Aug 22 2008
And Your Word of the Day…
Ambisinister: Clumsy with both hands. (Literally, with two left hands.)
Jul 31 2008
Lunch, Anyone?
Interesting question from Mmmm, That’s Good Coffee…:
If you could have dinner with anyone (besides Jesus), who would you have it with, and where would you have it?
I’d have to say lunch with Admiral Lord Thomas Cochrane, the model for Jack Aubrey, Horatio Hornblower and any number of ‘Age of Fighting Sail’ sea captains. The only place to have it would be aboard HMS Victory at Portsmouth, UK.
Yours?
Jun 26 2008
Books That Changed My Life
Which books have changed your life? I’m not talking about good or even great books, or memorable ones, or favorite ones. I mean books that altered your behavior, changed your mind, redirected the course of your life. These books added something permanent to me - an insight, a vision, an attitude.
Here’s my list, in roughly the order they entered my life:
- 50 Short Science Fiction Tales
, edited by Isaac Asimov and Groff Conklin. This one opened my eyes to the incredible possibilities of sci-fi and speculative fiction. I’ve read this one many times over the years.
- Worldbook Encyclopedia. Okay it’s not a book. I used to pick a volume and just start reading. I discovered that there is knowledge outside my sphere of experience.
- Flap, novelization of a Clair Huffaker screenplay. An eminently forgettable 1960s movie starring Anthony Quinn as a drunken Indian. Mom saw me reading it and was aghast that I would read such a thing at my tender age. The incident (not the book) made me understand the power of books to influence - and offend - others.
- The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R Tolkein. This was my first introduction to the concept of exceptional talent in an author. It made me a dyed-in-the-wool bookworm.
- Illusions, by Richard Bach. Everything is an illusion and we create our own reality. I ran into this New Age mumbo-jumbo in my teens and it screwed me up for years.
- Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand. Showed me the destructive decadence of modern liberalism. Rand is a tediously self-important writer, but her concepts blew me away.
- Razor’s Edge, by Somerset Maugham. Another one that screwed me up for quite awhile. The story of a disillusioned WW1 fighter pilot who seeks enlightenment. He finds Buddhist ‘wisdom’ on a mountaintop. I found this book when I was searching for The Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. I should have read Douglas Adams instead.
- The Bible, by God. I didn’t know any better, so I started at Genesis and read to Revelation. I’m glad I did.
- Wild at Heart, by John Eldredge. Eldredge is frequently criticized for his answers, but not for his questions, namely, why are Christian men wimps, and what are you going to do about it?
- Stand Into Danger, by Douglas Reeman (writing as Alexander Kent). The second or sixth or eleventy-twelfth book in the Richard Bolitho series of nautical fiction set in the Age of Sail. It was while reading this book that I decided I could write at least as well as the author.
- On Writing, by Stephen King. Exceptional insight into what it takes to be a writer.
What’s on your list?
May 27 2008
Prince Caspian: Two Thumbs, Way Up
I saw the latest Narnia offering tonight, and have to say that it’s the best action/ adventure/ fantasy flick I’ve seen in quite a long time. I would rank Prince Caspian at least on par with the Lord of the Rings films, and probably better, in many respects. It was also a much better film than The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, and it’s even reasonably close to the original story, though the producers took a few artistic liberties. The faith message was pretty clear - there is a time for less ‘doing’ and more faith.
Even Joe Carter at Evangelistic Outpost seemed to appreciate it, and he doesn’t like anything.
May 21 2008
Greatest Novel Ever Written
KingDavid has posted what he considers to be the great novel ever written (The Count of Monte Cristo). I respect KD, but he’s way out to lunch on this one. True, an assessment of ‘the Greatest Novel Ever Written‘ would be weighted to books I’ve actually read, so here’s my cut at the top five greatest novels of all time (that I’ve read):
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Nobility, honor and grace in the midst of the horrors of the French Revolution.
- David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. A brilliant story that showcases coming of age while overcoming fierce adversity.
- Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. What can I say? Sweeping magnificence by an incredibly perceptive and inventive author.
- Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. Simply classic. The sequels uniformly stank.
- Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. Another brilliant novel that shows nobility and honor, but also hints at how easily we can be drawn into fascism. The movie was pretty much an abomination.
What are your top five?
Apr 07 2008
Vaguely Theological Quote of the Day
“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” (Stephen King)
Mar 06 2008
QOTD
Martin LaBar at Sun and Shield posts a great quote from Ursula LeGuin’s Left Hand of Darkness, ”
“. . . the mission I am on overrides all personal debts and loyalties.”
“If so,” said the stranger with fierce certainty, “it is an immoral mission.”
(The Left Hand of Darkness, New York: Ace, 1969), p. 104.
Feb 27 2008
Ben Franklin on Freedom of the Press - and the Cudgel
“My proposal then is, to leave the liberty of the Press untouched, to be exercised in its fullest extent, force and vigour, but to permit the liberty of the cudgel to go with it pari passu. Thus my fellow-citizens, if an impudent writer attacks your reputation, dearer to you perhaps than your life, and puts his name to the charge, you may go to him as openly and break his head.”
Benjamin Franklin, from The Federal Gazette, September 12, 1789
(HT: Nihilist in Golf Pants)
Jan 21 2008
One Book Meme
This one is tough, because its hard to limit it to just one book for many of these categories, but that’s whatcha gotta do.
- One Book That Changed Your Life:
Some unremembered electrical engineering text in college. After one semester, I decided it was time for a different path. It was a good decision. - One Book You Have Read More Than Once:
Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card - One Book You’d Want On A Desert Island:
The Bible. If it was good enough for Robinson Crusoe, it’s good enough for me. - One Book That Made You Laugh:
Carry On, Jeeves, PG Wodehouse (or just about any Wodehouse) - One Book That Made You Cry:
C’mon, guys don’t cry. No, really. Okay, Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae, Steven Pressfield. This is one of those works which defines gallantry and heroism. - One Book You Wish You’d Written:
Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien. Okay, one book? The Hobbit. - One Book You Wish You’d Never Read:
That’s got to be Richard Bach’s Illusions: Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah. I read it in my teen years and its new-age, pseudo-eastern mysticism really warped my brain for a good while. - Two Books You Are Currently Reading:
Signs of Life, David Jeremiah. A wonderfully convicting devotional about the outward signs that should be evidence of a Christian walk.
Cochrane, David Cordingly. Bio of Lord Thomas Cochrane, the model for Patrick O’Brian’s Jack Aubrey. - One Book You’ve Been Meaning To Read:
the Prize Game: Lawful Looting on the High Seas, Donald A. Petrie.
If you are interested in doing this, consider yourself tagged!
Jan 03 2008
What I’m Reading
WordPress for Dummies is a great resource for both WordPress.com sites and self-hosted sites. As with the rest of the ‘Dummies’ guides, there’s a ton of useful information presented at a non-geek level, with enough technical detail to be really useful.
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