8 is a lucky number in China

wooooohoooooo........... 8 for 8. I do not believe in destiny but after yesterday's 7th gold with the 0.01 second win, I think he was destined to be here today!

8 days. 17 races. 8 finals. 8 golds. 7 World Records. UN_FREAKING_BELIEVABLE. Like the visa ad said: we need some new adjectives for this!

His mom must be the proudest person in the world today!!

Too many adults looked at Ms. Phelps's boy and saw what he couldn't do. This week, the world (will be) tuned to the Beijing Olympics to see what he can do.

Onto the LIGHTNING BOLT race now...finally; after some horrible programming by NBC for Saturday prime time. Was it really necessary to show the whole woman's marathon from 7.30-9.30 - couldn't you have shown the 100m finals from last night somewhere during those two hours even if the American favorite had failed to make it to the finals! So many people have gone to bed by now! RIDICULOUS!!

Existential directions

Loved this cartoon.

It reminded me of my favorite quote from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.

Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'
`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.
`I don't much care where--' said Alice.
`Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
- Lewis Carroll in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

More existentialism cartoons here.

Of Greek Gods & Roman Emperors

I wish I knew more about Greek and Roman history. The MFA here in Boston has many historic artifacts from those two eras, which I have unfortunately not had the time to go through in detail on the two occasions I was there. Both times I reached those sections towards the end of my visit and was tiring of information fatigue by the time I got there. More than time at a museum, I need to sit down and read a good book on these two civilizations some day, though I have a feeling it is going to be almost impossible to remember and keep track of all the different Roman emperors and the "Gods" in Greek mythology.

Just some thoughts as I read just now about archaeologists digging in Turkey finding...

... the colossal marble head of a Roman empress. The discovery, at the ancient site of Sagalassos, is thought to show Faustina the Elder, wife of Roman emperor Antoninus Pius. The head of Faustina was lying face down in rubble that fills the ruins of a bath house that was partially destroyed by an earthquake between AD 540 and AD 620.

I am sure I could research this online but any suggestions for books on the subject from anyone who may read this? [I am more interested in history than mythology (1, 2) actually... though it may well be that the two intermingle sometimes, as they do with a lot of Indian history. And I would rather read a book written by a historian than acclaimed textbooks on the subject.]

Art's transformation of life (and reality)

As is my wont, I have a new set of books from the library by my bedside...

[I gave up on Nuala's memoir after lasting through 40-50 pages as it was not holding my interest any more, managed to read just a few of Kafka's shorter pieces (The Judgement and a few other really short pieces) before having to return the book, still hope to get back to two of my favorite authors - McEwan (Saturday) and Auster (New York Trilogy) - which I have partly read in the last 2 weeks, and am enjoying but not doing justice to Moravia's Conjugal Love. ]

... and its a veritable who's who of literary cannons that I have picked up this time: Death in Venice and other stories by Thomas Mann, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo, Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo, Strange Pilgrims - short stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Swann's Way by Marcel Proust; plus a couple other books by not-so-famous authors.

As usual, I have undoubtedly picked up way beyond what I can possibly read but lets see which ones I can do justice to in the next few weeks, in addition to finishing up McEwan, Auster, and Moravia! I have a feeling DeLillo, Chopin, Marquez and maybe even Mann may fall by the wayside... because Rulfo, who I had not even heard of before yesterday, has already gripped me with his story in the little I already read of this short book at the library itself and I stared last night with Lydia Davis's translation of Swann's Way, the first volume in Proust's multi-volume epic In Search of Lost Time, which I have long wanted to read. (A literary masterpiece about memories and time... what's not to want to read and love!)

More about the book (maybe!) as I read it but here is an excerpt from Lydia Davis's introduction that echoed within me and made a connection, likely because of the recent loss of my father.

... the theme of the receding, in time, and the disappearance, of beloved places and people, and their resurrection in our imagination, our memory, and finally our art. For only in recollection does an experience become fully significant, as we arrange it in a meaningful pattern, and thus the crucial role of our intellect, our imagination, in our perception of the world and our re-creation of it to suit our desires; thus the importance of the role of the artist in transforming reality according to a particular inner vision: the artist escapes the tyranny of time through art.

Or as Lydia writes earlier:

For although Proust's own life experience is the material from which he forms his novel, this material has been altered, recombined, shaped to create a coherent and meaningful fictional artifact, a crucial alchemy - art's transformation of life - which is itself one of Proust's preoccupations and a principal subject and theme of the book.

I'm going to have to drop all other books and just read Proust. His work deserves nothing less!

Update: Three points about Swann's Way. Firstly, it seems, Lydia Davis's translation sticks closer to Proust's original work than the traditionally read C.K. Scott Moncrieff translation. Secondly, in a literary coincidence of sorts, I just realized that Lydia Davis was married in the 1970s to Paul Auster, whose New Yorks Trilogy I am currently reading. And last but not least, here is a good website for those attempting to read Proust. For the record, I am neither ill nor have a broken leg. :)

The sad thing is that people have to be very ill or have a broken leg in order to have the opportunity to read In Search of Lost Time - Robert Proust, Marcel's brother (source)

"He's not from another planet, He's from the future."

Technology may be helping swimmers break world records but Michael Phelps has been absolutely mind-boggling.

On the fifth day of swimming at the Beijing Games, Phelps collected his fourth and fifth gold medals, becoming the career leader in Olympic golds with 11. He broke his own world record in the 200-meter butterfly of 1 minute 52.03 seconds, trimming 0.06 off his 17-month-old mark even though his goggles filled with water when he dived into the water.

Less than an hour later, Phelps led off the United States' 4x-200 freestyle relay in 1:43.31, almost three seconds faster than his nearest competitor, to set the tone for the Americans' rousing victory. The squad of Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens and Peter Vanderkaay clocked a 6:58.56 — the first sub-seven minute performance — to finish 5.14 seconds ahead of the runner-up, Russia, which was only 0.46 seconds off the listed world record.

5 races, 5 golds, 5 world records...so far! Even I am buying into the hype and rooting for him to go for 8 golds now. Maybe 8 is a lucky number for Phelps too. Maybe he can get to 8 golds and 8 world records in 8 finals races; which I suspect may be his personal goal for the Olympics!

"My goals are very personal, very private"

Whatever they are... I'm rooting for him to get to 08-08-08 at these Olympics which started on 08/08/08. :)

Past Peak Oil

Michael Klare, author of the recent book, Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America’s Growing Dependency, makes the argument that:

Unlike the oil ‘shocks’ of the 1970s, the current energy crisis is almost certain to be long-lasting. None of the quick fixes proposed by pundits and politicians – drilling in protected wilderness and maritime areas, curbs on commodity speculators, pressure on members of OPEC to increase output – is likely to have much impact. In 1973-74 and again in 1979-80, events in the Middle East led to a sharp reduction in the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf, causing a contraction in global supplies and a rise in energy prices, and thus sparking a global recession. But when equilibrium of a sort was restored to the region, the oil began to flow again and the crisis passed. Now, however, the imbalance between supply and demand is largely due to factors inherent in oil commerce itself – and so is less easily solved.

The oil crisis is the product of three developments: an unexpected surge in demand, much of it from Asian countries; a slowing in the growth of world supply; and a shift in the centre of gravity of production from the global North to the global South.

...

According to the Statistical Review of World Energy, published every June by BP, oil consumption jumped from 69.5 million barrels a day at the end of 1995 to 85.2 million barrels at the end of 2007. Some of this huge rise was generated by increased fuel consumption in the United States (where giant SUVs had become all the rage), but most was the result of increased demand from the rapidly industrialising nations of the developing world. Of those 15.7 million extra barrels, 4.6 million were added by China, and 2.7 million by other Asian states, including India.

While expecting China or India to not go through their long overdue development/growth spurt is hardly pragmatic, expecting people to conserve energy, opt for less oil-guzzling cars, and focus on renewable energy choices is! To quote Klare again:

Throughout their administration Bush and Cheney have worked to impede the adoption of conservation measures (such as tough fuel-efficiency standards for domestic vehicles), to hold back the development of alternative sources of energy and transport, and to sustain high levels of oil consumption. As a result, according to BP, US consumption rose by one million barrels a day over the course of Bush’s presidency while the output of domestic fields declined by roughly the same amount, pushing net imports up by two million barrels. Although not as large a rise as that recorded by China, it still contributed to the pressure on oil exporters and helped to push prices up. Until American and Chinese consumers of oil are put on a diet, and alternatives to petroleum are developed, the world’s energy crisis will only get worse.

But instead our politicians can only indulge in short-sighted rhetoric and think we can drill our way out of this crisis!

P.S. Other books on the topic of peak oil include
Beyond Oil - The View from Hubbert's peak by Kenneth Deffeyes
The Battle for Barrels: Peak Oil Myths & World Oil Futures by Duncan Clarke
The party's over by Richard Heinberg
Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude by Robert Baer
Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy by Matthew R. Simmons
and coming later this year..
Resilient Cities: Responding to Peak Oil and Climate Change by Peter Newman, Timothy Beatley, and Heather Boyer

The Wisconsin Blues

Wisconsin bans 8 year old from performing the blues in bars and clubs

When Tallan "T-Man" Latz was 5, he saw Joe Satriani playing guitar on TV. "I turned around to my dad and said, 'That's exactly what I want to do.'" Three years and countless hours of practicing later, 8-year-old Tallan is a blues guitar prodigy. He's played in bars and clubs, including the House of Blues in Chicago, and even jammed with Les Paul and Jackson Browne. He has a summer of festivals scheduled and has drawn interest from venues worldwide.

And what, you might ask, would a kid not even in the third grade have the blues about? The state of Wisconsin for one, and some possibly jealous older musicians for another. An anonymous e-mail sent to state officials complained that Tallan was too young to perform in taverns and nightclubs because of state child labor laws. His booking agent even got an anonymous letter threatening her with death if she keeps booking him.

I'd understand their beef (no..that's not a pun on Wisconsin :)) if they'd crib about him being in bars and lounges, where any one under 21 is normally not allowed... but to claim he as an entertainer is subject to state child labor laws is to say Wisconsin will not allow Dakota Fanning (or any other kid artiste) to come shoot in the state?

Anyways, you are free to sit back and enjoy his guitar strumming though... :)



Also, another 8 year old guitar phenom - Japan's Yuto Miyazawa


And apparently, there is an Argentine whiz-kid who is quite adept on the guitar too - Lucciano Pizzichini.