It's traditional to give up a bad habit as a new year's resolution. I have no bad habits to start with, so my resolution is to help other people to give up smoking.
According to a study, one genetic mutation occurs on average for every 15 cigarettes that a typical lung-cancer patient smokes.
They studied a lung-cancer victim who had built up about 23,000 DNA mutations in his lung cells over his lifetime.
By that logic my own lungs must have several thousand mutations. But at least I've stopped mutating. Unlike some people, who are what doctors describe as "too dumb to aspirate".
Maybe Australia's first official saint could help them. A woman was miraculously cured from inoperable lung cancer after praying to Mary MacKillop, the former nun now set to become Australia's first saint.
The Pope confirmed Mother Mary's second miracle earlier this month, paving the way for her to become Australia's first ever saint.
It's mere concidence that the Pope owed the Aussies a favour. They hosted a jamboree for him in 2008, when 500,000 hyper young catholics from around the world gathered in Sydney to welcome Pope Benedict XVI and read his holy text messages.
Wednesday, December 30
fiction and reality
The writer guy took the opinionated review on the chin. The circumstances while reading the book were hardly conducive. I was suffering from cricket injuries and flea bites, and under verbal assault from my cellmate. I'll re-read it once the sex scenes have been outsourced to Bavaria. Germans make the dullest TV in the world, but the most imaginative porn. It balances up.
Back in New South Caledonia now. Umpteen things to be repaired, and a training course approaching. The joliday's over.
I could post my impressions of the NZ trip, but I can't be bothered. It's all just a load of old photons.
- Posted from iPod
Back in New South Caledonia now. Umpteen things to be repaired, and a training course approaching. The joliday's over.
I could post my impressions of the NZ trip, but I can't be bothered. It's all just a load of old photons.
- Posted from iPod
Monday, December 28
ra remote review
I finished reading Remote, so here's my opinionated and unqualified attempt at a review.
First let me say I couldn't have written anything as good. The book is a few days inside the head of Jimmy, an Edinburgh drug person and reformed librarian. This book has everything - drugs, politics, sex, terrorism, and drugs.
Jimmy copes with multiple life stresses using a succession of uppers, downers and outers. As a result, his state of mind fluctuates wildly - one minute he's chewing his own face on speed, the next he's ultra-calm in the face of death. Sometimes he's unconscious.
While the continual mood swings are no doubt an authentic portrayal of druggie life, they make it hard for the reader to empathize. Just when you think "poor guy, having all those psychos freaking him out" he swallows and smokes a new combo of drugs and feels completely calm, cold and in control.
Heartbroken because his girlfriend has left him, he's again hard to empathize with, because I have no idea what was good about her. Perhaps some physical description would have helped. Or if I were told that she runs a soup kitchen for orphans, I could see why she was lovable.
Perhaps partly through senility, I lost track of the multiple bombs, detonators and remote controls, though the basic idea of double, or perhaps triple, crossing is good.
Whenever the hero takes another drug, there's a full description of the rolling or snorting or whatever. Some of this repetition could be streamlined in the second edition.
Some of the things I liked include the way that Jimmy is completely on his own in a menacing world. I also liked the similarities to the TV series Ideal - the doorbell is forever ringing at the drug dealer's flat, and we never know who's going to ring next but we suspect it's not going to be good news. The moments of paranoia are gripping. And when Jimmy has to hide various incriminating items, it seems realistically risky and burdensome.
If I had written this book, I would be pleased with myself. But the guy who wrote Remote has written better stuff. This one won't be his Pulitzer winner.
- Posted from iPod
First let me say I couldn't have written anything as good. The book is a few days inside the head of Jimmy, an Edinburgh drug person and reformed librarian. This book has everything - drugs, politics, sex, terrorism, and drugs.
Jimmy copes with multiple life stresses using a succession of uppers, downers and outers. As a result, his state of mind fluctuates wildly - one minute he's chewing his own face on speed, the next he's ultra-calm in the face of death. Sometimes he's unconscious.
While the continual mood swings are no doubt an authentic portrayal of druggie life, they make it hard for the reader to empathize. Just when you think "poor guy, having all those psychos freaking him out" he swallows and smokes a new combo of drugs and feels completely calm, cold and in control.
Heartbroken because his girlfriend has left him, he's again hard to empathize with, because I have no idea what was good about her. Perhaps some physical description would have helped. Or if I were told that she runs a soup kitchen for orphans, I could see why she was lovable.
Perhaps partly through senility, I lost track of the multiple bombs, detonators and remote controls, though the basic idea of double, or perhaps triple, crossing is good.
Whenever the hero takes another drug, there's a full description of the rolling or snorting or whatever. Some of this repetition could be streamlined in the second edition.
Some of the things I liked include the way that Jimmy is completely on his own in a menacing world. I also liked the similarities to the TV series Ideal - the doorbell is forever ringing at the drug dealer's flat, and we never know who's going to ring next but we suspect it's not going to be good news. The moments of paranoia are gripping. And when Jimmy has to hide various incriminating items, it seems realistically risky and burdensome.
If I had written this book, I would be pleased with myself. But the guy who wrote Remote has written better stuff. This one won't be his Pulitzer winner.
- Posted from iPod
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