Meanderings

Mental Floss' 25 Most Important Books of the Past 25 Years

If you are astute enough to read my blog from time to time then you need to read Mental Floss. It's a magazine that is jam packed with intellectual trivia. Not meaningless crap like the names of the last five kickers for the Oakland Raiders, but interesting crap like other names for your fingers (the middle finger for example is called "Digitus Impudicus" or indecent digit. The first known reference for giving someone the digitus impudicus comes from a play called "The Clouds" by Aristophanes written in 423 BCE. Anyway, here is their list of the 25 most important books of the last 25 years without any Midrash from me.

1. And The Band Played On (1987) Randy Shilts
2. Maus (1991) Art Speigelman
3. Listening to Prozac (1993) Peter D. Kramer
4. Thinking in Pictures (1995) Temple Grandin
5. Nickle and Dimed (2001) Barbara Ehrenreich
6. Into Thin Air (1997) Jon Krakauer
7. The Satanic Verses (1988) Salman Rushdie
8. Middlesex (2002) Jeffrey Eugenides
9. The Alchemist (1988) Paolo Coelho
10. The Easy Way to Stop Smoking (1985) Allen Carr
11. A Perfect Spy (1986) John Le Carre
12. What is the What (2006) Dave Eggers
13. On Writing (2000) Stephen King
14. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (1994)
15. The Known World (2003) Edward P. Jones
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1998) JK Rowling
17. How Proust Can Change Your Life (1997) Alain de Botton
18. The Bonfire of the Vanities (1987) Tom Wolfe
19. Infinite Jest (1996) David Foster Wallace
20. The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984) Milan Kundera
21. Beloved (1987) Toni Morrison
22. The Handmaid's Tale (1985) Margaret Atwood
23. Freakonomics (2005) Stephen Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
24. Eats, Shoots & Leaves (2003) Lynne Truss
25. The Tipping Point (2000) Malcolm Gladwell

The authors make interesting and sometimes compelling arguents in support of their choices. I'm tossing it out there just as intellectual cheese for the weekend.

Taxus 2:25

Today's Reading will be taken from the Book of Taxus, Chapter 2, Verse 25.

In this reading, the Magnificent One has just completed an address to his Congress and the Nation bringing hope, vision, and a promise of better days to come. However there are still non-believers in the crowd, asking questions, skeptical of the Chosen One's motives and methods. We begin at verse 25:

I write with eyes lowered respectfully toward the ground, my gaze unworthy of HIS magnificence. HIS melodic words and boundless intellect captivating all who are blessed to live in HIS generation. May HIS graciousness pour out amongst the people and HIS wisdom guide the nation, for we are in the darkness and in need of the light that only HE can provide. May all HIS people say in great reverence, "OBAMA".

It has not yet been a day since HIS address to the people, and the troublemakers are gossiping and asking questions; stirring up discord amongst the ill-informed rabble. "Brothers,' they say, "HE will take from you what is yours and return it to they who laboreth not. HE will impose many burdens upon you and offers no relief. HE will force upon you those who make great demands of your enterprise and laboreth little on your behalf. HE will remove from you the liberty of tongue that you have enjoyed lo these many generations, and oppress you in the name equality, fairness, and balance. HE will beguile you with mysticism and charm, mislead you with charisma, and sow the seeds of destruction throughout the land."

Do not be guided astray brothers and sisters. Only HE has the answers the nation seeks. Trust in HIM and HE will put you on the path to righteousness and prosperity. In the NAME of HE who enlightens and brings us peace, we all rejoice in HIS Mighty Name, "OBAMA" .

Wish I could have been there....

My cousin Dave was surfing with his wife Paula at Doheny State Beach in California on Saturday afternoon and paddled within 50 feet of a group of dolphins. In his words, "There were three of them looking for food. Saw them in between sets - they swam right by us toward the shore then disappeared. It was cool."

I agree completely.

25 Albums (More or less)

Think of 25 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. They might not be what you listen to now, but these are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world. When you finish, tag 25 others, including me. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill. Get the idea now? Good. Tag, you're it!

Not in any particular order:

1. The Beatles: White Album
2. The Go Go's: Beauty and the Beat
3. X: Under the Big Black Sun/Los Angeles
4. Pat Benatar: Crimes of Passion
5. Deep Purple: Made in Japan
6. Black Sabbath: Masters of Reality (As a kid I loved the black on black album cover)
7. The Eagles: Live
8. America: Greatest Hits
9. Jesus Christ Superstar: Original Broadway Cast
10. CCR: Chronicle
11. Oingo Boingo: Only A Lad
12. The Phantom of the Opera: The Original Cast
13. Queen: Live Killers or A Night at the Opera
14. Andrea Bocelli: Sogno
15. Sarah Brightman: Time to Say Goodbye
16. The Partridge Family: Sound Magazine
17. Elton John: Greatest Hits Vol. 1
18. Devo: Are we not men, we are Devo.
19. Dead Kennedys: Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
20. Garth Brooks: No Fences
21. Randy Travis: Forever and Ever
22. Kerry Muzzey: Home Movies
23. Hans Zimmer: Gladiator Soundtrack
24. Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin IV
25. Styx: Cornerstone

Why Not Sharia?

The burkha vendors are simply agog over today's pronouncement by the Pakistani Taliban that they will offer a permanent cease fire in exchange for the imposition of Sharia Law over the region of Pakistan called the Swat Valley. What a great deal. All of this freedom and independent thinking just leads to instability. Peace through oppression and justice through summary executions, that's my motto!

Griffey Gushing, Gag Me!

Big deal, Griffey's returning to the Mariners. He is a decade removed from being the petulant superstar whose departure led the exodus of talent so many years ago. Now, as an oft-injured, semi-brokendown, 30 something, means that he will neither play every day nor make a meaningful contribution to the team's efforts. So why the ululating from the Mariner faithful?

Because they have nothing else to cheer about.

Can You Disclaim an -ist Statement?

In the ethics class in which I am currently enrolled, one of my female colleagues wrote the following on the Class' online bulletin board: "I don't mean to sound sexist, but is it not true that women are emotionally stronger than men." My question is, can you disclaim a sexist, racist, or homophobic, statement simply by saying that you don't mean it to sound that way?

I don't think so. I think the statement stands on its own.

Burris Should Stay!

Why should Roland Burris be required to resign when his alleged quid pro quo pales in comparison to the political payback contained in the Obama stimulus plan. What's a few hundred thousand dollars compared to nearly a trillion?

Also, I believe that the Honorable Mr. Burris is being unfairly targeted by his political opponents and their co-conspiritors in the mainstream media. Mr. Burris' many years of public service should not be tarnished by a simple misunderstanding and the failure of the investigative committee to ask the right questions. Keep in mind that Senator Burris divulged the incriminating information voluntarily absent the impetus of subpoena or other document discovery request. Mr. Burris is the consummate Illinois politician and deserves to hold his seat in the U.S. Senate as much as his predecessor.

A Few More Random Things

Following the 25 Random Things Template, here are some more.

26. Private property is a good thing and the laws protecting an individual's property rights should be enforced vigorously.

27. People are not property. That includes pre-born people.

28. If liberals believe in cultural equivalence they cannot pick and choose.

29. Meritocracies are generally effective and should not be compromised to assuage wounded self-esteem.

30. Evangelical Christians do a lot of stupid things to diminish their own credibility.

31. Not every student can be good in every subject.

32. Some students will excel in every subject without trying very hard in any of them.

33. Labor unions institutionalize mediocrity.

34. Hamas is not a political organization. It is a terrorist group with a political wing.

35. Most people are too busy with life to think deeply.

36. The connection between smell and memory is profound and quite fascinating to me.

37. No matter what anyone says on their resume, only a few people have really good written and verbal communication skills. Most people are competent, but few excel. That's just the bell curve ringing.

38. Far fewer people write "excellent mathematical problem solving and computation skills" on their resumes. I wonder why that is and why employers don't care.

39. Many people discount thought for emotion. I find that troubling.

40. Music speaks in ways that transcend culture, politics, and time. It's magical in that way.

41. Hannibal Lecter is a psychopathic genius. He is one of my favorite bad guys of all time. He's right up there with Michael Corleone, Colonel Kurtz, and John Doe (Kevin Spacey's character in Se7en).

42. I find thematic, mass produced, copycat books extremely annoying. For example, as a result of the popularity of "Twilight" there are now a dozen new vampire books populating bookstore tables. The same was true of wizard books and Harry Potter.

43. I recently learned the term 'amuse bouche'. I like its specificity.

44. I also recently learned the term "mouthfeel" that is used when describing wine. I don't know many of the sub-descriptors for this general observation, but knowing it opens up a whole new way to experience and consider a glass of wine.

45. Guns are no more responsible for violence than money is responsible for corruption.

The Taxmen

Is it any wonder that the Obama administration isn't worried about raising our taxes when the President appoints cabinet members who simply do not bother paying theirs? It doesn't matter if taxes are ridiculously high, they'll simply "forget" to pay them.

Way to raise that ethical bar Barack.