What are you reading?

[Frank Stokes]

Just finished "Perfect Rigor," by Masha Gessen. It is the story of Grigory Perleman's proof of the Poincare Conjecture, one of the Millennium Problems put forth by the Clay Mathematics Institute. These problems carried with them a $1,000,000 award to anyone who could solve them. Perleman solved Poincare and refused the $1,000,000. As a matter of fact he simply posted the proof on the web. Fascinating story.

[CosmicRocker]

making some progress on "Buddha a story of enlightenment"

I'm still at the part where Siddhartha is kept behind the palace wall, but has finally met the hermit seer Asita who had journeyed from his mountain abode and announced that the child would either become a great king or a great holy man

Asita has shown him the lotus position, and Siddhartha immediately felt the stillnes, and the quieting of his fears
( too young for desires).

Asita has told him he can no longer protect him and has confronted Mara pre-Siddhartha's birth.
The demon who tempts humans by plying their desires, Mara replies " humans will ignore a perfect soul as they always do"

It's a great read. Chopra doesn't get into a lot of dharma, but makes references to the teachings.

Anyone can read this - it's a nice way to understand how Buddha went through his life, and the stages he took from royal prince ,to ascetic, to the Middle Way

[bluzman]

the real FRANK ZAPPA book ---by FRANK ZAPPA----great read----some bio,song lyrics,and frank's insights about music,mArriage as a DaDa concept,porn wars,drugs,church and state.,middle east,politics......well written,funny,----zappaesque.......
interesting quotes --from george washinton,jefferson,lincoln,paine----about US not being a christian nation ......
george washiington --"the united states is in no sense founded upon the christian doctorine"
jefferson--"i do not find in orthadox christianity one redeeming feature"

it's a funny easy read-----

[CosmicRocker]

^ what's the title of the Zappa book?

I read a Barry Miles biography recently- explained Frank's eclectic affinities to some good stuff of all kinds of recordingsn Spike Jones records, classical,etc

Is this an autobiography by Zappa?

[bluzman]

Originally Posted by CosmicRocker

^ what's the title of the Zappa book?

I read a Barry Miles biography recently- explained Frank's eclectic affinities to some good stuff of all kinds of recordingsn Spike Jones records, classical,etc

Is this an autobiography by Zappa?

the real FRANK ZAPPA book by frank zappa with peter occhiogrosso...
intro --i don't want to write a book but i'm going to do it anyway...
because peter is going to help me..he is a writter --he likes books --he even reads them......i think it's good that books exist but they make me sleepy.

one reason i'm doing this is the proliferation of stupid books which purport to be about me.....i thought there ought to be one somewhere that had real stuff in it.....please be advised this book does not pretend to be some sort of complete oral history.it's presented for consumption as entertainment only....

chapter 1
"i never set out to be weird.it was always other people who called me weird"
frank zappa-baltimore sun,oct 12,1986

[CosmicRocker]

[KJane]

The Life And Death Of A druid Prince...The Story of Lindow Man An Archaeological Sensation.

Fascinating read about the Druids, Romans and Celts in ancient Britain and Europe.

Lindow Man was found in a bog very well preserved and Anne Ross and Don Robins did an incredible job of uncovering who, what, when and why in regard to who he was and how he came to be sacrificed.