...and other stuff, ART, INSIDE THE BOOK, PAN-GOD OF THE WOODS, READING MATTER, THE OZ FACTORS, UNIVERSES

READ WITHOUT EYES

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As lovers of learning and literature know all of the best fantasy, science fiction, history, romance, imagery, imagination and revelation are contained in books.  The content of movies and TV shows are often spewed from minds who pander the prurient interests to the lowest common denominators of money and mayhem.  The finest thoughts, the highest aspirations and the flightiest heights of imagination are dreamed and written by artists who write books.

Unfortunately, as my body grows older, I find that it is increasingly difficult to read books.  Diminishing eye sight, arthritis in my neck, bad back and insufficient time makes reading books more difficult.  Thank the gods, and technology for the wonderful inventions of MP 3 players and AUDIO BOOKS!

Now I can download and listen / read a vast array of literature on audio books, read to me by the some of the most talented actors:  it’s better than a bed-time story!  And I can listen to books while driving, waiting in the dentist office, walking around, sitting in the park and muti-tasking in general.  Personally, I’ve listened to more books during the past two years than I read in the previous five years.

Thanks to audio books I’ve been able to read books that I probably wouldn’t have read previously due to the sheer size and expense of the books, some of which are several thousand pages in length! Free audio books, in the public domain, are available from www.Librivox.org.   And, a vast library of books read by professional actors is available from www.Audible.com.   The most important (FREE) source of audio books is your local public library.  More and more books are available of CDs and cassette tapes every day.  I use and recommend all of these.

As for subject matter, here are some of the books I listened to recently that are my personal favourites:

All 7 books of THE LENSMAN SERIES, written by E.E. “Doc” Smith  (I consider these to be the finest science and science fiction books ever written). I listened to most of them twice!

All of the Sherlock Holmes books written by Arthur Conan Doyle  (most of these I read previously, but audio books make them more fun)

American Gods and The Anansi Boys by the magical Neill Gaimon.

Enders Game by the marvellous science fiction writer, Orson Scott Card

The Autobiography of Mark Twain, a compilation of his autobiographical writings and commentary.

Any of the legion of electrifyingly frightening books by the fantastic fiction writer, Dean Koontz.

Under the Dome by Stephen King.

The Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon.  One of the finest works of historical commentary ever produced.

The Republic by Plato is the pre-eminent discussion of the philosophy and culture of Western Civilization, written in 368 B.C.E.

Mien Kamph by Adolph Hitler.  This is a ‘must’ read if you care to understand the demented ‘logic’ of a demonic Germanic mind.

The Confession by John Grisham.  This is a damning diatribe, written as fiction, on the subject of capital punishment.

The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant. This is a marvelous perusal of the entire subject of Western philosophers.

The complete writings of the Father of the American Revolution,  Thomas Paine.

The Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tze.  (The new English translation)

At the moment I’m listening to Fall of Giants by Ken Follett.

___________________________

Good listening!  Lawrence R. Spencer

...and other stuff, LIVES, READING MATTER, UNIVERSES

SACRED WOMEN

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I recently discovered that my Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandmother is Molly Brandt (1735 – 1796), the sister of a Mohawk Indian Chief.  I am honored to consider myself, at least in small part physically, and as a Spiritual Being, a Native of American.  Here is an article about her on Wikipedia — http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Brant

SACRED WOMEN

FREE ADVICE, INSIDE THE BOOK, READING MATTER, THE OZ FACTORS

SHE FELL FROM A STAR

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“SHE FELL FROM A STAR

                “Come out, come out, wherever you are and meet the young lady who fell from a star … “–Glinda sings to the Munchkins in ‘The Wizard of Oz’

                False information, less diplomatically stated, could be called lies. Sometimes lies are unintentional. Sometimes lies are intentional. Regardless, false is false, and we need to inspect all the information we receive to ensure that it is not false.

               One way to know if information is false is to determine whether the information helps us achieve a workable solution or does it lead toward continued mystery.

               Such scrutiny may seem obvious, but few people critically examine information they receive. Whether the information has to do with the meaning of life or how to bake a better chocolate chip cookie, it is wise to put the information to the test before using it to develop any theories or before taking action based upon it.

  
             Logically, before we go skipping down the Yellow Brick Road into the unknown, a few simple precautions might prove useful.

               Precaution 1: Does the information contain actual statistics or documented evidence or is it just a broad, sweeping generalized statement?

               The morning newspaper headlines have propagandized a recent political effort to take guns away from the citizens with broad, general statements like: “Street gangs are sweeping the country! The youth of America are all killing each other with illegal handguns!”

               Of course, no violent deaths are acceptable. But, when was the last time you personally observed a street gang shoot-out? Check out the facts: In 1990 there were 971 black youths and 942 white youths under the age of 18 who were victims of homicide in the United States. Hardly an epidemic compared to a total of 9,923 total people killed with handguns in the same year.

               By contrast, 12,400 people were killed by accidental falls. So, why don’t the newspapers have headlines about “The Terrible Tragedy of Gravity”?

               More than 28,642 people committed suicide in 1990 and 69,225 died of pneumonia or flu. Cigarette smoking was a major killer with 78,380 deaths from emphysema. Meanwhile, in a real, honest-to-god-epidemic, 476,927 people died of cancer! How much effort is being made by the propaganda machines of big government to prevent smoking which is one of the principle causes of cancer?

               False information is also spread simply by failing to include all of the correct information or including too much information.

               Precaution 2: Does the information help your survival? Is it destructive? Is it just plain upsetting?

               Asking the news media to report “the truth” is like asking a fly crawling on a cow pie for an accurate description of the cow. The kind of information we receive from the morning news on television or in newspapers or ‘Time’ magazine is, factually, very often highly spin-doctored, altered and misinterpreted. The so-called “news” is nothing more than a very tiny slice of the most shocking, disastrous, upsetting, tragic, gruesome, inhumane events which these sources painstakingly cut from the relatively large and lovely pie of life. This “news” is gathered from isolated sources, at great expense and selectively edited using the most sensationally colored prose imaginable. Yet the mainstream media news neglect to report the fact that billions of people and billions of other life forms on this planet are enjoying happy lives–no thanks to them! 

               Does reading or hearing about every single psychopathic rape/murder/theft/mayhem/disaster that occurs anywhere on the entire planet really improve the quality of your life or happiness? Or is this information you can more happily live without?”

— Excerpt from THE OZ FACTORS, by Lawrence R. Spencer

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