As I sit outside a toilet on a packed train to London, a random lady sitting next to me, her husband standing over me willing me to be polite enough to give up my chair while he stares at my wife’s handbag that I am carrying even though Jean is not on the train, I think to myself:
‘This is absolutely the perfect time to start reading this book.’
Awkward Situations For Men - by Danny Wallace.
Who is Danny Wallace?
Don’t feel bad for asking, he’s been mistaken for a lot of people: The Man U player who ran a five-day marathon, the son of William Wallace and the black actor from the Lethal Weapon films.
Having now read his book, I’m led to believe all of these are incorrect.
Danny Wallace is the man behind the book behind the film “Yes Man” starring Jim Carrey. Having not read “Yes Man,” I shouldn’t really comment on it, but having read ASFM, I’m going to guess the book is significantly better than the film. He’s also the genius who started Dave Gorman on the right track.
But getting back to the point: ASFM is a great book.
It’s an auto-biography of a year of Danny’s life. According to Wiki, Danny will be 35 in November. I am very much looking forward to reading the other 34 volumes in the series.
This book, however, is so much more than just an auto-biography. It is, as Jonathan Ross points out on the cover, “very funny, very clever, very charming” and having read it I am now very much in love with Danny.
So much so, that I really, really hope that I NEVER meet him.
There’s no way he could live up to the fantasies going on in my head.
I will, however, consider buying “Yes Man” and his other books.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Flipnosis
“’Flipnosis’ is a special kind of persuasion. It has an incubation period of just seconds, and can disarm even the most discerning mind… it is black-belt mind control”
That’s what the back cover of this glorious book states. It’s a bold claim. In fact, they originally thought of calling the book:
“Jedi Mind Tricks for Dummies.”
Does it deliver?
Why are you asking me that? Do you really think if I had mastered Jedi mind tricks I would be wasting time writing pointless blogs?
It does, in fact, fall very disappointingly far from delivering.
It starts slow. It introduces persuasion techniques in nature. How certain features make a person appear more trustworthy etc. All well and good, but I’m stuck with the face I have, so this does not aid me in my quest for world domination.
It then goes on to introduce example after example of how other people have used Flipnosis. OK, better, but all these examples are very specific, and the techniques used would almost certainly not work elsewhere. Even in a similar situation. Here’s an example of an example:
“A flight runs into turbulence. Word that passengers are nervous reaches the cockpit. A few moments later, the pilot’s voice is heard.
‘Jesus, we’re all going to die!’ he screams. ‘Oh, shit! That was the intercom light not the engine light...’
The plane erupts with laughter and calm is restored.”
... huh? So if someone is nervous, the correct thing to do is try to freak them out and hope they find it funny? I could be wrong, but I’m fairly certain that could backfire.
The book then kind of tails of, as if it’s done its job and now just needs to wrap up.
But I’m not a bloody Jedi Knight yet!! Get back here!
The real disappointment, however, is that Dr Dutton felt the need to make such silly claims in the first place. There are actually a lot of interesting little facts and experiments in the book, but they’re spoilt by Dutton’s desire to try, and fail, to weave them all together into some elusive “Flipnosis” techniques.
Particularly as the final summary at the end basically says:
“Sometimes you’ll fudge things up, sometimes you won’t. Good luck with that.”
Then again... perhaps the book works perfectly, but I’ve just used its tricks to persuade you all not to read it.
The world is mine.
That’s what the back cover of this glorious book states. It’s a bold claim. In fact, they originally thought of calling the book:
“Jedi Mind Tricks for Dummies.”
Does it deliver?
Why are you asking me that? Do you really think if I had mastered Jedi mind tricks I would be wasting time writing pointless blogs?
It does, in fact, fall very disappointingly far from delivering.
It starts slow. It introduces persuasion techniques in nature. How certain features make a person appear more trustworthy etc. All well and good, but I’m stuck with the face I have, so this does not aid me in my quest for world domination.
It then goes on to introduce example after example of how other people have used Flipnosis. OK, better, but all these examples are very specific, and the techniques used would almost certainly not work elsewhere. Even in a similar situation. Here’s an example of an example:
“A flight runs into turbulence. Word that passengers are nervous reaches the cockpit. A few moments later, the pilot’s voice is heard.
‘Jesus, we’re all going to die!’ he screams. ‘Oh, shit! That was the intercom light not the engine light...’
The plane erupts with laughter and calm is restored.”
... huh? So if someone is nervous, the correct thing to do is try to freak them out and hope they find it funny? I could be wrong, but I’m fairly certain that could backfire.
The book then kind of tails of, as if it’s done its job and now just needs to wrap up.
But I’m not a bloody Jedi Knight yet!! Get back here!
The real disappointment, however, is that Dr Dutton felt the need to make such silly claims in the first place. There are actually a lot of interesting little facts and experiments in the book, but they’re spoilt by Dutton’s desire to try, and fail, to weave them all together into some elusive “Flipnosis” techniques.
Particularly as the final summary at the end basically says:
“Sometimes you’ll fudge things up, sometimes you won’t. Good luck with that.”
Then again... perhaps the book works perfectly, but I’ve just used its tricks to persuade you all not to read it.
The world is mine.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Norwegian Wood
They say you should never judge a book by its cover... and
this is probably the book they had in mind when they said it.
"Norwegian Wood" - H. Murakami.
The title tells you pretty much nothing. Even when you know
where the title comes from it doesn't really tell you much. "Norwegian
Wood" is the name of one of the main characters favourite Beatles song.
See, nothing.
So how about the back cover?
"This book is undeniably hip, full of student
uprisings, free love, booze and 1960's pop." - Independent on Sunday
What?! That has nothing to do with anything! That's like
saying "Lord of the Rings" was full of grass, the
"Godfather" was full of Italian restaurants or that "Dragon
Ball" was about a whiny teenager who wanted his granddad to teach him to
pick up girls... damn it... Dragon Ball Evolution sucked...
Admittedly, the book is set in Tokyo during the summer of
'69 and does mention the student rebellions of the time. But of the 386 pages
of story, probably only about 2 of them rely on that fact. Likewise, although
60's pop songs, the Beatles in particular, are regularly mentioned by name,
there is no real discussion of the songs and as such no real significance. They
could easily be replaced without much change in the book.
Probably the most misleading of the quote, however, is the
image portrayed by the use of "hip", "free love" and
"booze". The book has absolutely nothing to do with the kind of
flower power, shagadelic love of Austin Powers.
So what is it about?
Good question.
Although it follows a far more logical path than some of
Murakami's other novels and short stories, it is by no means a book that can be
pigeon holed. However, if a description is required it can be considered as:
"An Emotional Masterpiece."
... and no, that does not mean a typical chick flick or a love
story. It covers everything from high to low, including 4 suicides, 2
hospitalised deaths and several deep sessions of depression and whisky
drinking. Despite this, it also has some of the most adorable passages in
literature.
So let’s take a deeper look into some of the main issues of
the book.
Let’s start with death...
The shadow of death is a constant companion throughout
Norwegian Wood, the first suicide occurring within the first 30 pages, but the
feel of it really starting from page one. There is a sense of inevitability
about the fragile mortality of human existence which Murakami brings out
effectively in several ways.
For a start, the whole book is written from the view of the
main character, Toru Watanabe, who is remembering the events from 18 years
later. As such, the whole story is inevitable. There is no possible element of
surprise to the writer as he has had 18 years for it to sink in.
More than this, however, there is not really meant to be any
element of surprise to the reader. The characters who die are all spoken of
from the start in tones expected of discussions about friends no longer around.
The deaths themselves are stated as fact before any detail is given.
Also, if all of that is too subtle, Murakami spells it out.
As Toru says after one death:
"Death exists, not as the opposite but as part of life.
It's a cliché translated into words, but at the time I felt it not as words but
as a knot of air inside me."
And after another:
"No one should have to die like that."
To which the response is:
"We all have to die like that sometime. I will, and so
will you."
Everything about the book echoes the hollow, subtle, silent
sound of death, and it is from this sound where the book really gets its title
from.
"That song can make me so sad. I don't know, I guess I
imagine myself wandering in a deep wood. I'm all alone and it's cold and dark,
and nobody comes to save me."
So is this inevitability suppose to bring some strange form
of comfort? Some reduced form of anguish?
No.
"No truth can cure the sadness we feel from losing a loved
one. No truth, no sincerity, no strength, no kindness, can cure that sorrow.
All we can do is see that sadness through to the end and learn something from
it, but what we learn will be no help in facing the next sadness that comes to
us without warning."
And on that uplifting note, perhaps it’s time to look at
what Murakami has to offer on another topic: Life.
"Just remember, life is a box of chocolates."
Now, you’re probably thinking you've heard that somewhere
before, and indeed if you haven't: GO WATCH FOREST GUMP RIGHT NOW! Seriously,
what planet have you been living on? However, it is worth pointing out that
Norwegian Wood was published back in '87, 7 years before the greatness of Gump.
"You know, they've got these chocolate assortments, and
you like some but you don't like others? And you eat all the ones you like, and
the only ones left are the ones you don't like as much? I always think about
that when something painful comes up. 'Now I just have to polish these off, and
everything'll be OK.' Life is a box of chocolates."
Norwegian Wood, as with life in general, is a box of
chocolates. It has it's darker moments, but it also has its happy times, and
you can learn something from all of them.
"I get the feeling a lot of shit is going to come your
way, but you're a stubborn bastard, I'm sure you'll handle it. Mind if I give
you one piece of advice?"
"Go ahead"
"Don't feel sorry for yourself. Only arseholes do
that."
In summary then, how much do I like Norwegian Wood?
“I really like it. A lot.”
“How much is a lot?”
“Like a spring bear”
“A spring bear? What’s that all about? A spring bear.”
“You’re walking through a field all by yourself one day in
spring, and this sweet little bear cub with velvet fur and shiny little eyes
comes walking along. And he says to you, ‘Hi, there, little lady. Want to
tumble with me?’ So you and the bear cub spend the whole day in each other’s
arms, tumbling down this clover-covered hill. Nice, huh?”
“Yeah. Really nice.”
Monday, October 18, 2010
13 Things That Don't Make Sense
They say you should never judge a book by its cover, and, thinking about what the cover generally has on it, that would suggest not judging by the title either. This book may be a bit of an exception to that rule:
"13 Things That Don't Make Sense" - by Michael Brooks
What's it about? Well, surprisingly enough, its about... 13 things that don't make sense...
Michael Brooks provides a list of 13 things which, in his opinion, science has not yet provided a satisfactory explanation for. These include the likes of dark matter/dark energy, gravity, life, death, sex and aliens. His discussion on each is generally well rounded, informed and thought provoking and makes for a good bed time story.
Although the topics are all highly varied, one common theme does unit the majority of the book. A theme that makes less sense than any of the topics explicitly mentioned.
The fact that many scientists treat science like a religion.
The book is mostly about the silly behaviour of scientists known as the "paradigm shift".
"Scientists work with one set of ideas. Everything they do is informed by that set of ideas. There will be some evidence that doesn't fit, however. At first that evidence will be ignored or sabotaged." Only when the evidence builds up to critical mass does the whole system break down and a new law is put in place.
However, this new order generally requires alot more than new evidence. It requires a new set of scientists with a new set of beliefs and a new set of followers. In other words, a new religion.
So powerful is the force of religious science that the writer himself, despite the majority of the book providing countless evidence of it, falls foul of it himself in his debate on free will. On rather flimsy evidence he declares, "We do not have what we think of as free will." The rest of the debate then takes this statement as fact, and the "thing that does not make sense" is that so many people believe we do. True, it can be argued that free will does not exist and there may not be any strong logical arguement as to why it should, but the evidence he bases his conclusion on is inconclusive at best.
The book therefore leads to an interesting debate on the 14th thing. Why is the human mind so strongly wired towards religion, that even those who go out of their way to find an evidence based, logical alternative to religion still just end up with another religion?
"13 Things That Don't Make Sense" - by Michael Brooks
What's it about? Well, surprisingly enough, its about... 13 things that don't make sense...
Michael Brooks provides a list of 13 things which, in his opinion, science has not yet provided a satisfactory explanation for. These include the likes of dark matter/dark energy, gravity, life, death, sex and aliens. His discussion on each is generally well rounded, informed and thought provoking and makes for a good bed time story.
Although the topics are all highly varied, one common theme does unit the majority of the book. A theme that makes less sense than any of the topics explicitly mentioned.
The fact that many scientists treat science like a religion.
The book is mostly about the silly behaviour of scientists known as the "paradigm shift".
"Scientists work with one set of ideas. Everything they do is informed by that set of ideas. There will be some evidence that doesn't fit, however. At first that evidence will be ignored or sabotaged." Only when the evidence builds up to critical mass does the whole system break down and a new law is put in place.
However, this new order generally requires alot more than new evidence. It requires a new set of scientists with a new set of beliefs and a new set of followers. In other words, a new religion.
So powerful is the force of religious science that the writer himself, despite the majority of the book providing countless evidence of it, falls foul of it himself in his debate on free will. On rather flimsy evidence he declares, "We do not have what we think of as free will." The rest of the debate then takes this statement as fact, and the "thing that does not make sense" is that so many people believe we do. True, it can be argued that free will does not exist and there may not be any strong logical arguement as to why it should, but the evidence he bases his conclusion on is inconclusive at best.
The book therefore leads to an interesting debate on the 14th thing. Why is the human mind so strongly wired towards religion, that even those who go out of their way to find an evidence based, logical alternative to religion still just end up with another religion?
Friday, May 1, 2009
Love Actually
Nope, its not a review of the film, but rather a review of an article recently picked out by Zhang Yi designed to scientifically answer
"What IS love, actually?"
Scientists have been studying brain activities and chemical levels in all kinds of animals to try and answer this very question. In summary, they've discovered its basically oxytocin and vasopressin.
Glad thats cleared up...
...
... what? You wanted more details?.. FINE.
Many mammals have a connection between parent and child. In evolutionary terms, such a connection improves the odds the child will survive and thus is better for the species. This connection, in females at least, is produced by a large amount of oxy released during childbirth. In simple terms it produces a kind of addiction, in a similar way as cocaine or heroine, and associates it with the child.
Long term connections between lovers is far less common in mammals, and serves much less purpose in terms of survival. Studies in humans show that the chemical reactions and brain activities that take place when lovers see each other is in fact disturbingly similar to those that take place when a mother sees their child. Love between partners is basically a mutation of the bond of a mother.
Sexual activities release more of these chemicals and may, therefore, improve relationships.
OK, thats oxy, what about vas?
Well vas is the male equivalent. Similar to oxy, it promotes bonding and paternal instincts. Unlike oxy, it also encourages violent tendencies towards potential rivals. Interestingly, the effect of vas on males is NOT always guaranteed. Some males seem to have a certain gene which seems to greatly reduce the chances of them being happy in a long term relationship with anyone.
Some males are actually, physically and mentally, not able to feel "true" love. Ever.
The other interesting (aka worryingly scary) fact is that since scientists are learning more about the chemicals responsible for love, it suggests the mystical "love potion" may not stay so mythical. Theorectically, it may be possible to drug someone to love you, and weirdly they might not even get upset about it.
In fact, they'd probably love you for it...
"What IS love, actually?"
Scientists have been studying brain activities and chemical levels in all kinds of animals to try and answer this very question. In summary, they've discovered its basically oxytocin and vasopressin.
Glad thats cleared up...
...
... what? You wanted more details?.. FINE.
Many mammals have a connection between parent and child. In evolutionary terms, such a connection improves the odds the child will survive and thus is better for the species. This connection, in females at least, is produced by a large amount of oxy released during childbirth. In simple terms it produces a kind of addiction, in a similar way as cocaine or heroine, and associates it with the child.
Long term connections between lovers is far less common in mammals, and serves much less purpose in terms of survival. Studies in humans show that the chemical reactions and brain activities that take place when lovers see each other is in fact disturbingly similar to those that take place when a mother sees their child. Love between partners is basically a mutation of the bond of a mother.
Sexual activities release more of these chemicals and may, therefore, improve relationships.
OK, thats oxy, what about vas?
Well vas is the male equivalent. Similar to oxy, it promotes bonding and paternal instincts. Unlike oxy, it also encourages violent tendencies towards potential rivals. Interestingly, the effect of vas on males is NOT always guaranteed. Some males seem to have a certain gene which seems to greatly reduce the chances of them being happy in a long term relationship with anyone.
Some males are actually, physically and mentally, not able to feel "true" love. Ever.
The other interesting (aka worryingly scary) fact is that since scientists are learning more about the chemicals responsible for love, it suggests the mystical "love potion" may not stay so mythical. Theorectically, it may be possible to drug someone to love you, and weirdly they might not even get upset about it.
In fact, they'd probably love you for it...
Monday, March 9, 2009
South of the Border, West of the Sun.
South of the Border, West of the Sun was another novel from the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, this time translated by Philip Gabriel.
Unfortunately, it lacked both the quality and quantity of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.
In terms of length, it wa only 187 pages long. That was less than half the length of Dave's Thesis, with smaller pages and bigger font.
In terms of storyline, it lacked any kind of magical quality found in Murakami's other book. Although a few slightly strange pages towards the end, which did nothing to add to the book though subtly suggest things may not be quite as they seem, it was generally a predictable tale from start to finish.
It follows the life of Hajime, who seems destined to fudge up his love life. He falls in love with a girl at the age of 12, although not in a physical way, but moves away after elementary school and despite thinking about her constantly fails to keep in touch.
He cheats on his first real girlfriend, with her cousin, to whom the girl is very very close. The girl never gets over it and her entire life is ruined. He feels deeply sorry, but apparently just couldn't help himself.
After bouncing around from girl to girl for a few years, he finally settles in with a wife, has two little girls and a great business. All is well. Until the love of his life from when he was 12 pops back onto the sceen. Needless to say, he's learnt nothing, and goes about ruining another fine relationship.
And that's pretty much the entire book from start to finish.
Throughout, Hajime trys to come across not so much as the "good guy," but certainly as blameless as possible. It's never really his fault. He just can't help it.
And it's true. None of us can truly control how we feel towards any other person. But we can all control what we do. Falling for someone new might happen to the best of us, no matter what our intentions. But the decent thing to do is to talk first with your current partner. Let them know exactly where they stand. Choose either or. In a relationship all anyone can do is treat their partner with respect and honesty. If the love dies down, no one might be to blame.
Hajime's actions are therefore packed full of blame and the book basically just feels depressing, with the main character being an unlikable tw*t, leaving pain and misery wherever he goes.
"I'm not blaming you for falling in love with another woman. I'm not angry, either. I should be, but I'm not. I just feel pain. A lot of pain. I thought I could imagine how much this would hurt, but I was wrong."
You can probably give this one a miss, unless u really like this kind of thing.
Unfortunately, it lacked both the quality and quantity of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.
In terms of length, it wa only 187 pages long. That was less than half the length of Dave's Thesis, with smaller pages and bigger font.
In terms of storyline, it lacked any kind of magical quality found in Murakami's other book. Although a few slightly strange pages towards the end, which did nothing to add to the book though subtly suggest things may not be quite as they seem, it was generally a predictable tale from start to finish.
It follows the life of Hajime, who seems destined to fudge up his love life. He falls in love with a girl at the age of 12, although not in a physical way, but moves away after elementary school and despite thinking about her constantly fails to keep in touch.
He cheats on his first real girlfriend, with her cousin, to whom the girl is very very close. The girl never gets over it and her entire life is ruined. He feels deeply sorry, but apparently just couldn't help himself.
After bouncing around from girl to girl for a few years, he finally settles in with a wife, has two little girls and a great business. All is well. Until the love of his life from when he was 12 pops back onto the sceen. Needless to say, he's learnt nothing, and goes about ruining another fine relationship.
And that's pretty much the entire book from start to finish.
Throughout, Hajime trys to come across not so much as the "good guy," but certainly as blameless as possible. It's never really his fault. He just can't help it.
And it's true. None of us can truly control how we feel towards any other person. But we can all control what we do. Falling for someone new might happen to the best of us, no matter what our intentions. But the decent thing to do is to talk first with your current partner. Let them know exactly where they stand. Choose either or. In a relationship all anyone can do is treat their partner with respect and honesty. If the love dies down, no one might be to blame.
Hajime's actions are therefore packed full of blame and the book basically just feels depressing, with the main character being an unlikable tw*t, leaving pain and misery wherever he goes.
"I'm not blaming you for falling in love with another woman. I'm not angry, either. I should be, but I'm not. I just feel pain. A lot of pain. I thought I could imagine how much this would hurt, but I was wrong."
You can probably give this one a miss, unless u really like this kind of thing.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
"It's like when you put instant rice pudding mix in a bowl in the microwave and push the button, and you take the cover off when it rings, and there you've got rice pudding. I mean, what happens in between the time when you push the switch and when the microwave rings? You can't tell what's going on under the cover. Maybe the instant rice pudding first turns into macaroni cheese in the darkness when nobody's looking and only then turns back into rice pudding... I would be kind of relieved if, every once in a while, after you put rice pudding mix in the microwave and it rang and you opened the top, you got macaroni cheese."
The Wind-up bird Chronicle, written in Japanese by Haruki Murakami and translated to English by Jay Rubin, begins like a bag of instant rice pudding mix and ends up with delicious macaroni cheese. It's strange, it's illogical, but it's a damn fine read.
It tells the story of Toru Okada, a happily married individual who has recently quit the job he was unhappy with and is now living the good life, cooking, cleaning, reading and enjoying jazz. The early chapters biggest worry is the disappearance of the couple's cat. Things take a turn for the worse, however, when Toru's wife also does a disappearing act, ending their life together without even saying goodbye.
Where has she gone? Why has she left? Will they ever get back together? Will the cat come back? The quest to answer these questions bumps into several more along the way, the answers to most being far from straight forward, the answers to many being non-existant.
So, how does Toru go about finding his answers? He does what any loving husband would. He climbs down a dried up well and sits there for a few days...
..mmm.... macaroni cheese....
If you still need further encouragement to read the book, turn to page 11, 4 lines down, start reading from "I'm in bed. I've just come out of the shower, and I'm not wearing a thing."
And there's plenty more where that comes from.
Enjoy.
The Wind-up bird Chronicle, written in Japanese by Haruki Murakami and translated to English by Jay Rubin, begins like a bag of instant rice pudding mix and ends up with delicious macaroni cheese. It's strange, it's illogical, but it's a damn fine read.
It tells the story of Toru Okada, a happily married individual who has recently quit the job he was unhappy with and is now living the good life, cooking, cleaning, reading and enjoying jazz. The early chapters biggest worry is the disappearance of the couple's cat. Things take a turn for the worse, however, when Toru's wife also does a disappearing act, ending their life together without even saying goodbye.
Where has she gone? Why has she left? Will they ever get back together? Will the cat come back? The quest to answer these questions bumps into several more along the way, the answers to most being far from straight forward, the answers to many being non-existant.
So, how does Toru go about finding his answers? He does what any loving husband would. He climbs down a dried up well and sits there for a few days...
..mmm.... macaroni cheese....
If you still need further encouragement to read the book, turn to page 11, 4 lines down, start reading from "I'm in bed. I've just come out of the shower, and I'm not wearing a thing."
And there's plenty more where that comes from.
Enjoy.
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