JUSTINIAN'S FLEA

Justinian's Flea
Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe
By William Rosen
Narrated by Barrett Whitener

The Emperor Justinian reunified Rome's fractured empire by defeating the Goths and Vandals who had separated Italy, Spain, and North Africa from imperial rule. At his capital in Constantinople, he built the world's most beautiful building, married its most powerful empress, and wrote its most enduring legal code, seemingly restoring Rome's fortunes for the next five hundred years. Then, in the summer of 542, he encountered a flea. The ensuing outbreak of bubonic plague killed five thousand people a day in Constantinople and nearly killed Justinian himself.

Light in the Dark Ages: The Friendship of Francis and Clare of Assisi

Light in the Dark Ages: The Friendship of Francis and Clare of Assisi: "The Middle Ages were not so very dark, as the old textbooks say. As you will discover in this intriguing portrait of the first Franciscans, we live in dark ages whenever we become preoccupied with power. In this popular history, Jon Sweeney reveals the timeless temptations that come with being human---greed, competition, ego, and selfishness---as well as the many ways that Francis and Clare of Assisi inspired change and brought light into darkness.

Discover how Francis was first found by God and then joined by Clare despite the violent objections of her family. Explore a variety of issues that they faced, including the treatment of lepers in medieval society, corruption in the Church, and attitudes toward the created world. You will also learn how Clare's spirituality influenced that of other prominent women, how St. Francis lost control of his own movement, and why Francis's body was secretly buried upon his death.

The examples of early Franciscan spirituality challenge any of us who would follow Christ today. How would we view a young person today who rejected family for spiritual reasons? Is it possible for men and women to have deep friendship and remain true to a call to chastity? Is intentional poverty of any value? Have we sentimentalized family to the point of ignoring"

The Secret Life of Lobsters - How Fishermen and Scientists Are Unraveling the Mysteries of Our Favorite Crustacean

The Secret Life of Lobsters - How Fishermen and Scientists Are Unraveling the Mysteries of Our Favorite Crustacean: "In this intimate portrait of an island lobstering community and an eccentric band of renegade biologists, Trevor Corson escorts the reader onto the slippery decks of fishing boats, through danger-filled scuba dives, and deep into the churning currents of the Gulf of Maine, to learn about the secret undersea lives of lobsters. In revelations from the laboratory and the sea, the lobster proves itself to be not only a delicious meal and a sustainable resource, but also an amorous master of the boudoir, a lethal boxer, and a snoopy socializer. THE SECRET LIFE OF LOBSTERS is a rollicking oceanic odyssey punctuated by salt spray, melted butter, and predators lurking in the murky depths."

Rethinking Thin

PROVIDENCE ATHENAEUM/RISD /All Locations: "Author Kolata, Gina Bari, 1948- Title Rethinking thin : the new science of weight loss--and the myths and realities of dieting / Gina Kolata. Imprint New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007."

Welcome to the Providence Department of Art, Culture & Tourism - Phone: 421-7740

Welcome to the Providence Department of Art, Culture & Tourism - Phone: 421-7740: "Organization: First Unitarian Church of Providence Event Name: Not About Heroes Dates: 11/12 - 11/12/2007 Description: Monday, November 12, 7pm Aurea presents 'Not About Heroes' starring Nigel Gore and Rudy Sanda, featuring Consuelo Sherba, viola, directed by Bob Colonna. First Unitarian Church Parish Hall, 1 Benevolent Street (corner of Benefit and Benevolent Sts.), Providence. Tickets available at door only; $15 general admission, $10 seniors, $5 students. Phone 401-654-5372. Aurea, by popular demand, reprises its critically acclaimed production of 'Not About heroes', Stephen MacDonald's moving play about World War 1 poets, Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. The play is inspired by true events; Sassoon and Owen met during the war, while both at a Scottish hospital for 'nervous disorders,' and formed a deep friendship that affected the poetry of each man, as well as the poets' view of war. The production is complemented by period music, performed live by violist Consuelo Sherba. 'Not About Heroes' is intensely relevant, particularly on this national weekend of remembrance."

Naked (book) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Naked (book) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Naked, published in 1997, is a collection of essays by American humorist David Sedaris. The book details Sedaris’ life, from his unusual upbringing in the suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina, to his booze-and-drug-infested college years, to his Kerouacian wandering as a young adult. The book became a best-seller and was acclaimed for its wit, dark humor and irreverent tackling of tragic events, including the death of Sedaris’ mother. Prior to publication, several of the essays were read by the author on the NPR program This American Life."

Barrel Fever - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Barrel Fever - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Barrel Fever and Other Stories is a 1994 collection of short stories and essays by David Sedaris. The book is divided into two sections. The first section consists of short fiction and the second half contains autobiographical essays. The most famous of the essays is 'SantaLand Diaries', the essay that made Sedaris famous when he read it on National Public Radio in 1992. The essay tells of his experiences working as an elf at Macy's."

Understanding the Fundamentals of Music

The Teaching Company Course No. 7261 Taught by Robert Greenberg San Francisco Performances Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley (16 lectures, 45 minutes/lecture)

In this course, Professor Greenberg offers a spirited introduction to this magnificent language—nimbly avoiding what for many of us has long been the principle roadblock, the need to read music.

For anyone wanting to master music's language, being able to read musical notation is a necessity. But this course, as Professor Greenberg notes, is a basic course, designed to introduce you to music's language in a way that is similar to the way you learned your own native language, by "discovering and exploring musical syntax through our ears—by learning what the parts of musical speech sound like—rather than what they look like on paper."

Course Lecture Titles

1.	The Language of Music
2.	Timbre, Continued
3.	Timbre, Part 3
4.	Beat and Tempo
5.	Meter, Part 1
6.	Meter, Part 2
7.	Pitch and Mode, Part 1
8.	Pitch and Mode, Part 2
9.	Intervals and Tunings
10.	Tonality, Key Signature, and the Circle of Fifths
11.	Intervals Revisited and Expanded
12.	Melody
13.	Melody, Continued
14.	Texture and Harmony, Part 1
15.	Harmony, Part 2—Function, Tendency, and Dominance
16.	Harmony, Part 3—Progression, Cadence, and Modulation

American Spartans by James Warren read by Dick Hill

Description from publisher's website:

American Spartans
The US Marines in Combat, From Iwo Jima to Iraq
by James Warren
read by Dick Hill
Unabridged

From their heroic performance in the Pacific War, against Japanese troops on godforsaken islands, to their “tip-of-the-lance” leadership in key operations in the two Gulf Wars, the Marines have proven again and again that elite men with elite training are worth entire armies. James Warren’s battle-driven history shows how this elite culture has produced the best warriors in the country, through six decades, several open wars, and many smaller interventions.

I finished listening to this audiobook last night, just before the Red Sox's American League Championship series game. There are sport heroes and there are HEROES.

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön

Description from publisher's website:

The beautiful practicality of her teaching has made Pema one of the most beloved of contemporary American spiritual authors among Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. A collection of talks she gave between 1987 and 1994, the book is a treasury of wisdom for going on living when we are overcome by pain and difficulties. Chödrön discusses:

• Using painful emotions to cultivate wisdom, compassion, and courage
• Communicating so as to encourage others to open up rather than shut down
• Practices for reversing habitual patterns
• Methods for working with chaotic situations
• Ways for creating effective social action

I read this book this slowly, pausing to absorb each chapter. I'm on the waiting list for the audio cassette version and will comment further after hearing it.

Goal: The accumulation of knowledge in the pursuit of wisdom.

The entries here are a listing of and some comments on my sources in that ever elusive pursuit.