PARADISE FOUND

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A BOOK REVIEW

If you have ever been to Hawaii, then like me, you discovered paradise and it has become one of your favorite places on earth. The first time we went, we did a cruise and saw Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island, five stops in all with an additional sail down to Kiribati, a few miles north of the equator. We fell in love with the place, of course, and decided to return to both Maui and Kauai – paradise indeed. Like most, we toyed with finding some way to spend much more time there. You can never spend enough time in paradise. On our first visit, I read James Michener’s, HAWAII, a great read if you haven’t done so.

I have always loved books full of adventure, action and strong characters set in exotic locales. I remember the first series of books I borrowed at the Kitchener library as a young lad that told about the exploits of a bush pilot set in Northern Ontario (my definition of exotic locales has changed over the years). I’ve been hooked ever since.

Fast forward to a series set in Hawaii, a strong female lead character, various sinister ne’er-do-wells, lots of action and danger, and naturally the unparalleled beauty of the islands themselves. Lei is an intelligent, but flawed detective, who gets herself into some tight spots both personally and professionally.  With the help of a strong supporting cast, she manages to solve the crimes but at great personal cost. One of the reasons I like her character is that she is highly unconventional which creates issues with her superiors. She always seems to be on the edge of being fired or killed or both.

Since the series of books are set in Hawaii, we might assume that this would be a good “beach read.” We would be right and we might wonder why I am reviewing the first book in the Lei Crime Series, “Blood Orchids,” by Toby Neal at this time of the year. First of all, it was a series of books I could not put down and every time of year is a good one when Hawaii is the background setting. The book gets a 4 1/2 star rating, out of 5, from the over 2,000 reviews on Amazon, so that’s a pretty good indication of its popularity.

Our heroine, Lei, discovers the bodies of two teenage girls, one of whom she had busted recently. The teenagers lifestyles bring back many memories of Lei’s own youth and as she continues to investigate the murders, she can’t shake the feeling of being stalked herself. The book reveals a dark side to paradise but the reader will find it easy to ride along with Lei to hunt the killer who seems to take great pleasure in knowing more about her than he should. Is he playing with her? And, why do we always assume the murderer is a “he?”

You can access the boxed set of the first books in the series here.

By the way, got a Kindle or the Kindle app, you are gonna love the price!

A BOOK OF REVELATIONS

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Aging is not for the weak. I experienced a revelation this week that resulted in a complete overhaul of my TV enjoyment. OK, so it’s not “that” book of revelations but it has changed my life anyway. So, here’s the story:

For the past few years I have been bothered by a constant noise in my ears only to discover something called tinnitus and many of you may already be familiar with it. This, by the by, is completely different from the little voice in my head. Tinnitus is annoying yes, but otherwise relatively harmless. Surprisingly enough, it doesn’t seem to interfere with my ability to hear. According to my doctor, our brain simply accepts this as part of life and we wander through our days oblivious to its effects. I went to a purveyor of hearing aids and had the very strong impression that one of those devices would not appreciably alter the tinnitus symptoms and so dodged that bullet.

About a year later I began annoying people by requesting that they repeat themselves as they are often mumbling or speaking at a low volume. This happens especially when there is background noise like in social settings or at work meetings. I do it at home all the time too but I’m pretty sure that is because I have always benefited from “selective hearing” in order to survive the onslaught of questions and requests. “BOB!” You know the voice and a case of deaf and dumb immediately sets in. And yes, I have left an opening with the word dumb. You’re welcome.

Over the past year or so, I have lost interest in many TV shows that I used to enjoy. I find myself struggling with the accents and background music tracks. It is not a simple case of increasing the volume. I can’t damn well understand what the characters are saying and consequently, can’t follow the plots and so, why watch? I used to ask my wife to tell me what the character had said but that was happening too frequently and I simply stopped asking and watching. My Kindle device doesn’t require listening to, so I would read while she watched the various shows. The funny thing is, this doesn’t happen during sporting events; I can hear the announcers perfectly clearly. The same holds true for news and weather programs and many others. It seems to be a significant problem only during dramas and really is heightened with foreign accents and background sound tracks.

Over the past few weeks, I have watched Leanne begin to experience the same thing, with the same kinds of shows. The sound bar settings get adjusted in an attempt to help with the ability to hear the dialogue to no effect. We blame the TV, the producers, sound engineers, millennials and Trump but still suffer from the inability to properly follow the show.  Now, I would like to take credit, but she will read this and complain if I don’t tell you that Leanne had a brilliant thought the other night. After much frustration at trying to follow the show CASTLE ROCK, listening to the characters mumble their way through lines, she suggested adding closed captioning to the screen – WOW, what a difference. I am actually interested in watching the show.

Last Saturday, we found that the next season of HOMELAND is finally available on NETFLIX and decided to watch the final few episodes of the previous season to prepare for it. Truth be told, I stopped paying any attention last year because I could no longer follow the plot and when I began experiencing the same frustration, asked Leanne to add closed captioning. It made a huge difference for both of us. The foreign accents were understandable as I read the dialogue along the bottom of the screen when necessary. No music tracks or traffic noise to interfere with my enjoyment of the program. I have discovered TV again!

Now, if I could get the people at work to film their questions and I could add closed captioning to it, life would be perfect. On the other hand, it may be time to visit the hearing aid store again. I don’t know why I fight this reality so much. Both of my parents suffered from hearing deficits and I understand the frustration from both sides now.

The revelations continue to unfold. And an apology to my mother and father for showing my frustration and impatience from time to time.

A WORLD OF TRUTH

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In my last post, I wrote a book review for FACTFULNESS, 10 reasons we’re wrong about the world – and why things are better than you think. It is one of the most powerful books I have ever read and the key to realizing its power is a 13 point quiz that the author, Hans Rosling poses at the beginning of the book.

People have asked – “So what are the 13 questions Hans Rosling asks in the quiz section of his book” FACTFULNESS? OK, bowing to popular demand, I have reprinted them here. It will take you a few minutes to answer the questions and I suggest you actually write down and calculate the results. Now, don’t worry about me, I can wait. I’ll take some time to listen to music while you take the quiz – go ahead.

 

  1. In all low-income countries across the world today, how many girls finish primary school?

A. 20 percent

B. 40 percent

C. 60 percent

 

2. Where does the majority of the world population live?

A. Low income countries

B. Middle income countries

C. High income countries

 

3. In the last 20 years, the proportion of the world population living in extreme poverty has…

A. almost doubled

B. remained more or less the same

C. almost halved

 

4. What is the life expectancy of the world today?

A. 50 years

B. 60 years

C. 70 years

 

5. There are 2 billion children in the world today, aged 0 to 15 years old. how many children will there be in the year 2100, according to the United Nations?

A. 4 billion

B. 3 billion

C. 2 billion

 

6. The UN predicts that by 2100 the world population will have increased by another 4 billion people. What is the main reason?

A. There will be more children (age below 15)

B. there will be more adults (age 15 to 74)

C. There will be more very old people (75 and older) the use of the word “very” is that of the author and some of us might take exception to it – ahem.

 

7.  How did the number of deaths per year from natural disasters change over the last hundred years?

A. More than doubled

B. Remained about the same

C. Decreased to less than half

 

8. There are roughly 7 billion people in the world today. Which map ( in his book) shows best where they live?

here’s approximately what his maps show:

A. 1 billion in North and South America combined, 1 billion in Europe, 1 billion in Africa and 4 billion in Asia

B. 1 billion in North and South America, 1 billion in Europe, 2 billion in Africa and 3 billion in Asia

C. 2 billion in North and South America, 1 billion in Europe, 1 billion in Africa and 3 billion in Asia

 

9. How many of the world’s 1 year old children today have been vaccinated against some disease?

A. 20 percent

B. 50 percent

C. 80 percent

 

10. Worldwide, 30 year old men have spent 10 years in school, on average. How many years have women of the same age spent in school?

A. 9 years

B. 6 years

C. 3 years

 

11. In 1996, tigers, giant pandas and black rhinos were all listed as endangered. How many of these three species are more critically endangered today?

A. Two of them

B. One of them

C. None of them

 

12. How many people in the world have some access to electricity?

A. 20 percent

B. 50 percent

C. 80 percent

 

13. Global climate experts believe that, over the next 100 years, the average temperature will…

A. get warmer

B. remain the same

C. get colder

 

That’s it. Did you find the questions interesting? Oh, the answers? Well there are 2 ways to find the answers and see how you scored on the test. First, you can do your research and investigate, as the author did, to discover the truths about the world today. Remember, this questionnaire and its answers are current as of 2017/18 so don’t rely on old information on the internet – or more importantly, in your mind. Check sources like the UN and various government statistical sites.

Of course, there is an easier way. Buy FACTFULNESS  on Amazon here.