Author, Author !!!

[Mace MacLeod]

@Mace Sorry to hear of your loss. I would die if I had to leave my library.

Tell me, what do you do since you can't access your library?

...I hope.

What are your favorite Clarke stories?

 

Heh, I did get to bring a few books when I moved, but the rest (as is most of the family stuff) are in storage. I've read Clarke's compilation of his early short stories "The Nine Billion Names of God" a whole pile of times, and off the top of my head, I can't remember any of the titles. The book's buried in a trunk which is of course underneath a huge heap of my wife's junk , and right now I'm too lazy to move it all. I think my favourite one out of that would have to be...I think it's called Peak Performance. The one where the military scientist is writing the confession from jail about how his side was defeated by inferior technology? That one. Good laugh, that.

I also managed to bring some Beat stuff, Allan Ginsburg--The Fall of America, Burroughs--Naked Lunch, and a compilation I got in college. In second year, I took a course in the Beat Generation writers, and it really turned me on to some cool literature. Couldn't leave home without my collection of Classical Athenian playwrights, either. When I get around to buying a bookcase, people can come over and go "Ooooooooo... Euripides! Such highbrow stuff! What an intellectual!"

[Darth InSidious]

^...Or if they've actually read any, to run away from you in fear for their sanity

[JediMaster12]

@Cygnus: The Dead Sea Scrolls are the actual Dead Sea Scrolls in translation, the best there is. I call myself a boring school teacher because I read textbooks for the heck of it. I don't teach, yet. Not until I get my PhD in about 4-5 years,

I'm only 21

[Canderous_ordo1]

i like reading books between battles or when im off duty im reading a very good one now its dark saber it follows on after the final starwars film its a good book so far .

 

this is a little something im starting to write here is a little bit of it tell me what you all think

 

'into the warren dark tunnles the men lept

followed by wave on wave of reinforcements

until the trenches were choked with dead and wounded men.

no bombs were used .the fighting were too close for this .rifles

but mostly bayonetts and .at times hands did the killing

by 6pm lone pine had been taken

 

please tell me what you think

[JediMaster12]

Aside from the grammar errors, it looks good. I suggest making an outline to organize your flow of ideas. You have potential. Oh and don't listen to Cygnus if he says I am a good poet. Trust me, I am not

[Mace MacLeod]

Here's a little something for you Classical Studies buffs. On of my profs had it on her office door. Cut 'n' pasted from the addy below.

 

http://www-chaos.umd.edu/misc/story.html

 

OEDIPUS THE KING (OF THE ROAD)

By Daniel Nussbaum. Nussbaum has retold the story of Oedipus using 154 of the more than 1 million California personalized license plates registered with the state's Motor Vehicles Bureau.

 

ONCEPON ATIME LONG AGO IN THEBES IMKING. OEDIPUS DAKING.

LVMYMRS. LVMYKIDS. THEBENS THINK OEDDY ISCOOL. NOPROBS.

OKAY MAYBE THEREZZ 1LITL1. MOTHER WHERERU? WHEREAT MYDAD?

NOCALLZ NEVER. HAVENOT ACLUE. INMYMIND IWNDER WHOAMI? IMUST

FINDEM.

JO MYWIFE GOES, "OED DONT USEE? WERHAPI NOW LETITB." IGO

"NOWAY. IAMBOSS. DONTU TELLME MYLIFE. INEED MYMOM. II WILLL

FINDHER. FIND BOTHOF THEM."

SOI START SEEKING DATRUTH ABOUT WHO IAM. ITGOEZ ULTRAAA

SLOWE. THE SPHYNXS RIDDLE WAS ACINCH BUT NOTTHIZ.

SUDNLEE WEHEAR SHOCKING NEWS. WHEN IWASA TINY1 THISGR8

4SEER SED IWOOD OFF MY ROYAL OLDMAN THEN MARREE MYMAMA. SICKO

RUBBISH, NESTPAS? WHOWHO COULDBE SOGONE? STIL MOMNDAD SENT

MEEEEE AWAY. MEE ABABI AWAAAY.

NOWWWWW GETTHIZ. MANY MOONS GOBY. IMEET THISGUY ONATRIP.

WEDOO RUMBLE. WHOKNEW? ILEFTMY POP ONE DEDMAN.

UGET DAFOTO. MAJR TSURIS. JOJO MYHONEE, MYSQEEZ, MYLAMBY,

MIAMOR, MYCUTEE. JOJOY IZZ MYMOMMY.

YEGODS WHYMEE? YMEYYME? LIFSUX. IAMBAD, IAMBADD, IMSOBAD.

STOPNOW THIS HEDAKE. THIS FLESH DUZ STINK. ITZ 2MUCH PAYNE 4ONE2C.

TAKEGOD MYEYES!

AIEEEEE!

[Cygnus Q'ol]

@Canderous ordo1 Darksaber is an awesome read. Loved it.

Liked your mindscratch also. Have anymore? Keep it flowin'.

 

JediMaster12 is right about the outlines. They can help solidify your thoughts and feelings. It's OK to spew your thoughts out onto the pad then go back and fix the punctuation and grammar. Just as long as you keep writing.

Keep spilling the ink...

 

Although, this is not the place for that.

 

Check out the Echani Poetry thread here in the cantina and leave a few of your own tidbits.

 

...if you dare.

 

Then you'll see for yourself how well JediMaster12's poetry speaks.

[JediMaster12]

You are too kind to compliment my bad poetry Cygnus but I thank you all the same

 

A new book that I am looking at right now is actually a textbook for Amer Govt; its on the California legislature. Easier reading yet boring as hell.

[igyman]

I'm not a big reader, but from those books I have read I'd pick every book from Frank Herbert's ''Dune'' Saga, Michael Crichton's ''Prey'' and ''Sphere'' and, since there are some LOTR fans here, ''Silmarillion''.

[Cygnus Q'ol]

OOH!! Igyman, Sphere is one of my favs. Good one. I read it well before seeing the movie (which sucked primate gonads), and I was instantly enthralled.

 

It goes along with my own idea that I've had since I was a kid that something was always under the water, buried deep beneath the Burmuda triangle.

I still believe it.

 

 

JM12. California legislature? Isn't that an oxymoron?

[igyman]

Yeah, ''Sphere'' definitely is a great book and I too have read it long before seeing the movie. ''Prey'' is something new from Crichton and it's definitely worth reading.

[JediMaster12]

It should be but I didn't draft the state govt.

[Cygnus Q'ol]

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

 

Satire so thick, you can stand a up a spoon in it.

[Jae Onasi]

^

The Screwtape Letters--I'd forgotten about it. I'll have to go put that on my 'To read' list.

[igyman]

The movie premiere kind of reminded me: Who here has read the 'Da Vinci Code' (besides me)? What do you think of this book and do you think the movie will be any good?

[Jae Onasi]

^

As long as everyone realizes that both the author and the movie take great liberties with the truth about Christ and that they both are works of complete fiction, it's fine.

The author makes some statements about the Gnostic 'gospels' and a few other 'facts' that are not true, which is my only beef. I anticipate the movie to be quite entertaining. It's tremendously controversial in my church, and I'm probably one of the few who is planning to see it, but I know enough about church history, doctrine, and the Bible to be able to sift out the good from the crap.

Interestingly, I heard on the news today that it got panned in Cannes.

[JediMaster12]

@ igyman: I read the book, an embarassing 100 times

Still I found it to be quite interesting. Of course my brain switched into research gear and I looked up the sources Brown used for the story. When I found out that they were reputable scholars, especially that of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, which I read, I was widemouthed. As to the movie, I am going to go see it. To be honest I didn't expect Langdon to be played by Tom Hanks. I couldn't quite see him as an academic who stays in shape by swimming and wears a Harris Tweed and turtleneck. I'm not passing judgment but from the previews, it looks like it will be an interesting ride, especially since Sir Ian McClellan is Sir Leigh Teabing

 

@Jae: some of the info is along the lines of truth. I spent the first few days after reading the novel for the first time looking up the sources. Some I don't agree with but there are some things that I have found out that I posted on the Expert Thread like the whole thing on paganism

There is evidence of the Knights Templar and Le Preuer de Sion (Priory of Sion). Read it Yep just call me a bookworm.

 

As to new books, I am reading on the Serrano Indians that may have settled near Deep Creek in the San Bernardino mountains about 4 miles from my advisor's home on foot!

[Jae Onasi]

^

Some biblical scholars are better than others--not everyone is in the same league. I don't buy everything out of Holy Blood either.

[JediMaster12]

The way I see it, they are offering another view of history. History is always twofold. History is written by the winners but there is always someone who tells it from another view.

Evidence can always be interpreted differently. One of the joys of being an experimental archaeologist:D

[Darth InSidious]

WC Sellars and RJ Yeatman HAVE to go on ANY list.

 

Their 1066 And All That is one of the joys of any historian

[igyman]

^

Some biblical scholars are better than others--not everyone is in the same league. I don't buy everything out of Holy Blood either.

 

While I try to be tolerant to people who believe in god, I'm actually an atheist, so when someone tells me that the things said in the book are a pack of lies, without any real proof, or argument - just saying (this isn't an exact quote, only an aproximate quote of the end sentence of a certain book concerning the ''Da Vinci Code'' whose name and author isn't even worth mentioning): ''It did not happen that way! Christ was born, killed, resurrected and rose to heaven, that's the only truth!'' - I can't call them any other name, but a religious fanatic.

 

Don't get me wrong, I most certainly don't think that everything said in the ''Da Vinci Code'' is true, but there are most certainly many pieces of the truth there.

[ChAiNz.2da]

well.. before we start stepping into the realm of Religous heresy, let's all remember that the Da Vinci Code is fiction peeps.. and many of the points in it have been disproven as well, despite the reputable scholars and such...

 

It's a book gang... let's keep the topic civil... pretty please

 

The last thing I want to see is another L. Ron Hubbard "Dianetics" let's base a "religion" off of space aliens..

[Cygnus Q'ol]

On the lighter side...

 

Is anyone familliar with Shel Silverstein?

 

Talk about wacky poetry... "A light in the Attic" will make you think while holding your gut in laughter.

 

"Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina" is interesting in the fact that all of the shorts are told during the time of A New Hope and all somehow, separately interact with the cantina scene. It's quite clever how that set of stories was put together.

[Jae Onasi]

The way I see it, they are offering another view of history. History is always twofold. History is written by the winners but there is always someone who tells it from another view.

Evidence can always be interpreted differently. One of the joys of being an experimental archaeologist:D

 

True, there is some interpretation. When I was in an historiography class in grad school, the prof gave the entire class a specific set of information and data, and we all had to write a 5 page paper from that information alone. There were about 30 of us in the class, and there were 30 very different papers that came out of that. We read them out loud in class, and we all learned something from each other. It was fascinating to see how each of us approached the information and came to some very interesting conclusions.

 

However, there are some absolute indisputable truths that are not open to interpretation. The fact that JFK or MLK Jr. got assassinated in the '60's is not open to interpretation, for instance. 2+2 always equals 4, whether you feel like it that day or not (no, don't bring up string theory or alternate geometries, please ).

 

Some of the things that happened at, say, the Council of Nicea are not reported accurately in the DaVinci code. That's not an interpretation problem, it's a fact problem. However, as ChAiNz reminds us all, it's fiction. There are plenty of other books that are filled with all sorts of science inaccuracies that drive me more crazy than this.

 

@DI--1066 and All That was just hilarious. If I were teaching an English history class, I'd make it required reading.

[JediMaster12]

@ Jae I am sure there are plenty of inaccuracies. I'm pretty sure Star Trek had a few of those

You did remind me of another book that I have read when you said 2+2=4. Well according to Orwell, freedom is the ability to say that 2+2=5. That is Geaorge Orwell's 1984. Think 'Big Brother is watching you.' Sounds familiar with the New Patriot Act going on. I found it to be a much better satire on Communism while his other novel Animal Farm was a bit more comical. Both reflected symbolically on his view of Communism.

Another great book based on Communism is Ann Rand's Anthem. I personally liked that because you see a transition from communal thinking like saying, "We are happy that we are ..." to more personal and using the word "I".

While I'm at it I also read Brave New World, the worst I think but Huxley is a good writer. Again shows a satirical version of Communism.