Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Ponder: Outer Order Inner Calm

Gretchen Rubin's first and second books were The Happiness Project and Happier at Home. They were good non-fiction reads, although I liked the first one better. Her third book, Better Than Before, was about habits and I reviewed it in my post for 5/5/15 giving it four stars.

Her latest book however, Outer Order Inner Calm ©2019 is not up to the same standard. I gave it a rating of 1 star which in my scale translates to, "Awful but I read most or maybe even all of it". The book is subtitled, Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness and I will be inspired to do just that by donating this book to my local library.


The book is structured with five topic areas. I dutifully read all five; it did not take long at all. The only additional kernels of wisdom or moments of revelation I gleaned were in the first section about making choices.


  1. Beware of the duration effect. Just because something has been kept for fifteen+ years or so, if it had been used rarely or not at all in that time then it is time to let go. Storing something just because it has been stored it is the equivalent of throwing good money after bad, also know as the sunk-cost fallacy. In this case the sunk-cost is the storage space that has been wasted on this item for so long. It would be foolish to keeping wasting storage space on it. I acknowledge this action is difficult to implement if the item has sentimental or emotional value.
  2. Don't foist your clutter on other people. Guilty as charged. "Maybe my sister would like this necklace I never wore," or "Maybe my son /daughter would like this toy from his/her childhood for one of his/her kids."
Granted this book was small – it traveled well in my suitcase and it was a fast read  – because it had large font and lots of white space on the pages. These two incidental physical attributes are about the limit of any positive remarks I am able to honestly provide. There was almost no original material in Outer Order Inner Calm that had not been stated before in one of Gretchen Rubin's previous books or in other books about clutter. I was expecting some well researched psychological analyses and was disappointed.

Reading the Look inside ↴ prompt on the Amazon link for this book will reveal the majority of its contents. I advise avoiding the purchase of this book, thus precluding any additional contribution to household clutter.

Monday, March 25, 2019

Ponder: The Last Days of Night

In The Last Days of Night ©2016, author Graham Moore postulates and spins the fascinating tale about legal battles between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse for patent rights to the light bulb. The young lead lawyer embroiled in the case is Paul Cravath who is, per journalist/reviewer Erik Larson, "a name that will resonate with ambitious law students everywhere"; this comment first made me realize how true to life this story could very well be. I have never been a fan of history but in this novel, as Graham Moore painted famous people as real characters, he cultivated in me a much deeper appreciation and a more pervasive curiosity for the past.


This book caused me to question my perception that a novel is a work of fiction. The Last Days of Night was filed in my local library using the fiction protocol, alphabetized by the author's name. Slightly perplexed, I asked Google the question if a novel was always fiction. Per wikipedia a non-fiction novel can informally be called a faction.
The non-fiction novel is a literary genre which, broadly speaking, depicts real historical figures and actual events woven together with fictitious conversations and uses the storytelling techniques of fiction. The non-fiction novel is an otherwise loosely defined and flexible genre. The genre is sometimes referred to using the slang term "faction", a portmanteau of the words fact and fiction.
The settings and portrayal of the life and homes of the extremely wealthy – J.P. Morgan, Edison, Westinghouse – drew me in. The described eccentricity of scientist Nicola Tesla startled me and aroused my curiosity. The beauty and glamorous lifestyle of opera singer Agnes Huntington  impressed me while still leaving me a bit in awe of her people skills as evidenced by her EQ (emotional quotient) as well as IQ (intelligence quotient). I myself have been guilty of falling prey to the popular stereotype of lawyers as dishonest charlatans without scruples. After reading this novel I gained a much broader view of lawyers as skilled professionals. Purely and simply, I respected and liked the lawyer/hero of this book. Paul Cravath was not merely very learned in book knowledge. To be successful in his job, he needed to understand people and their motivations as well as how to secure their trust and enlist their help. Paul Cravath also introduced a set of business management principles to the legal profession, now referred to as the Cravath System. The science in this novel was fascinating as well. I had not been aware that such dissension between direct current and alternating current existed and that the battle for dominance of one over the other was so bitterly fought.

The Last Days of Night opened me up to a better appreciation of history and a more balanced view of the legal profession. Any book that can broaden my horizons is well worth reading. Picturesque settings, strong characters, intricate character interactions, an engaging plot, and historical significance resulted in making this book a real winner for me. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and give it 5 stars.

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Hamilton in San Francisco

Last week on Wednesday March 6th, Frank and I went to see Hamilton: An American Musical at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco. We had tickets for a 1:00 pm matinee and took BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) into the city. We left with adequate time and were glad we had done so. There was a medical emergency at one of the stations and all trains were stopped and delayed for about 15 minutes. After climbing the stairs from our subway stop at Civic Center, we looked up and there was the Orpheum Theatre looming above us with the huge logo of the musical on its marquee.


The story is about Alexander Hamilton, his personal life, yes, but even more so the role he played in America's history, both in the revolution and in the initial setting up of our government and its financial system.


In the theatre we had BALCONY seats C201 and C202. They were on an aisle and pretty much centered so, even though were were up high and somewhat far away, we saw and heard well enough. We had a great overview of the action and were very impressed with a rotating stage that actors walked on and off with ease. Their motions were so synchronized and so well-timed I would think the blocking alone for the performance must have required a lot of planning and practice.


This is the view from our seats.We did not think to bring binoculars or opera glasses but we did fine without them.



Frank and I had slightly under 30 minutes to relax, eat a snack of peanut M&Ms, and get accustomed to and comfortable in our seats. I have pix of the two of us sitting side by side that I am unwilling to share. My selfies are blurry and of necessity taken at a very non-complimentary angle. It is a short arm and generational deficit, I fear.


The music and lyrics are by Lin-Manuel Miranda and the presentation is performed in a part-sung and part-rap style, a fair majority of it at a lightning fast pace. The sheer volume of words the performers needed to memorize was staggeringly impressive. 

I was a bit concerned about being able to understand audio from this distance but the actors enunciated well. Even with a fast-paced rap, Frank and I understood probably 80% to 85%. Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were by far the clearest. I admit I had trouble understanding Lafayette. Rap is enough of a challenge for me without overlying it with a French accent! George Washington was very dominating in tone and in stature as a great leader. The King of England was short of stature and what a hoot! He was featured in two songs. In the second, after the revolution and establishment of the United States he sang
They say, George Washington's yielding his power and stepping away.
Is that true?
I wasn't aware that was something a person could do.
I'm perplexed.
Are they going to keep on replacing whoever's in charge?
If so who's next?
There's nobody else in their country who looms quite as large.
[whispers][Spoken]John Adams?
I know him. That can't be. That's that little guy who spoke to me
All those years ago. What was it '85?
That poor man, they're going to eat him alive.
Ocean's rise, empires fall. Next to Washington they all look small.
All alone watch them run. They will tear each other in to pieces,
Jesus Christ this will be fun.
Frank and I studied ahead of time. Several times we read a synopsis at the website http://www.themusicallyrics.com/h/351-hamilton-the-musical.html that also contained links to the lyrics of the songs. I listened to most of the songs from a CD our friend Vickie had lent to us while reading and re-reading the lyrics until I finally said to Frank, "You know, I have spent close to 4 hours studying for a 2-hour show." But it was worth the effort  – even though there was no test at the end. I got much more out of the performance. My daughter Robin sent me a link to a YouTube video of Lin-Manuel Miranda in 2009 when he was invited to perform a sample of Hamilton at the White House for an audience that included Barack Obama and his wife Michelle. It is slightly over four minutes long and worth a listen to give a sense of what the show was like. After seeing the show I also watched the Top 10 Hamilton songs on YouTube and the 11 minute segment did recall for me parts of the musical I especially liked. If debating whether or not to see Hamilton, this is a revealing snapshot of what to expect. There are glimpses of the rotating stage and the costuming.

Frank and I enjoyed Hamilton: An American Musical, much more than we were anticipating. We chose to go with an open mind but low expectations. We were apprehensive that the rap genre would be intimidating or boring or both. To the contrary, its rhythm was catchy and somewhat addictive. The performers were energetic. The stage sets were minimal but oh-so effective in their movement, transitions, and creativity. The costumes were soft shades of colors of the time; yet myself, a color aficionado, did not find them drab. They melded perfectly with the era and intent. The exceptions in the soldiers' uniforms – the strong blue of the Revolutionists and the bold red of the British – made a stark contrast that spoke of the harshness of war. I am in no way a history buff but this show made history much more intriguing for me than it ever was in my school days. I am glad I made the effort to see the musical that has been talked about so much.

Saturday, March 2, 2019

Ponder: Magic Hour

Kristin Hannah's novel Magic Hour ©2006 is the story of a young girl who appears out of the deep dark woods of the Olympic National Forest in a small community in Washington state. She is speechless and alone save for a wolf pup she clutches as she crouches terrified in the branches of a tree next to the town square.

A highly acclaimed, but publicly disgraced, child psychiatrist and her sister, the police chief of the small town, work diligently to help this child they name Alice. While Dr. Julie Cates seeks to help the child with her physical and emotional needs, Chief Ellie Cates reaches out within the media and investigative law networks to locate the parents of the abandoned-lost-abducted girl. Alice's background is unknown, making is difficult for Julie to know how best to help her; Alice's lack of speech severely hampers Ellie's efforts to find her family, giving her no clues where to start.


I admire and enjoy the books of author Kristin Hannah. She does an excellent job with her character portrayal and development and Magic Hour is no exception. I have read
Of those I think On Mystic Lake, Firefly Lane, and Nightingale were my favorites. Why? Because I like those characters best. The characters are what I remember most from her books even as the plot details fade in my memory. On Mystic Lake and Firefly Lane remain in my memory even though I did not have a blog post reminding me about them, so they must have appealed to me. (Those two are also personal favorites of the author herself.) I mildly disliked the helicopter mom of Night Road and the husband wife relationship in Distant Shores, so those books were my least favorite. But back to Magic Hour.

The focal character Alice is most certainly memorable, and her development from a socially isolated child from the wild toward a loving, interacting young person is an amazing, awe-inspiring, and exemplary model for how persistent love can conquer seemingly impossible tasks. Psychiatrist Julie Cates continually does research into developmentally-delayed children, emotionally-mentally-impaired children, and feral children throughout the novel. I am sure in real life Kristin Hannah did similar research to enable herself to paint a realistic picture of the struggles and hopes inherent in rehabilitating a damaged child. This research must have been agonizing. I checked out some of the instances Julie refers to as historical case studies; the horrific treatment these children were subjected to was shocking and disturbing to read about.

Reading the Wikipedia entry for feral children brings an awareness that a child raised in the wild is not as happy and rosy a picture as Mowgli from the Rudyard Kipling jungle book and the Disney jungle movies would lead one to believe.


The mistreatment of a child early on in its life has devastating consequences. The true story of Genie, a girl discovered 1970 in Los Angeles after being confined to one room and extremely stimulation, movement, and nutrition starved by her father for thirteen years is a prime and classic example. Julie and Ellie strive hard to bring Alice back to a normal life and avoid at all costs having her become an object of scientific study into the effects of deprivation on development. Fortunately Magic Hour does not dwell on how Alice was mistreated to become as she is, but rather focuses on the caring, dedicated efforts to bring her back to become a normal interacting member of society. The book is very uplifting; the research necessary to make it plausible was not. 

The forensic work to determine the background of how she came to be living in the woods – whether it was being separated from parents in some sort of accident, being abducted and held captive, being abandoned intentionally – make for a page turning back story, but the mystery is secondary and of concern only in terms of reuniting Alice with her family. The effect that public media could have on helping or hurting the child was worth some thought. Publicity has the power to aid in finding her family or sensationalizing her as a freak.

So why is the novel titled Magic Hour? That phrase taken literally does not hint at the rehabilitation efforts of a needy child nor at the police efforts to locate her family. The author sets a scene at the beginning of Chapter Two, immediately before the five or six year old girl is noticed, high up in a tree beside the town square. Admittedly, even though I often skim over descriptive sections of text as sometimes superfluous, I remember this image being emblazoned in my mind as I read – and reread – it.
The rain stopped at the same time and sunlight peered through the clouds. ... It was Magic Hour, the moment in time when every leaf and blade of grass seemed separate, when sunlight burnished by the rain and softened by the coming night, gave the world an impossibly beautiful glow. ... Clouds the color of old nails moved across the sky, trying to diffuse the fading light, but now that the sun was here, it wouldn't  be pushed aside. Rain Valley – all five blocks of it – seemed to glow in an otherworldly light. Brick storefronts, built one after another in the halcyon salmon-and-timber days of the seventies, shone like hammered copper.
I interpret this transitional weather phenomenon to be a symbolic hint of the transformation the little girl is about to attempt – from out of the darkness into the light – from deep, dank, dark rains into open, warm, welcoming beams of sunshine. I read a review of Magic Hour in teenreads that took this parallel a bit further attributing it to emerging character growth of not only Alice but also Julie, Ellie, and a medical doctor friend Max. Hmm. That is another viewpoint worth pondering.


I read this book in two sittings - well rather one interrupted sitting since I did have to sleep one night. I rate it five stars because it had great characters almost all of whom I really liked and because all those characters acted out of concern and love. The settings were exquisitely described, so much to the extent that I took the time to dawdle over them and imbibe them. The plot was quick paced and held my interest. I almost subtracted half a star because of the somewhat disturbing topic but then I realized my discomfort arose from my poking around in research after I had read the book.