Monthly Archives: February 2018

02.19.18
by

ORIGIN/ DAN BROWN/INCREDIBLE IMAGERY/SUSPENSE/ SCIENCE

” Where did we come from and where are we going.”  The ultimate mystery?  Creation versus evolution? God versus science? What is waiting for us?  Big questions, but not for a Dan Brown novel.

Brown’s latest suspense thriller, Origin,  couples Robert Langdon with a wonderful cast to bring forth this suspense filled story in all its glory.  Set in Spain, the  novel couples the story line with incredible imagery. Brown states : ” All art, architecture, locations, science and religious organizations in this novel are real.”  It adds greatly, to drawing the reader deeper and deeper into the story.

Edmund Kirsch, an eccentric billionaire and futurist, claims to have found the answer to life’s ultimate questions.  The story conflicts Christians with atheists, adds a good dose of the Spanish Monarchy and even romance.  Of course, the ending will surprise.

There is not a lot more that needs to be said about a Dan Brown novel. I highly recommend the book. Quite possibly  the story warrants a screenplay. You never seem to tire of Langdon and you will find yourself with a new outlook regarding artificial intelligence.  Prescient? I think so.

 

 

 

02.12.18
by

THE ROOSTER BAR/ MORE WILD CHARACTERS FROM GRISHAM

Wannabe lawyers, private law schools, misfits, and a peeling back of the skin on the daily crush of our judicial system.

John  Grisham is at it again in another best-selling novel The Rooster Bar.  If you are a Grisham fan you need not know much more from me to imagine where the twists and turns will lead in his new offering.

I have read and enjoyed all of Grisham’s work. The Rooster Bar  in my view is certainly not up to A Time to Kill, Pelican Brief or Sycamore Row but you may have a different view and it won’t take much of your time to turn these pages.

Enjoy.

02.12.18
by

ALL YOU DID NOT KNOW ABOUT ORGANIC FOOD! THE THIRD PLATE, DAN BARBER

Here is an update. ( June, 2018) My wife and I did it…the multiple course dining experience at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, New York. It was the most memorable dining experience of a lifetime and even more meaningful having read The Third Plate.

The Third Plate, authored by restaurateur  Dan Barber dispatches all popular concepts of what the term “organic” in our food chain really means. Barber is the chef and owner of Manhattan’s Blue Hill restaurant in the West Village and Blue Hill at Stone Barns and the non-profit  Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture located on the Rockefeller Estate in Westchester County, New York.

The “industrial organic food”  proffered in today’s food distribution system bears no resemblance to Barber’s discussion of the origins of  food, the seed, the soil, the sea and the land. The Third Plate is well written, researched and enjoyable.  Make no mistake however, the book is an academic and scientific discussion of what Barber believes is the destruction of the integrity, taste and wholesomeness of what we eat.  The book makes an enormous contribution to the entire ” sustainability” discussion and offers hope for a way forward.

The Third Plate travels the world for answers to how it might become realistic to return the world’s food supply to the purity of its origins. Population growth, economics and demand would likely make that impossible. However, Barber makes the reader hopeful by tantalizing the taste buds of what a carrot or potato or naturally raised beef, lamb or pork should really taste like.  In reality, without a visit to Blue Hill or Stone Barns, you may never know.

Any cook would be naturally drawn to this book but don’t look for recipes. Instead, imagine what it would be like to work with the ingredients that Barber nurtures  and encourages. This book “tastes good” right down to the acorn flavor in Eduardo’s   jamon iberico from Iberian pigs raised under ancient oaks in Spain’s dehesa.

I hope you enjoyed the flavor of this brief synopsis.  If it is enticing you will enjoy reading The Third Plate. Then make a reservation at Blue Hill or Stone Barns and taste for yourself.  Also, include a visit to the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture.