Category: Read
Chris Aldrich is reading “Marginalia | Parallel Transport”
I write margin notes while reading books. They help me keep my thoughts on record and within context. But how do I do that on a website or an ebook?
Chris Aldrich is reading “How To Have Paragraph Commenting Just Like Medium”
Paragraph commenting, or annotations is not exactly new. Readers have been scribbling in the margins of books, magazines and uni assignments for years. The online world has been slow to adopt this approach which is perhaps why Medium caused a stir and no shortage of admiring looks when it went the annotation route. Well, admire forlornly no more because I'm going to show you how to add paragraph commenting to your WordPress site. There are existing annotation solutions for WordPress but they are generally theme dependent, or in the case of CommentPress actually provide a theme.
Chris Aldrich is reading “Department of Energy May Have Broken the Second Law of Thermodynamics”
“Quantum-based demons” sound like they'd be at home in 'Stranger Things.'
📗 Started reading Fletch and the Man Who by Gregory Mcdonald
A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
Paddington Bear
Juvenile Fiction
Harper Collins
July 22, 2014; Original release in 1958
e-book
176
Overdrive
Paddington Bear had traveled all the way from darkest Peru when the Browns first met him in Paddington Station. Since then, their lives have never been quite the same . . . for ordinary things become extraordinary when a bear called Paddington is involved. First published in 1958, A Bear Called Paddington is the first novel by Michael Bond, chronicling the adventures of this lovable bear. Paddington has charmed readers for generations with his earnest good intentions and humorous misadventures. This brand-new edition of the classic novel contains the original text by Michael Bond and illustrations by Peggy Fortnum.
Paddington gets himself into the same types of trouble a typical 3-6 year old would in not understanding the culture, mores, and standards around him. In this sense the book falls into a category similar to Amelia Bedelia, who perennially doesn’t understand colloquialisms and other homophones. The difference is that, because he’s a cuddlier small bear, he’s cuter and thereby one is prone to be more forgiving than they would be of a child or of a grown woman who’s so dense that she apparently doesn’t have any linguistic intelligence at all.
Because Paddington is a bear and not a young child, the family also allows him to do things by himself that no sane parent would allow a young child to do: go to the market by themselves, wander around in a crowded theater unattended, float out into the ocean without a keen eye being kept on them. It’s this slight change which allows our young bear to get into far more trouble than a human youngster might.
Toward the end, I began to read using rapid serial visual presentation (with Spritz), and the language and quirks came through just as well as any other parts of the book. I did find myself picking up my Kindle Paperwhite to highlight a few choice passages and funny parts for later reflection though. There was a nice prologue with some interesting observations by the author several decades after he wrote the original. With a bit of thought, some of these make great advice for budding authors.
In sum, an entertaining an charming book whose self-contained chapters lend themselves well to bedtime stories.
Reading Progress
- 05/27/16 marked as: want to read; “I’d watched the recent film version during the late Spring and thought I’d circle back around and read this again to see how closely the film followed the story. I haven’t read it since I was a child in maybe 3rd or 4th grade.”
- 09/06/16 started reading
- 09/08/16 ??.0% done;
- 10/01/16 18.0% done;
- 10/02/16 22.0% done;
- 10/26/16 33.0% done; “The plot moves somewhat slowly and the action is mostly what one would expect from a 5 or 6 year old–except that it’s a bear–but the charming language and the way in which is told makes all the difference. Bacon in a suitcase–indeed!”
- 10/28/16 47.0% done;
- 10/30/16 70.0% done;
“Chapter 5: Paddington and the “Old Master”
The pledge and the turn are reasonably well executed, but the prestige is lacking a bit.
Chapter 6: A Visit to the Theater
It’s episodes like this that make me wonder why they turned Paddington into a movie instead of a TV sitcom.” - 10/31/16 Finished book;
“Chapter Seven: Adventure at the Seaside
The set up for this was short and sweet and the ending was what we’ve come to love in a Paddington story.
Chapter Eight: A Disappearing Trick
This is just hilariously charming. I do wish the uncivil neighbor had been better set up in a prior story, but the short treatment done here is sufficient for the hilarity that ensues with Paddington attempting a magic show.”
Highlights, Quotes, & Marginalia
“You can’t just sit in Paddington Station waiting for something to happen.”
“How’s that to be going on with?”
“Things are always happening to me. I’m that sort of bear.”
“That’s the trouble with being small—no one ever expects you to want things.”
“I do,” exclaimed Jonathan. “She says it to me sometimes.”
“I’ll have one for worst if you like,” he said. “That’s my best one!”
“I think,” said Paddington, “if you don’t mind, I’d rather use the stairs.”
“I’m not mean,” said Paddington indignantly. “I’m just careful, that’s all.”
“I don’t mind him just thinking,” said Mrs. Brown, with a worried expression on her face. “It’s when he actually thinks of something that the trouble starts.”
“I think,” said Paddington to the world in general, “they might have stood it the right way up. It’s not every day a bear wins first prize in a painting competition!”
“Mind my marmalade sandwich!” cried Paddington as she placed it on the ledge in front of him. But it was too late. He looked round guiltily.
“Crikey!” said Jonathan. “It’s fallen on someone’s head!” He looked over the edge of the box. “It’s that man with the bald head. He looks jolly cross.”
“Oh, Paddington!” Mrs. Brown looked despairingly at him. “Do you have to bring marmalade sandwiches to the theater?”
“I expect it flew away when it saw your face,” said the man nastily. “Now, where’s my pound?” Paddington looked at him even harder for a moment. “Perhaps the bird took it when it flew away,” he said.
“He doesn’t even like having a bath much,” said Judy. “So I’m sure he can’t swim.”
Without stopping, the man looked back over his shoulder and shouted, “Chap just crossed the Atlantic all by ’isself on a raft. ’Undreds of days without food or water so they say!” He hurried on.
The lifesaving man looked disappointed. “Another of these publicity stunts,” he said. “We get ’em every year.”
Mr. Brown looked thoughtful. “I wonder,” he said, looking in the direction of the pier.
“It would be just like him,” said Mrs. Bird. “It’s the sort of thing that would happen to Paddington.”
“Just like the Queen,” said Mrs. Bird. “So you ought to consider yourself very important.”
“Perhaps you’d better leave them until tomorrow,” said Mrs. Brown hastily. Whenever Paddington wrote any letters, he generally managed to get more ink on himself than on the paper, and he was looking so unusually smart, having had a bath the night before, that it seemed a pity to spoil it.
“I was only joking,” he added hurriedly as Paddington turned an inquiring gaze on him.
Nevertheless, as soon as lunch was over, Mr. Brown hurried down the garden and locked up his tools. With Paddington there was no sense in taking chances.
“Oh, dear,” said Mrs. Bird as she hurried out to the kitchen, “I know something dreadful is going to happen.”
“Are you sure?” asked Mrs. Brown anxiously. “Wouldn’t anything else do?”
Paddington consulted his instruction book. “It says a watch,” he said firmly.
Mr. Brown hurriedly pulled his sleeve down over his left wrist. Unfortunately, Mr. Curry, who was in an unusually good mood after his free tea, stood up and offered his. Paddington took it gratefully and placed it on the table. “This is a jolly good trick,” he said, reaching down into his box and pulling out a small hammer.
“You ought to be ashamed of yourself, telling lies in front of a young bear!”
Guide to highlight colors
Yellow–general highlights and highlights which don’t fit under another category below
Orange–Vocabulary word; interesting and/or rare word
Green–Reference to read
Blue–Interesting Quote
Gray–Typography Problem
Red–Example to work through
📕 Finished with A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
Chapter Seven: Adventure at the Seaside
The set up for this was short and sweet and the ending was what we’ve come to love in a Paddington story.
Chapter Eight: A Disappearing Trick
This is just hilariously charming. I do wish the uncivil neighbor had been better set up in a prior story, but the short treatment done here is sufficient for the hilarity that ensues with Paddington attempting a magic show.
Chris Aldrich is reading “The little-known story of how “fracking” entered our vocabulary”
"True story," Matthew Lewis, a communications strategist based in San Francisco, told me recently over Twitter. "I put the 'k' in fracking." As best I can verify, he is correct. I'd always wondered how the term "fracking," which has dominated energy discussions for years, worked its way into our vocabulary. And the backstory turns out to be pretty interesting.
Chris Aldrich is reading “I Had Ten Dollars / Greg Leppert – Reading.am”
Interview with Greg Leppert. Founder of Reading.am. Co-founder of Svpply. Reads a lot.
Chris Aldrich is reading “Instapaper is joining Pinterest”
Today, we’re excited to announce that Instapaper is joining Pinterest. In the three years since betaworks acquired Instapaper from Marco Arment, we’ve completely rewritten our backend, overhauled our mobile and web clients, improved parsing and search, and introduced tons of great features like highlights, text-to-speech, and speed reading to the product.
Chris Aldrich is reading “What’s in a blog? “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other n…”
What's in a blog? "What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet." - Romeo and Juliet Late last night I got into a… - Mike Elgan - Google+
📖 70.0% done with A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
Chapter 5: Paddington and the “Old Master”
The pledge and the turn are reasonably well executed, but the prestige is lacking a bit.
Chapter 6: A Visit to the Theater
It’s episodes like this that make me wonder why they turned Paddington into a movie instead of a TV sitcom.
📖 47.0% done with A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
“I’ll have one for worst if you like,” he said. “that’s my best one!”
Paddington had a very persistent stare when he cared to use it. It was a very powerful stare. One which his Aunt Lucy had taught him and which he kept for special occasions.
Bears were rather unpredictable. You never quite knew what they were thinking, and this one in particular seemed to have a mind of his own.
“I think,” said Paddington, “if you don’t mind, I’d rather use the stairs.”
📖 On page 86 of 448 of Dealing with China by Henry M. Paulson, Jr.
Finished the section on the IPO of China Telecom (Hong Kong) and read through the more difficult IPO of PetroChina. There are some conflicting statements between the two accounts which I find interesting as they relate to doing business in general. I’m sure they stem, in part, from retelling the stories nearly 20 years later along with editorial oversight. In the first account he complains of not having enough time while in the second he complains of a client dragging things out and going too slowly.
The retelling of history from his perspective is perhaps a bit too measured but expected given that he’s still actively working and maintaining an image. There are a few interesting bon mots from time to time, but I’m beginning to think that reading a bit more hard-hitting history would be more enlightening given what I know of China. I’m beginning to read this more for enjoyment and entertainment that the original historical and economic visions I had anticipated.
While a generally interesting read so far, I find it to be a bit too antiseptic as if it’s either been over-edited or the ghost writer watered down all the personality.
📖 33.0% done with A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
The plot moves somewhat slowly and the action is mostly what one would expect from a 5 or 6 year old–except that it’s a bear–but the charming language and the way in which is told makes all the difference.
Bacon in a suitcase–indeed!