The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper is a series of books that I have been considering reading for quite a while. I have heard many good things about them. They have been compared to The Lord of the Rings and The Chroicles of Narnia and it is a Newbury Honor Book. They even made a movie out of this book last year, though it did not do so well. So I picked it up.
I was actually fairly disappointed in this book. The story was alright but the way it was written was more likely to put me to sleep than to keep me interested in what was going on. It seemed like everything just took a very long time to happen, even when characters are explaining some key plot points the story just seems to drag on. The story was OK but nothing really different or noteworthy.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Bailout?
I have been having a really difficult time with all of this talk about an economic bailout and as I have listened to the discussion about it from a variety of sources and it just bothers me that all everyone wants to do it throw blame and money at the problem.
First lets talk about the blame. I am sick and tired of hearing that the blame is to fall on "the failed economic policies of the past 8 years." Is it the Bush tax cuts that got us into this?
From what I understand this is a credit issue. Too many banks making too many risky loans to too many people who were not able to keep up with these absurd adjustments in the mortgage rates.
Are the people who took out the loans to blame? Well, yes they should have realized that there was no way they could keep up, but why were these individuals offered these programs in the first place?
Are those greedy banks to blame? Why are banks offering these illogical loans anyway? I guess in a way they were playing the housing market and hoping to bennefit. Isn't that what the individuals who took out the loans were doing as well?
Or maybe it is the governments fault, this lack of regulations that everyone is talking about. Was there a relaxing of regulations during the last 8 years? Probably, but what about the increase in regulations that required certain banks (including Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae), to issue more risky loans in order to assist low income families in buying a home?
So the government pushes the program for political gain, the banks push the program for financial gain and the individuals who took out the loan did so for personal gain. In a case where houses continue to sale and home values continue to rise this situation could continue to bennefit everyone. However, as with all forms speculation there are down turns and when all of these payments began to increase almost simultaneouly everyone party to these loans suffers. Unfortunately in this situation not only those who participated in these programs suffer but everybody is suffering to one extent or another our whole economy is seffering.
So how do we fix the problem? I am no economist but if this crisis is a function of credit than lets help banks increase their ability to lend money. We already tried that before Bush left office. What about helping people keep their homes? Is this really the best idea? Most of these people bought houses that they could not afford and will not be able to pay off their loans. I don't want them to be stuck but something needs to happen so that they are not thrown out on the street but all should not just be forgiven either. This is a complicated situation to which we all wish there was a simple solution but throwing money at it is not going to work.
What of this $789 Billion dollar plan that congress has come up with? What exactly is in this bill? All I have heard is that it is needed immediatly to stimulate the economy and if it does not happen things will get worse and that it will create 3.5 Million jobs. The only substantial claim in there is that this bill will create Jobs. So if we are spending $789 Billion to 3.5 million jobs than each of these jobs is costing the government $225,428.57. If that is the pay for these new jobs than line me up for one. I'll take it right now!
What I want to know is how is this Bill going to increase the amount of credit?
How is this bill going to help these individuals who are not able to pay for their house but still holding them accountable for their mistakes?
And finally how do we increase the cash flow in the economy?
Can anyone answer me that?
First lets talk about the blame. I am sick and tired of hearing that the blame is to fall on "the failed economic policies of the past 8 years." Is it the Bush tax cuts that got us into this?
From what I understand this is a credit issue. Too many banks making too many risky loans to too many people who were not able to keep up with these absurd adjustments in the mortgage rates.
Are the people who took out the loans to blame? Well, yes they should have realized that there was no way they could keep up, but why were these individuals offered these programs in the first place?
Are those greedy banks to blame? Why are banks offering these illogical loans anyway? I guess in a way they were playing the housing market and hoping to bennefit. Isn't that what the individuals who took out the loans were doing as well?
Or maybe it is the governments fault, this lack of regulations that everyone is talking about. Was there a relaxing of regulations during the last 8 years? Probably, but what about the increase in regulations that required certain banks (including Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae), to issue more risky loans in order to assist low income families in buying a home?
So the government pushes the program for political gain, the banks push the program for financial gain and the individuals who took out the loan did so for personal gain. In a case where houses continue to sale and home values continue to rise this situation could continue to bennefit everyone. However, as with all forms speculation there are down turns and when all of these payments began to increase almost simultaneouly everyone party to these loans suffers. Unfortunately in this situation not only those who participated in these programs suffer but everybody is suffering to one extent or another our whole economy is seffering.
So how do we fix the problem? I am no economist but if this crisis is a function of credit than lets help banks increase their ability to lend money. We already tried that before Bush left office. What about helping people keep their homes? Is this really the best idea? Most of these people bought houses that they could not afford and will not be able to pay off their loans. I don't want them to be stuck but something needs to happen so that they are not thrown out on the street but all should not just be forgiven either. This is a complicated situation to which we all wish there was a simple solution but throwing money at it is not going to work.
What of this $789 Billion dollar plan that congress has come up with? What exactly is in this bill? All I have heard is that it is needed immediatly to stimulate the economy and if it does not happen things will get worse and that it will create 3.5 Million jobs. The only substantial claim in there is that this bill will create Jobs. So if we are spending $789 Billion to 3.5 million jobs than each of these jobs is costing the government $225,428.57. If that is the pay for these new jobs than line me up for one. I'll take it right now!
What I want to know is how is this Bill going to increase the amount of credit?
How is this bill going to help these individuals who are not able to pay for their house but still holding them accountable for their mistakes?
And finally how do we increase the cash flow in the economy?
Can anyone answer me that?
Monday, February 9, 2009
The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull
I picked up this book the other day to reread and even though it is not quite as good as I remembered it I still really like this book. Brandon Mull is one of my favorite YA authors and I have no problem rereading his books. My favorite of his is still the second Fablehaven book but this one is still up there. I really enjoy the way Mull describes the action in his books. He draws me in and I can't wait to see how things will turn out. He is also good with twists in his books however rereading this one I noticed that there are several conversation amongst the characters in the story where pertinent information about the twist would have been shared amongst the characters but it was intentionally left out by Mull to preserve the surprise ending. I do not want to ruin this for those who have not read it but I am share a little bit of information about it. Several times the main characters talk about what magic candy they have left yet not once in any of these conversations does Nate reveal all that he has. That conspicuous neglect on the part of the author was not consistant with the character of Nate and was only left out to preserve the surprise ending. This did not matter the first time I read it but after I knew the results it was a glaring absence. I still really enjoyed the book and will probably read it again some time. I can't wait until Fablehaven 4 comes out in March. I'll have to reread 3 to prepare for it.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
9 Books
I have very much neglected writing about the books I have read over Christmas and since then. Everything has been really busy (and it doesn't help that we got a Wii for Christmas). So here I am going to go over the books I have read since the last post and there have been a few.
From the End of Heaven and Clear as the Moon books 5 and 6 of the series The Great and Terrible by Chris Stewart.
As with the rest of this series these books are very well written and explore some very realistic future possibilities. The one complaint I have was a lack of resolving some very important issues. The major dilema is resolved however some of the accompanying problems are just glosses over and not really solved. I would highly recomend this series to everyone (however those that subscribe to an LDS perspective will find much more to relate to).
Pillage by Obert Skye
I had high hopes for this book because I really like the way Skye writes however I have not liked the how he presents the worlds he has created. In Pillage he does a great job of setting up the Mystery and suspence that is involved and I really enjoyed that part of the book. It kind of fell apart after all of the Mystery was gone. This book was far better than all of the books in his Leven Thumps Series. Maybe the last book in that series will be better.
Water Keep by J. Scott Savage
Pretty good book that has many traditional fantasy plot devices, orphaned children with special gifts, unknown parents/ancestery and the like. It is different from some others in that it deals with handicaping conditions in the two main characters, a physical hanicap for one and a magical handicap for the other. This was a descent start to what appears to be a four book series.
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
After hearing a lot of this book and in anticipation of seeing the Movie I picked this one up and was quite disappointed. It may have been that I was just expecting too much. I just found it kind of plain and not incrediblly entertaining. I still haven't seen the movie yet but I wonder if I will like it more than I liked the book.
Rolling with the Tide by Jeff Call
The second novel by LDS author Jeff Call, and one that I think is much better written. The story of and LDS Quarterback who ends up playing for the Alabama Crimson Tide. I really enjoyed this story about the extreem challanges that face an extrodinarilly talented young man.
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
This book has become something of a national phenomenon and I don't think that I would have read it had I not gotten it as a gift for Christmas. Not that I didn't want to read it but It did not stand out to me. I began reading it and I really enjoyed the book. The author talks about having a fulfilling life by realizing your childhood dreams. He also talks about the lessons he has learned to live by and how one canhelp other realize their dreams. A very uplifting book and one that really made me take a look at my own life.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling
This was an interesting addition to the Harry Potter books that is enjoyable in and of itself however it does not add anything to the origional story. Neither does it have the same charm or intensity as the Harry Potter books. A good quick read.
The Innocent by Harlan Coben
I got this book for free and I have seen so many of his books around that I thought it might be interesting to give it a try. However I now know why I have always avoided this typical Adult fiction. I really enjoy reading both Young Adult and Adult books however I am always leary of "Adult" books because I don't want to read offensive material and for the most part the books I have read I have been able to avoid anything too bad (even though just about every author has to throw in some language and sex so it has to be an "Adult" book). This book was not awful however what I thought would be an intriguing murder mystery ended up being a convoluted though intriging story that involved more strippers than police officers. The mystery was intriging and kept me reading however the resolution was far from satisfying. I don't think that I will read another of his books.
From the End of Heaven and Clear as the Moon books 5 and 6 of the series The Great and Terrible by Chris Stewart.
As with the rest of this series these books are very well written and explore some very realistic future possibilities. The one complaint I have was a lack of resolving some very important issues. The major dilema is resolved however some of the accompanying problems are just glosses over and not really solved. I would highly recomend this series to everyone (however those that subscribe to an LDS perspective will find much more to relate to).
Pillage by Obert Skye
I had high hopes for this book because I really like the way Skye writes however I have not liked the how he presents the worlds he has created. In Pillage he does a great job of setting up the Mystery and suspence that is involved and I really enjoyed that part of the book. It kind of fell apart after all of the Mystery was gone. This book was far better than all of the books in his Leven Thumps Series. Maybe the last book in that series will be better.
Water Keep by J. Scott Savage
Pretty good book that has many traditional fantasy plot devices, orphaned children with special gifts, unknown parents/ancestery and the like. It is different from some others in that it deals with handicaping conditions in the two main characters, a physical hanicap for one and a magical handicap for the other. This was a descent start to what appears to be a four book series.
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
After hearing a lot of this book and in anticipation of seeing the Movie I picked this one up and was quite disappointed. It may have been that I was just expecting too much. I just found it kind of plain and not incrediblly entertaining. I still haven't seen the movie yet but I wonder if I will like it more than I liked the book.
Rolling with the Tide by Jeff Call
The second novel by LDS author Jeff Call, and one that I think is much better written. The story of and LDS Quarterback who ends up playing for the Alabama Crimson Tide. I really enjoyed this story about the extreem challanges that face an extrodinarilly talented young man.
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
This book has become something of a national phenomenon and I don't think that I would have read it had I not gotten it as a gift for Christmas. Not that I didn't want to read it but It did not stand out to me. I began reading it and I really enjoyed the book. The author talks about having a fulfilling life by realizing your childhood dreams. He also talks about the lessons he has learned to live by and how one canhelp other realize their dreams. A very uplifting book and one that really made me take a look at my own life.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling
This was an interesting addition to the Harry Potter books that is enjoyable in and of itself however it does not add anything to the origional story. Neither does it have the same charm or intensity as the Harry Potter books. A good quick read.
The Innocent by Harlan Coben
I got this book for free and I have seen so many of his books around that I thought it might be interesting to give it a try. However I now know why I have always avoided this typical Adult fiction. I really enjoy reading both Young Adult and Adult books however I am always leary of "Adult" books because I don't want to read offensive material and for the most part the books I have read I have been able to avoid anything too bad (even though just about every author has to throw in some language and sex so it has to be an "Adult" book). This book was not awful however what I thought would be an intriguing murder mystery ended up being a convoluted though intriging story that involved more strippers than police officers. The mystery was intriging and kept me reading however the resolution was far from satisfying. I don't think that I will read another of his books.
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