I realized the other day that I've lived in New York longer than I've lived anywhere else. It's amazing: I am a New Yorker. It's strange; I never thought I would be. ---David Bowie
No doubt about it: there's something quite special about New York City. Being by my nature something of a homebody, I admit to not being very enthusiastic when Melissa and I planned a brief trip to Midtown Manhattan along with our daughter Rebecca back in 2010...but my experience there left a lasting impression on me and, more than any other place that I've only been for four days, I still have a sense of "home" about it. Here are links to my blog articles pertaining to that visit, written over the span of a couple of months after we returned:
Visited NYC, Back Today
My Running Experience in NYC
Junior's Restaurant Near Times Square
Manhattan's Transformation
Pedestrians Rule in Manhattan
Where Have All the Alleys Gone?
Drinking Starbucks on the Hudson, Going to Work in Brooklyn
NYC Museum Rush
My Circle Lines Harbor Lights Experience
Attempted Bomb Attack Near Times Square
Chinatown and Little Italy
Bigapplophobia Revisited
Visit to World Trade Center Site
NYC: The "Hands Out" City
My Gray Line Tours Experience in Manhattan
Central Park
Scents and the City
The Manhattan Experience: Streets vs. Buildings
I believe that a lot of folks, not just celebrity musicians like David Bowie or John Lennon (or the lesser known but very talented and accomplished Regina Spektor and Sufjan Stevens), have felt a kind of attraction toward the Big Apple and a reluctance to leave it. Especially on the island of Manhattan, destinations are often within close walking distance...I once superimposed a street map of Manhattan on my own subdivision in Gainesville with our hotel there centered over my house: important places from Rockefeller Center to Madison Square Garden would still be "in" our neighborhood. And whenever I read books set in New York, I find myself mentally walking in the same places as the characters. Last night there was a hockey playoff game at Madison Square Garden between the New York Rangers and the Ottawa Senators: guess who I rooted for as my "home" team?
I'd like to go back to New York sometime in the not-to-distant future. Back in 2010, the new World Trade Center tower was under construction and hidden from view behind fencing...next time we're definitely going up to the top! We also missed out back then on many other experiences, in particular the subway system...the time constraints of our visit in 2010 limited what we could do. But from time to time I'd like to touch base with this incredible city and not go for so long between visits...
Friday, May 5, 2017
Thursday, May 4, 2017
4/30 Sermon on 1 John, Part 3
Last Sunday's message at The Family Church here in Gainesville was the third part of a series, titled Let There Be Light and based on the New Testament book of 1 John. This particular sermon, Changed, uses Chapter 2, Verses 6-14...you can read them through the following link to Bible Gateway: [link]. Being in the emergency room last Sunday morning, I wasn't able to attend the services then...but my church has a video channel on YouTube through which one can gain access to sermons past and present. Consequently, I was later able to watch all of Pastor Philip Griffin's important message...and you can, too, through the following link to the pertinent YouTube site: [link]...
There was a lot of good stuff loaded into this message, and I'll list what I think were the main things that Pastor Philip said:
Knowing Jesus will change the way we live, love, and grow.
The Old Testament command to love our neighbors as ourselves has been extended by Jesus to include our enemies and those toward whom we are indifferent...Pastor Philip pointed out that the Greek word for "hate" employed in the focus passage means both "detest" and "disregard".
It is necessary to talk about one's own experiences of discrimination and persecution...Philip recalled his childhood in Mexico and standing out there among the other children as being different...and thus subject to violent persecution, even to the extent that his life was threatened. Although we can sympathize with those who have suffered discrimination, we can never fully understand the extent of their sufferings as they have experienced them. But the love of Christ compels us to see life from others' perspectives and we are here to help one another. If one part of the body (i.e. the Church) suffers, we all suffer.
The darkness of hate blinds us to God's great love and forgiveness as well as the nature of the true enemy, which is not of flesh but of spirit: the devil.
As Christians, doubting our forgiveness through Jesus diminishes his name. The way to spiritual maturity is to go beyond overcoming one's own personal problems and to reach out and help others in their spiritual journeys, mentoring and discipling being two ways to achieve this.
Yes, this message contained much food for thought, meditation, and prayer. I don't believe in dwelling on one's own past experiences to the point where they cloud the present, but Philip is right in that we each need to recognize how they...especially the experiences of persecution...have affected us, whether or not we want to consciously recognize it. And to extend the meaning of hatred to include not just those whom we vehemently dislike, but also those whom we feel comfortable ignoring, was eye-opening...
There was a lot of good stuff loaded into this message, and I'll list what I think were the main things that Pastor Philip said:
Knowing Jesus will change the way we live, love, and grow.
The Old Testament command to love our neighbors as ourselves has been extended by Jesus to include our enemies and those toward whom we are indifferent...Pastor Philip pointed out that the Greek word for "hate" employed in the focus passage means both "detest" and "disregard".
It is necessary to talk about one's own experiences of discrimination and persecution...Philip recalled his childhood in Mexico and standing out there among the other children as being different...and thus subject to violent persecution, even to the extent that his life was threatened. Although we can sympathize with those who have suffered discrimination, we can never fully understand the extent of their sufferings as they have experienced them. But the love of Christ compels us to see life from others' perspectives and we are here to help one another. If one part of the body (i.e. the Church) suffers, we all suffer.
The darkness of hate blinds us to God's great love and forgiveness as well as the nature of the true enemy, which is not of flesh but of spirit: the devil.
As Christians, doubting our forgiveness through Jesus diminishes his name. The way to spiritual maturity is to go beyond overcoming one's own personal problems and to reach out and help others in their spiritual journeys, mentoring and discipling being two ways to achieve this.
Yes, this message contained much food for thought, meditation, and prayer. I don't believe in dwelling on one's own past experiences to the point where they cloud the present, but Philip is right in that we each need to recognize how they...especially the experiences of persecution...have affected us, whether or not we want to consciously recognize it. And to extend the meaning of hatred to include not just those whom we vehemently dislike, but also those whom we feel comfortable ignoring, was eye-opening...
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Weekly Short Story Review: The Pacific Mystery by Stephen Baxter
I read British science fiction writer Stephen Baxter's short story The Pacific Mystery from the anthology The Mammoth Book of Extreme Science Fiction (Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2006) that I bought a few years ago from Books-a-Million, which featured (at least back then) a barrage of different Mammoth books containing short pieces from just about every genre of fiction...and even some nonfiction. Baxter's contribution of The Pacific Mystery in Mammoth was surprisingly the first-time publication of this very intriguing story of alternate (or if you prefer, alternative) history...
Alternate history fiction delves into what might have happened if a crucial turning point in history had gone a different way, such as the South winning the U.S. Civil War or the Axis powers being triumphant in World War II. The latter scenario was the backdrop of Philip K. Dick's alternate history masterpiece The Man in the High Castle...and it also underpins The Pacific Mystery. But Stephen Baxter's story explains that the "bad guys" win because of a phenomenon that we in our own real world do not have: an endless Pacific Ocean...
When I was a little kid first learning about geography (and I was a fanatical map reader), I easily picked up on the duality of the vast Atlantic Ocean being on the eastern shores of the United States and the vast Pacific Ocean being on its west side. Also, being a frequent visitor back then with my family in South Florida to the beach (first Haulover in 1958-60 and then Hollywood during the 60s and 70s), I internalized the idea of the "endless sea" by looking out at the distance over the Atlantic. Yet in truth, the Atlantic Ocean, if you hold up a globe of our Earth, takes up a relatively small surface area while it's possible, if you look at that globe from the correct angle, to see the Pacific Ocean as occupying nearly half of it! It is this monumental size of the Pacific, along with the strange two disjoint combat theaters of World War II, with the Japanese in the Pacific and the Germans in the Atlantic, that probably inspired Stephen Baxter to conjecture how the conflict might have turned out had the Pacific not just seemed "endless"...but actually was...
An advanced nuclear-powered airborne aircraft carrier takes off in the late 1940s from Nazi London and heads eastward, across Eurasia and out over the depths of the Pacific in search of America...kind of like a reverse Columbus. It is this journey, recorded in a diary by British journalist Bliss Stirling, that forms the plot of The Pacific Mystery. This story could well have been lengthened into novel form for the possibilities within it, but keeping it short like this, in my opinion, made its premise...and the probable explanation for the great mystery revealed at the end...much more impactful and memorable. It has been one of my favorite short stories for several years...
Alternate history fiction delves into what might have happened if a crucial turning point in history had gone a different way, such as the South winning the U.S. Civil War or the Axis powers being triumphant in World War II. The latter scenario was the backdrop of Philip K. Dick's alternate history masterpiece The Man in the High Castle...and it also underpins The Pacific Mystery. But Stephen Baxter's story explains that the "bad guys" win because of a phenomenon that we in our own real world do not have: an endless Pacific Ocean...
When I was a little kid first learning about geography (and I was a fanatical map reader), I easily picked up on the duality of the vast Atlantic Ocean being on the eastern shores of the United States and the vast Pacific Ocean being on its west side. Also, being a frequent visitor back then with my family in South Florida to the beach (first Haulover in 1958-60 and then Hollywood during the 60s and 70s), I internalized the idea of the "endless sea" by looking out at the distance over the Atlantic. Yet in truth, the Atlantic Ocean, if you hold up a globe of our Earth, takes up a relatively small surface area while it's possible, if you look at that globe from the correct angle, to see the Pacific Ocean as occupying nearly half of it! It is this monumental size of the Pacific, along with the strange two disjoint combat theaters of World War II, with the Japanese in the Pacific and the Germans in the Atlantic, that probably inspired Stephen Baxter to conjecture how the conflict might have turned out had the Pacific not just seemed "endless"...but actually was...
An advanced nuclear-powered airborne aircraft carrier takes off in the late 1940s from Nazi London and heads eastward, across Eurasia and out over the depths of the Pacific in search of America...kind of like a reverse Columbus. It is this journey, recorded in a diary by British journalist Bliss Stirling, that forms the plot of The Pacific Mystery. This story could well have been lengthened into novel form for the possibilities within it, but keeping it short like this, in my opinion, made its premise...and the probable explanation for the great mystery revealed at the end...much more impactful and memorable. It has been one of my favorite short stories for several years...
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
NHL Playoffs in Middle of Second Round
I have been watching the National Hockey League Stanley Cup playoffs more this year than at any other time in my life...I'm getting to really like this sport that I've never even remotely come close to playing. The closest I ever came to it was as a little kid, playing "field hockey" one-on-one with my sister in our backyard using croquet mallets and tennis balls. Not exactly the scenario we see on ice, five-on-five with the breakneck speed, fights, collisions with the wall, violent body checking, and penalties! I'm not all that interested in which teams win, but I'll pick one or the other to root for during a game, just to make it a little more interesting. There are four series ongoing: New York Rangers vs. Ottawa Senators, Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks vs. Edmonton Oilers, and Nashville Predators vs. St. Louis Blues. I'm pulling for New York, Washington, Anaheim, and St. Louis....other than the Ducks-Oilers series, which is knotted at 1-1, all of "my" teams are behind in their respective series. Last night game #3 of the Washington-Pittsburgh series was a thriller, with the Caps struggling to avoid going down three games to none against the defending Stanley Cup champs. They held a 2-0 lead going into the final two minutes of regulation, but then the Penguins, hampered by some crucial injuries, suddenly ramped up their offense and scored two quick goals, sending the match into overtime. Washington recovered, though, and sank an early overtime goal to salvage their game and keep them competitive in the series. Tonight will be game #3 between Ottawa and New York, with the Rangers behind 0-2 and hoping to accomplish what Washington did. For myself, I would like to see each series go the full seven games, just in order to have more hockey to watch...
Monday, May 1, 2017
Just Finished Reading Lord of the Flies by William Golding
William Golding's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies is one of the most famous stories of the last century...and it has become a common high school English class reading assignment. I know my sister Anita had to read it, but somehow my own teachers never got around to inserting it into their curriculum. That's probably just as well, because having to read a book in order to get a good grade tended to make me resent it instead of appreciating it for its own worth, as I am now in a position to do. So perhaps a bit belatedly...but more willingly...I finally got around to reading Golding's crowning work...
I had already possessed a sketchy knowledge about what happens in Lord of the Flies for many years. A marooned group of preadolescent English boys on an uninhabited tropical ocean island must fend for themselves, their plight having come about when the airplane transporting them from war to safety is itself attacked, the adults killed and the plane destroyed, leaving only the boys as survivors. As they group together on the island and decide how to govern themselves and what should be their priorites, three figures emerge among the older boys: Ralph, who is elected chief and wants a constant fire set and tended in order to attract rescuers, Jack, Ralph's rival for leadership, who becomes obsessed with successfully hunting down the island's native pigs for food, and Piggy, a chubby, myopic, and asthmatic boy who, in spite of the taunts he receives from the others, possesses the greatest intellect and common sense of the bunch. As the days go on, the boys' struggle for survival and rescue transforms itself into a power struggle for leadership and direction...ultimately turning into a conflict mirroring the outside world's "grown-up" war as the civilized society they were brought up in degenerates into savagery...
Without going into how the story ends...I encourage you to read it for yourself...I have two reactions from Lord of the Flies. One is that the boys employed a system for speaking at assemblies: whoever held the designated conch shell had the floor and theoretically could not be interrupted. However, poor Piggy could never be respected in this regard and was always being interrupted and derided whenever he spoke. This reminded me of the double standards and favoritism people often face in supposedly orderly, "fair" processes when authority figures pick and choose by whim when and on whose behalf they decide to follow the set rules. My other reaction to this story is how much it reminded me of how my (male) classmates behaved at my school's bus stop, from the fourth grade (when I began to ride a school bus) well into high school. Bullying and scapegoating were rampant and there was a continuous struggle for who could be seen as the toughest...not a very favorable environment for me to start and finish the school day. Yes, William Golding sure got it right...
I had already possessed a sketchy knowledge about what happens in Lord of the Flies for many years. A marooned group of preadolescent English boys on an uninhabited tropical ocean island must fend for themselves, their plight having come about when the airplane transporting them from war to safety is itself attacked, the adults killed and the plane destroyed, leaving only the boys as survivors. As they group together on the island and decide how to govern themselves and what should be their priorites, three figures emerge among the older boys: Ralph, who is elected chief and wants a constant fire set and tended in order to attract rescuers, Jack, Ralph's rival for leadership, who becomes obsessed with successfully hunting down the island's native pigs for food, and Piggy, a chubby, myopic, and asthmatic boy who, in spite of the taunts he receives from the others, possesses the greatest intellect and common sense of the bunch. As the days go on, the boys' struggle for survival and rescue transforms itself into a power struggle for leadership and direction...ultimately turning into a conflict mirroring the outside world's "grown-up" war as the civilized society they were brought up in degenerates into savagery...
Without going into how the story ends...I encourage you to read it for yourself...I have two reactions from Lord of the Flies. One is that the boys employed a system for speaking at assemblies: whoever held the designated conch shell had the floor and theoretically could not be interrupted. However, poor Piggy could never be respected in this regard and was always being interrupted and derided whenever he spoke. This reminded me of the double standards and favoritism people often face in supposedly orderly, "fair" processes when authority figures pick and choose by whim when and on whose behalf they decide to follow the set rules. My other reaction to this story is how much it reminded me of how my (male) classmates behaved at my school's bus stop, from the fourth grade (when I began to ride a school bus) well into high school. Bullying and scapegoating were rampant and there was a continuous struggle for who could be seen as the toughest...not a very favorable environment for me to start and finish the school day. Yes, William Golding sure got it right...
Sunday, April 30, 2017
My April 2017 Running Report
My running in April was curtailed at the end by something not directly related to it: chronic and often intense pain in my left arm. Earlier today I had to seek medical treatment, and more serious concerns about my heart were then eliminated. Still, my life for the next few days will be disrupted as I have to rest and recover while taking medication to keep the pain level in my arm bearable. Needless to say, I won't be running anytime soon...
As for my running stats for April, I ran a total of 97 miles, a 4.1 mile run being my longest single run...and I ran on 26 days, missing some at the end due to the aforementioned problem. Earlier in the month I had a chance to run a 10K race but have decided that running races early Saturday morning simply does not work when I am getting off from my often physically demanding job Friday at midnight, just a few hours earlier...future races will have to give me some more recuperation time from work than that. In any event, my arm is the pressing issue for me right now and running is far down the list of my priorities. I'll see where I stand on it in a few days...
As for my running stats for April, I ran a total of 97 miles, a 4.1 mile run being my longest single run...and I ran on 26 days, missing some at the end due to the aforementioned problem. Earlier in the month I had a chance to run a 10K race but have decided that running races early Saturday morning simply does not work when I am getting off from my often physically demanding job Friday at midnight, just a few hours earlier...future races will have to give me some more recuperation time from work than that. In any event, my arm is the pressing issue for me right now and running is far down the list of my priorities. I'll see where I stand on it in a few days...
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Watching Hockey and Soccer While Resting Aching Body
Today has been one of those days when I've felt achy, happy to be off from work and at home. In particular, my left arm has been hurting off and on the last few days...and especially today...as if someone had badly twisted it. So here I am writing this, sitting in my recliner in front of the TV in my living room. I just finished watching an exciting double-overtime National Hockey League playoff game between Ottawa and the New York Rangers...the Senators came from two goals down to win it 6-5. Right now I'm channel surfing, waiting for 8:00 when Mexican soccer comes on two different channels: Univision and Galavision...the latter will feature "my" UANL Tigres as they try to sneak into the playoffs, with first-place Tijuana their opponent tonight. In the meantime, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is on one channel, Matrix Revolutions is on another...and, depending on how much of a glutton for punishment you are, the "news" channels are showing either a Donald Trump rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania or the White House Correspondents' Dinner, which the president is boycotting this year because he thinks he's being treated unfairly...poor guy. Like I said, I'm waiting for the Mexican soccer...
Also starting at 8 is another National Hockey League playoff match and this one may be between the league's top two teams: defending champion Pittsburgh and this year's league-leader in the regular season, Washington. I think I'm gonna be doing a lot of toggling back in forth between hockey and soccer tonight...
Also starting at 8 is another National Hockey League playoff match and this one may be between the league's top two teams: defending champion Pittsburgh and this year's league-leader in the regular season, Washington. I think I'm gonna be doing a lot of toggling back in forth between hockey and soccer tonight...
Friday, April 28, 2017
Quote of the Week...from Ronald Reagan
Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve decided upon is being carried out. ---Ronald Reagan
The antithesis to this quote from one of the greatest presidents we've ever had at leading and positively influencing people would be the micromanager's creed: assume the people under you are stupid and incompetent, run around and interfere with their work continually, distract them by raising and emphasizing trivial issues, see the situation before you as static instead of dynamic...and then, when those over whom you are exercising authority consequently display little initiative or motivation, use that as an excuse to micromanage them further.
Regardless of the nature of the organization or one's leadership title, any position of leadership is one of entrusted stewardship. Leaders cannot allow themselves to fall to the tempting delusion that they ARE the position, and they need to demonstrate respect for those subordinated to them...just as they are entitled in turn to respect. Micromanagers are like an infection in the organization, continually behaving disrespectfully to those around them and, in turn, breeding further disrespect from others. A wise leader will be careful to notice when micromanagement is occurring and to quickly take steps to eliminate this danger to the vitality and mission of the organization...
Effective leaders, like Ronald Reagan, delegate authority and recognize the talents and intelligence of those working for them. This, not micromanagement, is the template for effective management...
The antithesis to this quote from one of the greatest presidents we've ever had at leading and positively influencing people would be the micromanager's creed: assume the people under you are stupid and incompetent, run around and interfere with their work continually, distract them by raising and emphasizing trivial issues, see the situation before you as static instead of dynamic...and then, when those over whom you are exercising authority consequently display little initiative or motivation, use that as an excuse to micromanage them further.
Regardless of the nature of the organization or one's leadership title, any position of leadership is one of entrusted stewardship. Leaders cannot allow themselves to fall to the tempting delusion that they ARE the position, and they need to demonstrate respect for those subordinated to them...just as they are entitled in turn to respect. Micromanagers are like an infection in the organization, continually behaving disrespectfully to those around them and, in turn, breeding further disrespect from others. A wise leader will be careful to notice when micromanagement is occurring and to quickly take steps to eliminate this danger to the vitality and mission of the organization...
Effective leaders, like Ronald Reagan, delegate authority and recognize the talents and intelligence of those working for them. This, not micromanagement, is the template for effective management...
Thursday, April 27, 2017
4/23 Sermon on 1 John, Part 2
This past Sunday at The Family Church here in Gainesville, senior pastor Philip Griffin continued his message series, titled Let There Be Light and based on the New Testament book on 1 John. Part 2, The Truth about Obedience, focused on Chapter 2, Verses 1-6...shown here in the New International Version thanks to Bible Gateway:
In his presentation, Pastor Philip laid out four aspects of obedience to God: the requirement: a surrender of the will, the motivation: a relationship with God, the reward: completion and confidence, and if we fall: Jesus is our advocate. Throughout the passage, the author of 1 John emphasized the unshakable connection between knowing God and obeying his commands...i.e. knowing God gives one the capacity and motivation to follow his commands, and following his commands reveals that one knows God. Because he was addressing his letter to fellow Christians, it is implicit here that John was indirectly rebuking some who were not following God's commands...and that this was truly a call for their repentance...available, as our pastor pointed out, through Jesus' advocacy on our behalf...
Verse 6, which insisted that we as believers walk as Jesus did, should direct us to his act of total obedience to his heavenly father when he allowed himself to be crucified, something that he strongly prayed that he would not have to do. But he submitted and was obedient. We may not have such a difficult road to walk in our lives, but the commands are still there as we have our sights set on knowing God...
You can watch this sermon and others via The Family Church's YouTube video website...just click on the following link: [link]. The Family Church is located at 2022 SW 122nd Street and holds its services at 9:30 and 11. Besides the weekly message, the services have inspiring praise music and opportunities for prayer and joining discipleship groups....
2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
In his presentation, Pastor Philip laid out four aspects of obedience to God: the requirement: a surrender of the will, the motivation: a relationship with God, the reward: completion and confidence, and if we fall: Jesus is our advocate. Throughout the passage, the author of 1 John emphasized the unshakable connection between knowing God and obeying his commands...i.e. knowing God gives one the capacity and motivation to follow his commands, and following his commands reveals that one knows God. Because he was addressing his letter to fellow Christians, it is implicit here that John was indirectly rebuking some who were not following God's commands...and that this was truly a call for their repentance...available, as our pastor pointed out, through Jesus' advocacy on our behalf...
Verse 6, which insisted that we as believers walk as Jesus did, should direct us to his act of total obedience to his heavenly father when he allowed himself to be crucified, something that he strongly prayed that he would not have to do. But he submitted and was obedient. We may not have such a difficult road to walk in our lives, but the commands are still there as we have our sights set on knowing God...
You can watch this sermon and others via The Family Church's YouTube video website...just click on the following link: [link]. The Family Church is located at 2022 SW 122nd Street and holds its services at 9:30 and 11. Besides the weekly message, the services have inspiring praise music and opportunities for prayer and joining discipleship groups....
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Weekly Short Story Review: Deep Breathing Exercises by Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an author of many fictional novels and short stories, most known for his science fiction work...in particular, the very popular Ender's Game, which was recently adapted to the screen. I own a collection of his short fiction, titled Maps in a Mirror: The Short Fiction of Orson Scott Card (Orb Books, 1990). The book itself is 662 pages long, but the story I'm discussing today, Deep Breathing Exercises, takes up only 5. And it is one of the most intense short stories I've ever read...
Dale Yorgason is a young man living in Denver, Colorado with his wife and their two-year old son. By all accounts they have a bright future ahead of them...and then Dale begins to notice situations when people around him are breathing in unison...all inhaling and exhaling at the same time. This alone would be an incredible coincidence, but Dale also sees that these incidents portend something ominous...
In spite of the brevity of Deep Breathing Exercises, the events described in it are momentous. Yet Card was able to skillfully develop the protagonist's character and explore the philosophical basis for arguments about predestined fate...and whether a warning from the future is even logically possible. This story would be perfect for Twilight Zone and reminds me of Stephen King's best short fiction. A good read, albeit pretty disturbing...
Dale Yorgason is a young man living in Denver, Colorado with his wife and their two-year old son. By all accounts they have a bright future ahead of them...and then Dale begins to notice situations when people around him are breathing in unison...all inhaling and exhaling at the same time. This alone would be an incredible coincidence, but Dale also sees that these incidents portend something ominous...
In spite of the brevity of Deep Breathing Exercises, the events described in it are momentous. Yet Card was able to skillfully develop the protagonist's character and explore the philosophical basis for arguments about predestined fate...and whether a warning from the future is even logically possible. This story would be perfect for Twilight Zone and reminds me of Stephen King's best short fiction. A good read, albeit pretty disturbing...
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Public and Conversational Speaking
Do you think that you're a good speaker? And what exactly does being a "good speaker" entail, anyway? To me, this is an area that has been a major stumbling block in my life. I apparently have little problem communicating my thoughts through writing, but when it comes to expressing myself by talking, my mind freezes and I stumble around like a complete idiot...unless I can get what I want to say accomplished by a very quick one or two sentences. And then quickly retreat back into my personal world of self-imposed silence...
In the eleventh grade, back in the spring of 1973, I took speech class as a mandatory graduation requirement...something that I had been dreading for some time. There are some folks who are natural hams and can't wait to get up before an audience...I remember "show and tell" from early elementary school and how some kids would recount what happened with them the previous day from the time they woke up all the way to when they hit the pillow at night. But in speech class I discovered a problem besides my extreme shyness in front of a group: for communications to be effective, the message has to both be something that the speaker is interested in conveying and that the audience is interested in hearing. I felt back then...and even now to an extent...that there is often a great discrepancy between what I feel is relevant and interesting and what others are attracted to. With writing this blog, that doesn't matter since people can ignore it at their pleasure, stopping by from time to time to read about a topic I've written about that interests them. But with speaking, it can be difficult to keep an audience focused on my message. And it's not just me with that problem: good public speaking is a rare skill, greatly appreciated when experienced...
I feel the need right now to distinguish between public and conversational speaking. In the former, a boring or rambling speaker may quickly lose the interest and attention of his or her audience, but isn't likely to be interrupted. In conversation, though, it is often a verbal jungle out there with people interrupting and even simultaneously talking over each other. A good conversational speaker needs to be a good listener and be prepared to allow the other to do the lion's share of talking, if that is where the conversation naturally leads. And not to interrupt. I have great need of improvement both in conversing and speaking publicly...why not figure out a roadmap for getting better in both areas?
With conversational speaking, it is important to find out what interests the other person and engage them about it. Without interrupting!!! With public speaking, I've wrestled with my personal demons on this and think I have a solution: create my own spoken audio monologues on various topics of interest to me...i.e., the same way I tackle this blog...and put them out on the Internet. YouTube may be a viable way to do this...I wouldn't necessarily need to video-record my monologues and I could post links to them that others could access. Of course, this would be pretty uncomfortable for someone as habitually reclusive as myself, but sometimes you have to step out a bit in order to grow...
In the eleventh grade, back in the spring of 1973, I took speech class as a mandatory graduation requirement...something that I had been dreading for some time. There are some folks who are natural hams and can't wait to get up before an audience...I remember "show and tell" from early elementary school and how some kids would recount what happened with them the previous day from the time they woke up all the way to when they hit the pillow at night. But in speech class I discovered a problem besides my extreme shyness in front of a group: for communications to be effective, the message has to both be something that the speaker is interested in conveying and that the audience is interested in hearing. I felt back then...and even now to an extent...that there is often a great discrepancy between what I feel is relevant and interesting and what others are attracted to. With writing this blog, that doesn't matter since people can ignore it at their pleasure, stopping by from time to time to read about a topic I've written about that interests them. But with speaking, it can be difficult to keep an audience focused on my message. And it's not just me with that problem: good public speaking is a rare skill, greatly appreciated when experienced...
I feel the need right now to distinguish between public and conversational speaking. In the former, a boring or rambling speaker may quickly lose the interest and attention of his or her audience, but isn't likely to be interrupted. In conversation, though, it is often a verbal jungle out there with people interrupting and even simultaneously talking over each other. A good conversational speaker needs to be a good listener and be prepared to allow the other to do the lion's share of talking, if that is where the conversation naturally leads. And not to interrupt. I have great need of improvement both in conversing and speaking publicly...why not figure out a roadmap for getting better in both areas?
With conversational speaking, it is important to find out what interests the other person and engage them about it. Without interrupting!!! With public speaking, I've wrestled with my personal demons on this and think I have a solution: create my own spoken audio monologues on various topics of interest to me...i.e., the same way I tackle this blog...and put them out on the Internet. YouTube may be a viable way to do this...I wouldn't necessarily need to video-record my monologues and I could post links to them that others could access. Of course, this would be pretty uncomfortable for someone as habitually reclusive as myself, but sometimes you have to step out a bit in order to grow...
Monday, April 24, 2017
2017 NHL Playoffs Enter Second Round
I was thinking about writing an article today about hierarchical social structures and how some put in positions of authority over others confuse their own personal self-images with the posts they have been given temporary stewardship over, resulting in arrogance, micromanagement and disrespect toward those in subordinate positions...but seeing how I'm pressed for time right now, I think I'll defer what will probably be a lengthy essay to another day and instead briefly comment on the National Hockey League playoff picture, now that the first round is over...
I have loosely followed the NHL off and on since the early 1970s without really knowing the rules of the game...I'm a product of South Florida, never having touched a hockey stick, much less ice-skate (or roller-skate, for that matter). I'm sure that if I had, then I would better appreciate how the players are forced to move on the rink and thus would be more aware of the subtleties of this game. But I can still be a spectator, and now I think I've got the rules down...so bring on the hockey! I haven't been able to follow very many games in this year's Stanley Cup championship playoffs as I work during weekday evenings and can only see the tail end of the late, western games after I get home past midnight. Still, this past weekend and the one before, I was able to watch quite a bit...as a matter of fact, I saw at least a little action in each and every one of the eight first-round series...
Defending Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh, as expected, handled Columbus and Anaheim, likewise heavily favored, took care of Calgary in short order. Underdog Nashville, on the other hand, stunned Chicago in a four-game sweep and St. Louis surprised disappointing Minnesota in their series. That's four series that were relatively short and lopsided. The other four series all went 4-2 and were usually competitive and exciting...this 2017 first round set an NHL record for most overtime matches in a single round. Although one of their two losses to defending Stanley Cup finalist San Jose was a 7-0 drubbing, Edmonton, in the playoffs for the first time in many years, won the close contests and beat the Sharks. The New York Rangers, my remaining favorite now that the Blackhawks have been eliminated, slipped by Montreal. Ottawa won a thrilling overtime game over Boston to advance, while Washington, sporting the best regular season record in the league, ousted upstart Toronto with its overachieving rookie lineup, again in overtime, to get to the next round...
And now here we are in round two with eight teams. Two of the upcoming series, Pittsburgh vs. Washington and Anaheim vs. Edmonton, are between teams that had especially strong regular seasons and were regarded as favorites. The other two, St. Louis vs. Nashville and Ottawa vs. the New York Rangers (especially the former), pit teams that some folks didn't think would have advanced this far. Although I'm supporting the Rangers, I just enjoying watching any of the matches as they are played at this high level of skill and continue to learn more about the different strategies employed by the players to gain an upper hand over the opposing side...
I have loosely followed the NHL off and on since the early 1970s without really knowing the rules of the game...I'm a product of South Florida, never having touched a hockey stick, much less ice-skate (or roller-skate, for that matter). I'm sure that if I had, then I would better appreciate how the players are forced to move on the rink and thus would be more aware of the subtleties of this game. But I can still be a spectator, and now I think I've got the rules down...so bring on the hockey! I haven't been able to follow very many games in this year's Stanley Cup championship playoffs as I work during weekday evenings and can only see the tail end of the late, western games after I get home past midnight. Still, this past weekend and the one before, I was able to watch quite a bit...as a matter of fact, I saw at least a little action in each and every one of the eight first-round series...
Defending Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh, as expected, handled Columbus and Anaheim, likewise heavily favored, took care of Calgary in short order. Underdog Nashville, on the other hand, stunned Chicago in a four-game sweep and St. Louis surprised disappointing Minnesota in their series. That's four series that were relatively short and lopsided. The other four series all went 4-2 and were usually competitive and exciting...this 2017 first round set an NHL record for most overtime matches in a single round. Although one of their two losses to defending Stanley Cup finalist San Jose was a 7-0 drubbing, Edmonton, in the playoffs for the first time in many years, won the close contests and beat the Sharks. The New York Rangers, my remaining favorite now that the Blackhawks have been eliminated, slipped by Montreal. Ottawa won a thrilling overtime game over Boston to advance, while Washington, sporting the best regular season record in the league, ousted upstart Toronto with its overachieving rookie lineup, again in overtime, to get to the next round...
And now here we are in round two with eight teams. Two of the upcoming series, Pittsburgh vs. Washington and Anaheim vs. Edmonton, are between teams that had especially strong regular seasons and were regarded as favorites. The other two, St. Louis vs. Nashville and Ottawa vs. the New York Rangers (especially the former), pit teams that some folks didn't think would have advanced this far. Although I'm supporting the Rangers, I just enjoying watching any of the matches as they are played at this high level of skill and continue to learn more about the different strategies employed by the players to gain an upper hand over the opposing side...
Sunday, April 23, 2017
Friends of the Library Book Sale Nets Some Interesting Finds
Yesterday was the first day of the semiannual Friends of the Library used book sale, always held at the same building on the 400 block of North Main Street here in Gainesville. I made it down there early in the afternoon and browsed around...but not too much. I picked up a book for Melissa, found a couple of interesting jigsaw puzzles, and hung around the foreign language section...totally ignoring the vast amount of fiction for sale. I bought a compact Chinese-English dual-translation Bible with the text of both languages presented in simplified vocabulary...I have high hopes for it in my future studies. I found a very old Hindi primer that I plan to use to practice writing out sentences and get myself used to thinking within the flow of that beautiful language. And I made one more interesting find: a Turkish-English dual language reader, composed of several short stories...like the Bible, written in simple language...simple enough for me to pick out the Turkish words' meanings as well as the intricate grammatical constructions in that agglutinative language. All of the books I bought were dirt-cheap, from 50 cents to a dollar each, and were small and thus very portable. As for books of fiction...
I have been making extensive use of my local public library for reading fiction, generally eschewing purchasing books. I also have a very extensive collection at home of short stories that I really should be reading more of...that's why I've started "Short Story Wednesday" on this blog when I review and discuss the more interesting examples of this important and underappreciated type of literature. But I've gotten myself into the habit of going downtown to this book bazaar every six months and doubtless will be paying another visit in October. Besides books and puzzles they sell used magazines, vinyl phonograph records, CDs, cassettes, VHS, and DVDs. The sale will last through Wednesday, so there's plenty of time left for you to join in on the browsing...
I have been making extensive use of my local public library for reading fiction, generally eschewing purchasing books. I also have a very extensive collection at home of short stories that I really should be reading more of...that's why I've started "Short Story Wednesday" on this blog when I review and discuss the more interesting examples of this important and underappreciated type of literature. But I've gotten myself into the habit of going downtown to this book bazaar every six months and doubtless will be paying another visit in October. Besides books and puzzles they sell used magazines, vinyl phonograph records, CDs, cassettes, VHS, and DVDs. The sale will last through Wednesday, so there's plenty of time left for you to join in on the browsing...
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Just Finished Reading Gone Again by James Grippando
James Grippando is a novelist who, like John Grisham, specializes in the legal fiction genre. His Jack Swyteck series is about a defense attorney residing in South Florida, where I grew up. So when I selected book #12 in the series, titled Gone Again, I was looking forward to some familiar hometown landmarks. Although these turned out to be few and far between, I was intrigued by the story...skipping to the twelfth volume in the series was no problem as the main story was self-contained within the book, a story about a man on death row who Jack increasingly believes is innocent of his first-degree murder conviction of a teen-age girl. Sashi was adopted from Russia (before Putin banned American adoptions of Russians) along with her younger brother into an American family...she had some serious psychological and behavioral issues, and the idea of sending her "back" to Russia had floated around between the adoptive parents. Although her body was never found following her disappearance one day, she was assumed murdered through circumstantial evidence by the aforementioned convict, a serious felon and all-around "bad guy" before this case ever came up. His execution is coming up soon, but now the adoptive mother has come out with her belief that he is innocent...on the basis that she is getting calls...with the caller always silent...from Sashi's cell phone number. As Jack takes on the case, he discovers that there is much more to Sashi's disappearance and that organized crime, particularly with regard to human trafficking, may play a big role before it's all over. But you'll have to read this book for yourself to see how it all plays out...
The last couple of times I visited Hollywood, where I grew up, Melissa and I would walk in the evening along the "Broadwalk" on Hollywood Beach, where there were eating places and live music performances. As we strolled along, I would pick up bits of conversations from the other visitors, eerily noting that an unusual percentage of them were going on in Russian, not English or Spanish as I would have expected in South Florida. I suspected that this area had become something of an ethnic enclave for Russians...Grippando confirmed this notion in Gone Again as he described the coastal area in northeastern Dade County...especially in Sunny Isles...north to Hallandale in southeastern Broward, just south of Hollywood Beach, as "Little Moscow". In this area reside many from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and other East European countries. It reminds me of the Indian "zone" south of Archer Road along SW 34th Street in my current hometown of Gainesville. I think it would be fun to see if there isn't a street down there that is full of Russian restaurants and shops and where Russian is the predominant language spoken...
I enjoyed this first James Grippando novel of mine and am receptive to reading more. But I'm unlikely to pick up another book of his anytime soon as I have several others to read first...
The last couple of times I visited Hollywood, where I grew up, Melissa and I would walk in the evening along the "Broadwalk" on Hollywood Beach, where there were eating places and live music performances. As we strolled along, I would pick up bits of conversations from the other visitors, eerily noting that an unusual percentage of them were going on in Russian, not English or Spanish as I would have expected in South Florida. I suspected that this area had become something of an ethnic enclave for Russians...Grippando confirmed this notion in Gone Again as he described the coastal area in northeastern Dade County...especially in Sunny Isles...north to Hallandale in southeastern Broward, just south of Hollywood Beach, as "Little Moscow". In this area reside many from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and other East European countries. It reminds me of the Indian "zone" south of Archer Road along SW 34th Street in my current hometown of Gainesville. I think it would be fun to see if there isn't a street down there that is full of Russian restaurants and shops and where Russian is the predominant language spoken...
I enjoyed this first James Grippando novel of mine and am receptive to reading more. But I'm unlikely to pick up another book of his anytime soon as I have several others to read first...
Friday, April 21, 2017
Quote of the Week...from Stephen Covey
Live out of your imagination, not your history. ---Stephen Covey.
You may be already know Stephen Covey from his blockbuster hit book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People a few years ago...he's written several spinoff books since then. So it's not surprising that he would have quite a few practical, uplifting quotes...I found the above one and would like to share what I think of it...
Each and every one of us has our own histories that are composed of the multitudes of experiences that have constructed our unique individual life tapestries...I cannot escape my own personal history as I go forward with my life. But I also have the ability to consciously employ my imagination and reasoning to take the present moment and behave in a different way from what my past might otherwise dictate to me...and by so doing, I am not only fulfilling the essence of Stephen Covey's exhortation, but also changing who I am by adding something new and positive to my own life's tapestry. For what I consciously do now will inevitably be part of my history, for better or for worse. Using my imagination and doing things that are out of my comfort zone serves to widen my choices in the future and allow me more freedom to make it more fulfilling. Also, by employing my imagination in deciding what to do in the present moment, I am digging more deeply into my own subconscious, where ironically some of my more pressing unmet needs from my past may be submerged...
There is one other thing I'd like to add to Covey's quote: it says to live out of your imagination...but I say that, being social creatures as we humans are, it's also all right to listen to the products of others' imaginings and, if discerned to be good ideas, to adopt them as your own and to live out of them as well...after all, isn't that what I'm doing with this quote?
You may be already know Stephen Covey from his blockbuster hit book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People a few years ago...he's written several spinoff books since then. So it's not surprising that he would have quite a few practical, uplifting quotes...I found the above one and would like to share what I think of it...
Each and every one of us has our own histories that are composed of the multitudes of experiences that have constructed our unique individual life tapestries...I cannot escape my own personal history as I go forward with my life. But I also have the ability to consciously employ my imagination and reasoning to take the present moment and behave in a different way from what my past might otherwise dictate to me...and by so doing, I am not only fulfilling the essence of Stephen Covey's exhortation, but also changing who I am by adding something new and positive to my own life's tapestry. For what I consciously do now will inevitably be part of my history, for better or for worse. Using my imagination and doing things that are out of my comfort zone serves to widen my choices in the future and allow me more freedom to make it more fulfilling. Also, by employing my imagination in deciding what to do in the present moment, I am digging more deeply into my own subconscious, where ironically some of my more pressing unmet needs from my past may be submerged...
There is one other thing I'd like to add to Covey's quote: it says to live out of your imagination...but I say that, being social creatures as we humans are, it's also all right to listen to the products of others' imaginings and, if discerned to be good ideas, to adopt them as your own and to live out of them as well...after all, isn't that what I'm doing with this quote?
Thursday, April 20, 2017
4/16 Sermon on 1 John, Part 1
On this past Easter Sunday at The Family Church, our senior pastor, Philip Griffin, departed from the standard program on this important day in the Christian calendar and began a new series instead of giving a specifically Easter-themed sermon. The Biblical text for this series is the New Testament book of 1 John, located near the back of the Bible. Sunday's message, titled Knowing Jesus, addressed Chapter 1...which you can read in the New International Version via Bible Gateway through the following link: [link]...
It's not altogether clear exactly who wrote 1 John, although the authorship is traditionally ascribed to the disciple John, who is also credited with writing the gospel book bearing his name. In any event, context is important when trying to understand what the author was trying to express...John seemed to be trying to mend the church as it was being torn apart by divergent doctrines about Jesus. As a result, the text in Chapter 1...and I'm assuming the rest of 1 John...contains some very important ideas that are worth looking at. And Pastor Philip did just that...
Pastor Philip broke his message down into four parts: to know Jesus means (1) understanding him, (2) having fellowship with him, (3) being transformed by him, and (4) facing our need for him. In understanding the nature of Jesus, John pointed to Jesus' eternal existence with the Father. As for fellowship, Philip pointed out that our that joy in this fellowship (Greek: koinónia) is tied to a deep abiding relationship with God, not with rules and rituals. Personal transformation occurs when we walk "in the light" (i.e. experience fellowship with God). After that transformation, the light lets us see life and the world for it truly is, giving us the means to see the futility of pride, greed, lust, anger, and the rest of what the world can oppress us with. Finally our pastor stressed, regarding our need for Jesus, that we recognize that sin is inherited, not learned...and that we all fall. Confession (Greek: homologeō "same word") is merely an acknowledgement of what God already knows...and he is quick to forgive us...
There is a lot of pretty deep stuff packed into this message...I could see a whole series of sermons from this first chapter alone! As for the "light" being good and "darkness" bad, I have a slightly different take on this: in the context of John's allegory of God's openness through his light which exposes the hidden, sin-filled darkness of one's walk apart from him, I totally understand and agree. But let's not assume that the concepts of light and darkness always respectively mean "good" and "bad" in every context...I'll see if I can't expound on this subject in some future blog article...
You can view this most recent message through the following link, which accesses The Family Church YouTube video site: [link]. The Family Church holds its Sunday morning services at 9:30 and 11 and is located at 2022 SW 122nd Street (Parker Road). I'm looking forward to future installments of Pastor Philip's series about 1 John...
It's not altogether clear exactly who wrote 1 John, although the authorship is traditionally ascribed to the disciple John, who is also credited with writing the gospel book bearing his name. In any event, context is important when trying to understand what the author was trying to express...John seemed to be trying to mend the church as it was being torn apart by divergent doctrines about Jesus. As a result, the text in Chapter 1...and I'm assuming the rest of 1 John...contains some very important ideas that are worth looking at. And Pastor Philip did just that...
Pastor Philip broke his message down into four parts: to know Jesus means (1) understanding him, (2) having fellowship with him, (3) being transformed by him, and (4) facing our need for him. In understanding the nature of Jesus, John pointed to Jesus' eternal existence with the Father. As for fellowship, Philip pointed out that our that joy in this fellowship (Greek: koinónia) is tied to a deep abiding relationship with God, not with rules and rituals. Personal transformation occurs when we walk "in the light" (i.e. experience fellowship with God). After that transformation, the light lets us see life and the world for it truly is, giving us the means to see the futility of pride, greed, lust, anger, and the rest of what the world can oppress us with. Finally our pastor stressed, regarding our need for Jesus, that we recognize that sin is inherited, not learned...and that we all fall. Confession (Greek: homologeō "same word") is merely an acknowledgement of what God already knows...and he is quick to forgive us...
There is a lot of pretty deep stuff packed into this message...I could see a whole series of sermons from this first chapter alone! As for the "light" being good and "darkness" bad, I have a slightly different take on this: in the context of John's allegory of God's openness through his light which exposes the hidden, sin-filled darkness of one's walk apart from him, I totally understand and agree. But let's not assume that the concepts of light and darkness always respectively mean "good" and "bad" in every context...I'll see if I can't expound on this subject in some future blog article...
You can view this most recent message through the following link, which accesses The Family Church YouTube video site: [link]. The Family Church holds its Sunday morning services at 9:30 and 11 and is located at 2022 SW 122nd Street (Parker Road). I'm looking forward to future installments of Pastor Philip's series about 1 John...
The Tricolor Good Neighbor Sign
The above photo is of a sign I've been seeing quite a lot of lately...one of tolerance, wouldn't you say? By the way, thanks to National Public Radio's website, here's the pertinent article: [link]. There's one of these signs...and I love the green/blue/orange color scheme...posted by a resident two houses down from me, and it seems there is a preponderance of them on the roadside in front of various churches in town...a church seems to be the origin of these signs (read NPR's article). But what are they trying to convey...and why?
The overt message is simple and positive: we're not prejudiced about where you're from...if you're our neighbor, then we accept and welcome you. Sounds good, to me...how about you? The problem I see is that by making the sign into Spanish, English, and Arabic translations, a not-so-subtle political dart is being thrown at the Trump administration...after all, does anyone honestly think that these signs would have come out had Hillary Clinton (whom I supported) been elected as president? Donald Trump had campaigned on protecting our borders from both illegal immigration from the predominantly Spanish-speaking south and from radical Islamists from predominantly Arabic-speaking countries...I think the measures he's taken so far as president are a little over the top but well-intentioned. After all, he is duty-bound to protect us and uphold the laws and I believe he's doing the best he can under the circumstances...I don't have a problem with our president on this particular issue other than the confrontational, stumblebum manner with which he has addressed it...
When President Obama gave his farewell speech just before leaving office, he repeated the oft-said "lesson" about how we are a nation of immigrants, after all. To whom I, as a Democrat who twice voted for him, respond that I'm all for liberal, legal immigration policies...but what about folks just flooding over the border or overstaying their visa provisions? I think that our immigration laws should be enforced...and if people think the laws are wrong, then they can change them through the democratic process! I don't need this condescending, politically correct preaching that typecasts people concerned about terrorism and illegal immigration as intolerant bigots. I'm glad of my neighbors, regardless of their origins...but they should follow the law in becoming my neighbors...
On the other hand, I love it whenever I have a "Rosetta Stone" experience and can see translations of three great languages like Spanish, English, and Arabic. This green, blue, and orange sign that is springing up in so many places has a good basic message which I accept...I just suspect some ulterior political motives behind it all...
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Weekly Short Story Review: The Mile-Long Spaceship by Kate Wilhelm
The Mile-Long Spaceship was Kate Wilhelm's first published story, and it made the list of the top science fiction short stories of 1957, according to Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg. These two compiled and edited the successful Isaac Asimov Presents: The Great SF Stories, spanning the period of short fiction in this genre from 1939 through 1963. Kate Wilhelm's story was one of the first I read from this series...I now have all 25 volumes...
In The Mile-Long Spaceship...only about twelve pages long, the time is in the not-to-distant future and a young man is recovering from brain surgery caused by a near-fatal traffic accident. While recovering in the hospital, he has recurring dreams of outer space...and of visiting a huge spaceship. Its crew seems benign to him and he wonders what their mission is. As it turns out, they are not at all benign and the future of humanity may be at stake. And this story, as are many short stories, has a surprise ending that turns everything on its head...
Kate Wilhelm went on to become a successful science fiction and mystery writer, preferring the less-financially lucrative short stories and novellas to novels. She is still alive...around age 88 or 89...I wish her the best. The book that contains her story, now out of print, is Isaac Asimov Presents: The Great SF Stories #19 (1957). It contains several other noteworthy tales, some of which I may discuss in future articles...
In The Mile-Long Spaceship...only about twelve pages long, the time is in the not-to-distant future and a young man is recovering from brain surgery caused by a near-fatal traffic accident. While recovering in the hospital, he has recurring dreams of outer space...and of visiting a huge spaceship. Its crew seems benign to him and he wonders what their mission is. As it turns out, they are not at all benign and the future of humanity may be at stake. And this story, as are many short stories, has a surprise ending that turns everything on its head...
Kate Wilhelm went on to become a successful science fiction and mystery writer, preferring the less-financially lucrative short stories and novellas to novels. She is still alive...around age 88 or 89...I wish her the best. The book that contains her story, now out of print, is Isaac Asimov Presents: The Great SF Stories #19 (1957). It contains several other noteworthy tales, some of which I may discuss in future articles...
Monday, April 17, 2017
Reconsidering Twitter
The social media website known as Twitter has of late been closely identified with politics...particularly those of our current president as he has made much use of it during his campaign and even now. But unlike Facebook, which people in general use to see what's going on with each other, Twitter seems to have been relegated to "following" celebrities, news, and politics. I have my own Twitter account and never post on it...although a couple of years ago I tried linking my mostly daily blog articles on it. But since nobody's going to reach my blog that way unless they already "follow" me, Twitter just didn't seem like a viable way to publicize my blog. And I'm pretty dissatisfied with the "news feed" I'm getting on it right now. So I'm reconsidering how to use this free Internet communications site to my best advantage...both in expressing myself and receiving information on it from others. I may have to be a bit creative as I try to figure out ways to get around some of the obstacles I see from Twitter...
I heard a few weeks ago to my surprise that Twitter, unlike other social media companies, was losing money bigtime and faced bankruptcy. I'd hate to see that happen, but then again Twitter needs to make itself somehow easier and more attractive for people in general to use and network with each other...not just as a publicity tool for the rich and powerful...
I heard a few weeks ago to my surprise that Twitter, unlike other social media companies, was losing money bigtime and faced bankruptcy. I'd hate to see that happen, but then again Twitter needs to make itself somehow easier and more attractive for people in general to use and network with each other...not just as a publicity tool for the rich and powerful...
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Just Finished Reading The 12th of Never by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
There are two kinds of fiction book series: the ones in which just about everything at the start of a volume depends entirely on what happened at the end of the previous one...you absolutely have to begin at book #1 and proceed in numerical order. With the other type, though, each book is self-contained with its own complete story...and there are what I call "continuity" characters along with the guest characters. These relatively continuous characters within the series include the main protagonist, but also others whose lives and relationships develop from book to book. It is this aspect of picking up a book in a series like this "out of order" that can cause a little disorientation with the reader. The Women's Murder Club series, for most of its volumes a writing collaboration between James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, belongs to this second type of series. So there are two different threads of narrative happening here: the crime mysteries that San Francisco homicide investigator Lindsay Boxer solves with her cohorts and friends...and these characters' continually changing personal lives. As for the latter thread of their personal lives, I will make no comment here in my review out of respect for you, a potential reader of this series...just in case you might want to start reading it. But the mysteries are another matter...
In The 12th of Never, which I just finished reading, there are a number of mysteries. A middle-age professor goes to the police station with the claim that he is vividly dreaming of future murders...and they seem to be coming true! In another case, a sleazy lawyer is on trial for murdering his wife and their young daughter and seems well on the road to conviction...that is, until an extremely complicating factor gets thrown in at the very last minute. A star 49ers football player is under suspicion for killing the model he is engaged to marry, and then her body mysteriously disappears from the morgue. And a convicted serial killer from an earlier story comes out of his coma and claims to have changed, now wanting to reveal the identity and location of his numerous victims. Quite a lot of material, especially when you add all of the personal stuff that Lindsay and her "murder club" friends Claire, Yuki, and Cindy are going through in their respective personal and professional lives. Yet Patterson and Paetro did a masterful job of weaving it all together with this, in my not-so-humble opinion, their best book so far in this series. Good job, you two...
In The 12th of Never, which I just finished reading, there are a number of mysteries. A middle-age professor goes to the police station with the claim that he is vividly dreaming of future murders...and they seem to be coming true! In another case, a sleazy lawyer is on trial for murdering his wife and their young daughter and seems well on the road to conviction...that is, until an extremely complicating factor gets thrown in at the very last minute. A star 49ers football player is under suspicion for killing the model he is engaged to marry, and then her body mysteriously disappears from the morgue. And a convicted serial killer from an earlier story comes out of his coma and claims to have changed, now wanting to reveal the identity and location of his numerous victims. Quite a lot of material, especially when you add all of the personal stuff that Lindsay and her "murder club" friends Claire, Yuki, and Cindy are going through in their respective personal and professional lives. Yet Patterson and Paetro did a masterful job of weaving it all together with this, in my not-so-humble opinion, their best book so far in this series. Good job, you two...
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