Jenny Turney's blog

QotD: Search Me

How well does your name Google? Who are you up against? (Celebrities, etc.)
Submitted by Matt Blank.

Out of the top 10 Google results for "Jenny Turney" today - May 10th, 2007 - 6 are really related to me. Not bad. I used to have a lot more competition from a photographer Jenny Turney. My name pops up a few times on my UU Fellowship Website now so I'm slowly winnowing out all those impostor Jenny Turneys! Plus, Googling me doesn't just pull up some ancient post on the Apple developer forums and other boring stuff related to my year of graduate work.

The Book that Picked Me.

The Girl Who Played Go

Shan Sa

Every once in a while a book picks me. It happened the first time I saw The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. The hardcover edition's cover features Lyra on the back of Iorek Byrnison, the great white polar bear and that image captured my imagination, burrowing a home in my mind that only became more permanent with each page I read.
    A few weeks ago, I was rushing through the stacks in the fiction section at the Boulder Public Library. I had frittered away my allotted library time wandering Sci-Fi, YA and the book sale section and now I was making a beeline for the Margaret Atwood shelf to grab a copy of Oryx and Crake. From a high shelf a short, fat, golden tome caught my eye and captured me. It was The Girl Who Played Go, by Shan Sa. I impulsively grabbed it, skimmed the back cover and decided to take it home.
    TGWPG is a beautifully crafted story at home in an artfully crafted book. Each chapter is only 2-3 pages long on the small pages, emphasizing the emotional and cultural richness of each scene. Each chapter alternates between the viewpoints of Girl and Soldier, but unlike many books of this style I never found myself wishing to get back to the story of a preferred character. From the start it is obvious that the two characters are on a collision course - bound for each other - but the plot doesn't play out like the typical "lovers from different worlds" story. Instead it reflects the many intricate and fascinating questions surrounding life, love, loyalty, honor and death in a time and place defined by war. (Go itself is war miniaturized in time and place.)
    Even though the girl is 16 and the soldier 24, each goes through a coming-of-age transformation. Both Girl and Soldier are complex, interesting and growing characters, alike and different much like their Chinese and Japanese cultures. Others have described the book as heart-breaking, but I found the story and it's ending satisfying in a somber sort of way. The Girl Who Played Go is a captivating, touching and intellectually fascinating novel that paints a picture of a time and place, and of two people on opposite sides of war.
   

Vox Hunt: Required Reading

Book:  Show us a book everyone should read before they die. 
Submitted by Rob.

Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1)

Orson Scott Card

Ender's Game is my favorite book of all time. I love sci-fi because of what it reveals about humanity. Sci-fi is the ultimate genre for character study and examining the hard questions: Why are we here? What responsibilities do we have? How do we achieve greatness and avoid catastrophe? What is the role of family? Of government? Of genius? Of learning and teaching?

I first read this book as a precocious 11-year-old, and as a 25-year-old it's lost none of its appeal.

I am in a funk.

Green field lonely tree

storm

<--The Weather

My Mood-->

"So it goes."

-Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007)

Mary, Mary

I experienced my first Easter service as a Unitarian Universalist, which was thought provoking. It's such a relief to go to a church where someone actually acknowledges how weird it is to try to accept a guy rising from death, in the service.

Mary Magdalene

Partly because the choir performed songs from Jesus Christ Superstar for Easter, and especially because of Rev. Art's sermon on Sunday, I've been thinking a lot about Mary Magdalene. I think both Marys say something interesting about strengths and roles of women. Mary, mother of Jesus, had her fate foisted on her but rose to the occasion. But Mary Magdalene is different. Different because she humanizes Jesus, because she was a seeker and an independent woman. I think I was first attracted to the subversive rumors regarding Mary and Jesus. I liked thinking of Jesus as a real guy with a lover, and of the qualities Mary Magdalene would have to have to match Jesus.
One of the things I'm pondering now is whether or not to give up my view of her as a prostitute. I know that it wasn't until the 5th century AD that she got that reputation, but somehow without being a former prostitute she's not as interesting. I like the idea of Mary raising herself up from a sordid past and seeking knowledge and finding a new role for herself with Jesus. I like the Mary of Jesus Christ Superstar - the woman behind the man, the woman taking care of Jesus and lending him her strength. I like the idea of Jesus embodying his teachings in his relationship with Mary. Whether or not it was an intimate one, but especially if it was.
The truth is, I am romantic and I always will be one. There is such power and grace and lasting strength in a lovers' union. In a relationship where two people work closely and strive for the same goals, and combine their respective strengths to accomplish more than either could manage alone.

These are the questions I ask myself as a UU: what relevance do religious stories and religious figures have to my life? When something "religious" resonates with me how can I interpret that to my beliefs? One of the reasons I'm so glad that I found a religious community that I can be a part of is that it allows - even encourages - this type of contemplation. Whereas before I would have pushes anything biblical away, now I embrace it as a way of learning more about myself. Which is at least an interesting way to pass some time.

From the Bible with Legos (The Brick Testament): Mary at Jesus' Tomb

Reading Update:
I'm reading Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose, and The Last Witchfinder by James Morrow. Last week I took a one day break and stormed through What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones. A delightful piece of YA fiction. It's written in free verse, which means there is tons of white-space on the page and translates to a super-quick read. Sophie is a really relateable character, and I loved riding her roller-coaster for a while.

Vox Hunt: No Vocals Allowed

Audio:  Share a great instrumental song or album.

I first heard this song on NPR in early 1998, while I was at a Hockey game. I bought the album in an airport - either Heathrow or Dublin, I can't remember now -  that summer on my way to CTY camp at City University in Dublin.

Vox Hunt: Help Me Out Here

Book: Share a self-help book that meant a lot to you.

Conscious Loving: The Journey to Co-Committment

Conscious Living: Finding Joy In the Real World

Okay. First, I believe in counseling. Therapy, psychology, psychiatry, getting your head shrunk. Whatever you want to call it. Everyone has issues, problems, stuff that happens that we can't get past alone. To me, counseling is like yoga or massage or regular exercise. It's something I do for myself that keeps me healthy and in balance.

Second, I haven't actually read either of these books. I've skimmed and read parts. However, I go to a counselor trained by Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks and she's f'ing amazing. I think that's all I'll say.

Hello, My name is Jenny, and I am a Disney-holic

I don't mean to make light of addiction, but I do think that admitting to loving Disney is something that's looked down upon among my liberal, well-educated, middle-class contemporaries. I know the negatives. Walt Disney had his skeletons. As a company Disney treats their employees poorly and is guilty of valuing profits sometimes to the detriment of imagination and innovation. Still, Disney is capable of creating experiences that celebrate creativity and imagination in a way that is exciting and comforting at the same time.
In his famous dedication of Disneyland, Walt Disney said, "Here age relives fond memories of the past and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future." It is that heady mix of nostalgia and hope for the future that not only unites families in the Disney experience, but creates a level of enjoyment that is difficult to parallel.
Last October I visited Disneyland for the first time in 13 years and I am already jonesing for another Disney vacation. It's a completely indulgent, escapist sort of experience - the Disney vacation. Part of me disdains that I enjoy it so much - the music, the forced perspective buildings, the detailed "imagineering" of nearly every inch, every sensation and experience. But I'll leave the real globe-trotting to the more adventurous. I am the type of person who goes to a restaurant and orders the same thing every time and enjoys every last predictable morsel. I have a favorite dish, a favorite drink, a favorite dessert. I read my favorite books once a year. I would go to Europe for the art museums, but for a real vacation give me Disney. Give me 8 days of exhilirating, exhausting, milking-every-minute, pure sugary enjoyment. Give me something so perfect that going back to everyday life is a little depressing. It's worth it. If only I could afford to go twice a year ;-)

Meet the Robinsons

Today, though, I got a mini Disney vacation. I had the pleasure of Seeing Meet the Robinsons in "Disney Digital 3D." I am a terrible movie critic. I love what I love, I hate what I hate, and there's plenty in the middle that I find entertaining enough to watch. The movie itself is actually really great. It has a brilliant kid (who also happens to be an orphan), time-travel, an archetypal bumbling villain and great gags.
What really made this movie enjoyable was the 3-D. This isn't like amusement park 20 minute 3-D movies. This is immersive, experiential 3-D.  It makes the characters live, and the action feel close rather than the momentary thrills of those shorter films. Nostalgic touches included classic Tomorrowland references (including the People Mover) and an original

Peoplemover

stereovision Donald Duck short  shown as the opening act. By contrast the movie's core  message is "Keep Moving Forward" - shape your future with your actions and attitude and don't be afraid to try and fail.  That Nostalgia + Hope, teamed with a great movie score, the 3D "imagineered" experience,  a theatre packed with kids and families, and even the wait in line beforehand  created a truly house-of-mouse experience for me.

PS - To find out why Orphans in movies are cool and nostalgic check out TAL #183, case 2 "I'm an Orphan; Don't Tell My Mom."

Vox Hunt: Guaranteed Smile

Show us the one thing that unfailingly makes you smile, no matter what. 
Submitted by Sourire.

Sleeping Beauty Castle - Disneyland