Thursday, June 08, 2006
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Haymaker
Haymaker
![](http://www.newhumanist.org.uk/images/0409/haymaker.jpg)
You are one of life’s enjoyers, determined to get the most you can out of your brief spell on Earth. Probably what first attracted you to atheism was the prospect of liberation from the Ten Commandments, few of which are compatible with a life of pleasure. You play hard and work quite hard, have a strong sense of loyalty and a relaxed but consistent approach to your philosophy.
You can’t see the point of abstract principles and probably wouldn’t lay down your life for a concept though you might for a friend. Something of a champagne humanist, you admire George Bernard Shaw for his cheerful agnosticism and pursuit of sensual rewards and your Hollywood hero is Marlon Brando, who was beautiful, irascible and aimed for goodness in his own tortured way.
Sometimes you might be tempted to allow your own pleasures to take precedence over your ethics. But everyone is striving for that elusive balance between the good and the happy life. You’d probably open another bottle and say there’s no contest.
What kind of humanist are you? Click here to find out.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Friday, June 10, 2005
The perfect wedding rings?
I considered this idea for wedding rings for, ooh, about two tenths of a second. Think I'd prefer white gold for ours!
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Rings of bone grown for couples
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Update!
I'm crap at keeping this up to date!! Anyway, i read a few more books last year and this is the list of what I've read so far in 2005:
[scroll down - not sure why there's this huge gap, can't get rid of it!!]
Books read in 2005 | ||||||
No. | F or NF | Book title | Author | Source | Comment | Score out of 10 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | F | I Like This Poem | ed. Kaye Webb | BC loan | Took me back to my childhood! Great poems, not just for kids. | 8/10 |
2 | F | Enigma | Robert Harris | BC ring | Slow starter , reeled me in, race to the finish. Good! | 7/10 |
3 | NF | Asperger Syndrome and Difficult Moments | Myles & Southwick | BC loan | Recognised my son's autistic traits, useful info. | 7/10 |
4 | NF | The spirit catches you and you fall down | Anne Fadiman | BC ray | Fascinating look at the Hmong culture, interlaced with a child's fight for life. | 8/10 |
5 | F | The Chocolate Run | Dorothy Koomson | BC | Heartwarming tale of love, relationships and chocolate. Made me cry! | 8/10 |
6 | NF | Last Chance to See | Douglas Adams | BC RABCK | Douglas Adams and amazing animals. What more could you want from a book? | 10/10 |
7 | NF | The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly | Jean-Dominique Bauby | BC | Interesting observations of a man trapped by paralysis. | 7/10 |
8 | F | Disturbia | Christopher Fowler | BC | Secret societies and puzzles in late night London. A bit disappointing. | 6/10 |
9 | NF | A Decade of I-Deas: encyclopedia of the 80s | ed. John Godfrey | BC | Check the entry to see how I define myself in the 80s! Good bathroom read. | 7/10 |
10 | F | The Lovely Bones | Alice Sebold | Mine | Lived up to the hype! A family's recovery from a tragedy and an interesting view of heaven. | 8/10 |
11 | NF | The best democracy money can buy | Greg Palast | BC ring | Globalisation exposes - done before and done far better. | 4/10 |
12 | F | My Sister's Keeper | Jodi Picoult | BC ring | Fantastic novel about a family in an impossible position. | 9/10 |
13 | F | The Bad Mother's Handbook | Kate Long | BC ring | Warm novel about three generations of women. | 8/10 |
14 | NF | Hard Work: life in Low-Pay Britain | Polly Toynbee | PC | Investigative report into the struggle to live on a minimum wage. | 8/10 |
15 | F | Virtual Strangers | Lynne Barrett-Lee | RABCK | Enjoyable chick lit about a cyber romance. | 7/10 |
16 | NF | Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader | Anne Fadiman | BC ring | A few interesting essays but ultimately too technical! | 6/10 |
17 | F | Flood | Richard Doyle | BC ring | Believable horror scenario - London flooded and on fire - but way too long. | 6/10 |
18 | NF | Nickel and Dimed | Barbara Ehrenreich | PC | Similar to #14 - but low-pay work is even harder in the US. | 8/10 |
19 | NF | Fragments: memoirs of a childhood 1939-1948 | Binjamin Wilkomirskih | BC Ring | Amazing, horrific memoir of a child's fight for survival in the Polish death camps. | 10/10 |
20 | F | Old School Ties | Kate Harrison | BC Ring | A school bully reunites with her victims. Good fun read with a serious undercurrent. | 8/10 |
21 | NF | Scenes from a Smallholding | Chas Griffin | BC Ring | Entertaining anecdotes of life on a small organic farm; a little bit repetitive. | 7/10 |
22 | NF | True Tales of American Life | Paul Auster | BC Ring | Hated this :0( stories with no punchline. | 3/10 |
23 | NF | The Devil in the White City | Erik Larson | BC Ring | Unusual novel based on facts about murder and an amazing world fair. | 8/10 |
24 | NF | Expecting Adam | Martha Beck | BC Ring | Life-affirming account of a woman's pregnancy with a Down baby. | 8/10 |
25 | NF | Maverick! | Ricardo Semler | BC Ring | A business with very unusual workplace ethics. Interesting but dull. | 6/10 |
26 | F | Just One Look | Harlan Coben | PC | Great thriller with loads of twists! | 9/10 |
27 | NF | Marching to a Different Tune: Diary About an ADHD Boy | Jacky Fletcher | PC | Interesting but doesn't go deep enough - and too many exclamation marks!!!!!! | 6/10 |
28 | NF | Dogme Uncut | Jack Stevenson | Library book | Read for college but an interesting look at a lesser known cinematic style. | 7/10 |
29 | NF | Let Me Go: My Mother and the SS | Helga Schneider | BC ring | Fascinating and frightening account of the fnal meeting between a woman and her Nazi mother. | 9/10 |
30 | F | Ladies of Letters Log On | Carole Hayman & Lou Wakefield | BC ring | Mildly amusing but joke wore off. | 6/10 |
31 | F | Hotel World | Ali Smith | BC NSS | Beautiful novel about five women and a tragedy that touches them all.. | 10/10 |
32 | F | The Way I Found Her | Rose Tremain | BC Ring | A thrilling mystery, love story and coming-of-age novel in one - beautifully written. | 9/10 |
33 | F | The Christmas Mystery | Jostein Gaarder | BC | Gaarder's own retelling of the nativity story, very simple. | 6/10 |
Friday, November 12, 2004
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Reached my half century!
#50 Geek Love
BC Ring
5/5
Excellent book to bring me to my half century - fascinating and revolting at the same time.
#51 C is for Corpse - Sue Grafton
BC Ring
4/5
Enjoyed, didn't guess whodunnit at all!