Friday, February 28, 2014

Bill Gothard & The Duggars

I don't often post about serious topics or religious issues. But, I have a not so secret loathing of the Duggar Family. Yes, those Duggars. The squeaky clean, modest midwestern family with 19 kids. I think the Duggars aren't an awesome example of family values, rather an insidious marketing ploy for a damaging religious cult. The Duggars have close ties to Bill Gothard. Bill Gothard runs the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBPL) and Advanced Training Institute (ATI). When the Duggars are shown going to the meeting in Big Sandy, Texas, the are actually at the ATI annual meeting.  Bill Gothard has appeared on the Duggars show in the past.

Bill Gothard has never been married and has no children, yet is held up as an expert who freely gives advice to families. Bill Gothard is anti-dating, preferring to use "courtship." He believes that fathers should hold authority over their daughters, and even have the right to deny an adult daughter the right to "court" freely. Bill Gothard believes that music, especially rock music (even Christian Rock) is dangerous (sounds familiar huh? The Duggars have said that before). Bill Gothard does not believe that women should work outside the home, as it might cause conflict where the woman is under the authority of a man who is not her husband or father. All in all, Bill Gothard is a big steaming heap of horseshit, and should never be trusted further than you can throw him. AND it looks like this is becoming public knowledge. The IBPL has placed Bill Gothard on leave, while sexual harassment charges against him are being investigated. Just how much of Bill Gothard's sketchy personal life were the Duggars aware of? Will they see this fall from grace as an opportunity to expand their world view? Bill Gothard is legalistic and spiritually abusive, and the world needs to know.

Other bloggers and news outlets have much more knowledge into the Bill Gothard scandal than I do.
Please read: A Quiver Full of Information, World Magazine's Coverage,

Monday, February 17, 2014

Books Meme

Totally stole this from Red Nose, because I love books.

1:Favorite children's book
I personally loved Dr Seuss. Reading them and having them read to me. I loved reading them to my kids too. But, even more than that, I loved reading them Where the Wild Things Are

2:The last book you've read
Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson It was YA, somewhat typical YA to be honest. Not that great, but what I needed to keep my mind relaxed.

3:Books on your "to read" list
Well, there are 90+ on my Goodreads Profile (friend me, I accept everyone!). I'm really waiting on Jasper Fforde to release the next book in the Shades of Grey series and Thursday Next series. I'm excited for the end of the Long Earth Trilogy by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. Jaclyn Moriarty is writing a very interesting YA series, the second book The Cracks in the Kingdom comes out in March 2014.

4:Top 5 authors
Terry Pratchett
Julia Quinn
Douglas Adams 
Marian Keyes
Jennifer Crusie

5:Favorite genres
Chick lit, romance, YA, Sci-Fi

6:A book that has made you extremely mad
I have had that reaction multiple times. Cody Diablo's autobiography made me angry and sad. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert had me fuming. Swamplandia by Karen Russel was awful.

7:A book that you've cried over
Anything by Alice Hoffman. When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn never fails to make me sob. Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett has one of the best death scenes EVER written- heart wrenchingly amazing.

8:A book that made you laugh out loud
I don't know. I can't remember

9:Fiction or nonfiction?
Fiction, 90% of the time

10:First book you've read by your favorite author
Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett. Minx by Julia Quinn

11:Best book-to-movie adaption
To Kill a Mockingbird

12:Do you read comics/manga?
Not really.

13:Hardcovers or Paperbacks?
Paperbacks and digital

14:Do you buy books as soon as they come out or wait a while?
Depends on the the author. I'm at the point where I'll pre-order my favorite authors so I get a copy on my Kindle as soon as it's available.

15:Do you buy books spontaneously without any prior knowledge of what happens in it?
If it's a Kindle Daily Deal, sure.

16:Have you ever bought a book based on the cover alone?
Probably.

17:Where do you usually buy your books?
Amazon.

18:Book that had a strong impact on you
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy turned me on to science fiction as a genre.

19:Historical or science fiction?
I'll happily read both

20:Dystopian or Utopian?
Again, I like both

21:Worst book-to-move adaption?
Twilight was a bad book to begin with, so the movie adaptation was just even worse. Stardust killed the source material.

22:Book that should have a movie adaption?
The Westing Game has never gotten a true movie adaptation. It was made for TV a few times, but I think it would work as a family movie.

23:The first book you've fallen in love with
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

24:Humor or angst?
Humor most of the time, but there's a time and place for angst.

25:How many books do you own?
A lot. But, we're paring down the collection. As I buy more books in digital format, I've been donating the paper copy to the VA or other charities.

26:Do you go the library?
A LOT.

27:How many books do you read a year?
200+

28:Favorite "required reading" book?
Utopia by Thomas More

29:Favorite quote?
“Evil begins when you begin to treat people as things.”
Terry Pratchett, I Shall Wear Midnight


30:A book you absolutely hate
Mentioned above, but Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I too, could have traveled the world and found myself for $250K. Because that's what Ms Gilbert did. She got a hefty advance from her publisher and used it to fund her self discovery. The premise of the book was rotten from the start. 

Thursday, February 13, 2014

So, Valentine's Day (AKA Be Nice to Your Waiter)

I'm married to a chef. You know what they call Valentine's Day in the restaurant business? Amateur Hour. You know why? Because everyone who doesn't go out to dinner the other 354 days a year decides to go out on this one night of the year AND they have high expectations. So, if you are one of those people who goes out on Valentine's and expects it to be The.Best.Night.EVER, it won't be. You want good service, and good food, pick any other day of the year (well, maybe not Christmas, Thanksgiving or another holiday, but Arbor Day might be fun) to go out. Not only will there be less people, you'll get better service. If you do insist on going out, be nice to your server and don't blame the kitchen. Blame everyone sitting around you (and yourself, just a little bit).

This brings us to Valentine's Day in our house. Well, we don't do anything. That's not true. We exchange cards. But, that's it. We do not go out on Valentine's Day. Even now, since my husband has moved from restaurants to corporate kitchens, we don't go out.