BobHarris.com - Happy New Year! (or, Why I love Oz, part three of infinity)

Books! Actual books!

"A rollicking ride of intellectual discovery and emotional growth... his comic timing never fails"

-- The Wall Street Journal

"Pulls you in like a good sports story"

-- The New York Times Book Review

"Endearingly frank... jubilant... lighthearted and fast-paced"

-- New York Newsday

"A surprisingly touching memoir"

-- Entertainment Weekly

"Snappy and informative"

-- Associated Press

"Effortlessly funny and informative... tender, human, and very wise... A must for anyone who loves Jeopardy!, or has ever seen it, or is breathing."

-- Joss Whedon, creator, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"I haven't seen Jeopardy! since I was a kid, and yet I was charmed and amused by Bob Harris's fascinating and surprisingly suspenseful book. Through sheer force of personality, he takes this brainy TV show and makes it funny and easy to relate to."

-- Ira Glass, creator and host, This American Life

"A surprisingly intimate, entertaining book."

-- Orson Scott Card, 4-time Hugo Award winner, author of Ender's Game

"Funny, enlightening -- and just might help you win a million bucks on Jeopardy!"

-- A. J. Jacobs, author of The Know-It-All

"A masterful job of describing the feel of Jeopardy! in the heat of battle... I knew Bob was a great guy and a fantastic Jeopardy! player. Now I've found that he's also a wonderful writer. I think I'm starting to hate him."

-- Brad Rutter, top money-winner in Jeopardy! history

Books I'm Getting

Who Hates Whom:
Well-Armed Fanatics, Intractable Conflicts,
and Various Things Blowing Up —
A Woefully Incomplete Guide™

“Revelatory... Harris's sly wit and infectious curiosity make understanding world chaos fascinating... witty, horrific, and necessary.”

— Boston Globe

"Brave... irreverent... charges into the thick of the globe's myriad simmering wars... hilariously relaxed."

— New York Observer

"Only Bob could make a user’s guide to our increasingly hostile world this absorbing, this breezy, and—ultimately—this hopeful.”

— Ken Jennings, author of Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs

“Fascinating, enlightening, and surprisingly: NOT TOTALLY DEPRESSING. A gimlet-eyed look at the world we endure that’s also suitable for enjoying with a gimlet.”

— John Hodgman, author of The Areas of My Expertise
and correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

"All three [presidential] candidates should read all three of these [recommended] books, but McCain gets first crack at Bob Harris's "Who Hates Whom“... a lighthearted overview of the insurrections and civil wars in the world today."

— Steven Pinker, author of The Stuff of Thought, in the New York Times Book Review

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Happy New Year! (or, Why I love Oz, part three of infinity)

Tag it now -

Saturday, 31 December 2005

About 17 hours ago, near the tip of Mrs. Macquarie's Point, I was one of an estimated million revelers who lined the many harbors and beaches of this fine city. I can't speak for every nook and cranny, but as to the 25,000 or so folks where I stood, we ushered in the New Year together with full and delighted voice.

This was a remarkably peaceful evening. With a million people packed bum-to-back in mid-90s stickiness for many hours of alcohol-assisted revelry, as of midnight, police reported exactly seven arrests, all for relatively minor infractions. At the 9 pm family fireworks at Darling Harbour (the word "family" here not having been hijacked into implying a specific religion), Muslim headscarves intermingled with kids in clubwear and retirees in shirtsleeves, and I couldn't detect the slightest trace of the sort of conflict which made news in one community a few weeks ago.

Except for temperatures which have now pushed up to 41 degrees Celsius (about 106 Fahrenheit), the last 24 hours could not have been more pleasant. (The rest of this week will be cooler. Thank gods.)

There are many things to love here. A flock of wild cockatoos in the Domain, for example, one of which wandered right up and started playing with me:

Or perhaps the spectacular Eclectus Parrots which flock to spilled food in the Blue Mountains the way pigeons do in Cleveland:

But most of all, I love Australia for the welcome it extends to visitors and immigrants. The Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, ushered in 2006 here by saying the following: "My New Year's wish is for Sydneysiders and Australians to be diverse, tolerant, and compassionate."

These values are generally held in great esteem here, not as lip service, but in the actual building of the society, and it shows almost everywhere you look. I am lucky enough to feel at home in many places in this world. But Sydney may be my very favorite city. I am glad to be spending a few more weeks here while finishing up the book.

I hope you feel as fortunate, happy, and at home, wherever you are.

Thank you for visiting, and I wish you an optimistic, exciting, and peaceful 2006.

UPDATE: Several emailers have correctly pointed out that the colorful bird pictured is not an eclectus parrot; it is a crimson rosella. My apologies to the Avian-American community.