Archive for the 'Books' Category

Of Robber Barons and the Tyranny of Busy Bodies

Allen January 26th, 2007

C. S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors. He had a grasp of human nature that more people should read. The Narnia series is a wonderful read (even for adults) and the Screwtape Letters are a classic.

I just read in OpinionJournal’s Political Diary a great quote from CS:

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busy-bodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

Allen Turned Resolutely To Writing

Allen July 12th, 2005

He bent his will to the task at hand.  He had always felt a desire, a burning desire to write a review of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.  He didn’t just want to write a review, but the best review possible.  To take the essence of his soul and pour it into writing the superlative review that the world would hail from this day forward.

Others had told Allen that writing such a review was impossible.  That trying to capture how wooden and stilted Ayn’s prose sounds at times is a folly attempted only by those who are too conceited to recognize their own limitations.  But Allen sneered at such worms.  He felt that only he could show how Ayn would hammer her characters into the thin sheets of tin.  Tin characters who would endlessly spout her philosophy.  Only he could bend his will to the surmounting of this task.  And when he was finished, only Allen would stand triumphant in the field of literary criticism.  Of this fact, Allen was sure.

He smiled slightly as he typed these words.  It was a smile of resolution.  A smile of a job well done.  And done beyond the expectations of mere mortals.

Allen pushed the "Save" button.

Don Markstein’s Toonopedia

Allen October 24th, 2004

With links to toons both wholesome and wicked, Don Markstein’s Toonopedia is a invaluable resource for those who love toons both on-screen and on-paper.

While some of my later favorites (Bone, in particular) is not present, Don has done an outstanding job cataloging all kinds of toons:

  • What famous shoe company started out as a cartoon?
  • What Harvey characters have a resemblance to The Three Bears by Chuck Jones?
  • What comic characters have aged as the years go by?
  • What comic set in WW2 featured a character from the Civil War?
  • Irregardless of what others might say, did you know that ‘druthers’ is not a real word?
  • That one toon was specifically mentioned in the Book of Revelations as one of the abominations that signals the end times?

    • Actually, I made the last one up. I re-found some old characters that I had long forgotten and I hope that you can discover (or re-discover) some toons at Don’s great page.

    Ta-Pocketa-Pocketa-Pocketa

    Allen September 29th, 2004

    One of my favorite authors is James Thurber. His writings revealed a soul of wit and humor. One of my favorite memories of Junior High School at Western Oaks was our production of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”.

    For those of you not familiar with the short story, Walter Mitty is a day-dreamer who escapes his nagging wife and hum-drum existence with escapes of fantasy. It was turned into a play and then finally a movie with Danny Kaye. Although Thurber didn’t like the movie, I have always loved it. I am disappointed to find that most of the DVDs on sale are imports with unknown region encoding.

    However, I am able to get a ‘Thurber fix’ by downloading My World and Welcome To It from Audible.com.

    So when will this classic movie be re-released on DVD? I look forward to this day.

    As a note, it appears that Jim Carrey is interested in a re-make.

    New Amazon Review Policy

    Allen August 31st, 2004

    Amazon.com has a new policy regarding user written reviews:

    Important note from Amazon.com: We’ve decided to suspend our normal customer review policies and rules for this title. For example, we usually prohibit ad hominem attacks. That policy in particular seems to be incompatible with presidential election year politics. Therefore, short of obscenities, reviews on this book are now a free-for-all. We take no responsibility for the following discussion. Aren’t presidential election years great? Have fun!

    For what books is this new policy in place?

    American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush by Kevin Phillips? No.
    The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill by Ron Suskind? No.
    Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush by John W. Dean? No.
    House of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World’s Two Most Powerful Dynasties by Craig Unger? No.
    Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror by Richard A. Clarke? No.
    Bait and Switch: Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy (Global Horizons) by Julie A. Mertus? No.
    Bushwhacked : Life in George W. Bush’s America by Molly Ivins? No.
    The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception by David Corn? No.
    Dude, Where’s My Country? by Michael Moore? No.
    Stupid White Men : …And Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation! by Michael Moore? No.
    A Call to Service: My Vision for a Better America by John Kerry? No.
    Tour of Duty : John Kerry and the Vietnam War by Douglas Brinkley? Closer, but no.
    Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry by John E. O’Neill? Yes.

    I’m stunned. I think Amazon shouldn’t let spittle-lipped wackos write any reviews. Doing so only lowers the level of discourse. Amazon should remain in the driver’s seat with regard to user written reviews. Such editorial control is not squashing of free speech. Go read the 1st Amendment again if you think so.

    But to allow such “reviews” for only one book? I’m stunned.

    Book Review: Who’s Your Caddy

    Allen July 19th, 2004

    I recently completed a new audible.com book, Who’s Your Caddy? The link is to the audio CD while what I listened to was the audible.com electronic version.

    This is a wonderful listen for those who have been playing golf for a long time or even those who are just getting re-aquainted with the game (my status).

    My favorite chapter is the section where the author is caddying for a blind golfer and then proceeds to play a round of blind golf himself. It reminds us of why we engage in recreational activities in the first place.

    Heartily recommended “reading”.

    President Clinton’s My Life

    Allen June 18th, 2004

    I was listening to NPR’s Morning Edition report on President Clinton’s My Life on my way in to work today and had several reactions to the piece.

    As a basis of understanding, I still like Clinton in some ways. I realize many conservatives loath him, but I never reached that point. He was weak in his response to prior terrorist actions, but no more so than previous presidents. I have problems with him lying under oath, but that’s sort of like hating dogs because they pant during the summer. It’s simply built in. I feel that Clinton’s impeachment seriously lowered the bar for future impeachments. Anytime you start an investigation into corruption regarding real estate speculation and end up with why some intern was doing funky things with a cigar means the investigation was never really about real estate speculation.

    Having laid that groundwork, here are some thoughts on what struck me funny. All quotes are paraphrases.

    01:19 Self-Serving:
    Clinton says, “A lot of people say memoirs are dull and self-serving. I hope mine are interesting and self-serving.” Classic line. Even if Clinton was a lying SOB, at least he was an entertaining lying SOB.

    01:45 Badge of Honor:
    Clinton says, “I think my impeachment is a badge of honor.” While I feel that it was probably not in the best interest of the public to impeach you, it is not a badge of honor. It’s a stain — not something you can simply dry-clean away.

    02:00 Conseling To Save the Marriage:
    He and Hillary underwent a year-long session in counseling to save their marriage. I can think of another reason why Hillary stayed married to him.

    02:15 Harry Potter:
    The publisher is releasing the book at 12:01AM, hoping to generate a “Harry Potter” type feeding frenzy in the reading public. If so, what Harry Potter book are they hoping to emulate?

  • Harry Potter and Protagoras’ Stone
  • Harry Potter and the Hall Closet of Secrets
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Trouskaban
  • Harry Potter and the Intern on Fire
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Harpy

    • OK, OK, enough gratuitous jokes.

    03:50 Unpleasant War:
    One bookstore owner says that it is understandable why some look back on Clinton with fondness, given the unpleasant war going on. As opposed to all the pleasant wars we’ve had in the past? Perhaps she ought to stock books other than Clinton’s memoir and Pat-The-Bunny.

    So A Snake Didn’t Bite Him After All

    Allen April 8th, 2004

    CBS is reporting that they have found the missing plane of Antoine de Saint-Exupery. He was last reported flying a mission for the Allies in 1944.

    Read CBS News | ‘Little Prince’ Mystery Solved | April 7, 2004?16:45:10 for the full details.

    Then go read, or re-read, Saint-Exupery’s classic tale, The Little Prince.

    Complete web-site encyclopedia of Tolkien’s works.

    Allen January 6th, 2004

    The Encyclopedia of Arda

    Oh dear God. My daughter will go crazy over this. A complete web-site encyclopedia of Tolkien’s works. It’s all there, from what I can fathom.

    I might not see her for a couple of weeks.

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