Funny.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
(via Mashable)
Category: books
Think Like a Freak
I’m a fan of Freakonomics Radio, the audiocast.
… hosted by journalist Stephen Dubner, with economist Steve Levitt as a regular guest. Freakonomics Radio occasionally hits No. 1 on iTunes, with 4 million downloads a month …
Dubner and Levitt have 3 Freakonomics books, the most recent of which I just read.
Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain
It’s short. But good.
Freakonomics attempts to shed light on topics misunderstood by the general public.
The Martian – book and film
Rockin’ Ronnie recommended me a good one.
The Martian is the first published novel by American novelist Andy Weir.
It was originally self-published in 2012 before Crown purchased the rights and re-published it in 2014. A science fiction novel, it follows the fictional American astronaut Mark Watney as he becomes stranded alone on Mars and must improvise in order to survive.
It has been described as an Apollo 13 meets Cast Away. A film version directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon is scheduled for release in November 2015. …
A wise cracking goofball avoids the cliche of going mentally ill in solitary confinement.
Apple Macintosh 1984
“1984” is an American television commercial which introduced the Apple Macintosh personal computer. It was conceived by Steve Hayden, Brent Thomas and Lee Clow at Chiat\Day, produced by New York production company Fairbanks Films, and directed by Ridley Scott.
… only national airing, was on January 22, 1984, during a break in the third quarter of the telecast of Super Bowl XVIII …
… Advertising Age placed it on the top of its list of 50 greatest commercials.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I’m readying Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.
Steve’s love/hate relationship with John Sculley is fascinating.
Bryce Courtenay’s Australian trilogy
I’ve now finished all three:
The Potato Factory (1995)
Tommo & Hawk (1997)
Solomon’s Song (1999)
Quite good.
“This is the story of two families – branches of the Solomons – transported to an alien land, both of whom eventually grow rich and powerful but who, through three generations, never for one moment relinquish their hatred for each other.
It is also the story of our country from the beginning until we came of age as a nation. …
Born in South Africa, the trilogy is Courtenay’s “love letter to his adopted homeland”.
The author died in 2012.
Game of Thrones – season 4
Game of Thrones season 4 … is adapted primarily from the second half of A Storm of Swords, along with elements of A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, all novels from the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. …
The review aggregator website Metacritic gave season 4 a score of 94 out of 100 based on 29 reviews, signifying “universal acclaim”. According to the other aggregator website, Rotten Tomatoes, all episodes aired thus far obtained 91% or more positive reviews. …
I’d agree.
Season 4 was easily the best season so far. And the TV series is better than the books.
Arya Stark, Sandor “The Hound” Clegane, Diana Rigg as Olenna Tyrell, Peter Dinklage as “the Imp”, Tyrion Lannister …
Actually everyone in the cast is good.
I’m looking forward to seasons 5 and 6.
The Barbecue Widow’s Humblebrag
by Kate Zimmerman
Flavours magazine, Summer 2014, pages 36 to 40
You can read the article online here. … Click through the pages until you find it.
The Potato Factory – Bryce Courtenay
If your Grandad was a convict, clap your hands …
The Potato Factory is a 1995 fictionalised historical novel by Bryce Courtenay which was made into a television miniseries in Australia in 2000. The book is the first in a three-part series, followed by
Tommo & Hawk and
Solomon’s Song.
The Potato Factory has been the subject of some controversy regarding its historical accuracy and its portrayal of Jewish characters.
The book is based on Ikey Solomon, the so-called “Prince of Fences”, and the basis of the Fagin character in the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. …
The story starts in London in the early 19th century. Mary and Ikey start working together as business partners. It follows them as they are separately sent to Tasmania, a penal colony at the time. …
Many have heard of Bryce Courtenay’s more famous book and movie – The Power of One. He wrote that at age-55, his first book.
Potato Factory is even better.
It has a 4 / 5 rating on Goodreads.
I’ve downloaded part 2 in the trilogy, Tommo & Hawk.
Born in South Africa, the trilogy is Courtenay’s “love letter to his adopted homeland”.
Assassin’s Apprentice – a review
Having finished the “Game of Thrones” series of books, several people recommended Robin Hobb‘s Farseer Trilogy as a follow-up.
The Farseer Trilogy follows the life of FitzChivalry Farseer (Fitz), a trained assassin, in a kingdom called The Six Duchies while his uncle, Prince Verity, attempts to wage war on the Red-Ship Raiders from The OutIslands who are attacking the shores of the kingdom by turning the people of the Six Duchies into Forged ones; still alive, but without any emotion or soul.
I downloaded book 1 Assassin’s Apprentice.
It’s good. Subtle. Slow moving compared with Game of Thrones, however. I recommend it.
On the other hand, I didn’t enjoy the book enough to continue on to book 2.
Leave a comment if I’m wrong on that.
Influx by Daniel Suarez – a review
… a world in which decades of technological advances have been suppressed in an effort to prevent disruptive change. …
Particle physicist Jon Grady is ecstatic when his team achieves what they’ve been working toward for years: a device that can reflect gravity.
Their research will revolutionize the field of physics—the crowning achievement of a career. Grady expects widespread acclaim for his entire team. The Nobel Prize. Instead, his lab is locked down by a shadowy organization whose mission is to prevent at all costs the social upheaval sudden technological advances bring. This Bureau of Technology Control uses the advanced technologies they have harvested over the decades to fulfill their mission. …
“Influx” isn’t different, deep down, from the “suppressed new invention” plot used by Robert Heinlein, Ursula K. Le Guin, Poul Anderson and many others going back to H.G. Wells himself. …
The highlight for me were scenes where people can alter their own gravity fields, with very interesting effect. It would make a great film.
An Artificial Intelligence is directed to kill the heroes of the book. But the AI is conflicted. The computer does both. Tries to kill. And tries to save, both at the same time. 🙂
Daniel Suarez is a darling of the Tech / Geek crowd.
Daniel Suarez (born December 21, 1964) is an American information technology consultant turned author. He initially published under the pseudonym Leinad Zeraus (his name spelled backwards).
His career as an author began with a pair of techno-thriller novels. The first one, Daemon, originally was self-published under his own company Verdugo Press in late 2006. It was later picked up by the major publishing house Dutton and re-released on January 8, 2009. His follow-up book Freedom TM was released on January 7, 2010.
… Kill Decision, was released on July 19, 2012. His latest book, Influx, was released on February 20, 2014 …
The Daemon (2 book series) is brilliant. Kill Decision and Influx are not nearly as brillian. But they are still good.
I recommend Influx. And will continue to buy his books into the future.
rated 3.92 / 5.00 on Goodreads
Rick McCharles 