I am impressed hearing about a man named Rapaport, who according to the tape is this wealthy socialist who uses his money for lots of good. I adore philanthropy. It warms the heart.
I listened to other Molly Ivins works and those were lighter in tone. This work is sad in tone and also it more harshly criticizes Bush in a polemic style, when the other ones are more along the lines of a fair minded editorial.
Kornfield, Jack
2001:Buddhism for Beginners: A Complete Course on the Heart of the Buddha’s Teachings. Boulder, CO: Sounds True.
I think information on Buddhism is more conducive to books than audio books, namely because I hate how utterly softly many Buddhists talk. We know that monotone speaking is dull speaking, yet Buddhist speakers talk at an even level. I wish Buddhist speakers would get excited or maybe upset and thus change their voice. Kornfield’s soft talking made this hard to listen to even though the material was intellectually interesting.
Kresky, Stephen: Narrated by Nelson Runger
1999:George Washington: the Man Who Would Not Be King (unabridged). Prince Frederick, MD: Books on Tape, Inc.
I am amazed at how these narrators can seem to read so many pages without making a mistake. If and perhaps when they do make mistakes, I would imagine editing could be quite difficult.
I like most people am familiar with George Washington. I have also listened to more in depth accounts, and still this book on tape broadened my understanding of George Washington.
Lohr, Dick
1992:Taking Control of Your Workday: How to Achieve More in Less Time with Less Stress. Boulder, CO: CareerTrack Publications.
A lot of the same type information is presented in similar books and nothing he said about procrastination was new, but he does have a few new tips or two and he is a good speaker which is ever so important.
Lonestar
2004:Let’s Be Us Again. Nashville, TN: Sony/ATV Songs.
This was a lot better than the Lonestar album I reviewed in the last volume of Catfish. There was a good variety in lyrics. The album contained the poignant and emotional “Somebody’s Someone”. “That Use to Be Us” was a more upbeat high school reunion song than Tammy Cochran’s “Life Happened”. “From Here to There” was another song with good lyrics. The first verse reminded me of the first verse of Trick Pony’s “Just What I Do” since they both talked about the Wright Brothers. “Women Rule the World”, “Mr. Mom”, and “T.G.I.F”, “Let Them Be Little”, and “County Fair” are also very nice.
Pelzer, Dave: read by J. Charles
2004:The Privilege of Youth: A Teenager’s Story of Longing for Acceptance and Friendship (unabridged). Grand Haven, MI: Brilliance Audio.
Since two of his other works, A Child Called It and The Lost Boy were depressing, I suppose, I was thinking this one would be depressing as well, but it was not. It was super meaningful while at the same time being uplifting because in this work he describes finding happiness after experiencing so much misery. I was happy to hear about all the joy and fulfillment he found and I suppose such demonstrates that even in the worst of circumstances, there can be a light at the end of the tunnel.
Rafkin, Louise
1998:Cleaning Other People’s Dirt: A Housecleaner’s Curious Adventures (unabridged). Roseland, NJ: Live and Let Live Audio.
This audio tape reminds me some of the book Waitress: America’s Unsung Heroine, since they both paint life from a working class point of view, which in my book is a great point. The working class of this country is so honorable. It is perhaps the most honorable group out there. It is better than the rich snobs and better than the lumpen slackers. She’s giving us good stories too. Down to earth like you would expect something written by a member of the working class would be. I personally am not talented at cleanliness so perhaps I admire this work all the more because of it.
Sigman, Robert
1989:Law for the Layman: Automobile Accidents. Orlando, FL: Legovac.
This audio tape was not nearly as polished as most audio tapes you check out from the library. It had some interesting information and I think I learned something even though a lot of it was pretty basic.
Travis, Randy
1991:High Lonesome. New York, NY: Warner Brothers Records.
The only song I really cared much for was “Better Class of Losers”. The rest were so so only.
Travis, Randy
2002: Rise and Shine. New York, NY: World Entertainment LLC
I knew that Randy Travis had Christian Tendencies but I did not realize the scope of his belief in Christianity. Since I am not a Christian, I’m generally not one for gospel, but some of the songs did touch me such as “Raise Him” and “When Mama Prayed”.
One of the most inspiring songs I have ever heard is the song “Three Wooden Crosses”. Christians surely enjoy the song because it is a parable of redemption and salvation. To me, that is there, but the song has much more meaning yet. This song is about planting seeds. This song suggests that with good intentions seeds can germinate in wonderful ways of which one may not have even started to imagine. In this story, a minister gives a prostitute a bible with the hope of saving her. I won’t spoil the ending. If you listen to the song you will discover how what the minister did had an impact he could never have imagined but it was very beautiful indeed. The lines “It’s not what you take when you leave this world behind you; it’s what you leave behind you when you go” are some of the most beautiful words ever mentioned in a song. This song reminds me of Stephen Covey’s notion that people “want to leave a legacy” and the song showed how, a farmer, teacher, and preacher left a legacy. The message of this song is beautiful; I can’t stop listening to it.
Tippin, Aaron
1992:Read Between the Lines. New York, NY: BMG Music.
I heard two of Tippin’s songs on those “Patriotic Country” compilations and found them really good, however, this particular cd appears to have nothing on par with those songs, and after listening to this cd, I don’t know how much patience I would have to listen to another Tippin cd.
Various Artists
1994:1986 Billboard Top Hits. USA: Rhino Records.
Sometimes compilations from the 80’s are a little disappointing, but this one came through. I wanted to find Starship’s “Sara” on a cd, so that rocked having it here. “Eye of the Tiger” is also a good song to be able to play from a cd, even though the Rocky movies have made it a cliché. The librarians from Anoka County wrote on it, “Out of Order” and indeed the songs were out of order, but I can live with that.
Various Artists
2002:Totally Country. New York, NY: BMG Entertainment, Warner Music Group, Inc, Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
A fairly good selection of country songs. After listening to Volumes Two, Three, and Four, of this series, I finally listened to this volume.
Williamson, Marianne
1997:On Practical Spirituality. Niles, IL: Nightingale-Conant Corporation.
It started out soft and slow, so I was afraid, but in the end it was not like I first suspected. Parts of it were inspiring. There’s not even kick to this, but spirituality is more and more pleasing to me these days.
Yankovic, Weird Al
1993:Alapalooza. Santa Monica, CA: Scotti Bros Records.
Over and over I listen to this. The songs I have already heard, such as “Frankie’s 2000 Inch TV”, and “Talk Soup”, I loved. I also loved songs I had not yet heard such as “Livin in the Fridge”, “She Never Told Me She Was A Mime”, and “Waffle King”. A couple songs weren’t all that swell, but the other ones more than made up for that.
I love how Weird Al can parody a very serious song like Aerosmith’s “Living on the Edge”, which is about racism, and make it into a humorous song about rotting food in the refrigerator. I especially loved the line, “If you can name the object in that baggie over there, then Mr. You’re a better man
than I”, which parodied the line, “If you can tell a wise man, by the color of his skin, then Mr. You’re a better man than I”.
“Talk Soup” takes some great stabs at talk shows. “Waffle King” is a witty song perhaps about our lionization of pop icons for the pettiest of reasons and how this lionization can go to the pop icon’s heads.
Satire is the beat of my life so I am hooked on something like this.
Catfish 45Q
Andrew Bushard
Reviews
Books
Babiak, Paul, Ph.D and Robert D. Hare, Ph.D.
2006:Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work.
New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
This book both scared and intrigued me. Although I studied social psychology in my sociology studies, little about psychopaths was covered, so these readings of late really fascinate me. This book really describes someone I know. This book can give you bad dreams, and it does need to be read.
On page 51, the authors said that psychopaths "even lie to people who tell the truth." That's interesting because the psychopath I know does that. The book oddly praised Caesar, who is someone I am also intrigued about it, and I want to learn more about
him. The book said Caesar was surely not a psychopath. That's good. The idea that "Psychopaths have no career goals" perplexes me, because aren't they suppose to crave power and thus seek to advance in a career to get more and more power. The authors
did say something to the effect of "They may appear ambitious, but if something more exciting comes along, they will go for that."
Baker, Douglas, B.A., M.R.C., L.R.C., P.F.Z.S.,
1982:Karmic Laws: The Esoteric Philosophy of Death and Disease. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.
What do those last three abbreviations behind the author's name stand for? Since my thirst for learning about karma is not quenched, I requested a number of books on interlibrary loaned about karma. This was one of the more fascinating.
In a journal entry sometime back, I wrote that it would be interesting to find out how karma created specific situations and conditions. Then lo and behold I discovered this book which did exactly that. I guess that goes to show that it is likely that just about anything you can dream of has been actualized somewhere else. The book proposed the karmic actions that lead to conditions: Anorexia, Alcoholism, Breast Cancer, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Down Syndrome, and Schizophrenia. Very intriguing to ponder this. I
would be curious to find out what karmic theorists propose is the karmic cause for a lot of other conditions as well.
Beaumont, Ned
1996:The Policeman is Your Friend and Other Lies.
Port Townsend, WA: Loompanics Unlimited.
Sadly, this book was not available from ILL from any library in Minnesota, but there was a Wisconsin library that stocks it, so I was able to get a chance to read it. I surely don't agree with every last point or perspective, but this book is generally awesome and right on the money.
Beaumont is super cynical and right now this is the way I feel so his writing really resonated with me. In some ways, Beaumont really reminds me of myself.
Thus I relate. He discussed how he regretfully was once a police officer and I have felt the same about working for the school system. Then later, he wrote about how he too worked for the school system.
I especially enjoyed his chapter on the school system. Having worked there for two years then resigning due to a conviction the system is evil; I have come to really oppose the system, so I ate up his words there.
Beaumont uses lots of big words; in some cases words I never remember coming across.
Wayne Dyer says we get the right books and right people in our lives exactly when we need them. It's eerie in a way, but that's exactly what this book did to me. I've been thinking lot about many of the thoughts the author expressed in here lately so, it
sure was something to hear him say it.
If the label "anti everything" is suitable, it may apply to Ned Beaumont; most people think that is so negative, but I've been called "anti everything" as well, so I think we are much alike.
11 years ago I wrote that capitalism and communism were two heads of
the same beast. He said something very similar. He called "the education establishment, big business, government" -- "the three headed monster". How right on! Few people are against both big business and government; many are really against just one but not
the other, and almost no one is against the education establishment. These types of sentiments are vintage Andrew Bushard.
In his section about the school system, Beaumont calls those who do not bend to the school system "iron", or "silver", or "gold" according to their level of greatness. The run of the mill bad kids may be at best iron, while the really creative revolutionary bad
kids are silver and gold. Wayne Dyer also has praised "bad kids" I love it!
One very insightful comment on page 87 was "Cultures are known by their buildings".. Amen!
This book also got me to think more about college. Sometimes, I see it as something different than K-12 education; other times it seems to be just like the system. Beaumont argues it is really indeed part of the system. I've become very cynical about higher
education in recent times, so his words on the subject really get me thinking.
The beauty of this work is that Beaumont sees the oppression that is pervasive in so many different places. Few people recognize all the oppression that exists in our world, so those who do need to be lauded to the max
Blanchard, Ken, M.D. and Spencer Johnson, M.D.
1983:The One Minute Manager. New York, NY: Berkeley
Publishing Group.
I read Blanchard's "The Heart of a Leader" and that turned me on to his work. I have often went past the One Minute Manager books on the library shelves, but am I ever glad I for once got one of these books out. It is way great. The book is written in parable just
like James C. Hunter's "The Servant" and Robert Greenleaf's "Teacher as Servant: a Parable", which made it all the more better.
Blanchard, Kenneth, Ph.D., Patricia Zigarmi, Ed.D, and Drea Zigarmi, Ed.D.
1985:Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Leadership. New York, NY: William Morrow and Company.
Although this book does not hold a candle to servant leadership books, it does have some leadership wisdom .
Brings, Felicia and Susan Winter
2000:Older Women Younger Men: New Options for Love
and Romance. Far Hills, NJ: New Horizons Press.
I am all for transcending boundaries. I once even wrote a school paper in defense of May December relationships. In one place, the authors even argue that because of the biological sex drive zenith in men (at a young age) and women (at an older age), these types of relationships might be the most natural. Way to go. I was looking for an older men younger woman book, but this book is nice as well as it discusses some of the same themes.
Cleckley, Hervey
1988:The Mask of Sanity: An Attempt to Clarify Some
Issues About the So Called Psychopathic Personality
(5th edition).
I didn't like the smaller print, but the author packed a lot in the 452 pages, so perhaps the publisher found it necessary. Although this book is considered the pioneering book on psychopathy, I read the other well known books first. This didn't appeal to me much at first, but eventually I decided to read it. The book is old fashioned which is natural since it is old. The writing is old fashioned and you can tell about the moral sensibilities as well. The author wrote as if having promiscuous sex was the end of the world. He
also wrote in the spirit of his times that homosexuality was an illness. He even criticized the Hippie era.
Some of the phrasing is delightful. For example, "he at once proceeded to drink
on weekends and to haunt public houses of unsavory reputation."(203)
The author used a lot of big words. A number of words, I was not familiar with. He also on occasion used sarcasm, which is usually not expected in an academic work. Actually, I read one older academic study which would have similar language, so perhaps academia was less formal years ago?
On page 291, he made a big deal about this one psychopath engaging in the "impersonation of an officer". In college, I got a ticket for doing that as part of an April Fool's Day joke, so I got a kick out of that. I'm not a psychopath though.
Throughout the author claimed that "psychopathy is worse than schizophrenia" in how damaging it is to society and the individual.
Other works have emphasized the lack of conscience as the central feature of psychopathy, here, Cleckley seems to suggests the most prominent feature is a
drifting type of drive, where the psychopaths can't settle down and do much of anything.
The book did indeed help me learn more about this super fascinating disorder.
Davis, Mike
1996: 9 to 5 Beats Ten to Life: How to (Re)Enter
Society. Lanham, MD: American Correctional
Association.
This book is admirable because it's trying to help felons make something of themselves. The content was pretty light. I zipped through this book in little time.
Danziger, Robert
2000:The Revelation of Music: Learning to Love the