year from March 1st until today), the day in 44 B.C. when Julius Caesar was assassinated by members of the Senate (thank goodness our senators are a bit more well-behaved … though some would argue, not by much), and the feast day of the year’s particular goddess.

Mostly, though, we know of the “Ides” because of Shakespeare’s bloody and fascinating play Julius Caesar. (What, you’ve not read it since high school–or at all? Get thee to a library!) He gives us an up close and personal view of the B.C. formula for taking down a dictator.

And people think a study of history is worthless. Pshaw.

On to today’s edition of “Show & Tell Friday.” Last week, I gave you a new book, a poem, and some great music. Today I’ve got some good stuff to share, too:

1) The Girls of Atomic City: the Untold Story of the Girls Who Helped Win WWII by Denise Kiernan

My grandmother was one of those “girls,” so this book holds special meaning for me and my family–especially my mother and her three sisters. My Grandmama Jean moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, just out of college, recruited to work there in the war effort. As a family, we’ve returned many times to “the Secret City” where my mom and aunts were raised, and where my grandparents met–he a scientist on the Manhattan Project (the atomic bomb). My sister and I bought this book for my mom as an early Mother’s Day present. I hope she reads fast, so I can get it next.

2) Have you heard yet about the “Harlem Shake,” a YouTube dance craze sweeping pretty much the world lately? Sure, it’s becoming a bit passe, but still a whole lot of fun to watch. Check out the students at Clemson University doing their version:

www.aotc.org

3) Hundreds of road bikers will descend on our little mountain town of Brevard, N.C. April 12-13th for the 14th Annual Assault on the Carolinas. Races include 100k, 60k, and 40k routes, the 100k race stretching down the Blue Ridge Escarpment into S.C. and back up the notorious Caesar’s Head State Park. Several events occur during the weekend, including access to locally-brewed beers and live music. There’ll also be a lack of parking space and lots of fit men wandering around town in very tight pants.

Brevard has become a mecca for road and mountain bikers alike; many of my friends and neighbors have become honestly obsessed with the sport, going on long rides every weekend and even weekdays. They are most definitely, as my buddy and neighbor Adria says, “All eat up with biking.”

4) And finally, some quotes for your Friday. Because I can’t resist quotes. I papered the walls of my college dorm room with quotes. (Apologies to Lisa, my roommate who put up with them.)

In addition to holding the Ides of March, the month of March is also home to Women’s History Month and Albert Einstein’s birthday. So, in honor of both these lauded events, some sayings:

“It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.” ~ Susan B. Anthony

“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” ~ Dolly Parton

“About age thirty, most women think about having children and most men think about dating them.” ~ Judy Carter

“Please know that I am aware of the hazards. I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When the fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.”~ Amelia Earhart

“I’d much rather be a woman than a man. Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they’re first to be rescued off sinking ships.” ~ Gilda Radner

And these from Albert Einstein …

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”

“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

Happy weekend, y’all!