Alive

Great cover art

2012-01-30T21:59:00.000-08:00

Hayden Ferry review - Premier issue has an animal being hugged but the overlapping area missing. Another was the back of a human torso on a chair. Although one migh think that in this pose, the missing bent head of thinking man adds the energy to the pose, just the torso has enough raw energy to evoke response.

Beckian Goldberg's poems - Salvation, Birth.

William Olsen - eighteen species of hummingbirds

Candace Greenburg- 'waiting for the days of grace' poem recreates a day with her 'Maybe it was a day like this:' with multiple attempts to get a whole picture of it.

Contents

2012-01-30T21:18:00.000-08:00

American Wasteland

Author's site

2012-01-30T05:20:00.000-08:00

Ritalin gets a black box warning and then loses it.

Regulation of therapeutic goods

Worry wart

2012-01-30T04:54:00.000-08:00

when baby is in too long
or out too late

Its like
waiting for the only
exam which is 5 days away
and then you are off home.

On the road

2012-01-28T20:21:00.000-08:00

Author Howard Frank Mosher in The Great Northern Express, writes of not just his journey in an OldsMobile to a 100 cities on his book tour but also of his life and the people in it - his wife, uncle Reg and students he taught.
His memoir has the simplicity of Jose Saramago's 'small Memories' as well as a story structure in each chapter. Some chapters have a neat ending to a story started in previous chapters, making a story happen over chapters.
Uncle Reg's and other characters phantom appearance and dialogue reads like a Prairie House Companion session.
In one of the chapters, 'Prof told us' and 'Prof said that' got annoying. Made me wonder if that chapter should have been with Prof as the narrator.
Author not minding being referred to as 'Harold' and his humorous way of looking at his cancer experience in trimesters and his big trip a big grant tour, maintains his light hearted tone even while trying to make a difference in the life of his students steering them away from mill jobs. Its an effortless one sitting book read.
The author asks 'But who would write the stories we were hearing everyday right here in the Kingdom?'. He has captured them well, the funny stories of hunting, representing the culture of the place.
If I had read any of the author's previous work, I could get more attached to the memoir.

I will compare this with Queen of the Road

Shadows

2012-01-26T22:19:00.000-08:00

show us a broken world

canopy on a wall

Cant complain

2012-01-26T20:59:00.001-08:00

The kid above my roof
jumps like a baby in the womb
The other day I saw him
at the door upstairs
He's so little.

Overcoming Dyslexia

2012-01-26T20:32:00.000-08:00

After a spate of books by parents on rearing disabled children - The Boy In the Moon, All I can handle, The Anti Romantic Child (yet to read), My Dyslexia too has the same reason for existence, only this parent too has faced the problem as his child.
Author Philip Schultz understood very late in life that he suffered from dyslexia when his son was diagnosed with it. In this book, he explains how his lack of understanding of his situation isolated him socially and thus the solitary conditions were ripe for his becoming a writer.
It is ironic that even though the author is not a good follower of his religion, his insecurity and complicated relation with it in writing lets others find a great spiritual meaning for other readers.
The author makes an interesting comparision between being a dyslrxic and a writer.
May be we can expect something like Just like someone without mental illness only more so from Eli Schultz.

Young scientist challenge

Picking books

2012-01-26T18:13:00.000-08:00

I have to chose two books in Immortal bird, What to look for in winter, Why be happy when you could be normal?, The great Northern express.

Being a sucker for travel writing, I will go with The Great Northern express. Have been reading lately a lot on children with problems growing. Will rest that feeling for a while. My Dyslexia is Philip Schultz's life with dyslexia. Immortal Bird is a double blow with a child having to surmount great challenges twice. I will be on the lookout for Why be happy when you could be normal?.
I have chosen What to expect in Winter. It seems a bit related to Fiction ruined my family.

A dream

2012-01-26T11:46:00.001-08:00

A small hand raises
out at the top
of my uterus.
the palm smaller
than my little finger.

Organic poetry

2012-01-24T21:28:00.001-08:00

In the foreword of On Poetry and Craft, Ted's views on how to revise poetry makes one look at a poem like an organic whole.

Carolyn Kizer refers to her poem The Great Blue heron revised by Roethke.

Poets Roethke admired - Louise Bogan, Leonie Adams, Ruth pitter

In The Heron, I like
The wide wings flap but once to lift him up, at once taking away the power from the heron described till now.

2012-01-24T20:39:00.000-08:00

Does the society have a responsibility towards artists? An artist knows the value of his/her work. But the process of evaluating an art work is not science.
An artist is created by the society.

2012-01-24T20:37:00.000-08:00

The Animal Connection

Cutmarks
Locard's exchange
Thermoluminescence dating
Grammar from lexicon
Bates Goodman paper.
expressive language at 200 words and grammar at 400.
Theory of mind

*********
Another breed - Lhasa Apso from a colleague.

Twenty first amendment

2012-01-22T22:11:00.000-08:00

A while ago I learnt that one of the restaurants could not serve alcohol as they didnt have the license. I wondered if it was an industrial area and the law didnt want workers intoxicating themselves. From Beverage control law, I figure, maybe that municipality has already used up its number of licenses in other restaurants.
Author Jay wexler in The Odd clause, explains the twenty first amendment and Original package doctrine in its relation.

How kids eat cupcakes

2012-01-22T18:57:00.000-08:00

Today I learnt of Madhubani art.

A plate with two soft
white bread rounds
what sweet is this?
Something exotic like
rasmalai
A white chocolate cupcake
cut in two
with the colourful topping
devoured by the kid.

He made dragon with cups. I mistook it for a caterpillar.

2012-01-20T21:51:00.001-08:00

Pandora's seed

2012-01-20T21:46:00.001-08:00

Constitution cafe

2012-01-20T21:44:00.001-08:00

Whateverland

2012-01-20T21:36:00.001-08:00

Rock the casbah

2012-01-20T21:28:00.001-08:00

Between expectations

2012-01-20T21:25:00.001-08:00

The tanning of America

2012-01-20T21:24:00.001-08:00

Forbidden lessons in a Kabul guesthouse

Opposite of dyslexia

2012-01-20T21:15:00.001-08:00

The Anti Romantic Child

Astrophil and Stella

Nutting by Wordsworth.

The book is filled with Wordsworth's lines of poetry. For every instance, the author finds a way of introducing us to lines of WW. Its like old Indian movies which had characters go into singing verses. Enter son. He too quotes lines from poems. While searching for one of the stories 'Time of wonder' on the net, I came across hyperlexia and just brushed it off as a smart word engineered by a parent for their child's babbliness. Having just read 'My Dyslexia' by Philip schultz, I wasnt ready for another special needs.
Little did I realise that the book I was reading was on it. The readers realise that the kid has been playing back what he is been told, at the same time as the mom. Once she is informed with the reasons as to why her son is unable to do certain things because of his condition, readers too are eased into the situation at hand.
This book is so different from the ones that I have read recently on the subject of parents and their experiences with a special needs child. Author Gilman's search all the way through to help her son in interacting with his peers is out there for the reader to a close detail of how she had instructions everyday for her kid to suit his structured brain which like rituals yet modifying it everyday to introduce him to the dynamic of real life. She acknowledges the effort of all the teachers, therapists and other parents who understood her kids needs. Its this element that is different from the other books.
Towards the end, the author talks about how hyperlexia is viewed as opposite of dyslexia. This chimes with dyslexics having a creative edge in My Dyslexia. This is like the opposites in Unbreakable movie.
At many points, she finds that her professional English professor life and her personal life meet due to the presence of poetry in both as a bedrock for her son's growth as well as her own.
The author never betrays a sense of 'why me or why my child', she's long won that battle. She gets positive enforcement from everyone around that her child brings joy into their life added with the confidence that they think she can care well for her child. All that emailing to convince people when she might be seen as not helping the case by chosing to put her son off medication. Of why ADD drugs were not the best course for her child. Congress involved in capping drugs.
I went into this case thinking that there is no media coverage like the autism-vaccine thing. A law helps make a conscious choice of sticking to cognitive therapy and shun medication.

Reading too soon
Out of sync child
Swinger of birches

Free man in Haiti

2012-01-20T21:08:00.000-08:00

Haiti after the earthquake

2012-01-20T20:43:00.000-08:00

Mythology

Some myths have common thread through them . Like duryodhana and Achilles story.
I thought that Draupadi and Helen were seen as the cause of wars was the only other similarity in myths.

2012-01-20T20:24:00.000-08:00

One day I will write about this place is a descriptive memoir.
The book cover is reminiscent of Kany west's video of 'Love Lockdown'. A tall figure.

Tot tales

2012-01-19T21:24:00.000-08:00

On the way to Srisailam
a pilgrimage
I pick a thin, broken muruku
and point to it
being a
question mark

********

My sister counts
our 4 years younger
brothers
fingers
1,2,3...

Non metric

2012-01-19T20:59:00.000-08:00

The Odd clauses: Understanding the constitution through ten of its most curious provisions

Author Jay wexler relates the current events of the nation like health bill reform to explain the workings of the constitution to the readers. To clarify the clauses that he has chosen, he provides examples from the present members of the congress, grounding the material in our times and still making us see the origins of them in history and when the constitution was made.
Recently to understand Environmental law for 'Wild Law' book, I began to listen to a UCB lecture. The professor said that agencies make environmental laws. When the author questioned if its constitutional that these agencies like EPA and others make laws, it pulled me into the book with so much relevance.
When I read of 'vaccine court' in Kim stagliano's 'All I can handle', I was piqued enough to find out about it but not enough about its 'office of the Special masters'. Wexler not only explains who 'special masters' are but when they are needed. He uses a modular approach so that related sections dont become too long and are an interesting read in themselves.
I found the later part of 'Recess-Appointments' clause bit too wordy.

Matrix flexibility

2012-01-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

Bank Heavy press has a theme 'Avoid Ninja stars'

St Anthony's Day

2012-01-19T18:36:00.000-08:00

Looking at this Puffin stuffing itself with fish, I was reminded of a dog catching socks video that I watched on NBC recently. Its interesting to know of animals being blessed and horses taking part in bonfires on St Anthony's Day in Spain.

Honey Dipper

2012-01-19T18:24:00.000-08:00

Rcently I had seen honey dipper and wondered about what it was. In an article on how it is not safe for kids under 1yr to have honey.

Strawberry seeds

2012-01-19T18:19:00.000-08:00

Today while eating strawberries, I felt that it seemed very unnatural that there were no seeds inside. The whole fruit itself was in the shape of a purse, which added to its artificiality. I was reminded of figs and kiwi, which have their seeds inside.

Of dogs

2012-01-19T18:16:00.000-08:00

A colleague was talking about his dogs. I learnt of Bichon,Chow Lab and Parvo. He said that he will never own a pure breed dog again for their intellect and resilience. I was reminded of selective breeding of dogs puts them at risk news.

Environmental law

2012-01-15T10:40:00.000-08:00

I want to compare Wild law with Natural resources courses. But there is not enough time for that.

Back to the future

With terms like 'homosphere', author Cormac Cullinan shows the lop sided view that we the humans and our legislative systems have of our biosphere. The author begins with how we have come to view ourselves seperate from the nature and the discord that resulted in the way we regulate our societies with that view. He explains how the nature falls out of the scope of current law and a need for our reintegration with nature.
The author talks about some of the communities that have lived peacefully with nature - Amazonians, Tukanos, When he talks of learning from the indigenous people, I was reminded of the whale conservation and the rituals in 'Demon Fish' by Juliet Elperin. Erdmann's efforts talked of in that book show hope for wild life.
The author works in his background, work and interests to make the reader see why he is passioante about puting the framework of 'Earth jurisprudence' in front of them.
For most people where the question and answer of todays status of earth ends at 'climate change', this book is a step forward in realigning our thinking with all life as one with nature.

Muffins and Mayhem reading guide

2012-01-15T10:36:00.000-08:00

1. Do you agree with Suzanne’s belief that clothes can, in a sense, make
the person? Have you ever had a similar experience where your outward appearance
caused an inner metamorphosis?

I have always liked short hair. It always fills me with enthusiasm to exercise and stay fit.

Recently my boss wore better fitting pants and a cool jacket, he looked so much younger than in his sloppy pants.

2.Is adopting some of our parents’ idiosyncrasies inevitable? Why
or why not?

3.Would you consider her unsuccessful
endeavors failures? Why or why not? How do you define failure? Did any of
Suzanne ’s stories make you reconsider the value of some of the failures in your own
life?

4.Have you ever experienced a similar situation? Was it comical like Suzanne’s, or
more embarrassing?

5.When describing her own quirky personality, Suzanne quotes Leonard Cohen’s
“There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” How do you think Suzanne’s
embracing of her individuality and pride in being “a little strange” (page 74)
has affected the way she interacts with others? How can embracing one’s uniqueness
help overcome life ’s obstacles?

6.Do you think her “love the illness” strategy
could help others suffering from chronic conditions? Have you ever experienced a
similar situation? If so, how did you learn to live with your condition?

7.In talking about the meaning of life, Suzanne writes, “I’ve always thought my job,
my purpose here on earth, certainly must be something more dramatic than simply
loving and taking care of the people around me. So I’ve strived to be clever, artistic,
and talented in business. But . . . I realize I’ve been looking at life all wrong. It’s not
complicated, there ’s nothing to prove. My mother was right. It’s really very simple.
What’s really important is love.” Do you agree? Why or why not?

8.Of all the values Suzanne carries, why do you think maintaining a
sense of humor is so important? Are there any special pick-me-up tokens or rituals in
your life that you use to help you through rough patches?

9.How important is tradition
in your family? Did you experience a similar “passing of the torch” when you
became an adult?

10. What does going home mean to you? Has it been an easy journey or, like Suzanne,
have you had to find a way to give yourself the home you never had when you were
growing up?

11.Was she going to accept and acknowledge her writing talent, or let
self-doubt continue to steal it away? The words in an old folk song proclaim, “This
little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.” Have you been able to freely acknowledge
the talents you’ve been blessed with, or do you hide your light under a bushel?

12.So many of her projects required her to trust her instincts
and take a chance. For example, when she took it upon herself to essentially create
her own job description at Sunny Hill Nursing Home. Have you ever found yourself
in situations where you had an opportunity to take similar chances, and how did you
react? Do you regret your decision?

The conversation with the author of Muffins and Mayhem in the reading guide is interesting.

A dream

2012-01-14T21:00:00.000-08:00

On a mud bank
with water on both sides
My sister did something
the water from the right bank
overflowed into the left
and receded
I still held to the bank

during the wash
I saw skeletons
A previous tsunami maybe

Today's news of a toppled ship

Long voyage ahead

2012-01-14T20:57:00.000-08:00

In The Cat's table, the narrator is a 11yr old boy asks 'What had there been before such a ship in my life?' about the life forming and changing experiences on the 'Oronsay' from Colombo bound to England. The narrator thinks that 'he reinvented himself in this seemingly imaginary world'.
Even though most of the book is on the ship and the various characters - a literary guy, a plants & herbs expert- on it, theres a foreshadowing of his future and references of the influences of the experiences of the ship by an adult self.
The narrator and his friends escape to the lifeboat and learn of many secret activities that are clarified towards the end of the novel. The later half of it deals with the narator's emotional geography and its formation.
The novel tiptoes on the edge of fiction and sparse style of non-fiction. The parts of the novel in letters in the voice of other characters have the fiction tone to them but rest of it is in a 'as is' style which made it hard for putting coals to my imagination machine.
Rope incense burning is new to me.

Like a mirror

2012-01-10T21:41:00.001-08:00

To reset the modem and
router
I was in a dog pose
On the left wall
I could correct the
shadow

Funny essays

2012-01-09T04:40:00.000-08:00

I totally meant to do that in I was told there'd be cakes style.
I find neat jumps from topics in an essay like say from her playing a undercover fashion products cop to her thespian skills or lack of it.

More Jane books

Beter than the NPR review of it

2012-01-09T04:24:00.000-08:00

New

Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan and Natural philosophy. His how flags furl theory

7R genes and novelty

NPR interview

The author uses examples from recent past winners of Mac Arthur Genius award.

Tot tales

2012-01-09T04:15:00.000-08:00

To strain starch from hot rice
mom put my sister
in a corner of the room
so she would be done
by the time my sis
crawled to her.

At six months,
I histed myself out of
a cradle using the ropes
connecting it to the ceiling.
That was the last of
suspended living.

2012-01-09T04:11:00.000-08:00

I learnt of Faux painting from a friend yesterday. She also introduced me to Warli painting.

How to vagabond

2012-01-09T04:09:00.000-08:00

Vagabonding
Links

Mommity

2012-01-08T19:38:00.000-08:00

I pick the car key from the table
At the door I realise its a battery
that needs to be recycled

I remove milk from the microwave
after adding sugar, I put the
plastic jar in to the microwave.

2012-01-07T10:10:00.000-08:00

The man who could stop at nothing
Iron Butt Association

Scott Fitzgerald' lines from page 1 make us see how fiction writers can come out of their lives and imagine things.

2012-01-07T10:05:00.001-08:00

Childcraft

2012-01-05T18:19:00.001-08:00

The fantastic rainy day book
Pictures and poetry

Colorful illustrations

2012-01-05T17:58:00.000-08:00

Most stories in A Treasury of Favorite tales are new to me.
'How the Camel Got his Hump', 'How the Leopard Got his spots', 'The Elephant's Child', 'The cat that walked by Himself' are collected from Rudyard Kipling's Just so stories. I would have liked this mentioned. 'The Golden Goose' is from 'The Grimm Fairy tales'. The rest are from 'Aesops fables'.

Even the known one like 'The Hare and the Tortoise', 'The Fox and the Stork' are interesting with their makeover look. Imagine the stork with a pearl necklace.

The text embeds so well into the picture that it seems like a picture book than a text book. The amount of text in a line is like a free verse poem, making the reading smooth.

2012-01-04T22:53:00.001-08:00

Pilgrimage

2012-01-04T22:51:00.001-08:00

Understanding our need for novelty and change

2012-01-04T22:47:00.001-08:00

What makes your brain happy and why you should do the opposite

I want to compare this book with 'The geography of bliss'.

The writing style is so 20 years ago, that it is hard to read. This book needs a makeover as ' new non fiction'.

Dog moon, Radio moon, Poetry moon

2012-01-04T22:34:00.001-08:00

The book of men

In Learning to drive, I liked the ending

to let me go it alone. his back pressed

against all that emptiness

I liked Mine own Phil Levine for its 'to wait, to hold true/ to my vision, to speak in my own voice' and 'to be yourself in your own time, to stand up/ that poetry was precision, raw precision/ Truth and compassion: genius'.

I liked The rising of a pregnant mare too. Author Dorianne Laux's interview on the poem and the book.

I liked the Dog moon poem too. There's a bit on it in the above interview link. his poem can be used as a poetry exercise too with its 'dog moon, radio moon, panic moon....'

Another interview of the author.

2012-01-04T22:30:00.001-08:00

Money shot

Too much sci-fi to continue

2012-01-04T22:27:00.000-08:00

Distrust that particular flavor

Crystal radio
Since 1948 - How the author william Gibson became science fiction writer.

2012-01-04T22:08:00.001-08:00

Broetry

2012-01-04T21:46:00.001-08:00

Testify

2012-01-03T20:15:00.002-08:00

Ordinary sun

ceiling fan

2012-01-03T20:15:00.000-08:00

Tiny book of tiny stories

The fan's shadow was big enough to encompass the whole ceiling.

What a mantis is capable of?

2011-12-28T21:22:00.000-08:00

In National Geographic magazine of animal mummies edition is a picture where Mantis catches hummingbird.

When a lion eats into a deer, the power play is visible but with a mantis, one only learns of the deceptive strength in it.

Deep sea

2011-12-28T19:53:00.000-08:00

In a big hall
the ceiling has an
aquarium
with a large whale
with a fin missing
There are couple other
whales with all fins.
There are many other
small fish too

For the beautiful scene
that it is,
should someone break the glass
the whole room will be the
deep sea.

**********
In this dream, I wear long hangings with flexible smaller ones adding length. I usually go for small ones.

2011-12-28T19:32:00.000-08:00

The geography of bliss. I saw this book at library but I hadn picked it then. I recognised the authors name this time and decided to give the book a try.

Even though his journey is in search of the 'where they are happy and why', we get to preview his view on journalism, paradise.

Tsechu

23.1 point turn driving

2011-12-27T19:09:00.000-08:00

Marian Keyes, narrates the chaos of endless fashion products arriving in her mail in the essay 'The nicest thing that ever happened to me' in the book Under the Duvet. One day the tap dries up.

In 'Given the boot', she puts her horror in words at the sight of mismatched boots in a very cinematic style.

Her experiences with not accomodating feng shui into her new house, becoming a gardener against her will, getting a drivers license and loads of practice before that are all very hilarious.

2011-12-25T17:31:00.000-08:00

Memoirs of a Dutiful daughter
As a child she read stories by Madame de Segur, Zenaide Fleuriot,Charles Perault, Madame d Aulnoy, Canon Schmid, Topffer, Becassine, Francois Caradec, adventures of sapper camember, Sans Famille, Paul d Ivoi, Andre Laurie.

2011-12-25T13:06:00.001-08:00

Life on Mars

Selachology

2011-12-24T14:14:00.000-08:00

Demon Fish will enlarge your shark knowledge from the 'Jaws'. It was amazing to know that sharks reproduce anywhere from 2 to 100 young. With reference to shark gods and the Lemebe legend, the author pulls the readers in to the book.
Shark virgin births add to the mystery of sharks.
Shivji moved from studying plants to sharks.
Ammer in Raja Ampat
Shark repellants to keep humans and sharks apart.
on NPR

Another dream

2011-12-22T20:38:00.000-08:00

What law is it
where you can not
put things back
into the package
they came from

My dresses wouldnt
fit into the baggage
When I go back to
retrieve my baggage
A session is on
in the room
I have to forget
about all the
stuff that I was
carrying.

A dream

2011-12-22T20:36:00.000-08:00

Under a low wooden deck
I lie watching the sky
filled with dark clouds to the
side of deck facing the ocean

As a ship passes by
I feel the water
undulating me

Life in Abstract America

2011-12-21T22:33:00.001-08:00

A Good American
The author is an immigrant to Missouri. There lies his main interest of the book. The book is narrated by James who ' was the only one who had nowhere but to look back'. He is the grandchild of the German immigrant couple who are fortunate to meet helpful people.
The narrator writes of an eventful life of his family, ancestors and the community. The book is interesting to read but not something that will leave an indelible impression on your mind. The first generation's struggle has the reader spell bound with how things are going to work out for them. I kept wondering how would Joseph's success story be. The book delivers with its unexpected twists and the narrator learning his own story while yarning out the rest of the town's. The story always stays within the town limits. The extremes are provided in the stories by making the families incomplete with either a father or mother sacrificed for the story. In every alternate chapter, theres a death.
With a lot of 'tiger mom' gusto to music, I expected something grand from the family members. 'A Good American' seemed a good context for the first generation's story to hinge on. For Joseph looked at America as a place where 'future was the only thing that mattered'.But the later on generations had too quotidian a life.
Author's interest in jazz music, playing sax and cooking/eating are all reflected in the book with a bar with live music turned to a restaurant back to bar.
4/5

Kaadedi kavitakanarham kukkapilla, sabbu billa, aggi pulla - Sri sri

2011-12-21T22:32:00.000-08:00

This telugu line means that even a puppy, soap bar or a match stick are not incapable of being poetry subjects.

Night of the republic

A note about the titles in the book. They are common places that you encounter in your life. The poet's palette is full of the most familiar and obvious elements like the restroom indispensables of soap and towel.
His
Of the canned goods and foodstuffs
Stacked in columns onto columns
Under columns pushed together

Into walls of shelves
Of aisles all celestially effacing
...
Of bodies that have picked
Packed unpacked and placed
in the poem `Supermarket' are reminiscent of the pepsi and cola cans which have been arranged in different colors to form human features.
His choice of words looms at you like the blocks in a tetris game. The reader is required to be on their toes.
His `Parkbench' poem is a juxtaposition of all things and events that happen in and around a park bench in the endless reel of time.
Even though the poet writes on everyday objects, he makes them interesting by discarding their static being and imbuing them with an organic quality. For example, in
`Stone Church'
Each stone is another
stones resistance

Bell ringer

2011-12-20T20:24:00.000-08:00

At Bashas, I saw a person ringing a bell. I didnt know that they represented salvation army.

2011-12-18T16:14:00.001-08:00

The Birding life

2011-12-18T16:13:00.000-08:00

MapHead
Map watching, the author picked places which have similar outline.
Third culture kid
California map society
Travelers century club
Lilly Gaskin
National geographic bee
Sylvie and Bruno inspired Borge's story On exactitude in science
Degree confluence project
Collecting: An unruly passion
Antipode map
How to essays by Umberto Eco has On the Impossibility of Drawing a Map of the Empire on a Scale of 1 to 1.”, in the line of Carroll and Borge's work.

2011-12-17T18:54:00.001-08:00

Magical thinking

2011-12-17T18:13:00.001-08:00

I feel great about my hands and other unexpected joys of aging

Each book has a secret

2011-12-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

The mystery of metamorphosis

Amazon review

Sand hoppers use their visual cues in calculating the tide occurence.

Did dolphins learn sponging from Sponge crab ?

Mollusc and human eyes

Radial symmetry evolution

Larva and starfish - Luidia arsi

Cephalopods have three hearts and blue blood

Francis Balfour

Octopus mom cares for her young and dies. Penguin parents have to travel far to fed themselves.

Reflections on a summer sea

The great peacock moth
The Life of the caterpillar

2011-12-16T20:43:00.000-08:00

Great hall of Beijing 2005 -pg 25

A tea pot in a saucer
A cup next to it
for every political adviser
in each of the red velvet chairs
in rows of wooden tables.

A woman in red
stocks them one by one
In the empty hall
of name tags.

2011-12-16T20:37:00.000-08:00

The penguin and the leviathan
review

2011-12-16T19:53:00.001-08:00

Idea hunter

What is more likely to hold us back as individuals - a lack of things or a lack of ideas? - Andy Boynton.

Authors blog

2011-12-16T16:40:00.001-08:00

When older people dont eat well

2011-12-15T20:40:00.000-08:00

Yoga for women.

2011-12-13T20:44:00.000-08:00

Our fathers, ourselves

How much should a local phone call cost?

2011-12-13T16:53:00.000-08:00

There are many cases where people have been charged exorbitantly for local calls.
ILD Telecommunications has a D+ rating.

TMobile connects and charges calls to Mexico and Canada, even though you disable international calls.
TMobile does not disable international calls for the phones added o family plan. When the billing is taken care of by the primary account holder, shouldnt the settings be default from that account.

Nightmare

2011-12-12T19:14:00.000-08:00

I became a mother
when I feared for
your life
a genetic imperfection
between us

2011-12-11T21:07:00.001-08:00

The woman who swallowed her cat
Now why am I reading 'gruesome' tales while even birthing videos make me cry.

2011-12-06T21:16:00.000-08:00

Is marriage for white people?

2011-12-06T20:56:00.000-08:00

All my patients kick and bite

The author begins the book with a mishap. In the first chapter, he begins with a caveat- 'no friends pets' that might be translated to any vocation dealing with the health of a person.

Lamas need toenail care
Horses cant throw up
Impaction
Prolapsed uterus in cow
Prolapsed uterus
Hysterectomy

I was curious about how a caesarian is performed few weeks ago. I didnt know that the uterus could be sewn too. I didnt know that hysterectomy has risks of prolapse.
A pregnant mother reflex. To hold belly while sneezing.

2011-12-06T19:36:00.000-08:00

Always on
Trism
iShoot
Pocket god

2011-12-06T18:13:00.000-08:00

The dolphin in the mirror
On saving Humphrey
Beaching
oikomi
sonars effect on dolphins
Diana Reiss
The author points that we would never slaughter chimps then why dolphins?
Dolphin giving a timeout. Imagine the beautiful rings that it can make in water and starting over again to make perfect ones like erasing a slate.
On Diane rehm show
dolphins sponging - tool use
cooperative feeding
The Cove
If there is magic

I wonder how 'Dolphin Diaries' book is.

2011-12-06T18:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Chaos
Punky brewster

review
Author's interview
Another interview

The author says that nobody told her about the granny panties after delivery. A child birth preparation class is to prepare you for such things. At first I thought it was a joke when the instructor showed the pads. If not for the author, I wouldnt know that you need ice pack after delivery. If the author had read Anne Lamott's Operating Instructions book, she would know of the possibility of a poop during the labour.

It gets better

2011-12-06T17:54:00.000-08:00

It gets better

This I believe

2011-12-06T17:50:00.000-08:00

This I believe on fatherhood

Quick look at climate

2011-11-29T22:00:00.000-08:00

Climate solutions
Looking at pg.39, states lacking climate action plans (Sep 2007) are just the states which had higher temperatures than normal in July 2006 (pg. 19 Earth the biography)

Aug 23, 2009

Top of the stack

2011-11-29T21:57:00.000-08:00

Best American magazine writing 2007
He Knew he was Right - Ian parker. I began reading thinking its the same as the movie, not that I am dissapointed that it isnt. Very enjoyable read. A good example for profile writing. I hope to get to read more such.

Murdering the Impossible - Caroline Alexander. Having seen a documentary on Messner, I really appreciated this essay.

May 24,2010

Real time

2011-11-27T21:24:00.000-08:00

Looking at an ad in which many young men and women sing and dance in coordination at a shopping mall. It has to be the nth time after rehearsal.
Theatrical plays.

Look again

2011-11-27T20:35:00.000-08:00

Masters of deception
In college, I became familiar with Escher's paintings and a friend of mine does ambigrams. I took this book more to refresh my memory of Escher and Dali's paintings, I am surprised to find the work of many contemporary artists. The choice of materials for some of the paintings - sugar on black paper, syrup, thread is new to me.

In some pages, its easy to miss the illusion but nothing a second visit cant take care of.

PS: Oliver Peyton's 'Eating Art' is about food made from Giuseppe Arcimboldo's 'Water' painting.

My favourites is synthesis in 'Nomad' by Sandro Del Prete.

June 7, 2011

2011-11-27T18:27:00.001-08:00

French word a day

2011-11-23T20:15:00.001-08:00

The Neighborhood project
NYT review

Tomatoes

2011-11-23T20:14:00.000-08:00

I heard of Tomatoland on npr.
As kids my sister and I helped my grandparents pick tomatoes on their farm. At the end of the day, when it was time to pack them off to the market, we looked for odd shaped ones to keep and eat.
NYT review
review

Its dark knowing the horror stories of pickers who work on the tomatoland.

2011-11-23T19:54:00.000-08:00

I picked up Milk, to see if I can find an explanation behind antibiotics role in damaging the bacteria adults need to digest milk. I heard from my colleague that he became lactose intolerant after a dose of antibiotics.
This is not a first book on the history of milk. Milk: the surprising story of milk through ages.

2011-11-23T19:44:00.001-08:00

Crash's law