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Holy Saturday & Easter Sunday Worship Services

holy saturdayRead the Gospel for Holy SaturdayHoly Saturday | Easter Vigil, 8pm

Possibly the most beautiful service of the church year, the Easter Vigil begins outside in our courtyard with the kindling of a fire from which the paschal candle is lit. From that candle each person lights their candle as the service begins in darkness. While still in the tomb we read of God’s saving work throughout history.

We then enter the sacrament of baptism and as we are pulled from that watery grave, we reign in Easter with the setting and adornment of the altar, lighting the altar candles, organ fanfare, and illuminating the worship area before we celebrate that first Easter Eucharist. The service actually takes us from death to new life and we really experience that Easter moment.

If you have not been to the Vigil, please consider making it your Easter celebration. Also, following the service, Lent is officially over, we will celebrate with a champagne and chocolate reception in the parish hall. Continue reading “Holy Saturday & Easter Sunday Worship Services”

Holy Week | Worship Services

stations of the cross-1

Read the Gospel for Good FridayGood Friday | Stations of the Cross, 12pm | Good Friday Liturgy, 7pm

At noon we gather in the nave and tell the story of Christ’s crucifixion as an acolyte moves from station to station as we read and respond to each event. The readings for each station are distributed to members of the congregation prior to the beginning of the service.

Our poignant 7pm service begins in silence and includes a reading of the Passion according to John, solemn prayer, and then the veneration of the cross. Continue reading “Holy Week | Worship Services”

Holy Week | Worship Services

ash wednesday-3Read the Gospel for Maundy ThursdayMaundy Thursday | 7pm

Eucharist with foot washing and the stripping of the altar.

There is heaviness in the air as Jesus gathers his closest friends with the knowledge this will be the last meal they will share together on this side of the grave. We also remember that on this night Jesus washed his friends feet and to illustrate his new commandment that we love one another the way that he had loved them. Then after we break bread together for the last time before Easter, we acknowledge Christ’s impending death by stripping the altar and departing in silence. Continue reading “Holy Week | Worship Services”

What Your Children Learned: February 28

Godly Play- 1st-2nd Grade | “The Faces of Easter III & IV

Last Week’s lesson, “The Faces of Easter” Lessons I & II painted a picture of Jesus, from birth through his childhood. Even then he had a clear understanding of the work he came to accomplish. Everything was falling into place for Jesus as was intended by God. He was born to Mary and Joseph, spent his time learning and teaching in the temple. As we move on to Lesson III & IV this week, the children will see the third plaque in the series, the first of Jesus as a grown man, about 30 years old. At this time in his life, Jesus went to his cousin John and was baptized in the Jordan River. After being claimed by god as His “Beloved Son”, Jesus left that place and began his 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness. In Lesson IV, Jesus faces enormous temptations while he is in the wilderness. After resisting the temptations of the Devil, Jesus left the wilderness to prepare for the work he was about to do. In the coming weeks, we’ll hear more about his preparation and what exactly that work would be.

Pre K-K & 3rd-5th | Gospel: Luke 13:1-9 “The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree”

Before the Gospel of Luke retells Jesus’ parable about a fruitless fig tree, the story starts out like this. News came to Jesus about some Jewish people from Galilee who come to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices but had been killed by the Roman governor’s troops. Jesus asked his audience: “Do you think that these people were worse sinners than all the other people of Galilee because they suffered this way?” He then answered his own question, “No.” But he added, “Unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” Then Jesus told a parable: A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard. Although it looked healthy, with spreading branches and green leaves, it yielded no fruit. The man told his gardener, “For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?” The gardener was reluctant to cut the tree down if it could be made to bear fruit. He requested that it be left for one more year and promised to dig around it and fertilize it. Then if it bore fruit, “well and good,” but if not, it would be cut down. The fig tree parable was a call for the people of Israel to repent. The “one more year” requested by the vinedresser meant that Israel still had time. Jesus’ way of telling them, to “get their act together”.

What Your Children Learned | February 21

Godly Play | 1st & 2nd Grade | “The Faces of Easter I & II

This week, the children in this class will continue their journey through Lent by exploring the Faces of the Easter Season. The first lesson’s focus is on Jesus as a newborn baby. The plaque, with the faces of Mary and Joseph is our first look at the life of Jesus. From birth, Jesus had an incredible mission and purpose ahead of him. This picture of baby Jesus marks the beginning of his journey toward the cross. The second “Face of Easter” plaque takes the class through Jesus’ boyhood and some of the unusual things that happened as he grew up. One time when Jesus was about 12 years old, he disappeared and it worried his mother and father very much. Later they found him in the Temple, a place where he was closer to God, a place he called “His Father’s House”. Over the next four weeks, the faces will change, and the stories will be different as we continue with Jesus as he journeys toward the cross.

Gospel | Pre K-K 3rd-5th | Luke 13: 22-35 | “Jesus’ Sorrow for Jerusalem”

The lesson from today’s Gospel, being a very short two verses, is tough to gather everything we need for this lesson. So for the children, we will take a look in the verses both before and after the specified reading from Luke. In the verses leading up to this, Jesus is traveling on his way to the city of Jerusalem. He is still a few days away. He went through the “towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem”. At one point on his trip, a group of Pharisees came up to Jesus and encouraged him to leave. They indicated his life was in danger! “Leave this place and go somewhere else,” they said. “Herod wants to kill you”. Jesus wasn’t too concerned about Herod. Jesus was determined to get to Jerusalem, and the Pharisees’ threat about Herod wasn’t going to alter any of Jesus’ plans. It was clear neither Herod nor the Pharisees were going to keep Jesus from getting to Jerusalem. As Jesus thought upon the magnificent city, he realized that the city was not living up to the expectations God desired for it.

Advent Reflections: December 22nd

advent reflections (2)My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior. -Luke 1:47

What a profound and commanding statement!

Think about it. Do you, do we, do I have the capacity to feel such love and passion for our Lord? While we ‘believe’ in God, and we are ‘thankful’ for all God has given to us, only God’s full unconditional love for us could create such deep emotions and conviction.

To take one’s ‘Soul’ to ‘magnify’ the Lord, and to have your ‘Spirit’, your deepest and truest essence,‘rejoice’ in the Lord – must be one of the greatest feelings we can achieve here on this earth. I can only scratch the surface with my imagination of what awaits us in His kingdom.

– Anonymous SJEC parishioner

Advent Reflections: December 20th

advent reflections (2)And Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord. -Luke 1:45

So Mary, a young teenage girl, is engaged to a carpenter. Like all “good” girls of the time, she was a virgin. And we know that a woman’s marriageable worth, at the time, lay in her lineage and her virginity. Out of nowhere, this angel comes along and declares that God has seen her faith and she’s going to bear the savior of the world. And according to Luke, everything sort of goes swimmingly — Elizabeth’s child leaps in the womb, blessings and faith are happily professed, Mary says a lot of profound things …

Just one question, what happened to the rest of the story? I imagine Mary, who was said to be “perplexed” had a great deal more than that going on in her young head. How many teenagers find life an easy and simple ride to begin with. Add a vision, an out of wedlock pregnancy, a strained relationship with her fiancé and a forced journey to the mix and you more than likely had one freaked out teenager. And how exactly did the talk with her family go, “well, mom and dad, there was this angel, and …”

It’s complicated – like our lives are complicated, and yet we’re told there was great faith. Somehow in all of this, she stood strong.

Perhaps faith happened in one swift moment as the text implies. But I’m guessing it actually took time to deal with all those intense feelings — fear, joy, anxiety, anticipation — time to sort through the complications and time before she gave this tangle over to God. I wonder if her faith came to her, as faith comes to so many of us, because she believed that only God could make sense of this great upheaval and radical change in her life. It had to be a tough and emotional journey. And here’s what I think about this untold part of the story. The idea of struggle makes her faith all the more beautiful, all the more “blessed,” because it makes it understandable.

– Dorothy Smith, Senior High Youth Leader

Advent Reflections: December 13th

“John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” -Luke 3:16

Of course we know now that the Baptism that John the Baptist spoke of and demonstrated then still lives in our midst, only now as one of our greatest and most celebrated ceremonies in our modern church. But besides being a prophet, John was someone who wasn’t afraid and in turn started a movement.

As I sit and think of how I relate to this scripture, and self-reflect in regards to how I can use it to better  myself, I find something very interesting. John listened to God, prepared himself for the journey ahead, and spoke what he felt to others. He did this unapologetically in fact, and  you could say he just “went for it”.

As I worked to help a wonderful group of volunteers prepare bread in the parish hall on a Friday nearly a month ago, I remember a conversation I had with Colin Borgstrom. He shared with me a story in regards to “feeling called” to bake the bread for this ministry. He shared this feeling with his wife, and without hesitation, or maybe a little… they began to work to make it happen.

I think we can all learn from these stories. Sometimes we might not feel adequately equipped or prepared for certain “adventures”, but I would argue that neither were those who dropped everything to travel the distance for the visitation of the newborn baby born in Bethlehem.

Sometimes, we just have to “go for it”.

– John Knouse, Director of Family Ministries.

Men’s Retreat | December 5th

Saturday, December 5th, from 9am-12pm

Join Fr. Ben for a morning of discussion and fellowship as we begin a new church year. This year we will discuss the first two chapters of Luke anticipating the birth of our Lord and how we use the text to prepare ourselves.  The retreat will be hosted by Scott Christian – just 10 miles north of Warrenton. Please email the church office if you are interested.


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Thursday, October 3, 2013

Pretty vs Beautiful

One of the wonderful nuggets I borrowed from my mother-in-law before she died is the quirk of describing bad behavior as "ugly".  As in, "do not throw your toast on the floor, that is ugly!" It has saved me from calling behavior (or the perp) "bad" or "stupid", both words I try not to use in my parenting.

But it has opened up another great conversation for me with my kids about looks vs. actions.  My daughter, age 4, often asks me if what she is wearing is "beautiful".  My standard response is "your behavior makes you beautiful, sweetheart, but that dress is pretty on you."  This works for now, in these confidence-infused preschool years.  She still believes me and doesn't really question the difference between "pretty" and "beautiful".

A young pal of mine has been struggling with this distinction recently.  She is the offspring of a bi-racial marriage and, as so often biracial kids are, she is a gorgeous girl, with creamy tan skin and hair that can do just about anything, from cloud-like to curly to Breck-girl straight.

She's also a pre-teen, which means that she's surrounded by pre-teen girls who are, as a general rule, ugly.  I do not mean this in a physical sense, but rather as my mother-in-law would use the term.  They are mean, insensitive, hateful, vitriolic.  And so my little friend, with her can't-be-boxed-in genetic makeup, has been the recent target of some nastiness.

It steams me.  Seriously.  I'm not even her mother and I wanted to find the little turds and clobber them.  This is, of course, not helpful in the least, so I reminded her (through her mom) that she's made by a God who doesn't make mistakes.  It won't help right now, but maybe when she's a grown up she'll remember that good folks had her back and she'll remember to be beautiful, not just pretty.

But hearing about her struggle reminded me of my own ugliness.  These days, a few years beyond my own pre-teen angst, I turn my ugly behavior to the woman I put eyeliner on every morning, berating myself for the extra chips and queso I chowed down the previous night, scowling at the road map of stretch marks crawling across my abdomen, grousing about my sub-standard wardrobe and scarred knees.

I am my own mean girl.

I'm not alone in this.  It's true of many women I know.  I have friends that are kind, loving, supportive and helpful to one another and seriously hateful to themselves.    We nitpick and judge.  We compare our 30-something selves to our 20-something selves, never favorably.

I've internalized the voices that I heard as a middle schooler.  I never thought it would happen.  I'm a feminist, after all.  I have a daughter, after all.  I know better.  I know about skin-deep and behavior and scars are a sign of a life well-lived and stretch marks are trophies and all that BS.  But as I really start to age and my body starts to show the hard wear I've inflicted on it, running, babies, sun, etc, my mean girl comes out.  It is as hard to admit as it is to live through.

The two practices that I find myself working toward in recent years are balance and gentleness.  I achieve neither on a regular basis, but I get them each from time to time.  And over and over, I find gentleness is much easier to practice on others.  Much much harder to offer it to myself.  So I'm going to work on pointing gentleness back in my own direction from time to time.

I do, after all, practice beauty.  I am--often even-- beautiful, even when I'm not so pretty.  In truth, much like what I tell my kids, I would rather be beautiful-- kind, just, gentle, strong, compassionate-- than pretty.  Beauty lasts while, as I am learning, pretty doesn't.  I want both.  I can't always have them.  But I can choose beauty, just like I'm teaching my kids to do, but I can direct it to myself.

Recently, the previously mentioned 4-year-old said to me-- while I was putting on makeup, no less-- "Mommy, you are beautiful." To be honest, I was only half listening in the mad rush of the morning get-er-done.  "Thank you, sweetheart," I said, distractedly.  "You're beautiful because you love me," she contiued,  "And that's beautiful behavior."  And right there in the bathroom, with a towel on my head, in my old holey bathrobe, she was right.  The opportunity that I have to love that kid does make me more beautiful.  Scars and all.

She gets it.  For now.   Now I'm the one that needs to remember the lesson, to store it up for the days that are surely coming when I've GOT to get over my own petty pretty complex in order to bear her up when some other little girl tells her that her legs are too short, her hair is too brown, her smile is too wide.  I'll have to remind her that she is beautiful because she loves me, and that's beautiful behavior, even if she's having a hard time loving herself.  It won't be enough to counteract the pre-teen turds around her, but it might teach her a lesson in gentleness and beauty that she can put to use a few years later.

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Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Beach Time on Saipan

I always have slightly mixed emotions about trade wind season on Saipan. Yes the cool breezes are definitely a welcome relief from the scorching heat that we experience through the summer, and I do love going out and watching the big waves rolling in and crashing on the reef line. But the diver and underwater photographer in me realizes that it means that conditions will be much more challenging, and because of strong currents and surge it means it will be much more difficult to steady the camera and get good pictures. I had a friend call me the other day and tell me about an experience he had as a result of some pretty strong rip currents. Conditions can change drastically at a dive site from day to day or even hour to hour with changing tides and currents. The power of the ocean is not something to be trifled with and deserves your utmost respect. Especially during trade wind season, be sure to always dive with someone who is very familiar with the tides and changing currents at the various dive sites. This is a very familiar site along many of the island beaches. A family enjoying some time in one of the natural swimming holes. It's a great way to beat the heat and just have some fun on a Saturday afternoon. You see the water cascading down the table rocks in the top of the picture. This shot is from Marine Beach in Kagman. The beauty on the beaches is not confined to the water though. These beautiful purple flowers and plants grow naturally along many of our beaches and are actually a very important part of the environment. These plants and their root systems help to keep the sand in place and from being eroded and washed down into the ocean. That is important because the sea turtles need the sand on the beaches in order to come up and lay their eggs and then bury them in the sand. The more you learn about the ecosystem and our environment the more you begin to realize that all of the things that occur there naturally are there for a reason.
You can find wild flowers like this one all over the island. This particular one was on the road leading back to Wing Beach. It is part of a vine that was crawling up the shrub trees on the sides of the road. I couldn't quite reach it to get a good picture, so I backed my pick-up up a bit to it and then got out and stood on the sides of the bed to get a little closer to it. I still wasn't real happy with the angle, but considering all the wind and the circumstances, not a bad shot. Another of the little flowers that makes the drive back to Wing Beach so enchanting and magical. It's very easy to just drive past all these flowers and never even notice them, but it's very rewarding if you take time to stop and take a look. Since I don't have my dive camera at the moment, I figured I might as well showcase some of the sights that you see on the way to the dive and at the dive site itself. This is the view looking down the beach at Wing Beach. I don't know what those concrete pilings are or what they were part of originally, but they are one of the distinguishing sights that let's you know you're at Wing Beach. This is also a favorite beach for those who want to just catch a few rays of sunshine or take a refreshing dip in the ocean, especially if you're looking for some peace and quiet and a spot where you can have a stretch of beach all to yourself. This is looking out of one of the many little caves that dot the cliff line at Wing Beach. It's a very cool spot if you feel like climbing around on the rocks and looking in all the various little nooks and crannies. One thing about crawling around in this little caves though is you need to watch out, because you're bound to bump into one of these. Now he could probably care less about me, but it totally creeps me out to have one of those guys crawling around on my shaved head. But again, if you take the time to look at them up close, some of the spiders are pretty cool creatures and very intricate. As you move further down the beach at Wing Beach, you get away from the sand and come to the rocky cliff line. There are always little critters that like to hang around these rocks in the water, everything from eels, to starfish, to sea cucumbers to mantis shrimp. The beauty is not only under the water, and maybe I just had to have my underwater camera taken away for a couple weeks to focus on what else is out there.

O. Calimbas said...

Okay, okay already. You've got an awesome camera. Geez.

Just joking. Awesome photos. I went for a simple swim to the semi-submerged tank at Kilili yesterday. I know, it's nothing compared to what you guys do. I don't dive, and I haven't been to Forbidden Island yet. I'd like to, but I guess my point is that, for the nature-challenged like myself, even I can get out and snorkel a bit. And the fish at the tank are a marvel to see.

Bob Abela said...

A good post Harry. You're comments about the heavier, less predictable seas during this time of year are appreciated.

I like it. The algae blooms tend to subside, the visibility improves, and the heavier surf flushes the reefs clean. It's refreshing.

bigsoxfan said...

I quess it's safe to say you are enjoying your new camera. We are as well. Erdene never had a chance to see forbidden island and is a tad miffed we never visited now. She did see a turtle at the Bird Island overlook, so she's a bit mollified. Looking forward to seeing how your new tool performs in the briny deep. Better than the cell phone, I'll bet.

Brad said...

Harry, I've never been to "Marine Beach" in Kagman....where is that? I only know about Tank Beach.

Also, I still have to make it out to Forbidden Island so the next time you're making that trek, give me a call! Pleeeeeeeeease!

Bruce A. Bateman said...

That is a nice overview (no pun) of Wing Beach, HArry. Thanks. Those currents are especially tricky getting in and out of Wing if done as a shore dive. Coming out and in on that rope by the curved cliff line which somtimnes other divers remove while you are under) gives me the creeps. (The spiders I don't mind).

Tinian 2 corals was a blast over the weekend, Harry. Wish you had been there to share it with us. And lent it your underwater photographic style as well.

Tamara said...

I need..well, WANT a new camera!!! Love the photo's.


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by Laura Gildart Sauter

I’ve been a fan of the Salem Progressive Film Series for some time.  The monthly films are always thought-provoking and informative, and discuss issues that should be important to any concerned citizen.  However, this month’s award-winning offering, Bikes vs. Cars (90min), directed by Fredrik Gertten, produced by Margarete Jangard and Elin Kamlert, is particularly relevant to the City of Salem and many of its current issues: the disagreement over the construction of a third bridge, the controversy over downtown parking, the need for expanded bus service, and the movement to reverse the one-way street grid.  So, in partnership with the Progressive Film Series, Salem Weekly is issuing both an invitation and a challenge:  to any Salem City Council member, to Mayor Anna Peterson, City Manager Steve Powers, to any candidate for city office, or any Salem Planning Commission member – free admission if you attend this important film.

The film opens with shots of people sitting in traffic jams, of bicyclists pedaling between cars and busses, of oil rigs silhouetted by the sunset.  We hear a siren and the camera narrows in on an ambulance frantically battling its way through blocked traffic.  Bikes vs Cars focuses its lens on several large world cities: Sao Paolo, Brazil, Los Angeles, California, and Toronto, Canada – all beset by horrendous traffic problems – feature prominently, as does Copenhagen, Denmark the most bicycle-friendly city in the world.

The film interviews young bicycle activists in Sao Paolo, follows them as they memorialize fellow riders killed in traffic (at least one a week) with “ghost bicycles” spray-painted on the pavement, watches as they plan and undertake to persuade their city to create a network of bike lanes.  Raquel Rolnik, a professor of urban planning in Sao Paolo, expresses outrage at how the city is completely car oriented “our system does not take people into account.”  The activists petition the city government to reduce the width of streets, reduce speed, add bike lanes and trees to segregate traffic and keep cyclists safe.

In Los Angeles, we accompany a young father, Dan Koeppel, as he follows the path of the Los Angeles “cycleway” – a wooden boardwalk constructed at the beginning of the 20th century to move bicycles from Pasadena to downtown.  The structure is gone now, but in some places the right of way remains; a grassy reminder that in the early days of the city, people didn’t drive – 20% of people commuted on bikes, and most worked close to home or took public transportation.  We learn how General Motors purchased and destroyed the bus system and Standard Oil (now, Chevron) began dismantling the trolley system in 1945, ripping up the tracks and dumping the cars into Monterey Bay, all in a calculated move to turn Los Angles into a city dominated by the automobile.  To quote Koeppel: “The entire structure of LA is defined by the illusion of speed and convenience, but what we have are endless traffic jams: 2-4-6 lanes of freeway have become 10 or even 12 but no matter how much they build, traffic has gotten worse.”

The filmmakers interview Joel Ewanick, a car buff at an Irvine car show,  who says he cares about clean air, and climate change but “loves gasoline.  We’re addicted to it, its fun, its history.  I’m not selling my gas car and I’m as green as they come.”  At this point in the film, the audience begins to realize how deeply irrational humanity’s love affair with the automobile has become, but the film is not entirely one-sided.  The camera portrays the “pro-car” faction with some sympathy.   We can relate to the elderly gentleman lovingly polishing his 50s Ford convertible, and to the soft-spoken taxi driver in Copenhagen who delicately negotiates the streets through annoying “swarms of bicycles.”

One of the most infuriating segments of the film is the section on Toronto.  We hear former Mayor Rob Ford declare that the “war on cars stops today” as he sends out crews to paint out the bike lanes and vows that there will be no more light rail tracks laid in the middle of city streets.  We learn that, in Toronto, a pedestrian is hit by a car every three hours and a cyclist every seven, while the film shows Mayor Ford, blithely stating that “it’s their own fault.”

The camera returns to Sao Paolo, where Rolnik informs the audience that 60% of the space in the city is taken up housing cars, not people.  The film ends with a montage of traffic jams from a dozen cities: Mumbai, Jakarta, Paris, Rio, London, Beijing, Mexico City.  We do not see the iconic shots — the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben– what we see is the numbing monotony of endless automobiles.  The blur of traffic enforces what Koeppel tells us: “We need to decide how we want to live. We cannot make life better in cities by making more room for cars.”

We have all of the issues depicted in Bikes vs. Cars here in Salem, on a smaller scale.  Within the next few years we will, as a city, decide what direction we want to take – will we go the way of Toronto or Copenhagen?  The film shows us how when downtowns and neighborhoods are designed on a human scale – with room for bikes and pedestrians, with slower traffic, with trees, with fewer parking garages and more public transportation– business thrives, people flock to these areas to cafes and restaurants, to theaters and stores.  Salem has the potential to be a world class small city – the capital of the Oregon wine country, a destination for eco-tourists, a home for the creative and entrepreneurial spirit.  Will we live up to our potential or sink into sprawl and smog?  You decide.

Bikes vs Cars

 Salem Progressive Film Series

Guest speakers & audience discussion follow,

Tuesday, May 17, 7 p.m.

The Grand Theater

191 High St. NE, Salem

(503) 881-5305


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Sunday, September 30, 2012

Sidney Fine Art Show

The 2012 Sidney Fine Art Show will be held October 12th – 14th at the Bodine Family Hall at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney, BC.  Presented by the Community Arts Council of the Saanich Peninsula, this Show is a world-class juried art show for serious artists and patrons of the arts.  The first Show in 2003 was an outstanding success and each year the Show has attracted thousands of visitors to the town of Sidney.  Check out the site at

The competition for this show is intense; last year the jurors had over 1250 pieces to adjudicate and not quite 400 were chosen.  So you see... the over the top enthusiasm I have for having a piece accepted is warranted.

Acceptance of "Carousel" into this show also makes it possible for me to apply for my AFCA status with the Federation of Canadian Artists in the spring.  Yet, another reason to be elated.  This show makes 8 qualifying shows I have successfully been juried into since I began entering this caliber of Exhibition in early 2011; shortly after I received my Active status with the FCA.

Carousel 22x30  $975.00
Last year at the SFAS, cheques were written for over $112,000 for art that was sold during the show.  This was money that went directly back to the island's artistic community.  Through the Community Arts Council of the Saanich Peninsula, they also contributed funds to support the diverse programs of the CACSP.  In that show,  I was fortunate enough to sell one of my most favourite pieces that I've completed to date: "Lost and Alone."

Let's all get out there and support our local artists once again this year and make it the biggest year to date!
Signing off with a natural high...
Keep your brush wet...
Sam L. Boehner cspwc


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Army establishes control over several villages, kills large number of ISIS terrorists in eastern area

Provinces, SANA – Army units re-established control over a number of villages and oil fields in the southern countryside of Raqqa and western countryside of Deir Ezzor.

A military source told SANA on Saturday that heavy losses were inflicted upon ISIS terrorists during the military operations, where large number of terrorists were killed including Saudi and Tunisian leaders, in addition to destroying 29 booby-trapped vehicles, five tanks, five command centers, a training camp and two weapon caches.

The source added that the oil fields of Wahhab, al-Fahed, Dubeisan and al-Kabeer and the wells of al-Qaseer, Abu al-Qetat and Abu Kattash were restored during the military operations.

Meanwhile, the army units foil an attack by the terrorist groups on military posts in Jam’ayiat al-Zahra in Aleppo province.

The source said that the army units clashed with terrorist groups that launched attacks from al-Lairamoun halls, the Services Building and the Bakery on military posts in Jam’ayiat al-Zahraa western Aleppo.

It added that the clashes ended up with the killing of a number of terrorists and destroying their weaponry.

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Syria demands immediate int’l action to save locals of Kefraya and al-Fuaa

Damascus, SANA – Syria called on the United Nations and the UN Security Council on ...


text:
December 12, 2015

Rokhsahana, Shirin Gul and Farkhunda - women killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan

Rokhsahana in a stone pit before her death
Disturbing videos have surfaced in recent weeks from Afghanistan, depicting the deaths of two young women, who were executed by the Taliban.

The Taliban are a group of Islamic Fundamentalists who want to force Afghanistan back into the 7th Century and they will fight to the death to do it.

In recent months, the ISIS terrorist group has infiltrated into certain provinces in Afghanistan and have started executing Taliban leaders in a new take-over bid to control this backward, rocky, mud-hut filled land of uneducated and oppressed people. One oppressive group wants to take over from another oppressive group.

On October 25, 2015, Taliban men in Firozkoh, the provincial capital of Ghor Province, Afghanistan, dug a pit, put a woman in it and stoned her to death. Her name is only given as Rokhsahana. She was 19 years old.

Details are sketchy. However, it appears that this girl had been married off to an older man against her wishes or she had refused to marry him. She was accused of having sex with her chosen fiancé who was nearer to her own age.

A video was taken of the murder of Rokhsahana which we won't publish here. However, during the 30 second video she can be heard crying out as rocks strike her head.

Rokhsahana died from stoning. The woman's fiancé was reportedly punished with
An Afghani Woman being lashed
lashes but was not killed as the guilt apparently always lies with the women in Afghanistan's culture. November of 2015, also in Ghor Province, Afghanistan, a woman named Shirin Gul, age 26, was lashed (whipped) to death.

Her crime was running away from her home in Herat Province and running to her uncle's home in Ghor Province. The reason that Shirin ran away is unknown. She may have been running away from a forced and arranged marriage.

Local officials in Ghor Province state that the girl was whipped but that she did not die.

Shirin Gul's parents state that she did die from lashing.

Prior to all of this, on March 19, 2015, an Afghan woman named Farkhunda, age 27, died on a street in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan.

She was beaten to death by a mob of men who believed that she had burned pages of the Qu'ran.

We have seen the video and are sickened that such an act could occur in the modern era. This woman was kicked, punched in the head, beaten with sticks and had huge stones thrown at her. A crowd of onlookers stared at the spectacle as if this was an everyday occurrence or as if they were watching a sporting event. Police did not step in to intervene. Her body was then run over by a car, set on fire and thrown in what passes for a river in Kabul, but which is in reality an open sewer.

There is not one shred of evidence to show that Farkhunda had burned the Qu'ran.
Farkhunda beaten and
near death.
She had recently finished a degree in religious studies and was preparing to take a teaching post. She got into a dispute with a mullah at a particular mosque in Kabul over the selling of religious amulets. She told women not to waste their money on them. The amulet sellers and the mullah were incensed and came up with the story that she was not a Muslim and that she had burned the Islamic holy book.

She was dragged into the street and the crowd took over from there and killed her immediately without question.

Afghanistan is the cesspool of the World. It is a country mired in the 7th century. Many Afghanis want to return to that era. The Taliban clings on to brutality as if it was their lifeline to salvation.

Afghan men kill their own daughters, their own sisters and their own mothers in the name of honor.

God save the women of Afghanistan from the Taliban. Amen.

God help Afghanistan. Amen.

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Friday, May 04, 2012

[ Wedding ] Productive Week!

I know Craig doesn't read my blog, so I'm going to post that this is GORGEOUS. A coat to cover a dress during winter. This is my mission. Gonna need something to cover up when I'm moving from place to place for photos. DEVINE. Love it.

I've also made the decision that I want to have some photos taken in Vancouver. Stanley Park, Prospect Point, Pendrell Street, Overlooking downtown from Granville Island and somewhere along the seawall. Since the daylight doesn't last very long in Canada during Winter, we may have to dress twice to get the shots that we want.

I've put in the request with the Whistler Municipal Council to book the park!

I'm in contact with Vogue's Vintage King. ; )

Ladies and gentlemen, it's all systems go! Hooray! What a productive week!

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Tuesday, October 6, 2015

A Time To Celebrate, A Time To Learn

My painting, "Klamath Lake Lily III", received 6th place award from Juror Ratindra Das at the 50th WSO Fall Watercolor Exhibition in Hermiston OR, with the convention held this past weekend.  In July I wrote about making choices for competition, about the difficulty, the hope, the fear I face when offering up my works to a juried show.  My painting was accepted.

I rejoiced in that acceptance, got the painting framed and delivered it to the convention.  On awards night this past Saturday, I saw the 6th place ribbon on MY painting and had to sit down, rather suddenly, on a nearby bench.  I've been in several shows in the past few years.  I've never won an award before now.  I was speechless.  My husband recorded the event with a photo.

One of the people in charge of the exhibition told me that the Juror had said he wished to speak with me.  So I sought him out in a quiet moment before the evening's festivities began.  I explained who I was.  I expected, I don't know, I guess some discussion about my painting or my technique.  Mr. Das said "Your mat is too small.  It should be bigger by at least an inch." I was startled, said that I used the standard 3 inch size and that I try to enter pieces that are smaller to keep shipping costs down.  He shook his head.  In a show like this one, a larger mat would have placed my painting in a more prominent position on the wall, he told me, which was absolutely correct.

It took a day or so for what he had actually shared to soak into my brain.  I'm "there" now.  I won't get into every show I enter but I'm getting in regularly enough that what I'm offering is worthy.  Now I have to think of the business end of things like presentation and positioning in the show.  The cost of shipping has to become irrelevant.  My friend and instructor, Ruth Armitage, has been telling me to pay attention to the "business" aspect of the art world.  Mr. Das reinforced what Ruth has been saying.  I guess I am ready to take the next step forward.

  1. Congratulations Sandra, for your award and for being "there" now! And, thank you so much for sharing the insight you received from the juror Mr. Das. I'm thinking I need to re-look my mats myself! It is funny though, I think I would have been stunned by such a comment. It would take a moment or two (or much longer) for the value of the comment to set in. Again, WELL DONE!

    1. Thanks, Peggy! It did take a while for the full impact of what he was telling me to sink in. If I take home an awards check now and then that will cover the costs of shipping a larger frame.


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20 January 2010

Collected Short Stories Vol 1 Somerset Maugham

First Published in: 1951

There are some writers who once you sample their works, you cannot give up until you have covered a fair share of it. With Somerset Maugham, the challenge is both thrilling as well daunting. Thrilling because here is an author I am so happy I discovered and with whom I almost feel a kindred spirit - in terms of the themes he takes up and his so called cynicism - which is really not cynicism, but a certain astounding ability to discern human weaknesses. He's realistic about people, knowing well that human beings are inconsistent and complex. Also, he realizes that seemingly incongruous traits can exist in the same person. This prevents Maugham from either eulogizing a person too much or berating their depravity. According to Maugham, he could never judge anyone too harshly or be too shocked by sin, precisely because he was guilt-ridden about many things himself and understood only too well that perfection is a myth and that we all live extremely flawed lives. He said, “I take the goodness of the good for granted, and I am amused when I discover their defects or their vices. I am touched when I see the goodness of the wicked, and I am willing enough to shrug a tolerant shoulder at their wickedness.”

The above, in many ways, is the overarching theme of all his stories. The author gives voice to his own thoughts when one of his characters in The Fall of Edward Barnad says, "Perhaps we make too much of a difference between one man and another. Perhaps even the best of us are sinners and worst of us are saints"
His friend in the story is not willing to buy this argument and counters by saying, " You will never persuade me that white is black and black is white"
But almost every short story in this collection - and this quality applies to all the author's works in general - the writer points at the utter futility of catagorising people as good or bad, evil or virtuous. And to establish this truth, he puts his characters through all kinds of situations, delving deep into the recesses of their heart, acutely discerning their motives and the complex emotions that drive them.

There are about 30 stories in all, and each story is a wonder in character creation. And Maugham unfolds them with great relish, layer by layer – like the peeling of an onion. Many of them were written when he travelled far and wide – some of them were British colonies. Quite a few of the stories are based in London and are anecdotal . The Luncheon, Louise, The Promise, The Voice of the Turtle...all are delightful, and bristle with charm and ironic humour. There are some others which raise fundamental questions about religion, love and freedom.

As Maugham says in his book, The Summing Up, - themes came to him very easily. He could be talking to someone for an hour and he could envision a story revolving him. Such was the fecundity of his mind! Maugham’s characters are not entirely unusual, but they almost always have a quirk, which the author used to the fullest. He has a very fine sense of drama, so that you are always curious to know what happens next.
Mackintosh, for example, is a story that rests on his ability to sketch out the characters of the chief, Walter and his assistant, Mackintosh. The latter feels a strange mix of envy, hatred and derision for his boss. Walter is a loudmouth, a sadist, uncouth, but not without a roguish charm and a skill for repartee. He rules over the natives with an iron hand, but he also looks out for them like a tiger does for his cubs. Maugham is simply marvelous in his creation of these two persons.

Then there are other stories, where Maugham's skill with characters comes to the fore. The Mother is a poignant tale of a woman, who turns resentful and sullen after spending years in jail. Her only bundle of joy is her handsome son, whom she loves with a rare ferocity. But things go wrong again, and come to a tragic end.
The matriarch in Home is another gem of a creation. Equally enigmatic is the character of the laconic judge in The Happy Couple.

Maugham has written how he enjoyed the format of a short story, because he didn’t have to live with a story for too long. And yet, he believed that these stories no matter how small should be complete in themselves. He didn’t want any of them to trail off. This is partly a characteristic of Maugham’s writing – which is not only lucid, it never fails to make a point ever. This enables his stories to be engaging and dramatic. The flip side to this is that some of the endings to the stories appear too sudden and somewhat unconvincing . For example, in Rain – an otherwise powerful story about religion and its tyrannical propagators - it is never quite clear why the missionary Rev Davidson commits suicide. What are his motivations? The situation in the story and what you know of his character never lead you to believe what he does finally. Quite a few stories have an instance of a death or suicide at the end, but unfortunately, that decision at most times seems born out of the need for an ironic suggestion. You never quite understand why Mackintosh ends his life suddenly. Yes, human being are complex and contradict themselves often in action and words, yet, that can’t explain death/suicide so easily.

A few critics have also pointed towards racial undertones in a few of Maugham’s stories – one of them being The Pool. The story is about an English man, Lawson, an officer in the British colony of Apia. He falls in love with a beautiful native called Ethel and even marries her, much to the disapproval of the White community living there. But things don’t work as per his plans. He slowly loses his sway over the natives, has to bear the humiliation of working for a native owner. Seeing what a groveling lover he is, Ethel starts to despise him. The story ends with Lawson giving up his life, drowning himself in the Pool – the very place where he was first entranced by the native girl. If one has followed Maugham’s work keenly, one would be less inclined to read the story as a racial one. The theme is tied to the author’s belief in the idea that most women become heartless towards men who are unusually devoted to them and are willing to make any sacrifice. Maugham’s idea is that women will accept a man’s cruelty, but she can’t bear him being subservient. Of course, The Pool can be interpreted as a White man’s fascination for the exotic colonies he ruled over. The author could be suggesting that while it’s nice for the White man to admire the native land and its people, he must not allow their worlds to collide.

As expected, Maugham’s displays what a fine craftsman he is. The words are elegant and precise, with a wonderful sense for cadences - so that every now and then one feels like saying out a sentence aloud and relishing its ring. The delightful turn of phrases, the ironic wit, the keen insights – all ensure you don’t have a single dull moment with Maugham.

-Sandhya Iyer

Alexander said...

Dearest Sandhya,

I must say it: you have certainly embarrassed somebody. But surely not yourself.

Tremendous review! I have never read - Anthony Curtis included! - more charming description of Maugham's cynicism. I am glad that you have obviously enjoyed the stories. Let's hope that this collection will be the beginning of a long and fruitful journey for you, despite that you are not great fan of the genre of the short story.

A very interesting paradox you have raised about Maugham's theoretical conceptions and their clash with the reality. I have found somewhat similarly his endings with suicide unconvincing - half of his first mature collection indeed, quite chilling experience. Also, it is very rarely that - as he used to say about his aims - after the end of a short a story there are no more questions that the reader might ask. There always are. Many. But for me this is one the best thing in Maugham's stories (and works in general); he gives quite a lot but always leaves something to the readers' fantasy. Certainly I don't want a writer to give me everything; if there is nothing left for me to exercise my own imagination, poor as it may be, a book may well become a bore; by the way I am not sure that is possible - an author to tell you everything about his characters, even in a novel, and his trying too hard to do that might well make him pretty unreadable.

I find speculating about the motives of Mackintosh or Rev. Davidson totally absorbing and fascinating business. The latter is somewhat easier to be placed - the poor fellow was seduced by Sadie and betrayed everything his fanatical personality had ever lived for; and being mentally deranged it was almost naturally to me that he should have finished his life in so sordid a way; still it was a shocking end. Now Mackintosh is the harder case, much harder indeed. His guilt is perhaps the strongest driving force but it is mingled with fear of ruling the island by himself and marrying a native (or was it half-caste, actually?) and last but not least - it seems to me that the death of Walker (not Walter, dear :)) shook his whole being for in his last minutes the despot was shown as far more human, sympathetic and complex man than anywhere before in the story; Walker actually is the master characterization in "Mackintosh" of the intricacies of human nature and who knows what even a short, but quite revealing, glimpse into that revolting yet fascinating mixture might provoke one to do. But this might well be only my sick fancy. Never mind.

Keep on reading, my dear. And keep on writing.

P. S. One interesting detail about another mistake with these two guys - Walker and Mackintosh - which is much bigger and which I find very funny. Anthony Curtis himself, twice and in two different books, mentions Mackintosh as a famous description of cruel island ruler when this in fact is the name of his assistant. It's encouraging for one to see that even the critics are human and hence succeptible to silly mistakes.

Sandhya Iyer said...

Phew! Thanks so much for liking Alexander. I was most anxious to know your opinion on it. Can't say the review is anything special, but yes, I felt a certain satisfaction while writing it. The reason being I was more effortless this time around. My growing knowledge about Maugham's works (even if it remains a mere drop in the wide ocean he has created )is obviously helping me to articulate and undertand his ideas better.

I get your point on Mackintosh and Rain - yes, reasons can be attributed to the characters' motivations, but as a reader they caught me by surprise. There is another story here - The Unconquered, which I liked a lot. I think when Maugham said that he was touched when he saw goodness in the wicked, he probably meant the German soldier in the French land, Hans. That ending too, where the girl kills her child, seemed a bit too extreme. There is a symbolism to it of course, which is what Maugham aims to achieve and it's not an entirely implausible end either - just that it is far too dramatic I thought.

But I must add that Maugham affords me the chance to find some faults with his stories, precisely beause the strengths are so tremendous! The good things I have started to take for granted I guess. :-)

Alexander said...

My dear, you shouldn't be anxious about my opinion for it is of no consequence whatsoever. But it might provide something for nice, friendly chat. Or it might not.

Yes, The Unconquered is pretty lurid story, but one of my favorites as well. Perhaps not so much the ending itself as the whole character of the French girl is overdramatized and a bit too much removed from reality, though she does have at one place a soft spot for the German soldier - but it is a very, very short incident (accident?). As for him, I rather like him and I can't quite accept the thing he did, terrible as it is of course, as so much a consequence of the circumstances (as he said also) than due to some innate wickedness or something like that. But that's perhaps due to the fact that I'm not a woman.

Of course Maugham's writings are not perfect, and I think he was quite honest when he said that he included in The Collected Edition only the books he was not so much displeased with. But for my part I'd rather concentrate on the positive sides which at all events far exceed the negatives. Don't take much for granted, dear - it's dangerous.-:)

sandhya said...

Hey Alexander!!!!

You must be wondering why I haven't updated anything on Maugham and not put up the review of 'The Summing UP' Believe me, I have been reading the book from the day I received it - Just that I don't go beyond reading a couple of pages. So I am still on page 109 - that's because every page is so rich and insightful in content and language, that I let it linger for a while. I literally don't want it to finish, so I am slower than I have ever been reading any book. But I devour every sentence and line, and try to bring a lot of Maugham's suggestions to use. It's like a daily enrichment session reading it. I do not dare to write a review of it, but will put some of my thoughts on it.

Alexander said...

Oh Sandhya,

What a pleasure to hear from you!

I am happy that you enjoy reading The Summing Up so much. Your reading is certainly worthy of Maugham's enormous amount of application; he took so much trouble with that book; he wrote and re-wrote, shortened here, elaborated there, cut one passage, added another. I daresay I repeat myself but I have always found impressive the claim of Raymond Toole Stott - Maugham's most conscientious bibliographer and a man who has seen almost all of Maugham's manuscripts - that probably no more than half of what was initially written as The Summing Up was actually published. And of course of all of Maugham's manuscripts this is by far the most heavily corrected one.

Besides, dearest, I know you are extremely busy - as so fine a reviewer like you should be. I follow both of your blogs, and both are fascinating. I think soon I'll have to try some IWE or one of those charming Indian movies you rate between one and two stars.:)

Please do not be in any hurry over Maugham. As every great writer, he is read best at leisure - exactly as you do. Would love to read your thoughts about the book.

P. S. Cute picture on your profile.

P. P. S. I often re-read the excertps on my Multiply profile which amount to almost half the book. It was really hard to quote from The Summing Up; it's like a piano sonata by Mozart - remove just one bar and the whole structure would fall. And yes - it's exactly like "daily enrichment session" - beautifully said.

sandhya said...

Alexander: I finally finished reading Summing Up last Friday- will put up my thoughts on it. The portions on God and philosophy I only skimmed through. I get a feeling I am not quite ready or equipped to understand what Maugham means to its fullest extent, so I'm going to come back to those pages later.

Didn't know you follow the Hindi film blog too!!! :-)

Alexander said...

Your feeling is wrong. You're quite ready. About God and philosophy Maugham is as simple, concise and lucid as ever; so much so that some writers have claimed that his observations are "unremarkable" - which is probably true for them, but personally I find them very thought-provoking. But if you think you should get to them later, by all means do so of course.

I am afraid that "A Writer's Notebook" - whenever you decide to have a look at it - might come as a disappointment after "The Summing Up". It is much more fragmentary - it's a collection of notes after all - but it does give an unique insight into Maugham's working methods. Also, it is fascinating to see how his reflections about the world changed with the years: from the time when he was 18 until the old age. All in all, quite different than "The Summing Up" but exploring the very same topics which Maugham was concerned with all his life and therefore a perfect supplement.

sandhya said...

Alexander: Heyyyyy!!! I've just bought Theatre and plan to read it. What do you think about it? Is it one of your Maugham favourites

Alexander said...

Hi Sandhya,

How are you, my dear?

I love Theatre. Or I should say, more accurately, that I love Julia - for it is she who is the whole novel. Strangely shapeless and plotless for a novel of Maugham, but the characterisation is some of his subtlest and most compelling. At least as far as I am concerned.

Now, dearest, it is up to you, as a woman, to decide whether Maugham succeeded in viewing the world through woman's eyes. I hope you won't be outraged.

And I also hope your edition contains the wonderful preface Maugham wrote for The Collected Edition in 1939, just two years after the novel was first published. It is of course entirely dedicated to Julia and the considerable affection Maugham had for her.

It's funny when I come to think of it. Indeed, I can't think of any two of Maugham's 20 novels, the earliest and crudest ones including, that are in any way alike. Every one of them has an atmosphere of its own. Take Theatre, for instance; it is not a novel at all, but an extended character sketch actually. It has little to do with the ominous and disturbing Christmas Holiday, published just two years later; it has nothing to do at all with the passionately exotic The Narrow Corner, which appeared five years earlier. But I am rambling.

PS Do you know that in Germany, where they LOVE giving alternative titles in translation, Theatre is known as "Julia, du bist zauberhaft", which should, I guess, be translated as "Julia, you are enchanting!" She is indeed!

sandhya said...

Alexander: I have still to read enough of Maugham (and his entire body of work is like a treasure to be slowly discovered) to really make a comment on how different they are. But I am getting a collective sense of his thoughts, and common threads etc.

On Theatre - glad to know it is character-based. I think Maugham really excels in doing that. I loved some of his short stories, which were really more character-based than plot oriented.

Okay, I dont know if this will disappoint you or gladden you, but i have kept aside Theatre for now and started on Of Human Bondage, which i bought yesterday. Phew, it's a long book - reminds me of Middlemarch -which to me is one of the most fulfilling and masterfully written novels by George Eliot. I am already on page 130 in one day, and it's been expectedly special. Maughgam days are here again! Not that they ever went away :-)

Alexander said...

The funny thing is that, for all their differences, Maugham's works (in general, not only the novels) can hardly be mistaken with someone else's. Except for a few of his early attempts, like Liza of Lambeth or The Magician, both thoroughly un-Maugham, his personality always so strongly pervaded his writings that it actually transcended every difference in style and content. Or as the critics say: he is very subjective writer. As if there were any other type of writer.

I am still at the very beginning of my exploration of the world literature, but it already is disconcerting to note that switching from Maugham to some of his contemporaries (like Katherine Mansfield, Joseph Conrad or Francis Scott Fitzgerald) is like playing with the tuner of a radio until I lose the station completely.

Of Human Bondage is surely a great book, but I am getting a little impatient when people describe it - which they do all too often - as Maugham's greatest one. It is just the longest. Hope you'll like it. From all I've heard, and the few pages I've read, of Middlemarch, you might find Of Human Bondage inferior. Well, we'll see.

(I myself hope to read one day Middlemarch, but when will this happen...)

I don't know if you share this notion of mine that making one familiar with as many works by a given author as possible and putting them into the context of his life really does add to one's appreciation of him, but if you do, Of Human Bondage is a better choice than Theatre, to be sure. Did you have some special sixth feeling about putting aside the latter aside and starting the former? -:)

As you know, Of Human Bondage was first published in 1915 and that was the start of Maugham's mature writing career which continued for the next 45 years or so; his earlier books are much better left for the end. Interestingly, you've already read Maugham's next two novels - The Moon and Sixpence (1919) and The Painted Veil (1925). You might enjoy observing how he developed for a decade or so. For me the most remarkable thing about Maugham has always been the consistency of his mature works; I wouldn't like to be without even the worst of them on my desert island exile.

PS 130 pages a day is quite impressive, even for so readable an author like Maugham!

sandhya said...

Alexander: I love your analogy about tuning stations, but good to know you are venturing into unexplored territory as well. I know it's always daunting, especially the authors you mention. Conrad's Heart of Darkness I have never been able to get through. I have read The Great Gatsby, but it was a small struggle. In general, I am slightly uncomfortable with adjusting with narrative form and that is a problem with American Literature. Maugham rarely experimented with form but his content has always been bold, and that's to my liking.

On Human Bondage not being Maugham's best, I will admit this much - Middlemarch is probably superior. But then i haven't come to the centrepiece of the novel yet - Philip's masochistic relationship - I am curious to see how this goes.

Alexander said...

One must always venture into the unknown. Otherwise life wouldn't be worth living.

I am concious that sometimes I read and re-read Maugham much too much. He is of course great, always immensely enjoyable and stimulating, but there are so many other writers who have survived the test of time and are therefore worth checking, that I sometimes despair how short man's time of Earth is. It is interesting to note that many of my disappointments were indeed caused by Maugham because it occurred in his anthologies. That's funny.

I am almost afraid to try any other of Maugham's 'top ten', even though the first one was just about perfect. (I have recently had an itch to start 'Persuasion', but... yet again failed to stretch the day). I think from my still rare encounters with other writers, and except for the delicious Jane, only Aldous Huxley and Bertrand Russell have made a lasting impression on me, certainly encouraging to read more of them. 'The Great Gatsby' was a monumental disappointment.

I too loved the tuning metaphor so much that I applied it to Bertrand Russell as well; though I used it for comparison between his early and late writings, I guess it is quite appropriate if one wants to compare him with other writers. For once, here is a match for Maugham in terms of simplicity, lucidity and wit, extremely different though the men and their writings are. Small wonder that Maugham himself admired Russell's style very much. Yet, he put in 'Traveller's Library' that awful exercise in pompous rhetoric 'Free Man's Worship'...

sandhya said...

Alexander: I'm almost done with Of Human Bondage. Hopefully I will write something on it. I enjoyed it a lot, though yes, it's more personal than any other Maugham book. So it's almost a stream of consiousness novel, with no real structure etc. Also, was this novel written in small installments? - remember many novels were actually published fortnightly in magazines, so the respective authors were obliged to prolong every episode. That was true of Middlemarch. And I don't know if that is also the case with Of Human Bondage, but it certainly seems to be rambling at many places - that is sure to test the average reader's patience. I didn't mind that very much though.
In fact, this was the first novel where my emotions traveled so much in tandem with a book - the desultoriness, the despair, living with conflicting notions, trying to understand the meaning of life and then surmising that there is no meaning and one makes one's own little design - it allowed me to achive an incredible oneness with the author.

Beyond the fact that there is so much spiritual insight in the book, and the damning nature of love (however much kindness and goodness a person might show towards you, if you don't love him, you don't), Of Human Bondage I loved for personal reasons.
Of course, the greatness of the book precisely emerges from the fact that Maugham's emotions are intensely private and yet tragically universal.

PS: By the way Alexander, am I to think you have read every single work of Maugham? :-)

Alexander said...

No, dear Sandhya, the instalments case was not the case with Of Human Bondage. Maugham started it probably at 1912 and finished it for two years, more or less writing nothing elese during that time, except for one play (The Land of Promise). By that time he was already a celebrated dramatist and didn't have any financial problems and therefore didn't need to write on commission for magazines. It is interesting to note, and I think it is a telling proof for Maugham's fame at the time, that Of Human Bondage was first published in America and on the very next day it appeared in England. Isn't strange that such thing would happen with so long a novel by a dramatist whose eight previous novels had had almost no success?

Maugham has explained very nicely how he came to leave the lucrative stage for writing a novel that could hardly have brought him much money (though in the end it turned out that it did). Maugham wrote two prefaces for Of Human Bondage, not so similar as their proximity in time might suggest: in 1934 for Heinemann's New Edition (Reset) titled 'Instead of a Preface' and featuring a letter from a 16 years old admirer; in 1936 for the First Illustrated Edition by Doubleday simply titled Foreword. I hope your edition has at least one of these, for they are fascinating pieces.

You might also find interesting the fact that in 1950 Maugham wrote another preface for a heavily abridged edition of Of Human Bondage. He himself did the abridgement.

Am happy that you enjoyed the novel and would love to read your reflections on it.

As for reading every work of Maugham, you've caught me on the crime scene here. I have not read every single work by Maugham, but I often dishonestly pretend that I have. From his 20 novels I have read only 18, alas; two of the early ones still elude me; The Merry-Go-Round (1904) is on the shelf (shame on me) and the ex-play The Bishop's Apron (1906) is impossible to obtain for less than 100 euros. The situation with the short story collections is a little better: I have read all nine of them. But with plays the situation is really bad: only 19 out of 27. I have a good excuse only for three of the eight unread - they were never published; four of the rest five wait on the shelf (shame of me!). The travel books (3) and the books with essays (10) I have read all.

There are still few articles in magazines or introductions to books of others that elude me. But I want to stress that I have read the parts of 'Looking Back' (1962), Maugham's notorious memoirs, which were serialised in the American magazine 'Show'. Sometimes I wonder if the people who simply love talking terrible things about have actually read it.

Also, I have to confess that many of these I have read only once and not so carefully, at least in English. That was in the beginning few years ago when I started reading Maugham in original language. It was such an euphoria that I wanted to get and read everything so that I might have at least an idea of the scope and pattern of his oeuvre; the former turned out to be huge, and the latter much more perfect than I thought. Now I am currently in re-reading everything, and reading some things for the first time, but this time more slowly, to savour the pleasure and to try to put my thoughts and feelings in some kind of order, called 'review' entirely for the sake of convenience. It is astonishing how different are some, if not all, of Maugham's books on re-reading, and the experience is always more powerful than the first time. Incidentally, Of Human Bondage was one of the exceptions, that is a book about which I wrote the review after my first reading in English, perhaps because I had read the novel twice before in my native language. The same's true for Cakes and Ale, by the way.

Sandhya Iyer said...

Yes, I half-guessed that Of Human Bondage came in this form and not in installments- cause you would have mentioned it to me otherwise.

Ah, so you've pretty much read everything! I consider myself lucky that I have so much more of Maugham to read and that my discovery has just started. It's an odd feeling reading his novels. On one hand, your heart is in a state of ecstacy to experience his works but there's also an underling sense of despair that one day I'd have read it all :-)
I am not one for re-readings and Austen is the only exception, though I can see myself living with Maugham's writings for longer. In fact, i recently read some parts of The Painted Veil.

But as you say, Maugham has produced a great deal of work, and I'm hoping I will have something of him to read always.

I am now starting on Theatre. How do you rate this one against his other works?

Also, how is it been reading some of the other authors you've taken up? I don't know whether you share the same trait but I tend to get a bit obsessed with a writer and then want to read 'only him/her' for a while.
It happened with Naipaul - I had to read all his major works until I got tired of it.

Then it was Sashi tharoor - great writings on India - u must try reading Bookless in Bagdad.

Then George Eliot and Austen, whose books I continue to read. Austen is all done, but I believe I have some more of Eliot's novels left to read - they aren't supposedly THAT good.

Mark Twain is another HUGE favourite.

Alexaner said...

You are indeed lucky. I can't help but envy you a little bit.

Probably this is the reason, partly at least, why for me re-reading is something of a measure for the greatness of a book or of an author. It doesn't seem quite nice if everything's over with the first reading. But I don't read certain books every year, nor do I make lists like 'To be re-read in 2010'. Indeed, I don't make any to-be-read lists since they are never realised for one reason or another. As it happens to capture my fancy.

Interestingly, Maugham himself was not much for re-reading either, but he lived so long that he ended re-reading pretty much all great novels there are. And Don Quixote he read no fewer than five times - twice in English, thrice in Spanish. He also read the Bible twice from cover to cover. At least so he says. :)

The obsession case with new authors is quite the same with me. And is often detrimental, as it was in Maugham's case, because I acquire too many books in too short a time and I want to read them all - and sometimes I read too many books in too short a time and not too carefully. I hate this and I am trying to change it. Oddly enough, I now have pretty much the same problem with Bertrand Russell who has captured my imagination with his prose and with his mind. As it happens, his longevity and productivity are even more stupendous than Maugham's. So I am trying not to rush him; naturally, Maugham's travel books I was about to re-read will have to wait a bit.

(Jane Austen was the only other case I got obsessed but her case is quite different indeed. Her oeuvre is very small, apparently not very diverse and certainly requires a special mood to be read. It's easier to exercise control here.)

I would like to read something more of Shashi Tharoor, even though the only article of his I read was a perfect nonsense. But I am ready to believe it is an exception. Will check this Bookless in Bagdad. I hope he writes at least 99% English and 1% obscure (for me) Indian languages.

Never read a word of Mark Twain, but both you and Maugham seem to consider Huckleberry Finn as a masterpiece, so it is probably worth checking.

As for Theatre, I regard it as almost everything else in Maugham's oeuvre - as an end in itself. There is nothing like it among Maugham's other books. The virtual absence of plot bothers some people, but it doesn't bother me, uncharacteristic for Maugham as it may be. As a character sketch on a grand scale, it is to my mind superb. Julia Lambert is an unique case - in general, not for Maugham - for a woman who would be denounced by many people as a monstrously immoral and evil creature, but Maugham describes her with so much affection and insight that I can't help falling in love with her.

sandhya said...

That gives me confidence about Theatre! Yes, the lack of plot I can live with, when the character sketch promises to be engaging.

You must read Mark Twain. Huckleburry Finn is brilliant, but Tom Sawyer turned out even better!

Shashi Tharoor - many believe is a remnant of the Raj, very elitist. But he has a genuine literary flair and Bookless in Bagdad in particular is meant for literary enthusiasts and book lovers. The other book that comes to my mind - which I think you should find and read - is Amitava Kumar's Bombay-Newyork- London - about his own journey as a man and how certain literary texts/novels affected him at different times and influenced his course of life - as a writer and human being. Since I came very close to experiencing something similar with Of Human Bondage, I'm confident to recommend this author to you strongly.

avinash angal said...

very very happy to read the review!
i think possible reason of rev.
Davidson's suicide may be as,rev succumbs
to charms & coquetry of sadie,which
is inherent in her nature by her
ways. and sadie won't hesitate to blow the thing such a loud,so as to reach everyone including governor.s ears.
already governor is not very
happy about rev's attitude,thus
demolishing rev's repute a his
1929 silent movie &better one 1931's suggest the same,more or less.
do you think my feeling okay?
avinash angal


text:
Wednesday, August 22, 2007

10 Million Giveaway...KIVA!

LOL, no one is trying to give you $10 million so get that thought outta your mind! I have been learning about microfinance and how some foundations give loan to woman and budding businesses/entrepreneurs in developing country to help them become self sufficient.

KIVA is a lending organizations that allows regular people like you and I to become financers. All you have to do is log on, look through the profile of these entrepreneur and you can decide on who will receive your $$ and how much you choose to give. When a loan is paid back, the lender can choose to lend the money to another entrepreneur. KIVA loans require no collateral and are zero interest.

KIVA is run by Matt Flannery, Jessica Flannery, and Premal Shah. For more information, go to KIVA's website here and see what people are doing..and maybe you can decide to be a loaner. $25 will go a long way people!

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Home…Abandoned cement factory in Barcelona transfored into a home

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Cement factory for a home? Your private castle , catholic undertones ( cathedral features) and a derelict factory….all in one? MIAUW…purrrrrfect home – nun meets courtesan meets squatter. Would never sleep there alone though. Imagine?!? Boyfriend, family or friends needed as permanent fixtures.  Architect Ricardo Boffil’s genius work in Barcelona….office, home and an exhibition space all in one. Love the fact that there is a concert piano there too….imagine the sound you get! Take a look at the rest of the house…

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  1. Tatjana Pesko says:

    That is amazing…..

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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

wishes: chevron and braids

a great tie.

makes me want to wear one

love these colors

can i have a pair in every color?

again with the awesome chevron

and can i please do my hair like this once it's long enough. (note -link will take you to the photographer of this photo not the stylist)

have a great day. :)

david and i are hanging out with calin and landon tonight. and watchin a movie.

1 comment:

  1. Too cute, Sara. :) I love chevron!! It's really making a statement lately.


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