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<div class="contents">
<dl>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec1">Marcus Aurelius</a>
+<a href="#sec1">William Blake</a>
</dt>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec2">Meditations</a>
+<a href="#sec2">The Four Zoas</a>
+</dt>
+<dt>
+<a href="#sec3">Jerusalem</a>
</dt>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec3">William Blake</a>
+<a href="#sec4">Kahlil Gibran</a>
</dt>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec4">The Four Zoas</a>
+<a href="#sec5">A Tear and a Smile</a>
</dt>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec5">Jerusalem</a>
+<a href="#sec6">The Prophet</a>
</dt>
-</dl>
-</dd>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec6">John Taylor Gatto</a>
+<a href="#sec7">Sand and Foam</a>
</dt>
-<dd>
-<dl>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec7">Underground History of American Education</a>
+<a href="#sec8">The Madman</a>
</dt>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec8">Kahlil Gibran</a>
+<a href="#sec9">John Taylor Gatto</a>
</dt>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec9">A Tear and a Smile</a>
-</dt>
-<dt>
-<a href="#sec10">The Prophet</a>
-</dt>
-<dt>
-<a href="#sec11">Sand and Foam</a>
-</dt>
-<dt>
-<a href="#sec12">The Madman</a>
+<a href="#sec10">Underground History of American Education</a>
</dt>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec13">William James</a>
+<a href="#sec11">Luke Rhinehardt</a>
</dt>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec14">The Varieties of Religious Experience</a>
-</dt>
-<dt>
-<a href="#sec15">The PhD Octopus</a>
+<a href="#sec12">The Dice Man</a>
</dt>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec16">Henry James</a>
+<a href="#sec13">Neal Stephenson</a>
</dt>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec17">The Altar of the Dead</a>
+<a href="#sec14">Snow Crash</a>
+</dt>
+<dt>
+<a href="#sec15">Cryptonomicon</a>
</dt>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec18">Gregor Kiczales</a>
+<a href="#sec16">Marcus Aurelius</a>
</dt>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec19">The Art of the Metaobject Protocol</a>
+<a href="#sec17">Meditations</a>
</dt>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec20">Søren Kierkegaard</a>
+<a href="#sec18">Søren Kierkegaard</a>
</dt>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec21">Sickness Unto Death</a>
+<a href="#sec19">Sickness Unto Death</a>
</dt>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec22">Either/Or</a>
+<a href="#sec20">Either/Or</a>
</dt>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec23">Thomas More</a>
+<a href="#sec21">Thomas More</a>
</dt>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec24">Utopia</a>
+<a href="#sec22">Utopia</a>
</dt>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec25">Friedrich Nietzsche</a>
+<a href="#sec23">William James</a>
</dt>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec26">Beyond Good and Evil</a>
+<a href="#sec24">The Varieties of Religious Experience</a>
+</dt>
+<dt>
+<a href="#sec25">The PhD Octopus</a>
</dt>
+</dl>
+</dd>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec27">On the Geneaology of Morals</a>
+<a href="#sec26">Henry James</a>
</dt>
+<dd>
+<dl>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec28">Ecce Homo</a>
+<a href="#sec27">The Altar of the Dead</a>
</dt>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec29">Luke Rhinehardt</a>
+<a href="#sec28">Gregor Kiczales</a>
</dt>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec30">The Dice Man</a>
+<a href="#sec29">The Art of the Metaobject Protocol</a>
</dt>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec31">Neal Stephenson</a>
+<a href="#sec30">Friedrich Nietzsche</a>
</dt>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec32">Snow Crash</a>
+<a href="#sec31">Beyond Good and Evil</a>
+</dt>
+<dt>
+<a href="#sec32">On the Geneaology of Morals</a>
</dt>
<dt>
-<a href="#sec33">Cryptonomicon</a>
+<a href="#sec33">Ecce Homo</a>
</dt>
</dl>
</dd>
<!-- Page published by Emacs Muse begins here --><h2><a name="sec1" id="sec1"></a>
-Marcus Aurelius</h2>
-
-
-
-<h3><a name="sec2" id="sec2"></a>
-Meditations</h3>
-
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••••</span> (6) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
-
-<p>I enjoyed reading this collection of meditations on Stoic
-philosophy. It is a fairly quick read; I read each of the twelve books
-before sleeping over the course of two weeks. Toward the end of the
-collection things get a bit topically repetetive (e.g. acting
-according to the nature of man is reflected upon over and over), but
-each repetition looks at the topic in a slightly different light. A
-number of passages I found quite inspiring, and scratched them down in
-my notebook to ponder further.</p>
-
-
-
-<h2><a name="sec3" id="sec3"></a>
William Blake</h2>
<p class="first">Blake is my <a href="William%20Blake.html">favorite</a> of the English poets. His
unique use of relief etching and watercoloring makes for very
interesting Illuminated works. There is a very high quality
-<a href="http://blakearchive.org">complete archive of Blake's works</a> online
+<a href="http://blakearchive.org">complete archive of Blake&#039;s works</a> online
with high resolution plate scans and full transcriptions among other
things.</p>
-<h3><a name="sec4" id="sec4"></a>
+<h3><a name="sec2" id="sec2"></a>
The Four Zoas</h3>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••••</span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••••</span></span><span class="rating-bad"> / <em>Fiction</em></p>
-<p>The unfinished manuscript of Blake's longest apocalypse. The
+<p>The unfinished manuscript of Blake&#039;s longest apocalypse. The
Four Zoas divide from Albion and rage through the ages of dismal woe
to bring about the end of the cycle of Ulro and restore the cycle of
Beulah.</p>
-<h3><a name="sec5" id="sec5"></a>
-Jerusalem</h3>
-
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••••</span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
-<p>The finest of Blake's Illuminated works.</p>
+<h3><a name="sec3" id="sec3"></a>
+Jerusalem</h3>
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••••</span></span><span class="rating-bad"> / <em>Fiction</em></p>
+<p>The finest of Blake&#039;s Illuminated works.</p>
-<h2><a name="sec6" id="sec6"></a>
-John Taylor Gatto</h2>
-<p class="first">Former teacher and now author-activist.</p>
-<h3><a name="sec7" id="sec7"></a>
-Underground History of American Education</h3>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•</span> (9) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
-
-<p>An interesting <em>underground</em> history of the American education
-system. Available
-<a href="http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/">online for free</a>.</p>
-
-
-
-<h2><a name="sec8" id="sec8"></a>
+<h2><a name="sec4" id="sec4"></a>
Kahlil Gibran</h2>
<p class="first">Kahlil Gibran is fairly interesting; his earlier works do not
the editions from the 50s and 60s (and cost quite a bit more,
naturally).</p>
-<h3><a name="sec9" id="sec9"></a>
+<h3><a name="sec5" id="sec5"></a>
A Tear and a Smile</h3>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••••••</span> (3) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••••••</span> / <em>Fiction</em></p>
-<p>One of Kahlil Gibran's earlier works, I did not much like <em>A
-Tear and a Smile</em> excepting the last poem ("A Poet's Voice").</p>
+<p>One of Kahlil Gibran&#039;s earlier works, I did not much like <em>A
+Tear and a Smile</em> excepting the last poem (&quot;A Poet&#039;s Voice&quot;).</p>
-<h3><a name="sec10" id="sec10"></a>
+
+<h3><a name="sec6" id="sec6"></a>
The Prophet</h3>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•</span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•</span> / <em>Fiction</em></p>
+
-<h3><a name="sec11" id="sec11"></a>
+<h3><a name="sec7" id="sec7"></a>
Sand and Foam</h3>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••</span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••</span> / <em>Fiction</em></p>
<p>An interesting little book of aphorisms.</p>
-<h3><a name="sec12" id="sec12"></a>
+
+<h3><a name="sec8" id="sec8"></a>
The Madman</h3>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••</span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••</span> / <em>Fiction</em></p>
-<h2><a name="sec13" id="sec13"></a>
-William James</h2>
+<h2><a name="sec9" id="sec9"></a>
+John Taylor Gatto</h2>
+<p class="first">Former teacher and now author-activist.</p>
-<h3><a name="sec14" id="sec14"></a>
-The Varieties of Religious Experience</h3>
+<h3><a name="sec10" id="sec10"></a>
+Underground History of American Education</h3>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••</span> (7) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•</span> / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
-<p><a href="William%20James%20-%20The%20Varieties%20of%20Religious%20Experience.html">A partially finished extended summary</a></p>
+<p>An interesting <em>underground</em> history of the American education
+system. Available
+<a href="http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/">online for free</a>.</p>
-<h3><a name="sec15" id="sec15"></a>
-The PhD Octopus</h3>
-<p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
-<blockquote>
-<p class="quoted">
-America is thus as a nation rapidly drifting towards a state of things
-in which no man of science or letters will be accounted respectable
-unless some kind of badge or diploma is stamped upon him, and in which
-bare personality will be a mark of outcast estate. It seems to me high
-time to rouse ourselves to consciousness, and to cast a critical eye
-upon this decidedly grotesque tendency. Other nations suffer terribly
-from the Mandarin disease. Are we doomed to suffer like the rest?</p>
+<h2><a name="sec11" id="sec11"></a>
+Luke Rhinehardt</h2>
-</blockquote>
-<p><a href="William%20James%20-%20The%20PhD%20Octopus.html">Full Text</a></p>
+<h3><a name="sec12" id="sec12"></a>
+The Dice Man</h3>
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••</span> / <em>Fiction</em></p>
-<h2><a name="sec16" id="sec16"></a>
-Henry James</h2>
+<p>&lt;quote&gt;
+And it&#039;s his illusions about what
+constitutes the real world which are
+inhibiting him...
+His reality, his reason, his society
+...these are what must be destroyed
+&lt;/quote&gt;</p>
-<p class="first">The novelist brother of William James; I've not read many (read:
-one) of his books, but what I did was decent.</p>
+<p>A quotation from one of my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughter_of_the_Soul">favorite metal songs</a> inspired me to grab
+this book; at worst it would be a waste of time. Much reward was found
+in this random stab in the dark. The book is framed as an
+autobiography of the author as a psychoanalyst, and his progression
+through life as a Dice Man after deciding to live his life through
+random chance.</p>
-<h3><a name="sec17" id="sec17"></a>
-The Altar of the Dead</h3>
+<p>The style, plot, and content are equally neurotic; part comedy, part
+attack on psychoanalysis, and part deep philosophy. It was often
+difficult to put down, and was read in under a week of spare time.</p>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••</span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
-<p>A short novella about a man who maintained an altar in a church
-for all of his lost loved ones on the surface, but something a bit
-more beneath.</p>
+<h2><a name="sec13" id="sec13"></a>
+Neal Stephenson</h2>
-<h2><a name="sec18" id="sec18"></a>
-Gregor Kiczales</h2>
+<h3><a name="sec14" id="sec14"></a>
+Snow Crash</h3>
-<h3><a name="sec19" id="sec19"></a>
-The Art of the Metaobject Protocol</h3>
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•</span> / <em>Fiction</em></p>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••••</span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
+<p>As one must read the <em>Bible</em> to understand English literature, so one
+must read <em>Snow Crash</em> today to be a nerd. In the realm of modern pop
+fiction this is one of the better books I&#039;ve read; it was devoured in
+a mere four nights. Neal Stepheson may not be Milton, but he does come
+up with enganging tales. <em>Snow Crash</em> has a nice undertone of (quite
+accurate) political and social commentary that makes it worth reading
+as more than mere cyberpunk fiction.</p>
-<p>AMOP is useful as a reference to the CLOS MOP (although less so with
-the online MOP spec), but the true value of the book lies in the first
-half of the book. It presents the design of the CLOS MOP through a
-series of revisions that fix limitations of earlier implementations
-and gradually work toward a generic and well designed MOP for
-CLOS. Through that process one is made more aware of a few general
-object protocol design skills, and gains insight into how to cleanly
-make mapping decisions customizable.</p>
+<h3><a name="sec15" id="sec15"></a>
+Cryptonomicon</h3>
+
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••</span> / <em>Fiction</em></p>
+
+<p>I read <em>Cryptonomicon</em> when it was new, and at the time I thought it was
+good. It could have lost a hundred or so pages without detracting from
+the plot, but it was easy reading and didn&#039;t take very long to
+finish. The story was enganging, and the continual switching between
+the 1940s and present day slowly unravelled the tale in a nice way.</p>
+
+<p>I&#039;d still have to recommend <em>Snow Crash</em> if one wished to read only one
+Stephenson novel.</p>
+
-<h2><a name="sec20" id="sec20"></a>
+
+
+<h2><a name="sec16" id="sec16"></a>
+Marcus Aurelius</h2>
+
+
+
+<h3><a name="sec17" id="sec17"></a>
+Meditations</h3>
+
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••••</span> / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
+
+<p>I enjoyed reading this collection of meditations on Stoic
+philosophy. It is a fairly quick read; I read each of the twelve books
+before sleeping over the course of two weeks. Toward the end of the
+collection things get a bit topically repetetive (e.g. acting
+according to the nature of man is reflected upon over and over), but
+each repetition looks at the topic in a slightly different light. A
+number of passages I found quite inspiring, and scratched them down in
+my notebook to ponder further.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="sec18" id="sec18"></a>
Søren Kierkegaard</h2>
<p class="first">Kierkegaard was a master of style and philosophy; his writing is
interesting even if one finds the theistic extentialism espoused
disagreeable.</p>
-<h3><a name="sec21" id="sec21"></a>
+<h3><a name="sec19" id="sec19"></a>
Sickness Unto Death</h3>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••••</span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••••</span></span><span class="rating-bad"> / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
<p>I purchased this when I was looking through books at a store after
being unable to find the book I really wanted, and I must say that it
forces reflection.</p>
-<h3><a name="sec22" id="sec22"></a>
+
+<h3><a name="sec20" id="sec20"></a>
Either/Or</h3>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••••</span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••••</span></span><span class="rating-bad"> / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
<p>Composed of two portions, <em>Either/Or</em> is a rather lengthy but
rewarding read. The first book is a series of essays and a diary of a
-<h2><a name="sec23" id="sec23"></a>
+
+<h2><a name="sec21" id="sec21"></a>
Thomas More</h2>
-<h3><a name="sec24" id="sec24"></a>
+<h3><a name="sec22" id="sec22"></a>
Utopia</h3>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••</span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••</span> / <em>Fiction</em></p>
<p>I read most of Utopia in high school with the TI-89 ebook reader, but
the way the book was split up made it a bit difficult to grasp the
-<h2><a name="sec25" id="sec25"></a>
-Friedrich Nietzsche</h2>
-<p class="first">A bit acerbic and esoteric, Nietzsche is for me a good <em>secular</em>
-counterpart to Kierkegaard's theistic philosophy. Nietzsche's
-polemical works raise important questions for anyone who reads works
-on ethics. As such it is a shame that he has gotten a bad reputation
-by being read by far too many angsty teenagers who see (and relay)
-only Nietzsche the asshole rather than Nietzsche the master of the
-polemic.</p>
+<h2><a name="sec23" id="sec23"></a>
+William James</h2>
-<h3><a name="sec26" id="sec26"></a>
-Beyond Good and Evil</h3>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••</span> (8) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
-<p>A somewhat more comprehensible, if a bit less aesthetically
-pleasing, presentation of much of the philosophy found in <em>Thus Spoke
-Zarathustra</em> in the negative form. The final chapters are very
-important (not to detract from the value of the rest of the work) if
-one wishes to understand <em>On the Genealogy of Morals</em>.</p>
+<h3><a name="sec24" id="sec24"></a>
+The Varieties of Religious Experience</h3>
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••</span> / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
-<h3><a name="sec27" id="sec27"></a>
-On the Geneaology of Morals</h3>
+<p><a href="William%20James%20-%20The%20Varieties%20of%20Religious%20Experience.html">A partially finished extended summary</a></p>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•</span> (9) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
-<p><em>On the Geneaology of Morals</em> is a wonderful book of three
-polemical essays on the origin of moral/ethic valuations, and the
-blindness of modern philosphers whose very thinking is tainted by
-these valuations unknowingly.</p>
+<h3><a name="sec25" id="sec25"></a>
+The PhD Octopus</h3>
-<h3><a name="sec28" id="sec28"></a>
-Ecce Homo</h3>
+<blockquote>
+<p class="quoted">/ <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
+</blockquote>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••</span> (7) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
+<p>&lt;quote&gt;
+America is thus as a nation rapidly drifting towards a state of things
+in which no man of science or letters will be accounted respectable
+unless some kind of badge or diploma is stamped upon him, and in which
+bare personality will be a mark of outcast estate. It seems to me high
+time to rouse ourselves to consciousness, and to cast a critical eye
+upon this decidedly grotesque tendency. Other nations suffer terribly
+from the Mandarin disease. Are we doomed to suffer like the rest?
+&lt;/quote&gt;</p>
-<p><em>Ecce Homo</em> is Nietzsche's very strange autobiography and
-explanation of his own works. At points it is clear that it could have
-used a bit more editing (prevented by Nietzsche ... falling into a
-catatonic state and all), but is still a very useful book to read as
-Nietzsche explains the overall structure of his works.</p>
+<p><a href="William%20James%20-%20The%20PhD%20Octopus.html">Full Text</a></p>
-<h2><a name="sec29" id="sec29"></a>
-Luke Rhinehardt</h2>
+<h2><a name="sec26" id="sec26"></a>
+Henry James</h2>
+<p class="first">The novelist brother of William James; I&#039;ve not read many (read:
+one) of his books, but what I did was decent.</p>
-<h3><a name="sec30" id="sec30"></a>
-The Dice Man</h3>
+<h3><a name="sec27" id="sec27"></a>
+The Altar of the Dead</h3>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••</span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••</span> / <em>Fiction</em></p>
-<blockquote>
-<p class="quoted">
-And it's his illusions about what
-constitutes the real world which are
-inhibiting him...
-His reality, his reason, his society
-...these are what must be destroyed</p>
+<p>A short novella about a man who maintained an altar in a church
+for all of his lost loved ones on the surface, but something a bit
+more beneath.</p>
-</blockquote>
-<p>A quotation from one of my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughter_of_the_Soul">favorite metal songs</a> inspired me to grab
-this book; at worst it would be a waste of time. Much reward was found
-in this random stab in the dark. The book is framed as an
-autobiography of the author as a psychoanalyst, and his progression
-through life as a Dice Man after deciding to live his life through
-random chance.</p>
-<p>The style, plot, and content are equally neurotic; part comedy, part
-attack on psychoanalysis, and part deep philosophy. It was often
-difficult to put down, and was read in under a week of spare time.</p>
+<h2><a name="sec28" id="sec28"></a>
+Gregor Kiczales</h2>
-<h2><a name="sec31" id="sec31"></a>
-Neal Stephenson</h2>
+
+<h3><a name="sec29" id="sec29"></a>
+The Art of the Metaobject Protocol</h3>
+
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••••</span></span><span class="rating-bad"> / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
+
+<p>AMOP is useful as a reference to the CLOS MOP (although less so with
+the online MOP spec), but the true value of the book lies in the first
+half of the book. It presents the design of the CLOS MOP through a
+series of revisions that fix limitations of earlier implementations
+and gradually work toward a generic and well designed MOP for
+CLOS. Through that process one is made more aware of a few general
+object protocol design skills, and gains insight into how to cleanly
+make mapping decisions customizable.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="sec30" id="sec30"></a>
+Friedrich Nietzsche</h2>
+
+<p class="first">A bit acerbic and esoteric, Nietzsche is for me a good <em>secular</em>
+counterpart to Kierkegaard&#039;s theistic philosophy. Nietzsche&#039;s
+polemical works raise important questions for anyone who reads works
+on ethics. As such it is a shame that he has gotten a bad reputation
+by being read by far too many angsty teenagers who see (and relay)
+only Nietzsche the asshole rather than Nietzsche the master of the
+polemic.</p>
+
+<h3><a name="sec31" id="sec31"></a>
+Beyond Good and Evil</h3>
+
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••</span> / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
+
+<p>A somewhat more comprehensible, if a bit less aesthetically
+pleasing, presentation of much of the philosophy found in <em>Thus Spoke
+Zarathustra</em> in the negative form. The final chapters are very
+important (not to detract from the value of the rest of the work) if
+one wishes to understand <em>On the Genealogy of Morals</em>.</p>
<h3><a name="sec32" id="sec32"></a>
-Snow Crash</h3>
+On the Geneaology of Morals</h3>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•</span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•</span> / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
-<p>As one must read the <em>Bible</em> to understand English literature, so one
-must read <em>Snow Crash</em> today to be a nerd. In the realm of modern pop
-fiction this is one of the better books I've read; it was devoured in
-a mere four nights. Neal Stepheson may not be Milton, but he does come
-up with enganging tales. <em>Snow Crash</em> has a nice undertone of (quite
-accurate) political and social commentary that makes it worth reading
-as more than mere cyberpunk fiction.</p>
+<p><em>On the Geneaology of Morals</em> is a wonderful book of three
+polemical essays on the origin of moral/ethic valuations, and the
+blindness of modern philosphers whose very thinking is tainted by
+these valuations unknowingly.</p>
-<h3><a name="sec33" id="sec33"></a>
-Cryptonomicon</h3>
-<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••</span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
+<h3><a name="sec33" id="sec33"></a>
+Ecce Homo</h3>
-<p>I read <em>Cryptonomicon</em> when it was new, and at the time I thought it was
-good. It could have lost a hundred or so pages without detracting from
-the plot, but it was easy reading and didn't take very long to
-finish. The story was enganging, and the continual switching between
-the 1940s and present day slowly unravelled the tale in a nice way.</p>
+<p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••</span> / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
-<p>I'd still have to recommend <em>Snow Crash</em> if one wished to read only one
-Stephenson novel.</p>
+<p><em>Ecce Homo</em> is Nietzsche&#039;s very strange autobiography and
+explanation of his own works. At points it is clear that it could have
+used a bit more editing (prevented by Nietzsche ... falling into a
+catatonic state and all), but is still a very useful book to read as
+Nietzsche explains the overall structure of his works.</p>
</a>
</p>
-<p class="cke-footer"> So play today
- Go make your hay beneath a warm sun shining
- But bear in mind one day you'll find the silver cloud's dark lining
+<p class="cke-footer">Jessie: i stuck the phone antenna up the dogs nose and he ignored me
</p>
<p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified:
- September 23, 2008</p>
+ September 28, 2008</p>
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