Monday, September 26, 2005

HOPE

1."Hope is a good thing, maybe the best thing, and no good thing ever dies."
2.Fear can hold you prisioner, hope can set you free
3.Andy Dufresne - the only man who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.
ALL QUOTES FROM Shawshank Redemption

TRUTH

1.You have to be prepared for the possibility that God does not like you.
2.You are not your job. You are not the money in your bank account. You are not the car you drive. You are not how much money is in your wallet. You are not your fucking khakis. You are the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world.
3.We waste our lives working at jobs we hate to buy shit we don't need!
4.You are not a special snowflake. You are the same rotting organic matter as everything else.
5.Stop trying to control everything and just let go.
6.We're the middle children of history...no purpose or place. We have no Great War, no Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives.
ALL QUOTES FROM FIGHT CLUB.

Sunday, September 25, 2005

WISDOM

You either gotta get busy living, or get busy dying.
Shawshank Redemption

Book Review:-Double Whammy by Carl Hiaasen

The story begins when Private detective R. J. Decker is hired to prove that TV host Dickie Lockhart cheats to win fortunes in Florida bass-fishing tournaments. The investigation makes Decker a prey to hired killers who have murdered other "snoops," but the detective also finds a strong if weird ally in a hermit who calls himself Skink. The novel starts off slow but when Skink comes on the story and laughs both get into express lane. Skink is best character of this novel. Mr. Hiaasen's rapier-like wit leaves his targets walking around with their heads cut off. As usual the targets are the same unethical real estate developers, idle rich and others. I think it is a humorous, compelling mystery novel that will leave you wanting more. It has 442 pages. I will give this book 3.8/5.

Book Review:-Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen

This book was Carl Hiaasen first novel. The story is based in South Florida. Carl Hiaasen a passion for environment, which can be seen in this novel. This novel is a mystery novel. It uses satire to expose the greed, shallowness and environmental degradation of Florida by developers. Here a convention-goer, a retired widow, and a chamber of commerce leader fall victim to a mysterious terrorist group. The Hero of this novel is investigator and ex-reporter Brian Keyes. The leader of terrorist group is columnist Skip Wiley of the Miami Sun. Except these two characters there many other oddball characters. From Cuban revolutionary, a disgraced football player, an Indian chief and others. There are some sub-plots too. However, there are no real heroes here. Virtually every other character, from murder victims to police officers, are both good and bad...doing the right things for the wrong reasons, or doing the wrong things for the right reasons. There are a few throw away characters who do bad things for bad reasons. Overall this novel is wickedly funny and author is witty. It has 406 pages. I will give this book 3.75/5.

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Wisdom from Great Men

1.The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other poor bastard die for his.
General George S. Patton (WWII)

2.Anything that is too stupid to be spoken is sung.
Voltaire (and how right he still is)

3.There are two types of people in this world, good and bad. The good sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more.
Woody Allen

Friday, September 23, 2005

FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE:-A PHILOSOPHER

A philosopher,a prophet,a poet,heretic Nietzsche has been many things to many people.He has been turned to a militarist,a rasict ,a chauvinist by manupilation of his texts.More so in Nazi Germany.Friedrich Nietzsche was born on October 15,1844 .Died 1900.In Germany.He was one of the most readable philosophers and penned a large number of aphorisms and varied forms of experimental philosophy.The word "philosophy"does not really apply to his thoughts.He was a man of ideas ,brilliant, illuminating ideas which hang together.When he said" be hard" he meant be hard on your own weakness,slackness and indolence.He was fascinated by figures such as Caesar ,Napolean for what they were and what they had done for them selves.Nietzsche was an harsh critic of chirstianity.He belived that chirstianity is an religion of weak and unhealthy people,whose genernal historical effect has been to undermine the healthy qualities of more noble cultures.Nietzsche loathed smugness, complacency and mass mediocrity.

PARADOX

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Hard Negotiations!!

The Israelites were all waiting anxiously at the foot of the mountain, knowing that Moses had had a tough day negotiating with God. Finally a tired Moses came into sight. "I've got some good news and some bad news, folks," he said. "The good news is that I got Him down to ten. The bad news is that adultery's still in."

What Jesus said?

And Jesus said unto them, "And whom do you say that I am?"
They replied, "You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground of our being, the ontological foundation of the context of our very selfhood revealed."

And Jesus replied, "What?"

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Quote

"The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." - Mark Twain

Thought:-

"I think, therefore I'm single."

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Just a Thought !

If Jesus had been killed twenty years ago, Catholic school children would be wearing little electric chairs around their necks instead of crosses.

Book Review:-Faith by Len deighton

This is the first book of his third Bernard Samson trilogy. This book starts from late 1987.Samson is yanked from California and send to East Germany on a secret mission. The mission backfires and Samson is in trouble again. This book like all Bernard Samson novels have its fair share of car chases, double crossings, office politics and personal relationships. All novels of Bernard Samson trilogies are stand-alone; readers unfamiliar with earlier volumes may have difficulty understanding motives and some of the subtly barbed dialogue. This novel is not as good as his earlier works or his other two Bernard Samson trilogies. The ending is quite tame. Not his best work. Lot of questions remains unanswered. The novel has 340 pages. It is a easy and comfortable read. I will it 3/5.

Monday, September 19, 2005

A THOUGHT:-

"Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, 'Where have I gone wrong?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night.' "

BOOK REVIEW:-- FUTURE SHOCK BY ALVIN TOFFLER

tran·sient
Pronunciation: -sh(E-)&nt, -zE-&nt, -sE-; -zh&nt, -j&nt
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin transeunt-, transiens, present participle of transire to go across, pass, from trans- + ire to go.
1a.passing especially quickly into and out of existence.
1b.affecting something or producing results beyond itself.
-: Webster Dictionary
This is the word which best describes "Future Shock”. Future shock is centered on this word and its synonyms. This book by Alvin Toffler was written during 1970's commenting on what the future will be. Many things he predicted did not pan out, but an astonishing number of them did come true. Multiplayer online games being an often missed but important example. The core of this book is change, how it affects an individual. How it affects society. Mr. Toffler says society is in midst of change from a post-industrial to a super-industrial phase, and these changes are occurring so fast that an individual is failing to comprehend and intercept, what is coming at him. The changes coming on our way are so fast and with so much information that the present structures of our society are incapable of utilizing them beneficially and positively. Thus to take on these changes we must make changes in our education system, political system, health and other system which give structure and form pillar of our society. Also individual have to bring about changes in themselves. Then only we will be able to manage "Future Shock”. This book is divided into six parts and 20 chapters. Except three or four chapters most of the chapters are worth reading. Chapter 18 "education in future tense" for our times (2005) is the most important chapter. It is full of ideas as is the whole book. One good point of this book is that it has not been written by the author in seclusion or under any spell of inspiration, but it is product of interactions which author had with hundreds of people. This book has 487 pages. This book does it boring sometimes, but overall a great read. Reading this book is an intellectual experience. This book will reshape your thinking. I will give this book 4.2/5.

Sunday, September 18, 2005

Dsyfuctional Utopia:--a Pic

Friday, September 16, 2005

BOOK REVIEW:-FOUNTAIN HEAD BY AYN RAND

"Whatever thier future
At the dawn of their lives,
men seek a noble vision of
man’s nature and of life's potential"
--Ayn Rand
Fountain head is a struggle of one man "Howard Roark" against the mob(society).It is a enduring piece of litrature.It is a fast paced novel. The greatest thing about this novel is its longevity. The novel was written in 1943 and still captivates millions of new readers, like the reviewer. The character development in this book is of highest order. This is a story of individualism vs. collectism.The main characters of this book are:-
1.Howard Roark
2.Gail Wynand
3.Peter Keating
4.Ellsworth M.Toohey
5.Dominique Wynand
Every character is well developed and corresponds to some prevailing way of life.Howrd Roark is an idelist.Peter Keating is exact opposite of Roark ,a man who has no self and no ethics.Toohey the crook. Dominique a quazi femenist.Gail wayand the publisher and one who thinks he rules the mob. The main protagonist is Roark. The novel is about him. But i like the character of gail wayand the most. He is the most real likable character of this novel.It is a very thought provoking novel. It makes u think, after completing this novel ,you will think about yourself ,other about society. In the end it is a simple story of good vs. evil. THIS book is a must have for anyone. NO reading is complete without this book. A very intelligent book. I will give it 5/5.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Book review:-Spy Line by Len DEIGHTON

This is first book of second part of Bernard Samson trilogy. Spy line is the penultimate novel in this new trilogy. The plot is good.Charaterisation is brilliant. In Espionage novels Deighton WITH LE CARRE are the kings. No one can write better then these guys. In this novel the writer evokes the city of Berlin in new light. The year is 1987 police is hunting for Samson. He is on run. Also his wife has to make her next move. Is her wife traitor or double agent? What will Bernard do? Read the novel for it. For sheer readability Deighton has no peer. This novel is 316 pages long. Writing is easy. Good amount of humor is there. The plot is not that mysterious, you are able to guess it. I will give it 3.8/5.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

BOOK REVIEW:- 1984 By GEORGE ORWELL

A CLASSIC IN EVERY WAY. This book was written by Orwell in 1947.One can also call it a amazing piece of science fiction. It is a political as well as philosophical novel. The novel is loosely based on Soviet Union under Stalin. The ideas in this book were appropriate then and are now, more so after 9/11.It is a novel about an individual " Wiston Smith " who lives in a programmatic society, and afterwards revolts against the totalitarian state. His struggle is interesting. The book starts off slow, but after some time it picks up momentum and then it becomes a truly engrossing read. This book created a whole new vocabulary of words. Like BIG BROTHER, THOUGHT POLICE, THOUGHT CRIME, DOUBLE THINK, and many more. A great thing about this book is that is shows how a state can manage our language, so as to expunge those words in which we can express our anger and anguish, thus in the end even controlling our thought process. The real crux of this book is how propaganda of fear, erosion of all privacy can create a programmatic society, where ordinary people become clog in a big machine. A machine that works for a select few to obtain their objectives and continuance of their rule. In this book the hero has no heroic charecteristics. This book is must read for all. It is a short book. It is About 260 pages. I will give it 4/5.
George orwell was born in Motihari, Bihar in 1903.His father was a civil servant in opium department of the company.
BIBILIOGRAPHY:-
1.ROAD TO CATALONIA
2.DOWN AND OUT IN PARIS AND LONDON
3.THE ROAD TO WIGEN PIER
4.ANIMAL FARM
5.1984
6.BURMESE DAYS
7.COMING UP FOR AIR

AYN RAND:-PIC

AYN RAND

Born:-02-FEB-1905
Died:-06-MAR-1982

AYN RAND was best known for her philosophy of objectivism.
Her philosophy emphasives concept of capitalism, individualism and rational self-interest.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:-
1.WE THE LIVING
2.ANTHEM
3.FOUNTAINHEAD
4.ATLAS SHRUGGED

Monday, September 12, 2005

CHE GUEVARA:-PIC

Saturday, September 10, 2005

BOOK REVIEW-THE DA VINCI CODE BY DAN BROWN

What can I say about this book? It is a blockbuster in novels. So much has been written about this book. The intrigue and mystery of this book is of highest order. The hero of this book is a Harvard symbol gist Robert Langdon, who is called when curator of Louver (museum in France is murdered). From there starts this amazing thriller in break neck speed. There are so many twists and turns in this novel that it make u grasping for breath. It is very well researched novel. This novel makes you sit up and notice about art, history, religion and symbols. It does a good job rekindling interests in these subects.This book is 498 pages long and every page is the worth the price paid for it. After finishing the novel, you may even wonder why wasn’t it longer. SUCH IS THIS BOOK. Only bad part is the ending. The ending is tame and anti-climax. I will give this book 4.75/5.

Book Review:-DETECTIVE by Arthur Hailey

The Novel starts when Miami police detective Malcolm Ainslie, a former Catholic priest, is summoned to hear the confession of Elroy Doil, a serial killer he helped put away, hours before Doil's scheduled execution. Ainslie has always had doubts about Doil's involvement in the murder of City Commissioner Gustav Ernst and his wife, whom Doil insists he did't kill.This novel is part thriller,part police procedural genre.Not as great as Harry Boash novels,but still it is a compelling and engrossing read.The novel has lot of sub-plots ,which does make it intersting.The suspence is brief,you know after some time who the culprit is.It has some thrilling moments with drama thrown in.The book is 495 pages long.I would say not a great suspence thriller but still a okay read.I will this book 3/5.

Friday, September 09, 2005

update

I have not being posting reviews in the time frames mentioned. It is due to my studies and also during these last two, three days I have refurnished the blog.As can be seen that some new additions have been made to the blog.For those who may miss something ,the following are the new additions:-
1.HIT COUNTER
2.CLOCK
3.OPINION POLL
4.DISCUSSION FURUM
5.TAG BOARD
6.GUEST BOOK

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

REVIEW:-ONCE THERE WAS A WAR BY JOHN STEINBACK

This book is collection of reports that were written by MR John stein back during ww2, when he was working for New York Herald Tribune. These are humane and hard-hitting dispatches. Mostly these dispatches envoke the human side of war and the impact on those who fought it. Reporting has been done from three places England, Africa, and Italy. Most interesting are the English and Italian portions. They’re quite a lot humorous stories about the war. Stories relate to London blitz, army driver, a song "lili marlene",caputring a island through bluff and others. The book has 233 pages. It is an easy read. It is non-fiction. The book is good read only that all stories are from allies’ point of view. And that too from three theaters of war. Also there some portions sensored,which now can be put in back. I will give this book 3.9/5.

Monday, September 05, 2005

Reading In Progress

This may sound strange. but right now i have read about 70 pages of MAO II by DON DELLINO and 50 pages of ONCE THERE WAS A WAR by JOHN STEINBACK.In addition to reading of FUTURE SHOCK ,which i have mentioned in my previous posts. I am finding MAO II difficult to read. In next few days you will get reviews of these books. bye for now

Review:- Over The Edge by Jonathan Kellarman

I read this book in one reading. It is a good thriller. The suspense in this book is good. The main hero or protagonist of the story is Alex Delaware, who is a psychologist by profesion.But he is no ordinary psychologist, he is a born detective. The language of the book is easy to understand.everthing is written clear and perfect. the mystery holds on till the end.Also you learn something about psychology ,while reading this book. The book is about 50 pages too long. There are many pages, which could have been edited out. Overall a good thriller. I will give it 3.75/5.

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Some more books

Today there was book fair in my city.so i bought these books
1.NOBLE HOUSE BY JAMES CLAVELLIS
2.OUTRAGE BY DALE DYE
3.OVER THE EDGE BY JONATHAN KELLERMAN
4.SPY LINE BY LEN DEIGHTON
5.ESSAYS IN PHILOSOPHY EDITED BY HOUSTON PETERSON
So when i will read them i will post reviews of these books too.bye for now.

Friday, September 02, 2005

reading in progress-FUTURE SHOCK

well i have been reading future shock and have compleated 1/4 th of the book.The book is building interest.In three or four days I will finish it.I am giving it one to two hrs every alternate day.so in 5 days this book will be finished.

so does anyone accept me come on this blog.if there are some others except me comming on this blog.plz leave ur comments.

bye for now.