Nate wrote the following essay for Powells.com that elaborates on this evening event at the Wilson home.

The Amazing Tale of the Butterfly-Unicorn-Ballerina-Princess and the Giant, Creeping Land Squid

Bedtime. It is the most important time in my day. At bedtime, I tuck four children into the appropriate beds in the appropriate rooms. They never think they’re tired. Their eyes are bright and their young minds crackle with surprising thoughts on the day, the future, the nature of the universe. At bedtime, I let go of four imaginations, and they wander alone through the darkness, unchaperoned, unguided, shaping visions for themselves, resting in warmth or wandering into terror.

Every night, I feel like I’m launching paper boats into an ocean. I point my children as best I can. I flavor their minds with subjects and characters and songs and dances and blessings. And when they are warm and spilling over with joy, I let go, and I wait for the morning to hear of their adventures.

This is why we sing about drunken sailors and what to do with them, about how some folks say a man is made out of mud, about lost Scottish love and the walls of Jerusalem. This is why I tell them stories.
Read the rest here.

I have to say that in my longstanding tradition of not watching the Academy Awards, my vote for best picture finally won. If you haven’t seen Slumdog Millionaire (and you don’t mind a bit of blood and fast moving action) run, don’t walk, to see it while it’s on the big screen. Well shot, well acted, well told, Slumdog is a brilliant film centered around what’s been the downfall of many a man, mammon. Neither Nate or I have left a movie in a long time that was so satisfying on all fronts. And while on the topic of Slumdog, here’s a BBC story I found interesting,

“Slumdog children to be rehoused

Two child actors from the film Slumdog Millionaire will be moved from slums to new houses by Indian authorities.Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Ismail, who played young versions of two main characters, were discovered by casting agents in Mumbai’s Garib Nagar slum.

There was an outcry when it was found they were still living there after the success of the Oscar-winning film…”

Read more here.

P.S. The first comment has a spoiler so if you plan on seeing it, skip the comments!

So as most of you know by now, Dandelion Fire, released today. To promote the book, Random House sent Nate on a four city book tour for the next nine days. For some good family fun, Nate had each of the kids pick out one of their stuffed animals to keep him company. He then took the camera and you can see the results below.

Left to right we see Ameera’s Natasha, the whale, Lucia’s sea otter, Seamus’ Bob, the reindeer dog, and Rory’s Wolfie, the baby wolf, enjoying a lovely view of Phoenix.

The kids were very pleased when they saw the email this afternoon. Next stop, Chicago!

Patton Dodd, a senior editor at beliefnet, mentioned Nate’s Books and Culture article in a blog post titled “Christianity without doubt.”

Douglas Wilson and Christopher Hitchens had a book tour. Nate Wilson was there. We can read about it here, in the latest issue of Books and Culture.

While my father-in-law was off on the east coast cavorting with Christopher Hitchens (click here for a peek at their adventuring), Peter Hitchens was here in Moscow. His thoughts on our town and the election made their way into today’s Daily Mail, “The Zombie and the Third-World Marxist … How the American West views the presidential race.” Good fun.