Daniel: Quick Summary

Ah, an Old Testament prophet with a good narrative in his book! Daniel was a nice break from the nearly wall-to-wall prophesies of the past couple of books. Readers get the cool stories of Daniel's first dream interpretation for King Nebuchadnezzar (where the king said he had a bad dream and wanted someone to both tell the king what it was he dreamed AND interpret it), Daniel's friends (whose names are too difficult for me to remember at this time) being saved by God when put in a fiery furnace, Daniel's time in the lion's den, and a vision of the end times.

390 - The White Stripes - Elephant

I have a lot of respect for Jack White and the White Stripes, I really do. I just don't care for much of his/their music. I've listened to three or four White Stripes albums and feel about the same with each: there are two or three tracks I really like, about as many that I really don't like at all, and a bunch of songs that are interesting but not really enjoyable. I've wanted to hear some of the songs I like from the White Stripes, but have never felt an urge to listen to one of their albums again.

When I sit, listen to Elephant, and start typing, I can come up with commentary about the influences Jack is using for each song. I find aspects of the instrumentation or vocals that I think are interesting choices considering the overall minimalism of the band. There is an academic quality to the White Stripes' version of garage blues that I don't hear in similar bands. That is commendable, but doesn't change the fact that I fail to have an emotional connection to most of their songs.

I consider this lack of emotional connection just one of those personal taste things and I certainly don't want to discount the quality of Elephant or the opinions of others that can wax poetically about the brilliance of Jack and *cough* Meg. However, I think it is nearly universal that Meg's drumming is a limitation that brings down the potential for the band. It is one thing to be a good drummer that chooses not to flaunt the depth of one's skills; but if that is the case with Meg, she's waited far too long to reveal the inner Neil Peart.

Songs I knew I liked: "Seven Nation Army" and "The Hardest Button to Button"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Black Math" and "In the Cold, Cold Night"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: There are many I wouldn't miss, but only "Little Acorns" causes an urge to skip it.

Hosea: Quick Summary

The basic premise of this book at first seemed just kinda odd. But the more I thought about it, the more puzzled I got about the "real" and non-symbolic part. Hosea was instructed by God to marry a prostitute. He married Gomer and she bore him 3 children. The first was named after a valley that had been the scene of many bloody battles, the second was named No Compassion, Unloved, or Pity/Pitied On (depending on the translation), and the third was named Not My People. Hosea apparently divorces his wife, she is taken as a slave by another man to repay a debt, and then Hosea comes to her rescue and buys her from the man.

All of these actions serve as a symbolic parallel with God's relationship with Israel. The people of Israel were not faithful to God, so they are the promiscuous wife. God separated Himself from His people out of anger for their lack of faith. But God returns after a time and takes His people back into his arms and all is good.

That is an interesting look at the situation, but I kept wondering about Gomer. I'm a bit befuddled about the life that Gomer lived that she was a whore but married a prophet. She then bore children that may or may not have been Hosea's and named her children Jezreel (after the bloody battleground), No Compassion, and Not My People because her husband and God said so. After this, she is divorced from Hosea, becomes a slave, is bought back by Hosea, and is told to cheat on him no longer. The whole story came across to me as if Hosea was some pimp with a heavy sense of righteousness that mentally abused Gomer for her promiscuity despite the fact he knew she was a prostitute when they married: a story that might appear one evening on the Lifetime Channel...or Cinemax. I can understand why feminist scholars would get in a huff over the story in this book.