Date: April 24, 2005
Title: The 6-Day Body Makeover
Author: Michael Thurmond Thoughts: Completed the program yesterday. Measured today. Lost 7 pounds and 5 ¾ inches (1 ¼ inches from the waist).
Date: May 2, 2005
Title: Write it Down, Make it Happen
Author: Henriette Anne Klauser
Thoughts: I wrote down more than 100 goals while reading this. It will be neat to see how many come to pass.
Date: May 6, 2005
Title: The Millionaire Real Estate Investor
Author: Gary Keller, Dave Jenks & Jay Papasan
Thoughts: Whatever I invest in, it is time for me to start thinking like a millionaire.
Date: May 13, 2005
Title: Why Aren’t You Your Own Boss?
Author: Paul & Sarah Edwards & Peter Economy
Thoughts: Why not?
Because I haven’t had faith in God or myself.
Date: May 23, 2005
Title: God and Ronald Reagan
Author: Paul Kengor
Thoughts: It is encouraging to se what great results can come from simple, enduring faith and vision. What is not possible for man is possible for God. When we stand up for what is right and call evil evil, we don’t stand alone. We stand with God.
Date: May 25, 2005
Title: Selling 101
Author: Zig Ziglar
Thoughts: As a business owner, I need to sell my services. I can sell. I will sell. I am a salesman and I am getting better at it every day.
Date: June 1, 2005
Title: Developing the Leader Within You
Author: John C. Maxwell
Thoughts: According to Maxwell, most people don’t know how to succeed. Wouldn’t it be cool to learn and teach others?
Date: June 22, 2005
Title: The Gospel of Matthew (The Holy Bible, NKJV)
Thoughts: “Then behold, they brought him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you’” (Matthew 9:2).
Other parts of What I Read:
Part 1
Part 2
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query 2005. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query 2005. Sort by date Show all posts
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
What I Read (4)
Date: July 3, 2005
Title: Toxic Success
Author: Paul Pearsall
Thoughts: Pearsall advocates a life of contentment, calm and connection; sweet success as opposed to “normal” success. I have a dose of the toxic. I’d like to revisit this book sometime and see if and how my success sweetens.
Date: July 10, 2005
Title: The Five Love Languages
Author: Gary Chapman
Thoughts: I’d like to read this book again, review if my assessment of certain peoples’ love languages is correct and see how I’m doing at another time.
Date: July 30, 2005
Title: Into the Depths of God
Author: Calvin Miller
Thoughts: “The number one sin many Christians may need to confess is the sin of carrying guilt. When we carry guilt for confessed sin, we are saying that the cross was too small to cover our own sin” (quote from the book).
Date: August 7, 2005
Title: Girl, 15, Charming But Insane
Author: Sue Limb
Thoughts: I liked this book. Funny. Not too painful.
Date: August 13, 2005
Title: The Gospel of Mark (The Holy Bible, NKJV)
Thoughts: “And he looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother’” (Mark 3:34).
Date: August 19, 2005
Title: Steam: The Untold Story of America’s First Great Invention
Author: Andrea Sutcliffe
Thoughts: It seems to me that Fitch and Rumsey were within reach of their fortunes, and could have grasped them, if they had not been sidetracked by pursuing fame. I the fame would have come with the fortune.
Date: August 26, 2005
Title: The Feud that Sparked the Renaissance
Author: Paul Robert Walker
Thoughts: Another book of rivalry. A nicer story, though, because these men continued to master and improve their work in the midst of their rivalry. The new fame came more from excellent work than from grand claims, though they made grand claims, too.
Other parts of What I Read:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Title: Toxic Success
Author: Paul Pearsall
Thoughts: Pearsall advocates a life of contentment, calm and connection; sweet success as opposed to “normal” success. I have a dose of the toxic. I’d like to revisit this book sometime and see if and how my success sweetens.
Date: July 10, 2005
Title: The Five Love Languages
Author: Gary Chapman
Thoughts: I’d like to read this book again, review if my assessment of certain peoples’ love languages is correct and see how I’m doing at another time.
Date: July 30, 2005
Title: Into the Depths of God
Author: Calvin Miller
Thoughts: “The number one sin many Christians may need to confess is the sin of carrying guilt. When we carry guilt for confessed sin, we are saying that the cross was too small to cover our own sin” (quote from the book).
Date: August 7, 2005
Title: Girl, 15, Charming But Insane
Author: Sue Limb
Thoughts: I liked this book. Funny. Not too painful.
Date: August 13, 2005
Title: The Gospel of Mark (The Holy Bible, NKJV)
Thoughts: “And he looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother’” (Mark 3:34).
Date: August 19, 2005
Title: Steam: The Untold Story of America’s First Great Invention
Author: Andrea Sutcliffe
Thoughts: It seems to me that Fitch and Rumsey were within reach of their fortunes, and could have grasped them, if they had not been sidetracked by pursuing fame. I the fame would have come with the fortune.
Date: August 26, 2005
Title: The Feud that Sparked the Renaissance
Author: Paul Robert Walker
Thoughts: Another book of rivalry. A nicer story, though, because these men continued to master and improve their work in the midst of their rivalry. The new fame came more from excellent work than from grand claims, though they made grand claims, too.
Other parts of What I Read:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Friday, May 1, 2009
What I Read (2)
Date: March 9, 2005
Title: Doing Work You Love
Author: Cheryl Gilman
Thoughts: I was encouraged most by Gilman’s own story—a job hopper who pieced together what she really wanted, started her own business and did well in it. I’m looking forward to having a similar story.
Date: March 17, 2005
Title: The Road to Serfdom
Author: F. A. Hayek
Thoughts: I think we were designed to be free to largely govern ourselves, for conscious and love to be our law. When we fell, God authorized some to use force to restrain and punish wrongdoers. Now it seems government restrains everyone in everything. As important as it is to submit to proper authority, authorities must stay within their bounds.
Authors I adore:
Walker Percy
Zig Ziglar
John C. Maxwell
Isaac Asimov
Norman Vincent Peale
C. S. Lewis
J. R. R. Tolkien
Dava Sobel
Edwin Black
Dashiell Hammett
G. K. Chesterton
John Steinbeck
Raymond Chandler
Date: April 14, 2005
Title: Winning with People
Author: John C. Maxwell
-
Date: April 14, 2005
Title: How Full is Your Bucket?
Author: Tom Rath
Thoughts: It is amazing how the themes of love, the golden rule, giving and receiving, sowing and reaping, looking for good in others, focusing on what is worthwhile, and building up others leads to more success for you and those you influence.
Live the life God calls you to and all is really good.
Date: April 22, 2005
Title: You Can if You Think You Can
Author: Norman Vincent Peale
Thoughts: Through this book, the Bible, and other things I’ve read and heard, I believe God is transforming me into the man He designed me to be—better than I can now imagine.
Date: April 23, 2005
Title: The Sacred Romance
Author: Brian Curtis & John Eldredge
Thoughts: “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard what God has in store for his lovers does not mean “we have no clue so don’t even try to imagine,” but rather, you cannot outdream God” (quote from the book).
John Eldredge also wrote Epic and Walking with God.
Other parts of What I Read:
Part 1
Title: Doing Work You Love
Author: Cheryl Gilman
Thoughts: I was encouraged most by Gilman’s own story—a job hopper who pieced together what she really wanted, started her own business and did well in it. I’m looking forward to having a similar story.
Date: March 17, 2005
Title: The Road to Serfdom
Author: F. A. Hayek
Thoughts: I think we were designed to be free to largely govern ourselves, for conscious and love to be our law. When we fell, God authorized some to use force to restrain and punish wrongdoers. Now it seems government restrains everyone in everything. As important as it is to submit to proper authority, authorities must stay within their bounds.
Authors I adore:
Walker Percy
Zig Ziglar
John C. Maxwell
Isaac Asimov
Norman Vincent Peale
C. S. Lewis
J. R. R. Tolkien
Dava Sobel
Edwin Black
Dashiell Hammett
G. K. Chesterton
John Steinbeck
Raymond Chandler
Date: April 14, 2005
Title: Winning with People
Author: John C. Maxwell
-
Date: April 14, 2005
Title: How Full is Your Bucket?
Author: Tom Rath
Thoughts: It is amazing how the themes of love, the golden rule, giving and receiving, sowing and reaping, looking for good in others, focusing on what is worthwhile, and building up others leads to more success for you and those you influence.
Live the life God calls you to and all is really good.
Date: April 22, 2005
Title: You Can if You Think You Can
Author: Norman Vincent Peale
Thoughts: Through this book, the Bible, and other things I’ve read and heard, I believe God is transforming me into the man He designed me to be—better than I can now imagine.
Date: April 23, 2005
Title: The Sacred Romance
Author: Brian Curtis & John Eldredge
Thoughts: “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard what God has in store for his lovers does not mean “we have no clue so don’t even try to imagine,” but rather, you cannot outdream God” (quote from the book).
John Eldredge also wrote Epic and Walking with God.
Other parts of What I Read:
Part 1
Thursday, June 25, 2009
What I Read (5)
Date: September 6, 2005
Title: Fortune’s Formula Author: William Poundstone
Thoughts: I can see how the Kelly criteria might help one allocate assets for investment. However, it seems to require computing and special knowledge that an individual is unlikely to have access to. It is a game for fund managers.
Date: September 16, 2005
Title: Secrets of the Millionaire Mind Author: T. Harv Eker
Thoughts: I will have a net worth of $1 million by October 2, 2008. (Unfortunately, this did not come to pass.)
Quotes to remember:
“Simple pictures are best,” the photographer in Simple Pictures Are Best by Nancy Willard.
“The man who gets married has the daring of Jesse James, the courage of a wounded rhinoceros and a disposition to gamble besides which the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo was a poor-spirited piker,” Dorothy Carnegie in Don’t Grow Old—Grow Up!
Date: September 20, 2005
Title: The One Minute Millionaire
Author: Mark Victor Hansen & Robert G. Allen
Thoughts: I will be squeaky-clean, rose-scented rich.
Date: September 22, 2005
Title: Are You Dumb Enough to be Rich? Author: G. William Barnett II
Thoughts: There are two things in this book I could put to work quickly. Plus, I’m going to be squeaky-clean, rose-scented rich. Woo-hoo.
Date: October 14, 2005
Title: University of Success
Editor: Og Mandino
Thoughts: I wish I had been put through a course like this again and again in youth. Now I not only need to learn the good lessons, but unlearn the many bad lessons. Thank God, I can make a start now.
Date: October 27, 2005
Title: The Ancient Engineers
Author: L. Sprague de Camp
Thoughts: The author is so opposed to religion he refuses to even use the conventional A.D. and B.C. on his dates, though they are otherwise from the Gregorian calendar. Otherwise, I enjoyed it. Much like Hill and Landels.
Other parts of What I Read:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Title: Fortune’s Formula Author: William Poundstone
Thoughts: I can see how the Kelly criteria might help one allocate assets for investment. However, it seems to require computing and special knowledge that an individual is unlikely to have access to. It is a game for fund managers.
Date: September 16, 2005
Title: Secrets of the Millionaire Mind Author: T. Harv Eker
Thoughts: I will have a net worth of $1 million by October 2, 2008. (Unfortunately, this did not come to pass.)
Quotes to remember:
“Simple pictures are best,” the photographer in Simple Pictures Are Best by Nancy Willard.
“The man who gets married has the daring of Jesse James, the courage of a wounded rhinoceros and a disposition to gamble besides which the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo was a poor-spirited piker,” Dorothy Carnegie in Don’t Grow Old—Grow Up!
Date: September 20, 2005
Title: The One Minute Millionaire
Author: Mark Victor Hansen & Robert G. Allen
Thoughts: I will be squeaky-clean, rose-scented rich.
Date: September 22, 2005
Title: Are You Dumb Enough to be Rich? Author: G. William Barnett II
Thoughts: There are two things in this book I could put to work quickly. Plus, I’m going to be squeaky-clean, rose-scented rich. Woo-hoo.
Date: October 14, 2005
Title: University of Success
Editor: Og Mandino
Thoughts: I wish I had been put through a course like this again and again in youth. Now I not only need to learn the good lessons, but unlearn the many bad lessons. Thank God, I can make a start now.
Date: October 27, 2005
Title: The Ancient Engineers
Author: L. Sprague de Camp
Thoughts: The author is so opposed to religion he refuses to even use the conventional A.D. and B.C. on his dates, though they are otherwise from the Gregorian calendar. Otherwise, I enjoyed it. Much like Hill and Landels.
Other parts of What I Read:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Friday, April 17, 2009
What I Read
Back at the end of 2004, I received from my wife a small journal in which to record the book I’d read and a few notes on them. I didn’t record in this journal every book I read since, but I’ve recorded those that seemed especially noteworthy or interesting to me at the time.
I’ll be reproducing that journal here, in a web-enhanced version. You might think of these notes as micro-reviews. I hope you find them useful and interesting.
Date: February 15, 2005
Title: Zig: The Autobiography of Zig Ziglar Author: Zig Ziglar
Thoughts: I enjoyed See You at the Top and Over the Top. I’m encouraged that he learned this over time and overcame setbacks—some surprisingly recent. I hope soon to put aside being a “wandering generality” and start living the life God made for me.
Date: February 17, 2005
Title: No Plot? Not Problem! A Low Stress-High Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days Author: Chris Baty
Thoughts: I’m not sure I’ll undertake this challenge. I do need a kick in the pants to jumpstart my creativity. I hardly do anything anymore simply for the joy of doing it. I need to get some fun back in my life and do some thing I like doing.
Date: March 1, 2005
Title: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living Author: Dale Carnegie
Thoughts: “Therefore, do not worry saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father know you need all these things” (Matthew 6:31-32).
Date: March 3, 2005
Title: Independent Consulting
Author: David Kintler with Bob Adams
Thoughts: This is one of the books I read while preparing to start a consulting and training business.
Date: March 7, 2005
Title: Forever Ruined for the Ordinary Author: Joy Dawson
Thoughts: I read this book quickly, but there is much in it I’d like to ponder.
I’ll be reproducing that journal here, in a web-enhanced version. You might think of these notes as micro-reviews. I hope you find them useful and interesting.
Date: February 15, 2005
Title: Zig: The Autobiography of Zig Ziglar Author: Zig Ziglar
Thoughts: I enjoyed See You at the Top and Over the Top. I’m encouraged that he learned this over time and overcame setbacks—some surprisingly recent. I hope soon to put aside being a “wandering generality” and start living the life God made for me.
Date: February 17, 2005
Title: No Plot? Not Problem! A Low Stress-High Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days Author: Chris Baty
Thoughts: I’m not sure I’ll undertake this challenge. I do need a kick in the pants to jumpstart my creativity. I hardly do anything anymore simply for the joy of doing it. I need to get some fun back in my life and do some thing I like doing.
Date: March 1, 2005
Title: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living Author: Dale Carnegie
Thoughts: “Therefore, do not worry saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father know you need all these things” (Matthew 6:31-32).
Date: March 3, 2005
Title: Independent Consulting
Author: David Kintler with Bob Adams
Thoughts: This is one of the books I read while preparing to start a consulting and training business.
Date: March 7, 2005
Title: Forever Ruined for the Ordinary Author: Joy Dawson
Thoughts: I read this book quickly, but there is much in it I’d like to ponder.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
What I Read (6)
Date: October 31, 2005
Title: Einstein’s Clocks, Poincare’s Maps: Empires of Time Author: Peter Galison
Thoughts: It’s amazing how many things, ideas, philosophy, technology, science, can come together within people to revolutionize our understanding of the world.
Date: November 2, 2005
Title: How We Got Here
Author: Andy Kessler
Thoughts: Tongue in cheek. Readable. Interesting.
Date: November 16, 2005
Title: Sea of Glory Author: Nathaniel Philbrook
Thoughts: A great adventure turned cautionary tale. Wilkes certainly had determination, perseverance and dedication. He lacked character, integrity and patience. With what he had he accomplished something great, and by sad display of what he lacked he denied himself the fame he sought.
Date: December 4, 2005
Title: The Power of Positive Thinking Author: Norman Vincent Peale
Thoughts: I’m going to improve my thinking and keep at it. I’m going to do what it takes to have the good life I desire.
Date: January 1, 2006
Title: Simple Pictures Are Best
Author: Nancy Willard, illustrations by Tomie De Paola
Thoughts: Possibly my favorite book. It has influence me more than any book except the Bible. I am a firm believer in simplicity.
My parents got me a copy as a child and I’ve always remembered it.
Date: January 3, 2006
Title: The Millionaire Maker Author: Loral Langemeier
Thoughts: I’m looking forward to being a millionaire. Even more, I’m looking forward to financial freedom.
Date: January 10, 2006
Title: IBM and the Holocaust
Author: Edwin Black
Thoughts: Heavenly Father, keep me always aware of the eternal value of righteousness and justice.
Date: January 16, 2006
Title: No More Christian Nice Guy Author: Paul Coughlin
Thoughts: “God is an odds-breaker—He loves that game, and when you flex even a small amount of faith, he’ll open doors for you” (quote from the book).
Date: January 16, 2006
Title: Starting from Scratch
Author: Wes Moss
Thoughts: I’m starting a successful business, too.
Other parts of What I Read:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Title: Einstein’s Clocks, Poincare’s Maps: Empires of Time Author: Peter Galison
Thoughts: It’s amazing how many things, ideas, philosophy, technology, science, can come together within people to revolutionize our understanding of the world.
Date: November 2, 2005
Title: How We Got Here
Author: Andy Kessler
Thoughts: Tongue in cheek. Readable. Interesting.
Date: November 16, 2005
Title: Sea of Glory Author: Nathaniel Philbrook
Thoughts: A great adventure turned cautionary tale. Wilkes certainly had determination, perseverance and dedication. He lacked character, integrity and patience. With what he had he accomplished something great, and by sad display of what he lacked he denied himself the fame he sought.
Date: December 4, 2005
Title: The Power of Positive Thinking Author: Norman Vincent Peale
Thoughts: I’m going to improve my thinking and keep at it. I’m going to do what it takes to have the good life I desire.
Date: January 1, 2006
Title: Simple Pictures Are Best
Author: Nancy Willard, illustrations by Tomie De Paola
Thoughts: Possibly my favorite book. It has influence me more than any book except the Bible. I am a firm believer in simplicity.
My parents got me a copy as a child and I’ve always remembered it.
Date: January 3, 2006
Title: The Millionaire Maker Author: Loral Langemeier
Thoughts: I’m looking forward to being a millionaire. Even more, I’m looking forward to financial freedom.
Date: January 10, 2006
Title: IBM and the Holocaust
Author: Edwin Black
Thoughts: Heavenly Father, keep me always aware of the eternal value of righteousness and justice.
Date: January 16, 2006
Title: No More Christian Nice Guy Author: Paul Coughlin
Thoughts: “God is an odds-breaker—He loves that game, and when you flex even a small amount of faith, he’ll open doors for you” (quote from the book).
Date: January 16, 2006
Title: Starting from Scratch
Author: Wes Moss
Thoughts: I’m starting a successful business, too.
Other parts of What I Read:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Readings from Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen
Daily Readings from Your Best
Life Now, is a daily devotional adapted from Joel Osteen’s
breakout bestseller Your Best Life Now.
The primary divisions of the book follow that of the source material. Likewise,
the body of each short chapters is adapted closely from the original material. However,
this book is organized differently. It is divided into 90 chapters, each one kept
short in order to fit into a daily reading schedule.
At the top of each chapter is a reference to a passage of scripture. The
chapters in the book are not expositions on the scripture; Osteen is plain in
the introduction that that was not his intention. Osteen’s books, like his televised
sermons, are topical rather than expositional. I thought that the connection
between the scripture reading and the chapters were sometimes tenuous.
I’ll admit I took much longer than 90 days to finish this book (I
probably first opened it shortly after it was published in 2005).
That may have injured my sense of the book as a whole, but I think that the
book was written with the hope that each chapter would be able to stand on its
own as a sermonette of encouragement.
Encouragement is a good word for the book. It’s the theme through every
part from encouragement to dream bigger to encouragement to press on in the
hard times.
That leads also to what I think is the weakness of the book, and
Osteen’s ouvre in general. It seems to draw from the theme and concepts of self-help
as much (or more) as from the Bible. Even in
the introduction, Osteen speaks in one sentence of wanting people to draw near
to God and in the next of helping readers “unlock the doors of a fuller life.”
These are not mutually exclusive pursuits, but that depends a lot on your
concept of a fuller life.
I don’t mean to be too critical of Osteen. Obviously, I read several of
his books and books by his predecessors as preachers of positivity in popular
culture, Robert H.
Schuller and Norman
Vincent Peale. I have felt encourage by reading the books of these men, but
I also leave there books feeling like something much deeper is missing.
Joel Osteen also wrote
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Friday, August 10, 2012
Just Say Thanks! by R. T. Kendall
Kendall,
R. T. Just Say Thanks! Lake Mary,
FL: Charisma House, 2005.
Google
I have written before that it is my opinion that gratitude is essential to
happiness. Our first duty is gratitude
to God. As R. T. Kendall puts it in Just Say Thanks!, “When God grants us
sovereign mercy, it ought to make us exceedingly grateful.”
Though
it is an obligation to be grateful to God, Kendall notes that God takes notice
when we express thanks. The Bible
records many expressions of people’s gratitude to God. It may be a duty that could be beneath
notice, but it seems that God delights in those who do it far beyond what a mere duty would imply.
The
first thing Christians should be thankful for is our salvation. We should be constantly praising God for all
He did for us in and by Jesus Christ to atone for our sins, to implement His
mercy and to reconcile us to Himself.
God’s grace is fundamental to the Christian life, both to bring is unto
it and to help us live it, and because that grace is a constant presence we
should be constantly grateful.
Kendall
even discusses a doctrine of gratitude, which is often called sanctification. Christians refer to two parts of our
salvation. First is justification, in
which our sins are forgiven and the righteousness of Christ is imparted to us. We are made right with God through
Christ. The second part is
sanctification, in which we are transformed over time so that we increasingly
act right and become more the kind of people we are supposed to be. Kendall describes sanctification as a process
of gratitude. If we are grateful for
what God has done for us, we will act like it by praising Him, sharing the good
news what He has done, loving Him and
showing love to people because He loves them, obeying Him and doing what is
right.
One
of the things I thing is important about gratitude that is discussed by Kendall
is that it puts things in perspective, especially when times are tough. We shouldn’t wait until everything seems good
to be thankful. We should always be
acknowledging kindnesses, mercies, answer, help and other good things; we
experience them even in the midst of trouble. In addition, Kendall wrote, “Every trial has a
built-in time scale. It will end! God will see to it.” We can be grateful that better times are
ahead, and for Christians the trials of this age will seem very brief in
comparison to eternity in God’s blessing.
Unfortunately,
gratitude does not come naturally to us.
It is something we must learn. We
must intentionally remember the good God and others have done for us. We need to rehearse the benefits that have
come our way and do it often. When we
forget, we easily become ungrateful, and I think unhappy as well.
If
you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Friday, March 27, 2009
The Physics of Superheroes by James Kakalios
Kakalios, J. The Physics of Superheroes. New York: Gotham Books, 2005.
The Physics of Superheroes is a fun introduction to physics. Kakalios is a physics professor at the University of Minnesota, and childhood comic book fan, who created a freshman physics class that used examples from comic books to illustrate physics principles rather than traditional examples.
This book is not a physics textbook. For one thing, it is very light on math. Calculus was a prerequisite to the physics classes I took in college, but you can follow this book with no more math than a high school student would know. If higher math is necessary for a thorough understanding, Kakalios provides a general concept and moves on. This is a book for the nonspecialist.
Though written for a nontechnical audience, the book covers the range of physics you would find in an undergraduate physics curriculum. It moves from classical mechanics to thermodynamics to quantum mechanics. It demonstrates how seemingly esoteric and strange physical phenomena, particularly in the realm of quantum mechanics, make possible the technology that is all around us.
What makes the book entertaining is the use of comic books as sources of illustrations. Much of what is in comics is more fantasy than physics. Kakalios allows a “miracle exception” to explain the superheroes’ powers, but from their examines their feats form the point of view of solid science. Sometimes the comics get the science right.
Judging from the tone of the book, it seems that Kakalios has an affection for comic books. Though the main subject is physics, a secondary subject is the history of comics and some of their major characters. The comics fan will find something to enjoy as well as those seeking an approachable introduction to physics. Maybe it can bridge the gap between those with the button down collars and those in the Black Adam tee shirts.
This book shares something with more academic texts, namely footnotes. Kakalios’ footnotes deal more with the comics than the physics; he deals with the physics in the main text, but sometimes an explanatory note about the comics’ characters is helpful to the uninitiated. Some footnotes are tongue-in-cheek comments that lighten the tone of the more serious segments.
Order this book here
The Physics of Superheroes is a fun introduction to physics. Kakalios is a physics professor at the University of Minnesota, and childhood comic book fan, who created a freshman physics class that used examples from comic books to illustrate physics principles rather than traditional examples.
This book is not a physics textbook. For one thing, it is very light on math. Calculus was a prerequisite to the physics classes I took in college, but you can follow this book with no more math than a high school student would know. If higher math is necessary for a thorough understanding, Kakalios provides a general concept and moves on. This is a book for the nonspecialist.
Though written for a nontechnical audience, the book covers the range of physics you would find in an undergraduate physics curriculum. It moves from classical mechanics to thermodynamics to quantum mechanics. It demonstrates how seemingly esoteric and strange physical phenomena, particularly in the realm of quantum mechanics, make possible the technology that is all around us.
What makes the book entertaining is the use of comic books as sources of illustrations. Much of what is in comics is more fantasy than physics. Kakalios allows a “miracle exception” to explain the superheroes’ powers, but from their examines their feats form the point of view of solid science. Sometimes the comics get the science right.
Judging from the tone of the book, it seems that Kakalios has an affection for comic books. Though the main subject is physics, a secondary subject is the history of comics and some of their major characters. The comics fan will find something to enjoy as well as those seeking an approachable introduction to physics. Maybe it can bridge the gap between those with the button down collars and those in the Black Adam tee shirts.
This book shares something with more academic texts, namely footnotes. Kakalios’ footnotes deal more with the comics than the physics; he deals with the physics in the main text, but sometimes an explanatory note about the comics’ characters is helpful to the uninitiated. Some footnotes are tongue-in-cheek comments that lighten the tone of the more serious segments.
Order this book here
Sunday, July 10, 2016
A Slight Trick of the Mind by Mitch Cullin
In A Slight Trick of the Mind,
Mitch Cullin
imagines the life of an aged Sherlock
Holmes. He has lived through two world wars and
seen most of his closest friends
and family die. He is a man with no place in the world, and even the little
place he has separated out for himself cannot hold back time.
This is not a crime
story, but it deals with mysteries. These are not mysteries in the secret
society sense of things revealed only to the cognoscenti. They are mysteries in
the Christian
sense of things that are beyond the understanding of man. The Holmes of this
book is struggling with memory, death, war, abandonment, relationships, and
grief. Even with diminished capacity, Holmes can tell how a boy died. What
Holmes can’t grasp is how this boy he had come to love should die for no
apparent reason while he has lived long after his place in the world faded
away.
I have always thought that part of the appeal of Holmes was his
humanity. Though he has a cool demeanor and focuses on reason, these things
don’t motivate him. Beneath the surface is a passion for justice and a
compassion for his fellow man. Cullin captures both of these sides of a very
old Holmes who is struggling with mysteries that stump us all.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Descarte’s Secret Notebook by Amir D. Aczel
Aczel, Amir D. Descartes’ Secret Notebook. New York: Broadway, 2005.
A famous mathematician with suspected ties to a secretive cabal of global reformers dies from possible poisoning at the hand of a doctor employed by a European power. A French official surveys his papers, including a coded notebook, and has them quietly sent to the safekeeping of a relative. Years later, another brilliant mathematician, suffering from attacks on his reputation, seeks out the notebook to uncover its secrets.
It sounds like the plot of a thriller. Amir Aczel uses it to frame his biography of philosopher and mathematician René Descartes.
Descartes’ greatest hit as a philosopher was, “Cogito, ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am). He was a leader in rationalism, a philosophy that emphasizes the discovery of truth by use of reason. His method focused on methodical doubt by which he aimed to find truth (to him, all knowledge was connected, not discreet, unrelated truths) by reasoning out those things that could not be doubted. Thusly he reasoned his existence because he couldn’t very well doubt it when he was sitting there thinking about it. His method set him against the prevailing philosophy of the day, scholasticism, which focused on learning from authoritative figures and sources, particularly Aristotle.
High school algebra students will immediately recognize Descartes’ contribution to math. From today’s perspective, it may be hard to understand why it was such a big deal in the 17th Century. Descartes created analytic geometry, which uses algebraic equations to describe and understand geometric shapes. Before this, geometry and algebra were distinct fields, not parts of a unified mathematics. As part of this, he gave us Cartesian coordinates, the familiar x,y graph that has makes so many high school kids cross-eyed. Despite complaints that they’ll never use it, behind the scenes Cartesian coordinates are ubiquitous.
Descartes was not part of a secret society. He was a devout Catholic and was careful not to publish anything that would put him in direct conflict with the church. Even so, the writings of the Rosicrucians, a group of philosophers who sought political and religious reform and the advancement of science, influenced him. He even knew one of the brotherhood, though he may have been unaware of it. Despite his efforts to distance himself from the Rosy Cross, his books used terms that made some believe he was a Rosicrucian and his notebook included alchemical symbols that the group used.
Gottfried Leibniz, co-creator of calculus, was under attack from proponents of Isaac Newton, who independently created calculus contemporaneously with Leibniz. Other accused Leibniz of deriving his work from Descartes, which is why he diligently tracked down the Frenchman’s papers.
What did Descartes’ secret notebook contain? Leibniz handily decoded it. Descartes discovered Euler’s theorem. For polyhedrons, the sum of the number of faces (F) and the number of vertices (V) minus the number of edges (E) is 2 (F + V – E = 2). Descartes kept his discovery secret because some may have construed it as supporting a theory of Johann Kepler that used regular polyhedrons to describe planetary orbits in a Copernican model of the solar system. This was contrary to the teaching of the church, which Descartes wanted to avoid because of his personal devotion and because conflict with the Inquisition could be a career-ending (and life-ending) move.
Amir D. Aczel also wrote Chance.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
1089 and All That by David Acheson
Fortune’s Formula by William Poundstone
The Numbers behind NUMB3RS by Keith Devlin & Gary Lorden
The Unfinished Game by Keith Devlin
A famous mathematician with suspected ties to a secretive cabal of global reformers dies from possible poisoning at the hand of a doctor employed by a European power. A French official surveys his papers, including a coded notebook, and has them quietly sent to the safekeeping of a relative. Years later, another brilliant mathematician, suffering from attacks on his reputation, seeks out the notebook to uncover its secrets.
It sounds like the plot of a thriller. Amir Aczel uses it to frame his biography of philosopher and mathematician René Descartes.
Descartes’ greatest hit as a philosopher was, “Cogito, ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am). He was a leader in rationalism, a philosophy that emphasizes the discovery of truth by use of reason. His method focused on methodical doubt by which he aimed to find truth (to him, all knowledge was connected, not discreet, unrelated truths) by reasoning out those things that could not be doubted. Thusly he reasoned his existence because he couldn’t very well doubt it when he was sitting there thinking about it. His method set him against the prevailing philosophy of the day, scholasticism, which focused on learning from authoritative figures and sources, particularly Aristotle.
High school algebra students will immediately recognize Descartes’ contribution to math. From today’s perspective, it may be hard to understand why it was such a big deal in the 17th Century. Descartes created analytic geometry, which uses algebraic equations to describe and understand geometric shapes. Before this, geometry and algebra were distinct fields, not parts of a unified mathematics. As part of this, he gave us Cartesian coordinates, the familiar x,y graph that has makes so many high school kids cross-eyed. Despite complaints that they’ll never use it, behind the scenes Cartesian coordinates are ubiquitous.
Descartes was not part of a secret society. He was a devout Catholic and was careful not to publish anything that would put him in direct conflict with the church. Even so, the writings of the Rosicrucians, a group of philosophers who sought political and religious reform and the advancement of science, influenced him. He even knew one of the brotherhood, though he may have been unaware of it. Despite his efforts to distance himself from the Rosy Cross, his books used terms that made some believe he was a Rosicrucian and his notebook included alchemical symbols that the group used.
Gottfried Leibniz, co-creator of calculus, was under attack from proponents of Isaac Newton, who independently created calculus contemporaneously with Leibniz. Other accused Leibniz of deriving his work from Descartes, which is why he diligently tracked down the Frenchman’s papers.
What did Descartes’ secret notebook contain? Leibniz handily decoded it. Descartes discovered Euler’s theorem. For polyhedrons, the sum of the number of faces (F) and the number of vertices (V) minus the number of edges (E) is 2 (F + V – E = 2). Descartes kept his discovery secret because some may have construed it as supporting a theory of Johann Kepler that used regular polyhedrons to describe planetary orbits in a Copernican model of the solar system. This was contrary to the teaching of the church, which Descartes wanted to avoid because of his personal devotion and because conflict with the Inquisition could be a career-ending (and life-ending) move.
Amir D. Aczel also wrote Chance.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
1089 and All That by David Acheson
Fortune’s Formula by William Poundstone
The Numbers behind NUMB3RS by Keith Devlin & Gary Lorden
The Unfinished Game by Keith Devlin
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
What's New Jan. 28, 2009
American Water Works Association Chooses New Officers
Amtrak May Benefit from Tunnel Bill
Book Review: The Unfinished Game by Keith Devlin
Civil Engineers Give American Infrastructure a Low Grade
Congress to Consider Recovery Bill
Drinking Water Not Getting as Much of Stimulus Package as Advocates Hoped
Environmental Protection Agency Announces Decision on Missouri Impaired Waters List
Glossary (Amended)
God Wants You to Be Rich by Paul Zane Pilzer
Googleganger: high school football player
Government Accountability Office Summarizes Shipments on the Missouri River
http://truman.missouri.edu/uploads/newsletters/PlainSpeakingWS03.pdfhttp://truman.missouri.edu/uploads/newsletters/PlainSpeakingWS05.pdfhttp://engineering.missouri.edu/alumni/magazine/EngrMagazine06.pdfhttp://www.columbiatribune.com/2005/Aug/20050803News015.asphttp://www.flouridealert.org/news/2338.htmlhttp://www.dddnews.com/story/1248425.html
Network with Infrastructure Watch on Facebook
New Infrastructure Report Card to be Released January 28
Ray H. LaHood Appointed Secretary of Transportation
Ritual
Spirituality
Take Small Steps to Improve Financial Outlook
The Unfinished Game by Keith Devlin
What’s New Jan. 19, 2009
XING - Groups - All Groups - Consulting Business - Article thread ...
XING - Groups - All Groups - Entrepreneurs Playground - Article ...
Amtrak May Benefit from Tunnel Bill
Book Review: The Unfinished Game by Keith Devlin
Civil Engineers Give American Infrastructure a Low Grade
Congress to Consider Recovery Bill
Drinking Water Not Getting as Much of Stimulus Package as Advocates Hoped
Environmental Protection Agency Announces Decision on Missouri Impaired Waters List
Glossary (Amended)
God Wants You to Be Rich by Paul Zane Pilzer
Googleganger: high school football player
Government Accountability Office Summarizes Shipments on the Missouri River
http://truman.missouri.edu/uploads/newsletters/PlainSpeakingWS03.pdfhttp://truman.missouri.edu/uploads/newsletters/PlainSpeakingWS05.pdfhttp://engineering.missouri.edu/alumni/magazine/EngrMagazine06.pdfhttp://www.columbiatribune.com/2005/Aug/20050803News015.asphttp://www.flouridealert.org/news/2338.htmlhttp://www.dddnews.com/story/1248425.html
Network with Infrastructure Watch on Facebook
New Infrastructure Report Card to be Released January 28
Ray H. LaHood Appointed Secretary of Transportation
Ritual
Spirituality
Take Small Steps to Improve Financial Outlook
The Unfinished Game by Keith Devlin
What’s New Jan. 19, 2009
XING - Groups - All Groups - Consulting Business - Article thread ...
XING - Groups - All Groups - Entrepreneurs Playground - Article ...
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
As I read Writing Down the Bones,
the writing
guide by Natalie
Goldberg that was first published in 1984,
I found myself being more courageous and honest in my writing. At least I’m
more that way in the writing I do for myself.
That is where it starts. Better writing comes from the practice of
writing. Goldberg recommends timed writing as a practice. Set the amount of
time you plan to write, even if it is as short as 10 minutes, and write as fast
and freely as you can.
I’ve been doing something similar for a while. What helped me break
through to more scary and fruitful territory is Goldberg’s advice to write a
little more. If you feel you’ve written all you can about something, write a
little more. I found it pushed me to write down thoughts and feelings I didn’t
want to admit I had. I don’t know that these confessions to myself had made me
a better writer, but when I break through I feel like I may be able to deal
with something I’ve been avoiding.
In both of these practices, writing is a kind of meditation,
which Goldberg discusses in several of the book’s short chapters. She draws on Buddhist
practices such as meditation throughout the book.
Her Buddhist practices also involve being present, which she suggests
is helpful for writers. Be present in your everyday life and in your writing.
Be attentive,
listen, and you will fill your mind with the wonderful things. These become
specific details that ground your writing in real life. Instead of writing
about something, you can write what is; your readers will conjure up on their
own the emotions associated with the experience you capture in your words.
“Whatever is in front of you is your life, so please take care of it,” Natalie Goldberg, Afterward to Writing Down the Bones
Goldberg believes writing should be tied to the rest of your life.
Whatever you’re doing, you’re a writer, and even though you can and should give
your full attention to the person or task in front of you, the writing mind is
still being primed for its work. And writing is work; it requires effort. Like
any worthwhile thing, you get out of it what you put into it. Writing is a
process and it needs to be approached with joy, honesty and patience if it is
to bear fruit.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Attitude in a Nutshell by Sam Glen
Glenn,
Sam. Attitude in a Nutshell. Sam
Glenn, 2005.
Sam Glenn has the kind of
rags-to-riches story that you might expect of a motivational speaker. He failed in his early jobs and a disaster
brought down the family business, which he was running. One little thing helped him persevere in
those hard days and empowered him to turn his life around. I give you one guess what it was.
It was his attitude. More to the point, it was a change in his
attitude. Instead of staying negative, pessimistic and angry, which probably
would have kept him in a bad place, he chose to be positive, optimistic and
good-humored, and this attitude help him to see opportunities and make choices
that improved his life.
Glenn writes about this in Attitude in a Nutshell. As the title suggests, it is a short
book. I suspect it draws heavily on his
presentations, especially given the informal style, generally conversational
tone, and brevity of the chapters.
The author doesn’t seem to
bring much new subject of attitude.
Don't take that as harsh criticism.
Recently published books, especially in the self-help
genre, tread much the same ground as
their predecessors from 50 or 100 years ago.
Jack
Canfield hasn’t added much to W.
Clement Stone, except shrewdness in marketing books. Stone didn’t add much to Napoleon
Hill, though he didn’t emphasize Hill’s wilder ideas. Hill had many antecedents and contemporaries
in writing about success, though the patronage of Andrew
Carnegie allowed him to take an approach that was unique for his time.
Specifically, the book
covers self-talk, humor, courage, character and a few other subjects related to
attitude. Like some other self-help
books I’ve read recently, it hangs together mainly on the topic. Other than the theme of “have a good attitude,”
there is no strong thread connecting the different parts of the book.
If he doesn’t stand out as
an author of self-help, he may make up for it as a speaker. I know someone who has seen him present. His presentation incorporates the creation of
chalk art. It sounds like a gimmick, but
a gimmick that draws an audience’s attention, enlivens a presentation, and
makes it more memorable is a worthy one.
If you’re interested in this
book, you may also be interested in
Google
Monday, September 12, 2011
The Victory of Reason by Rodney Stark
Stark, Rodney. The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success. New York: Random House, 2005.
Rodney Stark argues in The Victory of Reason that the West grew to prominence in science, technology, commerce, and power because of its foundations in Christianity. Personal freedom, democracy, and capitalism grew and eventually flourished in Western Civilization because Christianity provided a philosophy and set of beliefs that such things were possible, achievable, and valuable. These things failed, stumbled, and declined in other parts of the world because the cultures, particularly religions, that prevailed there supported philosophies and beliefs that lead another direction.
It starts with a notion of God that is almost unique to Christianity: God is a being of reason. Therefore they could use human reason, however imperfect, to understand God and increase our understanding of Him. Christian theology wasn’t simply asserting scripture, but reasoning about God and His Word to increase, refine, and improve knowledge and doctrine.
The Christian faith embraced progress through reason in doctrine. Christians looked forward to becoming progressively better believers. God is immutable, but those who believe Him can grow in understanding as they mature and with successive generations. This religion of belief contrasted with religions of practice, which inherently looked backward to established law.
These foundational beliefs in reason and progress carried over into Christian views of the physical world. It was a real place made by God. In addition, because God created the world using His reason, we can understand it using ours, just as we can use reason to increase our understanding of God. This belief gave impetus to modern science. Some credit goes to the ancient Greek philosophers, some of who had faith in reason and others in experimentation, though not both at the same time. Islamic philosophers admired, preserved and closely studied the Greeks. However, it was Christians who took these resources and added their own worldview to create modern science. Early scientists were Christians, often supported by the church directly or through universities, which were connected to the church at the time. Western nations gained a lead in science that they still hold.
Progress carried over to social and political issues as well. In particular, Christian beliefs about human equality made the church a leader in the abolition of slavery in Europe and later the Americas. It also gave rise to increasingly democratic governments, personal freedoms, and property rights. This created an environment where capitalism could flourish. Capitalism love technological development, and it didn’t hurt that it was growing in cultures that were amenable to science, and these things grew together creating new levels of freedom, opportunity, and wealth. Christian theologians had the flexibility and reasoning power to adapt doctrine to these new developments while remaining true to received scripture.
Stark supports his arguments with examples from history. One of the more interesting things about the book is the way he compares examples from the Christian world to counterexample from other cultures, such as China or Islam. China was a prominent, technologically advance culture that did not hold its lead. Islam preserved Greek knowledge during Europe’s supposedly dark ages, but did not advance. It was the late bloomers in the Christian West who had the philosophical tools to build success upon success. He also contrasts the winners and decliners in Europe and the Americas, showing how successful and wealthy nations became that way by embracing religious liberty, democracy, and capitalism, while those that declined held to or recreated feudal systems.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Copernicus’ Secret by Jack Repcheck
Descarte’s Secret Notebook by Amir D. Aczel
God Wants You to Be Rich by Paul Zane Pilzer
How We Got Here by Andy Kessler
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization by Anthony Esolen
The Richest Man Who Ever Lived by Steven K. Scott
The Road to Serfdom by F. A. Hayek
Rodney Stark argues in The Victory of Reason that the West grew to prominence in science, technology, commerce, and power because of its foundations in Christianity. Personal freedom, democracy, and capitalism grew and eventually flourished in Western Civilization because Christianity provided a philosophy and set of beliefs that such things were possible, achievable, and valuable. These things failed, stumbled, and declined in other parts of the world because the cultures, particularly religions, that prevailed there supported philosophies and beliefs that lead another direction.
It starts with a notion of God that is almost unique to Christianity: God is a being of reason. Therefore they could use human reason, however imperfect, to understand God and increase our understanding of Him. Christian theology wasn’t simply asserting scripture, but reasoning about God and His Word to increase, refine, and improve knowledge and doctrine.
The Christian faith embraced progress through reason in doctrine. Christians looked forward to becoming progressively better believers. God is immutable, but those who believe Him can grow in understanding as they mature and with successive generations. This religion of belief contrasted with religions of practice, which inherently looked backward to established law.
These foundational beliefs in reason and progress carried over into Christian views of the physical world. It was a real place made by God. In addition, because God created the world using His reason, we can understand it using ours, just as we can use reason to increase our understanding of God. This belief gave impetus to modern science. Some credit goes to the ancient Greek philosophers, some of who had faith in reason and others in experimentation, though not both at the same time. Islamic philosophers admired, preserved and closely studied the Greeks. However, it was Christians who took these resources and added their own worldview to create modern science. Early scientists were Christians, often supported by the church directly or through universities, which were connected to the church at the time. Western nations gained a lead in science that they still hold.
Progress carried over to social and political issues as well. In particular, Christian beliefs about human equality made the church a leader in the abolition of slavery in Europe and later the Americas. It also gave rise to increasingly democratic governments, personal freedoms, and property rights. This created an environment where capitalism could flourish. Capitalism love technological development, and it didn’t hurt that it was growing in cultures that were amenable to science, and these things grew together creating new levels of freedom, opportunity, and wealth. Christian theologians had the flexibility and reasoning power to adapt doctrine to these new developments while remaining true to received scripture.
Stark supports his arguments with examples from history. One of the more interesting things about the book is the way he compares examples from the Christian world to counterexample from other cultures, such as China or Islam. China was a prominent, technologically advance culture that did not hold its lead. Islam preserved Greek knowledge during Europe’s supposedly dark ages, but did not advance. It was the late bloomers in the Christian West who had the philosophical tools to build success upon success. He also contrasts the winners and decliners in Europe and the Americas, showing how successful and wealthy nations became that way by embracing religious liberty, democracy, and capitalism, while those that declined held to or recreated feudal systems.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Copernicus’ Secret by Jack Repcheck
Descarte’s Secret Notebook by Amir D. Aczel
God Wants You to Be Rich by Paul Zane Pilzer
How We Got Here by Andy Kessler
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization by Anthony Esolen
The Richest Man Who Ever Lived by Steven K. Scott
The Road to Serfdom by F. A. Hayek
Sunday, February 15, 2015
The Innocent Man by John Grisham (audio book)
This is the
story of the trial of two men for the murder of Debra Sue
Carter, a young woman who worked as a waitress in Ada, Oklahoma. Ron
Williamson and Dennis Fritz
were convicted of a crime
they did not commit, and the justice
system consumed more than a decade of their lives before minimally
correcting its error.
I’m not
surprised it took so long to overturn the convictions of these men. I’m
surprised it got so far to begin with. The police
investigation was very incomplete and shoddy, even for 30 years ago when technology
and science
played a much lesser role in collecting and analyzing evidence (Grisham
strongly suggests the Ada police had ties to drug dealer, including one of the
detectives on the case, and that influenced the investigation). The lawyers for the
defense were competent, but they were not supplied with the means to mount a
good defense for their poor clients. Williamson was clearly mentally
ill, but there was never a proper determination of his fitness to stand
trial. The evidence was so thin I’m surprised a trial was permitted. They even
let a former Ada police chief sit on the jury (admittedly, he was not
forthcoming during jury selection, but you would think someone in that small
town would have known or pressed the issue more).
I can
understand the thirst for answers, especially in a small community where a
violent crime captures the public attention. It reminds me of the 2005
conviction here in central Missouri of Ryan Ferguson
for the of journalist
Kent
Heitholt in 2001,
when Ferguson was still in high
school. The conviction rested on some uncertain eyewitness accounts,
possibly influenced by police and prosecutors, and the confession Charles
Erickson. There seems to be little evidence against Erickson except his
drug-induced loss of memories of the night of the crime. He took a plea bargain
to testify against Ferguson. As with Williamson, police and courts seemed to
pay little attention to the mental state of Erickson.
In spite of
the lack of evidence to back up the witnesses few, in my mind Erickson is a
very sketchy witness even to his own involvement, the jury convicted Ferguson.
People wanted answers, order, justice, and a sense that the issue was resolved
so they could return to a safe life. This made them blind to all the problems
with the case against Ferguson. The police felt those public pressures and were
too ready to go with a problematic case rather than go through a tough
investigation that might lead to no answers. The case had other problems, and
as people began to admit to false confessions and prosecutorial influence of
witnesses, the conviction was revisited and overturned in 2013,
after Ferguson had spent most of his 20s in prison.
I think our
justice system is often close to the mark and produces mostly good results.
However, it should not take years, or decades, to correct such problematic
cases as these. In fact, these cases should have never come to trial based on
such flimsy evidence.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World by Bryan Lee O’Malley
O’Malley, Bryan Lee. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Portland, OR: Oni Press, 2005.
Scott Pilgrim is an immature jerk. You might like him, though. He’s in a cool band. Though he’s a coward in ordinary thing, he’s incredibly brave in fantastical fisticuffs.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a continuation of the titular character’s adventure that started in Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Precious Little Life. The boiled down version of the six-volume series of graphic novels is that Scott must defeat Ramona Flowers’ seven evil exes to win the right to date her.
In this second book, Scott defeats the second evil ex, a vain movie star who used to be a skate boarder. It’s a funny scene, but other parts of the book are better.
We get to see Scott create his own evil ex when he breaks up with his girlfriend, high-school girl Knives Chau. It’s probably a good thing for him to break up with Knives, but Scott is insensitive, selfish, and untruthful. In this sense, Knives isn’t evil in the grand sense of hating all that is good. She’s a wounded, jealous girl who is acting a little crazy, which is evil enough. It leads to one of the books fight scenes (they have the feel of video games and comics, which is a strange mix of weird and accepted in the fantasy of Toronto), which is longer and cooler than Scott’s fights.
Though Knives seems to be almost dismissed early in the book and could be dismissed as a nut in the middle, her story arc begins to open up in this volume. It’s not strictly a fall, but is a move from seemingly innocent ignorance to knowledge of the scary world of young adulthood and complicated relationships. Scott introduced her to this world, but he a poor guide. He would have been a poor guide even if he hadn’t abandoned her.
O’Malley reveals more about Scott’s other relationships. It looks like he might have a string of wounded exes. This includes band mate Kim and Envy Adams, leader of rival band The Clash at Demonhead.
O’Malley’s art in this and other Scott Pilgrims book is a little like manga with big-eyed characters. It is also simplified, cartoony. It has a rough feel. It’s better than I’ve made it sound. The black and white art is textured. It has varied, sometimes painterly, lines. It is full small touches that convey emotion, especially humor. Whatever one might think of the style, I’d say it is good comic book are because it interestingly conveys the story and reveals (not just depicts) the characters.
Bryan Lee O’Malley also wrote
Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life
If your interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Maus by Art Spiegelman
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Film)
Scott Pilgrim is an immature jerk. You might like him, though. He’s in a cool band. Though he’s a coward in ordinary thing, he’s incredibly brave in fantastical fisticuffs.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a continuation of the titular character’s adventure that started in Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Precious Little Life. The boiled down version of the six-volume series of graphic novels is that Scott must defeat Ramona Flowers’ seven evil exes to win the right to date her.
In this second book, Scott defeats the second evil ex, a vain movie star who used to be a skate boarder. It’s a funny scene, but other parts of the book are better.
We get to see Scott create his own evil ex when he breaks up with his girlfriend, high-school girl Knives Chau. It’s probably a good thing for him to break up with Knives, but Scott is insensitive, selfish, and untruthful. In this sense, Knives isn’t evil in the grand sense of hating all that is good. She’s a wounded, jealous girl who is acting a little crazy, which is evil enough. It leads to one of the books fight scenes (they have the feel of video games and comics, which is a strange mix of weird and accepted in the fantasy of Toronto), which is longer and cooler than Scott’s fights.
Though Knives seems to be almost dismissed early in the book and could be dismissed as a nut in the middle, her story arc begins to open up in this volume. It’s not strictly a fall, but is a move from seemingly innocent ignorance to knowledge of the scary world of young adulthood and complicated relationships. Scott introduced her to this world, but he a poor guide. He would have been a poor guide even if he hadn’t abandoned her.
O’Malley reveals more about Scott’s other relationships. It looks like he might have a string of wounded exes. This includes band mate Kim and Envy Adams, leader of rival band The Clash at Demonhead.
O’Malley’s art in this and other Scott Pilgrims book is a little like manga with big-eyed characters. It is also simplified, cartoony. It has a rough feel. It’s better than I’ve made it sound. The black and white art is textured. It has varied, sometimes painterly, lines. It is full small touches that convey emotion, especially humor. Whatever one might think of the style, I’d say it is good comic book are because it interestingly conveys the story and reveals (not just depicts) the characters.
Bryan Lee O’Malley also wrote
Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life
If your interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Maus by Art Spiegelman
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Film)
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