Does America Need a Foreign Policy?

[Henry Kissinger]  This is my "volume of Kissinger;" I had it mailed to me from home.  I read it over the summer [2001] but a lot of it didn't stick very well.  I have been rereading parts of it for reference, however, and whatever people might say about his human rights rep., this is one truly smart guy; I would be lost without this book.

Mind of God

[Paul Davies]  Combining philosophy and science.  A Christmas gift from my friend Brian Lange; sadly I have not gotten around to reading it.  I have no idea when I will.

What is Economics?

[James Eggert]  My high school economics text.  Very elementary, but if my experience with my high school conceptual physics book last year is any indication, I figure this one will come in handy from time to time, especially before I take econ...

Hyperspace

[Michio Kaku]  Very interesting book; also a Christmas gift from Brian, coincidentally.  A central idea is the possibility that the universe was once ten-dimensional; then there was some great cataclysm and it fractured, tragically, into a six-dimensional universe and a four-dimensional one (ours).
     While I'm on the subject of high-end theoretical physics, a recent and rising theory today has it that time is an illusion; every "moment," as we know them, exists separately and simultaneously in a permanent, static universe.  We are simply moving from the past to the future.

The Great Gatsby

[F. Scott Fitzgerald]  I'm not entirely sure why I brought this; I wasn't terribly impressed with the book at the time I read it.  (I did like it.)  I think I wanted to have it handy in case I wanted to quote the ending.  :-P

In Defense of Elitism

[William A. Henry III]  Essential.  I bought this book at a time when I was very unsure of things and I was questioning everything.  The premise of this book is that we sometimes go too far in our praise of "the little guy," the common man.  That people, individuals, are inherently unequal is a simple fact of life, and we should never lose sight of the truth.

The Prince

[Niccolo Machiavelli]  Haven't read this . . . yet.  >:-)

Inferno

[Dante Alighieri]  This is one of several books I bought this summer [2001] in an enthusiastic quest for intelectual refinement and valuable items which can be purchased for less than 5 dollars (as it happens, this was $6.95, but the others weren't).  A very engrossing read.  :-P

The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings

[Edgar Allan Poe]  I have liked Poe ever since I got a 39/40 on a very major AmLit paper that I had deemed hopeless when I turned it in.  Interesting fellow.  He went to school here, concidentally, until he ran out of money because of gambling or drinking or something.  He had the archetypal miserable life, I mean, talk about bad luck--everybody he loved wound up dead.  I reckon that explains his writings...  Like any sensible person, he became a mad drinker, was found unconscious on the street one day, and died a few days later.  Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

The Red Badge of Courage and Four Stories

[Stephen Crane]  Stephen Crane is another one of my favorite writers; I liked him ever since I heard my AmLit teacher Mr. McCullough say that he was the guy who wrote the first atheistic American Literature.  The story we read in AmLit was "The Open Boat," which I was very happy to find in this small (and cheap) volume.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

[Lewis Carroll]  I recall getting interested in reading up on Alice after the September 11 attacks.  I just think there's something so cool about these insane stories.

The Odyssey

[Homer]  Another book I bought in my search for intellectual refinement; the back cover says it's the best adventure story ever told.

To Kill a Mockingbird

[Harper Lee]  My all-time favorite book.  It hit home on two levels--first, I am very sensitive to the issue of racism (I have never been disciminated against), and second in the profound fact that Atticus Finch is just the way I see my Dad.  Ironically, I hadn't planned on finishing the book over Fall Break when I read it, but it was just too good to put down.  A true page-turner.  Everything they say about it is true.

Monarch Notes - To Kill a Mockingbird

I ordered this by accident from bn.com.  I thought it was the real book...

Democracy in America

[Alexis de Tocqueville]  Purchased on recommendation by my Mom.  I haven't read it yet, but after looking through it a bit, it looks better than its cover.  This is a book I want to read because I can tell its very important (so many people quote this guy) and it'll probably be required in my classes at some point.

The Knowledge Web

[James Burke]  A Christmas gift from my Dad; something to do with how one discorvery accelerates the discovery of others.

Culture Matters

[Lawrence Harrison and Samuel Huntington]  I've only read half of it; like Kissinger's book it didn't really stick.  Mostly a reference.

The Clock of the Long Now

[Stewart Brand, the Long Now Foundation]  While it's no literary masterpiece, everybody should read this book.  The book focuses on the idea that human civilization, especially in the more advanced regions, has come to see the future as an increasingly short span of time in front of the present--we have no concept of the next hundred years, much less the next thousand.  In order to change this, the foundation is currently working on at least three projects: two clock monuments designed to keep accurate time for 10,000 years (with time capsules for visitors leaving messages for the future); a library designed to last for the same amount of time; and a rosetta stone to aid future visitors to unsramble all it it was that we said.
     Some of this is far-fetched, considering they probably haven't got a whole lot of funding and nobody seems to know about them.  It's our loss...

Race Manners

[Bruce A. Jacobs]  One of the subjects I care very deeply about is race.  Jacobs (a black man) does a fairly good job of tackling the issue, as much as possible, from both sides.  Some interesting surprises.

 
 
 

MY DVD COLLECTION

I figured you'd be interested...
All ratings out of ten.

HEAT

(1995)  [8.0]  I saw this for the first time probably in 1996.  It didn't have much impact on me then.  I saw it again last spring [2001] and loved it.  What you see here is how much the cops need the thieves--and vice versa.

L.A. Confidential

(1998)  [9.0]  This movie is all about the characters and the plot.  The turnaround towards the end is amazing.

2001: A Space Odyssey

(1968)  [8.0]  Kubrick's classic has some dull and bland qualities to it, but its propensity for inducing trances and immersing the viewer in wonder is unmatched.

To Kill a Mockingbird

(1962)  [9.5]  After reading the book and falling in love with it, I was desperate to borrow the movie from the library.  After watching the library copy two times, I was desperate to buy it.  I never tire of watching it.

Nixon

(1995)  [7.0]  I only own this because it came with The Insider and it was cheaper to buy the two together than to buy The Insider by itself.  I would sell it online if I didn't think it would never be bought and in any case it makes for a decent reference (if only in terms of the sort of tone of the times).

The Insider

(1999)  [9.5]  The Insider is probably my favorite movie, with To Kill a Mockingbird a very close second.  What I love about The Insider is that the good guys win by perseverance against nearly futile odds, though at great sacrifice.  This is the "Good Fight."

The Sixth Sense

(1999)  [8.5]  A movie that is hard not to love--and it's worth seeing at least a few times.

Star Trek The Original Series - The Menagerie, Parts I and II

(1966)  [8.0]  The Original Series' only two-parter.  I wish it hadn't rehashed so much material from the scrapped pilot...otherwise very good and nostalgic, despite the fact that I was never alive for Star Trek's first run or its initial syndication.

Gladiator

(2000)  [8.0]  A good film whose ending wasn't nearly as gratifying {<[and therefore perhaps expensive]>} as it could have been.  In response to Orian's expected rebuttal to this not-so-extremely-shining review: In terms of what I came away with from the movie, I give GLADIATOR an 8.  This is a SUBJECTIVE rating, as are all of the others.

THE CEREAL COLLECTION

For the sake of completeness and some spontaneous irony.

Kix

(14OCT01 <= oh shit)  [8.0]  An excellent cereal for those tired of eating very sweet cereals all the time, but still reluctant to go for the Cheerios.

Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries

(MAY 12 02)  [8.0]  An excellent sweet alternative to the eternally constant selection of cereals in the dining halls.