51 Little Lord Fauntleroy-Herbert [as nice as the movie]
52 Puck of Pooh's Hill-Rudyard Kipling
53 Emma-Jane Austen (1/2 read) [couldn't get through it]
54 Sense & Sensibility-Jane Austen
55 Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-Doug Adams
56 The Restaurant at the End of the Universe-Doug Adams
57 Huckleberry Finn-Mark Twain
58 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer-Mark Twain
59 Gulliver's Travels-Jonathan Swift
60-The Secret Garden-Herbert
61-Apollyon-Tim LaHaye
62-The Red Badge of Courage-Stephen Crane
63-Pilgrim's Progress-John Bunyan
64-The Jungle-Upton Sinclair [very very scary, a shame that things were like that]
65-The House of Seven Gables-
66-Alice in Wonderland-Lewis Carroll
67-Through the Looking-Glass-Lewis Carroll
68-Little Women-Louisa May Alcott
69-The Hunting of the Snark-Lewis Carroll
70-Robinson Crusoe-Daniel Defoe [interesting, excellent religious themes]
71-Last of the Mohicans-James Fenimore Cooper [great, loved it]
72-Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe-Daniel Defoe
73-Two Years Before the Mast-Robert Dana [fascinating, fascinating]
74-Tom Swift and His Airship
75-Tom Swift and the Caves of Ice
Monday, June 12, 2006
Books I Have Read [2]
26 Pudd'nhead Wilson-Mark Twain
27 Sketches New and Old-Mark Twain
28 What is Man-Mark Twain
29 Captain Stormfield-Mark Twain
30 The Double-Barreled Detective-Mark Twain
31 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
32 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-Robert Louis Stevenson
33 Frankenstein-Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley [quite a bit different from movies]
34 The Romantic Adventures of a Milkmaid-Thomas Hardy [more intriguing than the title would suggest]
35 The Woodlanders-Thomas Hardy [fascinating]
36 Return of the Native-Thomas Hardy
37 Far From the Madding Crowd-Thomas Hardy [fascinating]
38 Left Behind-Tim LaHaye [Great!]
39 Tribulation Force-Tim LaHaye
40 The Portrait of Dorian Gray-Oscar Wilde [creepy]
41 Uncle Tom's Cabin-Harriet Beecher Stowe [amazing, jaw-dropping, I understand why it caused a stir]
42 Nicolae-Tim LaHaye
43 Two on a Tower-Thomas Hardy [worth reading]
44 Soul Harvest-Tim LaHaye
45 Captains Courageous-Rudyard Kipling
46 The Great Gatsby-F. Scott Fitzgerald
47 Twilight Manor-Gwen Austin (iuniverse.com online)
48 Jungle Book-Rudyard Kipling
49 The Second Jungle Book-Rudyard Kipling
50 Kim-Rudyard Kipling [this would make a great movie]
27 Sketches New and Old-Mark Twain
28 What is Man-Mark Twain
29 Captain Stormfield-Mark Twain
30 The Double-Barreled Detective-Mark Twain
31 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
32 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-Robert Louis Stevenson
33 Frankenstein-Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley [quite a bit different from movies]
34 The Romantic Adventures of a Milkmaid-Thomas Hardy [more intriguing than the title would suggest]
35 The Woodlanders-Thomas Hardy [fascinating]
36 Return of the Native-Thomas Hardy
37 Far From the Madding Crowd-Thomas Hardy [fascinating]
38 Left Behind-Tim LaHaye [Great!]
39 Tribulation Force-Tim LaHaye
40 The Portrait of Dorian Gray-Oscar Wilde [creepy]
41 Uncle Tom's Cabin-Harriet Beecher Stowe [amazing, jaw-dropping, I understand why it caused a stir]
42 Nicolae-Tim LaHaye
43 Two on a Tower-Thomas Hardy [worth reading]
44 Soul Harvest-Tim LaHaye
45 Captains Courageous-Rudyard Kipling
46 The Great Gatsby-F. Scott Fitzgerald
47 Twilight Manor-Gwen Austin (iuniverse.com online)
48 Jungle Book-Rudyard Kipling
49 The Second Jungle Book-Rudyard Kipling
50 Kim-Rudyard Kipling [this would make a great movie]
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Books I Have Read [1]
OK I've been reading. A lot, especially after I finished my PhD, started teaching college, and then got glasses. About 4 years ago I purchased a PDA (Handspring Visor Pro). After figuring my way around it and transferring my life into it (notes, dates, names, etc. etc.), I figured out how to download a simple text file from Project Gutenberg (and other online full text sources), convert it to a "PDB" file, transfer it to my PDA, and read it.
The next few blogs are my list of books I have read, and some commentary where appropriate. I have purchased only a few ebooks, the rest were completely free.
First 25 (my comments are in brackets]
1Treasure Island-Robert Louis Stevenson
2 Dracula-Bram Stoker [excellent, highly recommended, much better than the commonly understood story of Dracula]
3 Democracy in America, Book 1: Chapters 1-3, 15-Alexis De Toqueville
4 Institutes of the Christian Religion-John Calvin (partial)
5 The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
6 War of the Worlds-H. G. Wells [must read]
7 Antigone-Sophocles
8 Rothschild’s Fiddle-Anton Chekov
9 Wuthering Heights-Emily Brontë
10 Othello-Shakespeare (not finished)
11 The Effective Executive-Peter Drucker
12 Tarzan of the Apes-Edgar Rice Burroughs [surprising]
13 The complete Oz series (14 books)-L. Frank Baum [fun]
14 The Snow Queen-Hans Christian Anderson
15 A Christmas Carol-Charles Dickens
16 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People-David Niven
17 An American Claimant-Mark Twain [a real Twain sleeper hit]
18 A Dog's Tale-Mark Twain
19 A Burlesque Autobiography-Mark Twain
20 Adam's Diary-Mark Twain
21 A Horse's Tale-Mark Twain
22 The Curious Republic of Gondour-Mark Twain
23 Is Shakespeare Dead-Mark Twain [thought-provoking--the idea that Shakespeare was not Shakespeare still lives today]
24 The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg-Mark Twain [clever premise]
25 The Prince and the Pauper-Mark Twain
The next few blogs are my list of books I have read, and some commentary where appropriate. I have purchased only a few ebooks, the rest were completely free.
First 25 (my comments are in brackets]
1Treasure Island-Robert Louis Stevenson
2 Dracula-Bram Stoker [excellent, highly recommended, much better than the commonly understood story of Dracula]
3 Democracy in America, Book 1: Chapters 1-3, 15-Alexis De Toqueville
4 Institutes of the Christian Religion-John Calvin (partial)
5 The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
6 War of the Worlds-H. G. Wells [must read]
7 Antigone-Sophocles
8 Rothschild’s Fiddle-Anton Chekov
9 Wuthering Heights-Emily Brontë
10 Othello-Shakespeare (not finished)
11 The Effective Executive-Peter Drucker
12 Tarzan of the Apes-Edgar Rice Burroughs [surprising]
13 The complete Oz series (14 books)-L. Frank Baum [fun]
14 The Snow Queen-Hans Christian Anderson
15 A Christmas Carol-Charles Dickens
16 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People-David Niven
17 An American Claimant-Mark Twain [a real Twain sleeper hit]
18 A Dog's Tale-Mark Twain
19 A Burlesque Autobiography-Mark Twain
20 Adam's Diary-Mark Twain
21 A Horse's Tale-Mark Twain
22 The Curious Republic of Gondour-Mark Twain
23 Is Shakespeare Dead-Mark Twain [thought-provoking--the idea that Shakespeare was not Shakespeare still lives today]
24 The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg-Mark Twain [clever premise]
25 The Prince and the Pauper-Mark Twain
FunVerse #9
This is (simply) an attempt to create purely rhythmic verse with absolutely no real meaning at all. It's fun to read it out loud, though!
Kuma Tintin Rot
Gaunch a rena in palada
Mora tintinalla flaw;
Pasqua loober is cronada
And facheevly, reevly baw.
Manicolli tintinolli
Pre-spadulla wasparay.
A capello, maranello.
Vola veela hoola bray.
Pilfa no arun jaliffa
Astaringo or merill!
Eber tintin kuma toorah,
Walma balma in parrill.
And panat is caballering
Tintin toorah: ablucot
Vints sparangulablarotty,
Oomah noomah kuma rot!
June 4, 2006
Kuma Tintin Rot
Gaunch a rena in palada
Mora tintinalla flaw;
Pasqua loober is cronada
And facheevly, reevly baw.
Manicolli tintinolli
Pre-spadulla wasparay.
A capello, maranello.
Vola veela hoola bray.
Pilfa no arun jaliffa
Astaringo or merill!
Eber tintin kuma toorah,
Walma balma in parrill.
And panat is caballering
Tintin toorah: ablucot
Vints sparangulablarotty,
Oomah noomah kuma rot!
June 4, 2006
Monday, May 15, 2006
FunVerse #8
Here's the story, told by Jon himself:
Hey dudes and dudettes,
Saturday afternoon I had a good day out hunting turkeys. Walking through the woods, came up toward an open field, and I could see a few heads right at the edge of the field. I sneaked up through the woods, and got within about 30 yards. There were about 4 or 5 turkeys. Picked out one that I thought had a beard, and shot. But there wasn’t any wing flapping or flopping around, like a typical turkey dying. In fact the turkeys just jumped up in the air about six feet, fluttered back to the ground, and went back to eating.
I stood there for ten more minutes trying to see if there was a dead bird on the ground, but I couldn’t see one. So I pulled up and shot again (and missed), but the birds stayed again. So I shot again, and this time I knew by the flapping that I had killed a bird.
When I went over to the field, there were two dead jakes, both around 17 or 18 lbs. They’re young gobblers, kinda like teenagers. I tagged one and took it home, called a friend and asked if I could fill his tag, went back and brought the other one home. (5/15/06)
And here's the poem I wrote to commemorate the occasion:
Title: Two Jakes for the Price of Three
Alternate Title 1: One Jake Shy of a Hat Trick
Alternate Title 2: Good Thing I Had Three Shells With Me
Alternate Title 3: Was It Shot #1, Shot #2 or Shot #3?
Jon took his gun into the woods
To hunt some turkeys wild.
He walked o'er wood, dale, glade, and glen
The wind was calm and mild.
Just then he spied beneath some trees
A gang of gobblers bunching,
Just four or five (or forty-five)
A-pecking and a-munching.
Jon peered through scope, took careful aim
And squeezed a careful shot:
The gobblers rose into the air
And headed eastward, not!
"What's this?" He cried inside his brain,
"Have turkeys gone plumb crazy?
They settled back onto the ground!
Perhaps they're just plain lazy."
He wonders if he hit one, if,
Perhaps, it's wounded sore.
He looks for flopping, flapping, but--
They simply peck some more.
Ten times it sweeps, the second hand.
His bloodshot eyes have bags.
He peers through leaves, he strains some more,
His shoulder droops and sags.
"I must have missed!" says he to self,
"No birds have yet been toasted!
A second shot I'll venture now,
And soon one will be roasted."
As echoes of the second blast
Went ringing round the glade
Those cotton-pickin' turkey birds--
Amazingly, they stayed.
Again he held his breath and watched
To see one bite the dust
But nary feather-flop was seen
"I must get one, I must!"
"I cannot understand what's up,"
Said he to no one close,
"It mystifies me why they stay,
Perhaps they are morose."
His hands were shaking, shoulder sore,
As in his bag of ammo,
He placed his hand. One shell! One chance!
To make his gun say blammo.
"Third time's a charm," he told himself,
And as he drew a bead
On all those feisty turkey-birds,
His finger did the deed:
And blam! The shotgun roared its fire!
And wham! The turkeys fled!
And zoom! Jon rushed to claim his prize!
And hey! Here's one that's dead!
"But wait!" he muttered to thin air,
"Could I have been mistaken?
This pile of beaks, wings, beards, and claws
Means two birds have been taken!"
"My first two shots, I'm pretty sure
Missed every bird completely!
That must mean on my shot the third,
Two jakes were downed quite neatly!"
"Oh no," he gasped, quite pointlessly,
Since no one was around,
"I've run 'a-fowl' of hunting laws,
By hunting laws I'm bound."
"My hunting tag is only good
For one bird on a tag!
I've got it now! I'll check with Fred!
He never fills his bag!"
And so Jon tagged the larger bird
(No need to take a chance).
Soon back he came, Fred's tag in hand
To dance the two-fer dance.
The moral of this hunting tale,
Inside my mind's a-buzzin':
At two jakes for the price of three,
You can't afford a dozen!
Hey dudes and dudettes,
Saturday afternoon I had a good day out hunting turkeys. Walking through the woods, came up toward an open field, and I could see a few heads right at the edge of the field. I sneaked up through the woods, and got within about 30 yards. There were about 4 or 5 turkeys. Picked out one that I thought had a beard, and shot. But there wasn’t any wing flapping or flopping around, like a typical turkey dying. In fact the turkeys just jumped up in the air about six feet, fluttered back to the ground, and went back to eating.
I stood there for ten more minutes trying to see if there was a dead bird on the ground, but I couldn’t see one. So I pulled up and shot again (and missed), but the birds stayed again. So I shot again, and this time I knew by the flapping that I had killed a bird.
When I went over to the field, there were two dead jakes, both around 17 or 18 lbs. They’re young gobblers, kinda like teenagers. I tagged one and took it home, called a friend and asked if I could fill his tag, went back and brought the other one home. (5/15/06)
And here's the poem I wrote to commemorate the occasion:
Title: Two Jakes for the Price of Three
Alternate Title 1: One Jake Shy of a Hat Trick
Alternate Title 2: Good Thing I Had Three Shells With Me
Alternate Title 3: Was It Shot #1, Shot #2 or Shot #3?
Jon took his gun into the woods
To hunt some turkeys wild.
He walked o'er wood, dale, glade, and glen
The wind was calm and mild.
Just then he spied beneath some trees
A gang of gobblers bunching,
Just four or five (or forty-five)
A-pecking and a-munching.
Jon peered through scope, took careful aim
And squeezed a careful shot:
The gobblers rose into the air
And headed eastward, not!
"What's this?" He cried inside his brain,
"Have turkeys gone plumb crazy?
They settled back onto the ground!
Perhaps they're just plain lazy."
He wonders if he hit one, if,
Perhaps, it's wounded sore.
He looks for flopping, flapping, but--
They simply peck some more.
Ten times it sweeps, the second hand.
His bloodshot eyes have bags.
He peers through leaves, he strains some more,
His shoulder droops and sags.
"I must have missed!" says he to self,
"No birds have yet been toasted!
A second shot I'll venture now,
And soon one will be roasted."
As echoes of the second blast
Went ringing round the glade
Those cotton-pickin' turkey birds--
Amazingly, they stayed.
Again he held his breath and watched
To see one bite the dust
But nary feather-flop was seen
"I must get one, I must!"
"I cannot understand what's up,"
Said he to no one close,
"It mystifies me why they stay,
Perhaps they are morose."
His hands were shaking, shoulder sore,
As in his bag of ammo,
He placed his hand. One shell! One chance!
To make his gun say blammo.
"Third time's a charm," he told himself,
And as he drew a bead
On all those feisty turkey-birds,
His finger did the deed:
And blam! The shotgun roared its fire!
And wham! The turkeys fled!
And zoom! Jon rushed to claim his prize!
And hey! Here's one that's dead!
"But wait!" he muttered to thin air,
"Could I have been mistaken?
This pile of beaks, wings, beards, and claws
Means two birds have been taken!"
"My first two shots, I'm pretty sure
Missed every bird completely!
That must mean on my shot the third,
Two jakes were downed quite neatly!"
"Oh no," he gasped, quite pointlessly,
Since no one was around,
"I've run 'a-fowl' of hunting laws,
By hunting laws I'm bound."
"My hunting tag is only good
For one bird on a tag!
I've got it now! I'll check with Fred!
He never fills his bag!"
And so Jon tagged the larger bird
(No need to take a chance).
Soon back he came, Fred's tag in hand
To dance the two-fer dance.
The moral of this hunting tale,
Inside my mind's a-buzzin':
At two jakes for the price of three,
You can't afford a dozen!
Monday, May 08, 2006
FunVerse #7
Been working this one over for quite a while, that's why there are two poems today:
Spring Fling
Spring is springing in my garden, little sprouts are everywhere,
Reaching sunward, sighing, "My it's great to be out in the air."
The spring-rain-softened flower beds enable germination,
While grubs and beetles scramble to avoid extermination.
The tulip’s petals form a bowl to catch the morning dew;
Each daffy holds a teacup made for sipping springtime brew.
As croc'ses stretch their necks to be the first to see the light,
The hyacinth prepares to fill our nostrils with delight.
I grab my shovel, plunge it deep, drink in the earthy scents
Of just-turned earth—I see some worms a-making nutrients!
The Easter lily, Christmas cactus, birthday mums, and daisy
Are dropped into their summer homes to grow and grow like crazy.
The sun is keeping longer hours. Its stimulating beams
Ignite the fuse on waiting roots, 'til, bursting at the seams,
Defying gravity, they blast their blossoms in the air!
Chrysanthemums and comets fill my garden with their glare!
May 8, 2006
Spring Fling
Spring is springing in my garden, little sprouts are everywhere,
Reaching sunward, sighing, "My it's great to be out in the air."
The spring-rain-softened flower beds enable germination,
While grubs and beetles scramble to avoid extermination.
The tulip’s petals form a bowl to catch the morning dew;
Each daffy holds a teacup made for sipping springtime brew.
As croc'ses stretch their necks to be the first to see the light,
The hyacinth prepares to fill our nostrils with delight.
I grab my shovel, plunge it deep, drink in the earthy scents
Of just-turned earth—I see some worms a-making nutrients!
The Easter lily, Christmas cactus, birthday mums, and daisy
Are dropped into their summer homes to grow and grow like crazy.
The sun is keeping longer hours. Its stimulating beams
Ignite the fuse on waiting roots, 'til, bursting at the seams,
Defying gravity, they blast their blossoms in the air!
Chrysanthemums and comets fill my garden with their glare!
May 8, 2006
FunVerse #6
Wrote this one on a whim, just had fun with the words and ideas:
Hullo, My Name is Steve
Hullo, my name is Steve. I have a problem, I admit.
It's something that I must do; oh, it’s something I can’t quit.
I'm helpless. I am hopeless. This is quite beyond my pow’rs
Of self-control. I’m guilty of—yes, sniffing lilac flowers.
Yes, lilac blossom time, for me, breeds great anticipation,
And just as soon as buds appear, I sniff with great elation
Those purple clusters, sometimes white, or blue, or pink, or yellow.
Indeed. The color matters not—I’m an addicted fellow.
It started way back when I lived at old Moore’s Corner homestead.
The lilac bushes towered far above my little boy-head.
Ah! When they blossomed, yes, indeed, I’d surely find a way
To pull some lilac blossoms down to sniff, somehow, each day.
Now certainly you must agree, it’s such a harmless fault,
Compared to reckless driving, gambling, eating too much salt.
And yet—if forced to choose between my lilacs and my dinner,
The writing on the wall says clearly, “Lilacs are the winner.”
May 8, 2006
Hullo, My Name is Steve
Hullo, my name is Steve. I have a problem, I admit.
It's something that I must do; oh, it’s something I can’t quit.
I'm helpless. I am hopeless. This is quite beyond my pow’rs
Of self-control. I’m guilty of—yes, sniffing lilac flowers.
Yes, lilac blossom time, for me, breeds great anticipation,
And just as soon as buds appear, I sniff with great elation
Those purple clusters, sometimes white, or blue, or pink, or yellow.
Indeed. The color matters not—I’m an addicted fellow.
It started way back when I lived at old Moore’s Corner homestead.
The lilac bushes towered far above my little boy-head.
Ah! When they blossomed, yes, indeed, I’d surely find a way
To pull some lilac blossoms down to sniff, somehow, each day.
Now certainly you must agree, it’s such a harmless fault,
Compared to reckless driving, gambling, eating too much salt.
And yet—if forced to choose between my lilacs and my dinner,
The writing on the wall says clearly, “Lilacs are the winner.”
May 8, 2006
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