The Kite Runner

by Khaled Hosseini

Hosseini's first novel is a fond look at civilian life in Afghanistan in times of conflict. This is supported by an appealing story with memorable characters. Hollywood read the book also and we hope the movie is as good as the book, which rarely happens. The movie's release was delayed until the young actor who played the lead and was involved in a controversial scene was able to be assured safety from threats stemming from that particular scene.

Got Another One...

...A thought, that is...wow; must be the gasoline fumes...this one while driving into CB with Kel, noonish, clear day, no wind, sunny. Why do cows of the same herd face in the same direction while grazing?

Thoughts on driving home from MP last week.

Why do woolly bears cross the road…do they have an instinct, a memory (do they even have that much gray matter?) that makes them go to high ground in the fall? Why do they cross the road in a very perpendicular-to-the-centerline route? Woolly bears do it, orange bellied salamanders do it, frogs do it, chipmunks do it, turkeys can see the other side and might visually make the choice to take the quickest way across. Most animals would be able to make that choice but the smaller critters don’t have that advantage. Perhaps they can see the center line, but I doubt it. What makes them take the shortest route across that expanse when they can’t see a landmark to give them the proper perspective, a consistent perspective to learn from. What guides them? Do the three stages of a worm-pupae-moth have an ongoing ‘brain’ or instinct that allows one stage to have consistent behaviours? Does some part of it 'remember' that one stage survived because it migrated out of a winter flood zone and thus while it is in another phase do something. Why do woolly bears migrate uphill in the fall? Or is it all by chance?

Do bees and wasps ‘know’ they buzz? Is the buzz just a byproduct of their flight or do they somehow know that it can be an early warning system so they don’t have to resort to the ultimate attack, a stinging defense, unless really necessary. Do they buzz first to chase off…instead of first stinging to chase off. How often do stings kill the stinger (honey bee dies) do all wasps not die? How about bumblebees. Do mason bees sting?

Do you remember Peggy Lee's 'Is That All There Is?'* Good Song.
*see below

signed
Ms Anne Thrope

Gift From The Sea

...by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Read this some time ago and loved it...just reread it and got an entirely different impression...didn't like it as much. I think it is meant for the younger woman. Reading this stuff at my stage in relationships and dreams and discoveries just didn't interest me. Is that a 'been-there-done-that' perspective? I hope I'm not that jaded. It's a nice little book.

Help!

I can't stop...
Started reading a 5th book as the mood grabbed hold.
There are at least a dozen books in the 'Read Me' stack.
I just bought 2 more books!

Noah's Flood ++++

This pre-cruise reading was provided by the expedition ofc prior to our circumnavigation of the Black Sea. The two scientist/authors searched much archival information in their search for the time and reason for the flood as portrayed in the biblical story of Noah. It seems they found a very plausible explanation for the fable. The book left little doubt about the search methods; the conclusions are always up for scrutiny but I feel they made a sufficient case for a practical explanation for the flood to have occured in the Black Sea at the Bosporous entrance from the Mediterranean. Written well, I learned a lot about a part of the world previously not thought about.

The Life of Pi +++++

This is only the second book I have reread immediately after finishing it the first time. It seemed necessary for me since I had not given full attention to Pi and his character development the first time around. But by the second stage of the book, the sea adventures, I was curious about how Pi got to be Pi. I couldn't go back then, I simply had to finish the book first.
There's some good wildlife vs zoolife philosophy or common folklore from Pi's POV as taught by his father. As Pi absorbed the lessons of animal behavior...I often wondered 'why do we need to know this'? We find out in the second half of the book. Best of all Pi has a sense of humor. A charming, funny, fantasy with a good message for us all.