The There's Not Much To Say Edition

Apologies for the relative silence of the last few weeks. March is the time of numerous spring paper deadlines and as such I've spent the bulk of the period writing several essays. My paper on the Scopes Trial got a great mark and I'm hoping that the two I turned in this past week will bear similar fruit. The first paper was the second of three for my European Reformation class. Here's an excerpt.

The daily life of the laity was to be spent in pious contemplation. To reinforce the teachings of the Church, religious images were employed to great degree. The interiors of churches were filled with ornate displays of artwork depicting biblical scenes and saints. The Carolus Borromeus church in Antwerp, for example, had 39 ceiling painting and a large painting behind the altar that had a mechanism designed to switch the painting on command. Could this have been some form of a 16th century “show” to entertain the faithful as well as inform them? It is impossible to think such a display would not have a powerful effect on the laity, marvelling at he grandeur of the Church. These visual aids served a dual purpose- to inspire the faithful in their worship and to overwhelm the viewer with the power and majesty of the Church.

The full text of that can be found HERE The other paper was the one I'd spent the better part of the last few months researching for my Modern Espionage class. When I finally finished the paper it clocked in at 17 pages, which as it turned out was 7 pages above the limit set by my professor. He thankfully granted me an extra day to trim it to 10 pages. I'm not sure the final 10 page is as good, but one can hope. Here's an excerpt.

While American post-mortems of the Iran crisis are filled with finger pointing, personal reprisals, and disagreements, one point that is common is the failure of the intelligence to understand the nature of the Shah’s physical state. The Shah’s health had steadily declined since the mid-70s. French doctors diagnoses cancer, yet the Shah’s denial and avoidance of his disease had left his health status a virtual state secret. Intelligence services were completely unaware of the serious of his illness and when rumours did surface in the CIA station in Tehran they were attributed to Soviet disinformation. Without knowing the extent of the Shah’s cancer, the intelligence analysts could not accurately forecast the probability of the Shah’s reactions to forces inside and outside his government, his stamina to withstand the pressures of the opposition, or the immediacy of his possible succession. As protests grew in size and frequency in Iran, on 29 October 1978, the State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research predicted the collapse of the Shah’s regime within 18 months at the most. On 9 November Ambassador William Sullivan sent a telegram to Washington arguing that the time had come to begin “thinking the unthinkable.” Yet several weeks later in a New Year’s Eve visit to Tehran President Carter toasted the Shah as “an island of stability in one of the more troubled areas of the world”. There can be no clearer disconnection between intelligence analysis and policy makers than this incident. Within weeks the Shah would board a plane for a supposed holiday never to return to Iran and shortly thereafter the Ayatollah Khomeini would receive a hero’s welcome in the streets of Tehran.

The rest of the text can be read HERE Here's hoping I get decent marks on both. The next (and last) paper I have for this term is due Tuesday- the third Reformation paper- this one is on Geneva and the Calvinist movement. Shell is finishing up her project next week and as soon as school is done I'll be back at the ice cream mines full time. We're hoping something will come along soon for her though. I'm only a month away from softball season! I'm going to play again with the team that my father-in-law and I played for last year, and I'm also playing with a new team here in G'town. That gets me back to three nights a week which will help get me back into something resembling 'shape'. I'm hoping the local team winds up better than the one last year. In case you're new to the TGIF, the team I played for in G'town last year I wound up leaving because the coach was a complete jerk. Anyway this new team will be different I pray since I really want to play a night close to home where I can be home 15 minutes after the game ends rather than the hour it takes to get home from the other league. I really enjoy playing with those guys out there though because they have loads of fun and they really seem to want me to be a part of the team. Of course the big reason is that I get to play with Dad Snyder. This week in pictures... Playing with Daddy's Snoopy head cover and Falcons hat... Lovely long blonde hair... Gracie and Mommy all smiles... Sitting pretty in green... Just Ginny from the block... Playing with piggies before bedtime... Enjoying the spring day on Mommy's park bench... Making a face like cousin Quinn and showing her Canadian pride... Showing off a nice hat.. One of the Cubs prezzies from Scott & Alli... The carnage of carrots... Sneaky grin... mmm....JoJo=tasty clown... Close up... Looking up... Enjoying the great outdoors in her USA hat from Emma Bee... Until next week.. Cheers

The Long Goodbye Edition

[...and now part two of the travelogue...] There is a shock to the system when you go from freezing temps to sun and sand and seventy degrees...and I could stand for my system to be shocked some more. Saturday was going to be our really long day. The boys were playing golf, the girls were shopping, and then a cookout and poker would keep me up till the wee small hours of the morning. But this would also be the day that I saw my old gang and since I wasn't going to be spending much of my time with them I wanted to make sure I made the most of it. First was the 7:54 tee time, which was not difficult for me since GG had me awake at 4am. I think by then I'd had roughly 7 hours of sleep...since Tuesday. I'm not supposed to be THAT sleep deprived on a vacation that doesn't involve the roulette tables in the Bellagio. Yet there I was...completely scuppered with a long day ahead. Now there's a goal in golf- the shoot your age. And I'm proud to say that on Saturday I shot my age. Of course I was so happy that I shot my age I went right out and did it three times for a crowd pleasing 112. It's the highest round I've played since I was in my mid-20s, but to be fair I didn't play at all last year and I probably hadn't picked up a club in close to 2 years...I just haven't had the chance. The only redeeming things about my round was that I was playing with my best friends, Dave and Scott, and it was gorgeous outside and NOT snowing and 0 degrees. A bad round of golf beats a good day of work as the old cliche goes... [l to r, Scott, Dave, me, Joey] Aren't we a fun-loving looking bunch? and that was BEFORE we played...see the hopes and dreams in our eyes, the promise of a good round of golf, the innocence about to be lost in the sand, the water, the trees, and the occasional backyard of a neighboring house. So sad. Here Scott wonders where it all went oh so horribly wrong...to which I say, "when we took up this infernal game". And that was only on the third hole... Dave after another long drive with his new Nike clubs... Scott tees up on #11 with clubs I think he borrowed from Moses...Scott needs a new set of irons...I think his current set was forged on Mount Doom by Sauron... After golf, and a quick bite to eat I managed a brief nap and then it was off to Scott's for an evening of baseball drafting for our Roto league, and then some late-night poker. Just about all the guys turned out and with Scott's kids, Josh, Gracie, and Dave Lenda's new baby boy the house was full-on wired. That Scott and Allison would go through the trouble of hosting this event, submitting their house to the sheer size of the crowd is a testament to the kind of people they are...NUTS! No actually they are lovely, wonderful people and I'm so very lucky that they are my friends... Katie (Scott and Alli's youngest) really took to Gracie and is growing up to be such a beautiful young lady. She was also student of the month at her school!!! Of course a big thrill was meeting Dave Lenda's little boy, Alexander, who is only 2 weeks younger than Ginny Grace... The draft and cookout were fabulous and I think I broke even at poker winning a few late pots and taking a horrible beat when my full house Jacks and nines was beated by a straight flush...ouch. I did however win a big pot with a great read in a game of Maverick when my 4 Jacks beat out Lenda's 4 Sevens (which he was representing as Queens) I made it bed around 3:30 am so here I was yet again with virtually no sleep in 24 hours. The abuse to my body was obscene. Sunday meant the big family dinner at my brother's house (luckily he wasn't at Scott's the night before or there would have been 4 Daves there and that's just too many Daves). Dave and Di had a variety of presents for us. Our Christmas presents they had hung on to plus stuff for Ginny Grace. They spoiled us all rotten. They gave me a gift certificate for Barnes and Knoble that I used to get for my summer reading- the reading I can do without needing to write finals about. I picked up:

All the President's Spin: George W. Bush, the Media, and the Truth by the editors of spinsanity.com. I've been wanting to read this for quite some time. Nothing Like It In The World: The Men Who Built the Transcontintental Railroad by Stephen Ambrose. War in a Time of Peace by David Halberstam, one of the best author's in the US. Eyewitness to Power by David Gergen. Gergen was a politcal and media advisor to four Presidents, and this book is subtitled "The Essence of Leadership- Nixon to Clinton" so it should be a great read. and finally The Most Fearful Ordeal which is a collection of articles written in the New York Times covering the Civil War. It's edited and notated by James McPherson who wrote the best Civil War book I've ever read "Battle Cry of Freedom".

So as you can see I'm anxious for school to let out so I can dig deeply into some great books. When my wife saw my purchases, she just shook her head...I think she thinks I'm weird and wishes I'd buy something outside of history once in a while, but it is what I love so... I can't thank Dave and Di enough. They spoiled Gracie so much with all the stuff they got for her. They weren't the only ones either. Dave and Missy, Scott and Alli, my mom and sister...they all went way overboard. Missy must have picked up a half dozen or more outfits for GG. Scott and Allison gave her two Cubs outfits that she'll wear this summer while we're watching baseball! My mom and sister gave us so much stuff (my Mother actually called today to say she got her two more outfits this afternoon that she's sending along...sheesh). We honestly could barely pack the car to go home. It was overwhelimg the love and kindness. GG enjoying her 'Bucket Buddies' toys from Dave and Di... The great thing was to have all the grandchildren together... [top to bottom: Nicholas, Natalie, Nathan, Gracie, Samantha, Kayla, and Tina] What an ominous brood...but they could not have been more well behaved and wonderful...Natalie, Nathan, and Kayla are a wonderful addition to the family, though a bit shy around me and Shell since they don't see us too often...one big regret is that we don't get to see them more to fully appreciate them... The trampoline in the backyard seemed to attract kids from all over the neighborhood. At one point there seemed to be more kids that weren't family there than were, but they thinned out the closer we got to dinner time. Of course the biggest kid of all was my brother...this is only going to end badly isn't it? They managed to get Shell on there too...I told you this would end badly... They tried to coax me to join in on the fun but I had no desire to lose my dignity, my lunch, and possibly my pants...still it was fun. And as the sun began to set I quickly snapped some of my favorite pictures for this post...my two beautiful girls... I'm still the luckiest guy on the planet. I was so glad my brother got to meet her and he loved her and held her and was just so sweet to her... We finally got out of there and because we hadn't been able to really say goodbye to my dad and knowing that he's really been sad that we're so far away, we spent an extra day in town to see him and make sure he had some time with Ginny Grace since we don't know when we'll get a chance to get back. Hopefully if another project comes along for Shell soon we'll be able to pop down again before summer is out, but at least this way he got some extra time with GG... Getting as much done as we could, and seeing as many people as possible it was time to pack up and head back to Canada. We sure did enjoy it down there, with our family and friends though...and hey the weather didn't hurt. GG was even able to see the world through her first pair of her very own sunglasses... She enjoyed herself and the warm weather so much that I had a hard time keeping her socks on today...she kept pulling them off so her piggies could breathe free. There's just something about being barefoot that makes the world so much more tolerable. Where there you have it, the adventures of Virginia in Virginia Beach, Virginia...try saying that ten times fast. It's nice to be home, but it's home there too. And while the distance and the separation is often daunting, it's still just good to know there exists a place where people love you, where you never have to worry about saying the wrong thing, and there's always someone telling you, "y'all come back now, y'hear?" That's it for now...I'm spent and I really need some sleep. So until next week, Cheers

The Interstate Love Song Edition

Last night I hit rock bottom. In the vernacular of recovery, hitting rock bottom is the point at which you turn toward getting better. The nadir I reached last night had nothing to do with substances but everything to do with stress and exhaustion. Hours later in the clear light of day (or as clear as I can manage it) I think the recipe of the meltdown I had last night was chockablock with stirred feelings of people I had just left behind, the tension of our uncertain financial future, and the realization that I'm just not as young as I used to be- certainly not young enough to make that long, long drive on very little sleep. Now that I went through it though I know that the friends back in the States will always be connected to me no matter what distance, I know that the fear of what we will do if Shell doesn't get another project soon is something that I certainly don't have to swallow and abide silently because she's strong too, and I also know that in the future we won't make that long trip in one stretch, and I certainly will catch up on my sleep soon. So while I'm not exactly sure that I'm in a great frame of mind today, I do have lots to share about our trip to the Beach. In fact there's so much (and so many pictures too) that I'll be breaking this TGIF up into several posts- so look for several more related TGIFs coming in the next few days... Before I begin our little travel recap though I have to point to two significant milestones today- Ginny Grace is 6 months old today, and today is also the 5th anniversary of the day Shell and I met in Vegas. I love you so much Baboo. Now onto our trip. We left late last Tuesday night, managing to get a jump start and allow a bulk of the drive to coincide with Gracie's sleep. Somehow we got everything into the car (including my clubs) and set off for the long drive. GG was snuggled in the back with Shell and Willow. She seemed to enjoy the first part of the trip... Shell was her usual trooper self, managing to keep me together and the family from falling apart... Dixie got to ride shot-gun and spent most of the time with her head on my shoulder staring into the backseat... We stopped for breakfast in D.C. and everyone had a big stretch...Ginny Grace was still in a decent mood until we hit her namesake state...then the cranky started...here she was in a more reflective moment before the tears... We made it to my parents' house where we were spending our first night and of course it had to be the first stop anyway since the grandparents always have 'dibs' on the baby...I didn't think my Mom was going to let us get GG back... Then since we were having to leave the dogs with them for the week we wanted to take the puppies to the beach for the afternoon. It was really windy but Willow (and Gracie) seemed to enjoy their first taste of (and in both cases they actually DID taste) the beach. Willow played fetch so much that her mouth was filled with sand...in Gracie's case we sat her in the sand and she managed to grab a handful and shovel it toward her face. We knew she would do it, but Shell's reflexes...s-l-o-w. GG didn't get too much in her mouth, but the look on her face was priceless. Then it was off to Dave and Missy's house where we could leave our bags and so they could meet GG. We were staying with them after the first night, and I knew they'd not want to wait that long to see the baby...Missy was quite in love, and Dave's mom Helen was there too and got some Gracie time as well... Thursday and Friday were spent recovering from the drive and having a lovely dinner and conversation with Dave, Missy and Josh. [coming in Part 2- hitting the links, poker night, and the big family dinner...]

The March Is Madness Edition

March has finally arrived and with it the crush of writing projects I have due...deadlines, deadlines, and more deadlines. Thus far I'm doing fairly well I think. I managed to get my papers on the Scopes Trial completed. Here is an excerpt:

A generation after the humiliation of its defeat in the American Civil War, the South remained a region searching for the means to reclaim its own history, culture, and pride. The wounds of the war and reconstruction remained open and exacerbated by the perception that the North continued a philosophical intrusion into Southern life. The Scopes Trial touched upon many aspects of the lingering bitterness such as States’ Rights, the overarching theme of the civil war which reappeared in Tennessee’s claim of an inherent right to teach its youth what it wanted without regard to what Northern states or the Federal government deemed proper. This argument, while not an overt one, coloured the participants’ perspective. The threads of the States’ Rights debate remained foremost in the minds of southern peoples. The Southern view created a sense of “exceptionalism” within the population- a key aspect of which resided in its appreciation for the active role of religion in daily life. Though William Jennings Bryan was not a southerner he spoke the common language of the evangelical faith. His speeches in defence of the literal biblical truth became a shibboleth to the southern faithful. In contrast, Clarence Darrow was an avowed atheist whose defence of evolution served as a full-frontal assault on Christianity. To the southern evangelicals Darrow was in league with the devil representing the forces of darkness and attempting to blot out the light of Christ. The Scopes trial coalesced the disparate factions of fundamentalism in defense of the Bible as the literal truth of creation. Religion also fused rural citizens together behind a supposed attack from an agnosticism, atheism and liberal religious philosophy of urban intellectuals. Whereas in the North there was an understood separation of Church and State, in the South, such a separation was less rigid and in some cases non-existent. Invocation of the Bible was common to daily life in the South. Science was perceived as another attacking force from the North threatening the God-fearing South, much in the same way industrialization had been an invading force against the agricultural civilization a generation before. The idea that the North was yet again forcing its belief system on the South renewed the anxiety and fear with southern communities.

If you have the time and want to read the whole paper (it's actually quite short) you can do so by clicking HERE I have to thank my wife and also my friend Rabia for lending their eyes and editorial skills in helping me make it better. I also finished reading "The Collaborator", Alice Kaplan's book about Robert Brasillach the French intellectual and writer who was convicted of treason after the liberation of Paris in 1944. It was a wonderful read and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in history. I spent almost all of Sunday buried deep in the stacks of Robarts Library, working on gathering research for my big paper in Modern Espionage. I haven't yet begun putting it together as I've still a few more books to read and a few additional sources to search out but I think I know the gist of the material and I hope the paper will be my best yet. (there's always hope right?) Saturday, Steve and Tara came to visit us and spent the evening enjoying good food (because Shelley cooked her lasagne) and some quantity time with Ginny Grace. I say 'quantity time' because it didn't make for much 'quality' as GG was pretty fussy which honestly is rather rare for her. But she was overly tired and her schedule was off so she was cranky. Still it was a nice evening and we enjoyed having some company...especially Dixie who is in love with Tara (and vice versa). It is less than a week now before we pile the family into the car and make the long roadtrip down to Virginia Grace's namesake state. I'm looking forward to everything except the drive itself and for the first time I'm not nervous about the border crossing- in fact it will be fun to show them GG's birth certificate. I just hope the weather and the traffic and the car cooperate and we have a safe, smooth go of it. Just in case you are interested here are my Oscar picks for this Sunday. I'm actually looking forward to the show, mostly because I think Jon Stewart will be a great host. I didn't get to see any of the main nominated films this year...gone are the days when I saw them all...that's what not working and having a baby will do to ya...so remember that kids.. The best movie that I did see though was Syriana and it wasn't nominated... I'm not giving you all the picks just the top ones and a selected few extras

Performance by an actor in a leading role Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Capote" Performance by an actor in a supporting role Paul Giamatti in "Cinderella Man" Performance by an actress in a leading role Reese Witherspoon in "Walk the Line" Performance by an actress in a supporting role Rachel Weisz in "The Constant Gardener" Best animated feature "Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit" Best documentary "March of the Penguins" Best Director "Crash" Paul Haggis Best motion picture "Crash" Adapted screenplay "Brokeback Mountain" Screenplay by Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana Original screenplay "Crash" Screenplay by Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco Story by Paul Haggis

In politics, the big news of course is the continual slide of President Bush's approval rating. The latest CBS poll has his approval at 34% the lowest figure of his tenure. Of course Vice President Cheney's approval rating is 18% which I think has to be the lowest approval rating of any Oval Office figure in history. Consider that President Nixon had an approval rating of 25% when he resigned from office in 1974...and Cheney is on 2/3 of that...WOW. Of course the bright spot for Cheney is that if he manages to shoot 2 more 70-year-olds he wins a stuffed bear. This week in pictures yukking it up in her exersaucer... she's really loving that she can sit up in the bed...she can make it for about 4 minutes and then she get's wobbly... of course there's always that tongue... dressed in pink... I guess this is her tough girl pose?... in a thoughtful mood... sitting on Daddy's lap watching JoJo on DVD... after a long day playing with Mommy and Daddy before bedtime... I'm starting to sleep through the night which means Daddy must play with me lots during the day... staring to nod off mid-photo shoot... I pray this is over soon Daddy... oh no...not a hat...this is always death.. hee...I've got your tail Willow.. you do realize that is attached to me right??... Well that's all for now...next week we'll come to you from beautiful and hopefully sunny Virginia Beach! Until then.. Cheers.