I hope this early post won't throw you all off, but I just had to get the party started! Who doesn't know by this time that the President of the United States of America is coming to Manitowoc next Wednesday? What an honor! Such excitement! As a lifelong resident of Manitowoc, I couldn't be prouder that Barack Obama has singled out our community.

The negative internet posts have baffled, and dismayed me. I understand that not everyone is going to respect or agree with his politics, but can't we, as a community, respect his office, and for one day, present a united front, and show some wholesome, Midwest hospitality? Next Wednesday is a day to set aside differences, and allow Manitowoc its 15 minutes of fame, untarnished.

Of Thee I Sing was published in time for the holidays. In it, Obama honors the characteristics that make a diverse, cultured and patriotic community. Focusing on amazing Americans ranging from Helen Keller to Abraham Lincoln, Obama shows children -and the child in all of us - how important it is to recognize our individual potential, and then use that potential to make a positive contribution. I'm hoping that next Wednesday, we can have a day of respect, and celebration, showcasing all that is good about the Lakeshore.

Speaking of next Wednesday...depending on the President's schedule, we will most likely be closed (that is unless he decides to drop in at LaDeDa!). Let's see...pick up a book, or follow the President's visit to Manitowoc? Hmmm...which would you choose?

Today's post

Skip past The Lost Symbol post to find Steve's latest review.

Regarding the must recent Dogblog...yes GB was right. I have picked up a Lake Woebegone collection to get me through some of winter's nastier days. Also on deck is a re-reading of Cleopatra...I flew through it way to quickly, but once again, I think I'll be sidetracked. Saw Patti Smith on charlie rose and have decided to order a copy of her book, Just Kids. Should be in tomorrow...sorry Cleo, back to the sarcophagus.

A weekend of Secrets

Last week, a customer dropped this book off explaining that she had read it, and wanted someone to discuss it with. I was chosen! Having read The DaVinci Code, I basically knew what to expect, although I did cross my fingers that it would not be as violent as Angels and Demons...which I was not able to finish. So far, so good...that is after the severed arm bearing tattooed symbology was found in the rotunda in Washington DC. After that, the book is essentially a cat and mouse game with Brown's favorite character, Robert Langdon, assisting in interpreting and unraveling ancient secrets supposedly held by the Masons. I'm not finding it as rich as The DaVinci Code when it comes to history and lore, but it is nontheless fascinating as it raises questions about what secrets might exist in our society, our communities, and our neighborhoods that could potentially affect social order.

Oddly enough, the movie I had cued up for the weekend was a sleeper indie film called "Little Secrets." Emily is a fourteen-year old violin prodigy who runs a secret keeping business in her spare time. Neighborhood kids line up to confess, and bring her tea cups, chess pieces, and other assorted valuables they have broken. Emily stores them each in a neatly labeled brown bag, tucked safely into a locked trunk. The innocence of this film is refreshing, and eventually, Emily learns that guarding secrets quickly becomes an overwhelming burden.

I also watched a fun Danish film called "Italian for Beginners." Six people, all with personal secrets that have caused great loneliness, find one another and navigate through some hard feelings and bitterness together. I loved this movie. Sure, it's predictable; everyone finds a partner to eat pasta with, but that's not the point. Watch it if you can...but beware, the subtitles are fast and tiny.

I haven't ranted about anything for a while, but today is the day. Etsy.com, is an online shop where artists can open small stores and sell their work. Several Manitowoc artists have Etsy shops and have been successful in making national connections. One of the greeting card shops currently on Etsy.com is called Youstupidbit#& (you can figure out the rest of the word, right?) This shop sells repulsive cards congratulating women on being raped, getting breast cancer and having a child with Downs syndrome. Etsy.com has been challenged, and they are hiding behind their first amendment rights, rather than standing up for decency and sensitivity, and closing the offensive card shop. Some people are calling for a boycott of Etsy.com. but that seems extrme right now. Why penalize hundreds of ethical artists because etsy.com won't do the right thing? I would simply ask you to contact etsy.com and tell them how you feel about these cards.

In light of the apparent tolerance etsy.com is showing, and the weekend's incident in Arizona, it seems time for our nation to do some soul searching. I am not saying that the actions of a single, disturbed individual represent the feelings of the majority of people, but we do need to consider how desensitized we have become to violence, and how numb we are to others' feelings. Grand Theft Auto, one of the fastest selling video games, is based on violence and crime. Sarah Palin has parts of our county in the cross hairs on her website. Kids are being driven to suicide as a result of verbal and cyber bullying....the examples are endless. I don't know what the answer is, but I do know there seems to be a powerful amount of anger in the world. Are we moving too fast? Are we driven by competition, and the need to be bigger, better, richer, faster?

On a day to day basis, I am happy to say that I don't feel these things, but the Tuscon incident got me thinking, and feeling helpless...but not hopeless. Luckily, my life is filled with good people doing good things. We're not all doing BIG things, but still, most everyone I know, work with and come in contact with on a daily basis in on a positive path, helping to make our little corner of the world a great place to be. Now we have to figure out how to get lots and lots of others on that same path. End of rant. I promise there won't be another one for a while.

Heart-A-Rama gets going in ernest this week with our start-up committee chair meeting. That means posts will soon be turning from books to theatre tales.

Thanks for stopping by. We have a review from Steve ready to go for next Monday. Come back and check it out.

Wisdom from our Favorite Guest Blogger Steven Head

The holidays are over and even though the news says American's set a record for holiday spending, it does not feel like the good times are back. Friends without jobs, others with a mortgage for more than the house is worth, and even reports the Wall Street financial houses are not giving bonuses as big as last year. Where did economic normal go and when will it come back?

Robert Reich, University of Berkley political economist and Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton, has taken a look at where we are and how we got there in a book titled After Shock. This is a compact volume written in easy to digest big picture terms about the recession. Starting with insights from the Great Depression, late 1920's and 1930's for those with a puzzled expression, the Great Prosperity, up to today, and thoughts about tomorrow.

To put it simply, Reich points out in both the Great Depression and the 2007 financial collapse, the fruits of productivity were disproportionately going to a small group of people, the top 2% of earners, while earnings for others were standing still or going backwards. He reviews the history of income tax rates which should astonish. And he explains how many of us have maintained our lifestyle despite static real earnings and how those techniques no longer work.

Reich paints a picture of a possible future where the tea party, or similar movement, pushes the dominant political parties to the sidelines and an independent party takes over the Presidency and both houses of Congress. The predicted results are not favorable but the dynamics as to how it happened are very logical.

The one place in the book where he lost me was his solutions to our situation which were very wonky and overly detailed. Reich finishes on a hopeful note, believing elected officials will make the necessary adjustments to keep the economy functioning and the US part of the global economy. Although I wonder what he would think of the recent ransom demand that the two 2% be extended lavish tax breaks so families hit by the 8.5 million lost jobs can continue to get unemployment subsistence, 9/11 workers be given health benefits, and a small increase in the federal deficit to finance the government to around April Fools day. Coincidence?

This is not a feel good book but one filled with fact and information necessary to talk intelligently about the economy and where the country is headed. I read another article recently that mentioned how in Europe it is hard to be wealthy since the average person views the rich with anger and resentment. But in the US most people admire the super rich, believing they will one day be among that class. After Reich's book, a reader might come to a different conclusion.

*****Thanks Steve. And thanks for the updated photo!

Finally...a Dog Blog

Nearly a year has passed since I got a chance to write a Dog Blog. I only got to do this one because You Know Who has been hunting for her old, beat up copy of Pride and Prejudice to read for her book discussion group. I keep giving her little hints about where it is, but have not come right out and mentioned that it is on this table, propping up my lovely portrait. Maybe if I sit here long enough, gazing with admiration, she'll figure it out. Books belong on a bookshelf where they can be found easily.

Anyway, who wants to read an oldy- moldy book like that anyway. I heard her talking to someone about how "layered" some guy named Darcy is, and how the Bennet girls are diverse and feisty. Last weekend, on New Years' Eve weekend, of all times, she tortured me by watching "Mansfield Park." I'll never tell YKW, but in a small way, I can see the attraction. Life was simple. Dogs ran free in big yards with lots of great smells, while their people read books, visited neighbors to gossip. Sometimes their people went to dances, leaving the homestead to the animals. I'd like to meet those dogs someday.

I have a feeling there will be some Garrison Keillor working its way back into the house as soon as this Jane Austen business in over. Last week I went to the spa and got all polished up for 2011. On the way there, we listened to stories from Prairie Home Companion. It's always the same. First, the stories in the car, then the books sneak into the house. If truth be told, I like the stories. On the way to the spa we heard one about a man and woman who entertained a parish congregation with birds they trained to enact Bible stories. That was funny stuff, for sure. We didn't listen on the way home. I was too busy expressing my distress over the morning's events. Water. Soap. Scissors. Razor. Clippers. And not a single treat offered. I think I bit my stylist. Those things happen.

Hey, this is the book I read this year. It's mostly pictures, but boy did it make me happy. On each page, there is a nice photo of a lucky dog that got to sit in a booth and smile. We are a handsome lot. There are lots of different dogs in this book, and one cat (but I turned that page real fast). Some are fancy. Some are old. Some are small. If there is a person in the picture with the dog, the person is always smiling. What does that tell you, huh? My picture is not in this book which gives me one more item to add to my to do list.

Gotta go. YKW found the book. I have to hide. I am afraid she is going to read aloud.