Deliverance

I was actually surprised by how well written this book was. I think there are a lot of easy descriptive words that authors use and it has created a kind of cut and paste writing. But this book was different. I found myself expecting the typical descriptions of people places and happening and was pleasantly surprised to not find it. I would give examples, but unfortunately left the book at home. I think that if you are trying to write it is definitely worth reading to see a better approach to description than you can find just about anywhere else.

As I Lay Dying

When I told someone I was reading this, they responded that Faulkner is a tough read. I don't know about that, but he is definitely one that requires you to pay attention while you read. I was cruising along and the next thing I knew naked people were running around with animals, the barn was burning, and then two of the naked guys started wrestling. huh? definitely not easy reading but a nice change of pace from the type of writing that is prevalent in most of todays books.

Rabbit, Run

This book was quite disturbing. I really didnt think it was that good, but its a perennial bestseller (says so right on the cover), so maybe i missed something. The book seemed to me to glory in a completely self centered point of view. Every character acted nearly exclusively in his or her self interest. It seemed to be written from Ayn Rand's philosophy, but without the majesty of the human condition. The difference being in rand's books it feels like she is advocating something, and updike's book feels like he is describing something. the problem comes from the fact that no one acts like what is described in either book. so like i said, maybe i am missing something, or maybe it keeps selling because people wish they could act that self centered in real life. (or maybe another option i haven't thought of, like i said maybe i missed something in my apathy toward the book.)

Plug for better off ted

Its a new show on ABC that i think is quite funny. it reminds me a bit of the office back when that was about stupid things that happen in an office and not the relationships that seem to dominate that show now. its on tonight so take the time to watch.

Latest Books

Books I finished in the last little while, but not really deserving of their own post.
watchmen
the world according to garp
the spy who came in from the cold
atonement

I Hope Obama Fails

There have been a bunch of Republicans that have been saying that they hope Obama fails with the policy decisions he is making. It started with that nut job limbaugh, and most recently (that i have seen) now thompson.

We all agree that the country is facing some serious problems. the disagreement is on how to fix those problems. By saying that you hope that Obama fails, you are not saying that his policy decisions are wrong (though I am sure they think that too) you are saying that you hope those policy decisions are not effective. I can only think of a few reasons that a person would hope that policy decisions fail: 1) you predicted that they would fail and you want to be proven right; 2) you dislike the person making the policy decisions and hope poorly for them as a person; 3) you want them to fail so that you can again claim power. Another way of classifying these reasons are: 1) petty; 2) petty; 3) petty. What in effect these republicans are saying is that for their petty reasons they want all of us to suffer. I can respect someone who disagrees with obama on how to handle the current crises we face, but someone that hopes he fails for a petty reason (causing all of us to suffer) is not someone i can respect.

fear that he will fail, predict that he will fail, believe that he will fail, but hope that he will fail? That is the epitome of partisan bickering that is everything bad with our political system.

Zuleika Dobson

is the story of a girl who is not very beautiful but so attractive that guys the world over fall in love with her immediately. She goes to oxford where eventually all the undergraduates except one drown themselves to show their love. the one chickens out but when he sees her later, she taunts him and he jumps out a window. she then leaves to go to Cambridge evidently to see if she can get all the guys there to kill themselves too. The most redeeming quality of the book is that it was the genesis of the line "Death cancels all engagements." I thought there was far too much introspection, though i did enjoy the chapter about how the narrator knew the innermost thoughts of all of the characters. all in all, i thought an adequate but not exceptional book.

Winds of the Forelands Series

I don't particularly like most of the easy reads out there so when i want brain candy i look mostly for fantasy books. Because i expect brain candy that is often what i get. from that perspective these books didnt disappoint. the story was fun, the world was new to me, and the good guys win in the end. my only complaint is that they got progressively more sexually explicit. so after two i recommended these books to my little brother but came to realize that i would not have done that if i had finished the series before talking to him.

Facebook

I just recently got on facebook for real, if you are on it send me a friend request.

Brideshead Revisited

So I told a number of people that i was going to read another atwood book (the handmaids tale) next, but my copy of it ended up back at the library before i could grab it so i moved on to brideshead revisited. I really really liked this book. There were a number of layers to it and a lot of diverse messages; from drunk driving is bad, to a persons inner beauty can make them outwardly beautiful as well (though neither of those was the main message). I think this is a book that i could read many times and still not get everything out of it that there is.

Its the story of a boy starting in college and his relationship with a family. he is best friends with one son, and then becomes the paramour of the sister. but he is involved with all of the members of the family. it is a dark book (which is probably why i like it) but dark in the sense that the main character never seems able to be truly and completely happy, despite looking for the happiness. But again, there are so many levels to the book, that if i read it again i am sure i would have a completely different take on it.

on another note, my favorite character had to be aloysius, a gigantic stuffed teddy bear that one of the college students takes with him everywhere, and talks about constantly as if it were a real person.

the blind assassin

not worth the read. i like clssic books because usually with a classic book you either get a view of humanity that makes you re-evaluate your view of human experience, or you get a story that is so embedded in our culture that many many versions or spinoffs or references in other works can be better understood. this had neither thing, and it wasn't even a good story. it is a story within a story, but there are actually four stories going on. the sci-fi adventure, the story of the lady and here paramour (there you go bill dorothy), the story of the old lady, and the story of the old lady when she was younger. turns out three of those are about the old lady fro different points of view, but the style doesnt work for anything great (maybe good but i dont think so). rather it felt like the author became enamoured with writing a story in this style and let that take over the telling of the story. i finished wishing that she would have just told the sci fi story which had a lot of potential in my mind.

attack

I have heard Colorado Springs described as the anti berkley for the number of right wing nut jobs that live here. while it is very conservative, i haven't had many problems (other than some playful threats because of my obama yard sign). however lately i have come under attack for not being pro life enough. i dont think that abortion isever correct except maybe in the case of rape, incest or life of the mother. i dont think that government should provide money for abortions. i think there need to be programs to decrease the number of unintended pregnancies and in that way decease the number of abortions. i think roe v wade was wrongly decided (but my reasons are more legal than i think it was wrong because it permitted abortion). but since abortion is not the number one issue for me, i have been criticized as a flaming liberal. i find it amusing/concerning when an issue is so polarizing that even people on the same side can't stand each other.

but for the record, there are very few places on earth as beautiful to live as the springs (and most of them are also in colorado) and most of the people are actually kind, polite, good people, so dont get the wrong idea from this post.

to kill a mockingbird

disappointing. i thought that the book was good until the end and the end betrayed the point of the book up until that point. while the point of the book was clear, there was a greater point that got lost because of the easy out ending. a book everyone should read, but overhyped in my mind because of the simple ending.

strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde

this was a fun quick read. i especially liked seeing how popular culture took the idea behind the story and changed it to fit their wants. the real story is more of a commentary on basic human nature than a monster story (though one interpretation is that there is a little monster in each of us). frankly stevinson is not ever an easy read, but i liked the book.

Animal Farm

I remember reading this book back in high school and thinking it was a critique of communism. This time through, it does not seem critical of communism but rather supportive. What the book does criticize are the leaders of the communist movement. But at the beginning of the story when the animals are closest to living the ideals set originally, their lives are better than previously. This will lead to one of two interpretations: communism is good, but the leaders of the movement screwed it up, or communism is flawed and cannot work because a person in power will eventually abuse that power.

I don't know what Orwell was trying to say but apart from communism I think it is an apt description of the complacency and intellectual laziness of most people.

The Long Valley

I realized that I have not been talking much about the books I have been reading. Since that is one of the things I most enjoy about writing on my blog I wanted to get back to that.

I just finished a collection of John Steinbeck short stories called The Long Valley. First, you have to know that Steinbeck is one of my favorite authors so I am inclined to like what he writes anyway. Some of the stories were just OK, but the majority of them I really liked. One of my favorite aspects of these stories is seeing certain character types that appear in his longer writings also playing a part in the short stories. For example, Lenny from Of Mice and Men can be seen as quite similar to Johnny Bear the "moron" who unwittingly makes his life and the life of the people that care about him much harder. While I have nothing to support my position, it felt like some of these characters intrigued Steinbeck and he wanted to explore other aspects of their personality in different writings. So if you like Steinbeck, definitely worth reading.

Outrage over Warren

This article describes the proponents of gay rights being outraged by Obama's choice of warren to offer the invocation at the inauguration. One person is quoted as saying "if anyone is under any illusion that Obama is interested in advancing gay equality, they should probably sober up now." This is the problem with people who only care about one political issue. Every decision made is framed in terms of that one issue. It seems to happen with the extreme pro lifers and extreme gay rights activists the most. But honestly, the guy is saying a prayer at Obama's inauguration, he didn't get appointed secretary of homosexuality. Obama campaigned on unity, and what better way to unify than to invite an evangelical to participate in the inauguration. Obama picked an evangelical who has taken a stance on certain issue that many people will not agree with but, at least from what i am reading on this, he is not out there inciting hatred like many others are. So here is my advice, if you are going to be a one issue voter, shut up about your opinion. For most of us, not every decision is about that one issue that you care so dearly about, so stop framing every decision a person makes in terms of that one issue. If you care about it, fine work for it, but realize that the world has more concerns than your one issue.

the end

so i have written on this blog a couple of times about boston legal. sadly this last monday was the series finale, and while they did take on the chinese, gay marriage, pharmaceuticals, the supreme court, religious bigotry, and unfair employment practices in one episode, i was a little disappointed. the highlight of the episode comes in the first 5 minutes and while it is pretty good, it was not all i had hoped. in the end it is a show i am going to miss. there are not a lot of shows out there that can match it for current events commentary and cleverness, even if i didnt always agree with it.

Follow up to petty crap

So i wrote the last post while my paralegal was making sure my motion complied with the judges personal rules, and a little after i wrote this the oposing counsel filed a preemptive motion because i had called to confer with him (as i am obligated to do). so now i don't hate the petty stuff anymore, in fact i am after this guy with a vengence and any little mistake and i am letting him have it with both barrels. (PS, I think i got his paralegal fired because she kept making mistakes, I kept catching them, and now his cases are in the crapper.)

Petty Crap

I think that i will have succeeded in getting two different cases significantly helped along in two days based on incredibly petty application of the rules. While i ethically have to do it for my clients, i really hate the petty crap. I would much rather litigate these cases on the merits. bring on that dog fight, but this petty crap where i say, hey you didnt comply with the rules so give me what i want, i really hate doing that.