Something is wrong in the city of Ankh-Morpork. Two old men are found dead, the city's ruler is poisoned every night, and golems, the city's clay slaves, are smashing themselves to bits. Sir Samuel Vimes, Commander of the City Watch, is in charge of the investigation, but even he is having a hard time....
Good. Terry Pratchett has a lot of imagination, but I think that sometimes it gets in the way of his writing. This is one of his more articulate books. It made me think: the city likes its golems because they can't talk, they work without pay, food, or board, and they work fast. Definitely slavery. And so they get extremely worked up when Dorfl is given words. Maybe we have a lesson to learn on slavery, folks.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Go NaNoWriMo! (National Novel Writing Month)
Hooray for NaNo! In November, thirty days, the goal is to write fifty thousand words. This is my second year, and I'm getting pretty exited. Yay!
Monday, October 01, 2007
long time no see
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., edited by Clayborne Carson
King was born in the late twenties. He grew up in a segregated, racist America, where his family could not vote and had no rights and their friends lived in ghettos. When in college, he read Marx, Lenin, and Nietzsche looking for the answer to the social evils he lived with. He found it in the nonviolence of Gandhi, and throughout his ministries for rights for blacks and the poor, he always used this doctrine. He founded the movements that led to the outlawing of segregation, black votes, and open housing. He was and is an inspiration for America.
Very good. I have never heard of all that MLK did, and it made me think. Lots of it made me mad and sad. How different would America be if we resorted to nonviolence? Maybe we wouldn't have had messes like Korea and Vietnam and Iraq. What would we be like if things were still segregated? Maybe I'd think minorities were trash. What can we do about social problems? Maybe we could buy less stuff and donate the rest, or give what we already have to Salvation Army. Maybe we can help streetkids get homes. Maybe we could take meals to sick people. A man came to my school one time. His was the first black family in Norman, and they lived on the 'wrong' side of town. They lived through some tough times. I've got black friends. What if they lived like that? Would I do anything about it? I hope I would have. We need to act more on what he taught- the Gospel, love and grace and community and hope. Maybe if everyone did, we'd all be better people and have a better country. We should try.
King was born in the late twenties. He grew up in a segregated, racist America, where his family could not vote and had no rights and their friends lived in ghettos. When in college, he read Marx, Lenin, and Nietzsche looking for the answer to the social evils he lived with. He found it in the nonviolence of Gandhi, and throughout his ministries for rights for blacks and the poor, he always used this doctrine. He founded the movements that led to the outlawing of segregation, black votes, and open housing. He was and is an inspiration for America.
Very good. I have never heard of all that MLK did, and it made me think. Lots of it made me mad and sad. How different would America be if we resorted to nonviolence? Maybe we wouldn't have had messes like Korea and Vietnam and Iraq. What would we be like if things were still segregated? Maybe I'd think minorities were trash. What can we do about social problems? Maybe we could buy less stuff and donate the rest, or give what we already have to Salvation Army. Maybe we can help streetkids get homes. Maybe we could take meals to sick people. A man came to my school one time. His was the first black family in Norman, and they lived on the 'wrong' side of town. They lived through some tough times. I've got black friends. What if they lived like that? Would I do anything about it? I hope I would have. We need to act more on what he taught- the Gospel, love and grace and community and hope. Maybe if everyone did, we'd all be better people and have a better country. We should try.
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