Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

by Roald Dahl

This is one of a series of children’s books that I’ve bought over the past several weeks. A few of them I’ve read before, and just wanted to see how they stood up over time. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, however, I’ve never read.

This was the basis for Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory staring Gene Wilder. The elements of the movie were all there, but in some places the book elaborated more, and in others the movie did. Overall, a very fun read, even for an adult like me.

Indigo Girls Concert

We went to see the Indigo Girls at Wolf Trap this evening. As always, they put on a great concert. They played several new songs from an album that should be released in early 2004. I think both Andrew and I liked all of the new pieces they played, though in particular, I liked “One Perfect World” (or just Perfect World…the memory is not what it used to be).

Unfortunately, we were seated behind the World’s Most Annoying Girls (TM). Two of them didn’t show up until the third or fourth number, and then they just had to keep talking to each other during the entire concert. The one in front of me seemed to be attempting to increase her cross-section as much as humanly possible by constantly moving from one side to the other (not in time with music or anything, just kind of spastic). Andrew and I debated whether they were on drugs or just stupid. I voted for stupid.

Stick Figure

A diary of my former self
by Lori Gottlieb

Stick Figure is Gottlieb’s diary from when she was 11 years old, and anorexic. She started out sounding like a normal 11-year-old — questioning why women were so weird about eating. On one page of the women’s magazines her mom read was a new diet, and on the next page a recipe for a triple-chocolate layer cake. But, something seemed to snap, and she became the one who was diet-obsessed. Even though she was only 11-years old and 65 pounds, she put herself on a diet, so she could be the thinnest girl at school.

I think I’ve been interested in anorexia because my eating disorder has manifested itself as over-eating. I’ve always secretly wished that I could have gone in the direction of anorexia instead. I know that it’s no more healthy than over-eating, but at least then I would be thin. I know that’s twisted, and reading Stick Figure gave me a good picture into the mind of at least on anorexic. Their life is in no way better than mine, just messed up in a different way. Gottlieb even worried about getting calories from licking stamps or smelling food!

The Gate to Women’s Country

by Sheri S. Tepper

Tepper is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors! This is the second book I’ve read by her, and it also has the high quality writing, story and character development as Singer From the Sea.

In this novel, it is three hundred years after the Earth has gone through a devastating war. The society that has arisen from the devastation consists of cities behind walls governed by women and garrisons filled with men to protect each city. When a boy turns five, his mother brings him to the garrison to be raised by his warrior father. He returns to his mother’s house twice a year during carnival. Then at age fifteen he must decide whether to stay with the garrison or to return to the city through the Women’s Gate (only warriors are allowed to use the Warrior’s Gate). The men who return become servitors, they study and live in a women’s house assisting with the work.

We follow Stavia, daughter of a councilwoman and later a councilwoman herself. The story is told through flashbacks to Stavia’s childhood and early adulthood, as she becomes smitten and later hurt by a warrior. Interwoven into all of this is the tension building in the garrison — the warrior’s unrest and desire to take over the women’s city.

Excellent book. I again look forward to my next Tepper book.

Lost in La Mancha

3.5/5 stars

This is a somewhat depressing documentary following Terry Gilliam’s failed attempt to mount a production of Don Quixote. He started with too little money and an impossible schedule. The actor’s were squeezing this job into their busy schedules, with little leeway on either side, and were taking a cut from their normal pay. Then, on the second day of filming, a rain storm ruins not only equipment but the landscape of the location. In addition, the actor playing Don Quixote is stricken with a prostate infection. Without a leading actor, and with the schedule already behind, the production dies.

It was a pity, because what we saw of the vision Gilliam had for the Don Quixote story, it looked like it could be an incredible movie. Rumors are that he is still looking for money to resurrect the production, but for now it is the property of the insurance company.

More on yesterday’s outburst

Okay, I did not mean to imply, by yesterday’s outburst, that I got into science for the money. There is no money in science. If I’d wanted to do something for money, I would have gone into engineering or computers or business. I went into science because I’m curious, and this is one of the few fields that fully rewards curiosity.

I went into astrophysics because I love the stars — even after eight years of concentrated astronomy study, I still find the stars and the night sky magical. I cry when I’m alone in a large field at midnight away from city lights. The vastness makes me feel so small, and yet so important at the same time. I’m just a speck on a speck in the whole wide Universe (and that’s only the parts we can see), but I am. And even though I don’t actually look at the sources I’m studying (since X-rays can’t be seen), I still feel the magic in my work — the things I study are millions of light years away, and yet we can deduce what cool phenomena are producing the light we see.

It just seems that after two bachelor’s degrees (astrophysics and math) and a master’s degree (astrophysics), I should be able to 1) afford housing, 2) afford a new car, 3) pay off my student debt (both loans and credit cards). Currently I’m only able to pay off my student debt at a decent rate because I’m not paying for housing. Even at that, I can’t dream of buying a new car.

Island of the Blue Dolphins

by Scott O’Dell

This is another book I had read as a kid, and when I saw it on the shelf at a local used bookstore, I couldn’t help myself. It was certainly just as good reading as an adult as when I was a child.

O’Dell tells the story of an Indian girl living alone on the Island of the Blue Dolphins for many years. She ends up alone because she jumped from the ship that came to carry her people to a nearby North American shore. Her brother had been left behind, and she didn’t want him to be alone. Unfortunately, a few days after the boat leaves, her brother is killed by wild dogs, leaving Karana alone. She continues to watch for the boat, but days turn into weeks and weeks turn into seasons.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is that it is based on the fact that there was an Indian girl living alone on an island in the Pacific from 1835 to 1853. Very little is known about her other than she did jump from a ship, despite attempts to restrain her, her brother was killed by wild dogs, and she was found with a dog living in a crude house and wearing a skirt of cormorant feathers.

Cute Kittens

I was telecommuting today, so I was able to catch Artemis in a (not so rare) cute moment. (Just ignore the mess that I call my bedroom.)

Icky evening

I was reminded yet again tonight that 1) life is not fair, and 2) I’m nowhere near where I thought I would be at 31.

I’ve been a student for the better part of 31 years. Yup. Started pre-school at 6 years-old, elementary at 7, junior high at 13, high school at 16, community college at 18, 4-year college (transferred) at 24, graduate school at 27. I got my master’s degree at 30. Took a year and a half off. And here I am again at 31, half time, working toward a PhD.

I’ve discovered that with my Master’s degree in Astrophysics, I’m at the peak of my earning potential right now. Even if I get a PhD, I’ll only increase my earning potential if I choose to (and can find) a full-time research position. I don’t think I could do that — I’ve seen what it does to people. They become maniac workaholics who work 10 hours a day Monday through Friday, and then several hours on weekends. I enjoy discovering the secrets of the universe, but not at the expense of my entire personal life.

I can’t help but think that I’ve made a serious tactical error in my career choice. What the hell was I thinking? Who goes into astrophysics anymore? I want to be able to afford a new car. I want to pay off my credit cards. I want to pay off my student loans without accruing any new ones. Apparently that’s just too much to ask for a 31-year-old with a master’s degree. Apparently it’s not enough.

The Book of Nothing

Vacuums, Voids, and the Latest Ideas about the Origin of the Universe
by John D. Barrow

The subtitle of this book is Vacuums, Voids, and the Latest Ideas about the Origin of the Universe — that’s a tall order for a book about Nothing!

Barrow starts by telling how zero came about — surprisingly not from the Greeks. From there we explore the history of the concept of Nothing. It’s amazing to thing that the concept of Nothing took a long time to come into being. The Greeks, for example, believed that a region had to have something in it to be a real concept. The Christians debated whether the concept of Nothing was Christian or not. On one side a region with nothing in it would also be without God, but He is everywhere. On the other side, if they decided that God couldn’t create a region with nothing in it, then they were limiting His powers.

From there Barrow moves on to more and more complex ideas until finally we learn about the quantum vacuum. Because of the uncertainty principle — the principle that states that we cannot know both a particle’s position and momentum simultaneously to high precision — there is no region that we can safely say is a vacuum. In addition, a vacuum will also have virtual particle pairs being created and destroyed constantly (as long as they are destroyed fast enough not to break the uncertainty principle. Finally, we learn about inflation theories and current ideas on cosmology.

I found Barrow’s style very easy to read, though I’ll confess to already being familiar with many of the inflation and cosmology he presents. I did start zoning out in a few of the later sections, but I may have just been tired.