Archive for October, 2009
Pandora In The Congo
A couple of days ago, I finished Albert Sánchez Piñol’s fairly long novel, Pandora In The Congo. I am not normally a fan of long books, and this was almost a long one. However, I devoured it at about twice my usual reading speed, which is not a speed to write home about but still deserving something of a mention here.
I started on one of those sleepy mornings, uncertain if I would get very far, but as I read it on the train, I started to get quite intrigued. By the time I cleared the first fifty pages, I was going at twice the speed that I’d started with and I was hooked. I was quite surprised at the rate at which I was flipping the pages.
Without spoiling too much (though to be fair, there’s a lot to spoil anyway), the book tells the story of a certain Thomas Thomson, who starts out as a ghost writer for (a ghost writer for a ghost writer for) a certain Doctor Flag, who writes adventure novels, though the most trashy, racist and bigoted kind. Our protagonist soon gets hired to write the story of Marcus Garvey, manservant and apparently murderer of William and Richard Craver. Garvey is adamant about his innocence, and is prepared to share what is not just the story of his innocence, but the story of a lifetime.
Garvey’s tale takes us (and Thomson) right into the heart of the Congo, where his masters have discovered a gold mine on their expedition. Let’s just say that what ensues involves hearts of darkness, honour, cowardice, evil from the depths of hell, and a love beyond time.
Deftly alternating between Garvey’s pulsating tale and the slightly less dramatic life of Thomson, Piñol carves a brilliant book of thrills and intrigue and reflections on the human condition. It all pans out into a genre-bending high-adventure novel somewhat resembling (as I’m sure quite a few people have pointed out before) a Rider Haggard book, only on drugs and with a wicked sense of humour. Piñol’s imagination apparently knows no bounds, and his finesse is quite startling.
In short, Pandora In The Congo is magnificent and maniacally clever. You ought to read it.
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Lit Prize
Just popped in to say that the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2009 has gone to Herta Müller. Congratulations.
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Physics Nobel
This year’s Physics Nobel has gone to CCD sensor pioneers Charles K. Kao, Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith. Congratulations, sirs, and thanks for the cameras.
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A few interesting things.
Tissue Culture Lab
Yesterday, I read this article that came in two parts. It was of particular interest to me because I happened to be writing about bioethics and was taking a break by checking out my RSS feed.
[Part 1 via we make money not art]
[Part 2 via we make money not art]
“The aim of the wet lab was not to have us run our own lab. The objective of the workshop was to present the general public with the technology and the dilemmas that accompanies it. A hands-on approach takes the technology beyond a strictly scientific approach and informs the debate on the ethical, cultural and social implication of tissue culture. What does it mean to work with living, semi-living or formely living beings? What does it mean to grow disembodied cells from a former organism? What’s the meaning of tissue culture for artistic purposes versus health application? Or the development of a new weapon?”
I like particularly that there is an artistic dimension to it that I wouldn’t quite have thought of.
New Doctor Who Logo
Here’s the Doctor Who logo going into 2010. [via BBC] I think it’s lovely because it definitely reminds me of the old Who in a good way. I suppose they’ve stopped needing to appear new and trendy, and that it’ll draw upon some of the old series in the Moffat era.
QM Microscopy
MIT electrical engineers propose a quantum mechanical measurement method that, unlike electron microscopy, will not require electrons to bounce off the material surface in order to produce an image, thus avoiding sample damage. [via PhysOrg]
Two Artists
Fleet Street Scandal is an online store features the art of Kevin Dart and Chris Turnham, and I really quite like it. [via Fleet Street Scandal] On the other hand, Ghee Happy is an endeavour by Sanjay Patel that “celebrates Indian/Hindu mythologies and culture [through] design and storytelling in a fun and charming way.” [via Ghee Happy]
Book recommendation will be up next, I think.
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In My Life
Washing Machine
Yesterday, I realised that my washing machine is actually the TARDIS in disguise. It’s completely unassuming when you put your clothes in. Then you shut the door and push a few buttons and it starts to swish and churn. Just like any other washing machine, you think. But then it starts to whir and hum and buzz, and soon it’s going hoom-hoom-hoom like it’s the soundtrack of some scientific experiment just about to go awry. And you think to yourself, Where have I heard that noise before?
The answer hits you and you’re just standing there staring at your little piece of Time Lord technology.
Why Are You So Good To Me?
A couple of days ago, a friend of mine offered to do something very nice for me. It was the sort of thing that would make you think, What did I do to deserve this? And it also reminded me that I’m surrounded by such nice people. I have people who are so good to me; and it’s good to be reminded of something like that every once in a while. For a crummy old curmudgeon like me, that counts for a lot. I reckon that if it weren’t for these folks, I think I’d have gone mad by now. Well, I am more than a little crazy to begin with, but… not in that sense.
It also made me think of the old Beatles song, and I’m sure just about everyone knows this, but here goes:
“All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I’ve loved them all”
For some reason. For whatever reason. In My Life is a great song. And Rubber Soul is one of my favourite albums.
And thanks, all you nice people. At the risk of making it all sappy, it’s the stuff like this that make it worthwhile.
Sad, Sad Children
There is a pictures for sad children book. It is here. [via pictures for sad children]
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Presents still coming in.
Really.
I don’t normally receive too many presents for my birthday, especially since I’ve taken to not telling unless asked, so I suppose this year could be considered a relatively good year. That said, the presents are… a little slow in coming in. But hey, I’m not complaining as long as they’re coming.
And if anyone is still looking, could you get me a nice lumadessa print? [via lumadessa] It would be nice if it came with a frame too. I want to hang something new on my bedroom wall.
Weekend.
It’s the weekend. That went by pretty quickly. It was probably down to my illness. I’m much better now. About 80% back in order, I think. Anyway, for the weekend I’ve got to look into a birthday present for someone, a paper, a lab report, a short assignment, and I suppose my project, although the meeting is to happen today and I’m not sure how it’ll turn out. On top of that, I think I ought to spend some time catching up with some school work. Busy days.
Spending.
Christmas time is coming, and that means I’ll have to cut down on my spending a bit to make way for some Christmas presents. I still have 0ne birthday present to go, though, and that’s one I think I will end up being quite generous with, plus I’m sure I will be getting a couple of games along the way, and the print for my bedroom wall (I suppose no one will bite), so it’s going to be a little rough for a few weeks, I think.
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