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So now I've been tagged by JustMe63 for the meme on books. I must admit, before yesterday, I didn't know there was such a thing as an official "meme tag," or that there are things such as "memes," since I figure most of our blogs are about "meme" anyway!
A little bit of a disclaimer before I reply to the meme questions: I don't own a digital camera, so I can't provide evidence of my collection, unlike those before me have done so well. You're just gonna have to take my word for it.
1) What is the total number of books you own?
I've never kept count, though at this point I'd say between 100-200. Doesn't seem like a lot in comparison to some folks (my dad being one of them), but that's due to several reasons. One, I've moved around a lot, so I haven't come across a real "home" yet, comfortable enough for me to start settling down, buying real bookshelves, and buying tons of books for them. Two, while I do love to read and like to buy books from time to time, I'm a huge fan of the library. All the free books you want, on just about every subject, without the clutter. What more can one ask for? Though, I do purchase books that I believe are worth keeping and having around for handy reference, so I've got tons of dictionaries and grammar books in various languages. There are also cookbooks, big volumes of word puzzle books, books on art, and books about religion. I also have a little collection of classics that I know I will read repeatedly. And since most of the purchasing I've been doing for these last two years have been textbooks, most of them get sold back once I'm done with the classes.
(Side note: My dad, on the other hand, has thousands and thousands of books. Literally. Our house has almost an entire wall that's a bookshelf in itself; the walls of the study are lined with bookshelves from floor to ceiling; the books also made their way into my parents' bedroom and even the garage. My dad is a book buying fiend. Every time he heads back to Taiwan, his luggage is always practically empty, because all he does is head to bookstores and buy more books. Can I get some vicarious oohs and aahs for his collection?)
2) What are the last books that you bought?
Just last Friday I purchased 2 books: Oxford's "Russian Grammar & Verbs," and "English-Russian-English Dictionary." Please see a few entries down on how I've been trying to teach myself Russian.
3) What is the last book you read?
Well, if you mean "completed," then I can't really tell ya. Although I love reading, I also love being lazy at times, so there are a couple of books I am (or have been) working on which I haven't finished. One of them is "The Emperor of Scent" (frequent visitors to the blog would recognize this title as the one that I've been working on forever. *blush*) by Chandler Burr, and I've just recently started "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert Heinlein, upon R's recommendation. And then there's one of my Russian grammar books and also law books that I've been referencing quite often at work.
4) Five books that mean a lot to you.
That's a hard question; I take something away from just about every book I've ever read (except maybe for the wry and dry textbooks, heh!). I can only think of one book off the top of my head that has just so rocked my world that there are real-life consequences: "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" by Eric Schlosser, an exposé of the fast food and meat industry. I seriously thought about turning vegetarian after this book, and have more or less been eating a vegetarian diet anyway. But Chinese pork dumplings will get me every time. Sorry.
Other books that are worthy of mention: "Cuore" (a.k.a. "Heart: A Schoolboy's Journal") by Edmondo De Amicis. This was one of the first "big books" that I had read, way back in elementary school. My dad had fond memories of reading that book while he was young, so he recommended it to me. He had a really old copy of it, too, that had translations of the original Italian work in both Chinese and English (I'm assuming to allow people to learn English). I read that in Chinese, of course. This was probably the first book that had ever made me cry.
"Kokoro" (a.k.a. "The Heart") by Natsume Soseki. When I was last in Japan, I asked my Japanese co-workers to recommend some Japanese classics that I could read so I could be more culturally literate. This was one of the books they recommended, by one of the most famous and greatest Japanese writers. After I read this book, I was so emotionally drained that I couldn't bear to pick up another book for two weeks. It's an intricate tale of trust, betrayal, and deceit that tugged at my heart strings for some reason. I love books that delve deep into the human psyche.
Which brings me to my next book: "Crime and Punishment" by Theodor Dostoevsky. Roskolnikov and his human failings...it's no wonder this is considered one of the greatest classics.
"Dune" by Frank Herbert. I would've never have put this book on my list several years ago, nor would I have even read it because it's sci-fi fiction, and I used to thumb my nose at sci-fi fiction because all I could think of was the myriad of Star Trek fictions that dotted the sci-fi aisle. But "Dune" has been one of the best reads I've ever had, so much so that I could barely put it down and had to read the 5 sequels that came afterwards. It's just an amazing vision of a possible future for humans that I would've never have imagined. Who hasn't, at one point in his/her life, thought, "If only I could see the future!" or "If only I knew everything!" Well, the series of books deal with a sensible look at the consequences and responsibilities that come with having such abilities. Also goes into the whole are we destined to do what we do v. do we have a choice v. are we destined to choose a certain way anyway. Really blew my mind.
So, there ya have it. I'm going to tag alohalani for the next book meme because I'd love to know what she reads!
Canada has been in the news a lot today.
1) Canada wants to ban exports of drugs into the U.S., when Congress is on the brink of approving the bulk importation of drugs from Canada. The reason cited by Canada is that Canadians should get first dibs on the drugs.
Makes a lot of sense to me. It's about damn time this country stop bowing to the pharmaceutical industry and stop letting it charge an arm and a leg for drugs. I hope this ban is strictly enforced by Canada. Maybe it will galvanize folks into doing something, like making a big stink about it. An old roommate of mine (and of R's) once defended the pharmaceutical industry, claiming that without the money, there would be no research, which would mean fewer drugs/cures/whatever available to the public. Except, I see Canada has no problems with making drugs available to its citizens while controlling the prices charged by drug companies, and none of them has stopped selling drugs in Canada. I suspect the same goes for many European countries as well.
2) Canada legalized same-sex marriages today, only the third country in the world to do so, after the Netherlands and Belgium.
It's good to know that there is now one more enlightened country that doesn't treat some of its people as second-class citizens. It's a shame that U.S. isn't one of them.
* * *
In sort of other news, it was reported today that over half of the Americans today think that the war in Iraq has no link with the fight on terrorism. Gee folks, I and many others could've told you that years ago, before this invasion thing started. Could've saved tons of money, efforts, and lives.
Thank you, psychiatrists, for calling Tom Cruise irresponsible.
I'm glad in a way that people are taking notice of the way he's been acting, which gets worse by the moment! Arguing with Matt Lauer about how Tom "knows" psychiatry and saying there's no such thing as a chemical imbalance... Allow me a very broad brush: Only a man would and could say that. For any woman who has gone through puberty, we know what chemicals and hormones can toy with our emotions every single month.
The man's obviously got issues. But it does irk me that someone with so much press exposure is being a jerk and being totally irresponsible.
* * *
In other news, after years of toying with the idea, I finally shelled out some money and committed myself to studying Russian. Really. Reading a book and writing out the alphabet and then forgetting a month later just won't do. Although I already own a copy of "Russian for Beginners," courtesy of a friend I've never met, I figured that the language is different enough that I need exposure to people speaking it, somehow. That's not likely around here, so I bought myself an audio CD course based on the famous Pimsleur method of learning languages. The method is basically to learn a language that the way a child does - learn it by hearing it spoken, speaking it, and combining the words you've learned into your own answers, instead of rote repetition or studying the grammar structure and whatnot. The CDs I got is a much more compressed program than the one I had been eyeing (the comprehensive Pimsleur I, II, and III beginning Russian sets cost about $300 EACH...yikes!), but it will have to do for now until I have the money and resources to really devote to this. Also bought a Russian-English-Russian dictionary to replace the one I had a long time ago but somehow got lost in my dad's frequent bookshelf shuffles...
Now if only I can get my butt off of this chair long enough to not play my video game...
Talking with people who lean on the conservative side, but who are supposed to be smart, is always a little nutty. You have to wonder where the brainwashing come from.
A friend lamented that most of the people from our group of friends have stopped talking to him since the last election because he voted for Bush. Well, when you're a conservative who likes to hang out with a bunch of bleeding-heart liberals, you can't blame people for not wanting to associate with you anymore.
Only quasi-kidding, though.
In our discussion on how someone who is socially liberal and fiscally conservative (and the fiscal part isn't really the crux of it) can vote for someone like Dubya, I repeatedly tried to get the friend to question his motivations for voting for someone whose views are so different from his. I don't believe in voting for someone who I hate or with whom I disagree with, which is why I refused to vote in the last election. So, the friend retreated to the clichéd response of: I voted for Dubya because I agree with his foreign policy, we need to get rid of a threat to the U.S., etc. etc. Upon reminding him that there were no WMDs, no 9/11 terrorists from Iraq, and no governmental links with al Qaida, he retreated into this spiel about how we need to establish a democracy in the Middle East as to set an example for all the other countries there. I thought he was joking. People who don't believe in democracy or Western values in the first place aren't going to see the "error of their ways" and convert. Besides, our government does a real good job at attacking only weak countries who can't defend themselves while leaving all the real big threats untouched - you know, those with real capabilities to attack the U.S., those who do have WMDs, and those whose territories from which the terrorists came from - but we don't because we're scared, would suffer some economic disadvantage, or just don't know what the heck to do with because we've paid too little attention too late. You get insurgents who aren't part of any government, who think that this is about defending Islam - those are the people you need to get at, not setting up a dummy government that can't even protect its own people, let alone make itself a beacon of democracy. For how long, and at what cost? With the way that Dubya flaunts god everywhere and blessing our country left and right, no matter how much you say we're not against Muslims, we look hypocritical.
In the end I think my friend didn't quite know where he stood, though he admitted that our reasons for going into Iraq were indeed fishy, but I have a feeling he'll return to the ways of blinding himself from what's factual and reasonable and stick with the same old conservative rhetoric.
* * *
Speaking of which, more idiocy on the conservative side -
I was watching PBS the other night and learned a bit about the "reform" that the newly-appointed chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (the org. that's responsible for funding PBS, NPR, etc.) wants to institute. I'm sure some have heard about this; PBS stations have made shown ads appealing to the public for support so that many of its quality programming don't get cut. One guest on the "News Hour with Jim Lehrer," who was obviously right-wing, couldn't stop using Bill Moyer and his show as THE example why PBS funding needs to be cut, because the program is liberal, the host often attacked Dubya, etc., and that PBS is nothing but liberally-biased. It was getting ridiculous because 1. Bill Moyer has retired for 2 years now, 2. "Now with Bill Moyers" is only 1 show out of many, but the guy couldn't name any others, and 3. if PBS is really so biased, then this guy would have never been invited to present his side on the show, not to mention the hundreds of others who are regularly invited!
Anyway, here's a petition to get Dubya to fire the current chief of CPB, who's been trying to push the Republican agenda on the CPB.
Hollywood gossip/critique from this end...
Read today that Steven Spielberg believes Tom Cruise is being "punished" for being outspoken about his love for Katie Holmes. "Punished" isn't exactly the word I'd use, but dontcha think the public is just a bit creeped out by Tom? He's no Michael Jackson, true, but he's getting up there with the wacko-meter...
First, this unfettered, gushing, overt, disgustingly sweet pouring of affection for Katie Holmes. Ok, you love this woman, and you want to tell it to the world. But it's so over-the-top that most people believe it was a big publicity stunt. This display of affection thing ties into my second point.
Can we get a big BRAINWASHING here? Picture this: A 40-something year old man with a 20-something year old woman who grew up idolizing him. Sure, they're adults who have free will...but do they really? Katie, who only recently spoke about how she's a devout Catholic and how her faith has been so important to her, suddenly turns to Scientology and totally embraces it. Maybe that's why Tom has fallen so head over heels with her - because she "embraces" Scientology like none of his previous wives did. You can't help but think that Tom has a big part to do with it. And you can't help but wonder if Katie is doing it just to get Tom to love her; or, what's worse, if Tom will only love her if she becomes a Scientologist, even though publicly he insists she has free will.
Thirdly, most importantly, but the press has very much overlooked, and what Tom should be "punished" for: His tirade against people like Brooke Shields (whom he singled out), who apparently suffered from post partum depression and had to take medication to help her get through it. I gotta give it to Brooke for not having lashed out at Tom publicly for dissing her. In one of his TV magazine interviews, Tom condemned Brooke as if she sinned the deepest sins by taking meds to help her cope and then writing a book to tell about it, because he believes that Scientology provides the only way through which one should be cured. I'll admit that my impression of Tom Cruise has gone down as I aged, but this particular antic makes him a dick wad in my mind. Who is he to judge how other people should live their lives? What does he know about post partum depression? When did he become a doctor who specializes in psychiatry? Wait, scratch "psychiatry" because Tom doesn't believe in it, yet he acts like one. He said that Brooke was "irresponsible" for spreading the word about meds, but that's the pot calling the kettle black - he's incredibly irresponsible for telling people that the only real way you can be cured of depression is via Scientology. Religious freak much? I sure hope no one is dumb enough (except for maybe poor Katie) to convert to Scientology through his efforts.
BTW, for those who haven't heard, the urban legend goes that L. Ron Hubbard started Scientology after a bar bet with Robert Heinlein (a fellow sci-fi author) that he could start a religion and make money off of it. After some reserach, the concensus seems to be that there was no such specific bar bet, but L. Ron Hubbard did repeat, on several occasions and to no fewer than 8 witnesses, that the best way to make money was to start a religion. And guess what, he did. Faith sure is a funny thing that can make a follower completely blind.
So, Tom, please shut up already. You should be booed and boycotted for being a jerk.
I'm back from the NE, it's incredibly hot here already and it's not even 9 a.m., and I'm already up on a Sunday morning because my luggage didn't arrive yesterday and hasn't been delivered yet, either. This also happened the last time I flew with United; I'm beginning to wonder if it's United that's incompetent and not the airport's fault anymore. I wasn't the only one without my bag, either. There were talks that the bags were coming in via the next flight into town, which was supposed to be 11 p.m. last night; I was ready to get a call in the middle of the night that they'd deliver my bag, but still no word...
It was one huge bag. How could they not have found it by now?!
What's really bad is that all of my work-acceptable clothes are in there, and I must start my internship tomorrow morning. Not to mention medication, books, important papers, and iPod chargers are all in tthere. United also has me on hold for the past 25 minutes now...
I was planning to go out and do things this morning so I could dodge some of the heat, but it looks like I'll be waiting at home all day and worrying about my stuff. Ugh.
ETA: After 45 minutes on hold, I finally managed to speak to an agent. My bag was apparently scanned in this morning in Chicago. This morning! What was it doing hanging around Chicago for an entire day while there were other flights here?! At least the agent promised that the luggage will be delivered today, though it'd be in the afternoon or evening depending on when the courier can get to it.
I think the next time it happens I deserve a ticket upgrade or something.
Because I was lamenting that I won't be able to see "Batman Begins" once I head back to my usual abode, R and I decided that tonight was a good night to go and see the movie.
Goodness gracious me. This ain't yo mama's Batman TV series!
Don't want to give away any spoilers here, but it was oh so good. The last superhero movie I saw (that I can remember) was Spiderman 2. While it was an entertaining movie, it was only a movie, not a film. Movie = popcorn movie that's fun for the whole familly and draws the masses to the theatre because it's got all the bells and whistles. Film = a thinking person's movie with lasting impressions. "Batman Begins" is a film in my book. Don't be fooled; it's certainly got the bells and whistles. It's gadgets galore with tons of action and martial arts for the dudes, and some romance thrown in there plus Christian Bale's forever boyish good looks for the gals. (Been a big fan myself since "The Newsies" and "Swing Kids.") Stereotypes aside, it's got more than that - breathtaking cinematography, superb acting by most of the cast, and parts of the film were very Zen and philosophical. It toes the fine line between justice v. "justice," those who want to bring peace with the glass half full v. those who want to wipe out everything and start all over. Throw some human goodness in the midst of human depravity, and it's a feel-good film despite its darkness.
I read on some boards that a few folks are unhappy with Batman beginning all over again because there was the 1989 Tim Burton version which, while a good work in itself, somehow eventually led to the generally agreed farce called "Batman and Robin." I know, irony in "razing" all the movies that came before to do a "begins" movie, but no one is forcing Tim Burton fans not to like his Batman movies, and no one is saying those movies never existed. But Christopher Nolan's vision is sure off to a good start. There is already talk of sequels to "Batman Begins," and Mark Hamill is one of fan favorites to play the Joker because of his voice work on the cartoons. (Though I must admit I'm somewhat torn because Crispin Glover is also a fan favorite, and I can totally see him putting his own freaky deaky spin on the character.)
I'm gonna do whatever I can to catch this again, most likely on IMAX. Plus, great performances by Christian Bale, Mchael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Tom Wilkinson, and Morgan Freeman. What are you waiting for?
I thought I had it nice with a 6-muffin pan, but with this 12-muffin pan we bought here a few weeks ago, it's an instant dozen! A strange yet pleasing mixture of lemon poppyseed muffins and apple cinnamon muffins now pervades throughout the house. But I gotta say, baking ain't quite the same when it's done in a warm, humid weather...
So, life here has been good. Sadly, it'll come to an end soon, as I wrap up the job I have here in about a week and head back down to an internship for the rest of the summer. I'm feeling ambivalent about the return because on the one hand, the work experience up here has been splendid - exceeded my expectations, actually. I was getting a bit frustrated when April rolled around when I still couldn't get it finalized, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect of people who couldn't make up their minds to make me a timely offer... But now that I've been here, learning, researching, writing, and interacting with the folks at work, I've really enjoyed myself. It's a rare occasion when one finds a work place where your co-workers like you, respect you, treat you well, and think you're very intelligent and do splendid work. You feel appreciated, accomplished, on top of feeling like your education hasn't gone to waste and that you're actually making a difference in a multi-billion-dollar company. Prozac in a working experience, baby! Because the semesters and the people at school will make you feel like shit. Although I was really looking forward to my internship before the summer started, as it will expose me to an area in which I was quite interested during the semester, the unknown - what my superiors will be like, if the new environment will be friendly, what they will think of me, and just a whole new atmosphere in general - makes me a little apprehensive. I will pretty much be the only assistant/support for the rest of the summer at my internship, so there may be lots I have to shoulder.
But that's what life is all about, though. Taking it one step at a time. And hopefully keep in touch with those who you like and crossing paths with them again somewhere down the road. Damn, I'm getting nostalgic and sad already, and I haven't even left yet...
* * *
Totally switching gears -
There's a burning question for which I've been trying to find an answer. Has anyone else in other parts of the country seen these large, colorful crystal balls being displayed across lawns? They're not necessarily crystal, as I've seen them come in metallic red, blue, gold, green, clear, purple, silver, and irridescent. They're mostly metallic and usually perched upon some type of stand in the middle of a garden. What was once a fleeting notice of a metallic red ball has flared into a daily semi-obsession on our way to and back from work, as I stare as fast as I can at each and every house we pass by, trying to search for signs of one of these metallic crystal balls. So far, I've counted at least 11 on our route, and some folks hide theirs well! R thought I was a little crazy at first, being so intrigued by these balls (which, I might add, for LotR geeks - they remind me of what palantirs would look like, and make me wonder if they're not some sort of communication devices from one house to another...anyway), but even he has been kinda sucked in by the search for these metallic balls and manages to look for them when he's not busy driving and paying attention to the road.
I wondered if there was like a big sale at the Lawn & Garden section of the local Home Depot or something for these crystal ball decorations, so at least 11 households have decided to display them in their yards - each with a different color, I might add. Coincidence? Or if there was like a little conspiracy to put them outside so bored people like me would notice them and now would be able to tell you the exact order one would pass by them on the road, or how long it will take before the car reaches the next one? Or that there may be many more houses with these decorations, but we just don't pass by them?
Do these things only exist in the NE or only in our neighboring towns? Does anyone even know what I'm talking about or seen one of these things? Anyone? Bueller?
