#77624
08/19/2002 12:38 AM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 137
member
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member
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 137 |
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (Because I haven't)
Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar (more reading than I expected)
Goose Music by Richard Horan (recommended by a friend)
Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede (also recommended, reading with my children)
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#77625
08/20/2002 3:59 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Nice to see you, ladymoon!  I finally finished Snow Crash. The basic premise was interesting enough: that, milennia ago, a part of all humans' brains was "hard-wired" to share a common language; then the Sumerians discovered a secret speech that caused a new "branch" to form, and from there on, languages diverged. Mr. Stephenson's Protagonist described this secret speech as a virus. I was rather put off by the style. The stereotypes were so overdone that I suspected he must be spoofing someone (possibly himself?) or some genre; and that seldom goes down well, with me. Give me a nice, straight, believable story any time. I intend to get back to Grendl, if I can steal it back from my daughter.
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#77626
08/26/2002 7:48 PM
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
"Dear wow your old saying is an old wives tale. It was not for agreeing to disagree that the Second World War was fought. This board becomes mere chat if the exchange of ideas are not offered for the purpose of resolution. Men of goodwill without a life in search of truths are self-righteous buffoons who disgrace the human species. What's more, they rarely have a sense of humor."
Mil,
The saying referred to "people of good will." I don't think the germans of world war ii were acting with good will. England and France both failed to live up to their treaty obligations (insteading of squashing Hitler at the start) and the behavior of neither the US nor the USSR was noble - although they may have been legitimate political reasons all around. (I'm referring to the governments of these countries and not to the individuals who fought.) I've only read one book on this subject and I can't claim to be an expert on it. Even if I remember the details fully and correctly, a single book wouldn't make my opinion worth a hill of beans. Still, even if you disagree with my last few lines, I think you will agree with the first -- that the German leadership was a nasty lot, none of whom could remotely be included in the set of people comprised of "men of good will."
k
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#77627
08/27/2002 2:29 AM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
Back to books, I have abandoned The Club Dumas for now and have begun The Big Sleep. The Club Dumas was getting a little too self-referential, and reminded me of those films that spoof horror movies. The Big Sleep has been fun so far; I am definitely enjoying the dialogue more than the plot at this point though.
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#77628
08/27/2002 10:05 AM
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636 |
I am about halfway through A Man by Oriana Fallaci. Anyone here read it?
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#77629
08/27/2002 12:44 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771 |
No, but I've finally been shamed into reading The Lord of the Rings. I'm almost done with Fellowship, and I'm told that I have to finish The Two Towers before the movie comes out... I'll probably break it up a little, I got Elephantoms: Tracking the Elephant at the library, and I'll need some non-fiction for balance!
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#77630
08/28/2002 12:53 AM
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 5
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 5 |
Ahh...Lord of the Rings. A favorite of mine. I generally dislike fantasy, but the complexity and depth of the series captured my attention, and I found the appendices interesting. The 'Sherlock Holmes' series by Sir Conan Doyle was engaging, but it took very little time to zip through it. Now am on the look out for 'The Lost World'. Too bad our library is so poorly suppeditated.
For non-fiction, "The Piltdown Man: Unraveling the Scientific Fraud of the Century" was well done ( I would not trust my memory of the exact title, though).
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#77631
08/28/2002 2:27 AM
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636 |
Welcome, Verbarian. Thanks for the warning!  Here's what you were trying to remember: Unraveling Piltdown: The Science Fraud of the Century and Its Solution by John Evangelist Walsh (Random House, 1996) While I was looking for that, I ran across this: http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/card/0,,479623,00.htmlYet another fraud!
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#77632
08/28/2002 12:18 PM
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
Finished Les Miserables this morning.
I don't recall having seen the word 'assize' previously. It was the word of the day a week or two or maybe three ago. I then noticed it two or three times in the book.
I saw the musical years ago (14, perhaps more) and it seems to hold quite true to the book up till the end. Turns out Jean Val Jean really hates Marius at first, but saves him anyway (carts his unconscious body through the Paris Sewer). Also, Monsieur Jean lives for four or more months after the battle at the barricade, sees Marius and Cossette married, gives them a large inheritance, and confesses to Marius that he is 'an old convict.' Marius, not understanding the situation fully, comes to detest Jean, and schemes to make him very uncomfortable when visiting Cossette. Jean quits coming to visit the house and dies not of wounds, but of a broken heart. Just before Jean keels over, the inn-keeper, Thenardier comes to Marius to try to extort money from him, and this is when Marius realizes how noble Jean really is. He rushes immediately with Cossette to see Jean - just in time to witness JVJ's last moments.
I'm a little pissed off right now thinking what a waste it was and what an ass Jean was attempting to extricate himself from their lives and in the process killing himself.
k
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#77633
08/28/2002 1:29 PM
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467 |
My sister-in-law is a librarian in a small town in western NC, and reports that some years ago a woman returned a stack of books and said, "I just loved this one, but I couldn't figure out who Les was." Liz looked down at the top of the stack. Yep, a copy of Les Miserables.
True story. (Would I make up something like that??)
TEd
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#77634
08/28/2002 3:33 PM
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679
addict
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addict
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679 |
I'm reading several books at the moment....
Berlin - the downfall by Anthony Beevor. If you've read Stalingrad then this is more of the same.
9/11 by Noam Chomsky. A selection of interviews with Chomsky on the subject of 9/11 and its implications and background.
The Queen of Whale Cay by some one who's name escapes me. It both amazed me and freaked me.
The sorcerer's apprentice by John Richardson. One should always read a book written by a namesake! It's about Picasso's one-time companion, the author, and his relationship with the master.
My name escapes me by Sir Alec Guinness. A wildly witty diary by the octogenarian actor.
I have several other books I'd like to read but I have far more pressing reading in the form of technical manuals. Mmmmmm.....
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#77635
08/29/2002 1:24 AM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
re: Western NC...
TEd Remington: anywhere near Mars Hill?
Bookwise, I continue to be fruitless in my search for Elliot Chaze's out-of-print mystery "Black Wings Has My Angel."
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#77636
08/29/2002 9:41 AM
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 475
addict
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addict
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 475 |
that the German leadership was a nasty lot, none of whom could remotely be included in the set of people comprised of "men of good will.What about Rommel? I don't think any one could say he was a nasty lot, and I'm a pacifist! This website gives a reasonably comprehensive overview in just one page, check it out http://www.achtungpanzer.com/gen1.htm
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#77637
08/29/2002 10:50 AM
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
Indeed. However, the phrase "German leadership" is ambiguous.
I did not mean "all high-ranking, government functionaries." I was referring to the primary policy-makers and enforcers Hitler, Goebbels, Ribbentrop, and Goering.
I'm sure there were many noble "people of good will" in positions which lacked decisive influence at the level of foreign policy.
k
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#77638
08/29/2002 12:22 PM
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 475
addict
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addict
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 475 |
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#77639
09/01/2002 5:34 AM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771 |
Check your PMs, Alex ~ and call me Santa's Little Helper! BTW, I'm about a third of the way into Elephantoms by Lyall Watson, and it's totally rocking my world... *fascinating* stories of an unusual boyhood in South Africa, among other things. It's difficult to describe without giving too much away, but it spans many disciplines, and it ain't just about elephants.
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#77640
09/01/2002 4:39 PM
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872 |
What am I reading? Gee! I'm so glad you asked.
People rarely ask me questions. In school I was always the first one to raise my hand, but the teachers always looked past me and always let some goofball in the back row answer the question. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. I want the world to know that I read much more than others, and therefore I am a much better person than others and their families.
THE ART OF SPELLING the madness and the method
~ Marilyn Vos Savant
You remember Vos Savant, the Guiness Book record holder for the highest measured I.Q. on the planet (228). That is until we learned that, Politically Correctly speaking, everyone's I.Q. on this planet was exactly the same. Well Marilyn's book is well done. Her Madness part is better than her Methods, but they help and I'm going to write this entire review without a spell check.
Rating______________***
HOW I GOT THIS WAY
~ Patrick F. McManus
As always a happy time awaits the reader of McManus.
O Henry without the pathos.
Rating___________****
DAVE BARRY IS FROM MARS AND VENUS
~ Dave Barry
Usual Dave Barry fare. Some dumb. Some Good.
Some brilliant.
Rating___________***
PET PEEVES-or- whatever happened to doctor rawff?
~ George Plimpton
A series of letters written by pet owners to an advice columnist veterinarian who has, so to speak, flown the coop.
Mildly amusing but bordering on mildly silly.
Rating___________**
A MATTER OF DEGREES what temperature reveals about the past and future of our species, planet and universe
~ Gino Segre`
Great. New stuff about temperature is generously sprinkled with the old. Why do we run high temperatures when sick? Oh yeah? Then why do cold blooded creatures seek out warmth when they are sick? What about bugs?
Rating___________****
THE BEST OF THE BEST AMERICAN POETRY 1988 - 1997
~ Editor--> Harold Bloom
Maybe I chose bad times to read these poems. With that in mind I give this collection a...
Rating___________*
BEYOND THE DEEP the deadly descent into the world's most treacherous cave
~ William Stone and Barbara amEnde with Monte Paulsen
(Review upon request)
_________________***1/2
BUDDHA'S CHILD my fight to save vietnam
~ Nguyen CaoKy, former Prime Minister of South Vietnam
Interesting and revealing. Once Nguyen's nephew asked John Wayne for a autographed picture to give to his uncle who was then prime minister. The duke refused, saying, " Your Uncle Nguyen don't need no picture, all he has to do is ask, and he gets me."
Rating___________***
PAINTING AMERICAN the rise of american artists
paris 1867 - new york 1948
~ Annie Cohen-Solal
A well though-out, well-executed, selected history of the transition of american painting from the 19th century of largely french influences to the mostly american forms that took shape in the 20th.
Rating__________****
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#77641
09/02/2002 12:18 AM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 618
addict
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addict
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 618 |
Vos Savant, the Guiness Book record holder for the highest measured I.Q. on the planet (228)
Will have to let my IQ=232 friend that he's not as smart as he thought he was...
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#77642
09/03/2002 2:46 PM
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467 |
I just picked up a copy of Empire, by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri.
Here's a sample paragraph:
We should point out here that we accord special attention to the juridical figures of the constitution of Empire at the beginning of our study not out of any specialized disciplinary interest--as if right or law in itself, as an agency of regulations, were capable of representing the social world in its totality--but rather because they provide a good index of the processes of imperial construction. New juridical figures reveal a first view of the tendency toward the centralized and unitary regulation of both the world market and global power relations, with all the difficulties presented by such a project. Juridical transformations effectively point toward changes in the material constitution of world power and order. The transition we are witnessing today from traditional international law, which was defined by contracts and treaties, to the definition and constitution of a new soveriegn, supranational world power (and thus to an imperial notion of right), however incomplete, gives us a framework in which to read the totalizing social processes of Empire. In effect, the juridical transformation functions as a sumptom of the modifications of the material biopolitical consistution of our societies. These changes regard not only international law and international relations but also the internal power relations of each country. While studying and critquing the new forms of international and supranational law, then, we will at the same time be pushed to the heart of the political theory of Empire, where the problem of supranational sovereignty, its source of legitimacy, and its exercise bring into focus political, cultural, and finally ontological problems.
The rest of this book is filled with similar bullshit. It turns out that Hardt is an associate professor of Italian literature at Duke University, and Negri "is an independent researcher and writer and an inmate of Rebibbia Prison, Rome. He has been a Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Paris and a Professor of Political Science at the University of Padua."
What the blurb does not state is that Negri is in prison as a result of being convicted of involvement in the assassination of Aldo Moro, a former prime minister of Italy, back 1977.
So, if any of you are thinking of buying this book, please don't. Send me an IM or email with our address and I will ship this pile of crap off to you.
TEd, who is really pissed that some of his money ended up in an inmate's hands this way
TEd
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#77643
09/04/2002 12:55 AM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Good grief, Ted. Personal lives of the authors notwithstanding, how can anybody READ something like that? My attention was gone before I got to the end of the first line. Sheesh--reminds me of some of my university textbooks. I had to put out the concentration it took to wade through them then, but I'm sure not about to now. Yuck. [flicking something unsavory off fingertips e]
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