Goobes Book Republic

The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics by Gary Zukav

goobes — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 19:36:25 +0000

The Wu Li Master dances with his student. The Wu Li Master does not teach, but the student learns. The Wu Li Master always begins at the center, the heart of the matter. This book deals not with knowledge, which is always past tense anyway, but with imagination, which is physics come alive, which is Wu Li. Most people believe that physicists are explaining the world. Some physicists even believe that, but the Wu Li Masters know that they are only dancing with it.

The “new physics” of Zukav’s 1979 book comprises quantum theory, particle physics, and relativity. Even as these theories age they haven not fully sunk into the collective consciousness. The Dancing Wu Li Masters is an engaging, accessible way to meet the some most profound and mind-altering insights of 20th-century science seamlessly resemble statements made hundreds of years ago by Buddhist & Hindu texts.
This book is also very relevant from the aspects of philosophy, history, and sociology of science.

Stripped bare of mathematics, physics blending with philosophy is pure enchantment for the curious but mathematically challenged!

Embassytown by China Mieville

goobes — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 18:36:24 +0000

Science fiction can stretch the understanding of ideas which one might never otherwise consider. In Embassytown China Mieville provides a stimulating, entertaining story of the importance of language (eat this Pinker!).

We are introduced to an alien culture which is out of sync with the way in which we humans communicate even though the common denominator for species communication is through sound. Our protagonist, Avice, was brought up in the one human town “Embassytown”-an outpost of a human-dominated world “Ariekei” which is not a very amenable place to live in.

Avice brings to light the culture of the synergy between humans and aliens by narrating certain parts of her childhood at Embassytown. Only human genetically engineered linguists (Ambassadors) can communicate with the “Extos”-aliens. Extos on the planet are screened, with an important exception, extos can only settle on Ariekei if their sociologic and genetic makeup (to communicate, to move comfortably in a human-run world & thought processes are similar enough to allow integration with humans.)

The human and exto population of Ariekei long struck a balance. They are always problems, but Embassytown is an almost disturbingly cordial society. The Hosts do their best for Ariekei, and the Ambassadors keep the peace and essentially run the society.

But when a new Ambassador arrives, the delicate balance is lost.

As with all excellent science fiction stories one might have to have two readings to be fully appreciated, first for orientation to the new world and to understand the plot, the second for the sheer delight of finding all the subtleties the author includes in the book.

If you enjoyed King Rat and Perdido Street Station you might enjoy Meivelle’s quantum leap to science fiction.

Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction,Embassytown by China Mieville , China Meivelle, Goobes Book Republic, Great Science fiction books in Bangalore, Great Science fiction books in Bangalore ,

A bit Lost by Chris Haughton

goobes — Tue, 31 May 2011 01:26:43 +0000

An awesomely charming and beautifully illustrated picture book charting the journey of a little owl who is ‘a bit lost’. Oops the little critter falls asleep followed by a hard landing on the ground(thump)! He has lost his mommy! All is not lost, his new friend squirrel accompanies him on his quest of for his mummy which leads him through a bunch of look-alike mummies. This brilliant book covers a basic trauma which mothers and children face while separated, followed by a blessed reunion. May you drop like a stone if you do not shed a tear with the beautiful reunion of mother and little tyke!

Only at Goobes!

Kavikala Signing at Goobes Book Republic, Church Street

goobes — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 17:44:02 +0000

The signing of Kavikala at Goobes Book Republic, Church Street featured a wall full of mega artwork contributed by the artists, a reading of poetry from the book.

Check out what happens when amateur and professional poets, painters, designers, photographers, musicians and theater troupes put their heads together? Come and meet and pester some of the creators of Kavikala.

Combining the beauty of the written word with the vibrancy of light and color, which is finally topped off with the liveliness of performance art, Madness मंडळी is the place to be for anyone who doesn’t think straight…intentionally.

We follow only one rule – There are no rules!

Co-organizers

http://madnessmandali.blogspot.com/

www.goobes.wordpress.com

http://penciljam.ning.com/

Hush Graphic Novel signing at Goobes Book Republic!

goobes — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 12:30:55 +0000

In the first of many to come mini circuses to be held at Goobes Book Republic expect nothing less than meeting the creators of Hush – Pratheek Thomas and Rajiv Eipe, Prabha and Man on 12th of March (Saturday) 11am to 1 pm.

Meet the creators, look, touch and feel their spawned child, view a gallery of the art work, get original live sketches by Rajiv, Prabha and Manu which you can take home for FREE!

More importantly, buy a copy of this wonderful work of dark art and get it signed by the entire merry bunch at Manta Ray.

Oh what Joy!
Goobes Book Republic

Hush Graphic Novel signing at Goobes Book Republic!
#11 Church Street
12th March 2011 11am to 1 pm

Watch the Prelude, the trailer and a sequel to the trailer?

Hush book signing event at Goobes Book Republic

Cover Hush Graphic Novel

Hush Book Signing at Goobes

Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love by Andrew Shaffer

goobes — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 09:54:29 +0000

An entertaining work that actually proves that even the most brilliant of minds can mess up the work of Cupid while at the same time gives some measure of hope to the lovelorn. A collection of 37 great Western thinkers, detailing the sometimes graphic yet always disastrous ways their love lives imploded. These love specefic micro biographies elucidates the pitfalls of marriage, dating, and love.

Highlighting the hypocrisy and downright ineptness of those who too often counted as our ‘greatest thinkers’ in this crucial, if so often overlooked, area of sexual politics…” (Martin Cohen, editor of The Philosopher )

Even if you do not have a great interest in philosophy. This book is a must read it covers several dozen philosophers prepared to be entertained and perhaps even shocked at how so many well-respected philosophers and literary figures were so scandalous and depraved!

A very quick, touching and amusing read might give you a new look on human nature.

Juicy excripts!

Albert Camus divorced his wife after discovering she was sleeping with a doctor in exchange for morphine, Friedrich Nietzsche engaged in sexual intercourse on several occasions “on doctor’s orders”,
Martin Heidegger discovered his son was the product of an affair between his wife and a family friend (Ouch)
St. Thomas himself—who, Shaffer tells us, once chased a prostitute out of his room with a hot poker.

Just about anyone will feel better about his or her love life.

Peter Abelard

Louis Althusser

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Aristotle

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Simon de Beauvoir

Henery Ward Beecher

John Calvin

Albert Camus

Nicholas Chamfort

Auguste Comte

Rene Descartes

John Dewey

Denis Diderot

Denis Diderot ” />

Diogenes the Cynic

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Friedrich Engles

Johann Wolfgang von Gothe

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Martin Heidegger

Davind Hume

Immanuel Kant

Sorin Kierkegaard

John Loke

Titus Lucretius

Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche” />

Plato

Ayn Rand

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Bertrand Russell

Jean-Paul Sartre

Arthur Schopenhauer

Seneca the Younger

Socrates

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Emanuel Swedenborg

Henry David Thoreau

Leo Tolstoy

The Tell-Tale Brain By Vilayanur S. Ramachandran

goobes — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:00:20 +0000

Ramachandran a modern wizard of neuroscience who enlightens us in his new work The Tell-Tale Brain, we see his genius at work, dealing with many extraordinary cases, some of which mark turning points in neuroscientific knowledge. He hypothesizes, experiments, fails, experiences epiphanies, and succeeds as well. In this fantastic account, we see how these cases fit together, and how from a Darwinian point of view our brains, though evolved from those of other animals, become neurologically distinct and fundamentally human.

Neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran has certainly set a new standard with his newest book, The Tell-Tale Brain. He has reffered to some case histories that have been covered in his earlier books, Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind and A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness: From Impostor Poodles to Purple Numbers. Readers will be pleased to see that he has new things to say about his earlier findings and observations. Riding the wave of astonishing advances in Brain science over the past fifteen years, lending fresh perspectives on pretty much the entire shepards pie of earlier “hard” sciences. The age of neuroscience has truly dawned and who better Ramachandran to be our Neuro Vasco de Gama or Columbus?

Ramachandran’s modus operandi is to discover how the normal brain works by studying individuals with abnormal neurological conditions. One might find similarities to Oliver Sacks (The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat: And Other Clinical Tales and The Mind’s Eye). Some of the ailments Ramachandran covers are: Agnosia (a-gnosis, or loss of knowledge), Anosognosia (being unaware of the existence of his or her disability), Autism (impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills), Capgras Syndrome (delusions that a friend, spouse, parent, or other close family member has been replaced by an identical-looking impostor – Qui estis?), Cotard Syndrome (belief that they are dead-either figuratively or literally), and Synesthesia (stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway), and many other merry conditions.

If you have barely been keep up so far donot be alarmed, Ramachandran does not go on and on rolling out one bizarre disorder after another. He approaches the subject matter from a variety of angles – anatomically, evolutionarily, psychologically, and philosophically without groping at straws, Ramachandran commands a deep knowledge of all these topics in regards to mind, brain, and consciousness. Ramachandran presents all of this in without leaving your head spinning.

In his own words “I presume some degree of interest in science and curiosity about human nature, but I do not presume any sort of formal scientific background or even familiarity with my previous works. I hope this book proves instructive and inspiring to students of all levels and backgrounds, to colleagues in other disciplines, and to lay readers with no personal or professional stake in these topics.”

Strongly recommended reading this book for minds curious about the Brain in all its awesomeness. The writing is entertaining and anything but dry. Major issues in contemporary Mind,Brain,Consciousness literature are covered.

The Republic has Shifted!

goobes — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 11:51:27 +0000

Dear fellow Goobes,

We are happy sad to announce that the Republic has had a change in location due to unavoidable circumstances (read depression, followed by the recession, a lot of lazyness, followed by a great flood kind of like the one in the movie 2012)

We have shifted right next door beneath the only Darshini on Church Street (Sheesh Mahal) to a more spacious warm and fully stocked store. Look for our very visible peacock green Goobes sign board.

Do swing by and give us a Hoot!

Chief Goobe Officer
Goobes Book Republic
Buy/Sell/Rent used and new books!

goobesbookrepublic@gmail.com
goobes.wordpress.com

This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel Levitin

goobes — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 22:00:31 +0000

This is a must-read-must-have for every music student, music teacher, wannabe musician (my badly off key neighbour included) and composer, and is a easily readable guided tour through the creative and neurological workings of the human mind.

Daniel Levitin, professional musician and sound engineer turned neuroscientist, is in a unique position to write this fascinating, flabbergasting, entertaining & enlightening exploration of the human mind and the human-created experience that is music.

Levitin’s love for music illuminates each page, and he effortlessly interweaves brain-scan findings with a line-by-line lyrical breakdown that explains exactly why ‘JailHouse Rock” really rocks. His diagrams and explanations of which different areas of the brain are engaged by specific musical instruments are worth the price alone. The perfect gift book for anyone interested in music and its effects on the mind. Start with even a quick skim and you’ll find yourself drawn along, ultimately experiencing music in a whole new way.This is a well documented, thoroughly footnoted and seminal text which is such a great read it’s almost impossible to put down.

Fans of V. S. Ramachandran’s Phantoms in the Brain please take full serving of Levitin’s appetizer.

The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey

goobes — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:43:06 +0000

The concept behind “The Gashlycrumb Tinies or, After the Outing,” by Edward Gorey, is brilliant in its simplicity. It consists of a series of rhymes about small children who suffer various macabre deaths. All the children have name beginning with a different letter of the alphabet, and their grim fates are arranged alphabetically by name. Each fate is also accompanied by one of Gorey’s awesome ink drawings. Sample lines: “E is for Ernest who choked on a peach. F is for Fanny sucked dry by a leech. G is for George smothered under a rug. H is for Hector done in by a thug.”

This book hilarious. Gorey’s children have a proper Victorian look to them which makes their scenarios that much more bizarre. Most of the drawings show the unfortunate children just before their deaths only a few of the pictures actually show explicit death or violence, parental guidance not required.

One could read “Gashlycrumb Tinies” as an outrageous parody of children’s books, it’s a wicked delight.

Gorey is typically described as an illustrator. The Object Lesson have earned serious critical respect as works of surrealist art. His experimentations — creating books that were wordless, books that were literally matchbox-sized, pop-up books, books entirely populated by inanimate objects — complicates matters still further. As Gorey told Richard Dyer of The Boston Globe, “Ideally, if anything [was] any good, it would be indescribable.” Gorey classified his own work as literary nonsense, the genre made most famous by Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear.

In response to being called gothic, he stated, “If you’re doing nonsense it has to be rather awful, because there’d be no point. I’m trying to think if there’s sunny nonsense. Sunny, funny nonsense for children — oh, how boring, boring, boring. As Schubert said, there is no happy music. And that’s true, there really isn’t. And there’s probably no happy nonsense, either.”

Hrn…