The Blythes are Quoted - L. M. Montgomery

I know that in academic circles, it is the thing to do to declare biases at the beginning of a paper or a talk. I'm definitely not an academic, but I wish to declare that I am a huge fan of L. M. Montgomery, so this review is going to be written from this bias.

I have read all of the fiction that she wrote (novels and short stories) that are currently published, as well as some of her journals, poetry, and some of what has been written about her, so I was very excited to hear that a new book came out this fall. It is considered to be the 9th and final book in the Anne of Green Gables series, and apparently the manuscript was delivered to the publisher on the day that Montgomery died. It is not a novel, but rather a collection of short stories set in and around the village where Anne and Gilbert Blythe lived after their marriage. The short stories are connected by poems written by Anne, as well as her son Walter, as well as dialogue within the family.

The poems and dialogue are what I was really looking forward to. All of the stories were previously published (most in the book The Road to Yesterday) and so none were new to me. But the poems and dialogue give new insight into the Blythe family.

As far as the poetry goes, I'm not and expert so this is just my opinion. While a couple of the poems really struck me ("I Wish You", "The Change", "Grief", "The Aftermath"), most of them were or the style that I tend to skim across. I can't help but wonder what Mr. Carpenter (from the Emily of New Moon books) would think of the poetry. I see lots of the same faults that he finds in Emily's poetry popping up in the poems of Montgomery - overuse of certain words (including "purple"), weak rhymes in places, descriptions with no underlying meaning.

My favourite part of the book is the end, where the family comes to terms with the death of the aforementioned son, Walter, who died in World War 1 (in Rilla of Ingleside).

My least favourite part of the book is the over-mentioning of the Blythe family in all of the stories - almost as if Montgomery felt obliged to pull them in to every story, while most of the stories would have been fine without the mention.

In the publicity of this book, much has been made of it showing "the darker side of L. M. Montgomery". In fact, to quote the dust jacket, "Adultery, illegitimacy, revenge, murder, and death - these are not the first terms we associate with L. M. Montgomery. But in The Blythes are Quoted, completed at the end of her life, the author brings topics such as these to the fore." I, however, was not surprised by this. These darker themes do show up in her earlier books and stories, though maybe not as consistently as in this book. The Anne books don't shy away from darker topics (the death of Anne and Gilbert's first baby; the effects of World War 1; and some of the episodes in Anne of Ingleside); the Emily books are quite dark in places; Pat of Silver Bush and Mistress Pat are downright depressing at times; and many of the short stories deal with the darker side of life.

But all of this doesn't detract from my enjoyment of her writing - rather, I find that it adds depth to it, when often Montgomery is dismissed as being too unrealistically cheerful and optimistic.

I can't wait to get home now to my bookcases, and compare the stories as published now in their entirety, with the previously published versions in The Road to Yesterday, and the other collections of short stories. Let me end with one of the shorter poems from the book that I enjoyed.

The Change

There is no difference this blithe morning

'Tween yesterday and today...

The dim fringed poppies are still blowing

In sea fields misty and grey.

The west wind overhead in the beeches

Is the friend of lovers still,

And the river puts its arm as bluely

Around the beckoning hill.

The rose that laughed in the waning twilight

Laughs with the same delight,

But, pale and sweet as the lilies of Eden,

A little hope died last night.

Anne Blythe

This book was read for the Canadian Book Challenge over at The Book Mine Set.

City Walks SF #50: Fort Funston

That's right! We finished our 50 city walks this year, just like we'd planned.

Thanks again to Karen and Bernie for getting us such a great gift last Christmas! This deck was a phenomenal way to get to know our city (The City) and get exercise at the same time! Now we just have to figure out what to do with all of our weekends next year!

***

Fort Funston is a stretch of coast on the south side of the City, managed by the National Park Service. Like all NPS lands in the Bay Area, it features many military installations of WWII era or earlier. Here's one that the observation deck was built around:



There's the north side of Fort Funston, where dogs seem to outnumber people:



And here's the descent to the beach:





More beach - and fewer dogs here:







And back on top, heading through a battery:



This was a nice place, but for the distance from our house, I feel we might as well just go to Marin - so many fewer people there! Definitely a gorgeous asset for the City though.

And a lovely way to end our City Walks.

Girls on the Run

I'd like to introduce you to a non-profit called Girls on the Run International, which has chapters throughout the country.

Girls on the Run of the Bay Area is dedicated to educating and preparing girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living. Over the course of 10-weeks girls are introduced to healthy living lessons, participate in fun games, make new friends, run to build self-confidence, and prepare for their first 1mile or 5K run - the Lollipop Run on Sat. May 8th in Golden Gate Park. Our spring programs will launch on February 22nd and we anticipate serving 300 girls in 24 programs throughout the Bay Area. Over 75% of the girls in our program require scholarships to participate in the program.

There is a great need for our programs in the Bay Area; many of the schools where we offer our program only provide 1 or 2 thirty minute PE classes a week. Research from the Women's Sports Foundation shows that if a girl does not participate in sports by the time she is 10, there is only a 10% chance that she'll be active at age 25. Additionally, a Prevention Institute Study found that investing $10 per person per year in programs to increase physical activity, improve nutrition and prevent tobacco use could save the country more than $16 billion in annual health care costs within five years. Our objective is to not only prevent at-risk behavior, such as adolescent pregnancies, eating disorders, depression, and substance abuse, but also to instill confidence, a positive attitude, and the importance of healthy living habits in each girl.

Perhaps you know a teenager, as I do, who may have benefited from such a program. Perhaps you, as I did, received these benefits through sports in grade school and middle school.

Consider being a coach in this program, or volunteering at one of the 5k runs, or becoming a "running buddy" in the 5ks. There are many opportunities.

Of course, I do have an ulterior motive: I am raising money for Girls on the Run as part of my training for the Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon in February. (That's right, although I denied it, I am addicted to running.) I will also be a running buddy for the spring Lollipop Run here in San Francisco. Consider finding out how you can help in your town!

Hark the Herald Angels 12K

Since I never found a partner for the Santa Barbara International Marathon relay, I had to sign up for another race to at least keep myself in some semblance of shape (that was before I signed up for another half marathon...). So, a 12k on Angel Island it was. Unfortunately, I am destined to never go to Angel Island in good weather.

I spent the whole drive up to Tiburon speculating on how I could obtain a running rain slicker before the race to which I was already almost going to be late thanks to weather. Luckily by the time we got to the ferry docker, the downpour had subsided. Here I am waiting to start, a little chilly. My poor mother who picked an unfortunate weekend to visit is covered in the slicker.



For the most part, the trails and the weather looked like this:



It was really muddy.

But I loved this race - it was really fun! The runners were very friendly and laid back, and the scenery was gorgeous! Every time you round a corner on Angel Island, another view awaits you - the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, the City, the Bay, other parts of the Island. Even in the rain, the light can be gorgeous. And by the time the rain really started coming down with about a mile left to go in the race, I was back in the forest flying down a hill under the cover of trees.

I will definitely be signing up for another Enviro-Sports race in the future.

City Walks SF #41: Mount Davidson and West Portal

This walk was rather anticlimactic for our second to last City Walk. That's right - we are almost done. At 927 feet, Mt Davidson is the highest peak in the City. However, I firmly recommend Twin Peaks regardless of the few feet shorter it is. Twin Peaks features 360 degree views, rather than just the north side that Mount Davidson offers. In addition, there is also no giant cross on the time. (I will admit though, Mount Davidson appeared to have some cute stone-step trails through the eucalyptus forests.)



Due to our country's supposed separation of church and state, in 1997, the City of San Francisco sold the 1/3 acre on which this cross sits to the highest bidder. Problem solved.



This walk also involved the neighborhood of West Portal, which we have visited several times for the cute 3 screen movie theater just two subway stops from the Castro. We went there just this past weekend to see the Fantastic Mr. Fox.

City Walks SF #42: Glen Canyon

I love Glen Canyon! I know have blogged about this before, but I can't find it in my archives. This time we went here for the actual city walks. I mean really, can you believe these pictures were taken right in the middle of the City?

City Walks SF #47: Bernal Heights

Here's another area of town we had never been to before. Bernal Heights Park was very nice - filled with joggers and dog-walkers, and with great city views. I really enjoyed it. Bernal Heights is also a cute little neighborhood with shops, restaurants, and bakeries. There are so many little streets like this sprinkled throughout the City, right in the middle of residential areas - I love it.

City Walks SF #48: Potrero Hill

This is an interesting residential area with great views of downtown, but it is oh-so-remote from good public transit. We walked by the Anchor Brewery, but they have no tap room here, and tours are so limited you have to take vacation from work to get one.



We also saw the real curviest street in San Francisco. Not as picturesque or as close to other things as it's famous counterpart, Lombard Street.

City Walks SF #49: South Park and the Embarcadero

Ah, we did this walk so long ago that I have forgotten so much. For some reason this walk involved a chain - Gordon Biersch, but since Matt and I so rarely turn down beer, we stopped in anyway.

We also took a short walk along the bay, stopped by AT&t Park and then headed into this strange area called South Park. Situated smack in the middle of an industrial area, this is an oval-shaped green area with a playground, cafes, and commercial spaces for the creative types. Strangely, it's just a block or so from Matt's office and we had never seen it before.

Down the Nile - Rosemary Mahoney

It is interesting to note that in the past couple of years, I have been reading more books in the "memoir" genre, whereas before, I would have never picked up this kind of book. I first discovered this genre when I was living overseas, when I would read any book that came my way and couldn't afford to be discriminating, fiction or non-fiction. I think that I came back to Canada having read every John Grisham novel ever written (and plots are all blurred together in my mind now); but I also discovered new books and authors that I enjoyed and probably wouldn't have read had I stayed at home. And I also discovered the allure of the memoir. The ability to see the world as someone else sees it; and to experience things vicariously that I will probably never experience.

In 1999, Rosemary Mahoney, a single American woman, went to Egypt wanting to procure a rowboat (of the local fishing boat variety) in order to row down the Nile from Aswan to Qena. The bigger struggle wasn't the rowing itself, but rather trying to make it understood that she wanted to row herself, and be alone, in a culture where women do not row and tourists are protected, whether they want to be protected or not.

I completely understand why she felt drawn to the challenge. Two years before this trip, she had been on a Nile cruise, and observing the river from the cruise ship, she noted, "With a score of middle-aged Spaniards sun-bathing on the deck behind me, I leaned against the ship's railing and watched, entranced, as the Nile slipped by. The wide river and its green banks looked old and placid, inscrutable and inviting, and yet it was all as distant and inaccessible to me as it had always been. Unable to leave the ship, with its planed itinerary and guided tours, I realized I might as well be watching this wonder from behind a glass wall. What I wanted, really, was not just to see the Nile River but to sit in the middle of it in my own boat, alone."

Rosemary Mahoney was used to rowing herself places, living on the water in Maine. I feel the same way about waterways as she does, but my preferred mode of transportation is a canoe. I am planning a solo overnight canoe trip for next summer, and most people that I have told my plan to think that I am crazy. But the water calls out to me and my paddle and my canoe (affectionately named Zig Zag), and the thought of being alone on the water with the shore slipping slowly by will get me through this cold winter.

So I found this book to be very readable, and I kept cheering her on in her quest to row down the Nile. And even though the actual rowing takes up much less than half the book, it was fun to read about someone else's fascination with water travel. My one quibble with the book is that it seems to end very abruptly. She arrives in Qena, ties her boat up at the dock, and gets a taxi to the train station to board a train to Cairo. There is no reflection on what she learned from the experience, how she grew from the experience, what memories she will take home from the experience. But a good read nonetheless!

At midnight last night, the United Kingdom ceased to be a sovereign state

We woke up in a different country today. Alright, it doesn’t look very different. The trees still seem black against the winter sun; the motorways continue to jam inexplicably; commuters carry on avoiding eye contact. But Britain is no longer a sovereign nation. At midnight last night, we ceased to be an independent state, bound by international treaties to other independent states, and became instead a subordinate unit within a European state.

Yes, a European state. Take a quick dekko at the definition set out in Article One of the1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States: “The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states.”

Until yesterday, the EU qualified on grounds (a), (b) and (c). Now it has ticked the final box. Under the Lisbon Treaty, which came into force today, it acquires “legal personality”, which gives it the right to sign accords and treat with other states. Nor is this right simply theoretical: the EU now has a foreign minister, a diplomatic corps (the European External Action Service) and 160 overseas embassies.

Until yesterday, the EU could not annex additional policy areas without a new treaty, which needed to be ratified by all its constituent nations. Now, it has the so-called “passerelle” clause, or self-amending mechanism. Parliament, in other words, no longer has the final say on extensions of EU jurisdiction. The EU derives its authority, not from its 27 members, but from its own foundational texts.

Until yesterday, Britain could simply walk out of the EU by abrogating the Treaty of Rome and repealing the 1972 European Communities Act. Henceforth, it will have to go through the secession procedure laid down in Lisbon. In other words – in the minds of Euro-lawyers, at any rate, if not of British constitutionalists – the EU gets to settle the terms on which its members are allowed to leave. Formal sovereignty has been shifted from the national capitals to Brussels.

It is appalling, demeaning, disgraceful that such a thing should have been done without popular consent, and in the absence of the referendum that all three parties had promised. “There’s no point in crying over spilt milk,” you might say. True. But there is every point in mopping it up.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielhannan/100018459/at-midnight-last-night-the-united-kingdom-ceased-to-be-a-sovereign-state/