Have you ever wondered how Egyptian hierglyphics were deciphered?  Or what about the Myan calendar and script? Lost Languages is a book that goes through the history of how these languages were deciphered.  It also goes through a list of several ancient languages that haven't yet been "cracked".  In some cases it's doubtful that the language will ever be discovered unless some amazing new artifacts are found. At times the book is a bit technical but for the most part it is quite readable.

The Illearth War is the second book in The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever.  I added my comments on the first book Lord Foul's Bane on this site a couple of weeks ago.  As I mentioned then, I first started reading this series in High School.  At that time I only read the first book and didn't really like it.  This time I found the first book interesting enough to compel me to read the second.  It is unusual for the second book in a triolgy to be better than the first but that is the case with this series.  Much better, in fact.

Sometimes I get an itch to go out looking for new bands.  By "new" I mean a band that I haven't heard of before.  Not too long ago this urge led me to find Never Go Unheard by Candlefuse.  I was most intrigued by the fact that they had a cover of the modern worship classic Hungry on the CD.  I was curious to see how a band with such an aggressive alt-rock sound would pull off that song.  The CD has not been a disappointment.

Lord Foul's Bane is one of the classic fantasy novels (series actually) from the 80's.  It was published in 1977 right on the heels of the great Tolkien revival that was sweeping across college campuses.  But Thomas Covenant is a completely different hero that the humble Baggins.  Covenant is an anti-hero.  He is more than reluctant to step in and save the world.  Instead, he actively refuses to play his role.  He tries his best to avoid getting sucked into the delusion, as he thinks of it.  Covenant is a leper who was magically transported from the real world to the magical Land.  He insists that it is all a dream designed to strip him of his sanity.

Yesterday I read the following article: Past Debates Show a Confident Palin.  With the opening sentence I realized that someone isn't on the same planet as nearly everyone else I speak with.  The Palin-Biden debate has got to be the most anticipated debate surrounding the presidential election in a couple decades.  Everyone I know is talking about it.  Most people, Palin supporters and detractors both, are saying that Biden is in big trouble and is likely to get totally decimated.  So I couldn't figure out why the author of that article said that tonight's debate is so under anticipated.  I can only guess that it's wishful thinking or a pre-emptive strike.  But, since I'm a conservative I'm rather open minded.  I was willing to acknowledge that the scope of my contacts is somewhat limited.  Maybe I was lucky and only ran into those few people who were interested in the debate.  That was until I read the news today.

What a fun and clever sci-fi story. In some ways this is better characterized as a mystery set in a science fiction universe.  Jablokov creates a believable world set about 400 years in the future.  By then humanity has moved off of the terrestial sphere and now people live on the moon, mars, some asteroids in the belt, and some even spend their entire life aboard large space ships that shuttle between the various bodies in the solar system.

So here's the story.  Years ago Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep) broke off a serious relationship.  In the midst of the heartache she bounced around through a couple other guys.  And wouldn't you know it but about nine months later she found herself to be a pround new, and single, mom of a wonderful daughter.  Fast forward and now that daughter is engaged to be married.  Every daughter wants her dad to give her away but Sophie, the daughter, doesn't know who her dad is.  So she invites all three of the candidates to their Greek villa.