Book Reviews
Post offices in Japan have ATMs with "English Guides" for "Visitor Withdrawals". They all have worked perfectly, and even offer a choice of denominations. Does the stamp machine work at your post office?
A museum at a bank displays old coins, including those of ancient Greeks, Romans, and Chinese, all going back 2000 years.
Back at Oasis 21, where they have an information desk, I look up at "Spaceship Aqua", a glass sculpture that umbrellas an outdoor terrace. It sort of looks like a fish and sort of looks like a waterfall. Across the street, on top of a ten story building, a sculptured basketball rests against a rim and backboard.
High definition TVs show a live broadcast of Hideki Matsui`s New York Yankees and Ichiro`s Seattle Mariners.
I view certain habits and traditions as based on mysticism and obedient mindlessness. For example, the hostel only allows showers in the evening, which presumably goes along with the public bath that everyone takes. Don`t people have anything better to do than to spend the evening lounging around naked with others of the same gender? This hostel also has a traditional floor mat. Do people really prefer sleeping on the floor? The hostel also has you take off shoes before entering the bedrooms, and offers separate bathroom sandals, for you to change into before going into a room with a toilet. I understand this is based on Buddhist tradition, but are people`s feet really "dirty"? There also isn't a chair at the hostel that isn't located in a "smoking section".
The curtain is open and the bright sunlight shines in. Another man stirs quietly. I am still considering leaving Nagoya for Hong Kong. If I am going, I need to get to the airport early.
I dress and go downstairs. A clock reads 5:15. The front door was locked at 11 pm, so I am trapped here. A few minutes later, I see the other man exit through a side door. Shortly, I follow.
I go past a morning fish market to Nagoya station where I find a 24/7 internet cafe. I check e-mail and my travel agent tells me that I need to deal with Cathay Pacific locally. For $150 I can change the reservation, if space is available. I check cathaypacific.com and find that space is not available.
I am not certain that I would prefer Hong Kong. Maybe, I am just anxious to get back to California.
I finish my book and I shave. It is already warm outside.
Books I have read lately:
***** Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
The narrative is about quality, broadly defined. What makes quality of life? This is a classic. Sometimes, it is a philosophy lecture. I lost the book before I could read the final chapters. The book advises to enjoy the journey.
**** Douglas Adams, Salmon of Doubt
A posthumous collection of fiction, opinions, and non-fiction by the author of "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy". He is most famous for writing that the answer to life, the universe and everything is "42". The intricate story at the end is especially excellent. I agree with the author that his best book was "Last Chance to See". But, I had no idea that "Selfish Gene" evolution author, Richard Dawkins was his pal.
**** The Great Gatsby
Surprisingly short. Read Cliff Notes or send me an e-mail, if you want more about this one.
***1/2 James Gleick, Isaac Newton
Biography. The scientific approach used to define his three laws is still in fashion, 350 years later, though no one since has Newton`s degree of accomplishment.
***1/2 Michael Crichton, Travels
The autobiographical sections on medical school and actual travels are well presented. Toward the end of the book, Crichton writes about metaphysics and what he wants to believe, as a fiction writer (Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park), rather than what he convinces me that he actually believes.
*** Carl Hiassen, Skinny Dip
Humorous trashy fiction, featuring cliched characters who plot revenge against each other. Pop culture of the present. I don`t know if I`d like to see a movie of this or not.
** 1/2 Eric Schlosser, Fast Food
An expose about the fast food industry. The history of fast food and of the corresponding consolidations is very interesting. A mogul is asked how he feels now that Anaheim no longer has oranges. The response is that when he moved to town, Anaheim had dirt roads, and he prefers them paved. Midway through, the books turns into a list of perhaps every documented medical case caused by fast food. At this point, my stomach started to turn and I stopped reading.
A museum at a bank displays old coins, including those of ancient Greeks, Romans, and Chinese, all going back 2000 years.
Back at Oasis 21, where they have an information desk, I look up at "Spaceship Aqua", a glass sculpture that umbrellas an outdoor terrace. It sort of looks like a fish and sort of looks like a waterfall. Across the street, on top of a ten story building, a sculptured basketball rests against a rim and backboard.
High definition TVs show a live broadcast of Hideki Matsui`s New York Yankees and Ichiro`s Seattle Mariners.
I view certain habits and traditions as based on mysticism and obedient mindlessness. For example, the hostel only allows showers in the evening, which presumably goes along with the public bath that everyone takes. Don`t people have anything better to do than to spend the evening lounging around naked with others of the same gender? This hostel also has a traditional floor mat. Do people really prefer sleeping on the floor? The hostel also has you take off shoes before entering the bedrooms, and offers separate bathroom sandals, for you to change into before going into a room with a toilet. I understand this is based on Buddhist tradition, but are people`s feet really "dirty"? There also isn't a chair at the hostel that isn't located in a "smoking section".
The curtain is open and the bright sunlight shines in. Another man stirs quietly. I am still considering leaving Nagoya for Hong Kong. If I am going, I need to get to the airport early.
I dress and go downstairs. A clock reads 5:15. The front door was locked at 11 pm, so I am trapped here. A few minutes later, I see the other man exit through a side door. Shortly, I follow.
I go past a morning fish market to Nagoya station where I find a 24/7 internet cafe. I check e-mail and my travel agent tells me that I need to deal with Cathay Pacific locally. For $150 I can change the reservation, if space is available. I check cathaypacific.com and find that space is not available.
I am not certain that I would prefer Hong Kong. Maybe, I am just anxious to get back to California.
I finish my book and I shave. It is already warm outside.
Books I have read lately:
***** Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
The narrative is about quality, broadly defined. What makes quality of life? This is a classic. Sometimes, it is a philosophy lecture. I lost the book before I could read the final chapters. The book advises to enjoy the journey.
**** Douglas Adams, Salmon of Doubt
A posthumous collection of fiction, opinions, and non-fiction by the author of "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy". He is most famous for writing that the answer to life, the universe and everything is "42". The intricate story at the end is especially excellent. I agree with the author that his best book was "Last Chance to See". But, I had no idea that "Selfish Gene" evolution author, Richard Dawkins was his pal.
**** The Great Gatsby
Surprisingly short. Read Cliff Notes or send me an e-mail, if you want more about this one.
***1/2 James Gleick, Isaac Newton
Biography. The scientific approach used to define his three laws is still in fashion, 350 years later, though no one since has Newton`s degree of accomplishment.
***1/2 Michael Crichton, Travels
The autobiographical sections on medical school and actual travels are well presented. Toward the end of the book, Crichton writes about metaphysics and what he wants to believe, as a fiction writer (Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park), rather than what he convinces me that he actually believes.
*** Carl Hiassen, Skinny Dip
Humorous trashy fiction, featuring cliched characters who plot revenge against each other. Pop culture of the present. I don`t know if I`d like to see a movie of this or not.
** 1/2 Eric Schlosser, Fast Food
An expose about the fast food industry. The history of fast food and of the corresponding consolidations is very interesting. A mogul is asked how he feels now that Anaheim no longer has oranges. The response is that when he moved to town, Anaheim had dirt roads, and he prefers them paved. Midway through, the books turns into a list of perhaps every documented medical case caused by fast food. At this point, my stomach started to turn and I stopped reading.
Labels: book review
posted by David Rasmussen at 11:22 PM
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