Winnie the Pooh

For those of you who have not recently reread these immortal classic by A.A. Milne, they are hilarious, totally worthy of the critical attention given them in the Pooh Perplex, and Postmodern Pooh. As part of the ongoing struggle to get Miriam to sleep, I have been reading to her at bedtime and since we have so few books here, a chapter book which lasts a couple of weeks makes more sense than a picture book where you can read three or four in one sitting. (Gwyn is totally uninterested and has to be put to bed in the other room.) The Pooh books are fun because they work on so many different levels. Miriam usually gets what Pooh can't figure out and thinks it's funny (dramatic irony). I love the dialogue, particularly with Rabbit and Eyore, which is classic social satire. Its hard to remember why everyone was enchanted before they became soulless, over marketed Disney phenomena.
Anyway, we just finished the Winnie the Pooh and the House at Pooh Corner. Next on the list are Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Little House in the Big Woods.

Blog #2

The title for my blog is Miriam's suggestion. Other options were, "not my dissertation," but that title will hopefully be obsolete in a couple years, or something very boring, like Jesse's blog, or something to do with the environment, since I am planning posting links to environmental sites I like, etc. To start out, here are the two organizations that I participate in most

moveon.org - I generally find that I agree with most of their positions on issues. Although, like lots of liberals, they sometimes have trouble imagining how they come off to most people. I find that it is a great way to keep informed about issues that I care about, and participate, however minimally, in the political process.

Union of Concerned Scientists - Since environmental issues are the most important political issues for me, I find that I agree with almost everything these guys send me. They take a very pragmatic approach, which is nice.