Matty D

Wow, a lot of pain and self abuse

Revisado: 04-28-21

Pretty harrowing stuff. I don’t know if I feel better for having listened to it, but it’s a compelling story. I hope Hunter stays strong and clean and doesn’t go back to the dark place he swelled for so long.

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Fun summer horror with some dire warnings

Revisado: 07-06-20

This book shows how the process of evolution does not have to be a one way street. A group of people who are shamelessly "progressive" with both eyes on the future are essentially pummeled back to the stone age by a natural catastrophe. Those solar panels and poop-recycling power-plants all seem cool and futuristic until the reality sets in that nobody there seems to have any idea how to actually survive when it all comes crashing down. Watching the hierarchy of power crumble and invert was quite satisfying, even from a fictionalized distance.

Although this book was very different from Brooks other major novel, World War Z, I enjoyed how he used his tactic of revealing the story through multiple narrators. Most of the work is done here by Katy (voiced by Judy Greer), but we hear accounts of the calamity, fallout, and scientific research from various other narrators who are somehow connected to the plot. This is a great tool that Brooks has made into his own device, offering multiple perspectives.

I found it easy to get through this Audiobook in just a few sittings. The spooky atmosphere of Devolution pairs very well with a thunder and lightning storm… at least it did for me!

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This is our tax money at work

Revisado: 03-12-20

I love this book and Annie Jacobsen’s catalog in declassified government programs. I’m not reading this to shoot holes in theories or to credit/discredit the underlying research. What is interesting to me is how long and persistently our government ran these programs. That is our government at work. When I hear that old schools can’t get new books or dilapidated roads cannot be paved, I will think about how our government paid to strap a polygraph (lie detector) to a houseplant and then set the plant on fire to “read its thoughts.”

Jacobsen gives a well rounded portrait of the figures involved, revealing their beliefs and their apprehensions as the work proceeded. She does a great job of giving an honest, document/witness-based account of events, without coloring it with her own beliefs about the validity of the work. She only really gives her own opinions briefly at the end of the book, and I largely agree with her position.

What are we left with? More questions. As most government programs go, it grows and grows until it becomes impossible to tune out the signal from the noise. There are notable outcomes that defy all expectations and leave you wondering how to explain what happened, but it gets lost in the feuds and noise of people who are resistant to change their own thinking about the unexplainable.

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esto le resultó útil a 10 personas

Mitchell is great, but lecture is cut off

Revisado: 02-24-20

I was thoroughly enjoying the first lecture when I was startled by its sudden ending, while Mitchell was in the middle of a particularly interesting sentence.

His ideas are great, very open minded consciousness-expanding stuff. But it is a little disappointing to pay money for something only to find out that you’ve gotten something incomplete.

YouTube might have lectures on these realms that you would not be wasting money on. I can’t recommend this particular title just because the lecture is rudely interrupted and thus is not worthy of your money.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Unveiling the darkness of the Middle East

Revisado: 02-18-20

I don’t usually call a book “important” but I do feel like the information conveyed throughout Black Wave is essential for modern Americans. I am in my mid 30s, and almost my entire cognitive life, the American military has been campaigning across the Middle East. There have only been a few years of my life that America was not in an open war against Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, or carrying out other missions in Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon or Syria. Despite this ongoing war effort, I had never been able to answer the questions “what are America’s objectives in the Middle East? Who are our allies and enemies? Why?” This book helped to de-shroud some of that mystery and showed me the deeper history and inter-tangled rats-nests that have kept our troops in the region. I am no closer to a solution to the problems there, but I do feel like I understand the situation much better.

As an English-only American, I frequently stumble on stories about the Middle East because some of the names and places seem so foreign that I could never really understand what was happening. This book helped to change that. I am immensely grateful to Kim Ghattas for putting together this essential tome which could help provide clarity for the common man and, hopefully, some people with the powers to fix the situation.

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esto le resultó útil a 13 personas

Peaceful and serene listen…even though I have not done the meditations

Revisado: 01-09-20

This book explores the scientific and metaphysical benefits of mindfulness and meditation. For me, I am always on the go and rarely have time to sit and absorb a similar activity. I am constantly multitasking. Perhaps I should slow down, but that’s my situation. As such, I struggle to find time to practice the meditations proscribed in this book.

Despite that, I did still enjoy this book very much. I try to incorporate some of the philosophies described to achieve a more balanced, rational, and calm outlook in my daily life. I want to find more time to practice the meditations, but even just as a spiritual guide to get yourself more mindful of the big jumbled mess that we are all a part of can go a long way.

At times, his words feel like a scientific modernization of hermetic thought and other mystical/spiritual philosophies. This is a very much welcome quality to any book on my bookshelf.

The narrator’s performance was great too. His calm tone and subtle accent carried this story very well.

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You don’t have to believe the esoteric knowledge to see how it has sculpted our world

Revisado: 11-20-19

This book has opened doors in my mind. As a poorly-developed “agnostic” who never spent more time in a church or temple than I needed to, this really helped to show the origins of faith and why it means so much to our world. Whether you believe the esoteric and spiritual ideas that forged much of the story, it is plain to see the influence on art and culture throughout the world.

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Interesting account of this man’s time in service to America

Revisado: 03-25-19

I breezed through this book very quickly. McCabe enhances his story with his excellent reading, delivering all the facts in a calm, measured tone. Aside from the calamity of events stemming from the 2016 election and beyond, McCabe talks about other major, historical cases that he was a part of. As a resident of Watertown, MA, I found his telling of the Boston Marathon Bombing to be fascinating and illuminating.

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3 MCs and 1 DJ and a whole lot of friends and family

Revisado: 01-16-19

This book blew my mind in several ways. If you are a fan of the Beastie Boys, GET IT! The stories feel true and authentic, not glorified or one sided. They talk about the highlites but also the remorse, the regrets, the performances that flopped. It’s really got the good, the bad, and the ugly.

As a big BB fan, I got the Audible version along with a hardcover. Both provide unique experiences and I am glad I got both. This Audible version features dozens of guest readers who do a wonderful job of telling the stories. It’s great to hear AdRock and Mike D telling the stories in their own voices, and I really like how the parenthetical/foot notes are interjected in their own voices.

This book was a real roller coaster for me. These songs and videos and the overall catalog produced by the BBs is ingrained in my brain since I could barely walk. I grew up with them. The book had my laughing, sympathizing, crying, and everything. At the end, I just really want to find Mike and Adam and give them hugs. Their output was a gift to me and my generation and I am really grateful that they put together this amazing collection of stories that essentially give you their whole life.

Thank you, Beastie Boys. You’re always in my heart.

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