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2
Apr

#Non-fiction Revolusi

Conclusion:

Sadly, this turned out to be a slog.
Van Reybrouck spent 5,5 years researching this book,
and I think he was loath to leave anything out.
500 pages are filled with facts and interviews with
Indonesians who could contribute their memories of life
during colonialism.

But…the engaging interviews are not enough save this book.
Does any editor at publishing house De Bezige Bij own a red pencil?
There were parts that could have been trimmed.
Having said that…this is still a document historians will love
…but the average reader (me) struggled to find real gems of information.
Personally I prefer David van Reybrouck’s book CONGO (available in English!)
..it is WELL worth your reading time.
So, if you are a history buff

…this book is just what you’ve been looking for
…when it comes to Indonesia!

1
Apr

#PoetryMonth The Gilded Auction Block

Introduction:

  1. A mixed-race poet raised by white supremacists
  2. addresses his country – and his president.
  3. Now if that doesn’t make you curious
  4. as to what McCrae has to say…
  5. …what will?

Impressive biography:

  1. Shane McCrae has written elsewhere about
  2. the trauma of being taken at a young age
  3. to live with his maternal grandparents.
  4. Cut off from his black father, he was brought up
  5. as a white supremacist by his grandmother.
  6. She who insisted that he wasn’t black.
  7. He earned his G.E.D. at eighteen after dropping out of
  8. high school, enrolled in community college in Oregon.
  9. He eventually got an M.F.A. (Master of Fine Arts) at the University of Iowa.
  10. McCrae e earned  a J.D. (Juris Doctor) at Harvard Law School.
  11. He now teaches at Columbia University.

Title:

  1. During an interview McCrae explained the title of the book.
  2. “Gilded Auction Block is, an illusion of prominence,
  3. this brilliantly glowing prominence
  4. …that you’ve been raised above so you can be sold.”
  5. Irony…put on a pedestal….only to be sold and devalued.

The President Visits the Storm

  1. Epigraph for the poem   “What a crowd! What a turnout!”
  2. This poem is the voice of someone who is supposed to be introducing Trump.
  3. Style is jaunty and feels like a string  of
  4. …soundbites that are meant to energize the crowd.
  5. But McCrae twists the situation…
  6. ….are these the words victims of  Hurricane Harvey want to hear?
  7. The purpose of Trump’s visit to Texas was to survey
  8. damage and coordinate federal support for the storm-ravaged area.
  9. But  Trump appeared focused on crowd size, treating his remarks like a rally.

Everything I Know About Blackness I Learned From Donald Trump

  1. McCrae is thinking how he couldn’t remember what about
  2. Trump he thought was the death of America.
  3. My moment was when I heard Trump was elected.
  4. I know exactly where I was and what I said:
  5. “Did I hear that correctly…perhaps age is creeping up on me.”
  6. No, BBC said: “Trump won.”
  7. The first sentence of the poem was probably McCrae’s moment:
  8. “America I was driving when I heard you had died
  9. …I swerved into a ditch and wept.”

The Hell Poem

  1. The Hell Poem which makes up the entire third section.
  2. It is epic…an Inferno-ish poem.
  3. Before each section  are  visual pieces by the artist Christine Sajecki.
  4. McCrae added in an interview some back round information about this poem.
  5. He started “The Hell Poem,” got stuck, and then abandoned the poem in 2014.
  6. Then Trump was elected.
  7. Immediately he realized there was a place for Trump in it.
  8. McCrae: “I think the reason I had gotten stuck was
  9. that the poem was waiting for Trump.”
  10. You’ll have to read the poem to discover
  11. ….what Trump in doing in an Inferno!

Conclusion:

  1. Great book to start….#PoetryMonth 2021!
  2. There is a place where for a few moments
  3. …we can at least feel protected
  4. ….it is while reading a poem.
25
Mar

#Non-fiction Bring the War Home

 

Introduction:

  1. The white power movement in America wants a revolution.
  2. Returning to a country ripped apart by a war they felt they were not allowed to win.
  3. A small group of Vietnam veterans and disgruntled civilians
  4. concluded that waging war on their own country was justified.

 

 

Conclusion:

  1. This was not a “joy” to read….not at all.
  2. The writing was hard-boiled and gave just the facts.
  3. If I was reading the book I probably would have stopped halfway.
  4. But I had an #audiobook and just put on the earphones every day
  5. …and continued on my bike rides.

 

Good news:

  1. The book did make me aware the white power, Aryan Nation
  2. and militia threats that are in the USA.
  3. Imagine reading how pervasive the movement was in 1970s-1990s
  4. …and stop and think how much more these groups are organized now.
  5. They are not always in the headlines but since 06 January 2021
  6. …I was curious what is going on underground or in the woods in different states.

 

Bad news:

  1. The book was depressing….
  2. I did notice Ms. Belew pins a surge in contemporary violence
  3. on the sorely abused Vietnam veterans.
  4. I think this is not a fair argument.
  5. It’s not the military or the military experience or the hellish fog of war
  6. … it is the environment in which they were raised
  7. …before ever getting to the military that leads to this kind of hatred.
  8. They (the vets) were not born with it and they were not brainwashed
  9. …into it when they became military.
  10. They were raised into it by the society from which they come.

 

 

Last thoughts:

  1. This is a book that is not a great read….but a necessary one.
  2. Sometimes you just have to tackle books that don’t appeal
  3. …to educate yourself about this domestic terror threat.
  4. Here are some of my notes after my daily bike ride:

 

March 18, 2021 – page 80 22.73% “While riding my bike in the morning I’ve been confronted with:
Seadrift, Texas, Vietnamese fishers vs KKK Nov. 25, 1979,
Greensboro NC massacre Communist Workers Party vs KKK/NeoNazis Nov. 03 1979 and now frustrated Vietnam vets are off to cause havoc in Central America as mercenaries. Book is depressing…but US is still in the terrible grip of white-power movement. Just 6 hr 55 min…I will finish the book, ugh.”

 

March 19, 2021 – page 112 31.82% “You don’t want to mess with The Aryan Brotherhood….ever!”

 

March 20, 2021 – page 156 44.32% “1984 Aryan Nation (Louis Beam) discovers the internet….members flock to invest in $2000,– Apple computers.
We read names, robberies of armored money transports to fund the movement, attacks on Jews, paramilitary training camps and federal raids on prominent figures. Not much analysis..but just the fact that this is all going on in 1980s is scary. Just imagine White Power, paramilitary militia are doing now!!”

 

March 22, 2021 – page 187 53.13% “The book’s seventh and best chapter is about White Power’s devotion paid to women as wives, mothers, and martyrs of the movement. White power submitted itself to a blinding cult of faith and family centered on the female body. The race must remain pure: “…the birth of a white baby was an act of war.” Louis Beam (Arayan Nation) marries 4th wife Sheila Toohey…she is devoted to him.”

 

March 23, 2021 – page 209 59.38% “The act of writing requires a constant plunging back
into the shadow of the past where time hovers ghost-like.
We return to Ruby Ridge, Waco Texas and the Oklahoma City bombing…
Now we have 2 mass shootings in USA in ONE week!
Thoughts and useless prayers now being rushed to the scene
…to this soon-to-be-forgotten and then-repeated story.
#NeedGunLegislation.”

 

16
Mar

#ReadingIrelandMonth21 Ulster American

 

Quickscan:

  1. This is a one Act  single setting  “pressure-cooker ” play.
  2. Ulster American is set in an apartment where an
  3. Oscar-winning actor, an ambitious English director (both male)
  4. …and a female Northern Irish playwright meet to discuss a play.
  5. A bloodbath ensues from a Hollywood actor’s
  6. attempt to turn a Protestant playwright’s script
  7. …into a celebration of the IRA.
  8. Ulster American is a challenging satire that
  9. …exposes the hypocrisies and ritual abuses of those in power.

Conclusion:

  1. How would I describe Ulster American in just four words?
  2. Political. Provocative. Bloody. Brutal.
  3. It is a queasy-making power-play drama.
  4. No plot, text filled with sound-bite clichés.
  5. Characters have zero depth.
  6. No twist, no story only crass shock and conflict.
  7. Not a single thing to cherish in this play.
  8. #WasteOfReadingTime

 

QUICKSCAN:

3 characters: 

  1. Jay Conway – male, 40s American actor
  2. Leigh Carver – male, 40s English director
  3. Ruth Davenport – female, 30s Northern Irish playwright

 

Location:

  1. London, Leigh’s living room  (Sunday Evening)
  2. on the eve of rehearsals for a West End play.
  3. Jay and Leigh discuss several subjects.

 

  1. “Staccato” dialogue  (between Jay and Leigh Act 1…until Ruth enters)
  2. is where you speak in fragments of short sentences and
  3. is how people truly talk and communicate.
  4. Jay and Leigh jump from one subject to another
  5. racism?  women? nationality? religion?  UK monarchy? feminism? rape?
  6. By reading the stage directions you can feel the tension between the two men.
  7. They prowl the stage….in macho madness.

 

Enter Ruth (38%)

  1. Introductions all around.

 

Exit Leigh (41%)

  1. Now Ruth and Jay talk  Hollywood trivia ( Jack Lemmon, Quentin Tarantino,
  2. …Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan,  favorite movie?
  3. …again  “staccato dialogue”…a bit boring, to be honest.
  4. This type of conversation is a quick read but reveals little about the characters.

 

Enter Leigh..with glass of wine (43%)

  1. Conversation continues.

 

Exit Jay (46%)

  1. They discuss  Jay the crass, petulant American Oscar-winning
  2. actor of Irish Catholic descent.
  3. As David Ireland writes: “…sounding like a “Belfast Dick Van Dyke”.
  4. Ruth is determined to “…protect my f***ing play!”

 

Enter Jay (50%)

  1. He just talked to his AA sponsor on the telephone. (character info)

 

Exit Leigh (52%)

  1. Jay and Ruth start analyzing the play.

 

Enter Leigh…with more drinks (53%)

  1. Leigh and Ruth start the production process of a ‘run-through with Jay.
  2. They try to explain what Northern Ireland Irish sounds like
  3. why Brexit  is or is not relevant…and what is Ulster unionism?
  4. First monologue: (59%)
  5. Ruth focuses her attention on “The Troubles”.
  6. Again…Ruth defends her play: “I’m not rewriting anything!”
  7. …no eye-patch, Irish dancing or pigs!
  8. Second monologue: (71%)
  9. Jay displays his Oscar Academy Award to boost his
  10. …influence about making changes in the play.
  11. Third (very long) monologue (74%)
  12. Leigh tries to find some common ground between Ruth and Jay….
  13. ..it’s not easy!

 

Exit Ruth (80%)

  1. Leigh try to be the peacemaker
  2. between volatile Jay and stubborn Ruth.

 

Enter Ruth …with her phone (81%)

  1. Sign of the times….Ruth threatens Jay with a “blackmail tweet”!
  2. Ruth plays hard-ball!
  3. Agree to her terms….then she won’t send the tweet!

 

Turning point in the play (85%)

  1. Ruth answers her phone
  2. ….she is lost in her thoughts.

 

Exit Ruth  into the bathroom

Enter Ruth…after a few minutes

  1. Now the tables have turned.
  2. Leigh and Ruth have a serious discussion.

 

Climax (94%)

Fight. Blood. Attack. Tweet sent

…the curtain falls.

15
Mar

#Non-fiction A Promised Land

  • Author: Barak Obama
  • Title: A Promised Land
  • Published: 2020
  • Genre: memoir  (7 parts, pg 768)
  • Trivia: Goodreads Choice Award for Memoir & Autobiography (2020)
  • List of Challenges 2021
  • Monthly plan

 

Conclusion:

  1. I was looking for a soothing voice to guide me out of my pandemic rut.
  2. An audio book that would captivate my attention and push me out the
  3. ….door every day just to continue the story!
  4. A Promised Land: A Memoir  by Barack Obama was the book I needed.
  5. I had been cooped up at home from November – February.
  6. My body was withering away (muscle strength)
  7. …and I needed to take action.
  8. I embarked on a 6 week plan:  during Lent I
  9. would bike every day for 1 hour outside.
  10. …only with exceptions for a storm
  11. …with wind and rain that would have me pedaling
  12. 5 feet forward only to be blown back 3 feet!
  13. No need to become a masochist…or catch pneumonia!

 

  • Very enjoyable audio book for daily bike rides.
    Obama always speaks from the heart!

 

  • Sometimes people like books because
  • they think they’re supposed to
  • but how could you NOT like this book!

 

  • This book is a great historical “look behind the scenes”
  • during Obama’s first years in office.

 

  • Just helped Obama pass the Affordable Care Act
  • while on my bike in glacial winter fog. Life is good! #AudioBook

 

  • I heard how Obama surprised everyone and attended in
  • Copenhagen on December 18 the final day of the meeting
  • about the so-called Copenhagen Accord.

 

  • He knocked some heads together and
  • did some “gangsta-sh*t” and got the job done.
  • Not often do you read about Obama’s
  • “street creds” in the newspaper….but you do in this book!

 

Last Thoughts:

  1. Reading this book was like drinking fortified wine.
  2. It was heavy and sweet and bitter and swirled in my head long
  3. after I came home from biking and took off the earphones.
  4. I consumed the book daily…. in slow sips.
  5. It was  an honest and eye opening perspective of what life
  6. was like as President of the United States…first black American.
  7. Thank you, Barack, the world needs this gorgeously written
  8. ….raw honest truth.
  9. #MustRead
10
Mar

#Non-fiction Hannah Arendt

 

Introduction:

  1. The Origins of Totalitarianism  was published in 1951.
  2. It was Hannah Arendt’s first major work.
  3. She describes and analyzes Nazism and Stalinism as the
  4. ….major totalitarian political movements of the first half of the 20th century.
  5. The book is regularly listed as
  6. …one of the best non-fiction books of the 20th century.

 

Conclusion:

  1. This is not an easy read.
  2. It is encyclopedic and exhausting
  3. .…yet I plodded through it.
  4. It took me a month to read in installments.
  5. While reading this book I could not help comparing some items
  6. to Trump and his ‘Trumpism’.
  7. It felt like Arendt’s writing was part of
  8. …Stephen Miller’s playbook! (close Trump advisor)
  9. Arendt discusses  a few subjects as
  10. …antisemitism, Disraeli, Dreyfus Affair, Algiers and Imperialism.
  11. But I enjoyed the last chapters the most:
  12. The Totalitarian Moment (ch 11) and Totalitarianism Power (ch 12).

 

  1. Arendt helps us understand what Trump is not:
  2. He’s not a totalitarian.
  3. There are a number of ideas in Hannah Arendt’s work
  4. …that I think are very helpful in understanding what Trump is.
  5. While Trump is not a totalitarian in her understanding,
  6. …he incorporates what she calls “elements” of totalitarianism.
  7. She thinks that one of the core elements of
  8. …totalitarianism is that it’s based in a movement.

 

  1. I had to stop and think what I heard on
  2. 14 February after Trump was acquitted:
  3. “Our historic, patirotic movement #MAGA had only just begun.”
  4. 19 January Trump’s final address at the White house:
  5. “The movement we started is only just beginning.
  6. There’s never been anything like it”.
  7. I never heard a President of the US ever refer to his
  8. time in office as a “movement”!

 

  1. Just think about it...
  2. Trump calls  himself the mouthpiece of a movement.
  3. That’s a very dangerous position for a politician.
  4. Because it actually means that
  5. …what he cares about more is
  6. …the mobilization of people (the Base)
  7. …rather than working on a platform about a  particular aim
  8. …to help the nation and its citizens!

 

  1. If you want to read how a leader can manipulate the
  2. masses (…the Base) the book is a fascinating read.
  3. Chapters about Imperialism and Race and Bureaucracy
  4. …I skimmed, there’s a lot of history in this book.
  5. I was more interested in the concept of Totalitarianism.
  6. I took from this book what I needed…but it must emphasize
  7. …it is NOT an easy read…it is a challenge.
  8. I preferred “How Fascism Works”  (2018) by Jason Stanley.

 

 

My notes  from Goodreads.com:

February 12, 2021 –

page 28

5.31%  Every monarch had a court Jew to handle financial business.
Later we read how of the establishment of the house of the Rothschilds had a monopoly for the issuance of government loans.
Ms Arendt will soon explain…why countries developed such a strong policy of antisemitism.

February 14, 2021 –

page 88

16.7% The shift from Jews in banking to professional/intellectual professions was caused by the growth of nations. Several important Jewish banking houses were too small to meet the new financial demands. (Ch 2)

February 15, 2021 –

page 120

22.77%  Push through the first ‘less engaging’ pages and you will discover
the book really gets interesting in chapter 3!
Arendt speaks about Jews….but between the lines she is speaking about herself: The majority of assimilated Jews lived in a twilight of favor and misfortune. Resigned to the fact that…to be a Jew meant to belong either to an OVERPRIVILEGED upper class…or an UNDERPRIVILEGED mass.

February 18, 2021 –

page 350

66.41%  I was shocked after reading:
“NOT Stalin’s and Hitler’s skill in the art of lying
BUT the way they were able to organize the masses into a collective unit to back up their lies with impressive magnificence.”

Now, just let that sink in….and remember what happened in USA “The Big Lie” and I’m sure you can see that S’s and H’s playbook is being read by politicians and Fox News!”

8
Mar

Still cold…

The fishers are gone but one lonely bird sits on the windmill. God, he must be cold! Now, time for tea b/c I have been off the coffee for 3 weeks! Detox is going very well…no sugar, bread, butter, jam (morning favorite was toast with my coffee!)
no coffee creamer no chocolate…no cravings. I use all sorts of nuts has a handy treat when I need one! Just 3 more weeks of this “Lent” regime…then I promised myself a few very delicious chocolate Easter eggs…just a few!
Bookchat:   Detox time!
It seems I’ve given up just about everything during Covid
…so I might as well improve the health…I’m trying to save! Time to give up sugar immediately! Sugar: no nutritional value…just a recreational drug. I wish everyone would read this book
and realize the damage sugar is doing to ones body.
No change in the morning weather during my bike ride….when will this winter fog/mist end? After 30 min biking I reach my “turn-around’ point. These two beauties were enjoying a COLD morning dip! I do hope those feathers keep them warm.
If your wondering what the swans are swimming in…it is “eendenkroos” or duckweed.
You can read about it on Wikipedia under the name ‘Lemniodeae’. It is a high-protein 1 leaf plant for ducks, geese and swans.
This is what winter looks like now…landscape, farm in the distance shrouded in mist. These swans are here every day and I finally stopped to take their picture. #Defrosting with a cup of tea.
“Fog everywhere, fog up the river….fog down the river… “
(Charles Dickens, Bleak House)
The next day…it got even worse!
As Irish as I am….(great grandfather from Ireland) I always think of this Irish blessing….as I gather my gear for the daily bike ride: “May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back.” Well, today the wind shifted to WZW which means wind at my back on the ride home! Temp 3 C…but colder with windchill.
Look at this beauty…warm, bright and immediately engaging. This red tabby was so friendly I couldn’t get the distance to focus him in a foto. Finally someone walked by the house an grabbed his attention…and I could snap this impressive profile!
Time to have my cup of tea…still don’t miss coffee…and read a wonderful book by the Irish actor Gabriel Byrne “Walking With Ghosts: A Memoir” Put this on on the wait list at your local library, nice read….just before St. Patrick’s Day!
1
Mar

Meteorological Spring…

Meteorological Spring today…but it didn’t feel like it! Cold east wind (…damn Russians) that stings my face. The fog has lifted but still it’s 50 shades of grey.

 

My feet are still frozen from a long bike ride…b/c it was brutal in the winter fog! Temp 0 C wind was clam WNW but still….very cold. Initially I wasn’t going to bike today…but I made a commitment in Lent…daily bike rides with the exception for rain/wind, no need to catch pneumonia!
But here are the REAL die-hards….sitting on the shore with a fishing pole! I was glad I was moving on a bike to keep warm!
This is a typical Frisian Farmhouse…. it looks so gothic, so isolated …in the mistl It is a “Head-Neck-Body farmhouse”: residence (the head) and a kitchen (the neck) placed in line in front of a big shed (the body).
Earlier this week ….I rode by a typical farm raising the famous Holstein Friesians cows…best milk in the world! They are known as the world’s highest-production dairy animals. USA and Holstein Friesians: were introduced into the US from 1621 to 1664. The eastern part of New Netherland (modern day New York and Connecticut), where many Dutch farmers settled along the Hudson and Mohawk River valleys.
No farm in Friesland is without the famous “Stabyhoun” gatekeeper! Boy, this guy had me in his sights the minute I got off the bike to take a picture. #NoNonsenseDog
I promised this would be the year of dogs…so I mustered up the courage to see if the stabyhoun (…I call him Leroy) would agree to some portraits. He’s a tough negotiator! He still stays near the farm…not sure if I know the ‘secret password’ that would allow me to approach.
Just look at that face! This guy means business!
Now the tension is over….Leroy settles down in his ‘waakhond’ (watchdog) mode. He sees I’m not a threat…just an amateur photographer…biking…chasing off the blues, so Leroy let’s me live!
  1. I feel better today after putting yesterday in my memory box.
  2. Met a neighborhood cat in front of the house,
  3. stopped to pet her and got to feel her fur…so soothing.
  4. Yes….It has been a sad couple of days
  5. ….luckily I took this last beautiful picture of Mork on Valentine’s Day.
  1. RIP Mork (2010-2021)
  2. …you have left me so suddenly.
  3. I could not help you anymore.
You were such a great companion
Loyal and true
My heart will always wear
The pawprints left by you.
22
Feb

….almost Spring

After 3 months of self-imposed lock down I am now ready to greet Spring with open arms! Switching from 5,6 km walks to 2 hr bike rides….more photo opportunities a bit further from home. Temps this week unseasonably warm (10 C, 50 F) here, but winter is lurking around the corner (begin March). Time to delight is the February sun!

 

This is my favorite part of the bike ride…these trees in summer feel like a green cathedral roof. I’ll try to document them during the coming months.

 

Beautiful colors….cobalt blue water and incandescent green, duck taking a morning dip!

 

Such a joy to meet this very friendly dog, Gerber is his name... out for a walk. This is a Stabij… (Stabyhoun) one of the top 5 rarest dog breeds in the world.. It is from my province of Friesland. If you interested ….you can read about him on Wikipedia https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Stabyhoun

 

Sometimes you wonder…who is taking whom for a walk? This lovely lady was also enjoying the morning sunshine and was also taking pictures…..even one of me!

 

The farmer has his fields ready…for Spring planting. I wonder…corn? potatoes? I’ll keep you posted.

 

Sunny but very windy once you bike outside of the center of town. Just think, we were skating on this water just 10 days go!

 

Iconic landmark in Friesland.…we call it in Fries ‘de sipel’ (the onion). It is the quirkiest church tower ever! The Protestant church in Deinum, Netherlands, (see Google maps) one of the medieval churches in Friesland. It is an early 13th-century building with a tower that dates from 1550-1567.
Spring is coming….it really is!
11
Feb

#Non-fiction Kill Switch

 

  1. Why it matters: Kill Switch
  2. This book makes clear that unless the USA  immediately and drastically reforms the Senate’s rules and practices―starting with reforming the filibuster―we face the prospect of permanent minority rule in America

 

  1. The big picture:
  2. For much of its history, the filibuster was used primarily to prevent civil rights legislation from becoming law. But more recently, Republicans have refined it into a tool for imposing their will on all issues to oppose a progressive American majority.
  3. Democrats could unilaterally change the rule to require only a simple majority for legislation to advance, if all 50 Democrats plus Harris agreed to do so, a gambit sometimes called the “nuclear option.”

 

  1. Details:  Superminoirty:
  2. Senators representing as little as 11% of the population can deliver the obstructionist agenda white conservative voters desire. They block progress across most issues.

 

  1. What we are watching:  Majority Leader Schumer vs Minority Leader McConnell
  2. Schumer is resisting McConnell’s demand for a promise to protect the long-standing Senate rule requiring a supermajority of 60 votes to advance most legislation, known as the legislative filibuster.

 

  1. Between the lines:  Threat
  2. Majority Leader Schumer is sticking to his guns and keeping the threat of going “nuclear” on legislation in reserve if Republicans do not work cooperatively.
  3. The author shows that many of the greatest challenges of our era:
  • partisan polarization
  • dark money
  • a media culture built on manufactured outrage.

 

Conclusion:

  1. This is an excellent book about governmental history and
  2. …the practice of implementing the filibuster.
  3. #MustRead book for anyone who wants to improve civic engagement
  4. …understand who you are voting for and how it will affect you!
  5. The Senate is a POWERFUL institution that can change your life.
  6. The filibuster was used as a tool against  Civil rights and 
  7. …voter repression in America.

 

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