Hope Endures in The Madonnas of Leningrad

The grand, gilded frames hang empty on the walls of The Hermitage, a witness of hope for restoration of the paintings packed away for protection during the siege of Leningrad. Perhaps they are also a metaphor for the Marina's life - once filled with beauty and meaning, now under siege by a relentless enemy, Alzheimer's.

The Madonnas of Leningrad shines like a jewel from its many facets - art history and appreciation, human drama and war, the mystery of the inner person and the heartbreak of Alzheimer's. I was captivated from the first page to the last sentence of this book about beauty, this beautiful book.

Another flare

Going through another flare today, and ran across the best explanation of fibromyalgia I have ever seen, in a book or on the Internet. So many things I want to do, so little energy. Aghh.

This too will pass.

Zhen Zehn

Zhen Zhen is the name given to the new panda cub at the San Diego Zoo. It means "precious".

How precious? There are an estimated six billion, seven hundred sixty-eight million human beings on planet earth, and there are an estimated one thousand six hundred pandas alive today. That is one panda for every four million and two hundred thirty-three thousand people (rounded off).

Four million people, one panda.

That is more precious than diamonds or gold, by my calculations.

A Correction

I discovered that Cherryh's breakout novel wasn't Gate of Ivrel after all. It was Brothers of Earth.

so many books, so little book shelf space...

Words are a Form of Action

Ingrid Bengis wrote one of my all time favorite quotes: "Words are a form of action, capable of influencing change." I just ordered her memoir, "Metro Stop Dostoevsky: Travels in Russian Time". It is set in Russia in the 1990's and should make an interesting contrast with another book for my TBR shelf: "The Madonnas of Leningrad", much of which is set in WWII.

Words have started wars, and stopped them, caused murders and divorce, and created great saints and martyrs. Indeed, words are capable of influencing change.

From page 112 of C. J. Cherryh's "Destroyer", in reference to actions by the protagonist, a translator:

"He'd let his dictionary-making duties slip, thinking they didn't matter so much... But where was the clue to his problems? Lurking, as always, in the dictionary, right where he'd begun."

Insightful gems like this one abound in Cherryh's "Foreigner" series, one of the many reasons I treasure her novels. Currently, I'm reading the seventh of what is now nine books, stringing out the pleasure until the ninth book, "Deliverer", is released on January 4th. C. J. Cherryh wrote the Foreigner series in what is so far three sets of trilogies, each of which ends with a satisfying conclusion - however, fans keep asking for more, and Cherryh has delivered.

Also on my TBR shelf is the omnibus edition of The Morgaine Saga. The first book in that trilogy, Gate of Ivrel, was Cherryh's breakout novel, copyright 1976.

Stay Married To Stop Global Warming

New research shows that the rising divorce rates have damaged the environment. Yes, as challenging as it is to leap that span of logic, data shows it is true: a divorce creates a 53% rise in electricity usage, and a 42% rise in water usage.

According to the Times Online, people who stay married are good for the earth. I always knew there was an objective reason we've stayed married for forty years.

If love isn't enough, think of the planet, and stick together. Mother Earth will thank you.