pierbear

Tom

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Voting	[Nov. 4th, 2008\|06:38 pm] Tom
My part of this election is almost done. The anxiety and donations prior to voting are done. I was number 64 in my polling station to cast a vote. I went to work with energy and excitement. In a matter of hours, we should know the outcome and get one with our lives. I hope it's a transformative experience because we have already been transformed in a number of bad ways. So a quiet evening with a couple of drinks and then, hopefully, a celebration.
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Havana

[May. 13th, 2007|08:33 am]

Tom

[	Tags	\|	books	]
[	Current Location	\|	Philadelphia	]

Exactly two years ago I read Havana Red by Leonardo Padura. This month, I read Havana Black (originally published as Paisaja de Otono which even a casual glance reveals does not translate into the English title!). This series of hard-boiled detective novels is interesting for several reasons. Least important is the decade since they were first written and now translated into English. I can't believe it took that long for Americans who have been curious and hungry for information about Cuba to get to read these books. Second, the books are very dark about life in Havana. I'm not sure what I expect the "official" reaction of the Cuban government to be about such pessimistic literature. And finally, I find the translation fascinating. I cannot tell if it's the original Spanish, the peculiarities of the author's style or the art of the translator that makes these books have an otherworldly feel. We have a find tradition of clever and even poetic detective writers, but this series seems pleasantly out of balance and different. The books read fast and have a sensuality that you would probably expect from Latin American literature. Two more books left in the tetralogy?

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Reading update

[May. 10th, 2007|11:31 pm]

Tom

[

Current Location

Philadelphia

]

My habit for years was to keep track of all the books that I read on my web site. But I am currently in a period of non-updating of the site, so I want to use livejournal to keep tabs on my reading until I am able to get back to the web site.

During my visit to my honey,

oac, I got around to reading the long-delayed sequel to Blue Heaven and Putting on the Ritz -- the novel, My Lucky Star, by Joe Keenan. Keenan was pre-occupied with the television series, Frasier, and has not published a novel in years. But My Lucky Star is a good follow on to the previous books. Since he went "Hollywood," it's only fair that the new book is set in Southern California and is savage in pointing out the foibles of the film biz. Keenan likes a happy ending, but he is not really a sentimentalist. I find his humor clever and engaging. Good job, Joe.

On the way home from London, I began reading an earlier work by David Mitchell -- number9dream. Like his other books, this was pretty damn amazing. While I know that Mitchell lived in Japan for years and is married to a Japanese woman, the book is quite amazing in its ability to convey a post-modern sense of Japan that is both highly personal and reminiscent of the dystopic Philip K. Dick idea of the future. Mitchell is amazing and richly talented. But he is also a smart reader and that comes out in all his writing. In looking up the critiques of this book, I found a few grumbly reviews that focused on Mitchell's borrowing from Haruki Murakami. But other reviewers pointed out the more diverse source of his borrowing and the unique voice that he has. I am still most impressed by Cloud Atlas which is one of my favorite books ever.

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Lat Long	[Oct. 14th, 2006\|10:12 pm] Tom
Where am I? N 43 38 664 W 79 23 280
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Aftermath	[Sep. 13th, 2001\|09:53 pm] Tom
It seems truly unbelievable to be sitting here and looking back on the past few days. On Tuesday as I was packing for my trip to London and Budapest I had no idea that the defining event of the millennium was taking place almost exactly 100 miles from my house. When I got in the car to go to work I heard about the plane crashes into the World Trade Center in New York. But the time I arrived at work a few minutes later, the entire medical center was tuned in to the tragedy and no major work would get done. I felt queasy and jumpy all day. I'm very unused to such a helpless feeling and I began to imagine myself on a plane -- as I was scheduled to fly that night -- and how I would react to the calamity that must have unfolded on those four doomed flights. Then I imagined myself in a tall building that had been hit by a large aircraft and turned into a spectacular fireball. It was completely overwhelming and upsetting. People turned to each other for some level of dialogue, sympathy, reality check or just interpersonal contact. It was unbearable to be alone and impossible to be truly social. Words were just words for once. Over the past 2 days I think that most people are still shocked and in a state of amazing and profound grief. But the reality -- painful as it is -- is actually helping us to come to terms. The tremendous loss of life and of security is excruciating. But the event now has some context and there is a seeming sense of purpose in the air. I don't think the next days, weeks or months will be easy. They may be incredibly hard for people all over the world. The level of hatred and violence could rise inexorably. My vacation plans were, of course, canceled and I'm sad about that. But my optimism is returning. There is no greater purpose in death by violence. There is no excuse for this sort of thing. But death and suffering have always been unfair and we fool only ourselves if we insist otherwise. The worst may not be over, but despite our pain and sorrow we are weathering the loss and coping. That is probably the best we can hope for.. and under the circumstances, perhaps not so bad.
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Puerto Rico	[Jul. 16th, 2001\|03:03 pm] Tom
I just returned from a brief trip to Puerto Rico. To put it more correctly, I just returned from a brief trip to a luxurious resort hotel in Puerto Rico. While I'm sure the weather was the same at the resort as elsewhere on the island, and I'm willing to bet that the vegetation and animal life was comparable, I was really in a carefully controlled and beautiful environment that gives little insight into anything else on the island. And it was quite wonderful. Part of me hates the idea of travelling so far and having no contact with any of the natives. Not even in the context of restaurants and shopping. But for a mindless excess of sybaritic pleasure, you have to admit that this is nice. I did observe something interesting about the people. There seemed to be lots of kids around. And the kids were kind of "on their own" but in a good way. Often it was hard to tell if the parents were even around. Nevertheless I didn't feel that the kids were at risk since everyone seemed to keep an eye open for them. Even at late hours at the casino, young children were just having a great time playing with each other in the hotel corridor. Sometimes I wonder if we couldn't learn something from this?
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Connecticut	[May. 14th, 2001\|09:43 pm] Tom
I drove to my brother's house in Hamden, Connecticut for the baptism of his son. It was such an incredibly beautiful day for a trip. The sun was shining, but it was never too warm. There was none of the oppressive haze we tend to get in the summer. And there was little traffic despite the fact that it was Mothers' Day. I had promised that I would bring a broken recliner chair with me so that my parents could use their reparative skills to fix it. So I lugged a rather big chair in the back of the car. There was simply no viewing what was going on behind me! The day was good. The trip is 200 miles each way, so there's an awful lot of time spent behind the wheel. But the traffic was good and the time went quickly.
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End of week	[May. 4th, 2001\|08:04 pm] Tom
The past few days have been hot. This is the first really warm weather of the season and it seems long overdue. The courtyard here in the pier is green and the flowers are in full blossom. Last night as I came home from square dancing I got to talking with a neighbor as those warm breezes washed over us both. Wonderful
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