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Trevor Blake on Books: Papillon by Henri Charriere [LINK-ZUM]

Autobiography. Henri Charriere was wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. This average man was placed in a situation far more dangerous than he was ready for, but through acts of cunning and physical strength he survived. Every attempt to imprison his body or crush his will failed. He never gave up. This average man wrote a book of his life experiences that became popular and which served as the subject of a popular film. I recommend both the book and the film.

The possibility that life for the average person could suddenly become much more difficult than anything that person has known before is always with us. Only by making ourselves strong in times of peace can we have a chance of turning adversities into opportunities. What Charriere survived gives me a healthy sense of perspective when I start to get wound up about the minor difficulties in my day-to-day life.

Wikipedia on Papillon.
Nine minutes from the film Papillon.

Labels: biographic, books, film, prison

Trevor Blake on Books: Left for Dead by Beck Weathers [LINK-ZUM]

Autobiography. Beck Weathers was part of the climb of Mount Everest described in the popular book Into Thin Air. Weathers was moderately prepared for the climb, but found himself in far over his head. Through acts of physical strength and an iron will, he survived. He wrote a book about it and now gives lectures on setting priorities in this life. What I learned from this book is sometimes your team will let you down but you have to keep going or perish.

Labels: biographic, books, trevorblake

Trevor Blake on Books: The Mighty Atom by Ed Spielman [LINK-ZUM]

Biography of Joseph L. Greenstein, "The Mighty Atom." A real life Popeye. Clean living, feats of super-human strength, willing and able to get in a scrap with dozens of much younger men and whip their candy asses, and he even ate his spinach. He could drive nails into a 2.5 inch wooden board and bend horseshoes with his bare hands. Not one man of any age reading this blog is as fit as he was in his 80s. There is nothing worthy of the Mighty Atom online, you'll have to track down a copy of the book. I was a fool for selling my copy considering how rarely it shows up for sale and how much it costs when it does. This book helped me understand how crushingly difficult life used to be for the average man only a few generations ago, and what a great deal of hard work over extended periods of time could accomplish in the realm of physical self-improvement.

[Book Exerpt] [Wikipedia] [Mighty Atom, His Philosophy of Health] [Entry at "Old Time Strongman"] [Google Books]

Labels: biographic, books

Trevor Blake: Alan Turing (23 June 1912 - 7 June 1954) [LINK-ZUM]

Today is the seventh of June, the anniversary of the death of Alan Turing. I recommed the book Alan Turing: the Enigma by Andrew Hodges to learn more about this hero of the modern age.

Labels: biographic

Trevor Blake: Douglas Adams [LINK-ZUM]

For some reason Douglas Adams thought that I knew about the aquatic ape theory of human evolution, and sent me e-mail asking for suggested reading. I wrote back, he said thanks. This happened a few months before he died on this day seven years ago. He died before the long-awaited film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy came out. He died too soon. I heard once that he died while working for The Council on Ideas but maybe that's not true. Richard Dawkin's book The God Delusion is dedicated to Adams. This meager post is as well.

Labels: biographic, books

CNN: Body of model found in Paris river [LINK-ZUM]

The body of Katoucha Niane, one of the first African women to attain international stardom as a model and a vocal opponent of female genital mutilation, was found in the Seine River, police said Friday. Known simply as Katoucha, the former top model for Yves Saint Laurent and other top designers was found Thursday near the Garigliano bridge in Paris, judicial police in Paris said.

[Article continues at link. Official Web site. Quote from Wikipedia: "She said she saw her career as a top model as a form of 'revenge' for the horror of excision. 'I embodied the most arrogant and admired kind of femininity, I who was supposed to be diminished.'" Eternal damnation to all practitioners of female genital mutilation and the superstitions that embolden them. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: art, biographic, islam

Chestnut Tree Cafe: George Orwell FAQ [LINK-ZUM]

Did George Orwell ever say: "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf?" Or: "We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us?"

Not exactly. But he did make comments that were along similar lines. In his essay on Rudyard Kipling (1942), Orwell wrote: "[Kipling] sees clearly that men can only be highly civilized while other men, inevitably less civilised, are there to guard and feed them." And in his Notes on Nationalism (1945) he wrote: "Those who 'abjure' violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf." Where the rough men crept in is anyone's guess.

[FAQ continues at link.]

Labels: biographic, books, fight

them tags [LINK-ZUM]

biographic communication deaf education extremophiles futurism interpreting news nsk parasites reference

Labels: biographic, communication, deaf, education, extremophiles, futurism, interpreting, news, nsk, parasites, reference

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