Robert just finished reading A Passage to India, by E.M. Forster. He found the book in a stack that Mrs. Everett, a neighbor in Lucas Valley, threw out to the curb in October just before she returned to New Zealand.  He had read the book once before, while traveling through India in his twenties. But Robert needs to re-read books because he never members much of what he read.

Of course, the book is a masterpiece.  Like all novels that Robert feels to be great, what happens to the characters is less important than the social and emotional context of the story. That is the importance and beauty of the novel as a form.

Here’s a video production of the Pierces’ good friend Tony Hoff”s recent 18 day sailboat passage from Bora Bora to Hawaii with his friend “Noodle.”  Highlights include King Neptune’s line crossing ceremony and whale spotting. Not to mention . . . Bee Gees soundtrack.

Check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ACkmg3Y64_s?rel=0

Someone is a Super Speller!

The Pierces are listening to Siddhartha.  Robert recommends Chapter 10 for all parents of young children. Just like Siddhartha, you might find Vasudeva saying things that you already know . . .

Whole Book
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Chapter 10

Internet Archive Site here.

In San Rafael, Santa arrives on a fire truck every year.

Armstrong did not prepare his famous one giant leap epigram in advance. In a 1983 interview with George Plimpton in Esquire Magazine, it was revealed that Armstrong “had produced the lines on his own … and the words were composed not on the long trip up there, as had been supposed by most of his colleagues, nor beforehand but after the actual landing of Eagle on the moon’s surface.” He explained to Plimpton that “I always knew there was a good chance of being able to return to Earth, but I thought the chances of a successful touchdown on the moon surface were about even money—fifty-fifty … Most people don’t realize how difficult the mission was. So it didn’t seem to me there was much point in thinking of something to say if we’d have to abort landing.”

Going way back with this on.

Anyone considering Christmas gifts this year might want to know that audio books and graphic novels make good gifts for children.

For adults, what always makes a great gift is a Har-Tru®  clay tennis court, complete with six thousand pounds of American Red Clay comprised of red stone and brick dust, an Advantage lighting system including vertical burning lamps and patented reflectors, and a HydroCourt® sub-surface irrigation system.

The Pierces have recently been enjoying various interpretations of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece. Over and over again.

The French stage musical production of Notre Dame de Paris with English subtitles, here.  Very worth a look.

And, of course, the Charles Laughton version too.  Robert always cries when she gives him the water (52:35).