Rocco Maiolo's Ramblings and Musings

If you're at all interested in the problem of homelessness, if you've ever been gripped or just curious about all things Indiginous, Aboriginal, First Nations, if you're moved by beauty, brokenness, love, healing and redemption, if you've ever wondered why some people struggle with addiction and recovery more than others, if you want to know how to love better, care more, empathize deeply, if this quote resonates with you -- All us criminals start out as normal people just like anyone else, but then things happen in life that tear us appart, that makes us into something capable of hurting other people. That's all darkness really is -- just love gone bad. -- then please read this book. Thank you, Jesse Thistle, your vulnerabily and honesty in sharing your story.

The inside-back of Ms Mandel's book jacket reads that she's a staff writer for The Millions . I'm sure the readers of this publication appreciate this, but I for one would love for her to write more novels. Thankfully, her new one is due this October of 2020. Station 11 is one of the best books I've read recently. It reminds me a bit of The Walking Dead . And like The Walking Dead , I find myself telling people, yeah, it's a zombie show, but it's not really a zombie show. Similarly, yes,  Station 11 is a post apocalyptic novel, but it's not really a post apocalyptic novel. It's so much more. It's about art, and love, friendship and survival. The travelling orchestra/acting company has a quote painted on its caravan: "Survival is insufficient." It's a quote from a Star Trek Voyager episode. At the risk of sounding ageist, two things strike me most about this book. One, how is someone so young, so wise and insightful into all sta...

Davidson goes for "literary" and, in my opinion, gets it often (but not always). I understand he writes with two other pseudonyms: horror and one other genre. I'd be curious to read one of those. Cataract City is partly Stephen King's "The Body" and partly... Chuck Palahniuk? I read somewhere that the two writers are similar. I've only read Fight Club and I wasn't remembering it being much like Cataract City . As a local, it was very cool to recognize many of the places such as Memorial Arena (where I too watched professional wrestling as a boy). Favourite quotes: "That strong childhood magnetism that draws one boy to another -- sometime that magnetism abruptly switches polarities, flinging those same boys away from each other, setting them on new trajectories." "There are moments you realize that when you carry through a given plan of action, you're gonna come out a changed man. Won't be noticeable on the outside but ...

Could it be possible that I read better, more, and deeper when I have an old school real book in my hands? I used to read like a fiend when I was younger -- somewhere between forty and fifty books a year. In recent years, it's been between twenty and thirty. I found several things had been happening in recent years (even after retirement): I was only reading at night; I was reading mostly electronic versions (Kobo); my power of concentration was greatly diminished; and I was reading mostly fiction. Could be age, less brain power...? Nah... So in the last few months I've been reading good old-fashioned library books -- it's amazing what a two or three week deadline with the threat of a ten or twenty or  thirty cent fine will do to your reading quota :) Not only have I been reading more, what I've been reading is sticking better. And just to prove it... I thought it'd be fun to do a brief review of the last few books I've read, so here it goes: Lethal Wh...

Over the course of a few days, I heard/read inquiries/comments like this:  At our church, we don't apologize for what we believe . And,  I'm new to the area: can someone please recommend a church that follows and teaches the Bible?       A few years ago when our teaching pastor dealt with the question of biblical authority, interpretation and how to read the Bible, one of the results was that some people left the church. It wasn't so much what he taught during this series -- although some took exception to that as well -- it was his approach and attitude. Which was one of:  I can't possibly be right 100% of the time about 100% of all things theological, therefore... humility?  It deserves to be noted that said teaching pastor who advocates humility is currently working on his Phd in theology.  Some didn't like,to be reminded for example, that within any biblical tradition -- even the particular strand of, say, evangelicalism to which you be...

Who knew  Anna Sewell's Black Beauty had so much to say about religion? There is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to man and beast, it is all a sham […] I have heard the commandments read a great many times, and I never noticed that any of them said, 'Thou shalt be rich.' And there are a good many curious things said in the New Testament about rich men that I think would make me feel rather queer if I was one of them." (35.43) "Real religion is the best and truest thing in the world and the only thing that can make a man really happy, or make the world any better." (36.24) "[…] I don't see that your religious people are any better than the rest."  "If they are not better... it is because they are not religious. You might as well say that our country's laws are not good because some people break them." (36.24)

Misanthropy  I heard the word "misanthropy" while watching Jessica Jones of all places. It rang a bell. My wife asked what it meant. I said (trying to sound impressive and fairly sure I'd get it wrong), "Well, "mis-" is a prefix that means wrong, bad, miss, askew and "thrope" is in the word an throp ology which has something to do with humans, so... dislike of humans?" Not a bad guess :) Miriam and Webster (two of my favourite people) define it as "a hatred or distrust of humankind." I recalled a play from my years of studying literature. Not sure I'd ever read it, I looked it up: The Misanthrope , a seventeenth century French satirical play. And then, I thought, hmm, misanthrope... Facebook/misanthrope: Damn -- that's half of my Facebook feed! After nearly two years of Donald Trump, what I've found even more disturbing that Donald Trump is the hate and venom that people are showing toward one another over ideo...