Reading Books

Every once in a while, I like to read a book. I try not to make a habit of it, but there comes a point where even espn.com can no longer provide enough intellectual nourishment.
I'm currently in the middle of Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It's outstanding, and it falls into the two broad categories of books I typically hit:

1. Harry Potter
2. Historical biographies

This fall I'm taking a Dostoevsky class here at the BYU, so I'll be branching out there a little with brother Fyodor. In the meantime, I'm going to need to do some reading this spring and summer. Given the literary propensities of my reader pool, I figured I'd throw out my first bleg. What summer reading do you suggest for me? I commit to a follow-up post in which I announce my summer reading list.

Thanks for your help.

P.S. If anyone suggests any of the Twilight detritus, I'm unfriending you immediately on facebook.

Here's to Marie

Brahms' Op. 118, No. 2. You can thank me later.

March MADness

It is a Clarke family rule that everyone must fill out an NCAA tournament bracket, regardless of how much one knows/cares about college basketball. No one is exempt. The Boy, Pepe, Josh and I (and probably Dad too, who knows) have all devoted a significant portion of our lives to following college basketball and follow the tournament quite passionately. Nevertheless, our efforts to win the family bracket competition are rarely fruitful. Somehow Laura (and occasionally Marie) always manages to win the competitions. She can and has gone years without ever watching a college basketball game, yet she somehow and consistently dominates the family pool. I had hopes that this year would be different. Alas.

Corrections, amplifications, etc.

Knowing that he's frequently a topic of discussion on Headlong, Pepetonio occasionally reviews my blog for accuracy. The other day, he pointed out a mistake in one of my recent posts and insisted that I correct it. He told me the Ford Tough incident was in reference to queasiness, not abdominal strength, and that Marie was the one who had made the Honda comment. So much for that story.

On a more positive and more accurate note, we had a conversation about the financial crisis on Sunday night as we drove up to Clarke study group. I've lost quite a bit of money in the stock market, and Pepe knows it. Knowing that Pepe has amassed a considerable fortune (for an eleven-year-old), Marie asked him if he'd lost any money in the stock market recently. "No, I haven't," he said, and then, leaning forward and grinning at me, said, "I didn't put my life savings in the stock market." That little weasel.

Safety Tips

These bicycle safety tips were recently circulated in a corporate HR newsletter. I can't reveal exactly which company they are from, but I assure you I didn't make any of these up.

Bicycle Safety Tips
Warm weather is just around the corner, and soon it will be time
to dust off those bicycles. Here are some tips for safe riding:

• Always use hand signals when turning at intersections. There’s nothing motorists pay more attention to than hand signals from bicyclists.

• Leaving your bike out in the ice and cold all winter may cause serious damage.

• Always wear a helmet. If this makes you uncomfortable, think of the helmet as a crown and yourself as King Smart.

• Placing your feet firmly on the pedals of the bike will help reduce the “Wheee” sound emitted from your mouth while going downhill.

• Insist on a bicycle made of solid matter. Liquid and vapor bikes are a passing fancy; argon frames are particularly shoddy.

• Taking your bike in for a professional tune-up is a great way to waste $25.

• Be sure to wear your seatbelt, even if just biking down to the corner store.

• Visibility is crucial when biking. Ride with a lit highway flare in each hand.

• Every three to four weeks, lightly oil the chain. Then dip it in flour and fry it for a real taste treat.

• Does your city have adequate bike paths? If not, consider complaining about it to your local government for the next 40 years.

• Bike safety can never be stressed enough. If you doubt this, try stressing it as much as you possibly can. It won’t be enough–guaranteed.

Portate bien, vos.

I have a brother, as many of you are aware, named Pepetonio. Somewhere along the way, and certainly without any influence from The Boy and I, he has developed into kind of a smart aleck. Recent offerings from the eleven-year-old:

Last night, after the girl down the street had rung the doorbell three times during Sunday dinner (supposedly to "see the pigeons", but we all knew who she was there to see):

"Why don't you just tell her to come back later - like when I'm on my mission."

Some time last week, to Marie:

"Marie, my abs are Ford Tough (he does indeed have a six-pack), and yours are more like a Honda. "

Livestock

I've been thinking a lot about livestock transactions lately. For instance, were you aware that exchanging one livestock unit (a horse, for example) for another livestock unit of similar species but differing gender does not qualify as a like-kind exchange? Additionally, don't ever believe someone who tries to convince you that poultry qualify as livestock, because they don't.

Alert!

I am currently battling smallpox. This is unusual and rather alarming, the man from the CDC told me. They have prescribed me a rather aggressive antibiotic, which destroys not only the bacteria within my body, but also any bacteria inside a fifteen-foot radius from me. I emanate bacterial death. Initially, my odds of survival were quite good, but they are diminishing as my roommates become increasingly more convinced that the disease will soon spread to them; they plot my demise.

A Truly Worthwhile Sunday Activity

Over the break, Laura found her boy band-laden CD collection from high school. Pepetonio and I acted quickly and courageously destroyed the goods before Laura's hopes of earning young, impressionable Bryn's respect were forever dashed.