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richardbakare's reviews
399 reviews
Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents by Pete Souza
5.0
A beautiful reflective comparison of a man who leads and a man who tweets. A picture says a thousand words and it says a lot that Trump limited any official White House photos. We can all disagree on policy but we should not disagree on decency. Pete Souza’s images are a inspiring montage of model human civility.
Waffle House Vistas by Micah Cash
3.0
This collection is not simply a walk down memory lane. It goes beyond tracing nostalgic imprints from inside red booths during late night revelries. This is a rough quilt of the strip mall American Experience. Fast food oases in the middle of food deserts, bookended by motels and gas stations. The new gothic for our newly divided times across every possible intersectional designation. That nonetheless is anchored by a landmark that brings together disparate people from all over to enjoy the universal experience of expressing their uniqueness in the how they order their hash browns or just what they are escaping from
101 Things I Learned in Architecture School by Matthew Frederick
4.0
Truly great architecture, when realized, is the stuff of dreams. The kind of dreams that captivate us and leave us inspired to wake up and do the hard work to make life as it should be. This association between architectural design and life is interwoven. Architecture creates the spaces that life happens in.
We are all possessed with a renewed relationship with our sense of space, thanks to a thrust upon us familiarity with it over the year. Some of us have been hard pressed to find balance, purpose, and renewal in the same space over the year. A study of architectural and design principles is just what one needs to fully grasp how to make familiar places into more dynamic and human centered experiences.
Books like this one and “A Pattern Language” our essential for understanding how the spaces we live and work in everyday can detract or add to our lives. This knowledge could be immediately employed to refresh where you already are to better serve you or be the baseline for building something timeless in the future.
We are all possessed with a renewed relationship with our sense of space, thanks to a thrust upon us familiarity with it over the year. Some of us have been hard pressed to find balance, purpose, and renewal in the same space over the year. A study of architectural and design principles is just what one needs to fully grasp how to make familiar places into more dynamic and human centered experiences.
Books like this one and “A Pattern Language” our essential for understanding how the spaces we live and work in everyday can detract or add to our lives. This knowledge could be immediately employed to refresh where you already are to better serve you or be the baseline for building something timeless in the future.
Obama: An Intimate Portrait by Pete Souza
5.0
I am not fond of hero worship. Humans are too flawed to hoist anyone up on a pedestal, only to be let down when the details come into the light. It is the light that the best photos cast on a scene that tell us a lot about the framed subjects. The photos and accompanying descriptions in this collection tell us that Obama was at the very least a leader, if not a hero.
A Promised Land by Barack Obama
5.0
The obstructionist stance that the Republican delegation of Congress had towards Obama was clear before he ever took office. To me and many other minorities, it was a clearly racist response to a historic moment. Even if it meant significant pain for everyday Americans that formed their constituencies. That Obama and his administration were able to overcome that block-headed disposition towards his agenda is truly legendary. From averting financial disaster, saving or spawning whole industries, fighting wars on multiple fronts, and rallying international foes & allies towards some progress on a host of issues. That the successes did not get translated down to the voters is a lesson in controlling your own narrative.
“The U.S. government’s an ocean liner...Not a speedboat. If we want to change our approach...we need a strategy that builds over time.” This point late in the book exemplifies the spanning historical narrative style of the memoir. The memoir emphasizes Obama’s first term is not just the four years under his watch, but the culmination of all the policy wins and mistakes from every administration before. Some not so easily unraveled, and some he gets the blame regardless of context.
In all, this behind the scenes tour of the inner workings of politics and the White House, leads to an appreciation to the unsung staff and team that sit behind every leader. The ones who sacrifice time with family, never get enough sleep, don’t appear on cable news networks, and serve their country first. It is also a reminder that an informed citizenry can better reward their sacrifices by participating in democracy by voting every time and working to improve their own little pitch of Earth at the local level.
“The U.S. government’s an ocean liner...Not a speedboat. If we want to change our approach...we need a strategy that builds over time.” This point late in the book exemplifies the spanning historical narrative style of the memoir. The memoir emphasizes Obama’s first term is not just the four years under his watch, but the culmination of all the policy wins and mistakes from every administration before. Some not so easily unraveled, and some he gets the blame regardless of context.
In all, this behind the scenes tour of the inner workings of politics and the White House, leads to an appreciation to the unsung staff and team that sit behind every leader. The ones who sacrifice time with family, never get enough sleep, don’t appear on cable news networks, and serve their country first. It is also a reminder that an informed citizenry can better reward their sacrifices by participating in democracy by voting every time and working to improve their own little pitch of Earth at the local level.
Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
3.0
A Trilogy is an interesting enterprise. The rising first part, the bridging second movement into a chilling climax, and then the natural descent in the denouement that is part three. This particular trilogy started with the challenge of setting a thousand year experience before the reader that would somehow remain engaging despite the ever changing cast of characters.
Chinua Achebe did something similar in the African Trilogy that spanned generations. It was the careful weaving story arcs at the macro and micro level that made Achebe’s trilogy cohesive and compelling. Asimov’s vision, attempts the same at an even greater scale. In some ways it achieves this cohesiveness and in others it fails.
The meta questions about society and science do successfully make their way from one part to the next. The characters, however, all seem to throw away; save for The Mule. It’s hard to care for any of them and thus there is no character anchor to pull you through the trilogy that you root for or against. Just camps of ideology and governance. Regardless, I can see how it inspired the likes of Star Wars and more.
Chinua Achebe did something similar in the African Trilogy that spanned generations. It was the careful weaving story arcs at the macro and micro level that made Achebe’s trilogy cohesive and compelling. Asimov’s vision, attempts the same at an even greater scale. In some ways it achieves this cohesiveness and in others it fails.
The meta questions about society and science do successfully make their way from one part to the next. The characters, however, all seem to throw away; save for The Mule. It’s hard to care for any of them and thus there is no character anchor to pull you through the trilogy that you root for or against. Just camps of ideology and governance. Regardless, I can see how it inspired the likes of Star Wars and more.
Drift, Volume 10: Manhattan by Daniela Velasco, Adam Goldberg, Elyssa Goldberg, Bonjourswing Lee
5.0
I was fortunate enough to have a work project that kept me in Manhattan for 6 months. In that time I got to see a side of New York that only locals get to. The eateries, parks, and cultural spots/events that won’t be in any travel guide. It’s hard to articulate the unique qualities of a place like Elizabeth Street or the quietness of Hudson Park on a Sunday morning to someone who only knows Times Square.
It’s equally difficult to explain the fervency, competitiveness, and rush of people that drives the inventiveness of the New York coffee scene. This issue of Drift does a wonderful job of doing just that, given the current constraints. Navigating a city in and out of lockdowns and gripped with concerns. However, if limitations breed creativity, then the Pandemic did the very same for NYC coffee culture. Adapting to change and also slowing down to say hello.
It’s equally difficult to explain the fervency, competitiveness, and rush of people that drives the inventiveness of the New York coffee scene. This issue of Drift does a wonderful job of doing just that, given the current constraints. Navigating a city in and out of lockdowns and gripped with concerns. However, if limitations breed creativity, then the Pandemic did the very same for NYC coffee culture. Adapting to change and also slowing down to say hello.
Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America by Stacey Abrams
5.0
I wrote a blog article after the 2018 election cycle. The principal argument of it was that voting rights was the end game that all Democratic strategy and political moves should focus on. The motivation to write about this topic centered around the three round effort it took for me to vote in that election. Stacey Abrams was the main candidate I was hoping to cast a ballot for. My struggle to vote for her has only made me a more impassioned voter. Determined to buck the will of those who would rather see me sit at home during voting periods.
Stacey Abrams does a masterful job of explaining how the dangers of the voter suppression I and many others experience, lay the ground work for a slide towards mindless populism and authoritarianism. With well balanced style and language, she expertly explains the steel thread from voting rights all the way through to foreign policy outcomes. This book text reads like the Civics 101 book we should have all been given in middle school.
Stacey Abrams’ loss in the 2018 fight only fueled her determination to make sure that every voter is registered, given equal access to the ballot box, and that their respective votes are unambiguously counted. Her work with Fair Fight and writing this book serve as a chess master’s analytical breakdown of how those of us who want equitable voting rights can counter the strategies of those who have given up on engaging the broader electorate and focus on suppression as the key to power.
Stacey Abrams does a masterful job of explaining how the dangers of the voter suppression I and many others experience, lay the ground work for a slide towards mindless populism and authoritarianism. With well balanced style and language, she expertly explains the steel thread from voting rights all the way through to foreign policy outcomes. This book text reads like the Civics 101 book we should have all been given in middle school.
Stacey Abrams’ loss in the 2018 fight only fueled her determination to make sure that every voter is registered, given equal access to the ballot box, and that their respective votes are unambiguously counted. Her work with Fair Fight and writing this book serve as a chess master’s analytical breakdown of how those of us who want equitable voting rights can counter the strategies of those who have given up on engaging the broader electorate and focus on suppression as the key to power.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
5.0
This is probably Philip K. Dick’s best work. Some of the original ideas he presented in Simulacra are refined here into an exhilarating story. He poses a broad existential question for us wrapped around the idea of empathy. Who has it, what they have it for, and who or what deserves to receive it.
It is a compelling philosophical debate. Question after question springs from the mind about true nature of consciousness, the corresponding rights for all sentient beings, and what constitutes human connectivity. All of that along with the pace and style of this book, leave you unable to put it down and wishing it didn’t end. It has all of the features that make for great science fiction.
Luckily, we have two live action films and a world of extended content that keeps the atmosphere and debates in this book alive in the Blade Runner universe. I see them as additional stories not just a reimagining of the original. They are each relatively true to the themes, mood, and psychological of this book. I highly recommend this read and the films.
It is a compelling philosophical debate. Question after question springs from the mind about true nature of consciousness, the corresponding rights for all sentient beings, and what constitutes human connectivity. All of that along with the pace and style of this book, leave you unable to put it down and wishing it didn’t end. It has all of the features that make for great science fiction.
Luckily, we have two live action films and a world of extended content that keeps the atmosphere and debates in this book alive in the Blade Runner universe. I see them as additional stories not just a reimagining of the original. They are each relatively true to the themes, mood, and psychological of this book. I highly recommend this read and the films.
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
5.0
The debate of Nature versus Nurture is an old one. Hero culture, that idea of individual exceptionalism willed from “boot strap” beginnings, prevails heavily in the US. What this vision lacks is the detailed history and nuanced perspective on all of the circumstances that set up success in spite of all other factors.
Malcolm Gladwell does another masterful job of diving into the complexities of social psychology; employing his usual story telling narrative style, along with data, and engaging anecdotes. Specifically, this book navigates through relatedness and definitions of IQ, EQ, and SQ. It builds from those foundations to ask how the odd formula of balancing those three along with “lucky” breaks help us see the true story behind success and failure.
My individual perspective leads me to believe that who we are comes down to 1 part nature (IQ) plus 2 parts nurture (environment [EQ + SQ]). The bigger take away is that we have to really look at, what Gladwell calls the Cultural Heredity, of various scenarios to get to the root circumstances that filter people into successful, average, and failing buckets. Then ask ourselves, is the system itself producing outliers by way of some unseen flaw or is the playing field level and we are really seeing the cream of the crop?
Malcolm Gladwell does another masterful job of diving into the complexities of social psychology; employing his usual story telling narrative style, along with data, and engaging anecdotes. Specifically, this book navigates through relatedness and definitions of IQ, EQ, and SQ. It builds from those foundations to ask how the odd formula of balancing those three along with “lucky” breaks help us see the true story behind success and failure.
My individual perspective leads me to believe that who we are comes down to 1 part nature (IQ) plus 2 parts nurture (environment [EQ + SQ]). The bigger take away is that we have to really look at, what Gladwell calls the Cultural Heredity, of various scenarios to get to the root circumstances that filter people into successful, average, and failing buckets. Then ask ourselves, is the system itself producing outliers by way of some unseen flaw or is the playing field level and we are really seeing the cream of the crop?