Saturday, May 3, 2008
Atonement by Ian McEwan - book review
So. I finally finished Atonement last week. I’ve been wanting to read it for ages, it is an award winning book (National Book Critics Circle fiction winner in 2002) and spawned a hit movie. I am someone who must read the book before I see the movie and I am not someone who likes to analyze a book (hence the book club I helped found where we read books that are coming out as movies and instead of sitting around and talking about the book, we just go see the movie and then get drinks afterwards), I just want to read and get absorbed. I have heard such good things about this book for so long that I was psyched to finally start it. I was still psyched when I was 50 pages in, thinking that it must pick up soon. Slightly less psyched on page 100 when it was still “setting the scene”. It finally picked up around page 200. I am not someone who can stop reading a book once I’ve started, I gut through it even if it’s awful. Atonement wasn’t awful, the prose was beautiful but nothing really happened for a really long time! I kept at it and ended up getting into it on a recent flight to Boston (for the marathon trip) and finished it on the way back home, but wow. I know most people won’t stick with a book like I will and I’m thinking maybe my expectations just got majorly inflated due to the amazing reviews that both the book and movie received. All in all, looking back, it was a great book. It was very well written and the storytelling is very smooth. But Part I was so long and the pace was so slow. Since the movie was apparently so amazing and got nominated for so many Academy Awards, I almost think this is one case where it’s alright to skip the book and see the movie.
Now The Time Traveler’s Wife, on the other hand…read this book! It’s coming out as a movie later in 2008 and I am cautiously optimistic, but the book is just so wonderful, one of my favorites of all time and it would be a shame to skip this book and see the movie, which could end up a total butcher job, and miss out on the story as it was initially created.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
May Day!
Happy May Day! The calendar I chose for 2008 is called "Space Views from the Hubble Space Telescope" and I flipped to a new month this morning and there is the coolest new image for May, the Cat's Eye Nebula.
Is that not the coolest looking thing? It is approximately 3,300 light years away from Earth. A light year is a measure of length, not time, and is the distance light waves can travel in a vacuum in a year or approximately 5,878,625,373,183.61 miles. One of the things I find the most fascinating about viewing things in space is that the light waves that hit our eyes and allow us to "see" stars/nebulas/galaxies etc at a precise moment, actually left or departed the star/nebula/galaxy hundreds or thousands of years ago. In the case of the Cat's Eye Nebula, the light waves that are producing the image in our minds left it 3,300 years ago. Therefore, it very well could be (and perhaps is) long gone in "real time", like at this very moment even though we are looking right at it! Crazy. Time is relative when you're talking about space anyway. I have done some very lightweight reading on quantum physics and it is fascinating stuff if you can wrap your mind around it. I found a quote (how fitting!) that sums it all up nicely: "Quantum Physics: The dreams stuff is made of." Indeed.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Isn't it ironic?
The Atlanta and Fulton County water districts have proposed a 15% rate increase to offset revenues lost to water conservation. So citizens will be monetarily penalized for doing the right thing. Doesn't seem fair, does it?
Residents Who Conserved Water Now Asked to Pay More.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
A Sad Goodbye
Rest in peace, old friend.
Phil Chapman April 5, 1951 - April 6, 2008
Comments:
I am and was very sad to hear about Mr. Chapman's passing, what a great soul.
Thanks for the kind comments. The world lost one of the good guys yesterday. He was a very unique and special person and my family will miss him very much.
I'm sorry to hear about Phil - he will be missed.
I always got a kick out of saying 'hi' to him in the hallways at school back in the day. By far one of the most intelligent people in our neck of the woods, and usually I'd make a point to say as loudly as I could "Hey Mr. Chapman!!!" He would always smile, say hello and keep trudging along in his usual attire of a polo shirt and that backpack he always had around his shoulder. Bright, bright man.
Oh Chloe, he looks like a lovely man. I send my condolences...
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Tread Softly
One of my favorite quotes popped into my head this morning, so it's time for another Quote of the Day post! It also made me think of another quote that I just love, so 2 for the price of 1 today.
"Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time."
-Motto of the Baltimore Grotto (caving society)
"Travel light in life. Take only what you need: a loving family, good friends, simple pleasures, someone to love and someone to love you, enough to eat, enough to wear and a little more than enough to drink, for thirst is a dangerous thing."
-Unknown
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Oh Chloe....I'm so sorry....I hope Phil is on a peaceful journey now. xxxooo