Recently read an article from a Cuban woman blogger decrying the conditions she encountered in a book fair in Havana. Not much to choose from other than old titles and whatever the Castros happily pump out of their propaganda mill. Words to that effect, in a nutshell.
In America, one seldom experiences book fairs nowadays. There is no need for it. The book market here is saturated with so many titles and looking for quality is like cleaning the stables - so much horse manure to wade through before you stumble on a gem. Book signings happen everyday everywhere but one can't be everywhere everyday so the fallback is the online book review and that can't be trusted either. Book reviewers are generally paid hacks. They review for money! Even the authors review their own work (using pseudonyms, of course)! It's marketing gone mad. Authors write for money, not for literary creativity.
One day, I decided to hold my own "book fair" in the tool shed where I stashed about 80% of my books when we put our house up for sale five years ago. Surprise! I rediscovered my collection of bibles! The oldest was a Hebrew Pentateuch printed in the early 1900's. There were four KJV's I'd picked up at yard sales; two Douay versions (one was leather bound - bought that from the defunct Caldor 19 years ago); "The Other Bible" edited by Barnstone); Another leather bound (white synthetic leather) bible weighing close to 4 pounds published for Freemasons; the original Jerusalem Bible (1966); and several related books (commentaries: The Bible as History; Jewish Literacy (I like it better thant the Torah); The Birth of Christianity; Cracking the Bible Code; and more bible-based works such as two of Dan Brown's books; The Hiram Key; Holy Blood Holy Grail; The Jesus Christ Mysteries; The Jesus Papers; Rosslyn's Guardian of the Secrets of he Holy Grail; Jesus and Yaweh; and many, many more.
In short, I imagined myself on a journey of discovery. Not as a scholar but as a curious Sancho Panza riding with my imaginary Don Quixote! Of course there were other books in the tool shed but I'll just concentrate on the "holy" works. I posted some harmless observations about these bibles in Facebook but elicited no reactions. Conclusion: most people viewed my post as a potential challenge to their beliefs. Perhaps that was one of my intentions. I never thought much about it but it really is intriguing to wonder why we view this supreme being (deity if you will) differently. Assuming there are 100 religious denominations (christian, muslim, buddhist, scientific, pagan, animalistic, etc,) all religions have one common characteristic: exclusion. If you don't belong you go to hell.
I'd like to assume at least one is the right one but which one? That one that promises me 72 virgins? Heck, that'll be lots of work! Or, that one where I can earn my wings and white robe? Or, that one that unites me in a state of perfection to the first source? Or, that one that allows me to come back again for another chance of "graduating" from a sinful life? It's like a trip inside a beehive if debates happen. Everybody gets stung badly. We're all so set in our beliefs that anything different that drifts our way becomes a threat to heaven's stability.
Why is it necessary to believe in a life after death? Isn't one life (this one that I now enjoy) enough? Why impose my presence on others in another world? Why must I suffer the presence of other "souls" in another world? I see nothing wrong with just one life (this one) a long as I don't mess it up (e.g. becoming a negative element by getting consumed with vices or committing wanton acts of criminality). Unfortunately, none of the "holy" books I rediscovered in my tool shed provided me any worthwhile answer. I locked up the tool shed and walked back to the house and looked at my other books.
And I found my other loves! War and Peace; Brothers Karamazov; Anna Karenina; Lady Chatterley's Lover; Robinson Crusoe; Jay Winik's The Great Upheaval; Wizard of Oz; Cold Mountain; Kiyosaki's Prophecy; History of Philosophy by Fuller; History of the Civil War by Dupuy & Dupuy (what funny names!) dog-eared copies of Penthouse and Playboy! Hey, I'm not a eunuch, you know! I still have tons of libido coursing through my veins (Lol). Oh, I've got more in the bathroom bookshelf where I have El Filibusterismo in both Spanish and English plus a phone book with lots of missing pages. Don't ask what happened to the phone book.
My favorite book for now is the "The Elegant Universe" by Brian Greene. I've read it thrice and I still struggle through the maze of theoretical possibilities that hint to a power more omnipotent than Yaweh himself. A "being" or, power, if you will that the human mind will find intriguingly beautiful and wonderful once it is felt. Yes, "felt". Understanding (for me) is still far down the road. I'm still grappling with the multiple universes and the unlimited dimensions waiting for me out "there." I'm still thinking how I'll evade the dark matter flowing through my frail body.
And that that is where my book fair ends for now. Perhaps my Cuban blogger, Yoani Sanchez, has yet to realize how lucky she is with having no "real" book fairs in Cuba. She's getting spared from all my confusions. Hmmm... where do I go after The Elegant Universe?
Monday, May 5, 2014
Friday, April 4, 2014
What happens to life if we depend too much on the Internet?
Next to the public library, more people today prefer to congregate at bookstores and magazine stands. No need for a library card to open a book or magazine to browse. Better yet, money to buy the printed material is not needed. Who ever heard of paying for sampling? That's why most magazines are now shrink-wrapped (especially the porn mags).
Of the big booksellers, only Barnes & Noble is still clinging to life. It's just a matter of when (not if) for B&B. Borders is gone. I can't even recall the names of the stores that died long ago. Today, other than flea markets or garage sales you'll be lucky to find a store that sells music CD's (which replaced the vinyls). Even the movie rental stores are gone, replaced by online companies, Walmart and drugstores.
What does the future hold for the fate of brick-and-mortar stores? No need to go hunt for a crystal ball for this question. Everything's available online now, even prescription drugs or cars (Penthouse and Playboy). Tesla has opened the first cyber car store and dealers in New Jersey are up in arms. Fortunately, for the moment, Gov. "Bridgegate" Christie sided with the dealers (who donate large sums to his campaign coffers) and banned Tesla from being sold in New Jersey.
The IRS is openly encouraging e-filing of tax returns to the chagrin of the post office that used to earn truckloads of money when people use registered snail mail to send in their returns. Even banks (ING) are into cyber banking. It may not be far fetched to imagine someday that your printer will spit out legal tender you can spend at the still operating supermarkets! Today you don't need to line up at the post office to buy a book of stamps - you print your own. The USPS' worse enemy was email - depriving it of billions of dollars in sure income. As a result, the slobs who still peck away at their typewriters or lick their pencils to write that letter have to fork more and more money for that self-adhesive stamp!
Who remembers the payphone? Those are collector items now! I'm old enough to remember with a guilty smile how you gave the payphone a whack at the side to make that bell ring so you can dial the number you need to call. Or that dime with a string attached to it!
Some medical services are done over the internet. You dial a doctor's number and... yeah, you know the drill... attach the BP machine to the PC, stick your tongue out at the webcam, move your eyes closer to the webcam, attach a stethoscope to the PC, etc. and the doctor says "You've got a strain of Evola. Don't leave your house and wait for the Hazmat team to pick you up."
The parking meters! Yup, they're gone, too! You just display your ticket on the dashboard and do your thing. A ticket maid comes along and scans your ticket. No more fines to pay. That scanner just adds $5 and a little penalty for running overtime to your credit card!
Your only enemy: the hackers. Yes, there ought to be a new law that allows the justice system to incapacitate hackers (e.g. cut of their hands, pluck out their eyes, cut their tongues or just plain hang them on a lamp post). Until then, you'll still need to go around doing many things the old normal way.
Oh, by the way, libraries are now on the way to just having ebooks. No need to pay fines for unreturned ebooks. The copy just vanishes from your computer or e-reader!
Of the big booksellers, only Barnes & Noble is still clinging to life. It's just a matter of when (not if) for B&B. Borders is gone. I can't even recall the names of the stores that died long ago. Today, other than flea markets or garage sales you'll be lucky to find a store that sells music CD's (which replaced the vinyls). Even the movie rental stores are gone, replaced by online companies, Walmart and drugstores.
What does the future hold for the fate of brick-and-mortar stores? No need to go hunt for a crystal ball for this question. Everything's available online now, even prescription drugs or cars (Penthouse and Playboy). Tesla has opened the first cyber car store and dealers in New Jersey are up in arms. Fortunately, for the moment, Gov. "Bridgegate" Christie sided with the dealers (who donate large sums to his campaign coffers) and banned Tesla from being sold in New Jersey.
The IRS is openly encouraging e-filing of tax returns to the chagrin of the post office that used to earn truckloads of money when people use registered snail mail to send in their returns. Even banks (ING) are into cyber banking. It may not be far fetched to imagine someday that your printer will spit out legal tender you can spend at the still operating supermarkets! Today you don't need to line up at the post office to buy a book of stamps - you print your own. The USPS' worse enemy was email - depriving it of billions of dollars in sure income. As a result, the slobs who still peck away at their typewriters or lick their pencils to write that letter have to fork more and more money for that self-adhesive stamp!
Who remembers the payphone? Those are collector items now! I'm old enough to remember with a guilty smile how you gave the payphone a whack at the side to make that bell ring so you can dial the number you need to call. Or that dime with a string attached to it!
Some medical services are done over the internet. You dial a doctor's number and... yeah, you know the drill... attach the BP machine to the PC, stick your tongue out at the webcam, move your eyes closer to the webcam, attach a stethoscope to the PC, etc. and the doctor says "You've got a strain of Evola. Don't leave your house and wait for the Hazmat team to pick you up."
The parking meters! Yup, they're gone, too! You just display your ticket on the dashboard and do your thing. A ticket maid comes along and scans your ticket. No more fines to pay. That scanner just adds $5 and a little penalty for running overtime to your credit card!
Your only enemy: the hackers. Yes, there ought to be a new law that allows the justice system to incapacitate hackers (e.g. cut of their hands, pluck out their eyes, cut their tongues or just plain hang them on a lamp post). Until then, you'll still need to go around doing many things the old normal way.
Oh, by the way, libraries are now on the way to just having ebooks. No need to pay fines for unreturned ebooks. The copy just vanishes from your computer or e-reader!
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Are Old Men of Any Use?
Unless you die young (by intent or by accident) you will never, never know the joys and heartaches old men have gone through. While you're young, strong, curious and foolishly brave, life seems like an eternal gift. You pay no attention to the beginning and simply wait for the days to come, roll by and fade away. At least, I must confess, that was the case with me.
So much water has flowed under the countless bridges I've crossed I only noticed lately the rivers are getting narrower, the birds that used to flock above are now just lonely pairs and the young friends I had are gone, replaced by a few old men and women, some hairless, some missing sparkles in their eyes.
But I still remember them (maybe not all) even some who have gone ahead to unknown places in the universe... and now and then I have to struggle just to remember their names or connect the right name to the smiling young faces. There are moments when I still know the beauty of the old songs of my youth, humming them until I fall asleep and I still jump with joy when I meet the works of masters such as Cezanne, Renoir, Amorsolo, Van Gogh, Hidalgo and many more.
And I thrill to the power of old music and attempt to play their simple melodies in my keyboard - my personal way of praising the long-dead geniuses we all adore. I tried playing "Ode to Joy" on my keyboard and sharp pains almost paralyzed my fingers! The time to rest is near. Youth's shadow is nothing but that - a misty memory. There is no use for old men. They must give way to time and just dream of the fickle muses.
Old men cannot be bright fireworks in the middle of the night, not even tiny sparks from a lighter's flint.
And that, I feel, is what life away from home can be.
So much water has flowed under the countless bridges I've crossed I only noticed lately the rivers are getting narrower, the birds that used to flock above are now just lonely pairs and the young friends I had are gone, replaced by a few old men and women, some hairless, some missing sparkles in their eyes.
But I still remember them (maybe not all) even some who have gone ahead to unknown places in the universe... and now and then I have to struggle just to remember their names or connect the right name to the smiling young faces. There are moments when I still know the beauty of the old songs of my youth, humming them until I fall asleep and I still jump with joy when I meet the works of masters such as Cezanne, Renoir, Amorsolo, Van Gogh, Hidalgo and many more.
And I thrill to the power of old music and attempt to play their simple melodies in my keyboard - my personal way of praising the long-dead geniuses we all adore. I tried playing "Ode to Joy" on my keyboard and sharp pains almost paralyzed my fingers! The time to rest is near. Youth's shadow is nothing but that - a misty memory. There is no use for old men. They must give way to time and just dream of the fickle muses.
Old men cannot be bright fireworks in the middle of the night, not even tiny sparks from a lighter's flint.
And that, I feel, is what life away from home can be.
Friday, February 21, 2014
It's a Dog's World!
Many live a dog's life here in America. That is beyond dispute but then let's analyze in which State of the Union you can be a total dog or just a plain pooch.
I wouldn't want to be a dog in Florida for sure. My reasons are very much down to earth. For example, if I text inside a movie house it will irritate someone behind me and I'll get shot! If my skin happens to be black and I love to walk in the rain I'll get shot by a neighborhood watchman who thinks anybody with black skin is up to no good.
If I happen to enjoy loud music inside my SUV I'll also get shot because my loud music threatens the white guy who happens to hate my punk music.
I wouldn't live in Texas either if I were a black guy. Some superduper white dood in a pickup will come along, shoot me and drag me on the road with a chain tied to the pickup's bumper! Nope, not even Manhattan either where your wallet can be mistaken for a gun and you'll get mowed down by 4 eager beaver cops. And don't flash a shiny CD out of the jewel case - the cops will think it's a nickel plated gun!
If I live in the south or southwest and happen to be on food stamps, my life will be shortened courtesy of the Republicans who want to take away my food stamps!
I'll have to lay low while I Google the best place in America where I won't be a down and out doggie!
Ciao for now.
I wouldn't want to be a dog in Florida for sure. My reasons are very much down to earth. For example, if I text inside a movie house it will irritate someone behind me and I'll get shot! If my skin happens to be black and I love to walk in the rain I'll get shot by a neighborhood watchman who thinks anybody with black skin is up to no good.
If I happen to enjoy loud music inside my SUV I'll also get shot because my loud music threatens the white guy who happens to hate my punk music.
I wouldn't live in Texas either if I were a black guy. Some superduper white dood in a pickup will come along, shoot me and drag me on the road with a chain tied to the pickup's bumper! Nope, not even Manhattan either where your wallet can be mistaken for a gun and you'll get mowed down by 4 eager beaver cops. And don't flash a shiny CD out of the jewel case - the cops will think it's a nickel plated gun!
If I live in the south or southwest and happen to be on food stamps, my life will be shortened courtesy of the Republicans who want to take away my food stamps!
I'll have to lay low while I Google the best place in America where I won't be a down and out doggie!
Ciao for now.
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