Shantaram – Gregory David Roberts – Book Review
Thursday, August 6th, 2009
ShantaramGregory David Roberts
As promised last week, here is my review for one of my favorite books of all time, Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
The book is very long, over 900 pages (!), but because it is so action packed it can be a quick read if you have the time to let yourself get involved. In brief, the book is about a man who escapes prison in New Zealand and ends up in Bombay working as a slum doctor. Thus the book is about the life he build in Bombay, and follows him over several years, first as a slum doctor, then moving on to mafia man and then mujahadeen fighter. The twists and turns […]
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Photos of American Mass Consumption
Monday, August 3rd, 2009
Thanks to Matador for pointing me to this series of photos, “Intolerable Beauty, Portraits of American Mass Consumption” by Chris Jordan. It definitely makes you think about how much we as a society use, and more importantly, waste. In addition to this photo of cell phones, there are photos of enormous piles of cigarette butts, old hard drives, old cars, sawdust, bottles, and more. Go over and check them out.
Social media makes us approachable
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009
Photo credit Matt Hamm
I have been thinking a lot lately about how social media has changed how we communicate. But not in the way you might think. It is obvious that sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter have changed the game, but not only have these platforms made everyone connected in simple, straight forward and immediate way, I think they have also made the majority of people more accessible and approachable. Of course this has some obvious downsides like spam and stalkers, but now our worlds are much smaller and people who would have otherwise been unable to be contacted can now be located and contacted in less than a minute. Obviously, this has downsides too, but I’m focusing on the positive aspects. In a way, it has leveled the playing field for everyone since there are all […]
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11:11 coincidences
Monday, July 20th, 2009
Photo credit: fr1zz
This post may be a little too new-agey or “out there” for most of you, in fact it’s even a little too new-age for me too. But I’ve been having some interesting coincidences in my life happen recently that I can’t ignore. They are related to the 11:11 phenomenon. Before you write me off as someone who’s losing his mind, let me also say that I am not an overly spiritual person, nor am I into metaphysics or anything like that.
According to Wikipedia:
Numerologists believe that events linked to the time 11:11 appear more often than chance or coincidence. This belief is related to the concept of synchronicity. Other authors believe it is an auspicious sign, and others that it signals a spirit presence.
I have always heard of coincidences with numbers, and have had them happen before in […]
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The birds ate my jalapenos … I think
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009I’ve had strawberries growing in my garden for a few months, but unfortunately have only been able to eat a few because they seem to disappear from the plant the day they reach optimal ripeness. I’ve just chalked it up to the birds or the ants, though I did catch my cat lurking in the garden too. The Landscape Design of my garden is such that it allows easy access to pretty much every rodent. And I’d be surprised if a colony of ants could make a strawberry disappear, but who knows?
But the other morning I had quite a surprise. Every single jalapeno on my jalapeno plant had disappeared. There were probably 10 or more that were an inch or two long last time I looked. This was definitely not the work of ants, nor was it due to the cat or dogs. Is it […]
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San Diego drought tolerant landscaping
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
Image credit: Letz Design
I figured I’d share interesting article about drought tolerant landscaping, known as Xeriscaping, that I found via my Ode Magazine Newsletter. It’s especially relevant since I live in San Diego at a house with a lawn that uses irrigation. It’s not very detailed about specific plants that can be used for making changes, but it is definitely food for thought.
View article here: Yanking out lawns saves water and money
Interesting side note: I started thinking about writing this post the other day while at work. Ironically, as I was pondering drought tolerant landscapes and the water shortages and new water rationing rules here in San Diego, I looked out the window into Petco Park to see them watering the dirt in preparation for the night’s baseball game. My office is located in such […]
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Stoned Wallabies Make Crop Circles
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009Do I need to say more? Follow the link for the story. Thanks for another laugh Wend Magazine!
Sustainable craft brewing and organic beer
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
Photo credit: cizauskas
I grew up in the Northeast, where there were a lot of microbreweries, so I got past drinking Bud and Coors pretty early on. Since I’ve been with my girlfriend who used to work at one of the best beer pubs in San Diego, I’ve been introduced to even better beer. I’ve since learned two things about San Diego that I didn’t know before. 1) It is home to one of the biggest craft beer markets in the country and 2) it is well known for producing some of the hoppiest beers in the country. My college days were spent in breweries back east, and now almost ten years later I have gotten my second schooling on beer; not in breweries but in brew pubs, and have been introduced to some of the tastiest beers that not only […]
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