Books of 2011

I far surpassed my goal of 60 books last year (I read 88 books!!). This year I will keep my goal of 60 (while keeping my sights at 89) and see what happens.

1. "The Grapes Of Wrath" by John Steinbeck
2. "The Twice Born" by Pauline Gedge *
3. "The Walk" by Richard Paul Evans *
4. "The Unnamed" by Joshua Ferris
5. "The Right Decision" by James Stein (what a stupid book)
6. "The Case Of The Midwife Toad" by Arthur Koestler
7. "The Unheard Cry For Meaning" by Viktor E. Frankl
8. "The Great Wall Of China and Other Short Works" by Franz Kafka
9. "Empress" by Shan Sa
10. "Turtle Moon" by Alice Hoffman
11. "The Eyes Of The Dragon" by Stephen King (read also sometime in the 80's) *
12. "Illusions" by Richard Bach
13. "Sacrament" by Clive Barker *
14. "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
15. "Teach Yourself Postmodernism" by Glenn Ward
16. "Transcendental Meditation" by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (discusses benefits but not enough about technique)
17. "Breathless" by Dean Koontz *
18. "Some Girls" by Jillian Lauren
19. "Music For Torching" by A. M. Homes
20. "For You Mom, Finally" by Ruth Reichel
21. "2 States: The Story Of My Marriage" by Chetan Bhagat
22. "Love In A Headscarf" by Shelina Zahra Janmohamed *
23. "Dexter Is Delicious" by Jeff Lindsay
24. "The Measure Of Madness" by Cheryl Paradis
25. "What is God?" by Jacob Needleman *
26. "The Genius In All Of Us" by David Shenk
27. "Escape From The Land Of Snows" by Stephan Talty
28. "The Path To Love" by Deepak Chopra
29. "The Cross Gardener" by Jason F. Wright *
30. "Room" by Emma Donoghue *
31. "A Stolen Life" by Jaycee Dugard
32. "Sold" by Patricia McCormick
33. "Burned Alive" by Souad
34. "I Am Nujood, Age 10 And Divorced" by Nujood Ali
35. "Medium Raw" by Anthony Bourdain
36. "Look For Me" by Edeet Ravel
37. "S'Mother" by Adam Chester
38. "F My Life" by Maxime Valette
39. "Before I Go To Sleep" by S. J. Watson
40. "The Crowning Glory Of Calla Lily Ponder" by Rebecca Wells
41. "The Husband" by Dean Koontz
42. "By The Light Of The Moon" by Dean Koontz **
43. "Relentless" by Dean Koontz
44. "What The Night Knows" by Dean Koontz
45. "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
46. "Every Time We Say Goodbye" by Jamie Zeppa
47. "Teachings Of The Heart" by Tae Heng Se Nim
48. "Healing Anger" by The Dalai Lama
49. "It's Easier Than You Think" by Sylvia Boorstein
50. "The Geography Of Thought" by Richard E. Nisbett
51. "What The Buddha Taught" by Walpola Rahula
52. "The Passion Test" by Janet Bray Attwood and Chris Attwood
53. "The Voice Of The Night" by Dean Koontz
54. "Under The Dome" by Stephen King (1074 pages!)
55. "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz

2010 In Review

I know I haven't written much this past year, but I will attempt to change that in 2011. Here are the highlights of 2010 nevertheless...

• State College, PA
• Highway Pizza and Wings Over Happy Valley
• the chair that stuck in the wall
• P's PhD
• Santa Clara, CA
• Laguna Clara
• Giri, Teresa, Kim, Maria and Gyanada at the Santa Clara library
• Virginia and Haydee
• Karthik's party
• Netflix
• Pescadero State Beach
• Santa Cruz
• Monterey
• wine tasting
• Pacific Grove
• Carmel-by-the-Sea
• sea lions!!!
• Max
• Las Vegas x2
• all you can eat buffets
• the Luxor
• Bodies Exhibition
• San Franciso and Fisherman's Wharf
• volunteering at the library and Heart of the Valley
• Chair
• my new telescope
• dinner in Albany, CA with P's friends
• Nikita's party
• San Jose Shark's game
• Russell Peters
• cops
• breaking my reading record
• pretty diamond heart necklace from P for Christmas
• Santa Cruz for New Year's

Books of 2010

Last year was officially the worst year yet regarding the amount of books read (29 for 2009). Maybe 2010 will be the year I finally reach my 60 book goal. So here goes...



***NOTE: Since #38 and #40 were very short books I have upped my goal to 62 books for the year** June 16 2010

1. "The Other Side Of Desire" by Daniel Bergner
2. "The Only Poker Book You'll Ever Need" by John "Johnny Quads" Wenzel
3. "Stori Telling" by Tori Spelling
4. "Nature's Extremes" by Kelly Knauer
5. "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution" by Robert Atkins
6. "Nine Parts Of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women" by Geraldine Brooks
7. "The Genotype Diet" by Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo
8. "The Writing On My Forehead" by Nafisa Haji
9. "Haunted" by Chuck Palahniuk
10. "The Wise Heart" by Jack Kornfield
11. "Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters" by Alan S. Miller and Satoshi Kanazawa
12. "Survivor" by Chuck Palahniuk
13. "A Big Little Life" by Dean Koontz
14. "Mr. B. Gone" by Clive Barker
15. "What Everyone Needs To Know About Islam" by John L. Esposito
16. "Lullaby" by Chuck Palahniuk
17. "A Saint On Death Row" by Thomas Cahill
18. "Girls Of Riyadh" by Rajaa Alsanea
19. "Brain Building" by Marilyn Vos Savant and Leonore Fleischer
20. "The Blood Of Flowers" by Anita Amirrezvani
21. "Invisible Monsters" by Chuck Palahniuk  
22. "The Relationship Cure" by John Gottman and Joan DeClaire
23. "The Big Questions" by Lama Surya Das
24. "Living The Mindful Life" by Charles T. Tart
25. "Daughter Of The Ganges" by Asha Miro
26. "Kinshu: Autumn Brocade" by Teru Miyamoto
27. "Half A Life" by V.S. Naipaul
28. "The Consequences Of Love" by Sulaiman Addonia
29. "Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior" by Chogyam Trungpa
30. "The Others" by Seba Al-Herz
31. "Teachings On Love" by Thich Nhat Hahn
32. "The Brain On Love" by Daniel G. Amen
33. "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyowski with Sharon Lechter
34. "The Shadow Effect" by Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford and Marianne Williamson
35. "In The Valley Of The Kings" by Terrence Holt
36. "Snuff" by Chuck Palahniuk
37. "A Child Called It" by David Pelzer
38. "50 Things To Do With A Book" by Bruce McCall
39. "Rich Dad's Cashflow Quadrant" by Robert Kiyowski with Sharon Lechter
40. "The Pure Lover" by David Plante
41. "F U Penguin" by Matthew Gasteier
42. "Wolf Dreams" by Yasmina Khadra
43. "The Possession" by Annie Ernaux
44. "Jealousy" by Catherine Millet
45. "Choke" by Chuck Palahniuk
46. "Buddha Is As Buddha Does" by Lama Surya Das
47. "I Am A Strange Loop" by Douglas Hofstadter
48. "The Suicide Collectors" by David Oppegaard
49. "Fractal Time" by Greg Braden
50. "The Great Medicine That Conquers Clinging To The Notion Of Reality" by Shechen Rabjam
51. "The End Of Alice" by A. M. Homes (read also in 2005)
52. "How To Be A Quick Turn Real Estate Millionaire" by Ron LeGrand
53. "Beatrice And Virgil" by Yann Martel
54. "A Concise Introduction To Tibetan Buddhism" by John Powers
55. "Saffron Dreams" by Shaila Abdullah
56. "The Case For Pluto" by Alan Boyle
57. "It's Up To You" by Dzigar Kongtrul
58. "Strange Bedfellows" by David P.Barash and Judith Eve Lifton
59. "Calling On Extraterrestrials" by Lisette Larkins
60. "Glimpses Of Traditional Indian Life" by Bhakti Vikasa Swami
61. "A Beginner's Guide To Reality" by Jim Baggot
62. "The New Meditation Handbook" by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
63. "Go Ask Alice" by Anonymous
64. "The First Born Advantage" by Dr. Kevin Leman
65. "Then We Came To The End" by Joshua Ferris
66. "Knulp" by Hermann Hesse
67. "Happiness" by Mathieu Ricard
68. "The Book Of Awesome" by Neil Pasricha
69. "Gordon Ramsay: On Top Of The World" by Neil Simpson
70. "Strange News From Another Star" by Hermann Hesse
71. "Reading Lolita In Tehran" by Azar Nafisi
72. "Haroun And The Sea Of Stories" by Salman Rushdie
73. "Pillars Of The Earth" by Ken Follett
74. "Blood Secrets" by Rod Englert
75. "Interpreter Of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
76. "What I Thought I Knew" by Alice Eve Cohen
77. "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
78. "Lie Down With Lions" by Ken Follett
79. "All The Pretty Horses" by Cormac McCarthy
80. "A Special Place" by Peter Straub
81. "The Nine Emotional Lives Of Cats" by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
82. "Dissecting Death" by Frederick Zugibe and Daved L. Carroll
83. "Child Of God" by Cormac McCarthy
84. "Outer Dark" by Cormac McCarthy
85. "A General Theory Of Love" by Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, Richard Lannon
86. "Whiteout" by Ken Follett
87. "God Is Not One" by Stephen Prothero
88. "The Girl: A Journey In Memories Through The Self" by Stephan Pacheco

Some Things

Some things never go away. Some things just get bigger. Some things are irrevocable. Some things are almost impossible to let go of. Some things are meaningless. Some things mean everything. Some things last forever. Some things fade away into the ultimate nothingness of it all. Some things just disappear. Some things don't.

I Wrote Something

I like food.

Lie Detectors

Lie detectors, also known as polygraphs, do NOT detect lies, they detect changes in physiology that are associated with stressful thoughts and deceptive behavior. Polygraph machines measure blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate and skin's electro-conductivity (sweat). They are NOT interpretive: polygraphs themselves can't distinguish a lie from the truth. When someone tells a lie there are certain changes that involuntarily take place in the body: the heart beats more rapidly, breathing becomes faster, and they tend to sweat more. These physiological responses are a reaction to the tension and stress a person feels when they tell a lie and fear being discovered. Lies are identified with the help of a skilled polygraph examiner who analyzes the recorded responses of the polygraph after a series of questions. Since the identification of a lie is open to human interpretation and is not considered scientifically credible, they are not normally admissible as evidence in a court of law.

Some people have come up with tips on how to "beat" the polygraph, such as doing math in your head or biting your tongue hard enough to cause a bit of pain.

Any further questions?

Books of 2009

Last year I again fell short of my 60 book target, which is proving much more difficult than I thought (only 44 in 2008!!) but I am not giving up. Here we go again...

1. "10 Stupid Things Couples Do To Mess Up Their Relationships" by Laura Schlessinger
2. "The Mistress's Daughter" by A.M. Homes
3. "Duma Key" by Stephen King
4. "101 Things Canadians Should Know About Canada" ed. by Rudyard Griffiths
5. "Color Of The Sea" by John Hamamura
6. "The Intention Experiment" by Lynne McTaggart ***
7. "Stillness Speaks" by Eckhart Tolle
8. "Blindness" by Jose Saramago
9. "The Solitudes" by John Crowley
10. "Become What You Are" by Alan Watts
    
11. "The Hour I First Believed" by Wally Lamb
12. "Abarat" by Clive Barker
13. "The Mayan Prophecies" by Adrian G Gilbert and Maurice M Cotterell
14. "Lady Of The Reeds" by Pauline Gedge
15. "The Silent Passage" by Gail Sheehy
16. "The Far Pavilions" by M.M. Kaye
17. "The Devil and Miss Prym" by Paulo Coelho
18. "Complicity" by Iain Banks
19. "Complete Book Of Beginning Running" by Amby Burfoot
20. "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini ***
21. "The Disappearance of the Universe" by Gary R. Renard
22. "Diary" by Chuck Palahniuk
23. "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry
24. "Aztec Autumn" by Gary Jennings
25. "Aztec Blood" by Gary Jennings
26. "Crime And Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
27. "Family Matters" by Rohinton Mistry
28. "Everything's Eventual" by Stephen King
29. "Dune" by Frank Herbert

The Darkness Inside

I watched the latest episode of Dexter today and it got me thinking about the darkness inside. I came to the conclusion that I can't do anything about it. It never goes away. One might as well accept it, or its like swimming against the current which only makes things even worse. The darkness is a part of me and that's why trying to run from it never helps.

Message From Planet Vulcan

Let's mind meld.

My mind to your mind....my thoughts to your thoughts.....

Unpoem

To all unholiness unpurged
In sanctuaries unsafe
And beyond
I pledge this unbelief
To those undead ghosts
Alive and well....

Catch A Falling Star...

I'm not sure if the change in my general feeling is due to the feng shui arrangement in our new apartment, if it's the onset of my favourite season (autumn) with its promise of change after the imminent winter season, if it's that my nightmares have finally ceased for the time being or if its simply that I've been able to finally purge some conceptual/perceptual garbage, but the shift was symbolized last night in the shooting star we saw. Ask me in 10 years and I'll tell you what I wished for...

Why I'm Part Vulcan (Or Wish I Was)

• Vulcans are three times physically stronger than Humans, and live three times as long
• Vulcans prefer higher temperatures than Humans do
• Vulcans, particularly females, have a strong sense of smell
• Vulcans developed a culture dedicated to the complete mastery of logic, learning to suppress their once-violent emotions in nearly every aspect of their existence
• Many Vulcans are telepaths
• Vulcans can perform mind melds, in which it is possible to share thoughts, experiences, memories, and knowledge with another individual
• When Vulcans mate, a form of psychic bond is created between the partners
• Vulcans suppress all emotional influence by living lives of rigid emotional self-control through meditative techniques and training of mental discipline. Vulcans are not depicted as having no emotions; although they themselves make this claim, Vulcans are a very emotional people. They developed techniques to suppress their emotions precisely because of the damage they can cause if unchecked
• Vulcans are vegetarians and rarely drink alcohol
  
• Vulcans do not lie
• Vulcans know how to do the "Vulcan nerve pinch" which can render someone unconscious

Source: Wikipedia

15 Things About San Jose, California

In less than 2 weeks we'll be on the road again and headed back to the other side of the continent, so I thought I'd list some of the things I've learned about San Jose while living here.

1. The population of San Jose is approx. 989, 000. It is the 3rd largest city in California and the 10th largest in the US.
2. San Jose is called the Capital of Silicon Valley.
3. San Jose is refreshingly diverse. The neighbourhood we've lived in is what I refer to as "Little Mexico."
   
4. San Jose is about 40 minutes south of San Francisco and approximately 5 hours north of Los Angeles.
5. Menudo, a popular Mexican dish, is actually "stomach stew" and is recommended for hangovers.
6. Taquieros, a Spanish word seen in and on many restaurants, is a generic term for a variety of tacos.
7. In the time we've been here (June 1st- now) it has not rained even once.
   
8. San Jose has very few second-hand book stores.
   
9. You can get a bottle of decent wine here for $2 US and you can buy it at a variety store or drug store. Beer, too. And you can buy beer at Walmart. This really eases the pain of the high cost of living and the high gas prices.
   
10. While San Jose has a huge Latino population, it is known for having the largest Vietnamese population in the US.
    
11. Don't trust Mexicans wanting to sell you "DBD's" out of their "ban."
    
12. If you're walking and want to cross a busy street cars will actually stop to let you cross.
13. You cannot get a transfer when traveling by bus. If you plan on taking a return trip that involves more than 2 buses, you might as well just buy an all-day pass for $5.
14. San Jose has 7 "sister cities," one of which is Pune, India.
    
15. The street lights here are all yellow. This is is to reduce light pollution so it's easier to see the stars at night. The Lick Observatory has named an asteroid after San Jose (asteroid 6216 San Jose) in appreciation of its efforts.
    

Reflection

Stale are the hallways of obscured lifetimes
Where infinity converges with certain death
Still I inhale the tepid air of time
Have I become resigned?

The smallest of movements are lost in the tedium
My thoughts, fragmented
Dissolving into emptiness
As the extenuating becomes extinct

I can no longer seek the redemption
Which infinitely escaped my lugubrious grasp
The past is impossible to justify
With the evaporation of salvation

My reflection hides behind itself
My viscosity largely evident
But the blinding glare of darkness beckons
Resistance is futile

A Disclaimer From The Void

The date of 08/08/08 seems to represent the void of infinity. Nothing through endless time. It reminds me how everything is really just an illusion and will continue to be so for all time, even though time itself is an illusion, as is my self.

Everything I think and all the perceptions I have of are all simply that: PERCEPTIONS. There is no absolute truth since no two people ever share the exact same perception of any single thing and since no two people also never share the exact same mind. Nietzsche was right when he made the claim that "there are no truths, only relative fictions."

I must be so careful in my daily communications with others because even the truths I believe I am communicating can be so easily misinterpreted and misunderstood. So please allow me to state the following disclaimer for future reference:

I never set out to intentionally offend. I like harmony and despise conflict and will avoid it whenever I can, unless I feel personally attacked. Whatever I say can be safely taken at face value; I do not speak cryptically and there are no double or hidden meanings behind my words. So if ever the words I speak or write offend, please remember this disclaimer.

My Co-Workers Are Bitches

There are visions that haunt me at night while I sleep
Of my co-workers all in a herd just like sheep
All the time kissing and sucking up to the boss
Even the ones so old that they used to use DOS

They're all fucking bitches and I'm sick of them all
I'd like to kick all their asses right down the hall
They all take the stairs acting all smug
While I take the elevator preventing wear on the rug

They think they're better than me? I assure you they're not
Even though they're all here at 9 on the dot
These fuckers they stay here way into the night
They're bitches and bastards who don't have a life

And the ones who think they have the damn right to claim
That their age makes them better than me are just lame
So you know what? FUCK IT! That's it! I quit!
Because I'm not like these fuckers and I won't take their shit.

Give Me My Thermos, Bitches

Give me my thermos, bitches
I'm not here with expectations of riches
So just give me one
Before I get out my gun
Give me my thermos, bitches

Give me my thermos, jerks
I thought this was one of the perks!
You said that you would
So you goddamn well should
Give me my thermos, jerks.

Give me my thermos, fuck face!
It's the only reason I work at this place!
Save your epidermis
And hand over the thermos
Give me my thermos, fuck face!

Give me my thermos, you fucks!
You're about to run out of luck.
I don't mean to harass
But I'll pop a cap in your ass
Unless you give me my thermos, you fucks!

Give me my thermos, goddammit!
YOU SAID I COULD FUCKING HAVE IT
I want it right now
I don't fucking care how
Just give me my thermos, goddammit!

GIVE ME MY THERMOS YOU BITCHES!
YOU WON'T BELIEVE HOW MY TRIGGER FINGER ITCHES
IT'S DRIVING ME NUTS
I WANT TO RIP OUT YOUR GUTS
SO JUST GIVE ME MY THERMOS YOU BITCHES!!!

Free Association Experiment #1

I have no idea what to write and am not sure what my thoughts are. Damage is incurred and implied. The ghosts in my head haven't moved out. The trees are blowing in the miasma of the passive crap that flew out of my head. I want a drink. The ocean is not fit for mass travel. I don't think this makes any sense, but then again I'm not really sure what ever did. Or if anything but one thing ever will. The deaths of the immortals make sense but only to those who can see it already within themselves. I cant stand on the tv. Well I could but then I'd be pissed at myself. Then I would laugh.

Now begins another paragraph...another part/piece/fragment from the shallows of my grey matter. Things should have more of what they really are. I don't know how to put the parts back to form the original whole which is I. Because it all seems to be. Is this profound? You have no idea. The music is not too loud. The final exit never happened and yet it so did. It so did. And now I am waiting for the final finality that exists within time. The only way to survive death is to exist outside of time, and yet that is how we all REALLY live...even though we surely don't realize it and we continue eternally to inflict the suffering we call LIFE upon ourselves because we believe there is no other choice and because we believe so passionately in the existence of what we each call "I". Me, too.

I live in this dichotomy not because I choose to but because this schism has made me what "I" am and it is not escapable. At least not when I have the perspective of singularity. How can one see oneself as one with the whole when one is so obviously not congruous to that whole? Unless, of course, the whole is just as dissonant as the "I" that is me.

OK so the free association started to have a structure and so I am here now tearing the structure down. I am being the phoenix. I am one with the phoenix. HAH. and I am angry. But the clouds have parted and the sun shines through and the flames of destruction have not yet really touched me. I am invincible. I I I I. i i i i i am what i am and also what i am not. That's the secret. I've always been afraid to speak my mind because when I speak it gives the other the keys and the ways to the deeper recesses to what is REALLY there. And perhaps I am uncomfortable. And now I am bored. So I (i) am done. J'ai finis. I'm hitting publish.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

All human beings have needs and if these needs are not met an individual cannot and will not progress or evolve and will not be at all conscious of the world of potential within him/herself. Below is Maslow's delineation of the hierarchy of needs.

On A More Positive Note

I feel something is necessary to counter all the negative energy I've been pumping into this blog as of late. So I just want to say...

I HAVE THE BEST BROTHER IN THE WORLD. And his girlfriend is pretty cool, too. They've done a lot to help me out lately, and I appreciate it more than they realize. :)