Book List 2009 - Preliminary

Finally!

Here we are at the end of the first quarter and we've finally completed our 2009 list of books to read. Book List 2009

1. 20th Century Chinese Stories - C.T. Hsia, Ed.
   
2. A Dictionary of Common Trinidad Hindi - Kumar Mahabir
   
3. A History of Cambodia - David Chandler
   
4. A History of Modern Indonesia - M.C. Ricklefs
   
5. A House in Gross Disorder - Cynthia B. Herrup
   
6. A Mercy - Toni Morrison
   
7. A Patchwork Shawl: Chronicles of South Asian Women in America - Ed: Shamita Das Dasgupta
   
8. A Point of Light - Zhou Mei
   
9. A Spy's Revenge - Richard V. Hall
   
10. A Tiger In Red Weather - John Wyllie
    
11. A Will For Freedom - Romen Bose
    
12. Agnes Smedley - J.R. & S.R. MacKinnon
    
13. Anathem - Neal Stephenson
    
14. Armed Communist Movements in Southeast Asia - Lim Joo Jock, Vani S., Eds.
    
15. Arms and The Women - Reginald Hill
    
16. Asian Labour In The Japanese Wartime Empire - Paul Kratosha, Ed.
    
17. Baumgartner's Bombay - Anita Desai
    
18. Beating the Blues - Thase & Lang
    
19. Between Two Oceans - Murkett, Miskic, Farrell, & Chiang
    
20. Bird by Bird - Anne Lamott
    
21. Bitter Lemons - Lawrence Durrell
    
22. Blanche Among The Talented Tenth - Barbara Neely
    
23. Blanche Cleans Up - Barbara Neely
    
24. Blanche On The Lam - Barbara Neely
    
25. Blanche Passes Go - Barbara Neely
    
26. Blood On The Golden Sands - Lim Kean Siew
    
27. Eye Over The Golden Sands - Lim Kean Siew
    
28. Captains of Consciousness - Stuart Ewen
    
29. Chandranath - Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
    
30. Chinese Customs - Henri Dore
    
31. Clay Walls - Kim Ronyoung
    
32. Colonial Masculinity - Mrinalini Sinha
    
33. Daniel Deronda - George Eliot
    
34. Death and The Dogwalker - (A.J. Orde) Sherri S. Tepper
    
35. Death Comes For The Fat Man - Reginald Hill
    
36. Death's Jest-Book - Reginald Hill
    
37. Dena-Paona - Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
    
38. Devdas - Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
    
39. Dialogues of the Dead - Reginald Hill
    
40. Dictionary of the Khazars - Milorad Pavic
    
41. Extraordinary Popular Delusions - Charles Mackay
    
42. Finnegan's Wake - James Joyce
    
43. First Person Singular - Joyce Carol Oates
    
44. Folklore of Tamil Nadu - S.M.L. Lakshman Chettiar
    
45. Force 136:Story of A Resistance Fighter in WWII - Tan Chong Tee
    
46. From Pacific War to Merdeka - James Wong Wing On
    
47. Gaijin - James Clavell
    
48. Gandhi's Truth — On the Origins of Militant Nonviolence - Erik H. Erikson
    
49. Heart Politics - Fran Peavey
    
50. How I Adore You - Mark Pritchard
    
51. In Pursuit of Mountain Rats - Anthony Short
    
52. In The Grip of a Crisis - Rudy Mosbergen
    
53. Kempeitai:The Japanese Secret Service Then And Now - Richard Deacon
    
54. Kempeitai - Raymond Lamont Brown
    
55. Krait:The Fishing Boat That Went To War - Lynette Ramsay Silver
    
56. Kranji - Romen Bose
    
57. Labour Unrest in Malaya - Tai Yuen
    
58. Lest We Forget - Alice M. Coleman & Joyce E. Williams
    
59. Life As The River Flows - Agnes Khoo
    
60. Living Hell - Goh Chor Boon
    
61. Malay Folk Beliefs - Mohd Taib Osman
    
62. Malaya and Singapore During the Japanese Occupation - Paul H. Kratoska, Ed.
    
63. Marianne, The Madame, and The Momentary Gods - Sherri S. Tepper
    
64. Marianne, The Magus, and The Manticore - Sherri S. Tepper
    
65. Meena, Heroine of Afghanistan - Melody Ermachild Chavis
    
66. Memory in Mind and Brain - Morton F. Reiser
    
67. Modern Japan, A Historical Survey - Hane Mikiso
    
68. Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
    
69. Murder on the Verandah - Eric Lawlor
    
70. My Island in the Sun - Khor Cheang Kee
    
71. Niels Lyhne - Jens Peter Jacobsen
    
72. Niskriti - Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
    
73. Nonsense - Robert J. Gula
    
74. No Cowardly Past - James Puthucheary
    
75. Operation Matador - Ong Chit Chung
    
76. Orientalism - Edward W. Said
    
77. Orlando - Virginia Woolf
    
78. Outwitting the Gestapo - Lucie Aubrac
    
79. Over Tumbled Graves - Jess Walter
    
80. Padma River Boatman - Manik Bandhopadhyay
    
81. Palli Samaj (The Homecoming) - Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
    
82. Pandit Moshai - Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
    
83. Pearl S. Buck, A Cultural Biography - Peter Conn
    
84. People's War, People's Army - Vo Nguyen Giap
    
85. Power Politics - Arundhati Roy
    
86. Primitive Art - Frank Boas
    
87. Prometheus Rising - Robert Anton Wilson
    
88. Purple Cane Road - James Lee Burke
    
89. Raffles - Maurice Collins
    
90. Reading Lolita In Teheran - Azar Nafisi
    
91. Recalled To Life - Reginald Hill
    
92. Red Star Over Malaya - Cheah Boon Kheng
    
93. Rehearsal for War - Ban Kah Choon & Yap Hong Kuan
    
94. Rethinking Raffles - Syed Muhd. Khairudin Aljunied
    
95. Revolt in Paradise - K'tut Tantri
    
96. Rosie - Anne Lamott
    
97. Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye (The Biography Of A Master Film-Maker - Andrew Robinson
    
98. Screenwriting 434 - Lew Hunter
    
99. Shanghai Refuge, A Memoir of the WWII Jewish Ghetto - Ernest G. Heppner
    
100. Sherpas Through Their Rituals - Sherry B. Ortner
     
101. Shut Up, I'm Talking - Gregory Levey
     
102. Singapore & The Many-Headed Monster - Joe Conceicao
     
103. Singapore The Air-Conditioned Nation - Cherian George
     
104. Singapore The Pregnable Fortress - Peter Elphick
     
105. Sisters in the Resistance - Margaret Collins Weitz
     
106. Skull Still Bone - John Wyllie
     
107. Soldiers Alive - Ishikawa Tatsuzo
     
108. Soon I Will be Invincible - Austin Grossman
     
109. Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce Vol. I - Anthony Reid
110. Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce Vol. II - Anthony Reid
     
111. Strangers Always A Jewish Family in Wartime Shanghai - Rena Krasno
     
112. Stress and Mental Health in Malaysian Society - Tan Chee Khuan
     
113. Sunset Limited - James Lee Burke
     
114. Taming the Wind of Desire - Carol Laderman
     
115. The Art of Detection - Laurie R. King
     
116. The Art of the Novel - Milan Kundera
     
117. The Autobiography of An Unknown Indian - Nirad C. Chaudhary
     
118. The Bengal Muslims 1871 - 1906 - Ahmed
     
119. The Birth of Vietnam - Keith Weller Taylor
     
120. The British Humiliation of Burma - Terence R. Blackburn
     
121. The Bones - Sherri S. Tepper
     
122. The Demon-Haunted World - Carl Sagan
     
123. The Devil Finds Work - James Baldwin
     
124. The Double Tenth Trial - C. Sleeman, S.C. Sillein, Eds.
     
125. The Dutch Seaborne Empire 1600 - 1800 - C.R. Boxer
     
126. The Emergence of Modern Turkey - Bernard Lewis
     
127. The End of the War - Romen Bose
     
128. The Eye Over The Golden Sands - Lim Kean Siew
     
129. The Gift - Lewis Hyde
     
130. The Gravedigger's Daughter - Joyce Carol Oates
     
131. The Jungle is Neutral - F. Spencer Chapman
     
132. The Killer Breath - John Wyllie
     
133. The Lincoln Lawyer - Michael Conolly
     
134. The Lives of Agnes Smedley - Ruth Price
     
135. The Long, Dark Night of Baron Samedi - John Wyllie
     
136. The Malayan Union Controversy 1942-1948 - Albert Lau
     
137. The Mak Nyahs Malaysian Male to Female Transexuals - Teh Yik Koon
     
138. The March of Folly From Troy To Vietnam - Barbara W. Tuchman
     
139. The Companions - Sherri S. Tepper
140. The Margarets - Sherri S. Tepper
     
141. The Mind's I - Hofstadter & Dennett
     
142. The Nanjing Massacre - Honda Katsuichi
     
143. The Origins of The Second World War in Asia and the Pacific - Iriye Akira
     
144. The Pacific War - Ienaga Saburo
     
145. The Phor Tor Festival In Penang:Deities, Ghosts, and Chinese Ethnicity - Tan Sooi Beng
     
146. The Physics of Star Trek - Lawrence Krauss
     
147. The Plague - Albert Camus
     
148. The Political Economy of Social Control in Singapore - Christopher Tremewan
     
149. The Price of Peace - Foong Choon Hon, Ed.
     
150. The Prince and The Discourses - Niccolo Machiavelli
     
151. The Rape of Nanking - Iris Chang
     
152. The Remembered Village - M.N. Srinivasan
     
153. The Right To Die - Humphry-Wickett
     
154. The Rise & Fall of the Knights Templar - Gordon Napier
     
155. The Scents of Eden, A History of the Spice Trade - Charles Corn
     
156. The Tin Drum - Gunther Grass
     
157. The Tin Roof Blowdown - James Lee Burke
     
158. The Ugly Chinaman - Bo Yang
     
159. The Vintage Book of Indian Writing - Salman Rushdie, Elizabeth West, Eds.
     
160. The War in Malaya - A.E. Percival
     
161. The Way of All Flesh - Samuel Butler
     
162. Three Came Home - Agnes Newton Keith
     
163. To The Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf
     
164. The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga
     
165. Till Morning Comes - Han Suyin
     
166. Time Bombs in Malaysia - Lim Kit Siang
     
167. To Catch A Viper - John Wyllie
     
168. Tokyo Rose - Masayo Duus
     
169. Tumbuna Stories 1, The Creation of Animal Life/As Bilong Animal - Thomas H. Slone and Jada Wilson
     
170. Tumbuna Stories 2,The Origin of People and Society/As Bilong Manmeri Na Sosaiti - Thomas H. Slone and Peter Leo Ella
     
171. Virtual Reality - Howard Rheingold
     
172. War & Memory in Malaysia & Singapore - P. Lim Pui Huen, Diana Wong, Eds.
     
173. Who Won The Malayan Emergency - Herbert Andrew
     
174. Witness to an Era - Frank Moraes
     
175. Women in the Holocaust - Dalia Ofer, Lenore J. Weitzman, Eds.
     
176. Women, Outcastes, Peasants & Rebels - Kalpana Bardhan
     
177. Writers' Workshop in a Book - Cheuse and Alvarez
     
178. You'll Die in Singapore - Charles McCormac
     
179. You'll Never Get Off This Island - Keith Wilson
     
180. Your Memory: A User's Guide - Alan Baddeley
     

And before y'awl start yawping about how ambitious I'm being, two things:

1. I already read some of these. After all, this list has been in prep since January, fer cryin' out.

2. It's all the fault of those people who shall remain, as my Primary Three teacher, Mr. Robert Tan, used to say, "nameless and shameless." You know who you are who keep lending/buying/giving me books!

3. Oh, yeah, thanks for the books.

4. I can't count worth shit.

Ms. Manitoba's right. Read the fiction first, it's easier than all those skull-thumpers.

For you, my interested audience (all three of you, c'mon now!) - some of these books have been on the list a mighty long time and still haven't been read. Should I hang on to them, or just let go?

Examples: A Spy's Revenge, Extraordinary Popular Delusions, Heart Politics, Virginia Woolf's work.

Most of these books are about WWII - is this good, for someone still recovering from major surgery? Vote, you get a chance to actually say what I'm gonna kick off my list.

Many of these books have been read and are being reread. Some of them (e.g., Robert Gula's Nonsense) are well worth rereading, repeatedly. Others? I ask you.

Examples: Revolt in Paradise, The Jungle is Neutral, The Mind's Eye (Hofstader, really boring), Howard Rheingold's Virtual Reality (dated), Machiavelli's Prince, The Physics of Star Trek (nerdy nerd nerd!) - really, why reread these? I can understand Camus, I've reread the Plague at least twice in this life AFAICR, but Hofstader? OK, vote already. I'll take your comments into account.

FYI, if you're interested in getting any of these books, they're linked to Amazon, so click and throw a few coins into my wallet, won'tcha? First review coming right up.

From the album of K. Smokey Cormier

All images below are (c) 2009 by K. Smokey Cormier

Tentative title of series: "I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in"

Book Review 2008

Final. I swear. Enough of 2008, already. End of teh shrub error. So there.

Earlier reviews available here.

Here go:

• A History of Malaysia - Barbara Watson Andaya & Leonard Andaya
  
  Borrowed? No.
  Recommended? For readers interested in a comprehensive and detailed history of Malaysia from its beginnings through the 20th century.
  Reread? As time permits.
  
  
  
• A History of Selangor - J. M. Gullick
  
  Borrowed? No.
  Recommended? Only for those interested in the history of the state of Selangor. For an overall look at the history and politics of current Malaysia, there are much better alternatives. This book is excellent, but somewhat dated and limited in scope.
  Reread? Probably not.
  
  
• A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
  
  Borrowed? No.
  Recommended? This is the second novel of Vikram Seth's that I have read. He is beyond doubt an excellent writer; however, this book lacks the appeal of his first, Golden Gate. A good read, nonetheless.
  Reread? No.
  
  
• Baba Nonnie Goes To War - Ron Mitchell
  
  Borrowed? No.
  Recommended? Interesting book for those interested in a personal recounting of WWII as it occurred on the Pacific front. The author is sometimes bitter and unhappy, understandable when you consider that, like most little boys, he was raised on the glory and romance of war. Poor preparation indeed for the revolting blood-and-guts farce that it really is. In the end, Mr. Mitchell experienced his own epiphany, and that saves the book from the possibility of floppitude. However, it's not a pretty story, so be warned.
  Reread? No.
  
  
• Broca's Brain - Carl Sagan
  Borrowed? No.
  Recommended? Carl Sagan's collection of essays titled Broca's Brain deals with science and pseudo-science, and how they affect our lives. His fact-based, lucid approach to pseudo-science is utterly delightful. Each chapter posits one or more questions regarding science and its application to life. This book will leave you thrilled by the philosophy of science, and eager to read more.
  Reread? Probably, after the next X books are finally dispatched.
  
  
• Famous People of PNG: Bishop Sir Louis Vangeke - Eric Johns
  
• Famous People of PNG: Lady Carol Kidu - Eric Johns
  
• Famous People of PNG: Dame Alice Wedega - Eric Johns
  
• Famous People of PNG: Dame Rose Kekedo - Eric Johns
  
• Famous People of PNG: Tui of Gorendu - Eric Johns
  
• Famous People of PNG: Maino of Moata - Eric Johns
  
• Famous People of PNG: Pipi Gari of Elevala - Eric Johns
  
• Famous People of PNG: Ligeremaluoga of Kono - Eric Johns
  
  Borrowed? Yes.
  Recommended? Highly. This series of booklets describes the lives of prominent Papua-Niuginians. Not much is known by anyone outside PNG about this fascinating country, home to the largest number of languages in the world.
  Reread? Afraid not.
  
  
• Grass- Sherri Tepper
  
  Borrowed? No.
  Recommended? Highly. I think Grass is probably the best of Sherri Tepper's work (or it might share that spot with Plague of Angels or Family Tree or both of them). This must be the fourth time I've read it in as many years, and it never grows tired or old.
  Reread? About once a year, I reckon.
  
  
• Golden Gate - Vikram Seth
  
  Borrowed? No.
  Recommended? Highly. The author's debut is utterly delightful, brilliant, witty, and well worth reading.
  Reread? I wish! Someday.
  
  
• In The Time Of Butterflies - Julia Alvarez
  
  Borrowed? No. Someone gave it to me, damn their eyeballs.
  Recommended? This is an interesting book, although it's rather slow getting off the ground. I daresay if one doesn't know much about the Dominican Republic and the (mis)rule of the dictator Trujillo, it's interesting. The writer is an academic and I'm not sure I like the writing and the style. Still, it's informative.
  Reread? Nope. Gave it away already.
  
  
• Kim - Rudyard Kipling
  
  Borrowed? No.
  Recommended? I've read many things by Kipling, in that tooth-grinding cross between annoyance at doggerel, jingoism, glorification of racism and Empire and that shabby lot, and plain poor writing that, unfortunately occupies too large a niche in world literature for various reasons. Quite honestly, much as I hate to say this, this is the best thing Kipling ever wrote. Unlike the rest of his work, which I honestly believe is only read because it provides an important background for the times in which he lived, this is a beautiful piece of work. Marred by his innate racism, yet allowing a glimpse of a great story to peek through.
  Reread? Quite possibly.
  
  
• Malaysia - R. Emerson
  
  Borrowed? No.
  Recommended? Dated, though a useful introduction to an earlier period of Malaysian history and politics. Regrettably, it is marred by the viewpoint that the writer and his ilk are somehow (for reasons unclear) superior to those about whom he writes. Worth reading only if your interest lies in the subject.
  Reread?
  
  
• Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Vols. 1-4
  
  Borrowed? Fortunately, I was able to borrow this fine piece of work and return it fairly swiftly.
  Recommended?Miyazaki is just excellent, and the story is just excellent, and I just loved this so much. I tend to think of comic books or graphic novels as quick "skim" type reads, but the book is actually very dense with, like, 2-pt type or something. Anyway, it took much longer to go through these four books than I would have thought. Part of it is, of course, the suspension of disbelief as one enters a world of the creator's imagination.
  Reread? No, but it did make me fervently wish Studio Ghibli would make the whole series into films! The film Nausicaa really only covers a tiny bit of the story.
  
  
• Night Butterfly - Tan Guan Heng
  
  Borrowed? No.
  Recommended? Mr. Tan really ought to consider a different line of work. Ballroom dancing or something. Or possibly hiring a ghost writer. This dreadful piece of drivel was read in the hope that I could somehow absorb some of the flavour of that era. Unfortunately, the flavour left much to be desired and required quantities of strong drink to wash down.
  Reread? Good grief, no.
  
  
• Prehistory of the Indo-Malayan Archipelago - Peter Bellwood
  
  Borrowed? No.
  Recommended? Highly. This is a fine scholarly piece of work spanning the prehistory of the territories today known as Malaysia, Philippines, and Indonesia, and includes fascinating information about the tribal communities of the areas and the subsequent migrations from other areas that led to the intermingling of the various groups and development of the languages of the region. Absolutely delightful. Considering the weightiness of the subject the author is gifted in making it not just readable but wonderfully enjoyable.
  Reread? Good heavens, yes, if only there were more time, I'd do it now.
  
  
• Raising the Stones- Sherri Tepper
  
  Borrowed? No. But it was a re-read.
  Recommended? Highly. Another wonderful piece of fiction by Sherri S. Tepper, who is an excellent writer with visionary power unrivalled by any but, possibly, Philip K. Dick.
  Reread?
  
  
• Rhymes of Li Yu Tsai - Chao Shu Li
  
  Borrowed? No.
  Recommended? Yes. Although set in the late 40s through the 50s, this charming little book embodies the spirit of the teaching tales found throughout Asia, one of the best examples of which is the collection known as the Tales of the Mullah Nasruddin. Although dealing with more practical and less spiritual matter, it is, nevertheless, enjoyable.
  Reread? Yes.
  
  
• The Crippled Tree - Han Suyin
  
  Borrowed? No.
  Recommended? Highly, especially to those interested in China, its history and culture, from the rare viewpoint of one who stands in the middle. Though Han Suyin herself was part Belgian, her sympathies clearly lay with her Chinese ancestors, and her ability to relate clearly the incredible exploitation of China and her empathy for the suffering Chinese people will give you rare insight into the events of the period. It's not easy reading, but well worth the effort.
  Reread? Someday.
  
  
• The Family: They Fuck You Up - Granta
  
  Borrowed? No.
  Recommended? Especially for those whose family has fucked them up.
  Reread? Um,no. Enough with the suffering.
  
  
• The Malay Archipelago - Alfred Russell Wallace
  
  Borrowed? No.
  Recommended? Highly, but only to enthusiasts of a particular type of writing once known as "naturalism." Wallace was Darwin's contemporary and quite the enthusiast of the natural world, especially that to be found far from his own home. Unlike most other Englishmen of the period, he appears to have a genuine love and respect for the other cultures he encountered, and other than displaying a regrettable tendency to kill lots of creatures in order to learn about them, is a thoroughly enjoyable writer. Sort of Gerald Durrell in a previous century.
  Reread? If I ever find the time.
  
  
• The Rabbi's Cat - Joann Sfar
  
  Borrowed? Yes.
  Recommended? Highly. Sfar is a Moroccan Jew (I believe), a very talented artist, and owned by a cat rather like our own Gojira, all of which makes this wonderful book well worth reading. Personally, I liked the Rabbi and his cat best of all the many colourful characters herein.
  Reread? Someday!
  
  
• The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
  
  Borrowed? Yes. Well, it's all Ms. Manitoba's fault, y'know.
  Recommended? Er. Um. It's not a bad book, as books go, as H.H. Munro might've said, and, any road, it went, of which I'm glad. Let's just say that this is the world of white people's views of nonwhite people. Or something. Not a bad book, just not my cuppa tea.
  Reread? No.
  
  
• The Secret Life of Syrian Lingerie - Malu Halasa & Rana Salam
  
  Borrowed? Yes.
  Recommended? Utterly fascinating look at the intimate life of Syrian women, and women in that part of the Muslim world. Given that these women are veiled, mysterious, and unknown to those of us who don't share their culture, their taste in underpantment is, shall we say, revealing. How interesting this book is, I leave you to discover. There is a certain sweet innocence to the pictures, especially to one who is more used to the Victoria's Secret models, who look more like expensive horses than real people.
  Reread? If only for the photographs, I mean, the anecdotes. Srsly, though, this book is recommended.
  
  
• The Unabomber Manifesto - Ted Kaczynski
  
  Borrowed? Found.
  Recommended? No. I was fascinated (though not approving) of this man, expecting to find a genius, possibly a mentally ill one. He might well be one or more of such, but the tone of this book is one long whine against the society wot hath wronged 'im. Geez. Hates women, hates people, hates small furry things. I could barely plough through the drivel, and I don't recommend you do unless you're planning to write a book on the bastid. Though why anyone would want to is utterly beyond me. What a sniveling wretch!
  Reread?

Feck, no!

So I read a lot, but not all the books I'd planned to read, and a lot of what I read ended up being lifesaving entertainment, but so what? The whole purpose of creating an annual list is to have a guideline for getting some of these fecking things off the floor, out of their boxes, and, hopefully out of mah house. I feel good. So there.

Irish Me

irish me
i need irishing
it's that time of year
but i don't want
leprechauns promising pots of gold
shiny shamrocks
kiss me pins
green beer

in my blood
both ancient and new
the bodhrán beats

tell me about
the Picts, Gaels, and Druids
Bridget, the Book of Kells, and the Tara Brooch
the Viking tyranny fought by Mahon and Brian Boru
and, from the time of the Normans,
tell me about Gaelic Ireland
home of the wild Irish
oh, yes, tell me of them,
defiant, from which I come

tell me about how
the Irish saved civilization
but couldn't save themselves

the bodhrán
in the center of my chest
beats the blood around

and can you explain so I understand:
how did the Great Famine happen?
didn’t the English have any food to share?
I’ve heard rumors about those English warehouses …
full of food

talk to me of the Black and Tans,
the Ku Klux Klan of Eire
brought into Ireland
by the British government
to make Ireland
a hell

tell me about my grandfather
born in Galway
buried in Mayo
didn't like him much
but eventually I had a tribal respect
he ran the village's
cooperative grocery
living above it with my grandmother

tell the true true story
about how the Black and Tans
held him at gunpoint many times
to steal gasoline, coffee, sugar
then, as they got desperate
from losing
they gasolined and torched his home
my mother, a baby at the time


(c) k. smokey cormier


bodhrán = ancient Irish drum still used by musicians; pronounced BOW-RAN;

Portola Branch Library Opens Today

The ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Portola Branch Library in San Francisco
(c) all photos by K. Smokey Cormier

Ms. Manitoba talks like she’s an introverted shut-in ... but really I get out more often than you think. And, once shoehorned out of my house, I’m quite gregarious. Today, my kids and I celebrated my oldest daughter’s family birthday at Mifune’s in Japantown in San Francisco. Delicious, scrumptious, and nutritious Tori Udon!

Then we went to the opening of the new Portola Branch of the San Francisco Library. And, folks, there was a big crowd there! This event makes liars out of those Hollywood sitcom writers that make working class folks look uneducated and uninterested in reading or being educated. We’ve always been interested in learning -- as long as we had the leisure time. Hollywood: quit lying about us.

Of course, leisure time is hard to come by these days. Working two or more jobs to keep from going homeless ... or salaried workers working unpaid overtime to appease bosses so they don’t lay you off ...

I don’t know everyone from the activist or city hall crowd who was at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. But here are three who I know were there: Jewelle Gomez, Mark Leno, and Mayor Gavin Newsom. And I actually got a chance to shake Mayor Newsom’s hand and tell him that he is a hero to me. I thanked him for helping make gay marriages legal. And also said: “I know you took some risks.” The guy looked sincerely grateful for my words. Okay, maybe it’s not as much risk as the risk those beautiful LesbigayTransGender people at Stonewall took. But still. He deserves credit.

(Although I must admit I agree with Lamar Van Dyke quoted in The New Yorker this week: “Gays in the military and gay marriage? This is what you guys have come up with?” The other side of that, of course, is that I strongly support equal rights for everyone. I’m of two minds. Libra rising ... it’s a curse.)

There was also a Dragon Dance group that were great ... but, sorry, I don't know their name.

The crowd watches the Dragon dancing. Well, at this point it was slithering on the ground, acting cute and cuddly.

There were a few short speeches, the ribbon was cut, and then we all crammed in (really, there were a lot of people there!) and ate cake.

Mayor Newsom is popular and mixed and mingled, signed autographs, and posed for photos. Hmmm ... he could be our governor one day. I heard more than one person say that.

As you can see, he's a tall guy.

Want to read more about the opening? Go here.

The Van Dykes in The New Yorker !!!!!

I am gobsmacked. Thoroughly. Mightily. The New Yorker has finally acknowledged that lesbian separatists existed in this here country in the '70s.

R-E-A-L-L-Y.

They printed an article by Ariel Levy about this roving gang of lesbian separatists in the 70's who called themselves the "Van Dykes" 'cause they all drove vans.

I must admit I was prepared to be irritated but the article was interesting and I was tickled that they printed it. Hey, you boys at The New Yorker -- you're growin' up!

Of course, now we're going to have to deal with those stereotypes again. But, what the hell, we dealt with them before.

You can't yet read the article online. But you can listen to an interview with Ariel Levy about the article. Go here. [Hmmmm ... you like to be told what to do, eh?]

Thirsty plants

In this neck of the woods, our plants are thirstily drinking up the recent rain water ...

(c) all photos K. Smokey Cormier

Presidio of San Francisco Pet Cemetery

A visit in February, 2009 ...

all photos (c) K. Smokey Cormier

I love cemeteries. I often visit them. They're often quiet and very green. I love to look at the tombstones and other markers. I feel the pull of history too when I'm in a cemetery. My favorite human one is the one in St. Laurent, Manitoba. It's so quiet and is surrounded by the prairies and a swamp. Filled with history too. Lots of Metis people buried there. It's a cemetery from my childhood.

But here we have one for pets -- the Pet Cemetery at the Presidio. I'd never been to one before. And, what a view for these owners when (if?) they come to visit! The base of the Golden Gate Bridge right nearby.

There's a sign at the cemetery that says: Military personnel stationed at the Presidio once buried their deceased pets in this burial plot. Grave markers were provided by the pet owners. The cemetery is operated by the post veternarian and is maintained by private funds and local scouts.

However, this cemetery is threatened by the Doyle Drive Replacement Project. Will the pets be moved? Dunno.

(Update, 12 Dec 2009: The Pet Cemetery will be protected during the Doyle Drive Replacement Project. For details, see this article in the San Francisco Chronicle: "Presidio pet cemetery protected."

Can you read the small print on this one? It says, "He was no trouble"

As we were walking by this one, my friend Rob said: "Not too frisky anymore."

for Bun-Bun

A Visit to Fort Point, San Francisco in February 2009

View from Fort Point towards San Francisco
You can see the refinished roof of the rotunda of the Palace of Fine Arts

all photos (c) K. Smokey Cormier

Fort Point, from the inside

Here's what the web site says about Fort Point:

Fort Point has stood guard at the narrows of the Golden Gate for nearly 150 years. It has been called “the pride of the Pacific,” “the Gibraltar of the West Coast,” and “one of the most perfect models of masonry in America.” When construction began during the height of the California Gold Rush, Fort Point was planned as the most formidable deterrence America could offer to a naval attack on California. Although its guns never fired a shot in anger, the “Fort at Fort Point” as it was originally named has witnessed Civil War, obsolescence, earthquake, bridge construction, reuse for World War II, and preservation as a National Historic Site.

I was impressed with the masonry -- especially the spiral stairs going up to the towers.

There are several canons for you to look at

You can literally stand underneath a part of the Golden Gate Bridge.

And, even though it is often very cold there, you almost always see a surfer or two.

Views from the Warming Hut, San Francisco

The Warming Hut, a part of Chrissy Field, San Francisco

Alcatraz Island

all photos (c) K. Smokey Cormier

My daughters and I met their uncle out at the Warming Hut on this past Saturday, February 14. The weather was changeable but it wasn't raining even though the sky was full of dark clouds. So we had lunch and then walked around. I took some photos. I had been yearning for a short adventure since my knee-replacement surgery. This fit the bill.

View looking straight out from the Warming Hut
Lots of people fish from this pier.

View to the left
See how close the Warming Hut is to the Golden Gate Bridge?
You're practically at its base.

The Warming Hut has a cafe with delicious food. But, if you want, you can get a hot dog at the stand right next to it.

The Warming Hut is one of my favorite places to go in San Francisco. And, I know a lot of places -- I've lived in this area for close to 36 years now (holey moley!). It's a great place to walk around -- you've got all of Chrissy Field to explore. And the views are spectacular. When you get a bit chilled, you can go into the Warming Hut and get a hot drink, some soup, other delicious things. Plus, their store has lots of good things to buy as presents.

Books to read in 2009

Dear Readers,

I have compiled my booklist of books to read in 2009. But, I’ve gone about it a different way this year. I’ve re-vamped my list. I’m not going to read for research. That story about the Irish-American lesbian in New York City I was starting to write will have to wait.

Why create a booklist anyway if I’m not trying to guide research for a story? Why not read whatever I want when I want? Well, dear readers, I am a Virgo and I love lists. That’s one thing. The other is that I am easily distracted by the next new book. I want a path. I can go off it and have little adventures with books not on the list. But, I want to concentrate this year on video and video editing. So, I asked meself: What books do you really want to read this year? And I looked around the house and compiled a list.

Then, I looked at how many I’ve read in the past couple of years and took that number and added a few more. And limited the books on my list to that number. I also limited the amount of nonfiction. Who was I kidding putting all those nonfiction books on my lists in years past?

I feel pretty darn good about the list. It’s not overwhelming. Feels just about right. And I like the focus on video.


Books to read in 2009


Fiction

Double Identity - Margaret Peterson Maddox (Young Adult)

Vive la Paris - Esme Raji Codell (Young Adult)

Resurrection Row - Anne Perry

Field of Blood - Denise Mina

The Dead Hour - Denise Mina

Shame - Salman Rushdie

The Enchantress of Florence - Salman Rushdie

Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë

The Deptford Trilogy - Robertson Davies (re-read)
comprising these novels:
Fifth Business
The Manticore
World of Wonders

A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving

Mansfield Park - Jane Austen

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

The Complete Stories of Truman Capote

A Thread of Grace - Mary Doria Russell

Noli Me Tangere - José Rizal

Our Town -Thornton Wilder

Jazz - Toni Morrison

A Mercy - Toni Morrison

Underworld - Don Delillo

Fugitive Pieces - Anne Michaels

The Kalahari Typing School for Men - Alexander McCall Smith

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies - Alexander McCall Smith

The Tears of the Giraffe - Alexander McCall Smith

Song for Anninho - Gayl Jones


Nonfiction

Undiscovered - Debra Winger

In the Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing - Walter Murch

Cut by Cut: Editing Your Film or Video - Gael Chandler

Lighting for Digital Video and Television - John Jackman

Ida: A Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching

Paris to the Moon - Adam Gopnik

Dark Age Ahead - Jane Jacobs

Step Across This Line: Collected Nonfiction 1992-2002 - Salman Rushdie

Two Gardners: A Friendship in Letters - Katharine S. White and Elizabeth Lawrence

Race: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel About the American Obsession - Studs Terkel

Toolbox for Sustainable City Living - Scott Kellogg and

All-Night Party: The Women of Bohemian Greenwich Village and Harlem, 1913 - 1930 - Andrea Barnet

Ellis Island Interviews: Immigrants and Their Stories In Their Own Words - Peter Morton Goan

Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City - Jennifer Toth


Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and For Those Who Want to Write Them - Francine Prose

Letters from Black America - edited by Pamela Newkirk

Stella Adler - The Art of Acting: preface by Marlon Brando compiled and edited by Howard Kissel (Applause Acting Series) (Hardcover)
by Howard Kissel, Stella Adler

Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie: a quote

So Iff the water genie told Haroun about the Ocean of the Stream of Stories, and even though he was full of a sense of hopelessness and failure the magic of the Ocean began to have an effect on Haroun. He looked into the water and saw that it was made up of a thousand thousand thousand and one different currents, each one a different colour, weaving in and out of one another like a liquid tapestry of breathtaking complexity; and Iff explained that these were the Streams of Story, that each coloured strand represented and contained a single tale. Different parts of the Ocean contained different sorts of stories, and as all the stories that had ever been told and many that were still in the process of being invented could be found here, the Ocean of the Streams of Story was in fact the biggest library in the universe. And because the stories were held here in fluid form, they retained the ability to change, to become new versions of themselves, to join up with other stories and so become yet other stories; so that unlike a library of books, the Ocean of the Streams of Story was much more than a storeroom of yarns. It was not dead, but alive.

"And if you are very, very careful, or very, very highly skilled, you can dip a cup into the Ocean," Iff told Haroun, "like so," and here he produced a little golden cup from another of his waistcoat pockets, "and you can fill it with water from a single, pure Stream of Story, like so," as he did precisely that.

-- Salman Rushdie

PRAISE SONG FOR THE DAY

Folks ... have I made it clear? I AM FEELING SOOOOOOOO GOOD. I AM STILL IN HONEYMOON LAND. Oh, yeah, there was Rick Warren. But go on YouTube and type in "Obama dancing" and watch him dance with Ellen DeGeneris ... and then watch Michelle dance with DeGeneris ... some change is gonna happen. And I'm not just interested in change for *my* people ... I have always been interested in change for everybody. How can you enjoy life ... truly enjoy it ... when others are suffering? That thing that gets so many children all riled up "IT'S NOT FAIR !!!!!!" ... that has just stayed with me (and so many others).

And, isn't it a blast to see Michelle as First Lady!!! Oh, oh oh oh, I love it.


The inaugural poem ...


Praise Song for the Day
-- Elizabeth Alexander

Each day we go about our business,
walking past each other, catching each other’s
eyes or not, about to speak or speaking.

All about us is noise. All about us is
noise and bramble, thorn and din, each
one of our ancestors on our tongues.

Someone is stitching up a hem, darning
a hole in a uniform, patching a tire,
repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere,
with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum,
with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.
A farmer considers the changing sky.
A teacher says, Take out your pencils. Begin.

We encounter each other in words, words
spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed,
words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark
the will of some one and then others, who said
I need to see what’s on the other side.

I know there’s something better down the road.
We need to find a place where we are safe.
We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain: that many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,
who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges,

picked the cotton and the lettuce, built
brick by brick the glittering edifices
they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle, praise song for the day.
Praise song for every hand-lettered sign,
the figuring-it-out at kitchen tables.

Some live by love thy neighbor as thyself,
others by first do no harm or take no more
than you need. What if the mightiest word is love?

Love beyond marital, filial, national,
love that casts a widening pool of light,
love with no need to pre-empt grievance.

In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air,
any thing can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp,

praise song for walking forward in that light.

Book Lists - Part III

So, this was in August and we had a handsome (not manageable, but handsome, nonetheless) list that we might have made a dent in by year's end. When lo and behold, there descended upon as as the Mighty Fist of Justice those purported friends who think they'll make use of our copious spare time by — yeah, you guessed it. Lending or giving us books.

This is what the list looked like in August after additions:


Book List 2008, Revised

1. A History of Cambodia - Chandler
   
2. A History of Modern Indonesia - M.C. Ricklefs
   
3. A Point of Light - Zhou Mei
   
4. A Will For Freedom - Romen Bose
   
5. Agnes Smedley - J.R. & S.R. MacKinnon
   
6. Anathem - Neal Stephenson
   
7. Asian Labour In The Japanese Wartime Empire - Paul H. Kratoska, Ed.
   
8. Baumgartner's Bombay - Anita Desai
   
9. Between Two Oceans - Murkett, Miskic, Farrell, & Chiang
   
10. Bird by Bird - Anne Lamott
    
11. Bitter Lemons - Lawrence Durrell
    
12. Blood on the Golden Sands - Lim Kean Siew
    
13. Broca's Brain - Carl Sagan
    
14. Chandranath - Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
    
15. Chinese Customs - Henri Dore
    
16. Clay Walls - Kim Ronyoung
    
17. Daniel Deronda - George Eliot
    
18. Dictionary of the Khazars - Milorad Pavic
    
19. Famous People of PNG: Bishop Sir Louis Vangeke - Eric Johns
    
20. Famous People of PNG: Lady Carol Kidu - Eric Johns
    
21. Famous People of PNG: Dame Alice Wedega - Eric Johns
    
22. Famous People of PNG: Dame Rose Kekedo - Eric Johns
    
23. Famous People of PNG: Tui of Gorendu - Eric Johns
    
24. Famous People of PNG: Maino of Moata - Eric Johns
    
25. Famous People of PNG: Pipi Gari of Elevala - Eric Johns
    
26. Famous People of PNG: Ligeremaluoga of Kono - Eric Johns
    
27. Finnegan's Wake - James Joyce
    
28. First Person Singular - Joyce Carol Oates
29. From Pacific War to Merdeka - James Wong Wing On
    
30. Grass - Sherri S. Tepper
    
31. How I Adore You - Mark Pritchard
    
32. In The Time Of The Butterflies - Alvarez
    
33. In Pursuit of Mountain Rats - Anthony Short
    
34. In The Grip of a Crisis - Rudy Mosbergen
    
35. Kempeitai, Japan's Dreaded Military Police - Raymond Lamont-Brown
    
36. Kempeitai:The Japanese Secret Service Then And Now - Richard Deacon
    
37. Krait:The Fishing Boat That Went To War - Lynette Ramsay Silver
    
38. Kranji - Romen Bose
    
39. Labour Unrest in Malaya - Tai Yuen
    
40. Lest We Forget - Alice M. Coleman & Joyce E. Williams
    
41. Life As The River Flows - Agnes Khoo
    
42. Living Hell - Goh Chor Boon
    
43. Malay Folk Beliefs - Mohd Taib Osman
    
44. Malaya and Singapore During the Japanese Occupation - Paul H. Kratoska, Ed.
    
45. Memory in Mind and Brain - Norton Reiser
    
46. Modern Japan, A Historical Survey - Hane Mikiso
    
47. Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
    
48. My Island in the Sun - Khor Cheang Kee
    
49. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Vols. 1-4 - Hayao Miyazaki
    
50. Niels Lyhne - Jens Peter Jacobsen
    
51. No Cowardly Past - James Puthucheary
    
52. Operation Matador - Ong Chit Chung
    
53. Orientalism - Edward Said
    
54. Orlando - Virginia Woolf
    
55. Outwitting the Gestapo - Lucie Aubrac
    
56. Padma River Boatman - Manik Bandhopadhyay
    
57. Palli Samaj (The Homecoming) - Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
    
58. Patchwork Shawl - Shamita Das Dasgupta
    
59. People's War, People's Army - Vo Nguyen Giap
    
60. Power Politics - Arundhati Roy
    
61. Primitive Art - Franz Boas
    
62. Raffles - Maurice Collis
    
63. Raising the Stones - Sherri S. Tepper
    
64. Red Star Over Malaya - Cheah Boon Kheng
    
65. Rethinking Raffles - Syed Muhd Khairuddin Aljunied
    
66. Revolt in Paradise - K'tut Tantri
    
67. Rosie - Anne Lamott
    
68. Satyajit Ray - Andrew Robinson
    
69. Screenwriting 434 - Lew Hunter
    
70. Shadow's End - Sheri S. Tepper
    
71. Shanghai Refuge, A Memoir of the WWII Jewish Ghetto - Ernest G. Heppner
    
72. Sherpas Through Their Rituals - Sherry Ortner
    
73. Shut Up, I'm Talking - Gregory Levey
    
74. Sideshow - Sheri S. Tepper
    
75. Singapore & The Many-Headed Monster - Joe Conceicao
    
76. Sisters in the Resistance - Margaret Collins Weitz
    
77. Six Moon Dance - Sherri S. Tepper
    
78. Soldiers Alive - Ishikawa Tatsuzo
    
79. Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce, I - Anthony Reid
    
80. Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce, II - Anthony Reid
    
81. Strangers Always A Jewish Family in Wartime Shanghai - Rena Krasno
    
82. Stress and Mental Health in Malaysian Society - Tan Chee Khuan
    
83. Taming the Wind of Desire - Carol Laderman
    
84. The Art of the Novel - Milan Kundera
    
85. The Bengal Muslims - R. Ahmed
    
86. The Birth of Vietnam - Keith Weller Taylor
    
87. The British Humiliation of Burma - Terence Blackburn
    
88. The Companions - Sheri S. Tepper
    
89. The Demon-Haunted World - Carl Sagan
    
90. The Double Tenth Trial - C. Sleeman, S.C. Silkin, Eds.
    
91. The Dutch Seaborne Empire - C.R. Boxer
    
92. The Emergence of Modern Turkey - Bernard Lewis
    
93. The Family Tree - Sherri S. Tepper
    
94. The March of Folly - Barbara Tuchman
    
95. The End of the War - Romen Bose
    
96. The Eye Over The Golden Sands - Lim Kean Siew
    
97. The Gift - Lewis Hyde
    
98. The Gravedigger's Daughter - Joyce Carol Oates
    
99. The Malayan Union Controversy, 1942-1948 - Albert Lau
    
100. The Margarets - Sheri S. Tepper
     
101. The Nanking Massacre - M.E.Sharpe
     
102. The Origins of The Second World War in Asia and the Pacific - Iriye Akira
     
103. The Pacific War - Ienaga Saburo
     
104. The Phor Tor Festival In Penang:Deities, Ghosts, and Chinese Ethnicity - Tan Sooi Beng
     
105. The Plague - Albert Camus
     
106. The Price of Peace - Foong Choon Hon, Ed.
     
107. The Prince - Machiavelli
     
108. The Rabbi's Cat - Joann Sfar
     
109. The Rape of Nanking - Iris Chang
     
110. The Remembered Village - M.N. Srinivasan
     
111. The Right To Die - Humphry & Wickett
     
112. The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
     
113. The Secret Life of Syrian Lingerie - Malu Halasa & Rana Salam
     
114. The Tin Drum - Gunther Grass
     
115. The Vintage Book of Indian Writing - Salman Rushdie, Elizabeth West, Eds.
     
116. The War in Malaya - A.E. Percival
     
117. The Way of All Flesh - Samuel Butler
     
118. Three Came Home - Agnes Newton Keith
     
119. Till Morning Comes - Han Suyin
     
120. To The Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf
     
121. Tokyo Rose - Masayo Duus
     
122. Tumbuna Stories 1, The Creation of Animal Life/As Bilong Animal - Thomas H. Slone and Jada Wilson
     
123. Tumbuna Stories 2,The Origin of People and Society/As Bilong Manmeri Na Sosaiti - Thomas H. Slone and Peter Leo Ella
     
124. Twentieth Century Chinese Stories - C.T. Hsia
     
125. War & Memory in Malaysia & Singapore - P. Lim Pui Huen, Diana Wong, Eds.
     
126. Witness to an Era - Frank Moraes
     
127. Women in the Holocaust - Dalia Ofer, Lenore J. Weitzman, Eds.
     
128. Women, Outcastes, Peasants & Rebels - Kalpana Bardhan
     
129. Writers' Workshop in a Book - Cheuse and Alvarez
     
130. You'll Die in Singapore - Charles McCormac
     
131. Your Memory: A User's Guide - Alan Baddeley
     
132. A Choice of Evils - Meira Chand
     
133. Force 136:Story of A Resistance Fighter in WWII - Tan Chong Tee
     
134. King Rat - James Clavell
     
135. Murder on the Verandah - Eric Lawlor
     
136. No Dram of Mercy - Sybil Kathigasu
     
137. Rehearsal for War - Ban Kah Choon, Yap Hong Kuan
     
138. Singa, Lion of Malaya - Gurchan Singh
     
139. Singapore The Pregnable Fortress - Peter Elphick
     
140. Sinister Twilight - Noel Barber
     
141. Sold For Silver - Janet Lim
     
142. Syonan - My Story (The Japanese Occupation of Singapore) - Mamoru Shinozaki
     
143. The Fall of Shanghai - Noel Barber
     
144. The Jungle is Neutral - F. Spencer Chapman
     
145. The War Of The Running Dogs - Noel Barber
     
146. You'll Never Get Off The Island - Keith Wilson

This is what the list looked like yesterday.

So, friends? Acquaintances? Beloveds? I know I'm a book-pig but we already found that last year's experiment, wherein I was reading every second of every day that I wasn't doing something requiring both hands yielded a pretty pathetic result. Admittedly some of that was the pain pills. It's hard to read when your eyeballs are describing circles in differing directions. But let's not forget that surgery + PT will take up 17 weeks this year. That's 17 weeks on different drugs during which I will undoubtedly be asleep half the time and non compos mentis the rest. So bag the books, OKAY? At least till 2010. Even if I beg and grovel and promise to read them only under the covers with a flashlight (C'mon you believe that story?).

At any rate, I did get some of them read. I'm putting out last year's book reviews and this year's reading list next.