Serendipitiously, Laura had in her backpack my copy of Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.
I remember it to be an entertaining and inspiring guide for writers the
first time I read it over five years ago. Now I'm re-reading Bird by Bird
as I embark on my time of joyful trial and write my first book. The
most memorable phrase from the book is "shitty first drafts," one I use
with relish to describe the first round of chapters that emerge from my
computer. I'm not overly concerned with my dismal prose since I'm just
trying to get all my thoughts down on paper. Now if I don't move
quickly to fixing up the words into serviceable text as my first
deadline approaches, the holiday relaxation will begin to wear thin!
Notelets for 2006.12.02
The East Is West: The Best Chinese Restaurants in Southern California - New York Times:
- THERE are probably more Chinese in Los Angeles
than in any metropolitan area outside of China. (The same very likely
could be said of Mexicans, Iranians, Koreans, Japanese and more, which
is what makes Los Angeles the best international eating city in the
world.) Fifty years ago, most Chinese immigrants were concentrated in a
typical downtown Chinatown, which still exists, but more as a relic
than a vibrant community.
100 Notable Books of the Year - The New York Times Book Review - New York Times.
Berkeley poet Lerner writes from heartland:
- It can be challenging to convince students that
reading and writing are inextricable, that writing is just a very
intense form of reading, as Wallace Stevens said.
Rebecca Loudon: Wallace Stevens once said that the act of writing poetry was actually a very intense form of reading.
What's the actual Wallace Stevens quote?
Jesus and Evangelical Power conference
Although I missed most of the Jesus and Evangelical Power conference, held on October 27-29, 2006 at First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, I attended Ruth Padilla DeBorst's second presentation of Too Close to the US and Too Far From God (mp3). As I noted on the conference blog,
I was intrigued by her comment about how the export of genetically
modified food into her country has driven out a lot of local farming
(since local farmers would have to buy patented seeds). I was looking
for confirmation that I heard her correctly and substantiation of her
claims. Some other commenters followed up, pointing to:
- 6-Regulation: El Salvador new seed law gives green light for GMOs
-
an article in the Wall Street Journal (for which I have no easy access as a non-subscriber) and
I'm hoping that the blog will soon be restructured to better facilitate
discussion around particular talks. I'm also looking forward to
listening to the talks, which are all available for download as mp3s.
Notelets for 2006.10.23
I'm quite pleased that Dave Gustafson has released SourceForge.net: EccoTools
as an open source Python library for manipulating Ecco Pro. He was kind
enough to let me use earlier versions of his code a while back. His
officially releasing his code into the public makes it easier for me to
share whatever little utilities I've written.
Laura is right: It's time for me to write a chapter from my Book. The
one that occurs to me is the one on maps. Then the chapter on blogging.
The Complete Novels of Jane Austen
The Complete Novels of Jane Austen
Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.
Though I've not actually read any of Jane Austen's novels, I almost gave into a strong and irrational impulse to borrow the 1200 page compilation of the complete novels of Austen. Kinda odd if I consider that if just one of her novels had been on the shelf, I would have passed over it without notice. My best understanding is that I fall easily for the easy prospect of completeness -- that holding all the novels in my hands was more important than actually reading any one novel.
I'm fortunate that I'm not such a dilettante in all areas of life, though it's a continuing challenge not to distract myself too much with indulging in the world's potentialities.
Notelets for 2006.10.17
Google Maps on Treo is cool. I can't say I've seen such a beautifully interactive mobile app before.
Is there any way to get better meetings to happen where we work? I should study 10 Steps To Better Meetings
to see how to improve meetings that I run. It seems harder to find
hints on how to be an effective meeting participant for meetings that
one doesn't facilitate. OK, maybe I've found something. Participating in Meetings is a pretty good list, one that reminds me that I can be a better behaved participant myself.
I figured out how to get my Macbook Pro from dimming: Intel-based Macs: Built-in display dims before sleep
Who is to blame for the tainted spinach?
I have to thank Leafy Green Sewage - New York Times for getting me to ponder whether someone other than spinach farmers are at fault for the unedible spinach:
- California’s spinach industry is now the financial
victim of an outbreak it probably did not cause, and meanwhile,
thousands of acres of other produce are still downstream from these
lakes of E. coli-ridden cattle manure. So give the spinach growers a
break, and direct your attention to the people in our agricultural
community who just might be able to solve this deadly problem: the beef
and dairy farmers.
Another article (A Stopgap for the Spinach Lover) answers a question that I've been wondering about -- can't we just cook our spinach?:
- The Food and Drug Administration has advised
people not to eat any fresh spinach at all, not even cooked, although
sufficient cooking (160 degrees for 15 seconds) kills E. coli O157:H7,
the bacterium that has sickened scores of people around the country,
including at least 18 who are critically ill, and killed at least one.
The agency is concerned that even if the spinach is cooked, bacteria
may have been left behind on a countertop or a knife, which could then
contaminate another food being served raw.
At any rate, I worry about the future of salads of uncooked vegetables
in general. What's to stop other vegetables from being tainted in the
same way?
Inspiring Calvinism?
I hope that "Young, Restless, Reformed" in the current (September 2006) issue of Christianity Today will be available online so that you all can read it too. (Keep an eye out at Christianity Today Magazine - September 2006)
Collin Hansen writes about the resurgence of Calvinism among American
20 and 30 somethings. The article has stuck in my mind because I
couldn't quite sympathize with the heavy-duty emotional resonance that
new Calvinism was supposed to be generating among young folks -- even
though I have been a long-time Presbyterian (whose heritage is
Calvinism) and serious student of theology. When I read the
accompanying explanation of the TULIP acronymn that is often used to
summarize the essentials of Calvinism, I found myself questioning
whether the TULIP is what I actually believe. Is that what I'm supposed
to believe as an elder in the PCUSA?
This morning, I started down the road of investigating figuring out the precise relationship among Calvinism, TULIP, (aka The Five Points of Calvinism) , Arminianism, debates about TULIP (e.g., An Examination of Tulip), what the PCUSA has to say about sin and salvation, predestination, etc., etc. Of course, lot of this stuff is very complicated, as William Bouwsma wrote in Calvinism (Encyclopædia Britannica):
It is important to note
that the later history of Calvinism has often been obscured by a
failure to distinguish between Calvinism as the beliefs of Calvin
himself; the beliefs of his followers, who, though striving to be
faithful to Calvin, modified his teachings to meet their own needs;
and, more loosely, the beliefs of the Reformed tradition of Protestant
Christianity, in which Calvinism proper was only one, if historically
the most prominent, strand.
Does all this matter? I think some of this matters, even though I'm not clear on what matters and what doesn't.
Improvised and Remixed Bach
Ever so often, I check into the NPR website to catch up on the latest news, including to see whether there has been any segments featuring Bach. I was delighted to see two item related to Bach and improvisation. The first (Bach Fugue Gets the DJ Treatment) lets you hear snatches from the Bach Remix competition at the Oregon Bach Festival. The second is an interview with Gabriela Montero,
a Venezuelan classically trained pianist who also improvises on Bach,
among other composers. Interestingly enough, a good place to listen to
"Beyond Bach," a lovely riff on Bach is her myspace account.
Niagara Falls from Table Rock Point
Niagara Falls from Table Rock Point
Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.
Although there are at least several detailed lovely pictures of the drop off point of Niagara Falls (such as this one and others like it, I am rather partial to my modest camera phone picture of the same spot. The roar of the water, the heavy humidity of the air, the mist which was scaring me off from pulling out my nice camera, are all brought back in my memory by this shot. I realize, of course, that the photo won't have the same suggestive power to those who weren't there -- to whom I must say, "you had to be there."