I spent these past 12 days at my family's cottage in the Kawarthas. Much of my time was devoted to diligent work on the painting visible above. Other activities included daily swimming; writing; games of Trivial Pursuit, Slang Teasers (aka Balderdash), and Monopoly; a 1000 piece puzzle assembled by half a dozen collaborators; heated conversations about physics, grammatical mood, and the photocarcinogenic components of sunblock.

And, of course, reading.

I didn't devote myself to reading a single text, and so regrettably finished nothing -- rather, I dipped in and out of a multitude of novels and non-fictions, frequently reading passages aloud to my companions (a behavior they tolerated gracefully). I'd like to share with you a series of  excerpts, many of which I did blurt out aloud or mark with a little dogear at the corner of the page.

I like to think that it betrays something of my thinking patterns that, when they are ordered carefully, each of the separately selected quotations shows thematic linkage to the quotation following it.

"... on the basis of this information, we can actually figure out how genes are organized in the genome, and we can do this simply by letting organisms do what they like to do, which is to mate ... And then what we like to do, which is to use simple genetic knowledge -- we can actually map a genome, and create a road map for constructing an organism."

--- the brilliant Malcolm Campbell in lecture.

My father listens to Rush Limbaugh regularly. My father and I share our days off, so - it can be said - I listen to Limbaugh as well. I have learned one fact from listening: the man doesn't like Hilary Clinton.

1. It bothers me that this is all that I learned of him. What are his opinions, his political views? He doesn't actually say anything; he makes criticisms, for something like three solid hours, most of which pertain to Clinton. I have no respect for that; criticism is easy. Much easier than actually stating an informed and thought provoking opinion. I'm proving it right now - with no knowledge of American Politics, I am able to criticize a man who speaks exclusively on that topic.

2. If I've learned anything from television (aside from the possibly dodgy scientific and medical data), it's that when a man talks that much about a woman - even if he puts her in a negative light - it isn't because he dislikes her. Quite the opposite.