this just seems like the begining of a miserable day, lol.
it snowed like a motherfucker last night, Pittsburgh is most likely going to win the Super Bowl (and not that i gevt two shite about Seatle, but, you know, i'm from Cleveland...) and it just otherwise cold and windy and gloomy.
in other news, i am reading a very interesting book (i'm @ about page 100 out of 500) called "Guns, Germs, and Steel", which is about.. well... ALOT, lol. basicly, it is a non-racist look at how, when and why different societies evolved and why some did sooner and/or later than others, and what effect it/they had on eachother. breaking down to the fiew main points being when they invented/developed guns, germs, and/or steel. from around 15,000 BC to present
"non-racist" look, meaning that (as most books on the subject - and history, in general) it tried not to base it's percpective on how these things, and societies related to Europeans.... but to eachother, themselves, and the rest of the world. it never takes the "they were smarter" or "they were primitave" view to explain something, with those two things still being part of the question. and it (quite purposefully) doesn't take the view that "primitave" is bad, or that "civilized" automatically means good or better. but only seeks to understand why one people in one place (for instance) were still hunter-gatherers up until modern times while in other places there were vast and well established empires, and why not the other way around.
it is quite interesting, though so packed with information for such a short book taking on such a large span of time, that it is alot to take in sometimes, lol.
anyhow, i picked it up while Julie and Sahah and i were out at 1/2 Priced Books. Julie was looking for baby (for the baby) books.... and i drifted off to "military" and "history". in addition to Guns, Germs, and Steel, i also picked up 4 other books as well:
1. The Greatest Handguns in thje World - from 1450 to the present day.
i read a bit of it. a heavilly illustrated guide to the ..well.. greatest handguns ever. i, of course, am a handgun nut, so it seemed perfect. we'll see.
2. The War Against America - Sadam Hussein and the World Trade Center Attacks (previously published as "A Study of Revenge")
which, acording to the many reviews my a ton or well know paople and publications, makes a very convinceing case for Saddam being the sponsor of the 1993 bombing of The World Trade Center. siting that for an attack like that (and other) "would almost certianly require the help of a hostile intelligence agencies and governments"
and acording to a former CIA Director: "if this proves to be true and Iraq is shown to be the terrorists' partner there is no reason for anyoneto ask, 'why didn't someone warn us?' because [the author of the book] just did!"
seem interesting.
3. First Son - George W. Bush and the Bush Family Dynasty.
acording to Dan Rather (and we know which wy he leans, now don't we, lol): "First Son is fair, balanced, interesting and well-writen. It's chock full of insights backed by extensive research and solid reporting. There is much to think about in thid impressive work"
everyone here pretty much knows i an a "Bush guy", but i was in fact looking for the most "unbiased" book i could find on the "history" of the Bush family. it seems that it was writen before he (the current Bush) was elected.
4. Bush at War. which looks to be about Bush and his key advisors (Cheney, Rice, Tenet, Rumsfeld, and Powell). a supposed behind-the-scenes look at initial attack on 9-11 and the events and decitions that follow. it does not seen to be about Iraq.
............................................................................
in the process of looking through the book store, i thought i would post here to get other suggestions for future reading on a few subjects i would like to look into. maybe you all can help...
1. a book in Intelligent Design, not a "bible-ish" book, but a clear and scientific breakdown of what it is really all about, the actual theories and such. for the same reason that (years ago) i read the entire bibly (NOT and easy read, lol) understanding and knowlege. i an a firm believer in modern science and an athiest, but i am, still interested in "knowing" (not just "hearing") what it's all about.
2. modern conflicts. the newest stuff (asside from "Time-Life" type shit), is from the last Gulf War, i want stuff about the conflicts, military actions, and wars since that point (or a book that outlines a vairety of them). mainly in a "reported" way, meaning a clear and as unbiased as posible (ie:not from washington's point of view, but the FACTS.)
i don't mind "reports" (ie: the 9-11 report, for example), i find them interesting, where as most would rather pull out thier ball-hairs one by one. feel free to include those as well, if you like.
3. a good book the writing if the Articles of Freedom, i like to think of myself a fairly knowlegably on this subject, through years if interest and reading and conversation, attending court hearings and trials from Cleveland, to superior court in DC, but i would like a good, solid, well writen, documentation of the writing of these papers and the surrounding events in a 'plain english' form. as some of the books on this subjesct ar not the easiest read.
a book that i can hand to someone who has little knowlege of this subject and say "here, read this... then we'll talk."
then maybe another book or books on modern constatutional law and/or interpritation.
4. books and/or authors YOU think i should read, for whatever reason you choose. whether you agree with my views and think i would simply enjoy, or be interested in. or maybe you think i a a fuckin idiot and neew to read certian books that you think are on subjects i know nothing at all about, and should.
5. Dyslexia. expecially as it relates to writing (as opposed to reading)
....................................................................
i have read well over 1000 books on/about sci-fi/fantasy to the 9-11 Report to the 80's Hardcore Scene to child-care guides. i am open to any suggestions. including fiction, non-fiction, biographies, official reports, and guides.
................................................................................
in closing:
13 days til' the Daytona 500 and the begining of the 2006 NASCAR Season. which will sadly be my guy's final year in the big league, with a new sponsor, AAA... and thank god too, now i can finally buy some gear that doesn't have Viagra on it, lol.
it snowed like a motherfucker last night, Pittsburgh is most likely going to win the Super Bowl (and not that i gevt two shite about Seatle, but, you know, i'm from Cleveland...) and it just otherwise cold and windy and gloomy.
in other news, i am reading a very interesting book (i'm @ about page 100 out of 500) called "Guns, Germs, and Steel", which is about.. well... ALOT, lol. basicly, it is a non-racist look at how, when and why different societies evolved and why some did sooner and/or later than others, and what effect it/they had on eachother. breaking down to the fiew main points being when they invented/developed guns, germs, and/or steel. from around 15,000 BC to present
"non-racist" look, meaning that (as most books on the subject - and history, in general) it tried not to base it's percpective on how these things, and societies related to Europeans.... but to eachother, themselves, and the rest of the world. it never takes the "they were smarter" or "they were primitave" view to explain something, with those two things still being part of the question. and it (quite purposefully) doesn't take the view that "primitave" is bad, or that "civilized" automatically means good or better. but only seeks to understand why one people in one place (for instance) were still hunter-gatherers up until modern times while in other places there were vast and well established empires, and why not the other way around.
it is quite interesting, though so packed with information for such a short book taking on such a large span of time, that it is alot to take in sometimes, lol.
anyhow, i picked it up while Julie and Sahah and i were out at 1/2 Priced Books. Julie was looking for baby (for the baby) books.... and i drifted off to "military" and "history". in addition to Guns, Germs, and Steel, i also picked up 4 other books as well:
1. The Greatest Handguns in thje World - from 1450 to the present day.
i read a bit of it. a heavilly illustrated guide to the ..well.. greatest handguns ever. i, of course, am a handgun nut, so it seemed perfect. we'll see.
2. The War Against America - Sadam Hussein and the World Trade Center Attacks (previously published as "A Study of Revenge")
which, acording to the many reviews my a ton or well know paople and publications, makes a very convinceing case for Saddam being the sponsor of the 1993 bombing of The World Trade Center. siting that for an attack like that (and other) "would almost certianly require the help of a hostile intelligence agencies and governments"
and acording to a former CIA Director: "if this proves to be true and Iraq is shown to be the terrorists' partner there is no reason for anyoneto ask, 'why didn't someone warn us?' because [the author of the book] just did!"
seem interesting.
3. First Son - George W. Bush and the Bush Family Dynasty.
acording to Dan Rather (and we know which wy he leans, now don't we, lol): "First Son is fair, balanced, interesting and well-writen. It's chock full of insights backed by extensive research and solid reporting. There is much to think about in thid impressive work"
everyone here pretty much knows i an a "Bush guy", but i was in fact looking for the most "unbiased" book i could find on the "history" of the Bush family. it seems that it was writen before he (the current Bush) was elected.
4. Bush at War. which looks to be about Bush and his key advisors (Cheney, Rice, Tenet, Rumsfeld, and Powell). a supposed behind-the-scenes look at initial attack on 9-11 and the events and decitions that follow. it does not seen to be about Iraq.
............................................................................
in the process of looking through the book store, i thought i would post here to get other suggestions for future reading on a few subjects i would like to look into. maybe you all can help...
1. a book in Intelligent Design, not a "bible-ish" book, but a clear and scientific breakdown of what it is really all about, the actual theories and such. for the same reason that (years ago) i read the entire bibly (NOT and easy read, lol) understanding and knowlege. i an a firm believer in modern science and an athiest, but i am, still interested in "knowing" (not just "hearing") what it's all about.
2. modern conflicts. the newest stuff (asside from "Time-Life" type shit), is from the last Gulf War, i want stuff about the conflicts, military actions, and wars since that point (or a book that outlines a vairety of them). mainly in a "reported" way, meaning a clear and as unbiased as posible (ie:not from washington's point of view, but the FACTS.)
i don't mind "reports" (ie: the 9-11 report, for example), i find them interesting, where as most would rather pull out thier ball-hairs one by one. feel free to include those as well, if you like.
3. a good book the writing if the Articles of Freedom, i like to think of myself a fairly knowlegably on this subject, through years if interest and reading and conversation, attending court hearings and trials from Cleveland, to superior court in DC, but i would like a good, solid, well writen, documentation of the writing of these papers and the surrounding events in a 'plain english' form. as some of the books on this subjesct ar not the easiest read.
a book that i can hand to someone who has little knowlege of this subject and say "here, read this... then we'll talk."
then maybe another book or books on modern constatutional law and/or interpritation.
4. books and/or authors YOU think i should read, for whatever reason you choose. whether you agree with my views and think i would simply enjoy, or be interested in. or maybe you think i a a fuckin idiot and neew to read certian books that you think are on subjects i know nothing at all about, and should.
5. Dyslexia. expecially as it relates to writing (as opposed to reading)
....................................................................
i have read well over 1000 books on/about sci-fi/fantasy to the 9-11 Report to the 80's Hardcore Scene to child-care guides. i am open to any suggestions. including fiction, non-fiction, biographies, official reports, and guides.
................................................................................
in closing:
13 days til' the Daytona 500 and the begining of the 2006 NASCAR Season. which will sadly be my guy's final year in the big league, with a new sponsor, AAA... and thank god too, now i can finally buy some gear that doesn't have Viagra on it, lol.
but thank you so much for the offer