Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Freakonomics is certainly an interesting idea. An economist applies the principles of his field in order to analyse everyday situations. These situations are not what you would expect an economist to be concerned with, as they don’t specifically relate to money. Economist Levitt and his co-writer Dubner examine various topics such as cheating school teachers and good parenting as the whim takes them.

The problem with this book is that it never really lives up to its promise. This is supposed to be “the hidden side of everything” but all too often this side seems to be all too obvious. Take the chapter “Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?” for example. The preamble to the answer is very interesting. We get to hear about one of Levitt’s colleagues living day to day with crack dealers in Chicago; this is exciting and interesting storytelling. After a thorough analysis of the data, Levitt tells us that the big dealers at the top of the tree don’t pay the dealers on the street very much to peddle the product. Wow, I would never have guessed.

The book is also very repetitive. After reading the introduction, there is a distinct feeling of déjà vu in the first few chapters. My edition has an extra one hundred pages or so tacked onto the end that mostly just reprises the first two hundred pages. This final section of “bonus material” has quite an odd tone. At turns it is almost self apologetic, as if the authors know their book isn’t really that good, and at others self-laudatory. Levitt’s humility also seems a bit disingenuous; are we really to believe that “the most brilliant young economist in America” isn’t any good at maths?

On the plus side the book is very readable and at times entertaining. The authors have a logical view of life that is consistent and convincing. Unfortunately it is far from surprising. A nice distraction but there is certainly nothing very deep here. A good book to pick up in the airport.

The Punic Wars: Rome, Carthage, and the Struggle for the Mediterranean by Nigel Bagnall

I really enjoyed this very informative account of a conflict which helped to shape the world as we know it. The detail of the strategy (or lack of) pursued by Rome and Carthage is quite impressive. Bagnall also treats us to some excellent descriptions of the battles, particularly those in the second Punic war. Hannibal is of course a world famous figure but I am now much more able to appreciate how great Scipio Africanus was. If there is one criticism that I must make it is that there really isn’t enough description of the characters of the men involved. I realise that this is quite difficult with history as old as this but Bagnall only really allows himself to speculate on character in his epilogue (and then only by comparing Scipio Africanus and Hannibal). Non the less I’m happy I read this book and recommend it to anyone interested in Roman history.

The Soul of Battle: From Ancient Times to the Present Day, How Three Great Liberators Vanquished Tyranny by Victor Davis Hanson

I read this book a few years ago and I’m revisiting it after reading Tom Holland’s Persian Fire in order to remind myself what I already knew about ancient Greece, specifically Epaminodas. I recommend Hanson’s books. Why the West Has Won was good too although I’m still mulling over it’s basic premise some five years after reading it. I think his political views about the world today are pretty disgusting really but he’s an entertaining and readable author when it comes to more distant history

Perseverance is rewarded with this discussion of reading and assessment

Assessing Reading by J. Charles Alderson – Cambridge University Press

Assessing Reading is a look at the process of testing reading in a second language. Comprising of a review of past and current assessments of reading, the book also looks at how reading assessment might change in the future.

The book explores what reading is and how… go to TEFLorama to read more.

Fantastic Albums 1: 666 by Aphrodite’s Child

This is the greatest album ever recorded. There, I’ve nailed my colours to the mast right away. I know that’s quite a claim. But if you sent me away on a mission to Mars saying I could only take one album with me, I would have no hesitation in leaving stuff like Sgt. Pepper’s, Birth of the Cool and The Four Seasons (to name but three of mankind’s finest recordings) far, far behind.

And why? This album is exotic, eclectic and mystical. It has soul and feeling by the bucket full, the production is as flawless as anything done by Floyd and furthermore, it rocks. In its darkest moments it out blacks Sabbath and when it’s avant-garde you might as well chuck your Velvet Underground CDs in the bin. It has orchestral passages that put Blood Sweat and Tears to shame, funk that would be at home on Stax and drumming that would slay Dave Lombardo. It covers all this ground in one album to boot.

Needless to say that perhaps the only genre able to do this kind of thing is progressive rock and here you have one of its earliest and surely, the finest example. 666 is a concept album roughly based on the Revelation of St. John and as such is foreboding and strange. It is no exaggeration to say that after listening to it for twenty years I still get shivers down the spine.

The pleasure of this album is also knowing that the members of  Aphrodite’s Child were never to record anything even approaching its sublimity ever again. The music was almost single-handedly composed by Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, better known to most of us as Vangelis. Now, I think that this was Vangelis at his coolest. Around this time he released material such as Earth that was markedly different from the synthesizer orchestrations he became famous for in the rest of the seventies and early eighties (check out Spiral for example). I don’t care for that later stuff much; for me it was a definite loss of form. The same is true for Demis Roussos. Arguably one of the most amazing male voices you could wish to hear, after this band he descended into mushy ballads; most famously the single For Ever and Ever. While I must admit to the guilty pleasure of enjoying Roussos’s pop, it simply cannot compare to his work here.

The band began work on 666 in Paris in late 1970 but it didn’t see the light of day until 1972. This was to a certain extent due to tensions within the band at the time. Vangelis as the chief composer was earning much more money than the other members, who for their part were not fully comfortable with the new material which differed in tone from their previous efforts. It is curious to me that many of rock music’s crowning glories have been recorded under stress and with the band members not getting along very well. This is a theme I shall return to in later Fantastic Albums posts. Partly also though, it was due to Mercury (the band’s record company) being so concerned with the album’s content. The fact that the subject matter is inspired by the Bible must have worried them. Probably though, tracks such as ∞, which sounds very much like a five minute long orgasm with occult chanting (it has to be heard to be believed), worried them more. Nevertheless the music was eventually released, with one immediate fan being Salvador Dali who described it in his idiosyncratic way as “a music of stone”. It is now almost forty years since its release and it has gone on to garner respect from many quarters.

Perhaps the best thing to do now is to give you the opportunity to check out one of the album’s most accessible tracks. Having said that, this song is hardly conventional. Ladies and gentlemen I give you the drama and majesty of The Four Horsemen.

I think that you can hear from the above extract that the musicianship is amazing. Vangelis is of course the most respected of the band for this, but the other three members don’t come off too badly either. As a guitar player I marvel at the closing solo which has such simplicity but is so effective; only under the foot of Hendrix have I heard a wah pedal used with such taste. Mr. Roussos is a phenomenal bass player throughout the music and you only have to listen to Do It for the drumming to make your jaw drop.

666 has an otherworldly quality that I’ve never quite heard anywhere else. All of Aphrodite’s Child’s output is worth checking out but 666 is pure gold.

http://www.vangelismovements.com/aphroditeschild.htm

http://www.vangelismovements.com/666.htm

http://www.demisroussos.info/

Thank you Noel

Oasis at the World Trade Centre, Taipei, Taiwan, Friday 3rd April 2009.

Say what you like about Oasis, Noel is a genuine person. The experience last night was largely that of a band going through the paces and delivering the expected show. The performance was professional and enjoyable, but lacked that spark that makes rock ‘n’ roll memorable. The exception to this was Noel.

It’s obvious that Noel cares about his performance. I imagine that last night he was more subdued than usual but he was still a contrast to the other band members. He took the time to talk to the crowd but mostly the feeling came across in his singing. Noel is a great singer. I much preferred it when Liam sloped off and we had a five piece Oasis. Noel’s voice has soul. As jaded a concert goer as I admittedly am, Don’t Look Back in Anger still managed to move me.

To be fair to the rest of the band, it must have been difficult last night. Things like this are never managed very well in Taiwan. The World Trade Centre is a terrible place for music as it has awful acoustics. The band was far too quiet, with Liam having to ask if the music could be heard by the audience. Indicative of this disorganisation is the fact that the Hi-Life convenience store attached to the venue completely sold out of booze and snacks. I imagine that the franchise owner has his head in his hands this morning, wishing that he’d ordered more stock and regretting the missed chance of an extended holiday in the sun.

Despite the lack of organisation, the crowd had a really good time. One girl next to me enquired of my nationality, and then remarked that I must have been proud to see the band in Taiwan. My reply was equivocal, but in reflection I have to admit that yes, I was proud. I’m proud that Oasis came here in preference to China.

So thank you Noel and thank you Oasis. Whatever the reasons that brought you to Taiwan, I hope you return; it’s so rare that any bands of note visit this island.

Using storyboards to teach English

Check out my interesting and fun lesson plan for teaching English using advertising and storyboards. There is a detailed lesson plan and all the materials you need. Go to:

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/lesson-plans/advertisement-storyboard