tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83321001005443072242024-03-06T11:30:10.768+08:00Taiwan PrattlerMarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.comBlogger338125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-75293757627968105942023-12-23T02:38:00.002+08:002023-12-23T02:41:55.478+08:002023 Reading Time to close out my reading for 2023! I surpassed my goal of 36 with 54 (several of them shorter). Next year, I should include all the other books I read with my son. :-)<div><br />
<b>A Breakdown</b>:<br /><b>
5 Novels </b>(?)-- My fav was “Demon Copperhead” and runner-up was “The Sympathizer”. “Demon Copperhead” was also my fav overall for the year!</div><div><br /><b>
6 (Semi-)Related to Science</b>-- “Breathless”, “How the World Really Works”, and “Range” especially resonated with me. “Your Inner Fish” was also pretty good.</div><div> <br /><b>6 (Auto)Biographies or Historical Portraits</b> (a gripping one often reads like a good novel!)-- “And There Was Light” (Lincoln), “G-Man” (J. Edgar Hoover) and “PTL” (Jim Bakker) all stood out.</div><div> <br /><b>30+ Devotional, Faith-, and Ministry-Related Titles</b> (Besides the Bible)-- The especially thoughtful “Proverbs: A Shorter Commentary”, “Jesus and the Eyewitnesses”, and “Rediscovering Jonah” especially spoke to me.</div><div> <br />Though I haven’t had to commute for a while, I’m thankful I was able to multi-task by listening to 17 audiobooks either driving or working out at the gym.</div><div> <br />Friends who enjoy reading: What titles did you most relish this past year?
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</div>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-35842411973496085072023-10-18T22:35:00.005+08:002023-10-18T22:39:27.950+08:00Ruminating and Delighting Upon God's Word<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcFmwOvGwf8cohF3nJbBe9ABMPp_8NGTVH6BhIZZm_CQjFmu__7J92y33Sqh7dKRhpqtWEnj4Excy3bf4ChmxyUEjJu2BsDLSK0isqUmqrsC0V_tDxJr4pa1zJdD7fw0_UQABjhZAvv9QkYUX7-ES6Az1GIS6MAbbHtS5cTKCEasJFj90AaNxvTxWJEDI/s1058/solitude.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="1058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcFmwOvGwf8cohF3nJbBe9ABMPp_8NGTVH6BhIZZm_CQjFmu__7J92y33Sqh7dKRhpqtWEnj4Excy3bf4ChmxyUEjJu2BsDLSK0isqUmqrsC0V_tDxJr4pa1zJdD7fw0_UQABjhZAvv9QkYUX7-ES6Az1GIS6MAbbHtS5cTKCEasJFj90AaNxvTxWJEDI/s400/solitude.png"/></a></div>Lately I’ve been appreciating the Jewish artist Marc Chagall’s 1933 work SOLITUDE, which I first stumbled across a month or so ago in a book I've been reading. In the painting, a man wearing a prayer shawl is resting on his hand meditating. He holds a Torah scroll close to his heart in the other hand. Even though the man’s back is set against the city, he's not ignoring his surroundings. Rather, he’s meditating deeply about what God's Torah says about eternal realities.
And what of the goat chewing its cud -- while playing a violin?!!! In Chagall’s paintings goats often depict how the Jews were seen as Nazi scapegoats. Even more signficantly, a goat chewing on its cud illustrates the delight an observant Jew experiences ruminating on God’s Word.
And what of the violin? Remember the 1971 musical “Fiddler on the Roof”? (By the way, the actor who played Tevye died in May of this year) FIDDLER was inspired by a delightful theme from several of Chagall’s paintings, one of which carried the same name. Instead of being distracted by arguing factions regarding current events, may God's people find their joy and delight by ruminating continually on God’s Word.
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Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-42963923397795786242020-12-27T19:44:00.000+08:002020-12-27T19:44:34.221+08:002020 Reading
I can't believe I forgot to post about 2019 (except for on facebook)! Oh well, I enjoyed another wonderful year of reading and listening to audiobooks. Except for any I didn't record, it looks like my total for the year is 53. Some favorites included (but were by no means restricted to): Just Mercy, Mama's Last Hug, Stay Salt, Confronting Christianity, Godric, and any of the Life/Works of classical composers by Jeremy Siepmann. What did you enjoy reading this year of the coronavirus?
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But earlier this week I heard a story from a young man which challenges this perspective. He told me that one of his friends carries three guns, two of them loaded, with him in his car at all times. He said he feels very safe whenever he rides with this friend!<br />
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When I related this story to my Saturday English class, one of my students topped it. A few years ago, she was caught in traffic directly behind a criminal caught in a standoff with two policemen. First, he pulled out his pistol. Then when the police produced their pistols, he quickly exchanged his for a machine gun, which sent the terrified policemen scurrying for shelter. Finally he put away his machine gun and brandished a hand grenade, beckoning with his hand for the scared policemen to draw near. Apparently no shots were ever fired. Neither was he apprehended at that time. But what a story! Was it just posturing? Who knows.<br />
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These gun-related stories remind of a huge story back in 1997 around time I came on island. Chen Chin-hsing , who was from the area where I am now living, had been on the run for months. People all over the island seemed scared out of their wits beyond all credible reason. The South African couple linked <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_family_hostage_crisis?wprov=sfla1&fbclid=IwAR3xtAybDIOsjfsE34VBgB6Qa6_flmvMbAGB9e5uKu5ObiiwU2CoVB88BIQ" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.apnews.com/5cc9f9fb3313b3bd40d3cb3b1415ea90?fbclid=IwAR3rHRP9OFXVdUqANDxRIgxy9kcd39ZnO9aLYg2VLDrtNc82zuq8xdQcZ2E" target="_blank">here</a> later wrote a book about their moving experience and their ability to forgive in Jesus' name.Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-91972522550794292432018-12-30T17:43:00.001+08:002018-12-30T18:11:18.319+08:002018 Reading<p>Another year, another 39 books. All but 10 were audiobooks. Several were re-reads. I wish I had read a couple more science-related. What did you read this past year?</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxKkdO1KAnFumCwn2Z4sn45XStgLAU3_txNe5sJOekv_TAGDrLtsrCheb34caKsrq9v371tT-0xOUAyTeGCnhamef9j-2hXe7S4M9VKnXXOn3I4RpxvYuU4b5VnMC-2PyDp9w5hcww5s8/s1600-h/20181228_160601%255B2%255D"><img title="20181228_160601" style="margin: 0px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="20181228_160601" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY9vEnHDVvh7hOY18IO7a8Nk_baDI8AroElMl5c-mSvhVLU0gsGLHAW5tc3Ar61IFIOHaEUdhxRHLjWcKQ-thfpTuwLFDTP76uxFaL-4q_qOKBGX0IjRYpFkQgprS-7bYRe0BYrhuvKqA/?imgmax=800" width="191" height="244" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7kRK_4Ld-Fccpbp6_e2IqbgVFgooc681kj_O66UWheepKj7GyVI4Pk7kA1Iglu11sq2ltosKd2nqM6Fdagdd9W65l07J3HLC0T7CuD0N76ewexawbW6iJoljWygyO797kPP1rtdWEpVY/s1600-h/20181228_160620%255B2%255D"><img title="20181228_160620" style="margin: 0px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="20181228_160620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXrN54U6RezfbTI6l0qxkO8TRaHZpQAiZTcIv2wbBwaB1n7Ghu-vjsLqftG6PH6VZejunHoo8LxlVP_NO8oUEbWfKZvq7CamSbd8G_bjq4jKNJJ0F1ww2dQNUYHa8QcMowj9iMDJSorF4/?imgmax=800" width="184" height="244" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPnwhbnqgrclSfv9d2VY9M2gH7P86aRbkWzpCWOdcERO7ACCfu8evvLwwQ7kb_j1SQi3YsEKqO4E7SXFMc0ZOOIVOzkYPPICxP3hk52_hhMjHxPVXmjkjPa4mx_jjCxrx_pWA3tjGYzDI/s1600-h/20181228_160639%255B2%255D"><img title="20181228_160639" style="margin: 0px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="20181228_160639" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUSK9ax7CwcY3IXFj6_E8mkCvpSET-yCWWTb-zA6dtaNCysKUC9-VI4OmrcPboz_aH1qF3sueRmsh2-zrkDlrYfs6T_fsAd3NE-6NmEcbOMBPHi9HV8Ikywl7CUKakwSYyllCuuZowCTI/?imgmax=800" width="186" height="244" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNqjDwunb5lQbhGRzVTYjhuNCFFowbKwX5R0gpeLicKQK8pa61CJppLdJOfLN92KOWX-X_hpeGDCHvVHod7m2VbXyp9zkvKspcT9ES76s8bfqWat6AcqyUn2xva9luqcd8Li33KwhKx0/s1600-h/20181228_160701%255B2%255D"><img title="20181228_160701" style="margin: 0px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="20181228_160701" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8M8E4K8jv6e9krqIckTMCgLLWRdcPzypd8-U_7DDmE91q33L7DYTno7Eo4Y6DMHGG47zukeWKDsDglvECZk0E6jYHSF5dnpsD5-eCEBX3SCd50sE8M_k41Rc-_tjVvxT3JQ4OprcfocY/?imgmax=800" width="187" height="244" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJTzewrXZQVDMLpBZ2BbNwNhLplySH-ZbeCm-PYgI9QufDdydLyO15TNVt8cnMJU9YeZYbh9QNTsaDrnu1VSBThfbYfS_aO2OdQAiGA_IFy9WO8e-_MeFw2-n2a57TyRnFYKgHPk5MqcE/s1600-h/20181228_160727%255B2%255D"><img title="20181228_160727" style="margin: 0px; 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display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="20181230_171508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicJkO8FwgKKsYwWq9j0Lv8mcTrBz877aA6Ke3EgUWQ0j7-fS0teA2HaUMmXf_oY-Pxowz_p7Kn1nR1RYfh1dJYaXJkbTfTbnJRqQGk5tNIuW8mrgvTiNeiDySfrCQGqOkvZ-j0Hr-WV5U/?imgmax=800" width="184" height="244" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rUVEGH2EfzTQQ7Sp3QKtBXItLypF9sT1zVMG1OzAyRMY2IDpxoFU5fQKxCSHG40VQVch31f76YOUOgEN0ZrNyh1CZBcwRT_cPNPhAnO7RqLdmPh7DvYzMjB8Hk3j4BcNFlt1Os4ZPFA/s1600-h/20181230_171542%255B2%255D"><img title="20181230_171542" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="20181230_171542" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFh-t_gZYCUlss-dl1htbzu30OeXz-FtSgrhkSetLlqeOI9RRuCRhui5Ir29DopRY-KRBFN3f7JiJADOLKYss0v6wk0_YvE2JLJRB8u53wiJzh74pb-1juFB-TiTyVxdOLUzvokbc2aL0/?imgmax=800" width="189" height="244" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqtoQnp89YCM8afUYTw8o8YGK6ranW8f0iJsajw_gJyiHiJHU_M6F5G2CWWlIr00y4BgMpE4JK_tD_rDDNFpe6m_7hDO6IyvsvqL0hyphenhyphenS5M7G9jngQ29FI0WokkePjXKa0v6C7cNpvu5fE/s1600-h/20181230_171332%255B5%255D"><img title="20181230_171332" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="20181230_171332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiom8_5lRJPzPpdrlBPoYIU90P2gWmvX8_ZcjibYfKXUrHaoRmANhYdWScUxuh-ac3Y_OKFTcFRieHNiRoVZaLTM7vAd7Yl82AtIBxpMBSQDyuHmFbbXT0docw_jVxxG0kUIy3xHWVPP48/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="220" /></a></p>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-17567742681896070002018-11-17T14:14:00.002+08:002018-11-17T16:20:41.016+08:00Book Review of "Under the Sea Wind"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KOH-1ZP41uPvF7FSMOFzCyE4pqspx_nAaDAV1fqpZauAxXyLuB73MZbmRsFYVupqs5R-4R5famV4OpJJ1OnH5OoFS1IZ2b_hdY7kuGXNA-rfOLz_1ByIAkNng4UZ4IpI4aopHX3cLbA/s1600/PhotoGrid_1542434211596.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KOH-1ZP41uPvF7FSMOFzCyE4pqspx_nAaDAV1fqpZauAxXyLuB73MZbmRsFYVupqs5R-4R5famV4OpJJ1OnH5OoFS1IZ2b_hdY7kuGXNA-rfOLz_1ByIAkNng4UZ4IpI4aopHX3cLbA/s400/PhotoGrid_1542434211596.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Having little knowledge of the fields of biology or zoology, I appreciated "Under The Sea Wind" like few other books I read the entire year.<br />
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Considered one of the first environmentalists, Rachel Carson popularized words such as "ecology", "ecosystem", "food chain", and "biosphere".<br />
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As I listened to and read the lyric prose of this her first novel I found myself being drawn in as if to move in harmony with the deep rhythms of creation. The migratory tales of Scomber the mackerel and Anguilla the eel particularly intrigued me. I often found myself wondering how many of the species she described way back in 1941 are now endangered or depleted.<br />
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In addition to the author's prose, I found C.M. Hebert's hypnotic voice narration of the audiobook excellent as well. Since the ebook I followed up with had no pictures of the various plant and animal species described in the book, google and wikipedia proved to be invaluable resources to which I frequently turned.<br />
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Earlier this year, I enjoyed "Sense of Wonder" by the same author. Next up, I want to read Carson's "The Sea Around Us", or at least watch the documentary it inspired!<br />
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Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-5541740673563113962018-08-04T13:05:00.001+08:002018-08-04T13:15:20.784+08:00Henry Ossawa Turner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuppCr1-mnnLUyFhq8-8rlZ8msdi5PhM8X8BGGyUZCXgLWZvBx2RQs5yRDiNnVJlaoaAwh1ZlcstCPnlOZjdje5Gor5HFj0TPihfwrwh9K5XPij0rfaTY2maIFOQTyxmKyuqU0vSuGx8/s1600/Henry_Ossawa_Tanner_-_The_Banjo_Lesson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="591" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuppCr1-mnnLUyFhq8-8rlZ8msdi5PhM8X8BGGyUZCXgLWZvBx2RQs5yRDiNnVJlaoaAwh1ZlcstCPnlOZjdje5Gor5HFj0TPihfwrwh9K5XPij0rfaTY2maIFOQTyxmKyuqU0vSuGx8/s320/Henry_Ossawa_Tanner_-_The_Banjo_Lesson.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>
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The artist I read about today was Henry Ossawa Turner (1859-1937). Pictured here are perhaps his two most famous works: The Banjo Lesson, and The Annunciation. According to Terry Glaspey, in Turner's depiction of Mary "we are reminded that God communicates to perfectly ordinary human beings in perfectly ordinary circumstances... there is receptivity in her body language, an openness to God's will."<br />
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Turner was raised by a father who was a free black pastoring an AME church in Philadelphia, and a mother who was a former slave rescued by the Underground Railroad. Turner overcame racism to become America's first internationally-acclaimed African-American painter. Unfortunately, in order to accomplish this dream, he first had to leave the USA and move to Paris, where he lived out the rest of his days.<br />
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<br />Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-23186887053762843652018-07-29T13:19:00.002+08:002018-07-29T17:44:43.761+08:00James Tissot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5f2o1RJNVIPhADKCFk1y7rgE1OHOmnjqWlg6u2FCbKwoTcMEBzRe7d8v2LQ3WL1vR7aOwxIe7l9EDnikZ-fTMZUfjp1oonzCnE5zpri0CNVuY0DozxSoz6JDbz0oy_ORcRrIMo-Lx8oE/s1600/James+Tissot+Tutt%2527Art%2540+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1109" data-original-width="742" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5f2o1RJNVIPhADKCFk1y7rgE1OHOmnjqWlg6u2FCbKwoTcMEBzRe7d8v2LQ3WL1vR7aOwxIe7l9EDnikZ-fTMZUfjp1oonzCnE5zpri0CNVuY0DozxSoz6JDbz0oy_ORcRrIMo-Lx8oE/s320/James+Tissot+Tutt%2527Art%2540+%25283%2529.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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Today I learned a little about the artist James Tissot (1836-1902), who early in his career became famous for his exquisite depictions of French fashion and high society, especially beautiful women dressed in their finery. <a href="https://www.jamestissot.org/" target="_blank">Click here</a> for a look at 492 of this artist's paintings by either popularity or alphabetical order. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LILyYCOgS5KYjyEmEZKhDG-h1JIP_CvlHMR5jSsauF6ao6gG5D-FBOYPOZCgg6-98MxLJy43VMJ5O6192UGwVk798va9OukGYWSS_0mtg-YEe19mB7Ts9kNLbVYWQ-uJygcfXuwlO88/s1600/tissolt+women.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1049" data-original-width="736" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LILyYCOgS5KYjyEmEZKhDG-h1JIP_CvlHMR5jSsauF6ao6gG5D-FBOYPOZCgg6-98MxLJy43VMJ5O6192UGwVk798va9OukGYWSS_0mtg-YEe19mB7Ts9kNLbVYWQ-uJygcfXuwlO88/s320/tissolt+women.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>
When Tissot was in his late forties, he set about working on a new project depicting Parisian women in a variety of settings. These settings included a Catholic church. One day, while visiting the church, Tissot had a profound experience that was to change the rest of his life. While the priest was conducting mass, Tissot experienced a vision: Christ comforting the poor in the rubble of a fallen building. Doing without sleep for several nights, Tissot set to work painting the scene as it appeared to him. He called it <em>Inward Voices: The Ruins</em>.<br />
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From then on, the focus of his artistic endeavors shifted. He traveled to Egypt, Syria and Palestine in 1886, and again in 1890 in order to create a series of paintings resembling as close as possible the world in which Jesus walked. The result was a series of 350 watercolors which took nearly 10 years to complete.<br />
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The crowds thronged wherever these works were placed on exhibit. Tissot also published a four volume international bestseller featuring the watercolors (To be fair, some of Tissot’s friends and peers implied his shift in focus may have been partly related to financial considerations due to changing political winds).<br />
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Later in life, Tissot began to paint a series of Old Testament paintings but sadly died before making his way out of the book of Genesis.<br />
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<br />Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-66110313490009692292018-06-26T17:52:00.001+08:002018-06-26T18:04:22.261+08:00Painter Of The Week<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The artist I learned about this week is the English Pre-Raphaelite William Holman Hunt. Two of his paintings seem to be in dialogue with each another. The first is The<i> Awakening Conscience</i> (1853), and the second is <i>The Light Of The World</i> (1854). I read about the artist in the book <i>75 Masterpieces Every Christi</i>an <i>Should Know.</i> <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Awakening_Conscience?wprov=sfla1" target="_blank">This wiki</a> is also very informative.</div>
<br />Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-54784977329191985092018-03-10T17:38:00.002+08:002018-03-10T17:41:16.863+08:00Perfectly Balanced UniverseAnother reminder from Neil DeGrasse Tyson's <u>Astrophysics for People in a Hurry</u>:<br />
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"Since both mass and energy cause space-time to warp, or curve, omega tells us the shape of the cosmos. If omega is less than one, the actual mass-energy falls below the critical value, and the universe expands forever in every direction for all of time, taking on the shape of a saddle, in which initially parallel lines diverge. If omega equals one, the universe expands forever, but only barely so. In that case the shape is flat, preserving all the geometric rules we learned in high school about parallel lines. If omega exceeds one, parallel lines converge, and the universe curves back on itself, ultimately recollapsing into the fireball whence it came."<br />
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What a perfectly balanced universe in which we live!<br />
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Graphics: Wikipedia, Northern Arizona UniversityMarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-59138066667598007632018-03-10T17:19:00.000+08:002018-03-10T17:41:41.579+08:00Our Unique Vantage Point<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Earlier this year I listened to Neil DeGrasse Tyson's <u>Astrophysics for People in a Hurry</u> and I've been slowly re-reading the ebook. One of many fascinating observations Tyson makes regarding our unique position in the universe is as follows:<br />
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"Earth’s Moon is about 1/400th the diameter of the Sun, but it is also 1/400th as far from us, making the Sun and the Moon the same size on the sky—a coincidence not shared by any other planet–moon combination in the solar system, allowing for uniquely photogenic total solar eclipses. Earth has also tidally locked the Moon, leaving it with identical periods of rotation on its axis and revolution around Earth. Wherever and whenever this happens, the locked moon shows only one face to its host planet." --Astrophysics for People in a Hurry"<br />
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What an amazing universe in which we live!<br />
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<br />Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-91110799494887695122017-12-09T22:41:00.001+08:002017-12-15T08:45:03.760+08:002017 ReadingWow... almost a year has passed since my last blog entry! Time again for my year in books review.<br />
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As I look back over the list of 48+ books I listened to or read this past year, my first observation is that I read several more novels than I usually do. I loved the humor of <i>The </i><i>Throwback Special</i>, and the gritty earthiness of <i>Bull Mountain</i> and <i>The North Water</i>. <i>The Atonement</i> wasn’t bad, but <i>The Girl on the Train</i> was awesome! I liked Thomas McGuane’s <i>Crow Fair: Stories</i> so much that he's near the top of my reading list for 2018. However, my favorite novel for the year was by far Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s classic masterpiece <i>The Brothers Karamazov!</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">the history and biography genre, I thoroughly
enjoyed listening to </span><i>Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President</i>. I can also recommend Ron Chernow’s <i>Alexander Hamilton</i> as well as his <i>Washington: A Life</i>. Jon Meacham’s <i>Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush </i>kept my attention from start to finish<i>, </i>although the author seemed at times a little biased, perhaps due to being a little too close to his subject material. My favorite for the year in the biography genre was by far <i>George Whitefield: America's Spiritual Founding Father. </i>Highly recommend this title!<br />
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I only read three science-related books this year, but all three were eye-opening: T<i>he Gene: An Intimate History, A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World's Extinct Animals</i>, and <i>Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues.</i> I highly recommend all three.<br />
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One area I wanted to learn more about this past year was the issue of justice and the command for us to prioritize it instead of looking the other way. I heartily recommend both <i>Seeking Refuge: On the Shores of the Global Refugee Crisis</i>, and <i>The Justice Calling: Where Passion Meets Perseverance. </i>Other non-fiction which I found challenging and edifying included <i>Conversations with Walker Percy</i>, and Tim Keller’s <i>Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism.</i><br />
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An important personal goal for me the past year was to re-acquire the Greek and Hebrew I studied years ago in graduate school which I for the most part neglected for 20 years as I moved on to other languages. To accomplish this, I read <i>Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar</i> and its companion <i>Basics of Biblical Greek</i> as well as worked through portions of their accompanying workbooks. I’ve still got a long way to go to get to the next level. But that’s a goal for next year. <br />
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The book formats I read this year were as follows:<br />
27 audiobooks (ever thankful to take advantage of commuting time!) <br />
16 eBooks (7 along with same audiobook) <br />
10 physical books <br />
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There are always a few books I forget to input, but that’s it for the most part. How about you? Did you read any of these or have other favorites to recommend? Please let me know!<br />
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If you're interested in checking out my reviews (or those of others) for any of these books, you can click <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5856337">here</a>. <br />
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Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-68749296320956610792016-12-23T13:47:00.000+08:002016-12-23T14:05:59.460+08:002016 Reading<br />
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Time for my annual summary of books I read this past year! As usual my favorite genre was history. I highly recommend <u>The Kingdom of Ice</u>, <u>Rebel Yell,</u> <u>The Wright Brothers</u> and <u>Empire of the Summer Moon</u> (probably in that order). Listening to the former in our cold January weather left a particularly deep impression!<br />
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I would also highly recommend <u>Stuff Matters</u> as an excellent and easily navigable read related to materials science. <u>The World Without Us</u> is a thought-provoking semi-scientific look at what the future could have been like.<br />
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I typically find Bill Bryson's books insightful, relaxing, and downright hilarious in places as I let my mind travel through time or around the world. This year was no exception. In addition to the books I recorded as having read, I listened to the audio version of Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything, which I had already read a decade or so ago. Just as good the second time around!<br />
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<u>The Things of Earth</u> is an excellent read helping us to orient our lives to appreciate all God has created and freely given us to enjoy. I look forward to reading future books by this author!<br />
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How about you? Did you read any of these or have other favorites to recommend? Please leave a comment below!<br />
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As for the format of books I read this year:</div>
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<li>20 were audiobooks (most were free loans from the Maryland Digital Public Library; I'm so thankful for the availability of this service overseas!)</li>
<li>6 ebooks (all but one of which were also library loans)</li>
<li>5 hardbacks (2 of which were from the library)</li>
<li>8 paperbacks</li>
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According to www.goodreads.com, I am currently reading 16 other books but these will all have to wait for next year!</div>
Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-41307606426333788002016-05-19T10:02:00.004+08:002016-05-23T09:02:11.976+08:00Absorbing God is like Drinking from Niagara Falls<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Three weeks ago while we were enjoying the view above from our hotel across from the American and Canadian (Horseshoe) Falls, I mused about how absorbing God’s nature might be like drinking from Niagara Falls. 三個禮拜以前我們在飯店欣賞尼加拉瀑布的景觀時,我一邊看一邊想著吸收上帝的本質就如喝尼加拉瀑布的水一樣。</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus said: “Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (John 7:38) 耶穌說:「人要是渴了,就該到我這裏來喝。聖經上說:『那信我的人有活水的河流要從他心中湧流出來。』」約翰7:38</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Elsewhere the psalmist writes: “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” (Psalm 42:7) 在別的地方,詩者寫著:你的瀑布發聲,深淵就與深淵響應;你的波浪洪濤漫過我身。詩篇42:7</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">In yet another place God announces: “The leaders of Judah have become like thieves. So I will pour my anger on them like a waterfall. Hosea 5:10 在另外一個地方,上主宣告:「我要向猶大的領袖發怒,像洪水沖擊一樣地懲罰他們,因為他們侵佔以色列的領土。何西阿書 5:10</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">In Waterfall, singer/songwriter Chris Tomlin sings:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Your love is like a waterfall, waterfall你的愛就像一個瀑布,瀑布</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Running wild and free狂野且自由的流動</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> You hear my heart when I call, when I call 當我呼求你時,你聽到了我的心</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Deep calls to deep 深淵就與深淵響應</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Your love is like a waterfall, waterfall 你的愛就像一個瀑布,瀑布</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Raining down on me 如雨點般落在我身上</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> It's coming like a flood 這就像潮水般涌来</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> I'm dancing in the rain 我在雨中跳舞</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Everything I've done 一切我所做的</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Is covered in rivers of grace, amazing 都被恩典的河流淹沒,多麼奇妙啊</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Indeed, appropriating different aspects of God’s character (His love, holiness, justice, etc.) can be like drinking from a waterfall. The water will of course hydrate you, but too fast and too much and it will certainly crush and kill you! Thanks be to God for His mercy and His grace in dispensing what we are able to handle as we live out our lives each and every day. May He increase our inner capacity for more of Him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">事實上,穿戴主的本質(祂的愛,聖潔,正直,等)就如喝瀑布的水一樣。如果神一次給我們祂的全部,我們的有限無法接受祂的無限,就像要在杯子裡裝滿瀑布所有的水是不可能的,杯子不只會被瀑布的水淹沒還會被擊毀。感謝神因為祂的憐憫和恩典,祂每天給我們的是我們能承受或吸收的份量。願我們每一天增加一些對上帝的認識,變得更像祂一點。</span><br />
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Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-60130914816702953302016-04-04T19:24:00.000+08:002016-04-21T12:05:22.040+08:00Be Careful What You Wish For!<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">In 1961 Michael Rockefeller went to a place called Asmat in what was then known as Netherlands New Guinea. His purpose was not just to collect what was then referred to as “primitive art,” but to taste, touch, smell, and see that world for himself. In short, he wanted to free himself from the societal conventions of being a Rockefeller. Similarly, author Carl Hoffman retraces Rockefeller's steps with an admitted hunger "to see a humanity before the Bible, before the Koran, before Christian guilt and shame."</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">In spite of Rockefeller's aspirations to connect with what he may have thought of as a "pure" primitive world, there was nevertheless an aspect in which he was treating the art of the people purely on esthetic and formal grounds. He ignored what Paul Hiebert has elsewhere referred to as the "Flaw of the Excluded Middle": a complex spiritual world filled with dangerous rituals, anxieties, and reciprocal systems of checks and balances to which westerners are usually blind. Western sojourners, in the words of the author, have been "able to collect and photograph and dig into Asmat culture, to travel with the Asmat and be deep in their midst, without ever really understanding their world and the unseen dimensions of its reality."</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">Unfortunately, in spite of his laudable attempts, the author may have fallen into the same trap. The author is to be commended for striving to obtain a beginner/intermediate level of the Indonesian (not Asmat?) language, and understand some basics of the culture(s). He made a few short-term trips, more than he says the Rockefellers attempted to make. Yet I feel he too still only obtained a rudimentary and superficial grasp of the culture. Like others who went before him, he too was "blind, deaf, and dumb to the symbols and meanings of the cultures."</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">Since others have complained about reviews others have posted spoiling the book for them, I won't reveal much here other than to say Hoffman relates cover-ups from both the "uncivilized" and so-called modern "civilized" societies. Was Michael killed and consumed by head-hunting cannibals? At times Hoffman seems obligated to share every last detail of his investigative efforts. Yet, in his conclusions, there is still an element of speculation. And did Hoffman need to take 336 pages to present his narrative?</span></div>
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Another problem I have with the book: Why not just call "evil" (whether "primitive" or "civilized") evil? Hoffman writes: "It was an old story, the same in Asmat as in the Amazon or so many other places in the world—native people who were innocent about the world, who had few defenses against its encroachments. They are easily influenced by the outside, too easily." Really? Untarnished and innocent? I give Savage Harvest 3 out of 5 stars <i class="_4-k1 img sp_fM-mz8spZ1b sx_5371b4" style="background-image: url("/rsrc.php/v2/yx/r/pimRBh7B6ER.png"); background-position: 0px -340px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;">smile emoticon</u></i> "liked it") for what was overall an engaging read, but at times meandering. In my opinion, it's falls a little short of being a "Best Book of the Year," as it was touted on a list or two.</div>
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Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-34331358862930652822016-04-04T19:19:00.002+08:002016-04-04T19:19:59.370+08:00Simone Weil on Equality and Respect The ideal social/work environment all of us desire:<br />
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Equality is a vital need of the human soul. It consists in a recognition, at once public, general, effective and genuinely expressed in institutions and customs, that the same amount of respect and consideration is due to every human being because this respect is due to the human being as such and is not a matter of degree....<br />
In wartime, if an army is filled with the right spirit, a soldier is proud and happy to be under fire instead of at headquarters; a general is proud and happy to think that the successful outcome of the battle depends on his fore-thought; and at the same time the soldier admires the general and the general the soldier.<br />
Such a balance constitutes an equality. There would be equality in social conditions if this balance could be found therein. It would mean honouring each human condition with those marks of respect which are proper to it, and are not just a hollow pretense. Simone Weil, THE NEEDS OF THE SOUL, An Anthology p 99, 101.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTT5tpa0umhcD6eW9ajJZ1TNOASUOed1Br2gpTL-JAUZD_HUIZv3AF9N3BS0oXP_SSwyEWELq_kAJo8cAOTamV2mFx220HKvxP8fDk-PF1K0q-z89fyrES-Wpwf3CUkpKPgyUFJKM36mw/s1600/weilanthology.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTT5tpa0umhcD6eW9ajJZ1TNOASUOed1Br2gpTL-JAUZD_HUIZv3AF9N3BS0oXP_SSwyEWELq_kAJo8cAOTamV2mFx220HKvxP8fDk-PF1K0q-z89fyrES-Wpwf3CUkpKPgyUFJKM36mw/s320/weilanthology.JPG" width="207" /></a></div>
Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-48885983521612458372016-02-11T17:13:00.000+08:002016-02-11T17:54:43.870+08:00<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20167172-in-the-kingdom-of-ice" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404476154m/20167172.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20167172-in-the-kingdom-of-ice">In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/54521.Hampton_Sides">Hampton Sides</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1149182779">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
This book started out slow with a lot of interesting but sometimes tedious information. Nevertheless, it lived up to the high expectations I had for it after seeing it on several "Best Books of 2014" lists. What I appreciate the most was the ability of the captain (and most of the crew, barring two notable exceptions) not to call it quits or despair in the face of the overwhelming odds stacked against them. Their hopeful attitude and ingenuity led them farther than I would have ever imagined possible in such situations. My main regrets are that (1) not everyone survived, and (2) I didn't wait until the spring or summer to listen to this book. Listening to the audiobook in January and early February left me feeling the artic cold all the more chillingly! :-)<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5856337-mark">View all my reviews</a><br />
<div>
<br />
<a href="http://helpul%20map%20of%20uss%20jeannette%20route/">Helpul Map of USS Jeannette Route</a></div>
Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-5022372317226511242015-12-19T17:06:00.001+08:002015-12-19T17:08:57.143+08:002015 Reading<br />
<br />
With the year coming to a close, I took some time to analyze and categorize
what I read this past year (cheating on the last book, which I haven't quite finished yet!).<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQax9dJe6VppMf0rDCdRws9izbLaXzX8Tkxt8gZfCIm6j1F34p0sh_SQRbsD3wFfA2wrPCHMygQwK3Kd87OpkR7yWFchjfdxSVWUT0QTLnvLzWOvfz5RRyTFkgUf8SuCk-ZgtOczF6-Q/s1600/books2015d.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQax9dJe6VppMf0rDCdRws9izbLaXzX8Tkxt8gZfCIm6j1F34p0sh_SQRbsD3wFfA2wrPCHMygQwK3Kd87OpkR7yWFchjfdxSVWUT0QTLnvLzWOvfz5RRyTFkgUf8SuCk-ZgtOczF6-Q/s320/books2015d.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Probably no one outside of myself and others who
love to analyze their reading habits (or other things) will be interested in
this post, But if you are one of the few who wants to check out an individual titles click on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2015/5856337" style="text-align: center;">My Year in Books on Goodreads</a>. Thanks to Goodreads for providing
pictures and most of the data:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXj41K9D_SyZI0zKXLLNRus7jUN2FV2pKiV_w2dB-wtWKwf6ATsyDvH6B7CMOsLc8GI2RVf92lmeMPiqpVOP6nDacBp9SvPfHArYTZSmD4GkD4YMKlHOgfkjbv3GZCM44U_7P-h7imIIQ/s1600/books2015a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXj41K9D_SyZI0zKXLLNRus7jUN2FV2pKiV_w2dB-wtWKwf6ATsyDvH6B7CMOsLc8GI2RVf92lmeMPiqpVOP6nDacBp9SvPfHArYTZSmD4GkD4YMKlHOgfkjbv3GZCM44U_7P-h7imIIQ/s400/books2015a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<strong>Format</strong><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>35 out of 48 books I read this year were
audiobooks (due to commuting)</li>
<li>9 ebooks </li>
<li>4 paperbooks</li>
<li>0 hardbacks
finished</li>
</ul>
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<strong>Literary Genre</strong><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>11 historical/biographical </li>
<li>11 fiction</li>
<li>10 popular science/medicine</li>
<li>8 other non-fiction</li>
<li>6
Christian/devotional books</li>
<li>2 mission/biblical studies</li>
</ul>
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<strong></strong><br />
<strong>How Acquired</strong><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>14 out of 48 purchased, mostly from
Amazon.</li>
<li>34 borrowed from digital library or free downloads- what wonderful services for an English reader living in Asia!</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<strong>Most Enjoyable (No particular order)</strong><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7170627-the-emperor-of-all-maladies">The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cance</a>r</li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18079760-the-remedy">The Remedy:
Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the Quest to Cure Tuberculosi</a>s</li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2279.Truman">Truman</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21413662-what-if">What If?:
Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20893347-prayer">Prayer:
Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18143977-all-the-light-we-cannot-see">All
the Light We Cannot See</a></li>
</ol>
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<b>Most Disapppointing</b><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18775413-animal-madness">Animal
Madness: How Anxious Dogs, Compulsive Parrots, and Elephants in Recovery Help Us
Understand Ourselves</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17978489-the-future-of-the-mind">The
Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the
Mind</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5209291-chiasmus-in-the-new-testament">Chiasmus
in the New Testament: A Study in the Form and Function of Chiastic
Structures</a></li>
<li>All three titles I picked up by Oliver Sacks!</li>
</ol>
<br />
Keeping in mind the Goodreads rating system (1: did not like; 2: it was OK; 3
liked; 4 really liked; 5 it was amazing):<br />
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Of course there were other titles which so disinterested me that I did not read enough to justify them being registered on the reading list.<br />
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<br />Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-8339557151913108212015-09-12T20:16:00.002+08:002015-09-13T13:20:51.675+08:00Taiwan Habu or Brown Spotted Pit Viper 龜殼花Yesterday morning I almost stepped on a snake accidentally which was on the pavement in front of our house. It crawled away before I could run to get the tongs to capture it. I didn't have my glasses on, so didn't get a clear look. We figured it may have been a harmless cat snake 大頭蛇 although I clearly made out the triangular head shape.<br />
<br />
The snake made its second public appearance this afternoon and was quickly captured by my in-laws. After closer inspection we know it to be a highly-venomous Brown-Spotted Pit Viper 龜殼花 ! (Pardon me for not removing it from the jar for a clearer picture):<br />
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<a href="http://www.snakesoftaiwan.com/Protobothrops%20mucrosquamatus/species_protobothrops_mucrosquamatus_ch.htm"><br /></a>You can read more about this fearless snake <a href="http://www.snakesoftaiwan.com/Protobothrops%20mucrosquamatus/species_protobothrops_mucrosquamatus_ch.htm">here</a> and <a href="http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Protobothrops&species=mucrosquamatus">here</a>.<br />
<br />
In trying to learn exactly how poisonous this "highly venomous" snake is, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19141835">this abstract</a> says it along with another snake "accounts for the majority of venomous snakebites in Taiwan." It is also "associated with a greater risk of severe clinical events, and monitoring for major clinical complications would be recommended."<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="text-align: center;">Today they also captured this much longer <a href="http://www.snakesoftaiwan.com/Ptyas%20dhumnades/species_ptyas_dhumnades_ch.htm">Big-Eyed Rat snake</a> 過山刀, which is </span><span style="text-align: center;">harmless:</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Actually, this face shot almost makes it look cute! </span><br />
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<br />Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-75312821050770848652015-07-25T22:00:00.001+08:002015-07-25T22:20:52.232+08:00Review of “Thinking Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-h5-dFo4qQWE/VbOWvEuV-TI/AAAAAAAAFg0/9dBRNgj7j9w/s1600-h/tfs%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="tfs" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="tfs" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ehspOnuWeQI/VbOWv-nsM6I/AAAAAAAAFg8/3YyRZaJmPxk/tfs_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="161" align="right" height="244" /></a>In <u>Thinking, Fast and Slow</u>, Daniel Kahneman introduces and explains 3 sets of characters. First he introduces two imaginary systems (imaginary because they do not really exist in the brain although they explain many things about how our minds think). In the first set, there are two systems. System 1 is automatic, intuitive, and thinks fast. System 2, on the other hand, extends more effort and is rational. It is what we THINK we are. However, it is slow as it monitors system 1 and it tends to be lazy. It typically does not want to be double-checking system 1's analyses. </p> <p>Secondly, Kahneman introduces two species: Econs, who live in the world of theory, and humans, who live in the real world. And thirdly, he introduces two selves: the "Experiencing Self" which does the living, and the "Remembering Self which keeps score and makes choices. <br /></p> <p>This book serves as a compilation of Kahneman's life work and a celebration of his long career and collaboration with his deceased colleague Amos Tversky. Some reviewers say Kahneman "is a bit late to the party" (even though these were apparently originally his ideas). However, since I am hardly an expert in the fields of behavioral economics, psychology of judgment, and decision-making,  I nevertheless found this book to be highly engaging and enlightening from start to finish. That does not mean it was an easy read. The content was often difficult for me to understand upon first (and sometimes 2nd or 3rd) hearing, and prompted me to hit the "rewind" button many times when my attention was diverted during daily commuting. <br /></p> <p>The content of the book is even more difficult for me to apply practically but I'll try: <br /></p> <p>1. At the very end of the book, Kahneman applauds applications related to measures of well-being, “libertarian paternalism” and "choice architecture" as proposed by Thaler and  Sunstein in their book “Nudge”, but I need more time to process some of the implications. <br /></p> <p>2. When seeking to rationally think through decisions, I need to seek to re-frame questions and problems, understand the effects of priming, etc. It would be nice if I could simply seek to engage my so-called "system 2" more frequently and deliberately.  However the author himself concedes at the end of the book that he has not really been able to improve much in this area himself in the years since he first undertook this research. It is the thinking processes of others which he thinks he understands more. We can make much more progress in recognizing the errors of others than their own. As Kahneman says in his concluding remarks, we need to seek to ask for reinforcement from system 2 when entering cognitive mind fields. But he also says he is writing not not to individuals and decision makers but to organizations because it is only in the context of the group/organization where the decision-making climate can change. <br /></p> <p>3. One practical team decision-making exercise I may be able to put to use some time in the future is to encourage everyone who is about to rubberstamp some massive undertaking or expenditure in a team or organizational setting to imagine that one or two years down the road the new project has turned out to be a stupendous failure. Then encourage everyone to write down and share every particular way it turned out to be a failure. </p> <p>4. When living in the worlds of "experiencing" or "remembering" I am reminded to seek to be attentive to the passing of time and to earn to cherish the moment. Interestingly, on the same day as I was listening to this portion of the audio book, an article appeared in the Washington Post (07/23/2015) entitled Why Half of the Life You Experience is Over by Age 7.  Though the science behind the article may be suspect, the point is that some points in our lives seem to pass more slowly than others. Later that same day, I was listening to <u>The Future of the Mind</u> by Michio Kaku when the author quoted Steven Pinker: " I would argue that nothing gives life more purpose than the realization that every moment of consciousness is a precious and fragile gift." Coincidentally, that very same day I re-watched an old <em>Star Trek TNG</em> episode entitled <em>Timescape</em>. At the conclusion Data comments to Riker that "Recent events compel me to study how humans perceive the passing of time. For example, time seems to pass more slowly in one instance, or quickly in another.  Riker replies: "I suppose it's how people perceive time. Every situation is different. It depends upon how you feel." <br /></p> <p>In conclusion let me say for now you may not feel like you're enjoying every moment as you read through <u>Thinking Fast and Slow</u> and if you are like me you will need to spend a lot of time digesting what you take in, but it will be worth your time and effort in the end. </p> Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-31577014194120117762015-07-25T20:48:00.001+08:002015-07-25T22:23:29.202+08:00Wildly Implausible, Wildly Entertaining: A Review of The Future of the Mind by Michio Kaku<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ie2IRe-qEG4/VbOFqjW2kkI/AAAAAAAAFgc/sv1DwRT8i7Q/s1600-h/futuremind%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="futuremind" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="futuremind" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-25E4nJ8fkXM/VbOFrUWe3KI/AAAAAAAAFgk/0mp0XLo8DbE/futuremind_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="244" /></a>The portions of Michio Kaku's <u>The Future of the Mind</u> which I found to be most helpful were the brief summaries of current progress scientists and engineers have been making in understanding the brain, robotics, artificial intelligence, latest scientific efforts toward discovering alien life, etc. I found these to be by far the most interesting parts of the book. Unfortunately, they comprised 10% or less of the book's total content (I listened to the audio book so it's difficult to estimate accurately).</p> <p> <br />Juxtaposed between these helpful tidbits were: <strong>1.</strong> Highly entertaining but only marginally relevant references to dozens of science fiction stories, TV shows, and movies: While I appreciated the author's obvious passion for science fiction and enjoyed the story summaries, they did little to substantiate the points he was trying to make or anchor his arguments in reality. <strong>2.</strong> Page-after-page of highly entertaining but highly questionable speculation: These too I found to be engaging (helped keep me from nodding off in my daily commute anyway!) but not exactly what I was hoping to learn when I began listening to the audio book. <br /></p> <p>Time and again I noticed this repeating pattern: 1. Introduction of New Topic: "In the future it may be possible...." 2. page after page of rampant, highly implausible speculation... 3. Section Conclusion: "Of course, at the present time, none of this is possible." <br /></p> <p>With regard to all the rampant, groundless (to me anyway) speculation, at the time of this review I have also been reading "What If: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions" by Randall Munroe. "What If", like "The Future of the Mind," is highly entertaining. However, the two books may serve as bookends in that while Munroe starts with absurd questions and applies scientific thinking, Kaku, in contrast, begins with a supposedly legitimate topic and launches off to produce mounds of barely supportable, ungrounded speculation. At least nobody is taking Munroe's book seriously! I couldn't always tell how seriously Kaku expects us to take the stuff he is dishing out. <br /></p> <p>Near the end of the book, in a section entitled "The Miracle of Science", Kaku says: "There is the criticism of science that says to understand something is to remove its mystery and magic. Science, by lifting the veil concealing the secrets of the mind, is also making it more ordinary and mundane. However, the more I learn about the sheer complexity of the brain, the more amazed I am that something that sits on our shoulders is the most sophisticated object we know about in the universe." Yet earlier in the book Kaku himself often seems guilty of this removal of mystery. For example, on the one hand Kaku's materialistic world-view leaves little room for spirituality in general or for the existence of specific gods or God. In fact, he implies the reason people believe in God or gods goes back to how their brains are "hard-wired" (hardly a fact!). Later, he also makes a disdainful reference to "religious hysteria". And in a highly irrelevant appendix to the book (see next paragraph), he makes another negative reference to "God" in reference to the former Catholic practice of selling indulgences. Yet Kaku's materialistic world-view still has room for the possibility that in the future humankind will use laser beams to stream individual consciousnesses to surrogate computers or robots stretched across the universe on other planets, or better yet, do away with the surrogates all together! We will exist as "floating beings of energy". Immaterial consciousness in pure energy form is not impossible according to physics. <br /></p> <p>Fortunately, either Kaku or more likely his publisher, quarantined additional material off into its own little appendix. The purpose of the appendix appears mostly to give Kaku additional time and space to prattle on about whatever he wants to talk about, no matter how remotely connected it is to the subject of the book. Here he deals largely with multi-universes (how is this supposed to be linked to the human mind?) and whether or not humans have free will. <br /></p> <p>I want the next serious book about the mind or brain I pick up to read to be written by someone uniquely qualified in the fields of cognitive psychology, molecular biology, and especially neural science (perhaps someone like Eric R. Kandel, whose "In Search of Memory" I recall having liked quite a bit), not some quack physicist way out of his sphere of expertise. I have heard Kaku's other books related to physics are good, but this book makes me feel highly suspicious. It also leaves me wondering how trustworthy and/or based in reality his work and that of other contemporary quantum physicists really has been in recent years. In conclusion, I'm so glad I didn't waste any money purchasing this book... Thank heavens for library audio book loans!</p> Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-16710544577538681992015-03-11T14:14:00.001+08:002015-03-11T14:18:29.066+08:00Buddy’s Annoying New Trick<p>African Greys are highly intelligent, although I wonder about the things Buddy (below) chooses to do.</p> <p>About six months ago, several days I would  take him out of his cage to discover that the light chain around his foot would be looped into a knot. This happened not once or twice, but four or five times in a week. What a pain to undo!</p> <p>Buddy recently learned a new “trick”.  Several mornings I pulled off the cloth  we cover the parrots’ cages with at night to discover that Buddy had chewed out a small hole and inserted the chain into the hole. But not only had he inserted it, he expertly weaved the cloth in and out of the last loop on the chain—not an easy feat to accomplish.</p> <p>Because the only way to get the chain out is often to take a pair of scissors to the cloth cover, I quit covering the cage. However, twice this week he has nevertheless still managed to pull over the cloth from the neighboring parrot’s cage into his cage to continue practicing his trick. Arggh!</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-lEmTmr176tY/VP_dOXXJ2DI/AAAAAAAAFY8/j57cN2kAFxA/s1600-h/image%25255B23%25255D.png"><img title="image" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-PaeeT6bQht4/VP_dPnLIjPI/AAAAAAAAFZE/0e6IlqNDD6M/image_thumb%25255B21%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="343" height="438" /></a></p> Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-55380650980644531752015-01-01T15:14:00.001+08:002015-01-01T15:24:33.120+08:002014 ReadingLast year my reading broke down into the following categories: 15 audiobooks (5 from Audible and the rest from the Maryland digital and public libraries), 9 kindlebooks (including 5 free loans from the Maryland digital library), and only 8 real books (only one of which wasn't read during our August USA vacation).I'm thankful for all the free ebooks and audiobooks since English books here in Taiwan tend to be expensive. But as I'm getting older I sure have gotten away from conventional reading!<br />
<img alt="[image%255B2%255D.png]" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-DRYt5_6weTc/VKTz0383idI/AAAAAAAAFCA/2L2LWrJInfo/s1600/image%25255B2%25255D.png" height="400" width="312" /><br />
Of these, 10 books were fictional novels, 6 were devotional/theological Christian books, 5 were biographies, 5 were other history-related books, 5 related to science, and one was poetry. Three or four others didn’t make the list… Some great reads. Now on to 2015!Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-69753767906968004282014-09-06T06:26:00.001+08:002014-09-06T06:38:21.495+08:00The Islamic State and Spreading Ebola Virus Crises: Natural Outcomes of our Insistence on Multi-Culturalism and Drive Toward Globalism?<p>During our vacation I have been reading the classic <u>The Seven Storey Mountain</u> by Thomas Merton. Although I cannot agree with everything he says, Merton writes marvelously. Practically every word explodes with meaning. Although portions of this book are dated, the timeliness of other sections invite one to reflect on their relevancy for today.</p> <p>With regard to the paragraphs I have copied below, for example, I wonder how Merton would feel about the Islamic State and Ebola Virus epidemic crises (as well as Russia/Ukraine, Israel/Gaza and other current hot spots in the world). Specifically, would he feel that they are logical consequences of our post-modern ways of thinking?</p> <p><em>“For that was to be 1939, the year when the war that everybody had been fearing finally began to teach us with its inexorable logic that the dread of war is not enough. If you don’t want the effect, do something to remove the causes. There is no use loving the cause and fearing the effect and being surprised when the effect inevitably follows the cause…” </em>(p. 256)</p> <p><em>“There was something else in my own mind—the recognition: “I myself am responsible for this. My sins have done this. Hitler is not the only one who has started this war: I have my share in it too… It was a very sobering thought, and yet its deep and probing light by its very truth eased my soul a little…" </em>(p. 272)</p> <p>What do you think he would say? And would you agree or disagree? </p> Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332100100544307224.post-32525884595805418932014-08-05T15:11:00.001+08:002014-08-05T15:14:07.314+08:00Andy Stanley on Leading a Team Meeting<p>I’m not in any sort of leadership capacity at present, but I still enjoy reading and listening to leadership-related materials. Last night I was catching up with an <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AndyStanleyLeadershipPodcast">Andy Stanley Leadership podcast</a> from last April 4. Here are two nuggets I took from his discussion:</p> <p>1. “When we get together (in our leadership team meeting to discuss the future and progress)... It's great to have a number two person, it's even better to have five number 2 people, or ten number 2 people... To find that man or woman who can carry an enormous amount of responsiblity--they don't feel the need to be #1, but they want to influence their own destiny. And most of us in leadership, especially when you get past 40-- I don't have to be #1, but I want to be in the meeting that determines my destiny in this organization. And so the leadership team allows me to have a large group of extraordinary people anyone of which can be #2 in this organization...”</p> <p>2. “The leader isn't so much leading the meeting as he is excavating... getting it all out.... There are going to be conflicting opinions (but they all need to be heard)... Why is it so important that everyone be heard? Everyone listening to this podcast, me included, can probably think back to decisions that were made with which we didn't agree with, and it was difficult for us to fully engage. Because first of all we didn't think it was the right decision. But most leaders can move beyond that. What's really difficult is to ask me to engage with something that I don't agree with when I never feel like my opinion was heard. Most mature people if they feel like OK, I've  been heard, their opinion was factored it in, they just didn't agree. Mature people can move past that. The idea that a decsion was made  and my opinion was not even factored in, now a mature leader can move past that as well, but if I've got everyone in the room and I've got the right people in the room there's no reason for everyone not to be heard.... “</p> <p>Looking forward to some of his more recent podcasts (and maybe start listening to his weekly message?). The leadership podcasts seem more substantial than some of other podcasts I’ve been listening to recently.</p> Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15872708611405835091noreply@blogger.com0