Machiavelli The Don

New book blog

2008-11-02T18:25:00.002-08:00

The new book I'm reading is called "Dance Hall of the Dead" and it is a murder mystery written by Tony Hillerman.

"George was certainly crazy, but George was his friend, and here now was his bicycle and George would be waiting. The figure which stepped from behind the boulders was not George."

This is only five pages into the book and already I am beginning to feel intrigued by it. Who is this stepping from behind the boulder? Is it a dangerous person or is the author just wanting us to think that? My thought is that this is a dangerous person and that it is who kidnapped George and his friend, but it all seems to simple to me. However the complexity of this novel is sure to increase as I read along but right now simplicity is fine in the first few chapters as I am just getting a sense of whats going on. This seems like a good quick read but not a complete waste of my time that I could be wasting watching the colts and patriots on Sunday Night Football.

harold and oedipus

2008-09-24T17:30:00.000-07:00

One question that was answered in Stranger Than Fiction was can we change our fate. The answer the movie gave to this question was no. Harold runs around the city searching for help and ways to change his fate and escape his inevitable death, but comes up empty every time. Also the question of whether or not we have the freedom to choose for ourselves is answered with a big fat no. Harold thinks he is choosing for himself in brief moments of the film, when really the greater being in charge of his fate is just suffering from writers block. Who we are and what is our role in the world is a question that Harold and the professor tried to answer when narrowing down which role and in which book he was in, when they came to the conclusion that the book that he was in was in fact his life.

Do you believe?heck yeah i believe blog

2008-09-11T18:04:00.000-07:00

I believe in destiny and determinism, but in no way, shape or form do I believe in free will. You make your own decisions and you may think that that is free will, but really its all part of your fate. For example, imagine that you are at a restaurant and you have your mind set on ordering a steak the whole time, when at the last minute you decide to use your free will and order a burger. You may think that you and only you chose to order that burger, when in reality its your destiny to order that burger, there is nothing you can do to escape that. I do believe that your DNA and environment help to shape your actions too though. I may be contradicting myself but I'm on a roll. I believe that in order to fit into society, your actions are going to be like those of the people around you. Even if you are a leader and do your own thing rather than what other people do, those people are going to soon follow your lead and copy their actions after yours. All three could coexist briefly, and I say briefly because one will soon override the others and take control of your life like it is meant to, and you have no control over that, even if you think you do. You may grab the chocolate out of the bag but you have no control over which one you get. Doesn't that suck.

Cathedral Post

2008-08-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

Why is this a perfect ending to this short?

The story ended with the narrator having an epiphany of self realization, which is perfect because the entire story he was trying to figure out the blind man, when really in the end, it was himself who he figured out

Quotes that I like

2008-08-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

From the poem "Power of a smile" by Tupac Shakur
"The power of a gun can kill, and the power of fire can burn
The power of wind can chill, and the power of mind can learn
The power of anger, can raise inside until it tears you apart
But the power of a smile, especially yours, can heal a frozen heart"

From SNL skit featuring Chris Farley as motivational speaker Matt Foley
"Lets get started by letting me give you a scenario of what my life is all about,i'm 35 years old,I am divorced,and I live in a van down by the river."

A few quotes from Tiger Woods
"i want to be what i've always wanted to be:dominant"
"i'm addicted.I'm addicted to golf"
"no matter how good you get, you can always get better and thats the exciting part"
"days when you just don't have it,you don't mail it in,you don't pack it in,you give it every thing you've got.You grind it out.I don't care what kind of game you have,you somehow try and find a way to get it done."

A few quotes from Demetri Martin
"If I ever saw an amputee getting hanged,i'd probably just start calling out letters"
"The easiest time to add insult to injury is when your signing somebody's cast"

A few quotes from Mitch Hedberg
"You know,I'm sick of following my dreams,man.I'm just gonna ask them where they're going and hook up with 'em later"
"Last week I helped my friend stay put.It's a lot easier than helping somebody move.I just went over to his house and made sure that he did not start to load shit into a truck."
"I saw a commercial on late night TV,it said "Forget anything you know about slipcovers."So I did,and it was a load off my mind.Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were"

yule

2008-08-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

soulja boy