Tomorrow is April Fools Day, and once again there will be no jokes whatsoever. My only contribution to such hilarity was to once swap around the drawers in one of my frigid student houses. It did get a mild reaction. Mwahahahah. Apart from that, practical jokes and All Fools Day have been foreign countries, odd abstracts in alternative lives. Practical jokes are one of the most divisive forms of humour, aren't they? They tread awfully closely to cruelty a lot of the time.
Job rejections are never nice to take, but it does get easier after a while. I, for example, just got a fairly significant one. It's fortunate that I do have a budding tuition business to keep going in the face of failure, but that initial bite is always sharp. At least it's followed immediately by the reassertion of the monotonous nature of real life. It's pretty hard to feel bad when you have a pile of laundry to fold and record cards to complete. Enought about such real world things, though. Humbug to the real world on a Thursday evening!
Here's an interesting word from the Phrontistery: 'kalon'. Apparently it's from Greek and referes to beauty that is more than skin deep. In a world so superficial that inner beauty never even makes it into contemporary media, the ancients had such concepts and even specific names for them. It's rather thrilling to stumble over such things. Even if every other source of Quirky Muffin fodder fades away, there is the accumulated weight of archaic words to sift through, and all the fascinating ideas based in other languages, even in music itself. How many people know what Dionysian means, without looking? Ooh, how impressive.
Yes, April kicks in tomorrow, time lag from Daylight Savings Time continues, and the world continues to spin. Also, 'Choose Your Own Adventures' may be the way forward with some of my English students. We will see...
O.
Thursday, 31 March 2016
Tuesday, 29 March 2016
On The Book Piles - March 2016
Once again, it's time to delve into a selection from the reading piles, and throw in some insight or lack of insight about the assembled mass of pages. There have been changes since the last time, but some things linger on, and on, and on...
'Journey To The Centre Of The Earth' by Jules Verne
I've written about this classic from 1864 before, which you'll find if you check out 'Book Chatter', but this is really is one of the best adventures to ever hit the page, and set the stage for all the subsequent science fiction stories Verne would write. Descend into the bowels of the Earth via an extinct Icelandic volcano? Sure. Why not? It's also a perfect vehicle for breaking up 'new book fatigue'.
'The Complete Peanuts: 1955-1956' by Schulz
Yes, it's still there, a classic of its kind. Schulz, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus and Lucy, and Schroeder are all in place. The only reason it's still on the pile is that television and Minecraft have been stupidly soaking up too much personal time. Back we should go, to the Peanuts gang!
'Journey To The West' (Volume 2) by Wu Cheng'en
No progress on 'Journey To The West', but it's still a classic and fantastical in the extreme. It won't be unread for much longer.
'The Voyage Of The Beagle' by Charles Darwin
It's fascinating to read about the travels of such a naturalist on a five year journey around South America. Five years. It's not just about natural history, though, as we get snippets about the peoples encountered and even some of the odd phenomena encountered. Utterly fascinating, although I'm dipping in so infrequently as to be hypocritical in even mentioning it.
'Armadale' by Wilkie Collins
There's a clear sense of doom hanging over 'Armadale', and it's a very potent and dissuasive tone. I'll get into the mid-section of the narrative somehow, but it will take some doing, and possibly a long journey of some kind. Fortunately, just such a journey is coming. Woo hoo? This novel may be finished or put away. Only time will tell.
'Personal Recollections Of Joan Of Arc' by Mark Twain
It's still too early to tell, but the Mark Twain touch could pull off a triumph here. Yes, it might have an extremely well known and sad ending, but on the other we can only wonder how exactly the master satirist will handle it? Will he manage to be less satirical than in 'A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court' and keep the narrative going this time? Again, too early to tell.
'Les Trois Mousquetaires' by Alexandre Dumas
It's my French project book, and one which languishes on the bottom of the book pile as a result. A Spanish project book would be nice too, if only I could be recommended a light-hearted one!
'Jokes And Their Relation To The Unconscious' by Sigmund Freud
Incredible interesting, and being munched through steadily. Freud could write well in addition to being a deep thinker and being at the forefront of the founding of psycho-analysis. You wouldn't think there would be so much to think about and analyse in joke making, but there is. One term to take and use forever more is 'psychic expenditure'.
'Kidnap In The Caribbean' by Lauren St John
The followup to 'Dead Man's Cove' starts off well, and then I got slightly frustrated with what was obviously going to come as the narrative continued into the future. Did those predictions actually come true? I don't know yet, but this is the penalty of reading books for younger readers. Time will tell. The first book was pretty good, though.
O.
'Journey To The Centre Of The Earth' by Jules Verne
I've written about this classic from 1864 before, which you'll find if you check out 'Book Chatter', but this is really is one of the best adventures to ever hit the page, and set the stage for all the subsequent science fiction stories Verne would write. Descend into the bowels of the Earth via an extinct Icelandic volcano? Sure. Why not? It's also a perfect vehicle for breaking up 'new book fatigue'.
'The Complete Peanuts: 1955-1956' by Schulz
Yes, it's still there, a classic of its kind. Schulz, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus and Lucy, and Schroeder are all in place. The only reason it's still on the pile is that television and Minecraft have been stupidly soaking up too much personal time. Back we should go, to the Peanuts gang!
'Journey To The West' (Volume 2) by Wu Cheng'en
No progress on 'Journey To The West', but it's still a classic and fantastical in the extreme. It won't be unread for much longer.
'The Voyage Of The Beagle' by Charles Darwin
It's fascinating to read about the travels of such a naturalist on a five year journey around South America. Five years. It's not just about natural history, though, as we get snippets about the peoples encountered and even some of the odd phenomena encountered. Utterly fascinating, although I'm dipping in so infrequently as to be hypocritical in even mentioning it.
'Armadale' by Wilkie Collins
There's a clear sense of doom hanging over 'Armadale', and it's a very potent and dissuasive tone. I'll get into the mid-section of the narrative somehow, but it will take some doing, and possibly a long journey of some kind. Fortunately, just such a journey is coming. Woo hoo? This novel may be finished or put away. Only time will tell.
'Personal Recollections Of Joan Of Arc' by Mark Twain
It's still too early to tell, but the Mark Twain touch could pull off a triumph here. Yes, it might have an extremely well known and sad ending, but on the other we can only wonder how exactly the master satirist will handle it? Will he manage to be less satirical than in 'A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court' and keep the narrative going this time? Again, too early to tell.
'Les Trois Mousquetaires' by Alexandre Dumas
It's my French project book, and one which languishes on the bottom of the book pile as a result. A Spanish project book would be nice too, if only I could be recommended a light-hearted one!
'Jokes And Their Relation To The Unconscious' by Sigmund Freud
Incredible interesting, and being munched through steadily. Freud could write well in addition to being a deep thinker and being at the forefront of the founding of psycho-analysis. You wouldn't think there would be so much to think about and analyse in joke making, but there is. One term to take and use forever more is 'psychic expenditure'.
'Kidnap In The Caribbean' by Lauren St John
The followup to 'Dead Man's Cove' starts off well, and then I got slightly frustrated with what was obviously going to come as the narrative continued into the future. Did those predictions actually come true? I don't know yet, but this is the penalty of reading books for younger readers. Time will tell. The first book was pretty good, though.
O.
Sunday, 27 March 2016
Pineapple? What Pineapple?
I won't be able to write about 'Dr Mabuse - The Gambler' until after finishing the second part of that four and a half hour epic silent movie by Fritz Lang tomorrow. Likewise, the next 'On The Book Piles' can't be posted due to the alternating post rule, so this is going to be about cheese. Oh, that's just a joke. I don't know enough about cheese to fill a minimum of four paragraphs of semi-coherent mess on the day following the time adjustment. Yes, daylight savings time lag has struck, so settle in for some gibberish while the internal clock recalibrates. Hopefully, it won't take long until it doesn't feel like it might be lunchtime in Utah. (Why Utah? I have no idea. I blame Trump*.)
On a passing note, daylight saving time is still a menace to society, but I choose not to rant about it again at this time. That can wait until erudition is not endangered by chronological dissonance. Oh, it was a wonderful day when I learnt what 'dissonance' actually means, as it's useful so much of the time! In this context, and the more general psychological case, dissonance refers to a harmful and destabilising conflict between an inner feeling or belief and the environment or actions being committed. When you do something you think is wrong, you are most likely bringing dissonance upon yourself, which could be mightily debilitative.
I'm on a long word binge, if you haven't noticed, which could just as well be expressed as an inclination toward polysyllabic constructs. It's rather fun to try and say things in the most elaborate way possible, although there are no plans to convert the Quirky Muffin to a 'high style' version for the long term. 'High style' would probably lead to a small nervous breakdown, with endless pages of elaborate flowery prose that would surely exhaust this writer in almost no time at all!
Easter continues, and with it the enforced idleness of a long long weekend. It's fortunate that there are letters to write, students who need tailored teaching strategies and fascinating books to read. Also, and with no flourish as of yet, a route has been found to extend and make practical the serial story entitled 'The Glove'. It shall not be abandoned!
O.
* For readers in the far future, 'Trump' refers to Donald Trump, the current frontrunner for the Republican nomination now in 2016. It would be funny, if it weren't horribly scary. Oh, please, USA, take Bernie!
On a passing note, daylight saving time is still a menace to society, but I choose not to rant about it again at this time. That can wait until erudition is not endangered by chronological dissonance. Oh, it was a wonderful day when I learnt what 'dissonance' actually means, as it's useful so much of the time! In this context, and the more general psychological case, dissonance refers to a harmful and destabilising conflict between an inner feeling or belief and the environment or actions being committed. When you do something you think is wrong, you are most likely bringing dissonance upon yourself, which could be mightily debilitative.
I'm on a long word binge, if you haven't noticed, which could just as well be expressed as an inclination toward polysyllabic constructs. It's rather fun to try and say things in the most elaborate way possible, although there are no plans to convert the Quirky Muffin to a 'high style' version for the long term. 'High style' would probably lead to a small nervous breakdown, with endless pages of elaborate flowery prose that would surely exhaust this writer in almost no time at all!
Easter continues, and with it the enforced idleness of a long long weekend. It's fortunate that there are letters to write, students who need tailored teaching strategies and fascinating books to read. Also, and with no flourish as of yet, a route has been found to extend and make practical the serial story entitled 'The Glove'. It shall not be abandoned!
O.
* For readers in the far future, 'Trump' refers to Donald Trump, the current frontrunner for the Republican nomination now in 2016. It would be funny, if it weren't horribly scary. Oh, please, USA, take Bernie!
Friday, 25 March 2016
Book: 'The Assassination Bureau, Ltd.' by Jack London (completed by Robert L Fish) (1963)
It's a fascinating novel, and one that reshapes my idea of Jack London, of whom I have had very little experience. The name 'Jack London' is synonymous with 'White Fang' and 'Call Of The Wild', neither of which I have read, but maybe he had a lot more strings to his metaphorical bow? 'The Assassination Bureau' (TAB) suggests that could be true. Oh, enough with this meta-commentary. What about the book itself?
It's a wonderful novel, with tinges of the great GK Chesterton woven through it, or perhaps Chesterton's works had tinges of London. The transition from London's prose to that of Fish is seamless, and is only detectable due to a slight change in the energy of the last sections. TAB is a novel that runs on parallel tracks as a book of ideas and a thriller/adventure. It's also spell-bindingly good.
What if there were a bureau of executioners who only accepted contracts if they believed the victim deserved killing, and who were founded on a strictly ethical basis? What if you discovered their existence and lured them into contacting you as a possible client, before selecting their chief as your candidate for assassination? Then, what if their chief turned out to be the uncle of your betrothed? The story is told mostly from the point of view of Winter Hall, and that is the situation in which he finds himself.
It's a witty and philosophical story, which would fall under a misnomer if we called it a comedy. Unsurprisingly, the movie version was a farce, but the book is a bit more complex. Sometimes you might be tempted to use the much abused term 'boys' adventure', while adventure and thriller could be applied at others. At its core, it's a thriller through which its characters are bound by their own codes of conduct, and as such it's also a mild exploration of ethics, morality, and questions of humanity.
Overall, 'The Assassination Bureau, Ltd.' was a great read. Apparently, London never finished the story because he couldn't quite come up with an ending, and bought the original idea from writer Sinclair Lewis. It was eventually completed from notes made by London by Robert L Fish, to some success. It's a fascinating read, and one to be recommended. Also, more novels should visit Hawaii and feature ethical discussions by lunatics!
O.
It's a wonderful novel, with tinges of the great GK Chesterton woven through it, or perhaps Chesterton's works had tinges of London. The transition from London's prose to that of Fish is seamless, and is only detectable due to a slight change in the energy of the last sections. TAB is a novel that runs on parallel tracks as a book of ideas and a thriller/adventure. It's also spell-bindingly good.
What if there were a bureau of executioners who only accepted contracts if they believed the victim deserved killing, and who were founded on a strictly ethical basis? What if you discovered their existence and lured them into contacting you as a possible client, before selecting their chief as your candidate for assassination? Then, what if their chief turned out to be the uncle of your betrothed? The story is told mostly from the point of view of Winter Hall, and that is the situation in which he finds himself.
It's a witty and philosophical story, which would fall under a misnomer if we called it a comedy. Unsurprisingly, the movie version was a farce, but the book is a bit more complex. Sometimes you might be tempted to use the much abused term 'boys' adventure', while adventure and thriller could be applied at others. At its core, it's a thriller through which its characters are bound by their own codes of conduct, and as such it's also a mild exploration of ethics, morality, and questions of humanity.
Overall, 'The Assassination Bureau, Ltd.' was a great read. Apparently, London never finished the story because he couldn't quite come up with an ending, and bought the original idea from writer Sinclair Lewis. It was eventually completed from notes made by London by Robert L Fish, to some success. It's a fascinating read, and one to be recommended. Also, more novels should visit Hawaii and feature ethical discussions by lunatics!
O.
Wednesday, 23 March 2016
Insert Content Here
In the aftermath of a nice day, and in a state of mild fatigue, this is where the content is scheduled to go. Yes, the content that is my regular challenge. Why struggle for content in an era when the majority of the Internet is filled with worthless gossip, baseless opinions and assorted bits of unpleasantness? Because we can. That said, this content may not be anything more than a trailer for the next post, which will be the next 'On The Book Piles', a grand summary of what is being read. It has changed quite a lot since last time, and Jules Verne is back in the mix. I still can't quite understand that my student in English didn't take to Verne...
Words aren't flowing well today, as the increasingly late hour and the toll of so many lessons makes its presence felt. Talking so much is quite the drain on internal resources, especially on those rare occasions when it doesn't go well! However, it's good exercise for the social muscle, wherever it may be located in the psyche. I wonder what Freud would say about it all, and whether 'psychic expenditure' would factor into the equation anywhere. As with all things, you can't just write or talk forever, for reading and listening must take their turns to maintain equilibrium in the so easily toppled human mind. You can't keep giving without taking in from time to time, after all.
It's a bit better now, as the fingers tap more confidently at the keys, perhaps in response to a recent foray into practicing on the other kind of keyboard. I was never able to play well, but it's nice to practice anyway, and work towards something lyrical and intriguing. The ultimate goal has always been to play some Scott Joplin and get into rag-time, in that mythical other world where such progress is possible within a normal lifetime. A great piano player is a genius in most respects, and often a madman in others; this is part of the great paradox of greatness. How many great people have been deeply flawed? It's probably easier to count the ones who weren't. Please let me know when you think of one.
Another post crawls to a climax, and bed calls as anticipation for seeing 'Kung Fu Panda 3' tomorrow grows. It has been five years since the second instalment. Five years! We can only hope that it gets close to meeting the first two in quality, and be less of a hodgepodge than this post!
O.
Words aren't flowing well today, as the increasingly late hour and the toll of so many lessons makes its presence felt. Talking so much is quite the drain on internal resources, especially on those rare occasions when it doesn't go well! However, it's good exercise for the social muscle, wherever it may be located in the psyche. I wonder what Freud would say about it all, and whether 'psychic expenditure' would factor into the equation anywhere. As with all things, you can't just write or talk forever, for reading and listening must take their turns to maintain equilibrium in the so easily toppled human mind. You can't keep giving without taking in from time to time, after all.
It's a bit better now, as the fingers tap more confidently at the keys, perhaps in response to a recent foray into practicing on the other kind of keyboard. I was never able to play well, but it's nice to practice anyway, and work towards something lyrical and intriguing. The ultimate goal has always been to play some Scott Joplin and get into rag-time, in that mythical other world where such progress is possible within a normal lifetime. A great piano player is a genius in most respects, and often a madman in others; this is part of the great paradox of greatness. How many great people have been deeply flawed? It's probably easier to count the ones who weren't. Please let me know when you think of one.
Another post crawls to a climax, and bed calls as anticipation for seeing 'Kung Fu Panda 3' tomorrow grows. It has been five years since the second instalment. Five years! We can only hope that it gets close to meeting the first two in quality, and be less of a hodgepodge than this post!
O.
Monday, 21 March 2016
Board Game: 'Tales Of The Arabian Nights' (2009 and 1985)
It's a great game. Just two days ago, I was ensorcelled twice, repeatedly imprisoned, spent nine tenths of the game grief-stricken, was wounded, struck by envy, and finally send on a pilgrimage to Bulgars in a most determined and blessed state. On the other hand, my opponent fared even more strangely! I told her not to check out that abandoned fountain...
It's a fun game, a storytelling experience that harks back to the old days of 'Choose Your Own Adventures' books, and even a tiny bit to interactive fiction. You do, however, really need to be at ease with reading. Perhaps I'm putting the cart before the horse, however, with my non-explanation of the game.
Played upon a historical map of the world, the players each choose a character from the Arabian Nights, select a quest card, and then take turns moving around the map and drawing encounter cards, which lead into passages from the monumental 'Book of Tales', a hefty wirebound book which has thousands of fragments which are looked up according to the rules of the game, and to your own choices on the much smaller booklet of decision matrices. Does that sound boring? Well, it's not, not if you do it right and embellish when it's your turn to read...
I really like this game, but rarely get to play it. It's not particularly about winning or losing, but the stories you accumulate and the experience of playing it with the people you know. Some people will hate 'Tales of the Arabian Nights' because the winning and losing is so peripheral, and other people will love it for the same reason, and because they spent a whole game turned into a female ape, and couldn't win until they happened to find a treasure in the Undersea Kingdom that returned them to normal.
Yes, it's really rather cool. Genies, naiads, sages, magicians, beggars, hags and princesses, witches and mermen: All things to be found in an average trip around the board. A very lovely experience.
O.
It's a fun game, a storytelling experience that harks back to the old days of 'Choose Your Own Adventures' books, and even a tiny bit to interactive fiction. You do, however, really need to be at ease with reading. Perhaps I'm putting the cart before the horse, however, with my non-explanation of the game.
Played upon a historical map of the world, the players each choose a character from the Arabian Nights, select a quest card, and then take turns moving around the map and drawing encounter cards, which lead into passages from the monumental 'Book of Tales', a hefty wirebound book which has thousands of fragments which are looked up according to the rules of the game, and to your own choices on the much smaller booklet of decision matrices. Does that sound boring? Well, it's not, not if you do it right and embellish when it's your turn to read...
I really like this game, but rarely get to play it. It's not particularly about winning or losing, but the stories you accumulate and the experience of playing it with the people you know. Some people will hate 'Tales of the Arabian Nights' because the winning and losing is so peripheral, and other people will love it for the same reason, and because they spent a whole game turned into a female ape, and couldn't win until they happened to find a treasure in the Undersea Kingdom that returned them to normal.
Yes, it's really rather cool. Genies, naiads, sages, magicians, beggars, hags and princesses, witches and mermen: All things to be found in an average trip around the board. A very lovely experience.
O.
Saturday, 19 March 2016
Fling Those Words
It's time to fling some words around and see what sticks. They won't be about the never ending referendum debate, now into its second or third week of negativity, nor will they concern the never ending presidential elections over in the USA. What will they concern? It's very difficult to say at this point. Perhaps nothing at all. Please, consider this lovely void I have for sale, with only three previous victims.
This post could be about the always nerve-wracking first session with a new student, or the existential threat posed by cannelloni to the universe, or even the fun of coming up with a new story idea, no matter how brief the story itself may have been. One great advantage of having a student in English is that you get to write things for them to go over and correct, and get ideas for your own scribblings in the process. That is exactly how you end up writing about a bed and breakfast for alien visitors...
I can't provide any references, so the following will fall into the realm of 'unsubstantiated tosh', but it does seem true. In an introduction to a novel, which may have been 'The Master And Margarita', a famous writer was mentioned as thinking that writing a story without some kind of fantastical concept was a worthless exercise. It's difficult for me to argue with that. Without that genre twist, aren't you essentially just writing soap opera? Where's the imagination in writing something which doesn't go out beyond the realm of normalcy? Even adventure stories exist in heightened versions of reality, after all? Yes, perhaps you could do it in classical times, when there were still original ideas, but now?
Ah, unsubstantiated tosh, you have saved me from talking about the silliness of writing while extremely fatigued, and the delights of homemade sugar-free rice pudding. One day that pudding will work perfectly, one day.
O.
This post could be about the always nerve-wracking first session with a new student, or the existential threat posed by cannelloni to the universe, or even the fun of coming up with a new story idea, no matter how brief the story itself may have been. One great advantage of having a student in English is that you get to write things for them to go over and correct, and get ideas for your own scribblings in the process. That is exactly how you end up writing about a bed and breakfast for alien visitors...
I can't provide any references, so the following will fall into the realm of 'unsubstantiated tosh', but it does seem true. In an introduction to a novel, which may have been 'The Master And Margarita', a famous writer was mentioned as thinking that writing a story without some kind of fantastical concept was a worthless exercise. It's difficult for me to argue with that. Without that genre twist, aren't you essentially just writing soap opera? Where's the imagination in writing something which doesn't go out beyond the realm of normalcy? Even adventure stories exist in heightened versions of reality, after all? Yes, perhaps you could do it in classical times, when there were still original ideas, but now?
Ah, unsubstantiated tosh, you have saved me from talking about the silliness of writing while extremely fatigued, and the delights of homemade sugar-free rice pudding. One day that pudding will work perfectly, one day.
O.
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