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One of my favorite works of U.S. Catholic history is John McGreevy's book Parish Boundaries, in which McGreevy argues that racial conflicts in the urban industrial north were quite pitched in Catholic neighborhoods--conflict over neighborhood integration more than anything else. McGreevy traces these struggles over the neighborhood back to a high rate of Catholic home ownership, and the way in which the Catholic theology encouraged followers to invest the physical space of the parish and surround community with sacramental significance. So, when Protestants and Jews began an exodus to the suburbs in the post-WWII period, Catholics stayed and eventually came into direct conflict with their increasingly numerous African American neighbors.

Dave Roediger makes a related argument in his great new book, Working Toward Whiteness. Basically, he points to the importance of home ownership and labor organizations for the process by which racially in-between peoples -- new immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe -- were accepted into whiteness during the 1930s. Dave's smart and everyone should read the book.

This rehearsal of the McGreevy and Roediger material is just a round-about way of saying that all of this homeownership and sacramental worldview stuff is a part of my scholarly work, and soon, hopefully, part of my personal experience -- okay, so I already have the sacramental worldview thing down, but property buying is new and pretty complicated....

Today my brother James, who sells real estate at Coakley Realty, and I met with the sales agent at my apartment complex to get the scoop on the upcoming conversion to condos. I figured, given the going contracts in the area, I could swing buying my place. I'm notorious for not liking to move--in seven years of graduate school I only moved once, and that was because my apartment flooded. So, I thought I'd take the tax benefits and avoid the shopping and moving hassle in this deal. Boy, was I wrong!! Needless to say, the quoted rate for my unrenovated, nineteen year old apartment, was out of control. And the man who delivered this news was as close to the stereotype of a used car salesman as I've ever met in person--as if the new Japanese garden is enough to make up for the 35K difference in price.

Now, even though I'm definitely not buying the place I'm in, I have to embark upon the mission of shopping AND moving, whether I succeed in buying a place or whether I just move to another rental. So much for the American Dream... four months and counting.

I don't usually read much that ends up on the bestseller lists, but my friend Terry (more about Terry soon) was reading the Kite Runner the last time I saw her. And, I had the book on my shelf from one of those "buy two off the table get one free" at B&N, so I slid it into the list after Gilead.

First, let me say that I really enjoyed the book. In the midst of trying to work on an article and manage a bunch of projects at work, I made my way through it in about a week and a half, which is far quicker than most of my leisure reading these days.

The story begins with Amir and his buddy Hassan in Afganistan in the 1970s when they are young boys. These are complex characters who are flawed in very human ways. Their time together includes one major tragic event that spawns a series of others. The tale winds it way to America in the 1980s and then back to Afganistan in the summer before September 11. In lots of ways, it's a strange text, with a string of predictable coincidences and tie-ups. But, this is not a story with a happy ending and the process of character redemption is definitely two steps up and one step back. And, that, made it worth reading.

Next up: Ian McEwan's Saturday.

It's defintely the scanner. The stripe moved when I scanned in a different position on the flatbed. So, I cropped it out. Bummer.

Okay, so I've been in a picture taking slump for the last year or so. I've lived in Virginia for exactly one year and one week, and I've taken exactly four rolls of film--two b&w, and two c-41. That's totally cold turkey for me. But, this going to work everyday thing, it does cramp my search for good light--mostly because I'm too beat to get up at the crack of dawn and go out into the world.

At anyrate, two of the rolls of film were taken in New Mexico in March at the Sandia Mountain between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The one that I've included here is of a kiva at the Coronado State Museum--the spot where Coronado wintered in 1540 on the ruins of the Anasazi Pueblo. Of course this isn't actually an original kiva, but rather, one recreated so that tourists can get a feel for the style. Aren't state museums great?

You'll notice a very faint stripe in the image--a thin vertical burn toward the left edge of the image. Let's hope that that is something with the print and not the scanner or the camera, 'cause I don't particularly relish replacing either one of them....

So, hopefully, there will be more soon--once I learn how to use the negative scanner at work, since I didn't get prints of the black and white.

IMing with Sheila Brennan, who also has a rocking blog, it became apparent that [Bracket] might not mean a blessed thing to anyone.

So, why [Bracket]? There are a couple of reasons. First, I really wanted this space to be a place for the random stuff that wanders around my brain -- a little place to jot things down and get them out of the way. Hence, a space outside of the mainstream. Second, it's a play on words from the world of photography. When one is trying to get the best exposure, often one meters the scene, shoots, and then slides the f-stops and shutterspeeds up and down one notch to get a range of possibilities. It's a good way to increase one's chances of getting it right by straying a little bit around the edges.

If you're looking for something to read, you might want to consider Marilynne Robinson's novel, Gilead. It's a wonderful little book about an Iowa minister who, since he is close to the end of his life, is writing a letter to his young son. In the course of the letter, John Ames wanders off on a number of interesting theological paths -- from Feuerbach to Barth. The imagery is wonderful--particularly as he is discussing baptism and eucharist, but also when he recalls the exploits of his abolitionist-grandfather.

A little book, but definitely one worth spending some time with....

In the category of things that I sometimes want, but really can't afford, here is the new Pentax *ist DL, a digital SLR. All of the reviews I've read of this new gadget suggest that it's a really good combination of features for not a lot of money. Just what I'm looking for....

I've been really reluctant to make the transition to using digital imaging (I love my film). But, if I can have some consistent level of control, i.e. all of the control I have with my traditional SLR, I might be willing to do it.

Give it a few months, and some more discounting and I might start here.

Well, in the area of "everybody's doing it," I'm wading into the world of blogging. Not that I'm certain that I have anything useful to say, but I'm one of those people who isn't as vigilant about keeping in touch as I should be. And, like most academic-types, I read and write on a regular basis.

Actually, I'm hoping to use this to kick-start the writing a little bit.... I spend plenty of time doing what I should be doing here at work @ CHNM, but my own stuff doesn't get nearly the attention that it should. There's the dissertation-to-manuscript conversion that is more than a little bit behind, and then a smattering of book review and articles. So, let's hope that this is a serious infusion for the creative process.

So, let the games begin!