Ah Autumn....the smell of censorship is in the air.

I can't believe it! I forgot to mention Banned Books Week! The last week of September the American Library Association publishes the list of books that have received the most requests to be removed from shelves in schools, public libraries, and retail stores. Of course, it never happens.

The ALA celebrates Banned Books Week in order to bring attention to the books. Take a look at the list. Have you read any of them? I sure have. :) I have already read the red ones, and the blues ones are on my list for this year.

Alexie, Sherman. "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian."
Anderson, Laurie Halse. "Twisted."
Angelou, Maya. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."
Block, Francesca Lia. "Baby Be-Bop."
Boyle, T. Coraghessan. "The Tortilla Curtain."
Brown, Marc Tolon. "Buster's Sugartime."
Burroughs, Augusten. "Running with Scissors."
Cast, P.C. and Kristin Cast. "House of Night." (Series)
Chbosky, Stephen. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."
Comfort, Alex. "Joy of Sex."
Crutcher, Chris. "Deadline."
Drill, Ester. "Deal with It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a gURL."
Dubberley, Emily. "Sex for Busy People: The Art of the Quickie for Lovers on the Go."
Ehrenreich, Barbara. "Nickle and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America."
Frank, Anne. "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl."
Fuentes, Carlos. "Aura."
Garrison, Eric Marlowe. "Mastering Multiple Position Sex."
Hahn, Mary Downing. "The Dead man in Indian Creek."
Harding, Kat. "Lasbian Kama Sutra."
Hartinger, Brent. "Geography Club."
Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants: A Short Story: The Complete Short Stories of Hemingway."
Hitler, Adolf. "Mein Kampf."
Irving, John. "A Prayer for Owen Meany."
Johnson, Maureen. "The Bermudez Triangle."
King, Stephen. "Survivor Type. A Short Story from Skeleton Crew."
Kingsolver, Barbara. "The Bean Trees."
Klausen, Jytte. "The Cartoons That Shook the World."
Knowles, Jo. "Lessons from a Dead Girl."
Lee, Harper. "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Lippman, Laura. "The Crack Cocaine Diet: A Short Story from Hardly Knew Her."
Martin, Michael. "Kurt Cobain."
McDonald, Brian. "In the Middle of the Night."
Mead, Richelle. "Vampire Academy." (Series)
Merriam-Webster Editorial Staff. "Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary."
Meyer, Stephenie H. "Twilight." (Series)
Moore, Alan. "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier."
Morrison, Toni. "Song of Solomon."
Myracle, Lauren. "ttyl"
Richardson, Justin, and Peter Parnell. "And Tango Makes Three."
Schrag, Ariel, ed. "Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age."
Scott, Elizabeth. "Living Dead Girl."
Sedaris, David. "I Like Guys: A Short Story from Naked."
Seierstad, Asne. "The Bookseller of Kabul."
Selzer, Adam. "How to Get Suspended and Influence People."
Shusterman, Neal. "Unwind"
Sliverstein, Charles, and Felice Picano. "The Joy of Gay Sex."
Snyder, Zikpha Keatley. "The Egypt Game."
Sones, Sonya. "One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies."
Toriyama, Akira. "Dragon Ball: the Monkey King."
Von Ziegesar, Cecily. "Only in Your Dreams: A Gossip Girl Novel."
Walker, Margaret. "Jubilee."
Walls, Jeannette. "The Glass Castle: A Memoir."
WritersCorps. "Paint Me Like I Am: Teen Poems."

On a side noet I am pleased that I have met THREE of the authors listed above: Marc Brown, Toni Morrison, and Barbara Kingsolver.

Great Plain Circle Farmer meets Apache Pyrmid Builder

0930PM, Thursday, January 28, 2010

I decided to check-in and prepay my checked baggage the night before my flight. I was planning on leaving Olney around 2:00AM to catch my early morning flight to Phoenix. As I pulled up my itinerary I noticed that I had two flights booked. One was my original flight through Memphis and the other through Minneapolis both ending in Phoenix. Sure…I was confused. I made a phone call to see which flight was actually mine. I was informed that my flight was canceled and the second one, through Minneapolis, was my new flight. To confuse matters more I was now flying on a Northwest Airlines flight on a Delta jet operated by Frontier Air Services. I was really looking forward to getting to the heat of Arizona as soon as possible…but now it would be five hours later than I wanted. Oh well. No harm done.

0900AM, Friday, January 29, 2010

I enjoy flying. I enjoy the airport. There is something mysterious about the whole thing. Everyone is busy. Buses and taxis are lined up in front. The smell of jet fuel adds to the anticipation of everything. Airports buildings interest me. They are all the same once you’re in the secure area, but the terminal is always something unique. They are vestiges of a better time in our country; a time when travel was new, exciting, and romantic. Much like the countless Union Stations around the country, airports too are city specific and intended to lure the public into the door and out to the world. The terminal at St. Louis is nothing spectacular, but the large open space with gaping archways throughout is unique to a city which as one pilot mentioned is the only city that comes with its own handle.

Airport security has always been an adventure for me. It started early today with a pretty complete search of my truck before I could park. Because I’m a slight creature of habit I park in the same section of the garage. I was here in August, September, and now January. I’m not kidding you when I tell you that I parked next to the same car each time. It is a red 70’s something Cadillac with four flat tires, expired plates, and a pretty thick covering of dust. Others have noticed this long term parker as well and have started to write dates in the dust. I found my two previous dates that I wrote and I added today. Knowing what I pay to park there for a weekend, I’d hate to get the bill for that car. Once inside I had no idea who to check in with. Delta? Northwest? Frontier? I picked Delta since that is who I remember paying…and I was right.

As usual, the security screening was fun. After I remove my shoes, took off my belt, and put everything on the x-ray thingy I figured I was done. Of course not. I was once again taken aside for the pat down. It always happens. I’m used to it. But it got interesting this time since my belt was not with me and I was not allowed to put my hands at my side. The TSA lady almost got more than she bargained for.

I’m sitting here at my gate listening to people who are delayed, canceled, or otherwise stranded. And just where were these people going? Memphis. I guess it’s a good thing that my bankrupted name-changing altogether confusing airline changed my flight last night. I’ve never been to Minneapolis before…dontcha know…

1030AM, Friday, January 29, 2010

My flight was a little late to Minneapolis leaving me about ten minutes to switch planes. I had no idea where I was going, but I was running to get there. Of course, I had to go just about as far as I could go…and it seemed that the entire Minneapolis airport is up hill. After the quickest bathroom break ever I made it on the plane. Last one on!

It was three hours to Phoenix. For three hours I sat in the middle of a family of morons. It was like the Griswold Family Vacation to the American Southwest. The two kids were homeschooled and taking a two week trip out west to learn hands on stuff. (I have nothing against homeschooling, but it needs to be done right.) The young son was sitting against the window commenting about the fields below. From the air it is easy to see the large circles created by the irrigation systems used in fields. The son pointed out the “crop circles” and the dad said…I kid you not, “Well son. Farmers in the Great Plain states do what is called circular farming. It is easier for them to drive their tractors in big circles than it is to turn around at the end of each row.” AND THE KID BOUGHT IT. What bothers me more is that the father believed it too! I wanted to tell the father that sometimes it just best to say, “Huh. That’s pretty neat. I wonder why there are circles.” Oh well.

As we passed over the rugged mountains of Arizona it was the daughter this time that pointed out the beautiful topography. Once again Father Know It All chimed in with a history lesson. He said, “If you look closely kids, you’ll be able to see the great pyramids and temples that the Native American peoples build to worship their god.” I must have given him a “wtf” look because he asked me if I was from the area. I told him I was from a big circle farm in Nebraska. My tractor only turns left. Then I pointed out the window and said, “Look kids! Parliament…Big Ben!” There are some people that really should breed.

0500PM, Friday, January 29, 2010

I changed into my sandals before walking outside. I love seeing palm trees and cacti in January. J

You know what they say...

Everyone knows that boys are better than girls at math, that spicy foods will cause a pregnant woman to bare a son, and that lemmings drown themselves en masse. Likewise, we all believe that strange things happen during a full moon, that people become more conservative as they get older, and that stomach cramps will sink a swimmer who goes in the water too soon after eating. The only trouble with all this common knowledge is that it's wrong. Rarely, in fact, do we bother to question what "everyone knows," let alone check whether common beliefs are supported by good research.

I was raised to be a free thinker. To be unbounded in a world of accepted commonality. If you really want to honk me off, just start a sentence with “You know, they say that…..” Who are they? Why do they say what they say? And why should I believe you for simply telling me what they say.

These sayings of common knowledge are misleading and dangerous. Argumentum ad populum (appealing to the people) is a fallacy that leads to people taking something as a hard fact just because enough people have said the same. Some of these sayings are harmless: “You know what they say about big feet…” But others do nothing but spread disinformation and prejudice. It was Voltaire who said, “Common knowledge is not so common.”

Common sense quotations have become a part of our American folk wisdom. I’m sure that there is a grain of truth buried somewhere in the long history of most folk wisdom sayings. Some even come from well rooted English histories. For example, it was Shakespeare’s King Richard III who said that only the good die young. Well, that is not entirely accurate. King Richard III said, “So wise so young, they say do never live long.”

I encourage you to always do your own research, seek facts for yourself, and never accept the common. Discover for yourself! After all…they say that “Knowledge is power.”

1) “Knowledge is Power” is attributed to which English philosopher?

2) What are some of your favorite “They say” sayings?