reading and listening
I read and listened a bit this week, the weather has pretty much been that which begs you to stay indoors and curl up with a good book. I’m still working on those old New Yorkers… I’m now solidly in December.. :)
Knife Skills Illustrated: A User’s Manual by Peter Hertzmann, illustrations by Alan Witschonke
This is the book I wish I read when I first started using knives to eat and cook with (ok, maybe a few years later as I was 5 or so). Alan Witschonke’s illustrations are amazing and when combined with Hertzmann’s plain matter-of-fact tone, well, I have fallen in love. I love how he reiterates that you don’t need a whole large set of knives, 2-3 are enough for most tasks. I appreciated the discussion of cutting boards. I like that he walks you through the basic skills and then applies those through various vegetables, fruits, meats, and fish and shows how they are executed on each of those items. A warning to family and friends … you may be receiving a copy of this book as a gift, and I think that’s the highest compliment I can give a book. I think at a list price of $30, it is a bargain compared to the cost of cooking school. :)
I listened to Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott via Librivox. This book when combined with Rose in Bloom equal two of my favourite books from childhood. The narrator did a pleasant job and her attempts at singing various snippets made me giggle, which was probably a good thing. I’ll have to look up my/a copy of Rose in Bloom. What should I say about this novel? Alcott thought it was quite full of defects, but I love it anyway. Perhaps when I first read it I just wanted to have the freedoms Rose had, and the large house (I wanted the garret room), and the wonderful fun bright clothing and focus on health and her loving Uncle.
I finished reading/skimming Psychology and the Internet, Second Edition: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Transpersonal Implications edited by Jayne Gackenbach. I had taken this volume out thinking I may find relevant bits for the Project. I may have, I may not. We’ll see what happens after final revisions occur. This is a very current and timely look at all aspects of the Internet and how Psych views those. It’d been about seven years since I last read any article this deep in psych and it was quite enjoyable. This second edition was published in ’06, but still felt quite current and timely.
I’ve been listening to more Escape Pod and I wish Steve Eley the best with his new directions. Go listen, donate, spread the word. Podcastle launches April 1, so I’ll try to be patient.
This week is theoretically spring break, which just means I do not have to show up to class two nights this week. We were given a new deadline for the final draft last Wednesday, it is APRIL NINTH so I have a good deal of writing, editing, and preparing for presentations to do, especially since my first round is week after this. I’m still debating putting this blog