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Penny Prompts #3 – Art vs Artist

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This quote is from the eleventh book in Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, The Nature of the Beast.

The story itself centers on a play written by a serial killer, and Armand questions the appropriateness of performing a play written by someone with questionable to no morals in addition to his heinous actions. This is something that I sometimes struggle with, in the past, currently, and imparting my feelings to my children while letting them make their own decisions on the subject.

Armand and Reine-Marie seem to disagree in the quote below.

What do you think? How would you or how have you separated the art from the artist? Have you had to do this? Have you dropped someone or something completely because of that internal, moral struggle?

Think deeply and then write your thoughts.

“Should the creation be judged by its creator? Does it matter?”

…

““So it has nothing to do with Fleming and his crimes?” asked Reine-Marie. “Nothing to do with him as a man?” “It has everything to do with him,” said Armand, his voice clipped, strained. They looked at him. Never had they heard him come even close to being upset with his wife. “If John Fleming created it, it’s grotesque. It can’t help but be. Maybe not obviously so, but he’s in every word, every action of the characters. The creator and the created are one.””

HARRIS/WALZ 91 DAYS LFG!

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What do we get with Tim Walz?

  • As governor, he has executive experience
  • Midwest state
  • Joyful – this is going to be the most joyful Presidential ticket in history, and there’s something to be said for joy for the sake of joy.
  • In his state, he signed an executive order protecting gender affirming care; he eliminated tuition for state schools and signed into law universal free school lunches. We know that kids need to eat healthy in order to learn and thrive.
  • And so much more.
  • As an added bonus, his Lieutenant Governor is Peggy Flanagan, who will become the first Native American Governor in the country. She is a citizen of the White Earth Nation Ojibwe and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Child Psychology and American Indian Studies.

The choice of Walz is a win-win for the country and for Minnesota.

Election Connection – 91 Days Left

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Today we should know who VP Harris chooses as her running mate. All the names put forward as being on the short list are all excellent candidates. They all have virtually the same positions on every subject: reproductive rights, gun control, rule of law, Supreme Court reform, and the war on Israel.

We will be lucky to have any one of them.

But first, we need to get them elected on November 5th!

Before you go on vacation.

Before school starts.

Before Election Day comes and goes.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO SAVE DEMOCRACY BY GETTING OUT THE VOTE FOR KAMALA HARRIS AND HER VICE PRESIDENT AND THE REST OF HER PROSPECTIVE ADMINISTRATION?!

August Inspired

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I’m not as annoyed when I see Halloween stuff in stores this early. Especially in the heat, I’m happy to be reminded that the cool weather will be arriving soon. At least, I hope so.

I’m also not a big fan of skulls. I know they’re popular at Halloween as well as Dias de Los Muertos, and my daughter loves them. She has a couple of skull designs on her hairdressing tools.

However, while I don’t want this table accessory I was taken by it and of course needed to add it to my picture collection.

Early Happy Halloween.

Salt & Pepper Shaker Skull. Cracker Barrel. (c)2024

Penny Prompts #2 – The Quebec Jig

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This quote is from Louise Penny’s twelfth book of her Chief Inspector Gamache series, A Great Reckoning: A Novel.

It was such a great visual, especially for those of us living in the Northeast. Penny’s characters are obsessed with the weather, from spring flooding to blizzards to driving on the ice, to warming up at the bistro next to a warm fire with a chocolat chaud or cafe au lait.

When you read this quote, what comes to mind? What do you want to write about that’s related or adjacent?

“They stomped their feet, brushed wet snow off their coats, and slapped their hats against their legs. It was a singular Québec jig learned in the womb.”

-A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny

Penny Prompts #1 – Maps are Magic

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This quotation comes from Louise Penny’s twelfth book in her Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, A Great Reckoning: A Novel.

In this twelfth book, we find Gamache as the head of the Surete Academy unraveling the mystery of another death while also investigating a mysterious map from Three Pines. The quoted passage is a conversation between Gamache and one of the professors at the Academy, Hugo Charpentier.

“Oui. It’s because maps are magic.” If he didn’t have the Commander’s full attention before, he did now. Gamache lowered his tea to the table and stared. “Magic?” “Yes. They’ve become so mundane we’ve forgotten that. They transport us from one place to another. They illuminate our universe. The first maps were of the heavens, you know. What the ancients could see. Where their gods lived. All cultures mapped the stars. But then they lowered their sights. To the world around them.”

-A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny

Friday Food. July.

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Continuing Monday’s theme of Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache mystery series, I thought I’d share some things from the publisher’s related blog.

There is a lovely selection of recipes and gorgeous photos to admire and to choose from for each of the books here.

French Onion Soup from the Gamache Series Website

There is also a PDF download of a short cookbook, The Nature of the Feast which includes a preview excerpt of book #12, The Great Reckoning.

My own Bistro-esque recipe below the cut:

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