Part 22 of the books

83. Woody Allen - Getting even

A collection of his columns and stories, written in the sixties. As I have read some of his later compilations already, some stories where not new to me, though it remained an entertaining read. I like his mind, his ability to drag a nice story out of a simple joke. The story about correspondence chess is hilarious, some of the other stories are brilliant as well. And the best quote I've encountered for a while comes from this book as well:
"the manisfestation of the universe as a complex idea unto itself as opposed to being in or outside the true being of itself as inherently a conceptual nothingness or Nothingness in relation to any abstract form existing or to exist or having existed in perpetuity and not subject to laws of physicality or motion or ideas relating to non-matter or the lack of objective being or subjective otherness".
Could somebody please explain what he is saying here?

84. Christoph Hein - Von allem anfang an

A German book, and again I'm not sure if it was meant for older children, or for adults. Whichever way it was interesting to read, this story about an adoloscent growing up in fifties east Germany. The last traumas from the war haven't gone yet, while the main character is getting his first kiss, sees his first nipple and gets into troubles with everybody around him. Good insight in an era, with as extra benefit that you get to read about a now non-existing country, that did play an important role in modern history. Sometimes a story gives you a better insight than a history book stating the obivous facts. I don't know if Hein has been translated into English, but it would be worth finding out for those of you who can't read German.

85. Dennis Rodman (with Michael Silver) - Walk on the wild side

Quick read, a couple of hours and your through. I guess this is a typical follow up to a succesfull (auto)biography of life so far. More or less life's philosophy according to the controversial ex-NBA star. The funny thing was that I wasn't planning on reading it, until it was recommended to me by two people in the hostel I was staying in, who both had read it and were reading really good books after that. People with taste. This book isn't a great one, it even doesn't look tempting to anybody who wants to take a book seriously, but it is different, which makes it interesting even for people who don't know Rodman, who don't like sport.

Rodman's views are controversial, extreme, stupid, biased, contradicting, strange, without a base, but never boring. He proclaims not to see colour, but tells about him living in a white world. He claims the United States is the best country in the world, but then continues for 5 pages to slack off his country. He says he hates structure, but immediately starts explaining his own. He hates rules, but tells about the rules he would implement were he the president or a CEO. He repeats himself several times, comes up with the same examples. Not very much inside information on the NBA or the Bulls, as basketball fans might have hoped, thoug it becomes clear that throughout his years in Chicago he never had a real conversation with Michael Jordan (mr. endorsement). But as they both know that they need each other, the mutual respect is there. Jordan can't excell without Rodman, who wouldn't win titles if it wasn't for the best player of all times.

Rodman is definitely not stupid, I've got his first book at home (german translation unfortunately), have already seen the movie based on 'Bad as I wanna be', perhaps I should read it as well. At least it isn't as boring as 90% of the sportsbooks that are thrown on the market and are only there to make more money.

United States

I have used this point quite a few times now during a discussion, so I might as well put it here as well.

I consider the United States of America a third world country.

Look at it and you'll realise I am right. It has all the characteristics that are normally attributes to developing countries.

Apart from the barbarian death penalty, there are plenty of other signs. The prisons are full, the percentage people in prison is unrivalled (another sign that the death penalty doesn't actually scare people off), but worse is that in prison the percentages of minorities are huge. And so are the percentages of innocent, under age and people who are not capable of managing normal decisions. I'm not even referring to the way people are being treated inside.

Class justice is normal, is the rule, not the exception, money can buy you freedom, lack of money gives innocents a real risk of ending behind bars anyway.

It's education system is a joke. Apart from a few top schools and universities, I am surprised every single time again when I bump into Americans who don't know their own country as well as an average foreigner does. People earn a degree just because they happen to be able to use their overweight on a football field.

There is no other industrialised country that has so much poverty, the social system is pathetic as well. No real unemployment benefits to speak of, no serious rights for employees, no holidays that deserve that name. Health care is unaffordable if you do not happen to be rich. The difference in standard between private and public hospitals shouldn't exist.

Some of their cities are as dangerous as other top cities for danger in the world, not coincidentally in 3rd world countries.

The political system can't be taking serious either, the last election just an example. Isn't it funny that Castro actually offered to send some observers to the USA to help them out with counting. Why does one election have to have dozens of different ballots and methods of counting? Somebody with less votes than his opponent can actually become president. Apart from the 2 traditional parties, no one has a chance.

Their drugs policy is old fashioned. Even though Astma patients may benefit from smoking a joint, they pretend that smoking something innocent is as dangerous as dealing harddrugs. Statistics show though that the repressive system only temps the youth to try out. In comparison with countries where the softdrugs are decriminalised, the percentage smokers in the States is nearly twice as high.

The right to wear a weapon, the right to defend yourself is ridiculous. If nobody is entitled to have weapons in homes, most of the massacres in schools and others public places could easily be avoided. Though mr Heston and his political mafia still remains an important political factor in the country.

There is no country where there are as many serial killers. Is that coincidence?

How can a tiny, fairly small country as Cuba be condemned for being communistic, whereas world power China, more communistic than the Caribean isle, is the biggest trading partner?

Why does the whole world have to suffer for the fact that the United States used the capitalistic system, that rules the world since the second world war, to add to its own power. Sometimes I wonder if the world would have been worse off if the Germans had won the war? Don't get me wrong on that last remark, I'm only trying to say that extreme capitalism to me resembles fascism in many ways.

Unfortunately we are talking about the country that uses it military power and economical influence (power of numbers) to influence the whole F***ing world. If I wasn't a pacifist and a baseball addict I'd suggest to just nuke the place.