Knights of Avington

Review - A Common Wealth of Thieves - 6/10

2007-01-03T18:49:00.000-08:00

A Commonwealth of Thieves: The Improbable Birth of Australia

As the title suggests, the country of Australia was founded with the intentions of being a penal colony housing the unwanted criminals of England. Remarkably, now Australia is one of worlds most technology advanced and desirably advanced countries in the world.

This book chronicles the first five years of the countries founding. It details the different stories of the criminals, what they did to be shipped to Australia and how they lived once they got there.

To be honest I could not really get into this book, and I think it is probably mostly my fault. I just lost interest early on and could never get it back. I think it was because the stories were just so foreign to me that they I just did not care. The book is written well and there are some interesting stories, but it was not for me.

Review - Black Rednecks and White Liberals - 10/10

2006-12-14T17:30:00.000-08:00

Black Rednecks and White Liberals

Author, Thomas Sowell, who often appears on the Rush Limbaugh show when he is on vacation, being interviewed by another black conservative professor who's name escapes me at the moment, has written a book that documents how blacks in America are getting raw deal by the very people who proclaim to be helping them.

In a most ironic thesis, Sowell documents how much of the ghetto black culture is actually not a black culture at all, but it found its roots in a not so admirable culture of white people who lived in northern Britain and migrated to the southern U.S. during the countries founding.

He also pointed out that slavery is not necessarily a white on black thing but is a greater society on society thing. As matter of fact, in africa many whites were enslaved by Islamic Blacks. He points out that until 18th, 19th centuries no one thought there was anything wrong with slavery and it was western civilization that stopped it in its own region and then used its great influence to end it all over the world. Here I would make a stronger stand and say it was Christianity that put a stop to slavery and used it's influence to end it all over the world.

This book is quite informative and a easy read.

Review - Rally Cry 10/10

2006-11-28T18:04:00.000-08:00

Rally Cry (Lost Regiment)

Well, when Colonel Kean and his soldiers were somehow transported to this new mysterious land I had my doubts about this story, but I must say that after completing it I not only wanted more, but I bought the second book in the series. What a great story!

Kean is the consummate hero. Like other heroes in other stories I have read, he knows how to kill lots of people and lead others in killing lots of people; but unlike other heroes I have read, Kean struggles with this ability and wants to do what is right and hates the fact that he has turned some of his young naive soldiers into ruthless killing machines. Kean is man of honor, so much so, that even his enemies are amazed at his strength of character. He is sort of a fictional George Washington.

The surrounding characters are interesting also and even the villains in this story have points about them that you can admire. The battles are intense and character development is intriguing.

One of the best books I have read this year.

Lost - I Do

2006-11-12T15:37:00.000-08:00

Read the recap of the episode here.

John Locke has that little sparkle in his eyes. I'm glad to see the old John is back.
It sounds like the table are going to begin to turn for the Lostees.
I'm still peeved that Echo was killed off.
I still think there is only one island.
SPOILER: I here there is a Desmond episode and in his back-story he also has the ability to predict the future.
Is the guy with the patch someone else who is hiding on the island?
I don't like the fact that the writers had Kate and Sawyer gett'n busy? I think that ruins the tension between them and makes them less interesting characters.

City of God - Book IV

2006-11-04T10:32:00.000-08:00

City of God

IN THIS BOOK IT IS PROVED THAT THE EXTENT AND LONG DURATION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE IS TO BE ASCRIBED, NOT TO JOVE OR THE GODS OF THE HEATHEN, TO WHOM INDIVIDUALLY SCARCE EVEN SINGLE THINGS AND THE VERY BASEST FUNCTIONS WERE BELIEVED TO BE ENTRUSTED, BUT TO THE ONE TRUE GOD, THE AUTHOR OF FELICITY, BY WHOSE POWER AND JUDGMENT EARTHLY KINGDOMS ARE FOUNDED AND MAINTAINED.

In this book, Augustine ask the question, "If the Romans thought that one god would suffice then why would they then worship many other gods? Essentially Augustine concludes that it is a result of their proud will.

"For he cannot be free from infelicity who worships Felicity as a goddess, and forsakes God, the giver of felicity; just as he cannot be free from hunger who licks a painted loaf of bread, and does not buy it of the man who has a real one."

Augustine argues that the Jews never worshipped these gods however they were freed from Egyption bondage and given a land to settle. Had the Jews continued faithfully worshipping the one true God they would still be living in their land today and also have even more land.

"And if they had not sinned against Him with impious curiosity, which seduced them like magic arts, and drew them to strange gods and idols, and at last led them to kill Christ, their kingdom would have remained. to them, and would have been, if not more spacious, yet more happy, than that of Rome. And now that they are dispersed through almost all lands and nations, it is through the providence of that one true God; that whereas the images, altars, groves, and temples of the false gods are everywhere overthrown, and their sacrifices prohibited, it may be shown from their books how this has been foretold by their prophets so long before; lest, perhaps, when they should be read in ours, they might seem to be invented by us. But now, reserving what is to follow for the following book, we must here set a bound to the prolixity of this one."

Lost - The Cost of Living

2006-11-04T10:19:00.000-08:00

See a review of the this episode here.

I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY KILLED OFF ECHO! HE WAS MY FAVORATE CHARACTOR! I AM REALLY FIRED UP!
I don't believe that little display that Juliet presented to Jack. Is Ben concocting some even crazier scheme?
Paulo is an annoying charactor. he whines and complains too much. Hopefully that will change as the season progresses.

Review - Eye of the Needle - 7/10

2006-10-31T18:21:00.000-08:00

Eye of the Needle

This the second book I read from Ken Follet. I really enjoyed his book Hornet Flight finishing the book I went back and read the review and a lot of the reviews said that "Hornet Flight" was no where near as good as "Eye of the Needle". I must say after having read both books, I like "Hornet Flight" more.

This book is about a German spy who surveys the U.S. plans in Britain to raid the German front. The Brit's learn this man has pictures of the U.S. formation and is going to send them to Germany and the chase is on. Much of the book is about his ruthless attempt to escape Britain.

I guess, that is why I was turned off by this book. The main character of the book is the bad guy. By circumstance he tries to leave Britain by boat in the middle of one of the worst storms in history and ends up washed a shore, ironically named Storm Island. The small island has three residence: a self loathing veteran who lost his legs, his unfaithful wife who sleeps with the enemy with a couple nights of meeting him and old sheep herdsman who does not factor much in the book and get killed off.

The book is suspenseful and well written but I just did not like any of the characters. There was really no one to root for.

Lost - Every Man for Himself

2006-10-31T17:58:00.000-08:00

You can see a synopsis of the episode here.

So what's up with Demon? He made a lightning rod exactly where lightning was going to strike.
The others have a Submarine?!
I agree with Mac. They sure have a lot trust in Jack. Didn't he just try and escape?
Stay tuned for a Ben and Jack confrontation.

Review - Mariel of Redwall - 8/10

2006-10-25T18:12:00.000-07:00

Mariel of Redwall (Redwall, Book 4)

Oh to be a kid again.

In the continuing children's series about a clan of noble mice and other peaceful creature who live in a fortress called Redwall introduces to a heroine named Mariel.

Mariel is a brave and brash younger mouse maid who was thrown off the ship if the evil rat Gabool and left for dead. Meanwhile her father remains imprisoned by the same rats.

Mariel washes ashore in Mossflower country and is taken in by the Redwall creatures. She vows to kill Gabool and rescue her father. It is at this point the story really begins when herself and some of her new friends from Redwall begin the journey to save her father.

I say at this point because because it was some what of a slow start for this story but other than that this book a pleasing read and I enjoyed it as much I did the first three stories.

Lost - Further Instructions

2006-10-23T17:47:00.000-07:00

You can check out a synopsis here

So when Hurly saw Desmond, was he hallucinating?
How did Desmond foresee the future?
One thing I noticed from this episode was that there was a greater power helping Locke. It reminded me of Narnia where the Lion is often in the background helping but not being seen.
Was that police officer part of Dharma?
Looks like Locke is getting his Mo-Jo back.

City of God - Book III

2006-10-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

City of God

AS IN THE FOREGOING BOOK AUGUSTINE HAS PROVED REGARDING MORAL AND SPIRITUAL CALAMITIES, SO IN THIS BOOK HE PROVES REGARDING EXTERNAL AND BODILY DISASTERS, THAT SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE CITY THE ROMANS HAVE BEEN CONTINUALLY SUBJECT TO THEM; AND THAT EVEN WHEN THE FALSE GODS WERE WORSHIPPED WITHOUT A RIVAL, BEFORE THE ADVENT OF CHRIST, THEY AFFORDED NO RELIEF FROM SUCH CALAMITIES.

In this book Augustine continues his point from the previous book considering the Roman gods. In this book Augustine ask a series of questions regarding the respone of the gods during the many tagic events that occured before the times of the Christians. Where were these gods during the times of famine, pestilense, riots, military defeats, fires, desolations, plagues, infections, deseases, deaths caused by weather, and violance amungst the nobles?

Again, if all these tragedies before the Christians even existed how could they be attributed to them now?

Lost - The Glass Ballerina

2006-10-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

You can see a summary of this episode here.

In Mac's summary, he was convinced the Sun did indeed consummate her relationship with Jae, but I am not so sure. When they show them in bed my impression was they were just getting ready to start but she stopped it at that point.
Sayid has officially transformed himself into Ramo.
Jin is next on the transformation list.
I just realized that the most of the men who have survived the crash have had some sort of fighting experience.

Echo was a drug lord.
Jin was a henchman
Sayid was in the military and specialized in torture.
The facts are still out on Jack but I think he is a closet fighter of some sort.
The same is true with Sawyer. The way he handled himself with the Others is pretty good indication that he is experienced.
What about John Locke?
Definitely not Charlie or Hugo.

Review - Hood - 9/10

2006-10-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

Steven R. Lawhead starts his new trilogy based on the legendary stories of Robin Hood. There is twist thrown in this trilogy and that is that this Robin hood is not based on the old and tired Robin Hood of the Sherwood Forest. No, this Robin Hood story takes place a few hundred years earlier during the time of the conquest of Normans.

Bran ap Brychanis is the son of a king of a small province in Whales and he and his kingly father do not get along at all. As a matter of fact the story starts out with the father berating his son for his usual lack of promptness.

When Bran's father is brutally murdered by the Normans while he was on his way to pay tribute to them, Bran is forced to flee his land and escape the Normans who are pursuing him. He narrowly escapes with his life and ends up collapsing from is severe flesh wounds and starvation in a mysterious forest.

A strange elderly woman stumbles across Bran's body and she decides to nurse him back to health. It is the introduction of this odd relationship between Bran and this elderly lady in which Bran transforms himself into Hood. This woman is some sort of wise sage who councils and at times argues with Bran and convinces him to defend his kingdom. She sort of reminds me of Yoda.

This book is great read and is up to level of Lawhead's other books. My only complaint is at the end the story just stops leaving a lot of questions unanswered. But that is small potatoes.

Review - Double Play - 9/10

2006-10-11T16:08:00.000-07:00

Robert Parker, who is one of my favorite authors, starts a new story line with the character Burke; and to be honest, this is the first book by Parker outside of the Spenser series that I really enjoyed as much as Spenser. Burke is a despondent war veteran of the Second World War who was sent home when he was struck by enemy fire and critically injured. When he gets home, he also learns that his wife has left him. Through a series of events, he ends up protecting Jackie Robinson (the first African American to play in baseball in The Majors).

For of us who never really experienced racism, Parker really paints a powerful picture of the reality of the despicable attitudes that existed towards people of color during that time.

At the same time Parker tells the story of how Burke's relationship with Robinson lifts him out of his fog and show him to care about life again.

Very thought provoking while at the same time enjoyable novel to read.

Lost - Tale of Two Cities

2006-10-10T18:23:00.000-07:00

Summery of this episode can be seen here. It was a good start to the season.

In my opinion Metthew Fox delivers his finest performance. An incredibly intense, moving, psycotic performance.
Sawyer's first nick name of the year..."Chachi". I believe that is Fonzy's cousin from "Happy Days".
Another shower for Kate...no comment :)
So the others know all about the crash survivors. How did they get that information.
Are the others still part of Dharma?

Review - The Last Kingdom - 6/10

2006-10-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

As far as historical novels go, this book, to me, was mediocre at best. It is a shame to because a summary of the plot would seem to make this book an interesting read but alas it was just okay.

I had not read any of this author's (Bernard Cornell) book before so maybe this was a hindrance for me to get into the story but I just could not get myself interested, especially in the main character.

Uhtred is a just a boy when his father and his army are attacked by the pagan Danes. His father is brutally killed and he is captured and made a slave. He spends many years there as slave and while he is there he learns to fight like a warrior. His fortunes change and soon he ends up back with the English.

The boy never really misses his father and seems to enjoy fighting almost too much. It seems the character isn't driven by anything because it is just, it is what ever side he happens to on at the time that is who is going to fight for and win because he loves the battle.

As a matter of fact, the boy turns into a man and gets married but there is scant reference to her yet the last battle he fights in is because he wants to be with her. He has son also? Ultimately the book ends before they are reunited although it appears that he was off to see her when the book ends.

The City of God - Book II

2006-09-28T17:48:00.000-07:00

In the second book of the City of God, Augustine refutes the idea that is was Christianity that was the cause of the fall of Rome. He states that was in fact that it was the worship of Roman gods before the birth of Christ that caused their downfall.

Review - Kitchen Confidential - 8/10

2006-09-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

To sum up this book, I really like the summary that was done by the Amazon.com reviewer.

"Most diners believe that their sublime sliver of seared foie gras, topped with an ethereal buckwheat blini and a drizzle of piquant huckleberry sauce, was created by a culinary artist of the highest order, a sensitive, highly refined executive chef. The truth is more brutal. More likely, writes Anthony Bourdain in Kitchen Confidential, that elegant three-star concoction is the collaborative effort of a team of 'wacked-out moral degenerates, dope fiends, refugees, a thuggish assortment of drunks, sneak thieves, sluts, and psychopaths,' in all likelihood pierced or tattooed and incapable of uttering a sentence without an expletive or a foreign phrase."

At one point in my life I really thought I would want to some day own a restaurant. After watching reality restaurant shows on TV, I was cured of that absurd idea and this book just makes that initial inclination totally laughable. What was I thinking!

I reviewed other books of Tony Bourdain on this blog and I stated before that I think this guy is a closet intellectual. The fact that he is such a captivating writer yet, gleaning from this book, a total degenerate druggy is totally amazing.

It just goes to show that you are never too far gone to make something of your life. Come to think of it, that is great metaphor for Christ's love for us. No matter how far down the wrong path you go, God can always call you and use you for something special. Not to say that Tony would agree with all this religious stuff.

There is always room for redemption with God.

I must say though, this book really pushes the limit of what I can stomach in fowl language in a book. I could never recommend this book to someone without warning them of the totally filthy putrid language presented in this book. I actually had to skip one chapter which he described in intricate detail the fowl restaurant jargon that is used across America.

A side from the language, this book is a great read. To me autobiographies are always interesting and when you have such a good writer as Tony, it makes this genre all the better.

The City of God - Book 1

2006-09-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

"Augustine censures the pagans, who attribute the calamities of the work, and especially the sack of Rome by the Goths, to the Christian religion and its prohibition of the worship of the gods."

In this book, Augustine talks about the reasons the good suffer along with the bad in calamities. "Christians should humbly consider those very sins which have provoked God to fill the earth with such terrible disasters." Every man not matter how strident they pursue holiness falls short and and "yields in some points to the lust of the flesh."

When the Christian suffers in these calamities do they loose "Their faith? Their godliness? Their possessions of the hidden man of the heart, which sight of God are a great price?" Under persecution, no one looses Christ by confessing him.

Man lives every day under the casualties of life and is not certain that he will be blessed with another day. Man should not inquire what death they are to die but where that death will usher him. One thing is for sure they will only have to go through that ordeal once, because after that is eternity in the presence of God. "...Since Christians are aware of that death of the godly pauper whose sores the dogs licked was far better then of the wicked rich man who lay in purple and fine linen, what harm could these terrific deaths do to the dead who had lived well.

Later, Augustine goes on to discuss whether or not a virtuous, Christian woman who is attacked by a ruthless evil soldier and raped can maintain her virtuosity. Would this soldiers sin be counted against her also. Of course the answer is no. As long as she did not desire for the action to take place then she is not culpable. Because of this she should also not consider suicide to rid herself of the sin because she had not sinned in the first place and because she would be committing a greater sin.

Review - The Time Traveler's Wife - 3/10

2006-09-12T16:41:00.000-07:00

The story about a man who has some sort of genetic disease which cause him to unpredictably time travel for no apparent reason to his past port future or to people he comes in touch with's past or future.

First off, this book is more of a romance novel than a science fiction fantasy novel as there is no plot except for the relationship between Henry and his present, future or past wife or what ever she is.

Second, there is not plot. No ultimate conflict. No stories of redemption. There is just these two narcissistic characters and Henry's little quirk of time travel. If you were to ask me what this book was about, I would have to scratch my head and say, "Hmm, I guess its about two people who lived ordinary lives with the exception that one of them happens to be able to travel back and forth through time." Beyond that I don't know what else to say.

Third, I know time travel just happens and he has know control of it, but the idea that this thirty something year old guy naked in field seducing a little six year old girl is really creepy, even if he does she later becomes his wife. Another thing he does is steal and pick pocket people so he can dress himself when travels. All these things make Henry not a very likable charactor in my opinion.

Fourth, the graphic sexual descriptions in this book should relegate it to the adult only section and not the fantasy section where kids.

Nasal Surgery Recovery - Day 9

2006-09-10T15:37:00.000-07:00

Well I must say that I can breath much better now.

I had my stints removed from my nose this past Thursday and while I was in there he sucked out more stuff out my nose.

The doctor said that I had a massive turbinate in my right nostril that needed a lot of work and because of that, there is going to be a lot of bleeding and it is going to take about 8 weeks to fully recover. I have to go back to the doctor every two weeks.

I have to flush out my sinuses every morning and every night with saline. I am continuously shocked what comes out my nose every time that I do that. It is this really gross stringy dark red gook that comes out in large quantities. Really nasty stuff.

As far as pain goes, I have taking a pair of Extra Strength Tylenol a day. I can't the heavy stuff any more because it is giving me major constipation....not fun!

Review - The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization - 9/10

2006-09-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

This book looks again at the historical facts of the fall of Rome and it impacts on society. He alleges that the recent notion that the fall was peaceful and something that was mutually acceptable for both sides is not at all what happen.

With many facts at hand, especially archeological evidence, Bryan Ward Perkins, demonstrates that the fall of Rome was not peacefully and it set back civilization several hundreds of years. There are even nice pictures and graphs to demonstrate his point.

Before the fall of Rome, people lived in relative comfort in well architect home and many tools and pottery at hand to make it through the day. There was extensive trading across the continent and people lived safe lives.

After the fall, people had to leave the cities and settle on lands an till the fields. They could not read and had very little means to make it through life. They were constantly being harassed and tormented by different invaders migrating across the lands.

My only complaint about this book is that it was too brief and maybe could have covered more sub-topics under this subject like the rise of feudalism and the religious impacts and maybe more info on the main leaders during the time.

Nasal Surgery Recovery - Day 1

2006-09-02T06:35:00.000-07:00

The last few years I had really been struggling with breathing through my nose. I knew I had a deviated septum and when to see the ENT doctor he told me that it was 95% to 100% blocked. He also said the membranes that surround my nasal passage (called turbinate's) were very swollen.

Thus, yesterday I had surgery to straighten my deviated septum and to reduce the turbinate swelling. He also removed some polyps and drained my sinuses. It was under general anesthesia and the procedure itself lasted a half hour but I was out for about an hour and half.

When I first woke up my first thought was "WOW -- I can breath through my nose!" My second thought was "Where the [H-E-DOUBLE-TOOTHPICKS] am I? I was having a real nice dream and it was so tranquil and then all the sudden I woke up and there was nurse over me who said Hello Steve." At that time I did no know what was going on. I did not recall that I had gone into surgery in the first place and I could not remember anything. Then all the sudden I got a vision in my mind of the anesthesiologist putting the anesthesia in my IV which even till this point was that last thing I remember. At that point I realized that I had just came out of surgery but it took about thirty seconds for this realization. The recovery room was not private so there were beds with patients wheeling by and nurses and doctors scurrying back and forth, and a lot of different noises coming from all over the place. They brought in my wife and apparently I kept saying to her, "I'm so disoriented". She says I looked like I saw a ghost.

So the first 24 hours the pain has not been to bad. As matter of fact, this morning I did not take the prescription pain killer, instead I took two Tylenol and I feel pretty good.

I hardly had any strength to anything yesterday but today I feel a little better. The fact that I am sitting here at the computer is a good sign that I am getting my strength back because the computer is up stairs.

My nose is real sensitive and it is leaking a lot of blood. Yesterday I was leaking blood out of my eye socket but that appears to have stopped.

My wife has been a real trooper taking care of me. She has been feeding me and making the gauss to put under my nose and making sure I am taking my medicine. She has been a real jewel in this ordeal.

Review - Hornet Flight - 9/10

2006-08-21T18:29:00.000-07:00

Reading again one of my favorite genres which is a fictional story that takes place in a real historical setting. In this case, the story takes place during the Nazi occupation of Denmark.

During the 2nd World War, the British are sending out war planes on bombing raids and more than half of the planes are not returning. As it turns out, the British intercept a secret message from the Germans and decipher it enough to determine that the German's have a sophisticated radar system.

It is left to a fledgling resistance movement in Denmark to sneak in to a secret radar facility and take pictures so the British can devise a flight pattern to keep their fliers safe.

Harald is an eighteen year old boy who by association (friend of a friend sort of thing) finds him self in the middle of the plot. With the help of a friend and romantic interest, Karen, take it upon themselves to take the pictures and then get them in British hands.

I really liked the characters in this story. Especially Harald's father who is a minister of a church. His father is larger than life imposing fellow who lives by the letter of the law; however, when he discovers his son is caught up in the espionage, he acts nobly by misleading the authorities who are looking for him. He justifies himself not by giving excuses, but realizing that he has sinned and that he had to do what he did to save his sons life. It reminds of the story of Rehab who hid the Israelites and lied to the authorities to save their lives.

Although, there were some predicable parts, this story is a page turner, and at the same time helped shed light on what it was like to live under the Nazi occupation.

Review - Heat - 6/10

2006-08-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

Bill Buford who works for the "New Yorker" and wanted to profile Mario Batali in the magazine ended up writing a book about his experience with Mario also.

His assignment was to work for Mario at one of his restaurants and record his experiences. He ended up working at the restaurant for several years and the book accounts his life as a cook at the different cooking stations there. He also traveled to Europe to learn different cooking techniques and he writes about those happenings as well.

The book starts out when he first meets Mario. You then discover that Mario is a party animal and the life of any party where ever he goes. Mario is portrayed as a guy full of life and working like crazy by day and partying like there is no tomorrow at night.

To be frank the interesting parts of the book when the book focuses on Mario and unfortunately that is only about a third of the content.

The rest of the book talks about how he learned to cooked which to me was not all that interesting.

Review - Nasty Bits - 7/10

2006-08-16T07:23:00.000-07:00

Chef, author and TV host, Tony Bourdain, has written a lot of magazine and newpaper articles ranging from food celebrities to his travels accross the world and this book is a compilation of all that stuff.

He is the host of one my favorate shows on TV called "No Reservations", in which he travels from location to location trying the different regions food.

All in all it is a pretty entertaining read. It is all pretty disjoint stuff so there is really no theme to follow, but it is more a quick glimps of his thoughts on different subjects.

Although, at times he is a bit over the top irreverent and vulgar, he is an extremely intelligent, thoughtful, clever writer with great since of humor. I have a hunch that he is in fact a closet scholar, possiblily attending Harvard or Yale but never telling anybody.

Notable Old Earthers

2006-08-02T05:41:00.000-07:00

When an organization sent out a newsletter lambasting The Old Earth View, they provided a list of notable scholars who were supportive of this idea.

Frankly if all these scholars held a view that I did not hold, I would take pause.
Read the list here.

Review - Eldest - 7/10

2006-07-26T16:39:00.000-07:00

The followup of the great first fantasy novel "Eregon".

In case you have not read the first novel, Eregon discovers what he thinks is a giant precious stone. When it turns out to be a dragons egg, he realizes that the evil kingdom is out to destroy him and his dragon. In the process of fleeing he learns about his special powers and begins to cultivate them.

In the second novel, Eregon travels to the kingdom of the elves to receive training for him and his dragon. Meanwhile his cousin, Roran, who returns to the city where Eregon lived with Roran's father, discovers that Eregon is missing and his father was murdered. After being attacked by the kingdom soldiers, he convinces his fellow villagers to flee across the great mountains called The Spine.

Like many second novels in a trilogy this story ends up being just a set up for the third book and not much happens until the last quarter of the book. I also think Paolini should have spent more time on Roran's story than Eregon. Eregon's studies and lessons were interesting at times, but much of it seemed to be pointless and dragged on too long.

Another strange thing is that the story is sort of a "Star Wars" meets "Lord of the Rings". I am not going to make accusations, but at the very least much of the plot is not very original. I kep't thinking I was going to read the phrase "Luke--I am your Father."

Aside from those short comings this was a great epic read, and I am looking forward to the last book. Having read a bunch of fantasy novels lately, I am coming to realize that this genre is a very difficult to get right. I think Paolini is one of the very few authors that his been successful in my opinion. Not to the level of Tolkin or Lewis but probably at the level below those two great giants.

Review - The Lincoln Lawyer - 10/10

2006-07-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

In this novel, Michael Connelly introduces us to a new character in his arsenal and hopefully this is a character that we will see again in the future.

Mickey Holler is defense lawyer with the skills and savvy of any of the best lawyers in the business. He is a son of a world famous lawyer himself although he did not really know his father because he past away when he was five. He has a unique working style in that he does not work out of an office but he has hired a former client whom he represented to drive him around in his Lincoln Town Car and it is there in his car where he does most of his work.

The story begins when Mickey is hired by a client who is suspected of attacking and raping a hooker. The client is extremely wealthy real estate agent and Mickey knows that this case is going to earn him a tremendous paycheck.

Things begin to get serious and personal as he investigates the case and as Mickey says he comes in contact with pure evil.

The twists and turns in this book are breathtaking and never stop. I found myself anxiously a waiting the next time I could pick up the book because I had to know what was going to happen next.

In the end, it is also a great story of redemption as Mickey tries to regain ties with young daughter and mend his relationship with his ex-wife, and although at times he makes mistakes and bad decisions he ultimately does the right thing risking everything.

Review - The Scratch of a Pen - 8/10

2006-06-28T16:09:00.000-07:00

In my previous post, I reviewed the book, “The American Experience” and where that book takes a very broad look at life during the colonial ages this book “The Scratch of a Pen” takes a more specific look at the impact of the French and Indian war. Actually the book only briefly discusses the war itself; but instead, the focus is on the ramification of this war.

Interesting to note that not before or since has so much land changed hands from one occupier to another and this books specifically looks at how it impacted the people living one these lands including the French, English and the Indians.

On a side note: where it seems most modern books like to take the theme that Indians were good and white people were bad, this book takes a more balanced approach. Calloway the author does talk about how many Indians were forced off their land unfairly and how some settlers wanted nothing but genocide for the natives; but he also discusses where in many cases the native people worked well together with the settlers forming profitable trading and hospital environments for all of the occupants. He also discusses how not all native people were above approach, in fact some were down right ruthless and violent. I think that is a lesson that can be taught for us in this day and age, and that is that not only is helping your fellow man, not matter what race or religion he is rewarding for us as individuals but it is also facilitates a more prosperous society for all who partake. Conversely, not treating your fellow man with respect produces strife animosity and hurts the overall condition of the society.

Review - The Americans: The Colonial Experiance - 9/10

2006-06-28T15:30:00.000-07:00

This year I have entered one of my book reading phases where I have been interested in learning about colonial America. I have been wondering what life was like during this time to live on this new land before it was actually a new nation. This book fulfills much of those curiosities.

I like the way the book was organized. This first section I found the most interesting when Boorstin discuss the various different colonies that settled in the Americas and how they were all here for different reasons such as religion, politics and the search for a better life.

I also like that Boorstin discusses just the all around way of life during this time. Some interesting anecdotes are that the although the Europeans were far more advanced medically, many times Americans did far better left alone than they would have been if they were treated by a doctor. Or that Americans lacked books or the ability to produce books so the periodical and new papers became very popular.

All in all, this book is a good start to learning about the colonial era.

Review - Company 6/10

2006-06-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

At first I thought to myself that this story is so implausible that I almost could not continue reading it.

The story is about a company and the corporate culture at the company, but the twist is this company is not really a company but actually a case study on corporate productivity. What is really going on is that the company is just a front and the people in the company are being experimented on to see how corporations can maximize productivity from their employers.

How you could possibly keep that a secret so that no one who is working there knows, and no one out side the company knows is beyond me; but this is the premise of the story.

Once you wrestle your brain to get past this elephant in the room, the story telling is not all that bad and at times the story is intriguing and the characters are interesting. Steve Jones is a good lead character and his interaction with Eve is compelling.

Also the story asks an interesting ethical question: What should you do if you know the truth about something, but if you tell someone involved with the truth statement you could ruin their life. If you are compelled to tell them one way or another, do you tell them the truth or do you lie to them?

I believe that in the end, Jones makes the correct choice.

Christian Responses to 'The Da Vinci Code'

2006-05-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

With the whole hoopla of 'The Da Vinci Code' movie now past us, I must say that the Christian responses to this movie have been fabulous. With some very small exceptions, there was no silly picketing of movies like there was when "The Last Temptation of Christ" came out, and there was no hysterical cries for boycotts.

Instead, Christian leaders and scholars have produced a plethora of material presenting the real facts debunking on what Dan Brown proports to be true. The Christian response was so overwhelming that even U.S. News and World Report covered it. Click here to the read article.

Virtually every Christian Leader whom I respect has made a clear, cogent response to the film. Here are some of the responses:

My favorite Christian theologian, R.C. Sproul, has made a response in his monthly devotional magazine, Tabletalk. Click here to read an interview regarding the magazine.

Brian Godowa, who is a Christian screen writer in Hollywood, responds to why Christians are so upset about the Da Vinci Code. Click here to see his blog.

Well known Reformed Baptist author and debater, James White, has a great response here. This link is the most comprehensive and useful to any one who needs to be informed about the issues 'The Da Vinci Code" book and movie presents.

Just a side note, it concerns me when I here other Christians worry about this film because it will cause Christians to loose there faith. To me, that shows little confidence in God's sovereign ability to save someone from their sins. God is not going to be defeated by some silly fictional story. If someone looses their faith then it seem to me that they never had true faith to begin with.

Lost - Live Together, Die Alone

2006-05-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry I missed last week’s episode but you can catch a synopsis of the episode "Three Minutes" by clicking here.

You can see this week’s season two, two part finale by clicking here.

Wow! What an ending. So many questions answered so many new questions.

Answered questions:

We know what happened to the notebooks in those pneumatic tubes. It turns out the Pearl was the mock site and not the Swan as John originally thought.
Entering those digits at the Swan site released some sort of geomagnetic pressure building up at that location.
Not only is the Henry Gail (imposter) one of the others but he is one of the other’s leaders.
We found out who Desmond’s partner is and it turns out he is the same Army officer that coerced Sayid in to torturing his own commanding officer in the Iraq Army.
We think we know now what brought down the plane. It was a geomagnetic reaction from the island that somehow ripped the plane in half.

New Questions:
Will Michael and Walt get away and never come back? Will we ever see them again?
What will happen with Jack, Kate and Sawyer when they are with the others?
Will Hurley go back or make it back to the island? My guess is he will go to the smoke fire set by Sayid.
Will Sayid save them?
What happened to Mr. Echo, Desmond, and John Locke? Is the Swan hatch destroyed? Why was Charley so unconcerned about their demise? Why did he not tell anybody?
Why did Clair kiss him? Didn’t he try to take her baby?
Who are these Brazilians? Will there now be a coinciding present time story off the island? If so, that will be new.
Why did the Brazilians call Desmond’s girlfriend when they saw the high magnetic readings? Is her father the leader of the Hanso Foundation?

Review - The Persian Wars, Volume 1 - 7/10

2006-05-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

Only knowing what the Bible describes about some these nations in which this book is about I was not sure what to expect. To be honest, although I am interested in learning about history, I know almost nothing about the Persian Wars.

"HERODOTUS (ca. 484 B.C – ca. 425 B.C.) was born into a family of the upper rank at Halicarnassus in Asia Minor, at that time subject to the Persian Empire. Because of his kinship to the epic poet Panyasis, who was put to death for political reasons, Herodotus left Halicarnassus as a young man, never to return. Most of what we know of him and his travels is derived from his writings. He lived for a time in Athens, where he was on friendly terms with the great men of the day, including Sophocles and Thucydides. Unable to obtain the franchise at Athens, he sailed from that port to the new colony of Thurii on the Gulf of Tarentum in Italy, where he became a citizen. He died and was buried there. " CHARLTON GRIFFIN

Although, I only listened to the first volume which does not talk at all about the war at all, I did find pretty interesting. In this volume Herodotus talks about the geography of the areas, the customs of the people during that time, and some juicy gossip about the kings and princes were in power.

I found it interesting to listen to him theorize about questions that have long been answered in today’s world. At one point Herodotus theorizes where the source of the Nile River comes from and in another the part he talks about why some animals have horns and some do not.

I know that historians have said that some portions of this literature are fabricated, my guess it is some the personal stories about the leaders of that time, but you still can get a great overview people what people were like during that time.

Lost - ?

2006-05-14T17:21:00.000-07:00

Click here to read a summary of this week's episode.

Mr. Eko is such an intriguing character. As I have said before, he is my favorite cast away. He was the most evil in his previous life and he is the one with the most nobility on the island with the possible exception of Jack.
So it appears that the Dharma people are watching, and according to the video there are boats coming to and from the island. Is this one big experiment?
Hopefully Mr. Eko talked some sense into John. I miss John's mojo.
I did not realize that the psychic was the same guy who tried to read Claire's future.
Sawyer is showing some compassion again. Nice to see.
The second Hanso Foundation commercial aired and advertised this website: http://www.sublymonal.com/.

Review - The Janson Directive 7/10

2006-05-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

This novel was recommended to me by a friend of mine from work and after seeing the two Bourne movies, "Bourne Identity" and "Bourne Supremacy", two of my favorite movies, I figured this was a "cannot loose" read.

For the most part I was not disappointed. The story has some surprising and interesting twist and the hero Janson is a likeable fellow on the whole. The revelations that you learn throughout the story make the book worth reading.

I guess I would say my disappointments in the book would be is that Janson is sort of boring. I did not feel much passion from that character and it translated to me as uninteresting. I believe the book could have been a bit shorter too. There are a lot of long drawn out sections in the middle of the story that probably did not need to be there.

This book is your typical made for the movies type of read. I would not be surprised to see it in the theatres soon.

Lost - Two for the Road

2006-05-07T17:32:00.000-07:00

Click here for a synopsis of this episode.

Woa! What an ending!
I think Michael has been black-mailed to set a trap in order to save his son.
Boy, that is a tough ethical problem.
There is now an actual web site for the Hanso Foundation. Some sort of organization that is trying to achieve eautopia. Interesting that the projects they are working on utopia to the characters on the island and the island itself.
You know if every one communicated with each other I think they could figure out what is going on.

Is Blind Faith For Sunday Morning?

2006-05-01T16:02:00.000-07:00

So today I get home from work, and my lovely wife, Ellie, says to me, you got to read this letter. You see I live in a condo and we had a lot of damage because of Hurricane Wilma and the condominium board members can’t agree to the best approach to repair all the damages.

There has been a lot of finger pointing and name calling and lo-and-behold we get a letter from the president of the association jumping in the fray. Frankly, I was with him until in has last paragraph he made the following statement:

“Blind faith is for Sunday morning.”

My first reaction was to think every bad name in the book to call him. My second reaction was to think of every bad name to call him. Then I got to thinking about what a Christian response should be and one of the best approaches when suddenly put on the defensive is to ask question.

We have a board meeting tonightand I never go because of these confratations but I am going tonight. I have only one question to ask that night and that is “What did you mean by that statement?” Depending on how I will follow up with some more questions.

You see the Christian approach is being smart and whimsical and be on the offensive without offending. Put the aggressor on the defensive and free yourself of making a winning argument.
Well, I will let you know how it goes.

Lost - SOS

2006-04-14T17:19:00.000-07:00

The recap of this episode is here

One thing that Bernard has helped me to realize is that no one wants to leave the island:

We found out in this episode that Rose was healed on the island and it was the mysterious powers on the island that healed her. Of course, because of her healing, Bernard wants to stay also.
John Lock wants to stay because he was also healed on the island.
Mr. Echo wants to stay because he is most likely wanted in his country and he now has a chance to be an island priest. It is a chance for him to start life over.
Kate wants to stay because she is wanted by police.
Charlie might want to stay because he has conquered his drug habit on the island although he has become an out cast.
Jin thinks the island healed him and he was able to get Sun pregnant. So maybe now he will want to stay.

Other thoughts about this episode:

Like Mac said, It was nice to see Jack get out of the hatch and get that "Obe-Wan Mojo" going. He was becoming insufferable in that hatch.
So Rose, knows John's little wheel chair secret. Wonder if she is the only one?
Mr. Echo is building a church....Good for him.
I am pretty confident in my manhood but I must admit, Bernard has really penetrating blue eyes.
How is it that Jack is such a good shot with a gun and is a card shark? Where did he get that tattoo?
Rose lies to Bernard, just so he will leave her alone. She is now on my "Do not trust list."
What ever happened to the nano mist monster? Have not seen it since Mr. Echo's backstory.

Judas wrote a gospel?

2006-04-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

This past week the discovery of the Gospel of Judas was released. I have been asked a lot about it at work and even some of my friends had some questions about it. So I wanted to put my thoughts down writing as to what I thought about it for posterity sake.

This is old news: http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/manuscripts/gospel_of_judas/
This seems to me to be all about money. Why else release this find right before Easter and before the movie, “The DaVinci Code” comes to theatres.
This is a Gnostic writing that was clearly denounced by the church and its leaders.
To that point, why is it that when, someone tries to defend there beliefs that supported by the majority, they are deemed deceitful (case in point is all the talk about Irenaeus). Yet when someone writes pure fiction about a religion they are enlightened thinkers and there motives are never questioned. Irenaeus was martyred for his beliefs.
Why is it that the media was so reluctant to publish the Islamic cartoons, but were falling all over themselves to publish these controversial findings?
Also, why does the media never interview good, popular conservative scholars? Instead, they find some hillbilly no one has ever heard of who makes a fool of themselves. If they need a list scholars I could provide that to them and I am just a lay person. Seems to me they purposely stack the deck.
Why do these scholars not apply the same skepticism to Gospel of Judas that they do to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?

Lost - Dave

2006-04-08T07:09:00.000-07:00

Click here for a synopsis of this episode.

thoughts about this episode:

As has been the case in the past, after there has been a really action pact, secret revealing episode, they follow it with a more character driven slower episode. I have notice from the blogs that some people don't like that approach. Myself, I like the variety of types of episodes because it keeps the show fresh and it will allow the writers to keep from "jumping the shark" sooner.
This backstory about Hurley reminded me a lot of the movie "A Beautiful Mind". Hopefully ultimate secrets behind the show is not that this island is some sort of dream. That type of existential world view ultimatly leads one to meaninglessness. If "life is but a dream" then we humans lead a pathetic existance and the ultimate question we should ask is: "Why not suicide?". The Christian world view says that we here for a purpose and that purpose is to Glorify God. That is why Christians cherish life so much.
Sawyer nickname of the week: When someone asks if they saw a plane. Sawyer calls the person "Tattoo".
Well it looks like I was wrong about Henry Gail not being one of the others.
But it looks like I was right about Libby being a psycho ward patient instead of actually being a doctor. She still could have been doctor too. I suppose it possible for a psychiatrist to be a patient.

Review - Shibumi 6/10

2006-04-03T15:19:00.000-07:00

Shibumi is a story of a prodigy, Nicholai Hel. He has a Russian mother and German father whom he never met. He is a genius who knows half-dozen languages and is welled versed in culture. Living through the 2 world wars, he matures and develops into the worlds most accomplished assassin.

I was torn on whether I liked this character or not and about half way through the book I even found myself rooting for the enemy. After all, the enemy, Mr. Diamond, is only doing his job bringing a murderer (who also murdered his brother) to justice. That changed for me though when Diamond becomes more ruthless and unethical than Nicholai.

My thoughts on Nicholai first the bad:

Nicholai is full of himself, and he thinks he is a better person than the world around him.
Nicholai is a murderer and has little regard for life.
His pantheistic world causes him to think the Earth is god and thus greater than the human lives that live on it.
He treats women like objects, and even pays for them like they were some sort of commodity.

Good thoughts of Nicholai:
He is a devoted, trustworthy friend.
He only does assassination jobs of people who are terrorists and murderers themselves. He is sort of a vigilante for hire.
He is intelligent and is always learning.

Despite the book’s some what heavy handedness, the story is not all that bad which is why I can just slightly recommend it. The hero in my mind needs his own dose of justice and never receives it.

Lost - Lockdown

2006-04-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

For a synopses of the show click here.

Locke and Henry were both caught in bold face lies in this episode. Now I have to add them to my suspect list. I can't implicitly trust either of them anymore because I know they are capable of not telling the truth.
I still think Henry is not one of the others. Not sure why I think that other than it seems to obvious that he should be. Who is this real Henry Gail. Was that his balloon? Why would his attacker put a cross on his grave? Too many questions.
Here is great link showing the map on the wall. It even has the notes deciphered. Could this be Desmond's doing? Or the guy he was with?
Where is Desmond? Michael? Walt?
So with the food drop, we now know how the hatch is getting stocked with food and modern equipment (i.e. washer and drier). We also know now that there are people not on the island who know there are people on the island and possibly know that the plane crash victims are on the island. Are they part of Dharma?

Providence - Augustine of Hippo

2006-03-28T16:51:00.000-08:00

Augustine of Hippo was born in 354 in Tagaste a town that would now be in Algeria. His mother Monica was a strong Christian who prayed fervently for her son to accept Jesus. His father, Patricius, was a pagan who converted to Christianity and was baptized shortly before he died.

Augustine was not a Christian in his teen years and at the age of 17 he fell in love with a woman that he did not marry but ended up living with for 13 years. He admits in his “Confessions” that he could not control his lustful desires.

He unsuccessfully tried to fulfill his needs in several different religions and philosophies. Each time, however, he reached a point where he realized that what he was practicing was false and he would have to move on to something else. His internal struggles came to a head when one day as he sat overwhelmed in a garden. To the point of tears, he suddenly heard a child’s voice chanting in Latin “take up and read, take up and read.” Whether it was a voice from heaven or in his mind he was not sure, but Augustine took the scroll that was next to him, which was the Epistle of Romans, and read the first thing he saw. The scripture was Romans 13:13-14 which says, “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

The rest is history. Augustine remains a central figure in religion and philosophy until this day, and is regarded by many theologians as the greatest Christian thinker since Paul to this day. His writings are vast and provoking, and whether you admire him or not, you cannot discount his impact on western thought and Christianity.

It can be said that it was the writings of Augustine which influenced The Reformation a 1,000 years a later. Strangely enough, it can also be said that it was the writings of Augustine that also inspired The Counter Reformation. B. B. Warfield said that The Reformation was the dispute of Augustine’s Doctrine of Grace against Augustine’s Doctrine of the Church. As brilliant as Augustine was, he is a wonderful of example of how political pressures can influence our religious thinking. (Perhaps I will talk more about that in another blog.)

By God’s providence, he saved a man that is affecting the world to this day. It is hard to imagine what the world would be like today without his work.

Review - How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture

2006-03-23T18:10:00.000-08:00

Francis Schaeffer is one this past century’s greatest Christian thinkers and this book really shows why. He has a great knack for describing sophisticated topics in a cogent, interesting manner. I never felt that I was lost in a long complicated explanation of something.

I enjoyed how Schaeffer described the differences between the Renaissance and the Reformation. He describes how the Renaissance was centered on the intelligence of man which led to the Enlightenment which led to Humanism which ultimately led to Hitler. While the Reformation was centered on God and the return to the Scriptures which led to the belief that man was deprived and if a government was to ever be successful it had to have laws greater than any one man (or woman). This of course led to the United States and the first constitution.

At some points it shows that it is dated. Example, he spends a lot of time criticizing Communism which has since been shown to be a complete failure. But all in all a great book.

Lost - The Whole Truth

2006-03-23T18:07:00.000-08:00

Here is a synopsis of this episode:
http://www.filmfodder.com/tv/lost/archives/002450.shtml

I don’t know why, but I believe Sun when she says that she has not been with another man. I think it is for the same reason that I believe Henry. Until they are proven a liar, I trust them.
It was nice to see Ana-Lucia get redemption.
If Henry was one of the others he has some kind of crazy plan. “Hey everybody. I am going to get trapped in a net, get shot with an arrow, get captured, get beat up by my captures, and after a couple days draw map and so that you can capture some more people.”
Sawyer nickname of the week: He calls Sun, “Sun Shine”, and Jen “Dadio”.

Whos The Next Lame Food Network Star?

2006-03-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

Last night I watched the “Who Will Be the Next Food Network Star,” and I have to say they better select someone who has knife skills.

One of the drills on the show last night was to demonstrate their knife skills. Some of the contestants could not filet a fish and one did not even try. Some of them even had a hard time dicing an onion.

Are you kidding me?! You are going to actually give some one a food instruction show that cannot even filet a fish or dice an onion?

That’s like the Golf Network asking me if I would do instructional golf show.

I love the Food Network but that whole thing last night was pretty lame.

Providence - Jesus

2006-03-19T13:49:00.000-08:00

I suppose the supreme example of providence, is the life of Jesus and the historical setting he was born into.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem which at the time was under Roman rule. Under the reign of Augustus Caesar, Rome had ended its longest, bloodiest civil war. What at the time was called the Pax Romana (Peace of Rome), the Romans were able to vastly expand their borders. North Africa, western Asia, and much of Europe was occupied by Rome and the peace that the Romans enjoyed during that time would also allow for the story of Jesus to spread.

However, that peace would not last for ever. In A.D. 70, the Roman Army in responding to greater provocations from the Jews, who more and more wanted their independence, attacked Jerusalem in a war the historian Josephus would call, “The Jewish Wars”. During this time thousands of Jews are slaughtered, the temple was destroyed, and most of the Jews who survived flee the area.

So it turns out that Jesus is born during the perfect time for his influence to be most greatly felt. Had Jesus been born a few years earlier no one would have ever heard of him because the story of his life would not have been able to spread over the entire area of Rome. Had he had been born later, he would not have been tolerated by a stricter Roman government and would not have been able fulfill the prophecies he made about the temple because it was no longer there.

Finally Finished!!!

2006-03-14T16:10:00.000-08:00

I finally finished reading “The Count of Monte Cristo” and man did it take me a long time! I typically read two to three books a month, but this book took me two and half months to read by its self.

Overall the story is captivating; although, I must admit it was hard for me to keep my focus on what was going on. It was especially difficult in the middle third of the book as the details of non-essential events seem to go on for ever.

Edmond, whom if you have read my previous posts emerges from a prison sentence, of which he was innocent, discovers a lost treasure and becomes immensely wealthy. He then uses that wealth to gain revenge on those who falsely imprisoned him. He also uses the wealth to reward those who support him and continue supporting him, even though they do not even realize who he is. Actually, no recognizes him, except for Mercedes who is his former fiancé -- but I digress.

It is interesting that although Edmond sets out for revenge, the men who caused him so much suffering; in the end, pretty much curse themselves on the wait of their own guilt.

Except for the fact that the Count is a stoner (i.e. he smokes pot and takes opium…must have been a cool thing to do for the rich in those days), he is a good and just person and you can’t help but root for him. As a matter of fact, the story is at its best when the Count is focus of the passage at hand. He is one of the most fascinating fictional characters you will ever read in a book.

Overall it was a good read; however, if I were to do it all over again I think I would get the abridged version. I also don’t think I will be reading “War and Peace” any time soon.

Providence

2006-03-07T16:10:00.000-08:00

I think I am going to start a new series on this blog titled "God's Providence in History".

It is always fascinated me how God works in history to bring about his purpose. So I thought as I came across examples I would share them with you.

I am thinking they will be example that are contained in the Scriptures and also throughout general history.

keep posted.

Psalm 23

2006-03-07T16:04:00.000-08:00

Part of my daughter's curriculum at school is to memorize Bible verses. She is in K4.

This past month she learned the entire 23 Psalm.

How cool is that!

I remember the first passage of scripture I had to learn in 8th grade. It was the 1st Psalm, and to this day it is the easiest passage for me to recollect. Hopefully for her these passage will be with her for a life time also.

Lost - Maternity Leave

2006-03-05T15:44:00.000-08:00

View Episode Synopsis here:
http://www.filmfodder.com/tv/lost/archives/002338.shtml

My observations:

So the girl that help Claire was Danielle Rousseau's daughter. Wasn't she the girl that was the girl-friend of Malcome in "Malcome in the Middle"?
Mr. Friendly is not as intimidating without his fake beard on.
John Locke was really cool last season. This season he is turned into a bumbling custodian who takes care of the bunker. Is it me or has he lost his purpose on the island.
I think Henry is telling the truth. At least partially. He may have ulterior motives but I do not think he is one of "them".
Mr. Echo is back! What an awesome scene also. Is he building a church?
I don' find "the others" all that intimidating...Except for the fact that they know more about the island than our stranded cast and there seems to be a lot more of them. They may also have contact with the outside world. How else did that hatch get a brand new washer and drier. Anyway, a half dozen or so have been killed...Not exactly impenetrable.
I still think Libby is a patient and not a doctor.

Sorry Hannah!

2006-02-18T08:28:00.000-08:00

Last week my mom came down and helped us clean up and paint our condo.

We had always asumed that we could not find our camera because Hannah had grabbed it and thrown it the garbage. I can't tell you how many times we have caught her throwing remotes, shoes, toys, etc in the gargage.

But it turned out that when we emptied one of our messy closets, behold there was the camera.

Woops...Sorry Hannah.

Lost - One of Them

2006-02-18T07:34:00.000-08:00

Read the synopsis at:
http://www.filmfodder.com/TV/lost/archives/002270.shtml

Thoughts on this episode:

This is one of the better episodes of the season. I like the fact that the series is getting back to doing back stories on the original cast, and Sayid is one of the more interesting characters on the island.
Sayid's back story takes place during the the first Gulf War.
The writers did good in not making any stereo types about the war (i.e. U.S. bad; Iraq good or vice-versa), but rather the episode shows people in the war and the crazy, difficult, ethical decision that have to be made by them on both sides. Still, torchure is never an alternative, unless the consequence of not torchuring would directly cause the loss of many lives. This situation did not come close to that requirement.
Sayid is forced to torchure his own superior to get information on a captured pilot, but the decision is made easier for him after he finds out that his superior poisoned a village (either his home village or a village of people dear to him) with chemicals.
Meanwhile back on the island, it seems pretty clear that the captured man is one of the others. I think we are going to get a lot more juicy info real soon!
So that picture was Kate. I missed that one. Who was her step father?
One interesting note regarding last week's episode is that I read a blog that surmised that Charlie was not as hideous as he appeared to be when he tried to kidnap Sun. It turns out that she did not suffer her concussion from a beating from Charlie; but rather, in her panic to escape, ran into a tree and knocked herself out. I still do not think this act is something Charlie would do, but that makes more sense.

Lost - The Long Con

2006-02-11T07:34:00.000-08:00

Show review
http://www.filmfodder.com/tv/lost/archives/002227.shtml

Sawyer nicknames: Anna Loo Loo
What was John looking for in those books? More pieces of the film?
What is motivating Sawyer to be so evil? I think the notion that he wants people to hate him is not far off, but why?
Why is Jack's response to adversity to always go get a gun?
When we find that Charlie was the one that attacked Sun. My first thought was that seemed out of charactor for him. I can see him wanting to get John back, but I do not think he would ever attack a woman. I don't buy it.
I had a feeling it was Charlie from the beginning. It was obvious that it was not one of the others. As evil as they were, I believed them when they said that there was a line they would not cross. Will see about that line.
I miss Mr. Echo!

Review: Grass For His Pillow

2006-02-06T17:55:00.000-08:00

The second book in the trilogy, "Tales of the Otori", was an audible book that I had in my queue for while and had not got around to listening to it.

The first half the book is really depressing, and although the second half of the book picks up, it is still much slower paced than the first book. I feel like I could almost have skipped the second book and started on the final book and not missed all that much.

That seems to be a common gripe I have with trilogies. The second book in the trilogy always seems to be there only as a tool to set up the final book.

And don't get me started on series like "Left Behind" that milk stories beyond credulity where a whole book spans a week or so.

But I digress...

Lost - Fire + Water

2006-01-29T12:46:00.000-08:00

Great show synopsis here:
http://www.filmfodder.com/TV/lost/archives/002152.shtml

My thoughts:

Is it me or is Charlie being treated more severely for his dreams than the rest of the cast? Especially from Claire. I get it that Charlie is a drug attic but that's even more the reason to help him instead of casting him a side.
I agree with the Anakan similarity. The hood going over his head in the silhouette of night makes the similarity spooky. He could be off to join the dark side.
Sawyer Nicknames of the week: Hurley is called "Jabba".
Mr. Echo is still my favorite character but his description of Baptism was weak. Even Catholics (which he is supposed to be) don't believe that you go to heaven just because you are baptized. I understand that it is hard to get overly theological on a TV show so I will let it slide.
I noticed the new washer and drier the first time I saw it (one of the very few things I have noticed on my own). They are so new that they must have just recently been put there. Which leads me to believe that the island is being watched from the outside.
Hurley and Libby were either doctor/patient or patient/patient in the psychic ward. I am not convinced that Libby is telling the truth when she says she is a psychologist.

Edmond's Transformation

2006-01-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

Well I am officially half way through the book "Count of Monte Cristo". We have nicknamed the book BAS (Big !@^%$# Book).

If you read my previous post you know about Edmond's predicament. He was in prison in isolated confinement. He was able to secretly dig a hole to his neighbors cell and they became very close friends.

It turns out his new friend was a scholar and had a map of a huge treasure. While they were together for the next few years his friend teaches him everything he knows, including many different languages and the sciences and the such.

His friend then becomes mortally ill and shares with him the map of the treasure. All the years the two friends had been working on a means of escape and of the night of his friends death he executes his plan and is successful.

Even though he doubts his friend's treasure map he uses it to find the treasure and is suddenly hugely rich. After decades in prison he now pursues his revenge on the people who falsely put him there. It is also at this point he becomes known to the world as the Count of Monte Cristo. It has been so long and he has changed so much in prison that know one realizes it is Edmond.

Stay tuned as I read the second half of this book...

My Promotion

2006-01-28T08:29:00.000-08:00

They say that people are often promoted to the level of their incompetence. Hopefully that will not be the case with me.

I have recently accepted a position of Web Architect. It means I am going to have to do a lot of research to stay up on the latest and greatest web development technologies. I was doing that for my own curiosity in the past, but now it is officially part of my job.

I am also responsible for all of our applications instead of just the ones I have worked on in the past. Not too big of a deal since most of our applications are pretty robust.

Issues are going to be a bit more ambiguous and I am going to have to make important decisions in the midst of this amiguity. I am up to the challenge, but if I think about it too much it can be a bit daunting.

Lost – The Hunting Party

2006-01-20T05:49:00.000-08:00

I am not going to summarize the show but you can find a great summary here:
http://www.filmfodder.com/tv/lost/archives/002011.shtml

Here are some of my thoughts:

Jack is workaholic to the point that he ruined his marriage. Who is his wife seeing?
Romantic tension arises between Jack and Gabriela. Jack’s father walks into the room where they are and Gabriela leaves. Jack’s father senses the tension and advises that he is crossing the line. Jack tries to zing his father by countering, “I guess you would know”. At this point his father says something really interesting. "It may be okay for some people, Jack. But not for you." His father sees that unlike himself his son has character. That is the type of reputation I should be striving for in my own life.
Sawyer (i.e. James Ford) zingers of the week:
When Jack ask Sawyer if he recognizes the land where they were searching, Sawyer responds “Oh ye, there is my favorite leaf!”
Later Sawyer calls Jack “Mr. Clean”.
I love a show with character development and Jen is one my favorite on the show. He has been evolving from a totalitarian, jealous husband to someone who is a dedicated, compassionate friend and husband.
Also note that we find out that they have been married for 4 years so this could give a good time marker for future episode, flashbacks.
Where was my favorite character this week, Mr. Eko?

Edmond Update

2006-01-13T16:28:00.000-08:00

Well I think I am about a tenth of the way through "Count of Monte Cristo".

I am at the point where Edmond is in prison and he has been secretely digging a hole in the wall, and for the first time in several years he hears a voice of the cell mate that is next door.

I could not help but think of what it must have been like to be Edmund. You were in love with, and going to marry a beautiful young lady. You were going to be a captain of a ship and possibly have a great career as a shipman. Then all the suddenly you are framed and loose it all. Not only that, but you cannot confide with anybody, because you are completely alone except for when the guard brings you food.

Today we rush around with so much to do, and he had absolutely nothing to do. Could I stay sane under those circumstances?

Lets hope I never have to find out.

The Count of Monte Cristo

2006-01-09T17:44:00.000-08:00

Just started reading "The Count of Monte Cristo".

The book is so big is actually hurts to lay down and rest it on my stomach. It is almost 1,500 pages! I will let you know how it is some time next year when I finish.

Eva

2006-01-09T15:39:00.000-08:00

Congradulations to my friends Harry and Trang on the birth of their baby daughter Eva!

http://lordhome.blogspot.com/