Norse Mythology

This book is wonderful to be introduced to Norse mythology, I would have liked it to exist when I was young, as expected the writer chooses some less canonical or controversial parts but even if it is very good to expand the knowledge of Norse mythology

 

Publisher's Summary

Introducing an instant classic - master storyteller Neil Gaiman presents a dazzling version of the great Norse myths.

Neil Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction about him. Now he turns his attention back to the source, presenting a brave rendition of the great northern tales. In Norse Mythology, Gaiman fashions primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds; delves into the exploits of the deities, dwarves, and giants; and culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and the rebirth of a new time and people. Gaiman stays true to the myths while vividly reincarnating Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin's son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki, the son of a giant, a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator. From Gaiman's deft and witty prose the gods emerge with their fiercely competitive natures, their susceptibility to being duped and to duping others, and their tendency to let passion ignite their actions, making these long-ago myths breathe pungent life again.

©2017 Neil Gaiman (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

A Wrinkle in Time

 I liked it a lot, but I think the book deals with things that are more for adults but with a narrative for teenagers, it has an interesting approach when it comes to denouncing social problems.

Summary

One night, thirteen-year-old Meg Murry meets an eccentric new neighbor, Mrs. Whatsit, who refers to something called a tesseract. She later discovers that it is a scientific concept her father was working on before her mysterious disappearance. The next day, Meg, her boy genius brother Charles, and their schoolmate Calvin visit Mrs. Whatsit's house, where the equally strange Mrs. Who and the unseen voice of Mrs. Which promise to help Meg find her way. find and rescue his father.

Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who and Mrs Which turn out to be supernatural beings who transport Meg, Charles Wallace and Calvin O'Keefe through the universe by means of a tesseract, a fifth-dimensional phenomenon explained as the folding of the fabric of space and time. . ; this way of traveling is called tessing. Your first stop is the planet Uriel, a utopian world filled with centaur-like beings who live in a state of light and love. The Mrs. Ws reveal to the children that the universe is under attack by an evil being who appears as a large dark cloud called The Black Thing, who is essentially evil personified. The children are taken to Orion's Belt to visit the Happy Medium, a woman with a crystal ball through which they see that the Earth is partially covered in darkness, although great religious figures, philosophers, scientists and artists have been fighting her. Mrs Whatsit is revealed to be a former star who blew herself up in an act of self-sacrifice to fight the darkness.

The children travel to the dark planet of Camazotz, which has succumbed to the Black Thing and where Meg's father is trapped because he would not succumb to the group mind that makes the inhabitants behave mechanically. To find her father, Charles Wallace deliberately hypnotizes himself. He leads Meg and Calvin to the place where Meg's father, Alexander, is being held prisoner. Charles Wallace then leads them to TI, the evil disembodied brain with powerful abilities who controls the planet. Using the special powers of Mrs. Who's glasses, Alexander takes Calvin, Meg, and himself to the planet Ixchel before IT can control them all. Charles Wallace stays behind, still under TI's influence, and Meg is paralyzed from injuries sustained during the journey. An inhabitant of the planet with featureless faces, tentacles, and four arms proves to be wise and gentle and cures Meg's paralysis, leading her to nickname her "Aunt Beast".

The trio of Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which arrive and task Meg with rescuing Charles Wallace from IT. Arriving at the building where TI resides, they find Charles Wallace under TI's influence. Inspired by Mrs. W's clues, Meg focuses all of her love on Charles Wallace and succeeds in freeing him from TI's control. Afterwards, everyone returns to Earth and Mrs. W leaves.

Sapiens A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

This book is going to change the way you see the world, history and your own existence. This provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate. "Sapiens" has an engaging writing style, an ambitious scope, and an ability to synthesize complex ideas in an accessible way.

First published in Hebrew in Israel in 2011, and then translated into English and published in 2014. The book surveys the history of humankind from the evolution of Homo sapiens in the Stone Age up to the political and technological revolutions of the 21st century.

Harari's work is characterized by a focus on broad historical narratives, informed by insights from many different disciplines, including history, biology, anthropology, and economics. In "Sapiens", he organizes the narrative around several key "revolutions" that have fundamentally reshaped human societies:

The Cognitive Revolution (c. 70,000 years ago), was when Homo sapiens began to develop dramatically more complex forms of communication and social organization.

The Agricultural Revolution (c. 10,000 years ago), led to the development of farming, permanent settlements, and a massive increase in human population.

The Unification of Humankind, through the development of interconnected societies and global trade networks.

The Scientific Revolution (c. 500 years ago), has led to the modern era of technological progress and political and cultural change.

In the book, Harari discusses how Homo sapiens came to dominate the world, how and why we created the societies and cultures we live in, and where we might be heading in the future. He also delves into concepts like money, religion, and happiness, providing a thought-provoking and often challenging overview of human history.

Harari's work is not explicitly humanist, but it does often focus on the power of human beliefs, actions, and institutions in shaping history. He explores the ways in which Homo sapiens, through our unique cognitive abilities, have created complex societies, cultures, and technologies. This reflects a humanist emphasis on the role of human action and decision-making in shaping the world.

However, Harari also challenges some aspects of humanism. For instance, he questions the idea of individual agency, suggesting that our decisions and actions are often driven by unconscious biases, genetic factors, and social pressures. He also criticizes the humanist focus on individual human life as the ultimate source of meaning and value, pointing out that this perspective has led to negative consequences, such as environmental destruction and animal suffering.

In his exploration of the future of humankind, Harari explores the potential for technologies like artificial intelligence and genetic engineering to change what it means to be fundamentally human. This is a challenge to humanism in that it questions the fixed nature of 'humanity' and suggests that our understanding of ourselves may need to evolve in the future.

"Sapiens" offers a lot to think about. It affirms the importance of human agency and the power of human-created systems and ideas, while also challenging some of the assumptions and potential limitations of humanist philosophy.

Winter Wonderland week 3

Cool Roadhog

This 9-win challenge rewards you every three with a unique gift.

This Week is Roadhog

It's funny that he's a really bad snowman.

I already have it.

Cool roadhog

A Farewell to 2020

Even when the economic crisis of 2008 warned us, we did not want to listen. This year 2020 has shown us again the devastating effects of our decision to have given total freedom to our Ego, false glory, excessive individualism, greed and avarice for so long in our society. In addition to continuing to make the mistake of listening and empowering people who give discourses of disunity and division among us, through class warfare, foster hatred to any races or through religious intolerance.

The question we have to ask ourselves is what is the world we want to leave to the next generation...

A world where national pride is valued more than the value of human life.

A world in which it is possible to reach any corner in less than two days, but we were unable to bring medical equipment to our hospitals.

A world where it is possible to produce more than what humanity can ever consume, we run out of cleaning products, in order to justify raising prices and making a profit of $1 more.

A world where we are all affected by the Pandemic, but we deny the scientific evidence of it is existence.

A world that has shown us how all educational systems have failed, even when all the information is in the cloud.

Don't get me wrong, there have also been great achievements in 2020, but they have only happened after everything has been broken down and that is not the right way to prepare for the challenges we have as members of the Human race.

The resolution that we should all have for 2021; It is to stop living only for the moment and start planning a righteous and better-prepared future for all the beings who share this fragile house we called Earth.

Winter Wonderland week 2

 Ginger Anne

This 9-win challenge rewards you every three with a unique gift.

This Week is Ana

Not bad, but I didn't like it.

I already have it.

Ginger Anne

The Winter Wonderland Event 2

The Winter Wonderland Event introduces a new set of challenges, new rewards, and new ways to explore Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition in the final weeks of 2020! You'll be able to return each day to complete new challenges and unlock new rewards, so be sure to grab the latest update and get started right away!

Win a Skirmish or Multiplayer game as the French in the Arctic Territories map.

Unlock and keep the new Winter Wonderland Holiday Map.

Note that you will need to restart your game for the mod to work properly.

Note that installing the Winder Wonderland mod will result in un-modded lobbies not displaying in the lobby browser. You will need to manually disable the mod to view all un-modded lobbies.

Win any Single Player Skirmish game on the Winter Wonderland Holiday Map.

Unlocks the Red Monster Truck Filled with Presents profile icon.

Win a 1v1 Single Player Skirmish game against Hard AI on the Winter Wonderland Holiday Map.

Unlocks Red Nose Capybara profile icon. 

Play a Single Player or Multiplayer King of the Hill game.

Unlocks Old Coot with a Confetti Cannon profile icon.

The Winter Wonderland map is a twist on an old favourite:

“During these festive times, players find themselves in a beautiful snow valley surrounding a frozen lake. A single circular trade route runs around the map. This map is filled with presents, decorated Christmas trees, and with reindeer and moose to fit the occasion.”

I get all of them