Daegu

Daegu was our next stop...

We came to visit Haein-sa the repository of the Tripitaka Koreana, the largest existing library of the Buddhist canon.

As always, the walk through the park was scenic and soothing.

The temple complex was first built in the year 802.

All the bells, but no whistles. Drums though...

Temple guardians.

The Tripitaka Koreana are carved on wooden tablets and stored in specially constructed buildings, featuring natural passive ventilation and extended eaves to keep the sun off the collection.

Concoctions of minerals under the floors absorb moisture when it's too wet, but humidifies the library when it's too dry.

The tablets are birch treated in salt water. Each one was hand engraved. The Korean government once built a special climate controlled storage facility for the tablets. The tablets began to mildew in their new high tech residence, so they were returned to their 1200 year old home.

2017 Goodreads Resolution

A few more books, a little less screen time...

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. In progress [16]

Death's End, by Cixin Liu. In progress [15]

The Crash Detectives: Investigating the World's Most Mysterious Air Disasters, by Christine Negroni. Negroni offers a credible theory about the disappearance of Malaysia Air 370 by folding in the fascinating and sobering details of at least a dozen other air disasters and near disasters that have occurred since the dawn of the age of flight. [14]

Deep Time, by David Darling. [13] 

Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse. [12]

Ancient Ruins and Rock Art of the Southwest, by David Grant Noble. Those who know me understand that sussing out what humankind was up to in the pre-historic period is my thing.  David Noble's book came highly recommended by another amateur enthusiast who works a V-Bar-V petroglyph heritage site.  It does not disappoint, offering succinct directions, useful descriptions, and thoughtful analysis of "ruins and rock art" found in my neighborhood.  [11]

Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux, by John G. Neihardt. "Black Elk Speaks" tells the story of an Oglala holy man and his Lakota people who lived through the worst of the American Indian Wars, from the Fetterman Fight to the Little Big Horn to the Wounded Knee Massacre. This book has long been on my "To Read" list (and my bookshelf), but when Joseph Campbell spoke highly of it in "The Inner Reaches of Outer Space" I bumped it to the top of my list. As I enter the autumn of my life I have been encountering books I should have read in my youth. This is one of those. [10]

The Inner Reaches of Outer Space, by Joseph Campbell. This collection of essays and lectures by Jospeh Campbell has been on my "To Read" shelf for quite some time, but Mortimer Adler took such exception to it in his "Truth in Religion" I had to see what all the fuss was about. Turns out Adler was upset with about one page of the 148 that make up "The Inner Reaches of Outer Space." I don't disagree with the views Campbell expressed on that page and the rest of the book is a heady melange of psychology, mythology, religion, art, and literature. Certainly not Campbell's most accessible work, but worth reading. [9]

Sinagua Sunwatchers, Kenneth J. Zoll. Of the thousand some petroglyphs discerned on the rock panels at V Bar V Heritage Site located along Beaver Creek in the Verde Valley, many correlate to midday shadows cast by two rock gnomens during the equinoxes and solstices and at other calendrical events throughout the year. "Sinagua Sunwatchers", by Kenneth J. Zoll, lays out the details patiently in methodical detail. [7]

Truth in Religion: The Plurality of Religions and the Unity of Truth, by Mortimer Adler. The late Mortimer J. Adler reminds his reader, "De gustibus non disputandum: about matters of taste, there is no disputing. De veritate disputandum est: about matters of truth, we should engage in dispute..." And dispute he does. Adler's Truth in Religion: The Plurality of Religions and the Unity of Truth (1990) is chewy, spirited, and oddly argumentative (Adler had some strange beef with Joseph Campbell, who approached religion as misunderstood mythology). A thought-provoking, challenging, and ultimately useful read. [7]

The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality, by Andre Comte-Sponville. My, what a fine "little book" this one is! Comte-Sponville reminds us that the search for meaning has long been - and will forever continues to be - conducted by the non-believer and the non-religious as well as the theist. He reminds the theist that atheism need not equal nihilism while reminding the atheist that non-belief need not entail fatalism. I plan to make gifts of this rich little volume to my favorite evangelical, my favorite Marxist, and many of the others I also love in between. I'll be reading "The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality" again. [6]

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, by Omar Khayyam. As with many volumes I finally have made time to read I wish that I'd read this many years ago. It stands as a worthy companion to the works of Rumi, Ecclesiastes, and the Tao Te Ching. [5]

Flintknapping: Making & Understanding Stone Tools, by John C. Whitaker. A rich resource for those who want to make stone tools or just understand their place in pre-history. [4]

An Atheist and a Christian Walk into a Bar: Talking about God, the Universe, and Everything, by Randal Rauser and Justin Schieber. [3] A worthy effort by two evenly matched opponents, yet more enjoyable than most such exchanges in that authors Rauser and Schieber obviously respect each other. Not sure they got to choose their title. Schieber was called upon to defend the implications of a materialism I'm not sure he holds, while Rauser defended a God of the Philosophers (bare theism) rather than the trinitarian~monotheism of biblical Christianity. I'd buy a sequel, but next time I'd hold out for paper rather than use the Kindle app on my smartphone again.

Hiking the Southwest's Geology: Four Corners Region, by Ralph Lee Hopkins. [2] A marvelous and easily accessible guide to all the many features of the primordial past that lie beneath our feet and entertain our eyes with scenic vistas. This is one of our "Go-To" books we use to plan our road trips across the southwest. Highly recommended!

Mr. Gatling's Terrible Marvel: The Gun That Changed Everything and the Misunderstood Genius Who Invented It, by Julia Keller. [1]  A social history about the man and his times, the application of patent law, the rise of industrialization, the internecine machinations of weapons procurement by the American military establishment, and the role of military technology applied to the acquisition and defense of empire. Regrettably, this book contains very details about the innovative gun itself, its evolutions, or its re-adoption in modernized form in the Jet Age. Not what I expected.

Let's read 48 books in 52 weeks...

I Have Feet

Which are hard to fit...

Finding zapatos that accommodate my 10-1/2 EEEE (or sometimes H) stompers has been a challenge this past half century or so. It's all the more difficult when they have to work with my uniform - black and leather-like.

Last weekend I was in Phoenix at a conference so I visited Ace Uniforms during a lunch break. I was told it would be the Disneyland of uniform stores. It lived up to the hype.

I did some business with Don, getting a couple Blauer Armorskin external armor carriers of the correct size. My recent weight loss moved me from a XL to L. I'd say "Yay," but that means I have to send my armor panels back to Second Chance to be recut. Then I found some ready bags in which to carry our AR500 rifle armor.

Professional business done, my eyes turned to the wall of shoes and boots. First I got a pair of pretty normal looking Bates 3/4 rise boots with zip sides. They fit. They're solid. They're sold!

"Let me show you one more option," says the helpful sales clerk through a sly smile. He hands me a box labeled Under Armor. I thought it was empty. I opened the box to look down on a pair of something that look like boots but which were lighter, much lighter. "DPS loves these," he says. I can see why. My none too dainty hooves are in heaven! They looks like boots, but they feel like bedroom slippers. Mrowww! Zero break-in, total comfort. The Under Armor Valsetz RTS Tactical boot; give 'em a try!

More Books

For the "To Read" list...

I took my daughter Cassandra to Peregrine Book Company to choose a going away present. She's a fan of Mary Roach so she rounded out her collection with a copy of Spook.

Of course being in a book store meant I couldn't leave without a handful myself, so I added three volumes to my collection as well...

Pagans: The End of Traditional Religion and the Rise of Christianity by James O'Donnell

Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

The World Until Yesterday by Jared Diamond

So many books, so little time.

You Are Not So Smart

Not an insult, just the name of a podcast...

While working in the yard I've been binging my way through the back catalogue of the You Are Not So Smart podcast. Just finished Episode 019 – Placebo sleep and other new discoveries in placebo research. Host and interviewer David McRaney has an engaging style, does careful research, and selects interesting speakers. Mr. McRaney is also the author of two books:

• You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself

• You Are Now Less Dumb: How to Conquer Mob Mentality, How to Buy Happiness, and All the Other Ways to Ou tsmart Yourself.  

McRaney eats a cookie - made from a listener's recipe, some of which sound quite tasty - at the end of each show, a schtick which may be skipped without risk, especially if you're trying to stick to a careful diet.

My 2016 Goodreads Challenge

Is 26 books in 52 weeks...

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. In progress [36]

An Atheist and a Christian Walk into a Bar: Talking about God, the Universe, and Everything, by Randal Rauser and Justin Schieber. In progress [35]

Hiking the Southwest's Geology: Four Corners Region, by Ralph Lee Hopkins. In progress [34]

New Year's Eve.  Time to call it...

Ancient Peoples of the American Southwest, by Stephen Plog. [33]

Themes in Southwest Prehistory, edited by George R. Gumerman. [32]

Christmas Eve...

Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang. [31]

Only a couple weeks left...

Neanderthal: Neanderthal Man and the Story of Human Origins, by Paul Jordan [30]

Arrowheads and Projectile Points: Identification and Values, by Lar Hothem. [29]

2312, by Kim Stanley Robinson. [28]

Jesus Before the Gospels: How the Earliest Christians Remembered, Changed, and Invented Their Stories of the Savior, by Bart Ehrman. [27]

There. Met the goal.  Still, almost two months to go...

Best Easy Day Hikes: Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, by Erik Molvar and Tamara Martin [26]

Zion National Park: Impressions, James Randklev and Tom Til [25]

Bryce Canyon National Park: Impressions, by James Ranklev and Greer K. Chesher [24]

Seveneves, by Neal Stephenson. [23]

Looking For Spinoza: Joy, Sorrow, and the Feeling Brain, by Antonio Domazio. [22]

The Keep, by F. Paul Wilson. [20]

Stalkers and Shooters: A History of Snipers, by Kevin Dockery [19]

The Collector's Illustrated Guide to Firearms, by Martin Miller [18]

Red Phoenix: The Rise of Soviet Air Power, 1941-1945, by Von Hardesty [17]

Pagans: The End of Traditional Religion and the Rise of Christianity by James O'Donnell [16]

Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War against Japan, by Clay Blair, Jr. [15]

The New AR-15 Complete Owner's Guide, by Walt Kuleck (with Greg King) [14] 

Brassey's Air Combat Reader, edited by Walter J. Boyne and Philip Handleman [13]

The Book of Job, by Stephen Mitchell [12]

Water-wise Plants for the Southwest, by Nan Sterman, Mary, Irish, Judith Philllips, and Joe Lampl; edited by Diana Maranhao [11]

Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic, by Frank Moore Cross [10]

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari [9]

The Dark Forest, by Cixin Liu [8]

Breaking the Mishap Chain, by Peter Merlin, Gregg Kendrick, and Dwight Holland [7]

Doubt: A History, by Jennifer Michael Hecht [6]

SMLE (No. 1) Rifles Mk I and Mk III, by Charles Stratton [5]

Know Your M1 Garand Rifles, by E. J. Hoffschmidt [4]

Forty Years With .45/70, by Paul A. Matthews [3]

Is Space The Place? Yes, No, by Various [2]

The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, by Bart D. Ehrman [1]

I have some catching up to do.