More on Author's

I was thinking earlier today, how dumb I was with my original post on my Favorite Author's, because I did not include P.G. Wodehouse in the mix. Now, I know I have a link for him to the left, but not including him in that brief summary was insulting to his memory and I must apologize.
So, what better segway to add one or two more to the list than to start with apologies to the comic master...

) P. G. Wodehouse.
One must start with 'The Code of the Woosters', that's all there is to it. Failing that, start with any Jeeves and Wooster book you can grab. If you've got any humor in you at all, you'll take to his books immediately.
Failing that, then just go to the VHS or DVD adaptation's of his works, featuring the comic brilliance of Stephen Fry as Jeeves and Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster. I cannot think of two more able actors to portray these two characters, than Fry and Laurie. Brilliant. Just brilliant.

) Dan Brown
Brown's written four books. His first, Digital Fortress, was good. You can see his progression as a writer if you read them in order. Next came Deception Point. Then Angels and Demons. My suggestion is to go right to 'Angels and Demons' then 'The DaVinci Code'. These two feature the same main character and 'Code' is being made into a movie.

More to come...

My author recommendations...

I've been very pleased with the response to my author recommendtions. It's nice that I've introduced at least 3 others to Terry Goodkind, and one to Jack Vance. I urge readers of that post to continue to write to me.
Thanks.

Friday

Ever had one of those days? Everything started great today. No worries.

SLAM!!!CRASH. Rest of day sucked bad. Terrible bad.

Tomorrow looks just as bleak.

Sunday? Yep. Same.

Monday could very well be the day of DOOM.

I'm not optimistic.

Hat Tip

Hat Tip to Anger Management for adding this site to his Blog Roll. I do appreciate it.
Thank you.


http://angermanagement.mu.nu

Favorite Authors

Besides Miss Rand, Victor Hugo and Shakespeare, I'd like to jot down a few of my other all-time favorites that I recommend to you, and some of their works...
Here goes, and I'm leaving aside the philosophical problems of each writer. If they have any:

I'll start with a category of science fiction/fantasy
1) Jack Vance.
This man is a brilliant writer. The world(s) he creates in all his works are spellbinding. Totally entertaining and compelling. If you're not familiar with his work, start with To Live Forever and/or The Blue World.
The Demon Prince novels are a must read, in spite of their heavy 'libertarianistic' leaning's. In truth, anything you read by him will make you think, and not dissapoint.

2) Stephen R. Donaldson.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Lord Foul's Bane (Book 1) Although this first book in the two trilogies is slow going, make your way through it, because the rest of the series is not to be missed. These books feature one of my all-time favorite characters. The giant Saltheart Foamfollower.
It's been recently announced that Donaldson is returning to 'The Land' with four new novels. The first of which will be released in hardback next month.

3) Terry Goodkind
I guess he has to be mentioned, doesn't he!
It looks as though there are 11 books in the 'Sword of Truth' series. I'm currently bogged down in book five, which isn't the author's fault.
Wizard's First Rule is Book 1 in this series and is recommended. Clearly defined good vs. evil is Goodkind's hallmark, in my view. Plus, in his books, the villians are socialist's and collectivist's.
Go to your browser, type in his name and read his homage to Ayn Rand.

--Others--

4) Daniel Silva
Start with The Kill Artist and go from there. Although The English Assassin left a somewhat bitter taste, I'm going to continue to read this author, and have bought the next book in the series featuring Gabriel Allon.

5) Robert Heinlein
Revolt in 2100. Hurry and find this one, as it will probably be out of print soon.

6) Greg Iles
This author writes good stories, except that almost every character is a moral sleezebag. Forget 'Mortal Fear' which was so 'dirty' it made me want to take a shower after finishing it.
'Footprints of God' is standard formula (evil corporation and it's leader) semi-decent, but you've been warned. His book '24 Hours,' became a movie called Trapped. Starring Kevin Bacon and Charlize Theron, and worth viewing just to see her in black bra and panties.

7) Dan Simmons.
This writer isn't afraid to cross genre's . He writes SF, crime stories, haunted, and espionage. The Hyperion series of SF novels are held to be classic's by many critics. I concur. They are brilliant.
Darwin's Blade is an excellent place to begin reading him, however. I'm currently reading his book, 'The Crook Factory' .


So here you have a 'short list' of my favorites, and some of their works. I hope you'll investigate them.

What the "Bush Doctrine" should be...

This is excerpted from Diana Hsieh's Blog, Noodlefood. This is exactly where I stand, but she says it better than I can...


"In essence, the Bush Administration is floundering in its own moral fog. It refuses to identify its basic emeny as militant Islam. It defends Islamic values as morally equal to Western values. It often subordinates military victory to Muslim goodwill. It focuses on the violent methods of some militant Islamists rather than the more dangerous goals of the ideology. In order to avoid the charge of cultural imperialism, the Bush Administration is routinely lapsing into cultural relativism. As a result, America lacks a clear vision and purpose in this conflict--and that undermines our capacity to eliminate the grave threat posed by militant Islam. The corresponding impression of weakness and self-doubt emboldens the militant Islamists' dreams of transforming America into an Islamist theocracy."
" Successfully defending ourselves in this present conflict requires a deep understanding of and appreciation for what is at stake: Western culture. In the face of the cultural imperialism of the militant Islamists, moral relativism is not a viable option. Nor is cultural relativism true, for by any reasonable standard, the essentials of Western culture--values such as individual rights, rule of law, limited government, rationality, this-worldliness, and peaceful trade--are infinitely superior to the authoritarianism, racism, death-worship, and theocracy advocated by militant Islamists."
Well said, Diana. I only wish this could be said/told to our current leadership, and that they would respond positively to it.

Check out her Blog [Scroll down to 9/11 Debate]

http://www.dianahsieh.com/blog

American medicine= 1 Socialized medicine= 0

From Dr. Hurd's Daily Dose of Reason:

"Notice that for his heart surgery, former President Bill Clinton is not going to Canada; nor to Great Britain. These nationalized health care systems are both superior to the United States, according to arguments he and his wife made during his first term of office.

When push comes to shove, advocates of socialized systems always run to the capitalist systems ( or semi-capitalist, in the case of the United States.) This is because while they're wrong, they're not stupid. They believe in socialism, but not for themselves, just for the rest of us."

Find more Daily Doses at: http://www.drhurd.com

A 9/11 Weekend

I had family come visit this past weekend for a four day stay. Our objective was to visit the US Coast Guard Academy, the Nautilus museum and Naval Base. Then go to West Point for a saturday football game. I'm proud to say, we achieved all these objectives.
Words are hard to find to express how impressed I am/was with our young people who are attending both the Coast Guard Academy and West Point. Not only were they polite, but generous as well. It's so refreshing to see young men and women who have what I call, a 'personal integrity' about them.
Except for the horrifying presence of religion, I am so grateful to our military academies, to their instructors, and to the students who attend there. It's very, very gratifying to see your tax monies go to legitimate government functions, such as protecting this great, noble nation.
Touring West Point just has to be one of the highlights of my life. I was so impressed with that Post. It is placed in such beautiful surrounding's, again, words nearly fail me.
Not to mention seeing the cadets in full-dress uniform performing on the grounds, honoring our 9/11 victims, it was inspiring. If I weren't so dang old, I would have signed up right then and there.
If you ever want to afford yourself a taste of 'campus life' then I compel you to visit one of these academies a.s.a.p. You won't regret it. Just type West Point and/or US Coast Guard Academy in your browser and take it from there.

So, to our young and brave men and women who are attending these schools and defending our country, you are saluted.

Another new entry to Blog List

I'm adding NoumenalSelf.com to the list of Blog's you should check out. I admire NS's reasoning abilities, and his posting's on Bush vs. Kerry are thought provoking.

I've been seriously thinking about this election for quite awhile now. I must say I was strolling along mindlessly blissful of voting for Bush for the 'defense of America first' issue, until I was hit on the head with Dr. Peikoff's stance, and Dr. John Lewis's articles at capmag.com, concerning "faith-based" welfare statism, which shook me back to reality in a major way. While it is difficult casting a vote for Kerry, it will become even more difficult voting at all if conservatives (i.e., theocrats) continue to undermine our secular foundations.