A War of Gifts

I just read the novella A War of Gifts, by Orson Scott Card. I thought I'd post a little review here.

A War of Gifts takes place in the universe of Ender Wiggin, so if you haven't read Ender's Game, you won't know what's going on, because there's not enough context given to appreciate or undersatnd most of the supporting characters. But for those who have, it's a meaningful addition to the characters and environment of the Battle School.

The main character is a Battle School Recruit we've never heard of--Zeck, the pacifist son of a fundamentalist Puritan preacher. I don't want to give anything away about the story, except to say that the book is a fantastic little story about tolerance, religious piety -vs- "blind obedience," and the spirit of giving that is such a trademark to the Christmas tradition (regardless of your religion or set of beliefs).

The themes can be a little heavy compared to most Christmas stories. But it's certainly an interesting read that discusses good, uplifting issues of human experience and relationships which transcend cultural and religous boundaries (although there are some subtle  references to Christian themes if you want to find them there). So if you're looking for something positive, but just a little different this Christmas, or if you're a fan of Ender or Card in general, check it out. 

Good food, bad food

Stephen is really good at posting about meaningful endeavors and issues, however, it's my self-appointed job to make posts about nonsignificant things.



Good food ideas:

• If you make rice krispies treats and you have too many to eat try breaking some up into a bowl and then pouring milk on top. It's delicious and tastes just like the Rice Krispies Treats cereal they used to sell. MMMMmmmm!



• Chocolate Grumbles. That is what Steve, his brother, and cousin named these oatmeal fudge bars. Don't ask me why they named them that, but they are a really good treat (sorry, no picture, but you're in luck! there's a recipe).

Oatmeal Fudge Bars from the Lion House
1 cup margarine
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 12 oz package chocolate chips
1/4 cup margarine
2 tsp vanilla



Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x13x2 baking pan. Set aside. In large mixer bowl cream margarine and brown sugar; add eggs and vanilla. In a small bowl mix flour, baking soda, and salt; add to cramed mixture. Mix in oats. In heavy saucepan mix sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, and margarine and heat till just melted. Stir in vanilla. Spread 2/3 of the dough into prepared baking pan. Spread with chocolate mixture. Drop remaning 1/3 of dough on top by spoonfuls. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool, then cut into bars. Makes 36.




Bad food ideas

• Burritos from Rancheritos (used to be Betos). My mother-in-law was really generous and offered to take us out to eat when she was here. Steve and I wanted to go to Costa Vida but Steve's brother insisted on Rancheritos because their burritos are so huge. He obviously chose quantity over quality (100% quantity, 0% quality... luckily Steve didn't feel as strongly as I did so he finished mine).

More writing

I know I haven't posted in a while, and this one is going to be lame. But the end of the semester is near, and I have lots to do.

In my Creative Writing class, I have to turn in a final portfolio of all the assignments that we've done this semester (my short story, a personal essay, and two poems). So, as I was going through all my old drafts to make sure that I had made all the changes that I wanted to, I found my first official creative writing piece this year: The Soundfeeder.

Basically, we were supposed to reach into the teacher's "Box o' junk" and pull out an object, then write a 1 page story on it. The item that I happened to pick out was a little thing called The Soundfeeder. You know how you can get a little thing for your iPod that transmits the sound into a radio wave, so you can listen on your car radio? Well, the Soundfeeder is a really old version of that technology.

So here's the link to my very short (less than 1 page) story, The Soundfeeder.