from the desk of H. Bowie...

Herb's Blog:

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Finished reading The Proof of My Innocence by Jonathan Coe

I thought this was a fantastic read, mixing together social commentary, murder mystery plus insights on the rationale for storytelling, as well as demonstrating the effects of different sorts of narrative styles. And Coe manages to juggle all of these different interests while still delivering a darned good story. Also of note: Coe does a good job of broadening his social commentary to include American as as well as British readers, so one need not be an expert on British politics to follow along.

rating: ★★★★★

link: www.europaeditions.com/book/9798889660927/the-proof-of-my...

Lexicon of Song – 300 clicks in 28 days

Just recently registered the Lexicon of Song site with Google Search, and people seem to be finding it. Cool.

link: lexiconofsong.org/

Published “Remembering Hank”

I still remember the first time we laid eyes on Hank. It was a sunny day in May, and we met him and his current owner in a park somewhere nearby, on neutral territory. And then, when we saw Hank, I quickly realized the gravity of the decision we were about to make. Because Hank was tail-waggingly perfect. So there was no question of passing on him, and holding out for a better dog. Because I couldn’t imagine what a better dog would look like.

link: hbowie.net/writings/remembering-hank.html

Published “It Takes All Kinds”

Seems a pity that this timeworn expression is not heard much anymore: “It takes all kinds.” Could express appreciation or grudging tolerance. Either seems vastly preferable to most of what we hear today about others who are different from us.

link: hbowie.net/writings/it-takes-all-kinds.html

Published “Thoughts on AI: Apple and Otherwise”

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about AI, and Apple’s AI problems in particular, and I have some potentially useful, and perhaps even original, thoughts on these subjects. Amidst all the fascination about the amazing things that AI can do, I think many of us tend to lose sight of some of the essential characteristics of this relatively new technology.

link: hbowie.net/writings/thoughts-on-ai-apple-and-otherwise.html

Published “More Markdown and HTML, Please”

Markdown is admittedly not for everyone, and not equally useful in all contexts, but its usage continues to grow, and arguably has more headroom for further growth.

link: hbowie.net/writings/more-markdown-and-html-please.html

Finished reading So Far Gone by Jess Walter

A bit of a thriller, with some social and philosophical commentary thrown in for good measure. I really enjoyed it!

rating: ★★★★

link: www.harpercollins.com/products/so-far-gone-jess-walter

Finished reading The Man with the Silver Saab by Alexander McCall Smith

Solid, entertaining, with interesting characters and a dry sense of humor.

rating: ★★★

link: www.alexandermccallsmith.co.uk/

Finished watching The Big Heat (film) by Fritz Lang

Interesting because the scene of gangster Vince Stone disfiguring his girlfriend by throwing a pot of boiling coffee in her face is a sort of archetype for the scene of a mobster disfiguring his girlfriend with a Coke bottle in works/The Long Goodbye (film).

rating: ★★★★

link: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Heat

Finished reading Purity by Jonathan Franzen

Good book (partially set in and around Santa Cruz, CA!) that brings together disparate characters and experiences into a convincing and haunting narrative.

rating: ★★★★

link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purity_(novel)

Finished reading Capitalism, Degrowth and the Steady State Economy Debating Future Economic Models by Theodore P. Lianos

This is a bracing little read. Lots of writers these days toss around the possibility of some alternative to capitalism being a preferable economic model without indulging in very many specifics about how such a thing would work, or how such a change would come about. The author here takes a somewhat rigorous (and mercifully brief) approach to examining various alternatives, and concludes that most of these won’t hold water, and finally lands on a degrowth/steady state economy as our necessary future.

rating: ★★★★★

link: link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-60247-4

Finished reading Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner

Loved this modern take on a spy story, with an undercover agent and a number of interesting philosophical threads.

rating: ★★★★★

Finished watching The Long Goodbye (film) by Robert Altman

This was the date on which I first viewed The Long Goodbye, followed by many other viewings over the years (including my first date with the woman who would become my wife, Pauline).

rating: ★★★★★

link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Goodbye_(film)