Remembering Old, Favorite Latinamerican Stories

I recently started cataloguing mentally the great Latin American literature books and short stories that I read at NIU for my Spanish Business Translation coursework.

Those were modern classics that really spoke of the varied experiences and historical events in each of the countries. Well written and interesting stories that led the mind free to ponder and imagine.

Aquí está la lista de libros/historias cortas que me recuerdo, en orden alfabético. Creo que van clasificados como Realismo y Realismo Mágico. A lo mejor hubo más cuentos pero se han ido perdiendo entre la neblina del recordar.

• Aura de Carlos Fuentes
• El Almohadón de Plumas de Horacio Quiroga
• La Casa de los Espíritus de Isabell Allende
• Como Agua para el Chocolate de Laura Esquivel
• Continuidad de los Parques de Julio Cortázar
• El Coronel No tiene Quien le Escriba de Gabriel García Márquez
• El Hombre Muerto de Horacio Quiroga
• No Pasó Nada de Antonio Skármeta

Developing a Personal Credo

One of my passion projects this past week has been to develop a Personal Credo (writing exercise example, leadership credo example).

A credo is a statement of your beliefs and values that guide your actions. I think I'm 90% there, but of course, as I grow as a person, this will evolve with me.

Personal Credo

I believe in being ethical and aware, treating everyone around me with kindness, respect and compassion. And above all, I try to have sunshine inside of me to share with those around me.

I am passionate about language and helping people be the best communicators they can be.
Everything everyone needs to succeed is inside of them, they just need to peel back the layers.

I love working in diverse groups, but I need to focus on analysis and writing in the zone during alone time. I believe in taking the time to building trust, structure and a strong foundation for any partnership.

I continue to accept challenges and opportunities to learn and grow. There are no mistakes, only lessons.  The only right way is forward.

Do You Bullet Journal?

I recently learned about a new way of journaling, called bullet journaling, from a friend's LinkedIn post.

This two-year old journaling technique was developed by product designer Ryder Carroll. It's intended to be simple and minimalistic, but many people are also using it as a creative outlet. It basically combines your calendar, reminders, to-do list, and life goals tracker.

Here is a video introduction from Carroll:



Each bullet journal has four main sections:

• The index or key spread - the first two facing pages with a list of the sections in the journal with the page numbers.
• Future log spread - a list of important dates by month.
• Monthly and Daily log spread - the month's dates and days of the week, as well as a daily log.
• Collections - a collection is a list of things that you're passionate about, such as movies, television shows, music, life goals, or more.

Collections are lists of reminders by category. For example, you could create a list of movies you'd like to watch this month, or favorite songs you discovered this month. When one month comes to a close, you start the next one on the next spread over - and also carry over any activities as needed.

I have always been a HUGE fan of journaling and personal organizers but have failed terribly in maintaining either habit consistently. I'm going to give this six months and see how it goes.

The basic tools I'm using to kickstart this habit are:

• Eccolo Cool Jazz graph journal with pen loop
• Uni-Ball Signo Micro 307 in black ink
• Staedtler 10 Triplus fineliner marker set

If you are interested in learning more about bullet journaling, here are some of the resources that helped me get started:

• Quarz: People are falling in love with a simple productivity system
• Bullet journal, getting started
• Lazy Genious' Collective: The Absolute Ultimate Guide
• The Art of Simple: How I Use my Bullet Journal
• Marie Claire: WTF is a bullet journal?
• Bullet Journal Joy
• Los Angeles Times: Everything you need to know about bullet journaling
• BuzzFeed: WTF is a bullet journal
• MakeUseOf: Using Evernote as a bullet journal

Answering the Proust Questionnaire

Here is Proust’s Questionnaire:
What is your idea of perfect happiness? a: complete relaxation and a lack of formed thought
What is your greatest fear? a: making a big mistake and ending up with nothing
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? a: lack of neuroplasticity
What is the trait you most deplore in others? a: arrogance
Which living person do you most admire? a: anyone who overcomes major challenges and can still smile
What is your greatest extravagance? a: taking risks and not having to worry about the consequences
What is your current state of mind? a: mediocre, for the seasons are changing
What do you consider the most overrated virtue? a: syle
On what occasion do you lie? a: to calm the waters
What do you most dislike about your appearance? a: weight and hair texture
Which living person do you most despise? a: abusers with an unhealthy need for control of others
What is the quality you most like in a man? a: intelligence
What is the quality you most like in a woman? a: generosity
Which words or phrases do you most overuse? a: a cross between
What or who is the greatest love of your life? a: those who shared their unconditional love with me
When and where were you happiest? a: Florida, Maui, Liguria
Which talent would you most like to have? a: negotiation
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? a: analyze logically better
What do you consider your greatest achievement? a: ability to surf change and see what's up on the other side
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? a: pass
Where would you most like to live? a: near the sea in a temperate climate
What is your most treasured possession? a: my self-control
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? a: dispair and tragedy when there is always an option to move forward, one way or another
What is your favorite occupation? a: anything related with tourism and travel
What is your most marked characteristic? a: telling it like it is
What do you most value in your friends? a: life experience
Who are your favorite writers? a: Sylvia Plath, Stephen King, The Gardener's Cottage blog writer Janet
Who is your hero of fiction? a: Lara Croft
Which historical figure do you most identify with? a: pass
Who are your heroes in real life? a: survivors
What are your favorite names? a: Olivia, Andrew, Luna
What is it that you most dislike? a: being in a rut
What is your greatest regret? a: accepting other's need for control
How would you like to die? a: quickly
What is your motto? a: sunshine inside and out

The Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries

Back in 2008 or thereabouts I downloaded the torrent of an unfinished True Blood pilot episode, with no editing and no FX. I didn't like it at all. And there was a ton of naked people, which I'm not a big fan of without a plot or storyline.

Much later I finally threw caution to the wind of that initial impression and began watching True Blood in earnest. The first season was incomparable. I love the homeyness of a small town, white country kitchens, and the transition between simplicity and complexity as a girl comes of age. And, of course, I loved the vampire mythology as it was directed in this realm.

I did give up on the series when I saw Billith. That whole season was pretty useless to me in general. And I begrudged the writers that they were adding storylines instead of pursuing the simplicity of Bon Temps life with the complexity of vampires and wares mixed in for that extra spice.

The actual books that were the origin for the True Blood series are so much better than the series. So much better. Even though I'm listening to them over Audible rather than reading the books myself, it's oh so much better.

There's a lot more of the things that I like: exploring the lives and many strange layers of life within Bon Temps; the intraversion of Sookie as she copes with situations, work, love, trust, loyalty, and friends; and the complexity of her coming of age with seductive experienced vampires who cause all sorts of mischiefs.

Characters are much more interesting, and we keep exploring them as scenes (and the book series) evolve.

I'm on book 6 right now, having devoured the first five during my one week vacation. I'm really enjoying it and hope that the remaining books are just as fun. I'm not so sure I'll ever return to the TV series, though I'm enjoying immensely following the cast and crew on social media to see all sorts of wrap up posts and updates from behind the scenes.

Reading Update

I finished reading, or rather listening to several great audiobooks:

The Color Purple

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries a.k.a True Blood (on book #4 right now)

Book Update

I've been going through quite a few audio and print books recently:

• Killing Lincoln, Bill O'Reilly
• What the Buddha Taught, Jack Cornfield
• Killing Kennedy, Bill O'Reilly
• True Food: Seasonal, Sustainable, Simple, Pure, Andrew Weil
• The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are
• Heads in Beds, Jacob Tomsky

I'm currently listening to The Design of Everyday Things, Donald Norman, while reading the paperback The Tao of Pooh, Benjamin Hoff.

Next on the reading queue is the paperback The Ti of Piglet, Benjamin Hoff.

Self Discovery: Mysticism or Science?

Yesterday I read an article on the NYTimes (Alan Alda, Spokesman for Science by Claudia Dreifus) about Alan Alda's latest project, helping to spread the joy of science to all types of audiences.

Alda recommends adding a little bit of showmanship and impromptu ad-libbing to help bring some life and personality into science lessons or discussions. Something I heartily agree with.

Alda interviewed hundreds of scientists for his Scientific American Frontiers series, and brought an immense curiosity and amount of questions to his work. I've always thought that a genuine curiosity typically brings out the best conversations in life. Something that I enjoyed when I worked in newspapers and had to interview individuals for profiles or stories.

Alda brings up something very interesting, his ability to both think creatively and critically. I think that a lot of people, perfectly capable of being conversational and pleasant, sometimes tend to drone when discussing their work or career. Self awareness when presenting or conversing is not something that comes natural to those of us who spend a lot of time on or own, either researching, reading, writing, or discovering cool new stuff (like scientists).

Adding a little creativity, if you will, to teaching and discussing science, is something that I couldn't agree more with. For example, I definitely enjoyed when Walt White was more animated than usual during his chemistry classes ;o)

Then there's a section of the interview with Alda, on the NYTimes article, that brought me down to one of my own "growing up" kind of realizations. I realized that over the last few years I've lost some of my childlike wonder and innocence (a.k.a., easily being fooled, or awe in things) in that I seek to be a critical thinker rather (nonplussed, annoyed, even bored) than a person lost in the what ifs and their imagination. Here's the quote:

"At the time, I’d been reading a lot about the paranormal and telepathy, and I thought Scientific American would help me know if any of that was true. There, I discovered a whole other way to think, based on evidence. And so I left my interest in spiritualism behind, in favor of critical thinking."

I can still be carried away, at times, rarely anymore, by a beautiful picture of nature or an animal on my Facebook or Instagram feeds. If I'm in a spectacular environment, I'll stop and try to soak part of it in. But, maybe regrettably, more and more I like to go for critical thinking whenever explaining or evaluating something inside my head.

This comes down to my having noticed quite a few changes in my personality and/or attitude, of late. I'm glad for the introspection and self discovery, but also trying not to feel too much regret for past decisions that cannot be changed. It's a tricky balance.

Meanwhile, I'll enjoy reading about passionate scientists who bring a lot of flair to their work. While I learn about others' self discovery paths as well. Thanks Alan Alda.

Favorite Article This Week

Life as a Video Game

I just found a really funny but common-sense article that totally made my day. Lifehacker Tweeted it out, and the original post is on OliverBerton.com.

This not only communicates a good message in a fun and appealing way, but it also makes me think about my own "game play" in life. I'm interested in improving my willpower level.


What really got my attention is this sentence: "All players die after about 29,000 days, or 80 years. If your stats and skills are good, you might last a little longer. There is no cheat code to extend this." So I better make something out of what time I have left, yeah?

Which reminds me of my favorite quote this year:

Another Reading Update

I just finished speed-reading "Back to Eden" by Jethro Klass (1949, updated 1988). This is a great, thick softcover focused on explaining and exposing the benefits of a more natural, back-to-the-earth diet and lifestyle. Some of the recommendations (such as low fat milk products) are currently being questioned in nutrition and health circles, but otherwise all around it's an enjoyable primer. I personally was surprised to find a section in the book about all sorts of health remedies from wild growing plants. This can make a very useful primer for someone who is into foraging.

I also started listening to the audiobook of Inferno, by Dan Brown. This is another sequel (the latest) under the Robert Langdon series of books. It's been hard getting into it at the very beginning but it's catching steam. For once, instead of hiding plot information, we're discovering it along with the protagonist and his (of course) female companion du jour. The World Health Organization is a piece of the puzzle, and who exactly plays the role of the evil doer is still not crystal clear yet. Let's see how it goes.

It's Still Cold and Reading Update

It's still cold, though we did get a reprieve with some sunshine and almost above zero temps for a couple of days.

I just started listening to the audiobook of Cameron Diaz' The Body Book. It's a really great primer on basic body health, updated for today's reader with today's latest health advice.

It reminds me of health/nutrition class sessions during high school gym class, but updated for today.

I actually like it. The conversational tone and information are both great, and keep me interested.

I somehow always end up liking non-fiction books better than fiction.

RIP Panama, A Sweet Dolphin

I've been thinking a lot about Panama the dolphin lately and was very saddened to read that she passed away this past September (Tampa Bay Times, "Clearwater Marine Aquarium's oldest dolphin, Panama, is dead").

I really liked her when I visited a couple of years ago, and spent quite a few minutes hanging out with her and talking to her. She was very sweet and calm.

Panama the Dolphin, July 2011

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium specializes in rescue, rehab, and release of the area's ocean-going wildlife throughout the Florida peninsula. I'm particularly fond of their education and intervention efforts in support of sea turtle nesting. I <3 turtles! ;o)

They're famous for their tail-less dolphin, Winter, who is a charismatic and energetic gal! She regrettably lost her tail due to getting tangled in a fishing net when she was very young. She's the centerpiece of a special program where physically challenged children can come and hang out with her and get their hopes up if they're not feeling too great.

Winter also does amazing acrobatics during the aquarium's training shows. The aquarium is the live set of A Dolphin Tale 2, the sequel to a great little movie dramatizing Winter's rescue and rehab story. I'm very much looking forward to seeing this sequel in my local movie theater when it comes out.

Reading Update

I just finished listening to the Audible audio-book of Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright. It was a fascinating, if a little subjectively negative approach to the religion of Scientology.

I enjoyed learning the history of the religion as well as some of its tenets and organizational processes. I was surprised to learn that Clearwater and Tampa Florida are two of its national "epicenters," with the other major one being California.

I disliked the skewering of character and church individuals by the author and by church dissidents, and some of the church's own harsh and relentless attacks towards church dissidents.

My Audible Queue

This is a great book if you are interested in reading about the complex psychological and emotional needs of people in leadership roles, and those who pursue religions in a fanatical way. It's scary how absolute people's surrender can be when it comes to following individuals in a position of authority, or towards a religion's tenets. Especially, when an outsider can clearly see logical and safety flaws in some of the traditions and processes.

With this book under my belt, finally, I'm hoping to move to something a little less creepy and emotionally involved.

I'm now very much looking forward to finishing listening to Stone's Fall by Ian Pears, it's a drudgery of a long book, which favors melodrama and the suspense created by slowly revealed plot points over a solid plot and story narrative.

Next on my reading/listening queue will be The Mystical Kabbalah by Rabbi David Cooper.

Death by Sequel

The Onion's Facebook page shared an article from a sister website, The A.V. Club, on the 15 Worst Films of 2013.

pic borrowed from The Onion's FB

I read along bemused and slightly nodding while I read down and slowly discovered that I didn't recognize more than half of the movie titles in this list. Until I reached number 1. That's when it really connected with me.

Movie makers have repeatedly chosen to recycle favorite themes, movies, cartoons, and series--all likely childhood joys for those of us who grew up in the 1980s--over creating brand new, fresh content in order to further their money-grabbing attempts at the box office.

The author of the A.V. Club article discusses how the Die Hard series of films--and Bruce Willis--have officially killed off the series' iconic superhero leading man, John McClane, by the time the last sequel (A Good Day to Die Hard) came out not too long ago:

"Twenty-five years after he first donned the badge and white tank top, Bruce Willis has finally done what countless terrorists with exaggerated accents could not: He’s killed John McClane. Not literally, of course, as that would require Hollywood to retire a character who still puts asses in seats...Gone is the cowboy charisma, taking with it any traces of fear and vulnerability; where Willis once made audiences feel every shard of glass he stepped on, his wisecracking lawman now shrugs off a vertical plummet through several skylights. He’s an impostor..."

Isn't this disillusion so incredibly depressing? There's quite a few of us out there who are a little jaded because we feel the same exact way as this author.

I've been experiencing a growing sequel and film reboot exhaustion over the past couple of years. Whenever there is a movie or television series that seems a little out of the normal I almost pounce on it, in hopes it can restore my faith in Hollywood...

As an example, why did studios find it necessary to reboot The Hulk (2003) after only five years (2008)? Or Spider-man (2002, 2004, and 2007) after only five years (2012)? Besides, didn't Toy Story 3 feel a little forced to you? I sure could have avoided that dramatic incinerator scene and the huge knot in my throat that it caused. And, as far as I can admit, there really only was ONE Matrix movie *covers ears and says lalalala*

Although movie makers are entranced with the opportunity to revisit those things we hold most precious in our hazy, rose-colored, aging memories, they forget that we get far more pleasure out of experiences than things. None of these sequels, revamps, reboots, or rehashes will ever match the pure exhilaration and pleasure that movie viewers get from the original viewing. Instead they chose to beat a dead horse with these reincarnations, which essentially convert our heroes and precious moments into objectified commodities that fatten the movie studio coffers.

I hope these movie studios reconsider the unintended side effect of leaving movie buffs and fans a little alienated from one of the very best sources of entertainment in our lives: movies. Especially during hard, economic times, when people are more likely to watch more closely how they spend on entertainment.

Let's hope they act sooner than later, or they may risk becoming like one of the over-cliched, necessary evil bad guys in the movies they keep pushing at us: obsolete.

I Should Move to London

...well, at least according to the quiz I just filled out on BBC America's Anglophenia Blog (Personality Quiz: Which British City Should You Move to?).

I completely agree with: "you'd feel most comfortable in a place that constantly updates itself...you'll love the museums and tourist attractions."

Reading Update

All right. The biggest shocker in The Lost Symbol is that Robert Langdon *does not* sleep with the heroine.

Now that I completed that book, phew, I've moved on to a non-fiction piece. I tend to enjoy non-fiction much more than fiction anymore.

I'm currently listening to the Audible/audiobook for "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief" by Lawrence Wright. I've always been curious about Ron L. Hubbard and Scientology ever since I spotted the earmarked and well-read copy of Dianetics on my mom's bedside table when I was a kid.

When I heard about this book, just this week, I knew the time had come to start reading up about Scientology in some way, shape, or form.

Is the coverage in this book negative or objective? This book is a good general overview, but while the author did a bit of interviewing and reading/research, he clearly exhibits a rather negative tone and perspective towards "The Church" and its founder.

It's a fascinating book thus far because Hubbard, in his early years, dabbled in the military, black magic, womanizing, and mental illness. I particularly like the  post-war mental illness angle, and discussion of social mores and social roles during the 1950s-1970s and their impact on Hubbard's mental health.

I look forward to seeing on what note the author chooses to conclude the book.

Reading Update

I think I figured out what annoys me about Dan Brown books. They don't think much about the reader's previous reading habits or general knowledge. Every minute thing relating to science or religion is overly descriptive and semonized until the reader is blue in the face.

I almost started giving Brown the benefit of the doubt, since his protagonist is a university professor, and, as such, he may tend to sermonize and act superior to those (non-academics) around him.

Regrettably, the coup de grace plot twist in chapter 120 (or thereabouts) is hardly that big of a shocker. However, when the story goes back to tell you what the author didn't tell you while things were happening, really are a shocker...at how badly that's done. Again, my huge pet peeve when reading is that an author's main duty is to show the reader, not tell him/her.

Thankfully, I only have 2 hours left of listening to do for this audiobook. And *sigh and eyeroll* I'm sure Langdon ends up sleeping with the heroine in this book too in the very end.

Reading Update

I curse the day I decided to follow someone's advice to pick up and read Stone's Fall. It's a shit book.

It could have been written so much better. Instead, it sermonizes on historical opinion at every turn to try to convince the reader about how things used to be prior to WWI and WWII. Not only that, but it's like two books in one. One is first person narrative, and the second is memoirs about the prequel of the narrative. Irritating.

Why not start with the death of the author of the memoir, and intersperse memory throughout from the reader's perspective? It would have been SO much better.

The only rule in writing is that the writer should show the reader, not tell. If you keep telling, rather than showing, the reader gets bored, feels excluded (or worse talked down to) and feels like the writer's tone is condescending.

So I am giving up on Stone's Fall audiobook on Audible for the foreseeable future. I have about 10 hours of listening pleasure left. Ha!

I went from the frying pan into the fire, however, as I picked up Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol on the rebound from Stone's Fall.

Another sermonizing type of book which is making me think of Dan Brown much like many think of M. Knight Shyamalan: repetitive and formulaic. I haven't yet decided who I  think is more naive, Dan or his womanizing, Catholic, leading  man Robert Langdon.

We'll see how this book progresses. Right now I'm two hours in, and I'm not even feeling lukewarm towards it.

Reading Angels and Demons

I picked up Dan Brown's Angels and Demons on Audible. I'm a little shocked at how horrible this reads (listens?). I'm pretty sure it's not the voice actor, but rather, the writing.

I'm at around chapter 20 and we have only been given a preposterous lesson in halidron colliders and protons, a lot of gibberish about religion and a priest physicist. No real plot development AT ALL.

It's so disappointing to still have a dead body in a freezing-cold room upstairs waiting to be taken care of. Mr. Langdon seems quite the ponce when he barely raises an eyebrow while getting airlifted out of his country into Switzerland with no passport. This has absolutely no resemblance to real life.

My suspense of disbelief ain't taking any of it. I hope the book gets better, or gets to a point. Hopefully, sooner than later.

Finished Reading Hannibal

Yesterday I finished listening to the book Hannibal by Thomas Harris (and narrated by the same) on Audible.

I found this book to be disappointing and rather morbid. I definitely liked the other two books and the movie based on this book better.

The one, really great part about this audiobook was having the best possible reader, the book's own author. That was a real treat.