SPOTBIGRED.COM - DARPA NETWORK CHALLENGE

SPOTBIGRED.COM - DARPA NETWORK CHALLENGE

Debra's 15 in Fifteen: Books

I couldn't resist this challenge, but the result turned out a bit too long for a FaceBook entry, so here it is.

(original instructions)

Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Put your top 3 first. Tag 15 friends, including me because I'm interested in seeing what books my friends choose...(To respond, copy these rules, go to your Notes tab on your Profile page, paste the rules, etc.) Here are my top 15:

BOOK LIST

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (N)

Persuasion (F)

Jurassic Park (F)

Looking Backward (F)

Strange Interlude (F)

You Just Don't Understand (N)

Fast Food Nation (N) (I have to re-read this every few months to remind myself why I should NOT eat fast food.)

An Anthropologist on Mars (N)

The Mummy (F) (which is SO weird because I don't like any other Anne Rice novels)

Harry Potter 1-6 (F)

Darkness Visible (N)

Much Ado About Nothing (F)

The Princess Bride (F) (SO funny, and even better than the excellent movie!)

The Poisonwood Bible (F) (not something I would have picked, but Rachel needed me to read it and discuss it with her for a project. Long book, but worth the time - thought-provoking, very original, and also sometimes funny)

Frankenstein (F) (if you have never read the ORIGINAL, you should. It is not about a monster, it is about men and science and love and evil and life and death....)

The Dead Zone and/or Needful Things (F)

Into Thin Air - Krakauer (N)

Don't Bump the Glump! (K)

And I couldn't resist adding a couple of my favorite Shel Silverstein poems from that collection.

I did these FROM MEMORY, so please forgive any errors.

Oops!

Oops, we've been caught by a quick-digesting Gink,

And now we are dodgin' his teeth.

Now we are restin' in his small intestine,

And now we're back out on the street.

Gumplegutch

Go over and play with the Gumplegutch, Tommy

The Gumplegutch loves to play.

You can bounce on his belly,

And call him Old Nelly,

And fill up his nostrils with clay.

Don't be 'fraid of his fangs, or his one yellow eye, or the scales on his tail, my dear.

Go over and play with the Gumplegutch, darling, there's nothing at all to fear.

I'll wait for you here. . .

(F) Fiction

(N) Non-Fiction

(K) for kids

Please let me know if you want any more info on any of these EXCELLENT selections!

Back to Normal? not

Yes, it has been a while since I have posted or read anything. Sorry.

Rick died one week after my last post. David and I drove to Tennessee to be with Brynda, and lots (and lots) of family arrived from England. We couldn't stay long because our baby-sitter (my teenage daughter) needed to get back to HER life instead of just taking care of her brothers. (Yes, we did pay her for her time.)

Brynda is surviving. She is even working some. But her life will never be the same. We finally convinced her to come to my daughter's high school graduation next week. (Brynda was living with us 17 years ago when my daughter was born, so she has known her ALL her life.)

She is going to drive Rick's beloved Mini Cooper from Tennessee and we are going to buy it from her. He adored that car, and this way it gets to stay "in the family" but Brynda doesn't have to see it all the time (or randomly spot someone else driving it around town).

I haven't seen her since the funeral, and I can't wait to give her a big hug.

Thank you SO much for all of your support (Eric) and I will try to keep in touch a bit better (Eric).

I Really Wish I Could Get Totally Snockered Right Now

Unfortunately, that would not combine well with my current meds, and I would probably end up comatose before I ever got sufficiently snockered.

No, I am not a drinker, but I don't know how else to handle this recent turn of events.

WARNING: totally depressing shit starts here

My best friend, that I've know for 30 years, is about to lose her husband.

They are an absolutely wonderful match and they adore each other. They have been married for five years, but they still act like newlyweds.

The beginning of January he was a perfectly healthy 32 year old guy when he had a routine x-ray because he pulled a muscle in his abdomen. They found tumors - lots of them. They removed his spleen and one kidney and started him on chemo.

Last week they had removed his drains and he was at home eating and drinking, but now he is back in the hospital and he is dying. His family will arrive from England on Friday, and probably stay until the end.

This is SO fucked up. What kind of cancer can kill a healthy 32 year old in 2 months? And why HIM? He had SO much to live for, and I know for a fact that he is the ONLY man my best friend EVER loved.

I should probably post some photos of them, all dressed up for his brother's recent wedding, to show how totally adorable they are together.

If anyone has better advice than TEQUILLA, please let me know...

Edited to add:

Here is his webpage

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/rickquinn

Me and my new BFF, Dr. Oliver Sacks

Okay, maybe only in my mind!

I did send him a pack of crazy Obama buttons, and he did receive them and will be wearing them on Inauguration Day.

His assistant mentioned that she had been trying to find "Carolina for Obama" bumper stickers, so I told her that I would keep looking here after they returned to NYC. I never found the bumper stickers but I found some GREAT buttons.

In addition to several different "Carolina for Obama" buttons I also sent:

"Scientists for Obama"

"Cryptozoologists for Obama"

"Large Hadron Colliders for Obama"

"Banjos for Obama"

His latest book is Musicophilia, and he has a rather quirky sense of humour so I thought he would enjoy them!

Yes, I think this is probably the most unusual item I have ever sent a celebrity. And I'm okay with that.