Random Post #1

You see, a post is only random if it is labeled as such ...

First off, this in an excerpt from an email my sister sent. I love that so many in the world try to keep up the Santa spirit:

In addition to providing missile warnings and air defense for the United States and Canada, NORAD tracks Santa's progress. It all started when a Colorado department store printed the wrong phone number for a "Santa hotline" on a promotional flyer, and CONAD (NORAD's predecessor) was flooded with calls from children eager to talk to Santa. Rather than disappoint them, the staff took it upon themselves to track Santa on their radar and keep the kids informed of his whereabouts.

Nowadays, you can keep tabs on Santa on NORAD's Web site:

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In other random news: I finished The Kite Runner. I was not impressed. It entertained me, but the story was missing something. Haven't put my finger on it yet. Maybe it was too predictable? I'm pretty dense when it comes to symbolism...perhaps I missed something that should have been obvious? I would recommend it, only because it is an interesting peek into a culture that becomes more important everyday.

I also picked up and finished The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. Christmas knitting has left me with a lot of time to read and watch old movies. This was my bookclub's December selection. I enjoyed this one and read it in about four days. There is no end to the misery a family can cause you. I truly identified with the attachment to the Earth. I may not be as OCD as the main character, however, I do feel this tie to the land and environment. I get a bit grumpy if I stay inside too much.

I'm off to read the Oprah notes on the novel, in hope that I'll gain some new insight. Dare to mock me and I will put a pox on your head. Whatever beef anyone has about Oprah, she has been great at spreading literacy among adults. Her most recent picks have all been classics, albeit, of the trashy romance novel type. Which I happen to think are the most fun to read. East of Eden, trash. The Good Earth, all about the sex. And now, I've picked up Anna Karenina....25 pages in and we've already got tortured love and affairs amuck. Ahhh Love, the feeling that spans place and time. All in all of the three Oprah picks that I've read (or am reading) there are/is a lot of sexual tension and affairs in many of these picks. However, this doesn't mean that they are not wonderful books, classics that have brought inspirations to others.

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On the end of the year list/book front:

I recently came across this site. It compiles all of the Best of Book Lists into one tidy list. I think I'm over the whole "best of thing." (I'm so fickle.) Having not read most of the novels listed it's hard to judge whether they deserve the acclaim. I do love Phillip Roth and have been thumbing his latest book since it came out. Curse that damn book allowance!

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Lastly, I purchased two knitting books. Thank you all for your suggestions. I picked up Vogue Knitting and Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns. There is a third on backorder; I'm hoping it'll come in before I loose my discount (next week!) I finished The Good Earth while at the bookstore earlier this week. I decided I was going to pick up a new fiction book (in spite of the stacks I have to read at home.) I thought that I should try to find one of the many that you all have recommended in my comments the past few months. Get this, none of them were in the store?! Crazy huh? So, I went home and pulled Anna Karenina off the shelf. Nice light reading for the holiday season. Humph.