Nothing But Flowers............... (When The Humans Are Gone)

(Nothing but) Flowers is one of my favourite Talking Heads songs, David Byrne's wry lyric about people living in a post-civilized world set to some upbeat music. Lately I've been noticing some reviews for a book entitled The World Without Us , by Alan Weisman, a book in which he both details and speculates about the effects of human beings and their creations will have on the future of the planet, should all humans disappear off the face of the earth, a step beyond from what Byrne had envisioned.



It wouldn't take long before the earthly forces made their marks to reclaim the earth, Weisman gives an example of the work needed to insure that the subways in New York City aren't flooded with water, and how in a matter of a few days, water would invade it and start gnawing away at the foundation of the city. On a closer to home note, I only need to look into my backyard, next to a grass-filled lot owned by the city and filled with weeds, mowed once a year, to know the work needed to keep those things at bay.



The notices and reviews have placed this book at the top of my "to read" list, and all of the reviews I've noticed have praised the book for being a thoughtful analysis of the facts currently at hand mixed with educated speculation of the future. At any reat, while humans may not disappear off the face of the earth, many of the things we've created have already and will continue to have a lasting impact on this pale blue sphere for a long, long time.




OFFICIAL SITE



SALON REVIEW




Oh heck, I couldn't resist the chance to post the superb Talking Heads video now, could I?

Dishwashing Your Way Acros The U.S.A.

Memories of one of my first jobs have come back to me a bit while reading the story of Pete Jordan, who had a goal of sorts to wash dishes in all 50 states of the United States, and then write a book about his story. Even though in the New York Times book review he says "I obviously would prefer not to work", he managed to accomplish the task of getting to 33 states throughout the 90's before stopping, a symbolic act for a profession where it is all too easy, as Jordan admits to doing in the interview, to roll over, go back to sleep, and go look for another job later.



Thankfully I never had to wash dishes for long when I was starting out in restaurants, and the dishwashers I knew of were either young kids just starting out, or older guys who couldn't, or wouldn't, get any other type of work, the latter type presumably mixed in between bouts of being otherwise unemployed or being in jail.



The rest of Jordan's story can be found in the Times book section HERE.




JUNE 12TH EDIT: NPR story of Pete, with audio of the author reading, is HERE.

Ed Husain: The Islamist

Listened to the BBC's World Have Your Say program on NPR this morning, they featured a short segment on the British-born Muslim Ed Husain, who has documented his journey from the more fundamentalist version of Islam that threatens those who do not share their narrow views of society, to the compassionate religion that teaches tolerance and understanding with those who may not share the same exact religious ideals.


The book, entitled The Islamist, is soon to be published worldwide, but Ed said on air there was no U.S. publisher (at this moment, though I would imagine that to be rectified soon).



Ed told his story, and then callers were selected to ask questions, and the first called, a lady from Oslo I think, got into a heated debate about the true nature of Islam. Ed had made the comment that this was not the place for such a debate, and continued expounding his views based on his experiences at various places in the world.


Ed was a well-spoken, thoughtful interview, which has made me decide to look for his book. There was an interview with Ed in last Saturday's London TIMES.




EDIT ON APRIL 30TH: Still no word about the book being published in the U.S., so I ordered my copy from the institution on books in this state, POWELL'S



EDIT ON MAY 16TH: Received an a-mail from Powell's today telling me the book had shipped today. Two weeks earlier than the original date they'd guesstimated. Nice one.


EDIT ON MAY 21ST: Received the book in the mail, will be reading it this coming week.


EDIT ON JUNE 13TH: A very good read so far, about half the way through, reading with one arm in a sling isn't that conducive to the act. The book moves along at a quick pace, in an easy to read style much like listening to a lecture in person. The core belief behind Ed in those days, perhaps symptomatic of headstrong youth, of the absolute certainty of what they were doing and believed in being the correct path for humanity has already sparked a renewed clash of ideas, though in rather more mundane and local ways for the time being. The backdrop for future battles, on a more global scale, is already being sharply drawn at this point, their idea of changing others by first changing oneself is a powerful one indeed.

Found this bit on Ed and some of the places he was at various places in his life in this feature from London's TimeOut. The story is HERE.

Virgin Territory

Is virginity a real condition or was it invented to control women and their sexuality? So goes the sub-header in the Washington Post's review of Hanne Blank's look at the ideas of virginity, with respect to its place in our religious and social views of women. The review, by Marina Warner, winds up to say this is a thought-provoking book on history, aspects of which may not be entirely well-known to a wide populace. Exactly the kind of thing I like in a book.




TERRITORY

$5,870 USD, 850 Pages, And 80 Pound Weight.

Not a coffee-table book mind you, a coffee table in and of itself. Speaking of course about the book about the history of the Manchester United football team entitled Opus. A limited edition of 10,000. All copies signed by both Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton. Luxurious binding and craftsmanship...........all can be yours for this special price about a special team. (Not a Red supporter mind you, just a bit jealous cause Spurs don't quite have the history behind them as Man U does.)




OPUS DETAILS




AUTOGRAPH WORK



M.E.N Facts & Figures

A Literal Take

Nice construction of an Alice In Wonderland scene, from actual pages from the book. Hope it wasn't a first edition.

CLICK PIC FOR LARGER VIEW

Roz Chast Interview

One of the many talented cartoonists that used to be published in the National Lampoon whilst I was reading it was Roz Chast. (Ron Barrett's Politenesman, the works of B.K. Taylor and M.K. Brown, the Trots And Bonnie strip from Shary Flenniken, amongst others, were favourites of mine as well). She has a new book composed of a collection of her strips out entitled Theories of Everything: Selected, Collected and Health-Inspected Cartoons, 1978-2006. She captures and exhibits a feeling, idea or moment in a way which I've always related to. Can't say that I've actually ever seen her work in the New Yorker, which is where most of her stuff is published, but this is certainly one book I'll be looking to buy.





ROZ INTERVIEW