Let us know so we can check out the good and avoid the bad:thumb:

A Tale of Two Sisters (Asain Horror)

Everyone if you are looking for a great horror/thriller movie then check this one out! It is subtitled so I don't know if you all mind that but I didn't mind it and it actually kept me watching the movie. The beginning is very difficult to follow but hang in there because as it goes on it all comes together. It has a couple of twist which one of them was easy to figure out, however the others were buried in there very well! I don't want to get too much into the plot because I don't want to give anything away! Again though if you are into horror movies then give this one a try.

Mike

Thanks i will check that one out :thumb:

The Hills Have Eyes (2006) Unrated Version

Ladies and Gents if you are into violence, excessive gore, and a good story line then this one is a winner for you!

The first scene is just the tip of the iceburg for gore and violence throughout this well put together remake. Normally I go into these remakes with a chip on my shoulder because they always seem to not do the original justice. However don't go in to this movie with the same attitude I had! I had to watch it again to make sure I absorbed all the details and changes that were made from the original to now. Acting in the movie was superb and I don't think they tried to "outclass" the original just match it and you can tell! They did an outstanding job on this movie!

Plot: Vacationing family gets trapped in the desert where "nuclear" experiments were thought to have taken place.

Guys I give it 3 thumbs up......(I am a nuclear freak that is why I have 3 thumbs LOL)

Mike

I have seen the original it scared the crap out of me. lol.. Another to check out cool:thumb:

I have just been watching the Shawshank Redemption what a film that is, I know its an old one but for them that haven't seen it i think its one of the best ..... 5 stars

Fascinating insight into Jimmy Pages work on the Lucifer's Rising soundtrack in this months Classic Rock Mag , check it out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i agree with linde . shawshank is one of my favorite movies. linda did you like the green mile? another one of my favorites

I have seen the original it scared the crap out of me. lol.. Another to check out cool:thumb:

I have just been watching the Shawshank Redemption what a film that is, I know its an old one but for them that haven't seen it i think its one of the best ..... 5 stars

The Shawshank Redemption was a great Movie! One of my favorites!:thumb:

i agree with linde . shawshank is one of my favorite movies. linda did you like the green mile? another one of my favoritesYes great film... I also love A film called Leon with (JEAN RENO )also called the professional Jean Reno is one of my fav actors :thumb:

this is another good movie old it was out in the 80s but still spooks you


The Changeling :Quote >George C. Scott plays John, a famous pianist and composer who has lost his wife and young daughter in a freak car accident. Grief stricken and heartbroken, he moves to Washington state and rents a wonderful old Gothic mansion. Surprise surprise! It's haunted.

This movie has everything. Dark, spooky stairways draped with dusty cobwebs, a boarded up room with a terrible secret, a shadowy seance scene, ghostly voices and frightening noises that echo through the huge house, political intrigue and a very solid looking ghost who scares the absolute hell out of anyone he shows himself to. It boasts a well thought out plot with several great twists and a very angry murder victim, who doesn't want to be at peace - he just wants revenge, and boy does he get it.
I was hid behind a cushion lol

In the last 3 months:-

Best films - The Terminal (Tom Hanks) and Saw

Best CD - In Your Honour (Foo Fighters)

Best book - Scar Tissue (Anthony Kiedis)

Anyone seen Final Destination 3 yet? Any good?

yes i saw final destination 3 the other night. if you liked the series you will like this one too. i may never go on a rollercoaster again. i liked the first one and loved the second one. although it isn't nearly as good as the others its still entertaining and keeps your attention. the basic plot is the same and a few people get killed in nasty ways except now you know it is going to happen and they don't try and cheat death. the second one is still my favorite

I don´t know if any of you are familiar with a BBC series from the late seventies named "World at War" dealing with the WWII, but I recently grabbed the DVD collection, and what a lesson of history guys. I remember watching a few chapters back in the day, but as a kid I mostly was interested in the battles and military info on it, but watching it again nowadays I really learned a lot more of how all the social-political world was like only 70 years ago. It is an amazing documentary, with a very well constructed description of the time with many interviews recorded with living (at the moment it was made) historical characters. BBC´s documentaries are always great. Check it out if you like modern history.
Another one real interesting is "The fog of war". Robert McNamara´s view of the most cold days of the cold war, in which he personally took part in some of the most bizarre decisions while with JFK, all detailed by himself.

If you can track down "Chopper" (http://www.iblist.com/book39377.htm) by Peter Cave , give it a read . It was cult around town in the early 70s. Most pupils in class wanted to use it in the English sylabus . As you can tell by the title its about Hells Angels in London , and the adventures they have rampaging around Southern England trashing Fairgrounds and having skirmishes with Skin Heads and with other Bikers . and it has a great ending .

Check it out .

http://www.iblist.com/book39377.htm

For those that haven't seen it Ronin is a great film. Great cast, good plot, fantastic location. Very gritty. Also, one of the best car chases ever! If you like an inteligent thriller rather than a 'bangs and flashes' action thriller put this at the top of you list.

Must be honest looking at the current output from major film distributors there seems to be a serious shortage of good writers . "Snakes on a plane "?gimme a break , my 4 years old granddaughter could write a better plot , and the other day i saw a hideous preview of a movie tracing the British royal family :tard: !! , hells bells bring back Russ Meyer .....:boobies:

If any of you guys want a great book to read check out Dune, its a old one but still a fantastic read.
There alot of others which follow on from them, can't say ive read them but ive been told there not as good as the original:thumb:

ooops.

hells bells bring back Russ Meyer .....:boobies:

:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

I cant wait to read the new Blackmore book . Although its written by a die hard Coverdale fan , its apparently unbiased and true to reality .

If any of you guys want a great book to read check out Dune, its a old one but still a fantastic read.
There alot of others which follow on from them, can't say ive read them but ive been told there not as good as the original:thumb:

The first three are usually considered pretty good and many consider Children of Dune to be the last in the saga. They continue the story of Muadib and his children. The fourth takes place many hundreds of years after Children of Dune and is about Leo, Paul's son (I don't want to give away plot points as to why he lives to be several hundred years old). The fourth only has two of the original characters in it...Duncan and Leo (yeah, Duncan is dead but he sort of comes back in the next book).

After that things change. Later books have little in common with the first three. The only constant character is actually the dead (as of the end of Dune) Duncan....he is in every book after the second. Some of the houses remain and some of the Guilds. These later books get kind of wierd. Not everyone likes them. A lot of philisophical and political discussions instead of a lot of action and such. Still, they are continuations of the universe and I think they are worth reading.

The Pre-Dune books are quite good as well. I've read the first two of the machine wars trillogy (in which the Harkonens are the good guys believe it or not) and have been waiting for the third to be on the shelf at the bookstore again. I've also read House Atredies, which is about Leo Atredies (Paul's dad, not his son) as he is growing up and coming into power as a Duke.

Frank got kind of political in his later writings but his son is fresh. His books are full of action and intregue while also containing some of the philisophical and political discussion his father got into. A lot of the machine wars trillogy has to do with the way people use religion to further their aims. Part two is very sad...the Atredies and Harkonens are good friends and Xavier makes quite a sacrifice for the people and Atredies has to keep the true nature of his friend secret, which would be quite hard for a friend to do. I think the third is also going to be quite sad to find out how the Atredies and Harkonens become mortal enemies.

this is another good movie old it was out in the 80s but still spooks you


The Changeling :Quote >George C. Scott plays John, a famous pianist and composer who has lost his wife and young daughter in a freak car accident. Grief stricken and heartbroken, he moves to Washington state and rents a wonderful old Gothic mansion. Surprise surprise! It's haunted.

This movie has everything. Dark, spooky stairways draped with dusty cobwebs, a boarded up room with a terrible secret, a shadowy seance scene, ghostly voices and frightening noises that echo through the huge house, political intrigue and a very solid looking ghost who scares the absolute hell out of anyone he shows himself to. It boasts a well thought out plot with several great twists and a very angry murder victim, who doesn't want to be at peace - he just wants revenge, and boy does he get it.
I was hid behind a cushion lol

I love the old horrors that had to scare you with plot instead of gross or shocking mutilations and special effects. Some of the scariest movies ever are black and white.

Another great ghost story from that era is "The Haunting of Julia". A young girl dies while choking and her mom's failed attempt at a traciotomy. The mom continues seing her young daughter, or so she thinks. Turns out to be an evil spirit that was at one time a young girl. Never really answer wether the daughter and this spirit are the same that I recall but it's pretty scary.

Another is the man who believes he is being chased by the Devil in the form of a little girl in a yellow dress tossing a ball. Don't recall the name of that one.

Great books:

SciFi:
* The moon is a harsh mistress
* Starship Troopers
* Dune (and all related books)
* Venus (Ben Bova)
* Anything by Greg Bear (esp. Forge of God)

Fantasy/Horror:
* Anything by Terry Brooks
* Vampire novels by Ann Rice (although they can get a little homoerotic at times)
* Songs of Earth and Power by Greg Bear
* Dead Lines by Greg Bear
* Anne McCafery
* The Tallisman - King and Straub
* The turn of the screw

Suspense/Intregue:
* The Bourne XXXX: nothing at all like the movies, not even remotely related plot wise.
* Hunt for Red October: actually the movie does this one decent.

History/Politics
* In the Name of National Security: Unchecked Presidential Power And the Reynolds Case
* Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust
* On Bullshit - Harry Frankfurt

I won't list all the good computer science and programming books I've read :P

Awesome movie, I just finished downloading the extended version. Can´t wait to watch it! One of those three hours stuck in the couch movies, but no romantic stuff in it, if ya know what I mean, :lol: . I read the book a few years ago, and man, what a great example of the joy of life. Beware, it´s a sub movie, lol!
Edit:Awe man I´m gonna re-read this book again! Awesome movie, REAL life issues to the bone well described, all in a war movie.

The Beatles Anthology . ........................ Amazing !

Awesome movie, I just finished downloading the extended version. Can´t wait to watch it! One of those three hours stuck in the couch movies, but no romantic stuff in it, if ya know what I mean, :lol: . I read the book a few years ago, and man, what a great example of the joy of life. Beware, it´s a sub movie, lol!
Edit:Awe man I´m gonna re-read this book again! Awesome movie, REAL life issues to the bone well described, all in a war movie.

It is a good movie. I don't know what the extended version is, but the director's cut is like 5 hours long. That is the really good one that really brings you into their feelings of desparation and boredom.

It's not just A sub movie...it's the best ever done.

Another great Greg Bear book. A great storm of psychic energy causes people to go ape-shit and kill each other along it's path of destruction through the US. Where did it come from? What is it's purpose (it definately seems to have some malignant design to its actions)? The answer to these questions is both surprising and terrifying. Psychics across the country hear its cries and start going crazy...memories of US POWs in a city on fire and a screaming torrent of rage that none can stand against.

As it grows in strength it is able to cause more and more destruction until eventually it is able to posess those it destroys. The dead walk and souls are devoured. Can it ever be stopped? At what cost?

Sometimes the price of war is much greater than anyone can realize.

Early in the 1800's, during Jefferson's presidancy, a country of pirates pretty much ran the Mediterranean. Any country that wanted to do trade in the area either payed tribute to these pirates or was constantly fighting with them to avoid being attacked, plundered, and sold as slaves. The US was still rather young and at the time we became independant from Britain we lost the protection their tribute bought us. It was US policy to pay tribute to these "terrorists" in order to be able to trade in the area.

President Jefferson never really liked the tribute and really felt we should fight these pirates and be done with it. Then one day a captain aboard a US naval ship decided to attack one of these Barbary Pirates and gave chase to a small ship off the coast of Tripoly. He got too close and being a much larger vesel was lured into beaching himself on a coral reef. Several ships left the harbor of Tripoly to attack the now beached enemy but kept their distance because she was a much larger ship and still had her canons at the ready. So they shot from afar and never once hit this vesel.

After a short amount of time and some effort to unbeach his vessel the captain unconditionally surrendered his ship and his crew at the mercy of these pirates. They where of course captured and enslaved but even then...after a few hours when tide came up the pirates now had a fully functioning US naval warship...one of our best. Had they just fought for one day they could have freed her themselves and been on their way.

President Jefferson was not happy about this (he hadn't heard about the preemptive surrender yet) and sent one man, William Eaton, and 8 marines to infiltrate Tripoly with the stated purpose to overthrow the government there with the help of rebel forces (the "king's" brother and supporters). This would coincide with other attacks elsewhere including the burning at sea of the captured US ship. Thus began the first war, and the first covert op, in our nation's history.

This book is that story. Full of action and intregue...and it's a true story.

This will most definately fall into the Easy Listening category .. maybe even COUNTRY/FOLK!!! :)

Really impressed by this guy. http://www.raylamontagne.com/

I have finally got his debut "Trouble" and it is beautiful. Lovely production and superb arrangements which is a little hard to say because I don't really like Ethan Johns production usually.

It is the settings for the songs which impress me. Very much a real instrument lp with lovely earthy and woody tones - everything is low key except for How Come (probably the weakest song on the CD.) And the voice!! It is heart breaking from start to finish. Vunerable and Strong in equal measures. He is probably the most impressive singer songwriter I have I heard in years. The title track chorus is almost alarming in the way he howls out "trouble" - starting down a semitone and forcing it into key before resolving on almost a whisper. I read that he sounds like Van Morrison - but to me it is more like a really blue Otis Redding.

Track 2 "Shelter" is the highlight for me - the tempo change down on the chorus is sublime and makes the song sound like a classic on the first couple of listens.

The rest of the CD is impressive. Jolene is obviously autobiographical and all the more heartbreaking as a result. In fact there are 2 songs named after women on here and both are desolate and affecting.

The only downside is How Come - which is odd because it is the only time things get a little upbeat. It is out of place and the lyric is a little weak compared to the rest of the CD. His heart is in the right place but it sounds like a clumsy anti war song ... probably because it is.

Anyway a great cd and well worth the purchase (or a p2p download :))

Iron Maiden - A matter of life and death

Although the lyrics don't always have the raw intensity they used to and their music is much more symphonic than heavy this CD is pretty good. I've not liked a lot of Iron Maiden's more modern music; of course it is always very good from a technical and musical perspective, it just hasn't spoken to me on the same level as records like Piece of Mind or Somewhere in Time.

There is some of that with this one, but there are many VERY good songs on this CD. Songs like Legacy, Different World, Brighter Than a Thousand Suns, and The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg remind me of what I liked in Iron Maiden. Yeah, the style has changed but damn if they aren't still the greatest metal band ever.

On a side note...you guys think Dickenson is looking more and more like Eddie the older he gets?

War makes the world understandable, a black and white tableau of them and us. It suspends thought, especially self-critical thought. All bow before the supreme effort. We are one. Most of us willingly accept war as long as we can fold it into a belief system that paints the ensuing suffering as necessary for a higher good, for human beings seek not only happiness but also meaning. And tragically war is sometimes the most powerful way in human society to achieve meaning.

I'm just on chapter three but having trouble putting it down even as my eyelids grow heavy and I know I need to work tomarro. Written by a long time war correspondent who has seen a lifetime of action throughout the world and knows first hand the brutality and too often meaninglessness of war. Very powerful speaker. Not everything is always agreable but his words have wisdom and his meaning very profound and material in today's context. Just what I've read so far...it's well worth the $14.

One reason this book speaks to me is his use of addiction metaphor, which seems appropriate as he relates it. As a one time heavy drug user I understand this metaphor from the inside. There are times when I wonder if he still clings to this addiction as most addicts do:

And yet, despite all this, I am not a pacifist... Even as I detest the pestilence that is war and fear its deadly addiction, even as I see it lead states and groups toward self-immolation, even as I concede that it is war that has left millions of dead and maimed across the planet, I, like most reporters in Sarajevo and Kosova, desperately hoped for armed intervention. The poison that is war does not free us from the ethics of responsibility. There are times when we must take this poison -- just as a person with cancer accepts chemotherapy to live....This book is not a call for inaction. It is a call for repentance.

TOC:

* The Myth of War
* The Plague of Nationalism
* The Destruction of Culture
* The Seduction of Battle and the Perversion of War
* The Hijacking and Recovery of Memory
* The Cause
* Eros and Thanatos

Well I've got a list of movies people should check out for various reasons, so I'll try and keep it down a bit...Im a bit of a movie buff I love my movies, and Im in the process of setting up the perfect surround sound system in my room, thinking of upgrading my standard 26" TV to a 50-odd" projector screen too :D So...

Children Of Men - Clive Owen/Michael Kaine

Great movie just released last year. The year 2027 and the youngest person in the world has just been killed at 18. All women have become infertile, when Clive Owen's Character has been given the job of protecting a young girl, who he finds has got pregnant through some miracle. He has to keep her alive long enough to have the baby. The performances of Owen and Caine are incredible, along with the new-comer Claire-Hope Ashitey who plays the pregnant girl in the movie.

The Guardian - Kevin Costner/Ashton Kutcher
Alright I know most people hate Ashton Kutcher but this movie is incredible!! Kevin Costener plays a US Coastguard who through a tragedy at sea, becomes a temporary teacher at a school for trainee Coastguards, which is where Kutcher comes in. His charcter is a high-school swimming champion who joins the Coastguards and begins training with Costner and the crew. Again they're performances are brilliant and the story line is great too. A really good watch if your into military style films, and just a good watch in general to be honest.

Saw III - Tobin Bell/Shawnee Smith/Angus Macfadye/Bahar Soomek/Donnie Wahlberg

Im a big fan of the first two 'Saw' movies and gore movies in general. I just love them (which worries my girlfriend somewhat :wtf: lol). BUt this movie isn't just a gore movie, like the first two movies in the serious, it has a much deeper meaning. Once again Jigsaw is back to play some games, and if that means chopping some people up in the process then so be it eh?!. Well the plot to this is just too much to write in here, but it is an incredible movie and well worth watching!! It does help if you have seen the first two, but its not essential. But go watch this for sure!!

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beggining - Jordana Brewster/Taylor Handley/Diora Baird/Matthew Bomer/Lee Tergesen/R. Lee Ermey/Andrew Bryniarski/Terrence Evans/Kathy Lamkin/Marietta Marich/Cyia Batten/Lew Temple

Quite a cast list I know but its worth it. Im sure everyone has seen the original and maybe the remake too, well this answers a helll of a lot questions and sets out a lot of key parts from the original movie. On one last road trip before they're sent to serve in Vietnam, two brothers and their girlfriends get into an accident that calls their local sheriff to the scene. Thus begins a terrifying experience where the teens are taken to a secluded house of horrors, where a young, would-be killer is being nurtured. The story from there basically goes round each member of the family and shows how it all came to be and gives a background to the Hewit family. A great watch and a great gore movie!!

Well thats all I've got for now, but I have hundreds and hundreds of movies, so when I see some new ones that are worth a shout I'll let ya know!! :rock:

Well i'm not much of a television person nor do i read ....
but i have been checking out hell lotta instructional videos

here's some that i would recommend

.. Vinnie moore : both the hot licks videos are awesome
=========================================
1st one is pretty good for picking exercises and scale fragments and arpeggios
the second one is one of the best explanations that i got on Modes(Theory)
however for proper modes application i would recommend the peter fischer book

.. Paul Gilbers : REH Intense rock sequences
=================================
awesome for licks and ,,, filled with loads of fun as usual

.. John Petrucci : RockDiscipline
========================
Needless to describe this one

.. Paul Gilbert and Marty Friedman Jam ... Young Guitar DVD
=============================================
awesome fun to watch although not very instructional

Now let's review some books
= = = = = = = = = = = = = =

here are a few books that i'd recommend

All tony Stetina books
================
He's an awesome teacher ... wish i had the pleasure of learning from him personally

Peter Ficher : Rock Guitar Secrets
==========================
Great for beginners

More Blues you can Use
==================
this one's a sequel to the book "Blues you can use"
haven't had the oppurtunity to read the first one .... but this one's awesome

Steve Vai 10 hour workout session
==========================
this one's actuall an article from some magazin
but it's really good
his approach on streching and warm-ups is one of the best one's i have seen

Well i'm kinda getting tired of typing now ...
so that's all i got for now

I've been reading Marley and Me it's good pretty funny
also just picked up Eric Clapton's Guitar Fest and that is a really good DVD
I didn't realize leads can be played so well without using your pinky finger
(Eric Johnson- Eric Clapton both use no pinky)

Yeah, many thought Daniel Craig would not make a good Bond, and this isn't the Bond we are used to. This Bond is raw, active. He knows how to fight and take a punch. He is far from clean but he is very effective.

This has to be the best Bond movie ever. Not as part of the Bond genre but as an action and intregue move in general. This movie has a plotline. This movie has fight scenes that are more realistic than any previous bond has attempted. James doesn't come out with a pretty face every time...he comes out bruised, cut, and bloody but can still pull it off with charm and cool ease.

No, Daniel Craig isn't pretty. He's what you might imagine Bond would be like if he was real. An egotistical sociopath with maybe a sliver of morals reigning him in. This Bond doesn't go around in expensive suits all the time getting laid every chance he gets. He jumps in, kicks ass, and gets the job done.

I really enjoyed this movie. The sound in the DVD was a bit off though. I think it is the way they cut in and out with the background music and noises. Bad mixing. But still a great and very entertaining movie with a darker feel than any previous Bond.

.......(Eric Johnson- Eric Clapton both use no pinky).....

EJ uses his pinky all over the place :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL8aeeSTthQ

This is a very important book for anyone who is capable of total rationality to read. Those who are afraid, or otherwise unwilling, to analyze their faith and their beliefs would do well to read it as well but will likely not make it through. It is these people in particular the book is about. I do not agree with everything in it for certain but the general thesis is well reasoned and most obviously true. If you can question your belief system at its very fundamentals you will likely come out the other side very changed. This book, at its heart, is not an attack on God but an attack on faith and it is quite decisive. It is obviously very controversial.

I'll just quote a good piece:


My goal in writing this book has been to help close the door to a certain style of irrationality. While religous faith is one species of human ignorance that will not admit even the possibility of correction, it is still sheltered from criticism in every corner of our culture. Forsaking all valid sourcef of information about this world (both spiritual and mundane), our religiouns have seized upon ancient taboos and prescientific fancies as though they held ultimate metaphysical sifnificance. Books that embrace the narrowest spectrum of political, moral, scientific, and spiritual understanding -- books that, by their antiquity alone, offer us the most dilute wisdom with respect to the present -- are still dogmatically thrust upon us as the final word on matters of the greatest significance. In the best case, faith leaves otherwise well-intentioned people incapable of thinking rationally about many of their depest concerns; at worst, it is a continuous source of human violence. Even now, many of us are motivated not by what we know but by what we are content merely to imagine. Many are still eager to sacrifice happiness, compassion, and justice in this world, for a fantasy of a world to come. These and other degradations awayt us along the well-worn path of piety. Whatever our religious differences may mean for the next life, the have only one terminus in this one -- a future of ignorance and slaughter.

We live in societies that are still constrained by religious laws and threatened by religious violence. What is it about us, and specifically about our discourse with one another, that keeps these astonishing bits of evil loose in our world? We have seen that education and wealth are insufficient guarantors of rationality. Indeed, even in the West, educated men and women still cling to the blood-soaked heirlooms of a previous age. Mitigating this problem is not merely a matter of reining in a minority of religious extremists; it is a matter of finding approaches to ethics and to spiritual experience that make no appeal to faith, and broadcasting this knowledge to everyone.

Of course, one senses that the problem is simply hopeless. What could possibly cause billions of human beings to reconsider their religious beliefs? And yet, it is obvious that an utter revolution in our thinking would be accomplished in a single generation: if parents and teachers would merely give honest answers to the questions of every child. Our doubts about the feasibility of such a project should be tempered by an understanding of its necessity, for there is no reason whatsoever to think that we can survive our religous differences indefinitely.

Imagine what it would be like for our descendants to experience the fall of civilization. Imagine failures of reasonableness so total that our largest bombs finally fall upon our largest cities in defense of our religious differences. What would it be like for the unlucky survivors of such a holocaust to look back on the hurtling career of human stupidity that led them over the precipice? A view from the end of the world would surely find that six billion of us currently alive did much to pave the way to the Apocalypse.


This is from the Epilogue. The real argument is contained in the whole of the book, which must be read to fully appreciate what is being said here. There can be no doubt that religion is destroying the world. There can be no doubt that faith and dogma are the heart of the problem.

I will leave you with two more important pieces:


We do not know what awaits each of us after death, but we know that we will die. Clearly, it must be possible to live ethically -- with a genuine concern for the happiness of other sentient beings -- without presuming to know things about which we are patently ignorant. Consider it: every person you have ever met, every person you will pass in the street today, is going to die. Living long enough, each will suffer the loss of his friends and family. All are going to lose everything they love in this world. Why would one want to be anything but kind to them in the meantime?



The men who committed the atrocities of September 11 were certainly not "cowards," as the were repeatedly described in Western media, nor were they lunatics in any ordinary sense. They were men of faith--perfect faith, as it turns out--and this, it must finally be acknowledged, is a terrible thing to be.

In the early 1930's few people know that while fascism was taking over Europe there was a large trend of fascism here in the US as well. Any time someone argues that fascism is on the rise and we should watch out one very typical response is that, "It Can't Happen Here." In It Can't Happen Here, Sinclair Lewis outlines exactly how it could happen here. Of course, this book, being written in the '30s, uses historical characters from that era and speaks in tones related to the politics at the time. However, it will scare the crap out of you because it mirrors our current age so dramatically.

A Democratic candidate for the presidency uses Christianity and patriotic symbolism to work the croud into fever. He promises the world and everyone is convinced that he's a good old boy that will make good on his word and put a stop to the activism of congress and hystaricy of the "liberal media". His first act on becoming president is to propose a law to congress that gives him ultimate powers in this "time of need" and removes the judicial rules allowing the courts to rule against him. When Congress fails to pass this law he arrests those who voted against it, for their protection, and releases only those that choose to "become rational". When enough members are back out they of course pass this law.

It just goes straight to hell from there. Many have always feared that an American fascism would come, "wrapped in the flag and wearing a cross," and this book expresses that fear. The terrifying reality is that this is precisely what we have in this country right now. Fascism, hiding behind the cross, is becoming stronger every day. This book is as important now as it was then and should be read by everyone. It is the scariest, most realistically and immediately possible satire on totalitarianism you will ever read.



"The tyranny of this dictatorship isn't primarily the fault of Big Business, nor the demagogues who do their dirty work. It's the fault of Doremus Jessup! Of all the conscientious, respectable, lazy-minded Doremus Jessups who have let the deagogues wriggle in, without fierce enough protest.

"A few months ago I thought the slaughter of the Civil War, and the agitation of the violent Abolitionists who helped bring it on, were evil. But possibly they had to be violent, because easy-going citizens like me couldn't be stirred up otherwise. If our grandfathers had had the alertness and courage to see the evils of slavery and of a government conducted by gentlemen for gentlemen only, there wouldn't have been any need of agitators and war and blood.

"It's my sort, the Responsible Citizens who've felt ourselves superior because we've been well-to-do and what we thought was 'educated,' who brought on the Civil War, the French Revolution, and now the Fascist Dictatorship. It's I who murdered Rabbi de Verez. It's I who persecuted the Jews and the Negroes. I can blame no Aras Dilley, no Shad Ledue, no Buzz Windrip, but only my own timid soul and drowsy mind. Forgive, O Lord!

"Is it too late?"



-- Doremus Jessup, a political prisoner in America, It can't Happen Here - Sinclair Lewis

Ever wonder what makes you, you? Ever wonder if there is really anything that can be called, "you?" Ever wonder if you have the freedom to will what you want or if everything was planned out from the beginning and you're just some illusion going through motions you think you have a say in but don't?

This book is a look at those questions and an attempt to answer them. The author, Daniel Dennett, does a pretty good job too. I don't have a lot of experience or foreknowledge in this area of philosophy, psychology, and science, but this book rather takes people like me through the theories involved and brings you to the other side with some understanding of what free will might be from a scientific and philisophical standpoint.

The author believes in a deterministic universe. A deterministic universe is a universe in which for any instant in time there is only one possible future. How does the author explain then how you can have free will in such a universe? His first step is to show that this does not mean events are inevitable. His second step is to show that our definition of free will is a falacy. There is no instant in time where choices are made; choices are made over time, piece by piece, involving many parts of you, your past, and your environment.


He also explains and tears down what he calls, "the best argument to date," for free will in an indeterministic universe (in this case one that involves random fluctiations due to quantum physics) and shows that the argument is seriously flawed and that indeterminism doesn't buy you a thing that will help explain free will over a deterministic universe. He shows that it does not matter which type of universe we live in, the implementation of free will would necissarily be the same.


Dennett then continues to explain how free will evolved, how it was always going to evolve, and why. Basically, the process of darwinian evolution and natural selection will end up creating creatures that can make plans, can look at how the universe works, and make concious changes in their path of evolution. Our culture is part of our evolution and the creation of culture and free will has drastically sped up the process.

He then goes on to explain how our choices govern how free we are. Those of us that succum to every temptation we are faced with do not have the same degree of freedom as those who will themselves not to. He explains how parents play a large part in the development of will in their children and how we can choose to become better, more free individuals. It is at this point that Dennett introduces ethics, as they apply to social norms, and why we would choose to retain responsibility for our actions instead of passing them of as some deterministic certainty we have no responsibility for. Briefly put, cooperators are more successful than freeloaders (people who abuse the system) and cooperators always choose to work with other cooperators when they can tell them apart. One aspect of showing how you are worth working with is that you will accept responsibility for more of your actions than a freeloader will.

If you want freedom, you must take responsibility.

This is a great book well worth reading. This author definately has many important things to say about human nature and where we might be going. It is very interesting to me how closely much of the theory in modern science sounds more and more like some kind of eastern philosophy or religion. "You" are not as separate an entity as you think you are and your choices are, to a great degree, governed by many forces only some of which you have control over. As I was reading this book I was reminded many times of aspects from Daoism, Budhism, and Christianity while the book is a very secular study of human nature.

Think book, big words, heavy reading....but WELL worth the effort.

Thanks guys for some great reviews :thumb:

This book describes, in excruciating detail, the acts of the RUF and its allies and its enemies in Seirra Leone during the 1990's and early part of this century. It is obviously a very disturbing book.

Starting with one man's first hand account of butchery and having both of his hands removed with a rusty axe at gunpoint the book continues to describe the history of the diamond industry and how these wars have directly affected us. Al Queda used diamonds from Sierra Leone to launder money and to fund 9/11 and other terrorist acts. Somewhere in the world is a vast store of these diamonds just waiting to pay for further acts of violence.

It describes how the diamond industry has artificially created the high price of diamonds and how they have billions of dollars worth stored in vaults to keep them off the market and thus increase their value. He further explains how the diamond industry has allowed the smuggling of blood diamonds into the marketplace to protect the value of diamonds. If these rebbles sold their diamonds on the open market the value of diamonds would fall so they quite willingly looked the other way while they where brought in and fraudulently given clean background notes.

There is no way to tell if the diamond on the engagement ring you are wearing or have given to your future wife was paid for with blood. Blood of children forced into armed forces and children permenently maimed in a variety of hanneous ways.

It makes you want to never buy a diamond, ever. However, the book goes on to show how the few successful democracies in West Africa absolutely depend on diamonds to stay afloat. He also describes how DeBeers, the one company that could have most readily done something about this, has set itself up to be the only possible provider of known clean stones.

He describes the mentality of those involved and how weak this final peace in Sierra Leone really is. This is a country filled only with butchers and their victims.

This book, in short, describes a complete travesty of justice and a look at human nature at its worse. It is not a feel good book. It is in fact very sad and leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth and stains on your hands.

An autobiography by a US Army deserter who served in Iraq. This book starts with a little self history of a young man who grew up poor in a family of "patriots" who signed up to serve in the US Army. After being told he would spend the rest of his days building bridges in the army he was posted to the one regiment that guaranteed he would be sent to Iraq. From his first days raiding homes looking for terrorists to his later mission guarding the Iraq/Syrian border the author takes us through a look at Iraq from the perspective of a soldier. He gives us first hand eyewitness accounts of the insainity and depravity taking place there that he himself participated in.

Everyone should read this book.

This book introduces you to a wacky system of classification for all kinds of stray shopping carts, including some cases of:

"FALSE STRAYS" - those that are found still within proximity or property of the SOURCE and have been adapted to serve alterior purposes, such as for carrying a homeless person's belongings.

"GAP MARGINALISATION" - Those trollies that have been abandoned when the terrain got too rough.

"DAMAGED AT SOURCE" - Vandalised or trollies that have been wedged into other trollies so they can not be pulled apart and used normally.

"TRAIN DAMAGED" amongst others.

There are really quite nice photos to aid classifications showing carts in various suburban areas. And process maps showing life cycles of carts and how sometimes they can return home, for repair or recycle.

A heart warming and sometimes moving guide to the life of a shopping cart. You sometimes end up almost feeling sorry for 'em!

:thumb:

This was a fun as hell movie to go see. Consists of two movies with fake previews and commercials that pay homage to the old 70's and 80's double feature movies. The movies have "missing reels", washed out and poor video, reels that get stuck and "melt", etc... This adds a humorous element to the whole thing.

The first movie, Planet Terror, is one of those Army chemical spill causes zombies movies. Some sections actually brought me close to vomit so be aware of that. Very gross stuff. The girl with the missing leg is hilarious. When they finally attach the M16 with genade launcher attachment as her new prosthetic limb she becomes the final super hero to replace her boyfriend (who's is of course some uber-ex-special forces guy with incredible hand to hand and weapon skills who's hiding as a fuckup that's always being pestered by the law). It's a great movie...has every stupid dumb thing you might think of in such a movie and then some. Great fun to watch.

The second movie, Death Proof, stars Kurt Russel as a psycho ex-stunt driver with a car that is "Death Proof"...but..."to really get the benefit you really have to be sitting where I am." He likes to find groups of girls and then smash into them at high speed killing them but getting away with a few scratches. The main segment of the movie involves three girls test driving a Dodge Challenger with a 440 and playing Sail Ship (one is sitting on the hood holding two belts and they drive as fast as possible). Stuntman Mike shows up and tries to run them off the road. The girl I was with was climbing out of her chair, it was awesome. They end up being a bit much for him though and the end result is funny as hell.

So as far as plot, dialog, and all the stuff you might normally expect to find in a movie...well, you won't find any of that here :p But as far as entertainment and just a fun set of movies to watch - it really hits the spot. Unfortunately it looks to be on the way out. I had to go to one of those old rundown theaters to watch it. Well worth seeing at the theater if you can find one still playing it. Keep in mind though...they're really fucking gross, especially the zombie movie (Quentin Terrentino's sack rotting off and oozing out onto the floor as he attempts to rape the main character for instance gave me the hurl urges).

Definitely NOT a kid flick.

This book is a series of articles, short stories, and pieces of novels compiled by Daniel Dennett and Douglas Hofstadter that reflect on the mind and the soul. Starting with some basic mind boggling thoughts on self, such as, "I have no head," which gives us a rather childish look at the universe and points out the fact that there are really two type of people in the world: the type that seems to be conscious and have a soul, of which there are several billion; and the type that most obviously does and can be directly observed to, of which there is only one. They then proceed to take us deeper into the rabbit hole looking for the soul, a definition of intelligence, and what it means to be conscious and riddle us with the question of how to tell the difference.

Among the more fascinating passages is a fictional account of an ant hill that has a self. You come out the other side not at all convinced there is no merit in what is said about this fictional ant hill person. It explains in detail how the movement of ants is guided, without thought on their own part, and contains an intelligence that the ants themselves are not only unaware but couldn't possibly understand. It certainly made me consider that we, as humans, may play a part in an intelligence way beyond us and if you look at some of the ways in which we tend to group and organize without plan it lends some credence to this idea. Do cities or countries have souls? Is it like something to be America and is that different from being China? Certainly they seem to exhibit a set of plans all their own at times.

Another great chapter is a section of a book that relays a conversation between God and a mortal being who wishes God hadn't cursed him with free will. The conversation starts with the mortal crying about his predicament that he hates sinning but can't seem to gather the will not to. God offers to take free will away since without free will you can't sin (since it wasn't a choice), to which the man finds he must decline. This continues to the point where the mortal realizes he really does want free will and it is the harm that sins cause that are the important part of the problem and not some punishment that may be given for the crime of "sin". The conversation ends with the realization that God had no choice but to endow man with free will. "[A] sentient being without free will is no more conceivable than a physical object which exerts no gravitational attraction," God explains, "Can you honestly even imagine a conscious being without free will? What on earth could it be like? I think that one thing in your life that has so misled you is your having been told that I gave man the gift of free will. As if I first created man, and then as an afterthought endowed him with the extra property of free will."

Of course, another great passage is one that I quoted in its entirety here: http://www.guitarblast.com/showthread.php?t=4156

I also posed a thought experament gleamed from this book here:
http://www.guitarblast.com/showthread.php?t=4230

Especially entertaining, and a stab right at what I thought a rather reasonable belief once upon a time, is the predicament of An Unfortunate Dualist (a dualist is someone that believes the mind is something separate from the matter that makes up the body, including the brain). Given the chance to end his existence without harming anyone by taking a pill that destroys the soul while leaving the body and brain intact and in the same state it was in before so that nobody can tell you took the pill. After being secretly injected with this substance by a friend and waking the next morning to take the pill the man exclaims, "Damn it, this stuff hasn't helped at all! I still obviously have a soul and am suffering as much as ever!" It this point the author states, "Doesn't all this suggest that perhaps there might be something just a little wrong with dualism?"

Anyway, a great book full of provocative thoughts by some of the best minds of the last century. Quite heavy in places obviously but also very fascinating. Warning, it might keep you up at night.

This was a fun as hell movie to go see. Consists of two movies with fake previews and commercials that pay homage to the old 70's and 80's double feature movies. The movies have "missing reels", washed out and poor video, reels that get stuck and "melt", etc... This adds a humorous element to the whole thing.

The first movie, Planet Terror, is one of those Army chemical spill causes zombies movies. Some sections actually brought me close to vomit so be aware of that. Very gross stuff. The girl with the missing leg is hilarious. When they finally attach the M16 with genade launcher attachment as her new prosthetic limb she becomes the final super hero to replace her boyfriend (who's is of course some uber-ex-special forces guy with incredible hand to hand and weapon skills who's hiding as a fuckup that's always being pestered by the law). It's a great movie...has every stupid dumb thing you might think of in such a movie and then some. Great fun to watch.

The second movie, Death Proof, stars Kurt Russel as a psycho ex-stunt driver with a car that is "Death Proof"...but..."to really get the benefit you really have to be sitting where I am." He likes to find groups of girls and then smash into them at high speed killing them but getting away with a few scratches. The main segment of the movie involves three girls test driving a Dodge Challenger with a 440 and playing Sail Ship (one is sitting on the hood holding two belts and they drive as fast as possible). Stuntman Mike shows up and tries to run them off the road. The girl I was with was climbing out of her chair, it was awesome. They end up being a bit much for him though and the end result is funny as hell.

So as far as plot, dialog, and all the stuff you might normally expect to find in a movie...well, you won't find any of that here :p But as far as entertainment and just a fun set of movies to watch - it really hits the spot. Unfortunately it looks to be on the way out. I had to go to one of those old rundown theaters to watch it. Well worth seeing at the theater if you can find one still playing it. Keep in mind though...they're really fucking gross, especially the zombie movie (Quentin Terrentino's sack rotting off and oozing out onto the floor as he attempts to rape the main character for instance gave me the hurl urges).

Definitely NOT a kid flick.

Planet Terror was funny as hell. Death Proof was weak. I wanted to like DP but found it to be Tarantino treading over old dialogue and cheap tricks. I can't fault the stunts but I think the pacing and storyline failed on several levels. That said the overall effect of grindhouse was achieved and it made for a perfect lads night out.

BUT! Quentin pisses me off. He has a real ability with film making but too often chooses the easy path. Reservoir Dogs is outstanding in almost every respect. He redefined the robbery film genre with it and made it on a shoe string. He took the robbery out of the film and focused on what happened before and after - it is genius. Even pulp fiction is superlative in the way it manages to make 3 independent storylines marry up to be cohesive and enjoyable. Jacky Brown is weaker but still had moments of genius (Di Nero was wonderful.) Kill Bill was fun and the second instalment was more fun but still a whole way off his first three films.

Whilst I applaud his focus on proper stunts and strict no cgi policy it still shows that his films are getting sloppier and less focused. Death Proof feels like a retread through classic Tarantino dialogue but never comes close to adding anything new. "Now is that a tasty beverage or is that a tasty beverage?" - its old and weakens the reference material in the process. It barely got a laugh (although it got a good few groans when we watched it.)

Tarantino is a genuine and gifted director. He is as good behind the camera as he is as a writer and even his work in front of the camera is impressive. But he seems to have lost his drive in my honest opinion. He needs to try and direct someone elses script and make a movie rather than remake something he watched 20 years ago. The talent is there - he just needs to remember how to break new ground rather than retread over what he watched growing up.

Planet Terror was funny as hell. Death Proof was weak. I wanted to like DP but found it to be Tarantino treading over old dialogue and cheap tricks. I can't fault the stunts but I think the pacing and storyline failed on several levels. That said the overall effect of grindhouse was achieved and it made for a perfect lads night out.

Yeah, I found myself bored through much of Death Proof. Blah blah blah...a bunch of bitches talking about nonsense for 40 minutes....then all the sudden Mike shows up and shit gets cool...for about 30 seconds. Then it starts over again....I was getting bored as hell. Then when they go out driving and it really gets into the action it was fun. It was really fun watching the girl I was with crawl out of her chair :p

It got a few laughs in the theater when I saw it. Mike bawling, "Why??" The ass kicking... But I did feel that a large section of that movie could have just gone away and made it a lot better. On the other hand, that's how those movies were; lots of boring BS full of rotten dialog and then about 1/2 hour of some serious killing...so he was true to the genre.

Planet Terror was definitely the better of the two.

A paranormal researcher who denies that there is any such thing gets a postcard saying "Don't enter 1408". So of course he decides that he must and at every objection from the manager of the hotel ("It's really nothing like that; this is just an evil fucking room"..."nobody lasts more than an hour") he eventually enters the room.

Things start slowly...little things like the radio suddenly coming on and little chocolates appearing on the pillows. Eventually all hell breaks loose and there is no getting out.

Is he hallucinating because he was drugged by the manager?
Is he dreaming?
Is he already dead?
Is he real?

And just who is this manager guy anyway? (and what a choice of actor!)

As the show progresses and the room tears this skeptic a new one, we get to find pieces of his past that the room brings back to haunt him with. The past that took his belief. The past that took everything from him.

And just when he thinks he's going to escape...that it really was a dream...it pulls him back in again and again.

I'd hate to go on and ruin it for you. Great flick...great date movie...scary ass shit...and beautifully acted.

It's actually been a while since I read this book and I've been meaning to review if for you guys but it's hard to decide what to say. First off, it's a good book that is well worth reading. So to get that out first of all, I do recommend it.

The author, Christopher Hitchens, is probably THE most vocal and confrontational opponent of religion there is. He has much reason to be for he has seen many great and terrible things done not just in the name of religion, but made possible because of it. This bias though, obviously comes through in his book and in many places I think unnecessarily, showing a biased view of the subject with some misunderstandings, and thus weakening the whole argument. This is unfortunate for the man has many important things to say.

The book is a treatise on, "How Religion Poisons Everything," and as such I think he has done a good job. He wonderfully points out the many ways in which religion and faith have poisoned our thinking and gotten in the way of peace and reason on a regular basis throughout its history. He explains how the very teachings of religion poison our morality and make it difficult for us to interact with each other and see each other as equals; especially in chapter 15, "Religion as an Original Sin." He leaves no religion alone and in fact has this to say about the eastern religions:

A faith that despises the mind and the free individual, that preaches submission and resignation, and that regards life as a poor and transient thing, is ill-equipped for self-criticism. Those who become bored by the conventional "Bible" religions, and seek "enlightenment" by way of the dissolution of their own critical faculties into nirvana in any form, had better take a warning. They may think they are leaving the realm of despised materialism, but they are still being asked to put their reason to sleep, and to discard their minds along with their sandals.

It's a good book by a brilliant thinker that is not afraid to say exactly what he thinks and can back it up. You very well might not like what he has to say but you'd be foolish to dismiss it. Well worth the time to read.

http://www.bordersstores.com/web_images/products/00/56/21/c/56216035_c.gif

I never would have even looked at this book but it was recommended to me on another forum (one for atheists where we talk about various things about how the world works). You'll find it in the business section of your bookstore most likely, but really it doesn't seem to belong there. Although you'll learn about techniques to persuade people into saying yes when they might not otherwise, the real objective of this book is to teach others why they say yes when they didn't want to.

We all have these puppet strings, these buttons people can push that make us act without thinking. This book tells you about six of the most powerful of these strings and how people use them against you. It also gives us some helpful information on how to keep that from happening.

The author does seem to put too much value into the factors that make these buttons possible, such as making the claim that it is worthwhile to us to act without thinking in many aspects of our lives. I certainly chose to disagree with him greatly on many of these assessments but he does have a point with some of it. We do live in a busy world, shortcuts are sometimes valuable. However, I think people use shortcuts over thinking all too often and so I think the author gives poor advice when he says to keep allowing others to do that thinking for us.

However, the underlying information provided by this book, recognizing these buttons in ourselves and noticing how salesmen take advantage of them (for even if they don't know why, they know their techniques work), and doing something about that makes this book an absolute necessity for people living in this modern age. Now every time I run into a salesman they become a curious glimps at human nature and I spend more time thinking about why they're working me than being worked. Still have to pay attention, but it has helped already.

If you're just going to read one book this year...it should be this one.

A while back, the BBC released a series called, "A history of non-belief," hosted by Jonathan Miller. It was, of course, about the history of atheism and included many interviews with modern day atheists. You can watch it on youtube, I think, but unfortunately cannot buy it on DVD. However, they did something very similar to what Dawkins did with his show, "The Root of All Evil?" They released a DVD containing many of the cut interviews in their entirety.

This DVD set contains six, half hour interviews with Colin McGinn, Steven Weinberg, Daniel Dennett, Arthur Miller, Richard Dawkins, and theologian Denys Turner. The first five all share a non-belief in deities but they are all very different people and very different thinkers. They discuss many aspects of life and how non-belief affects their way of viewing the world. The Dawkins interview was taped shortly after 9/11 and that event becomes a topic of discussion of course. Some of these people were at one time believers and their "conversion" is often also a topic of discussion.

The last interview, a defense of theology by Denys Turner, is, I believe, a very powerful ending to this DVD set. You really get a feel for the great rift that exists between rationalism and faith based "belief". Turner rattles on and on in a long maze of nonsense, attempting to show that theology has a rational framework, and then, in the end, says, "...you either believe as I do, or you do not," which is the worse kind of intellectual cowardice.

It's a great set of interviews and these people really open up on a lot of issues. Jonathan Miller seems to be great at getting people to really divulge their inner beliefs and express themselves. He digs into the details, asks many interesting questions, and gets great responses by all participants. It is very interesting to watch these great thinkers battle wits and dissect each other's view points to get at the heart of what they believe.

It took a while to get my DVD's and the company that sells them is not very communicative. They're probably some small group, possibly with only one person running it. But I did get my purchased item in a timely manner and greatly enjoyed watching them. You can buy them here:

http://secularphilosophy.com/static.php?page=atheismtapes

Steve Miller band has a new best of Live dvd from Chicago.and it is a great walk down memory lane.

If you are a big fan like i am, this DVD has a perfect blend of new and old.

http://www.stevemillerband.com/dvd.htm

Here is the site above.....check it out.

there are 2 dvd's and 1 cd really well recorded and all of his hits are on it.

Parker