Two memes in a week? Either I’m getting lazy, or I’ve been put on the spot. But since Dr. Shellie asked nicely, here it is; you folks will have to wait ‘till the end of the week before I start actually talking about analytical science again.
1. One book that changed your life?
The complete works of William Shakespeare
2. One book you have read more than once?
“Green Eggs and Ham.”
3. One book you would want on a desert island?
Are there other blokes on this island with me? If so, “Lord of the Flies.”
4. One book that made you laugh?
“Over the edge: Death in the Grand Canyon”
5. One book that made you cry?
My Ph.D. thesis.
6. One book you wish had been written?
A version of Gilgamesh with the text of the broken tablets.
7. One book you wish had never been written?
“State of Fear:” It made me lose respect for a sci-fi author I used to like.
8. One book you are currently reading?
“Moby Dick”- I’ve been reading for over a year now, one paragraph at a time, in between exposures in the SEM lab.
9. One book you have been meaning to read?
“The Origin of Species.” This used to be my SEM book, before I put it down for “Moby Dick”.
10. I don’t like to put specific people on the spot, so I’ll pass on this question.
From the Amazon review of the Grand Canyon book:
ReplyDelete"The authors show that most of the deaths, whether of tourists, prospectors, or experienced adventurers, occurred when people failed to pay attention to warning signs or did not use common sense; others are attributed to high testosterone levels."
Is it funny because the people were acting stupid?
Thanks for playing!
My wife and I laughed because of the way that reading the book during our trip around the SW USA changed our behavior around cliffs, arroyos, etc. during our time in the canyonlands.
ReplyDeleteThat and my sick sense of humour.
I never saw the movie "Faces of Death", but my brothers did. I remember them describing a scene where some people encounter a bear. A guy in the party wants to go up and pet the bear, so he starts to approach the bear.
ReplyDelete"Honey, don't go near the bear, it's dangerous," his girlfriend or wife calls out.
He keeps on moving closer to the bear. "Aw, it's just a furry animal, " he says (though I may be conflating this with the rabbit scene in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" now).
"No, it's dangerous!" she calls out again.
And then--BRRRAWWWRR!--the guy is bear food.
My brothers couldn't tell this story without cracking up. I mean, let's face it--culling of the herd, y'know what I mean?