Face it… Kimmel is the funniest guy on Late Night TV.

I know.. I know…  I’m not Oprah, but I’d like to think of myself as Okra.  A nice side serving to compliment your dish of everyday life.  I know I don’t read as much as I should (never have!).  In High School, if there was a Cliff’s Notes version or rentable copy of the movie at Blockbuster, nothing was ever cracked.  Well, of course times changed and over the past few years my reading has migrated to more non-fiction (depending on the views of opposing thoughts! haha), spruced with a good fictional story here and there for pure entertainment.  These are some of the one’s from the past year (one from about 2 years ago… but I highly recommend) that have graced my fingertips and I thought I should share them with you.

A couple of years ago I was walking up and down the isles at the bookstore, sipping my Starbucks coffee while my wife was on her own little adventure in another isle.  The last few books I had read were great stories (fiction) that I had enjoyed very much but I knew it was time to change it up.  I hit the Current Events section and was skimming the releases and one book jumped out.  The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein.

If you are looking at a deeper understanding of macroeconomics, Milton Friedman, the real policy failures in Iraq, and so on, I can’t recommend a better read than this.  This book is a great illustration of how the world works.  Now, I believe economics have and need an overall ebb & flow to it and I don’t think some of the ideals Klein illustrates are as inherently evil as she wants us to believe.. but damn… this is one of the greatest books out there.  People ask about your dream dinner party guests?  Naomi Klein is on the top on my list.  BUY & READ THIS BOOK!

Next on the list is one that came on a recommendation from a couple of beer buddies of mine.  One a lawyer and the other an IT professional.  Every so often we gather around and shoot the shit about how we can change the world.  Sometimes I like to feel like the Brain, but every now and then, I know I’m just Pinky.

The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century by George Freidman founder of Stratfor.  The title pretty much sums it up.  What a fun read.  Freidman takes everything that is going on, past & present, and analyzes it, then lays it all out there for us to see.  A really enjoyable and fun read!  The emerging new markets, new superpowers, the US-Mexico WAR!  Of course, Freidman isn’t claiming to be some sort of fortune teller or prophet, he’s just telling us what his believes might happen.  This book won’t take you long to read and it might open your eyes on health care reform and immigration laws.

Since we’re on the topic of “FUN” books, I couldn’t leave out this one.  On the recommendation from my little brother, whom I’ve NEVER known to read anything other than email and computer code, I knew I had to take him seriously.

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell.  This is one of the one’s I just got a few weeks ago and it took me three days to finish.  Another must read for anybody that (1) likes random facts, and (2) curious about some of the underlining factors to real success.  The obvious is hard work and dedication.  10,000 hours is about what it takes to truly master a craft.  But what about those outlying factors that take it to the next level?  This book covers a lot!  From the Rockefellers to the Beatles, and even why professional Hockey players are generally born in the first three months of the year.  An excellent interweaving of statistics, stories, facts, and great writing.  It held my interest and was a page turner all the way thru!  another FUN & MUST read!!!

Some other notables that I’ve enjoyed:

1421: The Year China Discovered America by retired submarine commander and amateur historian Gavin Menzies.  It’s basically about the travels and exploration of China before Western Civilization’s Age of Discovery.  Uncovers a hidden history that none of us ever knew existed.  Amazing history book and I hope to one day get to see the PBS documentary (I missed the one time it showed and the DVD is encoded for the UK- not the US).  Currently, my father is reading this one.

The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order is a post Cold War theory by Harvard Professor Dr. Samuel P. Huntington.  This is somewhat of a “stuffy” book, but the ideas are well thought out and are very interesting.  The amazing thing is that it was a theory that began from a lecture, then formulated into an essay, then progressed into a book in 1996!  Even more amazing is that his hammer is seeming been hitting the head of the nail ever since.

In the 1993 Foreign Affairs article, Huntington writes:

It is my hypothesis that the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural. Nation states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs, but the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and groups of different civilizations. The clash of civilizations will dominate global politics. The fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future.

If you don’t feel like reading the whole book, just hit up wikipedia for the total synopsis: link

Inside the Revolution by Joel C. Rosenberg is an insightful view into the clash between the followers and how it is and will shape the future of our world.  Lots of great information and is a fantastic read until the final section where it gets a bit evangelical and loses me.  One one side, the very actions that Rosenberg wants to do and is doing is actually pissing these people off more over in the Middle East, but on the other, everybody has a calling, and he has found his.  Don’t let my thought on the final section deter you from an absolute great read with interviews and quotes from key players on every side.  It’s a book that will give you a great understanding on what is going on right now with terrorism and the desire to crush the West.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown is the latest installment about the adventures of Robert Langdon (Da Vinci Code/Angels & Demons fame).  Another action packed thriller that (to me) was better written than the previous two.  In the others, Brown innuendo was to tell you, tell you again, and then tell you a few more times to make sure you got the point.  This one seemed to be a lot better.  Obviously this is the hottest book out there right now and I’m sure there are better reviewers on this one as well, if you like fast paced thrillers with twists and turns throughout, pick it up today while it’s on sale everywhere!

Currently I’m reading China Underground by Zachary Mexico on the recommendation of my lovely wife.  This is another fun read and will head up the next installment of Okra’s Book Club.

If you have any recommendations, please feel free to post them here!

Until next time…  put some ketchup on that fried okra!

I just don’t get it… Whenever I have some free time to peruse the interweb I see something about this Gary Brolsma (the “Numa Numa” guy).  He’s all over the place because he made some lame attempt to make people laugh.  I wonder if this guy has ever spoken up about copying the idea from some raging drugged out German scatman?  The Crazy German guy’s video was making the rounds about a year before Gary copied it…

the Original NUMA NUMA GUY:

The copycat Gary Brolsma:

and now the copycat getting all the recognition…

i just think he should pay respect to where he got the idea from… a drugged out German dude.
LOL

What happened to free market in the city of Dallas?

I just don’t get it. Dallas schools are horrible. Dallas crime is horrible. Dallas nightlife is horrible. Dallas has some pretty crappy roads that are in dire need of repair. But Dallas wants to get into the hotel business? Why??? We already have world class hotels all over the place. Take your pick… tons to choose from. I’ve been to quite a few of them and can promise you they are top notch. I just don’t understand. Who are you trying to compete with??? Grapevine? They are thriving because they are making it fun out there. You need to focus on making the city great again and not ruining free market with a competing hotel in a city where we already have plenty. Hey Tom, don’t you remember when Arlington got the contract on the new Dallas Cowboy stadium? All the tongue-in-cheek comments about how there aren’t any hotels in Arlington and that all the people are going to stay in Dallas anyway. Tom, we have hotels. Lots of them! If a hotel is really needed down there, let some company build one.  Let free market reign!  Please, don’t build a hotel. We already know how well Dallas runs, we don’t want visitors staying in a 3-ring circus.

PLEASE:

Fix DISD (it’s a damn circus and you know that!)

Fix CRIME! (I like the chief… I’m sure he could use more help!)

Fix outdated liquor laws (dry zones? Special times? Give me a break!)

Fix the nightlife (quit shutting down the city & let it thrive!!!)

Fix my alley (i pay enough taxes to get a proper fix- not some bad patch work that lasts 2 months)

Tom,  use that money to boost up all the other stuff we are failing. I’m sure your contractor friends won’t be happy… but the City of Dallas will!  Make Dallas fun and safe.  The City of Dreams.  Build it and they will come.

- merritt (dj@djmerritt.com)

please say NO to the taxpayer hotel by voting YES to Prop 1 – notaxpayerhotel.com

and whoever is in charge of shit needs to yank the tax exempt status of those “so called” churches that allowed Mayor Tom Leppert to campaign for his hotel during church services (story @ Unfair Park).  BIG NO-NO!!!  Thanks for changing the basic rules of our government.  Maybe you guys could run some topless clubs too!  

funny email i got… the “actual” story on snopes is even is quite questionable as it’s commentary from an editor that wasn’t even there!

This brand spanking new Airbus 340-600, the largest

passenger airplane ever built, sits just outside its hangar

in Toulouse, France without a single hour of airtime.

Enter the Arab flight crew of Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies

(ADAT) to conduct pre-delivery tests on the ground, such as

engine run-ups prior to delivery to Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi.

The ADAT crew taxied the A340-600 to the run-up area.

Then they took all Four engines to takeoff power with a

virtually empty aircraft.  Not having Read the run-up

manuals, they had no clue just how light an empty

A340-600 really is.

The takeoff warning horn was blaring away in the cockpit

because they had All 4 engines at full power.

The aircraft computers thought they were trying to take off,

but it had not been configured properly (flaps/slats, etc..)

Then one of the ADAT crew decided to pull the circuit

breaker on the Ground Proximity Sensor to silence the alarm.

This fools the aircraft into thinking it is in the air.

The computers automatically released all the Brakes

and set the aircraft rocketing forward.

The ADAT crew had no idea that this is a safety feature

so that pilots can’t land with the brakes on.

Not one member of the seven-man Arab crew was smart enough

to throttle back the engines from their max power setting,

so the $200 million brand-new Aircraft crashed into a blast

barrier, totaling it.

The extent of injuries to the crew is unknown due to the

news blackout in the major media in France and elsewhere.

Yep… special 2 hour dj set with fancy cocktails and delicious grub!  Join me at the WXYZ Bar inside the Aloft Hotel Plano (N Dallas Tollway & Tennyson) from 7-9pm where I’ll have free EDGE goodies and chilled grooves.  Gonna be awesome!

Poor Mike Davis (economics professor from SMU).  I guess if you spend all your time around college students and wishing Milton Friedman was still around, it’s easy to forget to clear the crumbs from your nose.  The Fox 4 camera guy *shoulda* said something.  My guess is that he wasn’t happy with that assignment.  Anyway… Mike, KDFW is now broadcasting in HD and a finger might be just what the booger ordered.

WTF is going on down in South Oak Cliff?!?  Is this supposed to be proper behavior from our paid employees???  I think I’m more pissed that we weren’t invited to come down and bet on the fights… we coulda raised some much needed capital for the school district to blow on more stupid shit!

by Emily Ramishaw & Tawnell Hobbs/Dallas Morning News

The principal and other staff members at South Oak Cliff High School were supposed to be breaking up fights. Instead, they sent troubled students into a steel utility cage in an athletic locker room to battle it out with bare fists and no head protection, records show. – Dallas Morning News: full article here

what an expensive suck product. One would “think” they are on the forefront of protecting computers… but oh no. for weeks my peecee at work was getting really slow and outlook was starting to shut down complete with errors. i had been running the Norton with current updates in safe mode and regular mode… Norton gives my computer a clean bill of health. well… computer is still dragging ass and shutting down or giving me error messages. i run a free one: spybot search & destroy and low a behold: A TROJAN is on my computer. speed-runner trojan. looked it up on google and it’s quite well known. so how is it Norton, an expensive paid service misses this well known trojan that is lables DANGEROUS by everybody? probably because they just suck.   so, thanks Norton for taking my money and not fixing my computer. this is why i hate pc’s… i don’t have the hours downtime when i use macs.

oh my this is funny…