K.A. Ashcomb's Blog, page 63
June 18, 2019
Book Review: Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
I was taught that those who are successful are naturally thus. That they have some secret hidden power inside them that makes them better than others in a particular task. This isn’t only something I heard from the laypeople but from my teachers and other people of authority. Such a statement can have a devastating blow to children’s ego and motivation when they grow up and try new things. This idea of natural talent, unfortunately, hasn’t died out. People still throw it around carelessly, ca...
June 13, 2019
Writing: Character Sheet, Ira Worthwrite
Writing: Character Sheet: Ira Worthwrite
Hello everyone, it is time to reveal the “baddy” of my book. Why I put the baddy on quotes was that I don’t really consider anyone in my book to be completely evil or bad. Even the worst fellow has compelling motives to act as they do despite those reasons are sometimes misguided or in contradiction to others beliefs about what is proper and what isn’t. It would be so easy to think evil in terms of black and white, but I think then we will miss somethi...
June 11, 2019
Book Review: Hard to Be a God by Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky
Should an observer intervene? Or should they keep their objectives and watch by as the most horrendous things happen? If you have ever watched a natural documentary, you know that the film crew (and the researchers) should let even death and “murder” happen without tampering with the ecosystem. It is nature for you, but what if you are observing human beings on another planet and they kill each other for seemingly good reasons, starting off with intellectuals and destroying their books?
This...
June 10, 2019
Book Review: Soul Music by Terry Pratchett
All cultures have music even if not all have a label for their vocal or/and instrumental rhythm. They say music makes evolutionary sense, that it was invented to attract mating partners and also that singing might have evolved to sooth many at the same time as a way to bond. It also helps parents and their offspring to bond. It helps us coordinate with each other and helps us learn social and cognitive skills. We all know that a silly song about alphabets or countries makes us remember them...
June 6, 2019
Writing Life: Chaos of Life
Hello everyone! I’m sorry that I haven’t posted earlier today. In the future, there might be more disturbance to the usual schedule as I will be helping my sister with her sick son. I try to keep my schedule, but family comes first.
Lately, I have been writing a lot about luck and misfortune, how you never know what life brings, and the random chaotic life of ours brought a bucket full of misfortune to my sister’s family. Not only they discovered their eleven-year-old son has cancer, but the...
June 4, 2019
Book Review: They Eat Puppies, Don’t They? By Christopher Buckley
A book about politics, humor, and assassination of the Dalai Lama involving the CIA and the White House should have been my cup of tea. But I have to say, I cannot give a good review of the book. The lines in the book seemed funny with a zing, but they lacked substance and were hollow. The plot felt too messy and don’t get me started with characters (Bird and Angel Templeton) who were as interesting as my shoelaces. The weird thing was that they, the characters, the funny lines, and the plot...
Book Review: Nature By Ralph Waldo Emerson
Nature isn’t easy to read and understand if you think the words separately. It is more like a flow of idea you have to follow, and then maybe you will understand what his truth is. That we are all part of nature and nature isn’t different from the divine or us. It is something we experience and through it, we come alive. He writes that it is a shame how we don’t fully understand nature’s beauty. That we live apart from it and according to the rules society has imposed us, thus we don’t experi...
June 3, 2019
Book Review: The Secrets of Alchemy by Lawrence M. Principe
I picked up this book as research for my upcoming novel where my antagonist is an alchemist. This was just perfect for it. The book goes over the history of alchemy, the major alchemist (their thoughts and life and work), and the principles of alchemy, and of course, it discusses the quest for Philosopher’s Stone. This book gives you a good general picture of alchemy. Its emphasis is on that alchemy was a genuine scientific discipline, and it advanced our understanding of metals, minerals, an...
May 30, 2019
Writing: Writing and Other Hobbies
Hi everyone! I have been thinking lately about the meaning of life or more like how to gain a meaningful, satisfactory, and happy life, and not feel worthlessness. I may have told you already that I run a therapeutic discussion group for the senior citizens. I have seen a huge divide with those who feel their life is and has been satisfactory despite the usual ups and downs, and I think the difference who survive better from life’s cruelty is due to attitude. We cannot control what we get. Lu...
May 28, 2019
Book Review: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
Good Omens is one of my favorite books. The first time I read it, I loved the jokes about religion and human peculiarities, but now while rereading it, I needed to dive deeper. At first, I panicked not finding the usual pondering that is so typical for Terry Pratchett’s writing and I wanted to put the book down, but soon the book showed there was more than the fast-paced plot and quick jokes; and it felt like coming home. Or like finding an old loved unchanged by time.
There was the question...
