Abu Taubah

Went through some Abu Taubah audio recordings last night whilst trying to fall asleep. Here's a couple of quotes that stuck:

We don't care how much you know
until we know how much you care.

Note that he wasn't belittling knowledge in the above! (He's pretty well travelled, and learned himself.) Rather, he was emphasising the role of compassion. Like he said elsewhere: you wouldn't eat food - even the most finest cuisine - brought to you in a trash can! Form is important. Here's the second quote:

'O you who believe...',
this [statement] is not only a calling [i.e. an address]
but it's [also a qualifier,] like saying
'If you truly believe...'.

For those who don't know, he's a Muslim community leader in the States who was conveniently arrested a couple of weeks before September 11th 2011 and then a couple of weeks before September 11th 2012 a story emerged of his having taught a supposed-would-be-Jihadist-turned-FBI-informant some martial arts! He has pleaded guilty to (the non-terrorism-related-charge of) having an unlicensed hand-gun at his home and let's just hope he can do the time required, get back to his family, and get on with his life! His wife explains a bit more about his arrest here.

Book Review: Life of Pi, by Yann Martel

Good premise - boy stranded out at sea with some animals - and not badly executed but I couldn't help feel the author got his priorities wrong. The book is at its finest when the author writes about zoos, animals, the wild and human nature. Some great insights here about social rank, fear and loneliness. However, the author is fixated on trying - explicitly - to convince his reader of the existence of God. And it's here I felt he didn't quite deliver. I thought the book would have been so much more impactful had he focused on the beauty and subtleties of creation and left the rest to the imagination of the reader.

Here are my three favourite quotes from the book:

"... It's a question of brain over brawn. The nature of the circus trainer's ascendancy [over his/her lions] is psychological. Foreign surroundings, the trainer's erect posture, calm demeanour, steady gaze, fearless step forward, strange roar... these are so many factors that will fill the animal's mind with doubt and fear, and make clear to it where it stands, the very thing it wants to know..." 

"... A part of me did not want Richard Parker [the tiger on the boat] to die at all, because if he died I would be left alone with despair, a foe even more formidable than a tiger..." 

"... I was weeping because Richard Parker had left me so unceremoniously. What a terrible thing it is to botch a farewell. I am a person who believes in form, in the harmony of order. Where we can, we must give things a meaningful shape. For example - I wonder - could you tell my jumbled story in exactly one hundred chapters, not one more, not one less?... It's important in life to conclude things properly. Only then can you let go. Otherwise you are left with words you should have said but never did, and your heart is heavy with remorse..."

George St-Pierre: My body. My mind. The tools that I have.

Read in a Canadian-French accent for fuller effect!

"... I give [sic] everything I have tonight... (thinks)
You know... (thinks)

I am like I am.
I use my body the best that I can.

I don't have the knock-out power of Rampage Jackson.
I don't have the athletic ability of Jon Jones.
I don't have the accuracy of Anderson Silva.
I don't have the wrestling of Chael Sonnen.

But I use my body (points to self)
- the tools that I have -
the best that I can.

And that's why I win fight [sic].

It's not always about muscle.
It's the mind.
And I use my tools the best that I can, to win the fight..."

Geore St-Pierre at the UFC 154 post-fight press conference talking about his tenth straight title defense.

One life (BBC Earth)

Brilliant. The best animal/nature compilation I've come across. Good pace. Jumps animal/location every few minutes, enough to make the intended point and never too long to drag. I believe this feature is a condensed version of the larger 'Life' series, so maybe not worth buying if you've already got that.

Watching it and the closing conclusion in particular is thought-provoking. It's clear animals display intelligence, adaptability and ingenuity. So what is our edge? There's definitely something that differentiates humans from other animals. So what is it that makes us unique? Perhaps this ability to pose questions?...

The indispensability trap

Great article on good management in the November 2012 issue of Management Today: The Indispensability Trap, by Richard Jolly. In summary...

The curse of bad management:

"You are fantastic: indispensable.
Which is why you're the last person I'd promote!
You are far too important where you are."

The goal of good management:

"The team is working so well
they don't need me any more!
I am ready for my next challenge."

Book Review: Living with a Black Dog, by Matthew and Ainsley Johnstone

Depression I find to be as fascinating a topic as it is sad. Questions such as: what brings it about; why so few of those who suffer from it, see it; and, particularly, how comes the percentage of people who suffer from it rises year on year, even in places where quality of life is supposedly on the rise. But! This book is not so much about depression itself or the sufferer of it, as it about the caregiver - the partner, friend or colleague of the person experiencing depression ("harbouring a black dog"). A good, small, useful picture book summarising nicely advice for caregivers. The advice is split into things the caregiver may notice about the person experiencing depression, things not to say and do, things good to say and do, tips on embracing/acknowledging the black dog together, and, lastly, self-preservation so that the black dog does not rub off on the caregiver.

Book Review: Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes

Don't be put off by the cover! Not that there's anything wrong with reading a story with a pink cover of course. No shame :-P Anyway, the book at hand – Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – was a good read. A love story with a difference. Not your typical girl meets boy and then the book ends. (Not that I've read any of those!) Believable characters here too. The main two characters are Louisa and Will. The first – Louisa – is a young, pretty ordinary personality who has no ambition nor desire to venture outside of her daily routine until the local cafe she works at closes down, permanently. The other – Will – is a young-ish, high-flying businessman condemned to quadriplegia following an unfortunate traffic accident and wanting to end his life. (A bit of a spoiler there but it's disclosed quite early in the book so surely you won't mind!) This book is about these two polar opposite personalities crossing paths and the influence and impact each has on the other.