Category: Books

New Squatter

Slap my hand! I forgot to introduce my new blog squatter: Stumbling Through Life With Grace. -->

I visited her site and intended to write a clever, witty introduction, but the writer’s own description trumps just about anything I could come up with (especially after exhausting my wit muscle in yesterday’s rant):

Diary of a psychologically, analytical, neurotic, closet Bitch. Musings of a retired bad-girl, who unwittingly stumbled in to life as I know it today. (Material contains bad girl tales, daily life, psycho babble, venting, and some adult content. Mature audiences only.)

The most recent post is actually by her husband, who talks about his battle with prostate cancer. Given the number of people we know with cancer right now (4), I found it a really interesting read.

Since you’re reading my blog right now, you must be in a voyeuristic mood with a little time on your hands. So click on over there. Go on click already! Click!

Deep End Dining

There’s adventurous eating, and there’s not so adventurous eating. Having supped with delight on things such as sea urchin roe, sea cucumber soup and sweetbreads, I thought I was on the cutting edge. That is, until I came across deep end dining - a blog about food that’s so daring and different it has to be delicious. 

It all started so innocently; I was perusing the list of 2005 Food Blog Award nominees, when I saw a link for Eddie Lin’s post about live octopus tentacles. 

I opened it and started reading a harmless and mildly entertaining story about a chicken. The real story (the story of the octopus) crept up on me like a cat stalking its prey (slowly...slowly...wait...pounce!). By the time I was in my own life or death struggle to keep the contents of my stomach down, it was too late. I had to finish the story to see how it ended. 

I’ll give you just a sensation in case you want a gut check before you dive headfirst into the full dish.

A couple of soju shooters later, the waiter returned and unceremoniously set a plate in the center of the table catching me and Diane off guard. Some time was needed to register what we were viewing. The sight was uncanny. It was ridiculous and sublime. Both comic and tragic like Greektheatre masks. “What fresh hell is this?” Extremely fresh hell, evidently.

The raging plate of squirming, writhing and willful baby octopus tentacles awed us. If I was the Greek hero Perseus, then this plate before me was the severed head of Medusa the Gorgon with her locks of seething, slithering serpents. Hyperbole? How about understatement. Much like Medusa’s disembodied head, these tentacles still believed they were alive — the limbs attached to a phantom body. Diane’s head spun in a figurative way but bordered on literal. Her brain signals and emotions were cross firing so dramatically that she was laughing, gagging, hyperventilating and sobbing all in the same breath. I offered her the first taste but she replied, “When hell freezes over.” This I interpreted as a “no”.

(Warning: The full story is not for the faint of heart. Nick admitted that he almost threw up reading the whole thing.)

Brother, Can You Spare a Hyperlink?

It’s not every day that bloggers are the butt of a joke. Of course, we probably should be; there’s plenty to poke fun at!

San Franscisco author/satirist Paul Di Filippo recently published a short story recently in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in which the collapse of the Internet ("chaos of viruses, worms, spam, terrorism and busts by the FBI anti-porn squad") turns bloggers into crazed San Francisco street-people who shove bits of paper into the faces of passers-by, hoping to interest them with novel tidbits:

The recognition was plainly one way. Doctorow’s crazed eyes betrayed no familiarity with my face. I was only another potential flesh-and-blood “hit” for his “site.”

Doctorow carried a mud-splattered messenger’s satchel over one shoulder. From this bag he now removed an old-fashioned wirebound spiral notebook and pen. He made a tick mark on paper, recording my “visit.” Then he launched into his spiel.

“Welcome to a directory of wonderful things, my friend! Get ready to be amazed, thrilled and astounded! I’m going to show you stuff you never believed existed, stuff that will brighten your life, enhance your senses and enlighten your consciousness! For instance—“

If this taste of the article has you wanting to read more, you can find the full article here.

Being Caribou

Thanks to the Bush administration, the debate about oil drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is still strong in congress. Wanting to have a deeper understanding of the land and the animals that live on it, I picked up Being Caribou last month. Winner of the 2005 Banff Mountain Book Festival grand prize, it is the true account of wildlife biologist Karsten Heuer and filmmaker Leanne Allison, who set out on a five month trek, following the migration of more than 120,000 caribou.

It is first and foremost an amazing account of a couple that traveled by foot and by skis through unforgiving landscapes - fording swift, deadly cold rivers, as well as encountering ravenous grizzlies who tracked them as prey. They paid attention to their dreams, listened to the music of the earth, and ultimately learned what it is to be caribou.

More compelling, however, was the information that puts the oil supply in perspective and dispels many of the politician-generated myths about ANWR.

Did you know that the supply of oil under ANWR represents a mere 6-month supply of oil for the United States and that it would take ten years or more for it to hit the market? Huh?! Our President wants to destroy the calving grounds for 120,000 animals for a mere 0.3% of world oil production in 2016?

The environmental impact - not to the caribou and other animals, but to the land itself - is also quite interesting. We don’t hear about it, but Prudhoe Bay has an average of one oil spill a day. Geez!

The book is a quick read, and I’d highly recommend it. If you don’t have time for the whole meal deal, though, you can get a reader’s digest version of their trek and the issues surrounding drilling in ANWR from the Web at beingcaribou.com.

Get a Read on the Movies

Three of the most talked about movies this holiday season are based on best-selling books. I can’t pass judgment on the movies, but having read all three stories I can vouch that they are unquestionably captivating, transporting you completely to foreign worlds. If you promise to read, I’ll promise to see the movies.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Based on: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, one of the seven books in C.S.Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia series.

Plot: To avoid the threat of bombings in London, the four Pevensie kids are sent to stay with a wealthy, eccentric professor in the country. Strange things start to happen when Lucy finds a wardrobe during a game of hide-and-seek. When she climbs in, she finds a snowy woodland and a friendly faun. Soon all four are wandering through the snowy land ofNarnia , encountering mythical creatures and talking animals. They also find themselves at the center of a prophecy that will lead to the return of lion-messiah Aslan, and the downfall of the White Witch. But things don’t go according to plan when Edmund defects to the Witch’s side…

My take: This is a fairy tale, plain and simple. The story has suspense, adventure, action, and drama...What more could you want?

Memoirs of a Geisha

Based on: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Plot: This is the story of nine-year-old Chiyo, who is sold with her sister into slavery by their father after their mother’s death. Under the tutelage of the geisha Mameha, Chiyo (now Sayuri) grows up to be a famous geisha prized for her beauty and talents in the art of entertaining men.

My take: I could not put this book down. Golden, with degrees in Japanese art and history, brilliantly reveals the culture and traditions of an exotic world, closed to most Westerners. Highly recommended.

Brokeback Mountain

Based on: Brokeback Mountain, a short story published in 1999 as part of Annie Proulx’s collection titled Close Range: Wyoming Stories.

Plot: Ranch hands Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist meet and fall in love one summer while working as a sheepherder and camp tender. They eventually marry and father children, but their love needs to survive society’s intolerance of gay relationships.

My take: I read one of her previous books, The Shipping News, and couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t stop reading a book about such weird people. Brokeback Mountain has some the same character quirkiness. It also haunts you for days after reading it.