First Lines of Annalee Newitz's "The Future of Another Timeline"

"Drums beat in the distance like an amplified pulse. People streamed over the dirt road, leather boots laced to their knees, eyes ringed in kohl, ears and lips studded with precious metals. Some gathered in an open square below the steep path to the amphitheater, making a bonfire out of objects stolen from their enemies. The smoke reeked of something ancient and horrific; materials far older than humanity were burning. A rusty sunset painted everyone in blood, and shrieks around the flames mixed with faraway chanting."

- The Future of Another Timeline, Annalee Newitz

Love the idea that time travel is an accepted and regular part of life. Also accept the premise that people are inevitably going to want to change it, and that some people will always want to take away the rights of others. Interested to see where this one goes!

The White Mountains in Fall

"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts." - Rachel Carson

A few pictures from recent adventures in the White Mountains. Specifically, two hikes:

1. North, Middle and South Carter
2. Mt. Whiteface and Passaconaway

South view from Middle Carter

Mt. Washington and the Presidentials from North Carter

South view from Mt. Whiteface

The Bowl Natural Research Area from Rollins Trail

Wonalancet Ridge from the Walden Trail

Creative Play

“In play, there are no stakes. No boundaries. No right or wrong. No quotas for productivity. It’s an uninhabited state where your spirit can run free.” - Rick Rubin

I've been leaning into this lately as posting little blurbs about the books I read here was starting to feel like work. 

Not sure what will come next but for right now I'm having fun playing with my writing and drawing - but not necessarily sharing. Stay tuned!

First Lines of Leo Tolystoi's "War & Peace"

 "Well, Prince, so Genoa and Lucca are now just family estates of the Buonapartes. But I warn you, if you don't tell me that this means war, if you still try to defend the infamies and horrors perpetrated by that Antichrist--I really believe he is Antichrist--I will have nothing more to do with you and you are no longer my friend, no longer my 'faithful slave,' as you call yourself! But how do you do? I see I have frightened you--sit down and tell me all the news." 

It was in July 1805, and the speaker was the well-known Anna Pávlovna Schérer, maid of honor and favorite of the Empress Márya Fëdrovna. With these words she greeted Prince Vasili, a man of high rank and importance, who was the first to arrive at her reception." 

War and Peace is famous for many things, probably mostly for its bloated length. So why did I read it again? It's a good question, given that (especially at the beginning), so much of the book details mind-numbing details of high Russian society. But Tolystoi's prose has an incredible power, his scenes - especially the battle scenes - are powerfully cinematic, and his dense plot is highly captivating. (I should mention that I skipped over the sections where he pontificates about military strategy.)

And you just don't see powerful extended analogies anymore, like the one about bees that Tolystoi used to explain Moscow after the Tsar has left it:

In a queenless hive no life is left though to a superficial glance it seems as much alive as other hives.

The bees circle round a queenless hive in the hot beams of the midday sun as gaily as around the living hives; from a distance is smells of honey like the others, and bees fly in and out in the same way.  But one has only to observe that hive to realize that there is no longer any life in it.  The bees do not fly in the same way, the smell and the sound that meet the bee-keeper are not the same.  To the bee-keeper’s tap on the wall of the sick hive, instead of the former instant unanimous humming of tens of thousands of bees with their abdomens threateningly compressed, and producing by the rapid vibration of their wings an aerial living sound, the only reply is a disconnected buzzing from different parts of the deserted hive.  From the alighting-board, instead of the former spirituous fragrant smell of honey and venom, and the warm whiffs of crowded life, comes an odor of emptiness and decay mingling with the smell of honey.  There are no longer sentinels there sounding the alarm with their abdomens raised, and ready to die in defense of the hive.  There is no longer the measured quiet sound of throbbing activity, like the sound of boiling water, but diverse discordant sounds of disorder.

Tolystoi goes on but you get the point: without the queen/Tsar, the vitality is gone from the hive/Moscow, and thus Napoleon's victory is a hollow one. And these scenes are some of the most moving of the entire book; the chaos of the retreat, the disorder of those who are left behind, and the lethargy of the French army as they try to take pleasure in sacking a city whose life force has fled beyond their reach.

First Lines of Jeffrey Kripal's "The Flip"

 "Two impossible true tales.

Scene 1. Twain's Mental Telegraphy. Dressed in his famous white "dontaredam suit," Mark Twain was famous for mocking every orthodoxy and convention, including, it turns out, the conventions of space and time. As he related the events in his diaries, Twain and his brother Henry were working on the riverboat Pennsylvania in June 1858. While they were lying in port in St. Louis, the writer had a most remarkable dream."

Jeffrey J. Kripal, The Flip.

Kripal's book shines a light on a fascinating pattern that doesn't get much attention: individuals who explore inexplicable phenomena (such as the origins of the Big Bang and the implications of quantum theory) often experience sudden and profound shifts in perception. These "flips" lead them to expand their understanding of reality and consciousness, integrating elements of spirituality into their previously scientific worldview.

Kripal argues that this isn't just about materialists turning into spiritualists or scientists finding faith. Instead, he suggests a third way that combines the best of both approaches. His book, supported by deep readings of leading thinkers, philosophers, and scientists, shows how this integration creates a richer, more comprehensive understanding of the universe. Really interesting read!

First lines of Hugh Eakin's "Picasso's War"

 "One afternoon shortly after his forty-first birthday, John Quinn ascended to the top of an undistinguished five-story building on Fifth Avenue. He had come to see the work of an artist who had never been shown in the United States before."

- Hugh Eakin, Picasso's War 

Compelling story of the planning and energy that went into breaking modern art into America. Insightful stories about modern artists, their dealers, and the collectors (well, really just one: John Quinn) that strove to bring the art of Picasso, Braque, et al to the United States. Or, to be more precise, to have this modern art understood by the American public rather than denounced as degenerate. It's hard to imagine pictures arising such passions these days - until you reflect upon the recent trend towards book banning and other censorship and realize that this conservative, puritanical streak has always been part of American society. And, as such, the efforts of Quinn and others are sorely needed to help bring modern ideas and forms into the discussion.

First lines of Jeff Vandermeer's "Bourne"

 "I found Borne on a sunny gunmetal day when the giant bear Mord came roving near our home. To me, Borne was just salvage at first. I didn't know what Borne would mean to us. I couldn't know that we would change everything."

- Borne, by Jeff Vandermeer

I should have loved this book. It's right up my alley: it's set in this harsh, post apocalyptic world where a few plucky survivors eek out a living rummaging through scraps of old technology and evading the dangerous results of genetic experiments gone awry - like Mord, an almost God-like flying bear. Rachel, our protagonist, stumbles upon a mysterious object during a foraging trip, and this is where the book really hits its stride. The object is Bourne, and it's fascinating to see his/her/its transfomration from an object to a pet, then to a strangely human-like cephalopod, and eventually to a childlike weapon. 

And yet. Despite all of these fascinating details, the book left me cold. Rather than marveling at the ineffable mystery of creation like in the Southern Reach books, Bourne tells a tale of people trying to survive in a brutalized world. It was interesting but I felt that the plot's ultimate quest to be a bit trite, his descriptions fascinating but meandering, and the whole thing just too long. 

Don’t get me wrong, VanderMeer is an incredibly talented writer, and I’ll definitely keep exploring his works. But in the end I found Bourne just didn't resonate with me the way his other books have.

 

Despite all these intriguing elements, the book just didn’t do it for me. Unlike VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy, which left me in awe of the mysteries of creation, "Borne" focuses on survival in a shattered world. While it was certainly interesting, I found the plot a bit predictable, the descriptions sometimes wandered too much, and overall, it just felt too long.

 "Borne" is a good book, no doubt about it, but it just didn’t resonate with me the way his other books have.