What's Goin' On ...

A few little things that I wanted to share ... and they just might add up to a blog post.

Two Great Podcasts - Myths of Ancient Greece and Legends of King Arthur
Paul Vincent began retelling the Greek myths to his children and then, luckily for us, he began recording them for a podcast, Myths and History of Ancient Greece. Now that he's finished the myths and begun on Greek history, he has begun a new podcast about Legends of King Arthur and His Knights. When those are done he'll follow them up with the corresponding British history.

These are great not only for the entire family but for adults as well. Paul Vincent's storytelling style brings a smile to my face because he manages to communicate so much, so simply but so well. If you have any interest in either subject, give these a try. Get them through iTunes or the links above.

Vocation is a Lack of Obstacles
Scott mentioned this to me once and I think it is a valid criteria. Certainly, we were all wondering what the deciding element would be to whether Rose stays in L.A. for a while. Until a couple of days ago, we were planning to drive out and help her move when her lease was up in August. That was all any of us had to go on in the fluctuating world of free lance work, apartment leases, and week-to-week uncertainty.

Then, suddenly, within a few days everything began to fall into place. Free lance work lined up for several months, a friend in need of living quarters replaced a departing roommate ... and so forth and so on. Ok, that's not vocation. But it certainly was an answer to prayer about "a sign, Lord, any sign..." and so we will not be driving across Death Valley in August (which I take to be another very good sign).

The Stars My Destination and Alfred Bester
I was telling my mother that Scott and I recorded our Demolished Man podcast this morning and we began talking about Alfred Bester's novels. As I've mentioned on the podcast, I read them because my parents had them sitting around the house when I was a kid. Which always seems to surprise people. Hey, my parents were sf fans from waaay back...

My mother told me that she keeps a copy of The Stars My Destination in her purse. Whenever she's stuck in a line she pulls it out to read. And when she gets to the end, she begins it again. She said that there's so much in there, you always see something new each time around.

Love it! I want to be like my mom when I'm her age.

My New Favorite Pen
I was picking up some yarn at a craft store and happened across the sketching section. I'm always looking in vain for a decent pen and suddenly realized that if there would be one anywhere, it should be here. I found Paper Mate InkJoy pens and I must say they are a smooth, satisfying writing experience.

Juvenile Grackles
Morning walks are extra fun these days because there are lots of juveniles out and about. Slender, skittering robins, mockingbirds, squirrels, and more can be seen everywhere. A special favorite of mine are the young grackles who are seen squawking, fluttering wings, and opening mouths wide to their mothers ... who are unconcernedly grabbing food and using it to entice the babies to feed themselves. After an attempt has been made, mom stuffs something into the wide open mouth, flutters somewhere nearby, and the whole routine begins again. It makes me smile every time.

Speaking of Squawking - Monk Parakeets / Quaker Parrots
I have mentioned before that we have wild parrots living near the neighborhood, thanks to nearby White Rock Lake. We were charmed this weekend that some were spending time in the neighbor's tree. I wondered if perhaps there were a nest and hatchlings. A few days later and we are considerably less charmed with the continual squawking. Flying, roosting, eating, or whatever ... all seem to require a lot of conversation. Tom feels as if our outdoors has turned into a large pet shop since the noise is reminiscent of one. However, I still enjoy trying to see if there's a nest up in that live oak tree. I can't think of any other reason that some of them would suddenly settle down there.