DAILY PHOTO: Bukit Cina [Chinese Hill — 三宝山]
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Author Archives: B Gourley
BOOKS: “Nightwing, Vol. 1: Leaping into the Light” by Tom Taylor
Nightwing, Vol. 1: Leaping into the Light by Tom TaylorMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher Site – DC Comics
As in a lot of the Batman stories, in this volume, Nightwing (Dick Grayson) is fighting a two-front war. On the one hand, there is a mysterious central villain du jour, Heartless — an augmented masked criminal who is killing in impoverished neighborhoods by (literally) stealing his victims’ hearts. Then, on the other hand, there is the usual systematic corruption and organized crime of his chosen city, Blüdhaven. These two fights bump into each other here and there but are largely independent of one other (at least as far as one can tell in this, the first, volume of a run.) Barbara Gordon and Tim Drake / Robin participate in the story, but other than that the only hero appearances are cameos.
I enjoyed the pacing and emotional arc of this story. My reading pleasure surprises even me because I think I would ordinarily feel the book had a poor resolution to hook ratio. (i.e. I would feel that not enough was resolved to make this feel like as satisfactory standalone story.) However, there was a resolution that offered satisfaction, but it was just not what I (or -probably- the typical reader) would think of as a normal comic book resolution. (i.e. It was not a resolution achieved by kicking and punching, but rather by soul-searching.)
At any rate, I’d highly recommend this book for comic book readers.
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“O Me! O Life!” by Walt Whitman [w/ Audio]
Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these
recurring,
Of the endless trains of the faithless,
of cities fill'd with the foolish,
Of myself forever reproaching myself,
(for who more foolish than I, and who
more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the
objects mean, of the struggle ever
renew'd,
Of the poor results of all, of the plodding
and sordid crowds I see around me,
Of the empty and useless years of the
rest, with the rest me intertwined,
The question, O me! so sad, recurring --
What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer.
That you are here--that life exists and
identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you
may contribute a verse.
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Squirrel [Lyric Poem]
The squirrel freezes -- unblinking --
But I cannot help but thinking:
How come its tail is misbehaving?
A betrayal by spastic waving!
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Gray Baby [Kyōka]
an autumn sapling,
red leaves on a stiff twig,
shakes in the breeze;
i can't help but think of it
as a gray-haired baby.
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DAILY PHOTO: A Few More Murals from Malacca
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BOOK: “Mad About the Mekong” by John Keay
Mad About The Mekong: Exploration and Empire in South East Asia by John KeayMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Site
This book is largely, but not exclusively, an accounting of the Mekong Exploration Commission’s two-year (1866-1868) expedition of the Mekong River. The French undertook this expedition in the expectation that the Mekong, like other of the world’s major rivers, would allow ocean-going ships to traverse deep inland — possibly even up into Yunnan, China. The explorers were quickly disabused of this notion, but they relentlessly kept going – despite suffering from disease and the exhaustion of a trip that involved a lot more portaging and other intense physical activities than they’d hoped for.
As I mentioned, Keay doesn’t stick purely to description of the activities of these nineteenth century explorers. Along the way he also brings in fascinating stories from other periods as well as discussion of what the river is like (e.g. its ecology, infrastructure, role in geopolitics, etc.) these days. So, while it would be excessive to call the book a history of the Mekong, it is in some regards — albeit the highlights reel. Some of the diversions were among my favorite parts of the book. Perhaps my favorite was the story of Tony Poe, whose story is said to be the model for Col. Kurtz of Apocalypse Now. I’d long heard that that movie was based on Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and it is (the name “Kurtz” is clearly from Conrad’s novella, though Poe’s occupation more closely mirrors the Col. Kurtz character played by Marlon Brando.)
While the book sometimes shines the light more broadly than he Mekong Exploration Commission Expedition, it also narrows its focus much of the way, putting the expedition’s most colorful character, Francis Garnier, front and center. Garnier was not only the most intriguing member of the leadership, he also led the group to what was the end of the line for the expedition, deep in China, when the Captain, Ernest Doudart de Lagree, became incapacitated by disease.
If you’re interested in history, travel, or exploration, I’d recommend this book.
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“I never hear the word ‘Escape'” (144) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]
I never hear the word "Escape"
Without a quicker blood,
A sudden expectation --
A flying attitude!
I never hear of prisons broad
By soldiers battered down,
But I tug childish at my bars
Only to fail again!
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Impala [Common Meter]
I'd never seen an Impala,
until one day I did.
Except an eighty-five Chevy,
back when I was a kid.
The Chevy was not lean, nor quick,
as real Impalas are.
Had this bovid ever been seen
by the namer of cars?
I tried to see commonality:
one was made and one born,
One was clunky and unagile,
but both came standard with horn.
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BOOKS: “Birds, Beasts, and A World Made New” by Guillaume Apollinaire & Velimir Khlebnikov [ed. / trans. Robert Chandler]
Birds, Beasts and a World Made New: Guillaume Apollinaire and Velimir Khlebnikov (1908-22) by Guillaume ApollinaireMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher Site – Pushkin Press
This poetry collection recalls a time and tells a story. Perhaps it’s not right to call it a poetry collection, not because it isn’t one, but because that’s not all it is. Most of the book consists of selections of poetry from Guillaume Apollinaire and Velimir Khlebnikov juxtaposed by themed grouping. But there is also backstory and biography included throughout as well as in the book’s final section.
One might wonder why anyone would construct a two-poet collection featuring a Frenchman and a Russian. Well, the two men did have a number of things in common, most disturbingly that they both died young in the early twentieth century. Apollinaire died at age 38 in 1918 and Khlebnikov died at 36 in 1922. The fact that these men’s writing careers so overlapped is one of the reasons the book works. They waded through a common zeitgeist. Another commonality that makes the collection relevant and intriguing is that both poets had a penchant for experimentalism in their work.
Seeing the work of these poet’s organized as the volume does, one recognizes both similarities and differences. This includes the fact that the tone of each poet’s work ranges widely from whimsical to the brutal morosity of poems on war and the suffering it entails.
I found this collection to offer a powerful reading experience and would recommend it highly to all poetry readers.
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Tiger Riding for Beginners 