Re-reading The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck. :up:
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Re-reading The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck. :up:
Principles of optimal design, Modeling and computation :jam:
Dread, if you ever read this thread (though why would you),
Re: Our earlier discussion on the Mercedes auto manufacturer and why Jews would not buy their products
It turns out that Dr. Goebbels was personal friends with their top owners and leaders, moreso than the Führer. Once again actual history is lost and silly anecdotes remain.
This thread reminded me...does anyone have any suggestions on what would be a good biography on Nikola Tesla that they've read which is both unbiased and isn't embellished, or focused solely on his crazier ideas (ie. treats him like a brilliant scientist, and not a death-ray obsessed maniac)?
I take it my link to Rotten Library would not be appreciated :(
If its anything like certain Discovery or History Channel episodes that cover his life where they devote 5 minutes to his early life, 10 minutes to his scientific discoveries and inventions (skipping over the ones attributed to Edison), and then spending the remaining 45 minutes covering death rays, the rumored link to the Tunguska event, and the US Gov't seizing his papers after his death and how that may be taken as proof he had some hardcore death ray tech, then probably not... :o
Knowing what I partially know now I get really pissed that it is standard educational procedure here to teach about Edison's "inventions", as opposed to things Tesla invented that Edison was just better at stealing/marketing.
He also helped a steampunkish Victorian magician clone himself a few dozen times so he could perform an impossible water-trap escape!
The two books The Witcher game is based off of are really good. Titled The Last Wish and Blood of Elves.
Del Toro's The Strain is good for the first 80% of the book, the last 20% is wasted setting up for the trilogy. Still a good read, and a good refresh to the vampire genre.
Going back a hand full of years... I finally found the first book in The Sin War set in the Diablo Universe. Had to have it sent from a hole in the wall library in Kansas somewhere. So far so good.
Got the next edition of the Pride & Prejudice & Zombie (Dawn of The Dreadfuls) books going through v.soon. :up:
I'm reading Rant by Chuck Palanhiuck at the moment.
I'm sort of halfway through Dr Zhivago as well but I've stopped for the time being, it's really slow.
Nope. I was in the RCT section mainly at Atari.
reading the second book of Kate Elliott's Crown of Stars series. Not bad.
Also reading Evolution: the first four billion years. A series of essays by leading lights, but really you're better off reading some old Gould (Ever Since Darwin is probably best to start with.)
Couldn't be helped. Jordan left such a gargantuan number of loose ends, it would have taken him another ten books to get out of it.
Anyway, the first WoT for which I didn't have this slightly nauseated after-effect of feeling that I'd wasted my time. Jordan is technically a better writer, at least syntactically. Sanderson made some kind of strange sentences, and really botched a couple of word choices (ever heard of a dictionary, buddy?) But the writing is FAR more concise.
Very different, IMO. It's a re-write of an actual bizarre early SF book called The Night Land, through which I heroically struggled at one point. Strange stuff, but worth the read.
J.D. Salinger (or should I say Holden Caulfield) died today.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/bo...linger.html?hpQuote:
He seemed to be fulfilling Holden’s desire to build himself “a little cabin somewhere with the dough I made and live there for the rest of my life,” away from “any goddam stupid conversation with anybody.”
I always felt that I missed something in The Catcher in the Rye.
Finished it over the weekend.
Thoroughly depressing toward the end. Desolate and lonely, with a dreadfully dark yearning.
I felt quite pitifully sad. The tone of the ending few chapters and the mood set therein was unpleasantly morose.
Seemed to affect me for days afterwards. :(
Planning to start on Makers by Cory Doctorow. Not sure what it's about, yet, but I have thoroughly enjoyed his other work.
Heads up for the impoverished or those who want to know more before they buy; he lets his books be free downloads on his site as well so you don't have to buy them in physical form if you don't want to :)
Halfway through Eco's Foucault's Pendulum
This book is a lot funnier than I remembered!
But I am also somewhat surprised about how many of the key points I remembered, still, and it's been about 8 years since I last read the book
Powerful writing, maybe? He spins his tale masterfully, intrigue and primal mystery
But there's no rush, it is all in all a fairly laid-back narrative, despite the urgency of the situation the protagonist is in
Eco writes like a more meticulous Borges
And goddurnit I like it!
World War Z. Had to get it after studying the Zombie Survival Guide. Kind of disappointing, though.
Finished Foucault's Pendulum
My gods what a book!
I've recently read "The Life of Pi" for the second time. I absolutely love that book!
I just started Cold River by Carla Neggers. 3rd chapter in and it's damned gooooood!
Finished Slaughterhouse-five: The Children's Crusade again.
I adore his writing, I really, truly do. But his books also make me want to cry so very much, and that makes them awkward to read during the commute, or outside home.
But I suppose it is good to cry, sometimes.
Im currently reading Stephen King's Desperation. He is such a great author, so much visual details you an imagine anything that is writin in those books.