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| I love Dory Story by Jerry Pallotta, Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan, and Common Sense by Thomas Paine. |
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A few bookish lines each day. That's the goal. We'll see how it goes. So far, so good.
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Friday, March 25, 2011 There they were. The NY Times Book Review from last Sunday, my coffee, my glasses, and my dog - all there waiting for me. So, I thought they deserved a photo. One picture is worth a thousand words. So, four must be priceless. TTYL.
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Tuesday, December 7, 2010 Today’s the day. I’ve written each day for over two years about things related to books and all things bookish; and today I’ve decided...that’s enough. So, I’m closing out this part of my daily routine and am happy about this decision. I’m sure that a new routine is lurking in the background waiting to be found. All things eventually run their due course. And this bookish blog is...done. For now.
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Monday, December 6, 2010 Sir Salman was wonderful. For three hours, he was a total pro, live on BookTV. His references to literature, his answers about his work as a novelist, and his connections to the big ideas of humanity were inspiring. He answered a myriad of call-in questions and emails with warmth and clarity. BookTV is a critical service to the intellectual life of readers. Wow. What a day. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, December 5, 2010 Salman Rushdie is live on BookTV for three hours today beginning at 11 AM central. I can’t wait. It’s going to be GREAT!!!! Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, December 4, 2010 My new Consumer Reports came today; and I’m studying the new info on cell phones and plans. Consumer Reports sure is a critical part of my life. Not that I buy that much stuff. I just like to know which stuff is considered really good. And according to the front cover, AT&T doesn't make the cut. I could have told them that. Sorry, AT&T. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, December 3, 2010 Here’s the question for the day. What’s possible now? Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, December 2, 2010 Still reading Hornet. Looking forward to something lighter when I’m finished. Maybe the new book on Mark Twain. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, December 1, 2010 I’m thinking of my next book since it’s the beginning of a new month. I’m thinking of reading Metropolitan Life by Fran Lebowitz even though I'm just 2% into Hornet's Nest. You can never do too much planning when it comes to organizing ones reading list. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, November 30, 2010 I’m reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest on my new Kindle. I’m much preferring the movie at this point; but I know that if I keep reading, the book will win. So, I’m going to stick with it til that happens. I know it will. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, November 29, 2010 I watched Fran Lebowitz as presented by Martin Scorsese on HBO in a documentary titled, Public Speaking. It was great. Everything from her talk with Toni Morrison to her 1978 Checker cab was fabulous. But the real show stopper was The Reader with Kate Winslet. I had previously decided I wouldn't watch it; but then there it was on my TV quite suddenly. So, I watched it. It was a dramatic piece about books, Auschwitz, and moral dilemmas. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, November 28, 2010 Today, I’m interested in Aristotle for some reason. He divided the art of persuasion into three categories:
Ethos (ethical appeal) Pathos (emotional appeal) Logos (logical appeal)
Ethics, emotions, logic.
That seems to sum it up nicely. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, November 27, 2010 Toni Morrison and Angela Davis were featured on BookTV last night. They were having a discussion at the New York Public Library this past October. The show was nearly two hours long and was very revealing about their thought processes and values. Ms. Morrison said toward the end of the program that Americans have been manipulated and redefined so that we have evolved from being an American Citizen to being an American Consumer to being an American Taxpayer.
Her point was that language has been used to redefine us all. She recommendas that all Americans redefine ourselves as American Citizens with all the rights and responsibilities that that title entails. She’s nearly 80; and as far as I can tell, knows everything. She said that knowledge is the goal; and from that may come wisdom. She’s very wise. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, November 26, 2010
Haiku #1 Dark blue jellyfish, Beaches dotted with seaweed, Pelicans patrol.
Haiku #2 Molly's energy, Her optimistic nature, She's a happy dog.
Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, November 25, 2010 I’m reading Just Kids by Patti Smith on my new Kindle; and it’s great. Both the book and the Kindle. To grow up in the East Village, to live on bread crusts, to make art every day, to work in a bookstore, and to become a rock n roll singer is a life that few have and many want. Glad she wrote the book and double glad I’m reading it. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, November 24, 2010 Is the digital age ruining people’s abilities to concentrate? The Sunday NY Times explored this question in a lengthy, first-page+ article that quoted neuroscientists, teachers, and students. The bottom line is there is no definitive, empirical study that answers the question. Even so, in the absence of those studies, the article warns that yes, it’s probably a problem that people are so tied to their Blackberries, Youtube, Facepage, IMs, and video games that the ordinary pleasure of reading a book is now gone. Even Patti Smith, who just accepted the National Book Award’s best-book award for her memoir Just Kids asked publishers, “Please, no matter how we advance technologically, please don’t abandon the book. There is nothing in our material world more beautiful than the book.” So it seems that to read a book is now a non-pleasurable activity if you’re addicted to the world of video, gaming, TV, and texting. This of course makes it really hard for teachers to gain students’ attention in classrooms. The Times article does end with an educator who said he would rather have a great teacher in a cave than a room full of Smartboards. Good point.
However, back to the Times. The main flaw in the Times article is this: The reporter tried to compare the pleasure of reading books with the pleasure of digital engagements; and of course, reading books came up short. But. Reading books was equated with the reading of books assigned by teachers. This is where the reporter got it wrong. There’s a TOTAL difference between reading a book that a teacher tells you to read and reading a book that you want to read. Had that nuance been explored, the conclusion would have been different. Reading a book that is self-selected is still a joy. Reading a book that someone else is making you read is not. So, the debate continues. And I’m getting a Kindle today for an early Christmas present. How’s that for irony? Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, November 23, 2010 In yesterday’s paper, there were two articles that were troubling. The first was about three young boys who were being adopted after several years of neglect by their mom and grandfather and then several more years of living in foster care. The second article featured Kate and William and all the glamour of their future marriage. Here’s the question. How did society evolve so that three little boys live without proper care while two people, by birth, own the world? Perhaps a good sociologist could explain it. But for me, it's difficult to accept this massive discrepancy between the most needy and the most powerful. How did our various civilizations arrive at this kind of value system. Don’t know. But. I just found a book I’m going to read. Discourse on the Origin of Inequality by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Maybe I’ll find some sort of an answer there. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, November 22, 2010 I don’t really know anything about two people: Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. Except this. I do know they are credited with the best translations of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s works. And for that, the book world is grateful and in awe. Mr. Pevear and Ms. Volokhonsky have taken Dostoevsky’s Russian books and accurately translated all the nuances and subtle humor he intended in his stories and made those stories available to readers of English. What kind of people will spend their lives and talent in the exacting world of literary translation? Only the best. The Brothers Karamazov, Crime and Punishment, Notes from Underground, The Eternal Husband, The Idiot, The Adolescent, The Gambler. Fyodor, Fyodor, Fyodor. Wherefore art thou, Fyodor? I think Russian writers looked at life and got it just right. At least, Fyodor got it just right. In my opinion. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, November 21, 2010 Whether from the heart and mind of a sailor, nationalist, rebel, nurse, Swede, diplomat, crook, or cook, the best books always explore the human condition and thereby illuminate life’s complexity with the hope that we can all become better people. At least that’s my take on what the best books can do. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, November 20, 2010 I've been thinking about this poem lately.
Sea Fever I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking, And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a gray dawn breaking.
I must down go to the seas again, for the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied; And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying, And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over. John Masefield (1878-1967)
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Friday, November 19, 2010 I’m looking for a book titled, No Comment. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, November 18, 2010 In Motion by Tony Hiss is the next book I’m going to check out. It got a good review and evidently tells us all to slow down and look around as we travel through the day; and if we can travel through the day on foot, all the better. It seems to suggest that we're missing life because we're too busy and too much in a hurry. Really? Gotta run. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, November 17, 2010 I caught part of an interview on BookTVwith Ayaan Hirsi Ali who wrote Nomad. She explained that because she had the benefit of education in two different cultures, which she described as first in Islam and then in the West, she felt she had inside perspectives on those two belief systems. She said the West was about science, reason, logic, and intellectual adventure whereas Islam was about tradition and following the Koran. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, November 16, 2010 I picked up What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell again last night. I hadn’t quite finished that book when I had picked up another book several months back. So, I’m finishing the last little bit of this book. And it’s great. Look around. Find a topic. Learn all about it. Write it down. Publish a book. That’s Malcolm’s recipe. And it’s workin’. He’s a really good writer who uses language extremely well. And it's always a thrill to get lost in a book that uses language extremely well. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, November 15, 2010 Thinking about women writers today: Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817)
Charlotte Brontë (21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855)
Virginia Woolf (25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941)
Emily Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886)
Edith Wharton (January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937).
Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, November 14, 2010
A Winter Haiku
The dark winter clouds Hide the blue in sky blue skies And bring chilling winds.
That only Moose Munch from Harry and David can cure. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, November 13, 2010 I am SO looking for a bit of light reading. I know it’s out there; so I guess I’d better get busy and get myself to a bookstore pronto. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, November 12, 2010 I just picked up the Book Review from the Sunday NY Times that's been sitting on the ottoman waiting to be read; and voila, there’s a whole section on children’s books. So, now I have something interesting to read today before the new Book Review with all new books comes out on Sunday. Whew. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, November 11, 2010 Yesterday, I learned the meaning of the word caprice because I heard it on a game show and then I read it in a book. All in the same day. After all these years. Two times in the same day for the word caprice. But, right now, right this minute, I can’t recall what it means. I could look it up or I could just wait until life hands it to me again (which of course could be never; in which case, that'd be okay too). Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, November 10, 2010 Perhaps sociologists who are trying to identify regional differences in America should look to the CEO of Macy’s. He decided to serve local needs in each Macy’s store across the nation so that conservative suits are widely available in D.C. and large cook pans are widely available in Utah. That’s according to today’s paper. I assume Macy’s has the staff to do extensive market analysis region by region so that they don’t stock beachwear in Kansas and overalls in Manhattan. But then again, legitimate sociologists would understand the risk of over generalizing this marketing research as being truly representative of various regional populations. Still, interesting concept. I’d like to see their data. But I’m sure it’s proprietary. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, November 9, 2010 Every time I read something about France, it’s either very positive or very negative. National health insurance, high-quality transit, clean public places, nice parks, good heart health from all that red wine, great literature...On the other hand. Culture clashes, a bit snobby, quick to strike, somewhat detached from world affairs…On the other hand, I may have it all wrong. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, November 8, 2010 I finished Mirrors by Eduardo Galeano. It’s by far the saddest and most truthful book I’ve ever read. Even sadder than Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Mr. Galeano took humanity’s most painful moments and wrote an epic poem of 600 chapters illuminating all of humanity’s self-inflicted injustices. We can only hope to improve our behavior in the coming millennia. I’m very glad to have found Mr. Galeano and his book. On BookTV, when he was interviewed, he said that the interview was like having a conversation with a friend. What an insightful friend. Til tomorrow.
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| Chinua Achebe from Nigeria and Eduardo Galeano from Uruguay |
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Sunday, November 7, 2010 Daylight savings time. ARGH. I’m leaving one clock on the old time so that I can know what time used to feel like before the big switch last night. Manipulating the clocks seems to be an effort to control the circadian rhythms of life when in fact, real time controls itself. That being said, I like this new time today. It gave me one more hour to the read the paper, which had (among thousands and millions of words) two insightful articles about Debra Winger and Eli Wallach. They seem to be good people. Also, I particularly like Deborah Solomon's interview today with cartoonist Sophie Crumb, the daughter of Robert Crumb who invented the cartoon Fritz the Cat. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, November 6, 2010 A day of public radio listening to all kinds of people talk about all kinds of stuff starting with Wisconsin Public Radio. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, November 5, 2010 This morning, there are five great books on my desk; and I’ve read them all. Each book is a perfect balance of word, art, and content. How’d they do that?
Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan Fly High by Louise Borden and Mary Kay Kroeger Rosa by Nikki Giovanni Ella Fitzgerald by Andrea Davis Pinkney Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, November 4, 2010 The Chilean miner who trained in his mining boots beneath the earth’s surface with the notion that he’d eventually get out to run a marathon is now running in the NYC marathon. The genetic markers for survival that he possesses need to be identified, duplicated, and sold to the rest of us. A remarkable story. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, November 3, 2010 Pee Wee Herman is on Broadway. He was featured in an article on the front page of the Sunday NY Times Arts and Leisure section. It was really well written and thorough. What a career. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, November 2, 2010 I just read today the interview of Garry Wills by Deborah Solomon in the NY Times Sunday Magazine. I read it today, Tuesday, because the Sunday NY Times wasn’t delivered on Sunday. It was delivered on Tuesday. I am interpreting this two-day delay in receiving my Sunday paper as dire financial straits for the NY Times. And while I COULD read it online, it reads better on paper where I can physically sort through the sections discarding Sports and Business before getting to the good stuff, which is the obituary section and the Arts and Leisure section. Anyhoo, Ms. Solomon asked him a question that Mr. Wills thought was silly; and he repeatedly told her he didn’t answer silly interview questions. Go Garry. Til tomorrow.
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| Photo by Charles Rex Arbogast |
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Monday, November 1, 2010 I ran across an old book. Marjorie Morningstar. Herman Wouk (woke) wrote it. He also wrote The Caine Mutiny. He’s an old-school writer, master of character development. Good writers make writing look so easy; but of course it’s not. It’s all about the discipline of sitting at the desk with pen in hand on a regular basis. That’s what they say anyway. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, October 31, 2010 Bobby McFerrin was on Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, an NPR game show yesterday. He’ll be at Lincoln Center on November 12 and 13. He’s had a very interesting and successful life; and his vocal range is amazing. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, October 30, 2010 I read today's paper about game three of the World Series. That’s all I read. The title. So, I’m thinking the World Series is baseball. But wait. I always thought baseball was in the spring. Obviously, I need to start keeping better track of sports in America. On second thought, nah. I’m just not into competitive sports. I know the rest of the world is; but for me, nah. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, October 29, 2010 I need (among other things) a lifetime supply of ink for my Waterman rollerball pen. I’m always out. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, October 28, 2010 I’m going to watch The Ghost and Mrs. Muir starring Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney this weekend. That will be the 6th time. Cool. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, October 27, 2010 In today’s paper, Maya Angelou announced that she will be giving her papers to the Schomburg Center of the NY Public Library system. She is donating all her rough drafts of her books and poems as well as correspondence from Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. I still have her video interview with Bill Moyers from 1982 as well as her acceptance of the Essence Award from 1994 PLUS a video interview of her on BookTV from 2002 when Michael Silverblatt interviewed her at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Consistency and hope are her hallmarks. Not to mention talent and work ethic. Three cheers for Dr. Maya Angelou. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, October 26, 2010 The holidays are just around the corner. I can’t wait. Susan Stamberg is an NPR reporter; and she gave us her recipe for cranberry relish years and years and years ago. I’ve made it once before but that was 15 years ago. So, this is the year that I revisit Susan Stamberg’s famous cranberry relish.
Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish 2 cups whole raw cranberries, washed 1 small onion 3/4 cup sour cream 1/2 cup sugar 2 tablespoons horseradish from a jar ("red is a bit milder than white") Grind the raw berries and onion together. Add everything else and mix. Put in a plastic container and freeze. Early Thanksgiving morning, move it from freezer to refrigerator compartment to thaw. ("It should still have some little icy slivers left.")
The relish will be thick, creamy, and shocking pink. ("OK, Pepto Bismol pink. It has a tangy taste that cuts through and perks up the turkey and gravy. It’s also good on next-day turkey sandwiches, and with roast beef.") Makes 1-1/2 pints.
Me again. Hmm. I forgot about the shocking pink part. But I'll give it a go. As I recall, it was deelicious. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, October 25, 2010 I’m reading a few pages of Mirrors by Eduardo Galeano each evening; and it feels like he wrote that book especially for me. He writes so poetically about such tragedies that I keep wondering how he manages to balance hope with the knowledge that such injustices have existed throughout time. I’m very glad he wrote this book; but I wonder if it takes its toll - on both reader and author. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, October 24, 2010 Keith Richards and Taylor Swift were on the front page of the NY Times Arts and Leisure section this morning. Mr. Richards has a new book titled, Life while Ms. Swift has a new album titled something or other. I liked the juxtaposition of these two singers – the old and the worn versus the new and the naive. And of course the Times editors liked this juxtaposition as well since they are the ones who put them together on the front page and on the facing pages inside. Two, long, well-written articles. In-depth, complete, worth reading. The word madeleines came up in the piece about Mr. Richards. Madeleines are little French cakes referred to by Proust as the catalyst for one of his involuntary memories that came to him in a café where he was having madeleines and tea. So, Mr. Richards has lots of madeleines as well as voluntary memories in his book, which has gotten a really good review (as I recall). Cool. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, October 23, 2010 Oh my goodness. National Public Radio fired Juan Williams. I never quite trusted him. He always seemed more interested in making money than in pursuing an honorable career in journalism. Not that journalists should have to take a vow of poverty in order to do good work. But they do have to care about professional integrity more than the sordid topic of coin (to quote Isabella Rosselini from Death Becomes Her). What a great line. The sordid topic of coin. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, October 22, 2010 January’s Sparrow is another book destined to be a classic and written by the amazing Patricia Polacco. The illustrations are exquisite and the text is superb. The historical facts are well researched and are woven into a narrative that is both believable and trustworthy. The period of time represented in the book is one of America's saddest but can not be forgotten. As William Faulkner said or might have said, "The past is not dead. It's not even past." Thank you Ms. Polacco. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, October 21, 2010 Clint Eastwood has produced and directed a new film with Matt Damon. It’s gotten good reviews. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, October 20, 2010 Today's paper seems unusually full of madness and mayhem committed by people who evidently are unaware that tomorrow is Dizzy Gillespie's birthday. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, October 19, 2010 So, what am I doing now? I’m reading about Facebook’s security breaches, about the First Lady’s fashion sense, and about cracks in the miners’ solidarity in Chile. Truly, I’m too much informed. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, October 18, 2010 I watched an interview with Brian Lamb and Stephen Breyer on BookTV. Justice Breyer took four years to write a book about the Supreme Court; and he sort of considers it a gift to America so that we Americans will understand how the court works. Quite a gift. And he’s quite a jurist. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, October 17, 2010 I watched Stacy Schiff on BookTV at the Library of Congress. She was talking about her new biography on Cleopatra. And then in today’s NY Times Magazine, Deborah Solomon interviewed her about this same book. It was a very nice interview. Stacy is humorous. She said that biographers tend to write about women for their disabilities, delusions, or sensational deaths like Helen Keller, Joan of Arc, and Isadora Duncan. So, Stacy chose Cleopatra, a strong, smart, powerful woman who ruled the world - descended from Greece and fluent in Egyptian. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, October 16, 2010 So, two weeks behind reading the NY Times Book Review. Not good. Tomorrow, another one arrives. Last week, Phillip Roth was on the front page. So, I need to check out his latest book and see what all the fuss is about. Plus, I still haven’t picked up a copy of Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. But wait. I just checked Amazon and Freedom has only three starts while Nemesis by Roth has four. Hmm. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, October 15, 2010 In today’s paper, Verizon Wireless announced it will start selling the ipad. So, I’m betting they’ll start selling the iphone in January. I think I’ll get one of each. Plus, I'm thinking how great it would be to have a top-rated digital SLR camera - Canon EOW Rebel T2i. Wow. I must not be busy enough. Here I am thinking of all this consumer stuff. And actually, I'm pretty happy with the stuff I have. Maybe I’ll just follow Henry David Thoreau’s advice to: simplify, simplify, simplify. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, October 14 Today I’m listening to At Last sung by Etta James who is perfection herself. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, October 13, 2010 The miners are being lifted out of their collapsed mine today in Chile. It seems to be taking about one hour per miner. Thirty-three people have been trapped for 69 days in the darkness of the underground. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, October 12, 2010 All these words have something in common. But what? deft first calmness canopy laughing stupid crabcake hijack Til tomorrow.
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Monday, October 11, 2010 I’ve been interested in Eyvind Earle this week. His life and work are very fascinating. His art work sells for thousands. He was talented and productive from the beginning of his life to the end (1916-2000). He made a video of himself - http://www.eyvindearle.com/ - talking about his life and work. Below is a painting I can see myself in. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, October 10, 2010 Texas Public Radio changed their Saturday lineup so that my Saturday listening practices are completely out of sync. So, now I have to use a combination of Wisconsin Public Radio, Texas Public Radio, and NPR. I’m not happy. But then again, these programs are SO good. They are worth the extra clicking to find them at the right times: 9 Car Talk 10 Not Much 12 Wait Wait 1 Splendid Table 2 This American Life 3 Selected Shorts 4 take a break 5 Prairie Home Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, October 9, 2010 The Nobel Prize for Peace went to a Chinese literary critic who is in a Chinese prison because he supports freedom of speech. The Chinese government calls him a criminal and condemns the Nobel committee for interfering with the Chinese way of life by awarding this man, their prisoner, the highest award for peace that exists on this planet. Bravo for Norway. Boo for Beijing. The name of this Peace Prize Laureate is Liu Xiaobo; and because he’s serving his second year of a ten-year prison term for simply demonstrating against a repressive government, he doesn’t know he won. But his wife knows. She’s hopeful that the Chinese government will let her visit him today and tell him the news. Doubtful. The Chinese government has blocked his name from Google, text messages, instant messaging, and are monitoring cell phone conversations. The Nobel committee did exactly the right thing. The Chinese government did not. The Chinese government is repressive and is behind the times. I suggest boycotting everything made in China until all dissidents are released from Chinese prisons. But wait, everything is made in China today. Oops. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, October 8, 2010 I’m very happy. I just read that the iphone 4 will be available through Verizon in January or so of next year. Yea. Hope it’s true. AT&T doesn’t provide the proper level of technology and customer service that I think is appropriate. So, I’m sticking with Verizon. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, October 7, 2010 The public libraries I’ve used and loved over the years because they are beautifully built and greatly valued by their communities are: Cushing Public Library Columbus Public Library Spokane Public Library New York Public Library
Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, October 6, 2010 A few years back, I would not have been able to ask the following question, “Is there a Skype app for the ipod touch?” Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, October 5, 2010 Salman Rushdie will be live on BookTV on Sunday, November 7, 2010 at 11:00 AM Central Time for three hours. It’s going to be great!!! Til tomorrow.
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Monday, October 4, 2010 Michio Kaku was live on BookTV yesterday for three hours. I have never heard anyone speak with such mastery about any subject, let alone the subject of space and time, like Dr. Kaku. Wow. Black holes, white holes, parallel universes, time travel, and then of course, more down to earth physics like explaining the constancy of the speed of light. It was great. He said the world’s three greatest scientists were Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Charles Darwin. Hard to argue with that, except I'd add Michio Kaku to the list for being able to simply explain all that stuff to the rest of us. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, October 3, 2010 Douglas Brinkley may be the hardest working historian in the history of America. And he signed his new book for me yesterday at the Harte Public Library. Fabulous. I told him that I’ve seen all his BookTV talks but that he’s doubly good in person. He signed my book, “To a fan of the wilderness.” Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, October 2, 2010 Donald Graves died on September 28, 2010. His work over four decades gave the world of writers a process for thinking and composing. There are few academics of his caliber who so successfully bridged the gap between theory and practice as this university professor did. The University of New Hampshire has a site for remembrance at http://unhtoday.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/donald-graves/ Til tomorrow.
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Friday, October 1, 2010 I’m loving the Mirrors book; but wow, it’s page after page of documentation of injustice after injustice. Eduardo Galeano gave us a great reminder in this book that power must be kept in check. And related to this book is what I wrote on April 1, 2009. Arundhati Roy said, “You have to be as difficult and troublesome as possible in order to keep power on a short leash – it’s hard work to be formidable.” Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, September 30, 2010 Finally, the other night I watched The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo. Whoa. I had to fast-forward in a couple of spots. Too graphic. But it was SO great. Now I’m thinking I won’t read the book. Too bad. The books are always better. The Girl Who Played with Fire is the next book; and then the third in the triology is The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. All three by Stieg Larsson (1954-2004). Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, September 29, 2010 No new thoughts today except to say that it’s disappointing to have no new thoughts today. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, September 28, 2010 Four handy words for today: heuristic – a process of learning through questioning and answering hermetic – airtight or related to Gnostic teachings about spiritual life or reclusive hermeneutics – a close reading of ancient texts hegemony - the influence of a dominant group over others Til tomorrow.
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Monday, September 27, 2010 Two years ago today, I started this site with the notion that each day I would write a few bookish or book-related lines. Today, however, nothing bookish or book related comes to mind except to say that I’m sure glad I’m a reader. Not everyone is. But for me, reading books is the single most important thing I do in my life. I can’t imagine not being able to access ideas and people through the printed word. So…Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, September 26, 2010 Hollywood is working overtime. Solitary Man with Michael Douglas A Single Man with Colin Firth A Serious Man with Michael Stuhlbarg The Family Man with Nicholas Cage Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, September 25, 2010 I’m off to the library to find a cheery book. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, September 24, 2010 I’m returning to the book Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone by Eduardo Galeano. I set that book aside many months ago in order to read a couple of other things that had landed on my desk; but now I’m ready to go back to the mirrors. The book seems to be a treatise on the human condition, on power, and on the interaction of those two things. I heard Mr. Galeanoby interviewed on BookTV and liked what he had to say. But I’m thinking I need something cheerier to read this weekend. Where is the cheery book section in the library? I’m thinking that "cheery" needs to be a new genre. I'm going to check the Dewey Decimal System and see if Mr. Dewey created a section for cheery books. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, September 23, 2010 I finished The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton last night. I was unaware that she played a big part in the relief effort of WWI by providing various charity houses to the French and Belgians who had been displaced by the German army. The Germans or rather the German army (two very different groups) tried to conquer Paris around 1915 and failed because of the French army, the British army, and the USA. During all that, Edith owned property in Paris and decided to help the refugees and particularly the women who were homeless and widowed. So, she set up charity houses and a small business employing women to make socks and bandages and such. She did all that in order to save a way of life that she loved. Paris in the summer. St. Claire in the winter. So, her actions in WWI were all new to me. How did I not know this? But I didn't. And during all her 70+ years of life, she wrote lots of novels, stories, and war reports that were largely published by Scribner in NYC. Among many, she wrote The House of Mirth, The Age of Innocence, and A Backward Glance. She won the Pulitzer Prize. She received an honorary degree from Yale. She was honored by the French. She defied convention. And since she had an incredible amount of money, she was able to defy convention in style and comfort, with aplomb, and having no regrets. Money does indeed ease ones path in life; and she had bunches of it. I’m very glad to have read this book. Til tomorrow.
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| 1862-1937 Edith Wharton in 1931 at her desk in France. |
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Wednesday, September 22, 2010 Theories of Derrida and Foucault do not hold up to the theoretical requirements set forth by Derrida and Foucault themselves for examining other people’s theories according to Tony Hilfer. In other words, according to Profesor Hilfer, some theorists have much higher standards for examining other people’s scholarship than they do for examing their own. Tony Hilfer's book is titled, The New Hegemony in Literary Studies: Contradictions in Theory. It's challenging reading that requires lots of background info. Not exactly easy reading for a nice fall day. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, September 21, 2010 I have not yet bought Freedom, the new novel by Jonathan Franzen. But I need to do that quickly because I’m almost finished with The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton, whose most famous book (to me at least) is The House of Mirth. Too many books, too little time. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, September 20, 2010 Tom Ford of Gucci and Jeff Koons of Jeff Koons were featured on Sundance as iconoclasts this week. It was a good but odd interview. Mr. Ford was skeptical about Mr. Koons but tried to do a worthwhile interview and succeeded for the most part. However, the artistic process for each of them seemed to be more about finances than art. But their world of art is big business. Perhaps the idea of artists being required to suffer for their art is too ingrained. Clearly, they are not suffering. Til tomorrow.
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| Stainless steel Balloon Dog by Jeff Koons. Fabulous! |
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Sunday, September 19, 2010 I’ve been thinking about George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin lately. I don’t have a clear picture of what they wrote and when they wrote it. I’m sure it would be worth my time to chart them out and get a clearer understanding of their lives and times. I love their music; but I’d like a clearer picture of their accomplishments and connections. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, September 18, 2010 What would a perfect day look like? Til tomorrow.
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Friday, September 17, 2010 Last Sunday’s NY Times in the Arts and Leisure section lists all the new plays, movies, openings, and operas for the coming season. I’m still reading about it five days later. There’s sure a lot of art and leisure going on. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, September 16, 2010 All year on this site, I’ved typing twenty ten, twenty ten, twenty ten in the form of 2010. It’s so easy to type 2010 from the keyboard. And now in just 3.5 months, I’ll have to start typing twenty eleven, twenty eleven, twenty eleven, 2011. Already I know I’m not gonna like it. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, September 15, 2010 I found a new book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Duck! Rabbit! It’s a great tribute to visual conundrums. Is it a duck? Is it a rabbit? Depends on perspective. I loved the first book I read of hers titled, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life. She got that book exactly right. Then, I met her in person at a conference where she was talking about her books. She’s very bright and just the kind of thinker we should all try to be. Independent and optimistic. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, September 14, 2010 I don’t know why I love the NY Times so much. But I do. I love the notion that there are journalists who reveal the secret underbelly of humanity in hopes of making things a little better for those who need it. Most notably, in Sunday’s paper, a journalist explained in detail how the Russian police had shut down an environmental group’s efforts to save a Siberian lake that had been polluted by a paper company. The police stormed in, confiscated their computers, and filed charges against them for pirating Microsoft software. That’s it. Under the guise of protecting Microsoft, the Russian police shut down an environmental activist group, which was trying to save a lake that stores perhaps 20% of the world’s fresh water. Microsoft publicly supported the enforcement of piracy laws but are assumably concerned about being used by the police to silence dissent. On the other hand, if the police had not confiscated the computers (no violations of piracy were found), the Times would not have sent a journalist to cover the story; and the public would not have had the chance to understand what’s happening with one little environmental group in a very cold part of the planet. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, September 13, 2010 I just heard that Maury Chaykin died on July 27 of this year. He was such a wonderful character actor. I’ve watched his Nero Wolfe character on DVD many times; and his performance in Unstrung Heroes was totally excellent. I know that at the atomic level, he’s still here; but still, that’s not a very satisfactory notion. It’s a loss. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, September 12, 2010 I’m loving my new book about Edith Wharton, The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton. Because it’s for young adults, the text is fairly simple and straightforward. She was born…She lived…She went to…Her parents were…That sort of thing. But the book is definitely engaging. I’m glad to be reading it. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, September 11, 2010 I’m starting a new book today. Finally. The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton. I know I'll learn a lot. And then of course it’s the usual fare on Texas Public Radio out of San Antonio. They have THE best public radio programming of any place in the nation. I don’t know how they do it. But they do. Lucky me. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, September 10, 2010 I heard this phrase that I like. Memories are not behind us. Memories are here in the present and pushing us forward. Cool. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, September 9, 2010 I’m finishing Fifteen today; and I’ll have to say that it still holds up as a coming of age story. It would still be a fascinating bit of eavesdropping to listen to current fifteen-year-olds discuss the book and whether or not they identify with Jane Purdy or not. I’m glad I read it. Beverly Clearly got it just right for 1956 - and beyond. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, September 8, 2010 I definitely have to read the tattoo book by Stieg Larsson. He died mysteriously. But before that, he was able to weave philosophy, mystery, and great storytelling into a best-selling novel. So, who doesn’t need to read something like that. I’m off to the bookstore. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, September 7, 2010 I watched a conversation with Phillip Roth on Youtube yesterday. I’m not sure what led me to that interview; but I watched it twice. It was short. Rather. He said that when he writes, he doesn’t write to promote social causes or to solve social problems. His purpose in writing is to promote the novel. He says that with all the other media available to people that reading a novel is going by the wayside. Is getting lost in a great novel an important engagement for people? He says yes. If that's true, why are people replacing that engagement with movies, games, tweets, youtube videos, and blogging? Maybe we're all too busy. Gotta run. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, September 6, 2010 Jonathan Franzen’s new book was featured in the NY Times Book Review yesterday and according to several critics, it’s required reading. Freedom: A Novel. So, I’ll dive right in. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, September 5, 2010 I’m still reading Fifteen; and wow, is it slow going!!! I’m going to try and finish it before I read any reviews. Maybe it will suddenly pick up the pace and young Jane will empower herself to take the reins of her life rather than continue to wait by the phone for her special boy to call. And in today’s NY Times, Hillary Clinton is on the front page trying to bring peace to the mideast. I did notice that Mrs. Clinton looked fabulous in her blue suit and matching necklace. She is definitely not waiting for the phone to ring. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, September 4, 2010
It's Saturday on Texas Public Radio. Car Talk with Tom and Ray Magliozzi Whad'Ya Know? with Michael Feldman Splendid Table with Lynne Rossetto Kasper Wait Wait Don't Tell Me with Peter Sagal and Carl Kasell This American Life with Ira Glass Selected Shorts with Isaiah Sheffer Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor It's a busy, busy day. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, September 3, 2010 Time to celebrate the nation’s labor over Labor Day weekend. I heard that 80% of workers in America used to belong to unions and now only 10% belong to a union. I wonder if those figures are accurate. I can’t remember where I heard them. I did start reading Fifteen by Beverly Cleary last night. The main character is a young girl who wants a boyfriend and who wants to be popular. Because the book was published in 1956, it has an opening scene at the soda shop. It would be interesting to have five, current fifteen-year-olds read and react to the book to see if the issues from 1956 are the same as the issues of 2010. I suppose the issues are the same; but alas, the soda shops are extinct. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, September 2, 2010 I love fall; and fall is about here. The leaves turn, the air cools, and people seem a little more talkative. And this time of year always puts me in mind of My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, who is a terrific and sensitive writer. I probably need to reread that book although I've already read it at least 3 times. And this time of year also puts me in mind of The Van Gogh Cafe by Cynthia Rylant which I like even more than Mountain (if that's possible). Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, September 1, 2010 Nothing to report today except that I’m rereading snippets from a little book I bought at MOMA (I think) a couple of years ago. It’s titled, 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School (I think). I’ve always liked the field of architecture and may pursue a second career in that area. Ha. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, August 31, 2010 I rewatched an Ayn Rand panel discussion on BookTV Sunday. The debate focused on whether or not Rand’s advocacy of an “enlightened self-interest” was good for people and the economy. Two panelists seemed to think that an enlightened self-interest had to be balanced with altruism. But two other panelists (Nathaniel and Barbara Branden) said no and that altruism in Rand’s world was not the goal. Barbara Branden defined altruism in an example. If someone you love is drowning, you save them. That is NOT altruism. You automatically save the person from drowning because you love them. On the flip side, if someone you despise is drowning, you also save them. And that IS altruism. You save the person you despise from drowning because of altruism. Made a lot of sense at the time. Atlas Shrugged is a compelling treatise on the ultimate value of living a life of self-interest versus living a life of self-sacrifice. Which is the better goal? Rand says self-interest. Mother Teresa says self-sacrifice. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, August 30, 2010 I finished The Thief Lord yesterday. It ended well. Ida saved the day. And she of course is the matriarch of Venice and all lost orphans it would seem. Comparing Ida to Esther, the book’s other motherly type, is straight forward. Ida is fun and compassionate. Esther is selective and cold. The book has a connection with Tuck Everlasting with the merry-go-round, which almost seemed like a whole new book; but nevertheless, it ended well. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, August 29, 2010 There was a photo of a young blond woman and a man in today’s paper. I wondered, “Who is that?” Turns out it was Paris Hilton. She was arrested for cocaine useage. I immediately thought, “Wow. All the advantages in the world; and you’re arrested for cocaine.” Then I thought of Chelsea Clinton, who also has all the advantages in the world and is completing a master’s degree in public health policy at Columbia University. The world is full of confusing scenarios. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, August 28, 2010 There are two books that I want to read and think I should read. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon and The Brothers Karamazov by Leo Tolstoy. The question is when to find the time. But I'm pretty keen on those two books. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, August 27, 2010 The weekend is here. The beach is here. I have five books that I’m in the middle of. Seems like a great match. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, August 26, 2010 Umberto Eco said there were three kinds of memory: automatic, semantic, autobiographical. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, August 25, 2010 I ordered a new book. Used that is from Amazon. Fifteen by Beverly Clearly. It’s an original edition published in 1956 and discarded by a public library in Byron Township, Michigan. I’m going to read it with an eye toward being 15 in 2010 and see if the issues are the same or different. Cool. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, August 24, 2010 Still reading about Prop and Bo trying to hide from Victor the detective in The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke. It has just the right amount of mystery and suspense. And the chapters are the perfect length. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, August 23, 2010 My new book came today. The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton. After I read it, I’m going to house it next to my copy of Eleanor by Russell Freedman. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, August 22, 2010 I’ve decided I like books with short chapters. This is probably not a good thing. Maybe serious readers don't mind long chapters and simply furrow their brows and forge ahead in spite of all evidence to the contrary that human beings are hard wired with short attention spans in order to be constantly alert for panthers and saber tooth tigers and such. At any rate, hand me a book with short chapters; and I’m happy. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, August 21, 2010 Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren did a fabulous job in The Last Station. This film is about the life of Tolstoy and his effort to unite the peasants and assume control of Russia. Never really worked out. Too much corruption, too much greed, too little aspiration. But the film was terrific. Great actors telling a great story. On film. All the better. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, August 20, 2010 In the waiting room at the oil change place this morning, I picked up a copy of Rolling Stone and read about Lada Gaga, Bill Murray, and Leonardo DiCaprio. My life will never be the same. Not really. It will be exactly the same. Ha. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, August 19, 2010 The best things in life are not free although time spent at the public library comes close. Air conditioning, many books, quiet, free wireless, comfy chairs. Perhaps a bit too sedentary. And then again, perhaps not. Plus, in NYC, you can always always look at the original Winnie the Pooh. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, August 18, 2010
If not for the cat And the scarcity of cheese I could be content.
That’s a haiku by Jack Prelutsky in his book titled, If Not for the the Cat.
Here’s a haiku by me.
If not for rain clouds And travel from here to there I’d be at the beach.
Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, August 17, 2010 I started The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke last night. It’s another perfect book. Copyright 2000. Victor, Esther the aunt, Boniface, Prosper, Hornet, Mosca, Riccio, and Scipio. Those are the people I’ve met so far plus Barbarossa, the red-bearded shop keeper who buys and sells stolen goods. Street children, detectives, a thief, the alleys and canals of Venice. It’s all there. Plus, it was a movie. Who knew? Everyone but me probably. Anyhoo, I’m lovin’ it so far. Cornelia Dickens. Or rather, Cornelia Funke. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, August 16, 2010 Finished. And all is well. The elephant, the boy, the girl, the husband and wife, the rich lady, the broken lady, the blind dog, the beggar, and the magician each and every one got exactly what they needed. The Magician’s Elephant is a masterpiece of magical realism. Thank you Ms. DiCamillo for figuring it all out so splendidly. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, August 15, 2010 The Singing Detective is a BBC production consisting of six dramas. It features Michael Gambon, who is wonderful. He plays a detective who also sings. Throw in some German Nazis, some psychological maladies, some love gone wrong, some songs from the 40s, and you have a complex drama housed on three DVDs. It was advertised as a lavish musical. But it’s not. It’s an exploration into the vicissitudes of life and how those changes in fortune and fate can lead to pain and suffering. So, no, I wouldn’t classify it as a lavish musical. A lavish musical is Hello Dolly with either Barbra or Carol. So, what is the The Singing Detective? It's an indepth look at what it takes for life to go right – and wrong. And because it's British, there's a respectable amount of tea and whiskey. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, August 14, 2010 I’m hooked. By the end of page 1, I was totally hooked. The fact that the book begins with an elephant falling through the roof of an opera house and crushing the legs of a lady in the audience does not deter me. In fact, by the end of the first chapter, falling elephants seem a perfectly plausible aspect of life. Kate DiCamillo knows how to tell a phantasmagorical story better than anybody. What a find. The Magician's Elephant. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, August 13, 2010 I’ve always loved Friday the 13th. There’s always a chance something odd will happen; and then it will be a great story to tell for years to come. Unfortunately, Friday the 13th is normally quite normal. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, August 12, 2010 Finished Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer. It was worth the read but it ended sort of oddly I thought without real closure. But I still thought it was well crafted and captured the life of kids pretty well. Maybe I’ll write a book called Theodora Boone: Girl Lawyer. Cool. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, August 11, 2010 Turns out the NY Times was not hacked yesterday. Turns out it was my web browser that needed refreshing. Whew.
Also, there was an article in the paper over the weekend about people who are dramatically reducing the amount of stuff they have. The article featured a couple in Oregon who have reduced their stuff to 100 items. That’s it. 100 items. I have 100 items on my desk alone. But I love the idea of reducing to a hundred. Or so. So, I'm going to start culling, cleaning, and reducing. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, August 10, 2010 I didn’t put Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand on my list yesterday. I don’t know how to label it. But it’s probably the most intriguing book I’ve ever read. It takes complex economic theory and places it on top of characters in a novel. The characters decide that they are going to stop subsidizing the rest of humanity, which doesn’t seem able to take care of itself and which doesn’t seem to appreciate their contributions. They decide to withhold their talent and creativity from the rest of humanity and to serve only themselves. Ms. Rand thought that if everyone used their creativity and talent to serve themselves first and foremost that economic stability and justice would work itself out throughout all of America. But. Ralph Nader Sunday on BookTV, in response to a caller who asked what he thought about Ms. Rand, said that Rand got it all wrong and that her ideas of economic stability, justice, and fairness would not work. He didn’t elaborate; and I’m glad he didn’t because now I have the chance to sort it out for myself. If that’s possible.
Another thought for today is that Francine Prose reviewed two books by Hans Keilson in Sunday’s NY Times Book Review. She said he was a genius. Among others, he published two novels in the 40s about the Nazis. I suppose as younger readers move further away from that era of time that these translations and reissues are necessary; but at some point, younger musicians, artists, writers, poets, and the like are going to solve these problems of violence and unwarranted hate; and the world will find stasis and justice. That’s my guess at the moment.
And finally, there was a review in the NY Times Book Review about Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. Mr. Kerouac’s On the Road manuscript was laid out end to end in a glass case in the NY Public Library. I was there. I saw it. What a trip.
Somebody just hacked into the NY Times website. Wasn't me. Photo below. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, August 9, 2010 I’m almost done with Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer; and it looks like I was wrong. The man on trial for murdering his wife looks guilty at this point when in the beginning, I thought he was innocent. On another matter, yesterday on BookTV, a panel of book critics spoke at the Virginia Festival of the Book. They had great wisdom to share about writing a critique of a book. I took notes. The bottom line is that all book reviews are opinions. It’s just that some opinions are better informed than others. Critics who have a reductive view of the world will write one kind of review while critics who have a progressive view of the world will write another. Know the critics’ values; and you’ll know the value of the critique.
First book ever read – Sword and the Stone First historical fiction – 1876 by Gore Vidal Favorite book for a long time – Catcher in the Rye Hardest book I never finished – Ulysses by James Joyce Next hardest book I hope to finish – Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust Most enlightening book – Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Best explanation of power – Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Most powerful and delicate – The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy Most long-lasting impression – Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi Most existentialist book – A History of God by Karen Armstrong Most in depth – Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich Most helpful – Darkness Visible by William Styron Characters I admired most – Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner Most grateful for – The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie Most disturbing book – Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Book I couldn’t stop reading – Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt Most admired writers – Malcolm Gladwell and Arundhati Roy Most admired poet – Billy Collins Current favorite book – the one coming up
Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, August 8, 2010 The taliban shot and killed 10 relief workers in Afghanistan on Friday.
There are no words that can express the sorrow that those ten words convey. No reason, no justification, no logic, no goal, no purpose can possibly explain this act. Cowardly ignorance is the only possible scenario that can be used to understand this level of ongoing violence conveyed in today’s NY Times. How do you fix cowardly ignorance? That's a question for the world to address. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, August 7, 2010 The only thing I’m absolutely sure of is that I never get tired of listening to Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Yum. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, August 6, 2010 Theo, a middle schooler, is the main character. Julio, another middle schooler, is the mystery character. There’s a man on murder for the strangulation of his wife. It all takes place in a house in the Country Club. Each evening, I read a few pages and am convinced the man is innocent. Theo and Julio are going to have to get busy though and solve the mystery as I’m nearly half-way through. And there's always another John Grisham novel waiting to be written or read. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, August 5, 2010 I’ve decided to go see James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave on Broadway in Driving Miss Daisy. It’s gonna be great to see a car on a stage zooming through Georgia and Alabama. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, August 4, 2010 The last roll of Kodachrome was used this past month by the same photographer (Steve McCurry) who used Kodachrome to take the photo of that green-eyed Afghan girl who appeared on the cover of National Geographic in 1985. Steve photographed her again in 2002. And the last little bit of the story on that last little bit of film is that that last roll of film will be developed by a film developer in Kansas. It will be his last development of Kodachrome. History and film evolve. Afghanistan remains a torn and sad place to live attested to by a pair of pure green eyes. Til tomorrow.
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| http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2002/04/afghan-girl/index-text/1 |
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Tuesday, August 3, 2010 Richard Peck is such a wonderful writer. I’m going to start rereading his works. I recently finished The Teacher’s Funeral and loved every word. In fact, I may reread that particular book or may go to A Long Way from Chicago and then its sequel A Year Down Yonder. Yes. That’s my plan. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, August 2, 2010 Ralph Nader was live on BookTV yesterday for 3 hours; and he was incredible. His mastery of data and persuasion is second to none. His thesis is that redistribution of the world’s wealth is necessary in order for social justice to be achieved. He was very convincing and knowledgeable about what has gone wrong with the current economic system and what needs to go right. He received calls from all over the country that were favorable and supportive of his efforts. He was even dubbed Philosopher King by one caller. I took four pages of notes. It was humbling to watch his enthusiasm and energy for achieving a just and worthwhile world. Loved it. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, August 1, 2010 I’ve been writing in a book-related diary for quite some time. I have a leather-bound diary with my initials on it that contains quite a few entries (thanks Bev). On Sunday, December 29, 1996, I wrote, “Heard the editor of Putnam speak on C-SPAN About Books – a great show. Heard the author of Longitude talk about her writing which deals with the history of science. I’ve ordered Longitude and will read her next book about Galileo. Finished High Tide in Tucson by Barbara Kingsolver. It’s a collection of essays. She and I are like-minded. I wonder why and why isn’t everyone else.” Update: I loved Longitude as well as Galileo. Dava Sobel and Barbara Kingsolver are still publishing great works of art, science, and imagination. What a charmed life readers and writers live. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, July 31, 2010 Michael Feldman is live this morning from Wisconsin while Garrison Keillor is a rerun this evening from San Francisco. Thank goodness for national public radio. I’m connected to the world while remaining in my living room. Too cool. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, July 30, 2010 Love it. Love it. Love it. Last night I started the new book by John Grisham titled, Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer. By the end of page 1, you like this kid and are ready to go law school or at the very least, you’re ready for a legal/mystery adventure. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, July 29, 2010 I’ve decided to buy an ipad for Christmas. But only if it comes with a front-facing camera. And only if the price goes down a bit. Or not. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, July 28, 2010 The Times Book Review from last Sunday has two front-page reviews of two new books about Somerset Maugham and E. M. Forster. The life of a well-heeled British writer sounds sort of fabulous. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, July 27, 2010 Daniel Schorr (1916-2010) died on Saturday. My first memory of him was when he went to jail for contempt of court because he wouldn’t reveal a source for one of his news reports. That act of courage and commitment to the first amendment has made a permanent impression on me. Mr. Schorr has passed; but the first amendment remains. The best obituary of him is located at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128565997 Til tomorrow.
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Monday, July 26, 2010 I reread Love that Dog today. It’s SUCH a great book based on SUCH a great premise. And of course that premise is that poetry reveals that subtleties of life in a way that no other medium can even come close to approaching. The intertextual connections, the real-world emotions, and the structure of the text make this book a classic for all time. What a wonderful book. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, July 25, 2010 Lady Gaga. The former President of Mexico. Shirley Sherrod. Joel Schumacher. All those and more in today’s paper. Articles, interviews, insights. So, the question becomes, when is too much information too much information? Today. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, July 24, 2010 I’m thinking of reading the complete short stories of Eudora Welty. I have that book on the shelf; and for whatever reason, it seems to be calling my name. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, July 23, 2010 Helen Mirren is in a movie about Sophia Tolstoy. A new book about Sophia Tolstoy was reviewed in last Sunday’s NY Times Book Review. The book is great. The movie is great and is titled, The Last Station. So, I’m planning to watch the movie. Plus, another new book titled, City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems and Jon Muth was favorably reviewed. Plenty of food for thought. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, July 22, 2010 I never get tired of looking out the window. Unfortunately, a lot of time can pass with little getting done. Windows can be a problem. However, Eudora Welty seems to have gotten it just right. She sat at her desk so she could only see her typewriter. Food for thought. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, July 21, 2010 Note to self: John Grisham has a book for adolescents that is a mystery and is titled, Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer. How cool is that. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, July 20, 2010 Robert Sabuda is quite a guy. I love his three-book set on pre-historic animals. Quite impressive. Til tomorrow.
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http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Prehistorica-Collection-Robert-Sabuda/dp/0763637203/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279647175&sr=8-27
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Monday, July 19, 2010 I’m still reading a bit from Bryson’s Short History; but I’m going to try out the new book about the girl with the tattoo and see what that’s all about. Senator Olympia Snowe mentioned on C-SPAN when they asked her what she was reading for the summer that she was reading that book. Or maybe it was someone else who was reading that book. Yesterday, C-SPAN interviewed several people asking them what they were reading for the summer. And of course, on a Monday morning, it’s now all a blur as to who said what. Anyhoo, that’s the one I think I’ll try next. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, July 18, 2010 According to today’s paper, gang violence is up as well as bank profits while the number of people who actually read books is down. Any decent sociologist will see the relationships there. Sounds pretty bleak for humanity. On a brighter note, Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch will be the new leads in A Little Night Music on Broadway replacing Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury. Quite a lovely gang of multi-talented women. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, July 17, 2010 The Sunday NY Times Book Review is due on my doorstep tomorrow. And I still have last week’s Sunday NY Times Book Review waiting to be read. Not good. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, July 16, 2010 The phrase, “the tyranny of text” is still on my mind. I’m still reading Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything; but it’s slow going. He packs so much info on a page that it’s difficult to remember it. I enjoy it the moment that I read it; but beyond that, it’s difficult. I’d MUCH rather watch him talk about the book in an hour lecture on BookTV than read the book. I wonder what that means – that I’d rather watch him talk than read the book. Heresy probably. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, July 15, 2010 I’m looking at my books and just found a travel guide to Belize. I know I must have purchased it at some point. But why? Am I taking a trip to Belize? I don’t think so. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, July 14, 2010 I’m going to make a little chart with the dates and books and lives of Eudora Welty and Flannery O’Connor. I already made a little chart for Wallace Stegner and William Styron. Very helpful in keeping things straight. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, July 13, 2010 I bought the 1962 edition of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. I had a paperback copy; but I felt I needed a hardcover copy. The acknowledgment pages dedicate the book to Albert Schweitzer whom she quotes as saying, “Man has lost the capacity to foresee and to forestall. He will end by destroying the earth.” She also includes two quotes by Keats and E. B. White. What a book. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, July 12, 2010 Ralph Nader interviewed Andrew Napolitano yesterday on BookTV; and it was fabulous. Two articulate, energetic thinkers talking about what could be best for the nation. Very invigorating. So much so that I watched it twice. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, July 11, 2010 I picked up, again, A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. I sure like the way he writes; and he’s very smart. Plus, he makes good presentations on BookTV. I had started his book before Earth and the Cabin and am just now getting back to it. It’s been there waiting for me all this time. Cool. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, July 10, 2010 There’s a new biography out by Hilary Spurling about Pearl Buck. The review in the NY Times of that biography is two thumbs up. Pearl was the daughter of missionaries. All was not well with her life, which apparently included a zealot father, a distant mother, a couple of odd husbands, and the struggle to live in a country, China, with limited everything. I’ve read The Good Earth this summer and am still admiring Pearl Buck’s ability to tell a story within the structure of important philosophical underpinnings. Supposedly, she wrote that book in five months. How'd she do that? The other period piece I’ve read this summer is Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. All of the world’s most vile acts rest on the shoulders of Simon Legree while all the world’s strongest virtues are in the hands of Tom. Once you read books like those, you maybe feel like you don’t need to read anything else for quite a long while. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, July 9, 2010 David Suchet was filmed in real life on board the Orient Express on PBS the other day. He showed what the 81-hour trip was like from London to Istanbul in the 30s and demonstrated the elegance of train travel during the time when Agatha Christie wrote Murder on the Orient Express. The book, the movie, the actual train, and the good old BBC. I’m ready for a train trip but will settle for the PBS broadcast this coming Sunday of Agatha's masterpiece. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, July 8, 2010 I’ve been thinking about Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, and Kidnapped lately. Can’t say exactly what put those books into my head. But must have been something good. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, July 7, 2010 My new favorite book is The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan. She wrote a wonderful book about the life of the poet Pablo Neruda; and then Peter Sis provided illustrations. Pam captured the dynamics of a family, of life in Chile, and of the relationship between a father and a son in ways that are insightful, wise, astute, and sensitive. The most amazing thing about this book is how Pam totally captured the train scenes, the ocean scenes, the living room scenes, the fire scene, the scenes at the dinner table, and the lovely relationships between stepmother and siblings. I loved the book. Thank you, Pam. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, July 6, 2010 Hope, work, love. Eric Carle wrote three books about those three topics; and respectively, they are: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Busy Spider, and The Very Quiet Cricket. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, July 5, 2010 I’m thinking of buying a CD of music composed by Shostakovich, inspired by Bach, and performed by Tatiana Nikolayeva in 1987. Opus 87. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, July 4, 2010 The road to independence. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, July 3, 2010 So, according to today's paper, the economy is still a mess in spite of bail outs, hand outs, and all-around best efforts. Therefore, I’m going back to rereading February 17, 2010 and enjoying the wisdom of Adam Smith who encouraged constraint in spending and consuming. Then again, it’s easy for those like Smith who had a fairly easy life to preach constraint to those who don’t have much to constrain to start with. Nevertheless, I think he got it right in The Wealth of Nations. In the end, it's going to be the notions of small, agrarian, simple, and earth-friendly that bring the world back to stasis. Can't wait. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, July 1 through Friday, July 2, 2010 I’ve started my new book on how the internet is changing our brains; and I really like it. The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr is going to be a great read. His premise is that we are all rewiring our neural networking system when we flit from one page, one screen, one thought, and one device to another and another and another. He says we’re losing the neural ability to focus for sustained lengths of time. And he sees this as a bad thing. I’m not sure he has scientific evidence or if he’s just basing all this on his own experiences. But, it’s going to be interesting to read the whole book. He quotes someone who said that with all the new media comes freedom from the tyranny of text. So, reading on. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, June 30, 2010 A national holiday is coming up. Celebrations. Gatherings. Food. Hope. History. Future. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, June 29, 2010 Senator Byrd died yesterday. And as can be suspected, the NY Times has published an honorable obituary about the achievements of a man who reminded us all of the value of honesty, strength, poetry, redemption, and relentless effort. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, June 28, 2010 Note to self. Do not upgrade imac or macbook to OS 10.6. And here’s why. Adobe CS3 Photoshop will not work on 10.6; but it will work on 10.5.8, which is what I have. So, there you have it. Do NOT forget this as I LOVE CS3 Photoshop; and I do NOT want to spend more money replacing Photoshop when I am perfectly happy with 10.5.8 and CS3. Why is it all this complicated? Maybe it’s not for everyone else. But it surely is for me. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, June 27, 2010 Death, vice, and fear are woven into the fairy tales of Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm according to David G. Allan in the Travel section of the NY Times today. Their fairy tale book was titled, Children’s and Household Tales published in Germany in 1812. According to Mr. Allan, hungry wolves and murderous stepmothers abound in the world of the Brothers Grimm. So, from tales told by parents to discipline their children and to keep them safe from the dangers in the forests, Wilhelm and Jacob saw an opportunity; and 200 years later, the Grimms are still with us. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, June 26, 2010 The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr arrived. So, now I have to read the thing. I’m hoping it has a riveting beginning and then gets better from there. We’ll see. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, June 25, 2010 Not a new book in sight today - only the grass to mow, the kitchen to clean, the dogs to walk, the floor to mop. Toil and trouble. Toil and trouble. Toil and trouble. Toil and trouble. To steal a phrase from Macbeth's three lovely witches by our man William. Shakespeare that is. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, June 24, 2010 I’m all caught up on my reading. So, I’m going to do what I always do and that’s just wait around a couple of hours or even a couple of days til my next big read finds me. It always does. In the meantime, I am listening over and over to Rostropovich playing his cello rendition of Bach’s Sonata Suite Number 1 in G Major the Prelude. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, June 23, 2010 The best thing about books is that they take you to places you need to be but then they allow you to come right back home in the blink of an eye. Whether I’m down the rabbit hole with Alice or in the White House with Eleanor or even in Pakistan watching a school being built, I’m still able to stir the spaghetti and sweeten the tea right in my own little kitchen. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, June 22, 2010 Three Cups of Tea is coming along. I do wonder about Western values being imposed on other cultures without our appreciation or even basic understanding that the West does not always know best. The culture of the West, whether it's to bring schools, TV, or disposable diapers to developing nations, needs to tread lightly. There are individuals in the world of great thinkers who have first-hand experience with regard to displacing a region's native wisdom, practices, and culture with industrial and technological progress. People who nearly always get it right from a global perspective are Chris Hedges, Sebastion Junger, Jimmy Carter, Karen Armstrong, Chinua Achebe, and Christiane Amanpour to name six of my favorites. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, June 21, 2010 Matt Ridley spoke yesterday on BookTV about his ideas on the evolution of our species. He said the most remarkable thing about our species is not 2-legs, inventing fire, migrating, or using language. He said the thing that makes our species the most advanced is that we exchange things. We exchange beads for bread, money for spices, people for gold. His ideas are simply way more complex than I can write about here. However, he was on for 90 minutes; and during that time he made perfect sense. Maybe I should read his book. But it was Jon Stewart who stole the show when he introduced Condoleezza Rice, John Grisham, and Mary Roach. Four smart people – all on the same platform at the BookExpo America in NYC last month. I just went online and bought Jon Stewart’s book America. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, June 20, 2010 Pat Conroy was on BookTV last night and gave a WONDERFUL interview about how books have influenced him as a reader and writer. His new book is My Reading Life and is a veritable compendium of significant canonical writers of the 20th century particularly those from the south. His interview was refreshing to watch. He said all writers are second to William Faulkner, which made me think specifically of Faulkner's The Sound and The Fury. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, June 19, 2010 Network Solutions has changed its log in procedure so that Image Café is no longer available immediately. I called them and no one answered. So, I’m in the market for moving my hosting package to another company. Not happy. Maybe Network Solutions will read this and will fix this problem. Or maybe they're going bankrupt and they all went home. Comment? Til tomorrow. UPDATE: Network Solutions added a button after their log in page that now fixes the problem. Thanks.
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Friday, June 18, 2010 Today, yes, today, I’m hoping to clean off my desk and get completely caught up with correspondence. We’ll see. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, June 17, 2010 Just got a new CD in the mail from Amazon. Sweet. Til tomorrow.
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| 16 Biggest Hits for Rosemary Clooney |
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Wednesday, June 16, 2010 Two books are on my desk: The Life of the Mind by Hannah Arendt, copyright 1971 and Existentialists and Mystics by Iris Murdoch, copyright 1950. Not exactly light summer reading; but books in which I am and have been interested for some time. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, June 15, 2010 The NY Times Magazine had a wonderful piece about Marian Seldes last Sunday. I thought I had seen her in person on Broadway; but I think I’m thinking of Frances Sternhagen who was with Matthew Broderick in The Foreigner. So, the article was great and so is Miss Marian and so is Frances. Women are young, then they are middle-aged, then they are wonderful (quote from the Times that sums it up nicely). Til tomorrow.
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| Marian Seldes, Matthew Broderick, Frances Sternhagen |
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Monday, June 14, 2010 Nicholas Carr and others were on a panel in Chicago yesterday on live BookTV; and they discussed the brain and how it uses the internet. They identified a problem with attention span in that multitasking on the internet can interfere with the brain’s ability to selectively focus and attend to sustained tasks like reading a book for example. There was also discussion that in spite of the value of a video game's ability to tell a good story with a highly evolved set of narrative elements, it’s still a game. And video games are addictive. Who will plant the wheat and harvest the wheat and make the bread if everybody is tuned into their favorite video game. Just because a game is highly complex doesn't make it anything more than just a game. So, I’m buying Mr. Carr’s book titled, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, June 13, 2010 Barbara Ehrenreich has a new book, Bright-Sided. She was on BookTV yesterday, live, at the book festival in Chicago. She was wonderful. She was just as wonderful when I met her in NYC at the 92nd Street Y when she was discussing her book, Nickel and Dimed on February 24, 2002. She is so honest and straightforward and so focused on her work. The premise of the new book is that society is forcing us all to be artificially cheerful. Bah. There’s too much in the world that is absolutely horrific; and always trying to be positive is simply delusional thinking. It’s always so validating when someone of high acclaim states with authority what you’ve been thinking all along. She is very kind, very smart, and very honest. The whole title of her new book? Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking has Underminded America. Well documented and well-received by the reading public. Ms. Ehrenreich does a great job of weeding out the popular and highlighting the difficult. What talent. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, June 12, 2010 Garrison Keillor is live on Prairie Home Companion tonight at 5 PM Central Time. He’s in Spokane Washington, which is where I used to live. I wonder if I bought a plane ticket right now if I could be there in time. Then again…there’s always the radio. Planet ticket versus the radio. Quite a dilemma. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, June 11, 2010 My Hitch 22 and Lemony Snicket CDs have arrived. I’m going to petition Congress to see if they can add an hour, or maybe two, to the clock each day. I need more time. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, June 10, 2010 Still reading from Uncle Tom’s Cabin and at the same time looking forward to listening to Tim Curry on CD read the first Lemony Snicket book about a series of unfortunate events, which I just ordered on Amazon because 1) it was on sale and 2) it was on sale. But I know I’m gonna LOVE it - on sale or not. I may plan a road trip just so I can listen to this book on CD in the car, which is the best place to listen to a book on tape (or CD). Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, June 9, 2010 I just bought three great books as gifts for some great young readers: The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney. Never Smile at a Monkey: And 17 Other Important Things to Remember by Steve Jenkins. How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague.
Cool. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, June 8, 2010 Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. Or so says Noam Chomsky; and I couldn't agree more. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, June 7, 2010 I’m three weeks behind on the NY Times Book Review including the one from yesterday that is a pretty massive collection of must-reads for the summer. Where does the time go? When I was a kid, I used to sit in this big elm tree in our back yard in the summertime and read books from the public library. No Amazon. No Kindle. No ipad. No rush. Just a big ol’ elm tree, a public library, and summertime. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, June 6, 2010 I learned way too much today.
Martha Nussbaum is a philosopher of law at the University of Chicago. She likes the questions that are hard to answer in life. How to behave. How to think about others. How to achieve social justice. How to define decency. How to be a world citizen. She was in my living room today for 3 hours - live. BookTV is simply and unbelievably the best media I know of.
Elizabeth Bandinter is the heir to Simone de Beauvoir. Ms. Bandinter is a French writer and feminist who is rejecting breastfeeding, cloth diapers, and natural childbirth for women because they’re chains of oppression that produce guilt and hardship. She wants women to free themselves from those kinds of chains and work toward equality and assumably happiness.
Christopher Hitchens has a new book out which I just ordered on CD. Fifteen CDs read by the author from his book titled, Hitch 22. He’s probably the world’s best and most articulate essayist; and I wanted to hear him speak his own words. So, I bought the CDs. He brings great artistry and pure reason to the field of debate. He’s better than a Broadway show. Almost.
Stephen Prothero has a new book on the world’s eight most prominent religions:
Islam, which emphasizes keeping ones personal pride in check. Christianity, which emphasizes thoughts on eternal salvation. Confucianism, which emphasizes maintaining a good social order. Buddhism, which emphasizes freedom from suffering. Judaism, which emphasizes study and sovereignty. Hinduism, which emphasizes living a pure life. Daoism, which emphasizes living as one with nature. Atheism, which emphasizes being human.
Then from the Arts and Leisure section of the NY Times:
Sex and City 2 gets dumped on as being trivial, wasteful, and just plain silly.
Catherine Zeta Jones and Angela Lansbury have only 16 more performances left on Broadway in A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim. They were so lovely together.
James Spader and David Alan Grier will depart Race by David Mamet June 20 and 13 respectively.
I’m so lucky to have seen both of these plays. Such talent. Such a thrill.
This is a lot to have read about and learned in one day. Time for a break. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, June 5, 2010 My new book arrived yesterday, Three Cups of Tea. Uncle Tom’s Cabin still remains; and I'm making progress but I'm going to have to discipline myself not to start three cups til the cabin’s done, which is very unlikely. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, June 4, 2010 I’m still into Uncle Tom’s Cabin; but I must admit that I’m having to reread pages to keep track of the action and characters. Ideally, I’m normally able to become immersed in a story line pretty easily; but this book is giving me trouble for some reason. I suspect it’s a combination of the writing style and the fact that I’m not wanting to miss anything in this important book, which is said to have started the Civil War. So, I’m marching on. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, June 3, 2010 AT&T home phone service is behind the times. This corporation has invested in broadband digital services and has seemingly forgotten about people (me for example) who see a need for a land-based line in their homes for both local and long distance. So, I’m continuing to postpone the iphone until Apple opens up to Verizon as a carrier. I wonder how long that will be? Poor AT&T. I wonder if they'll miss me. Ha. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, June 2, 2010 Extraction, immersion, pedagogic. Those are the three kinds of digital reading that we all do on the internet. I really like those three terms. I’ve retyped them today even though I wrote about them previously on May 24, 2010 because I want to try and remember them without looking them up. But if I can’t remember them – voila. I’ll know where to look.
Extraction-taking smaller pieces of information that we need from text. I did this just now when I went back to review my notes from May 24.
Immersion-getting lost in a great read. I've done this with The Perfect Storm by Sebastion Junger and Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Pedagogic-learning something after studying the text for a bit. I've done this my whole life. I have a lot to learn. For example, I just learned how to properly season my new French Staub Cocotte, which I SO love and which is a lovely cast iron pot.
Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, June 1, 2010 I’m reading the last two weeks of book reviews in the NY Times. I’m a little behind it seems. Book Expo America was in NYC last week. There was a BEA panel on BookTV that discussed the demise of the book industry in favor of ebooks. Their best idea was to sell a book as 1) just a book, 2) just a book along with a CD or password to download it, or 3) just an ebook. Problem solved. Scott Turow was a panelist. He was concerned about copyright violations; but he was also an advocate for authors who want readers. They concluded that it’s the industry’s job to provide readers with the content of books in a variety of formats. So, seems like they got it all worked out. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, May 31, 2010 Memorial Day. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, May 30, 2010 Nathan Lane and John Waters were featured respectively in the NY Times Arts and Leisure section and The Times Magazine. Very creative and unique people who have found a place for their comedic perspectives and personalities. Only in America. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, May 29, 2010
Garrison Keillor this week published a piece about the demise of the book. It was a good piece and explained exactly the way most people read nowadays compared to when he was a lad. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/opinion/27iht-edkeillor.html
The notion of digital reading on a device means it is possible for readers to lose the ability to read extended text because we all have become accustomed to flitting from here to there. Flitting is not a good thing. According to Garrison, our perpetual flitting takes us from “Henry James to Jesse James to the epistle of James to pajamas to Obama to Alabama to Alanon to non-sequitors, sequins, penguins, penal institutions” at the speed of light. Also, the first three sentences of an online read are going to have be great because today’s readers are quickly fickle and will simple click to another site. So, there you have it. Digital media is changing how we think. I’m thinking this can’t be good – at least for the book industry. Mr. Keillor is live tonight on NPR broadcasting from Vienna, Virginia. I’ll be listening. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, May 28, 2010 I started reading last night Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It’s going to be a brutal read I know but a necessary one I feel. Certain pieces of literature reflect certain attributes of humanity; and this book clearly represents the lowest and highest of our potential. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, May 27, 2010
John Grisham has a new book out featuring a 13-year-old attorney. Mr. Grisham intends to write a series of books featuring this character. I’ll probably read the first one and maybe the whole series. Sounds very cool. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, May 26, 2010
I’m finishing up the last bit of Malcolm Gladwell’s What the Dog Saw. The book is a collection of his pieces that he published in the New Yorker in the late 90s; and while they are well written and engaging, they still feel dated, which goes just to show how quickly life changes. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, May 25, 2010
I watched Masterpiece Mystery Sunday night. It was an Agatha Christie mystery starring Miss Marple. Fabulous. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, May 24, 2010
I was watching Evan Schnittman of Oxford University Press on BookTV yesterday; and he says there are three kinds of digital reading: extraction, immersion, pedagogic. Can’t argue with that. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, May 17 to Sunday, May 23, 2010
Computer’s been in the shop all week. I listened to The Lightning Thief on tape yesterday. If I had been the writer’s editor, I would have suggested a quicker pace. It seemed like it was being staged to become a movie. “Grover, who was lying a bed with a pink poodle close by, looked stun.” See what I mean? There were staging directions built into the book. I guess that’s the way it’s done in the fast lane of book and movie deals. At any rate, I thought it was distracting. But I did LOVE the weaving of Greek mythology into the current-day dilemma of a kid growing up on the upper east side of Manhattan and trying to save humanity at the same time. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades - three sons of Cronus and three tough dudes. I still have one chapter to go so I don’t know whether the boy’s mother will be saved or not. But since the boy's father is Poseidon, I suspect so. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, May 16, 2010
Woody Allen was quoted as saying that if you look at life too closely, you'll find that it's a "a pretty grim enterprise.” He referenced Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, and Eugene O'Neill as having said pretty much the same thing. Pearl S. Buck would not disagree. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, May 15, 2010
It’s beginning to look a lot like summer. Time to get out Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland and Summertime by George Gershwin. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, May 14, 2010
I have purchased a new book since I’m almost finished with The Good Earth. My next book will be by Iris Murdoch, titled Existentialists and Mystics: Writings on Philosophy and Literature. She was a novelist and philosopher. Dame Iris Murdoch (July 15, 1919 – February 8, 1999) was married to Professor John Bayley who wrote Elegy to Iris, which I read after Dame Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent portrayed them in 2001 in a movie titled, Iris. I have read two of her novels titled The Sea, the Sea and The Green Knight. It's all exquisite and elegant. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, May 13, 2010
Almost finished with The Good Earth. It’s SO disturbing to read a pretty accurate account of how fragile we all really are and how we all live lives of quiet desperation whether we know it or not. However, our fragility is greatly reduced when we return to the good earth and take our cues from the seasons, the rivers, and the rhythm of life.Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, May 12, 2010
No new bookish thoughts today. But Modern Family is on TV this evening. What a great show. I think I’ll watch it. Plus, I’m going to watch Cash Cab if it’s on today on the Discovery Channel. So…Out with the books. On with the TV. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Still reading The Good Earth. There’s not a page in the book that doesn’t evoke some sort of thought about a current social dilemma. The book continues to explore issues of class, wealth, and the general pecking order that we have artificially created for ourselves in this world. I’m reading just a few pages a day; so it’s gonna be awhile til I’m finished. Good for Pearl. Oh my gosh. I just now realized that the two gems O-lan keeps from a bag of jewels that she stole during the uprising of the poor against the rich are two small pearls. VERY cool. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, May 10, 2010
I watched Masterpiece Mystery on PBS last night. It was a great murder mystery that took place right after WW II in London. Alan Cumming was the host who introduced the film. He shares the spot with Laura Linney. But of course the masters at intros were Alistair Cooke and Russell Baker from years past. Thank goodness for the BBC. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, May 9, 2010
Happy Mother’s Day.
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Saturday, May 8, 2010
Wang Lung and his growing family are now experiencing a severe drought. Their fields of rice and wheat have shriveled in the ground; and everyone is growing thin. So, the good earth, as it turns out, is rather fickle when you come to depend on it too much. The nomadic buffalo of North America had it all figured out. Simply roam from north to south and east to west your whole life as the weather and seasons dictate. O-lan, the strong, resourceful, smart, quiet wife remains the hero of the book. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, May 7, 2010
I’m 60 pages into The Good Earth. The book is a treatise on wealth, poverty, power, gender, and all the personality characteristics that make up our species. I’m reading from an original first edition from 1931, which makes the book seem even more important. The quiet suffering and personal resolve of Wang Lung’s wife is both dispiriting and admirable. I’m reading it slowly so I can think about the societal issues and implications as I go. I should probably take a few notes; but that turns the whole experience into a task rather than a pleasure. So, I'm simply reading on. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, May 6, 2010
There once was a boy from Dubuque
Whose first and last names were Luke.
The boy was game
About his name
Even though his name was a fluke.
Just felt like writing a limerick this morning. Hopefully, this will never happen again. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, May 5, 2010
I’ve started The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Life at the turn of the century (1900s) in rural China is what this book is about. My prediction is that 100 years from now, we’ll all need to know Mandarin, which is going to be a good thing because Chinese culture minus the Communism strictures is a pretty good culture. After I decided to read this book (even though most people read it in high school), I found out that it was an Oprah selection. I wonder if she's read it. Pearl Buck won both the noble Nobel Prize and the Pulitzer Prize while Oprah's show has won 35 Emmy awards. Good company. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Lynn Redgrave died Sunday (March 8, 1943-May 2, 2010). I loved her work. Her ability to take a character from a page of print and endow it with life on a stage and on film was second to none. I missed my chance to see her at the Roundabout Theater in 2005 in Somerset Maugham’s The Constant Wife. I will forever be sorry that I wasn’t there to watch her touch the past. But I did see her on stage in London in The Three Sisters by Anton Chekov with her sister Vanessa and niece Jemma in 1991. The entire play and performance was like being encapsulated in a glass globe where time was suspended. I think that was my first brush with excellence. Lynn Redgrave. A loss. A connection. A sorrow. And more. Til tomorrow.
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| As Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest |
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Monday, May 3, 2010
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds. That’s what Shakespeare said in Sonnet 94. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, May 2, 2010
In today's NY Times Magazine, Deborah Solomon interviewed a woman from Arkansas who writes vampire novels and is very successful. As in HBO successful. But I’m not really interested in vampire stories. I am, however, interested in cheerfulness; and Charlaine Harris seems extraordinarily cheerful. And funny. Cheerful and funny. Seems an odd combination for a writer of vampire sagas to possess. But there it is. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, May 1, 2010
It’s a regular Saturday. NPR. BookTV. And maybe a little baking. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, April 30, 2010
I am SO glad I didn’t buy an ipad because what I really need is a color, laser printer that is quick, economical on toner, and small enough not to take up my whole workspace. Actually, I need two of them. Ha. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, April 29, 2010
No new bookish thoughts today. Except to say that I read five haikus by Richard Wright yesterday and REALLY liked them.
Glass in the window
Keeps out the bugs and varmints
But lets in the light.
His were much better; but that one’s not bad for a 15 second effort. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, April 26 to Wednesday, April 28, 2010
I met Mary Ann Hoberman in Chicago and she posed for a photo with me. She’s the nation’s children’s poet laureate and her book of poetry, which I received free and am holding in the photo, is titled The Tree that Time Built. It even comes with a CD of people reading some of the poems. Poet Laureate. Now there’s an honorable job! For sure. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, April 25, 2010
I was thinking of Wilma Mankiller yesterday as I listened to Garrison Keillor on Prairie Home Companion. Can’t say what prompted the thought; but I did look her up as I listened to PHC during a musical number. And I discovered that she had passed away on April 6 of this very month. So, of course I went right to the NY Times and found the obituary. November 18, 1945-April 6, 2010. It's hard to accept. I had come to depend on the thought that she was somewhere on earth crafting policies to give back to the Cherokee tribe their rightful place in the world. When the Bureau of Indian Affairs relocated her family from Oklahoma to California in 1956 in order to take back land that her family had been given in the 1830s, she said the move was her personal Trail of Tears. The Cherokees have lost a great Chief and the world a great woman. Sadly. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, April 24, 2010
Lee Smith from Hillsboro, NC was on Michael Feldman’s NPR radio show this morning. She’s a southern writer who writes about characters from the south. Her newest book is about a character named Mrs. Darcy (completely unrelated to Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen). Mrs. Darcy and the Blue-Eyed Stranger is the name of the book; and I’m thinking about buying it. Yes, I think I will. Maybe. Perhaps. Possibly. Yes. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, April 23, 2010
Because of the volcanic ash, planes throughout Europe have been grounded. This means that the atmosphere is clear of jet pollution; and people can see the beauty of the unpolluted skies in ways they haven’t been able to in decades. That view will end this weekend as the jets take off once again. In another part of the world, the oil rig in the Gulf that collapsed with lives lost has created an oil sheen five miles long by a mile wide heading for land. It’s difficult to know of those events and just go right on as if all that is inevitable and is simply the cost of doing business in a modern society. But, really, it isn’t okay. Our consumption practices in our oil-based economy are exceeding the ability of the planet to repair itself. For the earth, these are difficult times in spite of 40 years of Earth Day celebrations. But even amidst this darkness, the unstoppable Jane Goodall continues her work on behalf of the chimps every day without fail. She continues to produce good work; and I know she watches the same news as I. She celebrated her 75th birthday this past April 3. She’s alive and well and going strong. She’s the one to watch. Now and always.
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Thursday, April 22, 2010
George Washington has a $300,000 library fine in New York for an overdue library book. He signed out the book as "President." Delightful. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Harry Markopolos was interviewed by Deborah Solomon for the NY Times Magazine on February 28, 2010. And then, this weekend, he was interviewed on BookTV by Nicole Gelinas. Mr. Markopolos knew about the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme ten years before the regulators acted on it. Mr. Markopolos told the regulators Mr. Madoff was engaged in illegal activity; and they ignored him. Mr. Markopolos is now the hero and has written a book all about it. Hollywood will make a movie about him. Tom Hanks will probably produce it; and it will be similar to Charlie Wilson’s War, which Mr. Hanks also produced. During the BookTV interview, Mr. Markopolos said that on Wall Street today the same people and the same practices are still in place, which means Wall Street is back to its exact same practices as before the recent crash. But I suspect that Congress will take a look and eventually fix the problems. In the meantime, Hollywood will tell the story. So, the only question for me is whether to read the book or wait for the movie. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Malcolm Gladwell said that one of Adam Gopnik’s books was the most well-written book he'd ever read. At least that’s what I think he said. He and David Grann were discussing the art of writing. So, now I'm going to relisten to that interview and get the name of Mr. Gopnik's book referred to by Mr. Gladwell. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, April 19, 2010
Juan Williams of NPR fame was on BookTV last night giving viewers a look at his desk in his home where he does most of his writing. Richard Allington of IRA fame said that readers will be better readers if four things happen:
1. knowledge goals and grades are established by how much was learned not tests,
2. students have choice in what they read,
3. teachers provide interesting text,
4. teachers and students collaborate on the curriculum.
Juan and Richard - both great readers. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, April 18, 2010
Said Ernest to Algy in The Importance of Being Earnest, “Algy, you’re always talking nonsense.” To which Algy replied, “Well, it’s better than listening to it.” Bless Oscar Wilde and all his ancestors and descendants. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, April 17, 2010
Five best libraries according to David McCullough: Harvard, Boston Public, Yale, Library of Congress, NYC Public Library. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, April 16, 2010
One of the best things about books is that they don't feel abandoned when you temporarily abandon them. So. No big insights today. No major conclusions to speak of. No epiphanies in sight. Just temporary abandonment of all things bookish. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, April 15, 2010
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Hmm. I'll have to think about this. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, April 14, 2010
A new day. A new book. A new ipad. Almost. I was really close to clicking “buy” on that ipad when I remembered three things:
1. I’m trying to buy less stuff,
2. I have a lot of stuff already,
3. I’m running out of places to put stuff.
Plus, no flash player, no usb, no camera, and you’ve got to buy a lot of peripherals like a docking station, keyboard, camera adaptor, and an extended warranty. So, I’ll wait til the next iteration when the ipad has more features; or I’ll forego the whole thing entirely. Perhaps. Maybe. We’ll see. But the urge to buy stuff is strong; and the Apple ads are so compelling. Note to self: Watch fewer ads. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, April 13, 2010
It’s interesting that water is in the news in so many places. The Sunday NY Times had a front-page piece about James Cameron trying to stop the construction of a dam on the Amazon River. The dam would flood thousands of acres of land and displace thousands of families who have lived on the great river since people populated the planet. So, James Cameron is going to take some of his money from Avatar and try to save the land, the people, the habitat, the forests, and the ecosytem of that Brazilian rainforest. Sigourney Weaver is helping him. Arundhati in India. James and Sigourney in Brazil. How will it all end? It doesn't look all that good for Mother Earth. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, April 12, 2010
Arundhati Roy is one of the world’s leading intellectuals and critics of world corporations who are engaging in what she calls ecocide (the total destruction of ecosystems). Yesterday on BookTV as she spoke in Seattle, she specifically cited Coca Cola as a corporation who was destroying natural habitats and forests in India in order to control the water from rivers so that they could make their products. After listening to her read from her new book titled, Field Notes on Democracy: Listening to Grasshoppers, it would be hard to imagine that the CEO and leaders of Coca Cola would not immediately back off, ask forgiveness, and try to restore the rivers and lands they have taken from the indigenous people of India. But my guess is they weren’t watching. Nevertheless, Ms. Roy keeps up her vigilance of those engaged in ecocide. When asked about passive resistance in the great tradition of Gandhi, she replied, "How do you ask the poor who are already starving to go on a hunger strike?" Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, April 11, 2010
Stephen Hawking thinks we need to colonize the moon so that humans can be saved in the event that the earth is destroyed by some astrological catastrophe. Paul Krugman thinks planet earth can be cleaned up and can actually become a desirable, clean, and green place to live. I can not imagine that we need to take oil spills, clear cutting, toxic carbons, and mounds of garbage to the moon. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, April 10, 2010
Public radio out of San Antonio is having a fund raiser. I've already donated. Too bad that public radio and public television are so underfunded while government bailouts of corporations could have been sent their way. I'm advocating a taxpayer checklist so that taxpayers could check off on their tax return what they are willing to support with their taxes and what they're not. What a great idea. I'd check off public libraries, public radio and public TV, the Library of Congress, Super Fund cleanups, Amtrak, schools, EPA offices, and a couple of others. Sweet. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, April 9, 2010
I met Liz Scanlon, Kelly Bennett, and Don Tate today at a book festival. Very impressive people. Talent, focus, drive, ambition, confidence, wow. Very impressive indeed. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, April 8, 2010
I woke up thinking about Philip Glass and how he incorporated 3.5 minutes of silence into one of his piano compositions. At least that’s how I remember that anecdote that I heard ten years ago. So, I just now tried to confirm that 3.5 minute silence by Googling for that information; and lo and behold, I couldn’t find it. So, I’m probably remembering it wrong. But I did find info that said Mr. Glass as well as John Cage used silence in their music. So, maybe I’m close to remembering all this correctly. But then in the process of looking up Philip Glass and John Cage, I ran into Friedrich Nietzsche who has evidently inspired all kinds of artists and musicians to focus on the here and now, which of course includes silence. So, what started out as a simple idea this morning is now completely out of hand – as are so many good thoughts. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, April 7, 2010
I’m still reading Mr. Gladwell of course; and it’s just as interesting to think about the way he writes as to think about what he has written. He’s a master at knowing how to string together a bunch of words so that the reader simply sails along effortlessly. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Finally. Last night I started What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell. Even though it's been out a while, it’s still fairly new. Regardless, I’m just now getting to it while Malcolm has probably already written three other books. Oh well. Everything to its season. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, April 5, 2010
I stuck by my guns last night and forewent Masterpiece Classic featuring a series about the war between the British Empire and India in and around 1817. I caught instead, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. There were two phrases which I jotted down as I watched. Prudence, responsibility, duty. Tastes, passions, pursuits. Ms. Austen admonished a character to live a life of prudence, responsibility, and duty AND to discover ones own tastes, passions, and pursuits. Jane Austen’s Sense in 1811. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, April 4, 2010
There was a lovely piece about Norris Church Mailer in today’s NY Times Magazine. It’s funny how you find someone whom you’re pretty sure you’d like but didn’t even know existed. And then today, there she is, in a magazine article having lived a long and lively life without your knowledge. The article was written in a way that garnered sympathy and support for a long-suffering and very competent wife. As a sixth wife, she survived life with Mr. Mailer for 33 years, a deadly cancer, several near-death operations, and mothering nine various children. She is in poor health now, overly thin, and worries about physically disappearing. The piece also quoted Doris Kearns Goodwin. Ms. Goodwin said that they were extraordinary and that Norman was a gentle and talented man. Ms. Goodwin's words give the piece automatic validity and dignity. I heard Norman Mailer do a reading from one of his books years ago. It was stunning to hear a person of his talent read his words to a packed house of several thousand. And even though his personal life was messy, he still did all the things that a first-class writer must do. Write, publish, support his family. Even at the very end of his life, he took the stage with Gunther Grass and made a final earnest attempt to make sense of this serious and fallible thing called life. The debate sponsored by the New York Public Library made an impression as I think of it now having watched it on BookTV over three years ago. Norris Church Mailer. I wish her well. Indeed. Always.
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Saturday, April 3, 2010
A perfect day.
9:00 Click and Clack from our fair city, Boston, MA
10:00 Whad'Ya Know-Not Much from Madison, WI
12:00 The Splendid Table from St. Paul, MN
2:00 This American Life from Chicago, IL
3:00 Selected Shorts from NYC, NY
5:00 Prairie Home Companion from St. Paul, MN
Til tomorrow.
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Friday, April 2, 2010
I’ve found too many instances in Calpurnia Tate that don’t sound like a twelve year old girl. So, I’m leaving that book for another time. Perhaps retirement. Instead, I’m going to locate a brand new book - today if possible. Maybe something by Dashiell Hammett or Agatha Christie or maybe even another by Robert Parker. Who knows. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, April 1, 2010
The movie Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downy, Jr. and Jude Law is on Time Warner this week. They use a film technique that is very cool. The scene was shot and then in post-production it was replayed in slow motion. So, you get to see some of the scenes twice. Once in real time and once in slow-motion. Very engaging. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Masterpiece Classic on PBS last Sunday was disturbing. The story was about the war between the British and the India nationalists in and around 1817. It was a brutal story about the madness and futility of war and weapons. India did not achieve freedom from British rule until 1947. I think I will not watch the sequel. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The Apple Ipad will be released on Saturday. Five hundred years from now, the kind of technology that will be available will make the Ipad about as handy as a rusty cow bell. But I’d still like to have one. With a docking station, of course. But since the Ipad doesn’t have a front facing camera and since it’s still tied to AT&T, I guess I won’t buy one. Besides, it’s spring and time to plant something that will grow. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, March 29, 2010
Annie Leonard worked for twenty years on a grass-roots level to curb waste and to improve the quality of green in consumer products. She wrote a book, made a 20-minute film, and was honored by Time magazine for being an influential person. So, she’s an overnight success after only twenty years of effort. She was on BookTV yesterday and was totally splendid. The Story of Stuff. That’s the name of her book, her film, and her website. The bookstore in which she was giving her talk was packed to the rafters with citizen activists. She has expectations that the CEOs of Dow Chemical, Monsanto, and Exxon will change their products and practices for the betterment of the planet. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, March 28, 2010
Chinua Achebe was interviewed by Deborah Solomon in today’s NY Times Magazine. He published Things Fall Apart in 1958. It’s about villagers in Nigeria and their demise at the hands of outsiders who take over their land and their way of life. Mr. Achebe got it just right. He was featured on BookTV not too long ago; and he was subtle, humble, brilliant, and very wise. He had those same qualities in today’s interview. The power of story to reveal the nature of life is the best attribute our species holds. I found my copy of Things waiting for me on the shelf between Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Franz Kafka. Oppression and imagination sitting right there together on the shelf. Til tomorrow.
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| Photo of Mr. Achebe by Michael Prince. |
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Saturday, March 27, 2010
It seems like everything I read lately leads me to Fyodor Dostoyevsky. So, a quick Google tells me why. Serious reflection on humanity, four years in a Siberian prison, and surviving it all. But not completely in tact. He paid a price for opposing the Russian imperialism. And then of course there was all that snow. Brrr. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, March 26, 2010
Judy Chicago’s work is at the museum here in town this month. I saw her work 30 years ago; and it was fabulous. It was her newly-created Dinner Party; and I still remember all the details. The huge, installation-piece is still around. And it’s still fabulous. Sometimes I go by the name Gloria Chicago, which of course was inspired by Ms. Judy. The other half of my lovely psedonym was inspired by the wealth of Mrs. Gloria Vanderbilt. Feminism and Wealth. Great twin sisters. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, March 25, 2010
I started the new Newbery honor book titled, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. I’m waiting to be grabbed; and it hasn’t happened yet. I’m confident that the awards committee tries to find books with specific points of view when in fact, I’m always happiest with a book that has a character that I like. I’ll read a couple more pages; and then I’ll have to set this aside if Cal and I don’t connect soon. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, March 24, 2010
I was in NYC one time on my way to Strand Bookstore; and I came upon a stretch of city street that had been completely blocked of cars. People were walking and cycling. No cars. It was quiet and peaceful. The pace was leisurely and calm. The air was clean; and it was a lovely 10 blocks. People actually commented on how nice it was. No cars. Wouldn’t that be loverly. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, March 23, 2010
I finished The Hunger Games last night; and whoa. What a commentary on the power of the few to rule the rest of humanity – all by fear. Suzanne Collins seems to have captured all oppressive regimes from the French Inquisition to Tiananmen Square and put them in this book. Everything from torture to flowers is included. Ms. Collins has created a world where resistance is futile; and yet even the most oppressed do resist but only in small rather pitiful ways. And she created this world of power and oppression through the eyes of a young girl named Katniss. I wonder who else is reading this book? Til tomorrow.
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Monday, March 22, 2010
BookTV had no sound all weekend as broadcast by Time Warner. I called TW; and they said it was C-SPAN’s problem. I called C-SPAN, no answer, so I emailed them. Didn’t hear back. All weekend, no sound on BookTV. So, I watched online. But still. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, March 21, 2010
The NY Times Magazine showed the photographs of nine bedrooms left behind by nine soldiers who died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Twin beds of barely-graduated high schoolers, a Bible, a football helmet, a teddy bear, college paraphernalia, handmade quilts, mismatched furniture, and shoes tucked under a bed. It took courage for these photos to be allowed, to be taken, and to be published. Nine photos of bedrooms from a pool of over 5,000. Nine pictures. Nine thousand words. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, March 20, 2010
According to today’s paper, all the usual mayhem and madness happened yesterday. People got shot; people shot each other; people went to jail; people stole money; people got caught; and on and on. So just think, if all those folks had only thought thrice, they could have spent a nice day, Saturday, listening to NPR out of San Antonio at tpr.org. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, March 19, 2010
I wrote a little poem last night.
Fruit: Shall We Eat?
Why eat bananas
When there’s banana cream pie
Why eat plums
When there’s English plum pudding
Why eat dates
When there’s date-nut bread
Why eat blueberries
When there’s blueberry cobbler
Why eat cherries
When there’s cherries jubilee
Why eat strawberries
When there’s strawberry glacé
Why eat apricots
When there’s apricot jam
Why eat lemons
When there’s lemon cheesecake
Why eat oranges
When there’s crepe suzette
Oh yeah…
Nutrition.
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Thursday, March 18, 2010
Geoffrey Canada started the Harlem Children’s Zone and the Promise Academy, which is a charter school in Harlem. His website lists four charter schools and an administrative office. His goal is 100% of his students will complete college. Students are admitted at age three by lottery. His office is at 125th Street and Madison Avenue in Harlem. His work there began in 1990. He says, “There is no act that is too small to make a difference.” He says he treats the students in his school like children from upper middle-class families are treated in their schools. He seems to never stop working. He's definitely not a seminar-room warrior. He's a social and intellectual activist. Quite impressive. His date of birth is January 13, 1952. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, March 17, 2010.
I met Dolores Huerta 15 years ago. She was speaking to a very large group of people who supported unions and farm workers. She exhibited courage, focus, intelligence, and an unstoppable vision for decency. To be an activist like Ms. Huerta is way out of my league; but maybe it’s enough to value her and to write these few humble lines of admiration and support. She has a birthday coming up on April 10. She will be 80 years old. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010.
It’s sad to say that I’ve never read The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. She won the Nobel Prize in 1938 for literature. She said, according to today’s paper, that you couldn’t wait for the right mood to get to work, you just had to get to work. Oh my gosh. I’d better get busy. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, March 15, 2010.
Yesterday on BookTV there was live coverage of the 2010 Tucson Festival of the Book. And the best discussion of writing and history I’ve ever heard was held by a panelist of three history writers: Hampton Sides, Jeff Guinn, and James Donovan. They each referred to the writing style of David McCullough and Shelby Foote. So, when I heard those references, I knew that these three were the historians who could get it right. The panel was moderated by Paul Andrew Hutton who is professor of history at University of New Mexico. They talked for an hour; and it seemed like a minute. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, March 14, 2010 Today, Deborah Solomon of the NY Times interviewed Mickey Kaus who is a writer for Slate, which is owned by the Washington Post. Mr. Klaus (oops Kaus not Klaus) is running against Senator Barbara Boxer from California for the US Senate. It’s so nice to have so many people who believe they can fix all the messes we're in and will make the effort to do so. I believe our nation would be stronger if every member of Congress read and passed a rigorous quiz on the writings of Bertrand Russell and Adam Smith. In the meantime, I’m going to be on the lookout for things that are not a mess and start a list. I like lists. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, March 13, 2010 My admiration for Suzanne Collins who wrote The Hunger Games grows with each passing page. I read a few pages every evening from her book and am so impressed with the way she has taken complex societal issues and woven them into a story about class, money, power, and the frailties of human behavior. Since it’s a book for young adults, I know the ending is not going to be too tragic; but still the book and its contents reflect a pretty tragic society both the one present and the one parallel. But that’s not all I’m reading. I have an old, old book (from the 70s) that shows how to build wooden projects for the patio and garden. I have it in my head to build a potting table out of 2 x 12 pieces of lumber. In reality, I KNOW I don’t have the skills to do it; but in the book, it looks SO easy. I really need a potting table. Or so I think at this moment. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, March 12, 2010 An HBO movie about Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner stars Ed Harris and Marcia Gay Harden; and they do a wonderful job of portraying this pair of artists. I saw Mr. Pollock’s work at MOMA earlier this year and it was surrounded by people, which was art in itself. He died young at age 44 in a car crash. Comparing Mr. Pollock’s life, lifestyle, and accomplishments to the life, lifestyle, and accomplishments of Dr. Avram Noam Chomsky shows a remarkable set of differences. It's almost too much to think about. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, March 11, 2010 The PC operating system makes the mind dull. The Mac operating system makes the mind buoyant. So, today I’m working on a PC; and my mind is imploding on itself. I may need an extra shot of caffeine or many shots of caffeine to get through the day. But then again, there’s always…procrastination. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, March 10, 2010
A list of possible titles for poems.
Three Birds on a Limb.
Yellow Bills and Tiny Chirps.
The Tree Stood Alone.
One Cloud and a Drop of Rain.
Gray to Blue.
Seize Tomorrow.
Banning Pickups and Other Hazards.
Red Plums in the Frigidaire.
Concrete Benches and Wooden Steps.
Green to Gray.
The Beauty of Making a List.
Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, March 9, 2010 I got two emails from IRS.gov this morning. The email said I had a refund and to send in personal data and numbers to them. HA. This is a phishing scam. Who ARE these people. Why aren’t they caught and prosecuted? I bet a lot of folks will comply and will get in lots of trouble with identity theft and with losing their money. Beware the thieves of March. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, March 8, 2010 Bummer. Masterpiece Theatre wasn’t on the local PBS station last night. The Oscars were very dull. The bulb in my favorite reading lamp burned out. The dust on the window blinds has calcified. I’m out of Cheerios. My internet connection is intermittent. And I’m late for a root canal. Not really. It just sounded funny to say. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, March 7, 2010 I had such a great day yesterday. I got to be with a group of educators from Delta Kappa Gamma at their annual spring lunch. It was so nice to be among such an elite group of women. The level of good will and graciousness in the room will forever be part of my memory. The books I sent to the President are pictured below. And for now, it’s time to remember and smile. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, March 6, 2010
I'm going to reread Alice in Wonderland before I go see the movie. But actually, I'm going to wait til the DVD comes out. Movie theatres are too loud, chilly, noisy, not very clean, and uninviting overall. So, that's the plan. Read the book, wait for the DVD. Looks like there's plenty of time. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, March 5, 2010
I finally started The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins last night. It's very upsetting. The people live in a country called Panem, which is a new name for the collapsed USA. People are ranked, sorted, used, eliminated, and left without any means to support themselves. The parallels between this fantasy world and the real world are too close for comfort. Because it's a novel for young adults, I'm pretty sure it will have a palatable ending; but Ms. Collins has created a literary world and a series of events that might light the way to a better world right here right now. Books can do that. Or at least the good ones can. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, March 4, 2010
Someplace pretty to live.
A bit of daily conversation with interesting people.
Creating a little something each day.
Living to be 80 or so in pretty good health.
or
Saving the seas.
Protecting the whales.
Ending the wars.
Restoring the forests.
Musings. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, March 3, 2010
I keep bumping into Bertrand Russell and Harry Connick, Jr. Pipes and pianos. Pianos and pipes. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, March 2, 2010
High times at high tide on a Sunday morning. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, March 1, 2010
Jason Goodwin in the NY Times yesterday wrote a review of a new book; and in that review he gave kudos to three writers of travel books: Jonathan Raban, Pico Iyer, and Paul Theroux. Seems like a really great list. And reading the Book Review at the beach was even better. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, February 28, 2010
Moon River by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini.
The Moon Behind the Cottonwoods by Charles Cadman Wakefield and Nelle Richmond Eberhart.
"Lasso the Moon" with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.
The moon on the Missisippi ala Mark Twain.
Ladder to the Moon by Georgia O'Keefe.
Evening Landscape with Rising Moon by Vincent Van Gogh.
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown.
Enough. Til tomorrow.
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| Photo by moi. |
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Saturday, February 27, 2010
I'm cooking and listening to the radio today.
Michael Feldman at 10
Lynne Rossetto Kasper at noon
Ira Glass at 2
Garrison Keillor at 5
Baked chicken dinner at 6
Then I'll have to rest my ears.
Except for the chicken dinner, it's all online at Texas Public Radio out of San Antonio at tpr.org.
Til tomorrow.
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Friday, February 26, 2010
I've started a new book titled, Madam Will You Talk by Mary Stewart. Two women are on holiday in the south of France. They meet a young boy, his stepmom, and the father who is a potential murderer. What would a holiday be without a lovely murderous adventure or two. This book is considered well written by those in the know. And so far, I'm in France with them keeping an eye out for anything that looks suspicious. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, February 25, 2010
I downloaded the Cats CD to my computer and have been playing it nonstop for awhile. When I woke up this morning, I heard Jellicle Cats in my head. My dogs were not pleased. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, February 24, 2010
The new Newbery is going slow. When You Reach Me starts out slowly, jumps from one time to a different time, and then includes words like tucked-in that really are only meaningful to adults. It's not nearly the easy read as The Graveyard Book was but is much better than The Higher Power of Lucky which contained too many adult problems. Give me The Invention of Hugo Cabret or anything illustrated by Brian Selznick; and I'm happy. But all four of those books are very highly rated on Amazon and about equally so. It's difficult to know what makes a great book great. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, February 23, 2010
On January 29, 2009, I wrote that I was reading A Mystery for Thoreau. I also wrote that in the book, it was described how Thoreau had accidentally burned down 300 acres of pine trees around Walden Pond where Ralph Waldo Emerson was letting him live in a little cabin rent free. And then this past week, I heard a comment on BookTV that Walden had accidentally burned down trees at Walden Pond. So, that's two places. One juvenile fiction and one BookTV nonfiction. Surely, he didn't burn down a forest. But then again, sounds like he did. Plus, I heard that we have cut down 98% of old growth forests in the US. This is not a good way to begin the day. But there you have it. Bookish thoughts and dwindling forests. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, February 22, 2010
A Single Man
A Serious Man
He Was a Quiet Man
What's up with all these Man films all of a sudden? That's pretty wild. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, February 21, 2010
I finished Remember Me; and it was great. Once I committed to remembering who each character was, it made for a very nice read. Let's see who I remember from last night's big finish. Menley, Adam, Hannah, Scott, Vivian, her parents, Nat, Deb, the psychiatrist, Menley's mom, John, Amy, Elaine, Phoebe, her husband, Tina, Fred, Marge, the DA, the sea captain, his wife, her murderer. Yep. That about does it. That's a lot of folks to meet in a book. The fact that they don't really exist has not yet occurred to me. What has occurred to me is that my little dog is lying here at my feet blissfully snoring away. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, February 20, 2010
My task for the day is to find the quote that supports the notion that doing one or two small things is every bit as good as doing many large things. So, somewhere in my notes, books, papers, hard drives, flash drives, or on my desk lies the little note I took about doing little things. My best guess is that I'll never find it. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, February 19, 2010
Trope is a figure of speech. Types of trope are allegory, irony, and metaphor.
Chronotope is the concept of time and space. Mikhail Bakhtin (1895-1975) used the term to study how language creates time and space. I may pursue this. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, January 18, 2010
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Wallace Stegner
1909-1993
Iowa, Utah, New Mexico
Big Rock Candy Mountain (1943)
Crossing to Safety (1987)
Angle of Repose (won the Pulitzer in 1971).
He was director of the writing program at Stanford.
To write masterpieces like he did seems an impossible task. I suppose it's called talent. It's also called perseverance.
| William Styron
1925-2006
Virginia, Massachusetts
Lie Down in Darkness (1951)
The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967)
Sophie's Choice (1979)
Darkness Visible (1990) about "despair beyond despair."
Bennett Cerf of Random House published his work. Christopher Cerf interviewed him on BookTV. I met Mr. C. Cerf at a conference and told him how much I admired his father. I told him what a wonderful interview it was and how much I appreciated his own contributions to the world of books. It was quite a moment.
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Wednesday, February 17, 2010
I watched BookTV live last night. Russell Roberts of George Mason University and Samuel Fleischacker of University of Illinois at Chicago were the featured experts. They were live. In my living room with Peter Slen, moderator. BookTV is such a gift. It is funded from 5 cents from each cable bill and was established by Bob Rosenkranz and Bob Tisch way back when a nickel was actually worth something. Anyhoo, BookTV is one of the most valuable media I have.
So, Professor Roberts and Professor Fleischacker brilliantly explained Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Both of these are printed in their entirety on econlib.org as part of the public domain. I think I learned these things:
1. Smith believed in education for all as both a moral imperative and good economics.
2. Paying for war year by year will balance the budget and reduce the number of wars.
3. Government needs to do for citizens what the citizens can't do for themselves.
4. Government needs to address big issues like education, war, and helping the poor.
5. Self interests in business CAN lead to good moral outcomes and solid business practices.
6. Poor business practices will lead to business failures and government must not bail them out.
7. People must have CFL - clothing, food, lodging provided by the government if needed.
8. There is a moral imperative for businesses to provide good products.
9. Crony capitalism is immoral. Real-market capitalism is the only acceptable system.
10. Big government can be too big, out of touch, and thus, harmful.
11. Trust the poor to know their own needs.
12. The wealth of a nation and a person is not judged by the purse but rather by happiness.
13. Happiness comes from conversations with friends.
14. Adam Smith and David Hume were friends.
BookTV is worth every nickle on the planet. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, February 16, 2010
George Sanders (1906-1972) of movie fame in the 40s and 50s lived the last several years of his life in bewilderment and with bouts of anger all with waning health. He played Uncle Neddie in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and was highly successful in the movie business until the final few years of life. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, February 15, 2010
Four events collided all within a two-day time frame.
1. I watched Shipping News based on the book by Annie Proux which I had read some time back.
2. I spent the day at the beach.
3. I watched The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.
4. I'm in the middle of Remember Me.
All four things were unplanned and unsought-after; but there they are. Totally related and each revealing the smallness of humanity and the largess of the seas. In essence, the power and rhythm of the ocean came crashing down right into my head. And I didn't even get wet. Ha. Til tomorrow.
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| Photo by moi. |
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Sunday, February 14, 2010
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Saturday, February 13, 2010
I watched The Ghost and Mrs. Muir last night with Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, George Sanders, Edna Best, Natalie Wood, and Vanessa Brown. The film is about a sea captain turned ghost, a beautiful house on the edge of an English cliff, and a widow who needs a place to live. The scenery, set design, and costuming are too good to be true. Oleg Cassini designed the dresses worn by Ms. Tierney who, as it turns out, was married to Mr. Cassini and would only wear dresses designed by him in her films. So now, the next time I watch the film, I'll be distracted by noticing what she's wearing when up until now I've been loving the set designs. Sometimes, knowing too much is a distraction and a headache. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, February 12, 2010
I can't get Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats out of my head. I've been listening to that album nonstop for several days now; and it's addictive. Specifically, the tune Jellicle Cats, which has a stanza about all kinds of cats, is the one in my head now:
Practical cats, dramatical cats
Pragmatical cats, fanatical cats
Oratorical cats, Delphicoracle cats
Skeptical cats, Dispeptical cats
Romantical cats, Pedantical cats
Critical cats, parasitical cats
Allegorical cats, metaphorical cats
Statistical cats and mystical cats
Political cats, hypocritical cats
Clerical cats, hysterical cats
Cynical cats, rabbinical cats
How can one man be clever enough to finesse all that greatness onto the stage decade after decade. Sir Andrew is one cool cat. Phantom, Cats, Evita, and the list goes on. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, February 11, 2010
Remember Me is going well. A few pages a day is all I actually get a chance to read at the moment. But I like the characters; and the sense of suspense in this particular book is very engaging. I'm happy to only have a few moments a day lately to read this book. That way, the book won't come to a close before I'm ready for the ending and before I'm ready to find my next book. Finding the next book has, however, never been a problem. They seem to line themselves up somehow in some cosmic way to make sure they wind up on my desk. The next book? I'll just wait and see what appears. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Time and tide wait for no man. I wonder who said that. Very clever. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The New Yorker, this week, had a really well-written piece by Lillian Ross about what it was like to be in the life of J.D. Salinger. I didn't read Catcher in the Rye til college; but it's been about my favorite book of all time since then. Mr. Salinger lived in seclusion in New Hampshire and had a remarkable way with words and stories. Even though he avoided people and found them mostly annoying, he still had children, family, and friends. What a puzzle he was. Successful, reclusive, private, and probably pretty normal in at least some ways. He had children. He seemed not to like them. I wonder what they thought of him. Peggy Salinger and Matthew Salinger. Famous father, unhappy children. Not an unfamiliar tale. Til tomorrow.
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| Erik Ross, Lillian Ross, Matthew Salinger, Peggy Salinger, J.D. Salinger-Central Park, NYC |
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Monday, February 8, 2010
I set aside Remember Me by Mary Higgins Clark for a bit last night to watch the last installment of Emma by Jane Austen on PBS. I'm glad I watched it although I had to stop and think several times about the characters. I had to really focus on who married whom and who was courting whom. But in the end, Ms. Austen painted a great picture of life in the 1800s if you were rich. If you weren't rich, then your life was less than great. The second-best character in the broadcast was George Knightley til the end when he gushed a bit too much when Emma said, "Yes." Her immaturity wasn't really all that attractive; and yet he was attracted to her. Hmm. What a conundrum. So, if the second-best character was Mr. Knightley, who was the best? The best character was Miss Bates. The actress who played Miss Bates was Tamsin Greig; and she was 100% brilliant. She chattered away with gusto in every scene she was in. And in the final episode when Emma made a cruel joke about her always talking too much, it seemed like you were watching a real scene rather than actors. Miss Bates was devastated by the joke at her expense and showed her pain by actually turning pale. And when you can turn pale on cue in a film, whoa, you're a great actor. So, back to Remember Me. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, February 7, 2010
My new book turned out to be not Hunger Games but rather Remember Me by Mary Higgins Clark. Can't say why really. The Clark book just sort of leaped into my hands. So, I'm following its lead. And so far, fabulous. There are times when the only thing that will do is a good mystery thriller. So, I'm all set. Hunger will have to wait. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, February 6, 2010
I'm starting a new book today by Suzanne Collins titled, The Hunger Games. But then of course, it's Saturday, so there's Michael Feldman, Ira Glass, and Garrison Keillor at tpr.org. Texas Public Radio out of San Antonio is simply the best. It's going to be a busy winter day. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, February 5, 2010
Spring is never gonna get here. Chilly, foggy, snowy, drizzly, cloudy. Brrr. Even my desk is cold. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, February 4, 2010
Today is the big day for Garrison Keillor at Prairie Home Companion. He's broadcasting his show live at 500 theatres around the the nation tonight at 7 PM. I have a previous commitment and can't go; and I can't believe I'll not be there to witness digital history being made. Maybe there will be equipment failure and they'll have to reschedule; in which case, I'll be sure and be free for the redux. It's gonna be so great. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Wow! Frontline on PBS had a documentary titled, Digital Nation last night. I'm going to buy the DVD when it comes out in March. In the meantime, I'm going to rewatch snippets of it online. If the rest of the nation goes completely digital with concomitant multitasking behaviors and then consequently has trouble paying attention long enough to read a book or write an essay, then I think we're missing out on being human. Living in a virtual world is not nearly as nice as living in the real world. So, I'm staying in the realm of the physical until such time as it no longer exists. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Finished my Spenser book last night. I kept seeing these images in my head of Marcia Gay Harden and Joe Mantegna. Click, click, click on the internet; and wow. Robert B. Parker had lots of his books made into movies; and Ms. Harden and Mr. Mantegna were in several. I must have seen one or two of them. Very cool to have a movie influence the images from a book - even one I'd already read. Good times. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, February 1, 2010
Luck is the residue of design. Nice phrase. Luck is the residue of design. Yesterday, I'm reading along in my book Potshot by Robert Parker; and I came across that phrase on page 113 spoken by Spenser the fabulous private investigator and lead character in the book. Then I eat lunch. Then I finish the Arts and Leisure section of the NY Times; and there on page 6 is an interview with Ethan Hawke, who is directing a Sam Shepard play on Broadway, and he says THE EXACT SAME PHRASE. Luck is the residue of design. How is that possible? I'm reading a book written ten years ago; and on the very day that I get to page 113 in that book and see that phrase I also see it in an interview in the Times. What are the odds of that happening. What are the odds. If I were a mathematician instead of just a reader, I could calculate those odds. Sure wish I was a mathematician. Not really. A mathematician would probably have never noticed the phrase in the first place. Just kidding. Ha. Luck is the residue of design. Or as Louis Pasteur said, Chance favors the prepared mind. Til tomorrow.
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| Cast of Sam Shepard's play. Photo by Chad Batka. |
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Sunday, January 31, 2010
Although one time, Garrison Keillor did in fact say that the death of old man is not a tragedy, the unexpected loss of Howard Zinn is indeed just that - a tragedy. Last night, BookTV rebroadcast a brilliant lecture of his recorded in January of 2007 at Brandeise University to a packed hall of young intellectuals who supported all that Howard Zinn advocated and stood for. Peace and justice. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. All of that for all of us and not just for the privileged and wealthy. I don't see anyone on the horizon who can take his place as an advocate, as an historian, and as a leading citizen of the people, by the people, and for the people. His clarity of thought, his quickness of wit, his winning personality, and his total commitment to social justice is the best I've ever witnessed. Who will take his place? Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, January 30, 2010
The end of the month is here; there's a full moon out each evening; and Valentine's Day is just around the corner. It may be time, to read some work by Colette. She was a French novelist whose book Gigi became a Broadway play. There's a hotel room named after her at The Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport, Oregon. Plus, I heard her referenced on NPR the other day. When several things happen in quick succession like that and point to something particular, I try to pay attention. Seems like Colette is the next novelist (she wrote 50 novels) who needs a new reader. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, January 29, 2010
Howard Zinn
born August 24, 1922
died January 27, 2010
age 87
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/us/29zinn.html
I wasn't ready for him to go.
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Thursday, January 28, 2010
I read a live online blog yesterday as Steve Jobs unveiled the new ipad in San Francisco. At first I wanted one. Badly. Then two things occurred to me. No USB port and no front-facing camera for Skyping. Why? Why? Why? Those two things could have easily been included. So, basically, this is a touch Kindle with color or a big ipod. And of course, I could surf the web on the ipad but only if I purchase a $30 a month AT&T (groan) account or can find a hot spot for WiFi. I think the hype for this tablet didn't quite meet my needs; but I wish them well. Apple, Amazon, Google. They're a big part of my life. I wonder if they know. Til tomorrow.
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| Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images |
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
So, according to the paper, high blood pressure weakens the arteries, which leads to stroke. Also according to the paper, the nation now has a trillion dollar debt. And finally according to the paper, it's going to remain chilly this weekend. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, January 26, 2010
I've been thinking about Dava Sobel lately. She wrote Galileo's Daughter. Galileo's daughter had many correspondences with her father over many years. They wrote to each other in Italian. Ms. Sobel said that 20 years earlier when she herself was taking Italian in college, she had no idea that she'd ever use it again. But there she was. In Italy. Holding the letters that Galileo and his daughter, Virginia, wrote to each other in the 1600s. All in Italian. Sometimes the twists and turns of life are revealed and sometimes they're not. Cosi fan tutti. That is the way of the world. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, January 25, 2010
I watched Emma by Jane Austin on PBS last night. The setting was beautiful and the acting appeared effortless. The two scene stealers were of course Michael Gambon and the actor who played Mr. Knightley. The one thing that kept me from being totally absorbed by the play was the fact that I'm currently immersed in books and conversations about power and culture and the influence of those on our lives, language, and happiness levels. As I watched Emma, I was drawn to images of the servants. Their faces were never in focus. Their needs were never addressed. They held open doors. They brought in letters on silver trays. They wore ridiculously uncomfortable clothing. And they appeared robotic. Who wouldn't. You're there in jolly old England without a 401k, with no education, with no property of your own, and dressed in clumsy clothing. So, even though the plight of the servants distracted me, I still enjoyed the performance and will tune in next Sunday for part 2. And of course, all those images portrayed by the servants were on purpose. PBS and the BBC don't make mistakes. Those images were part of the landscape of the film designed to set the tone between the classes. Laura Linney was the mistress of ceremony and did a splendid job. Plus, she was featured in the Times yesterday. She is the actor's actor. Totally talented. Totally versatile. Squeaky clean. And an actor for all classes. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, January 24, 2010
There is something about sunshine. Love it. When it streams in through a window and lights a room, it's bringing ten billion years of evolution with it. It's not just that sunshine brings warmth and good feelings, it's that through the process of evolution, sunshine makes it all possible. The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes is a book that goes a long way toward understanding the process of evolution. I like that book enough to reread it. Dava Sobel, Oliver Sacks, Bill Bryson, Sebastion Junger, Jared Diamond. I've learned a lot from them. Scientists, historians, anthropologists, thinkers, writers. Wonder what they're up to today. Probably writing their next best seller. Or maybe just reading the Times. Til tomorrow.
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| Bryan, Dava, Oliver, Bill, Sebastion, Jared |
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Saturday, January 23, 2010
As of today, I have two new books and a CD. The new Newbery, When You Reach Me, reached me yesterday via Amazon. Also via Amazon and by way of Mumbai, I have a new cookbook by Judith Jones who was Julie Child's editor; and I have a new Rosemary Clooney CD. So, I'm all set. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, January 22, 2010
I'm thinking about buying a Kindle. But I read an online report in The New Yorker and actually laughed out loud as the author told about his efforts to like the thing. That's so cool when something you read makes you laugh out loud. But back to purchasing a Kindle. I'm still undecided about whether I'll like the technology. Plus, it's a lot of money and it's not backlit, which means when you're reading at night, you have to have a light of some sort. But I sure enjoyed the piece (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/08/03/090803fa_fact_baker) by Nicholson Baker. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, January 21, 2010
It's interesting to me how I choose something to read. In this week's New Yorker, I started an article by Malcolm Gladwell on entrepreneurs in the world of big money. As I was reading I was thinking, "This is something I should know about so I'll make myself read it." I tried. Really. I love Malcolm. I love Malcolm's books. Didn't work. I gave it up after I realized I didn't care about the money-grubbers he was writing about. Then I tried a piece by Woody Allen who wrote about cows who had squashed, attacked, or bumped into people and killed them. Because he writes comedically and because I have great respect for cattle who don't really do anything other than graze, huddle, and moo, I stopped. I didn't want to take the chance that Woody would make fun of a fairly noble beast. We readers are peculiar folks. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Robert Parker died. I love his Spenser mystery books. And for some reason, my copy of Potshot is on the shelf next to Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I have GOT to come up with a better system for organizing my books. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, January 19, 2010
An NPR report Saturday is on my mind. A scientist said the habitat for the polar bear will be gone by 2030. No more ice cap. No more polar bear. Pretty tragic. Unbelievably tragic. Tragic. So, to soften that news, I'm ordering the new Newbery book that was announced yesterday by ALA. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. It's gonna be glorious when it arrives on my desk. Can't wait. And then of course, the incomparable Jerry Pinkney won the Caldecott award for The Lion and the Mouse, which I am happy to say I already own. Glorious. January 19 moves from tragic to glorious in ninety-nine words. It's a lot to ponder. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, January 18, 2010
Thirty-nine when he died. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, January 17, 2010
Notably sweet and intellectually gifted. Those are the words that Tracy Kidder used to tell about the mother of Dr. Paul Farmer. Mr. Kidder wrote a book about Dr. Farmer who works for the medical needs of the poor around the world. Dr. Farmer said that six million impoverished people around the world die each year from AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria simply because of inadequate or no medical care. Dr. Farmer has written about medical and humanitarian needs of people around the world and specifically about people in Haiti; so BookTV is featuring that 2003 interview this week in light of the Haitian earthquake. Mr. Kidder said that Dr. Farmer uses the 7/3 rule in his writing and in his work. Don't use seven words when three will do. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, January 16, 2010
I got my office cleaned up last night. I can't believe it. It looks great. I'm so happy to have an office space that actually functions. Moving on. I'm reading a new book, 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School. It's an odd little book. I'm learning about architectural concepts, which I've always liked, but I'm also learning about the connections between how we build our buildings and how we build our lives. But then again, I'm probably reading way too much into this slim little book. I have a tendency to find way too much meaning in things that aren't really all that meaningful. Why is that? Anyhoo, David Brooks had a wonderful piece about Israel in today's paper. He's such a great writer and great thinker. Too bad he's not actually in charge of something big - like the UN or China or AT&T. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, January 15, 2010
My office is a wreck. Books, papers, folders, boxes, mail, discs - everywhere I look. So, today's the day I get it all cleaned up, organized, and put away. Right. Ha. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, January 14, 2010
I have rediscovered The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg. I've had the entire portfolio of 15 drawings in my office for some time now; but I didn't examine it carefully until yesterday. It's a gem. I love everything about the exquisite and elegant drawings. And all the time, these wonderful pieces were sitting right there in my office waiting for me to find them. So, today starts my new quest to find out how Chris Van Allsburg came to be. Lovely. Til tomorrow.
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| Photo credit to Christopher Garrison |
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Wednesday, January 13, 2010
I've made the huge mistake of letting way too much time pass between now and a couple of months ago when I started The Lacuna. I'm a third into it; and I've lost track of the characters and plot. So, now I have to decide whether to start over or move on. The reviews of this book have been to describe the book as powerful, rich, large, and moving. Hmm. I'm sure there is something wrong with me since I am not as fully engaged in this book as I should be. And that's so odd since my respect for Barbara Kingsolver is so absolute. So, I'm afraid I will have to quietly set it aside for now until I can give it the attention it deserves. And as I think about it, one thing that may account for my reluctance to finish the thing is my growing dislike of Diego Rivera as portrayed in the book. This all makes me think I don't know enough history to properly appreciate this tome. But how much background information and history should a reader have to have to simply enjoy a good book? That's my question for now. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Today, I'm not thinking directly about a book. I'm thinking of a movie. Robert Downey, Jr. and Jaime Foxx were wonderful in The Soloist, which is a movie based on a book by Steve Lopez who was a journalist with the LA Times. The actors were great at portraying the notion of lost souls and misspent talent. Who knew they could each act so convincingly? Their agents of course. Mr. Foxx plays a mentally ill young person, named Nathaniel, who left Julliard for life on the streets. Mr. Downey, Jr. plays a journalist who hears of him, writes up his story, and then tries to rehabilitate him (with only modest success in real life). The movie illustrates the need for better mental health care and a kinder and gentler world. The best line in the movie was when Nathaniel, who was living on the mean streets of LA with a shopping cart and a beat-up cello, said that his dream and hope for the future was that someday he'd have two new strings for his cello. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, January 11, 2010
Cranford and Return to Cranford are Masterpiece Classics on PBS; and I've been watching them for the past several Sunday evenings. Dame Judi Dench is wonderful. She's the epitome of excellence and is the star of the show. The PBS series is based on three books written by Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865). The stories take place in England in the 1840s at the time when the railroads are being built across England. Relationships between the classes, between history and progress, and between women and men are each woven into the stories. Thank goodness for PBS and the BBC. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, January 10, 2010
Flipping through the channels this weekend, I ran into Stockard Channing and Mary Louise Parker. I can't believe I've seen both of them on Broadway. Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, Carol Channing, Judith Jamison, Debbie Reynolds, Tyne Daly, Vanessa Redgrave, Angela Lansbury, Diane Weist, Christine Ebersole, Melanie Griffith, Brooke Shields, Whoopi Goldberg, Gina Gershon, Lynn Redgrave, Emma Redgrave, Cady Huffman, Frances Sternhagen, - all of them. I can hardly believe I've seen all of them perform on stage. What a lucky gal am I. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, January 9, 2010
Michael Feldman is in Madison, Wisconsin this morning at 10.
Ira Glass is featuring people who make difficult bets this afternoon at 2.
Garrison Keillor is in San Francisco this evening at 5.
Marsha Grace is tuned in to public radio at http://www.tpr.org all day today.
Til tomorrow.
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Friday, January 8, 2010
The Red Wheelbarrow
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
William Carlos Williams, M.D.
September 17, 1883 - March 4, 1963
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Sunday, January 3 through Thursday, January 7, 2010
So, here's the deal. Network Solutions which hosts this website for $128.50 per year was unable to repair my site til today. They said it somehow got corrupted. Hmmmm. Three phone calls, four emails, and four days to wait. Additionally, they indicated the site takes too long to load and I should create an alternate page. So, while I consider this recommendation and try to figure out how to even do that, I'll tell you that I'm back to reading The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver; and it's fabulous. Til tomorrow. Maybe. If Network Solutions allows.
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Saturday, January 2, 2010
I miss Jeremy Brett (1936-1995). Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law were both wonderful in the new Sherlock Holmes movie. Their dialogue was clever, sincere, and well-delivered. But it wasn't as contemplative or as kind as Mr. Brett's Sherlock. In this most reincarnation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's master sleuth, Guy Ritchie has way too many scenes of people chasing each other and not near enough scenes where plain old conversation reveals clues and creates intrigue. Plus, this movie has a lot of the feel of Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code. So, I'm hoping that if Mr. Ritchie, Mr. Downey, Jr., and Mr. Law produce a sequel that they provide more dialogue, more clue-filled conversation, and less running and chasing. The coolest movie magic involved rewinding the film to show what Sherlock saw and thought when he was looking at clues. I hope they have more of those. Plus, I was bothered by how easy it was to blow up a ship, destroy a bridge, or ruin a factory when during Victorian times it took so long to build those things. Plus, I don't think Mr. Doyle had his Sherlock experimenting with drugs on the dog. But I could be wrong about that. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, January 1, 2010
It's here. 2010. A nice round number full of hope. Robert Indiana has a new sculpture called Hope. His most famous sculpture is called Love. Robert Indiana. Quite a guy. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, December 31, 2009
Welp, 2010 is almost here; and what better way to greet the new decade than to listen to Broadway's Best on Sirius satellite radio with Christine Pedi and the amaahzing Seth Rudetsky. So, that's what I'm doing today while I wait for the new year to ring its way in. Til tomorrow.
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| Photo credit to Mary Beth Tierce, January, 2009 |
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Wednesday, December 30, 2009
I bought a copy of E.L. Konigsburg's Silent to the Bone; and I'm loving it. I bought it at Strand Bookstore to have something to read on the plane back from NYC; and I'm finishing it here at home. It's a simple mystery involving a lot of smart people, a hurt child, and two boys that figure it all out. It's lovely and intriguing. Makes you wish you were a clever writer like Ms. Konigsburg who won a Newbery in 1968 and another in 1997. She's the goods. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, December 29, 2009
I'm enjoying comparing the 1961 version with the 2001 version of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. This morning I found a difference in the two versions' accounts of how to scramble eggs. In 1961, Julia admonished cooks not to include tomatoes as it would introduce too much liquid into the eggs. In 2001, the admonition is simply not to add more than one-half teaspoon water or milk per egg as a way to help blend the yolk and white. Even progress in scrambling eggs can be made. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, December 28, 2009
I'm just back from NYC. I went to plays and museums and had a grand time.
Race with James Spader and David Alan Grier
A Little Night Music with Angela Lansbury
In the Heights
Bye Bye Birdie with John Stamos and Bill Irwin
Carnegie Hall
Guggenheim with Kandinsky
MOMA with O'Keefe
Metropolitan with all the Greeks and Romans and Rodin's The Thinker
Central Park
Sarabeth's on 59th between 6th and 5th
Fairway at Broadway and 74th
Le Pan Quotidian on 53th between 5th and Madison
Burgers at Parker Meridian on 56th between 6th and 7th
Room service at the Hilton
Strand Bookstore at Broadway and 12th owned by Mr. Fred Bass with whom I spoke.
And of course the Christmas tree at the New York City Public Library at 5th and 42nd.
It was all fabulous.
Glad to be home. Til tomorrow.
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| NYPL Christmas Tree |
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| Central Park's Alice in Wonderland |
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Friday, December 18, 2009
My computer is in the shop til December 27. Til then.
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Thursday, December 17, 2009
Walden Books is closing in Laredo, Texas leaving Laredo with no bookstores. No bookstores at all. This was reported by the Associated Press today. The AP story made Laredo sound like a town without a future; but the director of the public library there has plans to open two more branch libraries. So, even in a town without even one bookstore, there's hope. And her name is Maria Soliz. Madam Librarian. Til tomorrow.
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| Laredo Public Library |
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Wednesday, December 16, 2009
I bought the 40th anniversary edition, published in 2001, of Julia Child's cookbook from Amazon; and it's nearly exactly like the original. Nice surprise. Til tomorrow.
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| Julia Child, 1967 The French Chef on PBS |
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Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Ken Auletta had a nice rebuttal in the Sunday Times Book Review written to the person who somewhat negatively reviewed his new book Googled: The End of the World as We Know It. Mr. Auletta's book is thorough, precise, unbiased, and clearly illuminates the mindset and inner workings of the Google folks. It's too bad that the negative reviewer saw things less clearly. To oppose an idea for the sake of opposition is always a losing proposition. Anyhoo, I liked the book and its thesis. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, December 14, 2009
I started The Lacuna again last night. I had set it aside and taken a break from this particular book to get caught up on other stuff. Probably a mistake. When I'm reading a complicated novel like The Lacuna, it's very difficult to stop, read something else, and then return to it. So, I'm going to give it another go; and see what happens. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, December 13, 2009
I just love Sunday mornings so much. Coffee, my favorite chair, obedient dogs at my feet, the Sunday Times with a photo of Mexico's newest famous artist at MOMA, a reference to Kant's moral imperative, a glimpse of high society at the Met's Christmas party, or an in-depth analysis of the DJIA, which I never read. All on Sunday, every week, all in my favorite chair. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, December 12, 2009
Last week's NY Times Book Review listed the 100 best books of 2009. They also had reviews of other books including Kate DiCamillo's new book about an elephant and a new biography of Ayn Rand. All good stuff. Thank heaven for the NY Times which is, according to Ken Auletta, sinking fast financially. Mr. Auletta says the Times is working on ways to beef up advertising sales both online and in print. He said that an ad online generates only 10% of an ad in their printed paper. Or maybe that's the other way round. Can't recall. As I was just now looking that up, I found an article about the fact that Kirkus Reviews has shut down. Kirkus reviewed books and was the source that librarians used to decide which books to buy for their libraries. That leaves Publishers Weekly and Library Journal as the primary places to look for book reviews. The web site, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/12/books/12kirkus.html?_r=1&ref=media gives the low-down on Kirkus. Goodness. If you're a writer in today's market, better keep your day job. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, December 11, 2009
In no particular order, people I admire are Beatrix Potter, Noam Chomsky, the guy with the flower in Tiananmen Square, Jonathan Kozol, Tom Hayden, Eleanor Roosevelt, all the teachers I had when I was a kid, Chris Hedges, and the 14th Dalai Lama. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, December 10, 2009
Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow. Lyrics to a song written by Sammy Cahn and the composer Jule Styne in 1945. Rosemary Clooney sings it the best. Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, December 9, 2009
In 1980, Howard Zinn published A People's History of the United States. This coming Sunday on the History Channel, his work will be presented as a documentary extolling the virtues of the working class, dissidents, and anti-war citizens of the US. The documentary encourages viewers to question their government and to hold it accountable for making good and peaceful decisions. I saw a documentary about Howard Zinn last year. He was an anti-war spokesperson in the 60s against the Vietnam War; and he's still consistently speaking out against violence as a solution to world problems. He says the Declaration of Independence gave citizens the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Democracy and freedom of speech at work. Quite a sight. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Malcolm Gladwell gave a great interview with Brian Lamb on BookTV recently. He was very gladwellian. http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/id/216084 Til tomorrow.
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Monday, December 7, 2009
I was so lucky to catch Joy Hakim on BookTV yesterday. She skewered textbook companies who produce poor history textbooks and poor science textbooks. She basically said that all the textbooks are poorly written and pathetic and just putting them online, on a computer, or on a Kindle will not make a poor textbook better. So, there. I own her set of history books; and they're great. She also condemned NCLB and teaching to the test. For three hours - on live TV, she got it just right. BookTV.org is terrific. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, December 6, 2009
Jeff Bezos was interviewed by Deborah Solomon in the NY Times Magazine this morning. And thankfully, they have returned to color photos of the interviewees after a stint where they were doing black and white. Mr. Bezos is the CEO of Amazon. He said that for every 100 books that are available on Kindle, they sell 52 in book form and 48 on Kindle. His goal is all books all over the world on Kindle. He doesn't sound like a reader to me. I need the book, the page, the smell of paper, and a place to write in the margins from time to time. But if Kindle will keep the book industry alive, then so be it. But what a loss. Til tomorrow.
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| Photo by John Keatley for the NY Times |
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Saturday, December 5, 2009
I have several issues of The New Yorker to read today. I've let them pile up a bit; and that's not good. But, it's chilly out today. So, it's going to be a nice day to get caught up, piddle around, and maybe bake some bread. Christmas is just around the corner; and my shopping i s d o n e ! Til tomorrow.
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Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, December 2, 3, and 4, 2009
I've been away from the computer; but now I'm back. I'm one-fourth into my new book, The Lacuna; and it's a whirlwind of writing style, imagery, language, culture, oppression, and transgression. I'm reminded immediately of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. At first, I started reading Lacuna closely trying to make small images in my head and trying to read all the Spanish phrases. But then I realized because the story moved around from time to place, it would be best to read it like an easy novel sort of like jumping into the pool all at once versus taking the steps and holding onto the handrail. The novel is about a boy with a Mexican mother and an American father. The boy is raised by his mom, grows up poor, and lives between cultures. He is an outsider everywhere he goes. He's quiet, smart, and makes connections between what he sees and what he reads. He's a kid who loves poetry, books, and pan dulce. He winds up in the house of Frida and Diego (yes, the painters) working in the kitchen; and then issues of class, money, power, and privilege are woven into the plot. Achebe, Marquez, and Farmer weave those things too into their books. And so does Toni Morrison. You sort of feel like you're on a roller coaster or going down a river as you read them. So, I'm back. Til tomorrow.
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Tuesday, December 1, 2009
My new book by Barbara Kingsolver arrived yesterday; and I'm thrilled. I'm almost done with Poppy and Rye so I'm ready for my next big read and that will be, The Lacuna: A Novel. Last night on Sundance, I was lucky to watch a film about the life of Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) who was a poet and playwright in Germany during the time of the great wars. He lived in Sweden, Switzerland, and Finland before coming to the US. The Sundance film featured his play Mother Courage and Her Children. There was a revival of this play in New York with Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline in 2006. The documentary was released in 2008 and showed Brecht in photos and footage. Featured were the wagon that Mother Courage pulled behind her, Tony Kushner who translated the play, George Wolfe who directed the play, behind-the-scenes rehearsals with Meryl and Kevin, footage of the McCarthy hearings during the Communist scares in the 50s with Richard Nixon sitting right there, and commentary that helped explain the relationship between Bertolt Brecht and Karl Marx. This documentary film, perhaps more than the play, asks viewers to examine why we allow ourselves to be manipulated and exploited by war and its machinery. While the play ends, war continues on with no end in sight. Why? Til tomorrow.
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| Photo credit White Buffalo Entertainment and The Public Theater / Michael Daniel |
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Monday, November 30, 2009
I would love to hear Malcolm Gladwell read his new book; and I would love to hear Ken Auletta read his new book. I'm going to investigate that. Til tomorrow.
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Sunday, November 29, 2009
So, today, finally. In the New York Times Book Review, Malcolm Gladwell responds to Steven Pinker's negative analysis of Mr. Gladwell's new book, What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures, which I just bought from Amazon seconds ago. On November 15, Dr. Pinker put into question many of Mr. Gladwell's assertions. So, I didn't buy the book. I waited for Mr. Gladwell's rebuttal anticipating that it would come on November 22. When it didn't, I assumed Mr. Gladwell was acquiescing to Dr. Pinker's doubts about the books accuracy; and who wants a book that's inaccurate even if she loves the author. But today. Voila. Mr. Gladwell comes through with flying colors. He explains the statistics he used, he explains the email he sent to Dr. Pinker, he makes a few digs about a book reviewer who checks facts from blogs rather than academic journals, and he does it all with gentlemanly wit. Then Dr. Pinker was given a chance to respond and is equally genteel although obviously standing down. Love it. Til tomorrow.
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Saturday, November 28, 2009
This evening at 5 PM central time, Prairie Home Companion will be live from Town Hall at 123 W. 43rd in NYC. Mr. Keillor had a stroke a month or so ago; and tonight he's broadcasting live from Town Hall. He has certainly maintained and promoted the world of live radio to an art - the art of living well and doing good work. Til tomorrow.
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Friday, November 27, 2009
BookTV is on all day today. I bet there will be somebody on there who has written a book that I want to read. So, it's great to have leftovers and BookTV all day today. Til tomorrow.
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Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving.
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
At some point I'm going to have to just stop reading the newspaper. Today, it was reported that 600 salt water fish died in an aquarium at a local shopping mall. It was reported as though it didn't matter. But it does. Everywhere I look, land is paved, trees are removed, nature is despoiled. It's very tough to tolerate all that. So, when it looks like the planet is going down for the count and the citizens have cut down the last tree of the land, I turn my gaze to Jane Jacobs and Rachel Carson. Ms. Jacobs (1916-2006) wrote The Death and Life of Great American Cities, first published in 1961 and still in print and high demand. She outlined the ways in which city governments were destroying neighborhoods through urban expanision and renewal. She galvanized people to protest all kinds of destructive new building projects and won. She simply never stopped her crusade against progressive destruction. The other person I think about is Rachel Carson (1907-1964) who wrote about the destructive use of pesticides and pollution in her book Silent Spring. Her title predicted that the planet would have silence every spring unless we changed pesticide and pollution practices that were killing the birds. Ms. Carson's book is still in print and still being held up as a powerful model for proper treatment of the environment. Jane Jacobs and Rachel Carson. Their focused efforts and their books are powerfully unique testaments to what can be accomplished. But then again, wouldn't it be nice to be able to live a life that was "for" something rather than having to be "opposed" to something. Til tomorrow.
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| Jane Jacobs and Rachel Carson |
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Tuesday, November 24, 2009
At some point I must have read Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows copyright 1908, 1913, or 1916 depending on where you look on the copyright page. I've read multiple places that it's the greatest piece of literature for children ever written. Talking animals. Rivers. Nature. Virtues. Just my style. Til tomorrow.
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Monday, November 23, 2009
I ordered Barbara Kingsolver's new book yesterday, The Lacuna: A Novel. I have all of her books. I love her stance on life and literature. And I love the fact that she's been able to apply her wordy talents so that she can make a solid living. She tells a good intelligent story in all her books and leaves you with images that remind you of other things just like Proust described in Remembrance of Things Past. Ms. Kingsolver also connects the past with the future. I wonder how she does that. Til tomorrow.
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