neurorehabilitationFromTheTrenches

 Here follows an ordered list, in order of preference, of three books by coincidentally deceased authors. The Missionary Position This was my second reading thereof, having received it as an Xmas present. I’m delighted to report that a fuzzy memory may well mean, I can enjoy many other old favorites. It’s very brief, and like all Hitchens’s work, it makes one think. I remember reading about Mother Teresa in a primary-school, religion book, in a chapter dedicated to her. This book takes a different angle on the now-saint --despite Christopher Hitchens’s best efforts-- I won’t ruin it; get yourself a copy, but two quotes kept coming to me as I read. Both I learned about through Christopher Hitchens, in happier times. “With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil - that takes religion.” ― Steven Weinberg "Give a man a reputation as an early riser, and he can sleep 'til noon." — Mark Twain The thing about Mot...

Spring is here! I’ll probably have my lying-bike for the next neurorehabilitation report, which will hopefully follow this new format; which is basically an update on each of the main component parts; namely, in no specific order, speaking, my Harm, double-vision and walking. You see, the gradualism of my healing, it occurs to me, is irrelevant because I couldn’t know where, in the big picture, I am. What I mean by that is; I am aware of small improvements taking place but I am aware also that I’m miles away from where I want to be, somewhere on the trajectory. So I’d rather focus on the component parts and trust that it will all come together in the end. Speaking I must sound like an imbecile, but I can assure you all that the slowness of my speech has little to do with my cognition. Rather, it is a malfunctioning of the various body parts involved in producing speech. This involves mainly breathing but my speech is also hindered by a general numbness of the left side of my face and m...

I underestimated my task, so that I have planned to reorganise my plans, as follows. My processing speed is such that I can only realistically plan 1.5 books per month, so 3 books in 2 months is achievable; and I'll plan to review all of them at that time; rather than reviewing the most deserving; starting next month, I'll review all 3, in descending order, from best to worst. All the while, I'll provide my neurorehabilitation report, from the trenches, monthly.  So, onto the "winner" last month; the truth is that the direct competitor has been pushed out to April, but I believe we have nonetheless a deserving winner here. The premise is intriguing; what if Charles Lindburgh was elected president, and he supported, on behalf of America, Hitler's Germany in WW2. We are left to imagine the implications that would have on World politics today, but we are told this story, through the eyes of a working-class Jewish family in New Jersey (Newark). There are many set-...

This has been a hell of a month, where to start... I will soon be the proud owner of a Liegerad, or lying bike, which will help me maintain my normal BMI, while contributing to my rehabilitation. February has been a month of firsts, and has truly ushered in Life 2.0 . Last weekend, I essentially showered unaided. This consisted of me making my way to the bathroom –alone, but within earshot of Claire-- I then made my way on to the shower-chair, and began showering; meanwhile,  Claire prepared my clothes for me, leaving them in the bathroom, ready for me when I finished showering, and left the apartment for the weekly shop. Once finished, I managed to leave the shower, dry myself and get ready for the day. After my roaring success with the shower. I decided to dispense with the Augenklappe for good. It felt like the first time using the cane but totally worth it. My brain will simply have to forge new neural pathways without reliable help from my autonomic nervous system. To celebrat...

Here is my first neurorehabilitation status update, that is part of my resolutions for 2021. Going forward this is how it will work: Dividing the month in two, roughly, from February onward, I will start the month, after a couple of weeks’ preparation , with a status update, as well as naming the two books that will go head to head for a chance to feature in the subsequent review, approximately 2 weeks later.  What about that update? This “lockdown” is not as impactful for me as I’m sure it is for many of you. It is not without challenges, though, for me. I, for example, don’t get a chance to further improve on my records in Athlevo , and I do miss the occasional eating-out, that we enjoyed.  I feel I must mention the second book from January, as it relates to my rehabilitation. SAL ; It makes an excellent companion book for Ultralearning . Even though, it’s worth mentioning that, the former was published some 2 years prior; giving Ultralearning’s author plenty of time to...

And now for the first segment of my New Year's resolution of 2021. My New Year's resolutions include such things as reading two books per month, of which I'll review the most deserving on this blog. Since I'll be reviewing once a month, I'll also provide a monthly update on my rehabilitation; so a bi-weekly (twice-monthly believe it or not ) blog article is another of my resolutions. I have decided to include some fiction in my resolution, so one of each, fiction and non-fiction, bi-weekly. Being that my non-fiction for January is very short, coupled with the fact that I have not yet started it, you will be treated, deservedly or not, to a review of Memoirs of a Geisha (MG). You know I don't like to give much away, so I'll outline my motives for choosing it and let you know if it lived up to the promise. I only know of two books that I greedily read through, which upon finishing, I was sad that it was over. I received MG as an xmas present from someone who...

 As promised, here's a review of Ulralearning This is a must-read for anyone embarking on any type of study. Like so many things I have encountered since, this would have given me a serious boost for my undergraduate studies. It contains many interesting, anecdotal examples of Ultralearning being used to great advantage, not least by the author who, as well as self teaching a full MIT course  (4 years worth in just 12 months), he ultralearned several languages. I was intrigued by this book, and how I might use this method in my neurorehabilitation, so I added the following to my reading list: the following . As soon as I'm happy with what neurology has to say about it I will eagerly take on my own "Ultralearning project" (as such activities are referred to in the book). The final chapter is a step by step guide to help the reader with his or her first, such project. This is a real eye opener. If, like me, you regularly fantasise about traveling back in time, armed wit...