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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Mar 27, 2014 - 11:35am PT
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Just read “Welcome to Paradise, Now Go To hell” by Chaz Smith. The book is a window on professional surfing at its most famous stop on the world tour, Pipeline. Smith does gonzo journalism very well, reminiscent of vintage Hunter Thompson, combined with Johnny Long’s talent for putting the risk sport reader right in the mouth of the lion.
It is fear and loathing on the North Shore, but the fear is not imaginary bats ginned up by a bad drug trip, but the very real risk of being strangled or beaten for failing to show the full measure of respect to the locals.
Pipeline is one of the world's best waves and it is ruled by the world’s worst localism. This has been described occasionally in Outside and elsewhere, but it is usually kept invisible to non-surfers by a code of silence that rivals the mafia’s. Smith lays the whole ugly scene bare and the contrast between the Aloha image and the nasty reality makes for a good read.
At first you are outraged that this sort of lawlessness exists in this day and age, but when Smith explains the context--localism as a form of resistance to Hawaii’s history of brutal colonialism--you feel, almost against your will, some empathy for the violent characters that apparently control Pipeline.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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The electronic version of All tomorrow's Parties,by William Gibson. I find I actually like reading books on iPads. It's a larger format than the paperbacks I generally frequent.
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portent
Social climber
your mom's house
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Apr 17, 2014 - 08:30pm PT
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weezy and jaybro- read Diamond Age (a young ladies illustrated primer) if you haven't, one of my favorites.
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Michelle
Social climber
1187 Hunterwasser
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Apr 17, 2014 - 08:37pm PT
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sully, really? Boooo...
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Apr 18, 2014 - 12:04am PT
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Sully, GGM said he didn't think he had much of an imagination. BwaHaHaHaHa!
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Apr 18, 2014 - 01:17am PT
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Tell that to the drowned man with the enormous wings...
Thanks Portent, read it a while back, fascinating!
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portent
Social climber
your mom's house
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Apr 18, 2014 - 02:45am PT
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Also, since you are Gibson fans... Check out Richard K Morgan The Takeshi Kovacs Novels and Market Forces.
Good stuff. The 1st Kovacs novel is very detective Noir... :) :)
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ydpl8s
Trad climber
Santa Monica, California
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Apr 18, 2014 - 12:21pm PT
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The Spinoza Problem
I'm reading this fascinating book now. Historical fiction of 2 different men, one Spinoza, a great 17th century thinker, and secondly Alfred Rosenberg, who was one of Hitler's architects of the Jewish solution. Rosenberg is torn by the fact that Spinoza is held aloft by Goethe and other "Aryan" authors Rosenberg holds in esteem. But, Spinoza is "blood Jew" and Rosenberg can't quite get his head around that. Hence, The Spinoza Problem
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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May 19, 2014 - 12:39am PT
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Just finished David McCullough's The Great Bridge, about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, which I enjoyed.
Currently a hundred pages into Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts, which looks to be a great book.
And I second Portent's reccy of the Richard Morgan sci fi books.
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Ward Trotter
Trad climber
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May 19, 2014 - 02:24am PT
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For anyone interested in some of the profound changes stemming from many of the resulting economics and cultural effects of the digital network age ,and the possible humanist solutions to a few probably very difficult and problematic outcomes in our collective future.
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kaholatingtong
Trad climber
Nevada City
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May 19, 2014 - 02:58am PT
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Finally finishing The Sirens of Titan ( a classic Vonnegut ). I had picked it up and read the first few pages several times over the years but for whatever reason never finished it. So glad I finally did. That dudes prose has a certain swagger, and is quite enjoyable to digest, for me.
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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May 19, 2014 - 02:30pm PT
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Seven Years In Tibet
For the second time. Fascinating and somewhat sad look into the past.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Jun 18, 2014 - 04:32am PT
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A book of the apocalypse known as "The Crunch."Author's introductory note: Unlike most novel sequels, the story-line of Survivors is contemporaneous with the events described in my previously published novel, Patriots. thus there is no need to read it first (or subsequently), but you'll likely find it entertaining.
Deo Volente, another contemporaneous novel in this series will be published next year. check my blog, www.SurvivalBlog.com, for updates.
Also, I have been checking out this study guide which belonged to my mother, and have her five different bibles here to look at as well. The nice thing about this study guide is that Mom filled in the answers and it is "a caution" to read some of her comments!
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Bushman
Social climber
Elk Grove, CA
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Jun 18, 2014 - 05:02am PT
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Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku
Predicts the possibilities and developments of future Star Trek type technologies based upon known science and research being done by today's scientists. Force fields, light speed travel, wormholes, transporters, telepathy, telekinesis, time travel, and more.
Another book by this author I found interesting was Physics of the Future.
Also Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos.
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sandstone conglomerate
climber
sharon conglomerate central
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Jun 18, 2014 - 07:34am PT
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1491, by Charles C. Mann. Smallpox is a hell of a thing.
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ydpl8s
Trad climber
Santa Monica, California
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Jun 18, 2014 - 08:46am PT
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Just finished The Northland Trilogy by Stephen Baxter.
Just starting Blue Remembered Earth by Alastair Reynolds.
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lars johansen
Trad climber
West Marin, CA
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Jun 18, 2014 - 09:00am PT
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Savage Harvest
by
Carl Hoffman
A tale of the search for clues regarding the disappearance of Michael Rockefeller in New Guinea 1961. He was presumed to be eaten by cannibals.
lars
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Jay Wood
Trad climber
Land of God-less fools
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Jun 18, 2014 - 09:31am PT
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The current mix. This was the fourth Michael Gruber novel- excellent.
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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Jun 18, 2014 - 11:29am PT
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Recently finished "Harvest of Rage" by local Boulderite Joel Dyer (who was a climbing photographer, back in the day, now runs the Boulder Weekly newspaper). Excellent book.
Explores the roots of the US militia movement. The great impetus was the farm crisis of the 1980s. Amongst all the other things that were going on at the time, I was never aware of the trauma and hurt that ensued from this sad story, when thousands of farmers were foreclosed on, forced into poverty. The actions of the federal government were woefully tone-deaf; too little, too late. Was easy for some folks to twist the whole episode into some kind of conspiracy theory which centered around the US government being taken over by others. Which, if accepted as truth allows (requires?) real patriots to actually fight against their own government.
In-depth interview with militia members attempt to understand where they come from, what drives them. There is sympathy for the people caught up in this, none for the crazy ideas they have. Dyer explains how some of the main conspiracy theories work and how, if looked at with any skepticism, they contradict each other and fall apart. He contends that the main blame for the severity of the farm crisis (and ongoing pressures on small farmers and ranchers) comes not from the government but from the the greed of the half-dozen huge corporations like Cargill, Archer-Midland, etc, who run, cartel-like, the modern US farming industry.
A bit dated, written after the Oklahoma City bombing but pre 2000 and the end-of-the-millennium fears. But as relevant today as 20 years ago.
I learned a lot. Should be essential reading for anyone wanting to understand more about Cliven Bundy and his supporters.
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