20 sci-fi novels that will change your life

Very interesting list from io9.com, although it doesn't include anything from Asimov's famous Foundation series, Arthur C. Clarke or even Ray Bradbury. Incidentally, guess what the title of the Arabic translation of Foundation was? Al-Qaeda... honestly!!

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The shortest story ever written

"I..."

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Reading "Othello" detrimental to relationship, study finds

Something that only an idle mind can produce.People who have seen or read William Shakespeare's "Othello" and have told their partners are almost certain to break up. William Sanders, a freshman in poli-sci at UCLA, told his girlfriend that he was studying the play for an English course. They broke up within a month for no apparent reason. Julie Styles, a North Vancouver native and second-year UBC student, saw her 6-year relationship being ended in a matter of days after she had told her boyfriend she was reading "Othello". Alison Cooper from Sydney tearfully recalls that her 40-year-old marriage was over after her husband, Bill Dawson, a plumber, went to see a local production of the play. "My Bill was so loving and sweet," she said, "But that goddamn Shakespearean play made him lose his mind. He was always ranting about how to murder a wife, and I simply couldn't take it anymore." Ms Cooper is currently under psychiatric treatment and facing mortgage issues. The tragic play seems to have most horribly affected people who have just started dating. 8.75 out of every 10 people surveyed broke up the day after they confessed that they had read, seen or were reading "Othello". Caroline Mahtab, an assistant professor at the University of Cairo pointed out the reason: "The play is cursed, and although people do not believe in these things anymore, every book has a Qi" she said. "Like a person, a book too has a soul, since so much of it is the work of a human soul, and many others." Coyote Dina, a Native American elder from the Haida tribe, confirmed this theory. "It is true -- books and parchments do have souls, and some have the power to affect human beings in ways they cannot even imagine." Literature professors, psychologists and leading Shakespeareans have hotly refuted this view. "It's complete BS," dramatist Tom Stoppard is reported as saying. "Shakespeare would never do such a thing." Celebrity psychologist Dr Phil had a lenient but disapproving view. "There is so much hate in that story," he said. "Hate cannot be your friend." He refused to comment on Oprah Winfrey, however. The RSC have refused to shut down productions of "Othello", despite the 660 protests held worldwide. Last October protester Sidhu Gurujan of Punjab, India almost died from injuries sustained while setting himself on fire. A flowerpot from a nearby apartment had cracked open his skull. While critics are convinced that talking about the play leads to relationship disasters, they have admitted that reading or seeing it and not talking about it could actually be beneficial. Many students confirmed this, and have confessed that writing papers on "Othello" helped them get good grades. "It works like an aphrodisiac," Oka Sung happily announced. The happy Toronto party-goer has his own prescription for students reading "Othello": "Tell you girlfriend or boyfriend that you're actually reading "Romeo and Juliet, and even if you haven't read "R & J", nod religiously when your partner talks about it." Religious leader Mullah Tashfinullah from Khorasan, Obasan, Afghanistan blasted the concentrated efforts of world universities in forcing young minds to indulge in the play. "In the name of Allah, the benevolent, the merciful," he said, "The book is actually about a battle between the forces of good and evil. It is as clear as sand and water. "The lady character (Desdemona) preaches with her actions that love is blind, while the pious Moor shows how marriage is a real-opener. "Anybody who poisons young minds against wedlock with such lies is a worshiper of Satan and progenitor of CSI Miami, and will burn in the bottomless pits of hell." He approved of readings of "Romeo and Juliet" in lieu of "Othello", calling it an admirable work, but insisted that the actress should wear a veil at all times. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England in 1564. He is the most respected playwright in the English language, and his works continue to generate truckloads of critical responses by university professors and graduates alike. Shakespeare died in 1616 after a merry bout of drinking, and left his second-best bed to his widow in his will. Hexed literary works have long generated discontent, an issue that remains ignored by the authorities to this day. Last year a mass hysteria ensued rumors that reading James Joyce's "Ulysses" caused individuals to vomit and then laugh shaking their heads wildly. Now, how was that for a Valentine's Day post? :D :D Sorry for disappearing for a while. Wandering, wandering.

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The art of poetry

... To feel that waking is another dream that dreams of not dreaming and that the death we fear in our bones is the death that every night we call a dream. ... To gaze at a river made of time and water And remember Time is another river. To know we stray like a river and our faces vanish like water. To feel that waking is another dream that dreams of not dreaming and that the death we fear in our bones is the death that every night we call a dream. To see in every day and year a symbol of all the days of man and his years, and convert the outrage of the years into a music, a sound, and a symbol. To see in death a dream, in the sunset a golden sadness--such is poetry, humble and immortal, poetry, returning, like dawn and the sunset. Sometimes at evening there's a face that sees us from the deeps of a mirror. Art must be that sort of mirror, disclosing to each of us his face. They say Ulysses, wearied of wonders, wept with love on seeing Ithaca, humble and green. Art is that Ithaca, a green eternity, not wonders. Art is endless like a river flowing, passing, yet remaining, a mirror to the same inconstant Heraclitus, who is the same and yet another, like the river flowing. [by Jorge Luis Borges. Here's the source.]

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Mad girl's love song

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my lids and all is born again. (I think I made you up inside my head.)I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my lids and all is born again. (I think I made you up inside my head.) The stars go waltzing out in blue and red, And arbitrary blackness gallops in: I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead. I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane. (I think I made you up inside my head.) God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade: Exit seraphim and Satan's men: I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead. I fancied you'd return the way you said, But I grow old and I forget your name. (I think I made you up inside my head.) I should have loved a thunderbird instead; At least when spring comes they roar back again. I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead. (I think I made you up inside my head.) by Sylvia Plath [source: PDF]

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The Telegraph's 100 must-read books for children

The Telegraph has come up with a list of 100 books that 'every child should read', in order to, of course, make sure they remain readers for life. I think it's poorly compiled. The Telegraph has come up with a list of 100 books that 'every child should read', in order to, of course, make sure they remain readers for life. The list features an introduction by Michael Morpurgo and is divided into three parts: the early years, the middle years and the early teens. I checked out the list: most of the titles are popular stuff, including Roald Dahl, JK Rowling, Mark Twain, Philip Pullman, and CS Lewis.

The whole thing seems to be bordering on fantastic literature, but surprisingly, the Arabian Nights or Hans Christian Andersen aren't on the list. Huckleberry Finn or Oliver Twist isn't there either (although you have Tom Sawyer and Great Expectations); and only one title from the Harry Potter series makes the list (honestly, haven't kids grown up with Harry Potter throughout all three aforementioned stages of childhood?). I was almost hurt to find out Jules Verne or Bram Stoker don't even feature, while Morpurgo himself pops up a couple of times. Do we smell a controversy here? All in all, this pretty much shows how poorly we estimate children's reading. Scrolling through the whole list feels like moving through snapshots of just another boring feel-good movie with little variations in theme. If I were a kid I'd feel cheated.

JK Rowling hit the right chord with kids with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It was a children's book that combined horror, Bildungsroman and mystery elements -- and still went on to become massively popular. In other words, kids do think a lot like us adults. Let's hope all those listers and writers learn from this. [image: Telegraph]

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Art preceding science (again)?

Among many other things, it points out that Niels Bohr was inspired by Cubism while devising his famous model of atomic structure, and that science actually needs artists to paint pictures inspired by String Theory. I'm still sitting dumbfounded; it's been quite a while since I last read a sensible discourse on the science vs art issue.I just read an article in Seed magazine by Jonah Lehrer titled "The future of science... is art?" Among many other things, it points out that Niels Bohr was inspired by Cubism while devising his famous model of atomic structure, and that science actually needs artists to paint pictures inspired by String Theory. I'm still sitting dumbfounded; it's been quite a while since I last read a sensible discourse on the science vs art issue. At nine pages, Lehrer's article is testing, but it's still definitely a must-read for anyone with a science-aware knack of mind. Reasons for the title to this post: check out this.

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Playthings

Child, how happy you are sitting in the dust, playing with a broken twig all the morning. I smile at your play with that little bit of a broken twig. I am busy with my accounts, adding up figures by the hour. Perhaps you glance at me and think, "What a stupid game to spoil your morning with!" Child, I have forgotten the art of being absorbed in sticks and mud-pies. I seek out costly playthings, and gather lumps of gold and silver. With whatever you find you create your glad games, I spend both my time and my strength over things I never can obtain. In my frail canoe I struggle to cross the sea of desire, and forget that I too am playing a game. ["Playthings" by Rabindranath Tagore. Translated into English by Tagore himself; you can see the collection here. I don't like the choice of the word 'mud-pies'. Doesn't sound right]

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So sexuality is like... a switch?

The wonders of old newspapers... I came across a Dec 19 edition of the free Vancouver 24 Hours newspaper that has a small news item (titled "Nature or Nurture") on page 10. According to the news, a team of University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) neurobiologists have discovered that the sexual orientation of bees can be altered by genetic manipulations or drugs. In other words, as the lead researcher Prof David Featherstone ecstatically points out, homosexuality/heterosexuality can be turned on and off.... I tried to do some online research on this, but the newspaper's website doesn't show the news. (Dropping print material in the online version isn't really uncommon for the media, especially if the company can't afford a proper website. By the way, the Dec 19 spells Wednesday wrong on the cover!) Dr Featherstone is on the UIC website, and his lab has an address as well, but I couldn't find what I was looking for. Do the same neurobiological principles apply for humans? Last term I was teaching students Tomson Highway's Kiss of the Fur Queen, which has a gay character who was sexually abused in residential school. I did a bit of research to prepare for class, and found out that, according to the NARTH website, there is no 'gay gene' in the human body (also checkout Wikipedia). I shared the resources with my students, and asked them what they thought. Surprisingly, most of them believed that the character was not a born homosexual (in Highway's novel); or in other words -- as they argued later in an essay -- homosexuality isn't hardwired or irreversible. Art preceding science, anyone?

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