100 Years of Solitude

After three years I finally finished 100 years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It was one of those books that I picked up and put down many times. I have enjoyed several other books by Marquez, but I guess I kept getting confused by sooo many Buendias! It turns out that I just had to spend time in Colombia to finally understand it. Then a couple of weeks ago I booked my next trip to Bogota and picked it up again. Inspired, the final 200 pages flew by in blur! Now I feel a little sad that it is over. Truly great literature!

Tweet of the Day

Men do not climb mountains because “they are there.”
They climb them because life is meaningless. #Everest

— Werner Twertzog (@WernerTwertzog) May 18, 2016

 

Nietzsche Quote of the Day

In heaven, all the most interesting people are missing.

– Friedrich Wilhelm #Nietzsche

Developer Proposes Adapted Rio Salado Plan

http://brewaz.com/hot-news/crescent-taking-another-run-at-tempe-project-with-dramatically-scaled-back-density/

Does Free Will Exist?

Or is it just a trick of the mind? Thus the philosopher once said, it is not a question of Free will, but instead of free Will.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/what-neuroscience-says-about-free-will/

Ex Pat To Be?

Nothing is final and I am working on a timeline, but I felt I might as well get a new section of this blog going. Hell perhaps a whole new site to follow:

For now it is: Ex Pat To Be? But I do need to work on a name…An “American in Colombia” is a bit dull. “Americano” is too generic, as is “The Gringo”. Hmmm something that combines those with a character specifically Colombian….

Location: Bogota, Colombia

Date: Fall 2016???

Downtown Bogota from Monseratte:

Plaza Bolivar:

To start off here is a little peek at The Best of Bogota from CNN.

The Illness That Never Ends

I was infected by a virus that crossed the blood brain barrier leading to Viral Mengio-Encephalitis when I was 17 years old. It left me in a coma for a week and a lifetime of residual effects. And I was one of the lucky ones. I recovered and retained the majority of my cognitive abilities, but a variety of issues remain. To this day I have mood, concentration, and depression issues as well as severe insomnia. The virus may be gone, but Encephalitis is truly an Illness that Never Ends.

Thank you to PBS’s Nova for this article.

 

Super Tuesday Summary

R – Trump looks strong winning 8 states as Cruz takes Texas and Oklahoma to stay alive. Rubio has several second and third place victories. While Kasich even gets some love up north. Basically, Trump has a consistent base while Rubio and Cruz split the left overs. Unless Cruz and Rubio combine into a two headed conservative monster, it looks like Trump will be the nominee. The Cleveland Convention will be entertaining at least.

D – Clinton sweeps all but Vermont and Oklahoma while Sanders can’t quite take Massachusetts and runs far behind in the South. It’s been fun feeling the Bern, but at this point the revolution will definitely not be televised.

Hillary v Donald….for 8 more months!!!

Nietzsche Quote of the Day

“The lie is a condition of life.”- Friedrich Wilhelm #Nietzsche

• With out it, one would go insane.

2016 Academy Awards

Follow Up: Looks like I was pretty accurate. I have to admit I did not see Spotlight coming on so strong. Excellent movie, but all prediction markets were wrong.

My 2016 Amademy Award picks:

Category                          My Favorite                                                   My Prediction

Best Picture                    1. The Revenant  2. The Big Short          The Revenant

Best Director                  1. Miller  2. Inarritu                                     Inarritu

Best Actor                       1. DiCaprio 2. Cranston                              DiCaprio

Best Actress                   1. Larson  2. Blanchett                                Larson

Supporting Actor          1. Bale  2. Hardy                                           Stallone

Supporting Actress      1. Vikander  2. Mara                                    Vikander

Screenplay                      1. Ex Machina  2. Compton                       Straigh Outta Compton

Adapeted Screenplay   1. The Big Short  2. The Martian             The Big Short

 

 

I just want to run!

And now a severe strain/tear of my left adductors and just coming off of a patella subluxasion and hamstring sprain earlier this year. So frustrating. #couchbound #summerishell

Surviving Progress

A very interesting perspective. I highly recommend.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1462014/

Nietzsche Quote of The Day

The secret to my happiness: A Yes, a No, a Straight Line a Goal.

Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers at Circus Mexicus in Rocky Point!

Happy Equinox!

The Vernal Equinox signals the first day of spring. Winter is over and life returns! The light once again begins to dominate over the darkness as the days grow longer. Resurrection of the light!

Of course here in Arizona we skipped winter ad it is already starting to feel light summer!