This is just too good to be true - except it is, and it's coming straight from John's mouth.
5.26.2008
FOX Pundit Wishes for Obama Assassination, Laughs
The incident happen[ed] in an exchange with the FOX News anchor. When asked her opinion of the recent scandal surrounding some comments made by Sen. Hillary Clinton, which [Liz] Trotta described by saying that, "some are reading [it] as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama" [,] Hemmer quickly corrected Trotta, having noticed that she had said "Osama" when she meant "Obama." At this point, Trotta said, "Obama. Well...both if we could!" Trotta then laughed gleefully.
The U.S. Constitution even protects slime like Fox News and Liz Trotta.
5.25.2008
Going to the Gone
by Greg Asimakoupoulos
May 23, 2008
Go look in on your children still asleep
within their bed.
Remind yourself they're safe and warm
because of some long dead.
Go for a walk through cemeteries
lined with little flags.
Take time to ponder homebound heroes
flown in body bags.
Go stand between those granite stones
engraved with names and dates.
Imagine all who died defending
our United States.
Go on and kneel beside a marker
offering a prayer
with gratitude for those who gave their lives
defeating terror.
Go home and count your blessings
from the hands of those now gone.
Then vow to the Almighty that their
mem'ry will live on.
May 23, 2008
Go look in on your children still asleep
within their bed.
Remind yourself they're safe and warm
because of some long dead.
Go for a walk through cemeteries
lined with little flags.
Take time to ponder homebound heroes
flown in body bags.
Go stand between those granite stones
engraved with names and dates.
Imagine all who died defending
our United States.
Go on and kneel beside a marker
offering a prayer
with gratitude for those who gave their lives
defeating terror.
Go home and count your blessings
from the hands of those now gone.
Then vow to the Almighty that their
mem'ry will live on.
5.19.2008
Which Sports Car are You?
I'm a Lamborghini Murcielago!
You're not subtle, but you don't want to be. Fast, loud, and dramatic, you want people to notice you, and then get out of the way. In a world full of sheep, you're a raging bull.
Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.
That's funny - I don't feel like a Lamborghini Murcielago.
Wm. Shakespeare on Torture
I fear you speak upon the rack,
Where men enforced do speak anything.
William Shakespeare (1564–1616), British dramatist, poet. Portia, in The Merchant of Venice, act 3, sc. 2, l. 32-3. She fears Bassanio may not be honest in his protestations of love.
For Cassandra, a lover of the Bard, who needs to be reminded that torture causes the tortured to say what they think their torturers want to hear.
Where men enforced do speak anything.
William Shakespeare (1564–1616), British dramatist, poet. Portia, in The Merchant of Venice, act 3, sc. 2, l. 32-3. She fears Bassanio may not be honest in his protestations of love.
For Cassandra, a lover of the Bard, who needs to be reminded that torture causes the tortured to say what they think their torturers want to hear.
5.17.2008
We won't call this hypocrisy ...
... we'll call it irony:
"Firearms WILL NOT be allowed in Hall A during the Celebration of American Values Leadership Forum."
At the National Rifle Association's annual convention yesterday in Louisville, KY, convention-goers could not get in if they were packing heat or blades. We understand, because the scheduled speakers included presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, and the Secret Service sets the rules in such circumstances. Even NRA big shots had to go through the screening. Thousands found themselves standing in a long, slow, feeder line before they even reached one of the lines that stretched in front of each metal detector.
"Firearms WILL NOT be allowed in Hall A during the Celebration of American Values Leadership Forum."
At the National Rifle Association's annual convention yesterday in Louisville, KY, convention-goers could not get in if they were packing heat or blades. We understand, because the scheduled speakers included presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, and the Secret Service sets the rules in such circumstances. Even NRA big shots had to go through the screening. Thousands found themselves standing in a long, slow, feeder line before they even reached one of the lines that stretched in front of each metal detector.
5.16.2008
Plus Ça Change … No Surprise - Government Adopts Policy To Screw Vets
Official Urged Fewer Diagnoses of PTSD
Why do we put up with this shabby treatment of our Vets?
A psychologist who helps lead the post-traumatic stress disorder program at a medical facility for veterans in Texas told staff members to refrain from diagnosing PTSD because so many veterans were seeking government disability payments for the condition.
"Given that we are having more and more compensation seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out," Norma Perez wrote in a March 20 e-mail to mental-health specialists and social workers at the Department of Veterans Affairs' Olin E. Teague Veterans' Center in Temple, Tex. Instead, she recommended that they "consider a diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder."
Why do we put up with this shabby treatment of our Vets?
5.15.2008
Appeal to Probability
The appeal to probability is a logical fallacy. It assumes that because something could happen, it is inevitable that it will happen. This is flawed logic, regardless of the likelihood of the event in question. The fallacy is often used to exploit paranoia. While not considered a "true" fallacy by some (because it is rarely used by itself), the appeal to probability is a common trend in arguments, enough for many to consider it a fallacy of itself.
This has the argument form:
Possibly P.
Therefore, P.
Equivalently, using modal logic and logical connective notation:
\Diamond P → P
Some examples are:
* "There are many hackers that use the internet. Therefore, if you use the internet without a firewall, it is inevitable that you will be hacked sooner or later."
o While using a firewall is a prudent and sensible measure, it is not "inevitable" that a hacker will attack an unprotected computer. The argument does have some backing logic, but overstates the worst case scenario.
* "It doesn't matter if I get myself into debt. If I play the lottery enough, some day I'll win the jackpot, and then I can pay off all my debts."
o A reversal of the previous argument, as it is dependent on the best case scenario coming true. This is a dangerous argument, hinged on the relatively small (usually in the thousands or millions to one) odds of winning the jackpot, or at least enough to make a large enough difference to someone's debts, and then using these small odds to justify excessive amounts of debt.
* "When soccer becomes popular in a town, hooliganism will become a major problem. Thus, if we allow a soccer team in our town, we will be overrun by hooligans."
o This is another argument that assumes a worst-case scenario, without any other backing logic. In a addition, it also falsely implies that correlation means causation, as it assumes that soccer is the direct cause of hooliganism, without taking into account other socio-economic factors.
The logical idea behind this fallacy is usually that, if the probability of P occurring is approaching 1, it is best to assume that P will occur, since it will (almost) almost surely happen. The fallacy incorrectly applies a common tenet of probability: given a sufficiently large sample space, an event X of nonzero probability P(X) will occur at least once, regardless of the magnitude of P(X). This is derived from the definition of probability. The operative term is "given a sufficiently large sample space". Virtually all events are considered for probability within a finite number of samples, and the chance that X will occur in a given finite space S is directly proportional to S. Given a finite number of events S, each of which is X or not X, a sample space Y = 2PrS exists where one possibility is that all events in S are not X. Therefore, P(X in Y) = (Y-1)/Y. Because Y-1/Y < 1 for all finite Y, P(X in Y) < 1 regardless of P(X) or Y. There is thus always a chance that X will not occur, and therefore, no proof that X will occur given its probability.
CAPICE?
This has the argument form:
Possibly P.
Therefore, P.
Equivalently, using modal logic and logical connective notation:
\Diamond P → P
Some examples are:
* "There are many hackers that use the internet. Therefore, if you use the internet without a firewall, it is inevitable that you will be hacked sooner or later."
o While using a firewall is a prudent and sensible measure, it is not "inevitable" that a hacker will attack an unprotected computer. The argument does have some backing logic, but overstates the worst case scenario.
* "It doesn't matter if I get myself into debt. If I play the lottery enough, some day I'll win the jackpot, and then I can pay off all my debts."
o A reversal of the previous argument, as it is dependent on the best case scenario coming true. This is a dangerous argument, hinged on the relatively small (usually in the thousands or millions to one) odds of winning the jackpot, or at least enough to make a large enough difference to someone's debts, and then using these small odds to justify excessive amounts of debt.
* "When soccer becomes popular in a town, hooliganism will become a major problem. Thus, if we allow a soccer team in our town, we will be overrun by hooligans."
o This is another argument that assumes a worst-case scenario, without any other backing logic. In a addition, it also falsely implies that correlation means causation, as it assumes that soccer is the direct cause of hooliganism, without taking into account other socio-economic factors.
The logical idea behind this fallacy is usually that, if the probability of P occurring is approaching 1, it is best to assume that P will occur, since it will (almost) almost surely happen. The fallacy incorrectly applies a common tenet of probability: given a sufficiently large sample space, an event X of nonzero probability P(X) will occur at least once, regardless of the magnitude of P(X). This is derived from the definition of probability. The operative term is "given a sufficiently large sample space". Virtually all events are considered for probability within a finite number of samples, and the chance that X will occur in a given finite space S is directly proportional to S. Given a finite number of events S, each of which is X or not X, a sample space Y = 2PrS exists where one possibility is that all events in S are not X. Therefore, P(X in Y) = (Y-1)/Y. Because Y-1/Y < 1 for all finite Y, P(X in Y) < 1 regardless of P(X) or Y. There is thus always a chance that X will not occur, and therefore, no proof that X will occur given its probability.
CAPICE?
In Shocking Deference to Law, Republican Activist Judges Uphold Supremacy of California Constitution Over Tyranny of Majority Rule
Gay People In California are Now Free To Be as Happy or Miserable as the Rest Of Us
The Court's Opinion
The Court's Press Release
Washington Post Coverage
New York Times Coverage
Advocate Coverage
National Review Coverage
Jim Manzi at National Review
Eugene Volokh courtesy of Andrew Sullivan
Just a Girl in Short Shorts Coverage
Los Angeles Times Coverage
CNN Coverage
MSNBC Coverage
Log Cabin Republicans' Commentary
James Dobson Shits Himself
5.11.2008
We can’t decide if we’re surprised or not …
Today’s New York Times has a story today about a decision by a military judge to disqualify a top Pentagon official from any further role in a Guantánamo war crimes case. The story characterizes the decision as “a formal ruling that [gives] new force to critics’ accusations of improper political influence over this country’s first use of military commissions since World War II”:
Why are we undecided about whether to be surprised? We’re not surprised, because as anyone who has read about these Guantanamo tribunal cases (and has even the slightest sense of fairness) knows, the administration’s military commissions system is fundamentally unfair to the accused. We’re surprised, because it seems that the administration’s stone-wall against fairness in these commissions is starting to crack. But we’re not surprised, because we have faith in the American legal system and that competent, conscientious lawyers trained in it will be unable to continue the fraudulent manipulation of public opinion, and these commissions, for its own political purposes.
Congratulations to Navy Capt. Keith J. Allred, a stand-up guy who has had enough and has the courage of his convictions.
Guantánamo Ruling Bodes Ill for System
At issue is the role of a Pentagon office called the “convening authority,” which oversees the military prosecutors and has extensive power over the defense lawyers and judges in the cases against Guantánamo detainees. One role of that office is to be a neutral arbiter, deciding such matters as allocation of resources for both the defense and prosecution and which charges brought by prosecutors should go to trial.
But military defense lawyers and other critics have said officials running that office have overstepped the bounds of impartiality by pushing prosecutors to charge more detainees and to use evidence obtained under coercive interrogations.
Lawyers said the ruling set the stage for new challenges that could slow even the administration’s highest priority Guantánamo prosecution, against six detainees for the 2001 terrorist attacks. One of the six is Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-professed planner of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
“The military judge has said that, at the very least, there are grave appearance problems with this system,” said Michael J. Berrigan, the deputy chief defense counsel for the Guantánamo cases.
The judge, … Navy captain [Keith J. Allred], provided the critics with pages of new material to underscore their attacks on the system. He said he accepted accusations by a former Guantánamo chief prosecutor, Col. Morris D. Davis, that a military official with broad powers over the tribunal system, Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Hartmann, had exerted improper influence over the prosecutors.
“Telling the chief prosecutor (and other prosecutors),” the decision said, “that certain types of cases would be tried and that others would not be tried, because of political factors such as whether they would capture the imagination of the American people, be sexy, or involve blood on the hands of the accused, suggests that factors other than those pertaining to the merits of the case were at play.”
Why are we undecided about whether to be surprised? We’re not surprised, because as anyone who has read about these Guantanamo tribunal cases (and has even the slightest sense of fairness) knows, the administration’s military commissions system is fundamentally unfair to the accused. We’re surprised, because it seems that the administration’s stone-wall against fairness in these commissions is starting to crack. But we’re not surprised, because we have faith in the American legal system and that competent, conscientious lawyers trained in it will be unable to continue the fraudulent manipulation of public opinion, and these commissions, for its own political purposes.
Congratulations to Navy Capt. Keith J. Allred, a stand-up guy who has had enough and has the courage of his convictions.
5.08.2008
Republicans Officially Condemn Motherhood
Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 178 Republicans in the House of Representatives cast their votes against H. Res. 1113, "Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day." Our sources inform us that the Grouchy Old Poofters plan next to take up efforts to challenge apple pie, baseball and fireworks on the 4th of July.
I guess the world really is coming to an end. It's about time, too!
I guess the world really is coming to an end. It's about time, too!
5.06.2008
Republican Effort To Stem Voter Fraud Pays Off
About 12 Indiana nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place by a fellow sister because they didn't have state or federal identification bearing a photograph.
Sister Julie McGuire said she was forced to turn away her fellow members of Saint Mary's Convent in South Bend, across the street from the University of Notre Dame, because they had been told earlier that they would need such an ID to vote.
The nuns, all in their 80s or 90s, didn't get one but came to the precinct anyway.
"One came down this morning, and she was 98, and she said, 'I don't want to go do that,'" Sister McGuire said. Some showed up with outdated passports. None of them drives.
They weren't given provisional ballots because it would be impossible to get them to a motor vehicle branch and back within the 10 days allotted by the law, Sister McGuire said. "You have to remember that some of these ladies don't walk well. They're in wheelchairs or on walkers or electric carts."
Those pesky Catholic nuns just won't be deterred, however:
Nonetheless, she said, the convent will make a "very concerted effort" to get proper identification for the nuns in time for the general election. "We're going to take from now until November to get them out and get this done. You can't do this like school kids on a bus," she said. "I wish we could."
A wall between the USA and Mexico is fine and dandy, but it's clear we need a wall between church and state!!
Go to Original
Reminder: Logical Fallacies
Appeal to Authority or Argument by Authority
An appeal to authority or argument by authority is a type of argument in logic consisting on basing the truth value of an assertion on the authority, knowledge, expertise, or position of the person asserting it. It is also known as argument from authority, argumentum ad verecundiam (Latin: argument to respect) or ipse dixit (Latin: he himself said it). It is one method of obtaining propositional knowledge, but a fallacy in regard to logic, because the validity of a claim does not follow from the credibility of the source. The corresponding reverse case would be an ad hominem attack: to imply that the claim is false because the asserter lacks authority or is otherwise objectionable in some way.
An appeal to authority or argument by authority is a type of argument in logic consisting on basing the truth value of an assertion on the authority, knowledge, expertise, or position of the person asserting it. It is also known as argument from authority, argumentum ad verecundiam (Latin: argument to respect) or ipse dixit (Latin: he himself said it). It is one method of obtaining propositional knowledge, but a fallacy in regard to logic, because the validity of a claim does not follow from the credibility of the source. The corresponding reverse case would be an ad hominem attack: to imply that the claim is false because the asserter lacks authority or is otherwise objectionable in some way.
5.03.2008
4.29.2008
Hypocrisy Alert
White House Visitors: A public privilege
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Well, well. It looks like what's good for the Democrats is not so good for the Republicans. Remember how President Clinton's opponents used the White House's visitor logs to learn about a bunch of stuff Clinton would much rather have kept on the down-low (a list of donors, Monica Lewinsky's visits, fundraisers, etc.)?
Now, the Bush administration is seeking to keep the visitor logs under wraps, even as a federal appeals court seems to question the legitimacy of the argument that the visitor records being protected under executive privilege (as White House documents) and out of the public's hands for about a decade. In December, another federal judge ordered that the records, kept by the Secret Service, be released. The Associated Press reports that, "If released, the documents would show how often prominent religious conservatives visited the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's residence, allowing a glimpse into how much influence they exerted on government policy."
Gosh. What, specifically, is the Bush administration trying to hide? One judge on the panel tried to get to the bottom of it when he asked, "What in the documents are so quintessentially presidential?" He didn't seem to accept that the name of a visitor was to be protected.
"That's a public building. You can stand out on 17th Street and watch who goes in and out," said the judge. We hope that the courts ultimately see that citizen groups have a right to know who is glad-handing the president and why.
I cannot wait for the new administration to start looking into this. The members of the current administration took an oath to uphold the United States Constitution; instead, they have treated it like it was an American Flag at a rally led by Islamic Rage Boy. Bring on the special investigations; bring on articles of impeachment; bring on aggressive interrogation techniques: the country is a war and extreme measures are called for. I'm sure Bush, Cheney, Yoo, Ashcroft, et al., wouldn't mind a little fun, frat-boy prank style.
4.26.2008
Another Saturday at the Friends of the Library
Another glorious day in Southern California, just perfect for a trip to the Friends of the Library bookstore at our friendly neighborhood public library. Little did we know that a local history buff had recently unloaded his heavily laden shelves of near perfect tomes on WW2 and related issues. We really outdid ourselves today, and have laden our own shelves with the following gems:
"Stalingrad - The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943" by Antony Beevor
"The Scramble for Africa: The White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent from 1876 to 1912" by Thomas Pakenham
"The Pity of War: Explaining World War I" by Niall Ferguson
"Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust" by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen
"The Holocaust: A History of the Jews of Europe During the Second World War" by Martin Gilbert
"Official Secrets: What the Nazis Planned, What the British and Americans Knew" by Richard Breitman
"The Arms of Krupp: The Rise and Fall of the Industrial Dynasty That Armed Germany at War" by William Manchester
This is heavy stuff indeed, but (after we plow through the many other unopened books sitting on our shelves) we are anxious to dig in. Last year, we read "Les Bienveillantes" by Jonathan Littell. It is a book written in French by an American, recounting WWII from the perspective of one man on the "inside". It is probably the first book written in French by an American to win the prestigious "Grand Prix du Roman" of the Académie Française. In it, Jonathan Littell lets us relive the horrors of the Second World War from the point of view of an SS officer: the epic of a man propelled by the struggle within himself and by events beyond his control. Among the challenges he faces is the Russian Front in winter 1942-1943, struggling to survive and to come to terms with his conscience.
The same period is the subject of "Stalingrad - The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943". The jacket cover gives us a glimpse of what awaits us inside:
We have many pages to go before can begin cracking these, but have much to look forward to. Much to which to look forward? Argghh!
Postscriptum
Gosh - we forgot we also picked up "Mao: The Unknown Story" by Jung Chang (Author), Jon Halliday in hardcover. We're reading "Monsieur Le Consul" by Lucien Bodard right now. It is a fictionalized account of the author's actual youth in China, as the son of the French Consul General to China in the early 20th Century, before the Cultural Revolution. The China depicted is filthy, violent, almost feudal, with warring factions led by "Seigneurs de la Guerre" (war lords) abusing their power for personal and political gain. Our interest has been so piqued by Bodard's stories, that we are feeling pulled in the direction of reading "Mao: The Unknown Story" by Jung Chang (Author), Jon Halliday before we jump back into Europe. Merveilleux!
"Stalingrad - The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943" by Antony Beevor
"The Scramble for Africa: The White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent from 1876 to 1912" by Thomas Pakenham
"The Pity of War: Explaining World War I" by Niall Ferguson
"Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust" by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen
"The Holocaust: A History of the Jews of Europe During the Second World War" by Martin Gilbert
"Official Secrets: What the Nazis Planned, What the British and Americans Knew" by Richard Breitman
"The Arms of Krupp: The Rise and Fall of the Industrial Dynasty That Armed Germany at War" by William Manchester
This is heavy stuff indeed, but (after we plow through the many other unopened books sitting on our shelves) we are anxious to dig in. Last year, we read "Les Bienveillantes" by Jonathan Littell. It is a book written in French by an American, recounting WWII from the perspective of one man on the "inside". It is probably the first book written in French by an American to win the prestigious "Grand Prix du Roman" of the Académie Française. In it, Jonathan Littell lets us relive the horrors of the Second World War from the point of view of an SS officer: the epic of a man propelled by the struggle within himself and by events beyond his control. Among the challenges he faces is the Russian Front in winter 1942-1943, struggling to survive and to come to terms with his conscience.
The same period is the subject of "Stalingrad - The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943". The jacket cover gives us a glimpse of what awaits us inside:
"On August 23, 1942, Hitler's 16th Panzer Division halted on the banks of the Volga. To their [sic] right, the city of Stalingrad blazed from the first of General von Richthofen's air raids, which ultimately killed 40,000 civilians. Many German soldiers thought the war against Russia was won. But in Stalin's namesake city on the Volga, Hitler had chosen the wrong target. The battle of Stalingrad would be the most pitiless, and perhaps the most important, battle in history. When the fighting was over, the world would begin to believe for the first time that Hitler could be defeated. The story of Stalingrad is extraordinary in every way. Hitler had told General Paulus that with his Sixth Army, the most powerful in the Wehrmacht, he could 'storm the heavens.' But then, in a sudden encirclement, over a quarter of a million of Paulus's men were trapped. Far from home, the attackers were subjected to a terrible siege in a cruel Russian winter, as Goering's boasts that the Luftwaffe could maintain supplies proved empty. Hitler, unable to face the truth of his own disaster, refused his starved and frozen army permission to surrender. Goebbels ordered that their last letters home be destroyed".
We have many pages to go before can begin cracking these, but have much to look forward to. Much to which to look forward? Argghh!
Postscriptum
Gosh - we forgot we also picked up "Mao: The Unknown Story" by Jung Chang (Author), Jon Halliday in hardcover. We're reading "Monsieur Le Consul" by Lucien Bodard right now. It is a fictionalized account of the author's actual youth in China, as the son of the French Consul General to China in the early 20th Century, before the Cultural Revolution. The China depicted is filthy, violent, almost feudal, with warring factions led by "Seigneurs de la Guerre" (war lords) abusing their power for personal and political gain. Our interest has been so piqued by Bodard's stories, that we are feeling pulled in the direction of reading "Mao: The Unknown Story" by Jung Chang (Author), Jon Halliday before we jump back into Europe. Merveilleux!
4.11.2008
Quote(s) of the Day
"Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace." Dwight D. Eisenhower
"A leader is a dealer in hope." Napoleon Bonaparte
"Duty, honour, country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn." Douglas MacArthur
"We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes." John F. Kennedy
"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." Martin Luther King Jr.
"Freedom is the right to question and change the established way of doing things. It is the continuous revolution of the marketplace. It is the understanding that allows us to recognize shortcomings and seek solutions." Ronald Reagan
"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves." Abraham Lincoln
"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both." Dwight Eisenhower
"A leader is a dealer in hope." Napoleon Bonaparte
"Duty, honour, country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn." Douglas MacArthur
"We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes." John F. Kennedy
"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." Martin Luther King Jr.
"Freedom is the right to question and change the established way of doing things. It is the continuous revolution of the marketplace. It is the understanding that allows us to recognize shortcomings and seek solutions." Ronald Reagan
"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves." Abraham Lincoln
"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both." Dwight Eisenhower
3.29.2008
Saturday afternoon ...
Although I have been fighting an obnoxious chest cold-sinus infection since Wednesday, the weather was outstanding in sunny Southern California today, and I was unable to resist the lure of the ocean breezes and the "Friends of the Library" bookstore at my favorite public library in Newport Beach. I have become accustomed to purusing the shelves at NBLP's FOTL store, and today I came away with a couple of gems-in waiting. In fact, over the last month or so, I have developed quite a habit, thanks to bargains like these:
"Dictionary of Classical Mythology" by J.E. Zimmerman
"The Iraq Study Group Report" by Lawrence S. Eagleburger, Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Edwin Meese III, Sandra Day O'Connor, Leon E. Panetta, William J. Perry, Charles S. Robb, Alan K. Simpson, James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton
"Half a Life" by V.S. Naipaul
"Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith" by Jon Krakauer
"We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families: stories from Rwanda" by Philip Gourevitch
"The Story of Civilization VII: The Age of Reason Begins", by Will and Ariel Durant
"The Story of Civilization II: The Life of Greece", by Will Durant
"Fiasco: The American Military Adventure In Iraq" by Thomas E. Ricks
"New Recipes From Moosewood Restaurant"
"Simple Italian Food: Recipes from My Two Villages" by Mario Batali
Another goodie waiting for me, as soon as I finish a couple others which have been on deck for a while longer, is "de Kooning: An American Master" by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan, for which I confess I paid something closer to retail, so anxious am I to get into it.
Another I'm watching the bargain bins for is "The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century" by Alex Ross. It SOUNDS like something concerning the kind of music my youngest listens to these days (with vocals a cross between screaming and vomiting), but it's about twentieth-century and contemporary classical music (and hopefully some 21st century things as well). I'm holding out for a bargain, but may be unable to resist the temptation to pay Amazon-type retail prices if I have to wait much longer.
Mario has several ideas I can't wait to try. If I can only get the family (other than number 1 son, who's away at college and who'll try anything his old dad will try) to try fresh anchovies, we'll be having some fun.
"Dictionary of Classical Mythology" by J.E. Zimmerman
"The Iraq Study Group Report" by Lawrence S. Eagleburger, Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Edwin Meese III, Sandra Day O'Connor, Leon E. Panetta, William J. Perry, Charles S. Robb, Alan K. Simpson, James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton
"Half a Life" by V.S. Naipaul
"Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith" by Jon Krakauer
"We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families: stories from Rwanda" by Philip Gourevitch
"The Story of Civilization VII: The Age of Reason Begins", by Will and Ariel Durant
"The Story of Civilization II: The Life of Greece", by Will Durant
"Fiasco: The American Military Adventure In Iraq" by Thomas E. Ricks
"New Recipes From Moosewood Restaurant"
"Simple Italian Food: Recipes from My Two Villages" by Mario Batali
Another goodie waiting for me, as soon as I finish a couple others which have been on deck for a while longer, is "de Kooning: An American Master" by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan, for which I confess I paid something closer to retail, so anxious am I to get into it.
Another I'm watching the bargain bins for is "The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century" by Alex Ross. It SOUNDS like something concerning the kind of music my youngest listens to these days (with vocals a cross between screaming and vomiting), but it's about twentieth-century and contemporary classical music (and hopefully some 21st century things as well). I'm holding out for a bargain, but may be unable to resist the temptation to pay Amazon-type retail prices if I have to wait much longer.
Mario has several ideas I can't wait to try. If I can only get the family (other than number 1 son, who's away at college and who'll try anything his old dad will try) to try fresh anchovies, we'll be having some fun.
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