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Wednesday, October 29, 2003 |
Theodore Rex
Edmund Morris' Theodore Rex is
a the second volume of of his biography of Theodore Roosevelt. A
fascinating character, Roosevelt was incredibly energetic in all ways.
Before becoming President he had read something like 20,000 books and
written 20. He scared big business by attempting to bust trusts,
stopped the British and Germans from invading Venezuela, worked the
deal to build the Panama Canal, was instrumental in bringing the the
war between Russia and Japan to an end, used executive power to protect
a lot of national parks (such as Muir Woods), and much more. Against
these great accomplishments, there's also a record of timorousness and
sometimes hostility (as in the case of a bunch of army troops in
Brownsville) about race; he did little about the epidemic of lynchings
happening (in the North as well as the South) at the time, and his
hijacking of executive powers is regrettable. This is a fascinating,
readable book that really makes you feel the man and the times.
11:42:15 AM Permalink
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Chicken with Basil
I was at the El Cerrito Farmer's market yesterday morning and one of
the vendors had these beautiful bushes of Thai Basil and also bushe of
small Thai peppers. The basil smelled so good. I bought one of each
bushels. Last night I chopped up four cloves of garlic, and about 6 of
the peppers. Threw them into hot oil in the wok. When that had started
cooking good, I put in four chicken breasts, chopped small, and stir
fried. When the chicken was about done, I added 2 tablespoons of oyster
sauce, 1 of soy sauce, and 1 of sugar, and let it all blend. Then I
threw in all the basil leaves from the bush, cooked it till it wilted
good. It was really great eating; most of the flavor was from the sweet
basil, which mixed really well with the chicken. A memorable dish, very
tasty.
9:16:44 AM Permalink
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Between Planets
This is a strange Heinlein, from 1951, it's one of his early juveniles,
and doesn't reach the peaks of Have SpaceSuit, Will Travel, or Citizen
of the Galaxy, to name what I think are the two best. Still, there's a
lot that's interesting in here, in its story of a war between Earth,
Mars and Venus. Typically Heinlein, Mars and Venus are trying to become
independent of Earth, and Heinlein tells the story of a teenager caught
in the middle with apparently divided loyalties. Early in the novel,
the young here, Don Hadley, has an encounter with the IBI, sort of a
planetary FBI, that is really chilling. It's hard to read it and not
think that this kind of thing happens over and over these days to those
who were unlucky enough not to be born as US citizens, and of the wrong
religion. Heinlein coins the term "booklegger" for someone who who
provides forbidden books to others. Heinlein's greatest strength a a
writer (and, truth to tell, he didn't have many) is the way he puts you
right into the future he's imaging, showing how it works and why it's
the way it is. This book shows those strengths, though the technology
and future portrayed is quaint. Recommended, quick reading.
9:11:19 AM Permalink
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© Copyright 2004 Steve Michel.
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