Reading Pleasures

Contact - Carl Sagan

I haven't bought a new book in ages, so when I was home in Chicago I decided to re-read one of my favorites, Contact by Carl Sagan. The movie with Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughy is based on it.

I love this book because I've always been intrigued with life on other planets, looking out at the stars in the sky, wondering what other civilizations are out there, what they look like, if they know about us, if UFO's are real, when we'll ever be technologically advanced enough to venture out of our little corner of the universe. Sagan touches on many of these things in this book, and makes the thought of more intelligent beings out there less science fiction, and more of a reality that we haven't discovered yet.

In 'Contact', Sagan uses a lot of scientific terminology, but in a way that a regular person can understand. Throughout the novel, Sagan touches on religion, politics, and science, and gives a profound sense of wonder once the novel is done. He expertly conveys the emotions of his lead character, Ellie Arroway, who's discovery of a message from outer space leads her on an adventure that involves the whole earth, all of humanity. Her journey, and the journey of her fellow travelers, makes the reader realize how little our little earth is, when compared to the billions of other stars in universe.

I love this book.

song stuck in my head

'Hey Ya' - Outkast

Once again, Outkast gives us a song that's so different from what else is out there. This song just makes me want to throw on my go-go boots and shimmy my way up to the platform. It's just FUN.

at the movies

Kill Bill

Yes, I saw Kill Bill yesterday. And I loved it. Sure, it was a bit bloody and gory, but that's part of what made it so awesome. I would never have seen Uma Thurman as an action heroine, but she ROCKS in this role. Vivica Fox and Lucy Liu are great as well. Chiaki Kuriyama, who played the bodyguard Gogo, has a gaze to kill, and her scene with Uma was on of the best. The fight scenes are amazing - the choreography is fast paced, but without a lot of the matrix-style special effects that we're so used to. Heads roll, scalps fly, blood spurts. I love it. There was also a short anime in the movie which kept true to the movie's mood, and which could stand alone as a mini-movie. It takes a little thought to keep up with the storyline, which is divided into chapters, though the story as presented isn't in chronological order.

comic you should be reading

New X-Men - Marvel

Damn. This book has balls. Because it gives you the nice warm fuzzies about a character, and then BAM! Kicks you in the ass, slaps you in the face, and whispers, 'You fool, I've been setting you up for the past year just to fuck you over!' Gotta love a book that does that. Although sometimes he's a little extreme, I'm still loving Grant Morrison's run on this book. He's changed the X-Men as we know them and made them tougher, meaner, and much more real.

yummy for my tummy

White Castles

While in Chicago, for the first week or so, I had White Castle every day. At first, I had people make WC runs for me while I was at the hospital. Later on, I was overjoyed to discover that the hospital cafeteria sold microwaveable White Castles. Oh joy in a sqaure bun!!!

addiction

Marquette

Yeah, I'm the girl who uses up her vacation days to go to the middle of nowhere to watch short track speedskating. My husband is the coolest guy on the planet for being OK with his wife flying out to watch people wearing spandex skate around in circles. For this, I'll let him watch as much ESPN and Wild on E! as much as he wants. As for me, I'm actually more excited to see my friends at Marquette than I am to see the skating! It's like going to a reunion. I only wish that everyone could make it, that would make it so much better!

Posted by Yano at October 20, 2003 04:15 PM

---

---

---

---

---