Crime, Time and Whatnot
in which an old man's too-fast watch plunged me into an existential crisis
And Iām done with finals!
This past week has been mostly relaxed with some reading and writing. There were the last-minute manic reading sprees but itās finals season so eh. I started my summer research internship (online) on June 19 which is about the only busy aspect - Iāve sort of started an online log documenting it but Iāll see if I can keep up. Itās mainly been reading a couple of articles, research papers and the like to gain a deeper understanding of the subject before I get into the actual research work. I also posted College Log #4 which is something of a ritual at this point, summarising semester 4.
~ Crime
I started writing a review of A Time To Kill by John Grisham. It took me about a week and a half to get through the book but I thought it was a very good read - engaging, compelling and sad. I think Iāll take a week to finish the review too - I keep getting lost in random links, heh.
I started reading The Brethren soon after but stopped a couple of chapters in - the book itself started out well. But it was a library book and one day when I went in, the book wasnāt there and I wasnāt invested enough to read the ebook - so I guess Iāll wait till it crops back up.
Something I realised I particularly enjoyed was simply the authenticity of Grishamās portrayal of the times, not similar to but resonant with that of Hosseiniās rich cultural perception. He hasnāt shied away from portraying the racial tension or the volatile environment - his writing is gripping, effectively capturing both the trauma a crime inflicts on its victim and their family and the legal battle that precedes justice
I also started watching National Geographicās History: All the Interesting Bits - Iāve been loving the funny, light-hearted, aesthetic narration and all the stories. I think what caught me by surprise was learning that both Doyleās Professor Moriarty and Flemingās James Bond were inspired by actual people - Adam Worth and Sidney Reilly respectively. In fact, Scotland Yardās Detective Robert Anderson was the first to nickname him "the Napoleon of the criminal world" based on his short stature, a description Sir Arthur Conan Doyle later borrowed for the infamous Professor Moriarty.
I was also fascinated by Christopher Marloweās story - what an eventful life! I was sad that he died so young. But my - what a life. I was at a bookstore the other day and saw a copy of Doctor Faustus which Iāve heard is kind of similar in thought to The Picture of Dorian Gray. And I love the name serving as a hint to the legend of Faust - so many parallels.
Faustian bargain, a pact whereby a person trades something of supreme moral or spiritual importance, such as personal values or the soul, for some worldly or material benefit, such as knowledge, power, or riches. The term refers to the legend of Faust (or Faustus, or Doctor Faustus), a character in German folklore and literature, who agrees to surrender his soul to an evil spirit (in some treatments, Mephistopheles, or Mephisto, a representative of Satan) after a certain period of time in exchange for otherwise unattainable knowledge and magical powers that give him access to all the worldās pleasures.
- Britannica
~ Time
I also worked on this little creative non-fiction account of an old man I saw in a watch shop who came in to get his watch repaired because it was almost one minute ahead - it was such a surreal experience seeing something like that unfold in person. I think itās utterly random interactions like these that take me by surprise and send me down weird thought spirals. I took my time writing about him because I wanted to wholly capture what I felt in the moment - it ended up being on the longer side of what I usually write but I have a feeling itās something that will stay with me for a long time.
The idea of being so old that you can physically feel your time passing you by has caught my interest and I think Iāll be exploring that more.
He straps it on slowly and smiles at the watchmakers before walking out into the pouring rain. And he looks content as he leaves the shop almost a minute wiser.
I like to think he left us all years wiser and in a sense, saving time he might never see pass.
And I wrote something of a haibun which was an impulsive write in response to this weekly poetry prompt. I usually tend to write more reflective pieces where I typically end up ranting about things I donāt understand. The prompt for this week was to write a haibun about the beauty of the night which is a subject I adore. I ended up writing a non-fiction haibun about how my alarms wake my roommate and vice-versa. I guess itās more playful-ish compared to what I usually write. But itās also very true and I find that amusing.
~ Whatnot
Now that finals are over, I have about a week or so before the whole thing begins again. Iāve been wanting to document some courses, write a couple of essays/articles and just explore some new topics. Something thatās really fascinated me lately is the whole Philosophy of Science/Maths genre and itās just a very vast and rich subject to get into. Iāve been working on an article about Game Theory which is absolutely fascinating and definitely something Iād recommend getting into.
And of course, reading. I want to start Doctor Faustus today but Iāve also been wanting to start The Turning Point by Fritjof Capra, I think Iāll probably end up reading a thriller though heh.
I guess thatās it for this week!