Micro: A Novel by Michael Crichton & Richard Preston
Listen, Little Man! by Wilhelm Reich
America Unzipped: In Search of Sex and Satisfaction by Brian Alexander
Illusions II: The Adventures of a Reluctant Student by Richard Bach
Asshole: How I Got Rich & Happy By Not Giving a Damn About Anyone & How You Can, Too by Martin Kihn
Self-Healing: My Life and Vision by Meir Schneider
Overwatch by Marc Guggenheim
Robert B. Parker's Cheap Shot by Ace Atkins
The Intern's Handbook: A Thriller by Shane Kuhn
Introducing Camus: A Graphic Guide by David Zane Mairowitz and Alan Korkos
Stick to Drawing Comics, Monkey Brain!: Cartoonist Explains Cloning, Blouse Monsters, Voting Machines, Romance, Monkey Gods, How to Avoid Being Mistaken for a Rodent, and More by Scott Adams
Issuance of Insanity 1,2&3 and Chaos & Pain: Destroy the Opposition by Jamie Lewis
5/3/1 for Powerlifting: Simple and Effective Training for Maximal Strength by Jim Wendler
The Strongest Shall Survive: Strength Training for Football by Bill Starr
Captains of Crush Grippers by Nathan Holle, J.B. Kinney and Randall J. Strossen
The Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout, 4x Mass Workout & The Ultimate Mass Workout by Steve Holman & Jonathan Lawson
Avengers: Endless Wartime by Warren Ellis & Mike McKone
Shazam! Vol. 1 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank
Tales of the Batman: Don Newton
Atomic Robo Presents Real Science Adventures, Volume 2 by Brian Clevinger, John Broglia and Scott Wegener
Young Avengers Vol. 1: Style > Substance by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie
Archer & Armstrong Volume 4: Sect Civil War TP by Fred Van Lente, Khari Evans and Chriscross
She-Hulk by Dan Slott: The Complete Collection Volume 1 by Dan Slott, Juan Bobillo, Paul Pelletier and Scott Kolins
Green Arrow Vol. 4: The Kill Machine by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino
Earth 2 Vol. 2: The Tower of Fate by James Robinson and Nicola Scott
Earth 2 Vol. 3: Battle Cry by James Robinson, Nicola Scott & Trevor Scott
Welcome to Tranquility: One Foot in the Grave by Gail Simone and Neil Googe
Think Tank Volume 3 TP by Matt Hawkins and Rahsan Ekedal
Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley
Excerpts:
Introducing Camus, A Graphic Guide
Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.
Capital punishment becomes premeditated murder by the State, one which 'tarnishes our society.' Camus now reminds his readers, in no uncertain terms, 'that the life of a human being is above the State'...
Today, when all parties have betrayed, where politics have debased everything, the only thing left for a man is the consciousness of his solitude and his faith in human and individual values. Nothing is given to men, and the little they can conquer is paid for with unjust deaths. But man's greatness lies elsewhere. It lies in his decision to be stronger than his condition. And if his condition is unjust, he has only one way of overcoming it, which is to be just himself.
Listen Little Man
“I know that what you call 'God' really exists, but not in the form you think; God is primal cosmic energy, the love in your body, your integrity, and your perception of the nature in you and outside of you.”
A great man does not, like you, see the aim of life in riches, in social suitable marriages for his daughters, or in a political career, or in academic honors. So, because he’s different from yourself, you call him a “genius” or a “nut.” He, for his part, is quite willing to admit that he’s not a genius but only a living creature. You call him asocial because he’d rather be alone with his thoughts than listening to inane chatter at your social functions. You say he’s crazy because he spends his money on scientific research instead of investing it in stocks as you do. You dare, little man, in your abysmal degeneracy, to call him a simple, straightforward man “abnormal.” You measure him against yourself and your petty standards of normalcy and find him wanting.
You demand freedom to love your religion, whatever it may be. So far so good. But you want more than that: you want everybody to observe your religion. You’re tolerant toward your religion but no other. And it sends you into a rage that anyone should worship not a personal God but nature, that he should love nature and try to understand it. When a married couple find that they can no longer live together, you want one member to hale the other into court with accusations of immorality or brutality. And, oh, you puny descendant of great rebels, you refuse to countenance divorce by common consent
You are and always will be an immigrant and an emigrant. You immigrated into this world by pure accident and will emigrate from it without fanfare.
“But I do blame you for making a virtue of your affliction of your wrecked, tublike body, of your lack of beauty and grace and your incapacity for love, and for stifling love in children. That, you ugly little woman, is a crime….ugly little woman, not content with looking like a tub, you think and teach like a tub, because instead of withdrawing modestly into a quiet corner of life, you do your best to imprint all life with your ugliness, your tub-like ungainliness, your hypocrisy, and with the bitter hatred you hide behind your phony smile.” I don't blame you for being built like a tub or for never having experienced love..."
"You had your choice between soaring to superhuman heights with Nietzsche and sinking into subhuman depths with Hitler. You shouted Heil! Heil! and chose the subhuman. You had the choice between Lenin's truly democratic constitution and Stalin's dictatorship. You chose Stalin's dictatorship. You had your choice between Freud's elucidation of the sexual core of your psychic disorders and his theory of cultural adaptation. You dropped the theory of sexuality and chose his theory of cultural adaptation, which left you hanging in mid-air. You had your choice between Jesus and his majestic simplicity and Paul with his celibacy for priests and life-long compulsory marriage for yourself. You chose the celibacy and compulsory marriage and forgot the simplicity of Jesus' mother, who bore her child for love and love alone. You had your choice between Marx's insight into the productivity of your living labor power, which alone creates the value of commodities and the idea of the state. You forgot the living energy of your labor and chose the idea of the state. In the French Revolution, you had your choice between the cruel Robespierre and the great Danton. You chose cruelty and sent greatness and goodness to the guillotine. In Germany you had your choice between Goring and Himmler on the one hand and Liebknecht, Landau, and Muhsam on the other. You made Himmler your police chief and murdered your great friends. You had your choice between the cruel Inquisition and Galileo's truth. You tortured and humiliated the great Galileo, from whose inventions you are still benefiting, and now, in the twentieth century, you have brought the methods of the Inquisition to a new flowering. … Every one of your acts of smallness and meanness throws light on the boundless wretchedness of the human animal. 'Why so tragic?' you ask. 'Do you feel responsible for all evil?' With remarks like that you condemn yourself. If, little man among millions, you were to shoulder the barest fraction of your responsibility, the world would be a very different place. Your great friends wouldn't perish, struck down by your smallness.”
“Before the First World War there were no passports. You could cross any border you pleased without formalities. The war for “peace and freedom” introduced passports.”
I've never participated in party meetings or political conferences because all they do is shout."Down with the main point" and "hurrah for incedentals."
We have found out how the emotional plague operates.Having decided to gobble up Poland, it accuses Poland of planning armed aggression. Having decidd to murder a rival, it accuses him of plotting murder. Having contrived some pornographic enormity, it accuses the healthy of sexual depravity.
You'll have a good, secure life when being alive means more to you than security, love more than money, your freedom more than public or partisan opinion, when the mood of Beethoven's or Bach's music becomes the mood of your whole life … when your thinking is in harmony, and no longer in conflict, with your feelings … when you let yourself be guided by the thoughts of great sages and no longer by the crimes of great warriors … when you pay the men and women who teach your children better than the politicians; when truths inspire you and empty formulas repel you; when you communicate with your fellow workers in foreign countries directly, and no longer through diplomats...”
The Intern's Handbook: A Thriller
I do the rudest thing I can imagine in the company of an attractive woman vying for my attention—I pull out my phone. And I bury my face in its colorful screen, like a crow mesmerized by Christmas tinsel. You know that face. It’s the social networking sneer you see on every app junkie getting a fix. It’s one of the most loathsome cultural phenomena in contemporary society and I can see that she has gone from digging me to wanting to dig her nails into my eyeballs.
By the way, never smile and show your teeth. The pageant people have it wrong. Showing your teeth is always a sign of aggression. This is why Miss America is one of the most hated human beings on earth.
...the pain centers me and makes me forget about the outside world. It reminds me that I am alone and always have been. It forces me to focus on what I have to do.
Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.
Robert B. Parker's Cheap Shot
I again took up the old tactic of running like hell.
Illusions II: The Adventures of a Reluctant Student
This disaster is the chance you prayed for, your wish come true.
Asshole: How I Got Rich & Happy By Not Giving a Damn About Anyone & How You Can, Too
The hardest part was when he had me stare at people until they looked away. “It’s what monkeys do,” he said. “You’re the big freakin’ monkey of Time Warner Center, Chico.” “Don’t call me Chico.” “Alright, Zeppo.” I felt very uncomfortable—but he was watching me, and I thought, “You can’t hurt anybody with your eyes,” but it turned out yes, I could hurt somebody with my eyes. That somebody was me. It was physically painful for me to stare at passersby. I felt a tightening in my chest and shoulders. Then I remembered I always felt that way because I wore small shirts on the mistaken assumption I was going to lose weight someday soon. You too may feel symptoms of panic. Ignore them.
“What you’re doing,” said Al, over a decaf chai at Dean & Deluca afterward, “is seeing the world for what it is.” “Which is what?” “A game. A kid’s game.”
After each so-called setback such as this one, I’d suggest you do a quick post-mortem. Ask yourself three simple questions, in this order: •Where did I go wrong? •Who is plotting to destroy me? •Why am I so good-looking?
5/3/1 for Powerlifting: Simple and Effective Training for Maximal Strength
People have always been working labor jobs for long hours. There are single mom’s working two jobs and still finding time for their kids. There are soldiers that fought for our country that were hungry, tired, thirsty, and with pieces of steel stuck in their bodies, but somehow they were able to pull it together in combat. Why can’t you get your shit together for an hour and do a couple sets of squats?
Stick to Drawing Comics, Monkey Brain!
I spend way too much time thinking of excellent crimes I could commit if I were a crime-committing sort of person. Every time I read about hurricane-related looting, I wonder about the best way to do it.
After I did my looting—or as we white people like to say: “gather my supplies”—I’d motor my little pirate boat down the main street, out to the ocean, and back to my hidden lair that would be stinking of damp merchandise. Sometime soon I plan to do some thinking about ending world hunger. But frankly, that seems harder.
I find that I get mad about all the wrong things. For example, when I hear a news report about some serial killer who buried forty-three victims in an underground bunker that he constructed beneath his shed, my first reaction is Wow, he built an underground bunker under a shed! I find myself admiring his industriousness and passion in the pursuit of his dreams. That’s clearly wrong.
People are often surprised to learn that I consider myself an optimist, albeit an optimist with cynical tendencies and a dark side that Lucifer himself would find a little creepy.
I’m optimistic about myself and about humanity in general. My problem is with the average asshole who I often assume is a self-destructive miscreant, already circling the drain and trying to take me with him. This view is no more “true” than my irrational optimism, but I find it useful to think that way. It keeps me on my toes so I can recognize the most dangerous scams and traps before it’s too late.
Despite my dismal view of many individuals, as a matter of personal preference, I give people my trust before they earn it, so long as the downside of doing so isn’t too deadly. But that has less to do with those other people and more to do with who I want to be. I find that trust changes people. They become what you tell them you expect. Likewise, you become what you expect of yourself.
I believe all people favor what they think is in their best interest and then rationalize it with absurd philosophical arguments. Or worse, they join a “team” and agree with whatever the leader tells them.
Frankly, I’m suspicious of anyone who has a strong opinion on a complicated issue.
People assumed that because I want to label the majority opinion “right” and the minority opinion “wrong” that I would also favor mob rule. No way. I still favor the traditional system where rich people run the country and convince the morons who live here that the voters are really the ones in charge. It’s not a perfect system, but no one has come up with a better one. And it’s fair in the sense that anyone could become rich and abuse the poor.
Science has plenty of evidence showing that free will is an illusion. For example, we know people make decisions before the area of the brain responsible for rational thought even gets activated. In other words, you rationalize after the fact while remembering it as if you had made a conscious choice in advance of the action.
I also wonder if showing respect for all beliefs is causing more problems than it is avoiding. The only thing that prevents most people from acting on their absurd beliefs is the fear that other people will treat them like frickin’ morons. Mockery is an important social tool for squelching stupidity. At least that’s what I tell people after I mock them. Or to put it another way, I’ve never seen anyone change his mind because of the power of a superior argument or the acquisition of new facts. But I’ve seen plenty of people change behavior to avoid being mocked.
When I hear people say that they know God exists because he healed their aunt’s cancer, it sounds to me exactly like “Rocks are liquid because five is greater than six.” It sounds like utter nonsense when it leaves their bubble and enters mine. But I know it makes sense in their bubble. So something must be different in there. In this theory, our brains are nothing but rationalizers for a reality too complex to understand.
My favorite conspiracy theory is the one that says the world is being run by a handful of ultra-rich capitalists, and that our elected governments are mere puppets. I sure hope it’s true. Otherwise my survival depends on hordes of clueless goobers electing competent leaders.
Cold is just a fancy marketing word for a particularly unpleasant form of pain. We should just call it what it is: pain. What’s the temperature in Chicago? Painful.
It has come to my attention that many of your ancestors were pedophiles. They probably didn’t know it, since marrying fifteen-year-old girls was considered “normal” by those perverts. And I’m sure they had excuses such as the fact that the life expectancy was seventeen. So maybe they rationalized it by saying they had to start pinching out new farm hands before the plague got them. Blah, blah, blah. But that’s no excuse for being a pedophile. I also have it on good authority that your ancestors from several thousand years ago rarely washed their hands with soap after pooping in the desert, or forest, or igloo, whatever. You come from a long line of unhygienic child molesters. If you follow your repulsive blood line back far enough, you will find that your ancestors were atheists at best, but more likely worshippers of phalluses. That’s right: You are the genetic fruit of unhygienic, penis-worshipping child molesters. And they couldn’t read—those illiterate, unhygienic, penis-worshipping child molesters. Keep going back in time and there’s a virtual guarantee that somewhere a cousin married a cousin, or a brother married a sister. Statistically speaking, you’re probably an inbred spawn of illiterate, unhygienic, penis-worshipping child molesters.
So how did a twelve-year-old know he should die for his country? That stuff gets in your head early, way before your critical reasoning capacity is in place. And it stays there. Maybe some of it is caused by evolution, but I doubt it. I think the environment puts it there, thanks to nine hundred recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance and whatnot. Evolution might have favored those who protect their family or their tribe, but I doubt it had time to work on “and the people who you don’t know, from all ethnicities, who live on a patch of land recently called the United States.” If I had been born in North Korea I would be making images of the Dear Leader out of rice husks. And I’d be pretty sure he was a living god.
I know that some of you think that life without caffeine is actually worth living. But it isn’t. My first Diet Coke after four days of abstinence was shiver-worthy. I didn’t see the hand that reached inside my head and removed the wads of cotton, but suddenly I remembered that I have hopes and dreams.
I’ve described the clash of Islam and Christianity—everything from the Crusades to the war on terror—as “The people who think a guy walked on water versus the people who think a horse can fly.” I submit that anything you add to that description is unnecessary for understanding the global clash of civilizations.
People often tell me that I seem smarter than I really am. I accept the compliment. As you know, appearances are more important than substance.
It’s important to agree with people if you want them to think you are a genius. For most people, the definition of smart is “Thinks exactly like me but even more so.” If you think that disagreeing and offering excellent reasons for your thinking will change anyone’s mind, you might be new on this planet. The best outcome you can expect from any conversation is that the other person will walk away thinking you’re probably the CEO of something, assuming you also seem selfish, egocentric, and unethical.
I think the real reason anyone believes anything is because uncertainty hurts. So we pick a side and rationalize it later.
I have said before, you never get nailed by the thing you actually worry about. It’s always some totally random event that you couldn’t even imagine.
How accurate is any history book in any country? Here again, context is your best tool for answering that. The first thing you should be looking for is any situation where the people who wrote the history books are portraying their own country and ancestors in a suspiciously positive light. In your lifetime, you’ve probably noticed that your own government, whichever one that is, spends a lot of time killing people who, in retrospect, didn’t deserve it. So it should strike you as curious if your nation’s history up until the time you were born was comprised mostly of wars against people who started it first and deserved what they got. You rarely see a country with a history book that says, “We were jerks, so other countries came and killed us in large numbers. We totally deserved it.” World War II is the best example of suspicious interpretations of history. Every country has its own spin. America’s Version: Crazy Germans, Japanese, and Italians tried to conquer the world. It almost worked, until America saved the day. Japan’s Version: Japan tried to bring some improvements to neighboring countries, free of charge. America bombed us until we stopped. German Version: Adolf Hitler (technically an Austrian) caused some mischief. Germans played along because they don’t like to make waves. The key learning here is that you shouldn’t trust Austrians.
In case you ever consider getting off caffeine yourself, let me explain the process. You begin by sitting motionlessly in a desk chair. Then you just keep doing that forever because life has no meaning
There are many methods for predicting the future. For example, you can read horoscopes, tea leaves, tarot cards, or crystal balls. Collectively, these methods are known as ‘nutty methods.’ Or you can put well-researched facts into sophisticated computer models, more commonly referred to as ‘a complete waste of time.’
As I write this, my Internet connection has been down for a day. I don’t want to sound as if I’m starting to panic or anything, but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t given some thought to binge drinking.
I keep hearing the argument that some things are constitutional while other things are not. The idea is that we should be in favor of all the things that were decided over two hundred years ago by a bunch of slave-owning cross-dressers who pooped in holes.
Everyone says there’s a lack of leadership in the world these days. I think we should all be thankful, because the only reason for leadership is to convince people to do things that are either dangerous (like invading another country) or stupid (working extra hard without extra pay).
Micro
Indoctrinating children in proper environmental thought was a hallmark of the green movement, and so children were being instructed to protect something about which they knew nothing at all...
Perhaps the single most important lesson to be learned by direct experience is that the natural world, with all its elements and interconnections, represents a complex system and therefore we cannot understand it and we cannot predict its behaviour. It is delusional to behave as if we can, as it would be delusional to behave as if we could predict the stock market, another complex system. If someone claims to predict what a stock will do in the coming days, we know that person is either a crook or a charlatan. If an environmentalist makes similar claims about the environment, or an ecosystem, we have not yet learned to see him as a false prophet or a fool. Human beings interact with complex systems very successfully. We do it all the time. But we do it by managing them, not by claiming to understand them... There is an endless iterative interaction that acknowledges we don't know for sure what the system will do - we have to wait and see. We may have hunch we know what will happen. We may be right much of the time. But we are never certain. Interacting with the natural world, we are denied certainty. And always will be.
