The Silmarillion (Tolkien)

After 30 years, I’ve finally read it, though not without having tried several times with false starts. Once I got past the first couple “books,” AINULINDALË and VALAQUENTA, the stories became very compelling. The first couple books don’t have much tension, but the creation of the world through song has always struck me as beautiful. … [Read more…]

Book Review: e: The Story of a Number (Maor)

Having just completed my masters degree in math, a not so passive thirst for continuing to review, refresh and explore mathematical ideas persists. I don’t think I will ever pursue further formal training in math, so books like this one will suffice. I don’t remember my first encounter with the number e, but since having taught … [Read more…]

This American Life

Yesterday I completed a years long journey backward in time. My friend Jenn recommended that I check out the podcast of This American Life back in 2012. I checked it out a few months later during summer vacation and then began listening to it regularly during my commutes to work which involved walking and riding … [Read more…]

Book Review: Why I am an Atheist Who Believes in God

Middle of the night reading for quite some time now. For those not familiar with this bold author, Frank Schaeffer began as a popular evangelical author, filmmaker and personality. His disenfranchisement with western Christianity in the 1990s was quite a blow to the establishment. He later became an Eastern Orthodox Christian and liberal Christian author … [Read more…]

A volley of severed heads

Fear. I can smell it. Fear of a destroyed economy thanks to wing nuts who have elected fiscally irresponsible governments at both the provincial and federal levels and tanking oil prices. Fear of sharia law thanks to the flung open gates to Muslim refugees. Fear of global warming storms and weather conditions. Fear of regulations … [Read more…]

BookBoyBlaise

My 11-year-old son has been keeping a blog, bookboyblaise.blogspot.ca, since the begin of this summer. Blaise is a voracious reader and we can barely keep enough books in the house for him. In fact, he will begin reading some of our books (with permission) if there isn’t anything geared towards him. His description of the blog: This … [Read more…]