I have been reading Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan.  As you can tell from the title, it is a very solemn book that lacks humor.  Jim Gaffigan, the author, is a comedian most famous for his "Hot Pockets" bit and his high voice that is meant to imitate the audience's thoughts.  In his book, he tells of an awkward trip to the Grand Canyon with friends, talks about his children and wife, and the process of aging.

This is an amusing quote from the book that showcases Gaffigan's wit: "The phrase 'I have children' is always present tense.  They are always with me.  Even when I am by myself, I 'have children.'  When I travel I 'have children' who I feel guilty being away from.  If I'm in the bathroom enjoying some of Daddy's private time, I 'have children' who will knock on the bathroom door.  'Daddy, what are you doing in there?'  As if I'm being rude.  I 'have children' like I 'have male pattern baldness.' "

Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption is a story written by Stephen King.  It is centered around fictional character Andy Dufresne, who was (supposedly wrongly) accused of killing his wife and the man she was cheating on him with.  The story is narrated by another inmate in The Shawshank prison.  It is done in unique fashion, as the narrator subtly hints at what will happen without giving much of the story away.

King, while describing the process of the trial, often flashes forward to a event that happened after the natural timeline:  "Later, much later, he speculated to me about the clerk who testified on the subject of those dishtowels (that he had allegedly bought but had not remembered buying), and I think it's worth jotting down what he said."  Shawshank is an interesting book that, if your parents let you, you should give a try.

Blogging Reflection

This semester, I only completed one post.  It, obviously, is not something I would call a success.  I feel that it often seemed unimportant to me, and other homework trumped it on my list.  It was something that I did not prioritize.  I used my lab time to view other people's blog posts (and socialize) a bit too much.  I did not get into enough IR books, and part of the problem with that was that I don't like reading two texts at once, as it hurts reading comprehension and I can mix plot details up in the texts.  I need to make blogging more of a priority next semester.  I need to make independent reading more of a priority as well.

http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/yeek7a/-america-again--release

America Again: Rebecoming the Greatness we Never weren't, written by Stephen Colbert, is a book about what American citizens can do to revitalize America (and mostly rants on unrelated topics).  Stephen discusses the aspects of the American economy, including jobs and the American Dream.  His character is an exaggerated conservative who had outrageous viewpoints on political issues.  This persona is carried over from his television show, The Colbert Report.  These are his thoughts on labor laws:  "Unions' impossible rule makes it too expensive to manufacture anything in America.  Case in point:  this book.  It was hand-sewn by Bangladeshi toddlers.  American workers just don't have hands small enough to manually typeset the tiny footnotes. (Footnote:  Thanks for nothing, American child labor laws!)

"From the get-go, workers rights were a regulatory overreach by weaklings who couldn't handle an honest 185-hour workweek.  Yes, there are only 168 hours in a week, so their employers would generously loan them the extra 17 hours, and their children would repay it by disentangling the threshing teeth of the wool mangle."

As you can see, Colbert is outrageous (and outrageously funny), and his book has been a perfect encapsulation of his fake persona.