Category: Books

Stranger In Paradise: Jesse Stone

Who is the stranger in paradise? Is it me? Tom Selleck? Robert B. Parker? Actually, it is a character in Parker's 2008 novel of the same name. The character is a sociopath. A full-blooded Apache and ruthless killer. However, he's "so cool." He goes by the name of Crow. Crow likes women and won't kill … Continue reading Stranger In Paradise: Jesse Stone →

Silicon Snake Oil: The Road to Hell

This ain't no technological breakdown, oh no, this is the road to hell. This ain't no upwardly mobile freeway, oh no, this is the road to hell. Chris Rea (1999). So it is. As Astronomer Clifford Stoll foresaw in his 1995 book, Silicon Snake Oil: Second Thoughts on the Information Highway, about computers and civilization, … Continue reading Silicon Snake Oil: The Road to Hell →

Following up: You are what you watch

is what I did on Monday. Because I was bored after doing things that needed doing. Those things also being boring. What I did was click on YouTube and spend the next ten or twelve hours there - watching. Can I now say with any certainty, THIS IS WHO I AM? Let's get into it. … Continue reading Following up: You are what you watch →

CHIMP EMPIRE: Who Are We?

is the way James Reed's Netflix documentary (April 2023) begins, and ends. Does the four-hour series answer the question? That depends on who and what you believe. For me it does a very good job. We are the The Naked Ape (1967); or as Jared Diamond wrote, The Third Chimpanzee (1992). Robert Wright called us The Moral … Continue reading CHIMP EMPIRE: Who Are We? →

Marianne Williamson’s “Return to Love” Platform.

I'm re-reading Democrat POTUS candidate Marianne Williamson's 1992 bestseller A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A COURSE IN MIRACLES. Because, why not? It's on my bookshelf and I'm a believer in first principles, or rewarded behaviors being foundational for a person's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The Platform I'm surmising from declarations from the … Continue reading Marianne Williamson’s “Return to Love” Platform. →

One Great Timeless Novel

Sometimes A Great Notion (1963) Ken Kesey. I’ve read it 6 times. The same paperback. One of the best ever character studies ever written. As true today as when it was written.   Here's a review I wrote for my Goodreads bookshelf: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8014925 My opening: This is the sixth time I’ve read this novel. The … Continue reading One Great Timeless Novel →

The Time Bind: Work-family balance

This is a review of the 1997 book The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work. It was written by professor Arlie Russell Hochschild over the course of seven years, based on her research of a Fortune 500 company in the rural midwest in the early nineties. What I want to do here … Continue reading The Time Bind: Work-family balance →

You Are What You Read

is a quote from the 1998 movie You've Got Mail. Is that true? Joe Fox (corporate big box bookseller) says that to Kathleen Kelly (independent bookstore owner) as they banter in this RomCom that is now historical fiction. [It describes the incipient impact of the internet.] The film was an adaptation of an earlier film (1940) … Continue reading You Are What You Read →