A New Site For Satisfying My Curiosity

I finally took the plunge and am now a .com-er.  Satisfying My Curiosity has moved to www.satisfyingmycuriosity.com.  You'll still get the great articles you are used to (book reviews, music reviews, travel articles, cultural commentary, etc) but you will also get snippets about things that have piqued my curiosity throughout the week.  So bookmark the page, become a follower, pin an article, share on Face Book, tweet the link, like on Google + and comment.  I hope you will find the new format pleasing to the eye.  And I hope that when you read the content it will enlighten you, challenge you, surprise you, make you laugh or, perhaps, all of these things.

Enjoy!

Satisfying My Curiosity's staff of one

Children's Books You May Want to Re-read...You Might Learn a Few Things

I just found an article in Business Insider about adults re-reading books they read as children.  As kids, our understanding of the world was very superficial.  We read primarily for the story.  As adults, we can now read these books and better understand the depth and the nuances written into these great books. You may find that you would like to introduce them to your kids, grand kids and great grand kids. I grew up in a small town, 900 people, and honestly, I don't remember reading anything until I went to school.  Famous books in the fifties included books by Dr. Seuss, Charlotte's Web, Pippi Longstocking and The Chronicles of Narnia. I guess I was out climbing hay bails or something.  Business Insider and The New York Public Library put out a list of 23 books.  I'll not bore you with the entire list.  If you wish to see it, please go to: http://www.businessinsider.com/kids-books-adults-should-read-2014-2?op=1

Here are ten with a short description of each.   I'm going to try and read them all.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst:  Illustrated by Ray Cruz, this book tells kids that even after the worst day imaginable, tomorrow will be better-a lesson even adults need to remind themselves of once in a while. Being made into a movie. 

All-of-a-Kind-Family by Sydney Taylor:  Starring five young sisters in early 20th century New York City, young and old readers alike will learn about classic Jewish traditions as well as some interesting New York history.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett:  Who isn't enchanted by a story of food raining from the sky?  Cloudy is a magical tale that requires a little suspended disbelief, and a darker sense of humor. 

The Giver by Lois Lowry:  Before The Hunger Games and Divergent, The Giver was a very young adult's introduction into the world of dystopian fiction novels.  It follows Jonas, a 12 year old boy chosen to receive all of the world's memories, both good and bad, to take the burden off of his community from having to know them.

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson: Sometimes it feels like characters in children's books are too likable, but not Gilly Hopkins in Paterson's short novel.  Bouncing from foster home to foster home has given her a mean spirit, but she's also sympathetic.

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh:  Already a bit of an outsider, after Harriet's spy notebook gets into the hands of her classmates-who she's been bashing on the pages for months-they decide to make her life hell by humiliating and excluding her at school. 

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen:  The gripping tale of 13 year old Brian lost in the back country of Canada with nothing but a small ax, Hatchet details the skills Brian learns in order to survive.

The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone:  With the colorful, fourth wall-breaking illustrations by Mike Smollin, the book also has a surprisingly powerful theme: that we shouldn't be afraid of things before we understand them, as they may not be so terrifying after all.  There is an app for this book on smart phones with additional activities for kids (or adults) to enjoy.

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith:  The authors spin off the classic runaway food tale of The Gingerbread Man with a snarky, humorous twist in The Stinky Cheese Man.  It may be the first time kids are exposed to this type of parodying sense of humor. 

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle:  This novel has a unique mix of magic and science in the story about Meg, a girl whose scientist father mysteriously disappears.  With the help of her genius brother and classmate, she embarks on a quest to find out what happened, and meets some puzzling characters along the way.

Book Review: Jack London, An American Life

Over the years I've read snippets about the life of Jack London.  Everything I read led me to believe he had been an interesting man.  So when a new biography came out, Jack London: An American Life written by Earle Labor, I had enough interest to buy it.  I am very happy that I did.  The life that Jack London lived was an amazing one.  Amazing because he packed so much adventure, so much love for writing, so much love for animals, so much love for his wife into such a short life.  He was born in 1876 and died at the age of 40 in 1916.  What a life.  This may sound like hyperbole but what a man.  From the beginning,  London longed to succeed.  He had a lot going for him physically.  He was handsome, he was strong from all of the hard labor he did and even though he was shy, he never allowed himself to be bullied.  For him, to lose was not acceptable. He was not afraid to break the law in order to survive.  But during the time he was growing up, in order to survive, you did what you  had to do. Many of the situations he found himself in were places where human cruelty was the norm. By the age of 22 he had worked as a child laborer in a factory,  he was a professional oyster pirate, served time in prison for something he didn't do, ridden the rails as a hobo, worked as a sailor on a seal hunting schooner bound for Japan , marched as a soldier in an army of the unemployed for the betterment of the working man, and searched for gold in the Klondike.  He also became an alcoholic. 

Women of a Certain Age Drool Over Sting and Sing Along With Paul Simon

My sister had sent me a YouTube clip of Robert Downey Jr. singing along with Sting. I didn't know Downey could sing. But my focus was on Sting. I looked at that video and asked myself how could I possibly be a woman of a certain age and not have seen Sting in concert. Sting? How about The Police? I'm into this "why not" phase of my life. So I called my sister, who is always ready for some excitement, and said, hey, guess what sis? Sting is doing a series of concerts with Paul Simon and opening night is in your city, which was Houston. Book'em Danno! Now the seats were not inexpensive because we WERE seeing two legends. Off to the concert we go. I had told my sister that after seeing the marathon concerts with Billy Joel and Elton John that the concert probably would last a while. It did. 2 hours and 45 minutes. They could have kept on keeping on. They have an accumulated music history of almost 90 years. Since this was opening night, you could tell they were still working on timing and vocals. Plus putting their two bands together, 15 musicians in all, must have been a fun undertaking. The band included Paul's horn and percussion sections and Sting's great group of guitarists and backup singers. There were definitely times when these musicians were the stars on the stage. 

Sting is 62 and you can tell that Tantric yoga works well for him. He had on a grey long, sleeve tee shirt with a silver jacket. When he took the jacket off in his first full set, well, the ladies in the audience let out an audible sigh. The tee shirt looked like it had been painted on. He may now clip his hair short but none of us cared. His voice is as strong and powerful as ever. He didn't jump around the stage but did do some reggae moves which the audience, meaning women, appreciated. On the other hand, Paul is pushing 75. As with most aging singers, his range is getting very limited. His band would start a song, one that most of us have heard tons of times, but couldn't recognize because the key was so much lower. I mean how can you not know Me and Julio Down by the School Yard? At first, the rendition they performed was not recognizable. The fact is it didn't matter. Paul was engaging with the audience and genuinely seemed to be having a great time. Plus Paul is a true poet. Some of the best lyrics in music have been penned by him. What we liked was Sting would sing a Simon song, like Bridge Over Troubled Waters, a cappella I might add, and then Paul would sing Every Breath You Take, and then they'd sing together. Awesome. It sure brought back those days of slow dancing and first loves. Ahhhh, those were the days.

Of course the crowd was older but there were many 30 somethings and 40 somethings there. I would surmise more for Sting than Paul. In a way they are both losing their fan base to an audience that listens to Eminem and Macklemore. The baby boomers, their bread and butter, are moving on, so to speak. To exemplify this theory of lost fan base, here is an anecdote: While waiting on the phone with a customer service rep, I said I was going to go see Sting in concert. She asked, who? I started to sing Roxanne, and she said, OK, I got it. I don't think she did. My sister and I were compelled to see this show not only to see these musical icons but also before we get to that stage when we ask, Sting who?

Reviews on Three Books for Chicks

Sorry guys but this review is geared toward the ladies.  And ladies when I say "chick lit",  I'm not talking 50 Shades of Grey chick lit.  I'm simply going to review three books about women and their relationships with men.  The first is by the popular author of The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan.  Her books are always about the troubling relationships between daughters and mothers ...and men.  Her latest, The Valley of Amazement, is no different.  This time it's about an American girl living during the early 1900's who travels from San Francisco to Shanghai and then becomes the most popular madam of the most popular "courtesan" house in that jaded city.  Lulu Mimi, as she is known, has a daughter that she names Violet.  And Violet turns into one very precocious child.  She has a ferocious pet cat that terrorizes everyone and she surreptitiously watches as the courtesans ply their trade with both Western and Eastern clients. Of course this being a Tan book, the plot twists and turns, Lulu Mimi is tricked into leaving Violet behind while Lulu Mimi intends for both of them to go to San Francisco, and that is when the story of Violet takes over.   Read more...

Review: Gran Melia Golf Resort, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico

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It has been years since I've been to Puerto Rico.  And then it was always for a night or two before embarking on a cruise.  My brother in law and sister in law go there all of the time for the shows and to gamble.  We're not into that but we are into golf.  And Puerto Rico has some very nice golf courses.  The weather outside has been frightful so we decided to take a little trip to San Juan to play golf.  After doing some research, I came upon the Gran Melia Golf Resort.  Since we're talking off season there, the prices were astonishingly good.  We got a junior suite, king bed, ocean view for $199.00 plus taxes.  Taxes ended up being $158.00.  This included a cocktail greeting, private check in, full breakfast buffet daily and a wine/champagne/appetizer party every evening.  You also have free use of the internet as well as the use of a private pool area with great Bali cabanas.  There is also butler service.  All of this is called their Red Level Service.  It is well worth paying a few extra bucks to get this because the buffet breakfast alone is $22 per person.  Read more...

Book Review: Wonder by R. J. Palacio

I always read the Friday and Saturday Wall Street Journal editions because they include numerous cultural opinion pieces as well as travel advice and recipes from renowned chefs.  In this one edition there was a two page article on See Grown-ups Read.  It concerned the new phenomenon of adults reading books targeted to pre-teens and teens i.e. The Twilight series as well as Hunger Games.  One of the books mentioned was Wonder which was published in Feb. of 2012.  So I decided to “satisfy my curiosity” by reading the book.  It was meant to be read by 8-12 year olds.  No matter.  This book is so well written it can give an adult leaky eyes.  The novel is centered around 10 year old August Pullman, an ordinary boy, according to August (Auggie).  He plays X-box, rides a bike, eats ice cream and has a wonderfully loving family.  The thing is Auggie is not an ordinary boy.  Auggie has a horrible facial disfigurement and has undergone 27 reconstructive surgeries.  He tells us that, “I won’t describe what I look like.  Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.”  The author does tell us about Auggie’s craniofacial abnormalities via his sister, Via, and his other schoolmates.  He has “a mushed up face”, he “eats like a tortoise”, and he has cheeks “that looked punched in”. Read more...

Holiday Travel...Does Your Inner Scrooge Emerge?

I remember a while back I heard Bill Cosby telling a story about a child on an intercontinental flight he was on.  I believe he called him Jeffrey and Jeffrey was 5 or so.  Jeffrey and his mom were seated behind Bill in first class.  On the 6 hour plus flight Jeffrey banged on the back of Bill's seat.  He'd run up and down the aisles.  He'd cry.  He'd scream.  His mother had no control over Jeffrey at all.  As the plane's gangway was hooking up to the plane, Bill looked at the mother and said, "Jeffrey should really be a model."  The mother beamed.  Really? she inquires...Yes, Bill says.  He should be a poster boy for birth control...Read more...

Books for Gifts For Your Reader Family/Friends

Lots of great books came out this year.  I've already written a blog on my favorite, And the Mountains Echoed by Khalid Hosseini.  Second would be Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (review below).   Here are a few that I think you would enjoy reading or giving as a gift.  I've marked the
one's I've read with an *.  So, here we go...





Non-fiction:

Furious Cool, Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him by David and Joe Henry- If you like Richard Pryor and want to know what made the guy tick, then this book will enlighten you.  I've seen Pryor live in concert and have also wondered what warped that mind.. This book gives you great insight into what did.*   Read more...

Tanzania: Useful Information for Your Trip

Just a few final thoughts, ruminations and odd ball stuff...



My Kenya Air flight was delayed out of Joburg (for those of us in the know, it's called Joburg) by an hour and 45 minutes.  The flight from Joburg to Nairobi is about 4 hours.  My connection was going to be very tight.  I was impressed with Kenya Air.  We were on a new 737.  What surprised me was that they offered unlimited free alcohol in coach. And this was on a 10am flight.  As we were taking off one man kept calling out to several other men the kinds of planes he was seeing as well as their tail numbers.  One guy was furiously writing them down.  One guy even had a spread sheet on his computer with all of this plane info.  When we landed I just had to ask "what are you guys doing?"  They were a group of airplane enthusiasts that travel the world tracking planes.  Yep.  I guess that's one way to keep the hubby out of the house.  When we landed in Nairobi, I had 15 minutes to catch my flight to Kilimanjaro.  In all of the years that I have been flying, I have never had this happen.  Kenya Air had a bus waiting to take the transiting passengers directly to their airplane!  I soon found out why.  All of the people that were transiting were on the same flight...my flight!  They wouldn't have any passengers on that plane if they hadn't bussed us in. Read more...

Where Should I go on My First Safari?

Mt. Kenya Safari Club

Migration Camp, Serengeti, Tanzania

I think that most people that want to go to Africa do so for a few specific reasons.  Either they watch a great deal of the National Geographic channel and want to see things in the "raw" or they want to go for charitable reasons. Or perhaps they are big animal lovers and wish to contribute to the cause or are the antithesis of that and want to go big game hunting.  For me, it has always been wanting to see nature "as is" as well as helping the cause.  And what I mean by that is that today many of the monies that you spend on the safari itself goes to aid animal conservation and/ or the local villages.  For three of our safaris as well as our trip to Egypt, my husband and I have used African Travel Inc.,  (800) 421-8907.  They have consistently been extremely knowledgeable, offer great customer service, and if something goes bump in the night (well let's hope it really is nothing that goes bump in the night), they have quickly resolved the situation.  So, here's my safari history. Read more...

Traveling Tanzania and the Maasai

When I told my sister that we would see Maasai, I thought she was going to cry.  She really wanted to see them.  She asked, do you think we can trade with them?  I remember when I went to a Maasai village in 1983 in Kenya, the inhabitants wanted our film canisters to make ear rings.  The village was not "sanitized" (I'll explain that later).  This village was the real deal.  Cow dung all over, flies every where, and poverty.  I explained to my sister that what she should expect is to pay them money to take their pictures.  And that we did have to do.  The Maasai believe that if their picture is taken, you, as the photographer, have already taken their blood.  Yes, that may be but they've also decided that by charging for pictures, it's a great money maker.  But the modern Maasai have also decided that they are tired of business entities using their name so "they" (that's the real problem.  Who is "they"?) are looking into trademarking the name "Maasai".  There are already  major brands using the name "Maasai" as part of their product lines i.e. Land Rover using the name for accessories for their vehicles, a running shoe carries the name as well as a line from Louie Vuitton.  If the Maasai are successful, it would be the largest cultural brand in the world. I would equate this to the US government allowing Indian reservations to have casinos and sell tax free cigarettes.  A windfall for the Maasai.

Our first camp, Tarangire Treetops,  is a member of the Elewana collection.  Read more...

Americans Don't Like to Travel

We're at our first lodge in Tanzania, the Tarangire Treetops Lodge.  We are preparing for my sister to have her first ever "sun downer".  An event where you have a butler or guide take you to a lovely spot overlooking a watering hole or vast savanna to watch the beautiful African sun set.  Before your "sun downer",  you are normally asked what would be your drink of choice.  And you are then served this drink/s along with some great snacks.  After the "sun downer" we were to go on a night drive to see what we could see.  It's normally a time you see all of the nocturnal animals scurrying about.  Let's get back to the "sun downer".    Read more...

Big Game Hunting In Namibia: Thanks for P*ssing Me Off

 I just spent 9 days in Tanzania the purpose of which was a photographic safari.  We wanted to see cheetah, lion, rhino, elephant, leopard and miles and miles of zebra, wildebeest, and water buffalo.  We saw all of this.  The high lights were the sightings of two cheetah and we were lucky enough to see 6 leopard.  My first safari was in Kenya in 1983.  Even then we wanted to see leopard.  We did not.  On my second trip, we did see 2 and on our third, none.  There are anywhere from 400,000-700,000 leopards in Sub Saharan Africa.  The exact number is not known because the leopard is so reclusive therefore difficult to count.   So seeing 6 on one trip is amazing.  We were ecstatic, euphoric, and high fiving.  Fast forward to my return trip from Johannesburg, South Africa.  I'm standing in line waiting to go through the final piece of security.  There is an American couple in front of me.  I started up a chat.  Where are you from, where did you go in Africa, what did you do...and this is where I was dumbfounded, flummoxed for words, and almost beside myself.  So much so, I almost, involuntarily, spit my water on them.  Well, maybe not so involuntarily.  They calmly told me that they had gone to Namibia to hunt.  "And what were you hunting," I queried.?  "Leopard",  they responded.  I asked, "and were you successful?"  "Yes, we were," the husband says.  And added, "my wife killed all kinds of animals."  I said, "really. I didn't realize that hunting leopard was that easily available."  The wife chirps in, "Oh they're a menace to the farmers."  I then realized that I was among people who liked to kill animals for the pure pleasure of killing.    I don't care if they are from my home state.  Killing animals for the sheer thrill of it makes me want to knock them upside the head.  So I said to them, "do you mind if we don't discuss this any further?"  The husband says, "no, I understand."  The wife huffs off and proceeds to tell her husband, rather loudly,  that apparently "there are more of THEM than she thinks."  I guess she means those of us that don't believe in killing an animal for the thrill of it.  I hope you're happy back in your cozy house telling all of your friends about how you got the leopard in your sights and there he is, stuffed, for all to see.  You're standing by it proudly for all to take your picture.  This encounter clouded my entire trip home.  This got me to thinking about all of the people that I know that hunt.  One friend went on a deer hunting trip to Montana and came back empty handed.  Why?  Not because there wasn't anything to shoot.  It was because what they kill, they eat.  And the deer they saw would not amount to a plate full.  So, they killed nothing.  Some people detest hunting, period.  But the meat, chicken, fish we get in the store was once alive.  And they died somehow.  I've seen the "somehow" and trust me, you don't want to see that.      Read more...

Hobby, Stuff, Cr*p, Possessions or Memories

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I have a good friend who likes to collect jewelry, big, honking piles of diamonds piled on diamonds. We're talking tens of thousands of dollars worth. When seeing her mother's latest purchase, the daughter of said friend said, "well, that's going into the estate sale."  Why does my friend do this?  I think it has to do with her poor background and now that she can afford it, well, it's her hobby, her stuff, her possessions and according to her daughter,  headed for the estate sale.  Not everyone has a parent that can afford piles of diamonds nor a parent that collects Picasso's. But this is what crosses my mind when I see the match book collection, the Gone with the Wind collection, the velvet Elvis collection... who will we leave this stuff to and if we do, will they want it? All that care you took to put together this collection and all your progeny thinks is that it is stuff, cr*p and headed for the garage sale.  Read more...

Book Review on Stephen King's New Book: Doctor Sleep

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I don't think anyone writes "gross" as well as Stephen King.  He just has this ability to get you to visualize a scene.  I'll get to the scene in a moment.  In Doctor Sleep,  he brings back the character of Danny Torrence, the little boy in The Shining.  In interviews King says that when fans ask about the fate of specific characters (the one's that actually live through the horror), he's been more interested in the those that question the fate of Danny.  I think most people who have seen the movie remember the cute little boy on a tricycle with a bowl haircut racing down the empty corridors of The Overlook Hotel.  Later to run from a mad "white knuckle alcoholic" who was his father.  Read more...

Book Review of Thomas Keneally's The Daughters of Mars

Because I "enjoyed" reading Schindler's List, that is if you can say you "enjoyed" reading it (well at least I didn't neck while watching the movie like Seinfeld did), I decided to read Keneally's newest historical novel, The Daughters of Mars.  This is a novel I believe, foremost, to be about sisterhood.  Secondly, it's about the nurses of The Great War, WWI.  And thirdly, it's about WWI.  It's a semi-long book, 517 pages and at times it does ramble, but the majority of the time you are captivated by the lives of the two main characters, the Durance sisters, Naomi and Sally.  They are from "the bush" country of Australia.  Naomi leaves the country farm to be a nurse in Sydney and Sally , also a nurse, stays at home to take care of their mother, who is dying of   cervical cancer.  She saves up a lethal dose of morphine to put her mother out of her misery.  One day her sister Naomi comes to stay, and while Sally is asleep and Naomi is at her mother's bedside, their mother dies.  Sally finds that her stash of morphine has disappeared and believes that Naomi has done the merciful thing, something she's ashamed to say that she wished she had the mental strength to do.  This secret has a toll on their relationship but becomes a catalyst for a bond they never thought they could achieve.  Read more...

Review of a Bruno Mars Concert by a Woman of a Certain Age

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I wonder if Bruno has any inkling about how much Spanx is in his audience each performance. Now keep this in mind.  Not only women with sagging body parts wear Spanx but so do many of the young women today.  I read an article in my favorite newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, that Spanx actually is causing consternation within the pick up world.  Girl looks great in skin tight dress or skinny jeans, hot guy at bar wants to take her home.  Oops, sorry got to go to the little girl's room...to remove my Spanx!  And those little imperfections just pop out.  What's a girl to do?

But I digress.  I was writing about Bruno Mars.  My sister and I love concerts but actually haven't been to one, at least at a huge arena, in a long time.  Our first big concert together was to see Prince, yes, Prince, in his 1999 and Little Red Corvette days.  Sheila E had the percussion gig. My husband, to this day, can not fathom that my sister and I believe that was the sexiest concert we had ever seen.  He says, "that little twerp"?  Oh yes baby.  That little twerp.  You don't have to be 6 foot 6 to be sexy dear.  So off we go to see another little twerp, well, he's 5' 7", sorry Bruno (one reviewer called him diminutive). Read more...

Book Review...Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson by Jeff Guinn

  

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Take yourself back, if you were alive at the time, to the 1960's.  What do you remember of it?  For me, living in a small, rural South Texas town, it was about a few of our boys going off to Vietnam, Saturday night dances at the VFW Hall, getting an older person to buy us a six pack of Lone Star or Pearl beer, driving endlessly around town looking for boys from other towns, going swimming in a cow "tank", Saturday morning bible study, basketball games, and giggling about who might have "put out" over the weekend.  Oh, we watched Walter Cronkite's evening news and saw what was happening in Vietnam and the rest of the country.  We were shocked by the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy as well as Martin Luther King.  But ours was really an insular existence.  At the same time I was living this bucolic life, there existed an alternate universe to ours.  And that alternate universe was the cultural crucible brewing in the state of California.  The reason I bring up my background is that in an interview, the author said he wanted to write about Charlie because, " he wanted to find out how WE grew such a monster."  We? I had no part of it, thank you very much.  Read more...

One More Thing to Feel Guilty About...

You're not going to believe where this is going.  Ready?  Do you have a guilt complex about...not finishing a book?  This is a big deal in the publishing business.  The publishing industry wants to know more about what people are reading and how they read.  Do they put a book down and then pick it back up or do they just abandon books willy nilly or do people, on the whole, pick up a book and read it in its entirety?  They're getting the majority of their data from e-readers.  Each time you sync your Kindle, Nook or whatever, the provider is able to "see" what you've been doing with a book.  How long does it take you to say, nah, that's enough time spent on this bomb?  25 pages, a 100 pages? Read more...