The Child in Time

I've been trying to read all of the books on my shelves. You know, the ones that you don't remember when or where you got them, and they hold surprisingly little appeal considering you actually own them? Anyway, The Child in Time by Ian McEwan was one of those. I think I bought it used for freshman English, I know I never read it, and since my copy doesn't even have a summary on the back I had no idea what it was about.

As it turns out, this is an amazingly powerful novel, and I could not be happier I read it. Not that this is a pick-me-up by any stretch. McEwan's powerful prose and his portrayal of raw human emotion brought me to tears more than once. Once I got into the story, I flew through it. I'm looking forward to reading more of his prolific bibliography.

The setting is a near-future dystopian London. Successful children's author Stephen Lewis is on an ordinary trip to the supermarket with his 3-year-old daughter Kate. Through absolutely no fault of his own, she disappears, and the course of his life is irrevocably altered. Stephen and his wife, Julie, spiral into very different cycles of grief that cause their marriage to disintegrate. Julie moves out of their apartment and becomes a recluse. Stephen spends the majority of his time drinking scotch, with a small government committee as his only responsibility. The book is not a story about Stephen's fruitless search for his daughter, but rather a philosophical journey through a man's emotional growth.

A pivotal theme of the book is that time is fluid. Moments can stretch into hours, entire experiences can contract into seconds, and it always comes down to perspective. During the year after Kate's disappearance, Stephen ultimately comes to grips with both his own existence, as well as the knowledge that his daughter will not return. The book is about memory, childhood, depression, and about the real possibility of moving on.

Going long in season tickets

My sweet husband, for all that is wonderful about him, does have at least one flaw. Namely, he is a Jets fan. Big time. After going to a game here or there, we've had season tickets to the Jets for the past few years. And even my Bronco-fan self can admit it... It's a lot of fun.

As you may or may not be aware, the Jets and the Giants are building a fancy-pants new stadium. Not only has this turned parking into a disaster for the past two years, but they have come up with the most piggish way to extort money from their loyal fans that I've ever heard of! In order to retain their season tickets, the majority of holders must purchase "Personal Seat Licenses" for between $4-25k per ticket! That, of course, is on top of the cost of the tickets and parking. Lucky for those of us in the nosebleeds, we have no PSL requirements - just a healthy bump in face values.

In addition to this drama, my number came up this year for Broncos season tickets. So we've got (count 'em) two different sets of pro football season tickets. It's a little insane. OK, a lot insane. We're planning to unload the Broncos tickets to friends (if you're interested, please speak up!), hopefully catch a game over the holidays, and use the Broncos website to get rid of the rest. At the end of the year, we'll assess whether it was too much of a pain for us to keep the tickets and do it again. Ah, the glamor of sports fandom!

The Obama-Biden ticket

I was very happy with this morning's news that Biden has been selected as Obama's running mate. In particular, I think his extensive legislative experience will prove invaluable to Obama. Obama's vision and ability to inspire will only take him so far. Once elected, he'll have no choice but to work within the Washington bureaucracy and process. He'll need the support of his cabinet and Congress in order to move his agenda forward. Biden's years in the Senate will be well suited to helping Obama navigate this. I fully agree with David Brooks' excellent piece in yesterday's Times. Smart job on this one, Obama. Now let's get this general election show on the road!

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, via DailyLit

I just finished reading my 51st and final installment of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, via the DailyLit service.

First, my thoughts on DailyLit. In a nutshell, I liked it, but only as a complement (not a replacement) to reading traditional books. The biggest detraction is that the reader does not have control over how much or how little she chooses to read in a single sitting. There is a link to request the next segment immediately, but it's just not the same as turning the pages yourself. On the plus side, I was able to read an extra book over the course of two months, without putting any additional strain on my already tight schedule. I certainly would not recommend this for a very long or complex book, but it served quite well for this children's classic.

As for the book itself, I am embarrassed to admit that I had no idea that the movie diverged so greatly from the book! The book is fantastic - no wonder it immediately became a classic. It's very dark, quite violent at times, and paints the four geographic quadrants of Oz as very distinct lands. Dorothy is much younger than in the movie, Glinda doesn't save them from the poppy fields, and the winged monkeys aren't evil! On the other hand, the Wizard is still a fake, the scarecrow, tinman and lion had to learn they always had what they desired, and Toto's still pretty useless. As with any movie, a great deal of detail and many sub-plots were left out due to time and expense. The biggest difference is that there is no question in the book that Oz is, in fact, a real place. Dorothy did not dream the entire adventure; she actually returned to Kansas.

Having read the book, I now understand the basis for the thirteen sequels that Baum wrote. I'm very pleased that we have several of the set that Joker read as a little boy, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with the Bug! And replacing our missing copies may well become my new eBay project!

Quick notes on work

I'm almost through my third week on the job, and I wanted to quickly say that things are going great. There is no shortage of work to be done, and most of it is really interesting... It certainly helps that even the most mundane task is more amusing when you're in the music business! Fuse has put together a great team of people, we've got a lot of opportunity in front of us, and I am thrilled to be here.

More detail soon, I promise!

Sippy cup breakthrough

The Bug has been very resistant to using a sippy cup for anything other than smashing food on her tray. Since she's not even 15 months old yet, I've pretty much not worried about it. She'll start using a cup eventually. This weekend we finally made some progress - she watched me pour her milk into the sippy cup, and was actually excited to drink out of it! We're no where near 100%, but it is a step in the right direction.

Five-year reflections

This Saturday marked Joker and my fifth anniversary. I've been thinking a lot about the time we have spent together starting our family, the fun we have had, the beautiful places we have seen, and the adventures to come. I am so incredibly lucky in every aspect of our relationship. We have such a great time together, we've got the sweetest little Bug, and we truly love and trust each other. The first five years have been wonderful; I can't wait to see what the next five will bring!