Save Gutenberg: gifts for intellectual baby boomers and non-baby boomers, bibliophiles, book lovers

Two best e-readers for people with Carpal Tunnel

2010-06-10T14:53:00.000-04:00

I have tried out all the e-readers. I had to return the Kindle II because the pressure required to 'turn a page' was such that it inflamed the problem in my medial nerve. I don't need another three-hour neurosurgery procedure by (luckily) one of the top neurosurgeons in the world. If mouse-clicks on your computer causes you pain, you may have or be getting one of my three neurological problems that led to the surgery. I use a stylus/tablet now instead of a mouse.

Using the Kindle II after 20 minutes caused me so much pain that I had to stop, and rest my arm for three hours. So, if you are interested in purchasing an e-reader, and have a repetitive stress injury or RPI (sometimes referred to as 'Repetitive Strain Injury' (take your pick), or want to prevent an injury, purchase the B&N Nook or the Sony Touch E-Reader. Each works by swiping or tapping, not clicking. This may sound inconsequential, but these small differences are important.

Automobile Nightmare: Apocalypse Movie Trailer

2010-06-06T01:15:00.000-04:00

Is it crazy to spend hundreds of $$$ to learn Spanish?

2010-05-17T17:44:00.000-04:00

The answer is YES! If you want to get ripped off by the expensive software programs for sale in shopping malls, go right ahead. You can buy equally good if not better Spanish language learning material for $39.00. Check out my recommendations for learning Spanish. I should know. I've published short stories in Spanish and read and speak it. There is one catch. The key to learning the language is that you really have to WORK AT IT!!!! Darn! Thought you had a great thing going there for a moment, didn't you?

Don't hide that e-reader inside your "real" book.

2010-05-15T17:04:00.001-04:00

E-readers are becoming more acceptable, and I believe they do serve a function today. You don't have to be afraid or embarassed about using one. However, eschew the Kindle for now. It is perhaps the worst electronic reader on the market in my view. And I have various reasons for thinking so. But I'm not going into them all now. Maybe next time meanwhile, you can buy better ones. I had a demonstration of "The Nook" at a Barnes & Noble. Imagine actually trying out something electronic before you buy it? Amazing!

I recommend the following in no particular order:

1. Sony Digital Reader Touch Edition $245.00
2. Sony Digital Reader Pocket Edition (cheap!) $150.00
3. The Nook $269.00 at B&N.
4. Sony PRS-505 e-reader System $239.00
5. Borders will be releasing an e-reader
this week (it will probably flop)
6. Samsung is SUPPOSED to be releasing one.
It's on sale in Australia. Don't know what
they are waiting for. It will be like the Sonys.

Reading actually MEANT something to people at one time

2010-05-15T16:52:00.000-04:00

Do you recall when reading was considered an important act? I do.

Samnsung e-60 Book Reader: better than Kindle. Avoid injuries!

2010-03-14T14:08:00.000-04:00

A poor design decision on Amazon's part in creating the Kindle creates the potential for carpal tunnel or other repetitive stress injuries because its forward and backward buttons cause strain on the medial nerve--which is implicated in carpal tunnel and other repetitive stress injury problems. I should know. I had a severe repetitive stress injury that took two years to heal following surgery. Within an hour of using a Kindle, it began to flare up. This could be avoided had Kindle used a touchpad technology that does not put the same sort of strain on the important medial and ulnar nerves. I switched to a WACOM stylus/tablet a year ago after the use of a mouse greatly exacerbated my RPI. If you think carpal tunnel or other forms of RPI are minor problems, you're wrong. Acquire one and you'll learn first hand. But I wouldn't encourage it. This product, the Samsung E-60 comes on the market March 18, 2010. Kindle's rush to create an e-book reader was a mistake, to paraphrase Brando in On the Waterfront, "I coulda been a champ. I coulda been somebody."

Beat Generation & Small-Press Poetry Books, Art & Ephemera

2010-01-22T13:01:00.000-05:00

Beat Generation & Small-Press Poetry Books, Art & Ephemera

Homage to the Tin type photograph

2009-12-08T13:43:00.004-05:00

The best book on ghostwriting you will ever read

2009-10-05T00:09:00.000-04:00

Whether you are seeking a ghostwriter or want to become a ghostwriter, this book by Crofts is the best book on the subject bar none. I'd venture to say it's the only book on the subject worth reading. When I purchased my copy several years ago, it was only available on Amazon.UK, where I purchased my copy. Now, however, it is being offered for sale on Amazon.com in the U.S. I strongly recommend you buy a copy. You can see that the cover price is quite low. I have earned a living as a ghostwriter now for a number of years, and this book was indispensible in grasping the concept, finding ways of getting clients, and how to price projects. Crofts praises the craft of ghostwriting, and his argument is extremely interesting. I also agree with him. The only hint I'll provide is that the attractiveness of this type of work came to him while reading The Great Gatsby. More about this tomorrow. I've gotten quite excited about this book and the profession.

Back to School with the Best Prescription Eyeglasses Deal on the Web

2009-09-05T11:04:00.001-04:00

Undergraduate student, returning to college, adult education, continuing education, online education - whatever! This place has the best prescription eyeglass deal on the internet. You can get high quality prescription eyeglasses for $50.00 that include Titanium frames. I bought two. I'm wearing one right now as I type.

Recommended book of the week

2009-07-09T21:56:00.001-04:00

WOSU: Community College Enrollment Grows in Slowing Economy (2009-02-04)

2009-07-07T09:37:00.001-04:00

WOSU: Community College Enrollment Grows in Slowing Economy (2009-02-04) Shared via AddThis

Visual impairment, learning disabilities and KINDLE

2009-05-25T23:05:00.002-04:00

Article critical of Kindle 2 lack of features for the visually impaired and learning disabled. Is it worth the money?

Baby boomer favorite foreign film - 400 blows

2009-05-23T23:29:00.002-04:00

Poster cost $14.99 - about the price of a movie ticket nowadays.

The 400 Blows

Buy From Art.com

Mark Rothko - Avatar of 1960's Painting

2009-05-21T10:11:00.001-04:00

Baby Boomer Bargain: $39 for excellent prescription glasses with titanium frames

2009-05-18T20:28:00.020-04:00

Cheap eyeglasses with titanium frames: here's proof: Is there such a thing as a "good deal"? Prescription glasses at those stores that say "Get 2 pairs for $69.00" is a total deception; it doesn't cover tinting, UV protection, warranty. All you get is a cheap frame and two pieces of glass, and they have to be single vision. When you add up the 'options' the price is about $170.00 for ONE pair of glasses.

I ordered my prescription glasses from the glassesshop, and got them for about $48.00, which included shipping charges (I also had a 20% discount coupon, so the final price was $40). They fit better and are of a superior quality to any glasses I've bought at lenscrafters, costco, or the 'discount' place. They're made with titanium, have UV protection, tinting, warranty Mine need to be good since I'm a photographer.

A) You type in your prescription data (it's not rocket science--it's not even rocket art).
B) Try on any frame with the virtual face shape tool on the website.
C) All you need is a ruler to measure centimeters (distance between your pupils). It's the scale on the other side of inch scale.

You also get a hard eyeglass case, soft eyeglass case, and cleaning cloth. These glasses come directly from China. And if you are concerned about the trade disparity between U.S. and China, your purchase is not going to make a difference. 90% of eyeglass parts sold in the USA are from China. For skeptics, I'm exhibiting my order and eyeglass prescription. If you have a prescription, click on the image below and get started.

Are these the best 10 films of the 1960's

2009-05-15T21:00:00.004-04:00

If you want to see these films, click the widget on the right column on top of this page.

1. 8 1/2 (1963)___Country: Italy___Director: Federico Fellini Arguably the most famous and most popular foreign film of the decade, 8 ½ was a breakout film for Fellini from his Neorealism period to his more psychoanalytic, autobiographical, and phantasmagoric phase. Fellini sought truth and if that meant exposing his own weaknesses to the public, we would – and did, in 8 ½. The integration of surrealism and realism in 8 ½ is uncanny. This film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1963.
#2. The King of Hearts (1966)___Country: France___Director: Philippe de Broca This film is a bona fide cult film. It combines a gorgeous and imaginative musical score by Georges Delerue with humor, romance, idealism, surrealism, and a powerful antiwar message. This film is a miracle of ensemble acting, with superb performances turned in by Alan Bates, Genevieve Bujold, Michel Serrault, Micheline Presle, Francoise Christophe, and others.
#3. (1962)___Country: France___Director: Jean-Luc Godard Susan Sontag characterized this film as “one of the most extraordinary, beautiful, and original works of art that I know of.” It really is. The camera technique for this film was highly ingenious, behaving like a human observer. My Life to Live tackles the issue of finding oneself through intensive facial close-ups of star actress (and Godard wife) Anna Karina.
#4. Persona (1966)___Country: Sweden___Director: Ingmar Bergman This film is an extraordinary piece of psychodrama, featuring Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann, two actresses with very similar facial features. The cinematography is very special in both composition and lighting, emphasizing facial details and expression. There are also three jarringly brilliant, almost surreal sequences that are cinematographic marvels.
#5. Shop on Main Street(1965)___Country: Czechoslovakia___Director: Ján Kadár & Elmar Klos This film provides a heart-rending look at one small piece of the Holocaust by focusing on the effect of history’s most incomprehensible event on two main characters: an aging Jewish widow and shopkeeper and the simple man who is appointed as her Aryan controller. The performance by Ida Kaminska was honored by an Academy Award nomination for best actress. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1965.
#6. Last Year at Marienbad(1961)___Country: France___Director: Alain Resnais This brilliant early film of the New Wave is a mind-blower! It examines the nature of creative representation and art by confronting viewers with a mysterious artificial reality. For many years, this film was interpreted as pure formalistic art and high modernism, until the source of the script was discovered to be an Argentinian science fiction story. Either way, it’s a marvelous film for viewers who enjoy intellectual puzzles.
#7. Contempt (1963)___Country: France___Director: Jean-Luc Godard This was Godard’s only foray into “commercial” filmmaking as well as one of the few quality roles for French bombshell Brigitte Bardot. The film is best known for its brilliant centerpiece scene which consists of a classic marital dispute, filmed with extraordinary realism in the apartment of the protagonist couple. The final segment is beautifully filmed at the magnificent chateau in Capri, on the Mediterranean.
#8. Charulata (1964)___Country: India___Director: Satyajit Ray Charulata, or “The Lonely Wife”, the twelfth film of the great Indian director Satyajit Ray, is often regarded as his greatest one. Ray’s great strength as a director was his mastery of subtly communicating through artistry and cinematographic technique rather than action and dialogue alone. Madhabi Mukherjee’s performance in the title role is magnificent.
#9. Through a Glass Darkly (1961)___Country: Sweden___Director: Ingmar Bergman Like all films of Ingmar Bergman, this superlative psychodrama examines essential questions of human existence: the nature of perception and the challenge of existential isolation. With a cast of just four, Bergman creates a “chamber piece” that features an amazing performance by Harriet Andersson as a woman sinking into schizophrenia. This film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1961.
#10. War and Peace (1968)___Country: U.S.S.R.___Director: Sergei Bondarchuk This Russian adaptation of the great Tolstoy novel boasts a kind of authenticity and faithfulness that has rarely been equaled by other adaptations of great books. This Soviet-Italian co-production took seven years to produce at a cost in excess of $100 million dollars. It features one of the most elaborately staged battle scenes in film history, utilizing tens of thousands of extras. Paintings and furnishings were borrowed from Russian museums to ensure period authenticity. At over 400 minutes in length, it’s a major time investment, but the best scenes in the film rival any recorded on film. This film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1968.

Is Sven Birkerts correct about the Gutenberg Elegies--empirical evidence on illiteracy?

2008-03-05T11:56:00.005-05:00

Well, I was just reading a book review of the Gutenberg Elegies by Sven Birkerts, published in 1996 by Dr. Elizabeth Murphy of the University of Newfoundland. Among her credentials and awards are the following: B.Ed., M.Ed. Memorial, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. Université Laval, Winner of President's Award for Outstanding Research, 2007-2008. Finally, I thought! A reviewer that will be a bit more erudite than most who wander the virtual halls of Amazon's bookstore. However, my enthusiasm waned when I got to the second paragraph where Professor Murphy in quoting Birkerts, uses the word 'vehicule.' Is that supposed to be vehicle? Are my literacy skills degrading or does this little case study help comfirm Birkerts's thesis about the degradation of linguistic abilities. I can tell you one thing. If my grandfather were around--Columbia graduate 1913, Latin teacher, Russian translator, and Biblical scholar--on his slow days and I had made a linguistic faux pas--regardless of the reason--I'd have gotten an earful! Book Review Oh, yea, I put that 's in on purpose to see if you were paying attention ; 0

Battle of the best rated book lights - Slate magazine Review

2007-11-26T09:15:00.000-05:00

OK, is there actually a booklight that won't slip, won't shed a dim, narrow beam, won't cause you to squirm and shift position constantly? Slate Magazine had a reporter test all the leading reading lights and has come up with a winner. Read the article Best Book Light. If you agree, with the assessment, you can purchase the light here.

Book light prices shattered!!

2007-08-23T18:35:00.000-04:00

Book light prices pop!

Book light prices smashed!

Blinding book light prices!

Alibris is selling them cheap(ly).

Isn't marketing wonderful?

Barnes & Noble - Not just on 18th Street anymore

2007-08-20T14:54:00.001-04:00

It's all about organizing, stupid.

2007-07-24T01:03:00.000-04:00

Over the years, have you assembled a personal library that overwhelms tyour capacity to order volumes the way you'd like? One book store owner, decided to divide his books into colors: the red section here, the green section there. Who said you can't judge a book by its cover. It you are intimidated by the vast number of books you've read over the years--From Plath's The Glass Bell to Jean Baudrilaurd's riffs against modernism, maybe it's time to take stop: organize your library, organize your brain. There is a company that can help. If you've done your sting for Habitat for Humanity and want to synthesize all the book learning you done over the decades, there's a firm in Maryland that can help (for a price). See if The Organized Library is for you. I suspect it's not for everyone.

Have You Ever Thought About Ghostwriting?

2007-07-22T09:53:00.000-04:00

Ever considered ghostwriting? For the best advice, got to England, or get this book through Amazon.uk. It is by far the best book on becoming a ghostwriter I've ever found, and is not available in the United States.

To Say Iraq is another Vietnam is Ridiculous (say the ridiculous)

2007-07-19T17:16:00.000-04:00

"All the wrong people remember Vietnam. I think all the people who remember it should forget it, and all the people who forgot it should remember it.—Michael Herr, author of Dispatches

From the launch of the "Shock and Awe" invasion in March 2003 through President George W. Bush's declaration of "Mission Accomplished" two months later, the war in Iraq was meant to demonstrate definitively that the United States had learned the lessons of Vietnam. This new book makes clear that something closer to the opposite is true—that U.S. foreign policy makers have learned little from the past, even as they have been obsessed with the "Vietnam Syndrome."

With contributions from some of the most renowned analysts of American history and foreign policy, this is an essential recovery of the forgotten and misbegotten lessons of Vietnam. Contributors include: Christian Appy, Andrew J. Bacevich, Alex Danchev, David Elliott, Elizabeth L. Hillman, Gabriel Kolko, Walter LaFeber, Gareth Porter, John Prados.

Remember "Up Against the Wall?" Pass on the Tradition

2007-07-14T22:58:00.000-04:00

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