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POPSGabriel García Márquez masterpiece tops poll of world literature One Hundred Years of Solitude has One Hundred Years of Solitude is a tremendous work, but News of a Kidnapping is a compelling.story of journalists, kidnapped by Pablo Escobar, leader of the Medellín Cartel. The fate of Diana Turbay made me weep. My goal is to read everything that Gabriel Garcia Marquez wrote . The last Marquez novel that I read was Memories of My Melancholy Whores. : banned in Iran. Re: 100 Yrs. Parkes said: " taught the west how to read a reality alternative to their own, which in turn opened the gates for other non-western writers like myself and other writers from Africa and Asia. "Apart from the fact that it's an amazing book, it taught western readers tolerance for other perspectives." more at clip source
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POPSNectar of the Gods: The cultural history of Chocolate
Chocolate was again the drink the of elite, the delight of the plebeians, the bitterest of potables, the most saccharine of sweets, the iconic symbol of Mesoamerica. In A Tale of Two Cities Dicken’s shows the transitional period of chocolate, between Mesoamerican luxury to the European commoners’ pleasure, when he explains with great detail Monseigneur’s elaborate consumption of chocolate in his Paris hotel room.In Europe—during the time of the novel, and even before—the price of chocolate was a luxury because it had to be brought across the Atlantic ocean before it could be consumed. It was not until 1828 when chocolate changed from a sacred drink to a solid bar we know today, through the addition of cocoa butter. Not only did chemist Coenraad Johannes van Houten of the Netherlands create the process of manufacturing cocoa butter, but he also discovered how to treat chocolate with alkalis to remove the bitter taste that had until that point been characteristic of chocolate.
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POPSWill Geert Wilders Show His Film on the Koran? That's about to change with the expected television premier on January 25 of an un-named film by a leading Dutch politician Geert Wilders dealing with the Koran. Wilders in the past has compared it to Hitler's Mein Kampf and wants it banned; the film will likely make arguments along these lines: "With this film I'm trying to show not only in words but also images exactly what I mean," he says. Unlike the British, American, Danish governments or the Vatican, the Dutch government has prepared. It has adopted a two-track policy of (1) trying to stop the screening and, should that fail, (2) getting ready for crisis mode. An article in today's Volkskrant, "Vrees voor rellen rond Koran-film van Wilders" (translated as "Fear of riots over Wilders' Koran film") provides some details. First, the government is trying to shut things down: FULL ARTICLE http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2007/12/will-geert-wilders-show-his-film-on-the-koran.html
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POPS100 Books Every Woman Should Read Pt 1. A book list for those long winter months.Sarah Waters "Tipping above it" is not listed but many with something to teach you are satisfying stories.Will contribute to literacy and education.Pt1
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POPSDaniel Day-Lewis BAFTA Winner is unbeatable Daniel Day-Lewis, who, after winning the best actor Bafta for Paul Thomas Anderson's extraordinary There Will be Blood, now finds himself confirmed as favourite to pick up the Academy Award later this month. Day-Lewis's triumph went some way toward cheering up both the Irish and British contingents. Born in London, the son of a poet laureate, he now lives in Wicklow and carries an Irish passport.
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POPSMarvelous Mysteries of Cartography As a huge fan of Martin Waldseemuller, I'm glad to see his work in the news. Cartography used to be a really cool job, requiering research and interviews, and a healthy dose of speculation. The great thing is that history is so much more complex than the writing of it, and this map is a perfect example of that. Maps were very cloak and dagger stuff back in their day. Although the story comes down that Columbus discovered America and Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean. But a clever sleuth could have figured out that there must have been something dividing the eastern coast of China from the eastern coast of the new continent. Also, there is the very sexy possibility that other unknown explorers had already made forays into the Pacific before Balboa got the credit. I think its great when history starts to sound like an Arturo Perez Reverte novel!
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POPS'Dark energy' may mean the end of the Universe And, they believe, a strange, yet-to-be-detected form of energy called dark energy pervades the Universe, which would explain why the sum of all the visible sources of energy fall way short of what should be out there. Dark energy, goes the thinking, is a result of the Big Bang and is accelerating the Universe's expansion. If so, the Universe is not in a nice, stable zero-vacuum state but simply another "false vacuum" state that may abruptly decay again - and with cataclysmic consequences. The energy shift from the decay would destroy everything in the Universe, "wiping the slate clean," says Lawrence Krauss of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
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POPSEast African Views on Sci Fi, 9/07 I'm intrigued with the developing world's view of western sci fi. Our technology-centric culture, and our western mythologies, must sound foreign in more ways than one. (Note that this article is actually from Kenya, one of the more developed African nations, with strong universities and reasonable internet access.)
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POPSRemo Williams: Graphic novel, movie and TV one of the earliest popular introduction of the western martial arts expert. Considered by some a hero, by others an antihero, Remo Williams was played by Fred Ward in the movie, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. Chiun, the sinanju master is played by Joel Grey, and the heroine of the story, an Army officer trying to gather evidence against an unscrupulous, corrupt arms manufacturer of unsafe, weapons, is played by Kate Mulgrew
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POPSMuslim's Arrogance What rubbish! As far as I'm concerned Islamics can believe whatever they want as long as they don't attempt to force those beliefs on others. To expect people of other faiths or of no religious affiliation to conform to their dogma is ridiculous.
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POPSA struggle for the heart of Islam? Sunni vs. Shiite tension heats up Fareed Zakaria remarks that al-Qaeda began as a pan-Islamic organization and has increasingly turned into an anti-Shiite one. He compares this internal conflict to the extraordinarily bloody struggles that decimated Europe following the Protestant Reformation. I'm a little skeptical ... but it's an interesting comparison.
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POPSFree Online Novels Science Fiction Alien Beach by A . R . Yngve Alien Cradle by Jeff Inlo{lit / pdf / pda} Any Coincidence Is by Daniel Callahan Crusades by Byron Lester {rtf} Darc Ages by A . R . Yngve Deep Base by JMG Productions Earthbound Series by D M Arnold (Five books) {lit / pdf / pdb / txt / rtf / html / prc} Eye of the Ocean by Laurel Hickey (Science Fiction / Fantasy / Trilogy) {pdf} Far Freedom by A. Warren Merkey Final Transmission by Robert S. Wilcox {pdf / html} Firestorm 2034 by Jonathan Hayward Flight Without Limits by Rolf A. F. Witzsche Freedom's Fyre by Carl Segor {zip html} Horror Autumn by David Moody {pdf / lit / prc / pda / html} Father Figure by Ralph Robert Moore (Thriller / Love Story / Mystery / Horror) {pdf} Forever Fifteen by Kimberly Steele (Vampire) audio only {mp3} Grotesque by G. E. Graven (Gothic Epic Adventure) I Killed A Bunch Of Folks by T.L. Miller Monster Island by David Wellington Twilight of the Apocalypse by Terence Low
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POPSFashion Fascism - The Adbusters Just a small part of a recent Adbusters editorial. I don't know about you guys, but it strikes me as horrendously close to home. Just travel to the local shopping centre and watch the Peacock Masses preen themselves in their wonder. *Sighs*
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POPSMahfouz’s grave, Arab liberalism’s deathbed The Arab world's passage from progressive secularism to conservative religiosity in the last fifty years is illuminated by the work of Egypt’s greatest writer, says Tarek Osman. More at the source. Tarek Osman gives an interesting reading of culture and the text.
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