Day 133: Some Missions Accomplished

First I would like to give a shout out to my loyal reader (and most regular commenter) Rob "The Tusk" Toscano. Thank you Rob. Shame on the rest of you.

Two major bits of unfinished business taken care of.

One, I finished the Merlin Trilogy. I started reading this book nearly 6 years ago. Done. Satisfied? Not entirely. See, this book (like the Steinbeck version) doesn't follow Camelot to it's inevitable fall. The story ends as Merlin's part in it ends. I guess I'll have to read a different version to get the whole story. I am going to go back to where this all began in 1996 with T.H. White's "The Once & Future King".

Two, I went to Chile! I skied in the middle of August. It was awesome. This was actually a graduation present; it just took 3 years to get it together.

Finally I started on a major bit of unfinished business. You might even say its as old as I am. My name, spelt C-O-N-O-R, comes from Elon Uris' novel "Trinity". Both my parents have obviously read this book, I have not. I'm about halfway through and loving it. I think it has epic mini-series written all over it. My namesake has thus far not been a disappointment.

That's all I've got for now. More wit and fun stuff to follow.

Dia Cien Diecicinco: Spanish Level 2

I cleverly disguised the fact that I haven't updated in 2 weeks by writing the days in Spanish. No one will ever know.

I have finished Level 2 of Latin American Spanish using the Rosetta Stone software! I assume that this works like a slower version of the hole in the back of the head stuff in The Matrix and I will be entirely fluent by the time I finish level 3. Wishful thinking?

One of the main differences between the Spanish spoken in Spain and the Spanish spoken in Latin America is that in Latin America they don't use the "vosotros" form, so we didn't learn it in high school and the Rosetta Stone doesn't teach it. But, in Chile they DO use a form of the vosotros in informal conversation. Fun!

I have 9 days before I leave. There are 4 units in Level 3 (the final level!). Can I do it? Probably not.

BTW cross another movie off the AFI List: The Gold Rush. Chaplin is great.

And just cause its been a while. Here's Bill Pullman.... IN SPANISH:

Day 100: Triple Digits.

Day 100. Really. Really? Damn. I have nothing to say.

Day 99: King Arthur

This one stretches back quite a while. I was a big King Arthur fan as a kid. I guess mostly I liked the Disney movie and magical swords. Sometime back in 5th grade or so I started reading T.H. White's "The Once and Future King" which was the basis for the Disney movie "The Sword in the Stone". I never finished it. In fairness, its actually 4 books complied into a single volume. I read at least 2.

There are other versions of the Arthurian legend, many of which I have picked up and read part of. I finished one. John Steinbeck's "The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Nights". Apparently Steinbeck died before he finished his version. My 10th grade British Lit teacher failed to tell us this before we came to the abrupt end. I am pretty sure Mrs. Richards hadn't read the book before and had no idea. To make a long story short (too late!) I have never read to the end of the Arthurian legend. In my head Camelot never fell (or something like that).

This is particularly sad considering some of my other unfinished business. My unfinished screenplay (the one I started back in high school) was to be based around the Arthurian legend. So without further ado, I will finish the nearest version of the King Arthur Legend: Mary Stewart's "Merlin Trilogy".

Like "The Once and Future King", this is actually several books compiled into a single volume. I have finished 2 out of 3. I made it as far as 625 pages out of 914, a few pages in to the 3rd book. Time me. (or on second thought, the last book too embarrassingly long; don't time me.)

Official Stats

Pages Read: 625

To Go: 293 (I am sliding back a few pages to start at the start of the final "book")

Wish me luck.

Day 98: Mission Accomplished (Part 1 of Many)

Yes Dear Readers, I have been avoiding you. And why shouldn't I? Its pretty embarrassing that it took me over 2 weeks to read 214 pages. This is among the many reasons I was not an English major. But you know what I quite enjoyed the book.

I just finished "Pride and Prejudice and Zombie" (for those of you who can't remember which book I was halfway done with 2 weeks ago). Its just as much fun as it sounds. What the title fails to tell you is that there are also ninjas. It is just as laugh out loud funny as it sounds. What is perhaps most amazing is how well martial arts battles against hordes of the undead fit perfectly into Jane Austen's Britain.

New book to be announced tomorrow (or really today if you look at the ungodly hour of this post). I think its only going to get more difficult from here.

Day 96: I've Been Busy

Okay? So get off my back.

Day 92: Steady as she goes

Got a job interview. Won't jinx it by posting the details in cyberspace.

12 left to go in the AFI list.

Still 147 pages left in 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies"

Sorry folks. That's all I got.