• listened to A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler (1999)


• watched Lolita (1962)

• listened to Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home by Harry Kemelman (1967)
  
  Clever and witty, crime-fighting rabbi, David Small, uncovers local druglord scheme on the eve of Passover, all while trying to keep his warring congregation from splitting the temple.

• listened to The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry (1966)
  
  Wow... 26 chapters of meaningless sexual encounters. Way past Peyton Place or Catcher in the Rye. Beastiality, near-incest, molestation, gang bangs, marital rape, plenty of prostitution, and the usual underage sex and drinking. Unfulfilled characters make for an unfulfilling book. Well-written and penetrating none the less.

• listened to How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (1999)
  
  In A Nutshell
  
  - Fundamental techniques in people handling
  
  
  
  1. Don’t criticize, condemn or complain
  
  
  2. Give honest, sincere appreciation
  
  
  3. Arouse in the other person an eager want
  
  
  
  - Six ways to make people like you
  
  
  
  1. Become genuinely interested in other people
  
  
  2. Smile
  
  
  3. Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language (so remember people’s names)
  
  
  4. Be a good listener and encourage others to talk about themselves
  
  
  5. Talk in terms of the other person’s interests
  
  
  6. Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely
  
  
  
  - Win people to your way of thinking
  
  
  
  1. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it
  
  
  2. Show respect for the other person’s opinions; never say, “You’re wrong.”
  
  
  3. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically
  
  
  4. Begin in a friendly way
  
  
  5. Get the other person saying, “Yes, yes” immediately
  
  
  6. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking
  
  
  7. Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers
  
  
  8. Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view
  
  
  9. Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires
  
  
  10. Appeal to the nobler motives
  
  
  11. Dramatize your ideas (like movies and TV)
  
  
  12. Throw down the challenge. Stimulate competition. Appeal to people’s desire to excel.
  
  
  
  - Be a leader -- A leader's job often includes changing your people’s attitudes and behavior
  
  
  
  1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation. “… more flies with honey.”
  
  
  2. Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly
  
  
  3. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person
  
  
  4. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders
  
  
  5. Let the other person save face
  
  
  6. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.
  
  
  7. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to
  
  
  8. Use encouragement; make the fault seem easy to correct
  
  
  9. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest. (Give titles, authority, money.)
  
  


• watched Les Parapluies De Cherbourg (1964)

• listened to Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie Flagg (1999)
  
  Newswoman discovers her identity by uncovering her mother's past. Norman Rockwell's small town characters meets Life or Something Like It personality.

• listened to Travels With Charley : In Search of America by John Steinbeck (1962) -- Famous author road trips across America with poodle (Charley) in the early 60's. Classic Steinbeck; his best book.


• rewatched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

• listened to The Founding Fathers On Leadership : Classic Teamwork in Changing Times by Donald T. Phillips (1998)

• watched Jungle Fever (1991)


• watched O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)


• watched parts of Rocky I - V on TNT

• listened to This Just In : What I Couldn't Tell You on TV by Bob Schieffer (2003)
  
  Very entertaining. Mr. Schieffer has a warm, conversational tone and honest stories to tell. A good, long story to accompany your workday.

• watched Called to Duty (2003)

• listened to How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci : Seven Steps to Genius Every Day by Michael J. Gelb (1999
  
  In A Nutshell
  
  - Psychologist, Howard Gardner, author of Frames of Mind : The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, describes 7 measurable intelligences
  
  
  
  1. Logical mathematical
  
  
  2. Verbal linguistic
  
  
  3. Spacial mechanical
  
  
  4. Musical
  
  
  5. Bodily kinesthetic
  
  
  6. Interpersonal social
  
  
  7. Intrapersonal or self-knowledge
  
  
  
  - Intelligence can be developed throughout life. Your brain can learn 7 facts per second every second for the rest of your life and still have plenty of room left to learn more.
  
  - 7 da Vincian principles
  
  
  
  1. Curiosita -- an insatiably curiosious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning
  
  
  2. Dimonstratzione -- a commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and willingness to learn from mistakes
  
  
  3. Sensazione -- a continual refinement of the senses, especially sight as the means to enliven experience
  
  
  4. Sfumato -- (literally, "going up in smoke") a willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty
  
  
  5. Arte/Scienza -- the development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination, whole-brain thinking
  
  
  6. Corporalita -- the cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness, and poise
  
  
  7. Connessione -- a recognition of and apprectiation for the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena, systems-thinking
  
  
  
  - Exercises
  
  
  
  • Keep a notebook and write down all your thoughts. Carry it with you everywhere and write in it often.
  
  
  • Make a list of 100 questions that are important to you. Write them all in one sitting. Don't worry about spelling or grammer. Note the themes that emerge. Choose and prioritize the 10 most significant questions.
  
  
  • Sit with your questions. Write questions on a large sheet of paper, position in front of you, and meditate.
  
  
  • Incubate insights. Think about questions before you go to sleep, so you can dream about them.
  
  
  • Practice stream of consciousness writing. Keep your pen moving at least 10 minutes. Note connections.
  
  
  • Ask: what, when, where, who, why, and how.
  
  
  • Learn a new discipline. Make a list of ideal/dream hobbies.
  
  
  • Build your vocabulary.
  
  
  • Examine your beliefs; test your convictions. Review beliefs from a distance, from different perspectives. Seek other points of view.
  
  
  • Embrace mistakes. Be resilient in the face of adversity. Have a sense of humor about difficult experiences. Affirm the positive.
  
  
  • Cultivate your senses.
  
  
  • Read everything you can.
  
  

• listened to Dave Barry Turns 50 by Dave Barry (1998) -- more history lesson of the past 5 decades than an autobiography

• listened to Red Sky In Mourning : The True Story of a Woman's Courage and Survival at Sea by Tami Oldham Ashcraft (2002)


• watched ...And God Created Woman (1956)


• watched Alfie (1966)

• listened to The Leadership Engine : How Winning Companies Build Leaders at Every Level by Noel M. Tichy (1997)


• watched Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)

• listened to Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot : And Other Observations by Al Franken (1996)


• listened to Don't Know Much About Geography by Kenneth C. Davis (1992)

• listened to Business @ the Speed of Thought : Succeeding in the Digital Economy by Bill Gates (2000)

• listened to Don't Know Much About the Civil War : Everything You Need to Know About America's Greatest Conflict but Never Learned by Kenneth C. Davis (1996)


• listened to Lost Victories : The Military Genius of Stonewall Jackson by Bevin Alexander (1994)

• listened to Soul of Poland by 101 Strings

• listened to Galileo's Daughter : A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love by Dava Sobel (1999)
  
  
  
  • Dava also wrote Longitude : The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
  
  
  • Galielo's biography through letters to/from his oldest daughter. Fantastic! Lots of interesting historical tidbits like: Galileo prefered not to wear his professorial robes when visiting local brothels, and guess how many cardinals and popes were really illegitimate children of royalty. A very human and accessible story.
  
  

• listened to Prey by Michael Crichton (2002)


• listened to The Sea Hunters II : More True Adventures With Famous Shipwrecks by Clive Cussler (2002) -- Searching for civil war shipwrecks. Lost interest about 1/3 way through. Didn't finish.

• listened to Ghost Soldiers : The Forgotten Epic Story of World War II's Most Dramatic Mission by Hampton Sides (2001)

• listened to Flight of the Intruder by Stephen Coonts (1987)


• listened to The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger (2003)

• listened to Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett (2000)


• listened to How You Can Be More Interesting by Edward De Bono (2001)
  
  The author's prescription for being more interesting is to think in creative, divergent ways; to draw associations that most people don't think about; and to dazzle your associates with your mental flexibility.
  
  Related book: Aphoristics : How "Interesting Ideas" Turn the World Inside Out by Murray S. Davis (2000)
  


• watched The Killing Fields (1984)

• watched James and the Giant Peach (1996)


• watched The Hanoi Hilton (1987)

• listened to Barbarians at the Gate : The Fall of RJR Nabisco by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar (2003, cassette format)


• listened to I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven (1980, CD format)


• watched Gray's Anatomy (1996)
  
  Plot summary: If you can manage to suffer through an excruciating series of painful tales of eye trauma, then you might find yourself caught up and swept away in Spalding Gray's filmed monologue Gray's Anatomy. This amusing and capricious film is a bit different from his previous Swimming to Cambodia, which focused on his role in the film The Killing Fields. This time, Gray finds himself experiencing "disturbances" in his left eye, and after he is diagnosed by ophthalmologists as having a "macular pucker," he sets out to find a cure without having to set foot in a New York hospital. Raised as a Christian Scientist and fearing the loss of his eyesight, Gray dramatizes his journey in search of alternative treatments. Along the way, he calls the Christian Scientists' hot line, visits so-called Native American shamans, eye nutritionists, and Filipino psychic surgeons, all in the name of relief. Directed by Steven Soderbergh (Sex, Lies and Videotape), the one-man show is injected with movement by his inventive use of sets, lighting, and creative camera angles. The pacing can sometimes be frantic due to Gray's excited dialogue and self-examination, but as a result, it succeeds in holding you until the mirthful end.
  
  Related and tragic: Spalding Gray found dead
  

• listened to Direct From Dell : Strategies That Revolutionized an Industry by Michael Dell (1999)
  
  What a contrast to the corporate culture at IBM! (I just finished reading Big Blues: The Unmaking Of IBM by Paul Carroll.) And that Michael Dell... I could see him introducing himself as, "Hi. I'm Mike Dell and I like puppies." What a nice guy. Excellent corporate strategy, spirit, leadership, and the guy knows how to read a book. Good, quick read/listen to.
  


• listened to Planet of the Blind by Stephen Kuusisto (1998)
  
  Kuusisto has an enviable perspective on life. His vision of humanity's "insides" is sharp and penetrating, however blurry the "outsides" may be. Excellent book.
  

• listened to Big Blues : The Unmaking Of IBM by Paul Carroll (1994)
  
  Dilbert was right! Wow, is IBM ever screwed up. Bureacratic, autocratic, elitist, egos abound. Good book for comparing with others about Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and the folks in the Valley. An excellent history of the computer and the people who almost missed the bus.
  

• listened to Bill Gates Speaks : Insight from the World's Greatest Entrepreneur by Janet C. Lowe (1998)
  
  Title is a misnomer. This book is certainly not Bill Gates in his own words. It's what other people think, say, and write about Mr. G. A few interesting tidbits: Bill likes to speed, actually grooves on parenting, uses coupons (Sheesh!), and doesn't plan to spoil his heirs with a large inheritance.
  


• listened to Poor Butterfly by Stuart M. Kaminsky (1997)

• listened to The New New Thing by Michael Lewis (1999)
  
  It just goes to show that money doesn't buy happiness and driven people are never satisfied. Book follows the lifestyle of Jim Clark, the man behind Silicon Graphics, Netscape, Heatheon (WebMD) and Hyperion, the superyacht.
  
  I'd like to listen to Den of Thieves by James B. Stewart next.

• watched A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)