Common Errors in English Usage

Another great resource on the web.  Read it, learn it, use it.

http://wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html

Posted by Mark Wallace Posted in: Books, Useful Info No Comments » February 2008

The Pleasure Of My Company

I mentioned earlier that I loved this book.  Let me tell you why. The Pleasure Of My Company tells the story of Daniel Cambridge who has obsessive-compulsive disorder.  He can’t step off a curb, he counts everything, he organizes constantly, he’s very clean.

The book follows Daniel as he tries to win the love of his life.  He begins he quest to win her over using a very popular strategy among 8th graders; no contact at all.

“This was my opportunity to meet my objet d’amour. Or at least give her the chance to see me, to get used to me.  My plan was to walk by on my side of the street and not look over her way.  This, I felt, was a very clever masculine move: to meet and ultimately seduce through no contact at all. She would be made aware of me as a mysterious figure, someone with no need of her whatsoever. This is compelling to a woman”

Brilliant.  The book is filled with funny and crazy bits that seem to actually make sense when viewed through the eyes of Daniel Cambridge.  That’s what I love so much about this book.  We really get to see the world through his eyes and, much to my surprise, his world looks a lot like mine.

“The larger issue, the one that sends me to the dictionary of philosophy, if I had one, is the idea of acting like myself.  Where do my hands go when I’m myself? Are they in my pockets? I frankly can’t remember.  I have a tough time just being myself, you know, at parties and such.  I start talking to someone and suddenly I know I am no longer myself, that some other self has taken over.”

That’s just good stuff. It’s a quote from the first part of the book and it sets the stage for the kind of adventure we’re going to have. We get to ride along as Daniel discovers himself in the most unusual ways.  We see him use magic squares to map his life and come up with one amazing conclusion. You’ll have to read the book yourself to see what it is.

On page 80 I discovered that this book wasn’t just good it was very, very good. One of the best in my library.  Here’s the quote that put it over the top for me.

“…In the deeper hours of the night I began to look at myself, to consider myself and my condition, to measure the life I’d led so far.  I did not know what made me this way.  I did not know of any other way I could be.  I did not know what was inside me or how I could redeem what was hidden there.  There must be a key or person or thing, or song or poem or belief, or old saw that could access it, but they all seemed so far away, and after I drifted further and further into self-absorption, I closed the evening with this desolate thought: There are few takers for the quiet heart.”

Aren’t we all looking for that person or thing that allows us to redeem what is hidden deep inside us? Isn’t it a fantastic joy when we find that person?

When I was telling my sister Dawn about this book I told her I loved it for many reasons but the main reason was this, I think it’s the story of me and Diane. The scenes are different but the story is still the same.  When I arrived at page 163 I knew that Steve Martin had told a terrific story, a true story, and I was it’s protagonist.  It was filled with characters I know.  Diane, Andrew and others.

Read this book and tell me if you find yourself there. I did.

Posted by Mark Wallace Posted in: Books No Comments » December 2007

Oregon

I’ve been in Oregon on business the last few days. I flew up to Hillsboro Tuesday for a couple of meetings. On Wednesday evening I drove to Portland to meet my sister for dinner.  My sister, Dawn, lives in Spokane but her husband is a pilot for SouthWest Airlines and so she is able to fly for free.  Since I was going to be in Portland she just hopped on a short 45 minute flight and met me there.

Dawn and I both loves books so we went to Powells Books in Portland.  It’s a huge bookstore.  According to Powells it’s, “the largest used and new bookstore in the world.”  Yeah, it’s big.  We only had a few hours before Dawn had to catch her flight home so we were only able to spend about an hour in Powells.  If you’re ever in Portland I highly recommend that you spend a few hours there.  It’s just a blast.

After books we had a great dinner in downtown.  Portland is like a miniature San Francisco. It has some great art and a lot of character.  If you’re ever up in the northwest make sure you spend a day or two in Portland.

This morning I woke up a little before 5:00am to catch my flight home.  I was flying out of a small jet center in Hillsboro.  There was some very nasty fog.  So nasty that I was stuck at the jet center for hours waiting for it to lift.

I shot this picture with my iPhone this morning.  This scene didn’t change for hours.  My flight was nearly 6 hours late. I’m not a big fan of fog today.

One good thing is that we had free coffee.  Early this morning all the seats in the jet center were taken so we didn’t have much room.  I’m so glad my clunky old Thinkpad has enough room to hold a coffee cup.  Unfortunately the WiFi was out for hours so we had no Internet service.  Usually that’s not a bad thing because I have a book.  But last night I bought a few books for Dawn (The Pleasure Of My Company, Shopgirl, The Shadow of the Wind) and forgot to buy one for myself.

Eventually the fog lifted and I was able to hop on the jet and fly home.  I caught up on some podcasts during the flight and was inspired by This American Life #344: The Competition and #253: The Middle of Nowhere.  They are well worth listening to (you can download them free via iTunes).

Now I’m home and hanging out with Luka and Diane.  Diane is now reading The Pleasure Of My Company.  Dawn called earlier tonight to tell me she loved it and was just about finished.  I think I’ll write up my book review tomorrow.

Posted by Mark Wallace Posted in: Books, Family Stuff, Travel 1 Comment » December 2007

Great book

I’m up in Oregon for a couple of days this week. On the flight up I finished my latest book, The Pleasure Of My Company. I’ve already mentioned how much I enjoy Steve Martin’s writing but this book exceeded even my high expectations.

I’m pretty tired right now and I think I’ll give it a day before I write more about this book. But I will say that I consider this to be one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Stay tuned for more thoughts…

Posted by Mark Wallace Posted in: Books 1 Comment » December 2007

Vince Flop

I just finished the new Vince Flynn book Protect and Defend. I was very disappointed with this book.  The first few Vince Flynn books are pretty entertaining but they just keep getting worse.  This book has no real story and seems like an excuse for Flynn to blab about how cool it is to blow people up and torture prisoners.  This is a good book to skip.

Posted by Mark Wallace Posted in: Books No Comments » December 2007

Born Standing Up

I finished Middlesex a few days ago.  It was a pretty good book but I didn’t think it was good enough to win a Pulitzer.  I felt like Eugenides lost his way toward the end of the book.  I liked it but won’t give it high praise.

After finishing Middlesex I picked up the new Steve Martin autobiography.  I was very excited to read this book because I’m a huge Steve Martin fan. I know him more for his movies than for his stand up routine.  I remember King Tut from the 80’s but was too young to watch him on SNL or see one of his shows.

One of my first recollections of Steve Martin was a little book called Cruel Shoes. I found this on the bookshelf in my house in 1985 and thought it was one of the funniest things I’d ever read.  I was still in high school at the time.  The book is made up of a bunch of disconnected short stories.  I memorized one of them to use in my speech class.

A few years later I was hooked on David Letterman.  One night Steve Martin was a guest on the show.  He and Dave created a little mockumentary that showed the rehearsal and how things had gone terribly wrong.  Steve and Dave had a big blow out fight and wouldn’t talk to each other anymore.  Then, feeling sorry for themselves, they reconciled and became great friends again.  This appearance and little video that Martin and Letterman put together was hilarious.  It’s one of my all time favorite Late Night memories.  Somebody please post it on YouTube.

I enjoyed Martin’s movies along the way.  Of course he is a brilliant comic; The Jerk, Three Amigos, Planes, Trains and Automobiles.  A few of them really made me think; Grand Canyon, Leap of Faith, Shop Girl.

I really became a fan of Martin when I started reading his books.  Cruel Shoes was funny but his later work is just brilliant.  Pure Drivel is hilarious and should be on everyones coffee table. Shopgirl is a stunning work. After I read it I passed it around to all my friends and insisted that they read it too.  The book was in circulation for about 6 months.

Of course there is also the new Martin book The Alphabet from A to Y With Bonus Letter Z! that was just published.  NPR recently did a story about it.  What fun!

I read Born Standing Up in short order.  I opened the book Friday night and finished Saturday night.  It’s not a huge book but I found it incredibly insightful.  I also found that I share many things with Steve Martin.

He cites The Razor’s Edge as one of the major influences in his younger years.  This is the story that influenced me to travel and ultimately spend weeks in northern India and the Himalayas in Nepal.  He also credits this book as the inspiration for his thirst for knowledge and learning.  I’d agree with him on that too.  He has a high respect for Bill Murray – one of my other heroes.  He enjoys large crowds but doesn’t like small gatherings, ditto for me.

If you want a real treat pick up Born Standing Up.  If you’re not familiar with Martins work then I’d suggest starting with a different book first.  Shopgirl is a good place to start.  I’ll leave you with a bit of Steve Martin wackiness from his alphabet book.  This is for the letter “M”.

Maniacal Marvin munched many a macaroon,
Making his middle a mini hot air balloon.

Posted by Mark Wallace Posted in: Books, Humor No Comments » December 2007

Living life backwards

I’m still reading Middlesex.  I’m toward the end now and just read a terrific paragraph.  Let me share.

“I hadn’t gotten old enough yet to realize that living sends a person not into the future but into the past, to childhood and before birth, finally, to commune with the dead.  You get older, you puff on the stairs, you enter the body of your father.  From there it’s only a quick jump to your grandparents, and then before you know it you’re time-traveling.  In this life we grow backwards.  It’s always the gray-haired tourists on Italian buses who can tell you something about the Etruscans.”

In a funny way it reminded me of Start With The Ending by David Wilcox

Posted by Mark Wallace Posted in: Books, Music No Comments » November 2007

Middlesex update

I’m about half way through the book Middlesex that my friend Celeste recommended I read.  I have to say that I’m really enjoying it. Its the story of a Greek American family told through the eyes of Cal Stephanides, a 41 year old hermaphrodite.  Yeah, that’s what I thought too – what kind of story is this?

It’s a great story.  Yesterday I thought I’d read a few pages and wound up mesmerized for a few hours as I turned page after page.  One of the memorable quotes:

Emotions, in my experience aren’t covered by single words. I don’t believe in “sadness,” “joy,” or “regret.” … I’d like to have at my disposal complicated hybrid emotions, Germanic traincar constructions like, say, “the happiness that attends disaster.” Or: “the disappointment of sleeping with one’s fantasy.” … I’d like to have a word for “the sadness inspired by failing restaurants” as well as for “the excitement of getting a room with a minibar.” I’ve never had the right words to describe my life, and now that I’ve entered my story, I need them more than ever.

Another thing I like about the book is it’s references to actual historical events.  It’s the first time I’d heard of the Great Fire of Smyrna.  This fire sets the first act of the book in motion.  We also get to learn about pre-depression Detroit and The Nation of Islam (although I’m not sure how accurate the description is).

I’m not done with the book yet, but I’ve read enough to know I’d recommend it.  Thanks for the recommendation Celeste!

Posted by Mark Wallace Posted in: Books 1 Comment » November 2007

My List of Books

You may not be aware of it, but I have a list of books that I’ve read.  I created it because I’m an avid reader and I thought it would be good to have one place to list books.  When someone asks me to recommend a good book – I just send them to my list.

Unfortunately I let the list collect dust.  I forgot to update with new books and then just let the list get way out of date.  It’s about 2 years out of date at this point.  One reason for this is that I’m lazy.  I don’t like having to take my book upstairs to my computer so I can put in the ISBN number and add the book.

I wrote a cool little application that uses Amazon Web Services to do most of the work, but I still had to input the ISBN number to get things rolling.  If only I had some way of bringing my computer to my books instead…

You guessed it, I wrote a new application that runs on my iPhone.  Now I can add book information on my iPhone and it will automatically update my list.  Since the list is two years out of date I’m going to have to update a little bit each day.  I’m also going to fix the list itself, it’s a bit cumbersome to page through it.  Give me a couple of weeks and I’ll have a new and improved list for you.

For those wanting to dive into application development for the iPhone check out this section of the Mac universe: http://developer.apple.com/iphone/devcenter/

For more information about Amazon Web Services (they are so very cool) check out this section of the Amazon universe: http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html?node=3435361

 

Posted by Mark Wallace Posted in: Books No Comments » November 2007

Living by THE BOOK: Author follows the Bible, literally and hilariously, for a year

Living by THEBOOK: Author follows the Bible, literally and hilariously, for a year

Livingby THE BOOK: Author follows the Bible, literally and hilariously, for a year.This is a very interesting article about an agnostic who decided to try to live byevery biblical command – for a year.  That’s an impossible task andit’s interesting to see how he did.

Posted by admin Posted in: Books, God No Comments » November 2007

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