A Talking Dick Head
Title: How to Build An Android, the true story of Philip K. Dick’s Robotic Restoration
Author: David F. Dufty
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Genre: Technology
Length: 272 pages
Yesterday afternoon I messaged my friend after returning from running errands which involved the bookstore, lunch with my daughter, Hobby Lobby, and of course – the library.
“So I know you’re at work, but did you know that in 2005 some scientists made an android that looked just like Philip K. Dick and one of them LEFT HIS HEAD ON A PLANE! The robotic Philip K. Dick head has never been found. Some super nerd freak has his head somewhere. (And I’m jealous.)” I said.
“We must search for this robo head.”
We certainly do not plan to go searching for Philip K. Dick’s robotic head that has been missing for a decade. The police have not found it and ended their search a long time ago. The creators aren’t even looking for it anymore. It was never insured, so there was nothing fraudulent about the circumstances. But someone, somewhere, in a very A Gentle Madness style, is hoarding Dick’s head in their basement – probably in Washington State… or Orange County… or well, anywhere the airline could go.
Dufty’s recount of the building of the android and his version of events at Comic Con and other such places is a fun, light, entertaining read that I read in two sittings. It’s fascinating that so many intelligent people were involved in such a large scale plan that ended in something Philip K. Dick would probably determine predestined and foreseen. They made an android of the author who wrote Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? then lost its head. It’s a funny bit of irony, no?
The book isn’t just about building an android though, and isn’t as mechanical as you’d think. It’s got a lot of commentary about Dick, his life, his themes, his work, and, of course, what makes a human human and an android a mere android. If you appreciate robotics or are a Philip K. Dick fan, I recommend checking this one out sometime.
Pheromones
Title: Bombardier Beetles and Fever Trees
Author: William Agosta
Publisher: Helix Books * Addison-Welsey Publishing Company
Genre: Science/ Nature
Length: 224 pages
It started because I realized I had used the word “pheromone” one too many times during every day discussions that week. It seemed from a biological standpoint my nose – and my whole body really – was on high alert. I could smell EVERYTHING. Which happens more often than I’d like. And not normal smells like the fast food restaurants when you drive by or someone’s overbearing perfume. It’s not even the homeless guy that comes into work from time to time. He’s odorous, don’t get me wrong, but those aren’t the smells I tend to notice.
I smell clean skin a lot. And not the soap that was used, just skin. I tend to pick up on not the typical overly sweaty man on a jog, but the very subtle clammy sort of sweat that someone gets when they are thinking too hard or are wearing the shirt they slept in. I can smell my daughter’s little curls – not the shampoo, not the preschooler desperately needs a bath smell, but HER smell. Obviously, I have a word and a basic gist of why humans respond to these smells (whether they are aware of them or not), but I wanted to know more.
The library has NOTHING on people. So beetles it was.
And Agosta is fascinating. I love this book and plan to purchase it for kiddo to read for a biology course when she’s older. It’s smooth reading, has a lot of information, and has taught me something new about a subject I was already interested in (nudibranchs) that I wasn’t aware was going to be included in this title. Agosta goes over caterpillars and butterflies, discusses spiders and their silk, and even talks about plants, opium, and medicinal remedies.
Definitely loved every word and page and am now moving onto Wyatt’s Pheromones and Animal Behavior. Pipe in if you’re interested in a discussion.
Worlds Collide: Conversations Over Coffee In A Friday Photo Post
You really can’t have too many winged-back chairs…
2014 Reading List
Every year I post my exhaustive list for the year. So, Happy New Year! Here’s what happened last year:
I’ve included chapter books I read out loud to Ayla, but not picture books because that would be insane.
JANUARY
1. Magic Tree House #18 & #19 – Mary Pope Osborne
2. The Lacuna – Barbara Kingsolver
3. Get Me Out of Here – Reiland
4. Papyrus – John Oehler
5. The Road Not Taken & Other Poems
6. Voltaire’s Calligrapher – Pablo de Santos
7. The Newton Letter – John Banville
8. The Bridge of San Luis Rey – Wilder
FEBRUARY
9. A Shopshire Lad – A. E. Housman
10. Still Life With Insects – Brian Kitely
11. Codependent No More – Beattie
12. Committed – Gilbert
13. Not Even Wrong – Paul Collins
14. The Weekend Novelist – Robert J. Ray
MARCH
15. The Landmark Herodotus
16. Divergent – Roth
17. Hunger – Michael Grant
APRIL
18. The Colorado Kid – Stephen King
19. Follies Past – Melanie Kerr
20. The Green Book – Rogers & Kostigen
21. Green Greener Greenest – Lori Bongiorno
22. The Archivist – Cooley
MAY
23. Why Didn’t They Teach Me This in School – Siegel
24. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Smith
25. The Devenshire Chronicles: Stones of Andarus
26. The Dying of the Light: End – Jason Kristopher
27. The City of Bones – Cassandra Clare
JUNE
28. Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart – Beth Pattillo
29. Death by Darjeeling – Laura Childs
30. The Book of Secrets – Elizabeth Joy Arnold
31. The Early Investor – Michael W. Zisa
32. City of Glass – Clare
33. City of Fallen Angels – Clare
34. City of Lost Souls – Clare
35. City of Heavenly Fire – Clare
36. A Circle of Quiet – L’Engle
37. Clockwork Princess – Clare
38. Bitten – Kelley Armstrong
39. The Beginner’s Goodbye – Anne Tyler
40. Be the Captain of Your Career – Molisani
41. A Reliable Wife – Goolrick
42. Barabbas – Par Lagerkvist
43. How to Achieve True Greatness – Castiglione
JULY
44. Life is Hard But God is Good – Horton
45. ADHD According to Zoe – Zoe Kessler
46. The Entrepreneur Mind – Kevin D. Johnson
47. A Thousand Days in Venice – de Blasi
48. Entangled – Barbara Ellen Brink
49. Fairy Bell Sisters #1 & #2 – McNamara (to Ayla obviously)
50. Share Your Message With the World – Gambone
AUGUST
51. The Thirteenth Tale – Setterfield
52. Of Blood & Brothers – E. Michael Helms
53. Investing for Retirement – Harwood
54. His Texas Forever Family – Amy Woods (SO PROUD OF HER!)
55. The King’s English – Burton
56. A Fancy Dinner Party – Grey Gecko Press
57. Of Blood & Brothers 2 – E. Michael Helms
58. Expecting Money – Erica Sandberg
59. Cruel Devices – George Wright Padgett
SEPTEMBER
60. Gunpowder Green – Laura Childs
61. The Secret Life of Captain X – Mrs. X No More
62. 28 1/2 Wishes – Denise Grover Swank
63. Planning for College – Paul Lloyd Hemphill
64. Angelbound – Christina Bauer
65. Doubles Match – Meb Bryant
66. On the Decay of the Art of Lying – Mark Twain
67. Alone – Robert J. Crane
68. Buying a Home: Don’t Let Them Make a Monkey Out of You – Musgrave
69. The Last Beach Bungalow – Jennie Nash
70. Voyager – Diana Gabaldon
OCTOBER
71. Adolescent Literacy Research & Practice
72. Why School? Reclaiming Education… – Rose
73. Stolen – Kelley Armstrong
74. Drums of Autumn – Diana Gabaldon
75. Lies That Make You Pay – Rachel Norman
76. The Mother Tongue – Bill Bryson
77. Enchanted Ivy – Sarah Beth Durst
78. Peter Pan – J.M. Barrie
79. Women, Men, & Money – Devine
80. Insurgent – Roth
NOVEMBER
81. Allegiant – Roth
82. The Summer of the Great Grandmother – L’Engle
83. The Rural Life – Klinkenberg
84. A Question of Upbringing – Anthony Powell
85. Rich as a King – Goldstein
86. Deadly Catch – E. Michael Helms
87. Murder Past Due – D.R. Meredith
88. The Fault in Our Stars – John Green
89. Murder Past Due – Miranda James
90. Greystone Valley – Charlie Brooks
91. Shades of Earl Grey – Laura Childs
92. Roomies – Lindy Zart
93. One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
94. The Five Civilized Tribes – Foreman
95. Retirement GPS – Aaron Katsman
DECEMBER
96. Resolute – Martin W. Sandler
97. The Maze Runner – Dashner
98. Love & Misadventure – Lang Leav
99. The Scorch Trials – Dashner
100. Lullabies – Lang Leav
101. The Death Cure – Dashner
102. Money: Master the Game – Tony Robbins
103. Emissary – Chris Rogers
Love Lang Leav
“I think this is where I belong – among all your other lost things.” – Lang Leav
It’s a full moon.
Quiet.
The tree branches are even still. No rustling.
The kind of night that leaves you staring at the sky, eyes peering through the cool fog in a way a camera lens can never quite capture.
So I retired indoors to read Lang Leav poems, proud of being mature enough for her to not be spoiled by the memory of the one who introduced us. Happy that no one can take the written word from me, no matter how awful they are.
Because I truly adore Lang Leav. She is my favorite currently writing poet, along with her partner Michael Faudet.
I think I read her for the first time in the Fall of last year. She was floating around Pinterest and I then followed her facebook page. Only Love & Misadventure was out then.
Then came Lullabies and Michael Faudet’s Dirty Pretty Things.
My other favorites, if you follow my blog, you know: A.E. Housman, Edna St. Vincent Millay…
Clearly, I enjoy the hint of melancholy mixed with nostalgia.
I like the presence of mind to live in the past, the present, and the future all in one moment. To acknowledge that your experiences have made you and your hopes are what you live for… and right now, this breath, simultaneously deserves all your attention. It’s a beautiful conundrum, balancing it all.
The Next George Wright Padgett Novel…
I loved Spindown – almost as much as I love the author, George. Recently, he asked me to read his latest novel that will be released to the public in November. It’s amazing! But I’ve had to keep my blogger mouth a little quiet about it, until now…
Welcome to the Cruel Devices cover reveal:
Be prepared to purchase November 30th, 2014. It’s exciting work, and if you’re a Stephen King fan, this one is definitely for you!
Teres: A Review
I will recommend Teres every day, every time, to every reader…
19 Struggles Of Having An Outgoing Personality But Actually Being Introverted
So much truth…
Like many categorizing systems, the separatist thinking behind them attempts to firmly place us in one container or another. The flaw in these types of systems is that they don’t always take into account the middle areas of the spectrum. And any system is just that: a spectrum. I’ve long stated with unequivocal certainty that I’m introverted. My friends, however, look at me askance, because I’m actually very fun-loving and outgoing when I need to be. So on that introvert/extravert spectrum, I fall somewhere to the introverted side, but exhibit limited extroverted tendencies. Here is an article found online that I have updated to reflect this spectrumized system.
1. You’re not anti-social, you’re selectively social.
2. At any given point, you have one (maybe two) best friends who are your entire life. You’re not a “group of friends” person. You can’t keep up with all that.
3. Social gatherings…
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Anakalian Whims 