May 1, 2010 - 6:38 pm
Tags: audible book, bose, cone of silence, get smart, headphones, music, noise cancelling, Productivity, review
Posted in Productivity, Reviews, Technology, writing | No comments
Some of you may remember the infamous Cone of Silence from the Get Smart comedy series made in the 1960s. In the show, the cone of silence was meant to provide a, well, cone of silence around two people who wanted to have a private conversation, like when discussing top secret information, so that no [...]
I started reading The Road soon after I picked it up at Fountain Bookstore while waiting for some cousins to arrive for dinner at a local restaurant, and I really had a hard time putting it down.
Cormac McCarthy has a real skill at describing nature, especially desolate nature. And so this book, which is set [...]
March 30, 2010 - 8:38 pm
Tags: belief, Book, gina welch, lynchburg, review, spirituality, Virginia
Posted in Book, Culture, Reviews, Virginia | No comments
The recent health care “debate” had both the blue team AND the red team stooping to lows of hysteria and vitriol, getting Americans riled up rather than taking advantage of an opportunity for understanding and education. So it is refreshing to see someone take the latter path, rather than the former, for a change.
Gina [...]
Though you should be familiar with Beowulf, the 8th century Anglo-Saxon heroic epic that has influenced Western thought and storytelling for centuries, you’ve probably never read John Gardner’s Grendel–it’s Beowulf from Grendel’s perspective.
This version is wonderful, not only because of the characterizations of Beowulf and the Dragon, but also because we view the Scyldings, [...]
All the Pretty Horses is the second book by Cormac McCarthy book I’ve read, and this author’s prose is like poetry. He really has a way with describing scenes of the countryside, the love of horses, and the tragedy of a man’s destiny within a blind, or indifferent, universe.
The story focuses on the young [...]
Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West, by Cormac McCarthy, is worth your time, but is probably not a book for the faint of heart. I really enjoyed the story, though I have to feel a little guilty for saying so. The scenery itself is like another of the characters, and all characters [...]
I really enjoyed The Green Man, by Kingsley Amis. It starts out as some sort of English comedy — a guy who owns a pub has a drinking problem, has health problems, has a marriage problem, has a mistress problem, and has children problems, then suddenly starts seeing ghosts.
Of course no one believes him, since [...]
The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson, is one of the classics of the horror genre. Whereas some writers rely on explicit blood, gore, and violence to get across their message, Shirley Jackson evokes horror and supernatural suspense exactly by not being explicit. She creates terrifying moods and images without being hamhanded about the [...]
December 31, 2009 - 8:23 am
Tags: amsterdam, career, decade, education, hawaii, kendall, new york, personal, review, Travel, year
Posted in Living | 1 comment
Traditionally, the end of the year is a time for reflection about what you’ve accomplished during the past year and a chance to set goals for the coming year. I don’t often post end-of-year reviews, but since today, December 31, 2009, marks the end of not only the year 2009, but also the end of [...]
December 29, 2009 - 12:10 pm
Tags: cherry pie, dale cooper, david lynch, dvd, kyle maclachlan, laura palmer, mark frost, pie, recipe, review, sherilyn fenn, twin peaks
Posted in Culture, Reviews | No comments
OK, it’s time for a cup of joe and a donut.
One of the most original and interesting tv shows was the 1990s series Twin Peaks, and it has developed a bit of a cult following. The show was created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, and initially centered on solving the murder of a teenage [...]
