Further Assimilations

This is a list of the 50 most significant science fiction/fantasynovels, 1953-2002, according to the Science Fiction Book Club. Bold the ones you've read, strike-out the ones you hated, italicize those you started but never finished and put an asterisk beside the ones you loved.

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien**
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov*
3. Dune, Frank Herbert**
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson*
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
( The rest of the top 50 )
Some pretty good stuff here - very little that I'd say doesn't belong on the list. There's quite a few unbolded ones that I mean to get around to eventually; maybe I should print this out for the next time I hit the used bookstore.

Just in case anyone hasn't heard, the IQ Challenge meme is apparently a prank, and the numbers are rather meaningless. Some folks would sya that's true of many IQ tests out there, but I'll leave that debate to others for now.

I've been using something called "AXE Snake Peel" in the shower for a few weeks. Rain bought it for me... it's mildly abrasive, smells good, and seems to be fine for washing up. Their website, though, asks me to use their product and join the "Order of the Serpentine". Y'know... I just don't feel I need to become a member of a "secret" society just to use a bath soap.

As so often happens when I'm composing morning journal entries, there was something else I wanted to say, but I forget. Ah well. Guess that means I have to go to work now.

I'll try this one out, since it was an interesting mental exercise.

Name a CD you own that you think no-one else on your friends list does.
Matsuri Za: Matsuri Daiko (taiko drumming)
Signed by the artists, who were performing at Epcot while raininva and I were there.

Name a book you own that you think no-one else on your friends list does.
Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
A book on number theory, surrealist art, classical music, computer programming, cellular biology, and more. Not light bedtime reading.

Name a movie you own on DVD/VHS/whatever that you think no-one else on your friends list does.
"J-Men Forever"
This was a HARD one. Movies are social for me, so nearly every one I have was purchased off a recommendation or was a gift from someone else who already has it. (I assume we're excluding those films which celebrate the inventiveness humanity brings to the act of reproduction.)

Name a place that you have visited that you think no-one else on your friends list has.
The Ghiradelli Chocolate factory in S.F.
My first choice was the National Geographic Society building in D.C., but it's just too close by, and I know too many intellectual types who might have swung by there :)

Name a piece of technology or any sort of tool you own that you think no-one else on your friends list has.
An Apple Newton MessagePad
This one, OTOH, I feel quite confident about!

I succumbed to this meme because I find word origins interesting.

Click the following url and type in your name: http://www.bostonuk.com/names/default.asp

-----

Michael : "Like the Lord" : Hebrew

Creative, versatile and imaginative you appreciate beauty in all forms. You have great inner strength and courage and have the ability to accept large responsibilities or challenging situations with patience and humility. Others admire these qualities and follow your lead. You are honest, discerning and self-disciplined and need to have a peaceful environment. Putting others before self your talents are used to make life better for everyone.

-----

"Self-disciplined?" Uh-huh. Sure. I have about as much discipline as a kindergarten class with an absent teacher. Ah, well.

I did the Google meme back in November 2002. Rather than re-post it, I'll just drop a link; the phrases it gave me are in italics, my comments in plain text.

Sure, it would probably come out different 2.5 years later - an era in Internet terms - but I'm too tired to re-do it :)

This one's been on my mind for a few days. I blame the alignment of the planets.

Situation: you have a shiny-new Starfleet food replicator, the kind that takes molecular building blocks from storage and makes any kind of food you want based on patterns you've loaded or scanned in.

( Poll cut to protect the squeamish )

I know. I'm a weirdo.

After reading about the fun that kittykatya, eeedge, jsciv and impink are having, I put a copy of Katamari Damacy (PS2) on my Wish List, and raininva bought it for my birthday. This game is incredibly surreal and trippy, and has that wonderful "let me just try this level one more time" quality. The player must rebuild stars by rolling together clumps of loose objects on Earth - you have to try it out to understand it. Highly recommended.

Finished watching the Brent Spiner episodes of Enterprise. Pretty good overall, with the last episode the strongest. Despite its enjoyability, the arc hit some of the most tiresome cliches in Star Trek: "it only takes five guys to take over a Starfleet vessel", "with the fate of humanity at stake, we'll nevertheless give the bad guys all the access codes they want if they threaten one of the show's stars", "the Enterprise isn't worth diddly in a real fight unless the heroes know their opponent's Secret Weak Point(tm)". Yes, they all made sense in the story context, I'm just tired of seeing them again.

The Meyers-Briggs-Trek personality test says that I'm an INFP, much like Kes or Elim Garak. Rain's response was "Garak? Eww! Well... hm. Actually..."

"Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew..." - Sam Gamgee rapping about taters.

Try me! I'm Chocolate Chip

Or at least, I would be if I was a muffin. *grin* People who match chocolate chip muffins are modern and fast-paced, if a bit generic. We're usually go-getters that like flashy new things and socializing. Just don't try eating us before we've baked; raw eggs and baker's chocolate are a bad mix. *wink*

Take the Muffin Quiz to find out your variety. Quiz created by LJ user Seeking_Insight.

Remember, Muffin is the path to Illumination. No Hot Dog Buns!

I did the "Opera" quiz... it was a moment of weakness.

( No, I don't mean the web browser. )

I couldn't help myself. The power of lemmings compels me! The power of lemmings compels me!

( I lj-cut it, at least )