An organization or organisation (read more about -ize vs -ise) is a formal group of people with one or more shared goals. The word itself is derived from the Greek word ὄργανον (organon) meaning tool. The term is used in both daily and scientific English in multiple ways.
'The Second Plane' by Martin Amis Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 September 11: Terror and Boredom
IT would be too easy to read Martin Amis' slim book on Sept. 11 in a day and to dismiss it with a politically correct glare. The dozen essays, columns and reviews and two short stories in "The Second Plane: September 11, Terror and Boredom" are more illuminating than that, though deeply, sometimes self-indulgently flawed.
'The House of Widows' by Askold Melnyczuk Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Family secrets lie at the end of a dark and twisted path
FROM its puzzling opening line ("The most common grammatical error is the lie"), there's an ominous vibe to Askold Melnyczuk's third novel, "The House of Widows," and the sense of unease lingers until the final sentence. It's a mysterious, masterfully taut story in which dread plays a prominent role.
'Marco Polo' by Laurence Bergreen Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700 An account of the adventures of the celebrated 13th century world traveler.
MARCO POLO was only 17 when he departed for China in 1271 with his father, Niccolò, and his uncle, Maffeo. Those two merchants of Venice were known to the boy primarily as storytellers of their fabulous exploits, writes award-winning biographer and historian Laurence Bergreen, for they had been absent more than 16 years, Marco's entire childhood. The pair had followed trade routes east, encountered exotic countries and customs and survived many perils; they had even lived for a time at the court of Kublai Khan, the leader of the Mongol Empire. Eventually they agreed to accompany his emissary west to the pope, vowing to return to Cambulac (Beijing) with several items the Great Khan had requested.
Roddy Doyle: "Sleep" Roddy Doyle Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0000 It was the thing he’d always loved about her. The way she could sleep. When they’d just started going with each other, before they really knew each other, he’d lie awake, hoping she’d wake up, praying for it, dying. But even then he’d loved to look at her while she . . . Gary Snyder: "Mu Ch’i’s Persimmons" Gary Snyder Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0000 There is no remedy for satisfying hunger other than a painted rice cake.
--Dōgen, November, 1242.
On a back wall down the hall
lit by a side glass door
is the scroll of Mu Ch’i’s great
sumi painting, “Persimmons”
The wind-weights hanging from the
axles hold it . . . Frederick Seidel: "Poem by the Bridge at Ten-shin" Frederick Seidel Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0000 This jungle poem is going to be my last.
This space walk is.
Racing in a cab through springtime Central Park,
I kept my nose outside the window like a dog.
The stars above my bed at night are vast.
I think it is uncool to call young women Ms . . .
London Review of Books
Don't Ask Henry · Alan Hollinghurst: Sissiness The story of Belchamber's publication is probably better known than the book itself, which, like its author, has suffered the ambiguous fate of becoming an accessory to the life of a more important writer. It is his friend Henry James who keeps Sturgis's novel distantly in view, at the same time as casting a long shadow over it. James read it in proof, and wrote a characteristic sequence of letters to Sturgis about it, beginning with neat praise and mild demurrals, but quickly building up to such fundamental criticisms of the book that the demoralised author said he would withdraw it altogether; at which James protested and pleaded, successfully though not with any retraction of the criticisms he had made. Cut, Kill, Dig, Drill · Jonathan Raban: Sarah Palin's Cunning Sarah Palin has put a new face and voice to the long-standing, powerful, but inchoate movement in US political life that one might see as a mutant strain of Poujadism, inflected with a modern American accent. There are echoes of the Poujadist agenda of 1950s France in its contempt for metropolitan elites, fuelling the resentment of the provinces towards the capital and the countryside towards the city, in its xenophobic strain of nationalism, sturdy, paysan resistance to taxation, hostility to big business, and conviction that politicians are out to exploit the common man. Why Not Eat an Eclair? · David Runciman: Why Vote? Why would anyone vote for Barack Obama? Not why would anyone want to see Obama elected president rather than John McCain (or Hillary Clinton for that matter), but why would anyone who desired that outcome think that his or her individual vote could make the slightest difference in helping to bring it about? General elections are never decided by a single vote, so no one's vote is ever going to be missed. If you want Obama to win, and plan to vote for him, but you forget, or find yourself otherwise detained, don't worry - the final result will be unaffected by your failure to show up, even if you happen to live in a swing state like Ohio or Florida. If Obama is winning the state, he will do perfectly well without you; if he is losing, there is nothing you can do to help him get over the line, because the winning line will always be further away than your paltry individual vote. Either way, you are not needed, so why bother to vote at all?
Books | guardian.co.uk
Booker club: A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz Sam Jordison Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:07:20 -0000 Sam Jordison: As with others on the list, Toltz's 700-plus-page debut is another potentially excellent book undone by its excesses German literary critic rejects lifetime-achievement gong live on air Jess Smee Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:01:41 -0000 Germany's top literary critic spurned a lifetime-achievement prize and tore into television. By Jess Smee Patrick Barkham meets survival expert Ray Mears Patrick Barkham Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:05:05 -0000 He admires David Cameron and thinks it's sometimes better to shoot wildlife than photograph it. Survival expert Ray Mears is full of surprises, Patrick Barkham discovers
NPR Topics: Books
Le Clezio, Portrait Of A Gentle Writer Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:19:00 -0400 Though born in France, Nobel laureate Jean-Marie Gustav Le Clezio is a nomadic writer, whose work has been defined by his life of travel around the world. For him, storytelling means melting into the background. Publisher Of Palin Biography Hits Jackpot Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:27:00 -0400 A small publisher in suburban Seattle has hit the big time with a biography of Sarah Palin. Epicenter Press published Sarah: How A Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down months before Palin hit the national spotlight. The Booker Prize: Our London Cabbie's Review Sat, 11 Oct 2008 08:00:00 -0400 Who needs the Booker Prize committee when we have our own Will Grozier? The London cabbie reviews the short list of books ahead of Tuesday's announcement of the Man Booker prizewinner.
Slashdot: Book Reviews
Nagios 3 Enterprise Network Monitoring samzenpus Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:15:00 -0000 jgoguen writes "Nagios, originally known as Netsaint, has been a long-time favourite for network and device monitoring due to its flexibility, ease of use, and efficiency. Nagios provided, and still provides today, a low-cost, versatile alternative to commercial network monitoring applications. Nagios 3 takes a huge step forward compared to Nagios 2, providing improved flexibility, ease of use and extensibility, all while also making significant performance enhancements. Due to its extensibility and ease of use, no device or situation has yet been found that cannot be monitored using Nagios and a pre-made or custom script, plug-in or enhancement." Read on for the rest of jgoguen's review.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
OpenGL ES 2.0 Programming Guide samzenpus Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:05:00 -0000 Martin Ecker writes "Mobile phones and other embedded devices are getting more and more powerful each year. The availability of dedicated hardware for 3D rendering is becoming increasingly ubiquitous, and the latest mobile phones come with 3D hardware acceleration that rivals the power of desktop graphics hardware. OpenGL ES 2.0 is the latest version of a cross-platform, low-level graphics API to utilize these new resources available in embedded devices. The OpenGL ES 2.0 Programming Guide published by Addison-Wesley Publishing aims to help the reader make use of the full power of OpenGL ES 2.0 to create interesting 3D applications." Keep reading for the rest of Martin's review.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Advanced Excel for Scientific Data Analysis samzenpus Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:02:00 -0000 cgjherr writes "If the recent financial meltdown has left you wondering, 'When does exponential decay function stop?' then I have the book for you. Advanced Excel for Scientific Data Analysis is the kind of book that only comes along every twenty years. A tome so densely packed with scientific and mathematical formulas that it almost dares you to try and understand it all. A "For Dummies" book starts with a gentle introduction to the technology. This is more like a "for Mentats" book. It assumes that you know Excel very well. The first chapter alone will have you in awe as you see the author turn the lowly Excel into something that rivals Mathematica using VBA, brains, and a heaping helping of fortitude." Read on for the rest of Jack's review.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Books
Instead of ‘Chihuahua,’ try a book Despite the fact that the New York Times review called it only "reasonably diverting," it seems that "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" is No. 1 at the box office this holiday weekend.
No poetic justice for the US? In the US this year, much angst has been focused on the subject of the Nobel Prize and the disinclination of the Swedish judges to offer the award for literature to an American. But, says critic David Orr, in a piece in tomorrow's New York Times, there's actually an even ...
‘Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World’ The day a stray cat unexpectedly arrived in our dog-centric home, my ardently cat-loving cousin Jeanne had a word of advice. “He’s not a dog,” she reminded me. “A dog leaps immediately into your heart. A cat arrives with a slow crawl.”
Alexandra Writers' Centre Society - Events, membership details, newsletter, and subscription information for FreeFall Magazine. Based in Calgary, Alberta.
Meta Description: [ Alexandra Writers' Centre Society AWCS awcs supports and encourages writers in art of creative writing and publisher FreeFall magazine ]
Canadian Poetry Association - The CPA promotes the reading, writing, publishing, and preservation of poetry in Canada through the individual efforts of its members.
Canadian Science Writers' Association - A national alliance of professional science communicators, in all media. Aims to cultivate excellence in science writing and journalism and to increase public awareness of science in Canadian culture.
Meta Description: [ The Canadian Science Writers' Association is a national alliance of professional science communicators, in all media. ]
Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators, and Performers (CANSCAIP) - A national, professional group for people in the field of children's culture. Supports and promotes children's literature through newsletters, workshops, meetings and other information programs for authors, parents, teachers, librarians, publishers, and others.
Meta Description: [ Home of CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers) ]
Federation of British Columbia Writers - Non-profit organization of professional and emerging writers, writing in all genres from every region of the province. News and membership information.
Manitoba Writers' Guild - Grassroots organization that finds, develops, and promotes literary talent across the province.
Meta Description: [ Manitoba Writers' Guild home on the World-Wide Web. ]
Ottawa Independent Writers - Promotes all genres of writing as well as local area writers. Focuses on the 'business' of writing, and promotes its aims through monthly meetings, occasional seminars, newsletters, and its web page.
Playwrights Guild of Canada - Professional organization of Canadian playwrights. Source of Canadian playscripts.
Quebec Writers' Federation - History, events, awards, and information on publications, submissions, and programs.
Saskatchewan Writers Guild - Province-wide organization representing in all disciplines and at all levels of development. Its mission is to improve the status of the writer in Saskatchewan.
Stroll of Poets Society - Aims to meet the needs of Edmonton and area poets through an annual anthology and its web page. Promotes the oral expression of poetry and tries to bring poetry to a wider audience.
Writers' Federation of New Brunswick - Non-profit organization that represents writers in all disciplines and at all levels of development. Works to promote and assist writers, while also contributing to the community of writing in New Brunswick.
Meta Description: [ Website for the Writers Federation of New Brunswick - WFNB ]
Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia - Information for writers about the business of writing, including copyright, submission etiquette, and online markets and resources; and about Nova Scotia authors and events listings.
Meta Description: [ Loads of information for writers about
the business of writing, including copyright, submission etiquette, and
online markets and resources; and Nova Scotia authors and events
listings. ]
Part 3. Sorry, dudes, but due to organization problems, it must be shorter than the rest. Enjoy, gentlmen! ... jim carrey ace ...