The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader"

Just finished re-reading
The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader". I was sure I had read this and the other Narnia books as a child, but as I progress through the series I remember less and less. The progression of somewhat random islands seems less memorable in the first place, however.

"But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there."

Do I read fantasy to escape the real world, or to better know it?

King Kong

I saw Peter Jackson's King Kong today in Petoskey with my extended family. It was okay. I somehow got confused and thought the beginning was a really long preview for a movie I probably wouldn't want to see, until I eventually realized it was no preview -- it was the move. Some mean reviews suggested that the first 75 minutes were superfluous -- watching the movie, I kind of kept waiting for those 75 minutes to end through the whole movie.

No, that's too mean. Blogs have the tendency to bring out these kinds of comments. Really, it was fun to see the movie and a good outing. Most scenes were longer than necessary and an ending more like King Kong vs. Godzilla would have been welcome.

Prince Caspian

Pursuant to re-reading the Narnia series, read Prince Caspian.

Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe

Prompted by having seen the movie and by a low-key contest with a friend, re-read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I remember it as being longer and deeper than I find itnow, but it's still enjoyable to revisit. I'll probably go ahead and re-read the rest of the series.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves

I just finished Eats, Shoots & Leaves, a short, widlly popular, and delightfully literate book of observations on punctuation.

Sticklers unite, you have nothing to lose but your sense of proportion, and arguably you didn't have a lot of that to begin with.

It reminds me of The Deluxe Transitive Vampire.

Spring cleaning

Doing some "spring" cleaning and found some old books to give away. Read these long ago: ST:TNG series books Into the Nebula, Power Hungry, Debtor's Planet, and ST:DS9 Valhalla.

Chronicles of Narnia

I saw The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe today with my father. We've a tradition of seeing movies on breaks and have been exercising that tradition a lot these past few days as I prepare to move away from home again for the first time. The movie was pretty good, beautiful effects, a decent movie rendition. Makes me want to re-read the books (that and my competitive spirit.)

Aeon Flux

I saw Aeon Flux this evening. It was okay. Action flick. Basically like consuming raw sugar.

Walk the Line

I saw Walk the Line today with my father. Excellent movie, I really enjoyed it.

The Broker

Just finished The Broker by John Grisham. Pretty good read while stranded in Indianapolis.

Chainfire

Chainfire, Terry Goodkind. Excellent, love the Sword of Truth series. This book brought to the front of my mind the importance of enlightened self interest, a concept I think plays a critical role in successful opensource.