The Illustrated Man

Ray Bradbury--You Will Be Missed

On the way into work this morning, I was saddened to hear the news that Ray Bradbury--one of America's most prolific writers--had passed away last night.  He was 91 years old.

I love to read and I've always loved reading Ray Bradbury's work.  As a junior in high school, he was the author that I chose for my English project.  For a part of my classroom presentation, I brought flash paper to school that I got to ignite in class to re-enact the book burning from his classic novel: "Fahrenheit 451."  Good times!

Ray Bradbury had the goal to write something everyday.  I believe he did so for essentially every single day of his life.  He was a champion of free speech and I personally know that he did a lot that was never publicized to make available his works available (without personal compensation) so that young people could be inspired and spark their own imaginations.

Ray Bradbury never got a driver's license.  On this planet anyway.  He was proud that the people at NASA or the Jet Propulsion Laboratories gave him a driver's license for the Martian Rover on Mars.  It was a fitting tribute for a man whose book, "The Martian Chronicles", inspired many a scientist to dream of exploring the red planet.

I never met him, but I am privileged to have a personal friend that was his attorney.  A couple of years ago, my friend graciously had Ray Bradbury personally sign a copy of Fahrenheit 451 and The Illustrated Man for me.  I love short stories and Ray Bradbury was the master of short stories.  The Illustrated Man--a collection of short stories--is probably my favorite work of his.  Those two works sit proudly on my office bookshelf today!

My Office Bookshelf As it Appeared This Morning...

Ray Bradbury is now free to explore the universe that he imagined and wrote about.  He inspired generations of Americans and people around the world.  But more importantly (to me anyway), he inspired me to read and later to write about things that interested me and that captured my imagination.  Goodbye Ray Bradbury, we miss you already.

Back Behind the Wheel

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

My Christmas "break" this year reminded me a lot of the classic Disneyland attraction "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride."  I think that the amusement park ride is based on a book called "The Wind in the Willows", but the ride is located just on the other side of Sleeping Beauty's castle and it totally old-school, but really fun.  If you haven't been on it, you need to try it next time you visit the Magic Kingdom.

I already blogged about "The Vomit Comet."  Here's a quick recap:  R. started yakking the night before J. drove to Arizona.  Then during, the ride S. started barffing.  Then, not to be outdone, E. followed suit.  When J. got out of the car to clean E. up, J. picked up E. and E. promptly ralphed all over J.  Fun times!

Then, J. got sick the day after they got there.  Our Christmas Vacation was off to a great start!

My drive was perhaps just as wild--minus the puking.

I started off by managing to injure myself before I even left the house.  In short, I had an accidental run in with the refrigerator.  The fridge is fine, but I wasn't so lucky.  Yes, I drew blood and yes, it left a mark.  The details are too embarrassing to document.  Fortunately, I didn't have to go to the E.R. for stitches, mostly because I didn't want to spend Christmas Eve hanging out at the hospital.

Not something you want to mess with...

Once I actually got on the road, I had a near miss on the highway.  Somewhere on a two lane stretch of I-10, in the middle of the Arizona desert, I found myself in the blind spot of a double trailer semi-truck (see above).  The semi and I were both doing about 80 mph.  Unfortunately, the semi had a pick up truck towing a fifth wheel trailer in his lane up ahead of him, and as we barrelled toward the trailer toting pickup truck, I realized that the semi was never going to be able to slow down in time to avoid crashing into the fifth wheel.

Nevertheless, the semi slammed on its breaks.  I tried to move to the left to give some extra space for maneuvering to the semi, but I only had half a lane of clearance on the left shoulder of the highway before I would have hit the soft dirt in the median.  I could only pray that the semi wouldn't swerve to the left and take me out to avoid a fiery collision that would imperil the family that was towing the trailer.

Since I wasn't driving my Ferrari on this trip, there was no way I could accelerate out of the danger zone.  I was surprisingly calm as I became a spectator.  My fate was sealed and there was literally nothing that I could do to change it.

Finally, at the last possible second, the semi swerved to the other side of the pickup truck and trailer and flew past them on the right shoulder of the highway.  Great clouds of dust and dirt got kicked up, but all were spared.  I still don't know how the driver of the semi pulled it off, but I am grateful!  It truly was an answer to prayers!

No Room in the Inn

I got safely to Arizona only to find that our family, in the spirit of the Christmas holidays, had decided to re-enact the Nativity at my in-laws' house.  Since there weren't enough beds for everyone, my family decided to put a modern, Survivor-like twist on this traditional story and "voted out" one family member since there wasn't enough "room in the inn."

The end result was that J. and the kids got to take the bed in the bedroom and "Joseph" got to take the floor in front of the Christmas tree.  All I can say is that once Santa delivered his presents, I made sure that they were safely guarded.

Best move of the trip:  Remembering to bring my own pillow, sheet, and blanket so that the sleeping accommodations were somewhat comfortable.  An Eagle Scout is always prepared!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

I finished reading "The Help" on the trip.  The book was awesome!  It came as a total surprise, so thanks to everyone that recommended it!  (Kaari, I'm still waiting on your report on your two bios that you were reading over the break...)

I was so excited to see the movie after reading the book that I had to force myself not to go rent it before I finished the book.  All I can say is that after reading the book, the movie was a letdown!  (I actually have to finish watching the movie, since I fell asleep somewhere in the middle.)

It's probably unfair to compare the movie to the book, but I think it actually says more about how much I liked the book rather than vice versa.  I actually think that the movie was good, but the book was great--head and shoulders better.  I guess that's pretty much how it usually is...

Silent Night
I don't know how "silent" the nights were (especially when E. decides to get up in the middle of the night and tried to kick me out of my sleeping accommodations so that she could watch Dora the Exploradora), but there was plenty of stuff going on.  The kids loved being with their AZ cousins.  We had family parties, family dinners, family get-togethers--lots of quality time with the family and extended family.

We also saw saw a couple of movies...somehow I managed to survive the latest Alvin and the Chipmunks offering ("Chipwrecked"???).  I would have been much more bitter except for the fact that the kids really did seem to love it and somehow we got the whole family into the theater for about $15 bucks, so that took some of the sting out of it.

Best movie of the break (in a theatre): Sherlock Holmes (Game of Shadows???  I'm really testing my memory here trying to come up with these movie names).  It was really good, even though if you blink you're sure to miss some important detail!  Thanks to Amy and Scott H. for going with us to see it.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

Well, it wasn't a white Christmas, but it sure was a cold one!  Maybe it was because I constantly felt like I was about to come down with a cold.  Maybe it was because I packed like I was going to Arizona in the middle of the summer.  But I can tell that there is currently no evidence of global warning in the greater Phoenix-Mesa metropolitan area.  I couldn't have picked a worse time to omit my cold weather gear from my packing list!  Next time, I really need to be "more" prepared!

Feasts For Us--But No Festivus
We ate well at the holiday events.  The food, desserts, and company was so, so good!

Also fun was the chance to finally eat at a Waffle House.  I've been wanting to try it ever since I read a book written by a former Waffle House employee about a year ago.  I took the boys and they really had a good time too!

The boys loved the grits!  Yes, we are that classy...

(If anyone is looking for an interesting, really funny read about the roots of our current financial crisis, I highly recommend "Waffle Street.")

I'll Be Home For Christmas
Fortunately, after all the trauma and drama, blood and guts, sickness and health, and fun and excitement, the drive home was almost completely uneventful.  Our trip was a wild ride, but still fun and we were very grateful to get home safe and sound!

If you're still traveling this holiday season, please be alert out there and drive safely!!  :)

Back to the Books

Whose arms are those?  That mystery remained unanswered after reading the book...

I recently finished reading the book the most recent book from off my reading list.  It was "Bossypants" by Tina Fey.

As I mentioned on in my previous post, I chose the book because it got some good reviews on a couple of random blogs that I had visited.  Ironically, I got a lot of comments recommending "Bossypants", so I'm glad that I had it on my reading list.

I really enjoyed Bossypants.  There was some vulgarity and some parts were less interesting than others, but I like Tina Fey's brand of humor.  I think I was vaguely aware that she had a tv show ("30 Rock").  I've still never seen it, but I think I may actually want to watch an episode or two after reading the book.

I think my favorite chapter may have been "Dear Internet."  Tina Fey's jujitsu-like ability to take on the snarky email comments and turn them back on her would-be taunters is pure comedy gold.

Jujitsu is the art of using your opponent's force against himself or herself.

The "Secrets of Mommy's Beauty" chapter was very funny as well.  I'm not sure whether I found it so humorous in spite of or because of the fact that I'm a guy.  But I think that anyone can appreciate this type of wit:

The only flawless thing about this picture is Sharon Stone's forehead...Not a wrinkle in sight! 

"...'Your skin is so flawless.  What's your secret?' people always ask Sharon Stone.  Like my peer Sharon Stone, I have always felt that the simplest products are the best.  Sharon credits her good skin to Pond's cold cream (and maybe a little bit of nature's own botulism.  Wink!)..."

The People's Choice

I'm also proud to say that I've already started reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.  I think everyone that commented made an actual recommendation in the comments recommended "Bossypants" and/or "The Help"--usually both, so my expectations are high.  I haven't seen the movie yet...I'm going to wait until I finish the book before I add the DVD to my Netflix list.

I'm on Chapter 3 so far.  I like it, but it took a little bit to get used to the colloquial dialogue.  Also, it appears as though Chapter 3 switches to Minny's point of view from Aibileen's, so that threw me for a second because I had just felt like I was getting used to Aibileen's narration style.

Anyway, I'll be sure to let you know what I think...and thanks for your recommendation!

UPDATE:  Kaari didn't make an actual recommendation, but stated that she was going to read the Steve Jobs and Keith Richards' bios over Christmas break.  Kaari, I await your recommendation as to whether those two tomes are "list-worthy."

A Little Light Reading

I love to read.  It's one of the things that I've always loved to do.  I find that it helps to relax me and actually helps me to think better.  A good page-turner really engages my mind and draws me in.

I recently finished the last book from my "summer" reading list:

This is the "bulk" of my reading material since about May...

Let's face it, I'm not claiming that any of these are Pulitzer material.  And they were all fiction from basically the same genre, but I thought that they were fun to read and I enjoyed them.

I finished the last one over the Thanksgiving Break.  I have a few other books queued up, but I really wasn't sure which one I wanted to tackle next.

My current "project"...
I always take the dust jacket off when I read a book because
I hate it when the dust jacket gets messed up.

I ended up selecting a book that was given to me loaned to me recommended to me given a good review by a friend colleague acquaintance fellow reader (who shall remain anonymous).

It is different from my past reads.  It is non-fiction and a lot shorter than most of the other books on my summer list.  Also, I heard that it was funny.  But I really wasn't sure what to expect when I cracked it open.

I have to admit, it was a tough slog when I first opened it.  I pushed through only to find out that one of the collection of "humorous" anecdotes is about a lovable character whose last name might be Mr. No-Short-Term-Memory.  Mr. NSTM loves to remind people (every time he sees them since he has issues with his short-term memory) to think of him and always wear their helmet when they ride a bike.  

Tragically, Mr. NSTM didn't do that and suffered a head injury.  Then he lost his job, his family, and basically everything he had in his life--only to wind up living in a rented room at the local YMCA.  And I thought this book was supposed to be funny!

Did I mention that Mr. NSTM and I share the same name?  I promise that I always remember to wear my helmet when I ride my bike!  Lesson learned.

Anyway, I'm still not even halfway through the book, but I'll be sure to give it a shout out if it ends up being as good as advertised.

When I think about funny stories about reading, this short clip from Zoolander comes to mind.  This is a great movie--very funny!

If anyone has read any good books lately, please let me know...I'm going to need some new material here pretty soon!