Imogene's Antlers

Imogene's Antlers by David Small

Imogene wakes up with antlers. She has a number of challenges with the antlers, but also finds special benefits. When she wakes up the next day it is back to normal.  It reminds me of the section of Duck Feet. 

Jen the Hen

Jen the Hen by Colin Hawkins and Jacqui Hawkins

This is a simple story with flaps to show different words that end with "en". It is a fun approach to phonics that tells somewhat of an interesting story with a near endless number of "-en" words.

The Idaho Falls Temple: The First LDS Temple in Idaho

The Idaho Falls Temple: The First LDS Temple in Idaho by Delbert V. Groberg (Author)

This history of the Idaho Falls temple is very well annotated and includes details of almost every person and event involved in early Idaho Falls history. The temple was started during the Great Depression. The church had not built a temple for many years before this temple was constructed. Both the church and the community were very eager for this project. The church members were excited from a religious point of view. The community, including city leadership and chamber of commerce were also enthusiastic about having a grand building and the many jobs that would be provided by construction and the supporting of future visitors. 

The book includes numerous pictures of people, maps and buildings. There are reproduced newspaper clippings as well as verbatim copies of various talks and newspaper articles. The narrative does jump around a bit, but can be read from about any location. Much of the book covers the building and initial dedication of the temple. However, there are some accounts of the operation of the temple. The special 24 hour operation as well as the first Black man to go through the temple are two stories that come to mind. The detailed accounts and pictures of people make this a great historical and family history resource. 

The Velveteen Rabbit

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (Author), David Jorgensen (Illustrator), adapted by Mark Sottnick

A stuffed rabbit is beloved by a boy. The boy tells people the rabbit is "real". The rabbit loves being real. However, he sees some real rabbits one day who tell him he is not real. He wonders about that. Later, the boy gets scarlet fever. After he recovers, the doctor says everything close to him (including the bunny) needs to be burned. Luckily, the fairy comes in and makes the rabbit a real bunny.

This is a classic tale that does show its age. There were "spring loaded" toys in the day rather than the electronic ones of today. The text is a bit verbose, but the story still works. There is a small note that it was adapted for a video version. The adapter gets a small credit - and the copyright date is 1985 rather than the original one from a century ago. Hmmm..

The Gingerbread Man (Easy-To-Read Folktales)

The Gingerbread Man (Easy-To-Read Folktales) by Karen Schmidt

This is a telling of the gingerbread man story. There is nothing special. It is not horrible, but doesn't add anything special. At least it tells the story accurately, with the gingerbread man being eaten by the fox.

Buster Loves Buttons!

Buster Loves Buttons! (An I Can Read Book) by Fran Manushkin (Author), Dirk Zimmer (Illustrator)

Buster loves buttons. He tries to collect them from everywhere. He clips them from people that are using them. They get mad. A girl hatches a plan to lure him with glass buttons on a blanket. He chases her and then she goes up in her airplane. She blinds her with he glare from the sun on the buttons. She also tricks him into spinning upside down, thereby dropping his buttons. She releases them to the town. Now they have a mess to clean up. Buster volunteers to sort the buttons and everybody is happy. the book takes a simple premise, but then carries it out to zanny proportions.

Only the Cat Saw

Only the Cat Saw by Ashley Wolff

A farm family is busy with their nighttime activities: bathing, reading in bed, getting up to use the bathroom or nurse the baby. They don't see some of the outdoor activities that the cat sees. However, the cat goes to sleep in the morning, so only the girl sees the morning scenery. The pictures are pretty.

Clifford the Big Red Dog

Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell

The first Clifford book started the series. There is not much narrative. Instead there are just various tales of Clifford. He has a doghouse as big as a house. He accidentally "catches" a car when he is chasing it. He needs a rake to comb his hair. There are a lot of "big dog" things that make things challenging for him. He is also a good guard dog. Many of these things have been developed further, but this is the original.

Curious George Visits the Zoo

Curious George Visits the Zoo by Margret Ray and Alan J. Shalleck

The Curious George television film series officially had he involvement of the spouse of the original Curious George author. However, it appears they could not be bothered with reading the actual books. In the first Curious George book, George lives in the zoo. In later capers he hides out with other zoo animals and draws pictures of his animal friends. With that, why would he find the zoo an exciting, novel place? 

In this story, the man takes him to the zoo. He gets into trouble swiping bananas. However, he gets out of trouble by feeding the monkeys and getting a kid's balloon. It all follows the formula, even if it doesn't have continuity with the original stories.

When I'm Sleepy

When I'm Sleepy by Jane R. Howard (Author), Lynne Cherry (Illustrator)

I little girl imagines sleeping as a number of different animals sleep. Finally, she imagines herself sleeping in her bed.

Sadie and the Snowman

Sadie and the Snowman by Allen Morgan (Author), Brenda Clark (Author)

A girl builds a snowman. A bit later, animals eat the facial parts and the snowman partially melts. After the next snow, she rebuilds the snowman, using parts from the old. She repeats multiple times. Finally, she has a mini-snowman in a bowl. It melts and she freezes the remains. She saves this in the freezer and reuses as part of the first snowman of the next year.

Baby Bear's Surprise

Baby Bear's Surprise (Cyndy Szekeres Early Learning Picture Books) by Cyndy Szekeres

Every one zooms by on various wheeled vehicles. Baby bear wonders what is up. Then at the end, he see she has a surprise - a new tricycle for him. It is short and has a nice variety of illustrations. It is nice seeing adults with bicycles and wagons.

Bunny Trouble

Bunny Trouble by Hans Wilhelm

Ralph the bunny loves to play soccer. He does it everywhere, even when he is supposed to be helping with easter eggs. While others are working, he goes out and practices kicking the ball in the farmer's fields. The farmer catches him and plans to cook him. His family saves him by putting a lot of colored eggs in the cage. The farmer wouldn't dare hurt the easter bunny, so he set him free. Ralph then vows to work hard - while still playing soccer. It is an ok story.

Just Me and My Puppy

Just Me and My Puppy by Mercer Mayer

Critter wants a puppy. He trades a baseball glove for it. He promises to take care of it. The wards are extremely optimistic and positive. The pictures show a different story. While he states that puppy is doing a great job, the pictures show puppy always getting into trouble.

Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States

Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States by Kenneth T. Jackson 

(Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crabgrass_Frontier)

The United States began a gradual process towards suburbanization. Initially, the country was primarily rural, with minimal urban population. As cities grew, in part due to the industrial revolution, all tended to live close together. Trains and other transportation enabled people to move out from the crowded cities to suburban area. These cities were usually "dots" on the rail line, with houses built within walking distance of the train line. Other forms of transportation, such as cable cars, horse cars and ferries expanded the areas where people could live. However, even the suburbs would mirror urban living, but at a distance. Grid patterns were the common layout pattern.

The "city beautiful" movement started launching suburbs that would have "curved lines" and be integrated more into nature. Soon the car came about and suburbs were built with the expectation of automobile use. Uses were segregated. There was a "home zone" and a "work zone". 

The most depressing part of housing development was the government involvement. It went into high gear during the Great Depression. The government helped encourage loans. However, the devil was in the details. They wanted to ensure loans were rapid, so they mapped neighborhoods by category. To be in the ideal category, the neighborhood had to be white and suburban. Cities ended paying to subsidize racist car-centric suburbs.

Even worse was the government's attempts to provide public housing. A requirement for funding was that an equivalent amount of slums were cleared. A local housing authority must also be set up to provide the housing. While it would have been easy to build vast amounts of public housing in greenfield suburbs, the suburban areas did not want it, leaving most in the cities. Initially the housing was meant to be primarily temporary abodes for the working poor. However, restrictions were lifted, leaving the housing primarily the abode of the most impoverished. In the end, poverty was concentrated in central cities with no real increase in housing stock. The huge amount that the US government spent on mortgage tax breaks has probably been a net loss. 

The government spent huge amounts of money building the interstate highway system, while expecting mass transit and railroads to mostly pay their way.  Zoning regulations also come to enforce separation of responsibility and benefit cars.  The author presents the facts of government government and then tries to divert the blame, saying that people had wanted it. However, the facts show a policy that could hardly have been planed better to destroy cities, favor suburban sprawl and force people into cars. Other countries marvel at the lack of public housing and the dedication of gas tax revenue to highway constructions. Alas, the US government has got what it deserved. 

In the end, the author made a few predictions that seemed somewhat prescient. One prediction was that working from home was not really feasible. When this was written in the mid-1980s, the technology for working from home was crude at best. Internet connectivity would primarily be via a modem with speeds in bits per seconds. Coworker interaction would be with a telephone. Even today, with always-on gigabit home internet, video conference and chat, companies are still pushing for in-person presence. Remote work is now more possible, but there is still a desire for in-person connectivity. Another prediction is that there would be a greater desire for urban living. This seems to have played out as expected. Many cities reversed years of population decline to see population gains in the 2000s. Even suburbs have become more urban in character. While there still are new sprawl subdivisions, there is a much more balanced makeup of new development. There are concerns about energy use, and an acknowledgement that dense housing, non-car transit and other features help in reducing excess energy use and carbon emissions.

 

QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter (Princeton Science Library Book 33)

QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter (Princeton Science Library Book 33) by Richard P. Feynman

This is a very accessible introduction to Quantum Electro-dynamics. The tone is very down to earth. Most of the sections are very understandable. However, a few bits went above my head. (Though I feel I could have grasped them if I spent a little more time.) Light discussions seems straightforward. Quarks are quarks and get a little weird, especially when you get to color and spin. There is a final bit that explores "modern ideas", and then an appendix that looks how things have changed. He even admits that physicists love to fit things in their current models. Maybe the world does reduce down, or maybe it is just the way scientists look at it.

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business

Television has encouraged a dumbing down of societal discourse. Neil Postman's arguments seem both dated and prenicient. When written in the 1980s, television was primarily consumed via limited broadcast stations. Cable was growing, but still limited. Computers were something of a novelty. People sat down in front of a family TV to get information. If they were bored, they stopped watching.

Today it has become worse. Moving pictures are available on phones, computers and the TV set. There are a near-infinite number of different videos that can be streamed with the click of a button. Nearly everything is "stand alone". You can watch a single youtube video then see more from the same creator. There are many series and movies available. The attention spans have shrunk further as there are many other options if something is not entertaining.

With COVID, education and religion have been migrated to screens with poor results. Church did not have the same "sacredness" when it was just coming from a screen at home. People would do things that they would not otherwise do at church. Similarly school was a different experience. Even trying to replicate the same school experience over Zoom produced poor results. Why watch a boring teacher, when there are many well-produced programs out there? Migration to screens seems to degrade the original.

TV is here to stay. We are now picking leaders based on how they appear on screens rather than on substantive issues. "Influencers" have large media followings. With the large number of video productions there are some that are daring. However, the overall quality has veered towards those with lower attention spans and less spot. It does not bode well for society. Postman observed the problems and half heartedly proposes solutions. Things do not bode well for society.

El Amor en los Tiempos del Cólera [Love in the Time of Cholera]

El amor en los tiempos del cólera / Love in the Time of Cholera

27th edition from February 1992, published in Argentina. ISBN: 950-07-0320-3

Usually I try to finish a book before writing about it. However, after making it halfway through El Amor en los Tiempos del Cólera, I had to throw in the towel. My Spanish skills were just not up to it. I found myself grasping individual words and sentences, but not really putting it all together to comprehend the story. I think I need to start off with a shorter story that is more appealing. This story is that of two young lovers that go their separate ways, only to try to rekindle the relationship late in life. One marries a doctor, hence the pun in the title. 

I'll think about giving this one a try later after I brush up on my Spanish skills.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

This was one of Kurt Cobain's favorite novels. The story centers around a man with a great sense of smell living in 18th century France. He is orphaned at a young age and notices his gift for smell at a relatively young age. He smells a girl and murders her so that nobody else could have her smell. He realizes his great olfactory ability and apprentices himself to a perfumist. He also realizes that he does not have a smell. Later he decides to create a perfect smell. He kills a couple dozen girls to get what is needed. The people are distraught by the murders and eventually capture him. His execution is to be a great spectacle. He unleashes his "perfect smell" and everyone feels he is innocent as they get wrapped up in a hedonistic orgy. He finds this unfulfilling and decides to unleash his smell as he is walking among some low-life. They rip him apart, ending his life.

The book has an interesting take on the power of smell. Odor does have a power in our lives to bring back strong memories. Could it eventually be used to harness a form of mind control over a populace? Would people really go through such actions over a smell? It is also a tale of sacrifice. The all-powerful smell required the life of many people. The creator of this smell gave the people a final scent as they ripped him apart. Is this how Cobain felt about his musical abilities?

Dracula: Starring David Suchet and Tom Hiddleston

A BBC adaptation of a play based on the original Dracula book seems as good way as any to get introduced to Dracula. I was surprised at how little I knew of the original story, but how much I understood of the characters. Many of the "vampire" themes are present in this original book. There is also a distinct "vampire romance" involved. No wonder Twilight and the like of gone so far on the romance. Dracula spreads vampire-dom on other unwittingly. Some people also have managed to discover some of the defenses. The "happy" ending only occurs after great challenge.