Thursday, February 14, 2013

Literary Top 39 Books


These are my favorite books in countdown format.  I cannot call them my top 40 because there are only 39 that I really love but I’m open to suggestions if your favorite book is not listed, perhaps you can help me find that 40th one to complete the list.

39.       Namesake

38.       Paradise Lost

37.       Catcher in the Rye

36.       Winter of Our Discontent

35.       Skystone

34.       A Confederacy of Dunces

33.       Plainsong

32.       Great Expectations

31.       The Robe

30.       Sister Carrie

29.       TheGreat Brain

28.       The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

27.       The Liberation of Lord Byron Jones

26.       The Da Vinci Code

25.       Cry, the Beloved Country

24.       Grapes of Wrath

23.       Braveheart

22.       The Wolf King

21.       Watershed Down

20.       Fountainhead

19.       Flowers for Algernon

18.       All the King’s Men

17.       TheBrothers K

16.       As I Lay Dying

15.       The Crucible


13.       Magnificent Ambersons

12.       Of Human Bondage

11.       All the Pretty Horses

10.       Ender’s Game

 9.        Destiny                             

 8.        Hunger Games

 7.        Jude the Obscure

 5.        The Little Prince

 4.        Game of Thrones

 3.        Wicked

 2.        To Kill a Mockingbird

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Super Blog XLVII

There are only five NFL teams that are still undefeated in Super Bowl appearances.  And two of them are playing today.  The last time they faced each other was last year and the Ravens won 16-6 on Thanksgiving Day.. and my prediction for today's game is for the Ravens to triumph again 20-14 but what's unique for me is that I've never watched a Super Bowl before in which I wanted so badly for both teams to lose. 

First there is Ray Lewis, defensive phenomenon for Baltimore.  Many people find him inspiring... but to me he's absurdly egotistical.  Almost nothing he says sounds sincere to me... whether he's extolling dedication to teamwork or proclaiming the goodness and amazingness of God... it all sounds incredibly fake... all I can hear is "LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME!"  So I really don't want the Ravens to win.  What do you think?  Here's a tribute video to help you decide:

Ray Lewis Tribute

On the other team is head coach Jim Harbaugh and I can't stand him either because of this incident from 2011 moments after the 49ers defeated the previously unbeaten Lions.  Usually coaches shake hands after a game, but in what became known as Handshake-gate, Jim basically approaches this handshake as though the defeated coach must be as excited about the outcome as the 49ers... which is stupid and disrespectful... here's the video:

Handshake-gate

I guess the best scenario possible is for the 49ers to humiliate Ray Lewis and then when Jim Harbaugh tries to whoop up his handshake on the Ravens head coach, John Harbaugh, his big brother will beat him up on national television.