Books To Jump Up and Down Over
The Call by Yannick Murphy: The always interesting author of Here They Come and Signed, Mata Hari returns with a novel that whips up a worldview from a rather quirky set of limitations: namely, the call logs that a veterinarian maintains as his son is unexpectedly put into a coma and an unforgiving economy denies him work. What emerges is a surprisingly optimistic, often funny, and very moving account on how one family uses acceptance and forgiveness as a way to atone for hard knocks. (Bat Segundo interview with Murphy)
Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber: Forget Franzen and Eugenides. If you're looking for a social novel that counts, Diana Abu-Jaber is the author you're looking for. Building from the free-form exploration of consciousness and identity in Crescent and the gripping procedural structure of Origin, Abu-Jaber's latest novel is her finest, equally fluent with gutterpunk culture and smarmy real estate men. It has been suggested by The Washington Post's Ron Charles that you will likely gain some pounds while reading this novel. This is certainly true. Abu-Jaber's description of food is so precise that it often made me want to do more cooking. But I very much admired the way in which Abu-Jaber presents all her characters as unwitting victims of rough capitalism, which permits them some dignity even as they perform terrible acts.
The Last of the Live Nude Girls by Sheila McClear: This memoir isn't so much about the decline of the Times Square peepshow, as it is about one young woman's efforts to pull herself up by by her bootstraps when presented with few economic options. Filled with self-introspective candor and a quiet dignity, McClear's story is one that might befall any of us in these volatile times. While McClear does get back on her feet, her book leads one contemplating the terrible fates of other young women now moving to New York and falling into deadlier vocations. (Bat Segundo interview with McClear)
Science Archive
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The Bat Segundo Show: Neil deGrasse Tyson
Posted on February 27, 2009 | 2 CommentsNeil deGrasse Tyson appeared on The Bat Segundo Show #265. Neil deGrasse Tyson is most recently the author of The Pluto Files. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Reconfiguring his planetary paradigm,... -
Watson, Can You Smear Me?
Posted on November 5, 2007 | No CommentsMany things have been written about James Watson’s inglorious Imus homage, but for my money, Annalee’s column, pointing out the remarkable arrogance and needless associations with race and gender, is... -
“It is actually a very serious matter for finch lovers.”
Posted on May 25, 2007 | 1 CommentOne more finch tweeting post before I go – thanks for having me, Ed! -
Belgian Meritocracy
Posted on May 23, 2007 | No CommentsLadies and gentlemen, the storied sport of finch tweeting. (via the avian dialectologists and comparative Belgianists at Language Log) -
Ice Ages Are a Great Sartorial Motivator
Posted on March 8, 2007 | No CommentsNew York Times: “If people first became nudists 3.3 million years ago, when did they start to wear clothes? Surprisingly, lice once again furnish the answer. Though humans may long... -
Protonium Crystals, Not Dilithium
Posted on October 13, 2006 | No CommentsNew Scientist: “Mixing antimatter and matter usually has predictably violent consequences – the two annihilate one another in a fierce burst of energy. But physicists in Geneva have found a... -
The Early Name for This Region Was “Department of Justice”
Posted on October 5, 2006 | No CommentsNew Scientist: “A brain region that curbs our natural self interest has been identified. The studies could explain how we control fairness in our society, researchers say. Humans are the... -
Brundleflies of the World Unite! Airlines Cower in Economic Fear!
Posted on October 4, 2006 | 3 CommentsScientific American: “At long last researchers have teleported the information stored in a beam of light into a cloud of atoms, which is about as close to getting beamed up... -
The Guinea Pig is Doing Better
Posted on July 28, 2006 | No CommentsThe human eye transfers information to the brain as fast as a swift Ethernet connection. Unfortunately, like a tetchy DSL connection, we could be transferring data a lot swifter. Humans... -
The Reader’s Last Sigh
Posted on January 12, 2004 | No CommentsThe Associated Press reports that Rushdie’s new novel will “have a lot more India in it” than Midnight’s Children. That’s great. But it still doesn’t change the fact that Rushdie... -
Is There Life?
Posted on January 2, 2004 | No CommentsThe Science article requires membership to some orgainzation that sounds too much like someone’s rear end, so all we have are generalities in other media outlets to go by. But...