Notes From A Bear's Journey

      Everyday I Read was the title of the recent book by Korean author, Hwang Bo-Reum.  It was her third book, a very short collection of her answers to why she read, with her observations reading closer to a school paper or diary, each "chapter" being only a few pages long: ... some things haven't changed.  I'm still an unknown author and still reading, of course.  I can't imagine otherwise.  When I'm feeling a little down, or when I'm trying to understand something, whether it's about the bigger world out there, everyday life, about myself, or you, I turn to my shelves.  Books may not give me answers, but they nudge me towards the right directions.  I keep their words close to my heart.  Knowing that I'm not navigating life alone makes me feel a little more courageous, a little less unsure.  Sure sounds good, and many reviewers, perhaps because reading and reviewing is their job, gushed over the "wisdom" of her words as if wanti...

     One has to ask, what on Earth do those title words have in common?  Turns out that only 2% of the world's population is considered "smart" enough to join Mensa by passing their qualifying test (sample question to start you out: what does "mensa" even mean?).  But anyone can join (for a fee).  Instead of AI consider it AI-Q.  But how many of us really know our IQ?  As with age, it may be just a number, something assigned to you by a series of tests or whatever, but something assigned to you by someone or something else.  No matter, the question of "smarts" can only be answered by yourself.  And there are many ways to be smart.  Take street smarts, a field which I would fare poorly at.  Some people simply have it, an ability to adapt quickly to a situation, a quick comeback or an immediate reaction; such people seem to have a different way of looking at things, a common sense and one that comes without panic or hesitation....

                    Photo of F1 steering wheel:  The Sports Rush      What exactly is that word "formula"?  Put "baby" in front of it and you sort of know what it is, although does anyone really  know what goes into baby formula?  Or throw a few chemicals or math equations together and you may come up with a new "formula."  So the question I had to ask was, where did auto racing pick up the word ?  Of course, this sort of question came up because of watching an aging Brad Pitt playing an aging character named Sonny Hayes in the Apple film, F1 , a film weak on plot but full of action (IF you're into Formula One racing), something which could almost be said about the aging Tom Cruise ending his own aging MI series.  But while the effects and all were well done in the F1 movie, what caught my eye more was the money involved in the sport (in  Formula One, NASCAR, Indy and others , there...