Robert Strupp > Recent Status Updates

I can see why Pynchon wouldn't be popular with Millennials who've not attended college. (Which, is a good thing.) As a septuagenarian reader since the 1950s, even when reading of an era I lived thru, the 1960s, my reading of 'Lot 49' slowed to a crawl. Pynchon lays out sentences that assume that you know something he only reveals later! So you read on. My used copy has pencil underlines with written notes! Huh?

Skimming paragraphs & pages which don't apply to me, or that I'm already familiar with from my previous hypothyroidism reading (say that 5Xs fast!). In any case, while the facts are 'valuable,' if you don't have a physician, in my case an MD/DO, who will work with you, it's nice to know but useless. I'm hoping my own challenge with not losing weight after 130+ visits to the gym is simply too many calories. Gorging.

Seems I'm reading the same thing over and over and getting confused. Doesn't much matter, since my MD DO, seemingly on roller blades, doesn't hear my complaints, my pleas, especially about not being able to lose weight after 130 visits to the gym with hours and hours on the treadmill. Sigh.

The "machine" referred to is Adam, an alt-history's 1980s $70K A.I. proto-human, complete with male danglers. During the pages of preference programing mandated, Charlie allowed Miranda, his upstairs neighbor, to fill-in several pages of tic-boxes. Soon enuf, Adam was boning Miranda. Later, when Charlie confronted Adam, he admitted Miranda had programmed him to fall in love with her. Then refused being turned off!

Not much going on. Well, some ne'r do well dropped his kid off at their apartments, but, since Adam on his own, contacted the authorities, the London welfare gals came and took the boy. The male protagonist is still struggling to understand where he fits in, possibly literally, in this unlikely ménage à trois involving two homo sapiens, one female and one male, and a hung, humanoid robot.

Another 'classic' of 'literature' that I've committed to read. Write away, I mean, right away Pynchon's confusing writing style is evident. But since I was ready for it, I'm less bothered by it. On with the show.

I last read The Catcher in the Rye when our youngest was in high school in the early 2000's. At that time I had not enjoyed it. Having seen it on every "Best Book Ever" list on YouTube, I decided to re-buy it and reread it. Once I understood it was through the eyes of a wealthy family NYC 16yo, 3/4's of a century ago, I came away with a much more favorable opinion. I wouldn't read it again, but it's okay or so.

Dr. Jeffery Whelchel was influenced by Dr. Westin Childs of Mesa, AZ. After reading this far, I confronted my Green Forest, AR, MD/DO. He poo pooed my concerns of my thyroid levels saying "You've got a kitchen problem, not a thyroid problem." After 130 visits to the gym, typically 2.5 hours each, involving hours on the treadmill and lifting, I've lost only 10#s. Then again, I don't diet and gorge at night. Sigh.

'Machines Like Me' is a U.K. based alternate history SyFy. In the 1980's extremely advanced A.I. humanoid robots, in very limited quantities, are available for 70,000, English pounds. Charlie, who is in love with the upstairs gal Miranda, purchases one. I've just read the situation where, by listening from his downstairs room, Charlie has learned that Adam (his robot), has slipped the screaming Miranda the meat...

Decades ago, possibly in the 1990s, I read Catcher in the Rye and did not like it. After seeing too many YouTubes about how 'good' the book was, I began re-reading it, once I understood it was written from the viewpoint of a 1950s 16 year old NYC teen, I found it much more enjoyable.

Just a fun book all the way through. Never dragged or lagged. No love affairs, no gender bullsh*t, no sexism, no woke nonsense, just a good old fashioned science fiction fun with a civil war involving the Humanists (who favor 100% non-enhanced people) versus the Federals who favor enhanced beings and Mal, short for Malware, who just wants to be left alone.

Actually page 234 is the last page in this 'The Odyssey' Homer Translated by T.E. Lawrence ISBN 1-85326-025-8 which was not to be found on Goodreads. Towards the end, Books 20 thru 24 ('Chapters') it gets pretty exciting. Never heard of 'T.E. Lawrence?' Perhaps you've heard of his more well known moniker 'Lawrence of Arabia?'

'Mal,' short for 'Malware' is an A.I. intelligence along the lines of Martha Wells 'Murderbot' series. Only Mal can inhabit anything humans, drones, etc. Been a while since I've laughed so hard reading a book. We've got the Federalists, government favoring human modifications, and the Humanists violently opposed to modded humans in a civil war.

Book 13. Odysseus finally makes it home to Ithaca. The goddess Athena reveals herself to him, tells him to tell no one who he is, changes him into an old man and sends him to live with his own swineherd to be filled-in on what has happened since he departed a decade earlier.

'Book' #12, aka: 'Chapter #12.' Odysseus recounting his trials on getting back to Ithaca. Visiting Hades and all the dead, which makes Our Town sound like Golden Girls. The Scylla a six headed many toothed monster. The Charybdis a whirlpool that can suck down fleets of ships. The island of Thrinacia where his starving crew slaughtered cattle and sheep resulting in Zeus's wrath and a lightning bolt.

Slow going but I'm recalling all the adventures Odysseus traveled from a long ago reading of the story.

The writing 'style' is almost 70 years past. Kind of awkward. Apparently they transmit this real a**hole volunteer to the moon by putting him in a very special moon suit. Stay tuned.

I'm trying to read one book (chapter) a day. There's a whole lot of unnecessary words, but that's the way they wrote 3,000 years ago. I just completed the book where Ulysses poked the Cyclop's single eye out. Apparently the Cyclop race was descended from the god Poseidon. I had forgot that they were so huge that they could easily pick up two human warriors and eat them for breakfast and again, for dinner. Yum.

Can't tell much. The book was written almost 70 years ago, so the 'language' is quite dated. So far, so good.

Another just good read (no pun intended) from Patricia Cornwell. Her epilogues are short and satisfying. This is why I always keep several, I think 4 or 5 right now, Scarpetta/Cornwell unread titles in my library. For if I, for some crazy reason, can't select a book out of the 100s I own, I know I can chose any Cornwell Scarpetta series title and feel good, knowing I'm going to have another enjoyable read.

Coming up on the end on a plot that's so complicated I doubt I'll be able to enjoy the unraveling of. Oh well, Cornwell always provides an enjoyable bedtime read.

Slow going, but once one becomes accustomed to the language, it's quite readable. For whatever the reason it seems to take a lot more words to tell a story than it would, in English, nowadays. Still enjoyable. Learning a lot of facts I otherwise was not aware of. There is no way the 2026 Nolan movie The Odyssey is going to use language like this.

Patricia Cornwell simply provides pretty much guaranteed interesting and addicting writing, which is why I'm reading this 17th title in the Scarpetta series as a bedtime book. She provides plenty of conflict among the characters who have depth and history, mystery and often gives the reader 'food for thought.' A person just can't go wrong, even neurotypicals.

Reading 'The Odyssey,,' translated by T.E. Lawrence, so that I may laff even harder at the Emily Wilson sourced, Christopher Nolan directed 'The Odyssey.' Immediately seeing that the 2026 wordage uttered in the movie does not begin to do justice to the original, granted, translated into English. Like using 1950's 'Leave it to Beaver' verbiage in '3rd Rock from the Sun.' It'd sound as stupid as Damon's "Let's Go!'

Cover shown is wrong for the isbn. There are only 239 pages in my copy. Slow going and using A.I. to look up terms and individuals.

Back to the Female Favoring Patricia Cornwell, knowing I'll get some good writing, plots and surprises. This will be the 17th book of her's I've read.

I just read, sans trying to understand, how they use the single cell Astrophage to power the space ship. After all it's just made up anyway. For much of the scientific stuff I do the same. I'm in the chapters where Ryland Grace is chatting with Rocky, which is boring. I imagine it'll be pretty much left out of the movie. Other than that, I look forward to reading the book and its hinted at optimistic conclusion.

I was laffing, tears trickling down my face when "the government" kidnapped him after they deduced his year's ago scientific paper was indeed correct. Ryan Gosling is perfect casting for the movie. Re: movies, in the book, communist China plays a pivotal part in the world's effort to save Earth dot dot dot. Sadly, in the real world there in not a chance IN HELL that China would be trusted, even to save the planet...

The Project Hail Mary movie was just released, so I figured I better read the 2021. Very readable. Can't wait to read more.