Colour Bar: The Triumph of Seretse Khama and his Nation - Susan Williams
A relationship that took on the politics of it's time.
Thursday
Sunday
Conversatons on Books...
History's Worst Decisions: An Encyclopedia Idiotica - Stephen Weir
From Adam & Eve to Y2K.
A Treasury of Royal Scandals: The Shocking True Stories History's Wickedest, Weirdest, Most Wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes, and Emperors - Michael Farquhar
From Nero's nagging mother to Catherine's stable of studs.
The Book of Heroic Failures - Stephen Pile
Harry Potter series
Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series
Light and cheerful reading about a lady detective in Botswana.
This Can't Be Happening at Mcdonald Hall! - Gordon Korman
Written when the author was 12 years old.
Beware The Fish - Gordon Korman
The Railway Children - Edith Nesbit
Published in 1906. Full transcript on link.
Shopaholic Ties the Knot - Sophie Kinsella
From Adam & Eve to Y2K.
A Treasury of Royal Scandals: The Shocking True Stories History's Wickedest, Weirdest, Most Wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes, and Emperors - Michael Farquhar
From Nero's nagging mother to Catherine's stable of studs.
The Book of Heroic Failures - Stephen Pile
Harry Potter series
Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series
Light and cheerful reading about a lady detective in Botswana.
This Can't Be Happening at Mcdonald Hall! - Gordon Korman
Written when the author was 12 years old.
Beware The Fish - Gordon Korman
The Railway Children - Edith Nesbit
Published in 1906. Full transcript on link.
Shopaholic Ties the Knot - Sophie Kinsella
The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things - Carolyn Mackler
The Tesla Legacy - Robert G Barrett
Who was Nikola Tesla?
One Corpse Too Many - Ellis Peters (audio book)
Murder mystery set in 12 Century with monks
Gorky Park - Martin Cruz Smith
From Gorky Park to Chernobyl
Regina's Song - David and Leigh Edwards
Murder Mystery about identical twins
The Language Instinct - Stephen Pinker
On linguistics
The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place In Nature - David Suzuki
About the Web of Life
Waxwings - Jonathan Raban
A novel which "tries to capture something of the increasingly impermanent, interconnected and rootless societies we inhabit".
Snow - Orhan Pamuk
‘who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has dicovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures’.
Saturday
Snow
The Kurdish youth whose uncle lived in Germany was the most outspoken on this point: "When they write poems or sing songs in the West they speak for all humanity. They're human beings - but we're just Muslims. When we write something, it's just ethnic poetry."
Excerpt from Orhan Pamuk's book Snow
Excerpt from Orhan Pamuk's book Snow
Friday
Thursday
Books Read or In Conversation...
No, no... we don't read all of these books all at once. They come up in conversation. Click on title for more info.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Phillip K Dick
Book that the film Blade Runner was based on. Sci fi
A Scanner Darkly - Phillip K Dick
About drugs and sudden flights of paranoid logic.
Seeing Voices - Oliver Sacks
A journey into the deaf world from a neurologist.
Flying Hero Class - Thomas Keneally
Palestinians hijack a plane that has an Aboriginal dance troupe on board. Written in 1991.
Stories of Eva Luna - Isabelle Allende
Magic Realism South American novel. Wonderful, poetic and full of imagery.
Jonestown - Chris Masters
Biography about broadcaster Alan Jones
Aunt Julia and the Script Writer - Mario Vargas Llosa
Exploring the ceative process of writing and its relation to the daily lives of writers.
Ethel the Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying
Monty Python Skit
Animalia - Graham Base
Alphabet Book. Eight Enormous Elephants Expertly Eating Easter Eggs.
Christine's Ark - John Little
Aussie woman running an animal shelter in India
Desert Flower - Waris Dirie
Somalian woman who underwent female genital mutilation (FGM)
The Zahir - Paul Coelho
Diet for a New America - John Robbins
Vegan and animal rights book. How your diet can save the world.
My Year of Meat- Ruth Ozeki
Looking at the meat industry.
Mother Tongue - Bill Bryson
On the English language
The Language Instinct - Stephen Pinker
How the mind creates language.
The Dancing Wu Li Masters - Gary Zukav
"new physics" of 1979. Bit along the lines of the Tao of Physics.
The History of Alice Springs through Landmarks and Street Names - Josie Petrick
Find out about the history behind your street name.
Ulitmate Punishment - Scott Turow
A Lawyer's reflections on dealing with the death penalty.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Phillip K Dick
Book that the film Blade Runner was based on. Sci fi
A Scanner Darkly - Phillip K Dick
About drugs and sudden flights of paranoid logic.
Seeing Voices - Oliver Sacks
A journey into the deaf world from a neurologist.
Flying Hero Class - Thomas Keneally
Palestinians hijack a plane that has an Aboriginal dance troupe on board. Written in 1991.
Stories of Eva Luna - Isabelle Allende
Magic Realism South American novel. Wonderful, poetic and full of imagery.
Jonestown - Chris Masters
Biography about broadcaster Alan Jones
Aunt Julia and the Script Writer - Mario Vargas Llosa
Exploring the ceative process of writing and its relation to the daily lives of writers.
Ethel the Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying
Monty Python Skit
Animalia - Graham Base
Alphabet Book. Eight Enormous Elephants Expertly Eating Easter Eggs.
Christine's Ark - John Little
Aussie woman running an animal shelter in India
Desert Flower - Waris Dirie
Somalian woman who underwent female genital mutilation (FGM)
The Zahir - Paul Coelho
Diet for a New America - John Robbins
Vegan and animal rights book. How your diet can save the world.
My Year of Meat- Ruth Ozeki
Looking at the meat industry.
Mother Tongue - Bill Bryson
On the English language
The Language Instinct - Stephen Pinker
How the mind creates language.
The Dancing Wu Li Masters - Gary Zukav
"new physics" of 1979. Bit along the lines of the Tao of Physics.
The History of Alice Springs through Landmarks and Street Names - Josie Petrick
Find out about the history behind your street name.
Ulitmate Punishment - Scott Turow
A Lawyer's reflections on dealing with the death penalty.
Saturday
Friday
Books Read or In Conversation...
Click on titles for more info:
Death Investigation and the Coroner’s Inquest - Ian Frecklton and David Ranson
Legal book that deals with investigations into deaths by coroners. A coroner should be a a person with a legal AND medical background.
I, The Aboriginal - Douglas Lockwood
The autobiography of Waipuldanya, a full-blood of the Alawa tribe at Roper River as told to Douglas Lockwood. In his youth, Waipuldanya was taught to track and hunt wild animals, to live off the land, to provide for his family with the aide only of his spears and woomeras. This is the story of his boyhood and youth, and how he trained as a skilled medical assistant, to become a citizen of both the Aboriginal and whitefella worlds.
Blast the Bush - Len Beadell
Beadell's story of the people who worked on the British Atomic Testing Project at Maralinga, SA.
Hell West and Crooked - Tom Cole
One of those "outback pioneer" books.
4WD Driving Skills - Vic Wildman
The Princess Bride - William Goldman
As a boy, author William Goldman had loved to hear his father read him The Princess Bride; an epic tale, if a little long winded, of high adventure and true love. But as an adult, Goldman soon realised that dear old dad had been abridging the tale; relating only the ‘good-bits’ of Morgenstern’s story, and dropping anything he considered even the slightest bit dull.
English Passengers - Mathew Kneal
Captain Illiam Quillian Kewley wants only to smuggle a little tobacco, brandy, and French pornography from the Isle of Mann to a secluded beach in England. Yet somehow in the process, he and his crew end up weighing anchor for Australia. Worse, they're forced to carry three temperamental Englishmen bound for Tasmania on a mission to discover the exact location of the Garden of Eden. The year is 1857, and the study of geology is beginning to make serious inroads into areas of religious doctrine.
Shanghai Baby - Wei Hui
Although it caused an uproar in the author's native China, Western readers will find 27-year-old Wei Hui's semiautobiographical offering reminiscent of fiction by the brat pack writers of the '80s, though more cliched and less edgy.
Candy - Mian Mian
Underground China of the late 1980s through mid-1990s - sex, drugs and rock n roll.
Death Investigation and the Coroner’s Inquest - Ian Frecklton and David Ranson
Legal book that deals with investigations into deaths by coroners. A coroner should be a a person with a legal AND medical background.
I, The Aboriginal - Douglas Lockwood
The autobiography of Waipuldanya, a full-blood of the Alawa tribe at Roper River as told to Douglas Lockwood. In his youth, Waipuldanya was taught to track and hunt wild animals, to live off the land, to provide for his family with the aide only of his spears and woomeras. This is the story of his boyhood and youth, and how he trained as a skilled medical assistant, to become a citizen of both the Aboriginal and whitefella worlds.
Blast the Bush - Len Beadell
Beadell's story of the people who worked on the British Atomic Testing Project at Maralinga, SA.
Hell West and Crooked - Tom Cole
One of those "outback pioneer" books.
4WD Driving Skills - Vic Wildman
The Princess Bride - William Goldman
As a boy, author William Goldman had loved to hear his father read him The Princess Bride; an epic tale, if a little long winded, of high adventure and true love. But as an adult, Goldman soon realised that dear old dad had been abridging the tale; relating only the ‘good-bits’ of Morgenstern’s story, and dropping anything he considered even the slightest bit dull.
English Passengers - Mathew Kneal
Captain Illiam Quillian Kewley wants only to smuggle a little tobacco, brandy, and French pornography from the Isle of Mann to a secluded beach in England. Yet somehow in the process, he and his crew end up weighing anchor for Australia. Worse, they're forced to carry three temperamental Englishmen bound for Tasmania on a mission to discover the exact location of the Garden of Eden. The year is 1857, and the study of geology is beginning to make serious inroads into areas of religious doctrine.
Shanghai Baby - Wei Hui
Although it caused an uproar in the author's native China, Western readers will find 27-year-old Wei Hui's semiautobiographical offering reminiscent of fiction by the brat pack writers of the '80s, though more cliched and less edgy.
Candy - Mian Mian
Underground China of the late 1980s through mid-1990s - sex, drugs and rock n roll.
Saturday
Books Read...
Red Dog - Louis de Bernières
About a red kelpie in Dampier WA in the 70s who used to hitch rides with all sorts of people. Based on a true story.
Dewey & Elvis: The Life and Times of a Rock 'n' Roll Deejay - Louis Cantor
Music Biography
About a red kelpie in Dampier WA in the 70s who used to hitch rides with all sorts of people. Based on a true story.
Dewey & Elvis: The Life and Times of a Rock 'n' Roll Deejay - Louis Cantor
Music Biography
Wednesday
Saturday
Currently Reading...
The Hall of a Thousand Columns: Hindustan to Malabar with Ibn Battutah - Tim Mackintosh Smith
Very scholarly tome on retracing the footsteps of Ibn Battutah in India 700 years later. A great read for ones who want to be challenged by linguistic pomposity and clever wordsmithing ( in English and sometimes in Arabic). Armed with old and ancient texts, the author finds the descendents and remnants of Battutah's travels through the people and landscape of the region today. Fascinating.
Very scholarly tome on retracing the footsteps of Ibn Battutah in India 700 years later. A great read for ones who want to be challenged by linguistic pomposity and clever wordsmithing ( in English and sometimes in Arabic). Armed with old and ancient texts, the author finds the descendents and remnants of Battutah's travels through the people and landscape of the region today. Fascinating.
Thursday
Books Being Read by Friends of Alice Book Group...
Click on book titles for more info:
Reaching Out: Three Movements of Spiritual Life by Henri J.M. Nouwen
Santa B is reading this one right now. "Fascinating".
The Asian Mystique: Dragon Ladies, Geisha Girls, & Our Fantasies of the Exotic Orient by Sheridan Prasso
Being read outside of Alice Springs. "It's like the Asian version of Edward Said's Orientalism."
Reaching Out: Three Movements of Spiritual Life by Henri J.M. Nouwen
Santa B is reading this one right now. "Fascinating".
The Asian Mystique: Dragon Ladies, Geisha Girls, & Our Fantasies of the Exotic Orient by Sheridan Prasso
Being read outside of Alice Springs. "It's like the Asian version of Edward Said's Orientalism."
Tuesday
Some Books Being Read...
The Other Hand Clapping - Marco Vassi
About a man who gets into zen while his wife gets into acting. He questions if she's acting sometimes or being real, she questions him if zen is more important than their marriage. He questions her fidelity at times but keeps these suspicions to himself because he isn't sure if it is just the hallucinations that go along with his lengthy meditative practices that are creating these hyper-real visions.
The Englishwoman in Egypt - Sophia Poole
The collected observations of Sophia Poole, who lived in Cairo from 1842 until 1849 with her brother, the well known Orientalist Edward Lane. In contrast to her brother's dense works of research, Sophia Poole's was cast in the form of letters to a friend. She presented the same world her brother wrote about but from a much more informal and feminine perspective.
About a man who gets into zen while his wife gets into acting. He questions if she's acting sometimes or being real, she questions him if zen is more important than their marriage. He questions her fidelity at times but keeps these suspicions to himself because he isn't sure if it is just the hallucinations that go along with his lengthy meditative practices that are creating these hyper-real visions.
The Englishwoman in Egypt - Sophia Poole
The collected observations of Sophia Poole, who lived in Cairo from 1842 until 1849 with her brother, the well known Orientalist Edward Lane. In contrast to her brother's dense works of research, Sophia Poole's was cast in the form of letters to a friend. She presented the same world her brother wrote about but from a much more informal and feminine perspective.
Monday
Friday
Excerpt from Turkestan Solo
Just as I am about to throw an eggshell into the fire the woman puts out her hand. What does she want to do with it? I pass it to her but she looks dissatisified. How irritating it is not to be able to understand each other.
"Bother!" says Mila, "it's an egg she wants and there aren't any left."
"Bother!" says Mila, "it's an egg she wants and there aren't any left."
Excerpts from Cities of Salt
They said, "Wait, just be patient, and all of you will be rich!" But what do they want from us, and what does it concern them if we get rich or stay just as we are? Watch their eyes , watch what they do and say. They're devils, no one can trust them.
... the discussions that lasted from sundown until after supper and the writing that followed, the damned questions they asked about dialects, about tribes and their disputes, about religion and sects, about the routes, the winds and the rainy seasons - all these caused Miteb's fear to grow by day that they meant harm to the wadi and the people.
... the discussions that lasted from sundown until after supper and the writing that followed, the damned questions they asked about dialects, about tribes and their disputes, about religion and sects, about the routes, the winds and the rainy seasons - all these caused Miteb's fear to grow by day that they meant harm to the wadi and the people.
Sunday
Books Read or Being Read...
Conversations on...
The One: Finding Soul Mate Love and Making It Last - Kathy Freston
A book about relationships and spirituality.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Our Patron Saint is reading this one. The comment is "It is OK".
Cities of Salt - Abdelrahman Munif
The story chronicles the transformation of a traditional desert society following the discovery of oil. It is a work of fiction but there is so much truth in it. Banned in Saudi Arabia.
Turkestan Solo: A Journey Through Central Asia by Ella Maillart
Ella Maillart travelled to Russian Turkestan, now known as "The Stans" in the 1930s. She was a woman who loved mountains and loved to meet the people of the remote regions she travelled through. This books offers some insight into how things were politically in Central Asia at a time when Russia was heavily involved in that region.
Aboriginal Victorians: A History Since 1800 - Richard Broome
Interesting to see regions where you've grown up and not known parts of the history of the place you were in as a child.
Why Warriors Lie Down and Die - Richard Trudgen
The Yolngu will not start thinking about a response until the speaker has had their full say. They consider it rude to interrupt, and, on certain occasions, to speak directly. With the processes of interpretation, listening to one language, translating, framing a response in their own and translating it back, the time taken to respond can be lengthy. Trudgen says that white people quickly become uncomfortable and impatient with the silence, failing to give time for communication to take place.
Still Reading....
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Early in the novel, we discover that the narrator majored in religious studies and zoology, with particular interests in a sixteenth-century Kabbalist and the admirable three-toed sloth.
How we Survived Communism and Even Laughed - Slavenka Drakulic
A collection of essays that discuss aspects of life under Communism - including religion, political change and access to consumer goods - and looks at the reasons for its failure.
How the Mind Works - Stephen Pinker
Heavy but riveting tome.
Flying Hero Class - Thomas Keneally
A troupe of Aboriginal dancers are on a flight when their plane is hijacked by Palestinian terrorists and their manager is identified as an enemy of the people. This book was written in 1987.
Stories of Eva Luna by Isabelle Allende
Magical-realism stories from Latin America
Finished reading...
Dark Room - Minette Walters
crime fiction
From Eve's Rib by Gioconda Belli
Political and sensual poetry.
I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala Edited by (anthroplogist) Elisabeth Burgos-Debray
An indigenous Guatemalan who was the recipient of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize. This book is a testimonial biography of the human rights violations committed by the Guatemalan armed forces during the country's country's civil war which began in 1960. Later, the book was subject to controversy as to how accurate her published account really was by another anthropologist known as Stoll.
The One: Finding Soul Mate Love and Making It Last - Kathy Freston
A book about relationships and spirituality.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Our Patron Saint is reading this one. The comment is "It is OK".
Cities of Salt - Abdelrahman Munif
The story chronicles the transformation of a traditional desert society following the discovery of oil. It is a work of fiction but there is so much truth in it. Banned in Saudi Arabia.
Turkestan Solo: A Journey Through Central Asia by Ella Maillart
Ella Maillart travelled to Russian Turkestan, now known as "The Stans" in the 1930s. She was a woman who loved mountains and loved to meet the people of the remote regions she travelled through. This books offers some insight into how things were politically in Central Asia at a time when Russia was heavily involved in that region.
Aboriginal Victorians: A History Since 1800 - Richard Broome
Interesting to see regions where you've grown up and not known parts of the history of the place you were in as a child.
Why Warriors Lie Down and Die - Richard Trudgen
The Yolngu will not start thinking about a response until the speaker has had their full say. They consider it rude to interrupt, and, on certain occasions, to speak directly. With the processes of interpretation, listening to one language, translating, framing a response in their own and translating it back, the time taken to respond can be lengthy. Trudgen says that white people quickly become uncomfortable and impatient with the silence, failing to give time for communication to take place.
Still Reading....
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Early in the novel, we discover that the narrator majored in religious studies and zoology, with particular interests in a sixteenth-century Kabbalist and the admirable three-toed sloth.
How we Survived Communism and Even Laughed - Slavenka Drakulic
A collection of essays that discuss aspects of life under Communism - including religion, political change and access to consumer goods - and looks at the reasons for its failure.
How the Mind Works - Stephen Pinker
Heavy but riveting tome.
Flying Hero Class - Thomas Keneally
A troupe of Aboriginal dancers are on a flight when their plane is hijacked by Palestinian terrorists and their manager is identified as an enemy of the people. This book was written in 1987.
Stories of Eva Luna by Isabelle Allende
Magical-realism stories from Latin America
Finished reading...
Dark Room - Minette Walters
crime fiction
From Eve's Rib by Gioconda Belli
Political and sensual poetry.
I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala Edited by (anthroplogist) Elisabeth Burgos-Debray
An indigenous Guatemalan who was the recipient of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize. This book is a testimonial biography of the human rights violations committed by the Guatemalan armed forces during the country's country's civil war which began in 1960. Later, the book was subject to controversy as to how accurate her published account really was by another anthropologist known as Stoll.
Tuesday
Rising Sun Anger Release Bar in China
A bar where you can have a beer and beat up the staff.http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/tough-gig-at-the-beatup-bar/2006/08/08/1154802870438.html
Monday
Fab Tree Hab
Saw this on Adam's blog and loved it! What a great idea! A living tree house.http://ok-lah.blogspot.com/
http://www.index2005.dk/Members/shifythaby/homeObject#
Conversations on Books...
Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey by Salman Rushdie
A record of his visit to Nicaragua in 1986. Non-fiction.
Stories of Eva Luna by Isabelle Allende
Magical-realism stories from Latin America
From Eve's Rib by Gioconda Belli
Political and sensual poetry.
I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala Edited by (anthroplogist) Elisabeth Burgos-Debray
An indigenous Guatemalan who was the recipient of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize. This book is a testimonial biography of the human rights violations committed by the Guatemalan armed forces during the country's country's civil war which began in 1960. Later, the book was subject to controversy as to how accurate her published account really was by another anthropologist known as Stoll.
Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingslover
Novel of missionaries in Congo, about explotation and domination.
Lords of Poverty: The Power, Prestige, and Corruption of the International Aid Business
by Graham Hancock
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The Dark Room by Minette Walters
Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick
An Alice Book Groupers favourite book.
The Loving Spirit by Daphne du Maurier
The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreeve
A record of his visit to Nicaragua in 1986. Non-fiction.
Stories of Eva Luna by Isabelle Allende
Magical-realism stories from Latin America
From Eve's Rib by Gioconda Belli
Political and sensual poetry.
I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala Edited by (anthroplogist) Elisabeth Burgos-Debray
An indigenous Guatemalan who was the recipient of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize. This book is a testimonial biography of the human rights violations committed by the Guatemalan armed forces during the country's country's civil war which began in 1960. Later, the book was subject to controversy as to how accurate her published account really was by another anthropologist known as Stoll.
Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingslover
Novel of missionaries in Congo, about explotation and domination.
Lords of Poverty: The Power, Prestige, and Corruption of the International Aid Business
by Graham Hancock
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The Dark Room by Minette Walters
Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick
An Alice Book Groupers favourite book.
The Loving Spirit by Daphne du Maurier
The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreeve
Tuesday
Someone's Take on Lebanon
Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.
Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own winepress.
Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.
Pity the nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits in its awakening.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.
Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggle, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.
Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpetings, and farewells him with hootings, only to welcome another with trumpetings again.
Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle.
Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.
Taken from Gibran's "Garden of the Prophet"
Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own winepress.
Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.
Pity the nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits in its awakening.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.
Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggle, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.
Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpetings, and farewells him with hootings, only to welcome another with trumpetings again.
Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle.
Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.
Taken from Gibran's "Garden of the Prophet"
Saturday
Conference of the Birds: The Story of Peter Brook in Africa
Book about a theatre troupe in the 70s going through Africa trying to get to the basics of a universal understanding and recognition of theatre arts. Trialing their improvisation ideas out on unsuspecting African villagers. Sometimes failing, sometimes learning from others, a few times succeeding in grasping "it".
On Happiness...
"By the middle of the 19th Century, social critics were already noticing how happiness was losing its social, spiritual, moral and intellectual anchors and becoming a form of emotional masturbation ".
The greatest irony in the search for happiness is that it is never strictly personal. For happiness to be mature and heartfelt, it must be shared...".
John F Schumaker
The greatest irony in the search for happiness is that it is never strictly personal. For happiness to be mature and heartfelt, it must be shared...".
John F Schumaker
Excerpt from Rules of the Wild
In a way everything here is always secondhand. You will inherit a car from someone who has decided to leave the country, which you will then sell on to one of your friends. You will move into a new house where you have already been when someone else lived there and had great parties at which you got incredibly drunk, and someone you know will move in when you decide to move out. You will make love to someone who has slept with all your friends.
There will never be anything brand new in your life.
Tuesday
Message out of Lebanon...
Dear all,
I wish to relay a message to as many people as possible around the world.
Lebanon & the Lebanese need your help, you should forward this message to as many people as you know. THE POWER OF THE WEB IS UNLIMITED, IT IS OUR DUTY TO USE IT. We should communicate to the world what is really happening in Lebanon , maybe they can help stop this manslaughter and the complete destruction of Lebanon ’s infrastructure. As I am writing this E-mail, I can hear the missiles hitting Beirut city…
LEBANON IS IN REAL DANGER! It is being shattered to pieces!
From now until you finish reading this e-mail, several innocent Lebanese citizens & children would BE LYING ON THE GROUND killed or wounded by missiles of the Israeli army!
THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!
Bush says that Israel has the right to defend itself??!!!
??!!!Self-defense according to Bush & Israel: !!!??
2 Israeli soldiers get captured and taken to Lebanon
IN AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE:
→Israel kills over 100 & wounds several hundreds of Lebanese civilians within 2 days
→Israel destroys Beirut airport & the 3 other airports of Lebanon
→Israel destroys major bridges across Lebanon & cuts any connection between Lebanese regions
→Israel hits Lebanese ports & all international roads, cutting off Lebanon from the world & preventing all rescue aid from reaching inhabitants. Lebanon is completely choked. No food, fuel & medications can enter Lebanon where electricity & water are cut in most regions.
→Israel asks for the evacuation of the town of Merwaheen (South of Lebanon) & soon after hits a van fleeing the town, slaughterING 21 innocent WOMEN & children.
THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS, CRUEL & CRIMINAL!!!
IF THIS IS NOT TERRORISM, THEN WHAT IS????
WHAT ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS??? THE GENEVA CONVENTION??? THE CONSCIENCE OF WORLD LEADERS???
HOW CAN THE WORLD REMAIN SILENT & NOT REACT???
HOW MANY WAR CRIMES MUST ISRAEL CARRY OUT BEFORE THE WORLD WAKES UP???
Israel says it wants to finish up with the Hezbollah:
-Were the 20 innocent passengers & children killed in the van members of the Hezbollah?
-Is Beirut airport a property of Hezbollah? Or that of the Lebanese tax payers?
-What does the destruction of bridges have to do with Hezbollah? I am sure that the minute the 2 Israeli soldiers were captured, they were transported to a safe place, many hours before bridges were bombarded.
Lebanon is a helpless country militarily; it has no fighter jets, no war ships and only 3 or 4 old military helicopters. The media is over inflating the size of Hezbollah, what is their strength compared to that of Israel ?
Since the clashes started, the damages suffered by the Israelis are almost nothing compared to the damages suffered by the Lebanese. 2 Israelis were killed & a few buildings slightly damaged, compared to over 100 Lebanese civilians killed, all Lebanese airports ruined, all sea ports and radars destroyed, all major bridges and tunnels shattered, several Lebanese villages and towns destroyed, as well as parts of Beirut almost completely destroyed & refugees barely finding a place to stay or something to eat…
THIS MUST STOP IMMEDIATELY!
EVERYONE READING THIS E-MAIL MUST ACT!
SHOW THE WORLD THAT YOU CARE ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS, ABOUT A JUST CAUSE…
CONTACT INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE, ORGANIZE SIT-INS IN MAJOR WORLD CAPITALS,MAKE YOURSELF HEARD,MAKE ARAB & INTERNATIONAL LEADERS FEEL ASHAMED & COWARDLY…
THEIR SILENCE AGAINST THIS CARNAGE IS A CRIME IN ITSELF.
LEBANON NEEDS YOU!!
Long-live Lebanon !
Long-live human rights!
THANK YOU & GOD BLESS ALL GOOD PEOPLE ON THIS EARTH!
CS Beirut , 15/7/06
I wish to relay a message to as many people as possible around the world.
Lebanon & the Lebanese need your help, you should forward this message to as many people as you know. THE POWER OF THE WEB IS UNLIMITED, IT IS OUR DUTY TO USE IT. We should communicate to the world what is really happening in Lebanon , maybe they can help stop this manslaughter and the complete destruction of Lebanon ’s infrastructure. As I am writing this E-mail, I can hear the missiles hitting Beirut city…
LEBANON IS IN REAL DANGER! It is being shattered to pieces!
From now until you finish reading this e-mail, several innocent Lebanese citizens & children would BE LYING ON THE GROUND killed or wounded by missiles of the Israeli army!
THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!
Bush says that Israel has the right to defend itself??!!!
??!!!Self-defense according to Bush & Israel: !!!??
2 Israeli soldiers get captured and taken to Lebanon
IN AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE:
→Israel kills over 100 & wounds several hundreds of Lebanese civilians within 2 days
→Israel destroys Beirut airport & the 3 other airports of Lebanon
→Israel destroys major bridges across Lebanon & cuts any connection between Lebanese regions
→Israel hits Lebanese ports & all international roads, cutting off Lebanon from the world & preventing all rescue aid from reaching inhabitants. Lebanon is completely choked. No food, fuel & medications can enter Lebanon where electricity & water are cut in most regions.
→Israel asks for the evacuation of the town of Merwaheen (South of Lebanon) & soon after hits a van fleeing the town, slaughterING 21 innocent WOMEN & children.
THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS, CRUEL & CRIMINAL!!!
IF THIS IS NOT TERRORISM, THEN WHAT IS????
WHAT ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS??? THE GENEVA CONVENTION??? THE CONSCIENCE OF WORLD LEADERS???
HOW CAN THE WORLD REMAIN SILENT & NOT REACT???
HOW MANY WAR CRIMES MUST ISRAEL CARRY OUT BEFORE THE WORLD WAKES UP???
Israel says it wants to finish up with the Hezbollah:
-Were the 20 innocent passengers & children killed in the van members of the Hezbollah?
-Is Beirut airport a property of Hezbollah? Or that of the Lebanese tax payers?
-What does the destruction of bridges have to do with Hezbollah? I am sure that the minute the 2 Israeli soldiers were captured, they were transported to a safe place, many hours before bridges were bombarded.
Lebanon is a helpless country militarily; it has no fighter jets, no war ships and only 3 or 4 old military helicopters. The media is over inflating the size of Hezbollah, what is their strength compared to that of Israel ?
Since the clashes started, the damages suffered by the Israelis are almost nothing compared to the damages suffered by the Lebanese. 2 Israelis were killed & a few buildings slightly damaged, compared to over 100 Lebanese civilians killed, all Lebanese airports ruined, all sea ports and radars destroyed, all major bridges and tunnels shattered, several Lebanese villages and towns destroyed, as well as parts of Beirut almost completely destroyed & refugees barely finding a place to stay or something to eat…
THIS MUST STOP IMMEDIATELY!
EVERYONE READING THIS E-MAIL MUST ACT!
SHOW THE WORLD THAT YOU CARE ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS, ABOUT A JUST CAUSE…
CONTACT INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE, ORGANIZE SIT-INS IN MAJOR WORLD CAPITALS,MAKE YOURSELF HEARD,MAKE ARAB & INTERNATIONAL LEADERS FEEL ASHAMED & COWARDLY…
THEIR SILENCE AGAINST THIS CARNAGE IS A CRIME IN ITSELF.
LEBANON NEEDS YOU!!
Long-live Lebanon !
Long-live human rights!
THANK YOU & GOD BLESS ALL GOOD PEOPLE ON THIS EARTH!
CS Beirut , 15/7/06
Thursday
Books in Conversation...
Click on titles for links
True Crime>
Welcome to Hell: One Man's Fight for Life Inside the Bangkok Hilton by Colin Martin
Mafia Wife: My Story of Love, Murder and Madness by Lynda Milito
Lynda's personal story about her own life: her disturbing and painful childhood, her attraction to danger and power, spousal abuse, mental illness, and her continuing search for peace and reconciliation.
Without a Trace: Inside the Robert Durst Case by Marion Collins
How could Robert Durst degenerate from a powerful New York City businessman to a cross-dressing fugitive wanted in a murder investigation?
The Society Murders by Hilary Bonney
Murders of husband and wife millionaire socialites in Melbourne by their son in 2002.
Ultimate Punishment by Scott Turow
The USA and the death penalty.
Still reading>
Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult
Poetry>
Gioconda Belli
Nicaraguan Poet: "My poems then were a mixture--often chaotic--of the erotic and the patriotic, two things that reflected the experiences of my everyday life."
Conference of the Birds by Farid Ud-Din Attar
Persian Sufi Poetry
Murder Mystery>
Promise Me by Harlan Coben
Others>
The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia by Peter Hopkirk
Historical - Political book on Central Asia
Rules of the Wild by Francesca Marciano
Novel of Italian woman in Kenya and the ex-pat set there.
The Stories of Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
Allende at her best
Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A wonderful tale in magic-realism mode.
True Crime>
Welcome to Hell: One Man's Fight for Life Inside the Bangkok Hilton by Colin Martin
Mafia Wife: My Story of Love, Murder and Madness by Lynda Milito
Lynda's personal story about her own life: her disturbing and painful childhood, her attraction to danger and power, spousal abuse, mental illness, and her continuing search for peace and reconciliation.
Without a Trace: Inside the Robert Durst Case by Marion Collins
How could Robert Durst degenerate from a powerful New York City businessman to a cross-dressing fugitive wanted in a murder investigation?
The Society Murders by Hilary Bonney
Murders of husband and wife millionaire socialites in Melbourne by their son in 2002.
Ultimate Punishment by Scott Turow
The USA and the death penalty.
Still reading>
Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult
Poetry>
Gioconda Belli
Nicaraguan Poet: "My poems then were a mixture--often chaotic--of the erotic and the patriotic, two things that reflected the experiences of my everyday life."
Conference of the Birds by Farid Ud-Din Attar
Persian Sufi Poetry
Murder Mystery>
Promise Me by Harlan Coben
Others>
The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia by Peter Hopkirk
Historical - Political book on Central Asia
Rules of the Wild by Francesca Marciano
Novel of Italian woman in Kenya and the ex-pat set there.
The Stories of Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
Allende at her best
Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A wonderful tale in magic-realism mode.
Our Mills and Boon MiniFest...
Marriage on the Rebound by Michelle Reid
Sunset Country by Dorothy Cork
Set around the Australian Outback - Alice Springs
Mother of the Bride by Carole Mortimer
A Husband's Revenge by Lee Wilkinson
A Happy Meeting by Betty Neels
Wednesday
Tuesday
Butter Dance
Suryodarmo accepts that some audiences are disturbed by her repeated falling, but her own interpretation borders on whimsical. "You never know which direction I will fall, the butter gives me no control. It's about how slippery life can be. You see something goes wrong with your life and what you are doing and just continue on."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/arts/its-art-imitating-life-smeared-in-butter/2006/07/10/1152383678519.html
Saturday
Tuesday
Before the Dawn
Before the Dawn: Recovering the History of our Ancestors by Nicholas Wade
Drawing on the exciting results from a branch of science that is in its relative infancy, the veteran journalist weaves together a fascinating story, pulling in such other areas of research as anthropology, archeology, linguistics and social science.
Taken from:http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19459828-5003900,00.html
Drawing on the exciting results from a branch of science that is in its relative infancy, the veteran journalist weaves together a fascinating story, pulling in such other areas of research as anthropology, archeology, linguistics and social science.
Taken from:http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19459828-5003900,00.html
Michelangelo's Moses
The relevance of each detail of body and drapery in forcing up the psychic temperature can be appreciated by closely studying the work — the muscles bulge, the veins swell, the great legs begin slowly to move. If this titan ever rose to his feet, says one writer, the world would fly apart. The holy rage of Moses mounts to the bursting point, yet must be contained, for the free release of energies in action is forbidden forever to Michelangelo's passion-stricken beings.
Michelangelo felt that this was his most life-like creation. Legend has it that upon its completion he struck the right knee commanding, "now speak!" as he felt that life was the only thing left inside the marble. There is a scar on the knee thought to be the mark of Michelangelo's hammer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo's_Moses
Friday
Santa B, B for Buddhist, is reading...
The Zahir by Paul Coelho
A novel about obsession.
A story about a man obsessed with finding the wife who left him without an explanation.
A novel about obsession.
A story about a man obsessed with finding the wife who left him without an explanation.
Conversations on Books...
Second Glance by Jodie Picoult
Raises questions about integrity, respect, prejudice, memory, medical ethics and things that go bump in the night.
My Sister's Keeper by Jodie Picoult
Story of a child that was born in order to be a bone marrow match for her sister. In her teenage years she refuses to continue to go through transfusions and surgeries that help combat her sisters leukemia.
Available at Alice Springs Public Library
Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult
Story that focuses around the issues of abortion and child raising.
Invisible Acts of Power: Personal Choices that Create Miracles by Caroline Myss
Generosity is a biological and spiritual neccessity.
The Shady Tree by Bill Harney and Douglas Lockwood
Life in the Territory of old.
Prayer Tree by Leunig
Love is born
With a dark and troubled face
When hope is dead
And in the most unlikely place
Love is born:
Love is always born.
How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed by Slavenka Drakulic
A collection of essays that discuss aspects of life under Communism - including religion, political change and access to consumer goods - and looks at the reasons for its failure.
Rosa Parks Biography
The woman who refused to give up her seat.
The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse
The Game of Life
Dirt Music by Tim Winton
Flying Hero Class by Thomas Keneally
Story of Palestinians hijacking a planeload of passengers who include an Aboriginal dance troupe on a world tour.
Raises questions about integrity, respect, prejudice, memory, medical ethics and things that go bump in the night.
My Sister's Keeper by Jodie Picoult
Story of a child that was born in order to be a bone marrow match for her sister. In her teenage years she refuses to continue to go through transfusions and surgeries that help combat her sisters leukemia.
Available at Alice Springs Public Library
Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult
Story that focuses around the issues of abortion and child raising.
Invisible Acts of Power: Personal Choices that Create Miracles by Caroline Myss
Generosity is a biological and spiritual neccessity.
The Shady Tree by Bill Harney and Douglas Lockwood
Life in the Territory of old.
Prayer Tree by Leunig
Love is born
With a dark and troubled face
When hope is dead
And in the most unlikely place
Love is born:
Love is always born.
How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed by Slavenka Drakulic
A collection of essays that discuss aspects of life under Communism - including religion, political change and access to consumer goods - and looks at the reasons for its failure.
Rosa Parks Biography
The woman who refused to give up her seat.
The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse
The Game of Life
Dirt Music by Tim Winton
Flying Hero Class by Thomas Keneally
Story of Palestinians hijacking a planeload of passengers who include an Aboriginal dance troupe on a world tour.
Book Crossing
Want to leave your used books for the general public to pick up on a park bench?
If so, go here:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/
If so, go here:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/
Sunday
Why Warriors Lie Down and Die
Richard Trudgen will be doing a seminar in Alice Springs on August 1-2.
Link here: http://www.ards.com.au/wstopics.htm
Why Warriors Lie Down and Die by Richard Trudgen and Djambati Mala
Addressing the causes or the symptoms? “Why Warriors” goes on to analyse the primary causes of “this crisis” and the symptoms that stem from them. Through this analysis it seems that most of the present programs are designed to deal with the symptoms not the underlying causes.
Link here: http://www.ards.com.au/wstopics.htm
Why Warriors Lie Down and Die by Richard Trudgen and Djambati Mala
Addressing the causes or the symptoms? “Why Warriors” goes on to analyse the primary causes of “this crisis” and the symptoms that stem from them. Through this analysis it seems that most of the present programs are designed to deal with the symptoms not the underlying causes.
Saturday
The Shady Tree
"What you want to go away from your country?" Djewarri demanded. "You gone silly along head or somethin'? That proper rubbish-country long way away. This country knows you, now you want to go along country that doesn't know you. You die there."
He was emphatic about that. "When man leaves the country that knows him, soon he die," he said.
I tried to explain to him the beauties of Mooloolaba. I told him about the surf, and the people swimming, and the fishing trawlers, and the pineapples and the bananas, but he was unimpressed.
"They got fat kangaroo there?" he asked.
"No Kangaroos," I admitted.
"Plenty lizards?"
"I didn;t see any lizards."
"Well that must be rubbish-country all right," he said.
Taken from: The Shady Tree by Bill Harney and Douglas Lockwood
He was emphatic about that. "When man leaves the country that knows him, soon he die," he said.
I tried to explain to him the beauties of Mooloolaba. I told him about the surf, and the people swimming, and the fishing trawlers, and the pineapples and the bananas, but he was unimpressed.
"They got fat kangaroo there?" he asked.
"No Kangaroos," I admitted.
"Plenty lizards?"
"I didn;t see any lizards."
"Well that must be rubbish-country all right," he said.
Taken from: The Shady Tree by Bill Harney and Douglas Lockwood
Friday
Wednesday
The Thirteenth Tribe
This was mentioned by a Book Grouper some weeks ago.
The Thirteenth Tribe by Arthur Koestler.
Koestler wrote an intriguing, popularized account of the theory that many of today's Jews (mostly those of Eastern European descent) are of non-Semitic origin. Essentially the book recounts the tale of the Khazars, a middle Asian Turkic tribe, or tribal group, which settled in the southern steppes of what is today's Russia, during the seventh and eighth centuries, and adopted Judaism (in reaction to the conflicting demands of nearby 'great powers' espousing Christianity and Islam).
Adam Said:
This post reminds me of the story of the Bnei Menashe from North Eastern India who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Link here http://www.bnei-menashe.org/
The Thirteenth Tribe by Arthur Koestler.
Koestler wrote an intriguing, popularized account of the theory that many of today's Jews (mostly those of Eastern European descent) are of non-Semitic origin. Essentially the book recounts the tale of the Khazars, a middle Asian Turkic tribe, or tribal group, which settled in the southern steppes of what is today's Russia, during the seventh and eighth centuries, and adopted Judaism (in reaction to the conflicting demands of nearby 'great powers' espousing Christianity and Islam).
Adam Said:
This post reminds me of the story of the Bnei Menashe from North Eastern India who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Link here http://www.bnei-menashe.org/
Tuesday
The purpose of life
The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
(my first post here. I just love this quote.)
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
(my first post here. I just love this quote.)
Friday
Conference of the Birds
Come, you lost atoms, to your Center draw
And be the eternal mirror you saw;
Rays that have wander'd into Darkness wide
Return and back your sun subside.
— Farid ud-Din Attar
Conference of the Birds
Poetry as Topic..
Yeh yeh. Okay.
Book Groupers, focus on the poetry square.
Reading around the topic of poetry.
Good, I will drag Leunig out again.
And Omar Khayyam and Gibran.
Book Groupers, focus on the poetry square.
Reading around the topic of poetry.
Good, I will drag Leunig out again.
And Omar Khayyam and Gibran.
Conversations On Books...
Click on bold type for more info:
Invisible Acts of Power: Personal Choices that Create Miracles - Caroline Myss
The Myth of Male Power: Why Men are the Disposable Sex - Warren Farrell
Manhood - Steve Biddulph
7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Steven Covey
The Shady Tree - Bill Harney and Douglas Lockwood
The Chill Factor - Sandra Brown
Invisible Acts of Power: Personal Choices that Create Miracles - Caroline Myss
The Myth of Male Power: Why Men are the Disposable Sex - Warren Farrell
Manhood - Steve Biddulph
7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Steven Covey
The Shady Tree - Bill Harney and Douglas Lockwood
The Chill Factor - Sandra Brown
Tuesday
The Disposable Sex
Finally got it together to get this book out on inter-library loan.
Mentioned it some months back now. Click on link for more info.
The Myth of Male Power: Why Men are the Disposable Sex - Warren Farrell
Mentioned it some months back now. Click on link for more info.
The Myth of Male Power: Why Men are the Disposable Sex - Warren Farrell
Friday
Conversations on Books....
Books that were mentioned in the gathering. Click on bold type for more info.
Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier
A Perfect Arrangement - Suzanne Berne
Holden's Performance - Murray Bail
The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing - Melissa Bank
An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians - Edward William Lane
A womderful ethnography that is suprisingly still relevant and intriguing. Full of quirky details about just about everything that moves in Egypt, particularly Cairo.
The Passionate Nomad: The Diary of Isabelle Eberhardt - Isabelle Eberhardt
Eberhardt (1877-1904) moved to Algeria in her early 20s and spent her remaining few years (she died in a flash flood at the age of 28) wandering through North Africa disguised as Si Mahmoud, a male itinerant Sufi. Though her commitment to Islam was profound, she was an active supporter of French rule and may have acted as an agent of the French intelligence services.
Worlds Apart : Travels in War and Peace - Gavin Young
How the Mind Works - Stephen Pinker
Tracks, Scats and Other Traces: A Field Guide to Australian Mammals - Barbara Triggs
A Taste of Life - Sara Paretsky
Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier
A Perfect Arrangement - Suzanne Berne
Holden's Performance - Murray Bail
The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing - Melissa Bank
An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians - Edward William Lane
A womderful ethnography that is suprisingly still relevant and intriguing. Full of quirky details about just about everything that moves in Egypt, particularly Cairo.
The Passionate Nomad: The Diary of Isabelle Eberhardt - Isabelle Eberhardt
Eberhardt (1877-1904) moved to Algeria in her early 20s and spent her remaining few years (she died in a flash flood at the age of 28) wandering through North Africa disguised as Si Mahmoud, a male itinerant Sufi. Though her commitment to Islam was profound, she was an active supporter of French rule and may have acted as an agent of the French intelligence services.
Worlds Apart : Travels in War and Peace - Gavin Young
How the Mind Works - Stephen Pinker
Tracks, Scats and Other Traces: A Field Guide to Australian Mammals - Barbara Triggs
A Taste of Life - Sara Paretsky
Thursday
Tuesday
Who Reads This?
Well, how weird is this?
An automated machine has had this blog in its clutches for days and now it gets a clean bill of health. Hmm.... well, even if no one ever reads this, I guess it keeps some automated machine in a job. Good. See below.
Hello,
Your blog has been reviewed, verified, and cleared for regular use so that it will no longer appear as potential spam. If you sign out of Blogger and sign back in again, you should be able to post as normal. Thanks for your patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.
Sincerely,
Blogger Support
An automated machine has had this blog in its clutches for days and now it gets a clean bill of health. Hmm.... well, even if no one ever reads this, I guess it keeps some automated machine in a job. Good. See below.
Hello,
Your blog has been reviewed, verified, and cleared for regular use so that it will no longer appear as potential spam. If you sign out of Blogger and sign back in again, you should be able to post as normal. Thanks for your patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.
Sincerely,
Blogger Support
Saturday
Renegade Woman Sends In...
Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Friday
Largest US Embassy in the World
And no one ever asks why?
It has finished completion now.
19:05 2003-11-27
Largest US embassy in world is being built in Armenia
The US embassy in Armenia will be the largest in the world. As a Rosbalt correspondent reports, this was announced yesterday by US Ambassador to Armenia John Ordway.
He said the US embassy, which is currently under construction in the suburbs of Yerevan, will take up 9 hectares of land. The embassy will also have its own energy and water supply. The ambassador explained that there are many people working on various projects in Armenia and this is the reason for building such a large embassy.
According to Mr Ordway, the embassy will be built by spring 2005. About 600 Armenians and 65 Turks are currently working on the building's construction. The present embassy will be sold as soon as the new building is complete.
http://newsfromrussia.com/world/2003/11/27/51503.html
Oh and LOOK on their website. They even have a "democracy programs" initiative.
http://www.usa.am/democracy.php
Some background info
It has finished completion now.
19:05 2003-11-27
Largest US embassy in world is being built in Armenia
The US embassy in Armenia will be the largest in the world. As a Rosbalt correspondent reports, this was announced yesterday by US Ambassador to Armenia John Ordway.
He said the US embassy, which is currently under construction in the suburbs of Yerevan, will take up 9 hectares of land. The embassy will also have its own energy and water supply. The ambassador explained that there are many people working on various projects in Armenia and this is the reason for building such a large embassy.
According to Mr Ordway, the embassy will be built by spring 2005. About 600 Armenians and 65 Turks are currently working on the building's construction. The present embassy will be sold as soon as the new building is complete.
http://newsfromrussia.com/world/2003/11/27/51503.html
Oh and LOOK on their website. They even have a "democracy programs" initiative.
http://www.usa.am/democracy.php
Some background info
Wednesday
Saturday
Friday
On Western Adults Reading Fiction...
“The distinction I make is [between our own society and more traditional cultures], such as in Africa. They don’t take a thing apart to understand it. We do. Whether it’s a clock or a philosophy, we compartmentalize. Rather than do that [people in traditional societies] dance with it. They stand in relationship to it. They move with it. That’s what the child is capable of doing. That’s what we knead, or school, out of ourselves. If the adult can keep that, then the story is the same for the adult.
“[Another factor for the adult] is need. The more self sufficient an adult feels him or herself to be the less capable they are of rejoicing in a work of fiction or being blown back and forth by its winds.
“Put it this way. If they’re self sufficient, they would be rifling the story for something they could use. It would be utilitarian. They wouldn’t read fiction much. It would bore them. But yes, on the other hand, when someone is not self sufficient, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they come with a need. It’s that they truly live in a sort of communal atmosphere.
“This is why literature and storytelling were so good in cultures past. And the [reason why the] storytelling we hunger for doesn’t exist in this particular culture is that we live [for the] individual. Western Society says that the wholeness of the human is the individual human. Previous societies have always said the wholeness is the family. The wholeness is the tribe. The wholeness is the community.
Taken from http://www.etext.org/Zines/Critique/writing/wangerin.html
“[Another factor for the adult] is need. The more self sufficient an adult feels him or herself to be the less capable they are of rejoicing in a work of fiction or being blown back and forth by its winds.
“Put it this way. If they’re self sufficient, they would be rifling the story for something they could use. It would be utilitarian. They wouldn’t read fiction much. It would bore them. But yes, on the other hand, when someone is not self sufficient, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they come with a need. It’s that they truly live in a sort of communal atmosphere.
“This is why literature and storytelling were so good in cultures past. And the [reason why the] storytelling we hunger for doesn’t exist in this particular culture is that we live [for the] individual. Western Society says that the wholeness of the human is the individual human. Previous societies have always said the wholeness is the family. The wholeness is the tribe. The wholeness is the community.
Taken from http://www.etext.org/Zines/Critique/writing/wangerin.html
Thursday
From Milan Kundera's "Identity"
However much he may tell her he loves her and thinks her beautiful, his loving gaze could never console her. Because the gaze of love is the gaze that isolates. Jean-Marc thought about the loving solitude of two old persons become invisible to other people: a sad solitude that prefigures death. No, what she needs is not a loving gaze but a flood of alien, crude, lustful looks settling on her with no good will, no discrimination, no tenderness or politeness - settling on her fatefully, inescapably. Those are the looks that sustain her within human society. The gaze of love rips her out of it.
Conversations Touching On These Books...
Joanne Lees as yet untitled and unpublished book.
Why bother? How can you write up such a short traumatic episode into the length of a book?
Outback Heart by Joanne Van Os
Why keep up the dialogue of her connection with her ex-husband? And make the end of his life story, her story?
Aftermath by Peter Robinson
crime novel
Mystery Train by Griel Marcus
A rock n roll writer for Rolling Stone
Her Man to Remember by Suzanne McMinn
Mills and Boon
Box Garden by Carol Sheilds
The True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
Peter Carey's 2nd Booker prize winner.
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
Belsey is a white art history professor in the throes of midlife crisis. His marriage to vibrant African American wife Kiki is collapsing, due to his unfaithfulness. And he's devoting too much psychic energy to an ideological pissing war with Monty Kipps, an Anglo-Caribbean provocateur who arrives at Belsey's elite Massachusetts university disparaging affirmative action and generally aggravating the liberal Belseys with his ultraconservative rhetoric.
The Girl in Times Square by Paullina Simons
Soldier Sahibs: The Men Who Made the North-West Frontier by Charles Allen
What could be a great story but very dryly and acheingly boringly written.
The Book of God by Walter Wangerin
The Bible as a novel
Identity by Milan Kundera
Why bother? How can you write up such a short traumatic episode into the length of a book?
Outback Heart by Joanne Van Os
Why keep up the dialogue of her connection with her ex-husband? And make the end of his life story, her story?
Aftermath by Peter Robinson
crime novel
Mystery Train by Griel Marcus
A rock n roll writer for Rolling Stone
Her Man to Remember by Suzanne McMinn
Mills and Boon
Box Garden by Carol Sheilds
The True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
Peter Carey's 2nd Booker prize winner.
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
Belsey is a white art history professor in the throes of midlife crisis. His marriage to vibrant African American wife Kiki is collapsing, due to his unfaithfulness. And he's devoting too much psychic energy to an ideological pissing war with Monty Kipps, an Anglo-Caribbean provocateur who arrives at Belsey's elite Massachusetts university disparaging affirmative action and generally aggravating the liberal Belseys with his ultraconservative rhetoric.
The Girl in Times Square by Paullina Simons
Soldier Sahibs: The Men Who Made the North-West Frontier by Charles Allen
What could be a great story but very dryly and acheingly boringly written.
The Book of God by Walter Wangerin
The Bible as a novel
Identity by Milan Kundera
Wednesday
Australian Demographics
A University of Melbourne study of 20 000 Australians found that
60 per cent of people said they rarely spoke to their neighbours.
60 per cent of people said they rarely spoke to their neighbours.
Saturday
Patron Saint is Reading...
Patron Saint of the Alice Book Group has since moved on to Brisbane but sends us these titles, that she is currently reading. Our meditative one is still with us, just in a different form.
Click on the titles for more information.
The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
The Dance by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Women who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
How to Have a Beautiful Mind by Edward De Bono
Seperate Reality by Carlos Casteneda
Click on the titles for more information.
The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
The Dance by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Women who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
How to Have a Beautiful Mind by Edward De Bono
Seperate Reality by Carlos Casteneda
Thursday
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