Blog of Parag

Assassination Vacation

Assassination Vacation was my second Sarah Vowell book. It was so entertaining and educational. The book is about Sarah's travels to visit many locations that were center stage as well as little sideshows in the assassinations of three sitting U.S. Presidents, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, and William McKinley. She makes this dry political history into something very interesting. The book is so full of facts that I definitely need to read (listen to) it again.

Here are some (not all) interesting facts that were unknown to me before reading this book.

• Presidents #17, 21, and 26 were murdered after the Civil War in a span of 45 years from 1865 to 1901.


• Coincidentally, President Lincoln's son Robert Todd Lincoln was nearby at all these assassinations.


• Eventhough, President Lincoln is revered as God these days, there were quite a number of people who hated him when he was alive.


• Garfield assassin, Charles Guiteau was a member of Oneida Community, a utopian commune. This cult believed in complex marriage, where every man was married to every woman and other weird things like male continence, mutual criticism and ascending fellowhip. Read more about Oneida on Wikipedia.

Here is a passage from the book that I liked and is a good example of Sarah's writing style.

While technically Maryland remained in the Union during the Civil War, it was the border state, a schizophrenic no-man's land with the North at its door and the South in its heart.

Listen to its state song. Sung to the tune of the German Christmas carol "O Tannenbaum", "Maryland, My Maryland", was written as the Civil was breaking out in 1861. The first line goes, "The desot's heel is on thy shore." Who is the despot? The new president, Lincoln, who it's worth remembering, had to sneak into Washington for his inauguration so as to avoid the assassins waiting to jump him in Baltimore, a city which, in the song, is rhymed with "patriotic gore", commemorating the blood spilled on its streets on April 19, 1861, when a mob of local secessionists attacked a Massachusetts regiment passing through town. "Maryland, My Maryland", the song says, "spurns the Northen scum!" The song also calls for seceding from the Union, to stand by its sister Virginia, going as far as to allude to that state's motto, Sic Semper tyrannis:

Virginia should not call in vain,
Maryland!
She meets her sisters on the plain--
Sic semper! 'tis the proud refrain

Sic semper, of course, was the proud refrain hollered by Maryland's own John Wilkes Booth after making good on shooting the aforementioned "despot" Lincoln at war's end. One might think that a state song hinting at presidential assassination would have eerie echoes when the state's native son assassinated said president and therefore it might be headed for the title of "state song emeritus", the dustbin into which Virginia herself tossed its racist favorite "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny". But "Maryland, My Maryland" did not become the official state song until 1939. Despite the occasional nice try to ditch it, it remains the state song to this day.

Go here to listen to this same passage from the audiobook. She continues this thought a little further and connects John Wilkes Booth to Tim McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber to an obscure magazine called Southern Partisan to the Attorney General of USA, John Ashcraft.

If you have never heard Sarah speak, you must do it. She has a very peculiar style.

Wump of Mr. Gump

I made a post about Dr. Suess' One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish sometime last year. It is still one of the most read books in the house. Here is another one of my favorite passages (poems) from the book:

Bump!
Bump!
Bump!
Did you ever ride a Wump?
We have a Wump
with just one hump.

But
we know a man
called Mr. Gump.
Mr. Gump has a seven hump Wump.
So...
if you like to go Bump! Bump!
just jump on the hump of the Wump of Mr. Gump.

Sarah Vowell

Currently, I am listening to Sarah Vowell's The Partly Cloudy Patriot. I first listened to Sarah on the NPR show, This American Life. She has a very peculiar voice and a unique style of talking. Some poeple absolutely hate it, but others like it very much. I am from the second category and I like het writing as well. Here is a passage from the book, which is typical of her writing. This exemplifies why I like her. Some of you'll like it, too. Being a history buff, this is what she thinks when she sees Starbucks Mocha.

The more history I learn, the more the world fills up with stories. Just the other day, I was in my neighborhood Starbucks, waiting for the post office to open. I was enjoying a chocolatey caffe mocha when it occurred to me that to drink a mocha is to gulp down the entire history of the New World. From the Spanish exportation of Aztec cacao, and the Dutch invention of the chemical process for making cocoa, on down to the capitalist empire of Hershey, PA, and the lifestyle marketing of Seattle's Starbucks, the modern mocha is a bitter-sweet concoction of imperialism, genocide, invention and consumerism served with whipped cream on top. No wonder it costs so much. And, thanks to Sophie and Michael Coe's book The True History of Chocolate, I remembered that cacao beans were used as currency at the moment of European contact. When Christopher Columbus's son Ferdinand captured a Mayan canoe in 1503, he noticed that whenever one of the natives dropped a cacao bean, "they all stooped to pick it up, as if an eye had fallen." When you know such trivia, an act as mundane as having an overpriced breakfast drink becomes imbued with meaning, even poetry. Plus, I read a women's magazine article called "5 Fabulous Morning Rituals," and it said that after you "bask in bed" and "walk in nature" you're supposed to "ponder the sins of the conquistadors."

The World Is Flat

Finished reading (listening) this excellent book by Thomas Friedman, The World Is Flat. It is a very insightful book that tries to explain everything about globalization and outsourcing using lots of examples and anecdots. The book talks about the rise of India and China as knowledge and manufacturing powerhouses and how that is affecting the US and global economics. It interestingly theorizes that the factors that brought about the spurt of globalization, global supply chaining and outsourcing are the same ones that are helping the spurt of Islamic terrorism.

Most of us have lived through the computer and internet revolutions of 80's and 90's. It was nice to read that whole history in a nutshell in one place. The chapters about global supply chaining were quite interesting as I didn't know much about it. Next time I open a box of something that I ordered online, I'll wonder about all the wheels that turned behind the screen to make that happen.

Friedman gives career advice to the young people in USA that they should concentrate on education, especially science and engineering. They should not take it for granted that USA will remain as the richest and technologically advanced country forever. USA used to be a leader in this area but, is seriously being challenged by the rest of the world as all US college graduates are scrambling to become a lawyer or get an MBA. He provides statistics that show the reduced number of science graduates and reduced numbers of peer-reviewed scientific journal articles from US compared to the rest of the world. It is still not too late for this trend to reverse but, there needs to be a big change in the educational system and attitudes of ordinary people and politicians towards science.

Friedman talks a lot about India in the book. I was taken aback by a couple of things...

- He repeatedly says, "India, a country with almost no natural resources...". It made me wince the first time I heard it. But, later his point became clear to me. He meant that India does not have large natural resource such as oil, that she can drill and sell to the world. This activity basically doesnot require any skill. All you need is ownership of the land on which the oil-well stands. India's biggest natural resource is her talented people that can be tapped for outsourcing.

- He talked about the plight of untouchables and their lack of access to schools and other services, etc. I thought that it was true in my grandparents' generation and somewhat true in my parents' generations, but, I hadn't seen untouchables being treated badly or discriminated based on castes. Maybe, it is because of the sheltered city life that I lived.

Overall, it is a very well written book and I highly recommend it.

Dr. Suess

These days, Ashwini is into Dr. Suess books: The Cat in the Hat and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.

These books are so wonderful. I absolutely love to read these rhyming stories to Ashwini. I can read these books all day long. Here is an example of some excellent poetry from One Fish, Two Fish.

This one,
I think,
is called
a Yink.

He likes to wink,
he likes to drink.
He likes to drink, and drink, and drink.
The thing he likes to drink is ink.
The ink he likes to drink is pink.
He likes to wink and drink pink ink.

SO....
if you have a lot of ink,
then you should get
a Yink, I think.

I think it is one of the advantages of not growing up in US. I had not read any of Ashwini's books as a child and I enjoy them as much as she does when I read them to her. I should get other Dr. Suess' books for Ashwini (and me) soon.

I know an old lady

Ashwini's preschool has this book, I know an old lady, that she likes very much. So, we bought it for her and here is how it starts off...

I know an old lady who swallowed a fly.
I don't know why she swallowed that fly.
Perhaps, she'll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a spider.
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I don't know why she swallowed that fly.
Perhaps, she'll die.

And, it goes on and on like that. The illustrations are quite funny and have lots of pop-ups and flaps. No wonder Ashwini likes it.

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

Calling all Calvin and Hobbes fans... The biggest and most complete Calvin and Hobbes compilation is about to be released in a couple of weeks. Pre-order your own copy of The Complete Calvin and Hobbes.

Thanks to Patrix for his post about it.

P.S. The same book is available at Buy.com for a better deal.

Book Tag

Thanks to JK for tagging me. Although I love to collect and read books, my book-reading habits have changed in last 2 years or so. 90% of the books that I read these days are children's books. Hence, I am going to answer this questionnaire from my daughter's perspective.

Total number of books I own: I have probably a hundred books and I am just two and a quarter years old. The picture above shows just a part of my collection. I love my books and I never ever tear them.

Last book I bought: Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni. The star of the book is an inchworm that can measure anything. A good story to learn the concept of measuring. This same author also wrote Swimmy.

Last book I read: Last night, I read The Three bears by Byron Barton (Illustrator), for the seven millionth time. I know the whole book by heart and can read it to you even though I don't know all my alphabets yet.

Five Books That Mean a Lot to Me: (today's opinion)

1. The very hungry caterpillar by Eric Carle: This was the first book I ever laid my eyes on and I am still in love with that adorable caterpillar. This book has very colorful drawings of all my favorite fruits and a lollipop. It also got me started with counting and learning numbers. I have almost all the books written by Eric Carle and I like them all.


2. We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Helen Oxenbury (Illustrator), Michael Rosen: It is a wonderfully illustrated book and the story is well written to sing along. The kids along with their father go out to hunt a bear. But, when they see one, they get scared and run back home.


3. Owl Babies by MARTIN WADDELL, PATRICK BENSON (Illustrator): This is one of the most beautifully illustrated book. The owl babies seem so fluffy and real. Their faces show anxiety, sadness and joy very well. I like the story too.


4. Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss: I like the way this book has simple rhyming words. It is helping me learn how to read. I really liked the last word of the book: "seehemewe patpuppop hethreetreebee tophopstop". This is also President Bush's favorite book. After reading this book, I have learnt to hop on my dad's tummy and give him some exercise.


5. The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton: This is a very nice book that helps me learn all the things to do while getting ready for bed: taking a bath, brushing teeth, finding pajamas, finally turning off the light and say good night. I have most of Sandra Boynton's books. 'Hey! wake up' shows me all the things to do in the morning when I wake up. 'Moo Baa la' was my favorite when I was little. 'Doggies' teaches me how to count and 'A to Z' has all the alphabets.

Tag five people and have them do this on their blogs:
Aditya
Pseuofreud
aNYa

Can't find two more people to tag who haven't done this already....

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I have been reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. This is Mark Haddon's first novel and it turned out to be an excellent one. It is a wonderful story written as a first-person account by an autistic young man, Christopher. I don't want to give away the story but, it reads like a blog. It has a lot of interesting facts, illustrations and puzzles. It is a fun read. Very different.

The Fountainhead III

Finished listening to 'The Fountainhead' this morning. I am glad I chose to listen rather than read. I would never have finished a paper copy. I know that many people worship Ayn Rand, her books and her philosophy. If you are one of them, you won't like my take on it and so, stop reading here.

There are some nice thoughts and concepts in the book, but a lot of Rand philosophy is just bullshit. I agree that nothing gets done in committees, boards and meetings, but, that doesn't mean that collaboration and co-operation has no place in any original work. Try telling that to Watson or Crick or numerous contributors to the field of Quantum Mechanics, which would not be where it is if it was developed by just one egotist. Maybe, the individuality concept makes sense for art or architecture (which is an art, too), but can't be generally applied to everything. The way this notion of individuality is extrapolated to every walk of life in the novel, is nonsense. The egotists in the novel are almost like a cult. There are only 5 people in the world who know what is right and evryone else is a horse's arse. Howard Roark's attitude about his work is just like Geroge W Bush's "You are either with us or against us". Being good at what you do doesnot give you the right be an arrogant jerk. Anyway, this 'every man is an island' kind of philosophy is good to read and get influenced by as a teenager, but, in real life it doesn't work.

The proponents of individualism in the novel, Roark and Wynand (spellings may be wrong as I didn't read the book), were conveniently without any tangle of relationships. Their parents were killed off at an early age or didn't contribute to their upbringing. It is also nice for Roark to start off a romantic relationship with a rape and not spend any energy on developing a relationship. When you can save yourself from all the relationship tangles, and not feel indebted to your family or society, then you can be an individual without much concern for the people around you.

I have always believed that I am set for failure in life because my mother loved me, my father wasn't an abusive drunk and they provided me with a safe and happy home while I was growing up. Only if I didn't have this relationship tangle with my daughter, wife, parents, other relatives and friends, I could be so successful in life.... just kidding ;)

I would like to see how Roark deals with a two year old's tantrums or change a diaper with his high and mighty principles and rules.

The third proponent of individualism in the novel, Dominique Francon, had no purpose to her life, other than being a masochistic lover of Roark. One can easily do it if they have a wealthy daddy to take care of them or a string of wealthy husbands to keep them home comfortably.

I do understand that this novel was written during the second world was and there was the big threat of fascism and communism taking over the free world. That is the real villain that the egotists are fighting in this novel.

Overall, I wasn't too impressed with the book eventhough it is well written. I couldn't swallow the whole philosophy bit. I'll wait some time before attempting to read another Rand book.

The Fountainhead, contd.

I am still listening to "The Fountainhead". I found the descriptions of interactions between Howard Roark and Dominique Francone quite idiotic. Actully, as idiotic as the romance in most hindi movies.

The Fountainhead

Started listening to "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. I had heard a lot about this book, but, it's size always scared me. It is so much easier to 'read' anything with audible.com.

I already don't like Howard Roark. He seems like an arrogant bastard. Let's see if the rest of the book changes this first impression of the main character of the novel.

Where do babies come from???

For parents who will be answering to their children's "where do babies come from?" question, here is a new book that will definitely be of help. It is recommended for kids, age 4-8.

Owl babies

Recently bought this book, "Owl Babies" for Ashwini. It is one of the best babybooks ever. The story is very well presented and is not boring for parents to read out to their children. The illustrations are very beautifully done. The expressions on the owl babies are very realistic and through them, one can feel their anxiety about their missing mother.

I highly recommend it for children around 2yrs and over.

Da Vinci Code

Finished reading 'Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown yesterday. It is very gripping and fast paced. Enjoyed reading a thriller after a long time. Reading the disclaimer on the first page stating that all the references to artwork, secret organisations and rituals etc. are real, makes it hard to figure out where fiction stops and reality starts. This very fact makes it the engrossing best-seller that it has become.

I am not giving away anything from the story here, but one claim about the 'extra hand with knife' in Da Vinci's 'Last Supper' is definitely false. I saw the original fresco in Milan a couple of years ago. It is pretty hard to make any judgment if that hand with the knife belongs to the man next to it or not by looking at it from the distance that is allowed in the museum. The overall condition of the fresco is pretty bad because that whole building except this one wall was destroyed during WWII. I bought a book at the museum that has closeup photographs of different parts of the fresco and it clearly shows that the hand with the knife belongs to the man next to it.

Considering the controversial topic discussed in the book, there is no wonder that a slew of books was published during the last year as companions to the Da Vinci code or countering the claims of Da Vinci Code. Here is a short list...

• Da Vinci Code Decoded: The Truth Behind the New York Times #1 Bestseller;
  by Martin Lunn


• Secrets of the Code: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind The Da Vinci Code; by Dan Burstein


• The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code: A Challenging Response to the Bestselling Novel; by Richard Abanes


• De-Coding Davinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of the Da Vinci Code; by Amy Welborn
Posted by Parag at 05:34 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

The Catcher in the Rye

Finished reading 'The Catcher in the Rye' by J.D. Salinger last night. A very well-written book. It took Mr. Salinger 10 years to complete it. It is probably hard to think and write like a teenager when you are not one.

It is a first-person narration by Holden Caulfield, a 16-year old boy, who was kicked out of prep school. He spends 2-3 days in New York city on his own rather than going home to face his parents. The book shows us Holden's view of the adult world, his likes and serious dislike of 'phoniness' in a very distinctive language. This coming-of-age story is a must read for everyone, especially yougsters who are in the teenage years. I wish I had read it when I was in my teens. I would have found someone I could identify with at that time (well, why deny it, even now): the way Holden's thoughts go every which way as he gets distracted and his overactive imagination about the future.

For those familiar with Marathi literature, I found some similarities with writings of G.A. Kulkarni, who wrote in a very non-judgemental way presenting a story many times without an ending. It is left upto the reader to figure out what happens next.

Proper punctuation, please!

Update:Started reading it yesterday. It is hillarious. A must read for everyone.

Heard on NPR:

Lynne Truss, writer, journalist and advocate of proper punctuation, has come to rescue us from the misplaced comma. In her book, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, Truss shows how an improper punctuation mark can make all the difference. Unearthing examples of bizarre and careless errors through the ages, this narrative history also shares witty teasers and ambiguous phrases, all entirely dependent on the punctuation.

I couldn't catch her whole interview, but, this example about missing apostrophes was quite funny. She mentioned that people are losing proper writing skills due to overusage of emails. Here is what happens if you drop an apostrophe:

Those old things over there are my husband(')s.