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As a young ICSID neophyte, I once asked Aron Broches, the World Bank’s General Counsel from 1959 to 1979, how he had come up with the idea for the Centre. “It was in the air,” he explained. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, there were indeed a number of proposals circulating for the creation of an international arbitral mechanism for the settlement of investment disputes.

The post Establishing ICSID: an idea that was “in the air” appeared first on OUPblog.

I'll bet you thought in today's post I was going to be all "Darn you, Winter! I believed you were gone! I shelved my down jacket and now this?! 35 and about to rain?!" To which Winter would be all, "Ha ha ha ha! She's been in the mid-west since the early 90s and my patented "Spring is here" March fake-out still gets her every year. Now I am off to jack her furnace. I love my job."

But, too bad for you, Winter, because I am all warm and fuzzy from hanging out with teachers, librarians, and other Michigan writers all weekend at the Michigan Reading Association conference, so even the fact that I will undoubtedly be blamed for Tinkerbell's freezing legs even though I told her ten times she needed tights cannot shake my good mood.

Other things that make me smile:

1. This is awesome. Next up for these scientists: Mr. Weasley's flying car.

2. This is awesome too. Though years from now, only the Legos will remain.

3. The deer have returned to my back yard. There's a crowd that's mostly females and a crowd of young-looking males. They eye each other from opposite edges of the yard. I am totally hosting Deer Prom.

4. But mostly, I got a reminder this weekend of why I started writing to be published. A second grade teacher came to me, asking to have Two of a Kind signed. She held it out and said, "I hadn't read any of your books before. But this is happening, this exact thing, with the girls in my class and I haven't been able to figure out what to do. I'm reading them this book first thing tomorrow morning." And then she thanked me for writing it.

1. I am still reading for Jacqui Reads Herself & Her Children Books By & About People Different From Her (explanation here). Many great books have been read. I wanted to carefully review and provide links and info and la la la for every book. Instead, I went to Hawaii with my friends from high school and laughed until my stomach ached. Much briefer-than-intended list of recommendations coming soon.

2. Does anyone else wish the "giant slalom" were really an obstacle course for giants? Or that the skiers had to dodge hungry giants while skiing?

3. Lastly, here is your Tink quote of the moment, on hearing my opinion (and you must read this while raising your hands in the air like you are imploring something of the gods):

"My mother has gone completely SANE!"

Tink is very pleased you all enjoyed her piece on "Writers and How They Write." She will work on the next one as soon as she finishes her current book, Four of a Kind (a sequel, of course).

She is displeased, however, that I continue to call her "Tink" on this blog, as she has outgrown her obsession with Tinkerbell. Also, she is much stronger and funnier than Tinkerbell. Today, we tried to think of new nicknames for her. She suggested "Hermione." I suggested "Magoo," "Hot Shot McGraw," and "Princess Pajamabottoms," any of which I threatened to yell along with "I LOVE YOU!" when she got out of the car at school. All nickname ideas were vetoed; stay tuned.

On the topic of nicknames, Thor and I have a new one at home. Seems Tink's reading group has been studying Greek mythology/history. This morning Tink announced that from now on, she is going to address us as "Old People Of Troy."

Have a fun weekend, all.

1. The rewrite is rewrit. Do you think it's a problem if I send it to my agent like this?









2. Have you all been over to Deborah Freedman's blog, writes with pictures? Because you should go. Her picture book, Scribble (a story of two sisters and "scribbling rivalry") is awesome. I met Debbie last year at SCBWI-LA, fell in love with her, went to the illustrator portfolio exhibit, was absolutely bowled over by one portfolio in particular and, yup, turned out to be hers. And now her blog rocks too.

3. Mmm. Literary tattoos. Someday...

1. This week's favorite quote from my daughter, on finishing cream cheese-ing her bagel:

TINK: This is the perfect amount of cream cheese for a bagel. When I am queen --
JACQUI: You are already queen.
TINK: I mean of the world. When I am queen, I am going to make a law that every bagel has to have exactly this amount of cream cheese. Or you shall be sent to the dungeon. And Destructo will be in charge of my dungeon. And Dada will be my buttman.
JACQUI:
TINK: What?
JACQUI: (stifles giggle)
TINK: Wait. I mean butler.

2. Please give a warm welcome to all the new friends who found Jacqui's Room by Googling "picture vulture puke," yesterday's number two search term. New friends, I am sorry; I do not actually post pictures of vulture puke. But I do write about it.

3. I love coffee. And tea. I spend a lot of time at the coffee shop writing eavesdropping. And Lord knows I am as addicted to the internet as anyone out there. But can someone tell me why I would ever follow my coffee shop on Twitter? They keep posting big signs asking me to. Isn't their answer to "What are you doing?" more or less always "Making coffee?"

While mine, of course, is "writing." And never "screwing around on the internet" or "eating donuts."

Happy Monday, oh mighty and numerous visitors to Jacqui's Room. Did you have a good weekend? Were you stuck in your house alone for 16 hours with two kids who probably had swine flu* and no electricity and no doughnuts? Not pretty, people.

Here are my thoughts:

1. Remember when I raved about Nicola's Books, my favorite local bookstore? Well, Nicola herself wrote me on Goodreads to tell me how much she likes Two of a Kind, so I am floating.

2. Many, many of you have given Two of a Kind wonderful shout-outs on your own blogs and I am much, much grateful. I was going to link to them all, but the aforementioned 16 hours with no electricity have also apparently ruined my AT&T U-Verse service and I have exactly nine minutes left before I lose it again.** Soon...

3. I am not a huge dog person. But you have to admire their short term memory. My sister has a dog and he's cute, but, like I said, I am not a dog person. Yet every single time that dog sees me, he comes running up like this, THIS might be the time that I shout "FOZ!" and wrastle him to the ground and let him lick me all over.

I'm starting a new book today -- a picture book. And here I am, all in love with it, leaping to the blank page, drooling and panting and thinking this, THIS will be the book that lives up to its image in my head, that never makes me pound my head on the keyboard or Google things like "WHY DO I EVEN TRY?"

Woof woof.

* symptoms: fever, cough, unending snot drip, extreme crankiness, inability to follow simplest of directions without protest...
** Remember my ex-boyfriend SteveFromAT&T and his new girl, Munchie? So Thor calls AT&T last night and gets Mr. Helpful who is kind and smart and tries hard to figure out the problem and they're sending someone over ASAP. What the heck?!

1. Say, have you gotten your copy of TWO OF A KIND yet? Why not?! Go find it at your local bookstore. Now.

2. Diane tells me that Cheryl Klein is also hosting a worst first line of a children's book contest. But what about MY contest?! Thievery! Who is this "Cheryl Klein" person? What has she ever done for children's literature?

Actually, I have met Cheryl on several occasions and she is downright lovely. We talked at length at SCBWI-NY drink night this year about the revision process Francisco X. Stork went through on Marcelo in the Real World (possibly still my favorite book read in 2009, though that's unoffical) and it was fascinating and inspiring to me. You should go enter her contest also, because she seems to be "organized" and offering "actual prizes." Though I am sure Cheryl cannot offer you your pick of treasures such as a first edition of Grease: the Book and a signed copy of Magic Johnson's autobiography.

3. Speaking of contests, first place in the "best response to a parental order" contest goes to Tinkerbell, who, upon being sent to her room by The Mighty Thor, stormed up the steps shouting, "I shall have my revenge!"

1. "Where's Papa going with that ax?" is my favorite first line of a book ever. Now, Rita Crayon Huang shares E.B.White's previous drafts. I found it fascinating, though, as I said over there, it would have been more reassuring to me as a writer if E.B.White's first drafts stunk a little more.

2. What does it mean when my bank's financial advisor sends a "state of the market" mass email that ends with this quote from Ozymandias???

...and on the pedestal these words appear: "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings.
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

I love Shelley, and this poem, but I think this means I should be investing in canned goods and things you can burn for heat.

3. I'm leaving today for NYC and the SCBWI conference. Don't worry, I'll report on the conference with my usual level of seriousness and depth. Ahem.

4. Best way someone has ever gotten to my blog: a Google search for "jacqui is a dork." Doesn't my sister know she could just call me?

I would like to draw your attention to this Family Reading page on The Horn Book’s website – there are lots of ideas and shared experiences to hearten and encourage reading with and to our children. I especially love Martha Parravano’s article “Reading Three Ways“ about reading with her two daughters; and I laughed aloud at the end. It reminded me of a holiday when Son Number One was still toddling. Rapunzel had been the perpetually chosen audio tape on the day’s drive up to the North of Scotland. A few days later:

Daddy: Where’s Mummy?
Son (cackling): The bird has flown, my pretty!

…I wish I’d actually been there to hear it!

Thinking back to that time when books had to be repeated ad infinitum, here’s a list, in no particular order, of only some of our family favorites from the very early years:

All the Hairy Maclary books by Lynley Dodd – in fact, all her books!
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell, ill. Patrick Benson;
Can’t You sleep, Baby Bear? - and the rest of the series, again by Martin Waddell, but ill. Barbara Firth
Each Peach Pear Plum and Peepo! by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Mrs Armitage and the Big Wave by Quentin Blake
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen, ill. Helen Oxenbury
Little Beaver and the Echo by Amy MacDonald, ill. Sarah Fox-Davies
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss
The Gruffalo and all the other books by Julia Donaldson, ill. Axel Scheffler
Mrs Goose’s Baby and Mr Davies and the Baby by Charlotte Voake

When I look at this list I realise that nearly all these books were given to us by friends whose own children had loved them – and we in turn have handed them on to our smaller friends…

So let me just leave you with a something the illustrator Howard Pyle once said:

“The stories of childhood leave an indelible impression, and their author always has a niche in the temple of memory from which the image is never cast out to be thrown on the rubbish heap of things that are outgrown and outlived.”