Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
At The Back => Time Out => Topic started by: MrBump on October 17, 2009, 02:55:25 PM
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Don't know if we've done this yet - if so apologies, but it seemed like a good place to talk about the Ozzy biography!!!
Pretty damn good so far - only a short way in, but he conjours up a wonderful image of the West Midlands in the 1950/60s/70s.
Sabbath were such a great band!
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Does Razzle count as a book?
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So long as the pages aren't stuck together and the text is legible.
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I'm reading Dorian Grey and the latest T3 magazine.
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Currently reading the latest issue of Tape-Op, which arrived today. Not reading any actual books, as they're all in storage whilst the house is a building site!
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whats a book?
Seriously, I've had no need of books since the invention of the internet, or at least since its been available in broadband.
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Currently cruising though Descartes Error, Antonio Damasio (who also has the most awesome pompadour you've ever seen, the man rules) as the non-fiction, on the off chance I might learn something, and The Judging Eye, R. Scott Bakker, to actively avoid learning anything at all.
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Currently cruising though Descartes Error, Antonio Damasio
I thought you'd read that a while back... Any good?
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lord of the rings again... :lol:
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I mainly tend towards pulpy detective fiction.
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A bit late off the blocks but I've just finished The Da Vinci Code, which was pretty good if all that research is accurate.
I do read a bit of fiction as it makes a nice change from sound engineering manuals!
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Currently cruising though Descartes Error, Antonio Damasio
I thought you'd read that a while back... Any good?
Paused, restarted. Same with the fantasy book, for that matter! I get distracted easy. Its an interesting take, certainly worth reading. Basically the thesis is how our emotionally based values affect and guide reason, and that they need to because reason doesnt realkly do anything by itself (gives no imputus, no basis to decide whats best, that sort of thing - our emotions do all that), the neural mechanisms that underly such things, contextual alterations to our thoughts/reason/emotions/sense of self (all fairly inextricable in damasios view, if I understand him correctly). Highly recommended.
Naomi klein, no logo and shock doctrine are next, but I'm not sure I can take so much leftism all at once.
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lord of the rings again... :lol:
Am I the only person that absolutely cannot stand that book, or the films? :lol:
(no offense or anything, I just dont get the appeal, and yes I read it, or I wouldnt know that!)
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No I hate LOTR too.
I could never get past the first page of the first book it bored me so.
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Karen Slaughter - Fractured
Dean Koontz - Frankenstien city of the night
and when got through them...latest terry pratchett
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Is There Life After Death - Anthony Peake.
A brilliant look at the subject from a scientific-ish point of view using Quantum Physics, Neurology, Near Death Experience, temporal lobe epilepsy etc. as a basis to explore the possibility. It turned my mind inside out.
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Been working my way through the Dark Tower series by Stephen King, 3/4 of the way through Wolves of the Calla.
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I used to like old war novels. Stories of honour and patriotism seem to interest me :lol:
I bought a book the other month by Jack Higgins, I guess it is recent; been meaning to open it...
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I mainly tend towards pulpy detective fiction.
same here :lol:
A bit late off the blocks but I've just finished The Da Vinci Code, which was pretty good if all that research is accurate.
I do read a bit of fiction as it makes a nice change from sound engineering manuals!
who cares it's not accurate, it's a good novel. I know everyone complains about how badly written etc. it is, but I don't think I've read a novel as quickly in my life! :D
Am I the only person that absolutely cannot stand that book, or the films? :lol:
(no offense or anything, I just dont get the appeal, and yes I read it, or I wouldnt know that!)
i love it. there's more lame-ass singing in the book than i remembered, though o_O
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Ian Rankin is a good author, I've read about 4 of his books on Inspector Rebus.
Good stuff.
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Been working my way through the Dark Tower series by Stephen King, 3/4 of the way through Wolves of the Calla.
I really enjoyed the Dark Tower series. The Wolves one was the one I enjoyed the best. However I wish I had listened to the authors recommendation at the end of it all. I'll be interested as to what your take on it is after you've read them all.
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Good thread Mr B! :D
I haven't bought any books for a while, but we have a little "library" in work where people dump their unwanted paperbacks, so I've been reading some pretty random stuff. Just read a couple of Nicci French books which were really good.
Also recently re-read Erling The Bold by R.M. Ballantyne, a very old book which I inherited from my grandfather. He got it as a Sunday School prize, of all things, about 90 years ago, but it's full of Vikings lopping each others' heads off. How times have changed. :lol:
And I've just started on The Lost Symbol. Haven't read any Dan Brown before, his writing style is atrocious but I'm hoping it'll be a quick read!
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Is There Life After Death - Anthony Peake.
A brilliant look at the subject from a scientific-ish point of view using Quantum Physics, Neurology, Near Death Experience, temporal lobe epilepsy etc. as a basis to explore the possibility. It turned my mind inside out.
Hmm that sounds interesting...
I'm currently reading Guerilla Home Recording after seeing some BKPers recommendations along with The AB guide to music theory and finally got up to Book 11 of the Wheel of time which was quite good. I'm also reading some interesting NLP e-books which are so indepth it can be hard for it to click together but they seem useful.
I really should study though considering I have 2 midterm exams next week...
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I got a couple of NLP ebooks myself, not got round to reading them yet, found myself a book called fretboard mastery which I'm flicking through because half of it I already know
not really a book person myself, most reading I do seems to be RSS news feeds on Google Reader, it's a book that never ends!
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I got Guerilla Home Recording a little while ago, but haven't really got into it yet.
NLP id dead interesting. I have a friend who used to sell financial products, and he got into NLP big time - it used to help him professionally big time.
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Jeffery Deaver is a good at the crime thrillers. I read The Stone Monkey a while back which was excellent.
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Just reading Lowside of the Road - a Life of Tom Waits.
Pretty good stuff. I tend to read mainly biographical stuff - the last non-bio book I read was probably a Dan Brown effort.
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I'm currently working my way through a stack of 19th Century novels (set texts for an OU literature course), and dipping into the occasional Jeeves story or the current issue of Private Eye as light relief whenever my brain is too melted. When I get time to read for pleasure again, I have "Against the Day" by Thomas Pynchon waiting for me to get past the second chapter.
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An Introduction to Zen Buddhism by D.T. Suzuki, I'm half-way though and I don't understand a word :oops:
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Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Already read Outliers and Tipping Point
All highly recommended !
Waiting to get "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle
Promo clip for it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY7QNxXbziA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY7QNxXbziA)
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An Introduction to Zen Buddhism by D.T. Suzuki, I'm half-way though and I don't understand a word :oops:
Aren't you supposed to meditate upon the potential interpretations of the teachings of Buddhism?
Not having a clue where to start would seem an advantage.
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Got a few on the go at the moment:
Slash's 'autobiography', which is quite interesting in places, but so obviously ghosted it's not even funny!
Down Under by Bill Bryson.
McMafia by Misha Glenny
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I've just finished "The Reckoning" by Charles Nicholl which is a great investigation into the murder of Christopher Marlowe in Deptford in 1593. On the back of that I now have a biography of Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth I's spymaster, to keep me going. I'm finding it all fascinating.
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I'm reading the 3rd Wheel of Time novel (Robert Jordan) for the 4th or 5th time.
The funny thing about LOTR is that Two Towers was the worst book and the best film. I can't believe I read it as a 12 year old! The text is so dry!
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One of the funniest books I read was London Fields by Martin Amis, which is a bit of a cult book so I've heard.
Them by Jon Ronson is good, about conspiracy Theorists.
Filth by Irvine Welsh is hilarious, the main character is such a horrible c*nt its great fun!
Stairway to Heaven by Richard Cole is a good hell raising read.
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The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins...just getting someone else to prove what I already thought
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The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins...just getting someone else to prove what I already thought
I like Dawkins, and his books, but he's as single minded and "fundamentalist" as the religons and groups that he criticises!!!
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The Lord of the Rings. for the 15th time, i believe...
and, in parallel, Swedish Death Metal. usually i don't read books about music but that one catched my curiosity, and i'm happy i bought it.
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The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins...just getting someone else to prove what I already thought
I like Dawkins, and his books, but he's as single minded and "fundamentalist" as the religons and groups that he criticises!!!
An atheist cant, definitionally (with regard to any a/theological matter) be a fundamentalist. Theres no doctrine or teaching to adhere to, save simply not believing in any gods.
I'm getting sick of dawkins though. Well, thats not completely true; I liked blind watchmaker, rather a lot actually, found the god delusion had in its entirety (save evolution of morality, which was new to me) been said better decades to centuries ago and I refuse to read the greatest show on earth because I wish he'd just written a book that explained (again) and presented reasonably detailed and diverse evidence for evolution and left the bloody creationists out of it.
I have river out of eden kicking round somewhere. May have to add it to the list.
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The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart is a good read but bloody mental.
Dirty Havana Trilogy by Pedro Juan Gutierrez is a true story about life in Havana. It sounds like a interesting but a totally bizarre place with everyone shagging each other! :lol:
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An atheist cant, definitionally (with regard to any a/theological matter) be a fundamentalist. Theres no doctrine or teaching to adhere to, save simply not believing in any gods.
And yet Dawkins manages it... I've seen him preach with a fervour that would put most US TV evangelists to shame... To Dawkins, his believe system is science. And he believes in that like a Catholic priest believes in... well... Jamesons, probably.
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i am suddenly a comic book geek - only been the last few years really but am enjoying it a lot - currently starting on the constantine: hellblazer books after enjoying the character in swamp thing. Also enjoying the goon... simple and just plain fun in a kind of 'i shouldnt like this but i do' kind of way
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Please, please, please keep reading after the first 10 or so issues, The "Fear Machine" arc is quite awful, but the book picks up well after that.
The Azzarrello period is a little weak, too.
(Sorry, totally love Hellblazer. Always have done)
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i still get Hellblazer, and there has been some great stuff over the last few years, but i don't think anyone wrote the actual character as well as Garth Ennis. he may be an obscenity spewing irishman, but Garth can really capture a character!
a good read lately was Marvels, put a nice real life spin on the development of the Marvel universe. also Planet Hulk was enjoyable, although World War Hulk was disappointing.
if you enjoyed Alan Moore's Swamp Thing Wez, you should try to track down his Miracleman (Marvelman) stuff. it can be difficult to find these days, but well worth the effort. although, i have heard rumours that the legal wrangling over the character may be close to being sorted out, so maybe we'll see that stuff finally being reprinted. and maybe Neil Gaiman will finally finish the Silver Age :)
i have Dawkin's God The God Delusion, i must get around to reading it.
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I liked Garf's take on things, but I think DC pulling "Shoot" denied us the full charge Warren Ellis was getting ready to bring to it. The fact that all his issues shipped more or less on time showed how into it he was, and that's never been a given with him. "Haunted" and "The Crib" were brilliant stories, especially "The Crib".
Ah well, I'll read "Fell" and squint a bit.
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An atheist cant, definitionally (with regard to any a/theological matter) be a fundamentalist. Theres no doctrine or teaching to adhere to, save simply not believing in any gods.
And yet Dawkins manages it... I've seen him preach with a fervour that would put most US TV evangelists to shame... To Dawkins, his believe system is science. And he believes in that like a Catholic priest believes in... well... Jamesons, probably.
I keep hearing this, but science is an epistemological methodology, not a set of beliefs. Dawkins knows that, and espouses demanding/finding reason to believe things, evidentially, not what to believe.
He does rail to varying degrees (seems to depend on his mood/talk show host as to whether youre mentally ill or just misguided) against supernatural beliefs, but his prime concern, I think, is the attempted (and disturbingly successfull/widely supported in the US at least; murmerings of it here) displacement of scientific discoveries with mythological nonsense in schools and government policy making - teaching what amounts to genesis in science classes, curtailing stem cell research because augustine of hippo reasoned that the soul enters the body at the moment of conception, that sort of thing.
I'm with him on that sort of stuff.
I'm not with him appearing on TV (this time in 'the genius of charles darwin') trying to tell us that we're all worthwhile because we're all "winners" because we have an unbroken chain of ancestry to the first self replicating organic molecule on the planet (i.e. we're all 'winners' because all our ancestors, obviously, got laid. Sound investigation into the nature of reality and skepticism of arbitrary claims of higher knowledge = good. Morally bankrupt self-worth placebos = bad).
P.S. Well done! There was a choir boy joke in there begging to be made; excellent restraint! :lol:
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He does rail to varying degrees (seems to depend on his mood/talk show host as to whether youre mentally ill or just misguided) against supernatural beliefs, but his prime concern, I think, is the attempted (and disturbingly successfull/widely supported in the US at least; murmerings of it here) displacement of scientific discoveries with mythological nonsense in schools and government policy making - teaching what amounts to genesis in science classes, curtailing stem cell research because augustine of hippo reasoned that the soul enters the body at the moment of conception, that sort of thing.
agreed. you can believe what you like, as long as you're not doing harm to other people. and you have no right to force others to believe what you do.
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He does rail to varying degrees (seems to depend on his mood/talk show host as to whether youre mentally ill or just misguided) against supernatural beliefs, but his prime concern, I think, is the attempted (and disturbingly successfull/widely supported in the US at least; murmerings of it here) displacement of scientific discoveries with mythological nonsense in schools and government policy making - teaching what amounts to genesis in science classes, curtailing stem cell research because augustine of hippo reasoned that the soul enters the body at the moment of conception, that sort of thing.
agreed. you can believe what you like, as long as you're not doing harm to other people. and you have no right to force others to believe what you do.
Quite.
But I would rather phrase it as "I dont want educational policy, morality or law to be dictated by your imaginary friend".
I would also prefer it if people didnt kill people because of the wishes of or on behalf of their imaginary friends, or go to war over whose imaginary friend has the biggest dick.
Maybe thats just me *shrugs*
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I would also prefer it if people didnt kill people because of the wishes of or on behalf of their imaginary friends, or go to war over whose imaginary friend has the biggest dick.
Maybe thats just me *shrugs*
It's just you, Mark - personally, I'll happily wage war on ANYONE with a bigger dick than me, and that's at least half the population...
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But I would rather phrase it as "I dont want educational policy, morality or law to be dictated by your imaginary friend".
I would also prefer it if people didnt kill people because of the wishes of or on behalf of their imaginary friends, or go to war over whose imaginary friend has the biggest dick.
Exactly.
I basically, most of the time, think people should be free to believe whatever they like. But when you get things like government policy, wars and acts of terrorism being driven by religion.... that's when I think "this is bullsh!t, $%&# your religious freedom, we'd be better off acknowledging it's all complete hogwash". :|
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I would also prefer it if people didnt kill people because of the wishes of or on behalf of their imaginary friends, or go to war over whose imaginary friend has the biggest dick.
Maybe thats just me *shrugs*
It's just you, Mark - personally, I'll happily wage war on ANYONE with a bigger dick than me, and that's at least half the population...
:lol:
Ah, but, how big is your imaginary friends dick?
On reflection, I dont think theres any possible good answer to that.
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Why wont it let me quote? Loading...what exactly? How much can there possibly be to load?
Anyhow, yeah, philly, I agree 100%. I have many friends and family members that are christians and dont care that they think reality is something different than I do for different reasons than I do. Thats fine. Go ahead. Its of no importance so long as no one elevates the disagreements to anything more than verbal (and polite, civil and even jovial disagreement is the norm in my experience, and thats the way it should be) or unless one tries to force their beliefs, or practices that stem from their beliefs onto the other. Like, say, campaigning against condom distribution and safe sex education to teens and...I suppose the converse would be campaigning for teen sex :lol: Or mandatory abortions, or enforced working 16 hour sundays or obligatory blaspheming or something...you get the idea
The idea generally being that in a secular democratic, generally "free" society, religious people are able to practice their religion unhindered (except the slave-trading, genocidal parts: rather a lot of the bible is outlawed under the geneva convention) and everyone can go about their day without any superfluous or deontologically unjustified stonings. The converse is not true - in a society thats completely or even partially theocratic, non-believers get $%&#ed over.
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^ yeah. however, i don't think even terrorism is a sufficiently good excuse to outlaw religion. Plenty of people can use religion "properly", it's not terribly fair to outlaw it because there are a few whackos. we don't do that with anything else. Ok, guns, knives, drugs, nuclear and biological weapons, but i disagree with that too. Not the nuclear and biological weapons, the other ones. (not trying to derail the thread or anything, just i know that if i don't mention that some other smart-alec will). For example, we don't outlaw cars because some people joyride, drive while drunk, or drive too quickly. And that kills far more people than terrorism does.
It's just you, Mark - personally, I'll happily wage war on ANYONE with a bigger dick than me, and that's at least half the population...
is it just me or does something not quite add up there? Either that or you know something we don't... o_O
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^ yeah. however, i don't think even terrorism is a sufficiently good excuse to outlaw religion. Plenty of people can use religion "properly", it's not terribly fair to outlaw it because there are a few whackos. we don't do that with anything else.
I agree that we shouldn't outlaw religion (apart from anything else, outlawing it simply wouldn't work). But it just seems odd that we haven't grown out of it by now. :?
I have very mixed feelings about religion. In past times, I'm sure it played a valuable part in bonding communities. Personally, I had quite a religious upbringing, I'm glad I learned about the Bible because it's a wonderful book, regardless of any "deeper" significance. I think most of the basic principles are sound (if you strip away the prejudice and fundamentalist mumbo jumbo). I definitely still have deeply ingrained "Christian" moral values (for want of a better description). I'm sure other religions are much the same.
But..... I don't believe in God. I just don't. And I can't see how anyone can. When I watch some ceremony from St Paul's Cathedral, or a mosque, or whatever, it all seems so ludicrous. How can anyone actually take it seriously?
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I basically, most of the time, think people should be free to believe whatever they like. But when you get things like government policy, wars and acts of terrorism being driven by religion.... that's when I think "this is bullsh!t, $%&# your religious freedom, we'd be better off acknowledging it's all complete hogwash". :|
I'm not so sure, PQ - I think that religion is a handy excuse, easy to categorise into good and bad, black and white, us and them (...and after all, we're only ordinary men... etc). However, I think that MOST conflicts that we categorise as "religious" actually boil down land, poverty and oppression.
Religion is a handy tag to use, but it's far less of a driver than hungry people.
(that's people who are hungry, by the way - not people from Hungary)
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I just started The Other Hand by Chris Cleave. I've heard its very good. Havent got far enough in to say yet.
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I basically, most of the time, think people should be free to believe whatever they like. But when you get things like government policy, wars and acts of terrorism being driven by religion.... that's when I think "this is bullsh!t, $%&# your religious freedom, we'd be better off acknowledging it's all complete hogwash". :|
I'm not so sure, PQ - I think that religion is a handy excuse, easy to categorise into good and bad, black and white, us and them (...and after all, we're only ordinary men... etc). However, I think that MOST conflicts that we categorise as "religious" actually boil down land, poverty and oppression.
Religion is a handy tag to use, but it's far less of a driver than hungry people.
(that's people who are hungry, by the way - not people from Hungary)
Exactly, if you take the classic example of northern Ireland, religious divide was an easy way to label a complex ethno-cultural and historical division (although the historical divide did have religious aspects, in many ways these aspects were played up to support political agendas, another truth behind "religious" conflict).
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Whos talking about outlawing religion?
That makes as much sense as outlawing the lord of the rings. Yeah, its not real, I think it sucks, it doesnt make a lick of sense and its dull as dishwater, but it doesnt bother me that other people like it.
I wonder, philly; we're agreeing a lot here. Seems we see things pretty much the same way: if we could make a film of this discussion, would we both like it :lol:
Yeah, how seriously some people take it is just bizarre, and the rituals and lingo and practices are surreal. I cant get my head around that they think thats what reality is. You may as well believe in unicorns and optimus prime as well.
On ostensibly religious conflicts being in fact sociopolitical - perhaps, but its rather immaterial. Religion is, if thats the case, used as a motivator for the common man. The guy that fires the RPG or pulls a stanley knife on the pilot of an airliner or shoots an abortion doctor doesnt care about increasing the political and military power of his worldly neocon puppet masters; he does it to because its what he believes his God wants.
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I wonder, philly; we're agreeing a lot here. Seems we see things pretty much the same way: if we could make a film of this discussion, would we both like it :lol:
Nah, we'd never agree about the approach - you'd want Michael Bay and a load of explosions, I'd want a downbeat European arthouse style. :wink:
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Michael Bay?
Nah.
But I would want Darwin Vs Jesus - Survival of the Fittest (as the film would be called) to have ving rhames play jesus, christopher walken play darwin, vin diesel play dawkins and....lets see now....yes, anne hathaway as the love interest and robert downey jr as the mad scientist that makes a time machine that lets all the characters come together
And there would be eplosions.
And dinosaurs.
And aliens.
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:lol:
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I'm not so sure, PQ - I think that religion is a handy excuse, easy to categorise into good and bad, black and white, us and them (...and after all, we're only ordinary men... etc). However, I think that MOST conflicts that we categorise as "religious" actually boil down land, poverty and oppression.
Religion is a handy tag to use, but it's far less of a driver than hungry people.
(that's people who are hungry, by the way - not people from Hungary)
yep.
Exactly, if you take the classic example of northern Ireland, religious divide was an easy way to label a complex ethno-cultural and historical division (although the historical divide did have religious aspects, in many ways these aspects were played up to support political agendas, another truth behind "religious" conflict).
hey now, don't be referring to us as a "classic example"... :lol:
seriously, though, agreed.
of course, the darn quote mechanism has now stopped working, so bear with me:
to mark's point about outlawing religion: philly made a point about religion which suggested outlawing it. I may have been reading too much into it, and he may not have meant it in anywhere near as strong terms, but I thought I'd better fend off the point, anyway.
also, way to slag off LOTR and optimus prime. They rule. :lol:
I'm not sure about your point about religion being a motivator for the common man. Sure, but remove religion and they'll just find another motivator. Even in the middle ages, not all wars were about religion. The hundred years war, for example, wasn't religious at all.
bear in mind, though, that I'm a bit contrary. If someone came in and started arguing that religions were nothing to do with wars I'd probably start arguing with them too. :lol:
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I didnt mean to slag off optimus, of course.
LOTR, on the other hand.....
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i guess i'll take what i can get... :lol:
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Michael Bay?
Nah.
But I would want Darwin Vs Jesus - Survival of the Fittest (as the film would be called) to have ving rhames play jesus, christopher walken play darwin, vin diesel play dawkins and....lets see now....yes, anne hathaway as the love interest and robert downey jr as the mad scientist that makes a time machine that lets all the characters come together
And there would be eplosions.
And dinosaurs.
And aliens.
Sounds bloody brilliant Mark! :lol: Could these variables extend to Alien Dinosaurs too!
Interesting thread this. I've never believed in God, I became aware of my utter disbelief in a God of any kind at around 7 and like you and Philly just can't understand why people still bang on about it and take it so seriously. I saw some Catholic thingy (I haven't got a clue of its actual name but some kind of ceremony) going on in a church on the telly last year where these blokes were dressed in these foolish robes and big hats. One seemed to think he was better than his mates or so it appeared and the lowest one of them had to lie on the floor beneth the grande fromage. Wtf is all that about? There is so much bollocks in it all, which is a word that came directly from religion. Bollocks is what young preists were called in London years ago as they spoke so much shitee or bollocks. Anyone here had a read of the Quoran? I did once. I did hear that it was the ramblings of a paranoid schizophrenic. Half a page later confirmed it as bollocks and I threw it back in the skip in which I found it.
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to mark's point about outlawing religion: philly made a point about religion which suggested outlawing it. I may have been reading too much into it, and he may not have meant it in anywhere near as strong terms, but I thought I'd better fend off the point, anyway.
Not trying to get all argumentative, but I never said anything about outlawing religion (except in reply to your point). What I originally said was that I sometimes wish we'd stop being so bloody respectful to religion - when it interferes in other aspects of life - and "acknowledge it's all complete hogwash".
And I don't buy the argument about religious conflicts actually boiling down to sociopolitical (good word, Mark! :wink: ) issues. That's all far too rational. Those issues may indeed underlie the conflicts, but the people involved believe they're about religion - therefore they are about religion. And there's nothing rational about religion.
However, I'm not claiming for a second that if there was no religion in the world there'd be no conflict. :(
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(a) Not trying to get all argumentative, but I never said anything about outlawing religion (except in reply to your point). What I originally said was that I sometimes wish we'd stop being so bloody respectful to religion - when it interferes in other aspects of life - and "acknowledge it's all complete hogwash".
(b) And I don't buy the argument about religious conflicts actually boiling down to sociopolitical (good word, Mark! :wink: ) issues. That's all far too rational. Those issues may indeed underlie the conflicts, but the people involved believe they're about religion - therefore they are about religion. And there's nothing rational about religion.
(c) However, I'm not claiming for a second that if there was no religion in the world there'd be no conflict. :(
(a) oh ok, sorry. :)
(b) I dunno. If the people think the conflict is about religion does that make it about religion? Certainly in some instances the guys at the top are taking advantage of the situation and know it's not about religion.
(c) yeah.
:)
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Michael Bay?
Nah.
But I would want Darwin Vs Jesus - Survival of the Fittest (as the film would be called) to have ving rhames play jesus, christopher walken play darwin, vin diesel play dawkins and....lets see now....yes, anne hathaway as the love interest and robert downey jr as the mad scientist that makes a time machine that lets all the characters come together
And there would be eplosions.
And dinosaurs.
And aliens.
And an earth-stomping armada of war hardened Orcs.
And knights in chain mail vests.
And a lot of flags.
And samurai warriors.
And ninjas, sa va sans dire...
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Alien dinosaurs for sure.
And ninjas, obviously
And raptor-ninjas.
No orcs!
But possibly giant robots.
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I just started The Other Hand by Chris Cleave. I've heard its very good. Havent got far enough in to say yet.
I read that a few weeks back. Enjoyed it a lot.
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I basically, most of the time, think people should be free to believe whatever they like. But when you get things like government policy, wars and acts of terrorism being driven by religion.... that's when I think "this is bullsh!t, $%&# your religious freedom, we'd be better off acknowledging it's all complete hogwash". :|
I'm not so sure, PQ - I think that religion is a handy excuse, easy to categorise into good and bad, black and white, us and them (...and after all, we're only ordinary men... etc). However, I think that MOST conflicts that we categorise as "religious" actually boil down land, poverty and oppression.
Religion is a handy tag to use, but it's far less of a driver than hungry people.
(that's people who are hungry, by the way - not people from Hungary)
i completely agree with you.
i don't really believe in "holy wars". as you said religion is just a tag. politic beliefs work exactly in the same way... if we've got an enemy or just decide to create one it's easy to put him behind the unwalkable line of religion or other marks of birth or thought...
and very often those tags put people in categories they never felt to belong.
if you think about what happened in Jugoslavia, in many cases people who lived in the same building found themselves on the opposite sides of the front because of their "official" belonging to Catholic, Orthodox or Muslim faith, even if they weren't religious at all.
in other cases religious feelings are just an easy way to feel part of a bigger group with a common enemy... i don't think that every Palestinian is muslim. personally i know some guy from Gaza. most are just vaguely believers or even atheists. like most europeans are. but their problem is common... sometimes a friend or relative of theirs gets killed by stray bullets fired by israeli tanks or helicopters or soldiers... or their home gets bulldozed at dawn. and this has little to do with religion.
that is not a conflict between muslims and jews, just a military occupation carried on by a nationalist government. of course not every israeli out there supports it, but i don't think that russian people looked at germans with much sympathy in 1946, even if many of them had no direct responsability in the invasion of their homeland, soldiers NOT excluded.
and so hate leads to hate, with no exception.
i think this is completely off topic, but who cares...
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didn't mean to start a political war, anyway... i'm atheist, anarchist and misanthrope, so i'm glad i don't belong to ANY group of people... ;)
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if you think about what happened in Jugoslavia, in many cases people who lived in the same building found themselves on the opposite sides of the front because of their "official" belonging to Catholic, Orthodox or Muslim faith, even if they weren't religious at all.
same thing here... there's a joke that a northern irish person asks a visitor to the country what religion he is.
"Oh, I'm an atheist, actually"
The Northern Irish person waits for a couple of moments, then asks,
"But are you a protestant atheist or a catholic atheist?"
...
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if you think about what happened in Jugoslavia, in many cases people who lived in the same building found themselves on the opposite sides of the front because of their "official" belonging to Catholic, Orthodox or Muslim faith, even if they weren't religious at all.
same thing here... there's a joke that a northern irish person asks a visitor to the country what religion he is.
"Oh, I'm an atheist, actually"
The Northern Irish person waits for a couple of moments, then asks,
"But are you a protestant atheist or a catholic atheist?"
...
:lol:
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DaveMC - good joke, but there is some truth in it. I am an atheist and have been one since I couldn't quite grasp why all people were inherently sinful because a fictional character ate an apple, but despite this I find that my family's Protestant background informs my views on things. Atheists from RC backgrounds I know tend to think differently to me - and in a Catholic sought of way.
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yeah, definitely. it definitely helps to describe why things are the way they are here, anyway.
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I am in the middle of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road". I am enjoying it a great deal.
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I don't buy the argument about religious conflicts actually boiling down to sociopolitical (good word, Mark! :wink: ) issues. That's all far too rational. Those issues may indeed underlie the conflicts, but the people involved believe they're about religion - therefore they are about religion. And there's nothing rational about religion.
people surely use to believe in the most improbable things, but i wouldn't say that if a bunch of hooligans beat themselves to death is about soccer. they would do it anyway, even if soccer didn't exist at all. they would surely fight for something else. gardening, for example...
seriously, it's surely easier to see someone as an enemy if he has got different religious beliefs (and a completely different way of life), but usually wars aren't waged by the mob, but by rational people for rational reasons. money, mostly...
nowadays the hate for muslims is very common and widespread in the western world... at least in italian news israeli are alway pictured as western looking guys with european traits, and palestinians like stereotypical "arabs"... talking about the iraqi journalist who trew his shoes to G.W.Bush, italian TV underlined the fact that many arabs around the world "offered him their daughters to celebrate his liberation", and showed totally off-topic footage of fat old women in burqas dancing in squalid and filthy houses. its much easier to feel sympathy for someone that looks and behaves like you, even if your religion taught you that his ancestors actually killed your god!
THIS is the way propaganda works... "das sturmer", "la difesa della razza" and other racist publications in the 30s did exactly the same with jews.
and i see something very rational on the background.
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Subcultre:The Meaning of Style... frigging uni reading :x
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(http://www.inthenews.co.uk/photo/quantum-einstein-bohr-and-the-great-debate-about-the-nature-of-reality-by-manjit-kumar-$7020580$300.jpg)
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Skene's elements of yacht design....... because I don't know how to build boats (yet..... well I sort of do, but not well enough).
Having another bash at The Use Of Reason, but it's really hard work. Written by an old teacher in the 60's so the language is very strange. I recognise all the words, just not in the order that they're written.
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I'm rereading The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. An extraordinarily original book that stretches the imagination all over the place, plus it gives a very different slant on the much discussed topic of religion.
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(http://www.inthenews.co.uk/photo/quantum-einstein-bohr-and-the-great-debate-about-the-nature-of-reality-by-manjit-kumar-$7020580$300.jpg)
They were both wrong.
About QM anyway.
It should be a tag team deathmatch debate that can have a meaningfull outcome
Heisenberg and Schrodinger Vs Einstien and Bohr.
No ones sure if heisenberg is there or where hes going till he gains enough energy too fast for you to see to tunnel through bohrs electrostatics and destroy is planetary model of the atom with his electron delocalistation. Schrodingers probability distribution wave for a bound state and einstiens underlying determinism battle it out until the judges, the Copenhagen Interpretation, intervene and declare that indeterminacy rules, so einstien and shrodinger each both won and lost unless they look at each other.
Which of course makes shrodinger the defacto winner.
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plus he has/had (he's not sure) a cat, which puts him over the edge.
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I'm rereading The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. An extraordinarily original book that stretches the imagination all over the place, plus it gives a very different slant on the much discussed topic of religion.
Great book. I don't think it has anything to do with religion though although one of the leading characters is satan.
Jan
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got a couple of new Alan Moore's. ...a conversation with Bill Baker and 25,000 years of Erotic Freedom. he really is a fascinating man!
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Great book. I don't think it has anything to do with religion though although one of the leading characters is satan.
Jan
[/quote]
It also features Yeshua Ha-Nozri (Jesus Christ), Pontius Pilate, Judas from Kiriath (Judas Iscariat), Mathew the disciple etc. I agree the main thrust of the book is not religious, but to say it has nothing to do with it I find baffling.
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Yes, it features religious characters, but does that necessarily mean it's about religion? Imo, the story isn't at all.
Jan
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Stephen King - Dream Catcher
SD Perry - Resident Evil, City of the Dead (Resi 2 novelisation, actually pretty good).
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Yes, but I said it gives a different slant on religion not that this was the subject. Surely the fact that the devil is one of the main characters and is not despicable fulfills this criterion.
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plus he has/had (he's not sure) a cat, which puts him over the edge.
Well, he had a cat, he keeps it in a box, and its alive and dead at the same time unless he looks at it.
Pretty normal theoretical physicist really.
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that's what i meant by "has/had" (he's not sure)"... :D
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Currently reading:
(http://images.contentreserve.com/ImageType-100/0277-1/%7B98CC7CCD-C1AF-4003-BB0E-A354387EE662%7DImg100.jpg)
My girl kept trying to make me read it, I caved and I'm glad I did. Really well written, it's the first in a series of Felix Castor novels. I'm near the end but it's getting really dark and horrible, but she assures me the rest aren't quite as nasty. I just can't put it down though, hehe. :D
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The devil not despicable here? His actions are. His demeanor here is that of the suave bad guy, but that doesn't make his actions less evil.
Jan
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been doing a course recently so not much reading for pleasure.
The last book i read was 'The Road' by Cormack McCarthey. Its a post apocalyptic book by the author of 'No Country For Old Men' (another awesome book... good film too). Its about a man and his young son surviviving in a world thats gone a bit burned up. Id highly recommend it.
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been doing a course recently so not much reading for pleasure.
The last book i read was 'The Road' by Cormack McCarthey. Its a post apocalyptic book by the author of 'No Country For Old Men' (another awesome book... good film too). Its about a man and his young son surviviving in a world thats gone a bit burned up. Id highly recommend it.
I've been meaning to check that book out, they are making a movie of it, looks pretty good. got Viggo Mortenssenssen in it.
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As I said previously, I have been reading The Road and enjoyed it a great deal ( the thread was still in religious debate phase at that time).
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been doing a course recently so not much reading for pleasure.
The last book i read was 'The Road' by Cormack McCarthey. Its a post apocalyptic book by the author of 'No Country For Old Men' (another awesome book... good film too). Its about a man and his young son surviviving in a world thats gone a bit burned up. Id highly recommend it.
I've been meaning to check that book out, they are making a movie of it, looks pretty good. got Viggo Mortenssenssen in it.
Yeah, they had it on at the London Film Festival, I thought about seeing it, but it sold out quickly. I'm sure it won't be long before the cinema release.
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ive seen the trailer and although it looks like a good film, i'd recommend reading the book before seeing it as i can imagine the film is going to be a bit different in tone.
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(http://www.librosprohibidos.com.ar/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/middle-pillar.jpg)
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On the Shoulders of Giants edited by Stephen Hawking
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Jonathan Dimbleby "Russia".
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Just bought that Quantum book from the previous page - another quantum physics bok, just what I need :roll:
Also bought A History of Modern Philosophy by someone whos name escapes me but is very much like 'Scrotum'
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The War of the Flowers by Tad Williams.
I'm impressed by all you chaps with your non-fiction.
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Distinction: a social critique of the judgement of taste PDT_033
And reading Dune for the umpteenth time PDT_003
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During the last three weeks :
Dan Brown - The Bernini Mystery
Dan Brown - The Lost Symbol (his research and insight is getting better)
L Gardner - The Shadow Of Solomon (a freemason on freemasonry, got it for free with the DB book)
D Melchizedek - The Ancient Secret of the flower of Life
next
L Gardner : Bloodline of the Holy Grail
Jan
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The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
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"The Moon's a Balloon" - David Niven's autobiography. A third of the way through and highly enjoyable thus far.
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The War of the Flowers by Tad Williams.
I'm impressed by all you chaps with your non-fiction.
I really enjoyed The War of the Flowers, made such a change from his usual 5000 page epics, and such a strong comeback after the confused mess that was Otherland. Have you read Shadowmarch?
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The War of the Flowers by Tad Williams.
I'm impressed by all you chaps with your non-fiction.
I really enjoyed The War of the Flowers, made such a change from his usual 5000 page epics, and such a strong comeback after the confused mess that was Otherland. Have you read Shadowmarch?
No, this is the first Tad Williams I've read in fact! Just picked it up because someone left it in our "library" in work. Nearly finished, and I've really enjoyed it.
I'm not usually a big fan of fantasy, especially the multi-volume epic type. Although I did read a lot of Robert E Howard and Michael Moorc--k stuff when I was younger!
But at the end of the day I always have to have something to read. Pretty much anything'll do in an emergency! :D
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Give The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams a go, it's a bit slow to start, but once it gets going it's fantastic.
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Thought I'd bring this thread back from the dead.... :lol:
Mostly because I've just finished a book which is actually guitar-related:
Life by Keith Richards
I'm not a big Rolling Stones fan, nor am I a fan of biographies generally, but this turned out to be really interesting. Mr Richards comes across as a surprisingly down-to-earth and modest sort of chap, none of the arrogance I was expecting.
There are a lot of drug stories, but he tells them in a very matter-of-fact way. There's no sense of "look how rock'n'roll I was", but no "just say no" preaching either.
I was a bit taken aback by how little he has to say about some of his fellow Stones - he seems to have regarded Bill Wyman as barely a member of the band, creatively speaking, and Mick Taylor is hardly mentioned at all (he gets praise for his guitar-playing ability, but on a personal level it seems they were almost strangers). Odd.
There are a few stories where you wonder if the other people involved would have a very different version of events. And a couple of times where you have to sit back and think "hold on, he's making this sound reasonable but it's completely $%&#ed up".
Good book, well worth a read.
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Cheers Philly - I've read a few interviews with Keef and he comes across pretty much as you have described. I may have a read of this once I have got through "Lowside of the Road" and "The Gulag Archipelago". It's taking me an age getting through Lowside - not because it's boring, more to do with not having much time on my hands nowadays.
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Good thread resurrection.
I agree with your description Philly-I enjoyed the book a lot and unlike you, I do quite like the Rolling Stones- at least their classic years anyways.
Ian McLagan's "All the Rage" is worth reading too-even if you don't have much interest in the Small Faces/Faces. A damn good read.
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Sabbath Bloody Sabbath by Joel McIver. A history of Black Sabbath written by a guy who thinks metal is ridiculous and who spends more time talking about Ozzy's solo career (yet can't be bothered to mention Dio's solo career) than he does about Sabbath.
Other than that I've been mostly reading Warhammer 40k novels, which are surprisingly good for the most part.
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Back to uni so mostly academic stuff, though I've been getting through The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion by James Frazer and Hobbes' Leviathan which aren't directly related to studies. No fiction for me for a while, I fear.
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Sabbath Bloody Sabbath by Joel McIver. A history of Black Sabbath written by a guy who thinks metal is ridiculous and who spends more time talking about Ozzy's solo career (yet can't be bothered to mention Dio's solo career) than he does about Sabbath.
Not recommended then? :lol:
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I'm reading The Dark Tower series by Stephen King at the moment. I just finished the second book yesterday.
So far it's pretty good
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Not recommended then? :lol:
To put it mildly... :?
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Other than that I've been mostly reading Warhammer 40k novels, which are surprisingly good for the most part.
Which ones, pray tell?
Currently I'm reading "Atlas Infernal", by Rob Sanders. Not as grimdark as 40k novels normally are. This one's a lot pulpier and almost even "fun". It's fairly good, especially considering it's a newbie author, but there's still quite some way up to the level of messrs Abnett, McNeill, Swallow and Dembski-Bowden.
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Other than that I've been mostly reading Warhammer 40k novels, which are surprisingly good for the most part.
Which ones, pray tell?
Currently I'm reading "Atlas Infernal", by Rob Sanders. Not as grimdark as 40k novels normally are.
Atlas Infernal is a very good one. A bit of a different take on the whole 40K universe.
I'm a big Dan Abnett fan, if he wrote it, chances are I'll love it. Ravenor, Eisenhorn, Gaunt's Ghosts...
The name escapes me, but there's two books about the Eldar. I've already read the first one, Path Of The Warrior I think it's called, and it was brilliant. The second one was just released.
Dead Men Walking, about the Death Korps Of Krieg is another very good one.
I find that, as long as you stay away from the Space Marine novels, there's usually a lot to enjoy.
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Buddhism, Plain & Simple - Steven Hagen.
Really good introduction to the subject, very clear and well written. Seperates Buddhist philosophy from Cultural Buddhism. Anyone interested in this subject and wanting an introduction should definitely check it out.
Mark.
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Mary, Mary - James Patterson
Just picked it up for lack of anything else to read. Patterson is a terrible writer, his success is an absolute mystery to me. He just churns out book after book, plus the ones he "co-writes" with Andrew Gross, Maxine Paetro etc.... and they are all equally awful. Their only saving grace is that they only take a couple of hours to read and you never have to engage your brain for a second.
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haha I like books like that, pretty much the only things I read are Lee Child or James Patterson books :lol: :oops:
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Lee Child is OK, they're not great literature but at least they're not badly written. Same goes for John Grisham.
Patterson's actual writing is so bad. The dialogue, the descriptions.... the only "trick" he knows is to have very short chapters so the books move fast. I HATE the bits in the Alex Cross books where he's with his kids, his various girlfriends or his grandmother - not only are they tedious soapy distractions from the main plot, but the way the characters interact, the conversations they have make me cringe!! :x
I'm often surprised by how many popular writers are actually very bad at writing! Dick Francis, Clive Cussler, Michael Crichton (Congo is the worst book I've ever read). Critics always take the piss out of Dan Brown's writing, but he's not the worst - I think his first few books were OK, but The Lost Symbol was terrible.
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Patterson's actual writing is so bad. The dialogue, the descriptions.... the only "trick" he knows is to have very short chapters so the books move fast. I HATE the bits in the Alex Cross books where he's with his kids, his various girlfriends or his grandmother - not only are they tedious soapy distractions from the main plot, but the way the characters interact, the conversations they have make me cringe!! :x
Yeah - I agree with that Philly. I've read a few of his Alex Cross books. The best things about Kiss the Girls was that it got Ashley Judd on screen for me. I like her a lot.
The dialogue is pretty poor though. From memory there was one cringe inducing section in Kiss the Girls where he wrote about how great the brisket prepared by Nana cross is.
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I like Lee Child's books too. I am also keen on Peter James -mainly because they are set in Brighton & Sussex and I know the places in the stories-a bit shallow of me but sometimes shallow is good. I also have a soft spot for Robert Goddard though some of his more recent books have been not quite up to the mark in my opinion though apparently his latest on is supposed to be a return to form.
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Currently two massive 17th century works of tedium: Samuel Rutherford's The Due Right of Presbyteries and John Goodwin's MS to AS - I would not recommend either of these to anyone, but as my other job is a part time history tutor, I have to wade through them. Fiction wise I am reading Treasure Island in Latin...slowly!
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Fiction wise I am reading Treasure Island in Latin...slowly!
You have to read it in Klingon to get the full value
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Has anyone here read any Cormac McCarthy books?
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Has anyone here read any Cormac McCarthy books?
Only No Country For Old Men - which I read after I saw the film, which (it turns out) represents the book pretty well.
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Other than that I've been mostly reading Warhammer 40k novels, which are surprisingly good for the most part.
Which ones, pray tell?
Currently I'm reading "Atlas Infernal", by Rob Sanders. Not as grimdark as 40k novels normally are.
Atlas Infernal is a very good one. A bit of a different take on the whole 40K universe.
I'm a big Dan Abnett fan, if he wrote it, chances are I'll love it. Ravenor, Eisenhorn, Gaunt's Ghosts...
The name escapes me, but there's two books about the Eldar. I've already read the first one, Path Of The Warrior I think it's called, and it was brilliant. The second one was just released.
Dead Men Walking, about the Death Korps Of Krieg is another very good one.
I find that, as long as you stay away from the Space Marine novels, there's usually a lot to enjoy.
I absolutely ADORE the Gaunt's Ghosts series, and Eisenhorn too. I've also just realised, that the protagonist Czevak from "Atlas Infernal" is basically just Doctor Who in the 40k universe.
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I absolutely ADORE the Gaunt's Ghosts series, and Eisenhorn too. I've also just realised, that the protagonist Czevak from "Atlas Infernal" is basically just Doctor Who in the 40k universe.
If you liked Eisenhorn, you'll probably enjoy Ravenor too. You remember what happens to him in Eisenhorn? It builds from there. Excellent.
Interesting observation about Czevak. I'll ask my wife, once she's read the book, if he reminded her of someone. She's the resident Dr Who nutter of the family ;)
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I absolutely ADORE the Gaunt's Ghosts series, and Eisenhorn too. I've also just realised, that the protagonist Czevak from "Atlas Infernal" is basically just Doctor Who in the 40k universe.
If you liked Eisenhorn, you'll probably enjoy Ravenor too. You remember what happens to him in Eisenhorn? It builds from there. Excellent.
Interesting observation about Czevak. I'll ask my wife, once she's read the book, if he reminded her of someone. She's the resident Dr Who nutter of the family ;)
Seriously, at one point he says "I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry". Completely like the Tenth Doctor!!
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I'm reading Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie, I really enjoyed his First Law series, nice to read heroic fantasy that has a very English feel to it.
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I recently discovered Joe Abercrombie and have just finished Before They Are Hanged. Very good, and I'm looking forward to book 3.
I've also recently finished Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear, which are also pretty good.
Currently reading The Last Wish by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. This is the first of the series of books (actually this one is a collection of short stories he wrote before the full novels) that the RPGs, The Witcher 1 & 2 were based on. Quite enjoying it. I'm finding the writing style very reminiscent of Robert E. Howards' Conan books, which is no bad thing.
Oh, and I have an ongoing project to read every Hugo Award winner and as such have just finished The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (1953 winner). This will probably take some time to complete...
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Oh, and I have an ongoing project to read every Hugo Award winner and as such have just finished The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (1953 winner). This will probably take some time to complete...
Cool project! 8)
But are they all still in print?
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Oh, and I have an ongoing project to read every Hugo Award winner and as such have just finished The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (1953 winner). This will probably take some time to complete...
Cool project! 8)
But are they all still in print?
Seconded. I'm gonna have to steal that idea.
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I'm reading my 3rd book about the Titanic. Fascinating stuff from construction methods (used over 290 tons of rivets [ many of which failed and caused the hull plates to part]) to the 'conspiracy theory' where it was claimed that it was the (renamed) sister ship Olympic that sank. As next year marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking no doubt there will be plenty more books/documentaries available.
On Christmas list is Riding Shotgun by Gerry McAvoy (35 years on the road with Rory Gallagher and Nine Below Zero)
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On Christmas list is Riding Shotgun by Gerry McAvoy (35 years on the road with Rory Gallagher and Nine Below Zero)
Superb book. Be prepared to have some of your fears about Rory confirmed though (if they haven't been already, that is). I've read it several times now, the story's told with love, but it's a bit more open about Rory's problems than the offical line on it all.
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Got a few books on the go at the minute:
Just finished Reefer Men which is the history of an international drug smuggling ring. First time I've ever read a book in a couple of days.
Quirkology by Richard Wiseman (he does a lot of work for Derren Brown). Reading this for the second time, again it's a really good book.
Chronicals - Bob Dylan. I'm not usually into autobiographies, but this one's really good. After reading a couple of autobiogrpahies that are basically a list of why they are awesome (or at least why they think they are) and a list of people they don't like then this one has really stood out. I actually feel that I may have learnt something.
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Oh, and I have an ongoing project to read every Hugo Award winner and as such have just finished The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (1953 winner). This will probably take some time to complete...
Cool project! 8)
But are they all still in print?
Seconded. I'm gonna have to steal that idea.
I was just looking at the list of Best Novel winners and I must admit I haven't read very many of them. But all the names and titles are familiar, up until the late '80s, early '90s then suddenly there are loads of things I've never heard of. Funny how you lose touch...!
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I was never in touch with stuff like this in the first place! I'm a long way behind the book reading interests and activities of most on here. I'm happy with that though :D
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Oh, and I have an ongoing project to read every Hugo Award winner and as such have just finished The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (1953 winner). This will probably take some time to complete...
A tragedy that won a Hugo and his masterpiece The Stars My Destination didn't.
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"Darkly Dreaming Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay. I LOVE the show and people always tell me there's so much more/the book is much better so, let's see, I guess...
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I'm not one for reading, which is kind of sad. I really struggle at just taking the time to sit.
that said, im a few chapters into the bhagavad gita. However I stumbled onto a book written in 1872 called "Traditions, Superstitions and Folklore (Chiefly Lancashire And the North of England) their affinity to others in widely-distributed localities; Their Eastern Origin and Mythical Significance" by Charles Hardwick.
It appears to be a pretty good read.
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The amount I read has rocketed since I got a Kindle last Christmas. If you're into fiction I can thoroughly recommend The Book Thief. It's a poignant and beautifully written tale about a girl living in nazi Germany during WW2 and believe it or not narrated by the Grim Reaper (who is a sympathetic character).
Another recent read which impressed is The Sisters Brothers about two renowned hired killers in America circa 1851. This one is narrated by one of the brothers whose perceptions are far from predictable.
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Oh, and I have an ongoing project to read every Hugo Award winner and as such have just finished The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (1953 winner). This will probably take some time to complete...
Cool project! 8)
But are they all still in print?
Some seem to be available in either legit or hooky eBook formats (I mostly read with my Kindle these days due to lack of shelf space), others may be more difficult. I'm only a couple of books in so far though.
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Shakey, Neil Young's biography.
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Songs The Dead Men Sing - George R. R. Martin
I really enjoyed some of George R. R. Martin's early books back in the '80s, but I forgot all about him until I found out he's written a whole series of books they've turned into a TV show (Game of Thrones). So now I'm reading the old stuff again.
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Just picked up "Iron Man" - Tony Iommis autobiography.
Haven't started it yet - will read it on the train next week. Awesome picture of an SG on the back cover - would put Rory Gallaghers to shame...
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Got this through the post yesterday and if you like things Fender shaped it's a must buy! It's not quite as detailed as the Tom Wheeler books, but it's very tasty none the less.
Fender: The Golden Age (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fender-Golden-Age-Martin-Kelly/dp/1844036669). A quick looksy inside for those of you who like this kind of thing. http://www.octopusbooks.co.uk/virtualBook/42-fender-us/
Here's an interesting blog about the book - http://fender.typepad.com/
It's also got a picture of a Jazzmaster in there that I want really badly! Surfburst, oooh I like thee a lot.
(http://cdn.mos.musicradar.com/images/features/fender-book/surfburst-530-85.jpg)
Hmm a Strat in that colour...
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Hmm a Strat in that colour...
Dunno, I think it probably suits the Jazzmaster better. :?
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Halfway through American Gods by Neil Gaiman. It's really good, haven't read any fiction for some time, it's nice to get in to reading proper stories.
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Songs The Dead Men Sing - George R. R. Martin
I really enjoyed some of George R. R. Martin's early books back in the '80s, but I forgot all about him until I found out he's written a whole series of books they've turned into a TV show (Game of Thrones). So now I'm reading the old stuff again.
Are the early ones like GoT? Because I really didn't like GoT.
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I don't know for sure, because I haven't read (or watched) GoT, but I think they're pretty different.
Dying of the Light is science fiction, Fevre Dream is an (excellent) vampire novel, The Armageddon Rag is about strange events which occur when a famous rock band reforms, and the short stories are a mix of science fiction, fantasy and horror.
They were all stand-alone works, so I was quite surprised to see he'd started writing multi-volume epic fantasy
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I have just finished "From the City, From the Plough" by Alexander Baron. Sometimes I feel that I almost have to apologise for reading a novel about WW2. This one I make no apology for. Brilliant characterisation. Not jingoistic and reflective of what it must have been like to live through. Set in the lead up to D Day and beyond, I was absorbed by the richness of the prose. A short book and I finished it in about 4 days-mainly because I didn't want to put it down. Far more interesting than the text books I have to absorb for my professional qualifications and far more memorable!
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I don't know for sure, because I haven't read (or watched) GoT, but I think they're pretty different.
Dying of the Light is science fiction, Fevre Dream is an (excellent) vampire novel, The Armageddon Rag is about strange events which occur when a famous rock band reforms, and the short stories are a mix of science fiction, fantasy and horror.
They were all stand-alone works, so I was quite surprised to see he'd started writing multi-volume epic fantasy
the first 3 books in the game of thrones (a song of ice and fire, is the series title) are some of the best books I've ever read. I loved them. The 4th and 5th books were a proper let down though. especially the latest one.
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Good to see this thread back. :)
Since this year, as has been much publicised, is the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens' birth, I'm trying to read all the Dickens I haven't read previously. At the moment it's Barnaby Rudge.
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They were all stand-alone works, so I was quite surprised to see he'd started writing multi-volume epic fantasy
Might explain why he made such a dogs dinner of the writing process for it then ;)
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I just started reading Dracula (after seeing that thing about Twilight fans giving it dumb reviews), really pleasantly surprised by it.
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Twilight fans gave Dracula bad reviews? Isnt that a bit like Attack Attack fans slagging off Sabbath?
Anywho, havent read anything of note in ages. Feel quite ignorant. I dip in and out of various reference material when the need arises, but I think the last book I read just to read was Iain M. Banks, the algebraist. Rather enjoyed it, but that was easy a year ago :(
No, wait, it was R.Scott Bakker, The White Luck Warrior. That was $%&#ing awesome, but one has to read the 4 preceding books too.
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I just started reading Dracula (after seeing that thing about Twilight fans giving it dumb reviews), really pleasantly surprised by it.
I love it, conjures an amazing amount of atmosphere!
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I read Motley Crue's Autobiography a few years back and I'm really interested in reading Ozzy's. Anybody read either of them?
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I just started reading Dracula (after seeing that thing about Twilight fans giving it dumb reviews), really pleasantly surprised by it.
I love it, conjures an amazing amount of atmosphere!
It's a great book. :D
And something I found very interesting when I read it - to us it's an old-fashioned gothic novel, but when Stoker wrote it, it was very modern - he refers to all sorts of then cutting-edge inventions like the phonograph, telegrams, typewriters and blood transfusions. All of which contrast with the ancient supernatural threat of the Count himself.
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I read Motley Crue's Autobiography a few years back and I'm really interested in reading Ozzy's. Anybody read either of them?
I've read The Dirt, fascinating read. Very interesting to see that Nikki, who comes across in interviews as the reasonable, intelligent one is a complete headcase, whereas Tommy is a sensitive soul from a very stable background.
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I read Motley Crue's Autobiography a few years back and I'm really interested in reading Ozzy's. Anybody read either of them?
I've read The Dirt, fascinating read. Very interesting to see that Nikki, who comes across in interviews as the reasonable, intelligent one is a complete headcase, whereas Tommy is a sensitive soul from a very stable background.
I know, like him being so paranoid that he shot at his own reflection in the mirror haha. I love the bit about where they walk out of Whiskey a GoGo (I think) and Randy Rhoads was hung upside down from a tree by his feet haha
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I read Motley Crue's Autobiography a few years back and I'm really interested in reading Ozzy's. Anybody read either of them?
I've read The Dirt, fascinating read. Very interesting to see that Nikki, who comes across in interviews as the reasonable, intelligent one is a complete headcase, whereas Tommy is a sensitive soul from a very stable background.
I read the Ozzy one. It's good, kinda what you might expect, but a good read none the less.
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I thought 'the dirt' made them all (apart from mick mars, poor bloke) come across as a bunch of knobbers. They have a really over inflated image of their own importance to the rock world. It's only books like this that keep them in the public view. They killed their own career with their actions regarding that Moscow(?) event. They should really have faded from view after their 3rd record.
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Keith Richards biog 'Life' was an amusing and enjoyable read although it gets a lot less interesting once it gets to the 80s (didn't most things regarding rock music... Awaits backlash lol)
The Mick Wall Led Zeppelin biog was ok too (omitting the dull flashback bits)
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Currently reading The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie, really enjoying it.
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I find very little time to read fiction nowadays but I've a few things sitting that I'm picking at. Have sci-fi classic Lord Of Light started and also Gods Behaving Badly, which is a comedy about the Olympians who've lost much of their power because no one believes in them living in modern day London doing jobs related to their ancient roles. Appolo is a TV psychic, Aphrodite is a sex-line worker and Dionysus is a drunken DJ, for instance. Pap but good fun. There's a film in the works with Christopher Walken as Zeus and Sharon Stone as Aphrodite.
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Have sci-fi classic Lord Of Light started
Roger Zelazny? I like some of his books, especially the Amber series.
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Yup. Then I'm going to hit some Alfred Bester stuff. I will fit fiction into the holidays. I will, I WILL!
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Currently cruising though Descartes Mistake, Antonio Damasio (whom furthermore has the many awesome pompadour you've ever seen, the guy rules) since the non-fiction, on the off potential I might possibly understand something, and also The Judging Eye, R. Scott Bakker, to actively avoid learning anything.
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David, excellent choices, both great books. But you may wish to read the title of Descartes Error again (love that book, one of a very small handful that changed how I think about thinking).
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On Christmas list is Riding Shotgun by Gerry McAvoy (35 years on the road with Rory Gallagher and Nine Below Zero)
Superb book. Be prepared to have some of your fears about Rory confirmed though (if they haven't been already, that is). I've read it several times now, the story's told with love, but it's a bit more open about Rory's problems than the offical line on it all.
Yep ... it was a fascinating read.
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I find very little time to read fiction nowadays but I've a few things sitting that I'm picking at. Have sci-fi classic Lord Of Light started and also Gods Behaving Badly, which is a comedy about the Olympians who've lost much of their power because no one believes in them living in modern day London doing jobs related to their ancient roles. Appolo is a TV psychic, Aphrodite is a sex-line worker and Dionysus is a drunken DJ, for instance. Pap but good fun. There's a film in the works with Christopher Walken as Zeus and Sharon Stone as Aphrodite.
Apropos of washed-up deities, I'm probably gonna start my second run through Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" soon.
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Currently trying to read the abridged version of The Gulag Archipelago. I am finding it quite difficult at the moment and haven't picked it up in the last week.
Anyone else read it or a variant of it?
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Skydog - the Duane Allman biography.
Escaping the Delta - Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues
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I find very little time to read fiction nowadays but I've a few things sitting that I'm picking at. Have sci-fi classic Lord Of Light started and also Gods Behaving Badly, which is a comedy about the Olympians who've lost much of their power because no one believes in them living in modern day London doing jobs related to their ancient roles. Appolo is a TV psychic, Aphrodite is a sex-line worker and Dionysus is a drunken DJ, for instance. Pap but good fun. There's a film in the works with Christopher Walken as Zeus and Sharon Stone as Aphrodite.
Apropos of washed-up deities, I'm probably gonna start my second run through Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" soon.
I just started American Gods a couple days ago, as it happened. Then I've got Jeffrey Eugenide's Middlesex, which a couple pals were raving about at dinner on Saturday - about three generations of a Greek-American family, one of whom I think is a transexual and gives it its name, and all their trials and tribulations moving from Asia Minor to the US.
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John Grisham - The Confession
I've never actually bought a Grisham book, but when other people dump their copies in work I read them if I have nothing else! Usually they're quick reads, but this one is heavy going - there's not much plot so he's really dragging it out. :?
Not recommended, I'm afraid.
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I've just the last two book from George Martin's Game of Thrones. I had a large gap of several years in there, between reading the first three and the new ones. Still fun, but he could have edited it down to about half the size, really.