ratiocinations out of thin air and elsewhere
I COME FROM A FAMILY OF READERS and rarely leave the house without a paperback stuck in a pocket. In this category I address/review/criticize books and the people who write them.
While my favorite genre is science-fiction—especially the so-called speculative-fiction of the ’60s and ’70s—my favorite author is James Clavell, whose Asian Saga novels I read every few years.
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THE POPULATION OF THE U.S. is approximately 330,000,000. Of course, Amazon reaches around the planet, so the potential market for just about anything you might want to sell is in the billions! If you’re into books and think you might want to dabble a little in buying and selling them to pick up a few bucks, my advice consists of two words: “Think again.” [Continue reading]
BERNI JUST BROUGHT ME a sheet of paper titled “Ten Rules for Being Human.” Unfortunately, it had been photocopied so many times that the letters were all a blur, so I couldn’t read it without squinting like Mr. Magoo. (I’d ask, “Who passes crappily-rendered stuff like this around?” [Continue reading]
ONCE UPON A TIME, we made things with care, with craftsmanship, even a touch of art. The number of items so made that were used in everyday life would be a long list indeed, but here I am only going to address the front covers of old books. Really old books. [Continue reading]
TWENTY ODD YEARS AGO, I was turned on to Glimpses, a novel by Lewis Shiner. I’d never heard of the author but as I don’t keep up with much of anything anymore (it’s the old age thing), that wasn’t surprising. Because of the source of the recommendation, I read the book and thought it might be an Americanized form of “magical realism.” [Continue reading]
(I am not the owner so please do not contact me to offer your service.)
Looking for a used bookstore in Seattle? Try the BLMF Literary Saloon in the Pike Place Market!
Address:
1501 Pike Place
Suite 324
Seattle WA 98101
Phone:
206-621-7894
Hours:
Monday-Sunday 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM
“Looking for poems written by cats? [Continue reading]
THE U.S. CENSUS of 2010 uncovered several dozen full-time book-lovers among the 59,000 residents of Redmond, Washington. Like most such readers, these residents required a regular intake of new and old books, and while some of their needs were filled by the King County Library System’s branch in Redmond, other needs have gone sorely lacking. [Continue reading]
REGARDING POSTING ONLINE, in response to having the official Elvis Presley website at Graceland picking up one of my articles—which I trumpeted loudly to family and friends via Facebook and email—my friend Stephanie Locke posted a nice comment on my A Touch Of Gold site: “Good to see Umphred back in print.” [Continue reading]
EVERYBODY KNOWS what a coincidence is: “The occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection”—at least according to Merriam-Webster. But of course it’s not that simple: ‘real’ coincidences not only catch our attention, they resonate with us.
Real coincidences seem to ‘mean something,’ even if that meaning is just beyond our ken. [Continue reading]
GUARDIANS OF BEING is a collaboration between Eckhart Tolle (words) and Patrick McDonnell (pictures). I have enthused over it since its publication in 2009, and have recommended it to everyone! The book describes beautifully and playfully how philosophical mutts and zen master cats help in grounding human beings—call us out of our reveries, our worries, and our self-absorption, and plant our feet back on the ground of the here and now. [Continue reading]
FACEBOOK GETS MY ATTENTION in the early morning hours as I sip my coffee and wait for that part of my brain/mind that ratiocinates to kick into gear. I scroll through my timeline and when an interesting image catches my attention, I read it, and sometimes chime in. I try to be positive and humorous: yesterday I made a somewhat silly comment on someone’s Facebook page and I coined a word that somehow related in some way to the original post: ‘sacrilitigious.’ [Continue reading]
MARTIN GARDNER WAS A SKEPTIC. He was one of the first ‘modern skeptics’ and one of the most important. He made his livelihood as a mathematics and science writer. He is perhaps best known for creating and sustaining general interest in recreational mathematics for a large part of the 20th century through his “Mathematical Games” column in Scientific American magazine (1956–1981). [Continue reading]
IN MY PREVIOUS POST, “robert bringhurst and the elements of typographic style,” addressed the poetry that the author brought to his lengthy treatise on the history and importance of typography. If Bringhurst’s prose did not completely hook you but at least piqued your interest in type, then read on, so that I may suggest two more books on the subject. [Continue reading]