Currently Reading: Out by Natsuo Kirino Nothing in Japanese literature prepares us for the stark, tension-filled, plot-driven realism of Natsuo Kirino’s award-winning literary mystery Out. This mesmerizing novel tells the story of a brutal murder in the staid Tokyo suburbs, as a young mother who works the night shift making boxed lunches strangles her abusive husband and then seeks the help of her coworkers to dispose of the body and cover up her crime. The coolly intelligent Masako emerges as the plot’s ringleader, but quickly discovers that this killing is merely the beginning, as it leads to a terrifying foray into the violent underbelly of Japanese society. At once a masterpiece of literary suspense and pitch-black comedy of gender warfare, Out is also a moving evocation of the pressures and prejudices that drive women to extreme deeds, and the friendships that bolster them in the aftermath. A gift from Brianna. I don’t usually read crime novels but I’m really enjoying it so far. :)
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Currently Reading: Out by Natsuo Kirino

Nothing in Japanese literature prepares us for the stark, tension-filled, plot-driven realism of Natsuo Kirino’s award-winning literary mystery Out. This mesmerizing novel tells the story of a brutal murder in the staid Tokyo suburbs, as a young mother who works the night shift making boxed lunches strangles her abusive husband and then seeks the help of her coworkers to dispose of the body and cover up her crime. The coolly intelligent Masako emerges as the plot’s ringleader, but quickly discovers that this killing is merely the beginning, as it leads to a terrifying foray into the violent underbelly of Japanese society. At once a masterpiece of literary suspense and pitch-black comedy of gender warfare, Out is also a moving evocation of the pressures and prejudices that drive women to extreme deeds, and the friendships that bolster them in the aftermath.

A gift from Brianna. I don’t usually read crime novels but I’m really enjoying it so far. :)

Q:In your opinion, who are the five authors that have the most influence on your beliefs and values?

nerdscloset

That’s an interesting question. I don’t think I ever thought about it before. I would describe myself as an atheist, existentialist and moral nihilist/skeptic and the authors who influenced me the most are more or less related to existentialism. It’s hard to pick five but Albert Camus (The Stranger, The Fall, The Myth of Sisyphus), Fyodor Dostoyevsky (The Brothers Karamazov, Crime and Punishment, Notes from Underground) and Jean-Paul Sartre (Nausea, Existentialism is a Humanism) are probably the most influential authors to me. Friedrich Nietzche and Søren Kierkegaard could also be in the list too but I need to read more of their works, I have only read passages or chapters from them. As a business student, Paul Hawken (The Ecology of Commerce, etc) and, McDonough and Braungart (Cradle to Cradle) have also been highly influential when it comes to changing business practices and focusing a lot more on sustainability. That’s it I suppose.

I received a lovely package from Brianna today. A book, a small notebook with a fucking pipe on it, a nice card, a sticker and a tin of organic Spicy Mandarin tea. Thank you so much!
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I received a lovely package from Brianna today. A book, a small notebook with a fucking pipe on it, a nice card, a sticker and a tin of organic Spicy Mandarin tea. Thank you so much!

Currently Reading: The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi Here, in one volume: Marjane Satrapi’s best-selling, internationally acclaimed memoir-in-comic-strips. Persepolis is the story of Satrapi’s unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming—both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up. Edgy, searingly observant, and candid, often heartbreaking but threaded throughout with raw humor and hard-earned wisdom—Persepolis is a stunning work from one of the most highly regarded, singularly talented graphic artists at work today.
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Currently Reading: The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Here, in one volume: Marjane Satrapi’s best-selling, internationally acclaimed memoir-in-comic-strips. Persepolis is the story of Satrapi’s unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming—both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up. Edgy, searingly observant, and candid, often heartbreaking but threaded throughout with raw humor and hard-earned wisdom—Persepolis is a stunning work from one of the most highly regarded, singularly talented graphic artists at work today.

Currently Reading: The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera Rich in its stories, characters, and imaginative range, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting is the novel that brought Milan Kundera his first big international success in the late 1970s. Like all his work, it is valuable for far more than its historical implications. In seven wonderfully integrated parts, different aspects of human existence are magnified and reduced, reordered and emphasized, newly examined, analyzed, and experienced. Kundera discusses life, music, sex, philosophy, literature and politics in ways that are rarely politically correct, never classifiable but always original, entertaining and definitely brilliant.
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Currently Reading: The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera

Rich in its stories, characters, and imaginative range, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting is the novel that brought Milan Kundera his first big international success in the late 1970s. Like all his work, it is valuable for far more than its historical implications. In seven wonderfully integrated parts, different aspects of human existence are magnified and reduced, reordered and emphasized, newly examined, analyzed, and experienced. Kundera discusses life, music, sex, philosophy, literature and politics in ways that are rarely politically correct, never classifiable but always original, entertaining and definitely brilliant.

red-f:

Goin’ to Montreal to visit Sunrec 

On the itinerary: 

  • Go to bookstore 
  • Get drunk
  • Have intellectual discussion  
  • Other cool stuff

Q:Kevin: I don't know what I enjoy reading more - your reflections on literature and philosophy that resonate with me or the non sequitur and quirky questions you get! I do have a question for you, though: are you familiar with "Entitled Opinions (about Life and Literature)"? It's a radio show/podcast from Stanford that quite simply nourishes my soul. I think it'd be your cup of tea.

saroshig

I didn’t know about that show but I’ll check it out, thanks the recommendation. I love listening to podcasts and I was actually looking for more to add to my list. Right now my favorites are probably BBC’s In Our Time, The Skeptics Guide to The Universe and WNYC’s Radiolab. They are pretty ‘famous’ but you should give them a try if you don’t know them. :)

Q:do you ever do TMI tuesday?

Anonymous

Hum no, but I’m open to answer personal questions everyday of the week. Also, TMI Tuesday often means getting a lot of anon questions and I prefer to know who I am talking to, especially about personal stuff. To be honest, I don’t really get why people are constantly asking their followers to ask them questions, whether it is TMI Tuesday or random lists of questions. Of course, it’s nice to interact with followers and I love to do it, but this just seems a weird and ‘unnatural’ way to do it in my opinion.

Currently Reading: Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev When a young graduate returns home he is accompanied, much to his father and uncle’s discomfort, by a strange friend “who doesn’t acknowledge any authorities, who doesn’t accept a single principle on faith.” Turgenev’s masterpiece of generational conflict shocked Russian society when it was published in 1862 and continues today to seem as fresh and outspoken as it did to those who first encountered its nihilistic hero. Radicals perceived the novel as a crude caricature of progressivism, while the right saw it as a distasteful, even dangerous glorification of nihilism. For in Bazarov, the novel’s protagonist, Turgenev creates one of the first, and one of the finest, in a long literary line of angry young men. The interaction of Bazarov with his parents, his friends and the woman he loves is fast, furious, and fascinating for the psychological truths it unveils.
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Currently Reading: Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev

When a young graduate returns home he is accompanied, much to his father and uncle’s discomfort, by a strange friend “who doesn’t acknowledge any authorities, who doesn’t accept a single principle on faith.” Turgenev’s masterpiece of generational conflict shocked Russian society when it was published in 1862 and continues today to seem as fresh and outspoken as it did to those who first encountered its nihilistic hero. Radicals perceived the novel as a crude caricature of progressivism, while the right saw it as a distasteful, even dangerous glorification of nihilism. For in Bazarov, the novel’s protagonist, Turgenev creates one of the first, and one of the finest, in a long literary line of angry young men. The interaction of Bazarov with his parents, his friends and the woman he loves is fast, furious, and fascinating for the psychological truths it unveils.

This is what happens when I walk in a Russian bakery. The place is called Vova, it’s on Avenue du Parc in Montreal. “Kosonak” is a kind of brioche filled with vanilla and walnut cream. The flat thing is an almond cookie and on top of it is a piece of a pecan-caramel pie. They also make some traditional Russian food to take out for dinner. I’ll probably try some next time.
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This is what happens when I walk in a Russian bakery. The place is called Vova, it’s on Avenue du Parc in Montreal. “Kosonak” is a kind of brioche filled with vanilla and walnut cream. The flat thing is an almond cookie and on top of it is a piece of a pecan-caramel pie. They also make some traditional Russian food to take out for dinner. I’ll probably try some next time.

Q:Where do you see your major(ES/Business) taking you? How do you possibly gather so much solid information, without your eyes falling to the keyboard? Are you super-human? If not then if you were what would your special ability be?

nerdscloset

I’m definitely not a super-human. I just love reading and I don’t work at the moment so I have quite a lot of time for doing that. It doesn’t take that much time to find interesting stuff though, you just need to use the right tools. I mostly use Google Reader which allows me to follow interesting blogs and websites without having to go on their websites every single day. Reddit is also a great source of interesting articles. You really just have to subscribe to the right sub-reddits. I can share some links with you if you want.

About my future, I would like to start working for an environmental organization or green tech company after I graduate to get some experience, and I plan to start my own company/organization later in life. Green technology consulting seems very appealing to me at the moment. I still have to do some research but helping people to make better choices and live in a more sustainable way is definitely something I’m interested in.

Currently Reading:

The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus

In this profound and moving philosophical statement, Camus poses the fundamental question: is life worth living? If human existence holds no significance, what can keep us from suicide? As Camus argues, if there is no God to give meaning to our lives, humans must take on that purpose themselves. This is our absurd task, like Sisyphus forever rolling his rock up a hill, as the inevitability of death constantly overshadows us. Written during the bleakest days of the Second World War, “The Myth of Sisyphus” argues for an acceptance of reality that encompasses revolt, passion and, above all, liberty.

Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Dostoevsky’s most revolutionary novel, Notes from Underground marks the dividing line between nineteenth- and twentieth-century fiction, and between the visions of self each century embodied. One of the most remarkable characters in literature, the unnamed narrator is a former official who has defiantly withdrawn into an underground existence. In full retreat from society, he scrawls a passionate, obsessive, self-contradictory narrative that serves as a devastating attack on social utopianism and an assertion of man’s essentially irrational nature. This is a darkly fascinating short novel depicts the struggles of a doubting, supremely alienated protagonist in a world of relative values. Seminal work introduced moral, religious, political and social themes that dominated Dostoyevsky’s later masterworks.

I’m actually reading The Myth of Sisyphus in the original French. Also, I have a different edition of Notes from Underground, the Vintage Classics one, which I’ve been told is the best translation around.

I got some new books: Lolita by Vladimir NabokovFathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus add me on Goodreads?
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I got some new books:

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus

add me on Goodreads?

I just registered for Fall 2012 and Winter 2013 classes this morning. It looks like it will be a good mix of technology, science, and business classes. Definitely more interesting than this semester.

Fall 2012
Business Application Development
Hydrology + Lab
Geology + Lab
Intro. Finance

Winter 2013
Database Management
Geographic Info. Systems/Mapping the Environment
Environmental Management
Entrepreneurship
Business Law & Ethics

Currently Reading: Petersburg by Andrei Bely St Petersburg, 1905. An impressionable young university student, Nikolai, becomes involved with a revolutionary terror organization, which plans to assassinate a high government official with a time bomb. But the official is Nikolai’s cold, unyielding father, Apollon, and in twenty-four hours the bomb will explode. Petersburg is a story of suspense, family dysfunction, patricide, conspiracy and revolution. it is also an impressionistic, exhilarating panorama of the city itself, watched over by the bronze statue of Peter The Great, as it tears itself apart. History, culture and politics are blended and juxtaposed; weather reports, current news, fashions and psychology jostle together with people from Petersburg society in an exhilarating search for the identity of a city and, ultimately, Russia itself. Considered by writers such as Vladimir Nabokov to be one of the greatest masterpieces of the twentieth century, Bely’s richly textured, darkly comic and symbolic novel pulled apart the traditional techniques of storytelling and presaged the dawn of a new form of literature. “The one novel that sums up the whole of Russia” — Anthony Burgess
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Currently Reading: Petersburg by Andrei Bely

St Petersburg, 1905. An impressionable young university student, Nikolai, becomes involved with a revolutionary terror organization, which plans to assassinate a high government official with a time bomb. But the official is Nikolai’s cold, unyielding father, Apollon, and in twenty-four hours the bomb will explode. Petersburg is a story of suspense, family dysfunction, patricide, conspiracy and revolution. it is also an impressionistic, exhilarating panorama of the city itself, watched over by the bronze statue of Peter The Great, as it tears itself apart. History, culture and politics are blended and juxtaposed; weather reports, current news, fashions and psychology jostle together with people from Petersburg society in an exhilarating search for the identity of a city and, ultimately, Russia itself. Considered by writers such as Vladimir Nabokov to be one of the greatest masterpieces of the twentieth century, Bely’s richly textured, darkly comic and symbolic novel pulled apart the traditional techniques of storytelling and presaged the dawn of a new form of literature.

“The one novel that sums up the whole of Russia” — Anthony Burgess