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What book are you reading right now? - Page 187

post #2791 of 2918
2/12/13 at 7:57am

1001004005404754-zoomstede5

 

Very nice read so far, interesting perspective..

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post #2792 of 2918
2/12/13 at 8:47am
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just finished Hamlet and UxU
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post #2793 of 2918
2/12/13 at 8:47am
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just finished Hamlet and UxU
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post #2794 of 2918
2/12/13 at 7:19pm

Leaves of Grass is a poetry collection by the American poet Walt Whitman(1819–1892).

Though the first edition was published in 1855, Whitman spent his entire life writing Leaves of Grass ...

 
 

This book is notable for its discussion of delight in sensual pleasures during a time when such candid displays

were considered immoral. Where much previous poetry, especiallyEnglish, relied on symbolism, allegory,

and meditation on thereligious and spiritual, Leaves of Grass (particularly the first edition) exalted the body and the material world.

 

 

“O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up - for you the flag is flung - for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths - for you the shores
a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.” 

 

-  " O Captain! My Captain ! " meaning explained : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Captain!_My_Captain!

 

 

Influenced byRalph Waldo Emerson and the Transcendentalist movement, itself an offshoot of Romanticism, Whitman's poetry praises nature and the individual human's role in it. However, much like Emerson, Whitman does not diminish the role of the mind or the spirit; rather, he elevates the human form and the human mind, deeming both worthy of poetic praise.


Edited by Hi-Finthen - 2/13/13 at 5:37am
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post #2795 of 2918
2/15/13 at 5:51pm
Here's the Deal (Kindle Single)
 
 
 

 

 

 Best Writing on the Deficit You will Find February 8, 2013
By Angela
David Leonhardt, whom readers will remember for his brilliant columns in the New York Times (before he became Washington Bureau Chief), cuts through all of the partisan nonsense to deliver his usual clear explanations and common sense prescriptions for the fiscal challenges we face as Americans and what to do about it. If you read just one thing about our nation's long-term economic prospects, this should be it.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
 
5.0 out of 5 stars Cogent and readable summary February 8, 2013
By gtcaz
This compact "Single" is a must read for anyone concerned with U.S. public finance and our political dysfunction which is leading to unnecessary damage and risk. There is a way out of this mess, but it requires a citizenry equipped with some basic facts about the nature of the problems we confront, and the choices we need to make. This quick read is a good start.
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful
 
5.0 out of 5 stars A rare non-partisan look at why we're in debt and how hard it will be to get out February 9, 2013
By T. Sales
Amazon Verified Purchase
Dave Leonhardt's appearance on Morning Joe encouraged me to buy his Kindle single. This format is an interesting way of getting one's views out quickly for discussion. Singles seem more substantial and researched than a blog, newspaper or magazine article, but less reasoned than a book. It's somehow disconcerting how quickly these get published in the current news cycle, but they seem to be the new way for news and cable journalists to get published. With the media's monopoly in deciding what we see on television and online, I'm not sold yet on this incursion into books where traditional authors tend to provide an alternative, more rigorous viewpoint.

With that said, Leonhardt's argument is clearly presented and non-partisan--something that's hard to come by in media's continued fascination with the parties' battling. As Leonhardt points out, none of this coverage or the actual political process is addressing or seriously discussing the fundamental issues that have gotten us where we are today. As opposed to most books in this category, he does not get into the blame game or what it will take to make things work again. He does not exude a sense of desperation like many of those books do.

Leonhardt points out that Clinton's and Obama's administrations have made the biggest headway toward reducing the debt--notwithstanding the Republican claims to the contrary. But he asserts that none of the battles in Congress have much to do with the real underlying problems that will make it hard on future generations--health care costs, military spending, lack of investment in research that will lead to the next big things, and our failure to collect taxes that should be collected.

An omission in the issues Leonhardt covers in his argument is the favored role that corporations have enjoyed from both parties in our current quandary. Leonhardt goes back to Reagan to trace the beginnings of the Republican's lower taxes crusade. Since that time, American companies have also gotten maximum support from the government, which has resulted in favorable tax breaks, subsidies, an ability to offshore for cheaper sources of labor, and an escape route for getting away from providing pensions and increasingly medical coverage. Leonhardt implies that this generation (especially baby boomers) is selfish in its unwillingness to pay higher taxes or accept stricter Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid taxes and benefits--all at the expense of our children and grandchildren who will be forced to pay those debts we are incurring. I would argue that over the last 30-50 years, many older Americans have seen the pensions and things they were counting on in retirement slowly fading away. In such an environment where companies seem to get all the breaks, it's tough not to count on the few remaining benefits and "entitlements" they were planning on.

All in all, "Here's the Deal" offers a relatively hopeful outlook for getting through our current economic, political and world-standing issues. Leonhardt explains how we still have a much better chance to succeed relative to other countries and economies. What he does well here is put it more in our terms rather than looking at these issues from an "inside the government" filter. This single is a good investment of an hour or two to read and think about.

Here's the Deal (Kindle Single) [Kindle Edition]


Edited by Hi-Finthen - 2/15/13 at 5:54pm
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post #2796 of 2918
2/15/13 at 5:57pm

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post #2797 of 2918
2/15/13 at 6:56pm

 

Great read. I'm enjoying it so far and learning a lot.

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post #2798 of 2918
2/17/13 at 3:10pm

not your grandmother's zen book

Hardcore Zen cover

You won't find Hardcore Zen at the bookstore by looking for a cover with a pretty "Zen" picture. This one is about showing us what we don't want to see; in keeping with that spirit, the cover features a toilet. Brad Warner uses many expressions of the kind which Captain Kirk described as "colorful metaphors" in Star Trek IV, some of which are really striking, "like a pit bull [on] a postman's ass," to quote Brad. This ain't your grandma's Zen book.

A friend asked me a couple of years ago what I found so valuable about Buddhism, and I replied that Buddhism seemed obsessed with reality. Brad seems to agree, and the difference between reality and "religion" is a running theme throughout the book.

Brad is a married American Zen priest living and teaching in Tokyo, whose day job is making Ultraman monster movies. In keeping with that theme of learning from reality, Brad teaches Zen from his own life, and the book is about one-third autobiography, and two-thirds hard-hitting Zen lessons. He discovered Zen while a punk-rock musician studying at Kent State University (at the same time I was there, BTW). From there he went to Japan, and found employment in making cheesy monster movies, a Soto Zen master, and a wife. Hmm, did I say hard-hitting? Isn't Zen supposed to be something like a spacious room covered with floor cushions, perfumed with incense, New Age music rippling through the air, and a copy of The Art of Tea on the coffee table? No, it isn't; It's about discovering your true nature, and Brad's mission is to shock us into realizing how desperately we avoid our reality, even with most of what we consider "spirituality."

Hardcore Zen is does have some flaws. Sometimes Brad seems to condemn whatever awakening experiences and traditions which are not like the Zen ideal. My suspicion is that although enlightenment is only one thing, all who experience it do so differently, and will use different terms to describe it.

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post #2799 of 2918
2/19/13 at 2:32am

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post #2800 of 2918
2/19/13 at 11:05am

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post #2801 of 2918
2/19/13 at 5:23pm

Charles Robbins: The Accomplice

 

Campaign intrigue and crime.  How close to the real truth is this novel about what really goes on in campaigns???????????

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post #2802 of 2918
2/21/13 at 11:58am

book cover of Nightwoods by Charles Frazier

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post #2803 of 2918
2/21/13 at 6:17pm

The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: 

 
The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance
 
 [Matthew Fox] 1988
 

 

 

Fox never discusses the personal entrance into the mystic adventure. Too often, he makes it sound like mysticism is another world-view, rather than the transformative encounter with divine Reality. He never mentions meditation or contemplation, and he is quite vague on how exactly to be changed in order to change the world. But this is a different kind of mystical writing: shouting like a prophet for us to embrace a social, global mysticism through action and love. Fox's courage and genius in proclaiming the urgency of following Jesus' teachings and building his Kingdom of compassion is beyond inspirational. 

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post #2804 of 2918
2/23/13 at 11:09am

 Cervantes' classic

 
 

 

 Audio book recording of Edith Grossman's beautiful English translation .

 

The knight of the sorrowful face has many dialogues and encounters

that bring to light

inner qualities of morality , virtue.... 

 

 Find yourself confused as to who says what at times,

but it seems to me that is the author's intent.

 

To imagine those inner qualities in the first person is benign genius.

 

 

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post #2805 of 2918
2/25/13 at 9:33am

 

Starting in this one today, great way to let yourself drift off daily affairs and learn some stuff in the proces smile.gif

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