literary history 2 – living the history

We took a major break last year. It’s the first paid vacation we have had in 5 years (at least). It was a scant 4 and a half days from work, but with national holidays and weekends, we managed to parlay it into 11 days off. In that time, we had to say an official goodbye to our original site, which fills us with deep sorrow. We traveled some (nothing of note, really), sent out a lot of cards, set up a new computer (a really good deal on an old Apple G3 from Discount Electronics), set up the HD of the HDTV (just in time for the Rose Bowl–Hook ’em Horns!), and appeared in 2 First Night Austin pieces, including one where we managed to draw the ire and curses of standersby during a family friendly show. And last in the wrap up news, we finished our last book of 2005, Bee Season.

We confess that we picked up Bee Season originally when we saw a preview of the movie a few months back, mostly likely in front of March of the Penguins or Murderball. It was something that the father figure, played by Richard Gere, says in the preview that caught our attention. It appears that he is driving in a car, and he talks about how it is our job in the world to help complete creation. This, if you know, is the Jewish doctrine of Tikkun Olam, a strange thing to hear from the mouth of that quirky Buddhist. Anyway, we never actually ended up seeing the movie, but we finished the book while traveling. Was it good? Is it worth recommending? We wish there was another chapter, actually, but over all, it was good. We suppose our desire is a desire to spend more time in Myla Goldberg’s world.

A great book we came across this break is the first volume in a 7-volume set called My People’s Prayerbook. This excellent series describes the origin, history, and meanings of the Siddur, as well as its varieties and editions. (Though we link to amazon.com for the book, we recommend, as always, using addall.com for finding the best overall prices on your books.) Also, on the topic of prayer, we were fortunate enough to find a CD of Shlomo Carlebach music for Shabbat services. Earlier last year, we met his widow and traveled with her, but that is another story.

Thanks to Jason Kotke and his Best of ’05 links, we have come across 2 great interviews of people we greatly admire. The first is Chip Kidd. While not an interview of him, it is an interview by him of Milton Glaser, and that is good enough for us. The second is an interview of Errol Morris, whom we have loved since we caught Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control at the Dobie.