Mexico

While not originally in our travel plans, I will be heading down to Mexico tomorrow for a little R&R on a cruise ship. Quite different from how Alison and I traveled, but I will still be looking for sustainable developments and spicy recipes.

I also published our first blook today! Woo Hoo! It's not the full blog book, that's still being edited, but a photography book I put together. With a hard cover and 72 full bleed 11" x 14" pages it should be pretty nice.

And as a final note, I've completely re-done my own website www.matthewmosher.us to be more international friendly, so check it out! I'm still working on my blog format though.

< design : eco...

photography

By matthew mosher

The God of Small Things

I didn't think I'd finish "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy before we left India, but I did. This is another look at life in India, but this time written by an Indian, and set in the current day. It is principally the story of two twins and their mother. The time line of the story jumps around a central event - a visit from their English cousin - showing the twins as children before, after, and latter as adults. The style of writing is superb, unlike anything I have ever read before, a bit like e.e. cummings had he written prose. Through combining somewhat random words into delicate phrases she brings out the minds of the children without seeming childish. She also uses repetition to set the memories of the children, which also helps the reader follow the time line. While there is much tragedy in the book, it ends on a good time. I highly recommend this book.

KIM

It's taken a while but I've finished up with "Kim" by Rudyard Kipling. The only reason I picked it up was because I remember that Kipling wrote the "Just So Stories" I loved so much as a child and that "Kim" is set in India. It was interesting because the book takes place in Northern India and Kim visits many of the places we have been, there's even a Lama involved. What was most amazing to me were the similarities between current India and the India described in the book, which was written over a hundred years ago in 1901. It really hasn't changed that much. So if you like Kipling and India check it out, but it's not on my favorites list.

The Universe in a Single Atom

I just finished reading "The Universe in a Single Atom" by H.H. the Dalai Lama and I really liked it. While the book opens with a discussion of current cosmology and quantum physics theory, as the title suggests, it quickly moves into the study of consciousness. With consciousness as the focus, more time is spent on topics like evolution, biology, and neuroscience. The final chapter, Ethics and the new genetics, is by far the most moving and demands out immediate attention. I like this book because it addresses the biggest questions facing since and humanity today without answering them. Buddhism, seemingly unique among world religions, is very accepting of scientific discovery, even encourages it, so that the religion can adapt to fit our modern view of the world. The problems Buddhism sees facing science are closed minds, jumping to conclusions, and not considering all the options. Fortunately science can change too, as the world turned from Newton to Einstein.

How The Universe Got Its Spots

I just finished reading (we're plowing through books here) "How The Universe Got Its Spots" by Janna Levin and of course it makes me want to be a cosmologist. It's an interesting mix of complicated physics and personal life in one book, sadly the asks many more questions than she answers and ends with us waiting for two future satellite missions to tell us the fate of the universe. But the book was written in 2002, so maybe by now those satellites have been launched. While "A Brief History of Time" by Hawkings may be a tougher read, you might learn more from it, though Janna talks more specifically about background radiation from the big bang than Hawkings does.

I think ten or thirty years from now when I look back at my journals what would I tell myself now if I could? You should start making jewelry immediately, you'll love it! Apply to film school ASAP! You know you always wanted to go to MIT, do it! Or will I just laugh at my own folly?

Tuesdays With Morrie

I am finally beginning to feel at ease in India. I like it here. We found a good cheap restaurant right by our ashram, there's yoga, food shops for peanut butter breakfast sandwiches, and fixed price clothing stores, plus an amazing lack of hassling rickshaw drivers. Did I mention I am reading "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom? Well, I finished reading it now. It's a great read, particularly because it is set in Newton. In reading the book I wonder if I will be able to do it - lead a good simple life - or will I get caught in the traps. I've read so much about going slow, focusing on emotions, relationships, and forgetting the material things. But everyone who is to be writing about this stuff seems to have already sought their fortune, realized the error of there ways, and are now financially secure enough to live a simple life. But what's a fresh start like me to do? Maybe positive doesn't have to mean poor, and I'm sure it is hard to be positive when your flat broke anyway. I don't think getting a shit job to support myself while spending my free time on good works is the right answer either, that goes against the whole idea, that's what society wants me to do so it can lock me in. Something to think about.

I remember a party I went to last summer when I was in San Francisco. I didn't know anyone and was sitting on the couch with a few other people watching a movie. Then this guy arrived, big guy, looked around the room, saw me, came right over extended his hand and said, "Hi, I'm David." It was one of the nicest things someone had ever done for me, and so simple. I wish I could be like that, so open, so unconcerned with rejection. I want to be a good listener, collector of voices, and story teller, too. A good person. I can try.

I told Alison that she's turning into a real hippy since she decided not to shower anymore on the logic that India is dirty and no matter how often she bathes she will only immediately get dirty again, especially when doing two classes of yoga a day (we hurt all over). But then she pointed out that in fact neither of us have shaved in weeks, I was the one wearing natural fiber clothes and had my hair up in an awful shaggy pig tail. We're having a great time, and after all the yoga, we are showering for sure.

The Kite Runner

I just finished "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. It was alright, but nothing special, filled with cliches, uninspired prose, and staged foreshadowing. Perhaps my problem is the struggle in the book, while great, seems small compared to the struggle in "Water Touching Stone". While set in Afghanistan, being in India helped me visualize the scenery better than I would have otherwise.
I should note that the edition I read, the Bloomsbury 21 version, had a huge misprint replacing pages 82-137 with a repeat of the first four chapters of the book.

Invisible Man

Running around today trying to back up our photos with no luck, but I found myself at an internet cafe with a coffee somehow, so I thought I'd review "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison.

Back in high-school I remember reading "The Battle Royale" short story, which at the time, I had no idea was from this book, so I was quite surprised to find its words included in the first pages. The Battle has a special meaning to me due to its inclusion into the graduating class of 2000's senior show "Bust Wide Open." The book is a tale of self discovery for a young Southern African American man in the early 1900's and his role in the education and civil rights movements. Through out the book people at home, school, and later the Brotherhood in NYC control the way the narrator thinks, and he easily bends to their wishes, not really knowing for himself what he feels is the right way to move into the future. The writing is exceptional, especially for someone's first novel, and the book is hard to put down. Something is always happening, there is action and danger around every corner, but it is all despite of the author, not because of him. He begins to realize he is only a prop, and not a person with his own motives. The beginning and end of the book come full circle with the narrator isolated in a bright white or dark black room acknowledging his own invisibility.

While at the beginning of the book the narrator, and even I, wanted to follow the dying grandfather's advice, "Live with your head in the lion's mouth. I want you to overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, agree 'em to death and destruction, let 'em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open," by the end neither of us are sure. The message is still unclear; who is 'em? Was the old man's profound wisdom no more than senile babble? While a lot happens in the book, almost all the questions raised are left unanswered, perhaps they are unaswerable, but we get the story of one man's trial.

I've begun to notice a trend in the books I find exceptional, They are are struggles with the self. Each person fights to find out who they are - and when they do, they are trapped or die and the book ends, the story is over. Is that our purpose in life? To discover ourselves and die?

Books that I have read

So Matthew is rapidly publishing post after post before we leave for India, so I feel that I should do my part to add to you everyday reading material. While traveling around I have amazed my self at how much I have read. In the past it has been very difficult for me to read books just for the sake of reading. But that has all changed now! SO here are some of my thoughts on the books that I have read, but I will try not to give too much away.

Australia reading:

Legacy of Luna

During out time at Windgrove I thumbed through many different books, but didn't start reading any until Matthew handed me the Legacy of Luna. He highly recommended it and since I listened to her speck at RISD, I thought it only made sense. The book was a quick read (I read it in 2 days) and it was extremely motivational. She writes in such a way that you are able to feel her ups and downs and her determination. I would say that if you every want to be motivated to change the world by tree sitting in a large Red Wood then you should definitely read the book!

Bend in the road

by Nicholas Sparks

This book a type of romance, detective novel. If you are in the middle of the bush with nothing much to do besides build some furniture and listen to the koalas, then it is a great read. Otherwise I wouldn't go out of my way to read it. The plot is very predictable for the first half, then it takes unpredictable and somewhat unrealistic turns. I have to say that the book did hold my attention- not that it had anything else to compete with.

Dragons of Autumn Twilight

I have not really been an avid fantasy book reader. However I really do like reading books that require little effort to read and are very entertaining. I enjoy escaping into a complex different world. I have never read a dungeons and dragon book before, so I thought I would see what all the fuss is about. I was very entertained! The story was very complex and moving. The characters' personalities seems realistic and compelling. I was surprised at how many times there was a climax in the story that included fighting dragons and armies, but none of the good guys would die and a few pages later there would be another fight that seemed just as important if not more. Needless to say my emotions and adrenaline were constantly on a superman roller coaster. In the end the book was very enjoyable. It served it's purpose while I was at Wild Mountains and I was very sad when I turned the last page.

Lord of the Rings

As our time at Wild Mountains came to an end, I started reading the first of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I have watched the movies, but never saw the need to read the books. Since I was on a reading kick, Why not? So I started and at first it was a little difficult for me to get into, maybe because it seemed so daunting. But I quickly found myself obsessed and wanted to read as much as possible before i left. I regret that I was only able to finish part of the book and will have to pick it up again during another trip of sorts.

Water Touching Stone

by Elliot Pattison

I started this book at the beginning of our stay in Brisbane. I would say that so far this book has been one of the best reads. It is a fictional story based on the Tibetan struggle. The novel is made up of many different layers and I really liked the writing style. I mainly like the writing when I don't notice it, when the descriptions and the story pulls me into the books reality and I no long notice the words but am experiencing the tale. I encountered many feelings of happiness and extreme sadness. It is also a detective type of story- a former Beijing investigator tries to bring to light the mystery about dieing children, missing lamas, secret Americans and the secrets of the Muslim clans. the book encourages the reader to be very self-reflective. If you have the time, please do read.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

This book was quite long. It was entertaining, but didn't raise many questions. It mainly told the strange story of a family that started and ended the town of Macondo. If you like magical story telling then it is a good book.

The Tale of Geniji

I am currently reading The Tale od Genji. . .

Sons and Lovers

The last hostel we stayed at in Brisbane had a book exchange, so I left Bryson's "In a Sunburned Country" for "Sons and Lovers" by D. H. Lawrence. In brief the book is about a son's relationship to his neglected and overly affectionate mother and how it controls his relationship to his two lovers, one spiritual, one passionate. Lawrence considered the book somewhat autobiographical, and this flavor comes out in the rich detail of emotions felt by the characters. The relations and emotions are so deep and unfamiliar to my modern eyes. The quality or the writing is exceptional; often I could not tell if I was reading the next page because I wanted to find out what happened in the story or because I wanted to see the vibrant combination of words used by Lawrence. My favorite chapter was "Strife in Love." I liked the book so much that I have added it to my list of five books you must read to understand me as a person. The others include: Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, The Runner by Cynthia Voigt, Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein, and A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin.

I also found many similarities between my current state of affairs and the sons in the book. One feels as though he has no purpose in life even though he is successful, and with no passion in life he grows ill and dies. The other, the artist, thinks to much, is left alone in the end, and can not decide whether he'd rather be beaten by life or beaten by death. That's the depressing part, but before their ends these characters really lived. They experienced everything available to them, and lived and loved deeply, with flames in their eyes and hearts. Who could really want anything more than a burning existence?

I particularly like the title of the last chapter, Derelict. There are many excellent quotations I could share, about sleeping, recklessness, and carelessness, but I will give only this one about loss.
"Everything seemed so different, so unreal. There seemed no reason why people should go along the street and houses pile up in the daylight. There seemed no reason why these things should occupy the space, instead of leaving it empty. His friends talked to him: he heard the sounds, and he answered. But why there should be the noise of speech he could not understand." (p.357)

I leave acknowledging this, everyday I can be great or wait to die. It is my decision.

The Legacy of Luna

I've been reading this book "The Legacy of Luna" by Julia Butterfly Hill. It's amazingly well written given how scatterbrained she was during her lecture at RISD. And so young! My age when she went up into that tree. I keep wondering when my big event will happen, and what it will be. More and more I think I may have to make it happen, although these things always seem to land in people's laps, as if they were born for it. What am I born for? The things I do seem so ordinary to me; go to college, see the world, climb the canyon. Where am I standing for what I believe in? I digress. The book is a good and inspiring read, easy to get into and quick to finish. It leaves me wondering where the balls are in environmentalism. Vinda Shiva states that the environmental movement in India is lead entirely by grass roots women's organisations. Whenever I read about the environment it's always so feminine. Julia mentions a time in the tree when two female singers came up in the tree with her and sang songs and read poems and had a little session. Guys don't do that. How can men get involved and not feel like pansies? Jackson Pollack once said that "Painting needs balls" and I say Environmentalism needs balls, too.

What We Think Of America

I'm reading a very interesting book here at Marcus' - "What We Think Of America" A collection of essays published by Granta 77, 2002 and edited by Ian Jack. It's so interesting to hear how people think of us, speaking with no pretense. In a strange way I wish I knew how Americans though about everyone else, but I guess that's the point, we don't care to think of them. Two excerpts:

"[America] is the only country whose citizenship is an act of faith" (p.49)

[In reference to 9/11] "They say themselves that they have been expelled from their Eden. How strange that they should ever have thought they had a right to one" (p.54)

In Defense Of Globalization

Yesterday I mentioned the book In Defense Of Globalization by Jagdish Bhagwati and have to admit I have stopped reading it. I thought the book would be an explanation of what Globalization really is and it’s positive effects on society, but halfway through the book I could tell this was not the case. Now the definition globalization is more blurred in my mind than when I started the book. Bhagwati put most of his attention into what globalization is not, and often through obscure analogies that contradict his intended message. I somehow kept thinking of the Ten Commandments and the crusades. While and excellent read if you can’t fall asleep at night I had to skip to the conclusion and move on. Bhagwati argues that anti-globalizationists and NGO’s don’t really understand what globalization is, but does little to make the case for globalization. I’ve yet to make up my mind on globalization, but have decided against this book.

In A Sunburned Country

I just finished listening to Bill Bryson’s In A Sunburned Country and highly recommend it if you’re heading to Australia or not. I first got the book from my mother, who as a fan of Bryson, picked it up for herself at the library. Halfway through she decided that I had to read the book so she bought and sent a copy to me with a collection of furniture related newspaper articles. When I got the book I was still trudging through In Defense Of Globalization by Jagdish Bhagwati so I shelved the Bryson for later. A couple days later I was at the library here looking for audio books to pass the time on the fourteen-hour flight across the pacific when I spotted In A Sunburned Country on CD. I checked it out and have been listening to it while I make stick furniture, the book is still good as new. I didn’t have much time for reading anyway. I found the audio very funny in most parts and informative in others. Bryson is a great storyteller and explains some of the many dangers and beauties in the vast and empty country of Australia.