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JIMMY'S (from Chichester) 50 BOOKS READ IN 2015
17.
by
Leonard MlodinowFinish date: February 2015
Genre: Science; Mathematics
Rating: A
Review: Let's suppose you are on Let's Make a Deal with Monte Hall. There are three doors to choose from. Behind the doors are a goat, a can opener, and a new car. You want the new car. You pick door #3. Now Monte Hall says he will trade you door #3 for door #1. First he shows what's behind door #2: a goat. Now should you trade door #3 for door #1 in the hopes of getting a new car? Here are your three choices: (A) Trade because the odds are greater of getting a new car if you trade, (B) Don't trade because the odds are less, or (C) It doesn't matter because the odds are equal. Make your choice and explain why you did so, and I will tell you if you are right. By the way, the great mathematician Paul Erdos got this wrong.
Here's another story. A pilot trainer yells at trainees who mess up and they do better landing next time, but when he praises a pilot for landing well, the trainee does worse next time. Is it better to yell? No, but you can see why coaches think it works. Odds are that the pilot who messed up will do better no matter what. Those who did well will eventually do worse.
Story #3: the probability that two events will both occur can never be greater than the probability that each will occur individually. Yet intelligent people continually think otherwise. Unless an odd detail is added. So what I am learning from this book is really about how human ignorance can occur. And I always want to be vigilant about myself and my own ignorance. I'm a Socratic believer in the idea that ignorance is at the root of all our ills.
#4: Legend has it that Paul Erdos quit amphetamines for a month and said, "Before, when I looked at a piece of blank paper my mind was filled with ideas. Now all I see is a blank piece of paper."
#5: The chances of an event depend on the number of ways in which it can occur.
#6: Try the birthday game at a party. Chances are that two people there will share the same birthday. I have done this in a classroom, and it usually works.
#7: In 1654, Fermat, he of Fermat's last theorem fame, held a high position in the Tournelle, or criminal court, in Toulouse. Pierre de Fermat is usually considered the greatest amateur mathematician of all time. But he also condemned people to be burned at the stake.
#8: For the last 8 years of Pascal's life, he committed himself to God. He sold everything except his Bible and gave his money to the poor. He wore an iron belt with points on the inside. When he was in danger of feeling happy, he pushed the spikes into his flesh. This was Pascal's Wager: Betting on the existence of God.
#9: Grading papers. I can speak from experience on this one. We had to grade papers from around the state on a scale of 1 to 4. We had examples of each. Yet some teachers gave horrible papers a 4 because they had "sincerity" or some such nonsense and others gave great papers a 1 because they were too structured.
#10: Voting recounts. Why does every recount get a different number? Great question. It never comes out the same. Says something about the system.
#11: Best way to gain 30 points on your SATs is to take the test a few more times. Law of averages means you will eventually get a better score.
#12: Wine tasting is a bit of a sham. No need to go into the details. You knew it all along, didn't you?
#13: There were 1,000 more highway fatalities after 9/11 because people were afraid of flying.
#14: Table moving in the mid 1800s was caused by the fidgeting of the participants with their hands on the table.
#15: The psychologist Bruno Bettelheim said survival in Nazi concentration camps "depended on one's ability to preserve some areas of independent action, to keep control of some important aspects of one's life despite an environment that seemed overwhelming."
#16: Nursing home residents given control of their rooms lived longer and were happier than those who had no control.
#17: Nobel laureate Max Born: "Chance is a more fundamental concept than causality."
#18: When an event is happening it is difficult to see the outcome. Later we can't understand why we didn't respond better. President Obama's measured approach is probably the best. Things happen because of many minor factors beyond the control of most people.
#19: Observers tend to have a lesser view of victims. A high view of wealthy people.
#20: Vodka has no difference in flavor whatsoever. Yet ask anyone who drinks it and they will tell you otherwise. How stupid is that?
#21: Stephen King's Richard Bachman books did not sell until people knew it was him.
#22: A final word of advice from Thomas Watson: "If you want to succeed, double your failure rate."
What a great list, Jimmy! Is the Analects accessible without a solid background in Chinese philosophy/history, or is it better to do some research there first? 
by
Confucius
Mod
On your citations make sure to have one blank space before the word by and one blank space after it (for 52 and 53) and also before the parens in (no photo)
The way I figure it - you have a 50/50 chance of getting the car. It depends on how you look at C - are they really trying to give you the car by suggesting the swap or not. I think I would stay with where I was - at least I knew I was not getting a goat. So I guess I would choose B.
Katie, you do not need a background in Chinese to read Confucius. In any case, there is usually an introduction.
Bentley, most people make the mistake of thinking you have a 50-50 shot at the car. The truth is that you should always trade for the curtain because your odds increase to 2 to 1. Think about it.
Mod
Nothing to do with me, Bentley. It's a proven mathematical fact. It's called the Monty Hall Problem: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Ha...
It's fascinating how people still refuse to believe it. Paul Erdos had to be convinced finally by using a computer to see that it was indeed better to trade for the curtain (or door) by 2 to 1 odds. And "Ask Marilyn" almost had her career destroyed by those who didn't believe her.
Mod
However the house (the show) just like the casino has the best odds - they know what is behind the two doors and you don't.
You only know the door that has a goat behind it. I see the documentation and the odds defy what folks would assume - I can see why Erdos wanted statistical and computerized models.
Bentley wrote: "The mathematical fact of what you are documenting is what I was discussing. Simply that.However the house (the show) just like the casino has the best odds - they know what is behind the two doo..."
There's a great book book on this:
by Jason Rosenhouse(no photo).
Mod
MARCH 201518.
by
Li-Young LeeFinish date: March 2015
Genre: Poetry
Rating: A-
Review: These are poems about beginnings, about families, about the search for a god. I also love that Mr. Lee in his biography says nothing of any MFA (Master of Fine Arts) and that he works in a warehouse. My kind of poet.
Mod
Everything else is fine. MFA? Master of Fine Arts? Or something else?
19.
by
Oliver SacksFinish date: March 2015
Genre: Psychology
Rating: B+
Review: This book has probably lost some of its value over time, but it still holds some interest. I did have a few questions that I want to find more about.
I wondered about the veracity of all the stories. Can they all be corroborated? Has anyone questioned their truth?
Is it right to write about these people like they were some sort of freak show to make money? Or does it add to our knowledge and understanding?
Several stories though I do have to say that I could verify through my own experiences working with people who have developmental disabilities.
Your second question is really interesting, I hadn't really considered it. I would guess (hope?) that the families or loved ones of the subjects would have given the okay before anything was published. From what I remember, the people involved didn't seem to me like they were being portrayed as freaks. If anything it made me a lot more aware of myself, and how a small shift in the brain can alter perception so radically.
20.
by
Charles SimicFinish date: March 2015
Genre: American Poetry
Rating: A
Review: One of our best poets. Here is a famous example:
In the Library
for Octavio
There's a book called
A Dictionary of Angels.
No one had opened it in fifty years,
I know, because when I did,
The covers creaked, the pages
Crumbled. There I discovered
The angels were once as plentiful
As species of flies.
The sky at dusk
Used to be thick with them.
You had to wave both arms
Just to keep them away.
Now the sun is shining
Through the tall windows.
The library is a quiet place.
Angels and gods huddled
In dark unopened books.
The great secret lies
On some shelf Miss Jones
Passes every day on her rounds.
She's very tall, so she keeps
Her head tipped as if listening.
The books are whispering.
I hear nothing, but she does.
21.
by
Natalie Zemon DavisFinish date: March 2015
Genre: History; Middle Ages
Rating: A-
Review: This is the true story written by the woman who was the historian helping out with the movie version with the great French actor Gerard Depardieu, who also wrote a book about the movie. I recommend both the movie and the book. I learned a lot about village life in 16th century France.
The peasant Martin Guerre goes off to war to fight with the Spanish Army. After being away for a few years, an imposter arrives. The peasant Arnaud du Tilh pretends to be Martin Guerre. He takes over Guerre's wife, property, and life. Finally, about three years later, the real Guerre will arrive on a wooden leg and denounce him. Arnaud will be hung as a result. Although the author leaves some room for doubt about who is who.
Here are two 16th century quotes about marriage in France: 1. "Femme bonne qui a mauvais mary, a bien souvent le coeur marry." A good wife with a bad husband often has a sorry heart. 2. "Amour peut moult, argent peut tout." Love may do much, but money more.
Another 16th century quote about the sex life of village boys: "I hardly knew what it was to be in love, but nowadays there is hardly a young man past fifteen who hasn't tried something out with the girls."
Here is a quote from the same time period about peasant homes: "They call themselves Lords and Ladies of such-and-such a house, even if it is only a pigpen."
And this one as well: "Throughout this country, the people are gay. They are always laughing, joking, and dancing, women and men both."
As far as Martin Guerre arriving on one leg, Horace once said that punishment comes on a limping leg. And there is a Languedoc curse: "Le maulubec vous trousse." May your leg sores turn you lame.
by
Gérard Depardieu
Sounds great! Another for my list. Thanks!
You are on a roll, Jimmy. Good progress.
22.
by
Linh DinhFinish date: March 2015
Genre: American poetry
Rating: C+
Review: Here is one I liked:
t h e d e a d
by Linh Dinh
The nine-year-old hockey puck
Bounced from the fender of an olive truck
Now bounces a leather ball on his forehead.
The old lady who scrounged potted meat
From foreign men lying in a mortar pit
Now sells gold jewelry in Santa Barbara.
The dead are not dead but wave at pretty strangers
From their pick-up trucks on Bolsa Avenue.
They sit at formica tables smoking discount cigarettes.
Some have dyed their hair, changed their name to Bill.
But the living, some of them, like to dig up the dead,
Dress them in their native costumes, shoot them again,
Watch their bodies rise in slow motion.
23.
by
Junot DíazFinish date: March 2015
Genre: Fiction; Dominican Republic.
Rating: A+
Review: A truly great book for those who can appreciate what it is trying to do. It was declared the "best book" of the 21st century by The Guardian which of course means the debates start. No idea about that one, but it is a great novel.
The main character is an overweight Dominican nerd. The book is filled with references to all sorts of nerdy stuff. And some not so nerdy. But for me, it had great characters, great writing, and a great story. I loved it.
Some people found the language offensive. Really? Aren't we grown ups? You want to know what's offensive? Rafael Trujillo, the Dominican dictator who ruled for over 30 years. He played a prominent part in the many footnotes in the book. If you need to be offended, try that.
Jimmy wrote: "23.byJunot DíazFinish date: March 2015
Genre: Fiction; Dominican Republic.
Rating: A+
Review: A..."
I really like your review, Jimmy. I have heard so much about this book and the author but haven' gotten down to reading it. I may have to move it up on my list.
24.
by
Donald HallFinish date: March 2015
Genre: Essays; autobiographical on New Hampshire poet.
Rating: A
Review: As the great New Hampshire poet Donald Hall reached 80, he could no longer write poetry, but he could still write prose, so he wrote essays of an autobiographical nature. Here is that collection. Poems about love and death, about other famous poets. Wistful and entertaining.
25.(no image)The Islandian Poems & Fables by Dudley Laufman(no photo)Finish Date: March 2015
Genre: Poetry; Fables; Fantasy.
Rating: A-
Review: A small but wonderful book of fables, poems, and stories about the mythical country of Islandia.
Mod
26.
by
Dai SijieFinish date: March 2015
Genre: Fiction; Chinese cultural revolution.
Rating: A+
Review: What a wonderful story. It is my second time reading it, and it just got even better. It reminded me of a recent novel I read: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. Both books deal with the utter horrors of evil governments: the dictatorship of Trujillo in the Diaz novel and the excesses of Maoism in the Sijie novel. Sijie's story does it in a more subtle way. For example, when Luo goes to a "dentist," the wrong tooth is pulled out. That's because educated professionals were killed and shamed and brought to "re-education" camps. Tens of millions of people died. But we don't see that here. It's there between the lines.
by
Junot Díaz
It sounds really interesting so my list of books to read is growing longer and longer! Thanks, Jimmy!
27.
by
Philip LarkinFinish date: March 2015
Genre: Poetry
Rating: B
Review: To give a famous poet only a B means I did not like him as much as others did. Here is his most famous oft quoted poem. It is not typical of his verse, however:
This Be The Verse
BY PHILIP LARKIN
They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.
But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another’s throats.
Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don’t have any kids yourself.
28.
by
Phyllis Reynolds NaylorFinish date: March 2015
Genre: Children's literature; autobiography.
Rating: B-
Review: A nice book for young children who want to be writers. She rightfully points out that writers will look back on their young efforts with embarrassment at how awful they are. It takes a long time to learn how to write. She talks about rejection slips from editors, rewriting, importance of reading, and so on. I like her story about how she thought she wasn't poor because her family had books in the house.
Good Jimmy, don't that little "d" in date.
APRIL 201529.
by
Atul GawandeFinish date: April 2015
Genre: Non-fiction; death.
Rating: A
Review: The author begins with a brief discussion of The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy. I remember reading that story as one of the first to deal with death realistically. For example: "What tormented Ivan Ilyich most was the deception, the lie, which for some reason they all accepted, that he was not dying but was simply ill, and he only need keep quiet and undergo a treatment and then something very good would result." Later Ivan wishes "for someone to pity him as a sick child is pitied."
A Mr. Lazaroff told his doctor not to give up on him. Do everything possible. Patients live to regret such comments.
Death is not a failure. Death is normal.
Mainstream doctors are often turned off by geriatrics. There is nothing glamorous in it.
"Old age is not a battle. Old age is a massacre."--Philip Roth in Everyman
Our elderly end their lives in a safe environment but empty of all they care about.
The three plagues of nursing homes: boredom, loneliness, and helplessness.
The great philosopher Ronald Dworkin spoke of "autonomy." We need to shape our own lives, write our own stories.
End of life discussions often come when it's way too late. Cancer patients who took advantage of interventions had a substantially worse quality of life in the last six weeks than those who did not.
Adults used to die fairly quickly.
I was lucky enough to hear the great paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould speak just two weeks before he died. And that was twenty years after he was expected to die.
There are times, dare I say it, that those evil insurance companies are correct in not wanting to pay extravagant amounts of money for extreme measures for the terminally ill.
People who choose hospice and palliative care live about 25% longer than those who don't.
And I hope that Sarah Palin is permanently in the corner with her dunce cap on for talking about "death panels."
In 380 BCE, Plato wrote a dialogue called Laches, in which the question What is courage? is discussed. The characters never define it, but the reader thinks courage is strength in the face of knowledge of what is to be feared or hoped.
There may be a danger of too much dependency on speeding up a person's death.
Scholars refer to the "dying role": people want to share memories, pass on wisdoms and keepsakes, settle relationships, establish their legacies, make peace with their god, and make sure those they leave behind are okay.
The author finishes with the death of his father. He had an amazing invention: a toilet that would wash his bottom with a burst of water and dry it as well. How cool is that!
by
Leo Tolstoy
by
Philip Roth
30.
by
Johann Wolfgang von GoetheFinish date: April 2015
Genre: Classics; German literature
Rating: B
Review: When a young Johann Wolfgang von Goethe learned of a man's suicide, he asked his girlfriend to find out all she could about him. The result was this fictional story based on an actual event. It is a classic study in depression.
It loses something over time, but it is also far ahead of its time. Consider the hero who looks at the world as a prison and life just "prolongs his miserable existence." But "however confused he may be, he always carries in his heart a sweet feeling of freedom in the knowledge that he can leave his prison whenever he likes."
31.
by
Kahlil GibranFinish date: April 2015
Genre: Anthology of parables
Rating: D-
Review: A collection of parables translated by Anthony R. Ferris. I probably would have enjoyed these more when I was younger--a lot younger.
The preface is the most interesting part of the book. Gibran was a fascinating man who wanted a world free of oppression, ignorance, suffering, superstition. What he saw was a world where the rich and powerful abused the poor and weak. But if his solution to the problem is the nonsensical stories gathered here, we are never going to solve such problems.
I plan on rereading that one soon. See if it still affects me.
Everybody was in a swoon about it back in the day. I have a feeling it may seem a little trite today but I may be wrong. Let me know what you think if you decide to re-read it.
32. (no image) We Are But A Moment's Sunlight: Understanding Death edited by Charles S. Adler (no photo). Finish date: April 2015
Genre: Anthology of death literature
Rating: C+
Review: A collection of literature about death. The author's do an excellent job of collecting famous samples of death lit. As with any collection, there are some works that I would have included. So here are five samples that were NOT in the book:
1. Song from Cymbeline: “Fear no more the heat o’ the sun”
By William Shakespeare
Fear no more the heat o’ the sun,
Nor the furious winter’s rages;
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages:
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.
Fear no more the frown o’ the great;
Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke;
Care no more to clothe and eat;
To thee the reed is as the oak:
The scepter, learning, physic, must
All follow this, and come to dust.
Fear no more the lightning flash,
Nor the all-dreaded thunder stone;
Fear not slander, censure rash;
Thou hast finished joy and moan:
All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee, and come to dust.
No exorciser harm thee!
Nor no witchcraft charm thee!
Ghost unlaid forbear thee!
Nothing ill come near thee!
Quiet consummation have;
And renownèd be thy grave!
2. From Thanatopsis
By William Cullen Bryant
So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan which moves
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.
3. Speech from Macbeth (spoken by Macbeth): “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow”
By William Shakespeare
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
4. A Man Said to the Universe
By Stephen Crane
A man said to the universe:
“Sir, I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe,
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”
5. Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night
By Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
and
by
William Shakespeare
William Cullen Bryant
Stephen Crane
The Dylan Thomas poem is one of my favorites. Thanks for adding it. Don't forget to cite the other authors mentioned in your post. Thanks.
Dylan Thomas
33.
by
Carl SaganFinish date: April 2015
Genre: Science of the brain
Rating: B
Review: Any book on the brain written in the 70s is going to be outdated. For example, Sagan wasn't sure if different parts of the brain affected different things. But an enjoyable read.
He does make one important point clear early on: the "mind" is just a function of the brain. Dualists who think they are two different things are flat out wrong. I have had people look me straight in the eye without even blinking and say that if a person's brain were destroyed, their mind would still function normally.
34.
by
Jean-Paul Sartre edited by
Simone de BeauvoirFinish date: April 2015
Genre: Letters.
Rating: D
Review: Okay, here's the funny part. The great philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre (the author of Nausea, No Exit, and Being and Nothingness) referred to his true love Simone de Beauvoir (author of The Second Sex) as "My darling Beaver" in virtually every letter he wrote to her.
As if that weren't bad enough, he ended his letters with thoughts like the following:
My dear little flower, I love you with all my might.
I yearn to cover your face with kisses.
I'm burning to see you again.
I send you a warm hug.
I love you so much, you little paragon.
I'm almost there within your little paw, which I kiss fervently.
We two are one, my little jewel.
I send you a big kiss, face of the well-trod path.
I send you a kiss for your little cheeks.
I would so like to squeeze your little arm.
I want to squeeze you like a lemon.
Now in between all of that, you would think two great philosophers would talk about something . . . oh, I don't know . . . say . . . philosophical? Unfortunately, no. Just sheer boredom. I learned almost nothing about either of them. Except that Jean-Paul is a dork.
Jean-Paul used the code name Emma to evade censorship.
Sartre was famous for lacking in personal hygiene. In another book, I read that it was Beauvoir who convinced him to smoke a pipe to cover up his body odor. Here his male friends refer to him as "too filthy." One man refuses him objects until "Once you've washed." Once he shaved and washed up, which "created quite a stir in the courtyard." And he kept unclean "despite the danger of catching lice."
Sartre wanted Camus to direct and play the male lead in No Exit.
by
Sartre Jean Paul
by
Simone de Beauvoir
Albert Camus
Good grief!!!! Sounds like a total bore, Jimmy. I'm surprised you finished it.
35.
by Michael Waldman (no photo). Finish Date: April 2015
Genre: History of second amendment
Rating: A
Review: Okay, if you don't want to read an anti-NRA rant, and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't, then please avoid reading these comments. But I'm a bit rankled right now because of what that group is doing in my state of NH. As I write this, a bill is being passed to allow anyone with a gun license, and that includes just about everyone, to carry a concealed, loaded weapon. Shame on the NRA and their backers. The only people benefiting from this are the gun manufacturers. So I guess all that ridiculous Republican talk about creating jobs meant lots of jobs making guns. That and more tax cuts for the rich.
To put it bluntly, if the NRA wanted a penny from me, they would have to pry it "out of my cold, dead hands." Why do people join up? I don't get it. All I see are gun ranges filled with young children learning about guns. Play baseball with your friends! Michael Moore even spoke of being a member. Couldn't he find a better place to be a member and spend his money? And any cop who is a member cannot be thinking clearly.
I have seen many NRA bumper stickers, but I have never seen a single one that mentioned "a well-regulated militia." The "Founding Fathers" would be appalled at this disgrace. Nothing in that amendment means you can own an assault rifle, an automatic weapon, armor-piercing bullets, or concealed handguns.
Gun regulations have been common throughout our history. There's nothing wrong with them. In fact, they help to preserve order and control unnecessary violence. This book gives plenty of examples.
One particularly shocking line came from Patrick Henry warning about losing slavery. He said, "They'll take your niggers away from you," to the sound of laughter, according to the book. And as always to this day, the fear of African-Americans with guns sent out fear.
In 1871, the NRA was created to train men to shoot safely and accurately. General Ambrose Burnside was the 1st president. It almost collapsed, but the federal government helped it out by giving the members surplus guns. The focus shifted to hunting. It expressed unease with gun laws but never opposed them.
The tumult of the 1960s changed all that. In March 1963, an article in the NRA magazine advertised a rifle. A man named "A. Hidell" bought it through the mail. He was Lee Harvery Oswald. How could someone unseen buy a rifle and ammunition through the mail? Crazy, right? So Congress considered new gun laws. Had NRA supposed support, but somehow gun owners wrote to their reps to bury the bill. Now the gun lobby itself was being investigated.
I can remember a personal incident in my life. I was getting a ride from an Air Force officer when I was in the military. I gave him a hard time because of his NRA sticker on his dashboard. I said he had "blood on his hands." Thinking back, I have absolutely no regrets for saying that. I wish I still had that kind of moxie.
Race entered the picture. "The Armed Citizen" became a column warning about race riots. They profiled vigilantes. Guns & Ammo warned about "Communists and leftists who want to lead us into the one-world welfare state." The South and the Southwest became the most gun addicted parts of the country. As American Heritage magazine said, "having a gun was a white prerogative."
Backlash only made the NRA more vocal. Good senators and representatives lost their jobs for daring to oppose the NRA. Same thing happened in the 90s with the banning of assault rifles.
The incident known as "the revolt in Cincinnati" had to do with the cheap handgun known as the Saturday night special. Many NRA members were upset about their group and wanted changes. They were tired of these political shenanigans. They moved to Colorado from Cincinnati to focus on real gun issues and not opposing all laws. But the gun radicals took revenge. They turned off the air conditioners. Neal Knox said that maybe the assassinations were possibly part of a larger conspiracy to "disarm the people of the free world." I'm not shitting you. He really said that. The change had come. From now on, it was 2nd amendment all the time, no matter what.
Political changes occurred as well. Southern racist Democrats left the party for the Republicans. The GOP that consisted of rich people who cared about the arts, education, and those who were "less fortunate" disappeared.
Evangelical Christian churches underwent a similar change. Those who voted for Jimmy Carter were now voting for Ronald Reagan and no gun laws.
A new coalition was forming. The Chamber of Commerce became more powerful and more Republican. No longer were corporations supporting both parties like they used to. The split had formed. A belief in "tradition" and "service to country" gave way to "freedom" and "mistrust of government." The patriotism that my father taught me seemed to have disappeared.
There was one hiccup on the road: the Brady Bill which Reagan supported. You don't see that support any more in the NRA.
It was Wayne LaPierre who referred to government agents as "jack-booted thugs." Not long after that, Oklahoma City happened. George H. W. Bush resigned from the group to protest its incendiary rhetoric. Good for him!
Let me quote you from Mr. Charlton Heston:
I am not really here to talk about the Second Amendment or the NRA, but the gun issue brings into focus the culture war that's going on.
Rank-and-file Americans wake up every morning, increasingly bewildered and confused at why their views make them lesser citizens. . . . Heaven help the God-fearing, law-abiding, Caucasian, middle class, Protestant, or--even worse--Evangelical Christian, Midwest, or Southern, or--even worse--rural, apparently straight, or--even worse--admittedly heterosexual, gun-owning, or--even worse--NRA-card-carrying, average working stiff, or--even worse--male working stiff, because not only don't you count, you're a downright obstacle to social progress. . . . That's why you don't raise your hand. That's how cultural war works. And you are losing.
And who can forget his crazy fighting words:
. . . I want to say those fighting words for everyone within the sound of my voice to hear and to heed--and especially for you Mr. Gore. FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS! As he held up a rifle.
The new incredibly expensive headquarters has a text on the wall of the 2nd amendment. Yeah, right, but guess what part they leave out. You guessed it: "well-regulated militia."
Four times the Supreme Court had held that the 2nd amendment did not give right to individual gun ownership. The NRA had to do something about that. And they did. Articles came out saying how the judges got it wrong so many times.
Those who fought against this tried to be reasonable. But the problem has been best expressed by Robert Frost and his definition of a liberal: "someone so open-minded he will not take his own side in an argument."
It is very important to note this: No respected historian ever defended the NRA point of view. Revisionism came from lawyers and professors. And they were well supported by guess who. Law review articles are NOT subject to peer review like science and history articles are.
By the way, Patrick Henry never said, "the great object is, that every man be armed." Donate $10,000 to the NRA and you are a Patrick Henry Member. I guess they never got the word.
And Jefferson NEVER said "one loves to possess arms" talking about guns. He was talking about letters. That doesn't stop the NRA. You can still get a t-shirt from them with those words on it. How do they get away with this? Lots of money.
It was the Heller decision written by Scalia that changed the traditional interpretation of the 2nd amendment. It gave everyone the right to carry a weapon. Scalia twisted the meaning of the words in their historical context. And he simply ignored the opening about the well-regulated militia thing because that is just so awkward, you know. It is not worth going into Scalia's details. Conservatives who complain about "activism" were pretty activist.
Two years later, this same court followed with Citizens United. Look what that has done to politics. Since then, an attack on the Voting Rights Act. Next time you vote, remember the Supreme Court.
A year before the Sandy Hook massacre, Newton rang with gunfire: automatic weapons and explosions. Residents were shooting late at night. Someone was shooting propane tanks. When the town wanted an ordinance to prevent this or at least control it, guess who fought it. The town council retreated. The NRA is powerful everywhere. After the massacre, Obama tried to do something. The NRA won again. It wasn't worth the effort.
George W Bush passed a bill outlawing lawsuits against gun manufacturers.
Louisiana's children are shot 3 times as much as other children in America. But they have a law protecting guns as a fundamental right.
The day may come when we finally stand up to the NRA, but I don't see it coming very soon.
36.
by
Jenna LeFinish date: April 2015
Genre: Poetry
Rating: A
Review: This book is divided into six sections that all appear to me to represent parts of the author's life: The Perfume River in Hue, the Charles River in Boston, the Mississippi River in Minnesota, the Hudson River in New York, the aorta or left ventricle of the heart, and the river Styx.
"Dissociation of sensibility" is a literary term first used by T. S. Eliot in his essay “The Metaphysical Poets”. It refers to the way in which intellectual thought was separated from the experience of feeling in seventeenth century poetry. One of the things I love about Ms. Le's poetry is that she has, in my view, integrated the intellectual and the everyday, the personal and the universal, in a way that makes her poetry such a joy to read.
MAY37.
with introduction by
Billy CollinsFinish date: May 2015
Genre: Slam and hip-hop poetry
Rating: C
Review: The poetry on the page wasn't very good. A DVD goes along with it. I enjoyed that more, which is the point of spoken word poetry.
Here is one example:
"The Foxhole Manifesto"
by Jeffrey McDaniel
There are no atheists in foxholes.
--old Christian proverb
The first god I remember was a Santa Claus god, who you only
turned to around Christmas time,
who you tried to butter up, and then got mad at if you didn't
get what you wanted.
That didn't make sense. I knew if there was a god, he could see
through us, like we were made
out of cellophane, like he could stare directly into our hearts
the way we look into an aquarium,
like he'd know what was floating around in there, like he might be
the one feeding it.
Then there were those people who used god to threaten you,
saying you better
be careful--god's watching, like god was a badass hillbilly
sitting in some cloud
with a pair of binoculars, a cotton candy beard, a six pack,
and a shotgun.
Then I saw people who had Jesus' name on their bumper sticker,
like he was running for president.
And sometimes those people with Jesus on their bumper sticker
would cut you off
on the freeway and give you the finger, which is very different
from lending you a hand.
Then there were people on television, dressed in weird clothes
and scary make-up, swearing
they had the secret to god, like god was a keyhole and their eyeball
was pressed to it, and if I just
gave 'em some money they'd let me look, and then I could see god
just hanging around in his boxer shorts,
and though I liked the idea of spying on god, I began to wonder
if the world would be a healthier place
if the Romans had just put up with Jesus and let him die of old age.
And then there were the football players, kneeling down in front
of everybody, thanking god,
like he was their best friend, but then they'd jump up and spike
the ball, yell I'm number one,
and I'd be confused, because if you're number one, then
what number is god?
Then I saw politicians trotting god out on a leash, like a racehorse
they wanted to hop on
and ride to the finish line. But if they lost it would be god's fault
and god would be the donkey
they'd pin all their problems on, and that was very nice of god:
to be both a race horse and a donkey.
And then there were those who said you better be good on Earth
if you wanna get into heaven,
like heaven was the United States, and Earth was Mexico, and angels
were border patrol. Like when you die
you sit in a parked car on the outskirts of heaven, the engine idling,
your soul in the back seat in one of those kennels
used to carry small dogs on airplanes, as you listen on the radio to all
the people you ever wronged testify against you.
And then there was the church which was like this cafeteria, where
they served god to you on these very
un-godlike plates, but I wanted my god pure, and not watered down
by human beings, so I just had one of those
catastrophe gods-- you know, the one you only turned to in an emergency,
like god's the national guard you call in
to clean up the earthquake of your life. So I got drunk one night,
drove home, passed out behind the wheel,
woke up, going sixty straight at a brick wall, slammed the brakes, heart
banging like a wrecking ball in my chest,
staring at death's face in the bricks, close enough to see we had
the same cheekbones.
Now I have a god who's like a mechanic who can fix anything,
so when I wanna chew somebody's head off
like a saltwater taffy, or amputate my DNA, or open my wrists
like windows that have been painted shut,
I just put my soul into a box, like a busted computer, and haul it in.
And he never asks to see my paperwork,
or says my warranty has expired. And I walk out feeling better.
And I don't care if he doesn't exist.
38.
by
Nina BennettFinish date: May 2015
Genre: Poetry chapbook
Rating: A
Review: Sound Effects is a wonderful little chapbook of poems that are accessible and a joy to read. Here is an example:
Leap Year
If I ask you to marry me and you refuse,
you have to buy me a silk dress,
according to ancient Scottish law.
A silk dress might be nice. I'd like
mine to be emerald, to match my eyes.
I want a sash to show off my slender waist,
and long sleeves to hide my skinny arms.
The skirt should be full so it will swirl
about my legs as I walk. If you feel angst
over turning me down, you could buy
high heels to match my dress.
39.
edited by Jon Winokur (no photo). Finish date: May 2015
Genre: Zen quotations
Rating: B+
Review: Book of Zen quotes. Problem with Zen for me is that it can be a destructive philosophy. It tears down everything in a rather smug way. Here are some samples that I thought were interesting:
"There ain't no answer. There ain't going to be any answer. There never has been an answer. That's the answer."
--Gertrude Stein
"The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there."
--Robert Pirsig
"If you wish to attain an orthodox understanding of Zen, do not be deceived by others. Inwardly or outwardly, if you encounter any obstacles kill them right away. If you encounter the Buddha, kill him."
--Rinzai
"The great end of life is not knowledge but action."
Thomas Henry Huxley
"Action should culminate in wisdom."
Bhagavad Gita
"Inaction may be the highest form of action."
--Jerry Brown
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, wither thou goest."
--Ecclesiastes, 9:10
"When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself."
--Shunryu Suzuki
"Do every act of your life as if it were your last."
--Marcus Aurelius
"How can you think and hit at the same time?"
--Yogi Berra
"A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
--Saul Bellow
"I think I think; therefore, I think I am."
--Ambrose Bierce
"Words, as is well known, are great foes of reality."
--Joseph Conrad
"We can never have enough of that which we really do not want."
--Eric Hoffer
Tom Seaver: Hey, Yogi, what time is it?
Yogi Berra: You mean now?
"Time is the only true purgatory."
--Samuel Butler
"Life is suffering."
--The Buddha
"Life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced."
--Soren Kierkegaard
"If there is a sin against life, it consists perhaps not so much in despairing of life as in hoping for another life and in eluding the implacable grandeur of this life."
--Albert Camus
"Die before ye die."
--Muhammad
"A dying man needs to die as well as a sleepy man needs to sleep, and there comes a time when it is wrong, as well as useless, to resist."
--Stewart Alsop
"While I thought that I was learning how to live, I had been learning how to die."
Leonardo Da Vinci
"Observe things as they are and don't pay attention to other people."
--Huang Po
"Hope and fear cannot alter the seasons."
--Chogyam Trungpa
"Nature is what she is--amoral and persistent."
--Stephen Jay Gould
"Nature is not anthropomorphic."
--Lao Tzu
"I believe in God, only I spell it Nature."
--Frank Lloyd Wright
"My father considered a walk among the mountains the equivalent of churchgoing."
--Aldous Huxley
"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop."
--Confucius
"Attachment to spiritual things is just as much an attachment as inordinate love of anything else."
--Thomas Merton
"The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness."
--Eric Hoffer
When a monk asked, "What is the Buddha?" Ummon (863-949 CE) replied, "A shit-wiping stick."
"A person who says, 'I'm enlightened!' probably isn't."
--Baba Ram Dass
"Sometimes it proves the highest understanding not to understand."
--Gracian
"How dieth the wise man? As the fool."
--Ecclesiastes, 2:16
"In baseball, you don't know nothing"
--Yogi Berra
40.
by
Jorge Luis BorgesFinish date: May 2015
Genre: Stories, essays, and parables.
Rating: A+
Review: I loved this book. I will continue reading parts of it over again. But it is not for everyone. I would never recommend it because I know many readers would not appreciate his writing.
41.
by
James Clavell Finish date: May 2015
Genre: Fable; young adult lit
Rating: B
Review: What a bizarre, creepy book. I am not sure what to make of it. In fact, that's what I said when I finished it: Now what do I make of THAT!
42.
by
Alarie Tennille Finish date: May 2015
Genre: Poetry
Rating: A-
Review: Simple, accessible poetry.
The History Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (other topics)Introducing Evolution: A Graphic Guide (other topics)
For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet's Journey (other topics)
Carville: Remembering Leprosy in America (other topics)
Moloka'i (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Loung Ung (other topics)Dylan Evans (other topics)
Richard Blanco (other topics)
Marcia G. Gaudet (other topics)
Alan Brennert (other topics)
More...
Finish date: February 2015
Genre: Oriental Philosophy; Confucius.
Rating: A+
Review: One of the great classics of world literature. Worth reading for the parts that still apply. Confucius describes himself as a transmitter, not an originator. The book may not contain any original sayings. Its main philosophical idea is to avoid extremes. That's also an ancient Greek idea. One can do no better than to follow that precept.
In some places, the orifices of a corpse were plugged up to prevent the soul escaping and doing harm to the community. In China, mortuary jades were used in the same way.
The currently accepted dates of the life of Confucius are 551 to 479 BCE.
Book I
1. ... To learn and at due times to repeat what one has learnt, is that not after all a pleasure?...
3. ... Clever talk and a pretentious manner are seldom found in the Good....
Book II
2. ... Let there be no evil in your thoughts....
15. ... He who learns but does not think is lost....
17. ... Yu, shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, to recognize that you know it, and when you do not know a thing, to recognize that you do not know it. That is knowledge.
18. ... Hear much, but maintain silence as regards doubtful points and be cautious in speaking of the rest; then you will seldom get into trouble. ...
Book VI
2. ... He had a great love of learning. ...
Book VII (My personal favorite.)
2. ... I have listened in silence and noted what was said, I have never grown tired of learning nor wearied of teaching others what I have learnt. These at least are merits which I can confidently claim. ...
4. In his leisure hours the Master's manner was very free-and-easy, and his expression alert and cheerful.
5. ... How utterly things have gone to the Bad with me! It is long now indeed since I dreamed that I saw the Duke of Chou.
6. ... lean upon Goodness, seek distraction in the arts.
7. ... none has ever come to me without receiving instruction.
8. ... Only one who bursts with eagerness do I instruct; only one who bubbles with excitement, do I enlighten. If I hold up one corner and a man cannot come back to me with the other three, I do not continue the lesson.
10. ... The man who was ready to 'beard a tiger or rush a river' without caring whether he lived or died--that sort of man I should not take. I should certainly take someone who approached difficulties with due caution and who preferred to succeed by strategy.
15. ... Any thought of accepting wealth and rank by means that I know to be wrong is as remote from me as the clouds that float above.
16. ... Give me a few more years, so that I may have spent a whole life in study, and I believe that after all I should be fairly free from error.
18. The Duke of She asked Tzu-lu about Master K'ung. Tzu-lu did not reply. The Master said, Why did you not say, 'This is the character of the man: so intent upon enlightening the eager that he forgets his hunger, and so happy in doing so, that he forgets the bitterness of his lot and does not realize that old age is at hand. That is what he is.'
19. ... I for my part am not one of those who have innate knowledge. I am simply one who loves the past and who is diligent in investigating it.
20. The Master never talked of prodigies, feats of strength, disorders, or spirits.
21. ... Even when walking in a party of no more than three I can always be certain of learning from those I am with. There will be good qualities that I can select for imitation and bad ones that will teach me what requires correction in myself.
23. ... My friends, I know you think that there is something I am keeping from you. I take no steps about which I do not consult you, my friends. Were it otherwise, I should not be Ch'iu (the familiar name for Confucius).
24. The Master took four subjects for his teaching: culture, conduct of affairs, loyalty to superiors, and the keeping of promises.
26. The Master fished with a line but not with a net; when fowling he did not aim at a roosting bird.
27. ... There may well be those who can do well without knowledge; but I for my part am certainly not one of them. To hear much, pick out what is good and follow it, to see much and take due note of it, is the lower of the two kinds of knowledge.
31. When in the Master's presence anyone sang a song that he liked, he did not join at once, but asked for it to be repeated and then joined in.
33. The Master said, As to being a Divine Sage or even a Good Man, far be it from me to make any such claim. As for unwearying effort to learn and unflagging patience in teaching others, those are merits that I do not hesitate to claim. Kung-hsi Hua said, The trouble is that we disciples cannot learn.
Book VIII
17. ... Learn as if you were following someone whom you could not catch up, as though it were someone you were frightened of losing.
18. ... Sublime were Shun and Yu! All that is under Heaven was theirs, yet they remained aloof from it.
Book IX
7. The Master said, Do I regard myself as a professor of wisdom? Far from it. But if even a simple peasant comes in all sincerity and asks me a question, I am ready to thrash the matter out, with all its pros and cons, to the very end.
24. ... if you have made a mistake, do not be afraid of admitting the fact and mending your ways.
Book XII
2. ... Do not do unto others what you would not like yourself. ...
Book XIII
24. ... Best of all would be that the good people in his village loved him and the bad hated him.
Book XV
11. ... He who will not worry about what is far off will soon find something worse than worry close at hand. (Hear that climate change deniers?)
20. ... The demands that a gentleman makes are upon himself; those that a small man makes are upon others.
23. Tzu-kung asked saying, Is there any single saying that one can act upon all day and every day? The Master said, Perhaps the saying about consideration: Never do to others what you would not like them to do to you.
30. ... I once spent a whole day without food and a whole night without sleep, in order to meditate. It was no use. It is better to learn.
Book XVII
3. ... It is only the very wisest and the very stupidest who cannot change. (I hope I'm on the very wisest side.)