Hey where you been

A funny thing happened on the way to my blog. . . I was kidnapped by Alien Space Bats? Drove my Delorean to fast? Accidentally discovered a rift in the time space continuum? Choose whichever you like best. A lot has happened it the last 7 months. First, we went on strike for a couple of days in September. Just long enough for me to spend 8 hours walking the picket line in a monsoon. Which are quite rare in Michigan by the way.

I also had the opportunity to read a number of great books. The few that especially stuck out as being superior are Life of Pi by Yann Martel, The Religion by Willocks, and Against the Day by Pynchon. It seems that Pynchon's work is getting more accessible, reading V. or The Crying of Lot 49 was hard work, though worth it. The more recent works like Mason and Dixon and Against the Day are less. . .I don't know exactly what word fits. . .cryptic? surreal?. . .well if you read them you know what I mean. But, Against the Day especially is more readable, followable, but still keeps that fantastic voice of Pynchon's earlier works. Truly great books.

I also started reading the "First Law" series by Joe Abercrombie. I enjoyed the first 2 books of the series, The Blade Itself, and Before they are Hanged. On a very sad note Robert Jordan passed since my last post. His books brought many people hours and hours of pleasure. There has been some Internet chat regarding someone else finishing the Wheel of Time, but I'm ambivalent on that.

If you look back at my post from August 18 of 2007 I hint at the Two Tier wage agreement and the death of democracy there in. . .well the new National Agreement grants that 2 tier system. Stay tuned for my rant on that.

Labor Day

Two weeks since my last post, I just haven't had the time or heart for it. It has been tough times at work. But, the three day weekend and thinking about the struggles that the Labor movement has gone through and come out stronger have lightened my mood considerably. It is a difficult time at work, 150 of my fellow workers are going to be forced to follow thier jobs to a plant 100 miles away and many peoples lives are being disrupted greatly. It is a sad thing.

Blah, Blah, Blah

I saw Karl Rove on Meet the Press yesterday and is it me or does he look like Truman Capote? But I digress. We have been having a drought all summer, but, it has rained for two days straight now and people are already complaining. I just finished DayWatch by Lukyanenko and I enjoyed it, though not as much as NightWatch. I'll have to pick up TwilightWatch soon. I also read where J.K. Rowling is working on a new book, some sort of mystery. I guess it is too much to hope that it will be some sort of Auror/detective novel. I can not possible complain that she has completed the Harry Potter series since the most frustrating literary experiences I have ever undergone are being stuck in a holding pattern for both the george r. r. martin, and Robert Jordan series. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Have I mentioned that I strongly believe there should be a Constitutional Amendmant forbidding both those guys from engaging in any dangerous or unhealthy behavior? I haven't? Well there should be. I am also rereading the Sorrow, Memory, and Thorn series from Tad Williams. I like it better the second time through, I can't remember why I was down on it.

Weighty Discussions

At work yesterday I had to go to the Toolroom and have some steel braces made for the chairs in the break area for negotiations. It seems the bottoms were breaking out of the chairs. (Please insert your own punchline here.). . .that's what I call heavy negotiations. I know it is bad but I couldn't help myself. Less than one month until our old agreement expires and this week we passed a strike authorization by 97%, so things could get interesting. I won't talk about the two tiered wage agreement, the erosion of the American working class, and the eventual downfall of western civilization (they're interrelated) but I won't. . .today.

DayWatch

I've just started reading DayWatch by Lukyanenko and it is an interesting sequel to NightWatch. He picks up where the first book leaves off but instead of keeping the same protagonist it is written from the viewpoint of the "enemy". It is quite interesting, although, if the reader had absolutely no knowledge of the Soviet era and Russia's current politics it might have parts that would be confusing.

The more I surf around on Blogspot and look at some of the "Blogs of Note" I wonder about the mental health care system in the U.S. 'cus let me tell you there are some seriously wacky sites. I mean there are some cool ones, I've mentioned a few in previous entries, but some of it is just incomprehensible crap. I mean, if it is for their own amusement, like mine is, then these people have some issues. If they are doing it for theoretical readers, then they have some MAJOR issues. Who wants to see a bunch of pictures of you and your drunken college friends? Not me. But hey if that is what you want to post on the Internet at least have some snarky captions or something.