2017 January : Camille Minichino

Archive for January, 2017

Democracy in action

Filed Under : Personal by Camille

Jan.26,2017

This week, it’s hard to write about anything other than my participation in one of the marches last Saturday, January 21,2017.

Friend and fellow author Ann Parker and I took ourselves to New York City to join the Women’s March. We’ll never have an exact number of marchers, but I’m going with the 400,000 suggested by Mayor Di Blasio’s office.

It’s not my first rodeo <grin> (remember the 60s?), but I’ll never forget the experience of having so many people—men, women, and children—united, smiling at strangers, proudly waving hand-made posters, pressing together in solidarity, with no reported “incidents”.

For those who might wonder “why” these marches all over the world, this video offers one of the best explanations of the NYC march.

And this is my offer of proof that I was there!

The most important part of the day, next to the sheer numbers, was visiting the “activist room” at the HQ hotel — tables of people/info on various political groups with a specific cause to learn about or join. The idea is that the incredible events on Saturday should be followed by constant and consistent action, even if it’s only an email, a petition signed, or a phone call to a local rep, on a regular basis.

Doesn’t this seem like a good idea, no matter which side you’re on?

Take one! Almost as good as being there.

As a bonus for handing out buttons for 3 hours, I got to take a bag home. Want one? Comment here and let me know if you want large (~2″ diam) or small (~3/4″ diam) or a couple of each. As long as supply lasts!

Can You Go Home Again?

Filed Under : personal by Camille

Jan.19,2017

Never waste a good rant, I say, so I’m reposting this blog from LadyKillers.

Question: Can you go home again?

Answer: Certainly! The GPS in my car has a menu item: GO HOME.

But that’s probably not in the spirit of the question the LadyKillers asked.

So, I’ll go back to Western Civ, that all-purpose liberal arts course, for a pithy answer. Here’s Heraclitus, one of my favorite pre-Socratics:

No man ever steps into the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.

That could be the end of it, except for the strange coincidence that an old friend recently posted a video of my hometown, “So Good (The Boston Song)” a “pop anthem” kickstarter project c. 2011.

A nice beat, but to listen to it, you’d think Boston was famous for pro sports and nothing else.

No mention of its Revolutionary War history, the Freedom Trail, neighborhoods like the North End and Southie (remember “Mystic River”?). And no mention of Boston as a center of learning, with 35 colleges and universities, not even including Harvard, MIT, and others across the Charles River in Cambridge. Boston has more than 150,000 students, more than the population of Berkeley, California.

What about the Boston Pops, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Science, the world-class aquarium.

All of this, and Boston is first known for the Bruins and Fenway Park?

Leave it to me, huh, to go from a Greek philosopher to an anti-sports rant in less than 300 words.

Tags : Boston, Fenway, Freedom Trail, MFA

Meme of the Month

Filed Under : Science and Math by Camille

Jan.12,2017

For all the bashing it takes, Facebook is often the source of clever and intelligent memes.* Here’s one of my favorites.

You don’t have to be a scientist to “get” each one, though I confess to having to look up Borlaug. You may already know that Norman Borlaug (1914-2009) was a biologist and humanitarian, winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace, and author of “Feeding a World of 10 Billion People.” He’s credited with extensive contributions to the Green Revolution, thus the stalk of wheat. So, FB can be educational.

I have a particular fondness for

• the apple/o falling from Newton’s name

• the magnet in Faraday’s y

• the Feynman diagram as his y

• the Bohr atom in his o

Each LOGO is a bit of science history. What’s not to like?

* Confirming the meaning and new usage — meme: of Greek origin, meaning a humorous image, video, or piece of text that is copied (often with slight variations) and spread rapidly by Internet users.

Best of 2016

Filed Under : Books,crime,Reading by Camille

Jan.5,2017

In case you missed this on the LadyKillers Blog. It’s the time for “Best Ofs”.

My favorite book of 2016 came to me by way of a swag bag shared by Ann Parker.
She knew I was mad about Malcolm Mackay’s trilogy THE SUDDEN ARRIVAL OF VIOLENCE, HOW A GUNMAN SAYS GOODBYE, AND THE NECESSARY DEATH OF LEWIS WINTER. If you love a good hit man story, as I do, these books are for you.

So I was ready for Mackay’s newest offering, THE NIGHT THE RICH MEN BURNED. Here’s how the Prologue opens:

He ended up unconscious and broken on the floor of a warehouse, penniless and alone. He was two weeks in hospital, unemployable thereafter, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that, for a few weeks beforehand, he had money. Not just a little money, but enough to show off with, and that was the impression that stuck.

I look for three things when rating a book: character, story, and writing. Mackay is a 10 on all counts. In the first lines (above) you know this character: You know what he values, and what he will do to get it. You have arrived in the middle of a story: the man is unconscious, penniless, and alone. And you have great writing: not a wasted word (also not a gerund or an -ly adverb!).

I’m in a few book clubs, one of which is a mystery reading group at a library. We begin each meeting by rating the book, from 10

I’m almost always amazed at ratings.
“I’d give this an 8 or a 9,” Edna might say.
“But the story was weak and there were 3 subplots that weren’t wrapped up.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Edna will say with a shrug. “But I liked the woman.”

“I’d give this story an 8 or a 9,” Ralph might say.
“But the writing was terrible. It could have been written by a third grader.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Ralph will say. “But the story was good.”

and so on.

Apparently, I’m the fussy one, demanding all three criteria are met. I’m curious about you and your rating policies. What does it take for you to give a book a 10? a 1?