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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated The Line Becomes a River in Books
Dec 16, 2017
Haunting, disturbing, an essential read
This novel is beautiful, fiercely honest, while being deeply empathetic, looking at those who police the Mexican-American border, and the migrants who risk and lose their lives crossing it. In a time of often ill-informed or downright deceitful political rhetoric, this book is an invaluable corrective.
The book follows author Francisco Cantu while he was a US Border Patrol agent from 2008 to 2012. Working the desert at the remote crossroads of drug routes and smuggling corridors, tracking humans through blistering days and frigid nights across a vast terrain. Hauling in the dead and detaining the exhausted, Cantu is plagued by nightmares, opting in the end to abandon his position. Line Becomes a River is a timely look at this arbitrary landscape, bringing home to us the destruction that US policy inflicts on countless lives, and the violence it wreaks on the humanity of us all.
The book follows author Francisco Cantu while he was a US Border Patrol agent from 2008 to 2012. Working the desert at the remote crossroads of drug routes and smuggling corridors, tracking humans through blistering days and frigid nights across a vast terrain. Hauling in the dead and detaining the exhausted, Cantu is plagued by nightmares, opting in the end to abandon his position. Line Becomes a River is a timely look at this arbitrary landscape, bringing home to us the destruction that US policy inflicts on countless lives, and the violence it wreaks on the humanity of us all.
CHILLFILTR (46 KP) rated Bottle It In by Kurt Vile in Music
Jun 5, 2019 (Updated Jun 5, 2019)
https://chillfiltr.com/blog/2018/9/3/kurt-vile-loading-zones
If you haven't heard of Kurt Vile yet, you are missing out. His sound more or less defines modern lo-fi folk rock, and his live shows are a staple of music festivals around the world: you might hear him (with support from The Violators) at the Take Root Festival this October in Groningen, Netherlands, or Dublin, or Brooklyn, this November. It's a roots band backing this bardic guru of young seekers everywhere.
Some interesting guitar lines through a vocoder, lyrics which feel half sung and half spoken, and a sense that this is the sound of something different, something creative; it's water in this desert of sameness that our pop landscape has become. And there is this feeling that the music here is just a bit raw, very human, and unadorned; it's not exactly alt-folk, it's not exactly anything, it's Kurt Vile.
If you haven't heard of Kurt Vile yet, you are missing out. His sound more or less defines modern lo-fi folk rock, and his live shows are a staple of music festivals around the world: you might hear him (with support from The Violators) at the Take Root Festival this October in Groningen, Netherlands, or Dublin, or Brooklyn, this November. It's a roots band backing this bardic guru of young seekers everywhere.
Some interesting guitar lines through a vocoder, lyrics which feel half sung and half spoken, and a sense that this is the sound of something different, something creative; it's water in this desert of sameness that our pop landscape has become. And there is this feeling that the music here is just a bit raw, very human, and unadorned; it's not exactly alt-folk, it's not exactly anything, it's Kurt Vile.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Asymmetry in Books
Jan 17, 2018
Asymmetrical stories
Lisa Halliday's novel of three parts charts the relationship between an eccentric older writer Ezra Blazer, his young lover Alice, and then moves quickly to the story of an American Iraqi attempting to find his roots.
Individually, each story is captivating, Halliday's ability to bring humour with subtle behaviour is remarkable. Similarly, her research into Iraq is interesting - though at one point I did get confused as she mentions the Clinton administration's foreign policy role during the second Gulf War when it should be under George Bush. I'm unsure whether this is a typo or a genuine mistake or I'm wrong altogether.
While each part is well-written, and the first story is completed in the third part when Ezra's character becomes a guest on BBC's Desert Island Discs, it all feels rather disjointed. Perhaps this is why the novel is named Asymmetry as a result? We may never know.
Individually, each story is captivating, Halliday's ability to bring humour with subtle behaviour is remarkable. Similarly, her research into Iraq is interesting - though at one point I did get confused as she mentions the Clinton administration's foreign policy role during the second Gulf War when it should be under George Bush. I'm unsure whether this is a typo or a genuine mistake or I'm wrong altogether.
While each part is well-written, and the first story is completed in the third part when Ezra's character becomes a guest on BBC's Desert Island Discs, it all feels rather disjointed. Perhaps this is why the novel is named Asymmetry as a result? We may never know.
Awix (3310 KP) rated One Million Years B.C. (1967) in Movies
Feb 12, 2018
Not-bad Hammer dinosaur movie probably best-known for its special effects (by which I mean Ray Harryhausen's animation and Raquel Welch's costume). Bit-thick hero is kicked out of his own tribe, crosses a desert mostly populated by photo-blow-up monsters, meets another tribe who are so advanced they have discovered peroxide hair-dye and leg-waxing. Meanwhile Raquel Welch watches her dreams of being taken seriously as an actress go up in smoke.
Takes itself impressively seriously, all things considered; the decision to do the whole thing in made-up caveman language (sample dialogue: 'Tumak! Akita Loana!') makes it difficult to even have a coherent plot, let alone subtext, but I doubt that was the first concern. Harryhausen's dinosaurs are obviously rather wonderful; the decision to include photographically-enlarged lizards at certain points is questionable. It is what it is; the poster's claim that 'This is the way it was!' should probably not be taken too seriously.
Takes itself impressively seriously, all things considered; the decision to do the whole thing in made-up caveman language (sample dialogue: 'Tumak! Akita Loana!') makes it difficult to even have a coherent plot, let alone subtext, but I doubt that was the first concern. Harryhausen's dinosaurs are obviously rather wonderful; the decision to include photographically-enlarged lizards at certain points is questionable. It is what it is; the poster's claim that 'This is the way it was!' should probably not be taken too seriously.
Sammie Hilton (3 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of No Man's Sky in Video Games
Jul 10, 2019
On first play No Mans Sky was terrifying and there was a distinct lack of an intro to the controls which for this game is definitely needed. Upon landing on an acrid desert planet (assuming very likely to be a common first style of planet for most players) you have to harvest resources to fix your ship and get the hell outta there.
Been playing it a few months now and more comfortable, you can either explore the galaxy on your own time after completing some home story missions, or follow the main storyline if you feel you need more to do. You can trade at space stations, buy a new space ship, talk to the local aliens etc. Upon entering one galaxy you get the chance to win a freighter. Both my husband and I play No Mans Sky and our game play couldn't be more different so we have both seen various aspects of the game.
Been playing it a few months now and more comfortable, you can either explore the galaxy on your own time after completing some home story missions, or follow the main storyline if you feel you need more to do. You can trade at space stations, buy a new space ship, talk to the local aliens etc. Upon entering one galaxy you get the chance to win a freighter. Both my husband and I play No Mans Sky and our game play couldn't be more different so we have both seen various aspects of the game.
The Lure of the Honey Bird: The Storytellers of Ethiopia
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In 1967, at the age of 23, Elizabeth Laird set off for Addis Ababa to take up her first teaching...
Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found
8.2
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Shaun Attwood arrived in Phoenix, Arizona, a penniless business graduate from a small industrial...
Set in Stone: The Geology and Landscapes of Scotland
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The land that was to become Scotland has travelled across the globe over the last 3,000 million...
Call Me Corp
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Ben Reynolds was the youngest of three children, born on 1 March 1920, in Essex, England. He had a...