100 Year Old Best Sellers

As mentioned in an earlier post, I've begun reading the best selling novels from 1917. The first on the list is Mr. Britling Sees It Through., by H. G. Wells. The novel begins just before the start of World War I and tells of the experiences of a writer and his family and acquaintances during the war. It's a thought provoking  novel and it's being on the best seller list of 1917 is perfectly understandable.

At the end of the book, Wells uses a letter written by Britling to the parents of a German friend to voice his views on how the world should evolve after the war. Unfortunately, Wells was not able to visit the future as a character from another of his novels was able to do, and Wells' idea for a one world government haven't panned out quite the way he would have wanted.

Like a good many following the Great War, many felt that the League of Nations would make certain that it would be the War to End All Wars. Hindsight is 20/20, and we can see now that the treatment of Germany following their loss in the Great War help bring about the Second World War.

The second novel on the list of best sellers of 1917 is The Light in the Clearing by Irving Bacheller. . As I write this, I am 31% into the e-book (downloaded from Project Gutenberg. I tend to agree with the review (linked to above).

"The Light In The Clearing is a book that is worth a read, but not so much for pleasure as for studies of history. For history it is a fantastic fictional source but for pleasure the dampening of themes and 180 degree changes are too irregular to invite particular acclaim. It’s a good book, but its purpose has been served better elsewhere".

The reviewer also writes that the book "has not stood the test of time as well as it could have, and that is a shame". That said, I will do my best to finish the book. The reviewer says the "last few chapters are excellent, but it’s difficult to get that far". I'm going to try.

Mike Tyson's Time Traveling Fan

In Oct. 2010, in a post entitled Time Traveler with Big Feet I posted a Youtube video - Chaplins Time Traveler - which contains film footage taken outside the 1928 premier of Charlie Chaplin's silent film, The Circus which, some believe, shows an old woman walking in front of a camera talking into a mobile phone; evidence, they say, of time travel.

I have no idea what the woman is actually doing but I do not believe she is a time traveler. Just because I can't explain this odd film, it does not follow that we are witness to someone going back in time.

Now, we have another video, posted to uniquefacts.net which reportedly shows a person attending the 1995 Peter McNeeley and Mike Tyson heavyweight championship fight, recording the fight on a smart phone. Smart phones, of course, did not exist in 1995. More evidence, some are saying, of time travel.

In the comment section of the uniquefacts.net article, someone points out that the device in question is most likely a Casio QV-10 which was on the market in 1995. Some argue that a Casio QV-10 would not be held at the angle this device is being held. The resulting video would be sideways when viewed. I've know lots of folks who have held cameras and phones at the wrong angle - without any logical explanation. I would come closer to believing that the person using the Casio was using the camera improperly. Afterall, it was just brought onto the market and the person using the camera may not have been absolutely sure how to use it.

That's easier to believe than the time travel scenario.

Welcome to the Future

Folks roaming about the Poblacion (downtown) area of Sibulan, who would otherwise have to walk from point A to point B, heretofore had two transportation options.

Option one (as seen in the above photo) is the motorcycle powered tricycle. Before buying our car, I had made use of this form of transportation when either going to the highway to catch an easy-ride to Dumaguete, or taking the tricycle directly to the city.

The 2nd option available is the bicycle/human powered pot pot.

Obviously, the pot pot is used by people wanting to go relatively short distances. I'm almost ashamed to say that, not long after we first arrived in Sibulan and were staying at the in-law's house, we did take a pot pot going to church. I felt guilty having someone carry me about this way.

Now, there is a third option for those moving about in Sibulan. It is a battery powered, electrical vehicle.

Sorry, I don't know the local term for this vehicle.

These vehicles arrived in Sibulan after we had purchased a car, and after I had begun walking regularly; I've never had the need to ride in one. Had the vehicles been here when we first arrived, riding in one would have eliminated the guilt I associate with paying a man to take me hither and yon, by pedaling a bicycle.

Needless to say, these electrical pedicabs improve the air quality - no choking exhaust fumes like those from internal combustion engines. I wonder though, if the electrical powered vehicles help "global warming" or climate change. Producing electricity does affect the environment. Further complicating the question is the fact that electricity on this island is produced geothermally.

Also, I can't speak to the economic issues surrounding the electrical vehicles. I don't know the price of the pedicab; I don't even know the priced charged to ride in one. I do know that, in spite of the fact that the there are no fossil fuel costs associated with producing electricity here, the price of electricity is very high. Does the driver save money recharging the battery (how many times a day?) versus the cost of putting gasoline in a motorcycle?

I have lots of questions, but few answers.

Looking Backward: 2000–1887

In the wikipedia article covering the novel, Looking Backward: 2000–1887 ,by journalist Edward Bellamy, is described as a "Utopian science fiction novel". Utopian is an accurate description, but calling the novel science fiction is stretching the term a bit much.

Published in 1888, the novel tells the story of a young man who falls into a deep hypnotic trance and awakens in the year 2000 to find the United States has been transformed into a socialist utopia where war, poverty, crime, prostitution, corruption, money, or taxes no longer exist. Ownership of private property is a thing of the past and the national government owns and operates all businesses.

Bellamy's vision of the year 2000 AD bears no resemblance to the way things have actually turned out. Although many have wished socialism upon us, the Federal government, as it exists, does not have the control Bellamy's fictional government has.

Of course, Bellamy has no way of knowing of the two world wars that happened between his 1887 and the real 2000. His future has no airplanes, or radio, or automobile, not to mention cell phones, computers or television. He was not even able to imagine musical recordings. In his novel, households do have access to music 24 hours a day, but the music comes from live performances transmitted over the telephone - the only piece of "modern technology" already invented in Bellamy's time.

Unfortunately, there is very little action in the novel; it's mostly conversations between the hero, Julian West, and two people he meets - Doctor Leete and his daughter, Edith.

Edward Bellamy may have had good intentions - as did the hundreds, if not thousands of members of the various Bellamy Clubs that popped up in the U.S. following the publication of the novel. Unfortunately, Bellamy's hope for the future was based on wishful thinking regarding human nature. We are not as self sacrificing and altruistic as the folks in Bellamy's year 2000.

Sorry, But Cursive Writing is Obsolete.

I've come across this meme of Facebook quite a few times recently. Along with a photo of an example of cursive writing, there is the statement,

"Massachusetts is one of several states that wants to keep penmanship lessons in the curriculum. Do you think we should keep cursive writing alive?"

As I type this, 175,424 folks have "liked" this meme on Facebook and it looks as if all 175,424 have left a comment. I've not read every comment, but it appears as if only one person besides myself thinks teaching cursive is pretty much a waste of time.

Some of the dumber comments supporting the continuation of cursive went along the lines of  "cursive is needed so they can read our founding documents".....as if the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution aren't available in print form - online, no less. You don't have to travel to Washington, D.C. to see the original document in order to read it.

Another mind numbingly stupid comment was,

"Absolutely! What will we do if the electricity is out, the phones are out and we need to send a message!"

If the phones and electricity are out, the message would have to be hand delivered. By the time you drove across town, the electricity would probably be back on. If the power wasn't on, you could talk to the person face to face.......no need to even write the %$#@& message.

The origin of cursive writing is associated with practical advantages of writing speed and infrequent pen lifting to accommodate the limitations of the quill pen. News flash: no one uses a quill pen now-a-days.

The method of cursive taught in the United States from the late 1890s to the 1950s was called the Palmer Method which had been developed to allow the writer to effectively compete with the typewriter. Unlike in the early twentieth century, businesses no longer communicate with hand written letters. Cursive may have had its place 100 years ago, but other than when writing a signature, cursive is rarely used at all any more.

Here's a link to someone who has explained why cursive is obsolete, much better than I. He writes,

"Cursive writing is an anachronism. Spending any classroom time on it is comparable to teaching how to use an abacus: it’s interesting as a history lesson, and probably offers some side benefits, but it is not at all practical as a day-to-day skill in the modern, connected world."

and:

"Just because you learned something in school doesn’t mean your kids should: the world is changing, quickly. And while it’s hard to make predictions about where technology is headed, it’s safe to say the future won’t involve a lot of cursive handwriting (unless some kind of disaster sends us back to 14th-century technology, in which case handwriting will be the least of our problems)."

I've never operated a cotton gin - once considered a valuable skill. I've never saddled a horse or hitched one to a cart, but I've gotten along just fine. I suppose if the phone and electricity and Internet go out, I won't be able to ride a horse to deliver my handwritten message.

Heavens forbid.

Ingrid Bergman - Time Traveler.

India Times.com recently published online, a photo gallery of several famous people who had died on their birthday. Of the twenty one celebrities listed, I am only familiar with four or five.

One of my favorites on the list is Ingrid Bergman.



Oddly enough, not only was I surprised to learn that she was born and had died on August 29, but I was equally shocked to find out that she had also been a time traveler. At least that's the way I interpret the information in the gallery.

India Times gives Ms Bergman's date of birth as Aug. 29, 1982 and her death as 1915. According to the site, she died before she was born. The only explanation I could come up with for this is that she had to have been a time traveler......quite possibly on the TARDIS.

If anyone has a better explanation, I'd love to hear it.

Dear Google AdWords.

For several years, I've made use of Google Adsense on my website, on my blog pertaining to the website, and of course, this blog.

Over the years, I've gained a little insight into how Google places particular ads on individual web pages, although I have to admit that often times the ads on my pages are a complete mystery to me. As I write this, I'm looking at this blog and I'm seeing an ad for some sort of food product that contains No GMOs or High Fructose corn syrup at the top of the web page and another ad for Nordic Track further down the page. What sort of "clues" regarding my audience has Google gathered from what I've written? Obviously, the common theme would be "health", but how do my posts on Janis Ian and Dr. Who manage to produce that idea?

On Facebook, I've recently received a number of ads from Google AdWords and the algorithm they use to determine those ads is equally confusing to me.

As the first screenshot shows, someone at Google AdWords appears to believe I operate a Time Travel Agency. I suppose that may be an understandable mistake on their part. I have written a couple of posts on Dr. Who (as mentioned above) and one of the categories in the Label Gadget of this blog is "Time Travel". But, no. I'm sorry, Google AdWords. These examples are not sufficient proof that I now ....or ever had.....or ever will have.....a Time Travel Agency.

As much as I'm willing to say that, maybe I might have had some hand in Google's mistake on the Time Travel thing, I have to say that I have no idea how that came to believe that I have a Unicorn farm.

Alright, my name is Robert and a lot of folks call me Bob, but honestly, I'm not the Bob that owns and operates Bob's Unicorn Farm.

If I were, I don't think I'd be giving 50% off first orders. I imagine Unicorn feed is pretty expensive and raising one to a sellable size would probably set the other Bob back beaucoup, huh, Bob.

And one last thing Google AdWords........I've never harmed a zombie in my life.

Series 8 - Episode 11.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've been watching Series #8 of Dr Who on the BBC website, thanks to my being connected to a VPN..

I've also promised that there would be no spoilers here. You folks outside the U.K. will be able to watch the program eventually. I only wanted to make a few comments.

It's not easy streaming through a server in London when your PC is in Philippines. It's possible, but the speed goes way down, traveling that far. Going to the site via my VPN cuts the speed in half.

Consequently, I can watch the program - if I switch to "low bandwidth" setting. Still, I experience a lot of problems with buffering.

Be that as it may, I've watched 11 episodes out of the 12 in series 8. The last will be televised on Nov. 8 and I'll watch it online a couple of days afterward.

Normally, it takes me a bit to warm up to a new Doctor. It took a few episodes for me to get David Tennant after Christopher Eccleston and likewise, it took a little longer for me to like Matt Smith following Tennant. I have to say, however, I've liked Peter Capaldi from the beginning of his stint. To me, he's more like the earlier regenerations. (Is that the correct word? Maybe, pre-regenerations?).

I suppose I go along with the critics regarding Capaldi; "wise and thoughtful","all the hallmarks of a great Doctor", and "crackled with fierce intelligence and nervous energy".

What will I do when the last episode of series 8 has played? I've already gone back to Netflix and started over with the 2005 series 1 with the ninth Doctor. Maybe that will hold me until series 9.

Adios, Daylight Saving Time.....and Good Riddance.

In a few days, my friends in the U.S. will be "falling back", as they say - setting their clocks back one hour to end daylight saving time for 2014. If there is one thing I will not miss about living in the U.S., it is their idiotic clock changing stunt twice a year.

Here in Philippines, the folks leave their clocks be; there's no "spring forward - fall back". I have never liked daylight saving time and I'm so happy not to have to deal with it ever again.

There's never been any call for it here; the sun rises and sets at pretty close to the same time all year long. It isn't exact, of course. There is a slight variation, but I want to put emphasis on the word "slight". We're too close to the equator for there to be much variation through out the year.

The whole concept of DST is an illusion, anyway.

Some fools in the U.S. actually believe that it's the turning forward of the clock in Spring that gives them more "daylight" hours in the Summer. They have not idea that it's the tilt of the planet which is responsible for the increase. Moving the clock forward doesn't make the daylight longer......it only adjusts this artificial "clock" that they're programed to follow.

Before starting on this post, I Googled "daylight saving time" and came across an article with the headline, "Daylight Saving Time changes could be a thing of the past in Alabama if legislator gets his way".

I thought I was going to read about a legislator having a bit of common sense. I should have known better, seeing how this legislator comes from Alabama.

Rather than end daylight saving time, by leaving Alabama on standard time all year, this guy wants to keep Alabama on daylight saving time forever.

Alabama state Sen. Rusty Glover said in a release, "Our legislation will make sure that children riding the late afternoon school bus, or working people who get off at 5 o'clock, won't have to come home in the dark."

He doesn't seem to understand that by using DST, the folks who "get off at 5 o'clock" are actually getting off at four. He could accomplish the same thing, by leaving the clocks on standard time and getting the schools and businesses to actually change the time everyone goes home. Just have the people who get off at 5, get off at 4. They're doing that in the Summer as it is. They just don't seem to know it.

Dr. Who Series - 8. Part Two.

Perhaps it was the time of day. Or, perhaps the problem came about because it was a weekend. Whichever it was, I suspect the reason I was unable to watch any of series #8 of Dr Who had to do with the high amount of Internet traffic - either in England or in Philippines - that was causing havoc with the bandwidth available at the time.

Today, Monday AM in Philippines at eight o'clock, I attempted once again to access the programs. It was 1 AM in London. At any rate, I was able to watch episode 1.

There were a few buffering problems, but that's to be expected. I was watching the program in Standard Definition and I did not experience the sound problems of yesterday.

Everything was going well until about 5 minutes before episode 1 was to end. Then, brown out.

For about an hour, we had no electricity in Sibulan.

When the power finally returned, I was able to reconnect with the BBC website and finish the first episode. It was on to episodes 2 and 3. Other than buffering glitches occasionally, I was able to see the first three episodes today.

There are only 2 more episodes from series 8 currently available on the BBC website. Episode 6 from the series will be aired on Sept. 27th. I don't know when it will be made available for viewing on the website.

According to wikipedia, there will four episodes released in October and two in November.

Just to let you all know, there will be no spoilers coming from me.

Dr. Who - Series 8.

As mentioned in Friday's post,thanks to my being connected to a VPN, I was able to connect to the BBC website to watch live coverage of the results of the recent Scottish referendum. Afterward, I searched the site for recent Dr. Who episodes.

I found five episodes from series 8 available for viewing. I watched just for a minute or two but decided to catch up on series 7 on Netflix first.

While in the U.S., I had seen all of the first six series available on Netflix at the time. Series seven had not be available. That series can be viewed on Netflix now, so I connected to the VPN server in Seattle and watched the entire 16 episodes in 2 1/2 days.

I was ready for series 8.

I had no trouble going to the BBC website, but there now seems to be a problem loading the series. I suppose it's a bandwidth problem. HD is out of the question. Standard Definition loads - albeit slowly- but I cannot hear the program in SD.

I've tried several times this morning with no luck.

The first episode of series 8 won't be available forever. I'll just keep trying. I suppose I wouldn't be so stubborn had I not been able to watch the BBC program on Scotland so easily.

If I'm never able to watch series 8 on the BBC website, I know that one day I will be able to watch it on Neflix.

How long will that be? I don't know. Sooner or later, the BBC will sell the rights to Neflix. Why they haven't done so already is anyone's guess.

Welcome to the Future.

Being the old fart that I am, it’s not the least bit unusual for me to think about my younger days; sometimes with pleasure, sometimes with regret.

I suppose this looking back has something to do with my current project of re-reading books I read in those younger days.

Having finished my re-read of Siddhartha, I started in on my re-reading of Herman Hesse’ Steppenwolf. I first read the novel when I was 20 or 21. This is not a book for the young. Even then, I recognized that there was much to Steppenwolf  which I could not understand. Today, being older than the protagonist, Harry Haller, I can more easily get into his head. He isn’t me-I’m not Harry Haller- but I can understand him much better now than I could have in 1972 or 1973.

No, I’m not Harry Haller incarnate, but I could very well have been had I not made changes in direction long ago.

And thank God, this is not 1972.

While I may reminisce on occasion, I believe I long for the past a good deal less than others of my generation. I am so over  the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and all the other musicians and song writers I worshiped during my adolescence.

I may very well be an old fart, but I’m more at home in the early 21st century than I am in the late 70’s. I’m absolutely enamored with the Internet and the Digital Age. When a mobile app will allow me to access every piece of music Mozart ever composed, why would I possibly post a video of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young on Facebook?

Even my re-reading of  Siddhartha and Steppenwolf  was brought about by the Internet. Rather than having to locate paper copies, I was able to have both novels downloaded onto my Kindle. Polish sci-fi writer, Stanislaus Lem predicted in his 1961 masterpiece, Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, that in the future, books would no longer exist due to a paper eating virus. It’s far more likely that, just as video killed the radio star, the death of paper books will come from the invention of Nook, Kindle and other e readers.

The future has arrived and for the most part, I’m down with it. Except for tattoos, that is.

Music.

For the most part, folks seem to develop their tastes in music at a young age. Sadly, it appears that most people don't allow their musical tastes to evolve. I see far too many people from my generation reminiscing about the music that appealed to them during their teen years.

OK, I get it. It's nice to listen to those old Beatle songs, the beach music or the psychedelic music of the 1960's occasionally, but can't we give it a break? There is an overwhelming abundance of music out there from other times and places.



This is the great thing about Spotify. I have access to a universe of wonderful music, a good portion of it new to me. Traditional Japanese and Chinese music, Haydn string quartets, early Jazz and Blues, ....... you can even listen to Old Fart Music if you're so inclined.

My "new find" of the week is the hammer dulcimer work of Joshua Messick. It's not the sort of music you can dance to; it's unlikely it would have been rated highly on American Bandstand , but that's a positive,right?

Rolling Stones Gather at Site of First Gig.

From Rolling Stone.com
In honor of their 50th anniversary, the Rolling Stones returned to the site of their first gig, London's Marquee Club on Oxford Street, for a group photograph on Wednesday.
According to the same article,The band debuted as the Rollin' Stones at the Marquee Club on July 12th, 1962. The lineup was Mick Jagger (vocals), Brian Jones (guitar), Keith Richards (guitar), Ian Stewart (piano), Dick Taylor (bass) and Tony Chapman (drums.)

Only 2 of the original 6 made it.

Those six aren't the originals that we old timers remember. That group consisted of Jagger, Richards, Jones, along with Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman. As their current drummer, Watts made the get together. Bill Wyman left the group years ago. I guess he wasn't invited to the anniversary since he wasn't a Stone until after their first gig.

"The Stones always really considered 1963 to be 50 years, because Charlie [Watts] didn't actually join until January," Keith Richards told Rolling Stone earlier this year. "We look upon 2012 as sort of the year of conception, but the birth is next year."

The following video comes from 1964, performing a Buddy Holly tune.

Focal Dystonia.

Folks who didn't know me in my younger days have no idea that I was - if I do say so myself - a fairly decent guitar player. Most specifically, I had a talent for slide guitar, electric and acoustic styles.

Some years back, I started developing a numbness in the two smaller fingers on my left hand (ring and pinky). The problem was, more or less diagnosed as neurological though no one was willing or able to give the condition a name. One surgeon told me the problem stemmed from a nerve being pinched at my elbow.

Developing arthritis in my right hand hasn't helped, though the arthritis could be eased with pain medication - nothing seemed to help the problem with the fingers on my left hand.

I attempt to play occasionally. Instead of playing for hours at a time as I once did, I'll pick up a guitar once in a blue moon.

After years of wondering what the heck was going on with my fingers, I figured out that my problem has a name, at least. Focal dystonia.

Heading out to Walmart this afternoon, to return a pair of shoes my wife bought for me, I turned on the radio. I happened to listen to most of a 10 minute interview of guitarist Grey Reverend on NPR's All Things Considered .
From the NPR story,

"Larry "L.D." Brown, an acoustic songwriter who performs as Grey Reverend, suffers from one of the worst ailments a guitarist can have. Some years ago, he discovered he had focal dystonia, a neurological condition that causes muscles to constrict involuntarily, and which eventually caused Brown to lose the use of his left ring and pinky fingers."

Grey Reverend has managed to adapt to playing his guitar without the use of his left ring and pinky fingers. His first length CD, Of The Days is available on Amazon.com. The CD can also be heard on Spotify.

Doing a Google search, I find that Reverend and I aren't the only musicians with this ailment. Guitarist Billy McLaughlin has it as well.

I may never be able to play as well as I once did, but listening to Grey Reverend and Billy McLaughlin gives me encouragement.

Time Traveler with Big Feet.

I found this over on creativeminorityreport. I don't believe the person being filmed is a time traveler ...... just a crazy old lady talking to herself, but the clip is interesting.