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Inspired by the Olympics.  I’m sure there are others.  There are others, right?  And I’m realize that I’m stretching the definitions of famous.  And also stretching the definition of Mennonite.   But because there no trampolinists or golfers, I have not stretched the definition of athlete.  I kid.  I kid!

Cindy Klassen: Canadian speed skater.  Star of [...]

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The Olympics opening ceremony has me thinking about Asian cinema.  I’ve seen almost none — no horror, almost no anime, nothing obscure, nothing that isn’t Chinese or Japanese — but with those limitations here’s my favorites.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Unrequited love.  Check.  Kick-ass women. Check.  Beautiful people. Check. Heartbreaking ending.  Check.
In the Mood For Love.  [...]

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With the dog days of August, ovens are rendered overkill.  Perfect summer meals should require no baking at all and minimal cooking.  So here are 5 perfect summer foods:

bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches (it has to be good bacon — none of that turkey bacon shit  — and good tomatoes and no iceberg lettuce please).
gazpacho [...]

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A summer pop song should be everything the phrase suggests: poppy, frothy, bouncing fun.  Lyrically, it should at least make sense (and be easy to memorize) but not deliver anything too weighty.  And it should definitely have a beat but not a heavy one.  And for goodness’ sakes, it should be be able to deliver [...]

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I turned in my last final last night and (as soon as I pay my bill) will be in possession of yet another Master’s degree that might or might not prove useful.
Having just finished two years of classes on publishing, I will celebrate with you — oh gentle readers — by posting 5 of the [...]

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Classic books that I haven’t read and the only guilt I feel is that I don’t feel more guilty about not having read them (although life is long so who knows):

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy: It’s 1,400 pages long. I would need to take a sabbatical from work to finish it in a [...]

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I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell by Tucker Max
The Next Millionaires by Paul Zane Pilzer
Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts
The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory
The Dogs of Babel: A Novel by Carolyn Parkhurst

I should post photos of who was reading what but honestly, if you read the book synopses, you can stereotype them pretty accurately.

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The Mennonite Historical Bulletin has compiled an “Essential Mennonite History Reading List” listing 41 books which
all Mennonites should read in order to be sufficiently knowledgeable about the many facets of our church history.
Daunting but fair enough. Confession: I’ve read 3 and dabbled in a fourth. (No one reads the entire Martyr’s Mirror. I [...]

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In honor of Memorial Day (a day late)

The Things They Carried: Tim O’Brien*
Catch-22: Joseph Heller
The Red Badge of Courage: Stephen Crane
The Regeneration Trilogy [Regeneration/The Eye in the Door/The Ghost Road]: Pat Barker
All Quiet on the Western Front: Erich Maria Remarque

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I feel like I’ve been spending a lot of my time recently reading, writing and hearing corporate lingo.  You know, those words that sort of sound like real words but aren’t; verbs turned into nouns, nouns turned into verbs and then all strung together in a sentence that sounds impressive but means absolutely nothing.  So [...]

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