posted June 28, 2004 12:16 AM              

I'm curious as to what page everyone's on.
Y'know - what kinda media you've been taking in as of late.

Personally, I just finished _Bias : A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News_ by Bernard Goldberg.
(Interesting look at liberal bias in the media, television news especially, coming from a man who's "never voted for a Republican for president in his life".
He does, however, say that he's "not bitter" about the raw deal that he got from CBS News and his collegues in gen waaay too often for me to believe that he truly isn't.)

And'm currently on:

_On Killing : The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society_ by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
(Highly recommended, if somewhat repetitive in its points. Last interesting bit gleaned from it yesterday: People leave out a huuuge chunk of Sherman's oft-cited quote, "War is hell."
The whole thing goes,
I am sick and tired of war. It's glory is all moonshine. It is only for those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell. )

and

_101 Things I Wish I Knew When I Got Married: Simple Lessons to Make Love Last_ by Linda Bloom, Charlie Bloom
(Granted, I'm a novice at the whole binding commitment in love between two people thing, but its advice seems reasonable enough.
For example: #21 - If you can't be happy without your partner, you won't be happy together; #11 - If you choose monogomy, keep your agreement; and #10 - It isn't conflict that destroys marriages; it's the cold, smoldering resentment that is bred by withholding.
It gives starter snippets such as the above, and then goes into an explanation given by either one half of the husband-wife writing team or by both.

I also just saw the re-doing of "The Stepford Wives" (interesting, if a little loud with its message) and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (poo-pooers be derned, I loved it; it's fun and enjoyable...and'll scare the living crap out of most kids under 8...just so you know...).
Jase and I caught "Dodgeball" a couple of weeks ago (oh...bad unintended pun). It was goofy as heck, but what did I expect?

As far as webcontent, I've probably been visiting here, armytimes.com, and npr.com the most.

OK, now I'm just killing time until I'm tired.
Meg and I are at my dad's right now, taking-up temporary residence in his office on this leg of our "Visiting Relatives in the DC-Metro Area Whirlwind Extravaganza Tour" and I can't get to sleep.

Still interested in your media habits, though.
What we see shapes us, no?

posted June 28, 2004 12:25 AM            

I havn`t had much time for the pleasure. I did peruse my wildflower book of Mi looking for a specific plant. Oh, then the weekly newspaper and my mail.

Geez, you just pointed out what a mundane life I`m living.

Next...

posted June 28, 2004 12:32 AM              

I read the first one when I was about 14. I've always meant to go back and read the rest.

posted June 28, 2004 06:08 AM              

'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' by Mark Haddon - brilliant book, which won Whitbred book of the year; centred around an autistic 15year old boy who plays detective.

Also; 'The Four Noble Truths' by the big DL

The rest of my leisure time is spent here! - Well allllmost!!

Proxieme - good to see ya back!

posted June 28, 2004 08:51 AM            

Just started reading "The Time Traveler's Wife." Excellent read.

posted June 28, 2004 09:45 AM            

It's called The Rule of Four, by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason.

posted June 28, 2004 10:27 AM              

i'm more of a novel gal myself. ahhh, escapism...

last week i finished The Secret Life of Bees - beauuuutiful book, guys - well-written and a superb story. plus lots of fun facts about bees (juni - i think you'd love this one!). and also At the Root of this Longing, an attempt to reconcile feminism with spirituality. the author had a really soft yet clear style of writing that fascinated me, and she drew from a mix of Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian perspectives to flesh out her thesis. i think this is one i will have to reread in the not-too-distant future.

and last night i sadly turned the final pages of The Mark of the Angel. also finely written, though the story was deep and difficult. left me feeling somber and pensive. or maybe that was from reading The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - written by a gentleman who had suffered a stroke - and lost his ability to speak, but not to think - or crack jokes! he sure did make me appreciate the charmed life i lead.

also reading Mountains Beyond Mountains, about Dr. Paul Farmer and his work in Haiti (inspiration to get my butt into gear) - and The Archivist, which is about two people who share an interest in T.S. Eliot's work. (another) one of those books i wish i had the talent to write!

yesterday i splurged and ordered Hidden Messages in Water from borders books. yay!

posted June 28, 2004 12:40 PM              

Trillian, you're going on beach hols tomorrow! Woohoo! Well have a safe and relaxing time away :cooldude: When are you back.. and are you logging in from the beach or shall we await you're safe return?

Dorkus - what's The Notebook about?

posted June 28, 2004 02:14 PM            

I loved those books so much..the Flowers in the Attic. I still have the images in my mind of how I pictured the attic as looking, the arsenic on the donuts and Carrie (was that it or Catherine?) the ballerina. Hmmm, those books, anything by Judy Blume and of course Nancy Drew...that was my adolescent staple.

posted June 28, 2004 02:33 PM            

Right now I'm finishing "The Series of Unoftunate Events" by Lemony Snicket - great read for old kids.

Also I found a little book on Reiki, quick read but very informative - "Reiki - a key to your personal healing power" by Lena Johansson.

Another one "Own your health : choosing the best from alternative & conventional medicine : experts to guide you, research to inform you, and stories to inspire you" by Roanne Weisman introduces different holistic and traditional approaches to medicine and in a very calm manner talks about complementary medicine as opposed to alternative medicine.

Another interesting book is "The working poor : invisible in America" by David K. Shipler. Very educational - expecially for foreigners with big 'American Dreams'

I'll stop here because the list goes on and on.

I found that listening to books on tape is also a pleasant experience after you learn how to concetrate on what you're listening to. I had a little problem with that in the beginning because I'm so used to reading the books.

posted June 28, 2004 02:37 PM              

I'm LOVING these books. I don't know why I didn't finish the series a long time ago when I read Flowers in the Attic.

posted June 28, 2004 02:38 PM              

Faith, Madness, and Spontaneous Human Combustion
What Immunology Can Tech us about Self-Perception
by Gerald N Callahan

"the poet, the scientist, the philisopher, the artist. In this book, they are all wrapped up in one fascinating package."

"there are fascinating facts here, as well as some genuinely engaging recollections from Callahans's life."

posted June 28, 2004 04:54 PM            

LibraSparkle - thanks for the clarification. I was very addicted to those books as a kid. Then it morphed into The Vampire Chronicles and all things weirdly Science and Occultish.

posted June 28, 2004 09:46 PM              

After that, I read The Lovely Bones...also a good book that I read in one night (couldn't put it down) but it didn't end the way I had anticipated.

posted June 29, 2004 11:05 AM              

so, you gotta guy who brings you books?!? me thinks you gotta keeper!!!