What are you reading now?

[George K]

@George-K said in What are you reading now?:

In a far-future, Dr. Avrana Kern is the head of a science team that has terraformed an uninhabitable planet then deliberately released a genetically designed virus to speed the evolution of monkeys. Their plan goes wrong when the monkeys' ship burns up upon entry, leaving the virus to infect a variety of creatures, eventually settling on spiders (Portia labiata). Meanwhile, the last human remnants of a dying Earth are en route to the promised paradise planet unaware of the uplifted spiders. The work plays off the contrast between the rapid advancement of the spiders and the barbaric descent of the starship crew of the last humans

This is big, BIG, science fiction. I'm only about ¼ of the way through it, and it's on the order of stuff written by Alastair Reynolds. Reynolds is, as I've said, a very "dense" writer. This book, though comparable in scope to Reynolds' stuff is a much easier read. It's not challenging, but a very good space yarn.

[Friday]

@George-K

I really enjoyed "Children of Time". I thought it was pretty imaginative. It's sequel "Children of Ruin" was fine, but not fine enough to get me to read the final book of the trilogy.

But I like Adrian Tchaikovsky's writing. He has this one-off that I also liked, "Guns of Dawn". Not at all sci-fi; it's flintlock fantasy about a gentry woman in a swampy war. If you get tired of sci-fi, but want more Tchaikovsky, you might like this.

[George K]

@Friday said in What are you reading now?:

I really enjoyed "Children of Time". I thought it was pretty imaginative.

Thoroughly enjoyable, indeed. Nice, satisfying ending which completes the tale, and yet opens the door for sequels.

Up next, on @Aqua-Letifer 's recommendation - Music: A Subversive History.

[taiwan_girl]

A story about a Korean American who spends timing teaching at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. Interesting story for anyone who wants an insight into a specific part of the DPRK society.

If you are interesting, here is the link to the PUST website.

https://pust.co

[Rainman]

@taiwan_girl thanks for the suggestion and the link.
Curious what you might know of PUST. Are you familiar with its founding, and whether it is or was successful? Website is outdated.

[taiwan_girl]

@Rainman said in What are you reading now?:

@taiwan_girl thanks for the suggestion and the link.
Curious what you might know of PUST. Are you familiar with its founding, and whether it is or was successful? Website is outdated.

It was started by an evangelical Christian ethnic Korean. They have a campus in Shanghai also. I believe that he wanted to use the university as a back door to get religion into the DPRK, but the campus is pretty isolated and DPRK is quite strict about bringing religious material into the country. (there are a couple of churches in DPRK but pretty much "show churches") Below is a picture of one. (Not my picture - never did go to any while I was there).

Teachers at PUST are unpaid, so it is a volunteer assignment. I haven't heard much about it recently, but it was pretty much shut down during COVID with no in person classes even until now.

[Rainman]

Thanks TG!
I don't want to veer off topic on this thread, but wanted to ask if you ever posted your experience(s) of NK, and if so, do you remember what the thread was named? Maybe it was on the old board?

[taiwan_girl]

@Rainman Pretty sure it was on the old board. I will see if I can go to the old one and find it. If not, I can repost some of the pictures I have from there.

[taiwan_girl]

@Rainman

Here are a couple of links from the "old" forum board with some pictures. I dont know why they have the "watermark". In fact, I dont even have been on the Photobucket account for a long long time.

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/the_new_coffee_room/hello-a-few-pictures-t66526.html

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/the_new_coffee_room/viewtopic.php?p=855769#p855769

[Rainman]

Thanks TG, the pictures are/were great!
Have you ever explained why you were invited to go to North Korea? Were you allowed to take more pictures than the typical tourist?
Please don't feel obliged to answer all of my incessant questions. Actually, it's not me asking, it's ummm, I'm asking for a friend.

[Catseye3]

Hay Copper, go here for a recco: https://www.amazon.com/Wager-Wind-Don-Sheldon-Story-ebook/dp/B005G49J70/ref=sr_1_1?

[Copper]

@Catseye3

$1.99, I can't go wrong - I just sent it to the Kindle. Thanks for the tip.

The Hardcover version is $215.50, Hmmmm

[Renauda]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51+zVBn1hfL.jpg

200 pages of very well written and researched historiography but, unfortunately, arcane and of limited interest. I am enjoying it immensely as it forces me to look up a lot of forgotten medieval history facts from my undergrad years. One of those used bookstore treasures.

[Catseye3]

@Copper said in What are you reading now?:

The Hardcover version is $215.50, Hmmmm

Yoicks. I didn't see that!

[Catseye3]

Recommended for when you're in the mood for good short horror. Each story takes around 10" to read, maybe 15".

Don't Scream: 60 Tales to Terrify Kindle Edition
by Blair Daniels (Author), Black Widow Press (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SMVHBBV/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title

[George K]

“EL PASO MARTY ROBBINS
Originally released on the album Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs
(Columbia, 1959)
Written by Marty Robbins

THIS IS A BALLAD OF THE TORTURED SOUL, the cowboy heretic, prince of the protestants, falling in love with a smooth complexion dancing girl just like that, as fast as he can do it. The song hardly says anything you understand, but if you throw in the signs, symbols, and shapes, it hardly says anything that you don’t understand.
Gunfire, blood, and sudden death, seems like a typical western ballad, is anything but. This is Moloch, the cat’s eye pyramid, the underbelly of beauty, where you take away the bottom number and the others fall. The cowboy chosen “one, bloody mass sacrifice, Jews of the Holocaust, Christ in the temple, the blood of Aztecs up on the altar. This song kicks you down, and before you can get up, it hits you again. This is the stuff to live for, and what you make of it all. This is mankind created in the image of a jealous godhead. This is fatherhood, the devil god, and the golden calf—the godly man, a jealous human being. This mode of life is an all-confrontational mode of life, the highs and lows of it, what it actually is. Truth that needs no proof, where every need is an evil need. This is a ballad of outrageous love.

El Paso—the passageway, the escape hatch, the secret staircase—ritual crime and symbolic lingo—circular imagery, names and numbers, transmigration, deportation, and all in the cryptic first person, the primitive self. The stench of perfume, alcohol, a puff of smoke, the duel, the worthless life, pain in the heart, staying in the saddle, love in vain, the grim reaper, and a love that’s stronger than death, and other things. The black knight and the white knight, the good luck charm, and “the evil eye. Five mounted cowboys, twelve more on the hill, and there’s more—queen of sin street, diseased prostitute, an apparition that’s solidly real. Heals emotionally disturbed people and the mentally ill, an invisible force, this is a woman you’re willing to stake your life on.
Rosa’s Cantina is the same cantina over and over again. The symbolic Rosa, the black gown and the bishop’s ring, the bread and the wine, and the blood. The blood of Christian martyrs, blood that dyes the white rose red, racked and scourged. A Catholic song, universal, where no insult will go unchallenged. Where every trail goes cold, where Rome has spoken.
The handsome young stranger, foreigner, dixie democrat, maybe twenty years younger, with his hands all over the snake worshipping Felina, dead on the floor. Killed by the quick-drawing cowboy with ferocious intent, shot him dead not a split second too late, with a wink and a nod. A mixed bag of a man, a magpie. To not have done so would be a violation of an age-old custom, practically a sacrilege. Don’t think there wasn’t any good in him, Felina might say with a heartfelt sigh. You bury “your face in the crotch of your elbow—it’s impossible to feel overjoyed. You hustle out the back door and steal a fine horse—fleeing in haste, northward and into the Badlands, into the chaos and climax of the song, you’re going as fast as you can, but it’s not all that fast.”

Excerpt From
The Philosophy of Modern Song
Bob Dylan;
https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=0
This material may be protected by copyright.

[brenda]

The Speckled Beauty

Highly recommend to all dog lovers.

Jolly, this made me think of you.

[Aqua Letifer]

Skull-splitting spears. Eyes flying out of their sockets. Teeth that shatter when confronted by the righteous swordwork of Charlemagne's knights.

Tarantino movies are Three Stooges-level compared to the Matter of France.

This has been especially good fun to listen to because it's a better-than-decent verse translation performed by a full cast. (Some of the voice actors kinda suck but overall, worth it.)

[Catseye3]

For whoever is the owl fan.

Owls of the United States and Canada: A Complete Guide to Their Biology and Behavior

Amazon: "An extensive, accessible guide to the owls of Canada and the United States, featuring beautiful photography.

There is no group of birds more mysterious and fascinating than owls. The loudmouths of the raptor world, they peep, trill, toot, bark, growl, shriek, whistle, chittle, whoop, chuckle, boom, and buzz. Indeed, very few actually “hoot.” They have become the stuff of lore and legend?from the Roman myth that an owl foot could reveal secrets, to the First Nations belief that an owl feather could give a newborn better night vision. But the truth about owls is much more exciting.

In this book, natural history writer and wildlife photographer Wayne Lynch reveals the secrets of these elusive species with stunning photographs, personal anecdotes, and accessible science. The photos alone are masterpieces. Unlike most published owl photos, which are portraits of birds in captivity, the vast majority of these were taken in the wild?a product of the author-photographer’s incredible knowledge and patience.

Lynch complements the photos with a wealth of facts about anatomy, habitat, diet, and family life. For each of the nineteen species that inhabit Canada and the United States, he provides a range map and a brief discussion of its distribution, population size, and status. Lynch debunks myths about owls’ “supernatural” powers of sight and hearing, discusses courtship rituals, and offers personal tips for finding owls in the wild.

From the great horned to the tiny elf owl, this amazing volume captures the beauty and mystery of these charismatic birds of prey.

Named one of the Best Reference Books of 2007 by Library Journal"

A buck-99.

[George K]