An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales by Oliver Sacks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lost At Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries by Jon Ronson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’m putting these two books together becuase they both strike me as similar reads and I found the same issue with each. That said, they are different books and cover different subject matter. Continue reading “Review: An Anthropologist on Mars and Lost At Sea”
One of the most interesting things about being in a relationship with someone who is both from a different culture and has a significant age difference is that you get to share things which may seem old hat or fond memory to you, but become something new and fun to them. With us, this happens whenever we’re talking about TV shows or commercials or music… pop culture references, really. Continue reading “Up and Down the Dial”
So, we’re having a baby, right?
We’re in week 20, half way along, and it’s pretty spectacular. Rasa is showing, has been for a few weeks now, and the baby is kicking its little heart out. We figure Speck is going to be either a ninja, kung fu master or drummer at this rate. We also expect it to come out with perfect muscle tone and prepared to run a 100 meter dash. Continue reading “Naming Rites”
Thanks to the Andertoons Cartoon Blog for this bunch of super hero inspired Valentines cards (you can find all sorts of greeting cards on his Flickr site as well):
Continue reading “Superhero Valentines”
Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
I enjoy Christopher Moore‘s books. Despite the fact he won’t own up to his writing fantasy, all of his books have wonderfully fantastical elements, from horny sea monsters to loser vampires to crazy whale boys to the best friend of the son of god, they’re all fun, entertaining reads. Continue reading “Review: Secondhand Souls”
Web by John Wyndham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’ve become a bit of a John Wyndham enthusiast ever since I became a bonafide book collector with the addition of a first edition of Wyndham’s The Kraken Wakes to my library. So now, I’m on the lookout for affordable first editions of his work, and while I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to afford a copy of The Day of the Triffids or The Midwich Cuckoos, there are others out there I can get…Web being one of them – one which I happened to find on sale in the first edition. Since I’m also trying to read or re-read all of the collectible books I get, just to keep them fresh in my mind, this one came up in rotation and so I was able to enjoy it. Continue reading “Review: Web”
This month, my piece “Love for Tender” covers the idea of what it means to be in love in today’s electronic world, where “likes” = self-worth.
Source: DAVID • Think: Love for Tender
And there’s a really nice tribute to David Bowie by Joshua Abbey (artwork by Jeff Fey)
Growing up in the 80s was a great time to enjoy movies. There were a number of generational defining films for me and this list (with one exception) nails it!
Writing the Novel from Plot to Print to Pixel: Expanded and Updated! by Lawrence Block
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’ve said it before I’ll say it again… Reading Lawrence Block’s writing books is like having a best friend who’s a successful writer taking you out for a coffee and giving you the low down about what it takes to have a career. In this book, which is an update of an earlier work called “Writing the Novel from Plot to Print,” he leads the neophyte writer through the whole process of what it takes to write a book. Continue reading “Review: Writing the Novel from Plot to Print to Pixel: Expanded and Updated!”
Belgian timing is not my strong suit. It really doesn’t take long to get from city to city in this small country. So while I got up early and took time to actually take advantage of the free breakfast at Hostel Uppelink and didn’t rush to get the train, I was still in Brugge before 10 am which is when everything actually opens. Okay, not exactly true. The central square was packed with the weekly Wednesday market and some of the souvenir shops, restaurants and their version of a Belfry were open, but the tourist information office, not so much. Continue reading “Belgium 2016 Day 6/7 – In Brugge, Brussels and Back Home”
I left Antwerp early… again. Today I was heading towards Ghent, a town I knew had a history. The train ride was only about 30 minutes so I’d get to Ghent early and have all day to explore. Until the train stopped. Seemed that there was a train stopped on the tracks ahead of us and a voice came over the intercom informing us we’d be delayed a few minutes. In Dutch. A nice gentleman sitting across from me translated so I could keep up. Continue reading “Belgium 2016 Day 5 – A Ghent-leman and a Scholar”
Really wasn’t expecting to go the Netherlands this trip, and yet, here I was, just past 8am, hanging out with fully armed Belgian soldiers, waiting for the train to Rotterdam. As it turned out, our train was delayed so we were instructed to take the following train (which had a change rather than being a direct route). This wasn’t a big deal and they announced instructions in Dutch and English. The problem was the poor Albanian guy who was trying to get to Amsterdam (the ultimate destination of the train which would drop me in Rotterdam). He was having a hard time figuring out where to go so I made sure he got on the right train and then changed where we were supposed to. I left him on the second train. I hope he made it. Continue reading “Belgium 2016 Day 4 – Ink, Bridges and a Butt Plug Gnome”
Once again, the boys from Jersey had their alarms set. They had overslept yesterday and missed Amsterdam so were trying it again today. The night before, when I’d gotten in, I mentioned the double alarm and gave my permission for one of their number to hit the guy who hadn’t woken with his alarm the day before if he did it again. I figured that was fair. This time, though, I was ready. I realized I had basically six days in Belgium and had spent two in Brussels. I also knew I had a hostel waiting for me for two nights in Antwerp and in Ghent but that I could arrive whenever so it was a flexible plan. But it was cold in Brussels and I kinda wanted to see what else this fair country had to offer. Continue reading “Belgium 2016 Day 3 – Opening Locks in Antwerpen”
I awoke with a plan… and someone else’s alarm. There were these four young college guys from Jersey in our room and they were planning on hitting Amsterdam today (it’s a three-hour train ride – something I would remember a couple of days later) and so had set alarms to get up in time to make the early train. Unfortunately, being college guys, they were not to be roused by a mere alarm. Me, however, being an old college professor, I get up at the slightest sound so when his alarm went off for the second time, I was ready to hit the day. Continue reading “Belgium 2016 Day 2 – Doing it the way the Belgians Do”
