Salt mine

After a long time, I went birdwatching. I brought up canary in the mines in a conversation and heard of Salt mines in Kansas. How now they send water into the mines and then dry the pulled out dissolved water to get the salt.

To the asleep in 1997

Hong Kong Art: Culture and Decolonization

If you have been asleep or ignorant of what happened to Hong Kong in 1997 and you want to see the expression of the transition of the 'handover', then pick this book.

The book begins with the paintings of Luis Chan very reminiscent of the 'see if you can find the nine faces hidden in the figure' followed by sculpture by Antonio Mak in whose works you can see 'verbal associations'. This binding of words with works is prominent in art from the places known from calligraphy like China and Arabia.

The next chapter deals with display of feelings of the people through the temporary 'The Wishing Star' . Many artists expressed the onset of uncertainty in different formats - video, installation.

Public Art is well described. The rise of installation art in the Art Space exhibition is studied too.

Sep 14, 2006

True Painter of the Modern Age

This book contains art by Rackstraw Downes which is more likely to be taken for photographs than the paintings that they are. Now, these are not still life or portraits of people but very common urban landscapes and waste lands. The book also has a section by the painter himself on some of the difficulties faced by artists when the vertical angle seems to change over a wider or deeper view.

Is Modern art representative of our age? What tools of our age can be used to truly stand for its time? Jackson Pollock,master of 'drip' technique feels,"The modern painter cannot express this age, the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio, in the old forms of the Renaissance or of any past culture". Downes with his technique of painting what he sees, has expressed modern age with the tall buildings,metal bridges,expressways and cars in a very realistic way like a camera would.It would be unfair to compare a painter with a camera.The book has well organized material on the differences in art by a realist and what a photo can hold.

The book also has references to the work of many other artists like Jonathan Borofsky(Molecule Man), Eva Hesse, Brice Marden and so on.

Sep 4, 2006

Talking to the readers

The appeal of Stendhal's 'on love' is that it is written in a very fact style than fiction and yet interesting. This is a book in which the writer is busy writing to the reader and not lost in the craft of making characters.

His concept of crystallisation is interesting to read on and not very difficult to identify with if you have reached the fifth stage of life successfully.

We all run after happiness, but he questions its definition.

Love in various countries is so strikingly different. Stendhal has brought out that difference clearly.

With such good description on the stages of love, one is left wanting more on 'Remedies Against Love'.

July 31, 2006

Infoteresting

'The Creating Brain' by Nancy C Andreasen is about creativity, the person and the process involved. Nancy also talks about how creative people have a certain personality which could affect their mental behavior.

The book starts with how most creative ideas sprang into the select minds while in 'bed, bath or bus'- Kekule, Archimedes, Poincare in the order for their situation.

The chapter on five creative persons gives a first account of the creative person at their act.

A very interesting chapter of the book is the one in which Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo are studied to see how nature (Genes. The concept of 'Hereditary Genius' and Francis Galton's contribution of Scatter Plots and Unique finger prints theory , his misused theory of eugenics was interesting to know) and nurture(the need for a mentor) are both part in bringing about a persons creativity to light.

The last chapter deals with how to build a better brain with exercises like learning something new everyday since its associating different domains which has been seen as a bed for creativity, active reading with a list of books for children of different ages.

June 18, 2006

A writer's duty well done

One Continuous Mistake by Gail Sher

All writers apart from writing their 'magnum opuses' should make their 'key to their art' available in the form of writing or records for interested readers who wish to know what writing meant to the authors, how they went about ideas etc.

Gail Sher has done a good job of letting us know not only the above things but also how other authors like Woolf, Thoreau and so on interacted with writing.

While writing about the four truths for writers, she also tells us how writing a haiku has got her stated on writing, the common fallacies like getting discouraged by feedback,how to deal with the well known writers block and well sated 'writers anorexia' that writers are bound to get stuck with, how much of reading is good or bad for writing, the importance of a making a habit of writing.

Five Pillars of writing is an excellent chapter on how to start with 'flat writing' of everyday events and trying to build something out of it in phases.

Her truths all echo 'write' which is a message well sent across in the book.

June 4, 2006

Neopolitan of new latino fiction

Iguana Dreams 

I call this Neopolitan cause like the icecream has slices of fiction by not 3 but 29 writers.

This collection of different stories introduces us to different cultures through new words in italics like santeria.

'Nellie' by Roberto G fernandez has many bouts of good imagination. With his description of something as trivial as an open suitcase, he has driven home a point 'why write?'.

'Tito's Good Bye' by Cristina Garcia is well written.

A story on a granny visiting a school girl in a city brings about differences one finds in such a situation.

Each chapter has a brief description about the author and his/her works. With this half your research of 'which other work of the author to read' and 'whats the next book' is already done for you.

June 1, 2006

The Four Girls

`How the Garcia girls lost their accent' by `Julia Alvarez' is about `The Four girls' Carla, Yolanda, Sandra, Sofia who come to US as immigrants with their parents. Even the eldest doesnt remember if they were ever referred to as 'the two' or 'the three' girls.

The book is neatly delineated into interesting chapters. Each can be read as stories in themselves. The chapters have varied central settings. Some deal with how the girls connect with their roots when they go for summer vacation,
mothers 'innovation' drive. Though some chapters like the one on the fathers 70th birthday celebration or the one in which Sandra is going through her starvation phase are written once the characters grow up, the smooth flow in the writing is maintained.
'Floor Show' is a good chapter with Sandra trying to get back at a lady in her childish way.

May 23,2006

On writing

The Writing Life by Ellen Gilchrist

This book covers so much about writing. Ellen Gilchrist lists many interesting non-fiction and fiction books which she uses to teach in her creative writing workshops. she has written about her experiences of teaching creative writing or 'rewriting' as she emphasise 'writing is rewriting' to her students.
In each and every chapter, she tries to get across some point helpful for those who want to write.

May 6, 2006

Simply Beautiful

A Woman of Independent Means by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey

This book is all 'letters'. When I gave a first glance to the book, I was quite doubtful about how much will the book be able to contain my interest. I thought it might be like a diary book ..like 'The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagan' by Ivan Morris or 'The Book of Disquiet' by Fernando Pessoa but just without the 'To' and 'From' Address.

Surely reading letters is faster than reading diary excerpts. Seeking complex books I just forgot how even simple act of writing everyday things and events in a letter can make a good reading. Since its letters, the focus is on whats being said and there's no need for the reader to see if the character has been written well or how's the style.

And again its not just a log of daily events, as Elizabeth comes up with these profound realisations which happen so sporadically in our lives and can be caught on paper only when they are written down as and when they happen ,like in these letters.

Its a nice book to compare the 'diary' form of writing and the 'letter' form of writing. Teachers have always encouraged the good habit of writng a diary. Now I feel letter writing should be equally encouraged.

March 2, 2006

At One's Home

On the Title essay:

It is very fascinating to read a writer just narrating very common happenings that might happen at a ranch, like the unexpected meetings with porcupines and snakes.

Dropping the writer's role and just experiencing everything as a common man would. One work in which Lawrence is not doing, what he is famous for: theorizing every occurence, phenomena of life as a part of a huger complex thing, which can be comprehended by us ,only with him as the mediator.

Aug 20, 2005

Thomas Engine

Wondered what a Climax engine is while reading about Verde Canyon Rail Road. There is an open car for better viewing.
From Clickety Clack Whats that coming down the track, I learnt of the different kinds of train cars - box car, flat car.

While setting it up, I just went by colours and at one point I couldnt get the tracks to fit and then I realised that I interchanged the position of green tracks. After that the setup was easy. Thomas is a powerful engine. He doesnt even need tracks, he will jut wheel off even on the carpet. The cargo falls off sometimes while going downslope after crossing the bridge. Thomas asks once in a while where would we like him to go. The volume should have been tunable.
This toy will charm kids for some years. My toddler likes seeing Thomas go on track but I have seen the pride of a 4 year old when his father asked him to setup the whole system. Till your kids get onto a real train and beyond, Thomas will fascinate them with his googly eyes.

Feathers like fingers

are not all the same

Sun dance on the ceiling

We poured some water on the porch to clean it before a round of round up.
The sun reflected this floor on the ceiling (I just figured that the ceiling and roof are the opposite sides) of the living room. Some bubbles came and went. Curious I looked at the ground. It then figured that the water seeping into the holes of the concrete was pushing the air out.

Ode to Percy and others

Dog Songs by Mary Oliver

If you have read poems by Mary Oliver then Percy is not new to you. 

Oliver's poem formats inspire. Continuing the tradition is For I will consider my dog Percy. 

Palaver from Her Grave.

Exercise: Consider your lost loved one in the 'For' format.