myResearchSpace

Sometimes I'll read a review that will lead to me buying a book or seeing a movie. Other times, based on the opinions or comments of others, I'll forego a movie, or not bother buying a book. However, there are occasions that I think reviewers get it wrong. For example, I loved HBO's 9 hour movie 'John Adams' (in fact I love that HBO made a 9 ...

Recently, a student came up to me after a lecture and asked me where to start reading. They wanted to know which books had been important to my own intellectual and political development, and get some ideas for books that would give them an intelligent critique of the world. I was stuck. There are a lot of books that made an impression on ...

I've just finished reading Raj Patel's excellent Stuffed and Starved, which has (rather predictably) shifted my axis of middle-class guilt over to the 'food' quadrant. Luckily, I'm getting better at channeling my guilt into experimentation with alternatives these days. Patel argues that the world system is profoundly ill, causing huge problems ...

A recent serendipitous find: ''A single file of women and children was walking through the village, their faces drawn and tired. They had walked a very long way. In their hands they carried small satchels, filled with earth and manure, clasping the precious burden tightly, like a golden treasure. They had collected it in far-away villages, ...

First up, a big hello to any BCB5ers reading this - it was great to meet you all and I'm glad you've stopped by here. Part of the idea with BarCamps is that everyone should talk and share, not just spectate, but it still took quite a lot of prompting by a friend to convince me to speak. A roundup of links and thoughts: One of my favourite things ...

Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (1st Perennial classics Ed. New York : HarperPerennial, 1998, 288 p. (first published 1974). I re-read this book over the last month or so. It's wonderful - a rare book of incredible linguistic beauty. It should be compulsory reading for anyone with an interest in the natural sciences, if only to remind ...

Just read Tim Low's book... Low, Tim. 2003. The New Nature. Penguin Books Australia. Overall the thesis of this book seems to be that nature includes humans - whether we like it or not, we're intimately involved in ecosystems  -and therefore what humans have done and will do needs to be factored into our understanding of ...

One of my favourite slack-off activities during work is to watch the video clips by Andy Rooney on the CBS website (http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/rooney/main3419.shtml).  In these segments, each of a few brief minutes, Andy would comment on a wide range of issues, from the most trivials like movies, gifts, and newspapers to ...

Soil, as we understand it today, is a concept of the human mind. From the earliest perceptions of soils as the organic enriched surficial layer to today's pedologic horizonation of profiles there is a rich history of beliefs and understanding of the vital life-sustaining resource. The earthy material is real, it exists, you can touch it, feel it, ...