Splash du Jour: Monday

If we, citizens, do not support our artists, then we sacrifice our imagination on the altar of crude reality and we end up believing in nothing and having worthless dreams.
-- Yann Martel, Life of Pi --

Have a great Monday!

*****

An Appetite For Wonder

I am a huge fan of the writings and thoughts of Richard Dawkins.
And so I attacked his eagerly anticipated memoir [which was a birthday gift to me] like a sabre-toothed tiger trying to hasten its way up the evolutionary chain!
And admittedly, it was a fairly savoury feast.
It was neat to learn so much about the child who became the man. He was born in Nairobi Kenya, and his father was an agricultural civil servant in the British Colonial Service. This led to a well-travelled lifestyle, and  even though Dawkins refers to it as a "normal Anglican upbringing" -- it seemed pretty exotic to me.
In his teenage years Dawkins latched on to the idea of Darwinian evolution and this would shape the course of the rest of his life as not only a world-renowned scientist, but [later on] an equally renowned atheist. If you want to spend some time on YouTube, you can watch an easy ten years worth of Dawkins lectures and interviews, and most of these will centre around the topic of God, or the lack thereof. But if you are looking for the same kind of thing in the memoir, it sticks more closely to its subtitle: The Making of a Scientist.
It focuses primarily on his groundbreaking biological experiments, his academic career, and the influence of his own mentors and heroes. And always laced with Dawkins' wit and eloquence. I was surprised to learn of his affection for and affinity towards poetry, of all things.
This is an engaging, worthwhile read for anyone who wants to know more about Dawkins. 
If you have the appetite, quit wondering. Sink your teeth.

Splash du Jour: Friday

Never confuse faith, or belief—of any kind—with something even remotely intellectual.
-- John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany --

Have a great Friday!
*****

Do I Trust Humanity Too Much?

I just got home from my nightly after-work stint at the Chapters bookstore… well, actually, the Starbucks within it. I spend about 75% of my non-work life reading there. But something so weird [and hopefully funny?] happened there tonight, as I was leaving.
In anticipation of the nearly Absolute Zero temperature out in the parking lot I thought I'd go start my car and then come back in where it's warm. I shut down the laptop and left it there at my table in my backpack. When I re-entered the store I walked around and looked at books for a few minutes. My God, there are so many good ones waiting to be bought! Admittedly, I got a bit distracted.
Imagine my reaction though, when I finally walked back into the Starbucks area, and while still a ways off… looked over to see one of the barista girls reaching into the top part of my backpack, taking out my wallet, and sort of… looking through it.
I was stunned. In fact, my initial reaction was a sort of embarrassment for her, coupled with a thought in my head [real loud] that could be verbalized as "What in the frigging hell are you doing?" I just sort of stood there a bit, and then approached her. She looked up and said, "Oh! Is this yours?"
Before I could even respond, these two elderly ladies sitting at an adjacent table piped up and said, "We told her to check because we thought maybe there was a bomb in there." 
What? A bomb? Now I was really confused -- but at the same time, I laughed. These two ladies had sat down while I was browsing books, and seeing an abandoned backpack, immediately went to the Starbucks people and said it looked suspicious, or something.
So I began explaining that I had just left it there to go and start my car outside to let it warm up -- and  now all three of these females were berating me for leaving valuables behind like that. I had never really given it a second thought, I guess. One of the ladies then asked me if my car was LOCKED as it idled outside, and I said, "Nope!"
They gave me this look like I had just arrived on planet Earth from Mars or something. 
*****

Splash du Jour: Thursday

Have a great Thursday!

*****

Splash du Jour: Wednesday

"The lower a man is in an intellectual respect, the less puzzling and mysterious existence itself is to him."
-- Arthur Schopenhauer --

Have a great Wednesday!
*****

Dirty Love

Either I just know how to pick good books to read, or I am a very lenient and un-critical reviewer. I've been accused of the latter thing, but like to think of myself as the former.
Once again -- just a gem, a gem. I cannot think of one negative thing to say about  this new book by Andre Dubus III. Dirty Love.
These are four stand-alone stories that are nonetheless linked -- not only in theme, [and oh, how dirty these loves are!] but in that they take place in the same community, and often the characters overlap. As the dust-jacket says, they "walk out the back door of one story and into the next."
In the first story a husband confronts his wife with video-footage of her infidelity. They've been married for 25 years and her suspicious activity leads him to hire an investigator to confirm or assuage his doubts. The reader wonders as much as he does -- will she now come back to her marriage and make things work, or hop back into loverboy's Audi coupe? It's a searing 80 pages, riveting. Nothing is simple when these things happen, and this story knows that.
But the book is still in first gear, it gets better and better --
Next story is about Marla, a female bank teller [same bank as loverboy works in, from the last story.] She has a bit of a self-image problem. She lives a loner lifestyle until she meets Dennis. Again, the course of love runs not as smoothly as anticipated.
In the third story a would-be poet  but actual bartender moves with his new bride, freshly impregnated, to The Whaler -- a restaurant/hotel/resort where they both live in the adjacent cabins. Soon, a waitress there challenges him as to his umm… physical attentions. Will he risk everything? I can't say any more -- it's just a pitch-perfect story. Heartrending.
In the last one, an 18-year old girl [she works at The Whaler from the former story] is devastated by a video that was posted online after a drunken party. As her family disintegrates around her, she finds solace in [of all places, given the source of her current problems] the world of social media. But is there true solace here, or even greater danger, awaiting her?
This is the amazing thing about each of these stories, they are left open-ended and ambiguous, but not in that way that can be a real killer with short stories [in my opinion]. Not in that way where you finish a story and it is so vague at the end that you are left wondering why the hell you read it in the first place. No, that never happens here in this collection. With every scenario there is the possibility of redemption -- maybe not even reconciliation -- but at least redemption. Lessons learned. Maturity gained, etc.
Knowledge to use next time around the block. Hope, even.
A wondering -- will these people make it through? A sense that "love" is indeed a world fraught with frustrations, dashed dreams -- and is sometimes, yes -- "dirty" even.
But so real. This book is so real. So vivid and clear. Definitely worth the hardcover price.
*****

Splash du Jour: Tuesday

There will be mistakes, and maybe the point is not to forget the rest of yourself if one little part might go bad.
-- Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club --

Have a great Tuesday!
*****

Splash du Jour: Monday

There is nothing louder than an American hotel; and, mind you, this was supposed to be a quiet, cozy, old-fashioned, homey place - ‘gracious living’ and all that stuff.
-- Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita --

Have a great Monday!
*****

Avuncular Thoughts

As I survey the course of my life I find that I've seemed to somehow steer clear of some of the major designations or roles that denote the basic functions of our human species. Things like husband, or father, this last one precluding ever being called a grandfather.
Anyone, simply by virtue of being born at all becomes a son or a daughter -- so that's a free-be. A given. It just arrives all on its own. But with those other things, you have to be a bit more creative. 
You have to actually do stuff.
I am a brother to four dear people. So that is not to be discounted. But again, it's the result of someone else's initiative, that of my parents. And these siblings of mine have produced their own offspring, 13 of them! So, of all things, I am most, an uncle.
It was real neat, on my recent vacation, to overhear a time or two, myself referred to as "uncle" by the girlfriends of my nephews. And once or twice by the husband of my niece. 
I found it cute. I liked it.
So, my conclusion is that I should focus on being a good one.
Now as I begin my second half-century of life, it's looking like I am not going to be a husband or father. I need to appreciate the fact that my brother, sisters, nephews and nieces, think I'm OK. It feels good to be so accepted and loved, at those levels. Especially since now that both of my parents are gone, that first designation -- son -- cannot be spoken aloud by the dearest people I have ever known.
Be a good brother.
Be a good uncle. One worthy of that coffee mug in the above image. 
*****

Water Music

The last time I went to Mexico on vacation I took a real dud of a book along with me. Stendhal's The Red and the Black.
Definitely not a beach read! Have you ever done that? Taken the totally wrong book with you on vacation?
So this time around I didn't want to make the same mistake. 
Having recently discovered that I very much like the writing style of T.C. Boyle, I took along Water Music -- and it was a good choice.
In this, his first novel, Boyle fictionalizes the adventures of an actual 18th century Scottish explorer, Mungo Park, whose obsessive mission it was to chart the course of the Niger River in Africa. Sounds boring? Trust me, it isn't. And trust me, it's more fun than Stendhal.
Boyle has two threads going throughout the book, and intricately brings them together in the final portions. He weaves the story of Ned Rise, a lifelong criminal from London, with that of Mungo, the explorer. Ned is adept at escaping death many times over, and leads a life of rampant profligatry, whoremastering, and chicanery. Mungo, on the other hand, has one thing on his mind, and that is to get to the Niger River and establish himself as a key figure in the history textbooks of the world. Many men have tried to map the Niger before and have failed. Mungo is persistent, and carries out two expeditions. His absence is devastating for his wife and family, left behind.
It really is an amazing look at the almost insane sacrifices made by intrepid explorers like Mungo. The bulk of the book really delves into the extreme deprivations, dangers and hardships faced by Mungo and his team. And it raises the question: What does it even mean to be the "discoverer" of a "new" region of our planet -- when there are people that already live there and look upon you as an interloper rather than the next guy to make it into a textbook about them.
Africa does not want him there! And it doesn't want Ned there, either!
At times quite comical, others deadly serious, I found Water Music to be a ripping good book overall. It made me add T.C. Boyle to an ever lengthening list of Authors I Want To Read In Their Everythingness.
*****

Splash du Jour: Friday

The ultimate truth about money: even though it doesn’t care about me or you, to make money requires us to care deeply about it.
-- Kevin O'Leary --

Have a great Friday!
*****

The "Cold Hard Truth" Card

I'm writing this after work while sitting at the Starbucks in a bookstore. While browsing around in the books I ran across one by Kevin O'Leary, who just happens to be one of my favourite multi-billionaires in the world.
O'Leary is a Canadian financial guru, and one of the stars of my favourite TV show, Dragon's Den. Anyhoo -- cut to the chase, I just leafed through this book called Cold Hard Truth on Men, Women & Money, and landed on a real interesting page. O'Leary suggests that every person should carry in their wallet or purse a thing he calls the "Cold Hard Truth" Card. 
Before making any purchases a person should have a look at this card and consider their answer to the five statements on it.
 


I pledge to make no purchases unless I can answer TRUE to the following FIVE statements.
1. I have given this purchase sufficient thought.
2. Buying this item will not create debt for me or anyone else.
3. I not only want this item, I need it.
4. This item is more valuable than the interest I'd earn if I saved the money instead.
5. This item will matter to me in a year.

I think this is PROFOUND advice!
I myself am a very good…. budgeter, I think. I do not make a lot of money, and yet I am never really "in want" -- or even "in debt". And live a very comfortable life.
Even so, I'm going to take O'Leary's advice for what it's worth -- believe me, when it comes to money, and how to make it, and keep it -- and keep on making it -- no one is better at all those things than Kevin O'Leary. To help make him even richer, click on the above-linked book title and buy a copy, like I just did here in the store. [But only if you can answer "TRUE" to the five statements]!
*****

Splash du Jour: Tuesday

Have a great Tuesday!

*****

Back From Vacation...

…and oh, what a rude awakening it is!
My first day back to the ol' millstone, and I worked almost a twelve-hour day!
I miss Mexico!
I had quite the adventure, I must say -- I think it was maybe my favourite vacation time of my life. There were 28 of us in our group -- family members and friends who gathered for the wedding of my nephew. I was the first to arrive, more than a full day before everyone else, which meant I was also the first to leave. However, things did not go quite as planned and I managed to snag an extra day out of it at the expense of my airline company. When I arrived at the Puerto Vallarta airport on Saturday night [after several delays], the two pilots of the plane announced to all 180 passengers that they could not fly us home. Seems that the combination of delays managed to somehow exceed their allowable working hours. Flying us back to Canada would have taken them above the 13 hours of uninterrupted travel time.
There was mass pandemonium at the gate. A half hour later the pilots re-emerged from some sort of conference held in full view of us all, and told us that we would all be shuttled to another hotel to spend the night. We were bussed back to the terminal to retrieve our luggage and then taken to another gorgeous all-inclusive resort. We spent most of Sunday there, generously partaking [trust me] in all the free food and booze.
There are so many pictures I could share with my readers, [and some I can't] but since this is supposed to be a blog about books after all -- I thought I'd show this one picture. The main resort I stayed at during the week had a zoo within it. Ostriches, monkeys, peacocks, deer, etc. -- and, of all things, a crocodile.
I was reading a novel by T.C. Boyle at the time, called Water Music. As I was walking by the croc-enclosure one afternoon, it seemed like the thing almost posed for me, very similar to the cover of my book. Here's a picture of it, and vid-clip.
By the way, I'm not sure what sort of sound effects I was making toward the end there -- please forgive me, I was half-loaded at the time… 

Splash du Jour: Monday

INTERVIEWER: Which nineteenth-century writers do you admire?

T.C. BOYLE:  Charles Dickens, for one. A quintessential artist, one who wrote brilliantly and well and originally, and who was the consummately popular author. You have to envy him his famous readings. He was the Mick Jagger of his day, the movie, the stage show and all the rest, all rolled into one. That was a power we poor pathetic scribblers can only dream of in these antiliterary, techno-obsessed days.

Have a great Monday!

*****

The Current State of my Knee...

Loving it here.

*****

Splash du Jour: Friday

Have a great Friday!

*****

The Ocean Is Calling Me...

Just a note to say that I may not be around on my blog much in the near future -- I am off to Mexico. I will still be here in what might as well be Antarctica tomorrow, but after that, I will be somewhere very near to this picture, because this is a photo from the very resort where I will be lounging around for a week like a beached… Canadian.
Please pray for me as I sometimes have been known to abuse the "free unlimited booze" privileges a bit at these all-inclusive deals. As soon as they snap that plastic bracelet around my wrist, I'm pretty much out of control! I've never been more desperately in need of a solid sun-drenched vacation than right now. And so -- the timing is perfect. A great way to kick off 2014.
Vive le Corona!
*****

Splash du Jour: Thursday

"Great writing is, you open the book, and you are surprised each time out. That's what I want to do."
-- T.C. Boyle --

Have a great Thursday!
*****

The Circle

Happy New Year!
I was right. A couple of days ago I posted my favourite books read in 2013 and mentioned that if I finished this new one by Dave Eggers in time, it may have had to displace one of those five. 
It would have done so, for sure. Technically, I finished it today [in 2014] so maybe you will hear about it again, next December!
The Circle -- my God, where can I begin, even. The whole book was just amazing. I literally could not put it down and devoured the 500 pages in a couple of days -- which is unusual for me.
We all are familiar with social media -- blogging itself is one of its many forms. Dave Eggers prophetically takes it all a step forward -- a giant step forward, in this book. The Circle is a corporation that basically develops a global monopoly on online activity. It's never stated in the book how far into the future this is taking place, but every reader will be able to extrapolate the potentialities that exist in our modern society. It's simply a matter of sort of "upping" the technology now available, and creating an accepted mindset wherein users gradually give in to an ever increasing abandonment of personal privacy.
I'm confusing the issue -- trying to put it into a summation is difficult.
Hmmm… how to summarize.
Currently, most of us are involved in the world of social media. One might say that potentially, we are all connected. Thing is, we currently retain the option of participation. And if we participate, we yet retain the option of limiting our participation. Personally controlling it, in other words.
But in the world of The Circle those options quickly erode, and society buys into the idea that ever increasing levels of "transparency" are of ultimate benefit to all.
The Circle implements what sounds like great ideas at first -- politicians that wear cameras on them at all times, criminals that are easily identifiable in a crowd, children that can never be abducted because they are instantly trackable via GPS, etc., -- but along the way, all personal freedoms are one by one jettisoned, and the reader is faced with seeing [literally] what it would really be like to be at all times monitored, and "known" by anyone else who wanted to observe what you were up to.
About midway through the book, one of the founders of The Circle states it clearly: 
"…what if we all behaved as if we were being watched? It would lead to a more moral way of life. Who would do something unethical or immoral or illegal if they were being watched?"
Hah! While at first one might nod in agreement -- The Circle gives us a startling look at just what such a world would be like. It's scary -- scary as hell.
The Circle develops a sort of mantra: SECRETS ARE LIES. SHARING IS CARING. PRIVACY IS THEFT. Eggers, in an exquisitely written story, shows us that those three phrases are a horror when unduly [and mindlessly] exaggerated. He becomes, in my opinion, the new George Orwell with the writing of this book. This is a 1984 for those of us living in 2014.
And because of technology, the stakes are higher this time around. Much higher. By the end of this book you will realize that you need to be vigilant in running, running for your life, toward any shape that is not The Circle.
For further reading, check out this excellent review by Margaret Atwood -- HERE.
*****

Splash du Jour: Tuesday

Have a great New Year's Eve!

*****

Splash du Jour: Monday

"Better to be at the bottom of a ladder you want to climb than in the middle of some ladder you don't, right? Some shitty-ass ladder made of shit?"
-- Dave Eggers, The Circle --

Have a great Monday!
*****

Favorite Reads of 2013

Well, as 2013 comes to a close I must confess that this was not a prolific year when it comes to reading, for me. I usually hover around 50 books or so, but this past year I only read 36, a total of 12,960 pages. I marvel at some other bloggers out there that are reading upwards of 100 or 150 books per year. I wish I could do this, I really do. But I am actually a very slow reader when it comes down to it, and especially through the first half of 2013 I found myself quite busy with other activities. At any rate, I gave it some thought and came up with a list of five books I really enjoyed -- books that thoroughly captivated my attention, throughout the year.
Here they are, listed only in the order in which they were read:

1) Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters.
2) The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco.
3) Cutting For Stone, by Abraham Verghese.
4) The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt.
5) The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick DeWitt.

There are so many other books I read that were excellent, but these above were top-notch. Fingersmith for its ingenious twists and turns. The Name of the Rose for its deep brooding mystery and intellectual appeal. Cutting For Stone for its depth, its range, and attention to detail. The Goldfinch for the way the author couches such timeless themes in a thoroughly modern tale. And The Sisters Brothers for its unique blend of wild-west craziness, lawlessness, and [yet] thoughtfulness.
I'm currently reading The Circle, by Dave Eggers. A book that seems, were I to finish it in the next two days [which I probably won't] would surely displace one of these five, it's so good, so far.
Happy Reading to you all in 2014!
*****

A Tale of Two Toasters

I spent Christmas Day at my best friend's place, and lo and behold, there was a gift for me under the tree. He and his wife presented me with a new toaster. It's the one on the right, in the above photo. 
My old one [on the left] was on its last legs, and so this was a very timely gift. 
Because -- I love toast!
I acquired the old toaster 17 years ago, when my girlfriend Juile moved away to Japan and never came back. You could say, I lost a good woman, but gained an even better toaster! The thing has served me well. As I installed the new one in its place beside my microwave, I put the old one in the new box to take down to the garbage area of my building -- but then I got all nostalgic about it. And I got to thinking… [maybe a bit too much, as you will soon find out, if you keep reading…]
Here's the deal --

I always buy the same kind of bread. Country Harvest Ancient Grains -- a fresh loaf of it seen here to the left. Each bag of this particular kind of bread contains 15 slices. Anyone who knows me knows that I never go to work in the morning without first making a sandwich to eat during my first break time.
So -- there goes ten slices of bread every week, for sure. This leaves me with five in the bag, and I can assure you, I consume those other five slices in my weekend breakfasts and late-night snacks. In fact, this is a very conservative figure -- I actually get into a second loaf of bread every week. But for simplicity's sake, let's just round it off and say that I eat, on the average, one loaf of this bread per week.
Each loaf of bread [those 15 slices of it] measure nine inches in length. You can see a ruler alongside the bread in the photo, if you are in need of empirical evidence.
If you multiply that nine inches of bread by 52 [the number of weeks in a year] it comes to 468 inches, or 39 feet -- of like, bread. In other words, a stack of toast 39 feet high, if piled on top of each other. 
If you multiply that amount by the 17 years I've been using that old toaster, it comes to [are you ready for this?] -- a stack of toast measuring 663 feet up into the air.
I found that figure a bit staggering, really.
So I wanted a better visual perspective on what is going on, and found that there are two famous buildings in the world that are exactly 663 feet in height.

The Trump Tower in New York City [to the left] and The Heron Tower in London, England [to the right].
Hence, at a conservative minimum now, if I were to pile all the toast I've made [and eaten] with that old toaster in the past 17 years, the stack of toast would reach up to the very top of these skyscrapers. That's a lot of gluten! Thankfully, I am tolerant.
13,260 slices of toast. Wow!
So -- vertically satisfied with my research I quit thinking about it for a while.
But then, a bit later, I started thinking about it again.
I wondered -- [by now you are thinking I should be placed in an asylum, am I right? Or, that I have the most boring life on earth? Thing is, you would not be too far from the truth on both counts…] anyhow -- I wondered -- what if all that toast was laid out horizontally, end to end?
So I measured three slices, and then extrapolated with a calculator. Turns out that each loaf of bread is 65 inches or 5.41 feet long, when laid out end to end. This means that I have been eating [again, a minimum] of 281.6 feet of bread per year. Multiplied by 17 years, this amounts to 4,788 feet, or the equivalent of 9/10ths of a mile of toast. For my Canadian and European metric system friends -- this translates to 1.46 kilometres.
In conclusion, I know what you're thinking at this point -- you're thinking:
No wonder that Julie girl left him!
*****

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you all a wonder-filled holiday season!

*****

Splash du Jour: Tuesday

Have a great Christmas Eve y'all! [Do some texting!]
*****

Splash du Jour: Monday

Why do adults foster the credulity of children? Is it really so obviously wrong, when a child believes in Father Christmas, to lead her to a gentle little game of questioning? How many chimneys would he have to reach, if he is to deliver presents to all the children in the world? How fast would his reindeer have to fly in order that he should finish the task by Christmas morning? Don't tell her point blank that there is no Father Christmas. Just encourage her in the unfaultable habit of sceptical questioning.
-- Richard Dawkins, An Appetite For Wonder --


Have a great Monday!
*****

The Sisters Brothers

Every so often you sort of stumble upon a book and it ends up being a real "WOW" experience. I acquired The Sisters Brothers over a year ago at a book sale, at the recommendation of "C" -- who reads my blog, and was at the same sale.
I think she actually handed it to me and said "You have to read this!"
She was right.
What a terrific book, I just finished it last night, but it is still resonating and echoing through me.
I am not a reader of "westerns" -- and you probably aren't, either. This book is sometimes spoken of as being in that genre -- the Western -- but trust me, this is not Louis L'Amour or Zane Grey writing this.
Patrick DeWitt is a genius. He takes a tale of the wild wild west, and turns it into something damn near poetic. And no -- it's not poetry -- it's just that the two main characters, Charlie and Eli Sisters, are ruthless killers -- yet they are also thinkers. Sensitive. Especially Eli, who is the narrator. This thing is written in first-person, from his point of view. They are mercenary killers, itinerate outlaws who travel as hitmen. And this is the story of their… final job.
Oh my God it is an ingenious book. At times so brutal, yet tinged with elements of farce, and humor.
I loved it. Loved it. One of the best books I have read this year, for sure.
I believed every page of The Sisters Brothers -- and if any of you know me, you know that is always the verbal representation of my highest praise for a novel. I have to believe in it.
I believed in this one.
Watch this incredibly excellent video-clip, which delineates the novel better than I ever could do it. 
I agree with everything said by the panel at the end, after the actual commentary by the author.

Splash du Jour: Friday

Have a great Friday!

*****

Splash du Jour: Thursday

Miracles are like meatballs, because nobody can exactly agree what they are made of, where they come from, or how often they should appear.
-- Lemony Snicket, The Carnivorous Carnival --
 I'm not sure about miracles, but I think that meatballs should occur -- daily!

Have a great Thursday!
*****

Criticizing John Irving?

GOD, I hope he does not somehow read my blog!
Because, generally, I love John Irving's stuff -- I've read a real lot of it, almost all of it. But having just finished his most recent book, In One Person -- I don't know. I really have to watch what I say, because Irving is a skilled wrestler, and he could beat me up!
But this book, overall, just did not connect with me. This is partially why it took me somewhere around three weeks to finish it.
It's the story of this guy, Billy Abbott, who is struggling [and then not struggling] from early adolescence on into adulthood, with his bisexuality. The core of the story takes place in America during the 1970's and then '80's, when AIDS was really making itself known -- and in that sense, I think that it does well in elucidating a lot about the history of intolerance toward homosexuality -- and how things have changed in that regard. But from simply an artifice perspective -- I find that I have problems with Irving's characterization… of his characters. And often, with his dialogue.
And these are two real biggees with me, in novels. I have to believe that a) this is how people act, and b) this is how people talk -- when I read a novel. 
One of my favorite books of all time is A Prayer For Owen Meany, but, gee whiz, I'm getting weary with how Irving focuses on people's idiosyncrasies, and [in my opinion] exaggerates living in the past, or, just [and I hate to say it this way, but I must]….. they just cannot seem to GET OVER THINGS.
We move on. We forgive. We even forget, sometimes. It's all about self-preservation. But I find that with a lot of what Irving writes, his characters can't seem to do this, and it wearies me. And by the way, I'm not referring to homosexuality here, in the case of this novel, as if that is something that one should "get over with" -- no. Not at all. It's just that life is more three-dimensional than I think John Irving is willing to grant his characters.
And so this novel, even though it has a really nice cover, I can award it only three [possibly male-clasped] bra-straps, of a potential five.
*****

Splash du Jour: Wednesday

I am beginning to feel the need of a glass of wine to fortify myself against this conversation.
-- Naomi Novik, His Majesty's Dragon --
Have you ever felt that way? [My preference is beer.]

Have a great Wednesday!
*****

Splash du Jour: Tuesday

Homonym

Matter.

In the first sense, not what is thought or felt.
Rather that which is held, seen or smelled.

In the second, everything physical scatters.
Add an "s", and only what is invisible...

© Ciprianowords, Inc. 2010

Have a great Tuesday!
*****

Splash du Jour: Monday

I recently got a beautiful book for a birthday gift. It's the new autobiography of Richard Dawkins. An Appetite for Wonder. The Making of a Scientist.
I can't wait to read it, really. Ever since reading his The God Delusion [well, even before that] I have been fascinated with his ideas.
So often Dawkins is criticized for being too blunt, crass, rude or judgmental in his pronouncements, especially as they concern religion and belief in the supernatural, etc.
But at the same time, one must admit, he is a hard man to argue with. I mean -- it just makes sense, what he says. And he isn't always rude.
The following YouTube clip is a fine example of that. In my opinion, it is wrongly titled, because what he is saying is not leveled as an attack on Islam, or any one religion per se -- it's simply a rational, well-spoken, and even polite response to a good question. I hope it makes as much sense to you as it does to me.



Have a great Monday!
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A [Belated] Saturday Snapshot

It's been quite a while since I ever posted a "Saturday Snapshot" on my blog.
Actually, it's been quite a while since I posted anything on my blog.
Last night was my annual Christmas work party. It was really a great time, even though the snowstorm meant I had to wait over two hours for a cab to get home. 
And I won a Christmas wreath! At first, I thought I had won the 50" TV that was also given away, or the Samsung computer. But as it turned out, it was this wreath.
It's gorgeous, and smells divine -- made of real pine. As it goes though, my cat Kennedy thinks it's something to eat. Because all the doors on my floor have been recently re-painted, I decided it would be kind of wrong to pound a new nail hole in there to hang this up. So --- this afternoon I went down to see Owen, the superintendent, and I gave him the wreath. He'll hang it up in the foyer so that everyone in my building can enjoy it.
Hope you are all having a great December.
As for me, I have one eye on the calendar. In three weeks time I will be in Mexico AND AWAY FROM ALL THIS SNOW!!

Thanks to West Metro Mommy Reads for hosting this Saturday Snapshot meme!
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Splash du Jour: Friday

Let’s take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro Lights and talk about our lives.
-- Joseph Heller, Catch-22 --

Have a great Friday!
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Splash du Jour: Wednesday

Fighting With You

Everyone loves a storm.
No forecast can predict what it will do.
We are enticed in that moment.
Oh, the damage. We run outside to take it in.

Something about fury we cannot control
intrigues us. Especially as it inflicts others.
We re-assess our own insurance coverage
but other than that -- God help them!

When I know I have displeased you
there is not even time to gather lawn chairs.
Those eyes squint. There is no turning the channel.
In light of the above, forgive my fascination --

Because even then, I only love you.

-- © Ciprianowords, Inc. 2013 --

Have a great Wednesday!
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Splash du Jour: Tuesday

Have a great Tuesday!

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Splash du Jour: Monday

There are always surprises. Life may be inveterately grim and the surprises disproportionately unpleasant, but it would be hardly worth living if there were no exceptions, no sunny days, no acts of random kindness.
-- T.C. Boyle, The Tortilla Curtain --

Have a great Monday!
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End of Year TBR List

I wonder if I am unique in this -- another year goes by and you think of all the books you intended to read, and have not yet read.
This is just ONE STACK of a few of my recent acquisitions -- and it does seem that at the end of the year, they tend to pile up. My birthday occurs in December, so along with that, and early Christmas gifts, I am always inundated with terrific stuff to read.
From the top:
Why Does The World Exist?, by Jim Holt. This is one I am eager to get into. A philosophical examination of the idea: Why is there something, rather than nothing?
Water Music, by T.C. Boyle. His first novel, I'm really looking forward to this one. A comedic African adventure story, set in the late 18th Century.
All Other Nights, by Dara Horn. A historical novel about a guy sent to murder his own uncle, who is plotting to assassinate Abraham Lincoln.
The Diaries of Sofia Tolstoy. Speaks for itself? I've always been interested in all things Tolstoyish.
At Home In The World, by Joyce Maynard. This memoir is written by the woman who was, at the mere age of eighteen, involved in a romantic affair with writer J.D. Salinger.
The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick DeWitt. I've been meaning to read this allegedly hilarious "western" for quite a while now.
An Appetite For Wonder, by Richard Dawkins. Autobiography of the famous atheistic scientist. I've always loved Richard Dawkins, and want to find out what makes him tick.

So -- a lot of good reading ahead of me, in 2014. These, and many many unnamed and as yet, unpiled, others. Have any of you read any of these mentioned ones? 
Maybe your comments will help me with where to start.
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Splash du Jour: Friday

Every book you pick up has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones.
-- Stephen King --
Have a great Friday!
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Splash du Jour: Thursday

In 1921, a New York rabbi asked Einstein if he believed in God. "I believe in Spinoza's God," he answered, "who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings."
-- Jim Holt, Why Does The World Exist? --

Have a great Thursday!
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Splash du Jour: Wednesday

I grabbed a pile of dust, and holding it up, foolishly asked for as many birthdays as the grains of dust, I forgot to ask that they be years of youth. 
-- Ovid, Metamorphoses --
[Today is mine -- and I forgot, too.]

Have a great Wednesday!
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Splash du Jour: Tuesday

After sleeping through a hundred million centuries we have finally opened our eyes on a sumptuous planet, sparkling with color, bountiful with life. Within decades we must close our eyes again. Isn’t it a noble, an enlightened way of spending our brief time in the sun, to work at understanding the universe and how we have come to wake up in it? This is how I answer when I am asked—as I am surprisingly often—why I bother to get up in the mornings.
-- Richard Dawkins --


Have a great Tuesday!
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Splash du Jour: Monday

When I was reading with what Miss Frost described as the "reckless desperation of a burglar ravishing a mansion," she once said to me, "Slow down, William. Savor, don't gorge. And when you love a book, commit one glorious sentence of it -- perhaps your favorite sentence -- to memory. That way you won't forget the language of the story that moved you to tears."
-- John Irving, In One Person --

Have a great Monday!
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Thinking of My Dad

Today was a really quiet day for me -- a time to reflect. Maybe it was the way some snow fell real gently outside, yet it was not cold out. Or windy.
I did some Christmas shopping -- mostly books, and even one for me -- and then afterwards I stopped at another store to buy wrapping paper. I was already in the lineup to pay when I glanced at the chocolate bar section and saw this Bounty. It made me miss my dad. 
In 12 days, it will be 14 years since he passed away.
He was a salesman and spent a lot of time on the road. So often when he would come home from… wherever… he would have chocolate bars for my younger sister and me. It is a fond memory of mine, as a kid. It just made me feel good, I guess, to know he was thinking of us. Plus I liked chocolate bars.
He liked them, too. And this was one of his favorites. Bounty.
I hadn't seen that bar anywhere for so long -- I'm surprised they still make them. The main ingredient is coconut. And when you tear it open, there are two of them in there. Maybe that was a part of his thinking… he knew I would give him half of it?
Sweet memories, today, of my sweet dad. 

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