7 Very Funny Books

The past year or so I have found a new appreciation for public libraries.  I have been lucky enough to live near some of the nicest libraries I have ever seen.  They are basically Barnes and Nobles where everything is free!

When I go to the library my intention is always to find a thought provoking book to read, but instead most of my time is spent on the free WiFi and browsing cds and movies.  Like most people I know, I feel like I should read more books.  I read news articles and essays on a daily basis, but this is mostly done online.  The information is up to date and easily accessible, but does not seem as satisfying as reading it on printed paper (though suddenly I realize that this sounds more like an appeal for reading newspapers).  Either way, reading something not on a computer is a good feeling.  That is why I try to have one book that I am in the process of reading at all times.

Currently, I am reading Shatner Rules by William Shatner.  I am only a few chapters in, but so far it is very funny.  This led me to the realization that I have read a good number of funny books recently.  In fact, the only kind of book I have read with any regularity over the past year have been humor books.  While they might not be revered tomes with important information, they are entertaining.

Most are irreverent, comical, and easy to read, while some do offer important ideas and life lessons.  All of them contain printed pages, so even if they aren't important works about important things, I can still feel good about the fact that I am reading a book!

Below are a list of 7 Very Funny Books that I have read recently.  If you have not read some or all, I would recommend that you check them out.  If you have read them then please share your opinions and/ or recommendations for similar funny books. Thank you as always for stopping by and take care.

1) My Custom Van- Michael Ian Black.  The Billy Joel story alone is reason to read this book from my favorite State cast member.

2) In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks... And Other Complaints From an Angry Middle-Aged White Guy- Adam Carolla.  Basically, all the things Carolla sees as wrong with the current status quo.  Funny and frequently thought provoking, even if you don't agree with all of his ideas.  Although, his idea about pies and cakes is spot on and should be universally accepted.

3) The Perry Bible Fellowship- Nicholas Gurewitch.  A collection of comic strips fit into a large coffee table book.  I found most them very funny (the happy gopher in particular), but be warned that it is very dark.

4) Eating the Dinosaur- Chuck Klosterman.   I have read Klosterman's previous books and like them, but this might be my favorite.  His musings on time travel are especially memorable.

5) Ant Farm- Simon Rich.  Goofy and intelligent short stories fill this book by Harvard Alum, Simon Rich.  The reasons to use a specific kind of math made me literally laugh out loud.

6) Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk- David Sedaris.  Everyone likes Sedaris, but for some reason this work of comic fables did not get much praise.  I think it is a bit uneven, but definitely worth reading.

7) The Internet is a Playground- David Thorne.  A collection from the author of  27bslash6.com.  There are email correspondence and other sarcastic offerings.  I especially enjoyed the back and forth he had with an angry West Virginian.

It has been a while...

It has been a few weeks since my last post; Time filled with additional visitors, joining a couple soccer leagues, Thanksgiving trip to San Diego, and the usual quality time with my lovely girlfriend.  I have taken to the habit of bringing my camera with me on a daily basis so I can catch any and all spontaneous photo opportunities that present themselves.  Unfortunately, these have been few and far between, but I still think it is a good idea.  Below are some various shots from over the past couple weeks.

There will undoubtedly be an official Holiday addition of Dirty Thirty Photography and I am trying to get Rachel to go with me to the zoo to shoot some animals.  Until then, thank you for stopping by and take care.

Train tunnel in downtown San Jose.

I found this sign interesting and thought it would look great with some extra dark and gritty style.

Disinterested vendor in Union Square.

Holiday Bokeh.

I used a long shutter speed and tripod to get this shot of Rachel in front of the Hayward Bridge just after sunset.

Texture.

Under a bridge in Foster City.

Fishermen casting off the Pacifica Pier.

Pacifica, CA.

Reflections of power lines.

A preview of Christmas with Rachel and I.  We were going for a vintage, pseudo-hipster, look.  You will also notice that although the picture is meant to be goofy, we are holding some of our favorite things. (Camera for me and tiny Absolute bottle for Rachel).

Muir Woods and other sites of interest

This past weekend two of my best friends (Brad and Eric) came to visit.  Having visitors is great for two reasons: the first being that it is always good to see old friends, and the second is that it forces one to see and do things that one might not do alone.  This was true this past weekend as we visited several places I had not seen including Coit Tower, Muir Woods, Sausalito, and tailgating at a Stanford game.  We also ate one very touristy meal at the Stinking Rose.  I am glad to finally try the Rose, but the damage that the copious amounts of garlic did on us and my apartment is unspeakable.  The only downtime was filled with rounds of Mario Kart which is guaranteed fun even if I always lose in the end because of that son of a bitch Rainbow Road!

Below are some pictures of where we went.  I did not bring my camera around the whole time so there are no shots of Coit or the Stanford game.  Although, I will definitely return to both with Camera in tow.  I also want to return to Muir Woods with a flash, tripod, and more time because it is amazing and these pictures do not do it justice.

Thank you for stopping by and take care until next time...

View of city from Sausalito.

Eric, Rachel, and Brad.

Brad standing on fallen tree...

Brad falling off fallen tree.

Sunset at the real Ocean Beach.

My catalog shot selling women's peacoats.

Police follow Occupy SF march.

Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Wall Street has been going on for awhile now and I have wanted to check out and photograph the San Francisco contingent.  I finally made it to the City yesterday and visited the encampment located at the Embarcadero, across from the Ferry Building.  The time frame in which I visited was rather quiet.  The protesters were holding their daily assembly to discuss ideas and upcoming actions.  There appeared to be about 40-50 people at the assembly and a couple dozen others strewn throughout the encampment.  I didn't stay long and the pictures I took were not fiery, but instead show the quieter, almost mundane part of the protest.

Before the pictures, I want to offer my brief opinion of the protest and what it means.  My view is based mostly on news reports and articles, as well as my one visit to the one protest site.  I think it is important to remember that these protest are going on all over the country and even other parts of the world.  Overall, I agree with the basic premise of the protest.  There is too much inequality in wealth and it is becoming greater.  No matter your political opinions or state in life, I find it hard to believe that most people don't agree with this.  Unless of course you are part of the super rich.  I think the protest are a success in the fact that it brings this inequality to the forefront of public view.  The downfall of these protest is in the many other issues being protested and the state of some of the protesters.  There seems to be many different and often confusing issues being addressed.  There also seems to be many "protesters" that are protesting little more than good hygiene and not being on drugs.  I can attest to this first hand with what I saw yesterday.  Those who oppose the protest and view its participants as entitled and lazy are sure to site these people as insincere and rightfully so.

However, what is being lost is that many of these people are sincere and have intelligent, well thought out things to say.  There is a growing inequality and these people are aware enough to point it out.  That is not to say that they do not have good lives.  Most of us do have very good lives, but that doesn't mean it can't be better.  My feeling is that the most important point of all of this is that no matter what the reason or level of competency, there is a growing amount of people that are dissatisfied enough to sleep in the streets and show their dissatisfaction.  There has been violence at some of the protests, most recently in Oakland.  It would be easy to dismiss this as criminal activity, but I think it might be indicative of something more troubling.  The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting restless.  I am no historian, but isn't this the basis for the fall of most of the great civilizations throughout history?  I do not really think that the US is going to fall into anarchy, but I think it wise to listen to the people willing to sleep in the streets to get their point across.  No matter what it is.

Thank you for reading my opinions and please check out my Occupy SF pictures below.  Take care.