Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Carleen
To play along or to see other entries, click here.

Here we go . . .

what are your most common nicknames?

I don't really have a nickname, unless you consider that my favorite uncle has always called me by my middle name and that Thom calls me Zip.

what is today's weather?

Currently, at 4:14 AM in my part of Orange County, California, it is 75 degrees F with an expected daytime high temperature of 90 as the day progresses.

where did go on vacation this year?

I didn't take a vacation this year; I retired instead.

what did you do there?

I played Farm Town on Facebook a lot and had surgery.

where did you stay?

Either at home or in the office at our business. The accommodations at home are more comfortable when the weather is hot, so I've stayed in the luxury of central air for a few weeks.

what job do you do?

It would be easier to tell you what job I don't do. I don't do windows.

describe where you live.

I live in a city that is swallowed up by two others that are much more famous: Anaheim (home of Disneyland) and Santa Ana (once voted the "Great American City"). Garden Grove is best known for its annual Strawberry Festival and for being conveniently located near everything else that is important.

what do you usually do on weekends?

The same things I do on week days -- work.

what food hits your 'bliss spot'?

Spinach cooked just about any way you can imagine.

what drink really does it for you?

Coffee with hazelnut cream

describe the first friend that comes to your head.

The Amazing Egyptian Dude (aka my husband)

what was the last restaurant you went to?

I think it was Red Robin, but I don't remember for sure.

where would you like to live if you had unlimited moneys and nothing stopping your dreams?

Somewhere in the mountains between Pagosa Springs and Silverton, Colorado.

what is the likeliness of you achieving this dream home?

Not likely at all -- the Amazing Egyptian Dude balks at the idea of touching snow let alone living in a place where it is a daily part of life for several months of the year.

what do you like to do in your spare time?

Read, crochet, play with the cats, crossword puzzles, and watch documentaries

what's your favorite genre for TV programs?

My favorite TV programming is on PBS because it's mostly documentaries; on network television, though, it would have to be the talent competitions like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.

what's your favorite genre for music?

Country

what's your favorite song that's sad?

I've got a whole list of them here: Songs to Cry By.

what's your favorite soppy film?

A Walk to Remember

how about your favorite chick flick?

Right now it's Music and Lyrics; however, it changes every few days.

what are you looking forward to at the moment?

A reduction in the swelling at the incision site of the surgery I had on Friday morning.

what are you dreading at the moment?

The swelling not going down and having to make a trip to Urgent Care to get it checked.

how would you describe your personality?

Sheesh, these questions are quite random, aren't they?! Anyway, I'd describe my personality as friendly and easy to get along with.

if you had a personality eraser, what part of yours might you erase?

The stubborn parts.

you are given $5000 to spend in 1 day, what do you do with it? remember, no limitations!

Providing, of course, that it has been invented, I'd buy a robot that does the laundry. If one isn't available, then I'd use the money to buy some gold as an investment.

what is your biggest fear?

That my husband will die before I do.


Carleen


To play along or see other responses, click here.

And...here we go!

1. Soup and a sandwich make a quick and easy dinner.

2. Arabian Nights and Days by Naguib Mahfouz is the book I'm reading right now.

3. July brings back memories of family road trips across country from California to New York.

4. That the kids would spend the hot summer days in the pool was obvious.

5. They say if you tell your dreams they won't come true.

6. Before making a life-altering decision, take plenty of time to think it over.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to the weekly reading and discussion with my friend, tomorrow my plans include a picnic and watching Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar, in the park, and Sunday, I want to have a seizure free day, Insh'Allah (God willing)!


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Carleen

Header from samulli
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Most people are familiar with the literary masterpieces that are often called the "great books." Mark Twain joked that a "classic" is "a book which people praise but don't read." My list today is made up of thirteen "great books" that I believe everyone, irrespective of language, gender, culture, or religion, should read because they express themes that transcend all of these boundaries designed to make us think we're different and demonstrate just how similar we really are.

1. The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone by Sophocles
  • fate vs. free will
  • Is it better to be "blind" to the truth or to uncover and "see" no matter the cost?
  • laws of man vs. divine laws
2. All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
  • horrors of war for all involved
  • dangers of nationalism
  • war is not a romantic adventure
3. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
  • change vs. tradition
  • What does it mean to be a "man"?
  • importance of language
4. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
  • qualities of a strong leader
  • the power of political deception
  • types of governing strategies
5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • laws vs. customs
  • compassion vs. justice
  • importance of education
6. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
  • the necessity of law and order
  • individualism vs. community
  • man vs. nature
7. Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya
  • man vs. nature
  • knowledge vs. ignorance
  • western civilization vs. eastern civilization
8. Children of the Alley by Naguib Mahfouz
  • the importance of memory
  • new ideas vs. old traditions
  • tyranny vs. justice
9. 'On Liberty' and Other Writings by John Stewart Mill
  • civil liberties
  • importance of free speech
  • social contract
10. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  • censorship
  • life and death
  • knowledge is power
11. King Lear by William Shakespeare
  • political authority vs. chaos
  • father/daughter relationships
  • If both the wicked and the good die, what is justice?
12. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
  • appearances vs. reality
  • frailty vs. strength
  • revenge vs. justice
13. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
  • law vs. morality
  • selflessness vs. selfishness
  • freedom vs. slavery



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Carleen

  • Gawd, the heat is back! Camry, the otherwise loveable kitty, is in heat again. This time, though, she's gone beyond the chirping of a week or so ago and has moved up to the full on cat calling. She rolls all over the floor, yowls at my feet, and walks with her hind end up in the air as if it's on display for every Tom in the household. Unfortunately for her, the only Tom is Marlowe, who was neutered several years ago and would rather play chase the mouse than set up house. I keep telling myself that it's only a few more days until her spay appointment, but I don't know if I can last that long. I had completely forgotten how utterly obnoxious female cats in heat can be!


  • The Brain is still throwing its weight around. I spent much of the weekend fighting off headaches. Sunday looked really promising, as I didn't wake up with a headache as I have been; however, the headache's kissing cousin showed up after I had been awake for about an hour. Same thing on Monday. I woke up with a headache shortly after one, had a seizure at 1:24 a.m., then another at 3:48 a.m. Although I had been headache free since about noon, another seizure came at 7:16 p.m. You know, The Brain is beginning to remind me of those crazy dictators in North Korea and Iran -- throw its weight around long enough to make me nervous, then slink away to watch the worry that follows. Thankfully, Dr. S will be on call for a week starting on the 19th, and that's when she's going to do her best to squeeze me in to see her.

  • I'm not a big fan of Western movies. Never have been. I wasn't inspired to watch them when, as a kid, I learned that the Red Ryder Round-Up, the annual rodeo in my dad's hometown of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, was held in honor of Fred Harman, an elderly man I knew who also happened to be a famous author and illustrator of a comic book series of the same name. Heck, Mr. Harman's creation has maintained its fame thanks to one young boy's obsession with getting a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. Still, I wasn't interested in watching cowboy movies. Even when John Wayne filmed The Cowboys in Pagosa and my grandmother called to tell us that she had lunch with him, I wasn't really interested in seeing the movie. I've seen it since then, though. Anyway, the only Western movie that I can honestly say I feel is worth watching is Lonesome Dove, based on Larry McMurtry's novel of the same name. I saw the movie when it first aired on television, then bought and read the book. It was every bit as awesome as the movie. So when I learned that a 20th anniversary airing of Lonesome Dove was on this weekend, I watched it twice -- between naps!

  • I've been itching to change my blog template and design. I really want a 3-column design that has the post portion sandwiched between two sidebar columns, but I haven't found one that I like yet. If only I weren't graphically challenged, I'd design one myself! Alas, until I overcome the challenge of the puny-pixelled or win the lottery and can afford to pay for a customized one, the quest for a freebie continues.

  • Am I the only one who thinks the whole David Letterman vs. Sarah Palin, et al is ridiculous? Considering that the economy is floundering, we're fighting a couple of wars in foreign countries, North Korea is issuing thinly-veiled nuclear threats, Iran is in an upheaval over the possibility of a rigged election, and we can't figure out how to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable medical care, don't you think that Governor Palin's rhetoric would be better served addressing some of these issues instead of a couple of jokes made by a late night talk show host? If this is a taste of what's to come should she become the Republican front-runner for the next presidential election, I want to buy stock in the production company that handles the soap opera version!

Carleen
OSM, over at One Sick Mother, compiled a reading list with one great book for each letter of the alphabet. I was inspired by her post and decided to make a list of my own, but with a twist. Instead of using the book title for each letter of the alphabet, I'm going to use the author's name. To make it even more funky, I opted to use either the first or last name of the author to fill a spot, thus William Shakespeare could go under W or S, as I see fit. Finally, I also left the selection open to fiction or non-fiction. Here's what I came up with:

A
Author: Ahdaf Soueif
Book: The Map of Love

B
Author: Giovanni Boccaccio
Book: The Decameron

C
Author: Charles Dickens
Book: The Mystery of Edwin Drood

D
Author: John Dewey
Book: Democracy and Education

E
Author: Euripides
Book: Electra

F
Author: Flannery O'Connor
Book: Wise Blood

G
Author: Gottfried von Strassburg
Book: Tristan and Isolde

H
Author: David Hume
Book: A Treatise of Human Nature

I
Author: Henrik Ibsen
Book: Peer Gynt

J
Author: Jacques Maritain
Book: Reflections on America

K
Author: Franz Kafka
Book: The Trial

L
Author: Lucian of Samosata
Book: The Passing of Peregrinus

M
Author: Naguib Mahfouz
Book: Arabian Nights and Days

N
Author: Vladimir Nabokov
Book: Lolita

O
Author: Ovid
Book: Metamorphoses

P
Author: Alexander Pope
Book: Essay on Man

Q
Author: Quentin Skinner
Book: The Foundations of Modern Political Thought

R
Author: Raymond Chandler
Book: The Long Goodbye

S
Author: Nawal el-Saadawi
Book: Memoirs from the Women's Prison

T
Author: Alexis de Toqueville
Book: Democracy in America

U
Author: Unknown
Book: The Poem of the Cid

V
Author: Victor Hugo
Book: Les Miserables

W
Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Book: Evangeline

X
Author: Malcolm X
Book: The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Y
Author: Kawabata Yasunari
Book: Snow Country

Z
Author: Zora Neale Hurston
Book: Their Eyes Were Watching God


I have no clue how long it will take me to get through this list, but I'm going to give it a fair go. Once I've finished a book, I'll review, critique, or analyze it as the mood strikes me. Wish me luck!


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