Animal Farm

As I promised in my last post, I will give you a little bit of info about the books I recommend. Since I don't want to spend all night on the computer, I'll start by covering the books I already have on my blog, then slowly expand. I may as well start with the first book on my list, and I promise I'll keep it short.

Animal Farm, by George Orwell, is best described as a political allegory, though for years it has been read as a fairy tale about animals taking control of their farm from their human masters. Superficially, that is what it is. It doesn't take much imagination to make the connection between the actions of the farm animals and the politics of Orwell's day. During Orwell's lifetime, communism was a plague that was sweeping across the globe, virtually unstoppable. The animals of Animal Farm - which is the name they chose for their human-free farm - play out the inner conflicts of the burgeoning Soviet empire. It lays out the revolution born of misguided idealism, the power struggle between the leaders who once fought together, and the downward spiral into show trials, executions, and corruption.

"But it's a story about pigs and goats and ducks, and sort of about the Soviet Union. Big deal." Well, it is, because it is no longer about the Soviet Union. The story of the Animal Farm is being played out today in the United States. While we may not mirror every detail from the book, and by inference the Soviet Union, the plot line continues to parallel our own political state ever more closely.

So, I would recommend Animal Farm for a couple reasons; first, it is wonderfully written. It tells the story of the beginnings of one of the most powerful nations on the planet, and one which we struggle to deal with to this day. And it tells us where our nation may be headed if we are not supremely diligent. You don't have to be a politics junkie to read it, either. It is one of the most enjoyable political reads you will find. That, and it has talking pigs.

My Inflated Sense of Self-Importance

Honestly, I don't think I'm a dummy, though some would debate that. I've done a lot of reading on a lot of topics. Some of what I've read has changed the way I think and feel. Much of it has changed the way I see the world. With few exceptions, all of it has been valuable. So, on my blog page, I've added a list of books I've read that I think are important enough that others should read them, too. Of course, it is nowhere near complete right now, but I'll try augmenting it as often as I can. I will also try to mention a little something about the books I put on the list, so you have some idea of why I think you should read it. Doubtless, some of you have books you think I should read, and I would be happy to hear your suggestions. Maybe I'll put it on my list. All this might sound big-headed of me, but I would like to share the wisdom in these books with as many people as I can.

Along with that comes the quote. You'll please notice the title of my quote section. I'll wait while you check... Many of the books I've read have wonderful snippets of wisdom, humor, or insight, and I've recorded them for myself over the last several years. My collection of quotes covers about 75 pages, though I do not know the exact number of quotes it contains. I realized that as great as some of them are, the don't do anyone any good sitting in a binder, not being read. So I will use this forum to share with you the terrific quotes that I have collected over the years. Now back to the title; it is not "Quote of the Day" or week, for a reason. I don't blog nearly often enough, and there is little chance that I will be able to update that so regularly. So I'll just do it as often as I can. It's the best I can do right now.

So there you have it! I hope that the books and quotes that I will try to share with you enlighten you as much as they have me.

Nathan

Oh yes, I know I said I would do this on Saturday, but you know how it is. I think Congress needs to come back from their vacation and address the fact that there are fewer hours on Saturday than any other day of the week. I know, they have been so swamped with matters vital to our nation, like steroid-using baseball players, and appologizing for slavery, but it's time they fixed this travesty.

Anyway, I was going to do more than vent on this one. As most of you know, Nathan (for those of you who don't know, that's my cousin) and his awsome family came from Arizona to visit all of us here in Oregon. Nathan and I grew up together, and he was my best friend, but after we moved up here, I sort of lost contact with him. So I was really excited when he told me that he was going to come for a visit.

I'm really grateful to his wife, Anna, who let me have Nathan for a whole day. We went shooting for a few hours, and then came back here to goof around on our Wii. I wish I had more friends like him. Well, really, I wish he lived closer. I don't know that I ever told him that he was kind of my hero when we were growing up. When I was a kid, I was painfully shy, and very unpopular, but Nathan was always my pal, and he always looked out for me. I always wanted to be like him. It was nice to see that he hasn't changed at all. He's still the studly guy I've always loved.

I am really hoping that he can come visit again in the future, or that I can go down to visit them in Arizona. Unfortunately, I don't get all that much vacation time, and most of it gets used when I'm sick, so it may be a while before I get out there. But at least for now, we've got email and phones.

Shelf Photo

Just because Memory asked, I'm posting a picture of the shelves I put in our garage when we first moved in. Boy, that seems like so long ago now. Our house was nice before the shelves went up, but now it's a castle. I hope to put up more shelves around the house and garage over the next couple years. But I won't put up pictures of them unless you really want me to.

Yea, yea...

Okay, I know! It's been a long time since my last post. Sorry, but I've been really busy. Tomorrow is Saturday, and I'm hoping to get a little blogging done then. So, in the mean time, take my little poll and sit tight. I can't guarantee that what comes will be worth the wait, but at least it will be something.