Three Ingredient Cocktails

By Robert Simonson

I enjoy Simonson's writing. In this book he brings in a bit of each cocktails history or backstory in along with the recipe.

Some drinks are a just specialty drinks created for clubs that have long since gone away. He records them in the book because he likes them, and hopes they will come back.

Others have more of a story. Why is the martini so iconic yet the Rob Roy an after thought?

Simonson is by no means a purist. If you like your martini with a lemon twist instead of an olive, then have it that way.

But not vodka. Vodka martini's are technically called Kangaroos.

There is not a lot of room for vodka in Three Ingredient Cocktails. It doesn't bring any flavor to the party.

I bought Campari after seeing it pop up in many of the recipes of this book. I was hoping to broaden my cocktail experience. To add some sophistication to my pallet. I now know that I don't like Campari. Too bitter.

The Old Man and the Sea

By Hemmingway

 

I'm trying to get over my apathy towards great literature. The Old Man and the Sea is a good way to dip my toe into that ocean as it's really a novella.

 

It is a very clear and well written novel. I'm not sure what made it so great though. I must keep pushing myself to learn what great literature is.

 

Foucault’s Pendulum

A conspiricy theory thriller. A group of coworkers make up an interesting and well researched conspiracy theory. When word of this theory gets around, some unstable elements embrace it (Think Pizza Gate) and the theory gains a dangerous life.

Part of this is depressing and timely in that even back in the 80's, the author anticpated the crazy way that conspircay theories propagate.

At times the book was tedious, in that the author went to great pains to flesh out the real histrory backing up the fake theory.

An interesting slice of the book covers why some people believe in these theories. The book doesn't really have ideas on how to talk these people back from the ledge. At most it suggests "Don't engage."

How will you measure your life?

by Clayton Christensen, James Allworth & Karen Dillon

Christensen wrote this fighting cancer.

What do I want to remember...

Beware of marginal thinking... the Netflix that kills Blockbuster. The occasional cheating that grows and kills your integrity.

Crap. I need to skim the book again, but my library loan expired.

March 17, 2019... Going through my notes, I see that I have read this book twice. I also took notes to skim the book before I updated this postg again...

Test Assumptions

Dune

By Frank Herbert

As part of my tour through classic sci-fi, I'm reading Dune for the first time. Dumping notes here...

The bad guys are effeminate, gay and have Russian names. The good guys have English. 

On taking something away from a movie or a book.

One of the purposes of this blog is it help me remember important lessons from a book or movie.

A fried who is taking a movie criticism course mentioned that in their classes, they frequently discuss the lessons, if there are any, of a particular movie.

One example-- they had an interesting discussion of the movie "Psycho" and the possible lessons in it. They conclusion was "Don't love your mother too much." That is a terrible lesson. As if the only reason someone is not a psycho is because he loves his mother's just the right amount.

Ringworld

By Larry Niven.

Another sci-fi classic. Nothing I really want to remember about this book. It's a fun read. Not particularly deep.