The wonder of small books

Maybe because it's the dog days of the semester, I've been turning lately to books I've not been assigned to read. Non-textbooks, that is. Little books, easy to digest. Not even books of stories but travel guides and short histories.

Two of my favorite series are from Phaidon Press and Arcadia Publishing. I discovered the former in the Amsterdam airport, the latter in a used bookstore in Eau Claire, Wis.

Phaidon (whose Wallpaper City Guides are pictured above) publishes visually striking books on a realm of topics from art, architecture and design to travel, food and children's books.

Arcadia, as provincial as Phaidon is cosmopolitan, prints thousands of titles about local history. Your hometown might be published. You can search their extensive catalog by location, topic (baseball, campus histories, motoring, etc.) or theme (African-American, national parks, railroads, et al.).

Time stops at random intersections

Ten days that reveal the apparent randomness of life:

Sun Apr 13 -- Jason, aka Prague traveling companion, visits E.C. to see his ailing dad, then comes over to our house where we share a wonderful meal. We bid farewell hoping to catch up with one another in a couple of months.
Thu Apr 17 -- I host a panel discussion at a Bethel University journalism conference that included the very talented Christina Capecchi, a recent Medill journalism grad, MinnPost colleague and former writer for The Catholic Spirit.
Fri Apr 18 -- Jason calls. His father died, after a long illness. Ann agrees to preside at the funeral.
Sun Apr 20 -- I see the rest of Jason's family for the first time in 23 years.
Mon Apr 21 -- At the funeral, as happens at funerals, eras collide: Lisa, Rob, others with whom we have had interconnected lives, gather to bring condolences. Everyone holds in tension the mix of memories, some superlative, some regretful. We commemorate it all.
Tue Apr 22 -- I play hooky from school (for the first time in my grad career) and travel with Jason up to the north woods. The past has its place; the present is 68 degrees and sunny on a grand April day. Many pictures are taken.
Today -- Christina e-mails a group of friends and aquaintances. Emilie, another former Catholic Spirit reporter, has received devastating news. (Her blog, LemmonDrops, is linked at left.) Time stops again at a random intersection where the lives of friends, family, co-workers, spouses, ex-spouses and acquaintances all meet.

Is there a constant through it all? God's promise to us: "Be not afraid. I go before you always. Come, follow me. And I will give you rest." (Listen to Be Not Afraid, by John Michael Talbot).





Ken Tetzloff, 12.29.25-4.17.08

Playing center field: Pope Benedict

The Dalai Lama is traveling across the U.S. at the same time Pope Benedict XVI is visiting the East Coast. Perhaps the two most recognizable religious figures in the world nearly crossed paths in this foreign land.

We forget that it is a foreign land to the rest of the world. True, American culture is ubiquitous. But these two spiritual leaders come from different worlds. The Dalai Lama descends from the reincarnated line of spiritual and temporal leaders of the Tibetan people. Although the pope heads the Western church (as opposed to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, for example), the U.S. church is a different animal altogether. The global Roman Catholic Church is considerably more ethnically diverse -- and theologically and politically conservative -- than what is often associated with U.S. Catholicism. And with all due respect to the poor within our borders, even the lower and middle economic classes in this country are rich by much of the world's standards.

Our media coverage of the visits of His Holiness and the Holy Father help interpret these leaders' views to us Americans. I wonder what interpretations they take back to the larger world of their visits here.

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Link to Steve's appearance on KSTP-TV in Minneapolis/St. Paul discussing the pope's visit.

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(Above: Doug Mills/New York Times photo of Pope Benedict XVI celebrating Mass at the Washington Nationals' new ballpark.)

Remembering Praha

photos by jason tetzloff mar 08

Knitting a web

I clicked on Gosford Park under the favorite movie listing in my own profile, and the first blogger to come up was Sway Knits from New York, N.Y. Now that wouldn't ordinarily catch my attention, except that knitting is to Ann as the ballpark is to me. Turns out it has beautiful photography and a dash of wit and style, not to mention knitting patterns. Of course, I've passed along the link.

All because I liked Gosford Park.

Storm clouds west of Menopause

On my way to St. Paul the other day I left home in bright sunshine but encountered darkening skies halfway there. Innocuously, I sent a text message back home to say: "Storm clouds west of Menomonie." As text technology is inclined to do, it finished the word for me before I completed typing it. So the message read: "Storm clouds west of Menopause."

I'm guessing this is how authors get ideas for their book titles, or how bands come up with names for their songs. It made me realize what it must be like when I finish others' sentences during conversation. Or jump to conclusions in the middle of a story.

Perhaps it’s a worthwhile metaphor for taking the time to speak and listen. Or, as the automatic-word-finisher on my cell phone would say: "Person it’s a world Methodist form take they time to special Anderson list."

How to know you've been in school too long

Yesterday in class, the professor asked how many of us had read Christ and Culture by H. Richard Niebuhr. I was the only one who raised my hand. I mentioned that it was a required book in my first class at seminary. How old am I?

Longevity has its advantages. For example, I've discovered seven answers will pretty much get you through seminary. Regardless of the question, one of these responses likely will be suitable.

The Seven Answers to Get You Through Seminary

Context matters.
It's our eschatalogical hope.
We need a new paradigm.
That's evidence of our postmodern mileau.
We need to create space for ambiguity.
Everything is an interpretation.
It's not an either/or but a both/and.