Richard Maurer Random Blog 1: Disney World

This past Winter break I was dragged by a couple of friends on a road trip to Disney World. I have never been a big fan of theme parks… two hour lines for a two minute ride, overpriced food, and rude foreigners never quite came off as a fun experience. After arriving there, my expectations were more than confirmed! The lines were not as bad as this was the off season, but half the rides were down for maintenance. The food was just as expensive as ever, and the foreigners (mainly Brazilians) seemed quite eager to run over this gringo’s feet with their strollers (of course if you try to confront them they all of sudden forget how to speak English). Nevertheless, while I was suffering my friends enjoyed every minute reliving their childhood. To have not known better and experienced such a place as a child seems to be the only way one can truly “appreciate” theme parks. After that adventure, I now know how my parents must have felt when I dragged them through Busch Gardens as a child. Still, I did get a hug from Princess Jasmine, so I guess it wasn’t all bad.

Reading Blog 5: Martin the Warrior

I read this book when I was much younger. It deals with a stubborn mouse that is captured and enslaved by a stoat tyrant and his legion of sea rats. Most of the book I recall deals more with the various bands of characters coming across many adventures and eating… lots and lots of eating. However, Martin breaks free from the tyrant and eventually gains his revenge over his forced servitude and breaking the nearby land of the despot’s grasp. However, in the final battle his love is slain by the tyrant … the land, although free and now in harmony is tainted by the memories of his lost love. He can never know peace and must seek out new adventures in order not only help others who are “lost” or in peril but to refind himself.

Reading Blog 4: The Binding Chair

I am leaving for China shortly and wanted to read a tale that was placed in Shanghai in the late 1800. The Binding Chair by Katheryn Harrison was a book that fits this need. It centers on a young girl caught in the traditions of old China who endures foot binding to find a position in the society. Her adventures and emotional experiences reflect a kind of self loathing and tragic generational pathos peculiar to the females of her country. Just as I am about to pitch the book as a 'chick read' and find something else, the book discloses a character who is male and almost as tragic. Together, they form an unusual couple and endure further tragedies. My favorite was the scene in London where the main character, May, gets herself into a small riot because she needs a sedan chair carried by servants mistaken as 'slaves' by the outraged people of London. She is so crippled, she cannot walk otherwise. In the end it seems she actually embraces her imposed deformity and takes pride in it, but never her sad life. She is more macho than her husband and you wonder if it is the culture of women who could survive ancient China and it's regulations on them, or if May and her husband are simply by products of life under any rules anywhere. I think the book could have been better - but it did make old Shanghai a little more real for me.

Reading Blog 3: The Field

Written by a research journalist, it deals with the notion that functioning at the quantum level there is an area or field in which all action is recorded by 3 dimensional objects and entities. This book expands the notion of the 19th century spiritualist movement which insisted that there was “ether” in which spirits and events could move. Additionally, the ideas in this book correlate with the Akashic Record, which Edgar Cayce insisted existed and was a recording of all events seen and unseen. It is interesting to see how the author can use this idea to explain the faculties of psychics and intuitivists. Now, if I really understood quantum mechanics I could say if the book makes any real sense, but even the physicists are having a hard time explaining that away, so this is an interesting read and created on the lay level, but is well written and actually makes some sense.

Reading Blog 2: King Rat

King Rat revolves around Cpl. King, an American soldier in a Japanese prison camp who manages the black market operations amongst the incarcerated American and English POWs. His confident demeanor and bearing stand out because of his willingness to advance on the needs of others. It is clear that King takes pleasure in living on what would be considered an empowered existence, and always seeks ways to increase his organization by recruiting and controlling talented prisoners such as Peter Marlowe, an English soldier who speaks fluent Japanese. Marlowe refuses King’s offerings of money and goods for his services. Marlowe in contrast to King attempts to continue living by a code that transcends any financial gain despite the harsh conditions of the camp. He genuinely considers King a friend because of their shared experiences being interred together the cruel watch of the Japanese military. King Rat demonstrates humanity as it attempts to not only survive in an extreme environment but also maintain and reaffirm respect for its fellow man.

Reading Blog 1: The Hobbit

“Adventures… make one late for dinner!” is perhaps my favorite quote in the book. For quite some time I lived up to this quote. Rarely did I branch out beyond what I felt was comfortable. However, this complacency left me with a feeling of regret. I hated driving and leaving the comforts of home so I would make up excuses to get out of long road trips and other journeys with friends and family. If I had to go without being able to shower and wash up for longer than a day, it more than likely wouldn’t happen. I missed out on quite a bit that could’ve been at least great fun. In the past few years, I have left my comfort zone, and much like Bilbo Baggins, yearn to keep traveling and finding new experiences to savor and enjoy. This summer I will be traveling through Shanghai and possibly next Winter Break I may find myself helping to take care of baby baboons in South Africa (although this one is probably just a passing fancy).

Movie Blog 5: Chronicles of Ridick

Awesome movie! The character of Ridick is very ambiguous. He is initially viewed as self-serving and only interested in his own personal survival. However, his motivations are seemingly selfish but nonetheless they are for the good of all. Should the Necromongers win then Ridick would no doubt be hunted down for the stubborn individualist threat he poses to the swarming mentality of the necromongers. Ridick exemplifies existentialism as he combats the forced conversion of his opponents. He is his own man and refuses to become just a specimen of a larger whole.