Rancid

Murder at the ABA by Isaac Asimov My rating: 3 of 5 stars Murder at the ABA While Isaac Asimov is considered to be a very excellent science fiction writer. He has written books in other genres. "Murder at the ABA" is considered to be by him one of his best books in regard to the mystery genre. And this particular novel he has inserted himself into the plot. This is known as metafiction. The novel per se is of an odd taste. All I can say is that the characters in the novel are not detectives they are writers but they are forced to become detectives at the loft of a colleague during the convention of the ABA. Therefore it's a little bit more of a whodunnit type of book. Enjoy. View all my reviews

 The kind of people we are  going to meet each day—the bitter, the stupid, the jealous, the petty, racists, polluters, rage profiteers, reality television stars, trolls and on and on. ( I know many of those labels apply to me as well) These people are frustrating. They make the world less safe, less productive, less collaborative. They poison the common good. They destroy any semblance of common understanding or commonality, period. But instead of getting angry at them, try pity first. As we’ve said before, these people aren’t actually having a good time. Nor, in most cases, are they avoiding the consequences of their own actions (in some cases, they suffer most). Even if it doesn’t always seem so obvious. After all, you could be like them if you wanted. Why? Because it’s a horrible, shameful way to live. These people who frustrate us are cut off from that. They have been led astray. Or they have chosen to go astray. And that is something to pity From the thought of Ryan Holid...

 For too long many of you as I, have been led to believe that to show emotion is to show weakness My father would say if you cry, I will put Maria's dress on you (Maria was my little sister).  Once in the Bronx, I slice my knee up to the knee cap, and at Pelham bay hospital he did not allow anesthesia, I left the hospital walking under my own power in pain, with no crutches,  or wheelchair, and I was not allowed to cry. My mother agreed with him.  Suck it up, we’re told, stop being a crybaby. You’re stronger than that. No one wants to hear it. I got that from outside and inside the congregation as well. Of course, many of us who are different had to remodel our thinking to adjust to our upbringing and culture, even where today it would not be considered normal. Yet I wonder how many of my fellow Christians would consider Jesus a coward whe  finally succumbs to his pain, calling out to his father, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ In that raw, agonizing...

What you read.  Who you study under.  What you prioritize.  How you treat someone.  What your routine is like.  The training you undergo.  What rules  you follow.  What habits you cultivate. Day to day, practiced over a lifetime. For some it will do good... But for others like myself... Nope. too late.

 When I was a young JW back in the '70s and I pioneered between school breaks; one of the points we would put forth is questioning the original beliefs of the people we talked with. the Watchtower had articles like these:  Are you just as careful regarding your beliefs about your own relationship to God? w64 1/15 pp. 35-36 - The Watchtower—1964 If you are faced with the question, “Why should I accept my parents’ religion?” why not compare their beliefs with the “eternal truths” found in the Bible? g86 11/22 pp. 13-15 - Awake!—1986 Even JW's after 1975 have questioned their beliefs and have had to make adjustments in their understanding, and these new understandings have come from more intense studying of the scriptures when things don't exactly pan out. I won't touch those subjects, maybe on another occasion. The issue is when something doesn't seem right, questions arise and motivate one to study more to understand them. This is nothing new with humans. During Roma...

The Ugly Little Boy by Isaac Asimov My rating: 2 of 5 stars An Interesting read. I like the science behind the concept. Not so much the story per se. Of course we know more about neanderhtals these days. View all my reviews

It has been a trip no doubt. Just another new experience for me. In the morning I get all energetic and I get ready to do stuff, then reality sets in, and the day becomes a bit more difficult to move around. I think today it's the first day that I could actually walk all the way down the street where I live and walk back up. I live on a steep Street so I walk up an incline. But I made it. Of course, I have two large saphenous veins that I know missing. So if I don't walk much my feet will swell up with water. Just goes to show me how badly we need our body parts eh?  No doubt about how to sign our body to function perfectly in our three-dimensional world. I'm still getting chest pains but it's not from the heart it's from the incisions and where the titanium clips are located at. I guess it's a matter of getting used to them. I also have to get used to the scars on my chest. It feels like I've been abducted by aliens and they put their mark on me like a tatt...

  When it comes to robotics and science Isaac Asimov's creativity has fascinated me since I was a child. The particular reason I decided to title this review 'the legend of Andrew Martin' instead of the review of the Positronic Man or the 'Bicentennial Man' is simple. If you are a fan of Isaac Asimov's works you would know that he has a tendency to work on his characters to build his short stories and novelettes into novels. There's a movie that was also based on both works, that is titled the Bicentennial Man, and Andrew was played by Robin Williams in this movie.  The story is based on a Robot who wanted to be declared legally a Human. The Pinnochio complex. The full summary can be found here:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Positronic_Man#Plot_summary   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bicentennial_Man#Plot The notion of a robot or an Android wanting to become human is not a new one, we see this in many books and in movies, and of course science fic...

It has always felt like things are in decline. It’s always felt like society is coming apart, that the mos maiorum is losing its hold. In the 1600s, as the Puritans fled a tempestuous, plague-ridden London to the New World, they thought they were living in the end times. Yet America would still be going 400 years later…and so would England. As bad as things were, and as bad as things would get, they are unquestionably on a whole, much better. Why are they better? Because people made them better. Because not everyone was so cynical or despondent because not everyone despaired. Some people chose to imagine a better future and strove to make a better future. Have you chosen to see a decline as permanent and not temporary? Have you decided that what’s happening in the world, in your country, in your neighborhood, is not something that you control? You can look backward with a sigh or forwards with a clenched jaw. What will it be?