Last night around one in the morning, I finished reading my first book in Dutch. This calls for celebration, or at the very least telling everyone who will listen! To add a nice sugar coating to my joy, the book was fantastic. Everyone should read it. The English translation is coming out in July, so there will be no excuses.
The book is Komt een vrouw bij de dokter by Kluun. Cool if you can be an author with just one name, don't you think? It's the story of a young (I now think 35 is young) guy who's wife finds out she has an aggressive and deadly form of breast cancer. While that introduction might lead you to believe it's going to be a sad, weepy, sentimental book, it's not. The guy, Stijn, is a party animal. So the book swings between descriptions of great parties to descriptions of the pain of watching young doctors try to find his wife's vein for her first chemo treatment. And in case it didn't sound sad enough already, they've got a young daughter. I cried at the end. Couldn't help myself.
The English translation is planned for a July 24 release and will be called Love Life. The title translation is a bit lame. The Dutch title translates literally to "A woman goes to the doctor." Apparently there is a whole category of jokes in Dutch that start with that line. "Love Life" sounds too warm and fuzzy, but I'm sure there's careful, strategic planning in these types of choices, so I'll keep quiet.
Here is an interview with Kluun: Heartless philanderer or modern emotional realist? His book is enormously popular here. Every week I see at least one person reading it on the train and the last two were men in their 40s and 50s. I wonder if it will be picked up in the US or the UK.
26 April 2007
24 April 2007
Project for Paper Lovers
Good morning! Just checking my blogs and found these instructions for a paper wallet. Hilarious and actually works. Have fun!
22 April 2007
Eve and the Fire Horse
On Thursday night, I went to the fair city of Rotterdam for dinner and a movie with two friends. Not just any dinner since we dined at Asian Glories. They amazingly managed to serve 7 delicious dishes in 45 minutes. We were shocked. It also almost make us forget the ridiculous water ordering dialog:
Us: We'd like some tap water, please.
Them: So Spa Red or Spa Blue? (referring to bottled water, sparkling or still)
Us: Just tap water, please.
Them: Spa Red, Spa Blue, it's water!
We got our water in the end and they seemed less upset after we ordered a bottle of wine to go with it.
The film was a part of Asiascope. This is an interesting little film festival because it focuses on films about Asians living outside of Asia. That means films that wrestle with issues that all immigrants wrestle with as well as some of those specific to (half-) Asians. It's a nice concept and I hope have more time for it next year.
We saw Eve and the Fire Horse. Written by Julia Kwan, this film tells the story of two Chinese sisters growing up in Canada and their encounter with Catholicism. The film was beautifully made with a sweet story and a few moments that brought an 8-year-old's imagination to life on the screen. Imagine a Chinese opera singing goldfish or Buddha dancing with Jesus in your living room. However it also managed to touch on the confusion that children face when they are encountering a spiritual world that their parents don't understand.
Eve and her older sister Karena introduce their mother, played by Vivian Wu, to Christianity by way of the movie The Ten Commandments. Karena explains to their mother that it's the holiday to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. When mom looks confused, Eve explains that it's the "holiday with the chocolate bunnies." After watching the movie, mom is convinced that Christianity could be a welcome addition to Buddhism. After all, two ideas about how to live well in the world must be better than one. Besides, she liked Moses, he had a kind face.
If you decide to watch this film, it is interesting to notice the way that the girls approach their new found Christianity. In Sunday school, they sing "Jesus Loves Me" and listen to passages out of the Bible read by the nun. Christianity is represented as a faith religion, something you believe in. Buddhism, on the other hand, is a series of rituals that the girls and their family members participate in. Their grandmother pours three glasses of tea each morning for gods "who never seemed to be thirsty." They light incense and bow three times when their parents or grandmother tells them to.
It is not surprising, then, that their approach to Christianity, especially Karena's, is to observe and mimic its rituals. Karena gives her sister careful instructions on the position for prayer but doesn't make any mention of what a prayer is or how one prays. She is exasperated when the younger Eve confuses the Christian prayer position with the Buddhist prayer position. From their experiences with Buddhism, proper religious observance is related to proper observation of rituals, not with specific beliefs.
Eve and the Fire Horse is a lovely film that tells a convincing tale of lost and found family and faith. You won't see it in the theaters, but it deserves a high position on your NetFlix request list!
Us: We'd like some tap water, please.
Them: So Spa Red or Spa Blue? (referring to bottled water, sparkling or still)
Us: Just tap water, please.
Them: Spa Red, Spa Blue, it's water!
We got our water in the end and they seemed less upset after we ordered a bottle of wine to go with it.
The film was a part of Asiascope. This is an interesting little film festival because it focuses on films about Asians living outside of Asia. That means films that wrestle with issues that all immigrants wrestle with as well as some of those specific to (half-) Asians. It's a nice concept and I hope have more time for it next year.
We saw Eve and the Fire Horse. Written by Julia Kwan, this film tells the story of two Chinese sisters growing up in Canada and their encounter with Catholicism. The film was beautifully made with a sweet story and a few moments that brought an 8-year-old's imagination to life on the screen. Imagine a Chinese opera singing goldfish or Buddha dancing with Jesus in your living room. However it also managed to touch on the confusion that children face when they are encountering a spiritual world that their parents don't understand.
Eve and her older sister Karena introduce their mother, played by Vivian Wu, to Christianity by way of the movie The Ten Commandments. Karena explains to their mother that it's the holiday to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. When mom looks confused, Eve explains that it's the "holiday with the chocolate bunnies." After watching the movie, mom is convinced that Christianity could be a welcome addition to Buddhism. After all, two ideas about how to live well in the world must be better than one. Besides, she liked Moses, he had a kind face.
If you decide to watch this film, it is interesting to notice the way that the girls approach their new found Christianity. In Sunday school, they sing "Jesus Loves Me" and listen to passages out of the Bible read by the nun. Christianity is represented as a faith religion, something you believe in. Buddhism, on the other hand, is a series of rituals that the girls and their family members participate in. Their grandmother pours three glasses of tea each morning for gods "who never seemed to be thirsty." They light incense and bow three times when their parents or grandmother tells them to.
It is not surprising, then, that their approach to Christianity, especially Karena's, is to observe and mimic its rituals. Karena gives her sister careful instructions on the position for prayer but doesn't make any mention of what a prayer is or how one prays. She is exasperated when the younger Eve confuses the Christian prayer position with the Buddhist prayer position. From their experiences with Buddhism, proper religious observance is related to proper observation of rituals, not with specific beliefs.
Eve and the Fire Horse is a lovely film that tells a convincing tale of lost and found family and faith. You won't see it in the theaters, but it deserves a high position on your NetFlix request list!
20 April 2007
Probably Not a Blogger...
A few weeks ago, I discovered Google Reader and a whole new way to waste my time was born. Fantastic stuff. Have a minute and don't feel like working? Check Google Reader! Want to harass your friend? Send them things from Google Reader!
For now, I'm following a few blogs that I find either entertaining (like Futility Closet), visually inspiring (like Notebookism), or otherwise interesting (like my first blog, the blue blog). Blogging is a fascinating medium. It's like writing a column in the newspaper, except there's not newspaper and no newspaper editor. The qualities that make a blog enjoyable are not unlike the qualities that make a newspaper column enjoyable. They have an interesting set of topics or a seemingly mundane topic with an interesting approach. They also publish regularly and prolifically.
Now, I've never done much thinking about columnists or bloggers before in terms of what it takes to do it well. But really, these are people who simply sit down every day and produce a lot of work, I mean words, no work. Popular bloggers (is that the same as good bloggers?) are those who post regularly as well. By posting regularly, they give readers something to look forward to. Also, if you are putting a lot out there, you're probably improving with practice. So, working harder means getting better at what you do. I think I heard the same thing about piano lessons way back when.
Finally, prolific posting must also have a dilution effect. Meaning this: if you post a lot, your bad posts are outnumbered by your good posts. Not only that, you're more likely to manage a great post. But this is not rocket science. Practice makes perfect - or at least makes improvement more likely. Posting, writing, running, whatever you want to do better you have to do often.
This was meant to end up with a conclusion about why I'm probably not a blogger. Instead I'm thinking that perhaps the way to become a blogger is just to do it. Of course, then it would help if one wanted to be a blogger to.
I think I'll see if anything has turned up on my Google Reader...
For now, I'm following a few blogs that I find either entertaining (like Futility Closet), visually inspiring (like Notebookism), or otherwise interesting (like my first blog, the blue blog). Blogging is a fascinating medium. It's like writing a column in the newspaper, except there's not newspaper and no newspaper editor. The qualities that make a blog enjoyable are not unlike the qualities that make a newspaper column enjoyable. They have an interesting set of topics or a seemingly mundane topic with an interesting approach. They also publish regularly and prolifically.
Now, I've never done much thinking about columnists or bloggers before in terms of what it takes to do it well. But really, these are people who simply sit down every day and produce a lot of work, I mean words, no work. Popular bloggers (is that the same as good bloggers?) are those who post regularly as well. By posting regularly, they give readers something to look forward to. Also, if you are putting a lot out there, you're probably improving with practice. So, working harder means getting better at what you do. I think I heard the same thing about piano lessons way back when.
Finally, prolific posting must also have a dilution effect. Meaning this: if you post a lot, your bad posts are outnumbered by your good posts. Not only that, you're more likely to manage a great post. But this is not rocket science. Practice makes perfect - or at least makes improvement more likely. Posting, writing, running, whatever you want to do better you have to do often.
This was meant to end up with a conclusion about why I'm probably not a blogger. Instead I'm thinking that perhaps the way to become a blogger is just to do it. Of course, then it would help if one wanted to be a blogger to.
I think I'll see if anything has turned up on my Google Reader...
13 April 2007
Young Tar Heel
Grandfather and grandson in UNC shirts. It's a sight to bring a little tear of joy to any Tar Heel's eyes. Of course, later on at dinner grandson's mom asked me what Tar Heels are, but that's OK. He's not heading off to university (or study abroad) for at least another 16, 17 years. I've got plenty of time to convince him that it's the southern part of heaven. Or at least to get a kick out of him in his pint-sized gear.By the way, check out that garden shed. Yes, it's a garden shed. When I grew up, years and years ago in South Dakota, sheds were metal slap up jobbies with dirt floors and dark, scary insides. I was a kid, after all. This one is pure luxury. Real wood, finely finished, concrete floors, electricity, running water, and beautiful glass windows! Would make a fine guest house. Probably not bad for storing garden tools, either.
10 April 2007
Tulip Hunting!
Yesterday we went tulip hunting in Holland. Our guests, P & M joined us on bicycles for a nearly 50km ride from Haarlem to Lisse, past the tourist-clogged Keukenhof, out to the Kenmer dunes, north to Zandvoort, and back to Haarlem. It was a beautiful day and lovely ride. I was feeling quite proud of myself an my amazing cycling accomplishment when I realized that marathon runners run most of what we biked. Not so impressive anymore... but still good fun! More pictures posted on my flickr account.
His and Hers Reading
I've finally seriously started reading Simon Schama's The Embarrassment of Riches. It's a cultural history of the Netherlands and I'm hoping to find it useful for my research projects and work.
On the other nightstand is Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.
Kinda cute, don't you think? Or kinda sad.
On the other nightstand is Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.
Kinda cute, don't you think? Or kinda sad.
02 April 2007
01 April 2007
March in Review
That's March in book review, actually. A couple of months ago I reviewed reading month and hoped to do it regularly, but have not kept up with it. Well, it's time to try again.
March was an interesting and challenging reading month mainly because I decided to read Doris Lessing's The Golden Notebook. It is a 650 page novel published in 1962. Not exactly high on Oprah's reading list. On the surface it takes on issues of feminism and communism but ultimately it reads like an inquiry into self-expression, categories, and creativity. I'm not sure whether I enjoyed it or not, but I certainly feel enriched for having read it. That's probably not going to make it as a book blurb any time soon.
The main character, Anna Wulf, keeps four notebooks in which she tries to divide and organize her thoughts. Each notebook has a theme. Her idea in the beginning seems to be that if she can organize her thoughts, they will make more sense or be easier to deal with. I think it's the second. Somehow, she believes that organizing her thoughts is a way to control them instead of feeling controlled by them. The novel is a combination of narrative and excerpts from the notebook. As a result, the time line is complex and the shifts between Anna's fiction and Lessing's story can be difficult to follow. Near the end, however, things start to fall apart. Anna begins a relationship with an American boarder and they journey together into a self-destructive madness.
At this point, the novel becomes more difficult to read and increasingly repetitive. The writing mimics or embodies the madness. One of the outcomes of this madness, though, is that the four notebooks are finally discarded after years of use in favor of a single golden notebook. Anna discovers that organizing her thoughts has not brought her any peace and proceeds to combine her thoughts in one notebook. This can be interpreted as an end to dividing herself and a consolidation of herself into one person. In the end the American boarder actually leaves with the notebook after Anna gives it to him. This can be interpreted in various ways but it isn't the core of the story. The core is about the struggle with categorization and division in life and of our sense of self.
The Golden Notebook is described as one of Lessing's greatest works. Personally, I'm glad I read it, but I would only recommend it to someone who wanted a challenge.
Other readings for this month included Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind, which was a wonderful story about books, love, and intrigue in Barcelona. They even mention the Calle Joaquin Costa that I used to live on! Last night I finished Thorton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey. This one falls into the category of highly praised American literature. He won a Pulitzer Prize for it. The four profiles that are the central elements of the text are nice, but it was not the compelling read I was hoping for. More than anything it left me wondering why an American was writing about Peru. Not something I would have expected.
March was an interesting and challenging reading month mainly because I decided to read Doris Lessing's The Golden Notebook. It is a 650 page novel published in 1962. Not exactly high on Oprah's reading list. On the surface it takes on issues of feminism and communism but ultimately it reads like an inquiry into self-expression, categories, and creativity. I'm not sure whether I enjoyed it or not, but I certainly feel enriched for having read it. That's probably not going to make it as a book blurb any time soon.
The main character, Anna Wulf, keeps four notebooks in which she tries to divide and organize her thoughts. Each notebook has a theme. Her idea in the beginning seems to be that if she can organize her thoughts, they will make more sense or be easier to deal with. I think it's the second. Somehow, she believes that organizing her thoughts is a way to control them instead of feeling controlled by them. The novel is a combination of narrative and excerpts from the notebook. As a result, the time line is complex and the shifts between Anna's fiction and Lessing's story can be difficult to follow. Near the end, however, things start to fall apart. Anna begins a relationship with an American boarder and they journey together into a self-destructive madness.
At this point, the novel becomes more difficult to read and increasingly repetitive. The writing mimics or embodies the madness. One of the outcomes of this madness, though, is that the four notebooks are finally discarded after years of use in favor of a single golden notebook. Anna discovers that organizing her thoughts has not brought her any peace and proceeds to combine her thoughts in one notebook. This can be interpreted as an end to dividing herself and a consolidation of herself into one person. In the end the American boarder actually leaves with the notebook after Anna gives it to him. This can be interpreted in various ways but it isn't the core of the story. The core is about the struggle with categorization and division in life and of our sense of self.
The Golden Notebook is described as one of Lessing's greatest works. Personally, I'm glad I read it, but I would only recommend it to someone who wanted a challenge.
Other readings for this month included Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind, which was a wonderful story about books, love, and intrigue in Barcelona. They even mention the Calle Joaquin Costa that I used to live on! Last night I finished Thorton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey. This one falls into the category of highly praised American literature. He won a Pulitzer Prize for it. The four profiles that are the central elements of the text are nice, but it was not the compelling read I was hoping for. More than anything it left me wondering why an American was writing about Peru. Not something I would have expected.
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