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One last reminder for Monterey County Gives! Deadline to give is Dec. 31st! Please follow THIS LINK to make a donation (tax deductible) to support our work. The Monterey Gives Campaign matches part of your contribution. THANK YOU! And now...
Happy Holidays, Digesteers!
Above, to the right, you see Tomten, a little troll who talks to all the animals that live at a lonely, old farmhouse. Unlike his pal to the left, Tomten doesn't live on the North Pole, but perhaps in a forest nearby, or in Denmark, he lives in Greenland.
He doesn’t come down the chimney at night, but through the front door, delivering warm porridge and, sometimes, gifts directly to the children, just like the Yule Goat did.
So anyway, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas! Here is your January 2018 (!) digest.
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New friend Sarah Ruhl in the New York Times
As you may recall, back in November, the Theater for a New Audience in Brooklyn held a reading of Sarah Ruhl's play "Dear Elizabeth" in a benefit for the HML. (There she is, below, to the right!*)
Sarah is one of modern theater's most acclaimed playwrights...and now she's our friend!
She just penned this incisive piece in the Times on the fact that the President was a no-show at the Kennedy Awards. Well worth the read!
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In defense of "strange books"
It's a deceptively complex question: "What kind of books did Henry Miller write?"
Wikipedia says Miller pioneered a "new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical reflection, explicit language, sex, surrealist free association, and mysticism."
Miller came to mind after reading this piece on NPR in defense of "strange books" like Hope Jahren's "Lab Girl." That is, genre-defying books that defy simple algorithmic categorization. We still have a fighting chance!!
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From left: Henry, Valentine, Lepska & Tony.
Christmas in Big Sur, 1950 |
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Lepska Warren Miller
(1923-2017)
Sadly, Henry's third wife, Lepska Warren Miller, passed away this year.
Born in Poland, she came to the US in 1930. She and Henry married in 1944 and lived in Big Sur.
During this period Miller’s life took on a semblance of normalcy, thanks in part to Lepska, who brought order and structure into their home. They had two children: a son, Tony, and a daughter, Valentine.
To learn more about Lepska, click here.
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Blogs We Love (BWL): Brain Pickings!
Brain Pickings may ring a bell. It's devoted to "cross-disciplinary interestingness, spanning art, science, design, history, philosophy, and more."
(Mike was fortunate enough to meet its founder, Maria Popova, at the Library a few years ago as she was passing through.)
Bookmark the site early and often! Just check out these three recent posts:
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Philip Glass: How could you not fall in love with Jane Goodall?
The old adage still rings true. By the time you finish reading this sentence, Philip Glass wrote a symphony.
Or more specifically, the intimate soundtrack for the new film about Jane Goodall, entitled, simply Jane. Here Philip talks to Billboard about the project, Jane's mystique, and the precarious state of the world.
And here's the trailer!
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Hippie Sven's "Endless Summer"!!
The weather, we here, is quite balmy in Big Sur at the moment, but some of us aren't so fortunate. Some of us are temporarily stationed on the east coast, where the temperature will dip to a "refreshing" five degrees tonight.
Luckily, we have Hippie Sven's enthusiasm for tasty peelers to keep us going during this (mercifully brief) East Coast winter of discontent....
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And with that, we bid you a happy new year!
This past one was a doozy and while it sounds cliche and perhaps overwrought, we couldn't have made it through without your continuous support, kindness, and enthusiasm!
We'll see you in 2018!!!
As ever,
Magnus, Sarah, Mike, Alanna, Nate, John, Jack, Alice and Abi
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* Sorry for the shoddy graphic design. Due to holiday logistical madness, Digest staff were relegated to a PC, circa 2012, and
with it, Microsoft Paint.
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