Enjoy many more of these fabulous photos of Marcus Wise at Dew Devine.

(HT Carpe Diem)

Many delight in Dickens’ tale of the conversion of the “greedy, heartless, capitalist”  Scrooge into a kind, and lighthearted philanthropist. Here is a different take on the story:

It is my purpose, in making this holiday defense of my client, to present to you a different interpretation of the story, that you will see the villainy not in my client’s character, but in Charles Dickens’s miscasting of the true heroes of the time of which he wrote, namely, the industrialists and financiers who created that most liberating epoch in human history: the Industrial Revolution…

On the basis of emotionally riddled allegations, coupled with pure economic ignorance, we have been asked to find Mr. Scrooge “guilty” of the most ill-defined wrongdoings…

The case against Ebeneezer Scrooge is nothing more than a well-orchestrated, vicious conspiracy to extort from my client as much of his money as can be acquired through terror, threats of his death, and other appeals to fear…

[P]ay particular attention to the utter contradiction underlying Dickens’s case: my client is charged with being a greedy, money-hungry scoundrel, and yet it is the conspirators against him who want nothing more than his money! Scrooge — unlike his antagonists — earned his money in the marketplace by satisfying the demands of customers and clients who continue to do business with him, and did not, as far as we are told, resort to terror or threats of death to get it…

Scrooge certainly is not a man to emulate. His obsession with money as a goal in-and-of-itself arises from a misplaced, empty materialism.  But the antidote is not the rejection of material goods and the physical well-being they make possible, but rather to embrace them as the means to the greater end: a life of happiness and fulfillment in all realms possible, material, physical and spiritual.

Let us rejoice this holiday for all aspects of good fortune, and for the loved ones who magnify our enjoyment.

Lest there be any readers who need reminding of the virtues of this period, let me quote from that eminent English historian, T.S. Ashton, who wrote of the impoverished conditions of England and other nations prior to the Industrial Revolution. As he expressed it, “The central problem of the age was how to feed and clothe and employ generations of children outnumbering by far those of any earlier time.” England, he went on, “was delivered, not by her rulers, but by those who, seeking no doubt their own narrow ends, had the wit and resources to devise new instruments of production and new methods of administering industry. There are today on the plains of India and China men and women, plague-ridden and hungry, living lives little better, to outward appearance, than those of the cattle that toil with them by day and share their places of sleep by night. Such Asiatic standards, and such unmechanized horrors, are the lot of those who increase their numbers without passing through an industrial revolution.”

(Quotes from “The case for Ebeneezer” by Butler Shaffer.)

Bought our tree already…probably up ’till Valentines Day.
Gettin’ in the mood. (Thanks to 3 Ring Binder for a little nudge.)

Two days ago while walking in Los Gatos, I came across a number of visually striking autumn leaves. Such a treat for me as I now live on the central California coast where the trees stay green all year long. I picked up a number of them with the thought that I’d take photos now and maybe paint them later.

Aren’t they gorgeous?

And now all together:

I wondered if there was any way to preserve the leaves themselves…maybe I’d frame them in a shadow-box frame. I searched on the the web and found this site:
Pressing Fall Leaves – How to Preserve the Beauty of Fall Foliage with instructions on pressing, drying, microwaving (!), and one that intrigued me most of all–using glycerin to preserve more color as well as shape and suppleness.

Finding the glycerin was the hardest part. None of the 5 drug or grocery stores in town carry it. Neither did the local hardware store which has a lot of arts and crafts as well as cooking items. After a number of phone calls, I finally located a craft store 30 minutes away which said they stock it.  I arrived only to find out that they were out!! A single 1 oz. bottle was located for me at another store location—-yet another 30 minute drive away! Thank goodness for books-on-tape so not all was a waste of time.

That one bottle was just enough to barely cover two leaves, so I did what I probably should have done first: emailed my homeschool list. Since glycerin is used in soap-making, quite a few people had some they could spare. I quickly grabbed some from my nearest friend and immersed the other leaves I wished to preserve then ordered more on-line. Now that I know this trick, I may want to preserve even more cool stuff.  Ya just never know. Maybe I’ll even make some soap.

Last week I went for my…um, er, ahem…annual mammogram. (Turns out it had been 3  1/2 years since I had been. I couldn’t believe it. I could have sworn I had been there 2 years ago!) As luck would have it, my exam was the same day the New York Times reported on the updated breast cancer screening recommendations from the USPSTF.  I only knew of these recommendations because of reading a post on one of the blogs I try to frequent. What a great opportunity to ask my radiologist what she thought of the recommendations! She and I traded papers–she handed me the response put out by the American College of Radiologists, and I handed her a copy of the above mentioned post. My curiosity was sufficiently piqued that I spent the next three days researching and writing. You can read the results here.

But the main purpose of this post is to relate my personal experience taking the exam.

I have been going to Dr. Diana Guthaner for over 10 years to get my mammograms. Most of those years, I paid several hundred dollars out of pocket in order to have to have the test done through her office as she was not one of my insurance plan’s preferred providers. I always considered money well spent. Here’s why.

There is nothing anyone can do about the discomfort of the test. It is what is is—-as these images capture it so well:

Dr. Guthaner’s office does everything possible to make the rest of the experience as comfortable as possible.

The office staff are friendly and helpful. I am advised ahead of time to block out out about an hour and a half for the visit. After filling out the requisite forms, I am promptly escorted to the changing area, outfitted with a padded hanger, a small compartment for my clothes, and a mirror in order to assist me with the finishing touches of putting myself back together when the exam is complete. I am handed a cloth gown (no small thing in these days of cold, stiff, disposable, paper gowns) allowed to change  and then invited to sit in a small waiting area.

The waiting area is furnished with living-room style padded chairs and reading lamps, soft classical music, an assortment of magazines and a table with self-serve coffee and tea. The walls are tastefully decorated with a combination of pleasing art and educational displays.  An electric space heater keeps the area comfortably warm. There is a TV, but it is off, and a group of 3-5 women sit quietly and read while waiting.

Eventually, I am called back for my exam. It is performed quickly, and the technician apologizes profusely for the temporary discomfort I experience during the exam. We both know it is not her fault and can not be avoided, but still, its nice to have the discomfort acknowledged.

Then, back to the waiting area while the films are developed and then immediately read by the radiologist. I am one of those unfortunate few with patches of dense fibrous tissue which always requires extra views to adequately rule out the worrisome stuff.  After the radiologist is satisfied with the films, I am told to get dressed, and then within a few minutes, I meet the radiologist to review the results.

This is one of the best aspects of Dr. Guthaner’s practice. Having a mammogram can be anxiety provoking, especially if you require extra views. With rates of breast cancer one in 40 women (varies with age) most of know someone who has had breast cancer; many of know someone who has died from it. At Dr. Guthaner’s, every woman leaves the office knowing the results of the test and having had an opportunity to ask the radiologist whatever question may have arisen.

All-in-all, the experience is a positive one, and I leave reassured by the news of a negative test, and grateful for the efforts made to attend to my comfort and peace-of-mind. I can’t help but wonder how different my experience would be in Canada, or the U.K. or even in the U.S. under plans more sheltered from competition. I value the choice we have in this country, and hope that the recent political efforts do not take it away.

Oooo. I have been reveling in the art work of Eyvand Earle today.
Thought you might like to revel a bit as well.

Being a painter, I will tell you just what I try to do when I paint. Beauty is the thing we are all searching for. Exactly what beauty is I have never known anyone to be able to say exactly? As far as I know, truth is beauty, but often the truth is not beautiful. In nature when I look I see trees, some of them are such that they thrill me with their perfection and their sweeping lines and certain mood they seem to have. Windswept plains give me something that can’t be seen. In every tree I feel as though I could see the soul of that tree. It is alive. It is a person. And if beauty be related to the truth, harmony and balance must be there, and there must be movement because in nature all things move. And there are certain laws such as the law of duality. Everything has its opposite. Nothing is without its opposite. If I want a bright light in a painting, I must have a dark shadow. If I want a color to look very warm, I must have also a very cold color, and so on and on forever. But when I paint, I forget the things I know. I just sit there painting away, trying to get the feeling into my painting that I feel inside. Whatever beauty is, I feel it, and as long as I can I shall try to find more and more beauty, and to put it down so that others can see what I have seen.

–Eyvind Earle

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And if I had to choose a favorite, and thank goodness I don’t, this would be a top contender.

My daughter has to attend a performance with a full orchestra as part of an assignment for her music theory class. I am trying to talk her into Pirates of Penzance which is performing in San Jose this weekend…but since I couldn’t tempt her even after showing her this clip, I guess we won’t be going.

ARTIST: Gilbert and Sullivan
TITLE: I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General
Lyrics

[Pirates of Penzance]

I am the very model of a modern Major-General
I’ve information vegetable, animal, and mineral
I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical
From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical

I’m very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical
I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical
About binomial theorem I’m teeming with a lot o’ news
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse

With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotepotenuse

I’m very good at integral and differential calculus
I know the scientific names of beings animalculous
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral
I am the very model of a modern Major-General

In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral
He is the very model of a modern Major-General

I know our mythic history, King Arthur’s and Sir Caradoc’s
I answer hard acrostics, I’ve a pretty taste for paradox
I quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus
In conics I can floor peculiarities parabolous

I can tell undoubted Raphaels from Gerard Dows and Zoffanies
I know the croaking chorus from the Frogs of Aristophanes
Then I can hum a fugue of which I’ve heard the music’s din afore
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore

And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinapinafore

Then I can write a washing bill in Babylonic cuneiform
And tell you ev’ry detail of Caractacus’s uniform
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral
I am the very model of a modern Major-General

In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral
He is the very model of a modern Major-General

In fact, when I know what is meant by “mamelon” and “ravelin”
When I can tell at sight a Mauser rifle from a javelin
When such affairs as sorties and surprises I’m more wary at
And when I know precisely what is meant by “commissariat”

When I have learnt what progress has been made in modern gunnery
When I know more of tactics than a novice in a nunnery
In short, when I’ve a smattering of elemental strategy
You’ll say a better Major-General had never sat a gee

You’ll say a better Major-General had never sat a gee
You’ll say a better Major-General had never sat a gee
You’ll say a better Major-General had never sat a sat a gee

For my military knowledge, though I’m plucky and adventury
Has only been brought down to the beginning of the century
But still, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral
I am the very model of a modern Major-General

But still, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral
He is the very model of a modern Major-General

3 Ring Binder has a post on an artist no one should miss: Eyvand Earle. (Seriously, click that link and watch the short video.) Along with reminding me of my own memorable introduction to Earle’s work (check the comments to her post for my brief story), she also provides an intriguing analysis of one image and her attempt to recreate something with a similar feel. It helped me look and think more deeply.

Here’s a few of my favorite pieces from Earle’s gallery website, just to give you a taste.

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Thin and straight and pure and clear

My friend my love both far and near

Herself a poem for all to share

A queen a beauty everywhere

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Some say that there is time

Some say there’s not

Some see reason and a rhyme

For what we’ve got

Some say that there is hope

And some don’t see it

Some can’t even cope

Therefore so be it

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One ray of sunlight splashes on the hills

Before it disappears below the sea

As fading sunlight over the mountain spills

Lighting the top of every single tree

The weather has been warm and calm lately, inviting many walks on the beach and the bluffs overlooking it. I rarely go alone, so in addition to exercise and enjoyment of my beautiful environment, I get to revel in companionship.

Sunday, I was able to capture two of my favorite birds on camera. The third is one which I frequently get to see, but have been unable to get on my own so I am posting a clip from youtube.

1. Miss Clavel birds.
Whenever these silly shorebirds scurry away from a wave, which ends up happening quite a lot, it reminds me of the way Miss Clavel (from the book Madeline) leans forward as she rushes from place to place.

2. Snowy egret
My chickens strut when they walk, jabbing their heads forward with each step, but it never is a graceful as this long-necked bird.

3. White-tailed kite
Fall is hawk-migration time and I frequently get to see these gorgeous birds soaring and hovering above the field between my house and the bluffs. The black and white markings are stunning. Some day I hope to get my own clip of this.

1. My Dad- WWII

2.My Grandfather- WWI

3. My Great Uncle – WWI

3+. My father-in-law   WWII (photo not available yet.)

I am grateful for their courage to fight for our freedom, and for the fact that they survived.

(I am also grateful to Rational Jenn for the idea of this tribute.)

Addendum 11/13/09: Catching up on my reading, I came across the following excellent summary of “What We Owe Our Soldiers“:

What we owe these men who fight so bravely for their and our freedom is to send them to war only when that freedom is truly threatened, and to make every effort to protect their lives during war–by providing them with the most advantageous weapons, training, strategy, and tactics possible.