Net Galley Challenge
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Death Valley
A birdwatcher spiked my interest in deserts. And we all know Death Valley for its Badwater Marathon.
Great Basin Desert
Desert Chronologies. Lake Mojave Period. Pinto period. The periods dont need emperors. Time does it all. Change the landscape.
Stephen Mather of Mather point was first head of NPS.
Great Basin Desert
Desert Chronologies. Lake Mojave Period. Pinto period. The periods dont need emperors. Time does it all. Change the landscape.
Stephen Mather of Mather point was first head of NPS.
Choosing the book
While reading Out on a Limb, I wondered if sub-consciously what I heard of vanishing polar bears wasnt also a reason to pick this book.
Reading books
1. The goal should be to know something instead of reading a book. Like having fun instead of living.
2. A book gives you history and widens your peek zone across time. say for example an article on long distance running would be a how-to while a book on it will trace how the idea gained weight and how far back in time did it start, making your acquaintance of tribes you havent heard of.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Good Video for Children
I saw this video as a child of 13 or 14 years. I was mesmerised by it. The famous milk drop splash is all I remember of the content. I then thought it was worth stacking the name in my head.
Sep 17, 2007
Excellent book for teenagers
A World to Care For: The Autobiography of Howard Rusk, MD (SIGNED)
Howard Rusk's 'A world to care for' is an excellent book. Its his autobiography, but it directly delves into the rehabilitation for war veterans and disabled. It is intsructive to read how he felt the need for such a program, how he went about getting people's attention and funding.
It is strange reading of times when there were no antibiotics, anticonvulsive drugs.
At some point, paraplegics life expectancy was less than a year. His rehabilitation program has changed that.
It is interesting reading about the early prosthetic limbs- paper made temporary ones on...
This book is not just his story, but of many other doctors who made impossible dreams like walking for paralyzed people possible and of the disabled people themselves who did great things with their motivation.
I really like the statement- "When you work with a handicapped person, you've got to think of his abilities more than his disabilities."
It is strange reading of times when there were no antibiotics, anticonvulsive drugs.
At some point, paraplegics life expectancy was less than a year. His rehabilitation program has changed that.
It is interesting reading about the early prosthetic limbs- paper made temporary ones on...
This book is not just his story, but of many other doctors who made impossible dreams like walking for paralyzed people possible and of the disabled people themselves who did great things with their motivation.
I really like the statement- "When you work with a handicapped person, you've got to think of his abilities more than his disabilities."
Aug 14, 2007
Travel
Aug 14, 2007
Michael Mewshaw's 'Playing Away' is mostly about an American author's living experiences in Rome. It has the 'to the point' nonfiction approach and brings out hilarious effect like only fiction could.
Mewshaw travelled a lot. He says, "in some inchoate way, I equated curiosity with creativity, mileage covered with imagination improved". Despite whatever he believes, the mileage does reflect in his writing.
Mewshaw has written well on what works in Rome and what doesnt, how effective the rules are. He catches the spirit of the place in the celebration around. When he talks about how much of logic and moral suspension you have to do to live in Rome, it is one place where you can easily make the decision of going there to just visit or stay.
In a very effective way he says how 'name dropping' changes to 'difficult-to-visit place' dropping.
The essay revealing drastic steps of feeding poisonous substances to pigeons to control their population made me wonder if someday humans would be exterminated too.
Expatriates would find a voice for their confusion of 'To stay or not' in his writing.
I like the essays on his interaction with Graham Greene and Gore Vidal best, even better than Greene's work.
7/25/2010
I had a chance to read 'the Great Railway Bazaar' by Paul Theroux cited in this book. Rereading the essay and looking at the output of Theroux's books, Theroux took to travelling big time.
Mewshaw travelled a lot. He says, "in some inchoate way, I equated curiosity with creativity, mileage covered with imagination improved". Despite whatever he believes, the mileage does reflect in his writing.
Mewshaw has written well on what works in Rome and what doesnt, how effective the rules are. He catches the spirit of the place in the celebration around. When he talks about how much of logic and moral suspension you have to do to live in Rome, it is one place where you can easily make the decision of going there to just visit or stay.
In a very effective way he says how 'name dropping' changes to 'difficult-to-visit place' dropping.
The essay revealing drastic steps of feeding poisonous substances to pigeons to control their population made me wonder if someday humans would be exterminated too.
Expatriates would find a voice for their confusion of 'To stay or not' in his writing.
I like the essays on his interaction with Graham Greene and Gore Vidal best, even better than Greene's work.
7/25/2010
I had a chance to read 'the Great Railway Bazaar' by Paul Theroux cited in this book. Rereading the essay and looking at the output of Theroux's books, Theroux took to travelling big time.
A Better Woman: A memoir of Motherhood
A Better Woman: A memoir of Motherhood
It is interesting to read Susan write about the two pregnancies she had and the resultant complication. It is also amazing to see how she entwines her life experiences in writing and draws something back into her life, a power which she gains from the understanding,knowledge of life through the writing.
At one end if you get to know things like controlled crying technique for babies, happy vomiters - Just as I wonder why the 'morning sickness' was never mentioned - she had to deal with many other serious problems in life like managing her career, finances.
In a very simple style, she brings home many realisations in family relations.
Nov 15, 2006
Palestinian Art
This book Palestinian Art by Gannit Ankori is an excellent study of Palestinian art and its history. Art work of Ismail Shammout, Sliman Mansour, Kamal Boullata are extensively described with the relevant context to the times and loss of Palestine inhabitants.
One comes across not only paintings but also other forms of expression - 'mud on wood'(page 84).
One of the paintings 'Whereto?' on page 49 shows the effect of influence of 'absence of a character (part of defined standard of family)' by exclusion from the figure-ground of a painting but not from a higher space of our understanding. While paintings are assumed to be more real by blending into the atmosphere i.e extending onto the walls that they are placed. This one creates a great seperation. It is to such art that you get introduced to in this book.
Mona Hatoum's work is described , most of which is daily home objects turned useless in a very prickly way, the source of it being her sense of alienation from home.
The same themes are explored in works of Khalil Rabah and Asad Azi.
One comes across not only paintings but also other forms of expression - 'mud on wood'(page 84).
One of the paintings 'Whereto?' on page 49 shows the effect of influence of 'absence of a character (part of defined standard of family)' by exclusion from the figure-ground of a painting but not from a higher space of our understanding. While paintings are assumed to be more real by blending into the atmosphere i.e extending onto the walls that they are placed. This one creates a great seperation. It is to such art that you get introduced to in this book.
Mona Hatoum's work is described , most of which is daily home objects turned useless in a very prickly way, the source of it being her sense of alienation from home.
The same themes are explored in works of Khalil Rabah and Asad Azi.
Sep 10, 2006
Andean
Smiling Bears: A Zookeeper explores the Behavior and emotional Life of Bears
Very engrossing. Detailed narration fuels recreating the whole environment and its habitants.
sep 2, 2009
Understanding Animals And Us
I am a fan of Temple Grandin and her work. If you dont know her, atleast see the movie trailer. This book Out on a Limb by Benjamin Kilham has a foreword from Grandin.
I have also read 'Smiling Bears: A Zookeeper explores the Behavior and emotional Life of Bears' by Else Poulsen and learnt about different kinds of bears and how animals too can have pets.
So taking up reading this book is building up on that interest. While Smiling Bears is about behavior of bears in confinement and 'The Man who lives with Wolves' by Shaun Ellis is the other extreme of immersing yourself in the life of wild animals.
Kilham's work involves happy medium of rehabilitating wild animals. And through that process Kilham has observed bears and found that the bears interactions and their social hierarchies are complex.
Kilham's prose of how baby bears learn from their mothers by smelling her mouth about what is edible, a mother bear giving climbing lessons to her offspring make your mind run in a high imagination mode. With his pantomime experiences, we can easily foresee a talking bear somewhere in the future.
Kilham's life like Grandin's is inspiring to channel your energies into your passion.
Subway face
I have also read 'Smiling Bears: A Zookeeper explores the Behavior and emotional Life of Bears' by Else Poulsen and learnt about different kinds of bears and how animals too can have pets.
So taking up reading this book is building up on that interest. While Smiling Bears is about behavior of bears in confinement and 'The Man who lives with Wolves' by Shaun Ellis is the other extreme of immersing yourself in the life of wild animals.
Kilham's work involves happy medium of rehabilitating wild animals. And through that process Kilham has observed bears and found that the bears interactions and their social hierarchies are complex.
Kilham's prose of how baby bears learn from their mothers by smelling her mouth about what is edible, a mother bear giving climbing lessons to her offspring make your mind run in a high imagination mode. With his pantomime experiences, we can easily foresee a talking bear somewhere in the future.
Kilham's life like Grandin's is inspiring to channel your energies into your passion.
Subway face
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