Cartoon captions: ongoing monthly contests

I was raised in a family that subscribed to The New Yorker. I’d gotten out of the habit of reading it until a friend mentioned it in reference to the current cartoon caption contest. Here’s the link to the magazine http://www.newyorker.com/ It will take you a while to scroll down to the link for the cartoon contest because, of course, you’ll have to read all the cartoons and articles on the way!

Recently read: Arnaldo Correa’s Cold Havana Ground

I’ve been on a kick lately of reading Cuban writers. They offer a glimpse into a world that seems to me to be frozen in time, yet the people have still worked and laughed and written and dreamed. This novel depicts through a masterful plot and in-depth characters the complex melding of religions and ethnic groups in Cuba. Correa describes the Cuban-Chinese community and their secret societies, as well as the mysteries and rites of the Regla de Osha also known as Santeria, which is an old religion rooted in Western Africa. We are able to participate in a meeting of the Abakua Secret Society, be inside the Palero (priest), and wander the decaying grounds of old mansions whose owners prospered under Batista. I’m going to track down more of Correa’s books to read more about this fascinating world that exists in our midst.

The Great October Tradition

Images from www.doverpublishing.com

All the intricacies of the season are explained at this site devoted to pumpkin carving: http://www.pumpkincarving101.com/pumpkin_carving_stencils.html A great way to satisfy your artistic urges, plus then you can roast the seeds and satisfy your hunger!

Today is . . .

Photo of pumpkin patch in Western Wisconsin by Alan Clare.

Today is . . . muted magenta with dew beaded on velvet surfaces, the scent of earth and wood, green tea and peppers, chill breezes and fading leaves, movement in vines and the sound of light saxophones mourning the early dusk.

See September 21, 2008 for the genesis of my “today is . . . ” postings.

Recently read: Henning Mankell’s Before the Frost

I love Mankell’s Kurt Wallander series. In this, Wallander’s daughter, Linda, has just completed police training and is waiting for her new job with the Skane police force to begin. In the meantime, she’s back living with her father until her new apartment is ready, and she just can’t keep away from police business. Especially when her friends are involved. Linda has flitted in and out of earlier books and adds a nice dimension to this one, as we get to see Wallander through her eyes. As usual, this Swedish police procedural is well-written, griping, complex and carries the reader along through the mud and stones of the south coast of Sweden. We dip into Copenhagen as we follow a series of attacks on animals, and then murdered women start joining the ranks of dead birds and pets. To find the people responsible takes us into the past and around the world and back again.

Michael Perry--our favorite local writer

In Western Wisconsin, Michael Perry is our literary hero. If you haven't ever heard him speak, you're in for a treat. On Wednesday, October 29, he'll be reading from one of his earlier books, Population: 485, at the Memorial Student Center on the campus of UW-Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin. The event will begin at 7 p.m. in the Terrace on the upper level of the Center. If you can't make it, then you can get some good laughs on his web site and his public television "Clodhopper Reports" at http://www.sneezingcow.com/index.htm

Seeing the world through other eyes

Sail somewhere new today--on the Internet, in your imagination, via a book, or in actuality.

I enjoy learning what other people think, how they see the world, and what they do. I think being open to other people, other cultures, and other ideas is especially important in today's world no matter where you live. Writers by nature are curious, so I love to visit other writers’ blogs and sites and read their poems, stories, articles, postings, and thoughts. Here are some places I’ve been traveling to lately:

Naval Langa lives in India and has a wide variety of blogs ranging from fiction to news commentaries to Bollywood. See http://cleanfiction.blogspot.com/ for short stories and book reviews.

John Guzlowski lives in Virginia and writes about a host of things. He has chronicled in verse his parents as they journeyed from a Nazi labor camp to Chicago. Their story is in his book Lightening and Ashes. See http://everythings-jake.blogspot.com/

Bathsheba Monk lives in Pennsylvania and is a teacher and a writer, and of course a blogger. See http://www.bathshebamonk.blogspot.com/