2017 Goodreads Resolution

A few more books, a little less screen time...

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. In progress [16]

Death's End, by Cixin Liu. In progress [15]

The Crash Detectives: Investigating the World's Most Mysterious Air Disasters, by Christine Negroni. Negroni offers a credible theory about the disappearance of Malaysia Air 370 by folding in the fascinating and sobering details of at least a dozen other air disasters and near disasters that have occurred since the dawn of the age of flight. [14]

Deep Time, by David Darling. [13] 

Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse. [12]

Ancient Ruins and Rock Art of the Southwest, by David Grant Noble. Those who know me understand that sussing out what humankind was up to in the pre-historic period is my thing.  David Noble's book came highly recommended by another amateur enthusiast who works a V-Bar-V petroglyph heritage site.  It does not disappoint, offering succinct directions, useful descriptions, and thoughtful analysis of "ruins and rock art" found in my neighborhood.  [11]

Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux, by John G. Neihardt. "Black Elk Speaks" tells the story of an Oglala holy man and his Lakota people who lived through the worst of the American Indian Wars, from the Fetterman Fight to the Little Big Horn to the Wounded Knee Massacre. This book has long been on my "To Read" list (and my bookshelf), but when Joseph Campbell spoke highly of it in "The Inner Reaches of Outer Space" I bumped it to the top of my list. As I enter the autumn of my life I have been encountering books I should have read in my youth. This is one of those. [10]

The Inner Reaches of Outer Space, by Joseph Campbell. This collection of essays and lectures by Jospeh Campbell has been on my "To Read" shelf for quite some time, but Mortimer Adler took such exception to it in his "Truth in Religion" I had to see what all the fuss was about. Turns out Adler was upset with about one page of the 148 that make up "The Inner Reaches of Outer Space." I don't disagree with the views Campbell expressed on that page and the rest of the book is a heady melange of psychology, mythology, religion, art, and literature. Certainly not Campbell's most accessible work, but worth reading. [9]

Sinagua Sunwatchers, Kenneth J. Zoll. Of the thousand some petroglyphs discerned on the rock panels at V Bar V Heritage Site located along Beaver Creek in the Verde Valley, many correlate to midday shadows cast by two rock gnomens during the equinoxes and solstices and at other calendrical events throughout the year. "Sinagua Sunwatchers", by Kenneth J. Zoll, lays out the details patiently in methodical detail. [7]

Truth in Religion: The Plurality of Religions and the Unity of Truth, by Mortimer Adler. The late Mortimer J. Adler reminds his reader, "De gustibus non disputandum: about matters of taste, there is no disputing. De veritate disputandum est: about matters of truth, we should engage in dispute..." And dispute he does. Adler's Truth in Religion: The Plurality of Religions and the Unity of Truth (1990) is chewy, spirited, and oddly argumentative (Adler had some strange beef with Joseph Campbell, who approached religion as misunderstood mythology). A thought-provoking, challenging, and ultimately useful read. [7]

The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality, by Andre Comte-Sponville. My, what a fine "little book" this one is! Comte-Sponville reminds us that the search for meaning has long been - and will forever continues to be - conducted by the non-believer and the non-religious as well as the theist. He reminds the theist that atheism need not equal nihilism while reminding the atheist that non-belief need not entail fatalism. I plan to make gifts of this rich little volume to my favorite evangelical, my favorite Marxist, and many of the others I also love in between. I'll be reading "The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality" again. [6]

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, by Omar Khayyam. As with many volumes I finally have made time to read I wish that I'd read this many years ago. It stands as a worthy companion to the works of Rumi, Ecclesiastes, and the Tao Te Ching. [5]

Flintknapping: Making & Understanding Stone Tools, by John C. Whitaker. A rich resource for those who want to make stone tools or just understand their place in pre-history. [4]

An Atheist and a Christian Walk into a Bar: Talking about God, the Universe, and Everything, by Randal Rauser and Justin Schieber. [3] A worthy effort by two evenly matched opponents, yet more enjoyable than most such exchanges in that authors Rauser and Schieber obviously respect each other. Not sure they got to choose their title. Schieber was called upon to defend the implications of a materialism I'm not sure he holds, while Rauser defended a God of the Philosophers (bare theism) rather than the trinitarian~monotheism of biblical Christianity. I'd buy a sequel, but next time I'd hold out for paper rather than use the Kindle app on my smartphone again.

Hiking the Southwest's Geology: Four Corners Region, by Ralph Lee Hopkins. [2] A marvelous and easily accessible guide to all the many features of the primordial past that lie beneath our feet and entertain our eyes with scenic vistas. This is one of our "Go-To" books we use to plan our road trips across the southwest. Highly recommended!

Mr. Gatling's Terrible Marvel: The Gun That Changed Everything and the Misunderstood Genius Who Invented It, by Julia Keller. [1]  A social history about the man and his times, the application of patent law, the rise of industrialization, the internecine machinations of weapons procurement by the American military establishment, and the role of military technology applied to the acquisition and defense of empire. Regrettably, this book contains very details about the innovative gun itself, its evolutions, or its re-adoption in modernized form in the Jet Age. Not what I expected.

Let's read 48 books in 52 weeks...

Stories of Your Life and Others

Whip smart, wickedly imaginative, and viciously clever...

I bought Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang to read the short story upon which the screenplay for the film Arrival was based.  It was well worth it for that reason alone, but there are other stories in this collection which are even better.  If you enjoy science fiction, speculative fiction, or just plan fiction, give it a try.

The Tower of Babel

What if the story had played out differently?

11 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 

2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there 

3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. 

4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 

5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 

6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 

7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 

8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 

9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. 

Genesis 11:1-9

What if Yahweh had not been threatened by human striving?  What if He had let us build a tower to heaven?  What might He have taught us?  Read Ted Chiang's Story of Babylon in Stories of Your Life and Others and find out.  Clever and satisfying stuff.

Monsoon III

Watch this...

...and all of Mike Olbinski's marvelous short films.

Monsoon III is very much like what living in Arizona during the monsoon season is like, only faster.

As a bonus Kerry Muzzey's music accompanies and compliments the visuals.

Best Movie Of The Year

If you like your science fiction evocative, Arrival will deliver...

There have been (or will be) perhaps a dozen good movies in 2016, and Last Days in the Desert was excellent, but Arrival may be the only great film I've seen this year.

This compelling story of first contact, based on the Nebula Award winning novella "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang, runs with the likes of 2013's Upstream Color, 2014's Interstellar and 2015's Ex Machina.

A team is urgently assembled to make first contact with whoever or whatever has arrived in the alien craft now hovering over a remote valley in Montana, as are eleven others at different locations around the planet.  On the American team is Amy Adams, a renowned linguist whose passion for communication is tempered by personal loss.  Jeremy Renner plays an amiable astrophysicist who chooses to follow her lead.  Forest Whitaker's performance as a dour Army officer was so rigidly subdued I didn't recognize him at first.

I can't say a word more without giving away too much.  You deserve to experience this lushly beautiful, deeply thoughtful, and rigorously imaginative film the way director Denis Villeneuve intended, without preconception.

I'll be seeing it again, at least once.  See it cold, then let's talk.

PS, The final theatrical trailer even gives to much away.  The first trailer does not.

UPDATE 11/11/16: Saw it again today.  Even better the second time.  I'm ordering the anthology in which the source material was first published in 1998.

UPDATE 11/18/16: Chiang's "Story of Your Life" was innovative and well-written, but it turns out the screenplay by Eric Heisserer improves upon it in many significant ways.

UPDATE: 11/22/16: Watched it again last night. Third time is the charm. What a marvelously well-crafted film.

Books Upon Books

Heaven protect me from used book stores and National Park gift shops...

Went away on a very nice four day weekend, visiting Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks.  More on that later.  

Of course I found books at the gift shops of said national parks and a used book store in Springdale, Utah, as well.  Purchasing ensued.

Hiking the Southwest's Geology: Four Corners Region

Bryce National Park: Impressions

Zion National Park: Impressions

Arrowheads & Projectile Points: Identification & Values

Themes in Southwest Prehistory

Neanderthal: Neanderthal Man and the Story of Human Origins

It was a fine long weekend.

Maybe God Is A Bad Boss

I suppose it's possible we're not getting the whole story...

No sooner was the celestial kingdom established but a third of the heavenly host rebelled and were cast down from heaven. Then God created a physical world and humankind. But no sooner than it took for Adam to name all the critters and hook up with the only girl in town and - BAM - they give in to temptations and find themselves cast out of paradise. Maybe God is a bad boss? So, if there's free will in heaven what's to keep another third of the angels, or the souls of humankind, from rebelling again? The Book of Job (arguably the oldest book in the bible) gives other clues. What's the big deal about wrestling with behemoth and leviathan? You spoke them both into existence with a word and You can unmake them with a wink. Maybe the various Abrahamics have been snookered. Maybe the Zoroastrians have the straight scoop. Maybe it really is nasty barroom brawl on earth at it is in heaven, winner take all...and no clear winner in sight.

Yeah, some days Unbelievable gets me going...

More Books Than I'll Have Time To Read

There are worse problems I suppose...

So, there I was driving through downtown Prescott on my way home after working 20 hours of the last 24, none of them for good reasons. Suddenly I remembered I needed a patch kit for my Thermarest mattress in anticipation of my trip to Colorado to visit son Erik! Granite Mountain Outfitters was closed but, hey, there's The Book Nook! In I went because, well, I've been looking for a copy of The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality, by André Comte-Sponville (seriously, I really have). No joy searching for that slim book in the just barely shoulder width stacks. But look, here were four other volumes begging to be taken home!

The Art of Living, by Epictetus (because Massimo Pigliucci said so)

The Phenomenon of Man, by Teilhard de Chardin (because I read it in my undergrad years, but haven't seen my copy since)

Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse (because Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse)

The Courage to Be, by Paul Tillich (because I like Tillich)

Being about a dozen steps from Rosa's, it seemed only sensible to step in for an antipasto salad and a tall beer. I walked past the tattoo parlor (focus!). After my late lunch I walked to the courthouse square on the chance The Hike Shack was open. It was. Remember that patch kit? It cost $10.00. The Thermarest Slacker Hammock and its tree-friendly suspension kit ran me another $110.00.

There, just like I planned it...

Now This Is A Used Bookstore

The Book Nook delivers...

I have theory about the best used bookstores, such as I've encountered in Portland, New Orleans, Saint Paul, Minneapolis, and now Prescott. They ought be cozy, or what some might regard as a little cramped. They should have lots of books, as in crammed into every possible nook and cranny. They ought to smell like old paper, not musty so much as ancient.  The Book Nook, a 42 year old labor of love, operated by second generation owner, Marilyn Unruh, is all of these things and more.

Self-described as Prescott's Largest Used Bookstore, I'll note that it occupies half the space (or less) than some others in the quad cities. Cozy? Check! Marylin has 40,000 to 50,000 titles at any one time. Crammed to the gunnels? Check! The comforting presence of old books - printed on genuine cellulose, as in the days before books arrived on apps for viewing on computer tablets - envelopes you in an comforting embrace as you walk through the door. Bookish odors? Check!

The Book Nook is located at 324 W. Gurley, just a few feet east of Rosa's Pizzeria, one of my other favorite places in Prescott. Ms. Marilyn can be reached at booknook@northlink.com

or by calling (928) 778-2130.

I love it! If you don't, I'm afraid you're not my kind of people. Sorry, had to be said.

Do You Take Plastic?

"If it's over $20..."

It was.

More on The Book Nook a little later.

Someone Stop Me

Before I buy again...

I only half needed to go to the grocery store, which is across the parking lot from The Purple Cat used book store. The lure is usually irresistible, but I rarely get there before the 5:00 pm closing time.  I alway enter looking only for a paperback copy of The Keep, by F. Paul Wilson.  I always leave without it and, on average, three to five other volumes I didn't know I needed until I saw them.  This time the haul was as follows:

Red Phoenix: The Rise of Soviet Air Power, 1941-1945, by Von Hardesty

Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan, by Clay Blair, Jr. [UPDATE: Oops, only the 2nd of two volumes...]

The Outline of History, Volume I, by H.G. Wells, which I already had a copy of.

The Outline of History, Volume II, by H.G. Wells, which I did not. Now I own matched set, and a spare copy of Volume I.

Stranger Things

Does a strange job of plucking all the strings...

I've heard that Netflix analyzes its massive customer usage database to determine what its viewers will pay to see.  The idea makes an interesting sort of sense in a business in the age of big data sort of way, but I've never felt it being done to me. Until now...

Stranger Things, starring Winona Ryder, offers up elements, touches, and tropes from a wide array of 1970-90s SciFi, Romcoms, Horror, and Coming of Age movies.  It riffs on Close Encounters of the Third Kind (frazzled mom desperately seeking her missing son, check!), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Mia Sara look-alike, check!), E.T. The Extraterrestrial (Drew Barrymore knock-off, blonde pigtails and all, check!), any Molly Ringwald movie (gangly redhead with big glasses, check!), Firestarter (psychokinetic waif preyed upon by nameless government agency, check!), Altered States (under water sensory deprivation tank, check!), Poltergeist (Craig T. Nelson stand-in, check!), The Lost Boys (improbably capable pubescent nerds to the rescue, check!), Alien (Giger-esque monster life cycle, check!), The Fury (death by SPOILER, check!), etc., etc...

The "old" cars, dated fashions, and pre-internet technology evokes a strange nostalgia (most of the 80s really were not the good old days).  The storyline is compelling so far.  I'm going to continue binging.  I hope they have sussed out the sort of ending I'll enjoy.

[UPDATE: Yup, they did good. Fun stuff.]

[UPDATE: Sharon Hill @IDoubtIt at Twitter added: "Also X-Files derived, with some Stand By Me." Good points.]

[UPDATE: Others have suggested references to The Goonies, but I'm not quite feeling it...]

Did I Mention My Eclectic Tastes?

I keep adding to the shelf books I won't have time to read...

Stopped to visit the Book Haven in Prescott Valley, AZ, after a visit to the doctor's office.

The Living Thoughts of Confucius, by Alfred Doeblin

Utopia, by Sir Thomas More

Stalkers and Shooters: A History of Snipers, by Kevin Dockery

Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Why We Are Who We Are, by Frans De Waal

I am so glad I'm not drawn to bars the way I am to used book stores.

And...

Some more books...

2312, by Kim Stanley Robinson, one of my favorite SF authors.

The New AR-15 Complete Owner's Guide, by Walt Kuleck (with Greg King) because the rifle after next will be an AR-15.

Time to declare a book buying hiatus; the bills for the remodeled deck and the new roof are looming.

Is it Really Me You Miss

Or just your long lost youth?



As I've mentioned before, Don Henley has written the soundtrack of my life, for better and worse. Sometimes much worse...

So last night I dreamt of an old friend who I loved once, more than I knew at the time perhaps. In the dream, which did not last near long enough, she had no reason to give me the time of day, let alone forgive me, but she was as gentle and kind and funny as she always was...

Queue Don Henley's "That Old Flame"

Got a message in my mailbox
From an old friend I hardly see
All it said was you were trying
To get in touch with me

And I stared down at your number
And I felt passion and I felt fear
And I wondered what the hell you wanted
After all these years

'Cause there is danger in the embers
And you have only yourself to blame
If you get burned when you try to rekindle
That old flame

Well I know we ended badly
And I was angry for a long long time
But I've grown some and I wanted you to know that I'm doing just fine

And I'm not asking for a replay
I got no delusions, got no designs
Can I borrow just a little cup of kindness
For Auld Lang Syne

'Cause there is danger in the embers
And you have only yourself to blame
If you get burned when you try to rekindle
That old flame

Speak to me plain
Tell me the truth
Is it really me you miss
Or just your long lost youth?

Yeah there is danger in the embers
And you know nothing, nothing stays the same
Yeah you can get burned when you try to rekindle
That old flame
Yeah you can get burned when you try to rekindle
That old flame

The song doesn't quite apply, but these lyrics toward the end haunt me in my middle age:

Speak to me plain
Tell me the truth
Is it really me you miss
Or just your long lost youth?

And this I just remembered. She and I attended an Eagles concert at the Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota, the summer of 1978. It rained but I brought a sheet of plastic with room for two. It was one of the best dates ever...

There Are Things I Miss

By not having cable...

Don Henley's performance on Austin City Limits, for example.

Seems there was quite the episode (No.41) of Austin City Limits in October of 2015. Here are four of the performances preserved on YouTube:

That Old Flame with Martina McBride

The Heart of the Matter

Words Can Break Your Heart with Trisha Yearwood.

Praying For Rain

Austin City Limits, produced by KLRU TV and broadcast by PBS, has long been one of Texas' finest exports.

Photo credit ©KLRU Scott Newton

I Have Feet

Which are hard to fit...

Finding zapatos that accommodate my 10-1/2 EEEE (or sometimes H) stompers has been a challenge this past half century or so. It's all the more difficult when they have to work with my uniform - black and leather-like.

Last weekend I was in Phoenix at a conference so I visited Ace Uniforms during a lunch break. I was told it would be the Disneyland of uniform stores. It lived up to the hype.

I did some business with Don, getting a couple Blauer Armorskin external armor carriers of the correct size. My recent weight loss moved me from a XL to L. I'd say "Yay," but that means I have to send my armor panels back to Second Chance to be recut. Then I found some ready bags in which to carry our AR500 rifle armor.

Professional business done, my eyes turned to the wall of shoes and boots. First I got a pair of pretty normal looking Bates 3/4 rise boots with zip sides. They fit. They're solid. They're sold!

"Let me show you one more option," says the helpful sales clerk through a sly smile. He hands me a box labeled Under Armor. I thought it was empty. I opened the box to look down on a pair of something that look like boots but which were lighter, much lighter. "DPS loves these," he says. I can see why. My none too dainty hooves are in heaven! They looks like boots, but they feel like bedroom slippers. Mrowww! Zero break-in, total comfort. The Under Armor Valsetz RTS Tactical boot; give 'em a try!

More Books

For the "To Read" list...

I took my daughter Cassandra to Peregrine Book Company to choose a going away present. She's a fan of Mary Roach so she rounded out her collection with a copy of Spook.

Of course being in a book store meant I couldn't leave without a handful myself, so I added three volumes to my collection as well...

Pagans: The End of Traditional Religion and the Rise of Christianity by James O'Donnell

Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

The World Until Yesterday by Jared Diamond

So many books, so little time.

Whence Orthodoxy?

An Unbelievable episode got a little unbelievable...

Two nice young Christian fellas were debating whether or not the God of the Christian bible (or Hebrew scriptures) is a God of Wrath (which is apparently pronounced wroth in the UK). Never mind that bible contains the following passages on the topic:

Psalms 7:11 - God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry [with the wicked] every day.

Ezekiel 25:17 - And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.

Nahum 1:2-6 - God [is] jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and [is] furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth [WRATH] for his enemies

Romans 1:18 - For the WRATH of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Matthew 10:28 - And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 

Luke 12:5 - But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. 

John 15:6 - If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned.

John 3:36 - He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the WRATH of God abideth on him.

Revelation 20:15 - And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Hebrews 9:22 - And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 

Thank you KJV Online!  Emphasis ADDED   

So, according to the Christian's own bible (the KJV, no less) God has wrath, exhibits wrath and anger, and appears also to be big on casting into fire, wreaking vengeance, taking revenge, rebuking furiously, being jealous, shedding blood, and destroying bodies and souls in hell.  

Seems the bible can mean whatever you want it to mean and even not mean what it clearly says...Hmmm.

So I wrote the following post for under the show notes:

Whence Orthodoxy? 

No wonder Christianity has some 30,000 denominations, sects, cults, and spin-offs! Every last one of you sit at your very own private mixing board fitted with dozens, if not hundreds, of sliders with which to match what you choose to believe. From Zero to Ten (and sometimes Eleven) you dial in your feelings, surmises, and conjectures about the following topics (and others) to arrive at your sure and certain faith: 

Epistomology

Revelation

Orthodoxy

Orthopraxy

Number of gods

The attributes of God

The nature of Creation

Predestination to open theism

God as the author of Evil

The nature (and failure) of Omniscience

The power of Satan

Angelology

Definition of Sin

The effects of The Fall

Total depravity to blank slate

Details of the Incarnation

Attributes of the Christ

Virgin birth

Immaculate conception

Humanity of Jesus

Deity of Jesus

The death of God

The significance of The Cross

Adoptionism to Docetism

Theories of the Atonement

Meaning of the Resurrection

The power of the Holy Spirit

Efficacy of prayer

Importance of the Sacraments

Baptism

Nature of the Eucharist

Transubstantiation

Consumption of alcohol

Nature of The Trinity

The existence of Hell

The duration of Divine punishment

The nature of Heaven

The means of Salvation

How many paths to God?

Veneration of Mary

Praying to the Saints

Eschatology

Details of the Rapture

Millennialism

Inerrancy

Inspiration

Infallibility

Idolatry

Election

Justification

Perseverance of faith

Apostasy

Bible: Curated collection to God Breathed Master Plan

Creationism vs Science

Slavery

The role of women

Intimate partner violence

Corporal punishment to the death penalty

From color blind to anti-miscegenation

The impact of LGBTQ issues on The Church

Certitude

If your version of the bible says it you can quote it, harmonize it, or insist on a metaphorical interpretation. If your bible doesn't say it you can infer it, assemble a cumulative case, or please ignorance as needed. You pick, choose, listen, follow, agree, disagree, harmonize, conflate, and confabulate from five millennia of folk wisdom, traditions, the text of your holy book, and the writings of your favorite apologists to arrive at your very own custom version of Christianity, certain in your bones of your correctness and some of you quite comfortable calling those in the congregation across the street heretics. Rather than steering you toward the One True Faith The Church, the Good Book, and The Holy Spirit are offering a self-serve à la carte smorgasbord...

It's No B&B

But my man cave will now sleep seven adults...

On my way home from work today I took a detour to follow a trail of signs promising an extraordinary yard sale. The placards led me to the million dollar homes part of my neighborhood, which I didn't know existed until today. The sale was as promised.

I made two purchases, and after some rearranging of bookshelves and the recliner, my little log home will now sleep three couples and another full-sized person. There are now two queen beds (one in the bedroom, the other in the front room), a twin futon in the den, and a single day bed in the loft. 

Not bad for $120 and an afternoon's labor.

PS Still only one bath...