Free-For-All-Friday

Politics
Tom DeLay turned himself in and was booked for suspected conspiracy and money-laundering.... Just what the Grand Ol’ Party needed.

I’m still not sure what I think about Harriet. I miss Southampton today.

All About the Books
So how many on the list (I linked to yesterday) have you read? The more I think about it, the more ashamed I am of my measly eleven. I keep telling myself it’s because I took lots of marginal/special interest classes (Latin American Lit, 19th Century British Art and Lit, etc.). This makes sense because the Book King pointed out that apparently only English books were considered.

The Book King also noticed that I mentioned Roth but not Graham Greene and Faulkner, who were recognized for multiple books as well. Faulkner is Faulkner, so I guess I wasn’t surprised to see him. Sadly I don’t know enough about Greene to comment on his work. And I guess Roth stood out to me because of all the press he's continually receiving with his many recent titles. It always surprises me to see contemporaries on these “best” lists. I suppose it’s just a throwback to classes that stressed antiquity and a work’s ability to survive the passage of time as proof of its value. Not a fair judgment on a “since 1923” list I guess.

So what do you think? Who didn’t make the list but should’ve?

How many books on the list have you read? I’m thinking contest here. E-mail me with how many you’ve read on the list, and I’ll announce the winner. They’ll get a roll of duct tape or something.

Did you know?
Unpolite and unpure are recognized Scrabble words. Thought I’d share this little strategy gem. And all this time you’ve been laughing at your redneck relatives when they use these advanced vocabulary terms in everyday speech. Tsk, tsk.

Offbeat
Lazy British Policy Dog Retired – do you think if I show similar lack of motivation on my job they’ll place me with a nice family in northern England too?

Stewardess Calls in Bomb Threat to Get Day off – Okay, I may want some time off, but not this bad.

I’m Lost for Words
Check this out. Does anyone want to comment? I’m having a hard time processing it all.

Best Books Since 1923

Books!
How cool is this! Time magazine just put out a list of the 100 best novels since 1923. Did you notice how many times Phillip Roth was on the list? I thought one oversight was Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude.

I’m personally very disappointed in myself. I only have read 11 of the books on the list. Yipes! But I do own 28 of them. That at least makes me feel better.

And Film
You noticed The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe on the list, did you not? It so happens that a movie version of the Narnia Chronicles is being released by Disney, much to some Christians’ delight. But dare we see a mini-Potter-mania in terms of fundamentalist Christians over the "is it magic" dilemma to many who feel the book strays to far to the mystical side? In the meantime, I think I'm the only person in the world who's never read the C.S. Lewis legendary tome.

Speaking of…
A not so magical and Christian allegorical film was also recently announced. Rocky 6 is in the works as Sylvester Stallone signs on for a role that would feature his Balboa character coming out of retirement. Guess this proves it's never too late, you're never too old, and nothing is ever over done.

Other
Keep your eyes on Hurricane Wilma, which has set a record as the fastest growing storm.

Hurricane Wilma and Dr. Dobson

Headlines
Wilma is a hurricane, and she threatens Florida.

Along with other recent natural disasters, Massachusetts braces for a probable dam break. My mind races to the image of flooded New Orleans, and I pray the best for my northern neighbors. (Speaking of Katrina, be sure to check out Ninetyandnine's News section this week for a firsthand report from a Katrina relief worker.)

Finance woes for General Motors shows in $1.6 billion loss. Guess those employee discount pricing campaigns weren’t such a good idea after all?

Politics
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is a no-go for the 2008 presidency race. In a recent interview Rice said she will not accept a Presidential nomination despite the push from many supporters. So that begs the question: can anybody stand up to Hilary in 2008?

Leader of the Pack
Speaking of politics, this interesting article analyzes why Dr. Dobson has gained so much political power in the face of falling support for other religious figures. It also gives an inside look into the operation that offers support to callers. The thesis: "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care" so Dr. Dobson's operations are indirectly pulling in that political "pull."

Katrina and the World Series

Last week was a harrowing week just in the sense of having witnessed the pain of so many people. I don’t ever want to come across as dramatic in my portrayal of the New Orleans devastation, but it’s just really that bad. If you’re human at all, you would have to be affected by the sights and stories I was bombarded with last week. But I’m trying to be more positive. Each day of my commute, I watched the sun rise and set over the Bonnet Carre Spillway, and I reminded myself that life goes on.

Now I’m back home and I’ve got the windows open on a happier, greener world. Slowly relief is reaching quake victims in Pakistan. Democracy in Iraq draws even closer. Ignoring the fact that there is another named storm in the Caribbean, the world seems like a level place.

The Battle in Baseball
Major coverage of the road to the Series over at Ninetyandnine’s The Bench Warmer(s). Can the ’Stros go all the way?

The Death of the Facsimile
In a dramatic display of man triumphing over machine, I successfully taught myself to operate a fax machine last week. Call me silly, but a) I find fax machines extremely complicated machinery and very challenging and b)I think fax machines are antiquated. Honestly, why can’t you slap the paper on a scanner and email the scan as an attachment? That’s what I say. I think in ten years, fax machines will be unheard of. Just like the typewriter and whatever tape was used before the invention of duct tape.