The lists that are posted most Fridays on McSweeney's are usually pretty good. The three lists posted today are no exception, and are filled with all kinds of win.
Three Things I'd Take to a Desert Island. BY MIKE SACKS
Jokes I Came Up With While Recovering From Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. BY OLIVIA WALCH
Footnotes, Endnotes, and Parentheticals That Cost Me Marks on My Thesis. BY MIKE BAYLIS
Friday, August 29, 2008
Best speeches of the 2008 Democratic National Convention
Here are my favorites of the ones I've watched.
5) Michelle Obama
4) Hillary Clinton
3) Bill Clinton
2) John Kerry
1) Barack Obama
5) Michelle Obama
4) Hillary Clinton
3) Bill Clinton
2) John Kerry
1) Barack Obama
Another fun game
SongBlitz
Saw this on digg the other day. I didn't have time to try it right away, but when I did I was surprised by how good (i.e., addictive) it is. I remember the description said it was a music game, so I thought maybe it was a rhythm flash game or something. Instead it's a song identification game. You can choose from several different genres (or all of them together, which is a lot easier since it's pretty obvious what it is if there's a jazz song and only one jazz album to choose from) and difficulty levels. Besides being a good challenge, it's also a fun way to discover great new music. Playing it last night I found one awesome band I'd never heard before: Stars.
Saw this on digg the other day. I didn't have time to try it right away, but when I did I was surprised by how good (i.e., addictive) it is. I remember the description said it was a music game, so I thought maybe it was a rhythm flash game or something. Instead it's a song identification game. You can choose from several different genres (or all of them together, which is a lot easier since it's pretty obvious what it is if there's a jazz song and only one jazz album to choose from) and difficulty levels. Besides being a good challenge, it's also a fun way to discover great new music. Playing it last night I found one awesome band I'd never heard before: Stars.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
More addictive than Geometry Wars
DharmaWantsYou.com has now been updated with the first test. While ridiculously simple, it's also insanely addictive.
I played it for a couple hours tonight and my best score was an 84. I took a break and now I can't log back in. It's driving me crazy. I found a message board where they were talking about it, and the highest score I saw posted was an 88, so that's my goal.
I played it for a couple hours tonight and my best score was an 84. I took a break and now I can't log back in. It's driving me crazy. I found a message board where they were talking about it, and the highest score I saw posted was an 88, so that's my goal.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
DMI Charity Fundraiser Pt. 2
Clockwise, regional manager of the Ypsilanti branch and celebrated filmmaker, has made another awesome video. Behold.
The Ypsilanti branch is raising money for the St. Jude Children's Hospital Foundation. Here is their link:
As I previously posted, the main page DMI charities page is located here:
Dunder Mifflin Infinity / United Way Summer Fundraiser
The Ypsilanti branch is raising money for the St. Jude Children's Hospital Foundation. Here is their link:
As I previously posted, the main page DMI charities page is located here:
Dunder Mifflin Infinity / United Way Summer Fundraiser
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
DMI Charity Fundraiser
At Dunder Mifflin Infinity all the branches are currently doing a fundraiser for one of these ten different charities:
The American Heart Association
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
The Susan G. Komen Foundation
UNICEF
Conservation International
Habitat for Humanity
Global Fund for Women
AIDS Research Alliance
The Humane Society
The Lymphoma Research Foundation
My branch, Corner Brook, NL, is raising money for Conservation International. In case anyone would like to donate to it (I'm such a great pitchman!), here is the link:
If you would also / instead like to give to one of the other charities, here is the main charities page:
Dunder Mifflin Infinity / United Way Summer Fundraiser
The American Heart Association
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
The Susan G. Komen Foundation
UNICEF
Conservation International
Habitat for Humanity
Global Fund for Women
AIDS Research Alliance
The Humane Society
The Lymphoma Research Foundation
My branch, Corner Brook, NL, is raising money for Conservation International. In case anyone would like to donate to it (I'm such a great pitchman!), here is the link:
If you would also / instead like to give to one of the other charities, here is the main charities page:
Dunder Mifflin Infinity / United Way Summer Fundraiser
The Gods Must Be Crazy
I must have watched this movie over a dozen times as a kid. I recently watched it again for the first time in probably 15 years or more. I thought it was hilarious, although I'm not sure how much of my opinion of it was my reaction to it now, or the memories of how much I enjoyed it watching it all those times years ago. Watching it now, a few scenes that I probably didn't pay attention to before were disturbing now, such as when the male children picked up the machine guns and fired back at the rebels. Also, I had a new appreciation for how the movie inverted how we usually think of civilized vs. "uncivilized" peoples.
Cake Wrecks
I have never baked a cake, or baked anything for that matter, in my life.
However, that has not stopped a new blog called Cake Wrecks from quickly becoming one of the blogs I most look forward to seeing has been updated in Google Reader.
From the cakes that are well done but based on bad ideas, to the poorly done ones based on good ideas, to, my favorite, the horribly done ones based on horrible ideas, the various cakes are hilarious, disgusting, and everything inbetween.
Tip: Do not read the blog while drinking a beverage or before you eat.
However, that has not stopped a new blog called Cake Wrecks from quickly becoming one of the blogs I most look forward to seeing has been updated in Google Reader.
From the cakes that are well done but based on bad ideas, to the poorly done ones based on good ideas, to, my favorite, the horribly done ones based on horrible ideas, the various cakes are hilarious, disgusting, and everything inbetween.
Tip: Do not read the blog while drinking a beverage or before you eat.
Drug ads, migraines, and Oreo cookies
Drug Ads
A couple weeks ago while making dinner a prescription drug advertisement aired and I heard something I don't remember ever hearing before. It said, "Ask your prescriber" if such and such drug is right for you. Not "your doctor," or even "your health care provider," but "your prescriber." I think drug ads on TV and other media targeted directly to consumers are awful and should not be allowed (the United States and New Zealand are the only developed nations that allow them), and this new terminology referring doctors as nothing more than a hoop that must be jumped through for people to get these often overpriced, unnecessary, and even dangerous drugs is a new low. To be clear, I think modern pharmaceutical companies have let their greed for money (illustrated by the fact that drug companies now spend more money on advertising than they do on research), along with a completely subservient FDA, have corrupted scientific medicine. If they were to reprioritize and base their decisions based on the science, that would have incredible benefits for their customers health, and probably be even more profitable in the long run. I think people see this problem with mainstream medicine, and is in part why they're turning to alternative medicine, which is almost completely junk, as like mainstream medicine it costs a lot of money, except there's little or no scientifically sound testing of the products, so you have no idea if you're spending money on something that simply does nothing, has a small positive effect, or is downright dangerous. Maybe the mainstream drug industry would agree to end direct to consumer ads, and focus more on the research side of developing and testing new drugs if Congress were to pass a bill regulating alternative medicine, so that alternative medicine drug sellers could no longer make any unsubstantiated claims they wanted as long as they below them they included the disclaimer "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease." If they had to actually have rigorous scientific research supporting the claims they made, I think probably 90% or more of the alternative medicine industry would disappear overnight (good riddance!). And that, along with mainstream medicine cleaning up their act, would be one huge win-win-win.
Migraines
A few weeks ago I figured out that for the last few years I've been getting migraines. I did a google search and found that the distorted vision I get every once in awhile is an 'aura' that some migraine sufferers get prior to the actual migraine. Until I read about how they were related, I had never connected my occasional temporary distorted vision with the headaches the next day where it felt like my brain had come loose and was sliding into my skull whenever I tilted my head. Partly this is because these headaches, while painful, were not close to how painful I had always heard migraines were. Even now, I think the distorted vision of the aura is more unpleasant than the headaches the next day, since I can just take a couple aspirin to relieve the headache, but there's not a lot I can do for the vision distortions.
Oreo Cookies
A few weeks ago I ran out of the organic fig bars from Whole Foods that I usually eat 1 of with my lunch. Looking for a locally available substitute, I considered Oreo cookies and looked at the ingredient list:
I thought that was funny.
A couple weeks ago while making dinner a prescription drug advertisement aired and I heard something I don't remember ever hearing before. It said, "Ask your prescriber" if such and such drug is right for you. Not "your doctor," or even "your health care provider," but "your prescriber." I think drug ads on TV and other media targeted directly to consumers are awful and should not be allowed (the United States and New Zealand are the only developed nations that allow them), and this new terminology referring doctors as nothing more than a hoop that must be jumped through for people to get these often overpriced, unnecessary, and even dangerous drugs is a new low. To be clear, I think modern pharmaceutical companies have let their greed for money (illustrated by the fact that drug companies now spend more money on advertising than they do on research), along with a completely subservient FDA, have corrupted scientific medicine. If they were to reprioritize and base their decisions based on the science, that would have incredible benefits for their customers health, and probably be even more profitable in the long run. I think people see this problem with mainstream medicine, and is in part why they're turning to alternative medicine, which is almost completely junk, as like mainstream medicine it costs a lot of money, except there's little or no scientifically sound testing of the products, so you have no idea if you're spending money on something that simply does nothing, has a small positive effect, or is downright dangerous. Maybe the mainstream drug industry would agree to end direct to consumer ads, and focus more on the research side of developing and testing new drugs if Congress were to pass a bill regulating alternative medicine, so that alternative medicine drug sellers could no longer make any unsubstantiated claims they wanted as long as they below them they included the disclaimer "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease." If they had to actually have rigorous scientific research supporting the claims they made, I think probably 90% or more of the alternative medicine industry would disappear overnight (good riddance!). And that, along with mainstream medicine cleaning up their act, would be one huge win-win-win.
Migraines
A few weeks ago I figured out that for the last few years I've been getting migraines. I did a google search and found that the distorted vision I get every once in awhile is an 'aura' that some migraine sufferers get prior to the actual migraine. Until I read about how they were related, I had never connected my occasional temporary distorted vision with the headaches the next day where it felt like my brain had come loose and was sliding into my skull whenever I tilted my head. Partly this is because these headaches, while painful, were not close to how painful I had always heard migraines were. Even now, I think the distorted vision of the aura is more unpleasant than the headaches the next day, since I can just take a couple aspirin to relieve the headache, but there's not a lot I can do for the vision distortions.
Oreo Cookies
A few weeks ago I ran out of the organic fig bars from Whole Foods that I usually eat 1 of with my lunch. Looking for a locally available substitute, I considered Oreo cookies and looked at the ingredient list:
Sugar, enriched wheat flour, reduced iron, thiamine momonitrate, riboflavin, vegetable shortening, cocoa, corn syrup, corn flower, whey, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, soy lecithin, vanillin (artificial vanilla flavoring), and last & least of all, chocolate.
I thought that was funny.
Recent MMA events: Affliction: Banned, UFC: Fight Night 14, and UFC 87: Seek and Destroy
Back on July 19 two big MMA events took place. The first was the first ever Affliction PPV, Banned, which was headlined by the long awaited fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Sylvia. Even though the fight only lasted 36 seconds, I thought it was the best fight of the night. All the other fights were pretty boring.
The UFC countered this event with their own Fight Night 14, which aired for free on Spike. I thought this card was much more exciting than the Affliction card. The fight between TUF 7 competitors C.B. Dollaway and Jesse Taylor ended with a submission that I'd never seen before, called the peruvian necktie. The main event between Silva and Irvin was exactly what I expected, a quick and impressive victory for Silva.
By far the most controversial and notable fight was the one between Anthony Johnson and Kevin Burns. I first saw Johnson fight on the previous UFC Fight Night, where he quickly defeated TUF 6 finalist Tommy Speer, who is certainly no slouch. I was very impressed with Johnson's speed and aggressiveness. In his fight against Burns, Johnson was dominating until the middle of the third round when Burns poked Johnson in the eye with his finger, sending Johnson to the mat screaming in pain. Before this, Burns had poked Johnson in the eye several times, and had received a warning from the ref. This time however, the ref missed the poke, and thinking Burns had sent Johnson to the mat with a punch, declared the fight over and gave Burns a TKO victory. Eye pokes are of course illegal in MMA, and the result of the fight should have been a disqualification for Burns. Johnson has appealed the decision, and while I don't know anything about the appeal process, I would expect a quick judgment in Johnson's favor when the appeal is considered. In his post fight interview Burns said he had injured his hand some time ago and since then has not been able to make a closed fist with his left hand, forcing him to leave it open whenever he throws it.
After the fight Johnson required surgery on his eye, and in this article Johnson reveals the extent of the damage done by Burns' finger:
This fight and its aftermath raises a ton of questions. Among them:
1. How in the world did Burns get cleared to fight by the Nevada State Athletic Comission when he was unable to make a closed fist with his left hand?
2. How in the world did Burns get cleared to fight by the UFC when he was unable to make a closed fist with his left hand?
3. In training for the fight, did Burns poke his sparring partners in the eye(s)? If so, why did he not disclose this injury and drop out of his scheduled fight with Johnson?
4. After Burns poked Johnson in the eye the final time, and the ref mistakenly declared a TKO for Burns, why couldn't one of the judges, or someone else with the UFC tell the ref what had happened, had him watch the replay, and change his ruling from a TKO to a DQ? The fight was already stopped at this point, and it seems unfair and inefficient that the ref's first ruling sticks no matter what. I mean, it was obvious to everyone as soon as they saw the first replay what had actually happened.
Fortunately the damage to Johnson's eye does not appear to be permanent. I sincerely hope that the UFC, other MMA organizations, and the various state athletic commissions take this opportunity to reexamine all of their relevant policies and take every possible step to ensure that this kind of thing does not happen again. One last thing: Johnson handled this entire ordeal with nothing but class, and has earned himself a ton of respect and new fans. I look forward to his return to the UFC.
UFC 87: Seek and Destroy
This past weekend the UFC broadcast a PPV featuring some big match-ups. Cheick Kongo fought for the first time since his loss to Heath Herring, facing Dan Evensen. Kongo won pretty easily, although I don't understand at all why Kongo kept taking the fight to the ground. I assume Kongo is still focusing training on his ground game, shoring up the weak leak in his skill set. Ground skills, while necessary for any well-rounded MMA fighter, are not his strength and I think Kongo would be best served if he tried to keep his fights standing until that proved ineffective, and then he could use his ground game as a back-up plan.
The Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta fight was kind of a disappointment in that it seemed like Huerta didn't want to be there. It was Huerta's first fight in 8 months, so maybe that had something to do with it. If now Florian gets to face lightweight champ B.J. Penn, I think Penn would win pretty easily.
The fight between TUF 6 competitors Rob Emerson and Manny Gamburyan was another blink and you missed it fight, and it was awesome to see Emerson score the KO like that.
The co-main event fight between Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring got off to an interesting start as when the fighters approached the center of the octagon before the fight the referee accidentally poked Herring in the eye. Even though Herring is a jiu-jitsu specialist, he was no match against Lesnar's wrestling and size (according to the announcers, he requires specially made XXXL gloves). While Lesnar dominated the entire fight, it would have been more impressive if he could have finished it. I read one analyst who thought Lesnar kept the fight going just trying to get experience in the octagon. In any event, I think this fight showed that Lesnar has the potential to one day be a serious contender in the heavyweight division.
The main event between Georges St. Pierre and Jon Fitch was surprising. Not that St. Pierre won, which I thought was a given, but that Fitch lasted all 5 rounds. I've been very impressed with Fitch in every fight of his that I've seen, but I still didn't think he had much of a chance against St. Pierre. His lasting 5 rounds is all the more impressive considering he took some very damaging punches in the first round (probably a 10-8 round for St. Pierre), and then probably narrowly won the 2nd round. While St. Pierre easily won rounds 3, 4, and 5, his sticking in there for the full 25 minutes was quite an accomplishment. Still, I'm not sure exactly what exactly he could work on in order to be more competitive if he were to get a rematch, besides of course land a lucky punch like Matt Serra did.
After the fight there was talk of a rematch between St. Pierre and Penn, who now fights at 155. While I think Penn could easily dominate the 155 division for the next few years, I don't know how much of a chance he'd have against Penn. St. Pierre's ground game has improved dramatically since their first match up, so it would be hard to imagine Penn submitting him. Also, even after Penn's impressive TKO victory against Sean Sherk, GSP's striking seems superior, so I think he'd have the stand-up advantage as well. That said, Penn seems to have rededicated himself to fighting since moving to lightweight, so I'm sure Penn would make it a good fight.
The UFC countered this event with their own Fight Night 14, which aired for free on Spike. I thought this card was much more exciting than the Affliction card. The fight between TUF 7 competitors C.B. Dollaway and Jesse Taylor ended with a submission that I'd never seen before, called the peruvian necktie. The main event between Silva and Irvin was exactly what I expected, a quick and impressive victory for Silva.
By far the most controversial and notable fight was the one between Anthony Johnson and Kevin Burns. I first saw Johnson fight on the previous UFC Fight Night, where he quickly defeated TUF 6 finalist Tommy Speer, who is certainly no slouch. I was very impressed with Johnson's speed and aggressiveness. In his fight against Burns, Johnson was dominating until the middle of the third round when Burns poked Johnson in the eye with his finger, sending Johnson to the mat screaming in pain. Before this, Burns had poked Johnson in the eye several times, and had received a warning from the ref. This time however, the ref missed the poke, and thinking Burns had sent Johnson to the mat with a punch, declared the fight over and gave Burns a TKO victory. Eye pokes are of course illegal in MMA, and the result of the fight should have been a disqualification for Burns. Johnson has appealed the decision, and while I don't know anything about the appeal process, I would expect a quick judgment in Johnson's favor when the appeal is considered. In his post fight interview Burns said he had injured his hand some time ago and since then has not been able to make a closed fist with his left hand, forcing him to leave it open whenever he throws it.
After the fight Johnson required surgery on his eye, and in this article Johnson reveals the extent of the damage done by Burns' finger:
My retina was damaged, possibly detached, and the laceration was pretty long. It was basically from one end of my eye to the other. They did laser surgery that took about two hours, put some stitches on it basically.
This fight and its aftermath raises a ton of questions. Among them:
1. How in the world did Burns get cleared to fight by the Nevada State Athletic Comission when he was unable to make a closed fist with his left hand?
2. How in the world did Burns get cleared to fight by the UFC when he was unable to make a closed fist with his left hand?
3. In training for the fight, did Burns poke his sparring partners in the eye(s)? If so, why did he not disclose this injury and drop out of his scheduled fight with Johnson?
4. After Burns poked Johnson in the eye the final time, and the ref mistakenly declared a TKO for Burns, why couldn't one of the judges, or someone else with the UFC tell the ref what had happened, had him watch the replay, and change his ruling from a TKO to a DQ? The fight was already stopped at this point, and it seems unfair and inefficient that the ref's first ruling sticks no matter what. I mean, it was obvious to everyone as soon as they saw the first replay what had actually happened.
Fortunately the damage to Johnson's eye does not appear to be permanent. I sincerely hope that the UFC, other MMA organizations, and the various state athletic commissions take this opportunity to reexamine all of their relevant policies and take every possible step to ensure that this kind of thing does not happen again. One last thing: Johnson handled this entire ordeal with nothing but class, and has earned himself a ton of respect and new fans. I look forward to his return to the UFC.
UFC 87: Seek and Destroy
This past weekend the UFC broadcast a PPV featuring some big match-ups. Cheick Kongo fought for the first time since his loss to Heath Herring, facing Dan Evensen. Kongo won pretty easily, although I don't understand at all why Kongo kept taking the fight to the ground. I assume Kongo is still focusing training on his ground game, shoring up the weak leak in his skill set. Ground skills, while necessary for any well-rounded MMA fighter, are not his strength and I think Kongo would be best served if he tried to keep his fights standing until that proved ineffective, and then he could use his ground game as a back-up plan.
The Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta fight was kind of a disappointment in that it seemed like Huerta didn't want to be there. It was Huerta's first fight in 8 months, so maybe that had something to do with it. If now Florian gets to face lightweight champ B.J. Penn, I think Penn would win pretty easily.
The fight between TUF 6 competitors Rob Emerson and Manny Gamburyan was another blink and you missed it fight, and it was awesome to see Emerson score the KO like that.
The co-main event fight between Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring got off to an interesting start as when the fighters approached the center of the octagon before the fight the referee accidentally poked Herring in the eye. Even though Herring is a jiu-jitsu specialist, he was no match against Lesnar's wrestling and size (according to the announcers, he requires specially made XXXL gloves). While Lesnar dominated the entire fight, it would have been more impressive if he could have finished it. I read one analyst who thought Lesnar kept the fight going just trying to get experience in the octagon. In any event, I think this fight showed that Lesnar has the potential to one day be a serious contender in the heavyweight division.
The main event between Georges St. Pierre and Jon Fitch was surprising. Not that St. Pierre won, which I thought was a given, but that Fitch lasted all 5 rounds. I've been very impressed with Fitch in every fight of his that I've seen, but I still didn't think he had much of a chance against St. Pierre. His lasting 5 rounds is all the more impressive considering he took some very damaging punches in the first round (probably a 10-8 round for St. Pierre), and then probably narrowly won the 2nd round. While St. Pierre easily won rounds 3, 4, and 5, his sticking in there for the full 25 minutes was quite an accomplishment. Still, I'm not sure exactly what exactly he could work on in order to be more competitive if he were to get a rematch, besides of course land a lucky punch like Matt Serra did.
After the fight there was talk of a rematch between St. Pierre and Penn, who now fights at 155. While I think Penn could easily dominate the 155 division for the next few years, I don't know how much of a chance he'd have against Penn. St. Pierre's ground game has improved dramatically since their first match up, so it would be hard to imagine Penn submitting him. Also, even after Penn's impressive TKO victory against Sean Sherk, GSP's striking seems superior, so I think he'd have the stand-up advantage as well. That said, Penn seems to have rededicated himself to fighting since moving to lightweight, so I'm sure Penn would make it a good fight.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Bill Moyers Journal: Capitol Crimes
Friday night on Bill Moyers Journal they re-aired their 2006 report about the corruption network involving, among others, Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed, Grover Norquist, and Tom DeLay.
The program can currently be viewed online here:
Bill Moyers Journal: Capitol Crimes
In addition, at the very end of the broadcast (Part IV online) there's a brief update with developments since the original report aired, and a more thorough update is posted on their website, here.
It's harrowing to be reminded of all the dirty dealings that have gone on, but it's somewhat comforting to know that some of those involved are now getting their just deserts for their crimes.
The program can currently be viewed online here:
Bill Moyers Journal: Capitol Crimes
In addition, at the very end of the broadcast (Part IV online) there's a brief update with developments since the original report aired, and a more thorough update is posted on their website, here.
It's harrowing to be reminded of all the dirty dealings that have gone on, but it's somewhat comforting to know that some of those involved are now getting their just deserts for their crimes.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Rant
The past couple years I haven't been reading as many books as I used to or would like to.
Having more free time than I usually do, this weekend I read Rant: An Oral History Of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk.
For a while he was probably my favorite author.
Fight Club was great.
Survivor was even better.
Invisible Monsters was also very good.
Choke, I thought, was awful. (Although the upcoming movie does look pretty good.)
Lullaby was a little bit better, but still not good.
Diary, I remember almost nothing about.
Haunted, that one was like 2 books, one that started good but got worse as it went along, the other the opposite, starting bad but getting better, and ending up pretty good.
Somewhere in the middle of those there were the 2 non-fiction books, Fugitives And Refugees, which was very interesting, and Stranger Than Fiction, which was decent.
Based on my lower opinion of his last 4 fiction books, I didn't tear into Rant as soon as I got my hands on it.
I just checked, and it was released over a year ago.
So how does Rant compare to the rest of the books by Palahniuk?
Well, two days ago, I would have said Survivor was my favorite Palahniuk book.
Today, that's no longer true.
It's been probably 8 years since I read Survivor, and I'm sure my memories of it have been altered with time, with enhanced memories of the great parts and diminished recollection of the not so great parts.
Rant, I can say with it completely fresh in mind and unaltered by memory, was fantastic. The first 20 pages or so were confusing, but then it becomes a real page turner for 100 pages or so. It slows down considerably with a couple chapters that change everything. After those chapters it picks up again straight through the end. About 1/4 of the way through I thought figured out one big part of the twist, and about 1/2 way through I was certain of it, although I didn't have a clue about the mechanism. I was pretty close about the big idea, but nowhere close in the details or scope. Anyway, I'll have to read it again before too long to see everything I missed, and also try to figure out a few things I'm still unsure about.
After finishing it, I looked it up on Amazon to see what kind of reviews it got there, and they were mixed, leaning slightly to the positive side. Here's an excerpt from one of the reviews, which I thought was hilarious:
"This was the first Chuck Palahniuk book I read.
I read it in audio format, which I think really added to the book because you get to hear all the different voices."
--K. W. Bennink
Anyway, I think I'll read Snuff next weekend. From the synopsis and (spoiler-free) reviews I've read it doesn't sound too great, but we'll see.
eta: From wikipedia:
Hell yeah!
Having more free time than I usually do, this weekend I read Rant: An Oral History Of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk.
For a while he was probably my favorite author.
Fight Club was great.
Survivor was even better.
Invisible Monsters was also very good.
Choke, I thought, was awful. (Although the upcoming movie does look pretty good.)
Lullaby was a little bit better, but still not good.
Diary, I remember almost nothing about.
Haunted, that one was like 2 books, one that started good but got worse as it went along, the other the opposite, starting bad but getting better, and ending up pretty good.
Somewhere in the middle of those there were the 2 non-fiction books, Fugitives And Refugees, which was very interesting, and Stranger Than Fiction, which was decent.
Based on my lower opinion of his last 4 fiction books, I didn't tear into Rant as soon as I got my hands on it.
I just checked, and it was released over a year ago.
So how does Rant compare to the rest of the books by Palahniuk?
Well, two days ago, I would have said Survivor was my favorite Palahniuk book.
Today, that's no longer true.
It's been probably 8 years since I read Survivor, and I'm sure my memories of it have been altered with time, with enhanced memories of the great parts and diminished recollection of the not so great parts.
Rant, I can say with it completely fresh in mind and unaltered by memory, was fantastic. The first 20 pages or so were confusing, but then it becomes a real page turner for 100 pages or so. It slows down considerably with a couple chapters that change everything. After those chapters it picks up again straight through the end. About 1/4 of the way through I thought figured out one big part of the twist, and about 1/2 way through I was certain of it, although I didn't have a clue about the mechanism. I was pretty close about the big idea, but nowhere close in the details or scope. Anyway, I'll have to read it again before too long to see everything I missed, and also try to figure out a few things I'm still unsure about.
After finishing it, I looked it up on Amazon to see what kind of reviews it got there, and they were mixed, leaning slightly to the positive side. Here's an excerpt from one of the reviews, which I thought was hilarious:
"This was the first Chuck Palahniuk book I read.
I read it in audio format, which I think really added to the book because you get to hear all the different voices."
--K. W. Bennink
Anyway, I think I'll read Snuff next weekend. From the synopsis and (spoiler-free) reviews I've read it doesn't sound too great, but we'll see.
eta: From wikipedia:
During his "Rant 2007" tour, Palahniuk has indicated that he will continue to write two more books based on Rant, to be released tentatively in 2011 and 2013 but also stated that he will be writing other books in between, with his next to be titled Snuff. [3]
Hell yeah!
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