Bududo
King County Library System
Bududo's Completed Shelf
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Lawrence of ArabiaLawrence of Arabia, DVD
DVD - 2000 | Limited edDVD, 2000. Limited ed
Added Feb 22, 2021
Doctor ZhivagoDoctor Zhivago, DVD
DVD - 2010 | Anniversary edDVD, 2010. Anniversary ed
Added Feb 22, 2021
Bududo's rating:
Added Feb 17, 2021
Bel CantoBel Canto, Audiobook CD
by Patchett, AnnAudiobook CD - 2007 | UnabridgedAudiobook CD, 2007. Unabridged
Bududo's rating:
Added Feb 17, 2021
Comment:
This is a beautifully written book that is a reimagining of the 1996 Peruvian Maoist capture of a party in the capital at the Japanese ambassador's house. In the novel, the setting and guests are somewhat different but now the author can consider the dynamics between the set of cultivated upper crust and the generally untutored rural Maoist captors. At the center of the novel is a world famous opera singer and the Japanese guest of honor who's birthday is being celebrated along with his very able translator. Stage by stage the different characters (hostages and captors alike) find within themselves elements that they never knew. And although realizing that all things will come to an end, a livable, and in some cases, quite enjoyable environment is created. The language matches the singing which matches the mood of a gentle love story bookended by violent ends. The audio is terrific with wonderfully nuanced dialog of several different characters.This is a beautifully written book that is a reimagining of the 1996 Peruvian Maoist capture of a party in the capital at the Japanese ambassador's house. In the novel, the setting and guests are somewhat different but now the author can consider…
Bududo's rating:
Added Feb 15, 2021
Comment:
Superficially, this is a murder mystery. This story is told in three parts: Parts 1 & 2 are told as by a down-on-his-luck investigating lawyer who turns out to be an unreliable witness, confused & mostly. The setting is in a large city in Switzerland and the dates range from the early sixties to the mid-eighties. The writing style, in keeping with the confused narrative, is comprised of lengthy run-on sentences with multiple clauses. There is a cast of strange characters with familial and historical ties that add another complexity to the narrative. Part 3 is from the author's perspective which serves to both clean up the mysteries and comment on the legal, ethical, and moral climate of Switzerland.Superficially, this is a murder mystery. This story is told in three parts: Parts 1 & 2 are told as by a down-on-his-luck investigating lawyer who turns out to be an unreliable witness, confused & mostly. The setting is in a large city in…
The Yellow HouseThe Yellow House, Book
by Broom, Sarah M.Book - 2019 | First Grove Atlantic editionBook, 2019. First Grove Atlantic edition
Bududo's rating:
Added Jan 31, 2021
Comment:
This book is a set of reminiscences about place (New Orleans and particularly the Yellow House) and family (The extended Broom family) as written by Sarah the youngest of twelve siblings. By her writing, it is clear that she observes and notes with some poignancy the events from grand parents to her generation and comments on them with some introspection. The events span the changing of societal attitudes towards civil rights as well as the local politics of New Orleans both before and after Katrina. The author shares with her readers both the good and the bad that occur with a perspective that allows the reader to see and hear and experience lives growing up in an environment that I suspect will be unfamiliar for most people outside of New Orleans. I just wish that the publisher had taken the time to print better copies of the photos. It is good that she has taken the time to write and I look forward to her next book.This book is a set of reminiscences about place (New Orleans and particularly the Yellow House) and family (The extended Broom family) as written by Sarah the youngest of twelve siblings. By her writing, it is clear that she observes and notes with…
American DirtAmerican Dirt, Book
by Cummins, JeanineBook - 2020 | First U.S. editionBook, 2020. First U.S. edition
Added Jan 31, 2021
Comment:
This is a well written and evenly paced adventure story tracing the escape by a mother and her 8 year old boy from a murderous cartel in Acapulco Mexico and their trek to the illegal entry into the United States. The author is clearly conveying several messages that she never misses to press home: first is the plight of the Latino migrants that is driving them to cross over into the United States, second the variation of characters that defy stereotyping of the migrants, and third that women can be resourceful and resilient in the face of adversity. The author, however, works too hard to drive home the messages and in places forces dialogue that simply is not very credible and results in the overall narrative suffering.This is a well written and evenly paced adventure story tracing the escape by a mother and her 8 year old boy from a murderous cartel in Acapulco Mexico and their trek to the illegal entry into the United States. The author is clearly conveying…
The New MapThe New Map, BookEnergy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations
by Yergin, DanielBook - 2020 | First editionBook, 2020. First edition
Bududo's rating:
Added Jan 31, 2021
Comment:
This is a wide ranging overview of the world's energy and how it is produced, distributed, and consumed. The author explains how a nation's energy producer or consumer status influences that nation's foreign policies. Closely related to energy consumption because of the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the energy conversion of fossil fuels, it the discussion about climate change, its cause and impact, and the various efforts to address it. Unfortunately, the author only discusses reductions in carbon dioxide as a means to address climate change. There really needs to (and can) be a much more imaginative set of approaches. Furthermore, the author, in discussing transportation fueled by internal combustion engines or by electric batteries does not provide an assessment for the overall energy transformation efficiencies involved. Nor does the author discuss, except in passing, fuel cell technology. Also the author pays little or no attention to nuclear fusion - the seemingly always future of electric power generation. Overall, the book is very readable but from my perspective lacking in coverage of key topics.This is a wide ranging overview of the world's energy and how it is produced, distributed, and consumed. The author explains how a nation's energy producer or consumer status influences that nation's foreign policies. Closely related to energy…
American DirtAmerican Dirt, Audiobook CDA Novel
by Cummins, JeanineAudiobook CD - 2019 | UnabridgedAudiobook CD, 2019. Unabridged
Bududo's rating:
Added Jan 31, 2021
The French Lieutenant's WomanThe French Lieutenant's Woman, Book
by Fowles, JohnBook - 1998 | 1st Back Bay pbk. edBook, 1998. 1st Back Bay pbk. ed
Bududo's rating:
Added Jan 10, 2021
Comment:
The author sets this novel in the Victorian age and as a modern Victorian novel with some differences. The female protagonist, Sara Woodruff, is a character no like any other in a traditional Victorian novel - one who has independent thoughts and impresses the male protagonist (Mr. Smithson) with her intelligence. The novel is structured with introductory chapter quotes from mostly Victorian age poems, novels, non-fiction. The authors descriptive language and plot pacing are excellent. My quibble is with the annoying use of the author-narrator as someone who plays with the plot and toys with the reader. The story also features three possible endings. Between the annoying narrator and multiple endings, it seems that the author is trying too hard with the result of a bit pretentious novel. But if the reader can put that aside, there is much in the historical aspects of the novel to be enjoyed.The author sets this novel in the Victorian age and as a modern Victorian novel with some differences. The female protagonist, Sara Woodruff, is a character no like any other in a traditional Victorian novel - one who has independent thoughts and…
The Measure of All ThingsThe Measure of All Things, BookThe Seven-year Odyssey and Hidden Error That Transformed the World
by Alder, KenBook - 2002Book, 2002
Bududo's rating:
Added Dec 30, 2020
Comment:
In the narrative, the author mentions the hazards of unit confusion related to the Mars Climate Orbiter. A perhaps more cogent example of the dangers involved in units confusion is illustrated by the Gimli Glider episode. This was a Boeing 767 that took on insufficient fuel due to a miscalculation confusing lbs./liter with kilograms/liter.
Regarding precision and accuracy, to my mind the description of accuracy is correct but that of precision is a bit muddled. Precision is the ability to distinguish between two different results. In modern digital arithmetic, it is the number of digits that a result can be expressed. For analog instruments, such as the repeating circle, precision is limited by half of the finest gradation of the measurement scale. It would be interesting to know the gradations of the measurement scales of the repeating circles. In this modern era of digital computers and readouts, it is dismaying to me that numerical data is frequently reported at the best available precision but is not reflective of the attained accuracy which would typically show far fewer digits.
As far as accuracy is concerned, it seemed that there was pretty good knowledge about various sources of accuracy but it was not clear that this extended to instrumentation. It would have been good to understand the components of the error budget and the approximate range and magnitude. I would have expected that to mitigate the instrument as a source of error, one would have employed multiple instruments and possibly averaged out the results. It seems that the repeating circles were so difficult to fabricate that each expedition only used one. For random, uniformly distributed errors, averaging works quite well to achieve the best accuracy. I did find it interesting that the method of least squares was developed at least in part by this data.
One source of error is the variation in altitude of the points of the triangle. It is not clear if a baro-altimeter used to estimate the height of the mountain peaks. I believe that fairly accurate altimeters were available at that time.
The author mentions that the United States is the only major country holding out of full adoption of the metric system. This implies that the other countries use the metric system for all measurements. This is emphatically not true. English units are still in wide use around the globe for certain applications. The oil industry measures output in barrels of oil. A barrel is of course 42 gallons. Also, air traffic control directs airplanes to flight levels. So flight level 30 is 30,000 feet. Conveniently vertical separation is then by flight levels or 1,000 feet. And then there is the measurement of gold in Troy ounces.
Which brings me to the point that units of measure ultimately need to be conveniently sized serve the user. In the debate a standard meter, it seems that the savants gave little consideration to the appropriateness of the unit of measure relative to common usage. For example, in food packaging and preparation arguably the English mostly binary units of measures seem to be nicely tailored to a wide range of production scales.
Finally, the author does not discuss the proliferation of intelligent devices such as smart phones and laptops with the ease of accurate conversion between units of measures.In the narrative, the author mentions the hazards of unit confusion related to the Mars Climate Orbiter. A perhaps more cogent example of the dangers involved in units confusion is illustrated by the Gimli Glider episode. This was a Boeing 767 that…
The African QueenThe African Queen, DVD
DVD - 2010DVD, 2010
Added Dec 23, 2020
Night Comes to the CumberlandsNight Comes to the Cumberlands, BookA Biography of A Depressed Area
by Caudill, Harry M.Book - 1963 | 1st ed.Book, 1963. 1st ed.
Bududo's rating:
Added Nov 06, 2020
Comment:
This an excellent narrative of the history, economies, and culture of Americans living in the set of South Eastern Kentucky counties resting on the Cumberland plateau. The writing is lucid but at times repetitive and dry. This area is characterized by rugged terrain with mountain ridges laying on top of rich coal seams. Ironically, the rise and fall of the coal mining industry in this area has given way to a culture of poverty and dependent welfare in contrast to the original settlers life of subsistence and independence. The claims in the narrative would have been bolstered by select data. Unfortunately, the data presented in the book is mostly anecdotal. The observations of the book stop at about 55 years ago. At the time this was written, LBJ and Congress were about to embark on a "War on Poverty". It is not clear if any of that program made a lasting impact.This an excellent narrative of the history, economies, and culture of Americans living in the set of South Eastern Kentucky counties resting on the Cumberland plateau. The writing is lucid but at times repetitive and dry. This area is characterized…
Zorba the GreekZorba the Greek, Book
by Kazantzakis, NikosBook - 1996 | 1st Scribner Paperback Fiction edBook, 1996. 1st Scribner Paperback Fiction ed
Bududo's rating:
Added Oct 31, 2020
Comment:
This is a philosophical book that pairs an aspiring young author, who has some money and lots of idealism, with a worldly and enthusiastic man (Zorba). The author sets out to mine coal in Crete as a pretext to set up a socialist utopia. On the way, Zorba just attaches himself to the author. The story weaves along between the mining and musings, observations of the villagers, monks, women, men, and nature. In the end, the church and the villagers do not come off very well. The writing is first rate.This is a philosophical book that pairs an aspiring young author, who has some money and lots of idealism, with a worldly and enthusiastic man (Zorba). The author sets out to mine coal in Crete as a pretext to set up a socialist utopia. On the way,…
The Orchard KeeperThe Orchard Keeper, Book
by McCarthy, CormacBook - 1993 | 1st Vintage International edBook, 1993. 1st Vintage International ed
Bududo's rating:
Added Oct 12, 2020
Comment:
As someone who grew up in Mr. McCarthy's neighborhood, the descriptions he provides of the mountain, the environment, the inhabitants, and the language all ring true and brought back good memories. I agree that this novel does not represent his best effort but it does have flashes of things to come for Mr. McCarthy.As someone who grew up in Mr. McCarthy's neighborhood, the descriptions he provides of the mountain, the environment, the inhabitants, and the language all ring true and brought back good memories. I agree that this novel does not represent his best…
Bududo's rating:
Added Oct 01, 2020
Comment:
This novel is set in 16th century Istanbul centered on a group of miniaturist painters working to create a book for the sultan. This is at a time when this art form flourished and could trace its lineage to various centers in the east and middle east. At this time, however, artists in Istanbul became acquainted with the Italian renaissance painting techniques which created controversy. The novel also references very many Islamic and middle eastern legends and historical figures. The western equivalent might be Umberto Ecco's novels. The author's technique relies on many different voices - including a gold coin - that it at times becomes confusing. Although billed as a mystery, this is less a mystery than an opportunity to recount many different stories and artistic debates.This novel is set in 16th century Istanbul centered on a group of miniaturist painters working to create a book for the sultan. This is at a time when this art form flourished and could trace its lineage to various centers in the east and middle…
The Lexus and the Olive TreeThe Lexus and the Olive Tree, Book
by Friedman, Thomas L.Book - 2000 | Rev. edBook, 2000. Rev. ed
Bududo's rating:
Added Oct 01, 2020
Comment:
This book focuses on the post cold war global economic environment. The idea is that we have transitioned from a fairly clear cut largely centrally directed conflict in the cold war to a little understood amorphous and distributed engagement called globalization. The actors in this globalization economic environment are not under some centralized control but behave as in a herd - in this case an electronic herd that can shift directions very quickly. Some are in position to take advantage of this and others are bewildered. As this book was first published in 1999, it has aged. Remarkably little was said about China or its methods to achieve industrialization. For that matter, little is made of various theories for countries attempting to achieve industrialization. Instead, there are a number of fascinating anecdotes.This book focuses on the post cold war global economic environment. The idea is that we have transitioned from a fairly clear cut largely centrally directed conflict in the cold war to a little understood amorphous and distributed engagement called…
Yellowstone and the Great WestYellowstone and the Great West, BookJournals, Letters, and Images From the 1871 Hayden Expedition
Book - 1999Book, 1999
Bududo's rating:
Added May 17, 2020
Comment:
This book provides a journal account of the 1871 Hayden expedition to the Yellowstone. Curiously, this expedition was supported by the Northern Pacific Railroad to help out with topographical surveys useful to site the northern transcontinental railroad as well as the development potential of the Yellowstone region. The expedition consisted of a set of men with a diverse set of skills: management, topographer, painter, geologist, photographer, hunter, guide, and soldiers for escort. As the area was still wild and the intentions of the Indians not all to certain, the US Army provided an escort as well as supported an independent team of explorers under the leadership of Col. Barrow. The journal provides interesting account of the western lands (from Salt Lake City to Yellowstone) including observations of the Mormons, western ranches, the land itself with scientific findings, and the occasional brushes with the Indians. The book contains some very wonderful photographs from William Henry Jackson of camps, expedition members, and Indians. This expedition and its reports (official and news articles) were the prime impetus to create the nation's and world's first national park. All in all a remarkable account.This book provides a journal account of the 1871 Hayden expedition to the Yellowstone. Curiously, this expedition was supported by the Northern Pacific Railroad to help out with topographical surveys useful to site the northern transcontinental…
Wilderness NavigationWilderness Navigation, BookFinding your Way Using Map, Compass, Altimeter & GPS
by Burns, BobBook - 2015 | Third editionBook, 2015. Third edition
Bududo's rating:
Added May 13, 2020
Comment:
The authors carefully explain the methods and tools used in wilderness navigation. It is very clear that years of experience is behind this book. Two minor nits however: 1) the scale of the map in the eBook is not 1 to 1 resulting in the inability to directly use the marking of the compass straightedge for distance. 2) The authors have the annoying habit of scolding their readers.The authors carefully explain the methods and tools used in wilderness navigation. It is very clear that years of experience is behind this book. Two minor nits however: 1) the scale of the map in the eBook is not 1 to 1 resulting in the inability…
Wilderness NavigationWilderness Navigation, eBookFinding your Way Using Map, Compass, Altimeter & GPS
by Burns, BobeBook - 2004 | Second editioneBook, 2004. Second edition
Bududo's rating:
Added May 13, 2020
Montcalm and WolfeMontcalm and Wolfe, eBook[the Riveting Story of the Heroes of the French and Indian War]
by Parkman, FranciseBook - 1999 | Modern Library edeBook, 1999. Modern Library ed
Bududo's rating:
Added May 06, 2020
Comment:
This is a very well written and highly insightful history of the French and Indian war. Francis Parkman also provides a commentary on the sources the he uses - some of which he has determined are dependable and others less so. Many of these sources (at least the English ones) are available on line and provide interesting reading.This is a very well written and highly insightful history of the French and Indian war. Francis Parkman also provides a commentary on the sources the he uses - some of which he has determined are dependable and others less so. Many of these sources…
Queens' PlayQueens' Play, Book
by Dunnett, DorothyBook - 1997 | 1st Vintage Books edBook, 1997. 1st Vintage Books ed
Bududo's rating:
Added May 06, 2020
Comment:
This is a book that probably takes several reads before one understands all the references or hints of future action. Although the language is wonderful, the period and subject matter interesting, the narrative is overly complex.
Queens' PlayQueens' Play, Audiobook CD
by Dunnett, DorothyAudiobook CD - 2003 | UnabridgedAudiobook CD, 2003. Unabridged
Bududo's rating:
Added May 06, 2020
A Pilgrimage to EternityA Pilgrimage to Eternity, BookFrom Canterbury to Rome in Search of A Faith
by Egan, TimothyBook - 2019Book, 2019
Bududo's rating:
Added May 06, 2020
Comment:
Although I am not Catholic or particularly religious, this set of essays while traveling from Canterbury to Rome was inspiring and engaging in unexpected ways. At certain stops along the via Francigena, the author discourses on the land, people, history, and significance of each place. This very well written with acute observations and musing that lead one to greater thoughts.Although I am not Catholic or particularly religious, this set of essays while traveling from Canterbury to Rome was inspiring and engaging in unexpected ways. At certain stops along the via Francigena, the author discourses on the land, people,…
The Ride of A LifetimeThe Ride of A Lifetime, BookLessons Learned From 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company
by Iger, RobertBook - 2019 | First editionBook, 2019. First edition
Bududo's rating:
Added May 06, 2020
Comment:
This is an interesting and reasonably well written autobiographical book by Robert Iger - ultimately the head of Disney. This is supposed to be about lessons learned on the way and not strictly a memoir. However, it is mostly a memoir and occasionally illustrates a platitudinous lesson. I think the most interesting parts of the story were probably left out. As I don't really know very much about the industry, it is hard for me to determine what was left out. However, I find it puzzling that there is a major gap in his early career at ABC. It seems that he made his initial fame by elevating ABC before it was purchased by Capital Cities and then by Disney. But when Iger was at Disney, ABC's ratings declined but Iger skirts around any analysis of a decline of a division under him. Everything in the book has a Disney feel-good outcome - yes there are difficulties but these were overcome by the application of certain principles. I keep thinking that the real story is missing.This is an interesting and reasonably well written autobiographical book by Robert Iger - ultimately the head of Disney. This is supposed to be about lessons learned on the way and not strictly a memoir. However, it is mostly a memoir and…
Comment: