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The Cup of Comfort (US) series seeks personal stories for their Salute to Military Families anthology. Stories can cover a wide range of topics and reveal a variety of perspectives, experiences, and emotions specific to military personnel and/or their loved ones. Stories must be true, original, uplifting, and 1000-2000 words. First prize: US$500; US$100 each for other stories published in book. Deadline: March 15, 2008. More details...

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On January 29, 7:30pm the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas will host a panel on “Military Blogging and America’s Wars.” The guests will include John Donovan, one of America’s leading milbloggers (who was invited to meet President Bush in the White House); Ward Carroll, a retired Navy Commander who flew F-14s and editor of www.Military.com; and Charles J. “Jack” Holt, chief of New Media Operations for the Department of Defense. David D. Perlmutter, a professor in the KU School of Journalism & Mass Communications , and author of Blogwars, will moderate the session.

In Blogwars Perlmutter examines the rapidly burgeoning phenomenon of blogs and questions the degree to which blog influence–or fail to influence–American political life. In the post below Perlmutter introduces us to Military Blogs.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus is supposed to have said that “war is the father of all things.” It is absolutely true that where we live, the language we speak, the flags we fly, the beliefs we hold, the land we live on, and even our genetic heritage have been affected by who won and lost wars. Likewise, much of our technology was created for or improved toward making war. (more…)

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He talks about blogging. He quotes from Plato and The Princess Bride and Babylon 5. He died on Jan. 3rd. Read this soldier's last blog post. No, I didn't know him, but now I do, a little.

(And please, respect his wish not to have his name used as a political football by either side.)

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Just a quick post to say that Melodye Shore has a review up of The Sandbox: Dispatches From the Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. (You may remember that I offered to donate a copy of this book to the first person who commented and was willing to review it as a YA read.) And, clever person that she is, she has a contest to go along with her review. Head over there now to read her thoughtful, concise review and to enter the give-away. (Deadline: Saturday night!)

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Have you ever made one of those lists? You know, the ones that will get you kicked out of school these days?

Sprig is working on one about her sister Dakota. Sprig and Dakota used to get along, but now Dakota thinks that since she is older, she has all of the answers. Just because Sprig is quick to tears, and misses her dad more than anything when he goes away on business, doesn't mean that she is the baby in the family.

Now dad is talking about going to Afghanistan! Sprig knows that he is going for a very good reason (to build schools for girls) but she has looked online, and it's dangerous over there!

And school is getting confusing too. Sprig's best friend Bliss keeps siding with big old Russell, who Sprig thinks is nothing more than a bully. Are Bliss and Russell becoming more than friends? To top it all off, Sprig's teacher is off on maternity leave and Mr. Julius is subbing. Nothing is like it was!

Norma Fox Mazer has written a story about growing pains, and change. Kids with family in the military will appreciate her references to those in service, without making the whole book about the war. Sprig is learning that wishing Dakota away may not be the answers to her problems. After all, during rough times, sisters end up needing each other.

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What does a soldier stationed in Afghanistan write about? The most important thing in the world. From a post over at The Sandbox:

"This is what it's all about. You can see a lot of the emotions of Afghanistan on their faces. Determination, friendliness, happiness, uncertainty, and trepidation are all there on one face or another. The children of Afghanistan are the future of Afghanistan, and when these children are educated and grown and live in an Islamic democratic society that works, there will be no home in Afghanistan for extremism. That is what will make our country and all the countries of the world safer."

Go read the entire post (it's mostly pictures with commentary) and then, check out Gary Trudeau's book that is based on this blog. Yes, I'm talking about the creator of the comic strip, Doonesbury. He launched a blog for military personnel on the front lines, and this book was just released in October.



The book was featured on NPR's All Things Considered, and is "a fundraiser for Fisher House, a 'home away from home' for the families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers."

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Okay, this is not exactly kidlit related, but bear with me. Sometimes you run across someone who deserves to be heard. And, slap me if I'm wrong, but there might be a perception that "soldier" and "good writer" do not go together. I'd like to dispel that thought, here and now.

From a soldier overseas who I'm not at liberty to name (but his callsign is Starbaby):

I don’t know who had the bright idea that civilians should wear black Kevlar helmets. Aside from the fact that black is always a poor color for the deserts, black Kevlar coal-scuttle helmets went out with the Waffen SS. Admittedly,there was a short, humorous resurgence in “Spaceballs”. This comes to mind because civilians, obviously, travel on the same helicopters that I do. So, w here I show up in battledress, with enough body armor to sink a coal barge, assault pack, helmet, weapons, ammo, gloves, eye protection and water, lots of these folks show up (with laptop) in their Georgio Armani designer plate carriers (which successfully protect both lungs, the heart, the top of the liver, the appendix and about six vertebra), safari shirts from Banana Republic, and the obligatory cargo pants from Land’s End. And the black helmet. And every one of them is making more money than I do. God save us from Rick Moranis’ legions of doom.

And here he is, skewering those
who stock the local military store:

Also, in a macabre piece of retail brilliance, we now have an entire display rack of little Gold Star Banners, to send home to Mom. Blue stars mean that the family has a member serving in the military. Gold stars mean that a family member has been killed in action. So, we have an entire display for the unusually fatalistic and obsessively deranged person who plans everything in advance. This person can buy one and stick it in their underwear drawer, in the sure knowledge that if the worst happens (like a heart attack in front of the ice cream bar), somebody will mail their personal effects home, and they will have been ahead of the power curve on the banner thing. Morons.

P.S. I take it back. This post is kidlit friendly. Upon further perusal of his emails, I found references to "lions, tigers, and bears, (oh my)," "all dogs cringe when yelled at (thank you, Terry Pratchett)," and of course, the Cookie Monster sponsorship. So I went for the goal and asked about his favorite childhood books and voila! he gave me this very respectable, totally kidlit worthy list, complete with age references:

The Lorax (6)

Uncle Remus Stories (3/4) - the Disney version. They had to take that one away from me, actually.

Chronicles of Narnia (8)

The Hobbit (9)

The Lord of the Rings (11)

The Dark is Rising Series (13)

I didn't ask him if he still reads children's books, but something tells me he might. I wonder how his reviews would sound? With apologies (and thanks) to Starbaby:

"Someone, please, slap a black helmet on Madonna. And tell her the Post Exchange stocks enough crap without Lotsa De Casha taking shelf space away from Slim Jims and cookies."

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D. Michael Lindsay is the author of Faith in The Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite and is a member of the sociology faculty at Rice University. In the post below he examines the influence of religion on the military based on his experience interviewing prominent evangelical Americans. Read more by Lindsay here.

In the buildup to the General Petraeus’s appearance before Congress, we’ve been hearing a lot about partnerships between the American military and Sunni tribal leaders, like the so-called “Anbar Awakening.” These military leaders are often the only Americans Iraqis ever meet. And these leaders are more and more likely—especially at the elite level—to be evangelicals. (more…)

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I clipped this article from The Washington Post about Peace Through Puppets a few weeks ago, and knew right away that I would blog about it. Why?

First, because moms come through when you need them, even when they're 80 and you're 57 and 6-foot-5.

Second, I have a mini-collection of puppets, including a three-headed dragon marionette from Prague, a momma/baby elephant pair from Thailand, some vintage finger puppet sets like Little Red Riding Hood and assorted animal figures with wooden heads, and a cloth box from which three adorable mice poke up that my daughter used to take on babysitting jobs. I also had a plush donkey puppet growing up that I would make real by licking its nose to make it wet and then goosing my sister with it.

Finally, I love knowing that many of the puppets stay with the Iraqi children who need them.

Peace to you and them.

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Exciting news at OUP! James McPherson has won the The Pritzker Military Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing. The award recognizes and honors the lifetime contributions of a living author for a body of work dedicated to enriching the understanding of American military history including military affairs.

Echoing all of our feelings Niko Pfund, Vice President and Publisher, Oxford University Press said, “Oxford University Press warmly congratulates Jim McPherson on his receipt of the first Pritzker Military Library Lifetime Achievement in Military Literature Award. Few scholars more consistently combine first-rate scholarship with accessible historical writing, and few authors are more of a pleasure to publish. We are delighted that so richly deserving a writer and thinker has been chosen to inaugurate this prestigious award.”

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