S-Curl Accident

Malcolm Gladwell: Genius

If you've been paying attention to the sidebar on this site, it gives you an idea of what I'm listening to and what I'm reading. This week on the literature front, I finished the Chinua Achebe book 'Things Fall Apart.' This book is THE seminal book in African literature for good reason. Its pretty deep with lots of inferences that can be drawn from the impact (that is still felt today) of colonialism, and the importance of the family unit and the importance of community. I really enjoyed it and its a well written book with a glossary at the back with explantion's of the all the Nigerian vernacular.
The most exciting part about finishing a book is starting a new one. I picked up Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. This book is about the power of thinking without thinking. Gladwell refers to it as 'rapid cognitian' (the decisions that we make in a blink of an eye). The idea is that the snap judgments that we think are spontaneous and random, are actually a very complex and deliberate process. In understanding the nature of rapid cogintian we can make better decisions, understand our decisions and biases and understand the world around us. Gladwell is a brilliant man and a great read, and I recommend you also pick up 'The Tipping Point'. The best thing about Gladwell is that he can write so clearly about something that you have never even thought about before and make you understand it perfectly.

Also new on the music front is the new self-titled Pearl Jam. This is the first Pearl Jam album that I've bought in over 10 years (since Vitalogy). Aside from Yield and maybe the acoustic record I didn't miss much. But this new record is pretty sick. They pick up from where Vitalogy left off. The lyrics are so politicially charged. It really just a great record.

Happy belated Birthday (May 9th) to Ghostface Killah. Its a toss up between him and MF Doom as to who my favourite MC is right now. He's really one of few holding down real hip hop these days. He has some pretty harsh words for New York re: the state of hip hop.