The Joy of Reading - 2009, Pt. I
As I wait for some documents to get turned around back to me, it becomes time for an entry.
I've been deliberately making time to read since the winter break. It's been great diving back into the written word. From full non-Wikipedia articles to novels to non-fiction to manga - it's like a spark has rekindled.
Currently reading:
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. A book about subcognitive decision-making, how it can work well, and when it doesn't work well. The chapter on thin-slicing and military exercises is fascinating, as well as the one on "Warren Harding errors." It's got me interested in Cognitive Task Analysis, something I've intuited for my entire life. (Perhaps something to integrate into the martial arts pedagogy?)
Shonan Junai Gumi (aka "GTO: The Early Years") by Tohru Fujisawa. Teen male-oriented soap opera about the failing to get laid and epic biker gang rumbles. It's the history of Onizuka and partner Ryuji Danma before the action of Great Teacher Onizuka (one of my favorite manga of all time). You can see how raw and fresh Fujisawa is in this series - the art is terrible for the first couple of volumes and the writing is horribly paced - but he gets better about halfway through the series. I'm currently at the point where Onizuka is showing the character that will define in his later series. Seriously fun stuff, completely ridiculous but worth the price of admission.
Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years by Michael Palin (lovely collective birthday present from last year). It's fascinating to see the world of Python's rise through Palin's eyes. It's amazing - his innate niceness (Palin's the "nice Python") really shines through his writing. It's also interesting to see how much and little Python meant to the various members of the troupe. Graham Chapman is kind of shaping up into a tragic character, which makes him even more fascinating to me. Chapman's ability to be insane and completely "straight" at the same time is the quality that draws me most to his work, and his chimera-like qualities shine some strange information into his performances, I think (aside from him being drunk a lot, esp. when he played the Colonel).
MPD Psycho and Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service by Eiji Otsuka. Rather gory and morbid manga series. Psycho is a good sick detective serial while Kurosagi is rather light-hearted for the most part. The gorier art of Psycho - especially the weird methods of dispath - is oddly beautiful.
The Xingyi Quan of the Chinese Army: Huang Bo Nien's Xingyi Fist and Weapon Instruction by Dennis Rovere. Fascinating snapshot into the first organized attempt to integrate traditional Chinese martial arts into a modern warfare context. The Xingyi spear and saber methods translate very handily into bayonet encounters. Lots of good material to mine here.
"The Interpreter" by John Colapinto. Great New Yorker article about language. Not only is it fascinating reading, but anything that bites Noam Chomsky's ass is worth looking at, in my opinion. :)
Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon. Said to be an inspiration for Stephen Kings "Children of the Corn." The plot synopsis leads me to believe that it partly inspired Clive Barker's "Rawhead Rex," too.
Oh look, the doc's been returned and it's time to move on to the next thing. As the Crypt Keeper says, "See ya later, kiddies!"
I've been deliberately making time to read since the winter break. It's been great diving back into the written word. From full non-Wikipedia articles to novels to non-fiction to manga - it's like a spark has rekindled.
Currently reading:
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. A book about subcognitive decision-making, how it can work well, and when it doesn't work well. The chapter on thin-slicing and military exercises is fascinating, as well as the one on "Warren Harding errors." It's got me interested in Cognitive Task Analysis, something I've intuited for my entire life. (Perhaps something to integrate into the martial arts pedagogy?)
Shonan Junai Gumi (aka "GTO: The Early Years") by Tohru Fujisawa. Teen male-oriented soap opera about the failing to get laid and epic biker gang rumbles. It's the history of Onizuka and partner Ryuji Danma before the action of Great Teacher Onizuka (one of my favorite manga of all time). You can see how raw and fresh Fujisawa is in this series - the art is terrible for the first couple of volumes and the writing is horribly paced - but he gets better about halfway through the series. I'm currently at the point where Onizuka is showing the character that will define in his later series. Seriously fun stuff, completely ridiculous but worth the price of admission.
Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years by Michael Palin (lovely collective birthday present from last year). It's fascinating to see the world of Python's rise through Palin's eyes. It's amazing - his innate niceness (Palin's the "nice Python") really shines through his writing. It's also interesting to see how much and little Python meant to the various members of the troupe. Graham Chapman is kind of shaping up into a tragic character, which makes him even more fascinating to me. Chapman's ability to be insane and completely "straight" at the same time is the quality that draws me most to his work, and his chimera-like qualities shine some strange information into his performances, I think (aside from him being drunk a lot, esp. when he played the Colonel).
MPD Psycho and Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service by Eiji Otsuka. Rather gory and morbid manga series. Psycho is a good sick detective serial while Kurosagi is rather light-hearted for the most part. The gorier art of Psycho - especially the weird methods of dispath - is oddly beautiful.
The Xingyi Quan of the Chinese Army: Huang Bo Nien's Xingyi Fist and Weapon Instruction by Dennis Rovere. Fascinating snapshot into the first organized attempt to integrate traditional Chinese martial arts into a modern warfare context. The Xingyi spear and saber methods translate very handily into bayonet encounters. Lots of good material to mine here.
"The Interpreter" by John Colapinto. Great New Yorker article about language. Not only is it fascinating reading, but anything that bites Noam Chomsky's ass is worth looking at, in my opinion. :)
Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon. Said to be an inspiration for Stephen Kings "Children of the Corn." The plot synopsis leads me to believe that it partly inspired Clive Barker's "Rawhead Rex," too.
Oh look, the doc's been returned and it's time to move on to the next thing. As the Crypt Keeper says, "See ya later, kiddies!"