I've already accepted the fact that I'll probably be that obnoxious old person in college classes who asks an in-depth question 2 minutes before class ends. I'm okay with that. I had to put up with it while I was in college, so it only seems fair.
Except my questions won't be stupid. They'll be awesome.
I really like learning new things. Nerdy, I know, but it's the truth. Because I don't have the time and I really rather spend my money on other things, I'm not taking any classes for fun/learning. But I am reading lots of non-fiction and watching documentaries like there's no tomorrow. Thanks to Netflix, Hulu, PBS, and National Geographic (I will NEVER call it NatGeo) I have a lot of documentaries to watch.
I've been trying to watch American Gypsy on the PBS website for weeks. Every single time it was unavailable and now it's expired. PBS, you're ruining my learning.
I like documentaries for the same reason I like trivia. Most of it's not important, but it might be useful some day. I'm a trivial hoarder. Does A&E have a show about that?
Did you know chlamydia is running rampant among koalas in Brisbane? Now you do. You can thank PBS's Cracking the Koala Code.
Probably mad about being out in the rain AND his raging case of chlamydia.
I've moved from going steady with the 60s Oldies station to pretty exclusively listening to the Ska Punk station on Pandora. Keepin' life fresh, (as ya do.) The ska punk name is a leading misleading for the station, in addition to ska punk, I also hear celtic punk, pub rock, skate punk, and according to Wikipedia there's a genre called Oi! (with the exclamation mark) and it plays that too. As a result this week's hot jam is of the punk variety: For the Girl by The Fratellis. I've had For the Girl stuck in my head for days and now you can too! It's fun, it's fast, and there are lots of La's to sing along with. You're welcome.
I somewhat unintentionally read 2 extra nerdy books in a row and I really liked them both. (Surprise, surprise.) So this week is a double book review week! Both books are extremely well written, AND written for normal human beings to read, not just science/math people. I promise.
1)Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100 by Michio Kaku
Physics of the Future reads like a science fiction novel, but it's real life. Sort of. Kaku breaks down different scientific advances in 30 year increments. He talks about some serious science, but does it in a totally understandable way. Micro-chipped clothing, virtual doctors, and internet-enabled contact lenses will all play a part in our lives sometime in the next 100 year,s according to Kaku and the 300-some scientists he consulted with. Most of the ideas in this book blew my mind. Take the space elevator, for example. According to Kaku, in the next 100ish years, society will figure out a way to send an elevator cable made of carbon nanotubes into space where it will hang out unsupported thanks to gravity and the earth's rotation. Then that cable will be used to TRANSPORT HUMANS INTO SPACE. IN AN ELEVATOR. To quote Liz Lemon, "What the what?!"
2)Simon: The Genius in my Basement by Alexander Masters
I had never heard of Simon Norton before I read an article about this book on NPR. He is a British math prodigy who, by all accounts, was headed to greatness (crazy high IQ, college degree at 15, PhD from Cambridge, etc) for his work on simple finite groups, but instead left academia and became a reclusive, possibly crazy, public transportation enthusiast.
Author Alexander Masters (left) with Simon Norton
The book is less about Simon and more about the author's process of writing about Simon. He is quite the character (he eats a lot of canned fish and has a bit of a hoarding problem.) But it also includes lots of information about Simon's work on simple finite groups (which I still don't really understand) including something called The Monster, but it's done with cheeky cartoons and jokes. And even though I didn't get the point behind simple finite groups, I could still somewhat understand and appreciate his work. (It also made me really glad I'm not a mathematician.)
This week's hot jam is Single Spoon by The Mother Hips. I was recently flipping through some Pandora stations I hadn't listened to in awhile (I've been pretty exclusively listening to 60's Oldies Radio) and Single Spoon came on. According to Pandora, I had given it a thumbs up at some point, but I didn't remember it. I'm glad I got to hear it again, because it's great. I like the old-timey feel and it has some great lyrics. I particularly like this part of the chorus: "Single spoon/Are you stupid?/Don't you know/That it takes two/To do the spoon" I love that they refer to spooning like a dance move. I also the verse about a pager. Yes, there is a whole verse about a pager. (To be fair, the song was released in 1996.)
So I finally got around to tallying up my book list for 2011. I've been keeping a list of books I've finished for the past couple years and it turns out I must have had A LOT of time on my hands in 2011. I read a lot of books. I mean a lot. 64 of them. (6 were young adult so those don't really count, but 58 is still a lot.)
These are my favorites from 2011 in chronological order (there were actually a few more favorites, but no one wants to read that many book reviews, nor do I want to write them.):
This was my Christmas book last year. My mom was recommended it, and got it for me because it's long and she hates when I finish my book by 2:00 on Christmas day. The Forgotten Garden weaves together two stories taking place hundreds of years apart but in the same place. There's mystery and intrigue and self discovery. Not to mention, it's incredibly well written.
Mark Twain is the cleverist (yes, I realize that's not a word) guy around. The Diaries of Adam and Eve are clever and witty and an excellent love story. Several times while reading it, I thought to myself, "Hmmm, I bet that would have been weird..." I mean, can you imagine suddenly being not only alive, but a grown-up, and having complex mental processes. That would have been very confusing. He humanized the first humans (if those are you religious leanings) and did so beautifully.
The Third Coast - Ted McClelland
I don't know what to say when people ask me where I'm from. I have a few "homes" and the Midwest has always felt like one of them. The Third Coast is a memoir-y nonfiction book that tells the story of the author's trip around all of the Great Lakes. He started in Chicago (actually near the Calumet River, so he was so far east he was practically in Indiana) and drove all the way around, exploring cities and meeting some very interesting characters. I've been to a good chunk of the places he went so reading it was a little like going home.
In the Heart of the Sea - Nathaniel Philbrick
I picked up In the Heart of the Sea because it was on a list of books about cannibalism on NPR, and I was intrigued. There was actually far less cannibalism than I thought there was going to be, but it was good nonetheless, so that's saying something. In the Heart of the Sea is the true story that Herman Melville based Moby Dick on, and the since I know the real story now, I don't feel like I have to read Moby Dick, so it's a win-win. It's non-fiction, but reads like a novel and makes you wonder what you would do if you were lost at sea.
Of Time, Space, and Other Things - Isaac Asimov
My friend Jonathan recommended Of Time, Space, and Other Things to me because it would make me feel smart. Not in a "Man, that Asimov is an idiot. I'm WAY smarter than him" kind of way, more of a "Holy cow, this book is blowing my mind" kind of way. Generally, one would expect a book like this to be dry and confusing. Of Time, Space, and Other Things may be a little confusing, but it's anything but dry. You can tell by Asimov's writing how passionate he was about history and science (and other things). It reads almost frantically, like he couldn't write fast enough for his ideas. Asimov is funny and clever and makes some deep concepts seem almost understandable.
The hot jam of the week is She's Always a Woman by Billy Joel. There a lot of things to love about this video, regardless of how you feel about the song. Just look at his hair. It would only be more amazing if he had a rat tail. I also really like the cheesy psuedo-surprised look after he checks, what I assume to be, the set list. But I happen to love both the video and the song. It's a great ballad about loving a lady for being tough as nails and not takin' nothin' from nobody, if you will. According to Wikipedia (which is always right, right?) he wrote it for his then-wife Elizabeth who took over managing his career and was known for being a tough and savvy business lady. (But the ended up divorced, so maybe a woman who will "carelessly cut you, and laugh while you're bleeding" isn't the marrying type.)
Bonus! A few people/bands have covered this song, but I really like this version by Copeland.
