Seeing in the Dark, by Timothy Ferris

This is a love song - to astronomy, and particularly to the truly smitten, the amateur astronomers. Ferris does a fine job reminding us of the historic contributions of the amateur, and how vital they are to TODAY and the quest to see beyond this world. The book also serves as a nice memoir of Ferris's own amateur career, as well as offering a useful set of pointers and resources (including star charts) to anyone tempted to join the ranks of the stargazing community.

NEW DISCOVERY - anyone with a PC can leap into the sky and "visit" the worlds, and stars of this universe using "Celestia" a free package - really, really recommended!! - witness my recent trip to Mars:

Taking Mercury to Mars! 10/26/2002!!

(click on picture to see a larger picture)

The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Well, the next movie is coming. Now I'm ready. I've also requested the first movie from the library - I wasn't real happy with it when I saw it before, but I'd like to look again. I still feel more interested and sympathetic towards Narnia than Middle Earth, but the linguistic stuff is interesting. There certainly is a lot of depth in Middle Earth, and a sense of history. The devotion to "the Lady" is an interesting aspect, watching Gimli the dwarf as he reverently defends her name and honor when traveling outside of Lothlorien...