Book Meme-Cool Beans!

List of the top 110 banned books. Bold the ones you've read. Italicize the ones you've read part of. Read more. Convince others to read some.
1. The Bible
2. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
3. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
4. The Koran
5. Arabian Nights
6. Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
7. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
8. Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
9. Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
10. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
11. The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
12. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
13. Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
14. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
15. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
16. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
17. Dracula by Bram Stoker
18. Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin
19. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
20. Essays by Michel de Montaigne
21. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
22. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
23. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
24. Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
25. Ulysses by James Joyce
26. Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
27. Animal Farm by George Orwell
28. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
29. Candide by Voltaire
30. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
31. Analects by Confucius
32. Dubliners by James Joyce
33. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
34. Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
35. Red and the Black by Stendhal
36. Das Kapital by Karl Marx
37. Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire
38. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
39. Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence
40. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
41. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
42. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
43. Jungle by Upton Sinclair
44. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
45. Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
46. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
47. Diary by Samuel Pepys
48. Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
49. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
50. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
51. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
52. Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
53. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
54. Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus
55. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
56. Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
57. Color Purple by Alice Walker
58. Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
59. Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke
60. Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
61. Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
62. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
63. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
64. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
65. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
66. Confessions by Jean Jacques Rousseau
67. Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais
68. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
69. The Talmud
70. Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau
71. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
72. Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
73. American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
74. Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
75. Separate Peace by John Knowles
76. Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
77. Red Pony by John Steinbeck
78. Popol Vuh
79. Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith
80. Satyricon by Petronius
81. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
82. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
83. Black Boy by Richard Wright
84. Spirit of the Laws by Charles de Secondat Baron de Montesquieu
85. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
86. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
87. Metaphysics by Aristotle
88. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
89. Institutes of the Christian Religion by Jean Calvin
90. Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
91. Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
92. Sanctuary by William Faulkner
93. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
94. Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
95. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
96. Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
97. General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
98. Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
99. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexander Brown
100. Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
101. Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines
102. Émile Jean by Jacques Rousseau
103. Nana by Émile Zola
104. Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
105. Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
106. Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
107. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
108. Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck
109. Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
110. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Thanks Feanor, coolest coolio meme of all time!

Aerenchyma (Ah-ree-KAH-ma) Hatin’ on the Wack Similitude

Like a rapper would know how to roll with cable spaghetti and like a blogger would be down with aspiring to radtabulousness. Fo sho.

Doh dis blogger cool wid the Booshanky native to the rapper body politic. True dat.

Stating The Obvious and Life's Truisms

"You know what I like?" inquired my sister in the context of a discussion of food. Followed by a pregnant pause, she says, "Bacon"

Ummmmmm, yeah, kinda goes without saying.

With the good, always comes the bad.

"The only bad thing about it is that when you're in a wheelchair, it splatters in your eyes."

Who knew?

Bluck

Bubber is sick and I am sick. SK is the annoyingly healthy ox that he always is. So evil. Haven’t eaten anything since yesterday’s lunch, which I didn’t keep down. Bubber is not keeping anything down either. Being sick just isn’t like it used to be. I remember curling up in bed, with tissues and cough drops placed on the night table, and waiting for mom to get home with the promised chocolate shake. She’d call throughout the day, “just to check in”…her soothing voice always made me feel loved and cared about.

She worked for the American Red Cross then. I was a pre-teen and didn’t get the cuddling that I enjoyed in my earlier years because I had arrived at the age of shunning. It took me a long time to get there—my sister insists that I’d still be letting my mother dress me if I still lived in her home. What’s so wrong with letting someone care for you? Delivered with the shake though, was always a lingering kiss on the forehead to determine temperature and then a quick squeeze prefacing the dart from the room to heat up some soup.

Anyway, mom was the volunteer coordinator and a clown. True dat, you heard me right, she was a clown. She dressed up, big shoes, make-up and all and went to nursing homes and lord knows where to entertain. She got me into it too. I learned to juggle and do tricks with ropes and even make balloon dogs. Clowning is an art form I never mastered, but I’m pretty sure my mom did. She could even pour water into a newspaper funnel without getting it wet! To this day, she is dazzled by a magic trick. Her eyes get really bright and you can see the laughs in her cheeks minutes before it arrives and, “Tah-da! Here’s your chocolate shake!” My mom rocks.

Music Meme

Poor me. Amy McWeasel claimed I’d respond to the challenge of answering this Music Meme. While not a challenge to most, I’ll admit, it will be to me. It could take me all day. Okay, here’s the truth of the matter…I think I articulated it rather well when speaking with AM about it and will use the same mental construct to explain…I don’t so much like music. Well, that’s not true, I can really like music in a particular setting, at a particular time, with a completely perfect piece of music. I have very little tolerance for music that fails to fit my mood RIGHT NOW, that coaxes me to think of things other than I’m thinking without it, that demands too much of my attention.—that basically gets in my way. It is for these reasons that I prefer silence. I know, GASP. But it’s true. I likened it to a sense of smell. Imagine the most beautiful smell that you’ve ever experienced and then imagine you’re standing next to someone that has never had that sense. I’m the gal next to you that doesn’t get your ohhhhing and ahhhhing. I’m a little jealous of you’re experience, but I just don’t have it in me…the music bug, that is. I like quiet. I like thinking without something external badgering me.

This issue was almost a deal-breaker for me and my friend SK. He’s a love-ah of music in a big way. Walking around without music to fill his head makes him incredibly uncomfortable. Music, regardless, of intensity, soothes my friend. Without it, he gets overwhelmed with the minutia of thoughts and aggressively bored with the void that is silence.

I have to admit that my friend has done better to accommodate my need for silence than me, his need for music, but it’s a process, right? I try to buy him CDs that grate on me so that he knows he’s loved in all of his musical audacity and he tries to be quiet while I’m conducting such important work as loading the dishwasher on Sunday morning.

That’s not to say that we still don’t bicker about it on occasion, but at least we know it’s a thorn and we’re gently trying to extract it.

Onto the meme. –I must admit, I feel better now that my secret is out. Thanks AM, very cathartic.

1. Total amount of music files on your computer? Big Daddy could answer this as we share the computer and I have no clue. I bet if you added his music up, it’d be a lot and I may have a few albums worth.
2. The last CD you bought? I haven’t bought a CD in years, I usually request that SK purchase them for me…I think Alicia Keys was in the last batch of requests.
3. The last song that you listened to before reading this? Barry Manilow “I Made It Through The Rain”…yeah, I know, not a good sign.
4. Name 5 songs that you listen to often or that mean a lot to you.
1. Rubberband Man, the Spinners LOVE IT
2. I Say A Little Prayer, Aretha
3. Rumors, some song on that album, I know not which, Fleetwood Mac
4. One of Prince’s song, I know not which.
5. Mother, Mother, I don’t remember the artist…she’s great though.
5. Who will take up the reigns of the meme? Maybe Feanor and Poppy? Dunno.

My Superhero Persona

Your Superhero Persona by couplandesque
Your Name
Superhero Name	The Bankruptcy Lawyer
Super Power	Severe Mood Swings
Enemy	Hipsters
Mode Of Transportation	Skateboard
Weapon	A Stapler
Quiz created with MemeGen!

Not so different from my normal life.

Why's my job gotta be so MEAN??

If it became instantiated, it'd look like this pissed off frog.

So I decided find some beauty in order to soothe my sore eyes.

High Expectations

So I read this article. Well, not all of it. Well, very little of it. The thing is, I don’t get it. I have no grand illusions of creating the best human being that ever lived. When I was pregnant and all of the other pregnant gals were dining on leafy greens and nuts for protein, I was chowing on Pad Thai and french fries. I figured I was choking down those horse-pill prenatal vitamins for a reason. When I decided against breastfeeding and my doctor told me that my child’s intellect was at stake, I replied that perhaps he’ll be good with his hands. I currently feed the child nothing but cheese, applesauce and banana/orange combo, unless there’s pizza in the house. I figure he’s going to be tall, he most likely won’t have weight problems and I’m sure that our daycare folks feed him healthful meals. When I pick him up after he’s crawled all over my floors and his belly and knees are filthy, I barely notice anymore…I’ll admit, the first few times I was horrified, but I got used to it. I do keep the kid off of the TV, but that’s mostly for me, because I so enjoy watching him busy himself. And I do bathe him and keep him in clean clothes when we go out. But Gouda does lick him on the mouth hourly and I do let him fall a lot. Just this morning his dad bonked his head while playing. SK insists that his head is made for falling (somewhere he read that) and we shouldn’t jump each time he crashes, so we don’t. We cuddle him when he cries and then set him back at the task at hand when he’s done crying. I also don’t feel badly about not even trying to be a great mom. I’m shooting for good. I want the kid to feel loved and respected. That’s mostly it. I guess the thing is that my hopes for Bubber aren’t very success-oriented. I’d like him to, first, be kind and then learn stuff, be curious, and hope that, on balance, he experiences enough happiness that when sadness creeps in, he’s centered enough to know that it will pass. And that’s about it.

Apparently, I'm cute but psycho

You are the cute but psycho happy bunny. You adorable, but a little out there....Yeah, not too surprised about that.

Which are you?
Thanks Sarcasmo.

Baby Boy Swimming

As my friend Feanor would say...

"Not for nothing", but vacations rock!

I'm still in sunny Florida. So far this week I've gone swimming, ate, shopped, went swimming, ate and then swam. We've been trying like the dickens to get to some touristy stuff but haven't been able to tear ourselves away from the darned pool--it's heated to a warm 93 degrees and has a little jacuzzi in the corner that is about 100. Dad brings smoothies out the to edge for us so we can swim and sip...strawberry and banana are my favorite, though he specializes in pineapple too. Tomorrow though, we've promised ourselve to take Abe here. Be sure to turn the music on because the music is exactly how I feel.

PLUS, my niece Dominique and Marsupial, ahem Mario, are here too. We like to call Dominique's boyfriend by any name but his own, just so long as it starts with an "m"...mostly because we find it funny all to ourselved, but a little bit because he seems to find it annoying and it's amusing to watch him try to be tolerant of his girlfriend's idiot family. Darryl and I get gleeful when we refer to the poor chap as Malcolm, Miguel and Maraschino, like the cherry.

During our shopping I procurred many an undergarmet and I must say, ladies, go out and spend some money on yourselves. I feel pretty!

Darryl, unfortunately, procurred a hat and sunglasses that make him look like this:



I know, poor me. The kid cracks me up though, I have to admit it. Now we only need to get him a white fur coat and he'll be totally pimped up.

Okay, that'll be all for now. Big day tomorrow. Gotta swim, eat and see some manatees, not only are they great big animals and great big mammals, but they are also the cows of the sea don't cha know.

Quote of the Day

"I just want to say, I am against putting any happy horseshit into the constitution."

-S Abramsky, in response the the proposed anti-gay constitutional ammendment supported by our current administration.

Keeping On Keeping On

I can’t stomach it. I hate him so much. So much so that I know it must be irrational. But he’s made me this way dammit! I’m going to try to sound rational, however, and I’ll start by saying that I think it’s a good thing that Saddaam is out of power. I think it’s good that Iraqis are voting. I think it’s good that this country is finally starting to talk about our responsibility to others as moral leaders.

Let me briefly clarify my meaning of “moral” and then, “leaders”…because with the current misuse of “moral” so often occurring, it’s worth a moment to explain my sense of the word. “Moral”, as an adjective, is that which is right and good, and manifests deontologically. There is no reliance of our understanding of a moral act for it to be so. That is, a moral act is moral because of the nature of the act, not because of the motivation of the actor, nor because of our knowledge of its morality. Further, those salient features that make a moral act moral must combine in such a way as to lend to human flourishing by instantiating generosity, justice, liberty, and equality.

“Leaders” as I use it here, are those that deny the easy road of moral relativism, and acknowledge that no oppressed person wants to be oppressed, regardless of their reliance on a culture and systems that demands their oppression. These leaders are willing to act, as moral agents, by demanding institutions (governments, companies, anything entity with infrastructure) to promote human flourishing by creating structures of existence that promote generosity, justice, liberty and equality AND eradicating those practices that fail to stand up to the human flourishing test.

Okay, enough of my drivel. So let me ask you, who do you suppose spoke these words last month?

We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and freedom, which is eternally right. America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude, or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies.

We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people. America's belief in human dignity will guide our policies, yet rights must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators; they are secured by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without human liberty.

I don’t want to pick a fight here, but HELLO Democrats! Freakin’ Dubya said it!! What the F? No wonder we’re getting our asses kicked. I swear to god, I have no idea what the hell Dubya is talking about, because I KNOW he gives a full-on rats ass about women. I know this because of his attacks on my personal rights. I KNOW that Dubya must be kidding himself, if not me, when he talks about knowing that human beings do not aspire to live at the mercy of bullies. I know this because I am living under his bullying ass. And no one says a word about it. And he and his meany friends keep winning, and keep using their power and keep on keeping on.

Gadzooks!

This is a big deal!