Through the internet, I became Facebook friends with Barrie Risman some time ago, but it was only late last year that I reached out to her to join me Through the internet, I became Facebook friends with Barrie Risman some time ago, but it was only late last year that I reached out to her to join me in conversation on my podcast in response to a post she wrote that quiet concisely elucidated the difference between dual and non-dual yoga philosophy. As I found out, Risman knows her shit and is among the minority of western yoga teachers who actually know the philosophical grounding of yoga. That is to say, while most yoga teachers are really little more than asana (posture) teachers, Risman takes a much more comprehensive approach to her teaching, firmly grounded in the philosophical tradition she trained in which is non-dual and tantric.
Her book's subtitle makes it clear this is a book extolling "Ten Principles for Enlightened Practice." From her opening "Introduction" where she reminds her readers that "yoga" has always been both a state and a process of praxis designed to cultivate the state of yoga to her concluding chapter where she situates practice as an engagement toward the betterment of the world, invoking the Judaic concept of tikkun olam her authenticity is clear and obvious. After her introductory chapter, each of the following ten chapters elucidates one of her ten principles, featuring an essay where she develops the principle and its various implications for practice and life followed by an asana sequence, breath exercises, journaling inquires, and awareness-based practices that are available as audio files at her website devoted to the teachings in this book.
It is clear from the very beginning that Risman is a consummate teacher. Her first principle, "Evolve Your Yoga" presents the through line of her book where her chapter epigram from Goethe affirms: "We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden." It is also right here in her first chapter where the philosophical grounding of monism is stated. Risman writes that while we are ever-evolving, "there is a core of unchanging perfection within us -- our deepest, truest essence." It is this very essentialism that Buddhism denies. Despite this, throughout the book in each of the other principles including "Be A Student," "Embrace Transformation," "Connect to Your Steady Center," "Balance the Pairs of Opposites", "Harness Prana, the Vital Power," "Foster Self Esteem," "Develop One-Pointed Focus," "Renew Yourself," and "Cultivate Virtues" I found so much practical, pragmatic even, and truly wise teachings that can be supportive of anyone's practice regardless of one's philosophical grounding.
For me, an anti-essentialist Zen Naturalist, I would find myself agreeing with the direction of Risman's guidance and even seeing how much we have in common in that vein, even while disagreeing -- or perhaps more accurately -- while simply not resonating with all the essentialist metaphysics. Ultimately, I came away from this book respecting our differences while celebrating the commonality of the human existential expression that is our birthright: freedom. The freedom yoga practice grounded in a comprehensive world vision can cultivate.
I think this book would be a wonderful addition to the 'toolkit' of any yoga practitioner and especially for any yoga teacher wishing to evolve their teaching....more
After a wonderful conversation I had the pleasure to share in with Daniel Simpson on his podcast (link below), I thought it might be worthwhile to reaAfter a wonderful conversation I had the pleasure to share in with Daniel Simpson on his podcast (link below), I thought it might be worthwhile to read his book on Yoga, subtitled "A Comprehensive Guide to Yoga's History, Texts, Philosophy, and Practices" and the only issue I might have with that subtitle is that it should read "Philosophies" as I assume Simpson might agree. He audaciously called his book The Truth of Yoga while on the very first page of in "Introduction" he points out what prompted him to deeper study, "There were many different versions of yoga, and some of their philosophies seemed contradictory." The very next page he writes: "Much of what is said about yoga is misleading" and it is that which is the motivation for Simpson's writing this book.
I am truly amazed at how much he could pack into such a slim book (just over 200 pages) comprised of 99 short chapters, each of which can be read as a stand-alone essay, broken into five parts: "Introduction," "Early Yoga", "Classical Yoga," "Hatha Yoga," "Modern Yoga" and "Conclusion." Typical essays are about two pages in length and cover varied topics including "Ancient Roots", "Ascetics and Tapas", "Early Upanishads", "Fate and Free Will", "Astanga and Asana", "Rival Theories", "Imaginary Chakras", "Sex and Yoga", "National Pride", and "Yoga Therapy". As you can see, truly wide-ranging and comprehensive.
Perhaps what I most really appreciate about Simpson and his book is that he seems as committed to intellectual honesty and integrity. When I teach Yoga philosophy, I take pains to share what the texts say and then offer a critique which may include what I think is most valuable for contemporary practitioners, what I think needs to be re-imagined and re-worked to align with modernity (for instance, yoga's roots are all world renouncing and there should be no white-washing what Patanjali says about shaucha as it he's talking about showering before class when what he says is that it is the "disgust of one's body and contact with the bodies of others"! I mean, that just won't fly with the body and sex positivity that contemporary culture promotes. And if we wish to revalue brahmacharya as "energy management" we should be honest and share with students that for Patanjali it meant celibacy! Finally, I will also offer my opinions on those aspects of traditional yogic teachings and practices that I think we should completely jettison (prolapse one's rectum into a river as a "purifying technique"? No thank you!).
Simpson writes: "Mixing and matching has always been part of how yoga evolves, but it is important to be clear that what "Patanjali says" is not always the same as how teachers present it. In fact, it is just that which has led me into arguments with teachers who, in order to popularize the teachings make all sorts of changes without honestly letting students know. I once blurbed a book by a popular teacher who had written a wonderful book about the deeper psychology of The Yoga-Sutra. In doing so, he had offered what amounts to a Buddhist madhyamaka interpretation mixed with western psychological concepts, but offered them as what Patanjali says." I wrote that the writer "details a practical and pragmatic psychology of yoga.... this creative interpretation may not be what Patanjali offered, but it is certainly what we need now. I was perturbed -- and let him know -- that that middle phrase was excised for the book cover.
I am so grateful to Simpson for writing this badly needed book that presents what the various yoga traditions have to offer along with historical accuracy, and skeptical critical thinking. It's short and accessible and I believe this text should be mandatory reading in any yoga teacher training or immersion.
From one of our leading evolutionary biologists, this book is directed to young readers from around 5th or 6th grade through High School. Dawkins beauFrom one of our leading evolutionary biologists, this book is directed to young readers from around 5th or 6th grade through High School. Dawkins beautifully shows that the reality shown us through scientific thinking (as the subtitle declares: "How We Know What's Really True") is truly "magical" in its awesomeness.
First, a sampling of some of the chapter titles: "What is reality? What is magic?" which sets a clear demarcation between the two as usually understood. Dawkins doesn't diss magic; he acknowledges the fun that we can have with it. He just clearly shows that it doesn't tell us anything about the real nature of the cosmos.
This is followed by "Who was the first person?", "Why are there so many different kinds of animals?", "What are things made of?", "Why do we have night and day, winter and summer?", "What is the sun?", "What is a rainbow?", "When and how did everything begin?" "Are we alone?", "What is an earthquake?", "Why do bad things happen?" and finally, "What is a miracle?".
In each chapter, Dawkins begins by sharing a wealth of mythology from various cultures including Asia, the indigenous cultures of the Americas, Africa, and Europe. He does not present these stories in a dismissive or insulting way, but relishes in the imaginative quality of these various stories made up by people who could not know otherwise. As he writes in his conclusion, "Miracles, magic, and myths -- they can be fun, and we have had fun with them throughout this book. Everybody likes a good story, and I hope you enjoyed the myths with which I began most of my chapters. But even more, I hope that, in every chapter, you enjoyed the science that came after the myths. I hope you agree that the truth has a magic of its own."
And indeed, my daughter and I learned much of the world's mythological riches as well as the amazing things we have learned about the cosmos through science. Ultimately, we have also come to see that humans could never have imagined the truly bizarre and wild TRUTH. No myth I have ever read has ever come close to the mystery and sometimes outlandish reality science reveals to us. Yes, myths can tell us different truths about us -- humans; how we think, what we prize, and what we fear. But ultimately, it is only science that can tell us about what is beyond us. ...more
This is another resource my daughter used for a project about Horror (literature and film) and a very enjoyable, readable book it is! Bradley has mixeThis is another resource my daughter used for a project about Horror (literature and film) and a very enjoyable, readable book it is! Bradley has mixed elements of memoir as he tells of his 'origin story' becoming a horror fan out of the depths of family dysfunction with social commentary and film critique.
Bradley is the host of the Hellbent for Horror podcast and you just have to smile when you hear him talk about some film he's enamored of. He shows in this book that horror can indeed, as his subtitle makes clear: "make you happy and healthy." He begins by sharing what brought him to horror and shows how universal the motivation to seek out horror is. After writing about literature, he also devotes a chapter to "Devil Music" and harkens back to the Satanic Panic that overtook much of American society in the 70s/80s.
Of all genres, horror may have the largest number of subgenres and the inclusivity of horror is one of its strongest positives. His descriptions of movies I've seen as well as those I've not has whet my appetite and set me on course for a new project! I want to watch every movie he writes about! And helpfully, besides the films he spotlights, each chapter has a further list of films worthy of viewing.
Standout chapters are devoted to women in horror (during my daughter's project, it's become clear that from the first, women have indeed been some of the most creative and influential creators of horror) from the Gothic Horror novels of Anne Radcliff to Mary Shelly and later writers like Daphne du Maurier and most recently directors such as Stephanie Rothman, Kathryn Bigelow (years before her Oscar winning The Hurt Locker made her debut with Near Dark, Mary Harron and Amy Holden Jones whose feminist slasher-satire The Slumber Party Massacre is a must-see! When Bradley describes director Heidi Honeycutt's Wretched, it's clear this is a horror only a woman living in contemporary America could imagine. Who else could frame a film about toxic relationships and disordered eating as a horror film so well? As she says in an interview Bradley includes: "Some of the best horror films are some of the most thought-provoking, artistic, and intellectually challenging films ever made."
And this point is important to remember because the Horror genre is still held in disrepute by the mainstream. As Bradley shows, whenever a Horror film breaks out into the mainstream, Hollywood denies it's "horror". In 2017, two horror films, Get Out and The Shape of Water garnered 17 Oscar nominations (both for "Best Picture"). When Jordan Peele's Get Out was released, it was lauded by critics as a brilliant horror film. When it received 4 Oscar nominations and won for Best Original Screenplay, it was suddenly called a "Social Justice Thriller." And, if you can believe it, when it was up for a Golden Globe, it was slotted in the "Comedy and Musical" category (as there is no "Horror"category!
Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water, inspired by his love of The Creature from the Black Lagoon won BEST PICTURE but when it was initially released it had such a limited release he had to publicize it himself on TWITTER! The studio had little faith it would do well. Once it won some Oscars, the media was describing it as "Fantasy Romance that happens to have a creature in it."
But such contortions are not new: Silence of the Lambs, a film that features cannibalism, severed heads, evisceration with two serial killers became a "psychological thriller" and Jaws was called an "adventure film."
Horror is one of the most protean genres, shining a light on our fears and anxieties while providing a way to face and deal with our darkest impulses. I actually shudder imagining a culture that had no place for horror literature and film....more
I first read and practiced with this book when it was published in 2002. It's pretty much sat on my shelf ever since, but now that I am offering a deeI first read and practiced with this book when it was published in 2002. It's pretty much sat on my shelf ever since, but now that I am offering a deeper 1 hour 45 minute Mindfulness Yoga class each Sunday, I am re-visiting my yoga resource library and have been working with integrating some of the practice sequences from this offering.
The subtitle says it all: Rodney Yee sees asana practice and the investigation of the body as a poetic act and the images and metaphors he uses are very poetic. In fact, for my taste, sometimes a bit too much, too forced ("feel the depth of the cavity of your pelvis, and explore the cavern with the sound and feel of your breath" or "feel the slow tapering of your breath into the void. Linger in the essence of emptiness as you would the fragrance of a flower. The last trails of the fingers of light receding into night.) I can't imagine what my students would say if I talked like this! And yet, the breathing practices, Yee calls "games", are profound in their very subtlety and nuance. The floral imagery can actually take away from the experience, so in my classes, when we've worked with these games, I edit as I read and my students have been deeply impacted by the practices.
And the same goes for Yee's approach to asana, and his gentle and non-aggressive, permissive tone is refreshing in its intimate openness. For the most part, the sequences offered here are -- as Stephen Cope said about those I present in my book -- "designed, refreshingly, for real human beings!
The actual format of the book is interesting in that most of the text is presented as a conversation between Yee and Zolotow and is divided into five parts: Why; Before Your Practice; Falling into Yoga; Being Present; Posing and Reposing; Unwrapping it.
Part One begins with a poem from William Butler Yeats and then presents a dialogue between the two authors. Part Two follows with a poem from Robinson Jeffers before offering a practice for "Getting Ready to Practice" involving some self massage, advice for yoga clothes and props and a tutorial on blanket folding. A dialogue around body image serves as the transition to Part Three.
It is here in Part Three that Yee offers various practices: "A Playful Practice"; "A Falling Practice"; "A Grounding Practice"; "An Alignment Practice"; "A Breath Practice"; "A Resistance Practice"; "A Relaxation Practice"; and "A Movement Practice". Each of these practices begins with an introductory consideration and presentation of the practice and the intention behind the practice. This is followed by the actual practice postures each with some poetic instructions. This is followed by a reconsideration of the practice and often a short essay from Zolotow, and then a summary of the practice with pictures. A conversation between the two concludes that particular practice.
Part Four is where Yee presents his seven "Breathing Games" and Part Five reviews the postures practiced throughout the book with fuller detail instructions and modifications. This section is broken down into Preparatory Poses; Standing Poses; Twists; Back Bends; Seated Poses; and Restorative Poses. It's interesting that Yee refers to "poses" as there is a sense of inauthenticity with this term for the postures. But that's a mild and perhaps personal matter. Part Five is a two page conclusion.
Overall, it's a good book with lots of interesting ideas that any practitioner could benefit from and if you're a teacher I'm sure it would make a good addition to your resource shelf if it's not already there! ...more
Wow! This book really strikes some deep places in people which is -- in my opinion -- a real function and consequence of good art. The reader reviews Wow! This book really strikes some deep places in people which is -- in my opinion -- a real function and consequence of good art. The reader reviews here at Goodreads are filled with passion, with some really hating this book and most really passionately loving and defending it. What seems common to all is that they relate to this tale so personally and again, I think that's what makes this book so valuable.
As both a cancer patient myself and the father of two daughters, I too got fairly personally involved. I, like Hazel's dad, am a bit of a weeper and yes, there were several scenes in this book where -- while no real tears were produced -- my eyes burned with the tears that did not fall. That a book written for "young adults" or a "middle school" demographic can go to the places this book goes is fairly astounding. Those who criticize the two protagonists as either "being wise beyond their years" or simply talking in a way no 'real' teenager would talk -- to my mind -- miss the point. After all, this is a freaking NOVEL!
I read this book because my 12-year old daughter and several of her girlfriends shared it amongst themselves and, knowing the Green brothers for their YouTube work, I thought I'd read it as a window into what these young women are reading, thinking, and talking about. I found it engrossing, non-condescending, and somehow inspiring while almost aggressively not wallowing in suffering-porn. The acerbic wit and purposeful undercutting of the tendency toward mawkishness I found refreshing. ...more
Weismann set out to accomplish a daunting task: to review the history and developments of Horror film WORLDWIDE! And to do so while making it accessibWeismann set out to accomplish a daunting task: to review the history and developments of Horror film WORLDWIDE! And to do so while making it accessible and enjoyable reading. In a way, it may be unfair to not give him the 4 stars I would normally give and I wish I had the option of 3 1/2 stars because in some ways he comes really close to full success.
What we have then, is a great introductory text and overview. In just over 200 pages, what happens is that we more swiftly over some things I would have liked to know more about and at times it reduces to just passing mention of titles, directors, and actors.
That said, if you are a fan OR a student of film, this can be a really good introductory resource. My 12-year old daughter who is focusing on horror for her year-end project as school has found it very inspiring and has expanded her understanding of horror and it's myriad manifestations through the many sub-genres and mashups.
Weismann begins with a short query into "Horror Before Film" before diving into "Shadowy Silence: Horror Before Sound." He devotes some interesting chapters to Tod Browning and Lon Chaney before diving into the "Classic Horror" cycles of the 1930s and 1940s. A chapter on Hammer is necessary and well done, but at times when attempting to be inclusive he has to thinly cover horror from other countries by merely mentioning names. There's just no space for analysis.
Weismann ends with 2020 and shows how Horror has made it to the mainstream with two films nominated for Oscars in 2018, with one winning for Best Original Screenplay (Get Out) and the other taking home four Oscars including Best Picture (The Shape of Water yet as he points out, Horror still is often relegated to a "ghetto" of sorts so that the latter film -- most clearly a film belonging to Horror -- had to be talked about as a "fantasy" and Get Out when nominated for two Golden Globes was slotted into the "musical or comedy" category! Talk about a horrible situation!
So, if you grew up a fan of Horror and know it well, you'll find this a nostalgic romp. If you don't, again, it makes for a decent introduction that doesn't overwhelm....more
Another book that's been sitting on my shelf for too long, I was prompted to finally get to open it as my 12-year old daughter and I are currently makAnother book that's been sitting on my shelf for too long, I was prompted to finally get to open it as my 12-year old daughter and I are currently making our way through the series. Reading this book, published in 2005 while the show was just completing it's seven season run, after the revelations of abusive behavior of the series creator, Joss Whedon, broke in 2020 when Ray Fisher claimed Whedon had exhibited "gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable" behavior toward the cast and crew of the film.
Now, reading a passage reflecting the contradictions and "conflicting demands" between Whedon's "feminism" and "the networks' desire for large audiences and high ratings" today resonates quite differently when we have heard from the series star Charisma Carpenter, who alleges that Whedon had called her "fat", mocked her religious faith and repeatedly threatened to fire her -- which he ultimately did. Buffy co-stars Amber Benson and Michelle Trachtenberg went on to corroborate Carpenter's allegations with Benson saying "Buffy was a toxic environment and it starts at the top" and Trachtenberg writing that Whedon's behavior toward her when she was a teenager was "Very. Not. Appropriate". The most common phrase used to describe Whedon seems to be "casually cruel."
That said and acknowledged, Lorna Jowett shows how critical theory/feminist theory can be used effectively, free of incoherent post-modern jargon. Jowett avows to being "an avid Buffy fan" while showing that to be such a fan doesn't mean turning a blind eye to its -- ultimately interesting and revealing -- contradictions. Pop TV certainly plays a part in how transgressive any show can be and here Jowett shows how the series provocatively raised issues around role reversal, the tension between femininity and feminism, the "new man" and patriarchal structures, gender fluidity, the appeal of "bad girls" (and "bad boys"), and family structures. What we get is a rich mix of subversion and conservatism.
If you're a Buffy, the Vampire Slayer fan -- or curious as to why so many of us are, you might want to check this book out... but check out some episodes first.
Another book from the wonderful 33 1/3 series of "biographies" of albums of note from Bloomsbury. And I cannot think of a better person to write aboutAnother book from the wonderful 33 1/3 series of "biographies" of albums of note from Bloomsbury. And I cannot think of a better person to write about this particular album than the wonderful Ezra Furman! They give new resonance to the "trans" of Transformer and reading this shed new light on some of my formative years and experiences.
First, I LOVE that Furman opens with an Introductory Chapter entitled "Fuck You Leave Me Alone Don't Read My Book" because it totally captures the running thread of Lou Reed's life and work and pretty much was (is?) a core philosophical bent of my own. I mean, I was writing about punk and outside/avant music from the late 70s through mid 80s, hanging out at Mudd Club and Danceteria wearing Herman's Boots and flannel shirts, initially being turned away by bouncers till I told them, with a sneer, "I'm on the guest list". Yeah, "fuck you if you can't take the joke!"
The opening line from Furman's book about Transformer is: "Let me clear the air from the outset: I don't think Transformer is the greatest record ever made. I don't think it's the greatest album of 1972" and two pages later, after enunciating her thesis that what animates this album is an "ambiguity that elevates it beyond simply being a good record to make it an utterly unforgettable one" because the whole album is an embodiment of ambiguity, it is about ambiguity." It is, as he writes: "... an album about total freedom, a rejection of all terms and categories, a declaration of indenpendence from anything and everything you thought you had to say about it."
And it is for this reason that s/he concludes: "And that's why it's the greatest record ever made."
Furman too rejects easy categorization. Her identity is as malleable as all of ours if we were honest. They write about their absolute obsessive fandom around Lou while not at all whitewashing his vile nature. The first part of this book has chapter titles: "Lou the Queer", "Lou the Failure", "Lou and Bowie" articulating the history of Lou up to the making of this trans album. I remember so many people talking about the inconsistency of Lou's work and it's true, he can follow a masterpiece with a piece of shitty fluff and often that's on the same album! But I wrote years ago (when I wrote music criticism) that Lou's failures usually were more interesting than most other's best work.
Then, Furman goes through each song from Side One and while writing about one of the most beautiful love songs, "Perfect Day" (it too isn't as straight.... forward as you might first think), Furman includes one of his longest footnotes:
"It pains me to call this man a genius just as I acknowledge his spouse abuse. He habitually attacked a woman who loved him and, being eight years younger than him and must less established as an artist, probably looked up to him. It makes me ethically uncomfortable to write this book, and it probably should cause you some discomfort to read it, and even to call yourself a Lou Reed fan. I am willing to praise a man who has done terrible things. I refuse to deny the power of art because of the moral violations committed by its creator. However, I respect those who turn away from art made by sometimes reprehensible people. It's a personal choice that is difficult for me, but in the end I am able to embrace the art even as I condemn the artist, though not without confronting some real ethical ambiguity."
Finding the early Velvet Underground albums when I was 11 years old and getting to see them a few months before I turned 14 was a pivotal life experience for me. I didn't know anything about Lou at the time. I just know that he bought me pop corn when I saw him that night at The Barn and Beanery. I saw him countless times over the years. I knew he was married a few times, once to a drag queen (would we now call Rachel transgender?). I know someone I love and respect, Laurie Anderson, had a long and happy marriage with Lou, so as I wrote in my review of the Victor Bockris biography, Transformer, it seems people can change. But yeah, it hurts to think the fucker could be such a vile predator and abuser.
Between covering the songs of side two, once he finishes with "Walk On The Wild Side," she has a "Side Break: Lou in the Closet/Transformer in Code" and it reminds me of my high school days (I was a sophomore when this album came out) when I was ostracized as a "faggot" and most of my best friends were gay and that perhaps it wasn't a mere accident of history that my first bartending gig was at a drag queen bar previously owned by the grandmother of Jackie Curtis, "just speeding away."
It's one reason I'm so critical of identity politics. We are, all of us, when honest, not one thing.
If you are a Lou Reed fan. If you like even some of his albums. If you like this album. If you like Ezra Furman's music, then you really should get this book and despite anything Furman says, Read it! After all, fuck what she thinks!...more
This book, and In Cold Blood had stood on my bookshelf for over a decade and last month I finally got around to In Cold Blood which in my review I notThis book, and In Cold Blood had stood on my bookshelf for over a decade and last month I finally got around to In Cold Blood which in my review I noted started out as an engrossing novel and then became more documentarian and journalistic -- though there has been much written about the many artful creations and fabrications Capote indulged in, making the book much less an accurate record and more the artful novelistic creation it apparently is.
Well, Breakfast At Tiffany's while a novella, reads like a newspaper article or some kind of documentary. The unnamed narrator keeps a cool distance, though there is one point where he questions whether he might have fallen in love with Holly Golightly. Yes.... if all you know is the movie, which Hollywood insisted become a romantic love story, in the novel, unlike the film, Golightly does leave NYC and her cat -- no romantic denouement. While the film has become iconic more for its visual and fashion style, and its New York chic signifiers than for the actual story or the characters, (though there has arisen a romance around Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly) the book just seems to me a document of a very specific time in American culture.
Not only the story and the characters, but the very style of writing to my mind seems very much tied to a specific time in American culture and thus it felt a bit dated and removed for me. I didn't like any particular character and while the writing is good, I saw nothing so special to make Norman Mailer say that "Truman Capote is the most perfect writer of my generation."
HOWEVER, that said, the three short stories are pure brilliance! Each one so different, yet each one collectively evidence of a sensuality and almost poetic sensibility in the perfection of prose. "House of Flowers" tells of Ottilie, a sex worker living in a bordello in Port-au-Prince. Without any third-person commentary, it tells of Ottilie and her two best friends, Baby and Rosita and of how Ottilie comes to marry and leave the bordello. The poignancy of the situation and the state of the marriage when her friends come to visit is almost overwhelming and the writing makes you feel the semi-tropical atmosphere.
"A Diamond Guitar" takes place in a prison and the special relationship between a lifer, Mr Schaeffer, and a young Cuban guitar player, Tico Feo. The writing is piquant: "The sleep house is usually a glum pace, stale with the smell of men and stark in the light of two unshaded electric bulbs. But with the advent of Tico Feo it was as though a tropic occurrence had happened in the cold room...."
But before you assume too much from the description of their relationship as "special" and it truly is, it was not sexual as Capote takes pains to write: "Except that they did not combine their bodies or think to do so, though such things were not unknown at the farm, they were as lovers."
But it's "A Christmas Memory" that really got to me, and I cannot remember the last time a piece of fiction made me weep, but I finished this story while sitting at a cafe and a few tears made their way from my eyes. The story begins by asking us "Imagine a morning in late November. A coming of winter morning more than twenty years ago." And that phrased, "a coming of winter morning" evokes so many mornings when one can sense winter is just about to arrive. It's electric and it truly, like the story's title says, brings up "memory."
The story revolves around the loving relationship between the narrator, who is recalling the last Christmastime spent, when he was seven, with a distant cousin who was "sixty-something" at the time. They are best friends, and the sweetness of their love, and their adventures not hindered at all by their abject poverty is absolutely moving. The first tears actually come at a surprising meeting between our two main protagonists and a man called Haha "because he's so gloomy, a man who never laughs."
So, based upon this book, I'm going to seek out more short stories from wordsmith Capote. I'm just not sure about any more novels.......more
Every once in a while I read a book my daughter has enjoyed. I think it helps keep me closer to her and more in touch with her preferences, her likes,Every once in a while I read a book my daughter has enjoyed. I think it helps keep me closer to her and more in touch with her preferences, her likes, and interests. She read two books on our trip to Antarctica and liked both of them and specifically said to me that she thought I'd like this one. Perhaps because it features a strong-willed, intelligent girl (like my daughter) and the relationship with a very loving dad, that played a part in her suggesting I read it. It's also fun and creepy!
Behind the horror narrative, this is a book about friendship, an unlikely friendship between three very superficially different kids who overcome their distrust and dislike for each other through going through an ordeal that required them to work together. During peak covid, my daughter became very good friends with a boy and a girl (like in this novel) who on the surface would have seemed unlikely candidates for a really close friendship that continues to this day.
In any event, this is the first in a series that tracks the spooky adventures of Ollie, Coco, and Brian and I think my daughter will be following their story....more
As much as I loved Sara Wheeler's Terra Incognito from 1997, if you were to ask me to name just ONE book on Antarctica, I'd have to say it's this offeAs much as I loved Sara Wheeler's Terra Incognito from 1997, if you were to ask me to name just ONE book on Antarctica, I'd have to say it's this offering from Gabrielle Walker, first published in 2012 would be the one I'd have to suggest. Walker has a PhD in natural sciences from Cambridge University and has taught both there and at Princeton. She is Chief Scientist of strategic advisory firm Xyntéo and a consultant to New Scientist. Additionally, she has presented the Planet Earth Under Threat series as well as The Secret Life of Ice for BBC4.
AND, she is one hell of an absorbing writer! Everything from the content structure (Part One focuses on East Antarctica; Part Two on The High Plateau; Part Three West Antarctica). In laying out the book in these three parts, she then dives into what each unique area offers. She begins her story at Mactown, the largest research station on Antarctica, and writes lovingly and humorously about Penguins. While she initially sought to resist the universal fascination of these amazing birds, she -- like the rest of us -- caved as she viewed their silliness, their ingenuity, their amazing parenting and fortitude.
She writes about her trek to the South Pole, her seeking meteorites (it is in Antarctica that we first learned that meteors from Mars and the Moon have made their way to Earth, altering and expanding our knowledge of the Solar System. Somehow, she tells the heroic story of Shackleton, a story I've read about many times, in the most humanizing and dramatic way making it live for me as no other has and then eases one into a deep dive into some other science discovery. And that's what makes this book so wonderful. The ease and fluidity of her writing seamlessly merges travelogue, history, and cutting-edge science. And, she exposes a bit of her romantic poetic side occasionally too.
She reminds us that 100 million years ago, Antarctica drifted over the South Pole with concentrations of greenhouse gases much higher than they are today and the Earth was 18-degrees warmer than today. That 66 million years ago, the dinosaurs living on Antarctica died with the rest of them and it wasn't till 35 million years ago that Australia and South America made their final break with Antarctica, leaving it isolated by the circular oceanic currents that cooled temperatures till 1 million years later the first ice sheets appeared.
And today, she reminds us, the power of Antarctica to change people's mentalities might still prevail. It was scientists on Antarctica that the hole in the ozone layer of our atmosphere was discovered, leading to a spectacular international cooperative effort banning the aerosols responsible and allowing the hold to recover. She writes:
"Perhaps the steadying influence of this inhuman continent will help us all to tip the balance from smash and grab to human solidarity. I hope so. Because if we continue to pour out the gases that are warming our world, the melting will continue, and the seas will rise." She points out that many of the first explorers came to the same epiphany as testified in the diary of Robert Scott before he died there: "For God's sake, look after our people!" As Richard Byrd, near death wrote: "It seemed a pity that men must undergo a cataclysmic experience to perceive this simplest of truths."
One goes to the end of the Earth and you find... "a mirror a truism," something you either should have known all along or perhaps you knew intellectually but only now "after Antarctica, it's in your gut." After my return from Antarctica I find I've not talked about it much because I understand it is something others cannot understand. I thought I knew with all the reading and viewing of documentaries beforehand, but no. I'd hadn't a clue. The stark beauty, silence, absolute unworldliness of Antarctica changes you. Antarctica reminds one of just how precarious our existence actually is, and, as Walker notes, "how tenuous and temporary our mastery."
She ends, reminding us that ultimately, whatever we do, at the most basic level, "Antarctica itself is under no threat." This may seem an astounding statement knowing what we know of the melting ice sheet. But it reminds me of a tee-shirt I own: "Death is only the end if you think the story is about you." She writes: "Antarctica is bigger than all of us, bigger than our technologies, our human strengths and weaknesses, our eagerness to build and our capacity to destroy. Enough ice could slide into the sea to turn West Antarctica into an island archipelago, and to raise the sea to heights that would swamp coastal cities, without causing so much as a flutter in the continent's cool white heart.
And even when all the ice does melt that will not be the end of Antarctica. The Sun is naturally warming as it ages, and some distant day, perhaps millions of years in the future, the white continent will turn green again no matter what we do. When this happens, as it must, we humans will probably not be there to witness it. But someone or something else surely will."...more
What a tour-de-force this book is! Anyone interested in well-being, mental AND physical health empowerment, yoga, and meditation has been served a reaWhat a tour-de-force this book is! Anyone interested in well-being, mental AND physical health empowerment, yoga, and meditation has been served a real boon from the ten-year relentless study, investigation, and comparative inquiry that James Nestor summarizes in this book.
For something we do approximately 25,000 times a day, mostly unconsciously, most of us have no clue as to the proper mechanics of breathing and thus have become the most inefficient, poor breathers among all mammals. AND, somewhat frightening, this is a relatively recent dys-evolution as our great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents all breathed much better.
Nestor looks into what in our cultural and social history has led to this (hint: agriculture plays a part) and shows convincingly how ancient cultures all came up, independently, with breat-practices that all led to more efficient, healthy breathing. Nestor explains just how bad mouth-breathing is (it is really bad) leading to respiratory dysfunction and even facial distortion that reduces the nasal passages, shortens the jaw, and reduces the total volume of the oral cavity leading to snoring (not a harmless activity) and sleep apnea (which takes years off one's life).
Thankfully, his book also serves as a resource with instructions on breathing practices that he tried out over his decade-long investigative pursuit as well as links to many resources, courses, and websites.
I cannot recommend this book too highly. If you breathe, maybe you should consider giving this book a read! ...more
I saw this book in the window of The Book Stop, a used bookstore Tucson treasure on 4th Ave and along with the colorized old-timey photo, it was the tI saw this book in the window of The Book Stop, a used bookstore Tucson treasure on 4th Ave and along with the colorized old-timey photo, it was the title that grabbled my attention. It just seemed so ludicrously funny: the sisters brothers! While not a big fan of the Western genre, and having avoided reading anything by Cormac McCarthy, the LA Times banner quote: "If Cormac McCarthy had a sense of humor, he might have concocted a story like Patrick DeWitt's bloody, darkly funny western" clinched it for me. I had a sense I just might enjoy it. But I LOVED IT! The other funny thing about the cover is it's got a tag: "Now A Major Motion Picture" which seems so dated. First, would any book rave about. being a "minor motion picture"? And if it was so major, how is it that I never heard of it?
In any case, DeWitt offers an amazing cast of characters, just to the quirky side of some typical "Western genre" characters. The Sisters brothers are hired guns: killers. Charlie, who seems to really like his job, and Eli, who goes along with his brother because he is his brother, but doesn't seem to have his heart in his job, questioning not only killing, but the mysterious Commodore for whom they do their killing.
Despite the LA Times' blurb, it's not really "bloody" though the occasional violence is presented in a chilling nonchalance that is jarring. There is one scene in particular that is pretty over the top but what really makes it the powerful event it is is how few words are spent detailing it. There is a stream of narrative and this horrible thing happens and the narrative continues.
It is Eli who is our narrator, and he is a true romantic, a deep thinker, and a bit of a poet. Set during the height of the California Gold Rush, a typical passage of rumination from Eli runs like this:
"We headed south. The banks were sandy but hard packed and we rode at an easy pace on opposite sides of the stream. The sun pushed through the tops of the trees and warmed our faces; the water was translucent and three-foot trout strolled upriver, or hung in the current, lazy and fat. Charlie called over to say he was impressed with California, that there was something in the air, a fortuitous energy, was the phrase he used. I did not feel this but understood what he meant. It was the thought that something as scenic as this running water might offer you not only aesthetic solace but also golden riches; the thought that the earth itself was taking care of you, was in favor of you. This perhaps was what lay at the very root of the hysteria surrounding what came to be known as the Gold Rush: Men desiring a feeling of fortune; the unlucky masses hoping to skin or borrow the luck of others, or the luck of a destination. A seductive notion, and one I thought to be wary of. To me, luck was something you either earned or invented through strength of character. You had to come by it honestly; you could not trick of bluff your way into it."
How can you not love and be intrigued by such a character? In moments like this the reader forgets just how Eli and Charlie make their livelihood! But over and over again, Eli shows his tender-hearted generosity and you cannot help but root for him. At a pivotal moment in the story, Eli is experiencing an epiphany; one that I have often shared, when awe at human achievement simply flows through one's body:
"This feeling, speaking personally, was brought on not only by the wealth our ever-growing piles of gold represented, but also from the thought that this experience was born of one man's unique mind, and though I had never before pondered the notion of humanity, or whether I was happy or unhappy to be human, I now felt a sense of pride at the human mind, its curiosity and perseverance; I was obstinately glad to be alive, and glad to be myself."
This tale ends in an unpredictable, but truly satisfying way. I heartily recommend it to anyone who appreciates a human story of growth and loss and redemption, served with some really wonderful laughs along the way, whether you think you like westerns or not. For me? I'm going to read whatever Patrick DeWitt has written or writes. He's a novelist to stay alert to! ...more
Albahari, an Associate Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Western Australia here offers a thought-provoking and original thesis to the on-goiAlbahari, an Associate Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Western Australia here offers a thought-provoking and original thesis to the on-going philosophy of consciousness conversation. If anyone knows anything about Buddhism, they know that Buddhism denies the existence of any entity that can be called "self" understood to be unified and persistent, unchanging and autonomous and separate from contingency. To be clear, that there is a robust sense of self that we might call an "empirical" or "autobiographical self" as the neuroscientist Antonio Damasio refers to it is not denied. But such a "self" is less entity and more a dynamic process, constantly in flux, like a river or candle flame, totally contingent upon myriad causes and conditions which are also contingent and ever-changing.
Many Western philosophers too deny the existence of any such unified, separate, persisting thinker/owner/agent that we unquestioningly take to be ourselves. Following Hume and James, most of these philosophers have denied the existence of such a self by treating its alleged unity and unbroken persistence as illusory. Albahari begins her analysis with a deep presentation of Buddhist teaching including the Four Noble Truths and the role of tanha, the word meaning "thirst" but most understood as a force of craving that is said to be the source of duhkha, often translated as "suffering" but is actually something more subtle -- a pervasive discontent that permeates life as normally lived.
Albahari bases some of her presentation on the work of such luminaries as Nyanaponika Thera and Bhikkhu Bodhi as well as Thanissaro Bhikkhu and the practitioner scholar, Peter Harvey, especially in her chapter on nibbana. It is here that my first qualms about her approach arise as I see what I refer to as the common "flinching" from the radical understanding of anatta or "not self" where Albahari posits an "intrinsically unified, unbroken, invariable witness-consciousness" as "real in and of iself, but that, through processes of tanha and identification, it mistakenly assumes itself to be part and parcel of a personalized, bounded self-entity." But that is EXACTLY how Patanjali would describe the mis-identification of Purusha understood as a kind of "pure awareness" with prakriti in the form of an individual person! Elsewhere, Albahari explicitly equates Buddhism with Advaita Vedanta which, while many have done throughout history, I believe, as have others, is a terrible mistake. When she does this, she creates a "pseudo-atman" out of this unconstructed awareness.
It is just where she breaks from the general thread of Western philosophers who reject the existence of the self that I part company with her argument. While denying the self, she asserts it is craving (tanha that merges with consciousness to create the impression of a separate and unified self, and it is this, not unity that makes for the self illusion. For her, unity and unbrokenness are real qualities of consciousness.
Again, it's an intriguing argument and there is much here to grapple with, but if we are to take the radical notion of emptiness seriously, I believe we have to see consciousness itself as contingently constructed....more
The first book I've finished in this new year (2023) is one I first read back in the mid-70s. I'd discovered the writing of Italo Calvino first througThe first book I've finished in this new year (2023) is one I first read back in the mid-70s. I'd discovered the writing of Italo Calvino first through his sci-fi, fantasy tales found in Cosmicomics and t zero and was amazed at how different the feeling and texture of this tale (and the two novellas I've reviewed (The Non-Existent Knight & The Cloven Viscount) are. While these are fantasies, they are not at all like the fantasy of writers such as Lord Dunsany or Tolkien as Calvino's tales take place in our familiar and historical reality... only twisted a bit by inserting an empty suit of armor or a Viscount that has literally been split down the middle and survives. OR, as in this case, a story of a young Italian nobleman who rebels against parental authority (mostly his strict and conservative father) by climbing up into the trees and remaining there till he died at a relatively advanced age.
This book has long been considered to be if not Calvino's finest, then certainly among his finest work. As I said, the tale is situated in 18th century Italy and so the Baron meets Napoleon and has written discourse with Diderot who thinks highly of the Baron's text on a proposal for An Ideal State in the Trees.
Somehow, Calvino is able to detail the fantastic situation of a man living his whole life in the trees, adapting incredibly in order to hunt, sow crops, engage with his earthbound friends and family, solve engineering issues that bring him great respect from this countrymen and even manage to have several love affairs, though it is one, a girl he had known in childhood who returns into his life whom is his true love of his life.
The New York Times, in its review says: "... a truly delicious fantasy...deserves to be read for its brio, for its charm, for the sheer fun of reading it." And as proof of the sheer sensual pleasure of reading Calvino's translucent prose (and the phenomenal achievement of Archibald Colquhoun's translation), I end my review with this concluding paragraph which takes nothing away from the enjoyment you will have in reading as it is not in any way a "spoiler":
"Ombrosa no longer exists. Looking at the empty sky, I ask myself if it ever did really exist. That mesh of leaves and twigs of fork and froth, minute and endless, with the sky glimpsed only in sudden specks and splinters, perhaps it was only there so that my brother could pass through it with his tomtit's tread, was embroidered on nothing, like this thread of ink which I have let run on for page after page, swarming with cancellations, corrections, doodles, blots, and gaps, bursting at times into clear big berries, coagulating at others into piles of tiny starry seeds, then twisting away, forking off, surrounding buds of phrases with frameworks of leaves and clouds, then interweaving again, and so running on and on and on until it splutters and bursts into a last senseless cluster of words, ideas, dreams, and so ends."...more
Jo Nesbø and his murder detective, Harry Hole is the gin to Louise Penny and her Inspector Gamache. I love both of them! Both writers transcend the muJo Nesbø and his murder detective, Harry Hole is the gin to Louise Penny and her Inspector Gamache. I love both of them! Both writers transcend the murder mystery genre offering truly literate, often deeply philosophically ethical situations and dilemmas, and characters who are fully drawn multi-dimensional beings. One is brutal and tender; the other is genteel and sometimes eviscerating.
In this 12th of the series, Nesbø puts Hole through hell. A broken man who has previously found some form of redemption, Hole suffers his greatest loss yet in this book which becomes the central mystery at the heart of Knife. As usual with Nesbø, there are multiple themes and storylines that crisscross and come together by the end, written in a cinematic narrative style with crosscuts and flashbacks. An opening vignette only makes sense some 300 pages later when it's revealed what it was we were 'seeing' in the first pages of the book.
It's hard to see how and if Hole will come back from this. It could certainly serve as a final book in the series and Nesbø has proven himself more than able to write independent novels. But then, there have been times before it seemed unlikely Hole would have any hope of a comeback and he has, so no obituary on this series yet. ...more
What makes this an "alternative history"? Doniger writes clearly on the first page of her "Preface": "it highlights a narrative alternative to the oneWhat makes this an "alternative history"? Doniger writes clearly on the first page of her "Preface": "it highlights a narrative alternative to the one constituted by the most famous texts in Sanskrit...and represented in most surveys in English. It tells a story that incorporates the narratives of and about alternative people -- people who, from the standpoint of most high-caste Hindu males, are alternative in the sense of otherness, people of other religions, or cultures, or castes, or species (animals), or gender (women)."
In this Doniger serves an important function and purpose and one that -- unsurprisingly -- Hindu nationalists don't like. The outcry from right-wing nationalists would have made you think this text was some kind of diatribe critical of Hinduism (and Indian culture in general) when it is anything but! It is clear that Doniger has immense love and appreciation of Indian culture by offering a broader, more inclusive survey that respects, for instance, the mythology not only of Brahmins, but of Dalits; not only centering men, but centering women and does so in such a way that even makes sense of the many contradictions one faces when looking at the history of any people.
Published in 2009, Doniger was prescient in already pointing to the growing influence of right-wing nationalism in Indian politics. Yet as she argues, "The profuse varieties of historical survivals and transformations are a tribute to the infinite inventiveness of this great civilization, which has never had a pope to rule certain narratives unacceptable. The great pity is that now there are some who would set up such a papacy in India, smuggling into Hinduism a Christian idea of orthodoxy....
She offers hope, tinged as it must be, with a warning: "We can also take heart from movements within Hinduism that rejected both hierarchy and violence, such as the bhakti movements that included women and Dalits within their ranks and advocated a theology of love, though here too we must curb our optimism by racalling the violence embedded in many forms of bhakti, and by noting that it was in the name of bhakti to Ram that the militant Hindu nationalists tore down the Babri Mosque."
This book is a sprawling 690 pages (not counting Notes and Index) from 50 Million to 50,000 BCE to the Present. Every yoga teacher with a romanticized view of India and its culture and history, who only know the mainstream narrative owes it to themselves to patiently wade through this text. I guarantee they will turn the final page with a more honest and respectful appreciation of this amazing tapestry of Indian culture: "a collage of individual pieces that fit together to make something far more wonderful than any of them."...more
Considering that we lived around the corner from each other, that our social circles overlapped, and that people were constantly mistaking me for him,Considering that we lived around the corner from each other, that our social circles overlapped, and that people were constantly mistaking me for him, it's kind of funny that John Lurie and I never met. And, once again it seems that heroin addicts somehow can have better memories than those of us whose drug of choice was alcohol, be cause once his story begins to center around the East Village late 70s through the 80s, I was finding myself being reminded about places and people I actually frequented and knew.
What I didn't know about Lurie is that he was such friends with people like Basquiat, Buscemi, and others. At times it's hard to know just what to fully accept, such as when he talks about being a big influence on someone like Basquiat. At times, Lurie indulges in rants -- some of which I am pretty assured are deserved based upon my own experiences with musicians, artists, and promoters. "There's always at least two sides to every story" is a thought that spontaneously arose often while reading this memoir, AND I also found myself giving Lurie the benefit of the doubt more times than not.
Frankly, I would not have bought this book. It was a gift from my daughter and I am so glad she did gift it to me because I found it interesting, and somewhat inspiring. It also got me to take out my Lounge Lizards lps and re-listen to some of the most exciting and creative music to come out of that era and place. It's been said before but it is highly unlikely that such a time and place will ever come about again. The East Village from the early 70s to the late 80s was a fertile hotbed of creativity and I am grateful to have lived through it and survived......more
If I were to recommend just one book from Alan Cole, it would be this (as wonderful as his others are) because it is so clearly written, making for a If I were to recommend just one book from Alan Cole, it would be this (as wonderful as his others are) because it is so clearly written, making for a wonderfully accessible read whether one is already familiar with the Ch'an tradition or not.
While I have been a life-long student and practitioner of Zen, and ordained within the Korean Seon tradition, I have long been critical of many of its features, most especially the large gap between its rhetoric and its actual practice. That gap is the field within which Cole toils. For instance, the rhetoric about Zen being "beyond language" pointing to some ineffable Truth is itself a literary fabrication, through the enormous library of texts including (made-up) genealogies, (fabricated) biographies, (mythic) dialogues, poetry, monastic purity codes, and koan collections. The overall project of the Chinese Chan elite was to distance itself from the Indian origins of Buddhism and to situate the "True Dharma" in the bodies of Chinese men who embody both Confucian codes of relationship and the supposedly "simple, rustic" ineffability of the Daoist sage. Ironically, while the texts present this "simple, trapdoor" Buddhism supposedly free from Buddhist sutras and even meditation, the reality was a very disciplined, conservative monasticism that was a far cry from the wild and wooly Zen iconoclastic figures promulgated in the texts.
Or, as Cole puts it, "a Buddhism free of Buddhism" in order to further a wide range of real-world political agendas. Don't think, however, that Cole is denigrating this project. He expresses an admiration for its "beauty" while remaining clear that "Chan was a utopic form of Buddhism that never existed; or, more exactly, existed only as a steady literary -- and later ritual -- ability to produce convincing images of just this simple and pure form of Buddhism that never, and could never, exist."
Ultimately, it is for this reason I have begun to share an approach grounded in tradition (mostly Korean but also some Japanese) forms while rejecting the Chinese elements of Confucian hierarchical structures and Daoist transcendent and monistic ineffability which are both at odds with the earliest Buddhist traditions. In this way, as radical as Zen Naturalism may seem on the surface, it has this conservative agenda of grounding itself in a radical understanding of anatta and foregrounding of satipatthana and anapanasati....more
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