I just finished The Gold Bug Variations by Richard Powers. Still need to digest the massive amount of information, but overall it was a worthwhile read.

The book was a dense 640 pages, full of verbal and mathematical links between genetics, music, emotion, and life overall. There’s a long (too long) stretch in the middle with almost no action – at times the narrator launches into long observations on science and music without advancing the plot at all.  I found myself counting the pages left to go, just to wonder how long it would be till I could start a new book in earnest.

However, the entire book is about patterns and “codes” like DNA or music scores, so I guess the structure of alternating observation and plot thread matches the overall theme.  In the last 100 pages or so the characters actually start DOING something, and the larger ideas presented in the book link up with the main narrative, the book builds to a satisfying crescendo and grand finale.

I can also give this book the highest recommendation I can give a book: it changed the way I viewed the world. The book gives insight into the intricacies and beauty of music, especially classical scores like the Goldberg Variations that give the book its name. Right now I don’t have the ear to appreciate such music, but I want to obtain the appropriate thought processes to decode the music’s pattern and signal.

Overall, a satisfying (if sometimes challenging) read.

I think I’ve developed a certain addiction to information – I work on a computer all day, but when I get home I turn the computer on and keep clicking.

After a while it’s not even research or stuff I have to do – there becomes something comforting in typing, clicking of the keyboard, pointing with the mouse, and seeing various colored pixels wash over the screen.  Flickr and YouTube for visuals, MySpace and Facebook for brief snippets of friends’ lives and photos.  It’s like drinking a coffee with a lot of sugar; I know it’s not substantial or necessarily good for me, but it gives me a little rush during the day.

For a while there, I had gotten into the habit of reading a book in the evenings, so that my rush of information wouldn’t keep me up at night.  Even now I’m typing this a bit late at night; I’ll get back to my book after finishing up with a few blog posts and YouTube searches.

This past weekend I went on a Cursillo at St. Basil’s in Methuen.  I had heard it was a life-changing, once in a lifetime experience, and it didn’t disappoint.

I feel pretty knowledgeable in Catholocism after 16 years of Catholic school and lots of reading – everything from Mere Christianity to Theology of the Body.  I’m also pretty well travelled – St. Peter’s, the Curate of Ars, Lourdes, Fatima, the Jordan River, and so on.

I feel like I knew of Jesus before, but I feel that I know Jesus now as the living, risen Christ.  When I walk around Boston now, I see Christ in others and wonder how many other Cursillistas are walking with me.  It’s brought me a newfound sense of peace and I’m eager to bring this peace to others.

I am glad I took all my travels and reading to get me to this point, and that I took the Cursillo to take me to the next step in my spiritual journey.

Here’s a neat video of a computer-generated Alfred Molina, as he’s rendered in the new PS3 engine:

I can see it’s Alfred Molina, and I can see it’s not a human, but I’m not as creeped out by his face. I do think the eye twitches and blinks help sell the reality of the face.

It looks like the Uncanny Valley (the idea that at a certain point, a fully lifelike robot gets incredibly creepy) is getting shallower.

Seen in Newburyport – a poster of the wraparound cover to the next Harry Potter book:

I don’t know – seems lackluster somehow.  I do wonder what Harry and Voldemort are reaching towards – it appears to be something just above the top of the cover.