The Secret Knowledge by David Mamet It was shocking reading David Mamet's "The Secret Knowledge - On The Dismantling of American Culture". First, I should say this: I'm finding it hard to write anything nice about this book. Seriously. If I start reading something and I feel as though I've committed myself to reading it, … Continue reading Boomer Shame Has No End
Author: Tom
just another wurstwriter production
Just Keep It Techi
Have to call out one of my favorite podcasts. Went on vacation for a few weeks. Didn't take anything that would allow me to connect to the Internets like I do on a daily basis while not on vacation. Vacation is vacation, right? (But I did take my Kindle and read like a madman!) When … Continue reading Just Keep It Techi
When Bullshit Walks
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson When bullshit walks, dear worstReader… Money talks. Finally finished it. Was it torture? Well… Started reading it but then put it down and realised two weeks later that I'd better get back on it or I'll forget it completely. With that in mind, this book, this biography, can be summed … Continue reading When Bullshit Walks
Reconstitution
The blogging-thing started for me in 2004 using WordPress.com. WordPress.com is the free online blogging service run by the people that created WordPress the blogging slash CMS software. If you want the software then you have to go to wordpress.org. You get the difference? Nomatter. I gave up on WordPress.com around 2009 because I lost … Continue reading Reconstitution
Book Fair High Security Dreams
Frankfurt Book Fair 2011 Yeah, baby. The book fair to woop all book fairs. It never ceases to amaze me each time I visit this fair how cordoned off the most significant part of it is (the most significant part to me, anyway). The fair is without a doubt huge. The human traffic here is … Continue reading Book Fair High Security Dreams
Apple Liver Cirrhosis
Subtitle(s): Should have bought a ThinkPad instead of (late fall 2010) Apple Macbook Pro 13". This is a slight commemoration to the introduction of the home computer which just happens to be on this day. Commemoration: August 12, 1981. IBM introduces the PC. Wow. Go IBM! It's never enough to realize (only) where and how … Continue reading Apple Liver Cirrhosis
To Be Or Not To Be Downgraded
Love the whole S&P story of late. The United Mistakes is finally being called out for what it's worth. And what is it worth? Indeed. It's worth what some weird, nebulous rating system used by investors, investor cheaters and snake oil salesmen, says it's worth. And get this: the United Mistakes credit rating has been … Continue reading To Be Or Not To Be Downgraded
Real Issue About Unions
Subtitle: Competing forces in the arena of air safety, union busting, (dys)functioning pseudo-capitalistic societies and the/a continuing fight among inbred cousins. Two news stories (see external links) from dueling national-cultural perspectives, namely the Germanic and the Anglo, caused me a thought or two on the subject of air safety and union busting. After reading both … Continue reading Real Issue About Unions
Fostering My Wallace
Ever read something and before you get to the third chapter you start saying: Ok... I've had about enough of this. This can happen even though the book or author you're reading is quite popular and making publishers money. And so, you know how it goes, there's a famous author that you just have to … Continue reading Fostering My Wallace
When War Was Civil
Civil War by J. Caesar Reading the Penguin Classic of Civil War wasn't as trying as I thought it would be. This is actually a pretty good read. Of course, reason for reading it could have something to do with a personal interest in understanding the beginning of the end of great empires and not so … Continue reading When War Was Civil
Things Not Fought For Anymore
Homage To Catalonia by George Orwell Swiped this book from the shelf of a friend. You know the situation. You go somewhere and you look through the book shelves of others. Every once-a-once you see a book and you say: she's reading this? Why? And then you know, being the reader you are, that it … Continue reading Things Not Fought For Anymore
Bash This
Dear Hunting With Jesus by Joe Bageant My reading list is long. Bageant's books have been on my list for years and with his passing I feel compelled to move him up a few notches. He's a redneck to steel my heart! Probably no other writer has yet captured the essence of how/why stupid white … Continue reading Bash This
Rediscover BNW
Brave New World by A. Huxley Even though I'm only scratching the redneck surface of my (in)ability to comprehend the idiocracy that is repub-ism and American't conservatism, it's nice to know that someone already covered it all way back when. Rediscovering Huxley is way cool. "Education for freedom must begin by stating facts and enunciating … Continue reading Rediscover BNW
Creation vs Creation
Creation by Gore Vidal z'Germanland has a lot of religious holidays. That means they have a lot of extra days-off that coincide with their guaranteed government sponsored vacation days. A lot of these religious days are either on a Thursday or Monday. That means, Das Volk have long since figured out the use of "bridge … Continue reading Creation vs Creation
Vonnegut On Divorce
A Man Without A Country by Kurt Vonnegut Among other thoughts and retrospect, Vonnegut as only Vonnegut can addresses the issue of his patriotism, his inability to be lonely, fame and a few other things that make up the whole idear of being an American writer of cream of the crop greatness. He also tells … Continue reading Vonnegut On Divorce
Post-It Modernism
Black Spring by Henry Miller "What is not in the open street is false, derived, that is to say, literature." -From the opening of The Fourteenth Ward. There is no story. There is no character development. There is no mise-en-scene. This is not a novel. What we're dealing with here, dear worst-reader, are ten speck-chapters of … Continue reading Post-It Modernism
Fantastica Meravigliosa Ipnotizzante
Baudolino by Umberto Eco One thing leads to another. So they say. Conveniently this coincides with the fact that reading, for moi, serves a single purpose. To learn. When I read something that is also entertaining, sometimes I'll get out of my chair, off the can, up from the cot and jump for joy. After … Continue reading Fantastica Meravigliosa Ipnotizzante
Complicate More Complicate
December 9, 2009 Complicated, More Complicated The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb Things are complicated enough. To read a book that is as complicated as the complications your trying to un-complicate… Well, here we are. Nassim Nicholas Taleb is some kind of a genius and for a while he worked for a hedge fund. … Continue reading Complicate More Complicate
Kafka Has A Shore
Kafka On The Shore by Haruki Murakami Say. Isn't/Wasn't Czechoslovakia landlocked? If so, could Kafka get to a shore with his cat? Or is it with his beetle? There's really not much to titles--either the title of this post or the title of the brilliant novel by Haruki Murakami. With that in mind, if you ever … Continue reading Kafka Has A Shore
The Devil Didn't Make Him Do It
The Castle In The Forest by Norman Mailer Norman Mailer's last novel is "The Castle In The Forest". I picked up the book at some airport bookstore while traveling. A few months ago I finished "The Gospel According To The Son" and thought this would be a great follow-up even though I usually never read the … Continue reading The Devil Didn't Make Him Do It
Expat Creative Nonsense
Nonsense is nonsense, right? Maybe not. But can nonsense be creative? Many years have passed and I’ve wasted a lot of time thinking about two things: being an expat, being creative. And so I ask: will this foreign living ever end? And. It can’t end because it helps me maintain some level of creativity. Seriously. … Continue reading Expat Creative Nonsense
A Fifth Gospel
Send it to Rome, she said after I was finished, closed it, breathed a sigh of relief and put the book on the nightstand next to the bed. She rolled over and stopped me from turning the light out. Leave it on, she added while pulling the sheet down and revealing my sternum. Took you … Continue reading A Fifth Gospel
Hacks And The Anglo Germanic Rivalry
Before I continue with this post... Thank you to those taking the time to read my writing/thoughts about Hacks and my German experience here in The Naked Classic Forum. Thanks also for your understanding that I don't have any proof readers - and so you get the ALL of my poor American education. Although I … Continue reading Hacks And The Anglo Germanic Rivalry
Going Fishing
Finally some thoughts about Hacks’ play Die Fische. You’re patience regarding all the other thoughts is appreciated. Living in Europe as an American is kind of funny. I don’t mean funny in the pure comedic sense – as in the stuff that makes you laugh out loud. It’s more like funny in the odd-ball sense … Continue reading Going Fishing
Chip On Shoulder
Obviously in my last two posts I failed at writing about the most recent play that I read by Hacks. In fact, it was my intention to write about Die Fische but I never quite got around to it. That shouldn’t be understood as any kind of conclusion regarding the play. It is a play … Continue reading Chip On Shoulder
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