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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The author of Early Spring has written another book Finding higher ground

Medicines Sans Frontieres

Hope in Hell
MSF in Haiti

When Kouchner, a gastroentologist claims that he was born 'too late to stop for the Holocaust', I wonder how we would have all reacted if it happened during our times.
Albert Schweitzer's story made another doctor to choose medicine. We too learnt of him as kids. He feels that working for MSF requires him to practise his profession like McGyver.

Looking at the picture of tents next to each other, each with a tight rope tied to stakes in a line, the stakes seem like people and the tents - megaliths.
Plumpynut
Bracelet of life

After earthquakes or to solve AIDS, when people look to MSF, we just need more such organizations with different skills.
A strong message in the book - Doctors cannot cure genocide.
Logisticians role.
MSf staff have faced abduction.

Beauty is truth?

The truth is in the flaw.

A card reader to exit the building is on the left.
On the left door is a sign
Use
Other door

Had the reader rightly been on the right side
it wouldnt need a correction sign.
May be the right door is too close to the corner.

In flaws, is certainty.
Beneath the sands of Egypt
mummyless coffins
The pictures in the book evoke the mysteries hidden.
After the description of rediscovery of KV60, the author writes down the path to his becoming an explorer.He then explains how the different courses equipped him with skills for archaelogy - identification bones - human and animal. In 'First Impressions' he observes that 'the pyramids are no longer the smooth-sided models of geometrical virtue that they once were'. He compares his impressions of the place with that of other people.
aish baladi
yardang
Koshari like Kichdi
Lighthouse of Alexandria
ancient library of Alexandria
Gebel Musa monastery
Elephantine island
Soknopaiou Nesos
Birket Qarun Lake
In the nineteenth century, tourists could buy mummies and coffins.
A new theory about how the pyramids were built. Did you see the ropes being used? The author talks of the importance of cordage study in understanding how ropes were used to haul the stones into the pyramids. He dispels the curse related with the tombs.
Hogarth
Asyut
An article

Books I like to read some day

subject to writing style appeal
Book lust

The Long Walk
Full tilt
French Revolutions: Cycling the tour de France
Miles from Nowhere: A Round thw world bicycle adventure
Where the pavement ends
Two wheels north
Ultimate High
Two wheels in the dust
Catfish and Mandala

When I came across the title Solomon's Daughter, I was interested in knowing the mythical story. I wonder if we need time to play out life or if we can guess what is inevitable. Like evil balances good, does fate balance the certain,wished way of life?

Skywater

Few days ago, I picked a book Metamaus from the library. I am reading of it again in this book.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

A different Zen book

Zen in the art of writing by Ray Bradbury
His writing does come across as something that results from the way he wakes up with a thought explosion in his head each morning.
Reading about how he wrote many of his stories shows how he learnt his skill and how he enjoyed doing that. His way of writing doesnt associate with isolation or tiredness or block. In this sense its a different Zen.
He writes down all the situations that he found inspiring and leaves the reader there to start off writing.
11.17.2006

Excellent choice of words

The Life of skies by Jonathan Rosen
Right from the word go i.e the title, every word adds meaning to the experience had by Jonathan Rosen as a bird watcher. This is the first prologue that I didnt look for to end, as it already seemed like the book.

The book is divided into two parts :
PartI - Backyard Birds
PartII- Birds of Paradise.

Through the experiences of Audubon with his pet parrot and the killer monkey, Whitman's with mocking birds and the resultant poetry, Roosevelt's contribution to preservation of wildlife and his own from a decade of birdwatching, the author tries to get to the core of what this act means to him.

Looking at the evolution of his answers, looks like he will find many more spokes out of it other than the ones hes already meditated on. One tough nut is the instinct of hunting Vs conservation of birds. Theres a bit of history of land as it relates to migration, borders from his experience birdwatching in Palestine.

He blends fictional stories like 'The Bear' by Faulkner with non fictional acounts of bird sightings to bring across his point to the reader. Solomon stories, conference of birds, DH Lawrence, Thomas Hardy - everyone's welcome to the bounty.

The first essay 'the Ghost Bird' is about the history of Ivory Bill's extinction or man's desperate attempt at falsifying it by spotting one. This concern carries into other chapters and winds up the book too.

Illustrations make the book even more interesting.
p232. Stork with spear is very touching

Initially the book leaned more towards extinct birds
like passenger pigeons(it took me a while to imagine their number when present and believe that they are none now), carolina parakeets, eventually it did rake up my interest in putting the bird guide book to use.

If you decide to go birdwatching and its the first time, its better to go on a guided bird walk.

Whats bioblitz? Be open to know lots of such new things...

5/5. 5.9.2009

Good Old oly

The Living Shore by Jacob Rowensen
Olympia Oysters. They were once abundant like many other that went off the face of the earth. In this book, you will know how the see-saw tipped.
The first chapter of Brian Kingzett's survey of British Columbia coastline at the rate of 12 beaches per four-hours of low tide is an adventure even in concept.
There are interesting facts to know about food chains of (human)-otters-sea urchins-kelp from the journeys of Brian Kingzett and the author. If you see one too many of a kind, you can tell who is not on duty. The Chesapeake scene is reviewed in terms of the failure of oyster population restoration. Just like people volunteering for rearing dogs for blind, there are people who raise oyster gardens.
In the subsequent chapters, the author moves on to raincoast dwellers and their fish traps and clam gardens. Then you are taken to Clovis times. Thats 13 thousands of years ago. Its hard to imagine that ancient humans have crossed miles of ocean, but really then the ocean was hundred of feet less deep.
Next a chapter on all the good in oysters needed for human brain development. Role of iodine in IQ.
Moken sea nomads
Geomorphology

5/5. 12.17.2009

Like a candy to a kid

Periodic tales - a cultural history of the elements from Arsenic to zinc.
'Culture' is the word for me.

This book starts with gold. The most known precious metal. In the prologue, his experiment to collect the elements so that he can relate to them better, is a good project to try it for kids.
The author has shown references to metals in the works of Shakespeare and other writers and explored if they had chemist background. Who thought that Mark Twain was a prospecter once.

I liked the story of Candide, (I first heard of Voltaire in a lesson called 'Voltaire and Frederick'. That is where I learnt the idiom 'a bag of bones'.)

An article on understanding idioms

A Lab in the ocean

Sex, Drugs and sea slime
Interview with the author
I have read that coral reef is alive but never understood how until I read the above npr article.

For a well informed citizen

The ultimate mystery of inheritance
Epigenetics
Dutch famine
Agouti gene
Sewall Wright
X inactivation
Driesch - sea urchin - for heir big sixe, and less yolk - more transparency to study fertilization and cell divisions.
DFTD cancer - gruesome.
fruit flies for genetics
The Deer Hunter
pitcher plant mosquitoes
Jose Canseco
The way of the Panda

Armand David, as a naturalist has found many plants and classified them. The author describes the hard times David faced in China, when foreigners were few there. His expeditions included the quest of Panda. With information like the number of chromosomes in a bear Vs Panda to show that they are different, author grasps the reader.
The Authentic Animal

When a calf dies, the farmer or the milkman makes a replica of it, so that the cow still produces milk.

Reading of Carl Akeley reminds me of Audubon. His humble beginnings as a taxidermist are recreated by the author as a raconteur. Freeze drying is a technique modernly used for taxidermy.
This wont hurt a bit
Author's blog
Beijing welcomes you
A review
Another review

With the description of the kinds of tricycles, the author shows us the montage one faces on China's roads.

A book left open

I bought 'Heavens Coast' a memoir by Mark Doty. i liked the book, I did nit want it finish, so I am not reading it now. Kind of like storing up on your favourite chocolte. I now have his Dog years. Hope I will finish that.

CFC syndrome

I had heard of The boy in the moon on npr.
Another review.

The book has been written well. I liked the authors approach to understand the disorder. When I read that kids with CFC didnt have cancer like the ones with Noonan and that being the reason for the research funding, it seemed like news with an impact.

When the author finds data about his son's brain, he grapples a bit with why his son is the way he is. The end of the book is an intense meditation of what his son's life means.

genetic science.. to the extent it unravels the human body, it dehumanizes it. - Dr. Denis Noble.

Buddhists idea of mind.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Innovative innovation

In The Sorcerers and their apprentices, author Frank Moss introduces us to new fields like Biomechatronics.
personal robots
OPera of the future
Lifelong kindergarten
New Media medicine
Affective computing
Cognitive machines
Speech+Mobility
Tangible Media
'to create a better future for everyone'.
This book works at two levels. On one hand the reader learns of what makes innovation happen at the MIT lab - the coming together of minds in solving problems faced by many and on the other how the problems are solved with applications that are products of the lab. Its inspiring to know how some scientists are fueled with the experiences from their own life to work towards technologies that make life easier for others.
Some of the projects like the City car were hard for me to understand. There is some repitition in the text. Curiosity about the projects will get you to the end.

At the Media lab, the scientists 'build,test and demonstrate' their inventions. some projects like the MIT Red balloon challenge and Roy's Speechome project have received lot of coverage in the media.
The author finds that most of the discoveries are serendipitous by nature. But once an invention is in place, it is unthinkable how one ability leads to another. A technology used to capture movement of a music artist is used in automoives to figure if a passenger is a small adult or a child for purposes of airbag deployment. the same technology went into gait analysis.
Roy's Speechome project analysis led way to look at early detection of autism and empowering the affected with social abilities.
Othotics
Nephrolithiasis

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Earth apples. The book as a whole does not leave a great impression. Most of the poems are written in or of places Arizona.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Hostel

A small room with a cement counter all around to place our metal boxes. A bundle of all of our posessions into the hostel. oe goturs were filled with cardboard boxes of new dresses. I remember one red dress with a blue lace in front and a midband. That room was just to store our belongings. There was a bigger room for sleeping.
Once my classmate wore his elder sister's nightie. Being big for a fourth grader and larger, he was stuck in it for a while. He seemed to know more than a fourth grader of things in general. One morning we went to drop off a sister at the railway station. That day we had idli there with the chutney reeking of green chillies. I dont remember who paid for it.
Listening to an upbeat Punjabi song, I feel that is how I could take farewell from the world.

Early evening

A child jumping
up and down two
steps of an
open staircase

waiting for his
mother

As a kid, I was
ready with milk,
tea powder and sugar
ready on the stove
to turn it on
as soon as I
found her few houses
far

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Life in things

A sweet box with an assortment of sweets. Some were slabs of two colors brown over cream color sweet or green over cream color. All made from milk. These were our treats from Shankerpally town during our summer holidays spent in Fatehpur village.

Unposted letters

From daughters to mothers

- the vague delight of being a stranger in a strange place. - Lynn Freed

Joseph cornell boxes in David Gaylan's 'boxes' essay in this anthology. A story by her. Of another writer inspired by ' The Incredible Appearing Man' story.

Pipestone paperweight in 'Unnaming the flowers' essay by Sonia Gernes.
What you hear in the dark?

Susan Griffin's essay is a revealing letter, embracing the miry relationship of a mother and daughter who have shared love only towards the end of it.

The land where you are the chief

Writers dreaming
A review
I liked the essays by John Nicols, Jack prelutsky, Reynolds Price.

Dreams may seem chaotic, but one can always create structure. - John Nicols
I liked the persona of John Nicols.

Prelutsky's essay shows us how dreams work into his poems for children. Writing with Jack Prelutsky. His poem froma dream.

Sometimes when I finish writing a poem, I look at it and say, What can I do with this, can I write the opposite? - Jack prelutsky

Reynolds Price linked his early childhood - trapped in a narrow tunnel dream to his experience of breech birth. His interview
Dreams are obviously the art of the artless. - Reynolds Price.

Monday, November 7, 2011

At Starbucks

A new mom is on a single chair
table
walked in with a stroller in left hand
and a 2 month old baby in her right
the boy drinking his milk from a bottle
was slinking into sleep

A mom is mixing coffee
'Zucar or Splenda'
son answers 'Zucar'
for father who wants 'Splenda'.

Another mom with
a wide stroller
bulldozed the chairs
and people in her way

From the colour of it
I could tell the
white choc mocha wasnt good

Odd one out

The ear bud
looked extra white
It wasnt so every day
I opened the drawer
From a box of pink
ones I had picked a
spare white

Nightmares of a mom to be



A snake breaks the latch
of a big blue drum
theres another in a
cardboard box used to
deliver flowers
The mom was convinced
before ordering them
snakes that they were
easy to dispose with
The first snake didnt
seem vile
only curious about
whats going to happen
The mom walked into the
patio with her husband
to discuss their POA.

The next nightmare:
Hands with eczema
strangely no pain

The next nightmare:
Husband is lost in
a sea of relatives
back home
Mother knows - womanhood, motherhood, selfhood.
Frost: A love story

A review that includes this book.

Ackee in Coconut lady

Saturday, November 5, 2011

My Oedipus complex ncluded in iIn praise of mothers anthology is hilarious. The anthology also includes Jane Goodall's story Mothers and daughters about chimpanzees. A quirky behavior.Its amazing that studies have been done on chimpanzees to the extent we know how the mother-daughter relation saga plays out with different personalities of daughters.

The war was the most peaceful period of my life - kid character in the story by Frank O Connor.

The Leap by Louise Erdrich has a hook with 'My mother once said that I'd be amazed at how many things a person can do within the act of falling'.

Fenstad's mother

Happiness

Songs my mother taught me - Hortense Calisher
The Good Deed by Pearl S Buck.

Friday, November 4, 2011

With few letters

wilderness, wildness.
Thinking of wilderness, the moment I like to recall is the time I was birdwatching at Catalina mountains where I heard a Bewick wren sing. It was on a branch at my eye level. I felt like a giant led into the toy city.

The other day I was thinking about lighting and lightning.

Assassin bugs
Spinner bugs. Thinking about this I was reminded of a story where a drowning ant's life is saved by a leaf thrown into the water by a friend.

Walking is almost an ambulation of mind.
- Gretel Ehrlich.

Miners lettuce
Cirque

windsounds becoming watersounds - Gretel Ehrlich

I like the word meltwater.

A ticket to Tanzania
Terrazzo
Makonde art
ngoma
Mohamed Amin
Wilfred Thesiger
Mirella Ricciardi

Traveling anyhow

Traveling is fun when you are in the best of your health and no luggage. But if a kid is in the car, in or out of your body, its a different scenario.

Granny shoots the rapids

Baby on board. Taking months baby on a long drive. When my friends took us visiting to las Vegas, I appreciate their willingness to tackle all the hassles that go with it.

'Going your own way' is the real adventure section in this travel book. In 'Alone at Sea', Tania Aebi, looks back on the day she started her voyage and finds her erstwhile self 'a frightened girl'.
Helen Thayer's account of a 'polar bear' visit is a gripping tale. You can feel the polar bear pass you by. I can almost feel kicking myself for not having a way to interact with the bear in a friendly fashion for lack of a common language to communicate that I mean no harm. The author did learn a lot about wolves by letting her dog Charlie interact with them.
In 'Endurance on Ice', Anne Dal Vera finds that 'skiing to the South Pole provided her with the challenges she needed to learn about herself in relation to the land, and in relation to a small group of women'.

Two quotes I liked by Mary Russell about
women risking the life they nurture and the challenge that women see in single sailing

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Story line not up to writing style

Several perceptions

If you can dissect a book, and enjoy a group of words, for the way they have been framed and not expect these sentences to lead into an interesting or usual, expected occurences, then this book is for you.
The writing style is impressive, despite the lack of purposeful action expected in a novel.

Aug 20, 2005
3/5

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Learning to bike

Reading of bike sharing system, I was reminded of how we rented bikes before we learnt how to ride them. We stayed at one end of the town. To get to a rental place we had to walk a good mile. And after returning the bike, we had to walk it all back. I dont think this ever deterred us from renting them. At first we rented tiny bikes so we could put our feet on earth whenever we felt we were about to fall. When I looked at a big rock in front of me. Instead of averting it, how much ever I wanted to, I realised that the bike would only go in that direction.
Its remarkable how some kids learn to ride bicycles bigger than them by managing to put their feet on the pedals but without sitting. Its referref to as 'kainchi' or the scissor style.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Shaping

At a 1yr old's birthday
party, an expecting lady
in maternity clothes is
greeted with
'you look symmetrical'from A
'when would you not look symmetrical' from B

when you wear only a
lower body fat suit
like Amy sedaris.

***********
Shiner like a Diamond, David Sedaris - also included in 'Scoot iver skinny'.

Motherhood and childbirth

women are born twice - Anne Sexton

But its like childbirth. The results erase
the process and you cant remember a before.
- Marge Piercy, The diminishing addition.

Another poems book by Marge Piercy

Mars and her Children

In Applesauce for Eve, Runt Vigor, Core memory, the fruit apple, tree and its core are the connecting images.

'Cast skins' poem begins with an indifferent snake casting its skin and then going about with its new bright skin. Worn out gloves recall the mos absent hands. The poet progresses onto clothes at thrift stores and the invisible but present voices of the erstwhile wearers of the clothes.

'Up and Out', '1. The foot gnawed off', what you cant leave even when you think you are leaving your place of past for good.

'3. when I was a caddy'
Mehitzah

'4.Toward a good rooting Medium' -
'I've known families who farmed their soil
and gave their bones to it .'
Lenni Lenape


author's article

In 'The ex in the supermarket',
I cannot walk the dog of the past at my
convenience.


At a two year old's birthday party, during dinner one young lady was trying to figure which dishes had onion in them, so she could relinquish them. She was trying to follow Sattvic diet. Another lady swore by onions and garlics in the dishes. Bite into the onion is a homage to the onion.

Tin House

Volume 12, Number 1. 'Class in America' is an uninteresting theme like politics. But Peasants by Geoff Nicholson, deals with food of different classes and how fast food is flooding away those boundaries.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

In 'A typical Japanese Woman' essay, Cathy N Davidson says that she read of one hour bath having the same physiological effect as four hours of sleep.
Sento

Alaska Quarterly review, Fall & Winter 2007

Hemicorporectomy

Peter Selgin,
trying to decipher those mysterious blue shapes floating way out there in 'Playing It Out'.
when we are in a new place, we take a moment, silent, watch whats around, sort the clouds, mountains and then we speak.

I found further reading difficult. No poems.
Conversations with artists

Mark Tobey
A Blizzard under the blue sky, Pam Houston.

One of the things I love most about the natural world is the way it gives you whats good for you even if you dont know it at the time. Talking about winter camping, author Pam Houston sums best the role of nature in resetting our human system. all those visits to the national parks or even the local lake that tidy up the cup with tea dripping on the sides.

With sentences like 'clarity and precision of fresh snow and blue sky', she makes the reader appreciate the immutability of certain things, the so called universal truths which fix our dithering daily boats.

Out of Habit, I start apologizing, also included in Scoot over Skinny.