Oh Haruki

"Who do you think the best living author is?" She asks, puffing away on a bright red Nat Sherman Fantasia.

"I guess it'd be Murakami," he answers, his eyes traveling over to one of the many shelves of books and down the spine of The Wind Up Bird Chronicle.  "I have a really nice edition of Noreweigan Wood," he says almost sighing.  "Really nice."

"Even after Kafka on the Shore?"

The mere mention of Kafka on the Shore is enough to abruptly end most conversations on Murakami it seems. It happened just today. I asked friends on Facebook who their favourite author was and one mentioned Murakami. The conversation was going along nicely until I dropped the KOTS bomb. Then it abruptly ended and I was forced to talk about Margaret Atwood's poetry. Even KOTS if better than Atwood's poetry, and it's my least favourite of Murakami's works.

He who loves Murakami enough to declare him the greatest living author is the same "he" who once had a cat that traveled around town and loved to be carried in a plastic shipping bag. I tell him about that time when I lived in New York and decided I needed to go to a Denny's after reading Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. There was a blizzard but I drove to New Jersey anyways and ate a Grand Slam breakfast not so far from Princeton University where Murakami had been a writing fellow and where he wrote The Wind Up Bird Chronicle.

At that time with only one of Murakami's books under my belt I was enchanted by the touches of modern life interspersed with parallel worlds. It was at once science fiction, cyberpunk, and a hard-boiled Chandleresque detective story. I didn't know enough of Murakami's works to know that the themes I so loved would be repetitive. Cats, spirits, spaghetti, love hotels, the Beatles, and of course Denny's. Denny's is mentioned so often in Murakami's work that once I'd progressed through enough them I wondered if he wasn't sponsored by the eatery. At best, Murakami should be entitled to free coffee at any Denny's for life.

I am a fan of Japanese literature in general. I read Lady Murasaki's Tale of the Genji before I knew what a big deal it was supposed to be and Miyamoto Musashi's The Book of the Five Rings is still a favourite. It was after reading Soseki's I Am a Cat that my interest in Japanese literature was reborn. I've since amassed a fairly impressive collection of Japanese authors, enough to see where one half of Murakami's style originates from.

But as of late I've found his writing to be a disappointment. After Dark was empty somehow. I read it in one sitting and was glad I'd saved my money and borrowed it off of someone. Seeing as I can buy a book just because I like the title, that in itself is the harshest criticism I could give an author. I didn't buy your book. In the case of After Dark, I never will.

Murakami's latest work 1Q84 is beyond my reading abilities in Japanese, and the English translation isn't going to be available until October. It's three volumes will be published all at once, but will it be worth it? If I were going to spend a massive amount of time reading any Japanese author's multi-volume work I'd keep reading Mishima's Sea of Fertility tetralogy. Spring Snow, the first book in the SoF was so brilliantly written that I almost don't want to read any of the others to allow it's perfection to remain unmarred like when you wake up early in New York after a big snow storm and to find that despite the fact millions of people live in the city there isn't a footprint on your sidewalk yet - which is in itself a perfect analogy for the book.

Kafka on the Shore's title put forth a fact any Murakami reader knows: Murakami loves Kafka. He has even won the Kafka Prize and Hard-Boiled is heavily influenced by Kafka's The Castle. But I can't help to think that Murakami, lover of running marathons, was running a marathon when he wrote it. On a treadmill.

It is difficult when the authors we love disappoint us. It has happened to me before. I read Rushdie's The Ground Beneath Her Feet and promptly set out to read every Rushdie book I could afterwards. The Ground Beneath Her Feet is still my favourite Rushdie book. I couldn't read Satanic Verses or Midnight's Children. Grimus was particularly terrible. I feel the same about Paul Auster. The New York Trilogy was amazing. The Brooklyn Follies not so much. I met Auster shortly after reading The New York Trilogy at a poetry event of his and was even more captivated after convincing him to come out and have a drink with me and my friend who was obviously quite in love with him. He is in short, a damn interesting person. It only made it harder when I was so let down by The Brooklyn Follies.

Maybe someday I'll publish enough books to know what it feels like to have created something so great that everything else I might write or have written will pale in comparison. I hope I do. I also hope I can take a dose of my own critical medicine. But as Henry Miller once said, "you learn as much from a badly written book as a well written one", and for me the lesson I've taken from Murakami is if I find myself writing repeatedly about the same things over and over to the detriment of my craft I'll seek out a psychiatrist instead of a publisher.

Are you looking forward to Murakami's 1Q84? Or, if you've read it, is it worth buying?

Read more >>

Bueno Suerte Javier Hernandez!!!

I will never type this again because when it comes to football, I'm a Liverpool fan, but I love Javier Hernandez and so I will be hoping for a Manchester United win tonight over Barcelona. No he's not the best player ever, but he plays with all his heart and is a joy to watch.

They call him El Chicharito (which means little pea).

So vamos a Javier. Mexico is so behind Javier Hernandez that they've rescheduled their friendly match again Ecuador. Now that is what I call support!

Who do you hope will win tonight's Champion's League final?

Read more >>

In honour of my Iranian readers, Sadegh Hedayat's "The Blind Owl"

When I noticed today in my blog stats that I have readers from Iran I felt extremely touched. Of all the places my father visited in his lifetime and of all the languages he spoke Iran and Farsii were perhaps closest to his heart. He had a deep respect for Persian history and rightfully so, but above all things he loved the book "The Blind Owl" (بوف کور ).

I read the book only just a few years ago myself and immediately understood what drew my father to this book. The unnamed narrator, a painter of minatures, seeks to cure a disease that erodes "the mind in solitude like a kind of canker". 

Hedayat left Tehran in the 1940's to study existential philosophy with Jean-Paul Sartre and is considered the best Persian author of the last century. He devoted his entire life to the study of Western literature and Iranian history and folklore. He was intrigued by the works of Rainer Maria Rilke, Guy de Maupassant, Edgar Allen Poe, Franz Kafka, and Anton Chekhov.

He sadly committed suicide in Paris in 1951 and sadder still, his books have recently been censored and are carried less and less both in Iran and in Paris bookshops. Henry Miller and André Breton were among the writers who praised Hedayat and his book "The Blind Owl", which the narrator says in the first chapter he wrote so that he would know himself and make himself known to his shadow.

During his lifetime Hedayat was a prolific short story writer and worked on many translations of Kafka, Sartre, and Chekhov, but The Blind Owl is perhaps his greatest work.

Today I was reminded of the list of books my father made for me of books I should try to read in my lifetime and how The Blind Owl was one of the first on the list. So ممنون "mamoon" to my Iranian readers from making me smile this morning and for making me take it from the shelf and read again the moments that most captivated me and for allowing me to have again the feeling that Hedayat's prose always pulls from my heart. Few books are more beautifully written. Very, very few.

Read more >>

Amsterdam: To Bicycle or To Not Bicycle

About five years ago when I was in Amsterdam I went to a place that rents biycles with a question: Did they give bicycle riding lessons?

The person who I asked at Mike's Bicycles , Niels, was pretty shocked. I imagine all Dutch people who seem to effortlessly ride bicycles, often performing elaborate and beautiful dismounts (watch sometimes, it's like bicycle ballet), couldn't imagine that well into my 20's why I couldn't ride a bicyle.

So he taught me. I picked it up pretty quickly because I was determined to get over the fear I've had since I was a 10 year old girl. The first time I ever rode a bike I flew over the handlebars and ended up needing a lot of stitches. I didn't get back up on the two-wheeled horse so to speak.

Once I learned I was addicted though still slightly nervous. While Holland is pretty flat in general, the tram tracks in Amsterdam are a bit scary when they're wet. Still it didn't stop me from buying a bicycle when I found a little vintage Peugot (from a bicycle shop on the Boulevard Beaumarchais) city bike and riding it all over Paris - even up as far as I could make it on the massive hill that is Avenue Gambetta!

Sure I was hit by a car (while sitting on my bicycle on the sidewalk of all places) and I've fallen a time or two, but it is still by far my favourite way to go around Paris. Yes the Metro is convenient, but being on a bike fighting it out with cars, pedestrians, and people on scooters is pretty fun too.

I discourage people who ask me if they should rent bicycles in Amsterdam. First off unless you're an experienced cyclist I recommend staying off the streets while people rush to and from work. Bicycles are the main form of transportation for so many people in Amsterdam that it's almost thoughtless to get in their way. I feel the same way about tourists who block the doors on the Metro. It messes up the rhythm.

Secondly, renting a bicycle is a great way to see Amsterdam as you ride past it. It's not a great way to see Amsterdam if you want to be stop when you want, window shop, actually shop, eat a broodje, stop at a koffehuis, take pictures, or suddenly stop in the middle of the road for whatever reason.  If you want to discover Amsterdam the best way is on foot, as it is in any easily traversed distance in any city.

When I last brought some friends to Amsterdam I told them my personal rule of thumb: If you know where you're going and it's far, then rent a bicycle. I usually end up staying in the Jordaan when I'm in Amsterdam, so if say I want to go to the Albert Cuypt Markt or the Brouwerij (the only windmill in Amsterdam is an amazing microbrewery) or the Artis Zoo, I'll rent a bicycle and make a day of it.

If you do decide to rent a bicycle you need to learn the rules of the road for your own safety and to make the experience a more enjoyable one. Speaking from personal experience nothing is more stressful than not knowing where you can go and can't and what the various signs mean. I've never received one, but I've heard you can get tickets from the police for certain offenses.

I also recommend taking insurance. Yes it's more expensive, but bicycles get stolen all the time in A'dam, so you're better off paying the insurance just in case. Make sure wherever you rent your bicycle that you understand what is covered in your insurance and under what circumstances. A friend of mine rented a bicycle once, locked it up somewhere, and when it was stolen it wasn't covered by the insurance because of where she left it. Now I'm not sure if this was a disreputable rental place or not because when she called me to ask it did sound like a legitimate reason if only because it was in the rental place's "rules" - so make sure you know all the terms and conditions before you agree to rent from anywhere.

I don't know if I'll rent a bicycle this trip, perhaps I will when I arrive to Zandvoort to bicycle down the coast. I have a thing for Zandvoort. Maybe it's because of the history of Holland fighting off the sea and yet loving the water that the threatens their "hinterland" at the same time. The dykes and the system used to keep the country from flooding is extremely poetic. The dykes fight against the sea and yet return the same water they hold back to the sea to fight it all over again.

I like to go and stand on the sand and look out at the North Sea who is both friend and potential enemy to one of my favourite places. The dyke system of Holland is one of the greatest achievements of mankind and perhaps one of the greatest "water" themed innovations since the Roman aquaducts. I spoke with a friend's father, who has worked on the dykes for almost his entire career and he explained to me about the history of the "terpen" and how Holland grew a 12th province in the late 80's (Flevoland) by reclaiming land that had been previously reclaimed by the sea in the 13th century.

Besides standing on the beach, staring at the sea Zandvoort is a pretty popular resort town so there are plenty of other things to do, but if you want a break from the crowds that are inevitable in the summer months, rent a bicycle and ride as far as your legs will take you. It's much easier going and less stressful than riding around Amsterdam.

Read more >>

Ir España! The Spanish are taking to the streets for all of us.

A friend of mine in Barcelona sent me this link via Facebook: http://www.cronica.cat/noticia/Els_indignats_convoquen_una_concentracio_avui_al_vespre_a_Placa_Catalunya

If you don't read Spanish (or Catalan, which I think this link is in) - the Spanish people are taking to the streets for changes that are needed in Spain, but in many EU countries, France included.

From my friend:

"People are tired of politicians that do not solve the real problems of the country..."

"They are cutting salaries, economic help, job positions, but the economy is not recovering and some keep making lots of money while the country is strugeling... spanierds are asking for politians to take more competent decisions..."

"We’re asking for changes that are needed in many European countries, like ending corruption and making politicians accountable, so borders won’t stop this from spreading..."

After the riots around Europe in 2010, including general strikes taught us anything it is that the people, all of us, have a civic responsibility to support strikers and those groups which are fighting for things that benefit all of us. Despite the problems the strikes caused us here in France, I supported the strikes because it wasn't just about shorter work hours, it was about the government's responsibility to its people.

Above is a video of the national strikes that took place last June in France.

If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.

Malcolm X

** Sorry if this post doesn't appear well, trying out the mobile blogging thing for Blogger.

Read more >>

Creative Nonfiction: A literary oxymoron?

Another literary lie?

Until today when I found this article on the NPR website, it never ocurred to me that Augsten Burroughs' book "Running With Scissors" was an actual memoir. Sure the cover said memoir right on it, but I thought it was taking massive liberties with the truth of Burroughs' life (his real name, Chris Robison, is far less extravagant). For taking real life, particularly your own real life, and changing everything around should not be considered a memoir. Oprah tore James Frey apart for misrepresenting his memoir "A Million Little Pieces" based on his exaggerations, downright lies, and reassembly of the facts. Why didn't someone attack Burroughs with the same vehemance I wonder when his book was published just the year before?

The NPR article compares the three Robison's various "memoirs". Margaret, who you might know already from Burroughs book and his older brother John Elder Robison who recently wrote a book about living with Asperger's Syndrome - which is within the autism spectrum. Each memoir, the writer of the article claims, is different in that some major stories are told from three very separate points of view - in other words there are major discrepancies.

John Elder is quoted in the article talking about a story where Burroughs claims to have been burned on the forehead. John Elder thinks it was his little brother, but his wife says it was John Elder himself and on the chest. Their mother has no recollection of the incident at all.

"No matter what," John Elder says, "it's an ugly tale."

What I think is ugly about "creative nonfiction" is that it allows writers to distort their truths and sell it to readers under the guise of nonfiction. People buy these books often referred to as "misery lit" because they want to read about someone's firsthand experiences. There is an expectation from the reader that the sometimes horrible and traumatic experiences of the writer be true. If Frey's book and following downfall have taught the literary world anything it's that the truth that you present to the reader better be the truth or else. Frey's publishers was forced to return money to anyone who sent the book back to them after he was uncovered as having lied.

I didn't understand people's reaction at the time because I never read Frey's book, but it did change my perception about memoirs, especially memoirs where the writers have seemed to overcome harsh circumstances such as abuse. What is important is not only the relationship writers of these types of memoirs have with their readers - who may only buy the book because it is something they themselves have experienced - but also why writers might chose to write about these deeply personal aspects of their lives. On one side for the writer it could be a need for catharsis and for reader it could be a way for them to work through their own traumas.

I for one hate that publishers of "misery lit" have foregone the need to truly publish the truth for what has been for over a decade a massive moneymaker. Memoirs can inspire and help people. Burroughs has deceived the public with his "memoir" because it is evidentally more creative than nonfiction.

Creative nonfiction is a term that has been around since the 1970's. It was originally meant to define a form of nonfiction that uses literary craft to present nonfiction. Now professors and publishers and agents stumble over themselves to clarify: Creative nonfiction, which is what the memoir falls under in present day, has to be true. But there is now a difference between facts and the truth. If this is the definition of creative nonfiction then what isn't creative nonfiction?

The article quotes a professor from Arizona State University: [a memoir] "It's your own personal truth, and it's not neccessarily accurate..."

Which is the sort of thing I'd expect to hear coming out of the mouth of a politician. A lying one. In a world where we are constantly lied to by the media and by the people who govern us - shouldn't we be able to expect truth from a genre of art that was built on the concept of truth as its foundation?

The only thing that consoles me is that I never considered Burroughs to be a great writer. Yes the characters were interesting, but what Burroughs doesn't tell you is that he stole quite a lot from Salinger's Glass Family. Thank goodness that when I saw the Post-It on the title "A Memoir", I gave it as much credibility as Arthur Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha". Otherwise I would be far more pissed off than I am right now.

What do you think? Should a memoir be accurate? Leave your thoughts below because I'd love to know if I'm simply overreacting.

Read more >>

Amsterdam: T Minus 13 Days

In 13 days I shall be in one of my favourite countries in the entire world, The Netherlands. This time I'll be straying not just outside the Centrum (the center of Amsterdam), but making a day trip to Zansvort to put my toes in the North Sea (and perhaps do some kind of kite mattress surfing thing), but also visiting Haarlem (which is quite close by), and hopefully making the trip to Arnhem to see the Kröller Müller Museum , which I've been told is even better (not that it would be too difficult) than the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam (which is always full of tourists rushing you through and therefore not fun to visit).

But Amsterdam itself is full of things to see and do for those who don't partake in "Dutch coffee". Not only is the Rijksmuseum amazing, but the science museum (NEMO) is a must see for those interested in science (I spent about 2 hours playing with the various exhibits patiently waiting until the children had their turn), and there are plenty of street markets if you love markets and thrifting.

Noordermarkt Monday mornings, don't miss it!

My favourite market of all is the Monday morning market at the Noorderkerk (Jordaan area). It's full of little odds and ends from vintage clothes to things for the house and also has a few booksellers as well. Last time I went to the Noordermarkt I scored some editions of The Real Free Press (including the first one ever printed) and a new Dutch comic book for my collection also published by the RFP called "Skippy".

My obssession with Dutch comics and the RFP was born from visiting a little hippie owned comic book shop near the Parmentier Metro station here in Paris a few years ago where I bought the RFP #4 featuring the art work of Robert Crumb and another Dutch comic book called "The Upside Downs". What makes The Upside Downs so interesting is that the frame can be read both up and down. Made by Gustave Verbeek in the early 1900's, its style predates TinTin by nearly 20 years. But don't take my word about how cool-kooky it is. Scroll down and take a look for yourself.

The Real Free Press #6, Robert Crumb

The same one frame from The Upside Down - upside and downside.



I'm hoping to score a few household bargains and maybe even a few vintage duds. The clothes at the Noordermarkt can be quite cheap, but you usually have to dig through piles to find the good stuff, so if that's not your thing, keep that in mind. Also make sure to bring your own bags to take stuff with you.

It's nearing the time I decide what I will make time to do in Amsterdam and what I won't make time to do. Along with visiting the sea and Arnhem I also want to take the free ferry to the north of Amsterdam (which is just behind Centraal Station) and explore this area. When I lived in Amsterdam for four months I was working on a book and didn't explore much, so each time I try to fit in the things I've fallen in love with (like sitting doing nothing in the Vondelpark and reading a book) with something new or nieuw I should say.

Plus I've found every time I go back for a visit my Dutch is a bit better than last time and I am determined to  perhaps not to master the language, but at least be able to have a simple conversation in Dutch. I have two Dutch neighbours living nearby who help me practice, so ik heb geen excuus! (I have no excuse!)

If you're going to Amsterdam and want some suggestions feel free to ask and if you've never been, try to make a trip to Holland. There's good food, lovely canals, and the Dutch are in my opinion very friendly. I have more random conversations with people in Amsterdam than anywhere else. It's what keeps me coming back. Actually it's what keeps me from wanting to go anywhere else either. For some people it's Paris, but for me it's Amsterdam!

What's your favourite country or city to visit?

Read more >>

Collecting Children's Books - Andrew Lang

Like most children when I was little I was obsessed with fairytales. I read my books full of the tales of Charles Perrault, Comtesse de Ségur, and La Fontaine almost every day and dreamed of adventure. This obsession has stayed with me throughout my life.

As I grew older I kept collecting books of fairytales, folklore, fables, myths, and children's literature. When I started to have a little money I started looking for first editions of books by my favourite children's authors like Dr. Seuss' "Horton Hears a Who!", E.B. White's "Charlotte's Web" (Scored at a used bookstore in Flagstaff, Arizona for $4.00), and Roald Dahl's "James and the Giant Peach". My father Henri started me off with a first edition of E.B. White's "The Trumpet of the Swan", which I am now reading with my neighbour's son who loves to read almost as much as I do.

But as proud I am of my collection it is but a tiny, tiny fraction of the children's books collected by Peter and Iona Opie, who collected 20,000 children's books including fairytales, fables, folklore, and myths over the course of their long career. The collection in its entirety is now a part of the Bodleian Library at Oxford and one day I hope to visit the Bodleian and spend a healthy chunk of life studying their collection. In the meantime I use this list of 1200 books I found to beef up my own collection.

I first discovered Peter and Iona Opie when I purchased a book of theirs called "The Classic Fairytales". Much like the fairytale stories I loved as a child it opened a whole new world to me. The extensive sources in the back of the book were full of books I'd never even heard of, but one in particular I had - I just didn't realise it yet. I immediately searched for the name "Andrew Lang" on my bookshelves and there they were - in a four volume Dover Editions set - Lang's famous "Fairy Books".

Lang's Fairy Books or "Coloured Fairy Books" are complete in 12 volumes - red, blue, yellow, green, violet, pink, grey, crimson, brown, orange, olive and lilac. My little four volume set contains the red, blue, yellow, and green fairy tale books and is sadly incomplete. I say sadly because the complete set I'd most like for my library is about $16,000 USD, but are they ever worth pining for! The covers alone are already magical, nevermind the stories held within.

I'm often asked by people who see my library what books I'd most like to own and I always mention these first editions. I have a secret hope that one day I'll write a successful children's book of my own and be able to purchase them.

Two of my favourite fairytales of all time are contained with the Blue Fairy Book, "Why the Sea is Salt" about a hand mill that magically produces so much salt it sinks a boat and keeps on grinding out salt to keep the sea salty and "The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood".

Lang's version draws from Perrault's classic version of La belle au bois dormant, which was originally adapted (and is far less violent and terrifying) from Giambattista Basile's "Lo cunto de li cunto overo lo trattenemiento de peccerille", considered by the Brother's Grimm to be the first collection of national fairytales ever assembled, they are even today known to be some of the oldest known variants of Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Rapunzel in existence.

When I was a child I would pretend sometimes to prick my teddy bear's paw on my mother's sewing machine and would rush him to my bed and once he had been asleep for what felt a hundred years; I would fight my way past imaginary dragons and defeat cunning foes until I made it to where he was sleeping to rescue him with a little kiss. Then we would ride one of the chairs in my room which was now an ornate chariot, while all the people of the kingdom would herald me as a hero.

Engraving, Dore of Charles Perrault's Sleeping Beauty

What fairytales do you still hold dear and why?

Further Reading:
The Brothers Grimm - Cinderella (Ashputtel)
Hans Christen Andersen - The Snow Queen (Sneedronningen)
Henri Pourrat  - Le trésor des contes
Italo Calvino - Italian Folktales (Bella Venezia/Snow White)
Once Upon a Blog - A blog about fairy tales with a modern take

Read more >>

A Multilingual Show of Appreciation & Other Miscellany

Since I started this blog I admit I've cheated a little. I took material from another blog that I kept and added it to my archives. No one read that other blog because I didn't really do very much with it, so when I see things I've written a year or two ago getting attention, it makes my heart sing.

I don't want to be overly sentimental, so instead I'd like to say the following:

1. Danke schön
2. Merci beaucoup
3. Thank you very much
4. Cheers
5. 谢谢
6. 감사합니다
7. Dank u wel
8. Tak
9. Gracias
10. Grazie mille

to my readers in Germany, France, the US, Canada, Singapore, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Taiwan, South Korea, and Australia.

*Since posting I realised I now have readers from reland and Belgium as well.

You might have found my blog through various search phrases, but here are some of my favourites:

1. Dr. Scholl's
2. Amsterdam
3. Date "La Falaise" was painted by Henri Rousseau (which wasn't on my blog but I found the date. 1894)
4. Carla Bruni
5. Inigo Montoya's backstory

I added a poll to see what you'd like me to blog about, but I also have a few subjects I'll be blogging about over the summer months including a few "series" of posts.

Here Be Maps

A series on the history of cartography, maps of imaginary places, and maps in fictional literature.

Mysterious France

A series on myths, legends, and folklore from various regions of France including Paris, Fontainebleau, and Provence.

A Korean Banquet - Hanjeongsik (한정식)

Hanjeongsik damyang is the ultimate Korean meal once served only to royalty. In this series there will be lots of recipes broken into their various components, as well as covering a bit of the history of Korean cuisine.

I trained for three years in Korean cooking on my own by cooking from 4 am until 2 am every Saturday while in college in order to learn not only how to cook the dishes I love, but also to learn more about one of my two cultures.

If it makes you feel any better it made me hungry too.




Other than that I've been tyring to make a few small technical improvements to the blog to make it more enjoyable to read, but if you do experience any problems viewing my blog feel free to comment about it. Blogger has been especially glitchy lately, but I hope it's only for me. I added an About page recently as well, so I've removed my profile widget as the About page has a lot more spoilers on it.

Again thank you for supporting my blog. It really encourages me to come up with new ideas, inspires me, and gives me a little boost - all things which are helping me to be a better writer.

In other words:

Read more >>

Literature Maps

As I began my research (and the tearing apart of La Bibliothéque as I amass books that are relevant) for my Here Be Maps series (for more info on the series, please click here) I found a great site which though it has been around for some time it seems, I didn't know about.

The site, called Gnod is an experiment that uses artifical intelligence with the aim of helping site viewers as a search engine "for things you might not know about". It has several components including music, films, people, and literature.

I clicked on the Gnod Books link and decided to let Gnod teach me a thing or two by entering W. Somerset Maugham, Colette, and Yukio Mishima - three of my favourite authors and was told by Gnod that I should read Junichiro Tanizaki, who I own several books by already.

You are given three choices by Gnod regarding its suggestion: I Like It, I Don't Like It, and I Don't Know It. Since I do like Tanizaki, I clicked I Like It and was referred to read books by Osamu Dazai who I also like, but will pretend for the sake of this experiment that I Don't Like It.

The next suggestion from Gnod was JG Ballard writer of "Crash", which I liked but I haven't enjoyed any of Ballard's other works so at this point I grew skeptical and decided to play with some of the other features of the site.

Now keep in mind because the site most likely takes information from everyone who plays with it and makes the "mapping" connections probably based on this user input. For example nothing would make me personally draw parallels between Patricia Highsmith, author of The Talented Mr. Ripley with Osamu Dazai, but somewhere long before I found this site someone must have.

If you love discovering new authors based on the authors you love (and movies and films) this is a fantastic site. I found several authors linked to W. Somerset Maugham that I would have never considered, but do agree with such as William Stryon (Sophie's Choice, although I don't think it's his best work) and Oswald Splenger (Decline of the West).

I added Kipling myself as Maugham was rather a big fan of his.
There is a book called Maugham on Kipling that is well worth a read.

I've written to Gnod's creator to see if he'd explain more about how the AI works, so if I get a reply I will post in the comments or update via this post if the information is extensive as it would be great to better understand if only to weed out authors that might not be relevant.

Enjoy!

Read more >>

Here Be Maps

A few years ago I stumbled upon a treasure trove of cheap books in Paris at the monthly booksale at The American Library of Paris. The first Saturday of every month I would drag my lazy butt out of bed, grab my "caddie" (a shopping bag on wheels) and make my way to the library before 10 o'clock in order to insure I was one of the first people to cross the threshhold when the doors opened.

With books costing only 1 or 2 euros, I pretty much could afford to grab anything that caught my eye and I did. I invited friends who are also bibliophiles because as much as I wanted to keep the secret to myself, the point of the booksale was to raise funds to buy new books, and I simply couldn't afford to buy them all.

My friend and "little brother" D. got his hands on a book, which would turn out to be one of the few books I would be so dismayed not to have seen first that I simply had to order it on Amazon. It captured my heart the moment I opened it, and it still hasn't let go.

This will be a multi-part series dedicated to imaginary places, the history of maps, and literature. I plan for those of you who might prefer better images and a different format to make a PDF or PDFs of the entire series and make them available to anyone who might be interested. It's an ambitious project and I am not sure where it might take me, but when you travel by imagination, the possibilities are endless.

I will be posting the first part of this series this Friday evening and then each additional part on every Friday to follow until the series is complete. But in the meantime, here is my favourite map, the carta marina made by the Swedish mapmaker Olaus Magnus in the 16th century.

Read more >>

Amsterdam

I am off to Amsterdam in a few weeks, so here's a French and English shout out. While the song is not nearly as cheerful as I am about going there.

I have promised myself I will not eat at Thaise Snackbar Bird more than five times in the two weeks I'll be in A'dam. I might actually keep this promise.

Jacques Brel's version.

Ziggy's glam-rock version.

I'll be posting while in Amsterdam, so be sure to take a look starting June 7th!

Read more >>

Pictures Worth Thousands of Calories

Potatoes baked on the grill then drizzled with garlic butter and garnished with fresh sage, parsley, rosemary, and chives from the garden. For a finishing touch I added freshly grated parmesan and served with a side of creme fraiche.

I initially planned to serve this dinner with grilled asparagus drizzled with truffle oil, but it vanished into thin air mysteriously well before dinner time never to be heard from again. I replaced it with these crisp green beans tossed with butter, tarragon, and garnished with fried shallots.

Dessert was New York style cheese cake with a Speculoos crust (those little brown cookies you get with coffees sometimes in France) and made a fresh strawberry-rhubard compote for the topping.



Whole mushrooms sauteed in gras de canard (duck fat) garnished with fresh parsley and sprinkled with sel de Guérande.



American-French fusion cote du boeuf with homemade BBQ sauce and grilled until it was so tender the meat fell off the bone. I was surprised a mass of angry French people didn't invade my garden because I cooked it until it was well done, because I'm pretty sure cooking a cote de boeuf that isn't red (bleu) or medium rare (saignant) in France is illegal. It was worth a possible prison sentence though.

I've been really enjoying the whole little house in the forest thing. It's nice being able to get away from the city. More mosquitoes though!

Read more >>

Want to Know About Ama?

I've been taking a peek at other people's blog and thought maybe I should create a page that would tell my readers a little bit about me. Not a CV mind you, but a petite histoire de la Madame.

And now I want to know something about you, my darling readers.

What do you like to read on my blog?

Is there anything you'd like me to blog about?

Post your ideas, suggestions, or comments in the errrr comments!

Yours,
Ama




I love bangles, animal prints, and hats. I forgot to mention this on the About page.



Read more >>

An Open Letter to Blogger

Dear Blogger,

When I couldn't blog for two days due to technical problems on your end and suffered the kind of withdrawals that people would normally take Methadone for, I forgave you. I wrote my blogs in Word and sat it out. Despite the fact the problem took longer to resolve than rewatching an entire season of True Blood,  I forgave you and continued to herald Blogger as the best free blogging platform in the galaxy. Yes this mostly due to the fact that I was temporarily placated by how hot Alexander Skarsgaard is, but also because I was trying to be patient and understanding.

Now my patience has run out. After writing a blog post on the literature behind Star Wars that took about 4 hours of forcing my brain to think about more than eating cheesecake (or Alexander Skarsgaard shirtless), my "Save Now" feature wouldn't save. Later I would get an error message about posting in a language I didn't even recognise and I, like C3PO am fluent in many forms of communication including Korean, French, English, Arabic, Tagalog, Japanese, Mandarin, and  many offensive hand gestures - all of which I aimed directly at the computer screen while your logo - which looks like a sideways deformed ass btw - mocked me unapologetically.

I do not think myself above being mocked, however I do think given that I have been extremely vocal about how great I think Blogger and by extension Google - despite the fact I secretly believe one day your search algorithm will become sentient and take over the world - that this is bullshit.

You owe me all the little tidbits I added to my blog post that I personally believe elevated it from being great to being nearly as awesome as the first time I saw Star Wars. If I were a Wookie I'd get on a plane, rent a car, drive to your offices, and rip your arms off.

When a company or entity has such a dominant presence in anything, nevermind the 24/7 culture of the Internet you have a responsibility to your clients. Yes most of Google's services are free, but please don't add insult to injury by allowing glitches to occur on your free blogging platform and not on your ad revenue moneymaking search engine.

Sincerely,

____ - ______   __________


P.S.

In case you're more visual.

Read more >>

The Literature Behind Star Wars

1. Oedipus, Sophocles

Oedipus was a mythical Greek king that fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother. Since Luke's mother was already dead and Lucas didn't want to go full incest, Luke ends up simply kissing his sister and then posing arrogantly about it afterwards. Laugh it up fuzzy Nerfherder. Oh wait, she really loves Han anyway. Still the fact that Luke and Leia didn't exchange "oh no we didn't glances" after he finds out Leia is not only his sister, but his twin sister was still fairly oooh gross.

No wonder why Anakin fell in love. Look at that blass-ter.

As Luke travels to Alderon he encounters Vader on an Imperial battleship. Then he journeys some more. Again he encounters Vader, who is his father. He searches his heart and knows it to be true. He ends up not killing him, but Vader dies anyways. Too bad Luke didn't make his way to Holland during his travels considering"vader" actually means father in greatest country in the world in Dutch. Vader's offspring don't kill each other now that he's gone. Instead they dance triumphantly with Ewoks on Endor. The End.

Later on Lucas provides further evidence that he suffers from what Freud called the Oedipus complex when we see Luke's mother and her bare midriff (apparently in the universe of Star Wars fashion sense is genetic, let's blame Midi-Chlorians, the Sith sure did). I bet if Luke had known his mom was so hot he wouldn't have kissed his sister and would have probably dispatched Vader out of envy long before Return of the Jedi.


2. The Greek Myths

When it comes to the Greek Myths, three books come to mind. Edith Hamilton's Mythology, Bullfinch's Mythology and The Greek Myths by Robert Graves. Unless you're intending to become a scholar of the Greek myths, I don't recommend Graves version. Start with Edith Hamilton's Mythology and if you're not sated then continue on to Bullfinch's, which is probably the most popular as it was intended for the general reader.

If you do chose Hamilton over Bullfinch (as I did), be sure to read another book of hers called The Greek Way.

Also, read one or all of these books before you read Campbell's book, which is number 3 on this list.

3. The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell

This books is Campbell's opus to the myth, specifically the monomyth (the word is borrowed from Joyce's book Finnegans Wake to which he wrote A Skeleton Key). The monomyth is based on the concept that every narrative regardless of the culture that it originated from display a basic pattern. There are 17 stages to this pattern with the first being the "Call to Adventure" - as Luke is called to adventure by discovering Leia's message in R2 while trying to clean him up and ends with "The Freedom to Live" - which not only Luke, the obvious hero in Star Wars secures for himself by beating the Dark Side, but also for everyone in that galaxy far, far away by defeating the Galatic Empire.

"The hero is the champion of things becoming, not of things become, because he is. 'Before Abraham was, I AM.' He does not mistake apparent changelessness in time for the permanence of Being, nor is he fearful of the next moment (or of the 'other thing'), as destroying the permanent with its change. 'Nothing retains its own form; but Nature, the greater renewer, ever makes up forms from forms. Be sure tnothing perishes in the whole universe; it does but vary and renew its form.' Thus the next moment is permitted to come to pass."

And if you've read this and raised an eyebrow, after I read the book and rewatched Star Wars I did too. Nothing about Luke convinced me that he would even comprehend what Campbell was saying and chances are if you tried to explain it to him he'd probably cut his hand off with his lightsaber and throw himself down a shaft except this time when he screamed like a bitch it would actually make sense.

Lucas and Campbell became friends after Star Wars came out because Campbell realised he just got the best publicity ever Lucas revived interest in his book. If you don't feel like reading the whole book, you can find a copy of the famous Memo written by Christopher Vogler here as well as the story behind it.

4. A Princess of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs

Before Burroughs gave us Tarzan, he gave us Dejah Thoris, the Martian Princess of Helium, who is courageous, resolute, and frequently in both mortal danger and the threat of being dishonored by the lustful designs of villains. Her main squeeze is a Virginian prospector/cowboy who is believed dead and entombed in a crypt only to be found alive later on in the story. Before he actually dies and gives the manuscript to Burroughs in the story, he relentlessly pursues Leia who can't seem to admit she loves him until its too late.



5. The Secret Doctrine; the Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy, Helena Blavatsky

Blavatsky's "Secret Doctrine" is an influential example of the revival of interest in esoteric and occult ideas in the modern age, in particular because of its claim to reconcile ancient eastern wisdom with modern science. I seriously doubt that Lucas read this two volume magnus opus, but even Blavatsky herself gave this wise advice regarding The Secret Doctrine:

"Reading the S.D. page by page as one reads any other book (she says) will only end us in confusion. The first thing to do, even if it takes years, is to get some grasp of the 'Three Fundamental Principles' given in the Proem. Follow that up by study of the Recapitulation - the numbered items in the Summing Up to Vol. I (Part 1.) Then take the Preliminary Notes (Vol. II) and the Conclusion (Vol. II)."  

So perhaps Lucas took her advice and read the book according to her instructions (which sounds more painful than trying to read Cortazar's Hopscotch) or someone said, "Hey Mr. Lucas you should read this great book that tries to reconcile eastern wisdom with modern science." Shortly after Mr. Lucas strangled the intern for making the suggestion while wearing an motorcycle helmet and some riding gloves. Never one to waste experience for the sake of his art, Lucas promptly edited his screenplay "The Journal of the Whills". Eventually this title would bring about the demise of other interns and be changed to Star Wars. When Reagan would later steal the name for his just as imaginary space program, Lucas would discover that Reagan had a force all his own that could not be defeated called "trickle down economics".

6. The Time Machine, HG Wells

Now those of us who have seen Star Wars know that the Millenium Falcon was the fastest thing in the universe, but even Han's baby (Imagine how badly you need to feel about your penis to hold such a grudge about losing your ship in a poker game. Yeah Lando, I mean you.) couldn't travel through time. What makes Wells' contribution to science fiction perhaps the greatest contribution of all time is that it was the first instance where a machine allowed its operator to travel purposely and selectively. Like the Falcon could do after Chewie would set the coordinates and Han goes down into a pit stupidly leaving tools on the edge of said pit while they're being blasted by TIE-Fighters and Imperial battleships trying to escape and finally R2 saves the day by fixing the coupling that had been sabotaged by jumping via lightspeed.

So yes, The Time Machine, though there is no time travel in Star Wars, made the Millenium Falcon possible and what would Star Wars and Han been without that bucket of bolts?

7. Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Carl Jung

Carl Jung was really into archetypes and by "really into" I actually mean obsessed.

"The archetype is a tendency to form such representations of a motif - representations that can vary a great deal in detail without losing their basic pattern ... They are indeed an instinctive trend".Thus for example "the archetype of initiation is strongly activated to provide a meaningful transition ... with a 'rite of passage' from one stage of life to the next such stages may include being parented, initiation, courtship, marriage and preparation for death."

According to Jung archetypes form a dynamic substratum common to all humanity, upon the foundation of which each individual builds his own experience of life, developing a unique array of psychological characteristics. Jung did not believe that people were born a blank slate, but instead possessed individual predestinies. Luke inherits Anakin's flying abilities, his Midi-Chlorians, and apparently his moodiness.

The idea of archetypes dates back to Plato, but Jung being obsessed and all had to go further. He went further to define the archetypes: hero, goddess, mother; but most importantly to Star Wars Jung proposed that:

"the archetype had a dual nature it exists both in the psyche and in the world at large. He called this non-psychic aspect of the archetype the "psychoid" archetype. He illustrated this by drawing on the analogy of the electromagnetic spectrum. The part of the spectrum which is visible to us corresponds to the conscious aspects of the archetype. The invisible infra-red end of the spectrum corresponds to the unconscious biological aspects of the archetype that merges with its chemical and physical conditions. He suggested that not only do the archetypal structures govern the behavior of all living organisms, but that they were contiguous with structures controlling the behavior of organic matter as well. The archetype was not merely a psychic entity, but more fundamentally, a bridge to matter in general. Jung used the ancient term of unus mundus; to describe the unitary reality which he believed underlay all manifest phenomena. He conceived archetypes to be the mediators of the unus mundus, organizing not only ideas in the psyche, but also the fundamental principles of matter and energy in the physical world."

Like Midi-Chlorians, light sabers, telekinesis, projecting yourself as a hologram from the realm of the dead, sending things, feeling the force, not feeling the force enough, and being able to telepathically communicate with someone because you need a ride and you no longer have a thumb to stick out.

Kidding aside, Jung's Collected Works in 20 volumes has some mind-boggling things within their numerous pages. Though it didn't seem to help Lucas much when it came time to create the psychology of young Vader.

8. The Golden Bough, Sir James George Frazer

This is not a book you read in a weekend. Considering it is a 12 volume study on mythology and religion, it's more like an encyclopaedia. In fact a case could be made that it is so extensive up to its 2nd printing when Frazer expanded it from 2 volumes to 12 that one could find anything they wanted to know about mythology and religion (specifically pagan, and Frazer did scandalise people by including the story of Jesus, implying Christianity was also a pagan religion). But if you're not a fan of books simply for reference sake, you might find Robert Graves The White Goddess an interesting read.
9. Mythologiques, Claude-Lévi Strauss

         Volume One: The Raw and The Cooked (Le cru et le cuit)
          Volume Two: From Honey to Ashes (Du miel aux cendres)
            Volume Three: The Origin of Table Manners (L'Origine des manières de table)
              Volume  Four: The Naked Man (L'homme nu)

I don't own all the volumes either in French or English of Strauss' Mythologiques, but I do own The Raw and the Cooked, widely considered the best of the four. The Raw and The Cooked contains almost 200 myths from South America, North America, and Europe. Strauss succeeded in presenting myths in a new light based on the idea that myths could not be understood in isolation, but rather had to be examined only as parts of a myth system. 

It's rather entertaining. Even more so if you read it, then watch Star Wars and realise that Lucas missed the point because when he set out to create his "myth" of the Jedis instead of presenting the myth system so that we could understand what was going on, he actually confused us more and more with every new Star Wars film.
10. Phantastes, George MacDonald

The story centers on the character Anodos (pathless or ascent in Greek) who is pulled into a dreamlike world. Anodos lives through many adventures and temptations (women in place of the Dark Side of the Force) while in this other world, until he is finally ready to give up his ideals.

I might be stretching it with this one, but it's worth a read anyway. If you don't believe me, then believe C.S. Lewis who said after reading Phantastes at the age of 16 that:

"That night my imagination was, in a certain sense, baptized; the rest of me not unnaturally, took longer. I had not the faintest notion what I had let myself in for by buying Phantastes."

Perhaps Mr. Lucas was visited by the same phantom menace (get it?) that possessed C.S. Lewis because we all know he didn't have the faintest idea what he was doing when he made The Phantom Menace and well we all hadn't the faintest notion what we had let ourselves in for by standing in line for eighteen hours to buy tickets to the midnight screening only to have the joy that Star Wars left in our childish hearts chased out by the grating voice of Jar Jar.

11. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien

Of all the books on this list #11 and #12 are by far the most influential, but the LOTR triology was the best fantasy novel of all time that inspired the best science fiction novel of all time.

Just read it, Lucas be damned.

12. Dune, Frank Herbert

The best science fiction novel of all time. I cannot say this enough. I might type it again later on down the page just because every time I write it my fingers rejoice in the ring of truth they have just typed. More so when I explain to them that these words will be on the Internet and perhaps read by others who might also know this to be true. At one point the original screenplay for Star Wars was pretty much Dune with a few names changed, while ironically Dune is sort of LOTR with a lot of names barely changed at all.

But read it because it is the best science fiction novel of all time. Sorry, my hands got carried away a little there.

13. Sha-seki su (Zen Flesh, Zen Bones), Muju

#17 Stingy in Teaching

A young physician in Tokyo named Kusuda met a college friend who had been studying Zen. The young doctor asked him what Zen was.

"I cannot tell you what it is," the friend replied, "but one thing is certain. If you understand Zen, you will not be afraid to die..."

Now I've added this book to the list because Lucas himself has admitted that Buddhism and Zen in particular was a big influence on how he came up with the concept for "The Force". This particular koan continues when the physician decides to seek out a master and be completely humbled by him, similar to Luke being humbled by Yoda; but also if you notice the Jedis, Yoda and Obi-Wan specifically show no fear of death because they believe in The Force and apparently being a Jedi master not only makes you less afraid of death than Jesus, but it also makes you able to reincarnate yourself in case your buddies who aren't dead yet are stranded in the freezing temperatures of the Hoth system.

14. Tao te Tching, Laozi

Knowing others is wisdom;

Knowing the self is enlightenment.

Mastering others requires force;

Mastering the self requires strength;

He who knows he has enough is rich.

Perseverance is a sign of will power.

He who stays where he is endures.

To die but not to perish is to be eternally present.

On Knowledge and Humility

Try not read those lines without hearing Yoda's wise words to Luke. Oh wait - Do or do not. There is no try.

But no seriously, imagine the Tao te Ching translated from Chinese by someone who speaks broken English and voila! But no seriously, read it. You too might become as wise as Yoda. And ever present you will be.



15. The Wizard of Oz, Frank Baum

This book makes the list for two reasons: one because it is [somewhat] universally acknowledged that the film was a big influence on Lucas, but I argue that the book had some influence on Lucas as well.

Dorothy, much like Luke is living on a farm with her aunt and uncle at the start of The Wizard of Oz. She has a faithful companion (Toto). She encounters a metal man, a lion, and a scarecrow with no brains. Likewise Luke has his faithful companion, R2 (though he does wander off, doesn't he?), C3PO, Chewbacca, and well, you know who the scarecrow is, but he was rather handsome one. Incidentally both "scarecows" get a little lip action, if we, and we should, assume that Luke and Leia being twins are basically the same person, i.e. different aspects of Dorothy.

Where Lucas diverged, and thankfully so is that unlike both Luke and Leia Dorothy didn't rescue the scarecrow from a carbonite slab that was hanging in a really fat alien's fortress. Good thing too because I don't know if those pigtails and ruby slippers would have gone so well with Leia's metal bikini outfit*.

* I stand corrected. Apparently anything goes with Leia's metal bikini outfit. Merci Monsieur Redacteur! I forget most men's fantasies don't have any fashion sense.

Read more >>