Back in the late ’70s, James Burke introduced me to interdisciplinary thinking. His book and documentary series, Connections, showed how (for example) the use of lateen sails in the 14th century led to the discovery of electricity. The process was far from linear, but Burke made the connections along the way clear and irrefutable.
Mark Forsyth, in his book, The Etymologicon, has done much the same thing with words. Continue Reading »
Posted in Books | Tagged book reviews, books, etymologicon, Forsyth, horologicon, James Burke, mark forsyth, the English Language, the inky fool | Leave a Comment »
My feet, it seems, are a medical marvel.
I don’t get colds too often. The average adult gets 2-4 colds per year, but I haven’t had a real cold in about 2 years. Until last Friday, that is, when I awoke with the surefire signs of a coming cold. Often I can fight them off, but this time I was done for.
Like any good social media flog, I mentioned my malady to the world and prepared myself for the onslaught of good wishes, virtual hugs, and sincere prayers that were going to be sent my way. They came, but with them came something new, something unexpected.
At some point, my feet became kidneys.
Posted in Culture | Tagged cold remedies, cold sock treatment, folk remedies, naturopathic medicine, onions in socks, science, scientific literacy | Leave a Comment »
London is built upon its dead.
On our last visit to London, during an unseasonably warm April, we opted to flee from the Holy Week/Royal Wedding crowds that thronged the city center and seek a quiet, shaded walk. We found it in Kensal Green, one of the six great Victorian cemeteries that ring London. It was a spontaneous choice, our walk amongst the tombs, but it piqued my curiosity enough that I wanted to learn more about these somber, beautiful places of death.
Thus, when a friend told me about Catharine Arnold’s Necropolis: London and its Dead, I snapped it up.
It’s difficult for Americans to comprehend, sometimes, how young our nation is when compared to the rest of the civilized world. Though the native populations of the Americas had been here for thousands of years, they left the continent virtually unmarked by their presence. Seattle, where I live, was not here 150 years ago. Our streets were built on land uncut, our city laid out on land that had never known one stone stacked upon another. This is true of all American cities. There are no ruins of empires past beneath our feet. When we dig in the earth, we do not find coins of Rome or remnants of a Norseman’s armor. Thus, when we travel abroad and visit cities that have been in existence for centuries, for millennia, it is often difficult for us to grasp what that really means.
In the case of London, it means that the city is not only built upon the ruins of its past but that it is, quite literally, built upon the bodies of its dead.
Posted in Books | Tagged book reviews, books, burial customs, catharine arnold, funeral customs, London, necropolis | Leave a Comment »
While I still maintain a presence on Facebook and find it useful as a portal (similar to Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn and such), there is some good advice for the small-time author in this post from Jon over at Jumping From Cliffs. Be realistic about what each venue can provide, and don’t waste money on ads.
Debate rages as to whether up-and-coming authors (yep, that’s us!) should set up Facebook pages as part of their marketing and promotion strategy.
Until very recently, I would have said yes, they definitely should; spread oneself as widely as possible in order to reach the largest and most diverse audience possible. Then Facebook went and changed their algorithms and I changed my mind.
Tut-tut Facebook, go to your room immediately!
The Author As A Brand (Oh Yes You Are…)
It’s now vastly more difficult for small brands – and yes, you ARE a brand – to gain visibility and thereby increase the number of their fans. This is because Facebook now prioritises content posted by the people who users interact and engage with the most.
OK, even I had to read that 3 times before I got it, and I wrote it. So let’s have a look at what…
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“Celebrate Diversity” is the clarion call of modern multiculturalism, the 21st century rendition of “Vive la différence!”
And I hate it.
As with all slogans, it’s a massive oversimplification of a complex topic, a concept made nearly meaningless by its distillation. And, as with many slogans, it concentrates on exactly the wrong aspect, completely mis-framing the argument. Continue Reading »
Posted in Culture | Tagged celebrate diversity, diversity, multi-culturalism, multiculturalism | 2 Comments »
I grew up in a black-and-white world. Not exactly like the way Calvin’s dad explained it, but pretty much.
When I was very young, television broadcast in black-and-white, and my life was filled with television. Soon, even though technology advanced and broadcasts switched to color, in our house we still only had a black-and-white television.
In fact, we didn’t have a color television until I was a teenager, when my grandfather passed away and we inherited his old massive oak-wood RCA Color TV console, with the remote control that sighed like a sulking teenager when you pressed down one of its three buttons. Thus, all my childhood TV viewing was black-and-white, never in color.
So how, then did I know that Captain Kirk’s tunic was tan, Spock’s blue, and Scotty’s red? Sure, I suppose my viewing might have been “enhanced” by color pictures in TV Guide, but if that’s so, then why do I also remember To Kill A Mockingbird in color?
When I watch the film, naturally I see it in black-and-white, but when I remember scenes, especially scenes from the book that didn’t make it into the movie, I remember them in color. I remember Scout’s red flannel shirt, her dark indigo overalls. Tom’s overalls were faded, as was the blue of his work shirt. Atticus wore suits of pale linen, grey pinstripe, and solid slate grey. Mayella had pink flowers on her dress, while the ones on Calpurnia’s chintz were blue.
Perhaps it is because so many things in that story were objects familiar to my youth. The bark of trees we climbed, the denim of our jeans, the thin cotton of our shirts, it was all as it was in the book. Or perhaps it’s because Harper Lee’s words were so simple and direct, so mesmerizing, that I couldn’t help but see the world she created in its entirety, vibrant with color.
To Kill a Mockingbird–in both book and film–was important to me when I was young, and it remains so today. Through its story, I discovered fiction that told of kids who were real, not the fantastical wunderkinder that I found in all the other books I was given. It was an adult story told simply, clearly, and with ultimate honesty. Within its pages, I learned that the world is not black and white, right and wrong, but filled with immeasurable greys in which justice can be evil, and wrong-doing can be justice. I learned of the fallibility of mankind, and of the failures in our shared society when we forget that we are not alone in this world.
I remember Harper Lee’s classic in color, because it taught me about black and white, because it taught me about grey.
k
Posted in Books, Movies | Tagged black-and-white world, books, calvin and hobbes, color television, creative writing, harper lee, memoir, Movies, RCA Color TV, to kill a mockingbird, Writing | 5 Comments »
My wife is not Italian. She’s Irish. She just married an Italian. (Actually, I’m mostly French, but try telling that to someone who’s struggling to pronounce “Giambastiani.”)
She calls herself a “truck-stop cook.” She isn’t what she would call a “chef.” She is a craftsman who has a few really good recipes.
Over the years, she’s cooked these few (these happy few), receiving raves from friends and family lucky enough to partake. Over the years, she’s tinkered with each concoction, improving and perfecting her enchiladas, banana bread, beef stew, spag-bol, quiche Lorraine, cinnamon rolls, cookies, fudge, and–notably–lasagna.
She’s been working on her lasagna recipe for 30 years. She measures by eye, always has sauce and cheese left over, always makes them two at a time–a large one for the feast, a smaller one to be frozen, uncooked, for later–and always, always it is wonderful, flavorful, and unlike any other lasagna I’ve ever tasted.
Last weekend, Ilene made her lasagna for a large gathering of friends and neighbors. The occasion was specifically to introduce her masterpiece to folks who’ve never had it before. Normally, I am her sous chef, doing all the chopping and grating, stirring and cleaning, while she swans in and casts her magic alchemy with handfuls of spice and multiple taste-tests. This time, however, I followed her around, noted her every move, measured every handful and pile she used, and weighed all the ingredients left behind. I calculated the mounds and pounds that went into each of the two mismatched pies, then got out my slide rule and conversion charts and constructed a single recipe for a 9×13″ lasagna.
Last night, I tried it myself, and got Ilene’s stamp of approval.
As with all recipes, I can think of things I want to try next time–a dash of this, a spoonful of that–but this is the radix, the omphalos, the groundwater source of Ilene’s wonderful, delectable, world-class lasagna.
Caveat: This is not a health-minded recipe. It’s a heart attack on a plate. We don’t have it every week, or even every month. For us, it’s a once-, maybe twice-a-year treat, usually bookended by days of low-calorie meals and exercise for preparation and recovery.
Trust me. It’s worth it.
Posted in Food, Recipes | Tagged cooking, homemade recipe, Italian cooking, lasagna, lasagna noodles, lasagna recipe, Recipe, recipes, world-class lasagna | 3 Comments »
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 