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Ikkyu was not a typical Zen master - the monkish disciplines of celebacy and sobriety were not in his repetoire. While this makes him an oddity, it reinforces the ideal that one who is enlightened is one who is free. This freedom (often seen as indifference or non-clinging) is voiced in this poem "Ikkyu this body isn't yours I say to myself / wherever I am I'm there". His freedom from the disciplines is shown in poems that are explicitly sexual not merely erotic. A very tame example: "don't hesitate get laid thaat's wisdom / sitting around chanting what crap".
Ikkyu is definately a poet that students or would-be students of Zen should read ... in fact, we all should read it for the sheer fun and beauty of it.
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This new translation of OEDIPUS THE KING by Berg and Clay proves to be successful...everything is understandable and rather enjoyable to read too. It's hard to believe that you're actually reading a play.
I suggest that you DO NOT read the original version of the play by Sophocles first...you might be discouraged by the difficulty of the language he uses. Instead, start with Berg and Clay's translation...it's so much easier to read, and more importantly, enjoy.
I felt that the action and plot was well-woven out, and the story tied together nicely; however, there was one flaw. The ending was too abrupt. Of course, I'm not going to spoil the ending for you now (you'll have to read it yourself) but I WILL tell you that if you're one of those people who hate endings that just leave you hanging, you might not like OEDIPUS THE KING.
I had to read OEDIPUS THE KING as an Honors English assignment (and usually what kind of books we have to read for school are good?). Nevertheless, I found the play interesting, but because of the so-abrupt ending with questions still dangling on the end, I give the book 3 stars. (By the way, in no other Greek tragedy are so many questions asked, so be prepared to have your mind boggled by this book!...Have a spiffy day! -Nick Chu
On the other hand, the dialogue MOVES. There is an excitement to this performance, although the Creon of Adam Kotz lacks some force. Michael Sheen is good in the title role, as is Nichola McAuliffe as Jocasta, Heathcote Williams as the Chorus Leader, and John Moffatt as Tiresias and the Narrator at the start of the recording. The Chorus itself is cut down to four voices, but they are handled nicely with stereo separation and are quite comprehensible. The music is meager but effectively used.
All in all, a very good if not perfect attempt at making one of the greatest Western plays accessible to a wide audience.
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1) It is indeed good because it is CHEAP.
2) It is good because it is CONCISE (251 pages).
3) It is good because there are EXERCISES to aid comprehension.
4) It is good because it contains SUMMARIES to aid memory.
In light of this awareness, it follows as a logical consequence that a pursuit of this book with an intention to speed read would indeed be prudent and judicious. The author claims that being able to read a page in 3 seconds is possible, and one may react with a sense of astonishment at such an awesome promulgation. This may NOT be possible, although being able to read a page in approx. 5 secs IS POSSIBLE. Five seconds is indeed quick but it is possible because I have now accomplished it using the techniques in the book! Praise be to God!
The book urges an 8 WEEK program. However, being a genius myself, I accomplished a speed reading ability (i.e. a page in 5 seconds approx.) in approx. 2 days! Praise be to God! Buy this book and try speed reading yourself even if you are not a genius (it is NOT a pre-requisite).
He teaches:
Tools for comprehending, retaining and recalling information
Techniques for increasing reading speed
Strategies for increasing productivity at school and work
How to stay calm and focused under pressure
How to adjust your reading technique to accommodate pleasure reading or studying
Stephen Howard Berg can complete two pages in the time it takes most of us to read this sentence! He was listed in the 1990 Guinness Book of World Records for reading 80 pages per minute. If you wonder how some reviewers post so many reviews in one day, maybe they have purchased this book! I also think the more books you read, the faster you can read them.
Look for Stephen Howard Berg's public workshops and corporate programs. He has appeared in over 1,000 radio and television programs to discuss his cutting edge program.
Books are the main source of our knowledge, our reservoir of faith, memory, wisdom, morality, poetry, philosophy, history and science. --Daniel J. Boorstin, Librarian of Congress, 1984 report, 'Books In Our Future'
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There are a *few* useful exercises, which include reading two lines at once, then 5, then whole paragraphs, then whole pages. You can't read like this for comprehension; the authors have you do it to get used to scanning segments of text at once , rather than single words. Another exercise has you read for one minute for comprehension, another minute at double that speed, and another minute at triple. These exercises DO help, but as far as speed reading instruction goes, that's it. Really.
There is also some very basic instruction on memory-enhancement techniques, nutrition, posture, previewing texts, and so forth--standard stuff.
In short, this book is a waste of money. Tony Buzan's book "Speed Reading" is far better. Some of the older speed reading books offer far more in the way practical instruction than this book does. "Double Your Reading Speed," published in 1964 by The Reading Laboratory, comes to mind.
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These poems are "frank, naked, sincere" (p. 15), and full of vivid imagery of "erotic renewal" (p. 13). It's enough to say for purposes of this review, Ikkyu lives "in a shack on the edge of whorehouse row" (p. 40). These are the poems of a poet who is "all there" (p. 15), and fully present on his "long pure beautiful road of pain/ and the beauty of death and no pain" (p. 24), whether he is watching his four-year-old daughter dance--"I can't break free of her" (p. 60), watching the "snow moon tangled among black flowers" (p. 39), or "shuttling between whorehouse and bar" (p. 47). Question "flattery success money," he writes (p. 22). "This city these people where I live still are impossible" (p. 30). "Sing until you have no throat then words come by themselves" (p. 55).
I'm not qualified to comment on Stephen Berg's translation of Ikkyu's poems, but I can tell you this book is certainly something to crow about!
G. Merritt