Moonwalking with Einstein was not quite what i was expecting. Instead of being a self-help book, it's about Foer's year-long journey from covering the world memory championships as a journalist to competing in the US memory championship just a year later. He was in awe at how much information people could retain and recall in a short period of time. But the competitors he talked to were quick to tell him that everyone could do it, it's all parlor tricks. So he sets out to build his memory to that and along the way talks to experts and savants about their memories and their tricks of the trade. Savants generally can't explain how they remember, but people who have trained share a lot of the same tricks.
The tricks Foer gets into are interesting, and work. Early on, a mentor helps him learn how to memorize a list of things. As he walks through what he did to remember each item, it got stuck in my head. I still remember everything until I stopped focusing on that segment. And I couldn't recall anything past that point immediately after I read it.
While it's "easy" (it does require a daily training), it seems pretty pointless in today's world for day-to-day info. Foer himself notes it would've been great in high school and college to know these techniques, but, as an adult, it's just so much easier to write a list and put a number in your phone.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
August Mail
I'm going to see Newsies on Broadway! You either have no idea what I'm talking about or are exceedingly jealous of my life choices that have lead me to this point-living within a day's drive of NYC, enough disposable income, the drive to pick a date, and having a sister who fronted me the money. Anyway, I mailed her the money I owe her for the ticket.
I also mailed another RSVP. That should be it for RSVPs for the year.
I also mailed another RSVP. That should be it for RSVPs for the year.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Podcast Challenge 9
In the Garden of the Beasts by Erik Larson was about the American ambassador to Germany from 1933-1937, William Dodd, and his family's time in Germany at the rise of Hitler. Hitler was chancellor when they got there, and things were already pretty bad for Jews, but Americans were pretty disinclined to believe it. Dodd got a sense that it was worse than most Americans believed pretty quickly, but his children experienced a different side of Germany and it took them a while to come around.
I found In the Garden of the Beasts to be an interesting look at pre-war Germany. Granted, I probably would've found any viewpoint interesting. I wasn't really familiar with the events in Germany leading up to invading Poland. To see it from an American ambassador's viewpoint, as well as his adult children, made for a good read. America had many issues with Germany, but primarily wanted Germany to repay debts and wanted to avoid another war. Dodd, however, realized early on that Hitler wasn't just going to go away (as many believed), and thought that he needed to show American values, which meant skipping diplomatic events when attendance would imply approval of Hitler's regime. He was a controversial figure in the state department for his lifestyle (having not been independently wealthy when appointed ambassador, Dodd was very frugal, and felt, during the depression, people representing American overseas should show some austerity) and his all-but-completely-transparent attacks on the Nazi regime when many Americans favored isolationism and keeping Germany happy to promote peace.
His daughter, Martha, was a quite different character. Having been newly divorced when arriving in Germany, she immediately took advantage of the chance to meet new people and start new relationships. She was romantically in linked to German officials, Soviet diplomats, and a whole assortment of intellectuals in Berlin at the time. She entered a particularly charged relationship with a member of the Soviet delegation and, after finally seeing that Nazi brutalities weren't just isolated incidents, started having communist leanings herself.
I found In the Garden of the Beasts to be an interesting look at pre-war Germany. Granted, I probably would've found any viewpoint interesting. I wasn't really familiar with the events in Germany leading up to invading Poland. To see it from an American ambassador's viewpoint, as well as his adult children, made for a good read. America had many issues with Germany, but primarily wanted Germany to repay debts and wanted to avoid another war. Dodd, however, realized early on that Hitler wasn't just going to go away (as many believed), and thought that he needed to show American values, which meant skipping diplomatic events when attendance would imply approval of Hitler's regime. He was a controversial figure in the state department for his lifestyle (having not been independently wealthy when appointed ambassador, Dodd was very frugal, and felt, during the depression, people representing American overseas should show some austerity) and his all-but-completely-transparent attacks on the Nazi regime when many Americans favored isolationism and keeping Germany happy to promote peace.
His daughter, Martha, was a quite different character. Having been newly divorced when arriving in Germany, she immediately took advantage of the chance to meet new people and start new relationships. She was romantically in linked to German officials, Soviet diplomats, and a whole assortment of intellectuals in Berlin at the time. She entered a particularly charged relationship with a member of the Soviet delegation and, after finally seeing that Nazi brutalities weren't just isolated incidents, started having communist leanings herself.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
August Volunteering
I woke up early on Saturday, got my grocery shopping done, then headed to Pennypack Park in NE Philly to help with the clean-up effort there. I had toyed with canceling on Friday. I didn't feel like driving there (it was farther than I had thought when I signed up), I didn't want to skip the farmers market, I realized that between the clean-up and baby-sitting I'd be gone most of the day. But, I felt bad canceling so late because it was a Saturday morning event, and a lot of people cancel at the last minute and we're getting close to the end of the month and I needed to volunteer. Good job, blog!
I got there, was handed a trash-picky-up thingy, a trash bag, and a bucket for cans, and headed on my way. Pretty early on, I found a half-full can of PBR. Apparently, someone was unaware that people on drank PBR because it was a crappy beer and drinking crappy beer makes you cool (?). Anyway, that person just dropped the can in the park. It was pretty much the most awesome thing we found for a while, when I found a toy gun. As we ventured farther into the park, we decided to go off of the paved trail and follow a path into the woods to find where the teenagers party. Success! Another girl found a joint. We also found a lot of beer cans and beer bottles and capri suns. Interesting party.
I was surprised how many people who were using the park thanked us. Walkers, runners, cyclists. One guy on a bike stopped to ask how he could volunteer. Another guy on a bike didn't stop, but yelled as he passed us that there was a dead deer way far away from where we were. We were like "um, thanks..." I don't think a deer would fit in my trash bag, nor did I want to carry it. Or be near it. Unless it had been butchered.
We got back and found out that someone else had found part of a real rifle and another had found handcuffs. They were the winners of the day. And I'd totally do a Pennypark Park clean-up again. It was awesome.
I got there, was handed a trash-picky-up thingy, a trash bag, and a bucket for cans, and headed on my way. Pretty early on, I found a half-full can of PBR. Apparently, someone was unaware that people on drank PBR because it was a crappy beer and drinking crappy beer makes you cool (?). Anyway, that person just dropped the can in the park. It was pretty much the most awesome thing we found for a while, when I found a toy gun. As we ventured farther into the park, we decided to go off of the paved trail and follow a path into the woods to find where the teenagers party. Success! Another girl found a joint. We also found a lot of beer cans and beer bottles and capri suns. Interesting party.
I was surprised how many people who were using the park thanked us. Walkers, runners, cyclists. One guy on a bike stopped to ask how he could volunteer. Another guy on a bike didn't stop, but yelled as he passed us that there was a dead deer way far away from where we were. We were like "um, thanks..." I don't think a deer would fit in my trash bag, nor did I want to carry it. Or be near it. Unless it had been butchered.
We got back and found out that someone else had found part of a real rifle and another had found handcuffs. They were the winners of the day. And I'd totally do a Pennypark Park clean-up again. It was awesome.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Garden Update
I've pretty much spent the summer making zucchini bread and bringing it places. I add zucchini to any meal I can think of a use for it. Lesson learned for next year: plant less zucchini.
In other plant news, I've eaten some green beans and a few cherry tomatoes. Snap peas and Brussel sprouts never really took off. I think a creature ate them. I finally pulled up all of the beets I planted last week and just pickled all of them.
Yesterday, I went and did some serious work in the plot. I pulled up the zucchini plants that have stopped producing. I picked the Swiss chard and the last of the green beans (then pulled up those plants). I pulled weeds all over and immediately outside of my plot. I didn't bring my camera, or I'd show a picture of what's left. The cherry tomato plant and tomatillo plants are on the right side. The bottom is full of vines for sweet potatoes, and the corner they all form has the remaining zucchini. The rest of the garden I tilled by hand, then planted snap peas (2nd time's a charm?), beets, and Swiss chard. Clearly, those are not growing, so it's just brown for the rest of the garden. It looks kind of funny with two sides being lush and huge and the remainder being brown.
I'm finally getting a lot of cherry tomatoes, but they were still green yesterday. The husks of the tomatillos are there, but the fruit themselves are not big yet. Hopefully in a week or so I'll be overrun with those and bringing salsa verde everywhere.
In other plant news, I've eaten some green beans and a few cherry tomatoes. Snap peas and Brussel sprouts never really took off. I think a creature ate them. I finally pulled up all of the beets I planted last week and just pickled all of them.
Yesterday, I went and did some serious work in the plot. I pulled up the zucchini plants that have stopped producing. I picked the Swiss chard and the last of the green beans (then pulled up those plants). I pulled weeds all over and immediately outside of my plot. I didn't bring my camera, or I'd show a picture of what's left. The cherry tomato plant and tomatillo plants are on the right side. The bottom is full of vines for sweet potatoes, and the corner they all form has the remaining zucchini. The rest of the garden I tilled by hand, then planted snap peas (2nd time's a charm?), beets, and Swiss chard. Clearly, those are not growing, so it's just brown for the rest of the garden. It looks kind of funny with two sides being lush and huge and the remainder being brown.
I'm finally getting a lot of cherry tomatoes, but they were still green yesterday. The husks of the tomatillos are there, but the fruit themselves are not big yet. Hopefully in a week or so I'll be overrun with those and bringing salsa verde everywhere.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
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