tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61140234874737999642024-03-11T21:51:41.082-07:00A Big Ol' Bucket of Useful Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-71473193372505204892023-10-15T17:16:00.001-07:002023-10-15T17:16:06.456-07:00October Is National Ergonomics Month<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYJxNhY93G7ddTCoyz9cpjTbitktgezB9BX7KxM5oVDCFuBKfmxrRlGkaXvzIkXwPvM1pK1222Fvegx0nZnrhRWhLewjG_c1im8DMfdbwtBiBKE9Lvycw8IACsPozD9jlqs92izPfRI3htPEIos2XO7nrC0ve7D07GW4CvRjRYUZdQZw93a8u97bpnTs/s800/800px-LAs_new_kb_and_mouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="800" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYJxNhY93G7ddTCoyz9cpjTbitktgezB9BX7KxM5oVDCFuBKfmxrRlGkaXvzIkXwPvM1pK1222Fvegx0nZnrhRWhLewjG_c1im8DMfdbwtBiBKE9Lvycw8IACsPozD9jlqs92izPfRI3htPEIos2XO7nrC0ve7D07GW4CvRjRYUZdQZw93a8u97bpnTs/w409-h220/800px-LAs_new_kb_and_mouse.jpg" width="409" /></a></div><br /><p>According to my <a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/09/your-october-birthday-october-holidays.html">handy article about October holidays</a> , it's National Ergonomics Month!</p><p>Maybe you have heard of ergonomics. Even if you haven't, you are still probably benefiting from it. ergonomics, also called "human factors", is the science of designing technology, products and environments to work with the human body--the way it moves, the way it is shaped, and its requirements for support and comfort. </p><p>The theory is that you work more efficiently if you are comfortable, and so products are designed to alleviate stress on the body in order to prevent injury or fatigue. Think of products like those gel-filled wrist rests designed to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome in people who spend most of the day typing, or like the ergonomic angled keyboard, pictured above.</p><p>Ergonomics can also prevent accidents, as well. Take your car, for example. Not only is it ergonomically designed with your comfort in mind, but also with an eye toward your safety. Think about how easy it is to reach what you need quickly, so that you won't be too distracted while motoring down the road. It's hard enough to get people to pull over to make a phone call, let alone tune the radio, and it's not worth crashing your car just because you can't get enough Dua Lipa (who can, really?).</p><p>In order to raise awareness and appreciation for ergonomic design, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) declared October to be National Ergonomics Month, so every time you sit in a molded chair or use one of those funky curved computer keyboards or drive somewhere in a safe, comfortable car, you can thank ergonomic design, in October and in every other month of the year! </p><p><br /></p><p>Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LAs_new_kb_and_mouse.JPG</p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-29944684600503639732023-08-20T16:06:00.002-07:002023-08-20T16:06:22.340-07:00Review of The King in the Tree by Steven Millhauser<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRvntNt7zC3K7DB9hP2CkoM3jAAnbWEPCaIi4lp809Kc2j2bySvg-9ZqkHck3s5zo0fVvk-W-30fGEPo3WeYCmCu2OAt2n2cVyplB4-EfLhof51LOlM4r9IUdVeQLnF8YIGUyBBfpv42aA73DwuaLfaoqxTX0CcBN8m_CWMcs5ijEMDdsRZ4_BX9r5Dw/s3736/20230820_175529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3736" data-original-width="2497" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRvntNt7zC3K7DB9hP2CkoM3jAAnbWEPCaIi4lp809Kc2j2bySvg-9ZqkHck3s5zo0fVvk-W-30fGEPo3WeYCmCu2OAt2n2cVyplB4-EfLhof51LOlM4r9IUdVeQLnF8YIGUyBBfpv42aA73DwuaLfaoqxTX0CcBN8m_CWMcs5ijEMDdsRZ4_BX9r5Dw/w252-h377/20230820_175529.jpg" width="252" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Steven Millhauser is a very accomplished author with a body of work
spanning back to 1972, when his debut novel, <i><b>Edwin Mullhouse</b></i>,
was published. His book <i><b>Martin Dressler</b></i> has won a
Pulitzer. Both of these titles are on my reading list, but I happened
to have purchased <i><b>The King in the Tree</b></i> a while back,
and my aim is to read the books I already have before getting any new
ones. So, this is my jumping-off point into the work of Steven
Millhauser. And I like where I landed!</p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><b>The King in the Tree</b></i>
(2003, Knopf) is a book composed of three novellas, entitled <i>Revenge</i>,
<i>An Adventure of Don Juan</i>, and <i>The King in the Tree</i>.
Each story has a different setting, different characters, and a
different tone. The three are united, however, by similar subject
matter: love, longing, and betrayal.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>Revenge</i>, the first novella,
starts the book off with a bang. The premise of this story is of a
woman who is showing a potential buyer around her home, which is for
sale. As we progress through the story, the seller reveals bits and
pieces of the <i>real</i> story, which is about far more than selling
a home. It's written in a kind of first person/second-person hybrid,
because there is a narrator, but she is speaking to the unidentified
(at first) buyer, which feels like she's talking to you. We're
experiencing the story from the point of view of the buyer, although
that person never gets a single line of dialogue, because we are
passively listening to the narrator unwind the story, room by room.
And yet, we are also experiencing the story from the point of view of
the narrator, because she is sharing all of her feelings with us. It
was absolutely spellbinding, and when I finished, I basically had to
sit and go “Whoa”. I love stories that make me do that!</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The second novella, <i>An Adventure of
Don Juan</i>, is told in a more traditional third-person style,
although we are fully inhabiting the point of view of Don Juan
Tenorio, the famous seducer. This ended up making me uncomfortable,
because he turns out to be a seriously vile person, wrapped up in the
pretty packaging of his handsome face, wealth, and courtly ways. In
this tale, Don Juan becomes bored with his self-indulgent lifestyle
in Venice and travels to England on the invitation of a casual
friend, Augustus Hood, a creative prodigy whose lovely wife and
striking, enigmatic sister-in-law are given the care of their guest,
with increasingly dire consequences. The conclusion of this story was
harrowing, but satisfying.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The 'title track' of the collection,
<i>The King in the Tree</i>, is the longest of the three, and packs
even more twists and turns than the prior stories. It is based on the
legend of Tristan and Yseut/Yseult/Isolde/Isolt, in this version
spelled Ysolt. Anyone familiar with the legend knows that it is the
classic “doomed lovers” tale, but this version, narrated by the
king's advisor and bosom friend, Thomas, gives us a far more subtle
view, showing us how the love affair between King Mark of Cornwall's
nephew, Tristan, and his queen, Ysolt, is dealt with (or at times not
dealt with) by the king, who deeply loves them both.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I enjoyed this book so much. The
writing is just exquisite. Millhauser knows how to set a scene, hatch
a plot, and keep things moving, but what I loved best is his ability
to thoroughly inhabit his characters – the wounded, vindictive
unnamed character in <i>Revenge</i>, the cocky, jaded, Don Juan, the
gentle, faithful Thomas – giving us a full immersion into the story
through their eyes. I can't wait to read more Millhauser!</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">If you enjoyed these, please check out my other book reviews: </p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-best-in-writing-half-asleep-in-frog.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-best-in-writing-half-asleep-in-frog.html</a></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/05/review-of-your-head-is-houseboat-by.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/05/review-of-your-head-is-houseboat-by.html</a></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/05/a-review-of-boston-darkens-by-michael.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/05/a-review-of-boston-darkens-by-michael.html</a></p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-66238605196649977252023-08-15T19:21:00.000-07:002023-08-15T19:21:05.901-07:00Looking for a Job? How Charity Work Can Help You Find a Paying Job<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfgCY_T7ZDIyriYi-Vi_QPqUwmtqnEjv9thLjxDK0hPSLC6Ml6sDRs8g30j0nJO3nR5kfUH9J7-zJ65lcJK84bP8ejQsJDsGIeXIN14pp4I04d2f487cnJ0OfegYb6FgwkDLvPkyGDcnP3oLkLKYse4ej2pkAw8mS244j_DCACBA3y6TRnoeRbtVAaKc/s1280/volunteer-652383_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfgCY_T7ZDIyriYi-Vi_QPqUwmtqnEjv9thLjxDK0hPSLC6Ml6sDRs8g30j0nJO3nR5kfUH9J7-zJ65lcJK84bP8ejQsJDsGIeXIN14pp4I04d2f487cnJ0OfegYb6FgwkDLvPkyGDcnP3oLkLKYse4ej2pkAw8mS244j_DCACBA3y6TRnoeRbtVAaKc/w371-h278/volunteer-652383_1280.jpg" width="371" /></a></div><br /><p>So, you have either graduated from school and are ready to embark upon a career, or you are between jobs and looking for work, or you are working part-time but need a job that is going to pay the bills. Whatever your scenario, the job hunt can be exhausting and frustrating. You may have been reading advice articles or even attending classes or workshops to learn how to ace an interview or perfect your resume, but when interviews are few and far between, and your resume has already been polished to a glasslike shine (or is a little too lean yet to benefit from editing), how do you fill your time productively and still gain skills and experience without the benefit of a paying gig?</p><p>Try a non-paying one. Although it may seem counter-intuitive to give away your time and efforts for free just at the time you need compensation, you would be amazed by how much the experience of helping others can help you. When you have the experience of working with people from all walks of life, it can give you a sense of empathy that will not only enhance your abilities, but your sensibilities. Being able to relate to people is always a plus in the job market, and your newly-developed sense of what people need can help you ace those interviews, as well.</p><p>You may be working for free, but you are also learning skills for free, from office work to dealing with the public to doing construction and landscaping projects, should that be your task. In addition to acquiring knowledge and experience, you will also be making human connections that can help you. Your supervisor at the non-profit might be able to put in a good word for you if he or she knows of a paid opportunity, or at least write a glowing letter of recommendation for future use. You might meet other volunteers who know of job openings, as well. Networking can be the most powerful aid in securing long-term employment.</p><p>Potential employers like to see volunteer work on your resume, as well; not just because you have acquired experience that many other job candidates may not have, but it also gives the sense that you are not only a compassionate individual who is willing to work hard, but someone who didn't just sit around during the down time between jobs. Companies want people who can get things accomplished, so don't let the lackluster job market get you down. Now, more than ever, you can make a difference for someone else and help yourself immeasurably in the process!</p><p>Image credit: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/volunteer-volunteerism-volunteering-652383/</p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-37141329079920457772023-07-15T11:00:00.001-07:002023-07-15T11:01:28.014-07:00Review of Oz the Great and Powerful with James Franco and Mila Kunis (2013)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6f2Z5B3pOPIi3Q9PUE72xdv79CbSLD2MW8v9eSIOpkjfjfQuuRxi2hWX5SkYBXht2DyM_A1QyT5ScwRy0c3j2m_ozNfBVrmNlh1aIeLQTz0EcDiA90ywbniprLlmn9hXcgIw2a0Z4y3o8NCqkVgTYw5CJ7L17myZnfvdH9hvogQ0j4go2QooiWFOsm1s/s810/p_ozthegreatandpowerful_19869_9507938a.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6f2Z5B3pOPIi3Q9PUE72xdv79CbSLD2MW8v9eSIOpkjfjfQuuRxi2hWX5SkYBXht2DyM_A1QyT5ScwRy0c3j2m_ozNfBVrmNlh1aIeLQTz0EcDiA90ywbniprLlmn9hXcgIw2a0Z4y3o8NCqkVgTYw5CJ7L17myZnfvdH9hvogQ0j4go2QooiWFOsm1s/s320/p_ozthegreatandpowerful_19869_9507938a.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span>Disney's 2013 movie Oz the Great and Powerful is available on Disney Plus (Disney+), and I watched it this weekend. I had read a couple of iffy reviews about the movie, but I'm a sucker for big movies with awesome special effects, and this film paid off. Also, I'm not sure what people were complaining about, because it was really great! There are many very good, well-known actors in it--James Franco plays "the wizard", and Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Bill Cobb and Zach Braff do a wonderful job in their roles, as well.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">This film is written to be the "prequel" to the 1939 original The Wizard of Oz. It answers the questions we all had as kids when we first saw the movie--how did the wizard get to Oz in the first place? How did he, a regular man, end up in such a powerful position? How did the people of Oz deal with having witches flying around the country? All these questions get answered, and we also get a chance to meet the Wicked Witch of the East, the sister who got smashed flat by Dorothy's house at the start of the original movie.</span></p><p><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">The makers of this movie have done a great job referencing the original, from the starts-off-black-and-white-and-changes-to-color effect to more subtle things, such as having the actors play dual roles of characters both in the real world and in the land of Oz. Disney also cracks me up by doing a little SELF-referencing: watch for the poisoned apple!</span></p><p><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">All in all, it's a great film for the family. It enhances the experience to have seen the original movie, but it's a great stand-alone film. Ali approves!</span></p><p><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span>See what I thought of <a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2023/02/movie-review-percy-jackson-sea-of.html">Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters</a></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-89740471899638628092023-06-15T16:56:00.001-07:002023-06-15T16:57:34.852-07:00The Creepiest Songs by The Beatles<p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHoZREPsqQ_2a2RRntODbCZyEz6BdmHUv7stUD-y8h4dwgA-g738UI1UEMGSwP6_izjMhpMc9iDxu3f4yx6o5AcrBqTzCJtPPqjWn1tt6UDHvSNrtAcNv8E2EZCVTmmY6_87WsEfHb-2bVDv5m74Nlg1mFi_j6G1O6ZFLvgvvNDJExu55NGSnKIBRt/s1280/beatles-7767458_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1280" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHoZREPsqQ_2a2RRntODbCZyEz6BdmHUv7stUD-y8h4dwgA-g738UI1UEMGSwP6_izjMhpMc9iDxu3f4yx6o5AcrBqTzCJtPPqjWn1tt6UDHvSNrtAcNv8E2EZCVTmmY6_87WsEfHb-2bVDv5m74Nlg1mFi_j6G1O6ZFLvgvvNDJExu55NGSnKIBRt/s320/beatles-7767458_1280.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><b><br /></b></span><p></p><p><b style="font-size: large;"> A Creepy Song by The Beatles</b></p><p>A friend of mine wrote a post about the Beatles song Eleanor Rigby (that's the one that goes "Ahhhhh, look at all the lonely people"), and I left a comment that the song, with its dark themes of loneliness and death and its brooding music, was kind of creepy.</p><p>But as soon as I mentioned that, I thought, "And yet, that song is not the creepiest Beatles song, by far."</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>An Even Creepier Song by The Beatles</b></span></p><p>There is a song that is much creepier than that, called "Maxwell's Silver Hammer". This song is about a medical student ("Maxwell Edison, majoring in medicine") who is basically a serial killer, murdering people by bludgeoning them with a hammer. What's more creepy than the subject matter is that the lyrics are set to an upbeat tune, and everything is treated as giddy little romp:</p><p><i>Bang, bang, Maxwell's silver hammer came down upon her head;</i></p><p><i>Bang, bang, Maxwell's silver hammer made sure that she was dead</i></p><p>Jeez, at least "Eleanor Rigby"'s music is somber and gives one a bit of a warning that the song isn't about a cheerful subject. But hey, peppy and industrious serial killer Maxwell isn't even the worst character The Beatles invented:</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The Creepiest Beatles Song <i>Ever</i> </b></span></p><p>That honor goes to the guy singing "Run for Your Life", another Beatles song disguised as good-time rock, until you actually consider the lyrics:</p><p><i>You better run for your life if you can, little girl</i></p><p><i>Hide your head in the sand, little girl</i></p><p><i>Catch you with another man, that's the end, little girl</i></p><p><br /></p><p>Um, yeah. And just in case you thought "the end" might just mean the end of the relationship: No. The first two lines of the song make that plain:</p><p><i>Well, I'd rather see you dead, little girl</i></p><p><i>Than to be with another man</i></p><p><br /></p><p>The reason I think this is even creepier than the song about the med student who shyly asks a girl on a date so that he can smash her skull in is that "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" is still a pretty fanciful situation. </p><p>The ruthlessly possessive and violent guy in "Run for Your Life", however, is all too real for hundreds of thousands of women who have been stalked, and sometimes attacked, even killed, by a jealous, abusive, obsessed ex-lover. For the Beatles to couch this as a fairly light-hearted pop song really did a disservice to the subject of violent domestic abuse and stalking. The singer talks about a woman he supposedly loves, but it's clear he knows nothing of love, only fear and control.</p><p>To me, that's not just creepy, it's horrifying.</p><p><br /></p><p>On a serious note: </p><p>If you or a loved one is suffering from domestic violence, help is available. Speak with someone today.</p><p>National Domestic Violence Hotline</p><p>Hours: 24/7. Languages: English, Spanish and 200+ through interpretation service </p><p>Call 1-800-799-7233 or <span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Text START to 88788</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">More info: </span><span style="color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://www.thehotline.org/">https://www.thehotline.org/</a></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/beatles-statue-sculpture-liverpool-7767458/</span></span></p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-66325626226485281472023-05-22T17:11:00.000-07:002023-05-22T17:12:54.853-07:00The Best in Writing: Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEwm206R8UIdZqVSz7r32K9osYLpuiFLFR5FezFxhcSrCecAjLy1UNpyESMdZloulcWStgxRLVG3vkTsJFq4i585vGbY1KCnWVa5afTQyqpKF_5LaSYmH4f6FWnteUVHXCioffn_jLbRRnti8n2xhsr-j890VgG2ozcdLK_hhHeCyU2tBNMZ-1d9th/s1125/pexels-photo-125510.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1125" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEwm206R8UIdZqVSz7r32K9osYLpuiFLFR5FezFxhcSrCecAjLy1UNpyESMdZloulcWStgxRLVG3vkTsJFq4i585vGbY1KCnWVa5afTQyqpKF_5LaSYmH4f6FWnteUVHXCioffn_jLbRRnti8n2xhsr-j890VgG2ozcdLK_hhHeCyU2tBNMZ-1d9th/w395-h263/pexels-photo-125510.jpeg" width="395" /></a></div><br /><p>One of my favorite literary passages
appears in the book <i>Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas</i> by Tom
Robbins. This book could perhaps be best described as a mystical
screwball comedy about the stock market. I know that’s a lot to
accommodate as a concept, but Robbins handles it deftly. His dialogue
is creative and funny, his deeply flawed characters are maddeningly
well-developed and his plot is twisted, yet consistent. But this is
not a book report, Dear Reader. This is my review of one jewel-like
passage that outshines not only the rest of the book but also the
complete works of many other authors.</p>
<p style="font-style: normal;">Okay, that’s a lot of hyperbole, but
now you may judge for yourself. The story is set in Seattle, that
bastion of dampness (yes, they have a stock market there), and in one
rather long but deliciously sensory paragraph, Robbins sums up the
endless, permeating rain:</p>
<p><i>This is Seattle, the brief, bright spring has stalled, and the
rains have returned. They have stolen down from the Sasquatch slopes.
They have risen with the geese from the marshes. It rains a
chattering of totem teeth. It rains a sweat lodge of ancient vapors.
The city, with its office towers and electricity, has been somehow
primitivized by the rain: every hue darkened, every wheel slowed,
every view foreshortened, every modern, commercial mind-set turned in
on itself, forced to rub shoulders with the old salamander who sleeps
in the soul. Hour after hour, the rain will fall; apartments,
decorated to be showplaces, will take on the character of burrows or
nests; and espresso carts, the little pumping stations of Seattle’s
lifeblood, will glow beneath their umbrellas like the huts of
shamans. Drops spiral from every cornice, every antenna, every
awning. Drops glisten on each plate-glass window, each tailgate, each
inch of neon that sizzles in the mist. Dense, penetrating, and
modifying, the rain narrows the gap between nature and civilization.
Forgotten longings stir in the crack.</i></p>
<p style="font-style: normal;">I love the way Robbins captures the
relentlessness of the drenching Seattle rain. Indeed, the use of one
long paragraph mimics the never-ending effect of an all-day soaking
rain. The onomatopoeia of “a chattering of totem teeth” evokes
the nonstop ticking of rain on every surface, and the metaphors of
the sweat lodge of ancient vapors and the espresso carts like the
huts of shamans keeps to the ancient and mystical theme of the rain
“primitivizing” the modern city with its timeless embrace. More
onomatopoeia: drops glisten, neon sizzles. Robbins ends the passage
by restating the triumph of ancient Nature over the edifices of
modernity and the awakening of the deeper self, perhaps the “old
salamander who sleeps in the soul”. In my personal opinion, this is
masterful, and I hope you enjoyed it, too.</p><p style="font-style: normal;"><br /></p><p style="font-style: normal;">Other literary reviews you might enjoy: </p><p><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-duma-key-by-stephen-king.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-duma-key-by-stephen-king.html</a></p><p><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/05/a-review-of-boston-darkens-by-michael.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/05/a-review-of-boston-darkens-by-michael.html</a></p><p><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-historian-by-elizabeth-kostova.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-historian-by-elizabeth-kostova.html</a></p><p style="font-style: normal;">Image Credit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/water-dew-in-clear-glass-panel-125510/</p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-45410265347648808642023-04-08T14:38:00.000-07:002023-04-08T14:38:39.295-07:00How to Avoid Tricky Grammar Mistakes: Confusing Plurals<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEBOjFQr1sYTOy5KD3ztSFvTzHrdGA3niclQ0Nq9pxSvlgJthySzKyP3VcgOtjSHa-tK2spLX6nhMzwDRMpxGY3PhgVGgrjxMfqWsdknPmLIA-w8-4C9kkkxEFc2GBfn0Po5vEPuAH11wsMZxgmlDMdmQTlVr-VIbOppIjwp11-y-WGDXMSqGs-n8X/s750/pexels-photo-3762807.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEBOjFQr1sYTOy5KD3ztSFvTzHrdGA3niclQ0Nq9pxSvlgJthySzKyP3VcgOtjSHa-tK2spLX6nhMzwDRMpxGY3PhgVGgrjxMfqWsdknPmLIA-w8-4C9kkkxEFc2GBfn0Po5vEPuAH11wsMZxgmlDMdmQTlVr-VIbOppIjwp11-y-WGDXMSqGs-n8X/s320/pexels-photo-3762807.webp" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.21in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span face="Merriweather, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
was watching a financial show on CNBC, and Eric, an executive with
the Siemens company, was a guest on the program. He was a
pulled-together chap, generally well-spoken, but he said something
that made me want to write another "Grammar Mistakes"
article. There are a lot of grammar and usage pitfalls in English, a
language cobbled together from many other languages, each with their
own sets of rules and pronunciation and spelling. I get it; it's
hard. That's why your Grammar Diva is here to help you!</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.21in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span face="Merriweather, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">So,
what was it that Eric said that made my toes curl, but not in the
good way? He used the word "processes". And he used it
correctly, more or less. The "less" part is that he
pronounced it "process-</span><b>eeze</b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span face="Merriweather, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">". </span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.21in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span face="Merriweather, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I hear this kind of thing all too often. People who are
intelligent and well-educated can frequently make this
error--especially when trying to sound intelligent and well-educated,
ironically enough--because they are aware that some plural words <i>do</i>
indeed end in an "eeze" sound, when ending in -es. However,
these words are few and far between. The staggering majority of words
that end in -es, for example, actresses, convalescences, sentences,
seances, buttresses, glasses, continuances, senses, and yes,
processes, are pronounced the easy way. Just say "es" with
that schwa sound and a soft (sibilant) or hard (like a "z")
"s". I don't think anyone thinks "actresses" is
pronounced "actresseeze", and you can safely assume most
other -es words also do not follow that pattern.</span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.21in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #333333;"> <span face="Merriweather, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Well,
which ones <i>do</i>, then? Obviously there are a few out there, setting a
confusing example. Words ending in -is, such as "crisis",
"synopsis", and "diagnosis" are the main
culprits, as these words change to an -es ending in their plural form
that is indeed pronounced "-eeze"; hence, "crises"
(KRY-seez), "synopses" (sin-OP-seez), and "diagnoses"
(DY-ag-NOH-seez). </span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.21in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span face="Merriweather, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By the way, please don't confuse "synopses"
with "synapses", whose -es ending is pronounced the normal,
non-eezy way (SIN-app-sez). Also please note that the -es ending is not an <i>addition</i>
to these words; it is a change, from -is to -es, plain and simple. I
cannot begin to count how many times I have heard some poor soul
utter the word "crisises" (pronounced "crisis-eeze",
of course). </span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.21in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span face="Merriweather, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Another
group of words that takes the "-eeze" ending in the plural
form are words ending in -ex, such as "index" (indices) and
"vortex" (vortices). So, if you hear someone referring to
"heat indices", she has not lost her mind, she is just
being learned. That said, however, it is perfectly okay to say
"indexes" and "vortexes", according to
Merriam-Webster and other sources. Also apparently according to my
Spell Check, which is furiously underlining the -ices words. Suck it
up, Spell Check! (Click here for my love/hate relationship with SpellCheck: </span></span></span></span></span><span face="Merriweather, sans-serif" style="color: #337ab7;"><span style="font-size: 17.3333px;">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2017/10/why-you-should-never-trust-spell-check.html</span></span><span face="Merriweather, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13pt;">)</span></p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.21in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span face="Merriweather, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-style: normal;">So,
to recap: Words whose singular form ends in </span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>-is</b></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> take
the </span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>-es</b></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> ending
that is pronounced "eeze". Words whose singular forms end
in </span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>-ex</b></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> can,
but do not have to, take the </span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>-ices </b></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-style: normal;">ending
that is pronounced "iss-eeze", as in "indices"
(IND-iss-eeze) and "vortices" (VORT-iss-eeze), mentioned
above. All other words ending in -ces, -ses or -sses are pronounced
the normal way, with a short "e," or really a schwa sound,
and a sibilant (hissing) "s" or "z" sound, not a
long "e" and a "z" sound. </span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.21in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span face="Merriweather, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-style: normal;">In other words, it's
very rare that you will be using the "eeze" ending. When in
doubt, go with the non-fancy pronunciation.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.21in;"><span face="Merriweather, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">So
pleeeeeze, dispense with the unnecessary "eeze"! Your
Grammar Diva thanks you.</span></span></p><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.21in;"><span face="Merriweather, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.21in;"><span face="Merriweather, sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Image credit: </span></span><span face="Merriweather, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 17.3333px;">https://www.pexels.com/photo/portrait-photo-of-woman-in-red-top-wearing-black-framed-eyeglasses-standing-in-front-of-white-background-thinking-3762807/</span></span></p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-73631984510006220412023-02-21T19:07:00.000-08:002023-02-21T19:08:05.645-08:00Movie Review - Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo1Sffp1O8V7PV18CvVQckjamLnFMkoCvHVst7m96aavQoJptT8UAI66NGX-1zb5tUFeUoqUEgesiWOY0oc2DHjOky08nUOEzojjWlfB9nrVOca5hk1AThEUEjCzR0mTKrpDYnlZC1ZYvVgfw8Z9DhbL1SIhmu8fF12hKHbDHP96D9CwKY0YEowPbN/s750/pexels-photo-15537421.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="563" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo1Sffp1O8V7PV18CvVQckjamLnFMkoCvHVst7m96aavQoJptT8UAI66NGX-1zb5tUFeUoqUEgesiWOY0oc2DHjOky08nUOEzojjWlfB9nrVOca5hk1AThEUEjCzR0mTKrpDYnlZC1ZYvVgfw8Z9DhbL1SIhmu8fF12hKHbDHP96D9CwKY0YEowPbN/w281-h375/pexels-photo-15537421.jpeg" width="281" /></a></div><br /><p><i style="font-family: inherit;">Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> is the sequel to 2010's </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, both based on books from a wildly popular YA fiction series penned by Rick Riordan. This film has rather unfortunate ratings: </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-line;">5.7/10 on IMDb, </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-line;">42% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a paltry </span><span font-family:="" inherit="" pre-line="" white-space:="">39% on Metacritic. These are well-deserved, because as we know, the success of a book may not guarantee the success of a movie. A</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">nd boy, did they take an appealing concept, likable characters and great special effects and completely ruin it with a script that </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">stank</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></p><p>I don't want to give spoilers, here, so I will try to be kind of vague, although I will state unequivocally that I would <i>not</i> recommend watching this movie. It's 106 minutes of your life that you can't get back; I'm just saying.</p><p>Throughout the entire movie, characters who are supposedly on an urgent quest to save not only the world in general, but the life of a very special individual in particular, show <i>no</i> sense of urgency in getting there. They stop to ask questions or get backstory when they could be actually moving right along <i>while</i> doing that. In one particularly urgent case, Percy stops to have a bonding moment when he could be quickly sprinting the last ten feet or so to prevent something that could <i>destroy the world</i>.</p><p>At other times, characters seem ridiculously oblivious: When Percy is pursued by a threat to the demigod kids' camp, he faces it down <i>alone</i>, even though everyone in camp could (and <i>should</i>) be rushing to his aid. After all, they're all demigods and should be well-qualified to assist him. Indeed, when he returns to camp, no one even <i>asks</i> him what happened! </p><p>There are plenty of other complete lapses in judgment and utterly stunning flubs: One character asks for help catching the bad guy's yacht while Percy seems helpless and hopeless, and yet soon after, we see that he had more than enough personal power to do that on his own. And an island and a whirlpool that were firmly established in the waters around ancient Greece show up in the Bermuda Triangle, of all places. Yikes!</p><p>The whole thing is just a mess. The producers who approved Marc Guggenheim's plothole-ridden screenplay should be slapped twice, and director Thor Freudenthal, who stuck with it instead of spotting the obvious inconsistencies, should be sent to bed without supper. It's mortifying, and I'm sure Rick Riordan can't be too pleased. The movie clearly sets up another installment to follow, but this sequel was such a wild mess that no more movies have been made. The popularity of the books remain, though, and there have since been some shorts, an animated, feature, and a miniseries. Apparently, a TV series is in production and planned for release in 2024. Let's hope it doesn't insult our intelligence like <i>Sea of Monsters</i>, which would be better off sinking back under the surface without a trace. </p><p><br /></p><p>Here are some reviews of things I didn't hate:</p><p><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/04/review-of-kaiser-chiefs-cd-yours-truly.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/04/review-of-kaiser-chiefs-cd-yours-truly.html</a></p><p><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/02/my-review-of-beyond-thickburger-from.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/02/my-review-of-beyond-thickburger-from.html</a></p><p><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-historian-by-elizabeth-kostova.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-historian-by-elizabeth-kostova.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Image Credit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/underwater-photo-of-bubbles-15537421/</p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-45406965934299620762023-02-17T19:51:00.003-08:002023-02-17T19:52:01.733-08:00What is SEO, and How Can It Help Me Earn Money? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_AV1QvV9CLjRSCCyYZJrzaLo1VNKjrNrWqeRMtiyayMu5NfEypqm3Re5kTGvcFuvFGK7sok0mja1ezSDK9wnf-qnNZDceCMcQ0Lxy2pd2x9jxXNyMxiQeJahK60Aol9hRStlOsr75gIM3AYbC1ZJwtm1ac8SOY32LoUDtyK4XrUHARZUSy4Zw7k_a/s1125/pexels-photo-2068975.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1125" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_AV1QvV9CLjRSCCyYZJrzaLo1VNKjrNrWqeRMtiyayMu5NfEypqm3Re5kTGvcFuvFGK7sok0mja1ezSDK9wnf-qnNZDceCMcQ0Lxy2pd2x9jxXNyMxiQeJahK60Aol9hRStlOsr75gIM3AYbC1ZJwtm1ac8SOY32LoUDtyK4XrUHARZUSy4Zw7k_a/w413-h275/pexels-photo-2068975.jpeg" width="413" /></a></div><br /><p>If you have your own website or work as an online content producer who earns money for page views, you understand that the money part is all about website traffic, or how many people visit and view the content (and, therefore, the ads). On some content production sites, writers can get some income from socializing with each other and earn money that way, but the real money is in outside traffic. There are already millions, if not billions, of internet users out there from whom you can draw views, if you know the secrets of SEO to increase your traffic.</p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Just What is SEO, Exactly?</b></p><p>SEO stands for "search engine optimization". It refers specifically to how easy your website is to find by using a search engine like Google or Bing. Search engine optimization relies on the use of various techniques, including the use of keywords, which are words that are likely to be entered into the search engine by the person who is looking for information. </p><p>For example, a person who is planning to travel to Mexico for the first time and wants to make sure they book a decent hotel sight unseen may enter the following search criteria: "hotel reviews Guadalajara Mexico". If your website features reviews of hotels in Guadalajara, you will want to feature those keywords prominently enough for the search engine to bring your website up near the top of the search results.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>How Does SEO Benefit Me?</b></p><p>As you can imagine, there are a lot of websites out there fighting for real estate on the search results pages. Some popular terms can bring up literally millions of hits on Google, and potential customers certainly won't waste their time checking more than the first page or two of results. The use of SEO practices can increase your visibility and thereby your traffic. Even your website's URL can influence how easily potential business can find you.</p><p><br /></p><p>Image credit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-100-us-dollar-banknotes-2068975/</p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-62193295388742168722022-12-24T15:33:00.000-08:002022-12-24T15:34:19.762-08:00How about Some Home-Grown Olive Oil? It Could Save Your Health--and the Planet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4qlLq-nFBXk_wjlRxcDrDqegoIbM0bZQpt8oz-ug5AxskD_UoDQB2Nps1T6SxaRvj6eUWMic8-cESz1p69y5f9VbvZ9nsIeTgn7XgyfYwlJPwidxlqZTsUg-aTJYqpBDgqjPYmFiCdFmvQLnlEkSX8mJuAeki0MeiKk-iuSTUDw4q6BSDgOrIhc91/s960/olives-287687_960_720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4qlLq-nFBXk_wjlRxcDrDqegoIbM0bZQpt8oz-ug5AxskD_UoDQB2Nps1T6SxaRvj6eUWMic8-cESz1p69y5f9VbvZ9nsIeTgn7XgyfYwlJPwidxlqZTsUg-aTJYqpBDgqjPYmFiCdFmvQLnlEkSX8mJuAeki0MeiKk-iuSTUDw4q6BSDgOrIhc91/s320/olives-287687_960_720.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Like many people around the world, I use olive oil for cooking, not only because it is healthy, but also because it is yummy. I wouldn't use it to make cookies or brownies, but it's just perfect for anything savory, from meat to veggies to omelets. Olive oil consumption in the United States has been rising steadily because of people like me, who heard about the health benefits, tried it, and liked it. The United States imports nearly 300,000 tons of olive oil every year. That's a whole lot of pesto, yes?</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Thing is, we can actually make olive oil right here in this country, and we do. I always pictured the olive as an exotic Mediterranean fruit (yep, it's a fruit--has a pit and grows on trees, just like cherries!), but I have recently found out that we produce about 12,000 tons of olive oil annually right here in this country. In the state of Texas, for example, olive oil production has grown from zero in 2002 to 54 tons in 2012, and the number of olive trees is estimated to have grown from 250,000 in 2012 to 1,500,000 in 2013, according to a report released by the University of Texas at San Antonio. The Texas Association of Olive Oil (TXAOO), established in 2016, works with the Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas A&M AgriLife and the American Olive Oil Producers Association to combine all segments of the olive industry together in one organization to effectively work to promote and develop the Texas olive oil industry.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">I am personally happy to hear this: As we know, Texas has long been devoted to oil production of a different kind, and with the use of fossil fuels such a major contributor to global climate change, some drastic swings toward renewable energy will eventually have to be made. Right now, the oil and gas boom is bigger than ever within the United States, as we try to become less dependent on foreign imports, but it is necessary to move away from that, for a brighter (and cleaner!) future. Texas is developing renewable industries, such as solar arrays and wind fields, but conservatives are fighting against federal funding for such projects. I don't think anyone is raising objections to olive farming, however, so before the fossil-fuel-based economy collapses, let's get something else going. Something that feels better.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Something that <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">smells </em>better!</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Image Credit</strong><span style="background-color: white;"> » </span><a class="vglnk" href="http://pixabay.com/en/olives-olive-tree-olive-tree-287687/" rel="nofollow" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #009d57; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">http</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">://</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">pixabay</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">.</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">com</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">/</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">en</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">/</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">olives</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">-</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">olive</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">-</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">tree</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">-</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">olive</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">-</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">tree</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">-</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">287687</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">/</span></a></p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-79975950950913523552022-11-12T12:01:00.003-08:002022-11-12T19:53:13.310-08:00The Largest Seed in the World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOMhcXBTeh6a1YcuSohmKLPrKoM7BwPPro165-AZBw-y-PSjXrecBw2aag3b94kap0ms8eWfW0shQ1JmID9G4H-IXs4F8v9Xo7OaLccG1p0VXcGtWsnBG-hI1BXeudXTUqRoMA7jyJUD78PXyTtjsbraw0MARyJbhiwYZVoUPhMmzEdqAaWlALbNe/s600/450px-Female_coco_de_mer_growth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOMhcXBTeh6a1YcuSohmKLPrKoM7BwPPro165-AZBw-y-PSjXrecBw2aag3b94kap0ms8eWfW0shQ1JmID9G4H-IXs4F8v9Xo7OaLccG1p0VXcGtWsnBG-hI1BXeudXTUqRoMA7jyJUD78PXyTtjsbraw0MARyJbhiwYZVoUPhMmzEdqAaWlALbNe/s320/450px-Female_coco_de_mer_growth.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Since I wrote about the smallest seed in the world (<a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-smallest-seed-in-world.html"> <span style="color: #009d57;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box;">click here for that</span></span><span style="color: #009d57;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></span></a>), I thought it only fitting that I would also tell you of the largest seed in the world, which is the Coco de Mer, or "sea coconut". With the Latin name of <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Lodoicea maldivica </em>, it is the seed of a palm tree native to the Seychelles islands, which are located in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar, off the eastern coast of the African continent.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Unlike the orchid Aerides odorata, which is found throughout the Asian continent (although endangered), the Coco de Mer is only found on two of the islands in the Seychelles, having gone extinct from the three others on which it was formerly found. Unfortunately, the Coco de Mer is also on IUCN's Red List as a species in danger of extinction.</p><p><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The Coco de Mer can grow to be 44 pounds, which is the typical average weight of a six-year-old child, so that's a very big seed! And the Coco de Mer seed takes longer than a child to get to that weight, too: it can take up to ten years for the Coco de Mer seed to mature! So there you have it; now you know about the biggest seed in the world and the smallest seed in the world.</span> </p><p>Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Female_coco_de_mer_growth.jpg</p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-5941365645528276762022-11-12T11:58:00.005-08:002022-11-12T12:03:24.776-08:00The Smallest Seed in the World<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDvTKKXXMHre32W0zNEnbxj4lMX6aFABCVomvOk7EJiNtZxtBaLVrYBFhebwSRGsxSzAUsBdbKc4_5fQWVdhOhGR5kXRs6zkb7WCGKq6sbcjvoCMJ9umxbbxaSfKmU89Y3eyv_hdA0ty2NrgeV47HYSUfF2lT_jWdLdye4GybMq9lLmH314cjVyDr4/s600/Aerides_odorata0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDvTKKXXMHre32W0zNEnbxj4lMX6aFABCVomvOk7EJiNtZxtBaLVrYBFhebwSRGsxSzAUsBdbKc4_5fQWVdhOhGR5kXRs6zkb7WCGKq6sbcjvoCMJ9umxbbxaSfKmU89Y3eyv_hdA0ty2NrgeV47HYSUfF2lT_jWdLdye4GybMq9lLmH314cjVyDr4/w435-h290/Aerides_odorata0.jpg" width="435" /></a></div><br /><span face=""Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #5c5c5c; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span face=""Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #5c5c5c; font-size: 16px;">There are 300,000 species of seed-bearing plants in the world that we know of. Among these, the smallest seed belongs to an orchid known as</span><span face=""Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #5c5c5c; font-size: 16px;"> </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Aerides odorata </em><span face=""Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #5c5c5c; font-size: 16px;">. This flowering plant lives in areas across China, Southeast Asia, and the Phillippines, preferring a rainforest-type habitat. The seed of the</span><span face=""Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #5c5c5c; font-size: 16px;"> </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Aerides odorata </em><span face=""Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #5c5c5c; font-size: 16px;">is only 0.2 millimeters in length. That may be a little hard to picture, so here is more of a visual: It takes over three million</span><span face=""Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #5c5c5c; font-size: 16px;"> </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Aerides odorata </em><span face=""Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #5c5c5c; font-size: 16px;">seeds to make up one gram--3,300,000, to be exact! The seed is truly miniscule--almost microscopic!</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Unfortunately, due to habitat loss, this fragile orchid is on the IUCN Red List of endangered species, so we need to try to do all we can to prevent more destruction of native subtropical and tropical forests, or the beautiful orchid with the world's smallest seeds may become extinct.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">And now <a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-largest-seed-in-world.html" rel="nofollow" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #009d57; text-decoration-line: none;">click here </a>for the world's BIGGEST seed!</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #5c5c5c;">Image credit https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aerides_odorata0.jpg</span></p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-28691308792764450032022-08-18T18:42:00.000-07:002022-11-12T19:54:03.798-08:00Tips to Avoid "Mystery Fish Deaths" in Your Home Freshwater Aquarium<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesKArVULZM6jdNT57jh1cnkvwjUU4kqBhFqz6F85AyeEb1pINWzqdppGz7qg0phfi0h3yIPmhhNmoxTKEGIPIJjtWENafyC_150orRrSLtG66sZhCBkrG-ZQ9-hDVXPI5E8CMS70YZweUpLohUZdlvQZJEhm0l1NULNLCKK61PeDJSeMFl2RP8YKU/s960/fish-235784_960_720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesKArVULZM6jdNT57jh1cnkvwjUU4kqBhFqz6F85AyeEb1pINWzqdppGz7qg0phfi0h3yIPmhhNmoxTKEGIPIJjtWENafyC_150orRrSLtG66sZhCBkrG-ZQ9-hDVXPI5E8CMS70YZweUpLohUZdlvQZJEhm0l1NULNLCKK61PeDJSeMFl2RP8YKU/w434-h289/fish-235784_960_720.jpg" width="434" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>A friend was disappointed and confused because her newly-purchased goldfish all died after just a few days, and she had no idea why. I kept fish for years, and I remember having such experiences myself. I will pass on the advice I gave to her, in case you are thinking of getting fish, or if you are having problems with "mystery deaths", as well:</div><div><br /></div><div>Three things can kill fish: poor water quality, disease, and predators. "Mystery deaths" are usually due to water quality, as you would probably notice signs of disease or predation. This is either because there is chlorine in the water, the pH balance is wrong, ammonia is building up in the water, or there is not enough oxygen.</div><div><br /></div><div>1) To get chlorine out of water, just "age" the water by letting it sit around in a bucket for a couple of days before you put it in the tank, and the chlorine will dissipate. Also, that will bring it to room temperature, so it will not shock the fish.</div><div><br /></div><div>2) To check the pH balance, get a test kit, which will come with some treatment drops to adjust the pH. Most goldfish prefer a pH of 6.5 - 7.0. If you need to adjust the pH, do it <i>slowly</i>, because a sudden change can also kill your fish. Also, test your tap water to see if it has a high or low pH to start with--then you will know how water changes will swing the balance.</div><div><br /></div><div>3) The most likely problem is ammonia buildup, because freshwater fish, and especially goldfish, pee a lot, and I think they would have died sooner if it were a chlorine or pH problem. Make sure your filter has some material that absorbs ammonia. There are ammonia test kits, too; you can check to see if the levels are safe. If they aren't, best thing to do is change the water, but not all of it: Only change about 10% of the water at a time (you should do this once a week, anyway). Just make sure to use the water that has been aged in the bucket, so there is no chlorine.</div><div><br /></div><div>4) It's also possible that there wasn't enough oxygen in the water. Yes, fish actually breathe oxygen, they just do it after it has dissolved in water. To properly oxygenate the water, make sure your tank has a large surface area (that's where the air gets in--if your fish are all hanging out at the surface, they might not be hungry--they might be gasping for air! If there's not enough oxygen in the water, some fish get desperate enough to gulp air at the surface). </div><div><br /></div><div>Having an air bubbler helps a lot, but the surface area is very important--goldfish bowls are very bad, because they have a small surface area when they are filled up. If you have a bowl, make sure the water level is below the upper curve of the bowl so that the surface area is larger. But it's really best to avoid bowls altogether - they are just too small. The only fish that does okay in a bowl is the betta or Siamese fighting fish, because they breather from the surface. You should still make sure the bowl is much bigger than the kind they sell them in. It's cruel to keep a fish in such a tiny container. </div><div><br /></div><div>5) Lastly, make very sure not to get any foreign matter or substances in the water. Soap is extremely deadly to fish, so don't clean around the tank with soaps, cleansers, or sprays. Make sure that little children don't have access to the tank, as a toddler may try to feed the fish with inappropriate items. When decorating the tank, use only items that are designed for doing so, as paint or substances from non-aquarium-safe objects could poison the fish. Even the approved decorations and equipment should be thoroughly washed (no soap! Just hot water and maybe a bit of bleach - thoroughly rinse) before putting in the tank. </div><div><br /></div><div>This probably sounds like a lot of work, and it is. Fish aren't just for decoration--like any other pets, you really have to be willing to take care of them. It's best to buy a good book on aquarium keeping, and to get the tank ready in advance before purchasing the fish. Good luck!</div><div><br /></div><div>Image Credit » http://pixabay.com/en/fish-goldfish-freshwater-fish-235784/ by Hans</div>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-50909341170214301562022-07-24T17:27:00.002-07:002022-11-12T19:54:34.674-08:00A Guard at the Prague Castle, Wherein the Crown Jewels of Bohemia, Including the Crown and Sword of Saint Wenceslas, Who Was a Good King but Who Had a Terrible Brother<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsMqcB1t-225qGXVCCOZx-afrj3Uw3TGr6VhTg_dW_OHiyiUHEKbWL5sMG9XR4OWs4pFRwWoqqPXAF_g70kOuIndlFcxAxYz7P4qNHCFKVMDeQ55kMhkmCA-nHtp4fjf5LUlTYv5Ec2DGlfGjHCH_kJnDIH1SPblAcDNiXlbm3DgeGkEojnJ4v1cVj/s785/Guard_at_the_Prague_castle,_Prague_-_7620_(cropped).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="500" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsMqcB1t-225qGXVCCOZx-afrj3Uw3TGr6VhTg_dW_OHiyiUHEKbWL5sMG9XR4OWs4pFRwWoqqPXAF_g70kOuIndlFcxAxYz7P4qNHCFKVMDeQ55kMhkmCA-nHtp4fjf5LUlTYv5Ec2DGlfGjHCH_kJnDIH1SPblAcDNiXlbm3DgeGkEojnJ4v1cVj/w240-h376/Guard_at_the_Prague_castle,_Prague_-_7620_(cropped).jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Good day! Today's internet rabbit hole
started with the Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Day for July 24,
2022, above, titled “A Guard at Prague Castle, Prague.” I admired
his ornate uniform and noted his very serious demeanor and wondered
what his name was and what his story was. His name might be Milo<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">š
(pronounced MEE-lowsh)</span>, like Czech director Milo<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">š</span>
Forman, from whose films I remember a grand total of one word in
Czech, which is <i>ahoj</i>. This one is easy to remember, because it
is pronounced like “ahoy”, and why, yes, it does mean “hello”.
So if you say “Ahoy, Mate”, maybe you're speaking Czech,
Australian, and Old-timey Sailor. Anyway, if you're going to know
only one word in Czech, that's a useful one.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Since maybe-Milo<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">š</span>'s
uniform was so splendid and he looked so serious about doing his job,
I wanted to get a good look at Prague Castle and learn a bit more
about it, because it's clearly a very big deal. Prague Castle, which
is located in the Czech Republic, was built in the 9<sup>th</sup>
century. Holy clams, that's old. And just look at this thing – it's
so sprawling and fancy:</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkw5yTxm8UC-8Oft6qWbSNd3WZKxJPnrY6kRAx8PGOXWScrieDJk74JJFYmnCfohOcO1vcaXNKsGVrzoEvMX1wzEn_bZlWNpda21Q7nAldw61UD5-UWepxG73deaRg-61X0-aygFkQi-ggwQgtOd-7fKSeER1ftxcz1woMtIuFr8VnF-g61QKNDYGj/s300/Czech-2013-Prague-View_from_Charles_Bridge_of_Prague_Castle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="300" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkw5yTxm8UC-8Oft6qWbSNd3WZKxJPnrY6kRAx8PGOXWScrieDJk74JJFYmnCfohOcO1vcaXNKsGVrzoEvMX1wzEn_bZlWNpda21Q7nAldw61UD5-UWepxG73deaRg-61X0-aygFkQi-ggwQgtOd-7fKSeER1ftxcz1woMtIuFr8VnF-g61QKNDYGj/w413-h344/Czech-2013-Prague-View_from_Charles_Bridge_of_Prague_Castle.jpg" width="413" /></a></div><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I wasn't wrong about it
being a big deal: it holds a position in The Guinness Book of World
Records for being the largest ancient castle in the world, at 750,000
square feet (that's 70,000 square meters for you, uh,
rest-of-the-world people). For comparison, Neuschwanstein Castle is a
tiny baby ,at 65,000 square feet and a birthdate of 1869. Prague
Castle is open to tourists and receives almost two million visitors
annually. So no doubt there are many, many more serious and
ornately-clad guards like maybe-Milo<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">š</span>.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">One of the things they are so serious
about guarding is the Bohemian Crown Jewels, which reside in Prague
Castle. The Bohemian Crown Jewels are also called the Czech Crown
Jewels, but Bohemia sounds more romantic. They are the somewhat
standard crown, orb and sceptre, but also contain a gold reliquary
cross and the Sword of Saint Wenceslas. Yes, sometimes saints can
have swords, mainly if they used to be kings (or dukes, anyway; stay
tuned). The crown is also the Crown of Saint Wenceslas, although it
was originally made for the coronation of Charles the Fourth in 1347.
Clearly Wenceslas was much cooler. Sorry, Chuck.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Now, just in case “king” and
“Wenceslas” ring a bell for you, you get a cookie, because this
is indeed the Good King Wenceslas about whom the famous Christmas
carol (sung surprisingly well by Prime Minister Hugh Grant's driver
in the movie <i>Love Actually</i>)was written. And it's no surprise,
because you have to be pretty good to become a saint. </p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Wenceslas (also
spelled Wenceslaus, because it's just a transliteration of the
original Czech, anyway) wasn't actually a king until after he was
dead (we'll get to that). He was the Duke of Bohemia in the 10<sup>th</sup>
century, from AD 921 until about 935 (or possibly 929, because
records were a bit spotty back then). He had a younger brother who
was known as Boleslaus the Cruel and who was not nearly as popular,
not just because of his name but mostly because he was probably
responsible for Wenceslas's death in maybe-935 after a quarrel
(unsurprisingly, alcohol was thought to be involved).</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Wenceslas had much better public
relations than Boleslaus, and his legend for awesomeness grew
exponentially after his death until he was posthumously made a king
and subsequently canonized as a saint and further, made patron saint of the Czech Republic, although of course it wasn't called that at the time. It's amazing what a very
catchy carol will do for you (this is possibly the birthplace of the
commercial jingle). By the way, the carol in question was not actually a Christmas carol but was written instead for the Catholic feast day of Saint Stephen, which as you can
find out <a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/12/your-december-birthday-december.html">here</a>
is actually on December 26<sup>th</sup> (Hence the opening line “Good
King Wenceslas looked out/On the Feast of Stephen”), but hey, close
enough.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Guard mage from Wikimedia Commons, free
use with attribution of the author: By © Jorge
Royan / http://www.royan.com.ar, CC BY-SA 3.0,
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113224274">https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113224274</a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Castle image from Wikimedia Commons,
free use with attribution of the author: By <span style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Andrew
Shiva / Wikipedia / </span></span></span><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"><span style="color: #3366bb;"><span style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">CC
BY-SA 4.0</span></span></span></span></a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For
way more information than I gave you on any of these subjects, please
see: </span></span>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Castle"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Castle</span></span></a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_crown_jewels"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_crown_jewels</span></span></a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenceslaus_I,_Duke_of_Bohemia"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenceslaus_I,_Duke_of_Bohemia</span></span></a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Stephen%27s_Day"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Stephen%27s_Day</span></span></a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-33780140857835177062022-06-12T12:46:00.004-07:002022-07-10T20:01:25.918-07:00A Quick and Easy Way to Take Metamucil Fiber Powder<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7s4ndGRg15js6jNPVQvozRJnS5XpmmPP4FYSObot4F--6ZLdUO3RQCLOCrau5YwigpblqbqaCHy0iz9Podrk1B3rNYPt48r4IwfxR9NwVNQrfRhOQw9NKdEiRpbyzf0ZartTT5PXYlTk-P32FjbsXjly89Iob98lkSJ2jlk-4pb0XmdaTZIBzjXc3/s720/orange-juice-67556_960_720.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="506" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7s4ndGRg15js6jNPVQvozRJnS5XpmmPP4FYSObot4F--6ZLdUO3RQCLOCrau5YwigpblqbqaCHy0iz9Podrk1B3rNYPt48r4IwfxR9NwVNQrfRhOQw9NKdEiRpbyzf0ZartTT5PXYlTk-P32FjbsXjly89Iob98lkSJ2jlk-4pb0XmdaTZIBzjXc3/s320/orange-juice-67556_960_720.webp" width="225" /></a></div><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><p><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p>There are commercials out there that make fun of Metamucil as being "thick and gritty" and urge you to take a pill instead, but frankly, I stand by the effectiveness of Metamucil, or as I affectionately refer to it, "poo powder". However, since the directions do indicate that you should drink eight ounces of water with your heaping teaspoon of Metamucil, and yes, you do need to drink it fast before that powder starts to thicken up (it doesn't really get "gritty", but it sure does get thick!), what's a loyal Metamucil fan like myself to do? Just grin and chug it?</span><p></p><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Nah, you don't have to do that. I figured out a very quick and easy way to take Metamucil powder without the agony of chugging down a large glass of rapidly-thickening glop. Now, don't smack yourself in the forehead TOO hard, because the "secret" is pretty simple: instead of using an eight-ounce glass and filling it with water, simply use a four-ounce glass. Put the teaspoonful of powder in the smaller glass, then fill it with four ounces of water and stir well. The mixture might be a little stronger to taste, but you can drink it down in a flash before it gets thick at all. Once you've downed the initial mixture, simply refill the glass with your other four ounces of water, and drink at a normal pace--no chugging required!</span><div><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Image credit: </span><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">https://pixabay.com/photos/orange-juice-juice-vitamins-drink-67556/</span></div>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-56024702212055374902022-05-30T10:00:00.002-07:002022-11-12T19:55:29.134-08:00Review of Your Head is a Houseboat by Campbell Walker, aka Struthless<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpSp9i8Gjf7UF28TvIlE4KPLtp0X9qvSHDN7RqCl4wC5FuSDpePFpzIEG4lWVsAc4vEVldUuTdz7XK6hydFnPH0EdR1Dvlu1TRR8H9y2INCsPus0rlqd8LRChvGrs01JPNW-zgwE-2839t0JBlQwMmVHEDV9IyXmmLBhAiU-5cy3y30EvTH0NNYlz/s4032/20220530_120317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpSp9i8Gjf7UF28TvIlE4KPLtp0X9qvSHDN7RqCl4wC5FuSDpePFpzIEG4lWVsAc4vEVldUuTdz7XK6hydFnPH0EdR1Dvlu1TRR8H9y2INCsPus0rlqd8LRChvGrs01JPNW-zgwE-2839t0JBlQwMmVHEDV9IyXmmLBhAiU-5cy3y30EvTH0NNYlz/s320/20220530_120317.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I found Campbell “Cam” Walker,
known online as Struthless, on YouTube a couple of years ago. I can't
remember whether his channel was recommended by a friend or by
YouTube's algorithm, which no doubt noticed that I was enjoying the
channels of my fellow artists (whichever/whoever it was, <i>thank
you!!</i>). I initially followed him because he had a lot of great
art videos, but I noticed that besides having really good advice
about producing art, he also just had really good advice, period,
about life in general. I look forward to his videos about how to
handle life as much as his videos about how to get past creative
blocks or how to commercialize your art. I also enjoy the window that
he allows us into his own life, and I have followed his successes
with his art ventures and his personal growth, as well as his sweet
and supportive relationship with his partner, Felicity.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">And then, along with all his other
projects, came the book, <i>Your Head is a Houseboat</i>. Feeling
like I had derived so much value from watching his YouTube channel, I
bought the book to offer <i>my</i> support. And just like his
channel, the book has all the personality, the quirky flair, and the
honest, down-to-earth helpfulness I've come to know and love from the
Struthless channel. So now, here is my review, for those of you who
would like to know more about the experience of reading <i>Your Head
is a Houseboat</i>.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As with his videos, Cam starts out with
a bit of a disclaimer in the foreword, which essentially says, “I'm
not an expert, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but these are
things that have worked for me and might work for you, too.” We
then venture into the table of contents, which starts off with a
bang, as Chapter One is called YOU'RE GOING TO DIE. I find this
hilarious, because I know it's going to be a shot of philosophy and
common sense in a let's-just-get-this-established-right-up-front kind
of way. The contents are arranged in a very appealing way, with
colorful graphic blocks.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This book is a very easy read. The
pages are not dense with text, owing both to the delightful
illustrations and also to the light, open font (it's not identified
that I could see, but it looks like Century Gothic). So it's
physically easy to read, but it's also easy to absorb and understand;
there is plenty of information, but it's parcelled out in easy chunks
in a conversational tone that is very much the way Cam presents in
his Struthless channel videos. Things are explained with clarity but
not a trace of self-importance; this is less like a lecture and more
like advice from a friend who is really excited to share what he has
learned with you so that you can enjoy the benefit, as well.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>Your Head is a Houseboat</i> is not
just funny and entertaining, it is enlightening and helpful, as well.
There are useful exercises in each section that you should absolutely
do (not just initially, but any time you might need them), but even
simply reading the book will provide you with very valuable insight
into the inner workings of your very own houseboat and how to tidy it
up so you can navigate that ocean out there. Oh, look at me, all
caught up in the metaphor – well, it's <i>catchy!</i></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Link to the Struthless YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/struthless</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Reviews of other books you might like:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/04/review-of-almost-green-how-i-saved-16th.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/04/review-of-almost-green-how-i-saved-16th.html
</a></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/01/review-of-dexter-in-dark-by-jeff-lindsay.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/01/review-of-dexter-in-dark-by-jeff-lindsay.html</a></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-duma-key-by-stephen-king.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-duma-key-by-stephen-king.html</a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-83195819824690504412022-05-21T13:16:00.002-07:002022-11-12T19:56:08.592-08:00A Review of Boston Darkens by Michael Kravitz<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMCedxBHNtjoVUi1ZAc1qWYW23mE794anMvIb2eGwunFNLusZi8kE56mC6Oa2RVbMUALoVBqDBQNPCapgwd_EPqBwfq5fIoS0Vn6K3TteH55j0ea0m9tD0mWJY85Rrm1rqQd7mf_50Rnof_Zas1dbgyhbl0OPpX7tAVP4UmUpTCo6_X8JxMxJ-AXu/s3712/Boston%20Darkens.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3712" data-original-width="2624" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMCedxBHNtjoVUi1ZAc1qWYW23mE794anMvIb2eGwunFNLusZi8kE56mC6Oa2RVbMUALoVBqDBQNPCapgwd_EPqBwfq5fIoS0Vn6K3TteH55j0ea0m9tD0mWJY85Rrm1rqQd7mf_50Rnof_Zas1dbgyhbl0OPpX7tAVP4UmUpTCo6_X8JxMxJ-AXu/s320/Boston%20Darkens.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>Boston Darkens</i> is a
semi-post-apocalyptic story of practical survival after the
detonation (by whom, it is never said) of an electromagnetic pulse
(EMP) nuclear weapon. The protagonist is Ben Randal, a middle-aged
man who lives in a comfortable suburban neighborhood. When the EMP
strike occurs, everyone is rendered helpless, and he goes full
alpha-male and takes it upon himself to organize everyone. Someone
has to do it, right? <br /><br />The EMP has taken anything that contains
electronics offline, which includes most cars. Handily enough, he has
access to a classic car that his son has been restoring, a 1956 Buick
Riviera. This car's systems aren't controlled by electronics, and so
it has been unaffected by the pulse. Faced with a dwindling supply of
water, Ben decides to make a run to a water source in Connecticut,
taking along his teenage daughter and her best friend, a harrowing
trip that will only be the first of the book.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This is a quest story, perhaps modeled
after a book like <i>The Stand</i>, but that is where the comparison
stops. Kravitz's writing is not in itself bad, but his
characterizations are extraordinarily off-putting. There is a
disturbing passage in which Ben “jokingly” indulges in some
grade-A xenophobia, including thinly-veiled Islamophobia. Many female
characters aren't even named, just reduced to judgmental nicknames
like “the divorcee” and “the angry bitch”. His own wife is
portrayed as irrational and difficult, even though the disrespectful
way that he treats her isn't acknowledged as such; we just hear his
internal whining about her behavior, as though he had naught to do
with it. And at one point, he contemplates “giving” his son a
woman, as though women were utilitarian objects for use in sexual
training.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This rather barbaric outlook isn't
terribly surprising and is consistent with his ultra-conservative,
he-man character. Unfortunately, we're supposed to like the main
character of a story enough to care what happens to them, and I can't
tamp down my annoyance with this dude enough. The two girls are
pretty cool, but in Kravitz's hands, they aren't fully-realized
characters so much as props; the Black best friend, for example, is
given a storyline in which she is the child of a single mom who wants
her daughter to, and I quote, “get out of the ghetto life”, so
it's pretty clear that she exists so that Ben can play White savior.
If the friend, Vivian, had simply been a classmate of equal
socioeconomic status and hadn't been cast as such a stereotype, it
would have been nice to see the representation. As it is, it seems
her presence is simply there to beatify the main character.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The idea of an EMP nuke and how people
would be challenged to deal with the aftermath of not being able to
rely on computers and other electronics is interesting, though, and
it could really launch an entire series of books dealing with how
society would have to be reformed and reinvented. However, I would
prefer that series not feature such judgmental, self-righteous, and
misogynistic characters, unless they are the villains, not the
heroes, of the story.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I found this concept intriguing enough
to do a little research on EMP nukes, because I wondered exactly what
is an EMP nuke—is that a thing that is possible? What would
actually happen? I found a very informative entry on Wikipedia, here:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse</a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Electromagnetic pulses have been
associated with nuclear explosions since the beginning. The first
nuclear tests shielded the electronics because Enrico Fermi predicted
that they could be damaged by the EMP. Indeed, after the war, as
testing continued, the power of a nuclear EMP was demonstrated in the
Starfish Prime test. From Wikipedia:</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
July 1962, the US carried out the </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish_Prime"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Starfish
Prime</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"> </span><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">test,
exploding a 1.44 </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNT_equivalent"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Mt</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"> </span><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">(6.0 </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joule"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">PJ</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">)
bomb 400 kilometres (250 mi; 1,300,000 ft) above the
mid-Pacific Ocean. This demonstrated that the effects of
a </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-altitude_nuclear_explosion"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">high-altitude
nuclear explosion</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"> </span><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">were
much larger than had been previously calculated. Starfish Prime made
those effects known to the public by causing electrical damage
in </span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Hawaii</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
about 1,445 kilometres (898 mi) away from the detonation point,
knocking out about 300 streetlights, setting off numerous burglar
alarms and damaging a microwave link.</span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse#cite_note-vittitoe-8"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[8]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">Weapons designers sought to exploit and enhance the EMP, which had
really just been incidental to the explosion itself, originally. But
now that missile guidance systems, communications, and warfare in
general is so dependent upon electronics, the ability of an EMP to
disable an opponent's weapons systems would make for a short war,
indeed:</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Also
known as an "Enhanced-EMP", a super-electromagnetic pulse
is a relatively new type of warfare in which a </span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">nuclear
weapon</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"> </span><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">is
equipped with a far greater </span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">electromagnetic
pulse</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"> </span><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in
comparison to standard nuclear </span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapon_of_mass_destruction"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">weapons
of mass destruction</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse#cite_note-40"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[40]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"> </span><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">These
weapons capitalize on the E1 pulse component of a detonation
involving </span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_ray"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">gamma
rays</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
creating an EMP yield of up to 200,000 volts per meter.</span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse#cite_note-:0-41"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[41]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"> </span><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">For
decades, numerous countries have experimented with the creation of
such weapons, most notably </span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">China</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"> </span><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and </span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Russia</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span>According
to a statement made in writing by the Chinese military, the country
has super-EMPs and has discussed their use in attacking </span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span>Taiwan</span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span>.
Such an attack would debilitate information systems in the nation,
allowing China to move in and attack it directly using soldiers. The
Taiwanese military has subsequently confirmed Chinese possession of
super-EMPs and their possible destruction to </span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_grid"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span>power
grids</span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span>.</span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse#cite_note-:1-42"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span>[42]</span></span></span></span></a><a name="China"></a></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a name="cite_ref-:0_41-1"></a><a name="cite_ref-:1_42-1"></a>
<span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
addition to Taiwan, the possible implications of attacking the </span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">United
States</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> with
these weapons was examined by China. While the United States also
possess nuclear weapons, the country has not experimented with
super-EMPs and is highly vulnerable to any future attacks by nations.
This is due to the countries reliance on computers to control much of
the government and economy.</span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse#cite_note-:0-41"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[41]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Abroad,
U.S. aircraft carriers stationed within a reasonable range of an
exploding bomb are subject to complete destruction of missiles
on-board, as well as </span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunication"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">telecommunication
systems</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> that
would allow them to communicate with nearby vessels and controllers
on land.</span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse#cite_note-:1-42"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[42]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Now
that we know more about what an EMP is, let's look at whether it is
capable of actually doing what it did in the book:</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">An
energetic EMP can temporarily upset or permanently damage electronic
equipment by generating high voltage and high current surges;
semiconductor components are particularly at risk. The effects of
damage can range from imperceptible to the eye, to devices literally
blowing apart. Cables, even if short, can act as antennas to transmit
pulse energy to equipment.</span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span>An
EMP would probably not affect most cars, despite modern cars' heavy
use of electronics, because cars' electronic circuits and cabling are
likely too short to be affected. In addition, cars' metallic frames
provide some protection. However, even a small percentage of cars
breaking down due to an electronic malfunction would cause temporary
traffic jams.</span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse#cite_note-metaR320-44"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span>[44]</span></span></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a name="cite_ref-metaR320_44-3"></a>
<span style="color: #202122;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">An
EMP has a smaller effect the shorter the length of an electrical
conductor; though other factors affect the vulnerability of
electronics as well, so no cutoff length determines whether some
piece of equipment will survive. However, small electronic devices,
such as wristwatches and cell phones, would most likely withstand an
EMP.</span></span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse#cite_note-metaR320-44"><span style="color: #0645ad;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="sans-serif"><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[44]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So in actuality, most cars probably
wouldn't be affected, and cellphones, as well, are likely to make it.
However, since it's still somewhat within the realm of possibility,
and since in science fiction, we can certainly expect to have a
suspension of disbelief for the sake of a good story, I'd be willing
to roll with it.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Now, all we need is a good story.</p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-67834791748508579462022-05-10T15:50:00.000-07:002022-11-12T19:56:25.877-08:00The Books List, Part 10<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Tzjf6ezQwWGepzqfRkNxmeHgO-RJM5TZ3vxQoBeu23OTTAWSjB29HuRX94KyFuU4YDlsHpKhrInMSGVByVLHQYr_Ua30m7qGeB_gyHdUe2X-aKFkZzh1NHWRZwpCqk8FuaM-4mujgs3huArsz-jtcgGDHo4ncvzfUa74cJUcYKcs_6ebn-_mf6C4/s960/knowledge-1052014_960_720.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Tzjf6ezQwWGepzqfRkNxmeHgO-RJM5TZ3vxQoBeu23OTTAWSjB29HuRX94KyFuU4YDlsHpKhrInMSGVByVLHQYr_Ua30m7qGeB_gyHdUe2X-aKFkZzh1NHWRZwpCqk8FuaM-4mujgs3huArsz-jtcgGDHo4ncvzfUa74cJUcYKcs_6ebn-_mf6C4/s320/knowledge-1052014_960_720.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;">20 Books I Would Recommend Reading, 5
Books I Wouldn't, and 50 from my Reading List</h3>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Hello, friends! We are well into spring, now (in the northern hemisphere, anyway), and the weather is still pretty changeable. Nights are still a bit chilly, so curl up and get cozy with a nice book! </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">My likes/loves: These are books that
entertained me, moved me, taught me things, made me think, inspired
me, and that I would heartily recommend. They are not ranked – they
are merely in the order in which I read them.
</p>
<ol><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Known World – Edward P.
Jones</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Book of the Dead – Patricia
Cornwell</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Honeymoon – James Patterson</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Gone – Jonathan Kellerman</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">A Case of Need – Michael
Crichton</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">4<sup>th</sup> of July – James
Patterson and Maxine Paetro</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">5<sup>th</sup> Horseman - James
Patterson and Maxine Paetro</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Timeline – Michael Crichton</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">1<sup>st</sup> to Die – James
Patterson</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The 6<sup>th</sup> Target - James
Patterson and Maxine Paetro</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">7<sup>th</sup> Heaven - James
Patterson and Maxine Paetro</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome
Words – Bill Bryson</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Twilight – Stephenie Meyer</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Joplin's Ghost – Tananarive Due</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Um...Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal
Blunders, and What They Mean – Michael Erard</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Glamour's Big Book of Dos and
Don'ts
</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Handling Sin – Michael Malone</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The King of Torts – John Grisham</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Hints and Tips to Make Life Easier
– Reader's Digest</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Life Expectancy – Dean Koontz</p>
</li></ol>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">My meh/yuck list: Did not find these
appealing for any number of reasons – some were boring; some had an
interesting subject but did not do it justice; some were flat-out
terrible. All simply left me cold in some way. Although I am likely
to read multiple books by authors I like (you will see a lot of Dean
Koontz, Jonathan Kellerman, Margaret Atwood, Charles deLint and Toni
Morrison), I do not excuse those authors when they write a book I
didn't like, so they might just show up here, as well.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<ol>
<li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">2<sup>nd</sup> Chance – James
Patterson and Andrew Gross</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: transparent;">The
Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat – Oliver Sacks </span>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: transparent;">I
wrote a review of this one that explains my issues with it:
<a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/04/review-of-man-who-mistook-his-wife-for.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/04/review-of-man-who-mistook-his-wife-for.html</a>
</span>
</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">An American Tragedy – Theodore
Dreiser</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Darkest Evening of the Year –
Dean Koontz</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Chicken Soup for the American Idol
Soul</p>
</li></ol>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">My Reading List: these are books I
haven't read yet, so I don't have a reaction for you. However, I
could semi-recommend them, based on the reasons they made it onto my
list:
</p>
<ol><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">They were on one of those “100
Greatest Books” lists;</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">They are other books written by
authors I really enjoy; or
</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I read a review, and it sounded
like something I'd like.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p>
</li></ol>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">#1 can be a bit hit-or-miss; #2 is
almost (but not always) foolproof for me (but maybe not for you), and
#3 usually works out pretty well, as it's a combination of the first
two. As always, your results may vary, but consider them suggestions.
These may tend to come in chunks of stuff by author (apologies).
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<ol>
<li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Between the Acts – Virginia
Woolf</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Billiards at Half-Past Nine –
Heinrich Boll</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Billy Bathgate – E.L. Doctorow</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Billy Budd – Herman Melville</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Billy Liar – Keith Waterhouse</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Birds of America – Lorrie Moore</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Black Dogs – Ian McEwan</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Black Like Me – John G. Howard</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Black Water – Joyce Carol Oates</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Blind Man with a Pistol –
Chester Himes</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Blindness – Henry Green</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Blonde – Joyce Carol Oates</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Blood and Guts in High School –
Kathy Acker</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Blue of Noon – Georges Bataille</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Bonjour Tristesse – Francoise
Sagan</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Boomsday – Christopher Buckley</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Born in Exile – George Gissing</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Born to Rebel – Frank Sullaway</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Borstal Boy – Brendan Behan</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Bouvard and Pecuchet – Gustave
Flaubert</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Boy Still Missing – John Searles</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Breakfast at Tiffany's – Truman
Capote</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Breakfast of Champions – Kurt
Vonnegut</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Brighton Rock – Graham Greene</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Broken April – Ismail Kadare</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Bunner Sisters – Edith Wharton</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Burger's Daughter – Nadine
Gordimer</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Burmese Days – George Orwell</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">By the Open Sea – August
Strindberg</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Cakes and Ale – W. Somerset
Maugham</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Camilla – Fanny Burney</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Camille – Alexandre Dumas</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Cancer Ward – Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Cane – Jean Toomer</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Cannery Row – John Steinbeck</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Captain Corelli's Mandolin –
Louis de Bernieres</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Casino Royale – Ian Fleming</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Castle Rackrent – Maria
Edgeworth</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Castle Richmond – Anthony
Trollope</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Cat and Mouse – Gunter Grass</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Cat's Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Caught – Henry Green</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Cause for Alarm – Eric Ambler</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Cecilia – Fanny Burney</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Celestial Harmonies – Peter
Esterhazy</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Chaireas and Kallirhoe –
Chariton</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Chocky – John Wyndham</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Choke – Chuck Palahniuk</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Christ Stopped at Eboli – Carlo
Levi
</p>
</li></ol>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">That's all for now; hope you find these
lists useful as you think about things you might like to read. Here is a link to The Books List, part 9: <a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-books-list-part-nine.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-books-list-part-nine.html</a></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">and here are links to the other lists! </p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-books-list-part-one.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-books-list-part-one.html</a></p><p></p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-books-list-part-two.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-books-list-part-two.html</a></p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-books-list-part-three.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-books-list-part-three.html</a></p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-books-list-part-four.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-books-list-part-four.html</a></p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-books-list-part-five.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-books-list-part-five.html</a></span></span></p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-books-list-part-six.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-books-list-part-six.html</a></span></p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-books-list-part-seven.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-books-list-part-seven.html</a></p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-books-list-part-eight.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-books-list-part-eight.html</a></p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-64871720061622553932022-04-24T12:49:00.002-07:002022-11-12T19:57:03.482-08:00Review of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, by Oliver Sacks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhumeIWHLsOsA_VB01e_Cso1mE-sfMyDCtszFPURHXnw-GZujXNV1xYOzYsZFN9KoN_IM-2kSnulNdBkHpVP-s4xS686EriQJwil_1pJJuo2z90aiT4qvT-KyVrnShOQpYPYZKevx8KjAPi4Ai8-ilHqk97wler6R2q53IbKtpEdvgpBZFDOUlsATRs/s350/f1c9fbcb0d85c3aa08d2a4244eab1a05b9f11b51.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="229" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhumeIWHLsOsA_VB01e_Cso1mE-sfMyDCtszFPURHXnw-GZujXNV1xYOzYsZFN9KoN_IM-2kSnulNdBkHpVP-s4xS686EriQJwil_1pJJuo2z90aiT4qvT-KyVrnShOQpYPYZKevx8KjAPi4Ai8-ilHqk97wler6R2q53IbKtpEdvgpBZFDOUlsATRs/s320/f1c9fbcb0d85c3aa08d2a4244eab1a05b9f11b51.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;">A Neurologist Laughs at Autistic
Children and Impaired Adults—Nice, Huh?</h4><p></p><p style="font-style: normal;">A few years ago, I started doing
research on psychiatric disorders for a novel I was writing, and I
developed a fascination for the way the human mind works, so it was
with great anticipation that I picked up <i>The Man Who Mistook His
Wife for a Hat</i> by Oliver Sacks, a former Professor of Clinical Neurology
at Albert Einstein University. As the book is a recounting of a
variety of rather extreme neurological case histories, I was looking
forward to a fascinating look into the varied and interesting ways
the brain copes with damage or genetic disorder, as well as some
insight into how and why this happens. The book <i>is</i>
fascinating, in abundance; but it is enlightening to a far lesser
degree, and tiresome to a fault.</p>
<p style="font-style: normal;">First of all, this book is clearly not
written with the unprepared reader in mind. Sacks makes constant
reference to his own prior works, as well as those of others (Luria,
Borges, and Zazetsky, in particular, are cited in just about every
chapter), presuming, I guess, that the reader is already thoroughly
conversant with those works. The abundance of citations makes me
guess this offering may well have started as an academic paper, in
which the assumption of familiarity with other published works would
certainly be reasonable. But it was then repackaged as a bestseller and
offered to the general public, who is asked
to wrangle Sacks’s meandering hypotheses, which are frequently
filled with jargon and tend to be unnecessarily oblique. To
illustrate, here is one sentence from the book:</p>
<p style="font-style: normal;"><b>What we see, if nothing else, is the
universality of inhibition, even at the most elemental perceptual
level: the need to inhibit what Head regarded as primordial and full
of feeling-tone, and called ‘protopathic’, in order to allow the
emergence of the sophisticated, categorizing, affectless ‘epicritic’.</b></p>
<p style="font-style: normal;">While not <i>completely</i>
impenetrable, this kind of textbookese can slow the reader down
considerably. Even odder than the 50-dollar words are the improvised
ones: feeling-tone, anybody?</p>
<p style="font-style: normal;">More disturbing is the book’s tone
toward its subjects, which range from ‘normal’ ('neurotypical' is a much more kind--and accurate--word to describe) people who have
sustained brain damage from injury, stroke, or an undiagnosed cause,
to people who were born with a condition, such as developmental delay ('retardation' here) or
autism. In all of these cases, Sacks, possibly in an effort to make
these conditions more accessible or less scary (his motives really
are unclear), takes the tack that he finds all these cases highly
amusing—he chortles over the shortcomings of the mentally
challenged and the autistic, here lumped together as “mentally
defective”. He also uses words like “idiot” and
“moron”, which, although they are--or were--actual technical terms, are
extremely off-putting to the general reader. There are also some decidedly
<i>non</i>-technical terms like “clumsy” and “freak”. He
praises the achievements of developmentally challenged adults as though they were
toddlers, and in general is highly patronizing.</p>
<p style="font-style: normal;">Sacks is also the worst kind of
know-it-all: the one that firmly believes what he assumes <i>must </i>be
right, just because he’s so gosh-darn smart. There are quite a few
examples of this; one can be found in a passage in which he is
describing a drawing of a fish made by a young man with autism (in
keeping with Sacks’s continual sense of personal amusement with the
mentally challenged, the chapter is labeled “The Autist
Artist”—hilarious, no?) wherein he remarks:</p>
<p style="font-style: normal;">“<b>It was still a trout…with
egregiously human features, an odd nostril (what fish has nostrils?)”</b></p>
<p><span style="font-style: normal;">The answer is: </span><i>all of them</i>. All fish
have nostrils. And if you hadn’t assumed the artist was a silly
fool just because he is autistic, Dr. Sacks, you might have realized
how extremely observant he was, instead of just laughing at his
‘inventions’. Perhaps Sacks fancied himself an ichthyologist as
well as a neurologist?</p>
<p style="font-style: normal;">Sacks almost constantly makes
assumptions about things he couldn’t possibly know, such as the
thoughts and feelings, or lack of same, of these so-called
“defectives”, and makes pronouncements upon their natures and
even their very paths in life. One wonders how he can speak with such
surety of the workings of the minds of his subjects, even after he
acknowledges his failure to understand their motivations?</p>
<p style="font-style: normal;">Now, this book isn’t totally useless:
it gives good definitions for such disorders as agnosia, aphasia,
amnesia, and so on, and the case histories are fascinating. You could
always just read the case histories and not bother with Sacks’s
analyses, which is where he gets particularly annoying. Also, be
aware that the book was first written in 1970 (I read the 1987
edition), and may not have undergone extensive rewriting. Sacks’s
patronizing and presumptive attitude may be a reflection of the
times; so much more is now known about neurological disorders,
particularly autism spectrum disorders, so if you really want to read
this book, try to get the most recent edition possible. Oliver Sacks died in 2015, but perhaps prior to that, he became enlightened as to the existence
of fish nostrils, as well as to the innate humanity of neurodivergent people. </p><p style="font-style: normal;"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">cover: Carin Goldberg, Harper and Row
1987</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Here are some books I <i>did</i> like: </p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-duma-key-by-stephen-king.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-duma-key-by-stephen-king.html</a></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-historian-by-elizabeth-kostova.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-historian-by-elizabeth-kostova.html</a></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-unless-novel-by-carol-shields.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-unless-novel-by-carol-shields.html</a></p><br /><p></p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-62182192432959180662022-03-08T13:30:00.003-08:002022-11-25T20:53:18.699-08:00March 8 is International Women's Day<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqAOP3M20rEgC657QY7AVdcivtxorq20N-p23f5Zd3LlcxqN716_hhao92EHJBd9GKlDN5CfY1H5WW28Xu2mJ47e_ogMwA0Oc_q0V714A_EDDPXxIWY7xh8dMi2vSp2HKmqGH3HsMPdPmNP__nThueLypRUQNQtdwbfrdl2wU4dnL7_DJcsce3b7jc=s720" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqAOP3M20rEgC657QY7AVdcivtxorq20N-p23f5Zd3LlcxqN716_hhao92EHJBd9GKlDN5CfY1H5WW28Xu2mJ47e_ogMwA0Oc_q0V714A_EDDPXxIWY7xh8dMi2vSp2HKmqGH3HsMPdPmNP__nThueLypRUQNQtdwbfrdl2wU4dnL7_DJcsce3b7jc=s320" width="213" /></a></div><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><p>March 8th is the holiday known as International Women's Day. International Women's Day was created way back in the early 20th century (1908 is one of the earliest dates of celebration) to advocate for women's rights around the world. Many women were denied the right to vote at the time, so women's suffrage was one of the causes at the forefront at the time. Women held rallies and demonstrations to protest restrictions and advocate for the right to vote and to hold public office. Happily, women have made great strides in this area, and currently there are only a handful of countries in which women are not allowed to vote.</p></span><p></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Another concern of women organizing at the time was for rights in the workplace to fair treatment, fair wages and humane working conditions. Unfortunately, this concern is still ongoing and has not met with the same amount of success as has suffrage. International Women's Day is still relevant to raise awareness of the women who are not yet receiving fair or equal treatment in the workplace, as compared to their male peers, and girls who are still being denied the right to an education, in some parts of the world.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">International Women's Day can also be seen as a celebration, however; it's a good time to become aware not only of the challenges and suffering faced by women, but also of the wonderful contributions that women have made to society, culture, and history. There are many intelligent, talented women who have made great contributions to the fields of art and literature, math and science, and government and politics, and many young women continue to thrive and grow with new educational opportunities that will benefit society as a whole. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Image from Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/girl-hijab-smile-women-islam-247302/</p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-4210505927451002092022-02-19T12:16:00.000-08:002022-11-25T20:53:51.796-08:00The Books List, Part Nine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2Id4j39UW6nxxAtUimoOxQoMAdru7SXcUEx5Zj1RynsuCs3zfIhiTONYE0jV1d2oGRtLKlYI90H6Tj3ckiPbbutnCzHi_MyOldYJD8L__ZJl29J1M17Ox4Cz4JzhKv5ebs7LWh_vuJMnXCfP5ofGQ_wsawXjGPE6KxJIwK0BhThahy1UxuEIXwfzm=s750" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2Id4j39UW6nxxAtUimoOxQoMAdru7SXcUEx5Zj1RynsuCs3zfIhiTONYE0jV1d2oGRtLKlYI90H6Tj3ckiPbbutnCzHi_MyOldYJD8L__ZJl29J1M17Ox4Cz4JzhKv5ebs7LWh_vuJMnXCfP5ofGQ_wsawXjGPE6KxJIwK0BhThahy1UxuEIXwfzm=s320" width="213" /></a></div><br /><h2 style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">20 Books I Would Recommend Reading, 5
Books I Wouldn't, and 50 from my Reading List
</h2>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As we start to come out of winter, days
are getting longer and warmer. Your results may vary, but whether
you're reading curled up under a blanket or sitting in the park, it's
always time for another Books List post!</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">My likes/loves: These are books that
entertained me, moved me, taught me things, made me think, inspired
me, and that I would heartily recommend. They are not ranked – they
are merely in the order in which I read them.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I have written
reviews for several of these, for which I will include links within
the list, if you are interested in getting more of an in-depth (but
spoiler-free) look at the books and my impression of them.
</p>
<ol><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Last Days of Dogtown – Anita
Diamant</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">3<sup>rd</sup> Degree – James
Patterson and Andrew Gross</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Step on a Crack – James
Patterson and Michael Ledwidge</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Rape: A Love Story – Joyce Carol
Oates</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Uncollected Stories – Kate
Chopin</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">You've Been Warned – James
Patterson and Howard Roughan</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Death Comes for the Archbishop –
Willa Cather</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Complete Idiot's Guide to
Green Living – Trish Riley</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Worst Thing I've Done –
Ursula Hegi</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Power and the Glory – Graham
Greene</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">A Short History of Nearly
Everything – Bill Bryson</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Duma
Key – Stephen King</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><i><b>Here's
my review of Duma Key:</b></i>
<a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-duma-key-by-stephen-king.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-duma-key-by-stephen-king.html</a></span></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">The
Historian – Elizabeth Kostova</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><i><b>Here's
my review of The Historian:</b></i>
<a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-historian-by-elizabeth-kostova.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-historian-by-elizabeth-kostova.html</a></span></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Dali – Paul Moorhouse</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Prodigal
Summer – Barbara Kingsolver</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><i><b>Here's
my review of Prodigal Summer:</b></i>
<a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-prodigal-summer-by-barbara.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-prodigal-summer-by-barbara.html</a></span></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Dexter
in the Dark – Jeff Lindsay </span>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><i><b>Here's
my review of Dexter in the Dark:</b></i>
<a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/01/review-of-dexter-in-dark-by-jeff-lindsay.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/01/review-of-dexter-in-dark-by-jeff-lindsay.html</a></span></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Almost
Green: How I Saved 1/6<sup>th</sup> of a Biliionth of the Planet –
James Glave </span>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><i><b>Here's
my review of Almost
Green: </b></i><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/04/review-of-almost-green-how-i-saved-16th.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/04/review-of-almost-green-how-i-saved-16th.html
</a></span>
</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Unless
– Carol Shields</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><i><b>Here's
my review of Unless:</b></i>
<a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-unless-novel-by-carol-shields.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-unless-novel-by-carol-shields.html</a></span></p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Seven Wild Sisters – Charles de
Lint</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Promises to Keep – Charles de
Lint</p>
</li></ol>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">My meh/yuck list: Did not find these
appealing for any number of reasons – some were boring; some had an
interesting subject but did not do it justice; some were flat-out
terrible. All simply left me cold in some way. Although I am likely
to read multiple books by authors I like (you will see a lot of Dean
Koontz, Jonathan Kellerman, Margaret Atwood, Charles de Lint and Toni
Morrison), I do not excuse those authors when they write a book I
didn't like, so they might just show up here, as well.</p>
<ol><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">A Night in Acadie – Kate Chopin</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">A Lost Lady – Willa Cather</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Awakening – Kate Chopin</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Professor's House – Willa
Cather</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Lord Jim – Joseph Conrad</p>
</li></ol>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">My Reading List: these are books I
haven't read yet, so I don't have a reaction for you. However, I
could semi-recommend them, based on the reasons they made it onto my
list:
</p>
<ol><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">They were on one of those “100
Greatest Books” lists;</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">They are other books written by
authors I really enjoy; or
</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I read a review, and it sounded
like something I'd like.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p>
</li></ol>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">#1 can be a bit hit-or-miss; #2 is
almost (but not always) foolproof for me (but maybe not for you), and
#3 usually works out pretty well, as it's a combination of the first
two. As always, your results may vary, but consider them suggestions.
These may tend to come in chunks of stuff by author (apologies).
</p>
<ol><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Absolute Beginners – Colin
MacInnes</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Ada – Vladimir Nabokov</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Adam Bede – George Eliot</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Adjunct: An Undigest – Peter
Manson</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Aesop's Fables – Aesopus</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After the Death of Don Juan –
Sylvia T. Warner</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a name="bookTitle"></a>After the
Ice: A Global <span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Human
History, 20,000-5000 BC </span></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">-</span>
Steven Mithen</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After the Quake – Haruki
Murakami</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Against the Grain – Joris-Karl
Huysmans</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Agnes Grey – Anne Bronte</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Aithiopika – Heliodorus</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Albert Angelo – B.S. Johnson</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Alias Grace – Margaret Atwood</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Alice's Adventures in Wonderland –
Lewis Carroll</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">All About H. Hatterr – G.V.
Desani</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">All Quiet on the Western Front –
Erich Remarque</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">All Souls Day – Cees Nooteboom</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Amateurs – Donald Barthelme</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Amelia – Henry Fielding</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">American Gods – Neil Gaiman</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Amerika – Franz Kafka</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Amok – Stefan Zweig</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Amongst Women – John McGahern</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Amsterdam – Ian McEwan</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">An Anthropologist on Mars –
Oliver Sacks</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">An Artist of the Floating World –
Kazuo Ishiguro</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> An Obedient Father – Akhil
Sharma</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Anagrams – Lorrie Moore</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Another Bullshit Night in Suck
City – Nick Flynn</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Another World – Pat Barker</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Anthem – Ayn Rand</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Antic Hay – Aldous Huxley</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Arcadia – Jim Crace</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Arcanum 17 – Andre Breton</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Ariel – Lawrence Block</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Around the World in 80 Days –
Jules Verne</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Arrow of God – Chinua Achebe</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As If I Am Not There – Slavenka
Drakulic</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Asphodel – H.D. (Hilda
Doolittle)</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">At Swim, Two Boys – Jamie
O'Neill</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">August is a Wicked Month – Edna
O'Brien</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Austerlitz – W.G. Sebald</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Auto-Da-Fe – Elias Canett</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Autumn of the Patriarch –
Gabriel Garcia Marquez</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Back – Henry Green</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Battlefield Earth – L. Ron
Hubbard</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Bel-Ami – Guy de Maupassant</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Belle de Seigneur – Albert Cohen</p>
</li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Ben-Hur – Lew Wallace</p>
</li></ol>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">That's all for now; hope you find these
lists useful as you think about things you might like to read. </p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">In case you missed any, here are the other books lists:</p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-books-list-part-one.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-books-list-part-one.html</a></p><p></p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-books-list-part-two.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-books-list-part-two.html</a></p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-books-list-part-three.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-books-list-part-three.html</a></p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-books-list-part-four.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-books-list-part-four.html</a></p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-books-list-part-five.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-books-list-part-five.html</a></span></span></p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-books-list-part-six.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-books-list-part-six.html</a></span></p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-books-list-part-seven.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-books-list-part-seven.html</a></p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-books-list-part-eight.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-books-list-part-eight.html</a></p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: #fff9ee; margin-bottom: 0in;">Image from Pexels https://www.pexels.com/photo/green-plant-on-white-ceramic-pot-4153146/</p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-18319580508493357752022-02-17T18:08:00.004-08:002022-11-25T20:54:19.925-08:00Review of Duma Key by Stephen King<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjejJtVwRvI5tUCSuV6IDd2FkukCmEE8kaMtMJ-X_tqhFPmGKspSOQENrgYMYVqhPJ6ur46qzjgR88SrM_RRPKXil0gPjU9HX0m1x2P5_CPRzaz4Htm_OX3S4FiSStls0oq7rSjYJmF8mttTC_lFYryurJ6dE5kzcOg8Dh53f1FpsI8ndidq0gUu6EA=s350" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="230" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjejJtVwRvI5tUCSuV6IDd2FkukCmEE8kaMtMJ-X_tqhFPmGKspSOQENrgYMYVqhPJ6ur46qzjgR88SrM_RRPKXil0gPjU9HX0m1x2P5_CPRzaz4Htm_OX3S4FiSStls0oq7rSjYJmF8mttTC_lFYryurJ6dE5kzcOg8Dh53f1FpsI8ndidq0gUu6EA=s320" width="210" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Stephen King is one of the most prolific and successful writers in history. He has penned classics like <i>The Stand</i> and has had some not-so-great moments, as well (more on that later), but <i>Duma Key</i> is a great standalone book. This scary tale of suspense is narrated by its protagonist, Edgar Freemantle, a man who
became successful and wealthy in the building trade, but whose career
was cut short by a terrible jobsite accident that took one of his
arms, severely damaged a leg and his vision, and, perhaps worst of
all, rattled his brain enough to cause lapses in his memory and
language skills and left him dealing with sudden bursts of rage.</b></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br />Steeped in an agonizing stew of anger, frustration and
despair, suffering constant torment from his physical wounds, and
dealing with the impending divorce from his wife of 25 years, Edgar
embraces a plan of suicide. Fortunately, this idea is headed off by
Kamen, his therapist, who suggests a change of scenery. This results
in Edgar's trading the impending winter cold of Minnesota for the
tropical sunsets of Duma Key, Florida, where he ends up in a large
pink house that hangs out over the water and seems to extend a
special welcome to him.</b></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>From
the very first day in "Big Pink", Edgar starts to make
noticeable progress toward recovery. He finds his pain and stiffness
diminishing, and he begins to practice walking on the beach without
his cane, going farther every day. His also previously-undeveloped
artistic talent emerges in a big way, so much so that in a few
months, he has a studio full of drawings and paintings that leave
people awestruck, as well as a little spooked. He develops close
friendships with his young assistant, Jack Cantori, and with the only
year-round residents of the Key, a man named Wireman and his employer, the
gracious yet mysterious Elizabeth Eastlake, who also know a thing or
two about trauma, both physical and mental. Buoyed by these
relationships and by supportive emails from his adoring daughter, Ilse,
and riding a powerful creative high as his artistic talent
"unbottles", Edgar is happier on Duma than he thought he
ever could be, but then things start to get creepy...<br /><br />Don't
they always? What's the point of a Stephen King book if they don't,
right?</b></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>King had had several missteps, in my opinion, in the period of time prior to this work -- the abysmal </b></span></span></span><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Lisey's
Story<span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></b></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>and
the last two books in the <i>Gunslinger</i> series come immediately to
mind -- but </b></span></span></span><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Duma
Key<span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></b></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>is
a good return to form; it kept me turning pages (<i>and there are 609 of
them</i>) with a minimum of exasperated snorts--and even some
actual </b></span></span></span><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>eek!<span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></b></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>moments.</b></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
<span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #5c5c5c;">He
still sticks somewhat to his formula: Domestic animals, for example,
are not safe around Stephen King; he murders yet another beloved pet
in this story. It happens early on and is dispensed with fairly
quickly, but it is not really necessary to drive the plot forward,
and I'm thinking Mr. King could do us all a favor and keep his animal
issues to himself. It was understandable in <i>Pet Sematary</i>, but not
since. (Eh-<i>hem</i>. Sorry, soapboxing a bit, there.) The other thing the
author does with consistency is kill off main characters of whom
you've grown fond, and, as if to add insult to injury, usually tells
you about it in advance. Unlike the animal cruelty, however, I can
live with this as a trademark of his style that I might miss, even
though it has made me swear aloud more than once.</span></b></span></span><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><br /><br />Also
true to King's style, though, are fully-developed characters, with individual
personalities and interesting histories, who do completely
understandable things and make completely plausible observations. It
is this firm grounding in reality that allows you to hang on when the
creepy winds start a-blowin', and to suspend your disbelief when they
get to gale-force. I'm especially impressed by King's ability to pace
the reader through a very long book by keeping it interesting the
whole time. As with any particularly engaging yarn, the length
of the book is a treat, not a burden, because the journey's as much
fun as the destination -- maybe more so.<br /><br />I don't know if "fun"
is the right word for the delicious terror of a well-written Stephen
King book, but </b></span></span></span></span><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Duma
Key </b></span></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>is
"shivery good"!</b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">Another scary page-turner you might like: <br /><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-historian-by-elizabeth-kostova.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-historian-by-elizabeth-kostova.html</a></p><br /><p></p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-55979552514226334142022-02-14T17:02:00.007-08:002022-11-25T20:55:02.005-08:00Review of The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkSIBdLRoyW_cfb_PvB1M08WtbvojqzHJDhPY6_89Xews_m3jrq-ABDTAGA0XsQ4gj0FVnayTfZyesblg6DHCtyhHjTzUEhiHyC379rOjFczaHUnXhaoiJ2zJLGNpS-DrWbyZ4G6CkCYKKbdFs0kZyLzdf-K4WwhbWtUnEfPx8kKKLwDvjZ8YESZLH=s350" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="228" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkSIBdLRoyW_cfb_PvB1M08WtbvojqzHJDhPY6_89Xews_m3jrq-ABDTAGA0XsQ4gj0FVnayTfZyesblg6DHCtyhHjTzUEhiHyC379rOjFczaHUnXhaoiJ2zJLGNpS-DrWbyZ4G6CkCYKKbdFs0kZyLzdf-K4WwhbWtUnEfPx8kKKLwDvjZ8YESZLH=s320" width="208" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I
just finished reading Elizabeth Kostova's supernatural thriller, <i>The Historian</i>, and
I'm like, </b></span></span></span><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>whoa</b></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>.
Okay, that is possibly the most un-erudite thing you've ever read in
a book review, but it's my immediate and visceral reaction. I will
try to be more precise forthwith:</b></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The
Historian<span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></b></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>is
the tale of our narrator, who when she is sixteen years old finds a
curious book and a packet of letters in her father's study. When she
questions him about it, he is extremely reluctant to discuss it. However, as she accompanies him on his travels around Europe as a cold-war-era
diplomat, she slowly begins to draw a tale from him that seems
unbelievable, at first, yet it is supported by the letters, written by
his former doctoral advisor, Professor Bartholomew Rossi. Professor Rossi disappeared under mysterious and terrifying circumstances immediately
after passing the letters to his advisee, the narrator's father.</b></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-style: normal;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>As
she gets more pieces of the puzzle over the course of a couple of
years, our intrepid narrator begins to do her own research into
the supernatural historical mystery that caused her father the
loss of his cherished friend, Rossi, and possibly the loss as well of
her own mother, who died when the narrator was an infant--also under mysterious circumstances that
her father will not discuss. She continues to
chase clues until her father also disappears abruptly, leaving her in
a race against time to find him and to find out what happened to her
mother before all is lost to a predator who seems to be stalking them
as readily as they stalk him.</b></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b>This
book succeeds in the unlikely task of making historical research,
cold war politics and European history fascinating by interweaving it
with a scary, thrilling chase that is paced so well, the reader is
lead almost breathlessly through the entire six hundred-plus pages to
the amazing denouement and skin-crawling epilogue. We follow three
successive generations of historians (Professor Rossi, the narrator's
parents, and the narrator herself) as they each contribute piece
after piece of the mysterious puzzle, following a trail that leads
from Amsterdam and France to Romania and Istanbul and through
Soviet-controlled Hungary and Bulgaria. In every new location, we
learn more about the history of the area, from medieval times through
the '30s, '50s and '70s of the 20th century. Everything from the
Ottoman Empire to the library systems of various universities and
monasteries is explored in the most fascinating way.</b></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>One
of the minor mysteries of the book is the question of to whom the
title refers. Is the Historian Rossi, a highly celebrated and
much-published professor in the History department at Oxford, and the
originator of the supernatural investigation? Or is it Paul, the
narrator's father, who was a doctoral student in that same department
until ending up as a diplomat, after the loss of his wife cut short
his own search? Is the Historian the narrator, who joins the search,
and is, after all, the main character? Or could it be one of the many
professors, archivists and librarians who help our investigators
along the way, sometimes to their own fatal outcomes? Near the end of
the book, the identity of the Historian is revealed, and I guarantee
it will make you shiver to your very bones. I highly recommend
Elizabeth Kostova's </b></span></span></span></span><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The
Historian<span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></b></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>,
an excellent, scary read that will take you along for the
white-knuckle ride!</b></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Here are reviews for some more creepy/mysterious books you might enjoy:</b></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><span><span><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: verdana;"><b><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-unless-novel-by-carol-shields.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-unless-novel-by-carol-shields.html</a></b></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><span><span><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span><span style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-duma-key-by-stephen-king.html"><b>https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-duma-key-by-stephen-king.html</b></a></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></span></p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-9944425629203461862022-02-12T11:39:00.002-08:002022-11-25T20:55:35.312-08:00Review of Unless: A Novel by Carol Shields<p><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span></span></span></em></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7cUvb6ziXhGI9q5R2uwTSA4jKpVa7gGhQd1Mm3Avw1WbRGGxcVlq-BUkq_ukiMWZC-Al6hePSHZ4sPMUsoaZyr5JpVG_4YsaaXfAU9Hv9lpUiRX0M2-hFz9-K_UG8YvSNRXp8zwocywUuL1CRX-K0WgcSjzuqQP3_93bzDacWSjSM5zJ2d_u7weIP=s500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="337" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7cUvb6ziXhGI9q5R2uwTSA4jKpVa7gGhQd1Mm3Avw1WbRGGxcVlq-BUkq_ukiMWZC-Al6hePSHZ4sPMUsoaZyr5JpVG_4YsaaXfAU9Hv9lpUiRX0M2-hFz9-K_UG8YvSNRXp8zwocywUuL1CRX-K0WgcSjzuqQP3_93bzDacWSjSM5zJ2d_u7weIP=s320" width="216" /></a></b></span></span></span></em></div><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br />Unless: A Novel<span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></b></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>(HarperCollins,
2002) is the story of Reta Winters, a 44-year-old writer living in
Orangetown, Canada, a suburb of Toronto. Reta has all the trappings
of an idyllic life: a respectable career; Tom, her partner of 26
years; their three smart, kind teenaged daughters; and a rambling old
farmhouse that Reta loves.</b></span></span></span><p></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>However, Reta is struggling with
the unexpected loss of her eldest daughter, Norah, not to death, but
to an existence completely separate from her family and from the life
she so happily lived before: Norah has suddenly and inexplicably
dropped out of school and seemingly from life in general, choosing to
sit on a street corner in Toronto with a handmade sign hanging around
her neck that says one word: goodness. She subsists on handouts from
passersby, and any attempts by Reta or her family and friends to talk
to Norah or to persuade her to come home are met with silence. They
can only leave things for her, knowing that she will give away most
of what is given her to other street people.</b></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>We
are shown a slice of Reta's life as she copes with this heartbreaking
situation, surprisingly with a lot of humor. We are introduced to
Reta's family and friends, her fellow female writers, her
relationships with them and to the world of writing, from
passive-aggressive interviewers to sycophantic-yet-overbearing
editors, and there is an ongoing theme of a woman's place in the
world of writing, as well as the world in general. Reta writes
scathingly funny, yet poignant, letters to assorted individuals as a
kind of exercise to try to figure out why her daughter "dropped
out" of life. Did she withdraw out of a sense of powerlessness,
putting herself in such a position of vulnerability and passivity as
a way to "claim" that absence of power? Everyone seems to
have a theory, but nobody can get Norah to explain her
decisions.<br /><br />Reta spends her days working on a novel of
light-hearted, romantic fluff, which serves to distract her, although
she begins to see her characters more deeply than, perhaps, she
should, as she views them through the focusing lens of the balance of
power in male-female relationships. She is drawn sympathetically to
the female lead, while the male character becomes ever more
bothersome to her. This coincides rather hilariously with her brand
new editor's desire to make an artistic statement out of the book,
which is intended to be a sequel to a prior light comedy, and to make
the annoying, selfish male character practically the sole focus.
Those of us who have had editors say they absolutely adore our
manuscript before requesting that we change, oh, <i>everything</i>, can
sympathize.</b></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I
found this book a very absorbing read. Shields has a great way with
language, especially dialogue, and she knows when to lighten things
up in a realistic way when the subject matter threatens to get
ponderous. Reta's letters are interspersed throughout as a kind of
food-for-thought snack break, and they are highly entertaining.
Shields offers Norah's situation as a storyline to fascinate us with
its abnormality, yet folds it into the larger text of relationships
and anxiety about one's place in society, to which we can all relate.
I would recommend this novel, and I am looking forward to reading
other work by Shields, as well.</b></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Here are some reviews for other books you might like: </b></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><span><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><b>https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-prodigal-summer-by-barbara.html</b></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><span><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><b>https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-james-pattersons-quickie.html</b></span></span></span></p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6114023487473799964.post-79251369359725805912022-02-06T17:53:00.001-08:002023-02-17T20:34:11.002-08:00Review of Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver<p><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></em></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjC0oHsIsUPBW-P4-ibaUZVyf7S00mf_cbNm4KvGMctdZTLoh0nuKzMhYet6rXjA_X3MJ_X0B9tiqiZS8JEWhT_27b5bbxooBVmWa9mx57jWt6NDOA-gOSXipdycD5tMDNDjM72iEICirHSB3bONUr6tuJBSQgO55KGZsoLohE6uF7rZcNcG2LadlX9=s500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjC0oHsIsUPBW-P4-ibaUZVyf7S00mf_cbNm4KvGMctdZTLoh0nuKzMhYet6rXjA_X3MJ_X0B9tiqiZS8JEWhT_27b5bbxooBVmWa9mx57jWt6NDOA-gOSXipdycD5tMDNDjM72iEICirHSB3bONUr6tuJBSQgO55KGZsoLohE6uF7rZcNcG2LadlX9=s320" width="204" /></a></span></span></span></em></div><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><b><br /></b></span></span></span></em><p></p><p><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Prodigal
Summer<span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></b></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>is
the second book I have read by much-lauded author Barbara Kingsolver.
The first was </b></span></span></span><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The
Poisonwood Bible</b></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>,
a novel about the tribulations of an American missionary family in
the Belgian Congo, which was a runaway best-seller, and which I would
highly recommend. I would also recommend </b></span></span></span><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Prodigal
Summer<span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></b></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>(2000,
Harper Collins) for many of the same reasons, the main one being
authenticity. Kingsolver must have had to do copious research to
write </b></span></span></span><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The
Poisonwood Bible</b></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>,
which not only captures the mood of a remote African village, its
daily operations and its attitude towards the white family (as well
as the family's attitudes, which varied wildly from member to
member), but also the historical data surrounding Patrice Lumumba's
failed bid to throw off the yoke of colonial oppression. Even though
the storyline predates me and I am no Central African scholar,
everything rings true.</b></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>In </b></span></span></span></span><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Prodigal
Summer<span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></b></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>,
the authenticity is closer to home: The story is set in the
Appalachian mountain region of Virginia, where Barbara Kingsolver and
her husband have a farm in real life. Although only one of her
characters is an actual biologist (the author has a graduate degree
in biology and co-writes natural history articles with her husband,
Steven Hopp), all of the main characters have some connection to the
land and its creatures: Deanna, the forest ranger who enjoys her
solitary life maintaining trails and recording wildlife activity on
Zebulon Mountain until some unexpected visitors (one of whom is
human) throw her into a torrent of doubt and longing; Garnett, an
elderly widower obsessed with propagating a blight-resistant chestnut
tree and also a tad obsessed with his next-door-neighbor, a sweet but
straight-talking apple grower who has vastly differing ideas from
Garnett's on many things, from evolution to pesticide use; and Lusa,
a city-girl biologist who finds herself plunked down on her new
husband's farm, communing with the moths that are much easier to deal
with than her gossiping, scornful in-laws.<br /><br />At first, each one
of these stories is told in apparent isolation, despite their common
geography. And yet, like a spreading honeysuckle vine, tendrils of
each plotline begin to creep together, eventually encircling and
intertwining the narratives of the characters and their relationships
to one another. I find this tying-together process delightful: each
instance of reference to one story from within another is like a cool
inside joke that the reader becomes privy to: "Oho,
so </b></span></span></span></span><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>that's<span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></b></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>who
she was talking about!" It's like a reward for paying attention,
which is no problem with this well-paced book.</b></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Another
thing that Barbara Kingsolver can do profoundly well is get inside
her characters' heads. In </b></span></span></span></span><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The
Poisonwood Bible</b></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>,
each chapter was related by alternating characters--the four
daughters and the wife of the missionary preacher--and it was quite
clear that each character had her own very specific personality and
point of view. In </b></span></span></span></span><em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Prodigal
Summer</b></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>,
the three tales are told not in first person but nonetheless squarely
from the point of view of each main character, whose storylines even
have their own titles (a device that makes it easy to sort out which
story you are reading, but also sets a theme for each one): Deanna's
is called "Predators", Garnett's is "Old Chestnuts",
and Lusa's is "Moth Love". As you read, these titles take
on different shades of meaning: Are old folks Garnett and his
neighbor the "Old Chestnuts", or does that refer to the
once-mighty tree, now felled by blight, that used to be Garnett's
family's fortune? Or is it a reference to things you've heard over
and over, that may or may not be true? This adds even more depth to
your experience of the novel.<br /><br />One point to make: even though
Kingsolver writes convincingly from the point of view of an older man
in Garnett's story, this novel may be perceived as a "chick
book" because it is primarily about relationships. However, it's
not just about male/female and family relationships, but also about
our relationship with the land-its natural checks and balances,
predators and prey, and how humans can interact well or poorly with
it-and with nature in general, including human nature. There is much
to be learned in this book, from why you should add a dash of vinegar
when canning cherries to why moths fly in spirals, and how to care
for one another in the face of grief and loss.<br /><br />Valuable life
lessons, all.</b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Here are some reviews for other books you might like: </b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><span><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><b><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-unless-novel-by-carol-shields.html">https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-unless-novel-by-carol-shields.html</a></b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><span><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><a href="https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-james-pattersons-quickie.html"><b>https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-james-pattersons-quickie.html</b></a></span></span></span></span></p><p style="border: none; line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.1in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #5c5c5c;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Calibri, Droid Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></p>Ali McCartneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18278414099314599893noreply@blogger.com0