Somah's Blog

Building iPhone Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript by Jonathan Stark

2010-07-26T18:18:58-07:00

Could have been so much better!
My review on Amazon

First off, the title is completely misleading. Almost every chapter in the book covers how to build iPhone-specific web applications using HTML 5 and CSS3 specs. The last two chapters, and only the last two chapters, address converting these iPhone web apps into iPhone native apps using PhoneGap and then submitting them to the Apple Store. Even then, the information covered in these two chapters was rudimentary at best.

I probably shouldn't have had such high expectations, but the reputation of both the publisher and the author has always been stellar in my book. A title like, "Introduction to Building iPhone Web Apps and Converting Then to Native Apps using PhoneGap" would have properly prepared me for the content of the book. The content in and of itself is excellent--as an introduction, but nothing more.

So if you're interested in building iPhone web apps, this book is a great starting point. If you're interested in building iPhone native apps with web technologies, this book might be a letdown considering the level of your expertise developing iPhone web apps.

The Regulars by Sarah Stolfa

2010-06-19T10:50:03-07:00

Back in the mid 2000s, a photographer bartended at a dive bar in downtown Philadelphia. She served her customers beer, whisky or wine, and then took their picture. The result is a series of portraits that beautifully and honestly tell the story of the city of brotherly love, and in turn, America's. The stories, the portraits and the wonder they convey is found in The Regulars by Sarah Stofla.

The patrons at McGlinchey's bar, where Sarah bartended, came from every walk of life. They were black, white and every color in between. They were old, young or too young to look that old. They were mostly exhausted, forlorn or anxious, much like the country at the time.

The book doesn't have much prose in it since the complete story is told by these portraits, proving once again the age old adage, "a picture is worth a thousand words."

The book made me wonder about how different the collective story would have been had Sarah taken these portraits in a dive bar in Los Angeles, San Francisco or Dallas. How about London, Madrid or Tel Aviv What would have the common theme been?

The book has definitely renewed my respect for portrait photography and the simplicity of storytelling that Stolfa does so well. Definitely worth checking out.

The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars, and Save Our Lives by Shankar Vedantam

2010-03-19T08:15:01-07:00

Fundamentally, Our Species is Flawed
My review on Amazon.com

The author tries to accomplish two things throughout this book: Explain how the hidden brain works and how it influences human behavior. He doesn't, however, explain how the hidden brain has evolved or how it can be changed, which to me is a crucial and expected takeaway when reading about the subject of the hidden, or unconscious, brain.

We come to understand through the extensive psychological research put into this book the reasons behind racial biases, prejudices, sexism and suicide bombings in our collective societies. The author challenges our preconceptions about the "intent" behind these behaviors and explains the real reasons behind their occurrences. The fascinating research shows that our unconscious brain, which is fast and visceral, dictates what our conscious brain, which is rational, deliberate and analytical, does.

One of the things the book draws attention to is the spotlight focus (aka tunnel vision) of the conscious brain and how the unconscious brain compensates for that limitation. Our attention is always focused on what we "choose" to focus on. Our unconscious brain's job is to adjust our behavior based on its own processing of the feedback it receives from everything outside our spotlight focus. This explains the distance we keep between each other while perusing artwork at the museum, for example.

Another fascinating discovery about the hidden brain is that it is influenced by other hidden brains. Ever wonder why in some situations where someone is attacked the witnesses never intervene to help knowing very well that it's wrong to stand idle? Well, it's because no one took the initiative to intervene, so everyone else followed suit. Individual hidden brains relinquish control to the group's "collective" hidden brain. Same thing explains why some floors on the World Trade Center towers were evacuated on 9/11 and some weren't--not even a single person left those perished floors.

My favorite and I believe the most important learning I took away from this book is how the "Tunnel" theory works on the hidden brain. The author argues that suicide bombers, Nazis, Jonestown mass suicide and other violent ideologues out there are not influenced so much by religion or a specific ideology but rather by a "need to belong and to impress others." The "Tunnel" theory is about taking a normal person, isolating her from the outside world, sending her hidden brain consistent and focused messages (aka indoctrinating,) and praising her as a "special" and a "chosen" individual worthy of whatever it is that is promised.

The "Tunnel" theory explains how Hitler was able to control a relatively sophisticated and educated society to follow his barbaric ideas. It also explains how nonreligious young Muslims turn into suicide bombers given the right conditions.

The hidden brain and the "Tunnel" theory also make me understand the nasty political atmosphere here in America better; The religious fanaticism that exists even within neighborhoods of large and diverse cities.

I personally think homeschooling children is a way of using the "Tunnel" theory on their hidden brains, but that's just me.

This book is full of great examples on how the hidden brain works. To a discerning reader, the information is vital in understanding human behavior and how to manipulate it. Read it.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

2010-03-06T03:18:55-08:00

More Like a Lost Opportunity
My review on Amazon.com

As it turned out, Dan Brown had squandered a golden opportunity to enthrall his readers with this much anticipated Robert Langdon novel. He also managed to mar his reputation as a serious writer and entertainer with the exceedingly bad characters, including Robert Langdon's, with which this book is rife. As much as I enjoyed reading Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code, I'm afraid Mr. Brown has "lost" me with this one.

With that said, I did enjoy some aspects of the book. I'll start with what I liked first.

Dan Brown is known to load up his books with a ton of research on the subjects in question (i.e. Vatican, Rome and Catholicism in Angels and Demons; Christianity, Paris, Jesus and Knights Templar in The Da Vinci Code) and this book is no exception. I really enjoyed reading about the Masons and their history and rituals. I also got to learn about Noetic Science, which I didn't realize existed prior to reading this book. Brown's descriptions of Washington D.C. and the Capitol were immersive and fascinating in the same measure.

But then we had to deal with characters and plot, which brings us to the portion of this review where I get to tell you what I didn't like about the book.

Aside from the fascinating research, everything else was one bad joke after another. The characters, especially Robert Langdon's, were vapid to put it lightly and sadly inconsequential. For the better half of the book, Langdon was inexplicably balking at concepts that a man with his experience (from Angels and Demons and Da Vinci Code) would simply not have. Seriously, most of Robert Langdon's lines were a variation of, "yes, but that doesn't make sense" that's shortly thereafter followed by, "God, now it all makes sense."

And to add insult to injury, the plot was a mess. It was too predictable, weak and embarrassingly contrived.

I was really disheartened to see such cheap and amateurish work put out by a writer with such a huge platform. You may enjoy reading this book just for the research that's put into it. But if good character development and believable plots are important to you, The Lost Symbol will end up being lost time you wish you get back.

Orangutan by Colin Broderick

2010-01-03T18:50:00-08:00

Bird's-Eye View of The Descent of Man
My review on Amazon

Colin Broderick starts his memoir with a warning. "This is not a pleasant story," he says. "In fact, it's downright ugly in places. But it's my story and I'm not going to apologize for it." Well, he's right. It is ugly and indulgent, but a fascinating and well-written ugly and indulgent story.

The fact that Colin is still alive is beyond me. He actually touches upon that in the book: "I had not died. I was alive. I had been through car accidents, I had been stabbed and hospitalized and almost drowned, and now I had fallen off a roof and I was alive ... God was telling me that I should drink." As glad as I'm that he's still alive and well, I think the fact that a lot of drunkards, like him, pull through unscathed dampens the cautionary tale their collective experience is supposed to convey: alcohol kills.

There are some genius moments in the book, like the sage advice Colin gives aspiring writers. "To write you must rewrite. You must be willing to sacrifice your darlings. Rip it apart, throw some of it out--throw it all out if you have to--and rewrite." and his ballsy move to hand Colum McCann--author of Let The Great World Spin--the manuscript of his first novel. He definitely has what it takes to get a book like this into my and your hands.

Colin's story sheds light on alcoholism and Irishmen, which is evidently endemic. Colin admits that "the possibility of not drinking at all was out of the question. My fellow country men would never forgive me." It's pretty hard to quite drinking when everyone around you--your friends, your family and your community--are big drinkers.

Aside from his alcohol and cocaine addictions, Colin actually reminded me a lot of myself, which made his story that much more devastating. He's a bibliophile and a writer and a sensitive SOB. He's a great guy if you're lucky enough to catch him sober.

This was a fast read and written really well. I wonder, however, if Colin has another great book in him or if this is it. Whatever you think of Colin the person, the addict or the flake, you gotta hand it to him as a great writer.

Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

2009-12-30T17:16:52-08:00

Forbidden Love, but Love Just the Same

It's astounding how much story is packed into this 55-page epic of love found, squandered, salvaged and ultimately lost forever. From the vivid scenery of the West to the intimate relations between two lovers, this very quick read (took me an hour to read with interruptions) proves to be a force of nature and an exemplary lesson on succinct writing.

I think my imagination to fill in the details has been polluted by having seen the movie first. With that, though, I still very much enjoyed reading the story. Annie Proulx writing is easy and flows well.

The story of Ennis and Jack is the reality of so many couples in many scoeities, including Western societies that pride themselves with "tolerating" gay people and giving them "rights." The idea of two men falling in love is still largely considered taboo.

"Brokeback Mountain" is the "Romeo and Juliet" of my generation and the 21st century's. It breaks considerable boundaries and challenges deep-seeded perception of the nature of love.

Great story!

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

2009-12-29T21:53:30-08:00

Life is but a Series of Corrections
My review on Amazon

The Lamberts are an American family dealing with the universal themes of aging and its indignities, capitalism and its diseases, sexuality and its complications, success and its burdens, depression and its loneliness, family and its expectations and love and its disappointments.

The characters are intense, raw and very very real. To the sensitive reader, the Lamberts are sad and harsh and disappointing. To the critical reader, they are all of that and much more. Whatever they are or however they're perceived, the Lamberts are one midwestern family you won't soon forget.

Jonathan Franzen writes beautiful prose. He pushes words beyond their boundaries to draw interesting images of human experiences. You'll definitely appreciate his writing when you read the book a second time.

The book, to me, is about life as a series of successive corrections: mental corrections, attitude corrections, language corrections, behavioral corrections, emotional corrections, moral corrections and economics corrections. It's the endles cycle of making choices, regretting them and correcting them with new choices that you end up regretting and so forth; It's a cycle that's become synonymous with "growth" and "living."

The complicated and achingly familiar lives of the Lamberts typify that cycle.

I saw a little bit of myself in the Lamberts: in Alfred's sternness, Enid's hopefulness, Chip's uselessness, Gary's madness, and Denise's humanness. Their combined failures and triumphs are epic yet common and their individualism is sincere. The Lamberts are reflections of people we know, including ourselves. Jonathan Franzen did a great job giving each character a distinctive voice and a palpable dysfunction.

When I first read this book six years ago, I thought it was highbrow literature at its best, although I thought the writing at times ostentatious and needlessly protracted. When I picked up the book again this Holiday Season (since the story culminates with a family Christmas get-together,) I fell in love with Franzen's unusual writing style and the fleshed out auxiliary characters whom I neglected to appreciate on my first reading. I really enjoyed reading The Corrections this time around. Although the story is unapologetically raw and deeply sad, it makes a great Christmas read.

I'm looking forward to the new Jonathan Franzen work of fiction and to the theatrical treatment of this story due for release in 2011.

Best Books of the Decade (2000-2009)

2009-12-14T21:32:22-08:00

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann

John Adams by David McCullough

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey

Look What Santa Left Us Under The Chirstmas Tree!

2009-12-13T16:13:29-08:00

Lili under the Christmas Tree. That's my hand petting her. Isn't she adorable?!

Santa came a bit early this year to deliver the most beautiful kitten to our household. Since Mark and I have been really good this year, Santa brought us an adorable Maine Coon, two-month-old little baby girl. She is a little shy right now, but she's so affectionate and loves her treats and the Christmas Tree (I know, we're trying to keep her out of it.)

Please help us welcome our new family member. Many more photos will be posted soon :-)

Lili after her shower, all fresh and clean! She is starting to explore the place, although she's a bit overwhelmed with the space and all the nooks and crannies she can get in and out of.

The Chill by Romano Bilenchi

2009-12-10T23:19:19-08:00

A Universal Coming-of-Age Story
My review on Amazon

"The chill of suspicion and incomprehension came between me and humankind when I was sixteen." This is how our unnamed protagonist begins his achingly familiar story about becoming a man in the real world.

Living in Tuscany in the 1920's, the protagonist is sixteen-years old and just lost his grandfather to old age. The loss--monumental in every respect--marks a shift in his perception of adult life, and adults in general. Standing on the precipice of adulthood, he studies it as if it's a piece of an overripe apple that he's reluctantly considering buying.

He contends that it isn't "possible to live among other people if all of a sudden they could attack one another with such ferocity." It's his innocence talking and it's precisely the loss of innocence that gives our protagonist the "chill."

Part of the inescapable process of becoming adults is that we shed our childhood innocence and replace it with an armor that helps us navigate the "real world." The shedding process--that inevitable fate--is what's at the core of this book.

Our unnamed friend's journey into adulthood, as dramatic and chilling as it is at times, is so relevant and real. His encounters with the fragility of friendships, the hollowness of death, the explosion of sexuality and the dullness of shame are timeless and tireless themes that usher us into the world of grownups. He has to learn the hard way to become a man.

I didn't know much about the book when I picked it up a few months back, but I'm so glad I did. Bilenchi's prose in these 84-pages is classical and refined (Ann Goldstein did a wonderful job bringing the Italian text to life with precise and beautiful locution.) In addition to the protagonist's engrossing story, the Italian countryside setting is so delicately and thoroughly described that it makes the story that much more captivating.

This short story managed to capture the essence of adolescence like no other novel or novella has. The shedding analogy I used earlier can really be summarized in one word: rebirth. As we go past our adolescent years we are in fact reborn with calibrated sensibilities and a wiser (or damaged) perspective.