Piece of Pooh

Let me get the message out clearly from the start. I hate Winnie the Pooh. Many people believe that Disney has made a mockery of classic fairy tales and other stories. I wouldn't count myself among them, but in this case I was actually hoping those opinions would ring true. After reading Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls I thought I would look for a "classic" that was a little more lighthearted and a quicker read. A. A. Milne's Pooh seemed to be a good choice. Man I chose the wrong book. Story after story of this asinine bear and his equally aggravating friends kept this book on my shelf far too long.

100 Books 100 Years

I have departed on the adventure of reading the best 100 novels of the past 100 years (give or take a few novels and years). Why would I do this? There are a number of reasons, the least of which is that these books can be found at my local library free of charge. Amongst the best is that I enjoy being a knowledgeable audience. I am not well-read enough to decide which books should qualify. Instead, I used the power of Google to find lists generated by the folks at the Modern Library, Radcliffe Publishing, and Time magazine. As I read I will be compiling my own ranking and posting it in the column on the right. I may even add a few not in any of the lists above. This type of reading is out of the ordinary for me. I really enjoy reading, but I am going to hit some novels on these lists that I would never have considered reading or read long ago and look upon poorly. The word "classic" is way overused. In other mediums I often find the "classics" highly annoying. You can't pay me enough to sit through an I Love Lucy episode or black and white cinematic melodrama. I am hoping the same can't be said for the books on these lists. As I proceed along I won't be shy about sharing my opinions (one of the privileges of having your own blog). I won't post on every novel I read, but I have the feeling that I will have plenty of material to comment on.

Birthday Ride

Last year, after almost a decade long hiatus from snowboarding I finally returned to the slopes. This year I was determined to not let another eon pass before I found my way back to the black diamonds, blue squares, green circles... whatever. There is nothing like a birthday ride and the days of aching muscles and joints to remind me that I am getting older. Armed with new gear and a free lift ticket for my birthday I headed up to the Mt. High Ski Resort. In this case the word resort should be interpreted loosely, but it serves the purpose. The new gear provides many functions. The first I must admit is to make me look cool. Hey, if you can't board well at least you can look good doing it. The second is to keep me safe. The helmet may make me look like a Spaceball, but it keeps the cranium intact when the brain is one-upped by daring (otherwise known as stupidity). Besides, nothing screams safety like a guy in line for the lift with a beer or the contact high you get while walking through the parking lot. Back to my point. The final reason for obliterating my 401K and emptying the kids' college fund for new gear is to justify more trips to the local mountains (requiring more $$$). Its twisted logic, but it serves me well. The more trips I can squeeze in this season the better. In all honestly though its a great diversion. Especially for a geek like me who sits in front a computer most of the day. It's hard to beat the stunning mountain views and snow. With our great weather it’s rarely too cold to enjoy yourself. Unless of course you are one of those dudes who wears socks to bed. If so there is probably no hope for you anyway.

Launch

I've debated for a long time whether I wanted to join the world of blogging. There are millions of aimless voices out there with frankly, not too much to say. My ego hasn't sufficiently swelled enough to think you may care that I had a bagel and cereal for breakfast or that my favorite color is blue. Even on the topics I do choose to write about it may not be long before the Back button on your browser starts calling your name. Once in a while someone does ask for my opinion though. Don't laugh! The opinions are not about saving the world (I don't know any cheerleaders) or dispensing advice of the Dear Abby variety. Usually the questions are about movies, books, or the latest water cooler talk. Basically all the topics everyone is an expert on already. I will be posting my reviews of movies I have watched, books I have read, and commentary on anything that strikes me as interesting. If I really feel like scaring you away I may even speak a little geek. Honestly, that is the joy of having my own blog. I get to dictate the terms, you just get to come along for the ride (though you can mercilessly comment on each post). Whether I have 1 reader or 5 (quite a lofty goal) I will continue to post new entries until it is no longer fun anymore and I take my ball and go home. If you've made it this far, thank you. If you would like to continue on, I admire your bravery, or depravity as it may be. Just to get you quickly versed on the ins and outs of Planet H, I'll give you the 5-cent tour. The front page for PlanetH will always contain the latest entries. Use the menu on the lower right to navigate directly to areas of interest. Thats about it. Let me know what you think.

There and Back Again

Somewhere between adolescence and adulthood I managed to skirt reading The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Of the many books and Cliff notes I have read over the years this classic flew under the radar. I usually read a number of crime/mystery novels each year, but I recently decided to branch out a little. I would like to say this was due to some noble desire to transform my literary world, but in reality it was probably due to the extra time caused by the TV writers strike earlier this year (yes, I watch too many shows, curse you DVR!). No, Oprah's book of the month didn't start sounding fascinating. Instead, murder, mystery, and forensics were replaced (in part) with dwarfs, wizards, and elves. I tore through the Harry Potter series. In case you live in a hole or have yet to tire of hearing the series praised, these were some of the best books I have ever read. I then moved onto the Chronicles of Narnia series (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is particularly good). That brings us to The Hobbit. Now don't write this book off as a "children's book." If I had that attitude my only impression of Harry Potter would be what I've seen on DVD. Pretty unforgivable. Also keep in mind that I have never been a huge fan of books whose category is often labeled "Fantasy." I don't play Warcraft and I have never been known as Elf_Lord215. With that said, I highly recommend giving this book a try if you haven't already, especially before the new movie is released. I paid a grand total of $8 for The Hobbit and the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy in trade paperback. Seems like an easy choice when most of us are willing to drop 10 bucks to see the often substandard "movie version."