Framing the Dialogue

Posts Tagged ‘book’

In Secret Service

“In 1964, James Bond’s creator sealed a package containing a manuscript he thought no one would read until fifty years after his death.”

That’s the subtext of the storyline of the novel set in 2005.  The heroine, the granddaughter of a man close to an inner circle of the British government, finds herself in possession of an Ian Flemming’s manuscript that many people are “dying” to get their hands on.  The premise loosely tries to thread together several of the British monarchy’s skeletons including the death of Princess Diana and the abdication of the throne by the Duke of Windsor.  Author Mitch Silver provides some interesting theories in this novel, In Secret Service and differentiates between fact, fiction, and supposition in the Athor’s Note.

Then We Came To The End

I don’t want to suggest that you need to work in a cube city office to enjoy this book.  I don’t want to suggest that you have to have endured a series of layoffs at your work to enjoy this book.  I don’t want to suggest that you have to work for an advertising agency to enjoy this book.  I do suggest that the more of these experiences you have the more you’ll enjoy Then We Came to the End and I consider myself somewhat an authority since I’ve experienced two of the three.

10,000 Steps A Day

I had heard many times that in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle (weight, exercise, mental status) a rule of thumb is to take at least 10,000 steps everyday.  In some ways that sounds like a lot, but as much as I walk in a day I thought I’d be close.  As I was browsing around Amazon I found a very cool pedometer that counts steps, estimates distance, calories burned and keeps a record of the last seven days measurements. 

Are You Smarter Than…

This posting is a quiz based on recent news stories and will test your ability to discern the correct answers to the questions.  Good Luck!

Are you smarter than politicians?

Question 1:  Senator John McCain and Senator Tom Coburn recently released a report, Summertime Blues, detailing some of the worst cases of wasted tax dollars.  We have almost become immune to these types pet projects that scream WASTE!  I don’t know where Sen. Coburn stands on the issue of earmark, but Senator McCain has been steadfast in his fight against them and has refused to participate and we should celebrate his efforts.  One of the items on the list was a mere $712,883.00 to build a machine that tells jokes.  Here is the test.  Which of the following is the machine?

The Council of Dads

Author Bruce Feiler shares his “lost year” in which he struggles to live through a rare and deadly form of bone cancer.   A full years lost from diagnosis by his doctor who noticed something unusual in one of his tests, months of chemotherapy, followed by extensive surgery and rehabilitation, followed again by chemo was his lost year. 

His lost year is his personal story of how he faces the fact that should cancer win, his twin three year old daughters are unlikely to remember him. 

“Cancer, I have found, is a passport to intimacy.  It’s an invitation – maybe even a mandate – to enter the most vital, frightening, and sensitive human arenas.”

The Digital Photography Book

There may be thousands of photography books available and many of them have now been edited to include digital photography.  Less than ten years ago I was the only person in my family that had a camera.  We often bought the kids disposable cameras to use on vacations.  I bought my first digital camera (an Olympus for around $700) and I seem to remember that it had around 3 MP.  I took both it and my 35mm film camera on vacation that year to compare both. 

The Law

The Law2Just a few days ago I commented on my desire for Americans to learn more about economics.  I also finished the post adding the need to learn about history.  The writings of Frederic Bastiat prove this second point.  Bastiat died in 1850 yet 160 years after his death words speak to many of the issues that we encounter today. 

In The Law, written shortly before his death, Bastiat makes a compelling case that law in France at the  time was being misused to commit legal plunder.  Laws passed that allow government to take from one person and give it to other persons to whom it does not belong do not change the fact that something is TAKEN from the first person or plundered.  The passage of such laws make the plunder legal.  We most recognize this plunder in the form of taxes.

Growing Up Catholic

Growing Up CatholicDid you know that there are around 900 million Catholics in the world and that the population of the United States is 22.7% Catholic?  That could help explain the fact that most of my friends growing up were Catholic or it could have been the fact that my family is Catholic, I went to a Catholic school, and went to CCD each Sunday.  If you grew up Catholic in the 1960 or before, Growing Up Catholic will be a nice trip down memory lane.  If you have Catholic friends or are married to one and want to understand them better, this may help.

Arguing With Idiots

Arguing with idiotsThis is my third Glenn Beck book that I have read and it is by far the best.  As a person who pays attention to political issues, I found An Inconvenient Book and Common Sense a little basic though containing new information.   In Arguing with Idiots Glenn Beck provides a great deal of information for people in tune with politics and enough to blow the others away.  Glenn should have provided either some duct tape with the book or at least a coupon to buy a roll.