Friday, February 22, 2008

Books

I got my newest book from Zooba, Thermopylae by Paul Cartledge. Very excited, although I must admit I put down his Alexander the Great somewhere and have yet to finish it. But still, a new history book! Yay! At a page flip, I found the Lion Gates in Persepolis; well, actually the "East Door of the Gates of Xerxes". Lion gate to me because of the giant winged stone beasts. I've been there, I've touched those stones with my own hands, walked the stairs of the Apadana. Persepolis has got to be the best place I've ever been on earth. I'm not talking scenery, or community, or people or things to do; I'm talking that deep quiet sense of time you find in old, old places. The Great Buddha in Kamakura is also one such place, if you listen beyond the tourists.

Desi's Null Physics came also, in time for her birthday. I was going to wrap it up all fancy, but she knew I'd ordered it. That, and Ford left it out on the footstool in the parlor next to the double rocker where she sits to do her calculus homework. Yes, I have a parlor. No, she doesn't usually do her homework here, but they were over doing laundry, lots of laundry. Ford had the Jolly Roger up on MyLarry's ramps and changed the oil. WalMart wasn't able to undo the oil drain plug, but Genius had no problem whatsoever. He even tried to clean up the tiny oil slicks in the driveway. I was less than productive or sociable, this time my right shoulder and neck acted up. Enough so I took a Lortab at lunch and lounged about all afternoon and evening, brain cells on low idle.

I did order the Fast Forward anthology, all the reviews and discussion piqued my interest. I haven't been reading as much nor as deeply as I like, I think that's a leftover from summer's depression last year. I'm still chipping away this and that, I always have books beside the bed, stuffed with bookmarks. I'm yearning for a reread of some old favorites, Harlan Ellison and Fritz Lieber primarily. Grey Mouser and Fafhrd, I miss them these cold, dark days.

I finally, finally pre-ordered Ark of Truth, and a copy of Brazil on DVD. My laserdisc player isn't even hooked up now. The Amazon gift certificate needed using, so Ark was pretty much free, as was shipping.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"I'm not talking scenery, or community, or people or things to do; I'm talking that deep quiet sense of time you find in old, old places."

That's a wonderful feeling. It's great that you've had the opportunity to visit some of the *really* old places.

Unknown said...

I hope that "Null Physics" is not the crackpot book by Tereence Witt!

See this review of “Our Undiscovered Universe” by Terence Witt from a professional physicist (Benjamin Monreal):
http://web.mit.edu/~bmonreal/www/Null_Physics_Review.html

Also see my review at http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~fiski/ouu_review.html