Driving rain, nostalgia, other things

Another good evening, though far too much driving.
Morning commute Cambridge-Needham: 30 minutes
Evening commute Needham-Worcester: 105 minutes
Night drive home Worcester-Cambridge: 45 minutes
I flew on the way home, despite the rain. It was a lot more satisfying than the drive out, getting on the parking lot frequently known as Route 495...

Why Worcester? I went to visit my parents.( more details )

( more nostalgia )

Banned Books

Cellio made me do it. Really. She posted a link to this site (list of 100 top banned books, 1990-2001), and a list of the books on it she's read. Of course I had to see what I've read...
( banned books I've read )

I shouldn't be surprised that so many of them are kid books: no one tries to ban grown up books the same way, figuring adults can choose for themselves. I've never understood why this logic isn't acceptable for kids. I once wanted to take a book out of the school library, a nice thick one (I was a book snob, always going for the thickest books, partly because I read so fast, and wanted to stay in the story for a while), and was told I couldn't, because it was for older kids. I later found the book, and there is absolutely nothing objectionable in it (though with the Anastasia books on the banned list, I wonder about people); they just were making the decision for me that I couldn't handle the book. And that should've been my decision.

I am also surprised by some of the other books on the list being objectionable. Some deal with hard topics (such as To Kill a Mockingbird), but lots of fiction does that, particularly young adult fiction; it's what I like about a lot of them. Portraying a world where there are bullies, or girls who get their period, or something similar, doesn't seem like enough of a reason to ask to ban a book. That's part of life, like it or not. I just don't understand why that should be kept out. And some of them don't do that, either (such as How to Eat Fried Worms, which is a little bit gross at times (What condiments do you put on worm? How do you prepare it?), but pretty innocuous. ), so I have no clue why they made this list...
.

Food for the holiday weekend

a big pot of chicken soup with dumplings (also some ginger, celeriac, sweet potato, etc)
2 lb of baby artichokes (a misnomer: each plant actually has many fruits, of different sizes)
a non-ratatouille (eggplant and onion in tomato sauce with olives and capers)
baked sweet dumpling squash
a pound and a half of steelhead trout broiled with lime juice and cranberry chutney
challah with flaxseed
2 trays of chicken roasted with onions and potatoes with fresh lavender and rosemary
swiss chard sauteed with onions

and salad fixings available.

Happy Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah!