Book Review - Armada

Having read Ernest Cline’s engrossingly-thrilling debut novel Ready Player One several years ago, my expectations were quite high for Armada. It’s difficult to write a spoiler-free review of either book because detailing the plots will undoubtedly ruin the books for some readers, but at its core, Armada is essentially a book about video gamer nerds defending the human race against an alien invasion.

Similar to Cline’s masterpiece, Ready Player One, Armada engages the reader early on—throwing nostalgic pop culture references left and right, introducing compelling characters, and crafting a page turn-inducing plot. Without getting into spoiler-level detail about the book, it’s safe to say that the book will appeal to general nerds, music-lovers, video gamers, and military supporters (or battle aficionados) alike.

With that said, I don’t think that Armada is the same level of quality as Ready Player One (which still remains one of my favorite science fiction novels to date). The plot isn’t as captivating or mind-bending, the characters are somewhat predictable and aren’t as relatable, and the pop culture references got to be a bit too repetitive for my taste. When it comes down to it, Armada is a pretty solid book, but it isn’t one that I’d consider purchasing for my bookshelf (whereas Ready Player One definitely deserves a spot) or even re-reading again.

Cline is clearly a gifted writer and I am going to look forward to following his work into the future. He does have a spot on a very short list of modern, living science fiction authors that I am reading. I’m hoping that he will keep creating content that speaks to me, unlike some other authors that seem to burn too brightly in the beginning of their career and flame out. Only time will tell. Until now, I would advise reading Ready Player One before giving Armada a read, but if you enjoyed the debut novel, you’ll probably enjoy the second book as well.

4/5 stars. 349 pages.

Weekend Thoughts - 10.8.16

Image by Scott Branson, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:

1. It is well-known in the writing community that writers are (perhaps deservedly) notorious for extreme rates of progress-inhibiting procrastination. I myself have experienced that throughout my whole life, having for a couple decades proudly displayed a Procrastinator's Ten Commandments poster in my bedroom. (I have since given away that poster, as I am more focused on self-development and didn't want to reinforce that opinion of myself any longer.) This article concerning the difference between a fixed mind-set learner and a growth mind-set learner was really interesting to me, because I feel like I have evolved from the former to the latter over the past several years. Some people think that talent is a fixed quality that either you're born with or you're not, whereas other people think that challenges are an opportunity to grow. The fixed mind-set approach is enforced time and time again in our educational system, although this phenomenon has escaped the strict confines of academia and entered the workforce as well—more and more managers have reported that their younger new hires require explicit direction, constant feedback, and other well-structured benefits of today's educational environments. It's perhaps worth giving this article a read and doing some introspection about one's own learning style. Do you believe that you were born with specific strengths (and therefore should not attempt to develop your opportunities), or do you believe that facing challenges helps you grow?

2. Thus far (knocks on wood), I haven't received a single parking ticket (or a speeding ticket, for that matter), but I did find this new parking enforcement technology called the Barnacle to be interesting. Instead of installing a boot onto the car, parking patrol officers can install a six square foot block of yellow plastic onto your windshield, rendering it impossible to see anything. The device attached with 700 pounds of suction, so it would require ripping the windshield out to remove on your own. It's easier to install and remove than a boot, but still nearly impossible for the offender to remove. If the trial period in Pennsylvania and Florida goes well, we may be seeing more and more of these on parked cars in the near future.

That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.

This Week in Psychedelics - 10.7.16

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• FDA's Advice to the DEA on Marijuana (ATTN:)
• Why Public Health Experts Say Cannabis Should Be Treated Like Tobacco (Broadly)
• How States Are Spending Their Marijuana Revenue (ATTN:)
• Keith Stroup: Marijuana Smoking Up, Marijuana Arrests Down (ATTN:)
• How cannabis could help the fight against Alzheimer's (Mirror)
• Ancient Cannabis 'Burial Shroud' Discovered in Desert Oasis (National Geographic)
• California's Marijuana Legalization Faces an Unlikely Foe: Growers (TIME)
• Adult Use Ballot Initiatives Leading In Latest Polls (NORML)
• Study: Cannabis production uses as much energy as data centers (Albuquerque Business First)
• Meeting the Scientist Who Discovered THC (Reality Sandwich)
• 'Cannabis' drug could help thousands of epilepsy sufferers following trial at Great Ormond Street Hospital (Mirror)
• Like Barcelona, Bilbao is Taking Steps to Regulate Cannabis Social Clubs (Leafly)
• A Big Shift Is Necessary to Successfully Market Cannabis to Minorities (The Huffington Post)
• Calif. Newspapers Warm to Pot Legalization, Thanks to Taxes and Regulations (Reason)
• Americans Are Still Getting Arrested for Marijuana Possession at Staggering Rates (Disinfo)
• Cannabis Industry Technology Is Becoming That Prime Kush (Forbes)
• Is Cannabis Safe to Use During Pregnancy? New Study Clarifies Risks (Leafly)
• Where Voters Are Likeliest to Legalize Marijuana in a Month (Reason)
• Colorado Gives Cannabis Candy a New Look to Avoid Confusion (Leafly)
• Cannabis businesses dip their toes into world of franchising (The Denver Post)
• Tennessee: Cities Move To Reduce Marijuana Possession Penalties (NORML)
• Cannabis reduces creativity, but user generally not aware (Daily Science)

LSD

• LSD Now: How the Psychedelic Renaissance Changed Acid (Rolling Stone)
• Would LSD Make Bar Mitzvahs Great Again? (VICE)
• The Law Trips on LSD (Los Angeles Free Press)
• VA hospital's LSD experiments sped brother's fall into schizophrenia, Lee's Summit man fears (The Kansas City Star)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Much ado about mushrooms (Varsity)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Using MDMA to Treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (VolteFace)
• High Society: Ecstasy (VICE)
• Miley Cyrus' Suggestion Sick Ellen Take MDMA Wasn't Insane (Inverse)
• How taking ecstasy helped me mourn my mother (iNews)
• Southend man collapsed outside Chameleon nightclub and died after taking MDMA (Essex Live)
• Teenager, 18, froze to death after taking ecstasy and runing from a golf glub hotel into a LAKE wearing just his boxer shorts because he thought demons were in his hotel room (Daily Mail)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Ancient Medicine in a Modern World: How Ayahuasca Can Heal the Plague of Depression and Anxiety (Psychedelic Times)
• Aya Quest Native Americas church holding Ayahuasca healing ceremonies in the USA (Digital Journal)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine As Medicine? Anesthetic And Club Drug Could Treat Migraines, Chronic Pain (Medical Daily)
• New Study Compares Ketamine to Electro Shock Therapy in Treating Severe Depression (WKSU)
• The Tulsa Effect: Chicago Officer Beaten Unconscious By Man On PCP (Law Officer)

Opiates/Opioids

• How America Is Battling Its Horrific Opioid Epidemic (Wired)
• Heroin is now legal in Canada – if you have a prescription (Idaho Statesman)
• Health Canada approves non-prescription naloxone nasal spray (The Globe and Mail)
• The Great Binge: Heroin, Cocaine and Opium Over the Counter (New Historian)
• Not just for medics: Drugs that reverse opioid overdoses are being pushed to the masses (STAT)

Absinthe

• 6 Things You Didn't Know about Absinthe (San Diego Magazine)
• The 9 Best Absinthes Available In The US (VinePair)

Kratom

• Congressman: DEA May Extend Comment Period on Kratom Ban Amid Public Pressure (Reason)
• The Benefits Of Kratom, And Risks Of Kratom Extracts, From The People Who Use The Botanical Medicine (Forbes)
• Does Kratom Show Up on Drug Testing? (Kratom Guides)
• Why Does the Government Want to Ban Kratom, an Herbal Supplement? (New York Magazine)
• DEA Delays Kratom Ban (Medscape)
• Yes, Kratom Is a Drug: Here's Why (American Council on Science and Health)

Kava

• Why Experts are Now Saying Kava is Not Only Safe, but Needed Now More Than Ever (PR Newswire)
• Wait for endorsement of kava standards (The Fiji Times)

Khat

• Somalia: Using Khat As Trade And Political Leverage (Somaliland Press)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• High Hitler: how Nazi drug abuse steered the course of history (The Guardian)
• DEA Paid Millions to Confidential Informants Who Could No Longer Be Trusted (Reason)
• President Obama Shortens the Sentences of 102 Drug Offenders (TIME)
• Addiction & Recovery: The Definitive Expert Resource Guide For You, Your Family, or Your Patients (Lumiere Healing Centers)
• 12 legal drugs that will give you a psychedelic trip (The Daily Dot)
• Choosing the Right Therapy: The Differences Between Psychedelic Integration and Recovery Coaching (Psychedelic Times)
• LSU studies effects of psychedelic drugs, and other news of higher education (The New Orleans Advocate)
• The Problem With Denying Organ Transplants to Drug Users (ATTN:)
• Below the Mainstreaming: A Review of Beyond Psychedelics (Psychedelic Press UK)
• Risky research could herald mindful revolution (Imperial College London)

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychedelics" does not censor or analyze the news links presented here. The purpose of this column is solely to catalogue how psychedelics (and other psychoactives) are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

How to Send Overdrive.com eBooks to Your Kindle

Image by Megan Trace, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

As a frequent library patron and a recent Kindle owner, I was excited about the possibility of checking out eBooks from my library that I would be able to read on my Kindle Paperwhite. I was vaguely aware of Overdrive.com, a website that allows you to do sign into your library account and check out eBooks and audiobooks just like checking out physical media.

However, as I embarked on the process, I couldn't find sufficient help documentation that would give me step-by-step instructions about how to check out an eBook from my library (within Overdrive) and send it to my Kindle. To put it bluntly, my experience fumbling around until I figured it out was a frustrating nightmare. That's why I decided to write a simple help article that will show you how to be reading eBooks on your Kindle in no time! Here are the steps that you will need to follow:

Image by Multnomah County Library, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Step 1: Sign up for a library card (which takes like 15 minutes or so) at your local library and set up a PIN for the card (most libraries have you do this during the sign up process).

Step 2: Create an Overdrive account on Overdrive.com with an email address and password. Do NOT use the “Sign up using library card” option, especially if you have multiple libraries that you belong to. Creating your own user account seemed to be the best way to go.

Step 3: Log into your Overdrive account and authenticate your library membership by searching for your library (by location or name) and then entering your card number and PIN.

Step 4: Search for eBooks "in the library" while logged into your Overdrive account and add them to a wish list or opt to “borrow” them. Each library will have a different selection of eBooks to choose from. In both of my libraries, the selection is small and it is easier to browse by category than searching fruitlessly for specific authors or titles.

Step 5: When you check out a book, you can choose “Kindle Book” as your download option and "Confirm & get Kindle Book", and then Overdrive will shoot you over to an Amazon login to authenticate your Amazon account.

Step 6: Under the "Deliver to" step, choose the Kindle device you would like to send the eBook to, and click the "Get library book" button.

Image by Zhao !, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Step 7: The book will start downloading automatically when you open the device, and you can immediately start reading! Once your loan period has ended, you will be able to check the book out again, or place it on hold if it is no longer available.

I hope this guide will help some of you put your library's eBook lending to good use. In addition to eBooks, Overdrive offers audiobooks that can be listened to using their app. It is compatible with iOS, Android, Chromebook, Mac OS, Windows, and Windows Phone. What are you waiting for? Go ahead, get to reading!

Book Review - Breakfast of Champions

With the completion of Breakfast of Champions, I am now exactly halfway through the chronological reading of all of Kurt Vonnegut’s novels. Up until now, Sirens of Titan had been my favorite, but Breakfast of Champions has eclipsed it and risen straight to the top of the pile.

The narrator describes the book as a story of “two lonesome, skinny, fairly old white men on a planet which was dying fast.” One of the men, Dwayne Hoover, is a deranged Pontiac dealer who comes to believe that he is the only living being in the world with free will (the rest being robots, of course) due to being inside of a science fiction novel written by author Kilgore Trout. Trout is a mostly-unknown (albeit widely published) pulp science fiction writer who appeared in several other Vonnegut novels, who hitchhikes to Hoover’s town to appear at an art convention.

The novel frequently switches focus between Hoover and Trout, with Kurt Vonnegut simultaneously appearing as the author of the book and filling in the narratorial duties. These transitions are exceptionally handled—they help move the story along and are not confusing whatsoever. Common themes in the book include free will, suicide, mental illness, and issues with America and the treatment of its citizens.

Just like Vonnegut’s other novels, the writing itself is simple to read, which seems to be part of his overall style. Generously mixed in with the text are many drawings by the other which give a visual depiction of various objects, such as an anus, flags, a beaver, a vulva, the yin-yang symbol, guns, an electric chair, an apple, and even the sunglasses the author himself wears as he enters the storyline. Like many of the other novels, there are characters from other books which appear, who often have similar, but not exactly symmetrical characteristics across the books.

As I mentioned earlier in this review, I greatly appreciated Breakfast of Champions and would recommend this as the first book a novice Vonnegut reader should check out. It’s funny, smart, and wacky enough to hold your attention, and it’s written simply enough that it is also a quick read.

5/5 stars. 302 pages.