What the hell do you think you're reading?

Date: Tue, Mar 26, 2002 3:01 PM

From: dyskolos <dyskolos@menander.org>

I know there must be subgeniuses who do something other than sit and
gape at the idiot box, this one or the other one.. so what are you
reading these days? I've read few novels recently which left little
impact, so now I'm going through a little paperback version of the
Mahabharata published in India. It breaks it down into bite-sized
chunks, little tow or three-page stories. I have trouble with the
names in Asian and Celtic literature sometimes so it's still a bit
challenging, but I enjoy the stories and the cultural crossover -
there's already been a "baby set adrift on the river" story and a
"defeating the suitors" scene including stringing the unstringable bow
and shooting through a wagon wheel (rather than Odysseus' axe-heads)
to hit a target. I started on Flaubert's "Sentimental Education" but
it seems to be asking too much involvement so I may not continue. I
also have a Margaret Millar novel, "Beyond This Place Are Monsters,"
Which I'm saving for when I am in the mood. And I keep the
Meditations of Marcus Aurelius and the Enchiridion of Epictetus on my
nightstand to help me keep from murdering all of you. "It is within
our power not to have an opinion about a thing, and not to be
disturbed in our spirit." Easy to say.

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From: fozgajeeb@yahoo.com (Pope Fozgajeeb Plaaj)

Deterring Democracy by Noam Chomsky.

I've OD'd on right-wing crap. Time for some left-wing crap to balance me out.

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From: bendouglass@cheerful.com (Benji)

I just finished reading "COLD MOUNTAIN" a novel by Charles Frazier. It
was an outstanding good read. Wish I had written it! I'm currently
reading "CLOUDSPLITTER" by Russell Banks. So far it is proving to be
an excellent story. Two months ago I finished once again for the 11th
time "THE ILLIAD" by Homer.

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From: mshotz@aol.comnospam (James T. Rex King of the Monsters)

I just Finished Blinded By The Right.

Before That I read a Novel called The Cobra Event about a biowarefare attack on
the US (written over two years before 9-11)

Before That I read Air War in The South Atlantic about the Air War over the
Falklands.

Before that I read Nothing Like It in The World by Steaven Abrose (whoe ever he
copied it off of did a good job)

MSHOTZ: The Post Post Modern Man

"Just think, the next time I shoot someone I could get arrested!"

Lt. Frank Drebin, "The Naked Gun"
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From: "Hilbert Hooper Aspaspia" <britton@subgenius.com>

The Night We Buried Road Dog, by Jack Cady.
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From: "Paul E. Jamison" <pauljmsn@infi.net>

Currently I'm reading the latest issue of Michael Weldon's
"Psychotronic Video". This is one of two magazines that
I make damn sure I keep up-to-date on the subscription.
(The other is "Modern Ferret".)

Before that, I read the most recent Harry Potter book
(... and the Goblet of Fire"). HOLY CRAP! Did *that*
one ever turn out nasty! I can *almost* sympathize with
the Pink parents who are worried about what effect HP
can have on their precious liddle sprats. However, I
suspect that Rowling knows exactly what she's doing and
this is just the sort of thing kids would go nuts for.

Next on the list is either some stuff I picked up at a model train
show, or Garrison Keillor's "Lake Woebegon 1956". I haven't
decided yet.

Paul E. Jamison

"There's more pressure on a vet to get it right.
People say 'It was God's will' when Granny dies,
but they get *angry* when they lose a cow."
- Terry Pratchett
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From: xenu <noway@not.com>

My recent reading list consists of the following:

Four argument for the elimination of telavision:(Jerry Mander)

The interpretation of dreams: Sigmund Freud

Beyond good and evil- The antichrist (Friedrich Nietzsche)

The elegant universe :(Brian Greene)

currently reading : Character Analysis:( Wilhelm Rich)

---------
I've been looking for a savior
In these dirty streets.
Looking for a savior beneath these dirty sheets.
I've been raising up my hands,
Drive another nail in!
Got enough guilt to start my own religion.

--Tori Amos, "Crucify," from Little Earthquakes

new from the wacco farm.

Do you want to live forever? Alex Chiu has invented a device,
which will give you physical immortality. Click here!
http://www.alexchiu.com/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?ID=wjmiller
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: HellPopeHuey <hellpopehuey@subspamgeenyus.com>

"Age and Guile Beat Youth, Innocence and A Bad Haircut" by P. J. O'Rourke, "The
Man In The Water" by Roger Rosenblatt and "The Winning Life: An Introduction to
Buddhist Practice."

However, at the monent, I am reading alt.slack, which makes me a large bag of
Shar-pei jakes. Short Duration Personal DAMNER. ShorDurPerDam. Damner, not
Dahmer. Huey don't do no cannibal action.

HellPope Huey, hellpopehuey@subgenius.com
I fart people's likenesses
in green clouds on street corners
and they throw money in a hat to make me stop.

I love to put funny things on my head.
Sometimes its the nut dish,
sometimes its the spaghetti colander,
but the hats I've seen fly fishermen wear
were funnier than either
and I had to have one.
- P. J. O' Rourke

A disciple asked,
"Why is there evil in the world?"
Krishnamurti replied,
"To thicken the plot."

"The MEAT! The horrible MEAAAT!"
- "Invader Zi
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Reverend DJ Epoch <nunyabiz@noway.com>

Currently I'm reading "We Almost Lost Detroit" by John G. Fuller.It was
published in the 70's and details various nuclear reactor accidents
including one which had the potential to contaminate all of Detroit when a
fuel meltdown occured in a fast-breeder reactor that used liquid sodium as
a coolant. All true stories, all pointing out just how dangerous nuclear
power can be, and that above all, man is usually the weakest link in the
safety chain.The book came out years before Three Mile Is;land and
Chernobyl, and was somewhat prophetic in what can lead to catastrophic
nuclear disaster.

I'd challenge anyone who believes nuclear power can be safely operated in
a populous area to read this and not have second thoughts.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: "Rev. Ivan Stang" <stang@subgenius.com>

STRANGE CREATIONS
Aberrant Ideas of Human Origina from Ancient Astronauts to Aquatic Apes.
by Donna Kossy
Feral House -- isbn # 0-922915-65-2, www.feralhouse.com, $16.95.

Contents:
1 extraterrestrial origins
2 de-evolution
3 race
4 eugenics
5 creationism
6 the aquatic ape theory
7 the urantia book, szukalski and h.i.m.

As in her masterpiece, KOOKS, Donna somehow manages to walk the
thinnest line of the Crackpotologist, never straying into prideful
mockery nor false, cpondescending "understanding." She doesn't really
have to editorialize; telling the facts and histories of these various,
eh, researchers, visionaries and scientists, straight faced, is enough;
that and letting their own words speak for themselves.

This book is a BATH in the very juiciest part of kookdom, the Origins
of the World stuff, where The Masked Scientist meets The Mad Prophet in
a death match to cosmic knowledge. From Black Muslims to Zecharia
Sitchin to the Giant Man Tracks in Glen Rose, Texas, Donna has
definitely skimmed off the top of the brain froth.

This project reportedly started when Mr. Kossy, the artist we know as
NENSLO, mentioned to her that the paperback she had acquired, Oscar
Kiss Maerth's "The Beginning Was the End," was the kook book from which
DEVO had derived much of their anthropological theories about
brain-eating apes.

((Actually the above is a reprint; I read the book a couple of months
ago, but I couldn't resist a second plug.))

Last night I started reading a paperback collection of short stories by
our fellow minister John Shirley -- BLACK BUTTERFLIES, Leisure Books

John work mixes genres like crazy. The first two stories could be
described as noir-horror-dope-porn moral fables with no moral. I know
that sounds potentially ponderous, but the stories just KICK ASS plain
and simple. They're also kind of a sick queasy turn-on.

My dad gave me "AN UNDERGROUND EDUCATION" by Richard Zacks, which is a
fun encyclopedia of sexy, sick and queasy historical anecdotes. It's a
compendium I would recommend, especially for those who haven't already
read dozens of "censored history" compendiums.

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From: bjorntoluz@aol.com (Bjorntoluz)

Body of Secrets... interesting, if scary, history of the NSA. If you weren't
paranoid before...
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: John Starrett <jstarret@carbon.cudenver.edu>

I am reading "Turbulence, Coherent Structure, Dynamical
Systems, and Symmetry" by Holmes, Lumley and Berkooz, and
"The kinematics of mixing, stretching, chaos and transport"
by Ottino. When summer comes, I hope to read something
without commas in the title.

John Starrett
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From: rlan538885@aol.comnobozos (RLan538885)

"The New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism" by Ormond McGill

and

"The Second Assassin" by Christopher Hyde.

It looks like you guys have the important stuff covered, so I'll indulge in the
literary SLACK.

"100,000 lemmings can't be wrong"
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Her Ladyship Lilith von Fraumench <lilith@ZubJenius.com>

dyskolos <dyskolos@menander.org> wrote:

> I'm going through a little paperback version of the
> Mahabharata published in India.

WHOA. And I always figured the Cliffs Notes version would make the OED
look like one of those "pocket classics."

OK, what have I read lately?

*The Cosmic Serpent: DNA And The Origins Of Knowledge* by Jeremy Narby
--an attempt to figure out how Amazon basin natives could possibly
figure out which of the millions of species of plants were useful for
medicnes, it quickly leads an otherwise respectable anthropologist to
the weird conclusion that ayahuasca, the mind-altering potion used by
shamans in the Amazon, facilitates direct communication of knowledge
through the DNA molecule itself. The guy does NOT sound crazy; he
realizes his theory sounds kooky, but he his hard pressed by Occam's
Razor to find a more acceptible notion. At minimum, it provides a lot
of room for future exploration and provides ample food for thought.

*Wicked: The Life And Times Of The Wicked Witch Of The West* by Gregory
Maguire--the biography of Elphaba, AKA The Wicked Witch of the West
from the *Wizard Of Oz*, revealing that her wickedness did not come
unjustified; indeed, in this story, she is an embittered idealist who
has grown tired of fighting the fascism and genocide of The Wizard's
armies; an athiest whose sister is a religious fanatic and a despot in
her own right; a lonely woman whose only love was murdered for being
too close to such a dangerous woman. Elphaba is reconstructed as an
all-too-human character, aside from her green skin and instinctual
avoidance of water, forced to suffer for her beliefs in science and
freedom. (The winged monkeys are one of her experiments in biology and
surgery, not the result of witchcraft.) Even her terrors against
Dorothy near the end of her life stem more from a fear of losing what
little she has left, not from a desire to be evil. I *highly* recommend
this engrossing novel.

*The Maid Of The North: Feminist Folk Tales From Around The World*,
compiled and edited by Ethel Johnston Phelps--Don't let the word
"feminist" fool you! In this case, it simply means that the stories are
those where women aren't portrayed as manipulative weaklings, but as
independent characters who have to display their own bravery and
ingenuity to save themselves. Believe it or not, there are many such
stories around the world; they just don't generally make it into folk
tale compilations. (The exception is the story of Schezerade, who came
up with the 101 Arabian Nights.) This was one of my favorite bathroom
books for quite a while, since the folk tales tend to be relativley
short, but it makes for great reading anywhere, anytime.

*Sappho*, translated by Mary Barnard--speaking of pocket classics, I
love this translations of the bard of Lesbos' works. They are almost
anti-poetry, in that Sappho rarely used any rhyme scheme or consistent
meter, unlike other poets and lyricists of the period. Instead, Sappho
endeavored to use the exact right word to create the exact right mood
and mental picture for her work, and as a result there is a clarity
often missing from poetry no matter the period. She rocks. (Believe it
or not, there is a dearth of lesbian poetry, despite her reputation.
She was probably bisexual, anyhow.)

I have a couple of books waiting to be read. There's the autobiography
of Christine Jourgensen, the first transsexual in the public eye, and
the unabridged version of *The Princess Bride*--which is FAR better
than the movie based on it. I mean, the movie was lovely, even
charming, but that's because when a grandfather tells a sickly little
boy a story, he tends to leave out all the bits which are thick with
irony, sarcasm, and bitterness. But the book is far better for not
being just a fairy tale, but a complex history of the wars between
Florin and Guilder. I read the earlier, edited printing, and am ready
to sink my teeth into the meatier unabridged version.

It's weird, now that I think of it, but I haven't read any science
fiction that really appealed to me lately. I guess I'm more into hard
science right now. I go through phases where I'd rather read about
scientific research, then will focus almost exclusively on fantasies
based on such.

I need to finish some of my own writing soon....

Lil

--
\m/ -=8=- http://lilith.foolspress.com/ -=8=- \m/
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: HellPopeHuey <hellpopehuey@subspamgeenyus.com>

Reverend says...

>Currently I'm reading "We Almost Lost Detroit" by John G. Fuller.It was
>published in the 70's and details various nuclear reactor accidents
>including one which had the potential to contaminate all of Detroit when a
>fuel meltdown occured in a fast-breeder reactor that used liquid sodium as
>a coolant.

I love the part where the inspector uses a match to check out a housing and
sets fire to the insulation thereof himself, leading to a
near-cat-tastro-strophe. There are bad ideas, then bad DESIGNS for the
implementation of same and then there are the Pink assouls who can screw up a
brick. As a SubGenius, you've worked with and FOR them, so get to killin'.

Besides, I need liquid sodium like a I need a boron rod jammed up my tailpipe.

HellPope Huey, hellpopehuey@subgenius.com
Rubber monsters en regalia

In Urbana, Illinois,
it is unlawful for a monster to enter
the corporate city limits.
I guess there was a problem at one time.
- Karen Hoover

"If you'll look out the window to the right,
you'll see the San Fernando Valley,
where my brother Gary makes a very good living
directing porn."
- "Family Guy"

"The quality of my life would be greatly reduced
if I did not have nostrils."
- 'Weird Al' Yankovic

Best Recent Political View In
The Smallest Space Award
http://www.scalzi.com/w020322.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: thereheis99@hotmail.com (Rev. Crawford)

Toe through the Bill Hicks biography _American Scream_ in less than a
day. Highly recommended.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: "glassgnost" <dlindnerSPAMBLOCKED@socal.rr.com>

> I'd challenge anyone who believes nuclear power can be safely operated in
> a populous area to read this and not have second thoughts.

Hell, we could stand a little rapid mutation around here. or kill me.

--
"You can't fight in here, this is the War Room!"
- Dr. Strangelove
Mystical Reverend Doktor glassgnost, Minister of Unnatural Selection
- dlindner (at) socal (dot) rr (dot) com -
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: fossil_1984@hotmail.com (The Rev. Dr. Lt. Chaos Israel)

AD&D 1st. Edition Monster Manual.

--
Chaos.

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Original file name: What the hell do you think you' - converted on Friday, 20 September 2002, 16:09