February Books

Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War

Hastings, Max

Note: Started promisingly, with things I did not know - Bombs in Belgrade and the sclerosis of Austria-Hungary - but slipped into a litany of tactical blunders by clueless old-timers (those machine guns will be no match for our horses and our bayonets ) and anecdotal stories about appalling conditions and wasted lives. Did not get the better understanding geopolitical I was hoping for.

Smarter Than You Think: How Technology is Changing Our Minds for the Better

Thompson, Clive

The internet has made ​​us better writers and helped track how extended friends and family are doing. Plus there is no longer a need to memorize anything.

Younger Next Year: A Guide to Living Like 50 Until You're 80 and Beyond

Crowley, Chris

Note:  Christmas gift from Worldwide - hint, hint. : The secret?

• Cardio 6 days / week, weights twice;
• Do not eat crap;
• Stretch your brain;
• Stay engaged.

It's not that complicated, and random events to occur, but the formula is pretty simple.

I'm Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59

Edwards, Douglas

Did not care for the writing style, and did not learn much, but it was fun to go back to the late nineties. The author's conflicts with Marissa Mayer were interesting, given recent developments in her career.

So Nice in Nis

Nothing like a pljeskavica from the famous Zoki and Nena's to wrap up a mini-tour of eastern and southern Serbia. The one after we closed down the Irish pub last night was so good that we came back for another before the drive home this afternoon.

I had mine with ketchup, onion, tomato and urnabes, or "mayhem" salad, which is cream cheese flavoured with paprika, garlic and cayenne. Can't believe I ate the whole thing.

All the more delightful, since the restaurant shares names with our favourite Macedonian and the best dog we ever brought home from Skopje to live with us.

Larger Than Life

People here are crazy about tennis, largely due to the success of their countryman, Novak Djokovic , the holder of six Grand Slam titles. I was treated to lunch at his restaurant, the aptly named " Novak Cafe "in New Belgrade on Saturday. The menu features a variety of fusion-type meals, as well as a number of gluten-free items, due, I was told, to the effect that a switch in diet has played in his considerable success.

Like all of these types of places, the walls were full of memorabilia, including several big screen monitors showing the man himself in action.

I had a very forgettable chicken in peanut sauce, and a nice salad with goat cheese and dried plums. Not cheap by Belgrade standards, but nothing, to, ahem, write home about.

But on the way out, I noticed the statue in front of the restaurant, which I can best describe as either a centurion playing tennis, or perhaps a preview of post-apocalyptic future in which a well-placed forehand is the only thing standing between you and a beat-down.

Now that is something I will not soon forget.

Ever Tried Ruthenian Food?

I was in Subotica earlier this week. It's a small town, near the Hungarian border in the province of Vojvodina. A background piece described the diversity of the community, naming Serbs, Hungarians and Ruthenians, among the population.

Ruthenians ?

I asked my staff, and knew nobody. When we asked someone from the region, he explained that they were a distinct ethnic group, usually associated with Ukraine. "Ah, Rusyns"Someone explained, and everyone nodded. One of Vojvodina's six official languages.

The architecture in the town was European, but like nothing I'd seen before - somewhere between Vienna and St. Petersburg, with the hint of a hallucinogen-driven design phase.

Turns out the theme is something known as Vienna Secession , a movement that wanted to show no influence of history, and linear ornamentation known as "whiplash or" eel style. "


Whatever. It just goes to show that you probably should not follow the trending style when you're designing a city hall. 

Or maybe you should. Now I've seen everything.

On the Slope

As I sit in my hotel room on a quiet Sunday morning in Zlatibor, I am remembering a Sunday  NYT Article  about the decline in snowfall and how it is affecting the ski industry. Does this look like a good place for a ski vacation? A lot of investors thought so.

Whoomp There We Were.

Came across an article entitled, more or less "20 songs you can't believe are 20 years old." The list, which includes Cypress Hill, Tag Team and Blind Melon takes me back to the salad days, when AJ, Pat and I were celebrating what we christened the "golden age of gangsta rap" and watching (and funding) the fledgling (now long gone)Video Jukebox network--"the television you control" as I recall, where you could dial up a then 20 year old prodigy named Snoop Doggy Dogg, or get a 2 for 1 play of the former MC Hammer's (now just Hammer) "It's all Good" and "Pumps and a Bump."

Actually, those days don't seem that far gone, despite the fact that, by rough count,  I've gotten married, moved 10 times, had seven jobs, lived in three different states and four different countries and seen two daughters start, respectively, middle and high school, since.

I was trying to put that into perspective, and I remembered everybody was crazy about the fifties when I was in fifth grade; there was even a hit tv show (and trading cards). That was 1975, and it turns out "Rock around the Clock, which was "sampled" (although I don't think the practice existed yet) in the program's theme, was recorded twenty years previously. Let's just say that 1955 seemed far more distant to Big D circa 1975 than 1994 does to today.

That's my perspective. Is it too much?

January Books

Bit of a slow month, despite the time at home. I blame the NBA, the dog and the car. I've switched to Goodreads for my reading list. You can find and friend me here

The Undercover Economist Strikes Back: How to Run-or Ruin-an Economy

Harford, Tim*

I've read and enjoyed all of Tim Harford's books. This is a primer on macroeconomics, and although not much was new to me, the writing is, as always, clear and engaging. The discipline is rife with uncertainty, and that's not a completely satisfying takeaway.

Tap Dancing to Work: Warren Buffett on Practically Everything, 1966-2012

Loomis, Carol J.

Thought I would like this more. A bit hagiographical and repetitive, I had digested his message (buy companies you know to be undervalued and hold on to them) well before I finished the book. He didn't buy tech stocks because he didn't sufficiently understand the business. It's that kind of discipline that seems just as important to his success.

The Dog of the South

Portis, Charles

I classified the author's singular voice as somewhere between John Kennedy Toole and Raymond Chandler. The introduction suggests Mark Twain, and that's probably more accurate. A shaggy detective story (I guess), peopled with colorful characters and wry humor in almost every sentence. Thank you, Sarah.

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again

Wallace, David Foster

Wonderfully meticulous, beautifully written series of  essays about the work of David Lynch, cruises, state fairs, high school tennis and other quotidian issues. Even better than the volume I read last month (Consider the Lobster).