Under The Dome

Stephen King's Under The Dome. Imagine you're hiking out of a small Maine town. There's the drone of a small private plane overhead, and you see a woodchuck shuffling along the road toward you. It hasn't yet made up its mind whether to duck out of sight, and suddenly it will never get to, as it's body is sliced in half by something invisible. Then, the plane you heard slams into the same invisible barrier, explodes, and rains debris all around you. In the next few hours, you find that you're not going anywhere, because the town of Chester's Mill is now trapped inside an upside-down bowl, and only air can get through. King examines how society breaks down when isolation is total and the societal leaders care only for how much power they can accumulate; he also examines how people of genuine good will confront the evil in human nature.

All of this is inside the most gorgeous book cover I have ever seen.

I've said before that the highest compliment I can pay a book is my eagerness to re-read it, to enter the author's world again and to see it through his characters' eyes. I haven't made that journey yet with Under The Dome, although I expect to relatively soon. For now, I'll have to settle for the second highest compliment I can give a book. Even though Under The Dome is over 1000 pages long, it's too short; I simply didn't want it to end.

To Lisa, On Our 6th Anniversary

It seems just barely believable that it has been 10 years since we first met and became online buddies in the Dean Koontz forum on Usenet. Or that it has been 9 years since you became my most important confidant in the implosion of my second marriage. Since you sent me the "Our friendship is as rare as a rose blooming in the snow" email.

I cherish the memory of the day we first met in person in Roanoke, of knowing then and there that I had at last met the other part of myself, of hoping against hope that you felt the same, and of the joy coming in the next few months upon realizing that you did.

I am proud that I managed to surprise you by proposing on your birthday, and that I did it "right", with bended knee and a diamond ring held out to you in anticipation.

I look forward to this day each year, for it means celebrating a union that is good and strong. It means that we've made it to another milepost, surely having passed the time with a great deal of laughter, with some exasperation for the habits we each have that drive the other crazy, but with the determination that we will learn a bit more patience with each other every day, and with an always deeper commitment to each other.

Nothing worthwhile comes without attendant struggles, but being your husband is singularly easy. How could it not be, when I have you for my bedrock?

I love you, I am grateful for the happiness you have brought into my life, I hope I return that happiness to you in full measure, and I am looking forward to the rest of our adventure together in this life.

Happy anniversary, honey.

From The Nothing-Succeeds-Like-Excess Department...

So I was just sitting and wondering what to do with that extra $60 million that's burning a hole in my pocket, when the Universe whacked me up side the head with a clue stick, leaving this inspiration. Prepare to be amazed.

Daily Zen

I subscribe to a feed on Facebook called My Daily Zen, and while today's bit of wisdom is not nearly ambiguous to really be a Zen koan, it is a wonderful bit of wisdom: There are three ways you can get to the top of a tree: sit on an acorn; make friends with a bird; climb it.

The OKC Bomb, 15 Years On

I have no words to match those of Ed Vulliamy, who reported on the Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995, on Timothy McVeigh, and now on the 15th anniversary of the bombing.

I remained horrified by the mass murder committed by a former American soldier and cannot fathom how he thought any cause was served by killing 19 children, among his 168 victims.

I am now and will forever remain in awe of the people of Oklahoma City. They showed the rest of us -- yes, I'm looking at you, New York City -- how to honor the memory of those taken by the faithless in truly senseless acts of violence.

Notes From My Week...

• Dreamworks is slowly building into a powerhouse animation studio, with Kung Fu Panda a couple of years ago and now How To Train Your Dragon. They've developed a Pixar-like knack in their storytelling, especially as they tone down the dependence on pop cultural references. Honestly, the moments when Hiccup was riding on the back of Toothless, and there was nothing else but the two of them and the sky were exhilarating. The story was pretty standard, with the young boy who was an outcast in his own society, who discovers a basic flaw in that society and manages to lead his people into a new and better way of life and become accepted and valued. The humor seemed less forced than in some other Dreamworks features, and the emotions in the story seemed genuine.


• Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution is a riveting hour of television. In tonight's episode, I think that Jamie found the key to making his revolution a success: enlisting high school age kids who have a vested interest in a healthier diet, have them cook for local movers and shakers who could shake loose the money needed to train school cooks in cooking from scratch for masses, and then give their testimonials to the movers and shakers.


• Indications are that my job duties are about to be shaken up. Nothing official yet, but the signs are there.


• It's been great exchanging messages with an old friend from high school this week (you know who you are!).