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Desert Question ???
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Books
Books you have read recent or past (100 Max)
Title: The Last Days of Night
Comments: Novel takes us back to the late 19th/early 20th century, at the advent of the introduction of electricity. In the inventors world, there is a fierce competition and developed rivalry between Edison, Westinghouse and Tesla. There are big egos, skulduggery, all shrouded in secrecy. It is a very interesting read. I recommend it even if your are not into electricity.
Title: The Great Divorce
Comments: Based on a theological dream vision of Lewis. An unnamed Narrator finds himself in a Grey Town, waiting for a bus. He boards the bus, along with a small number of other people, and the bus proceeds to fly over the grey town. The Narrator then talks with some of the other people on the bus, some of whom remember dying in various ways. As the bus approach this beautiful place, some choose to get off the bus and return to grey town. It poses the theological questions of heaven and hell, in a fictional setting. It frames this idea from a Christian perspective, in a relatable, understandable way. That is Lewis's gift.C.S. I would recommend and encourage believers, and non-believers to give this a read (it's short).
Title: Blacktop Wasteland
Comments: It's a crime story - sorta. The main character Beauregard "Bug" Montage is a loving father, faithful husband, and honest mechanic, but he has a criminal past and he cannot make a break with that past. He is known as one of the best drivers (as in getaway) in the business and some underworld acquaintances don't want him to forget it. He's been leading a straight life, but everything is crumbling around him. He needs money - you know where this is going. The story takes place in the south, Bug is black, which adds an interesting dimension to the story. But it's not really a black in the south story. Really good dialog, gritty and not for everybody, but I really liked it.
Title: The Mosquito
Comments: This is first a history book, with lot's of science. The author uses the mosquito to shed light on historical events and how the mosquito with the diseases it transmits may have influenced them and therefore history. Mr. Winegard says the mosquito is the most deadly predator (by far) to man. Since homo sapiens showed up (over 105 billion have lived), mosquitos are responsible for about half of the worlds deaths (52 billion), either directly or indirectly. The author is not a scientist, but has plenty of scientific information to fuel his argument. It can be overwhelming with lots of information. It's also a long book. It's the classic getting a drink of water from a firehose sort of read, but in spite of it, it's a good read. I liked it.
Title: Get Shorty
Comments: One of my favorite Elmore Leonard books (I am a fan). The story begins in Miami, with the theft of a leather jacket from a restaurant checkroom. This guy named Chili Palmer puts his leather jacket in a checkroom and this other guy named Ray Bones walks off with it, for which Chili Palmer shoots him in the scalp, for which Ray Bones never forgives him. Fast forward 12 years and Ray Bones ends up as capo of Chili Palmer's shylocking operation, and he forces Chili to go west to collect a debt from a dry cleaner named Leo who died in a plane crash but didn't really. In a matter of days Chili ends up working on a movie. The dialog is so good, it's black and humorous. I really liked it.
Title: 1984
Comments: I recently reread this book. It's a novel about a dystopian society where people are forced to believe in a single political ideology. Published in 1948, it's Orwell's warning against the dangers of authoritarian regimes. Orwell creates a world where people are controlled by the government and no one is aware of truth. If you have read Solzhenitsyn, and his life in the Stalinist system, Orwell's is a fictionalized version of the system. It is really frightening political stuff. It is relevant today considering the level (or lack thereof) of political discourse. Also, I forgot how well written this book was. It is very good literature.
Title: The Whites
Comments: It is a novel about an elite New York detective squad The Whites, who in the 1990s helped clean up NYC. There is a present day unsolved homicide case that is linked to the 1990s unit. The squad was effective, but bent and broke laws to be effective. There is lots of moral compromise. The line between law and order and lawlessness got crossed a lot. This compromised gray world is the price the cops pay professionally and personally . If you like crime stories (which I do), I would recommend it. It is a good read. If you are offended by NYC tough language, it might not be to your liking.
Title: The Orphan Masters Son
Comments: Man is this a good novel. The Orphan Master's Son follows a young man's journey through the dark tunnels, and eerie spy chambers of the world's worst dictatorship, North Korea. The main character, Pak Jun Do is the haunted son of a lost mother - a singer "stolen" to Pyongyang - and an influential father who runs Long Tomorrows, a work camp for orphans. There the boy is given his first taste of power, picking which orphans eat first and which will be lent out for manual labor. Recognized for his loyalty and keen instincts, Jun Do comes to the attention of superiors in the state, rises in the ranks, and starts on a road from which there will be no return. It a horrific look at life in an authoritarian regime.
Title: El Jeje The Stalking of Chapo Guzman
Comments: The book is an account of the rise and fall of the ultimate narco, "El Chapo,". As leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel, he was one of the most dangerous men in the world. It chronicles his rise to power, his brutality, his charm, and his multiple dramatic prison escapes. He was finally captured by U.S. and Mexican law enforcement in a daring operation that was years in the making. I recommend it, if you are interested in this sort of thing (I am), not so much if you are not.
Title: The Day Freedom Died
Comments: This is a work of non-fiction. Following the Civil War in the South the race issue was anything but settled. In 1873 there occurred the Colfax Massacre, the murder of sixty black men in Colfax LA. There were multiple a cover ups, but James Beckwith, the U.S. attorney of New Orleans, pursued the killers despite threats on his life and a bureaucracy stacked against him. Some of his case goes all the way to the Supreme Court. Their decision set a tone for race relations for decades. If you want a better understanding of how we got to "Black Live Matter", this would be a good place to start. It gave me a better understanding of the reconstruction period and it's ramifications on us 150 years later. It is a very interesting read.
Title: Paul - the Apostle
Comments: N.T. Wright is an Anglican bishop and renowned Bible scholar. His biography of Paul offers a different look at the apostle Paul. Showing Paul's humanity and remarkable achievements. Paul's writings are the foundation of Christian theology. Wright argues that Bible scholars and pastors have focused so much attention on Paul’s letters and theology that they have too often overlooked the essence of the man’s life. I would encourage all my fellow Christians to give Wright a shot. He has published many books on various Christian subjects. For non-believers I think you will find his writings thought provoking, interesting and allayed with credible scholarship.
Title: The Order
Comments: The latest in a line of spy novels featuring Israel master spy, now head of the Mossad Gabriel Allon. The story focuses on the mysterious death of the Pope. Because of Allon's past relationship with the now dead Pope, he is asked to investigate (on the sly). It delves historically into the complicated relationship between the Roman Catholic church and the Jews, the church's anti-Semitic past and present, (sad but true), a corrupt Roman Curia (sad but true) and throw in a secret ultra right Catholic sect, makes for a good read. I thought Siva's representation of an "enlightened" Jesus is right out of the "Jesus Seminar" (they got it wrong). He ought to give N.T. Wright a read, for a more informed view of Jesus. Book was a B-, not his best.
Title: Bloodlands
Comments: Bloodlands is a European history, presenting the mass murders committed by the Nazi and Stalinist regimes. It details the millions of civilians murdered by both regimes. Estimates are 12 -14 million killed by each regime. Stalin starved 3 plus million kulaks (peasants) in the Ukraine, while forcing productive farmers into collective farms. Hitler an idealogical enemy of communism, greatly admired Stalin's brutal handling of this. The book delves into Hitler's grand scheme to occupy the better part of Europe, making Germany self sustaining the 3rd Reich. The numbers of innocent civilians killed is staggering. If you want a deeper understanding of the forces that drove the world WWII in Europe, this is an excellent book.
All time favorite books (10 Max.)
Title: All The King's Men
Comments: It’s one of America’s definitive political novels, about personal and political corruption of governor Willie Stark. It is set in the 1930s in the American south. It’s also about human fallibility with theological undertones. The novel is narrated by Jack Burden, a political reporter who comes to work as the governor’s most trusted aide. The passage of Stark’s career is interwoven with Burden’s life story and philosophical reflections. In the process, Burden betrays both his ideals and his career as a historian, and loses the love of his life, Anne Stanton, the daughter of a former state governor. I have read or listened to it several times. The audio version is very well done.
Title: Love In The Ruins
Comments: A novel published in 1971, takes place in the end times of America (1984) and one psychiatrist’s quest to save mankind. The United States seems to be on the brink of catastrophe. From the abandoned cars littering the highways (no one remembers how to fix them). You have starkly polarized political and religious factions dividing the country. The great experiment of the American Dream has failed. The only problem is that no one has noticed. No one, that is, except Dr. Thomas More, an alcoholic, womanizing, lapsed-Catholic psychiatrist, has invented the lapsometer: a machine capable of diagnosing and curing the spiritual afflictions. that ail the times. I first read in 1971 and reread recently. It's hilarious and deadly serious. A great read!
Favorite Authors (5 Max.)
Comments: Russian novelist, philosopher, historian, short story writer and political prisoner. He drew upon his experiences being a prisoner and citizen in a totalitarian state. He published novels - "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich", The First Circle” and “The Cancer Ward”. He also published historical works like “The Gulag Archipelago.”“Gulag” was a monumental account of the Soviet labor camp system, a chain of prisons that by Mr. Solzhenitsyn’s calculation some 60 million people had entered during the 20th century. He was exiled to America in 1970. He also decried the crass materialism of the west, while living in America. He was a moral force. He reminds me of an old testament prophet. I love his writings. I love his character!
Comments: British novelist, essayist, apologist lay theologian. He is best known for his works of fiction, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Trilogy, and for his Christian apologetics (Mere Christianity, Miracles, The Abolition of Man, The Great Divorce and The Problem of Pain). Lewis and fellow novelist J. R. R. Tolkien were close friends. Lewis's Christian faith profoundly affected his work, and his wartime radio broadcasts on the subject of Christianity resulted in the book Mere Christianity. His writings are widely cited by Christian apologists from many denominations. I would recommend Mere Christianity to all believers and seekers alike. It reduces Christianity to its' understandable basics.
Favorite book quotes (3 Max.)
Title: The Gulag Archipelago
Comments: "The imagination and spiritual strength of Shakespeare's evildoers stopped short at a dozen corpses. Because they had no ideology. Ideology – that is what gives evildoing its long-sought justification and gives the evildoer the necessary steadfastness and determination. That is the social theory which helps to make his acts seem good instead of bad in his own and others' eyes…. That was how the agents of the Inquisition fortified their wills: by invoking Christianity; the conquerors of foreign lands, by extolling the grandeur of their Motherland; the colonizers, by civilization; the Nazis, by race; and the Jacobins (early and late), by equality, brotherhood, and the happiness of future generations"
Best opening lines from a book (3 Max)
Title: The Violent Bear It Away
Comments: Francis Marion Tarwater's uncle had been dead for only half a day when the boy got too drunk to finish digging his grave and a Negro named Buford Munson, who had come to get a jug filled, had to finish it and drag the body from the breakfast table where it was still sitting and bury it in a decent and Christian way, with the sign of its Saviour at the head of the grave and enough dirt on top to keep the dogs from digging it up
Music
Favorite Songs or Albums (10 Max.)
Song: Graceland
Comments: Released in 1986, it still holds up. It's sounds are a mixture of pop, African rhythms-roots, trilling, slap bass, really creative stuff. The lyrics are so Paul Simon (good). The songs tell stories through images, melded with these incredible pop/african sounds and melodies. In the song Graceland you don't know everything that happened, but you know it's about love and loss, "She comes back to tell me she's gone, As if I didn't know that, As if I didn't know my own bed, As if I'd never noticed, The way she brushed her hair from her forehead". There is not a bad song on this album. Every song is a home run.
What Music Do You Like To Listen To: Artist or Group or Style
Favorite song lyrics (3 Max.)
Song: Emmylou Harris/Red Dirt Girl
Comments: Very good sad song about a poor southern girl, trapped by her circumstance
Song: Patty Griffen/Railroad Wings
Comments: Ain't it the truth
Movies
Recent Movies (5 Max.)
Title: The Death Of Stalin
Rating: 
Comments: I don't know how they pulled it off, but they turned events surrounding Stalin's death into a comedy - a very dark one. It's about a strong man and the flatterers that surround them. Who would ever thought Steve Buscemi would play Khrushchev. The dialog is full of one liners mingled with slapstick, wrapped around fear and death, and it works. From my reading of Stalin's death, it is remarkably accurate. This is a really good movie.
Title: 1917
Rating:
Comments: The setting is WWI. There are two young soldiers. Their mission is to travel across miles of bombed-out French terrain (gives new meaning to "No Man's Land") to deliver an urgent message to a nearby British battalion, warning them that what looks like a German enemy retreat is, in fact, a deadly trap. Raising the stakes even further, Blake's older brother is a member of that battalion, and he and 1,600 other men will almost surely perish if the attack proceeds. It is suspenseful, a beat-the-clock thriller. The movie was shot in what looks like one long continuous take, with no visible edits. This technique adds to the drama. One of the better movies I have seen.
Title: Yesterday
Rating:
Comments: Yesterday, has a fantastical premise: a worldwide blackout erases the existence of The Beatles except for in the memory of one person, who happens to be a struggling singer/songwriter. It takes him a while but he figures out he can sing and record their songs and claim them as his own. He takes the music world by storm. As far fetched as the premise is, it works. They mix in a nice love story. The main characters are likable and good. The music is great. It's a sweet story.
All Time Favorite Movies (5 Max.)
Title: The Godfather & Godfather II
Comments: I don't know which one I liked better, the original or II. The story (both movies) span from early 20th century to late 1950's, chronicles the Corleone family under patriarch Vito Corleone - the Godfather (Marlon Brando), and the transformation of one of his sons, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), from reluctant family outsider to ruthless mafia boss. II traces Vito's early childhood in Sicily and his coming to America. It shows a young Vito (Robert De Niro) living in "little Italy" – NYC in the early 20th century and his beginning as a crime figure. It's a great story. The music, matches the mood of the movie, pitch perfect. Every scene. every character works.
Title: Fargo
Comments: Fargo is a crime drama set in Minnesota, 1987. Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) is a car salesman in Minneapolis who has gotten himself into debt and is so desperate for money that he hires two thugs (Steve Buscemi), (Peter Stormare) to kidnap his own wife. Jerry will collect the ransom from her wealthy father (Harve Presnell), paying the thugs a small portion and keeping the rest to satisfy his debts. The scheme collapses when the thugs shoot a state trooper. Enter Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) a pregnant Minnesota police chief investigating roadside homicide. It is a story about a very bright women (Marge) surrounded by some very dumb people. The dialog "Minnesota nice", mixed with some very dark characters, very funny very dark.
Title: Lonesome Dove
Comments: It's a TV mini-series. It is what good westerns should be (I love westerns). The characters, the story and the landscape are big (as many good westerns are). It's the story of two aging Texas rangers, now retired and not all that successful as ranchers. They are among other things, bored. They decide to mount a cattle drive from Lonesome Dove in south Texas, and take the herd to Montana, to start a new life. Robert Duvall - Gus McCrea and Tommy Lee Jones - Woodrow Call are fabulous. Great supporting cast. Love the characters - Pea Eye, Jake Spoons, Blue Duck. How good is that. The characters and story walk that line between where civilization ends and savagery begins. If you like westerns, this is it!
All Time Worst Movies (3 Max.)
Title: Billy Jack - All of them
Comments: In the early 70's there were several movies about this character Billy Jack - played by Tom Laughlin ( Billy Jack, The Trial of Billy Jack, Billy Jack Goes To Washington). He's a former Green Beret, who just wants peace, except if you cross him, he's liable to maim or kill you (he's a master of the martial arts), but all that being said, he is a good guy. I only saw the original Billy Jack and by the end of it, I was rooting for the bad guys. I don't care if he was trying to save the "peace school" (the premise of the movie was bad guys were wanting to shut down the school because it was run and operated by peace loving people. The acting was horrible, characters were (is there something less than one-dimensional) and the popcorn was bad!
Favorite Movie Lines (3 Max.)
Title: The Godfather Part 1
Line: "leave the gun, take the cannoli"
Comments: Clemenza returns to the car after just having Pauli (his driver) shot in the back of the head. It was revenge for Pauli setting up the Godfather to be killed. Tough love - but "just"
Desert Island
If you were stranded on a desert island, and you had a choice of a person to be stranded with, who would it be? (List 3 choices)
Title: The Apostle Paul
Comments: One of the great characters in the bible. He is an interesting, complex, Godly man. He wrote 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament. He’s a Hebrew’s Hebrew and also the apostle to the Gentiles (that takes some ministry skill). He’s brave. He’s honest. He’s transparent. He’s a scholar. He’s a systematic theologian. He says some things regarding women that are troubling to our modern sensibilities, yet some of his closest friends and early church leaders are women (huh!). I love how his humanity is melded into his total focus on his love of God (how does one do that?). I have some questions on the book of Romans, I would like to ask him, either on the island or in heaven.
