Summery

I didn't get any of the big important life-changing projects I had planned completed this summer while I was away from the blog, but I did fix a fencepost, design an addition for some friends, eat cheese curds, play with the kids and read a bunch of books. It was good to try to step back from the information overload that goes along with blogging, and actually read prose that had gone through a some semblance of editing (with the notable exception of Don't Start the Revolution Without Me -- if only I could have those hours back.)

So here's my partial reading list:
The end of Faith by Sam Harris
Finally, a modern atheist polemic by someone who doesn't sound sarcastic like Dawkins or bitter like Hitchens. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed "God is not Great" and "The God Delusion" immensely as they were both hysterically funny, but Harris creates a solid philosophical argument explained in simple terms which does not rely on derisive humor and poking emotional hot buttons to connect with the reader. And while he is a good liberal in many ways, he is unafraid to call a spade a spade when it comes to the "Religion of Peace", Islam. This is something that many secularists refuse to do while rightfully criticizing fundamentalist and even mainstream and liberal Christianity. Also, it is refreshing to see young philosophers starting to gain a foothold in a field so long dominated by fucking self-righteous Boomers. I need to pick up his follow-up Letter to a Christian Nation.

McMafia by Misha Glenny
Everything you wanted to know about the vast web of international organized crime from the mean streets of Bogota and Kiev to the shining skyscrapers of Shanghai and Dubai, and how political interventionism, corruption and downright stupidity only make it worse. From low-tar cigarettes to black-tar heroin, DVDs to WMDs, orgasms to human organs, chambermaids to hitmen, it can all be had for a price on the black market. Fuck Ian Fleming and Tom Clancy, this is one thrilling read.

the Border by David Danelo
Reporter and Iraq War vet travels from Brownsville to San Diego exploring the contrasting yet interdependent cultures and politics on each side, as well as along the length, of the US-Mexico border. The succinct informational content of this book makes up for the dry prose and poor editing. Also, I think that we are just starting to see a new generation of journalists and activists coming out of the ranks of young combat veterans. I suspect these men and women are going to really shake up media and politics over the next couple of decades. To what end? I'm not sure. But it'll be interesting to watch.

Right now I'm working on Richard Dawkins' The Blind Watchmaker. Unfortunately, I missed out on a lot of this subject due to an evangelical upbringing and a lack of college level biology classes. So this is definitely filling in a lot of gaps in my understanding of the science of evolution left over from a pretty lousy single semester "honors" biology class in high school.

I also tried once again to read Atlas Shrugged but I gave up. As an anarchist I may share many similarities with Rand's philosophy, but her heroes are total fucking sociopaths. Howard Roarke in The Fountainhead made me appreciate the AIA and municipal building departments. Reading this book made me want to buy a Che T-shirt and put up Obama posters. At the very least it pushed me more toward the Wobblies. I fear that if I try reading it again I may defect to North Korea, or worse, actually register to vote.