“The city is so huge, and everyone’s a stranger. Why do they even make these cities to pack in this many people, when people don’t like each other anymore?” Sait Faik Abasıyanık (1906-1954), A Useless Man (Translated by Maureen Freely and Alexander Dawe, Archipelago Books) Photo location: Çukurcuma Istanbul January 2015 Advertisements
The forest listens and understands, I say. It doesn’t destroy; it restores and allows things to grow. The forest appreciates and accommodates everything… Erlend Loe’s Doppler Photo: Birmingham’s Cannon Hill Park, England
Thanks for reading Murakami’s short story “The Mirror” and joining the Sunday Book Club. Please feel free to write your comments about the story… about anything that the story has encouraged you to think about. I believe sharing the joy of reading and making comments here will make it possible for us to approach Murakami’s … Continue reading Sunday Book Club (1): Haruki Murakami’s ‘The Mirror’
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans has been revised, updated and published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The 118-page publication provides science-based guidance to help people ages 3 years and older improve their health through participation in regular physical activity. You can google the publication and save it on your computer … Continue reading Physical Activity Guidelines
Dear bloggers, friends, colleagues, students, runners… I’d like to invite you to an online book reading club on Sunday. We will start with a six-page short story by Haruki #Murakami: “The Mirror”. On Sunday morning I will post on Instagram and invite you to post your comments on Murakami’s short story. I believe that we … Continue reading Sunday Book Club
Next month on this blog: Study guide for Erlend Loe’s ‘Doppler’
#BerlinWall #History November 9 1989 Opening of the Berlin Wall. “Long a symbol of the Cold War, the Berlin Wall, erected in 1961 and eventually extending 28 miles (45 km) to divide the western and eastern sectors of Berlin, was opened by the East German government on this day in 1989.” (Britannica) The #BerlinWall in … Continue reading The Berlin Wall
Happy birthday Kazuo Ishiguro! Japanese-British author. Born on November 8, 1954 in Nagasaki, Japan. The Nobel Prize for Literature in 2017. Do you know Kazuo Ishiguro has contributed lyrics to several albums of Stacey Kent, jazz vocalist? For example, Ishiguro penned four of the tracks on Stacey Kent’s album “Breakfast On the Morning Tram”. Try … Continue reading Kazuo Ishiguro, Stacey Kent, Jazz
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Saturday afternoon walk. My playlist included songs about autumn: Autumn leaves (Eric Clapton), Autumn Serenade (John Coltrane), Autumn in New York (Ella Fitzgerald), Autumn Song (Agnes Obel), Leaves that are green (Simon & Garfunkel), September in the rain (Rod Stewart), September Song (Frank Sinatra), Septembre (Barbara/Tharaud), The Autumn Stone (Small Faces), Istanbul’da Sonbahar (Teoman)
“These first hours of the morning are when I am king. Even though it may last only forty of fifty minutes, I slowly savour every moment of my reign. If you have this kind of addiction, you have to leap out of bed at five, summer and winter, so as to seize the morning before … Continue reading Morning By The Sea
“PastırmaYazı” in Turkish… IndianSummer “Indian summer, period of dry, unseasonably warm weather in late October or November in the central and eastern United States. The term originated in New England and probably arose from the Indians’ practice of gathering winter stores at this time. This autumn warm period also occurs in Europe, where in Britain … Continue reading Indian Summer
