I read a lot of books every year, and while it is never my goal here to provide book reviews on all of them, there are some notable ones which are either really good or really bad which I feel is worth either promoting you to read it or dissuading you to the same. John Grisham's "The Last Juror" falls into the latter category.
In truth, it is a bit sad that I have to give a less than stellar review of a Grisham book. I have read about 14-15 of his books, and in general have really enjoyed them. By far the most memorable were "The Firm", "A Time to Kill", "The Rainmaker", "The Runaway Jury", and to a lesser degree "The King of Torts" and "A Painted House". Sure, he has written some real stinkers in my opinion (I'll keep those to myself so as to not bias you), but not many. I don't know what it is, whether it is fame that has gotten to Grisham's head and made him think that anything he writes will be bestsellers, or whether he has simply lost his touch, or perhaps, he has simply run out of good ideas.
When one reads the outline of the book on the back cover, and in the "semi-reviews" on the first page or two, it makes it sound like this will be both a legal thriller, as well as a murder-mystery. I imagine most readers would have sensed that there was some intrigue to be had in picking up this book, and die-hard Grisham fans would hope for a renaissance of classic Grisham storytelling.
First, the good stuff. The book starts out strong, there is a brutal murder in a small town. The rising action is very good here, and the reader wants to know more about how things will pan out. The main suspect is apprehended and tried. A short trial follows, and is outlined at a very good pace, with adequate detail. We learn a little more about the main character, Willie Traynor, the bad guys (the Padgitts) and some of the local characters who will float in and out of the book from time to time. The beginning is strong and near the end of the book it is once again strong. The book is also not innundated with technical law details, which for us non-lawyers, is a good thing.
I also liked the fact that some of the characters from his other books (like Harry Rex and Claude) were brought back. Unfortunately, they were not further developed.
Now for the not-so-good-stuff: The Last Juror does little to affirm the teaser summary and the one-sentence hype, often found in the opening pages of a book. Instead, what we see is a story that starts puttering around for about 150 pages, picks up again, and then ends very weakly. In between all of this, the reader is unfortunately a captive audience to Grisham's not-so-subtle chiding of the Vietnam War, big box stores (think Walmart here), and his social commentary on race relations in the South, Southern cuisine, and denominational differences in various churches in Mississippi (this was interesting for me, as a born-again believer, but I didn't see the connection to the plot whatsoever). The town elections and the various politicians/officials involved - they were in the book as cameo appearances only, and while I thought that perhaps one or more of them would turned out being impact characters, such was not the case. Unfortunately, all of these topics, which Grisham dissects unnecessarily for multiple pages in length, have little or nothing to do with the main storyline. I would say, that the opposite effect happened - it dragged everything down and slowed the story to a snail's pace.
The characters are generally hollow and under-developed. I have noticed a little trend in Grisham's books in the past few years - the "love interest" of the main character is nothing more than a good lay at best, and filler material at worst. The reader really feels little connection to the main character (who many times does not simply possess the enviable qualities of a solid protagonist), and as a result, the main character's friends and acquaintances are given even less attention by the reader. In the case of this book, the main character Willie, meets up with the sister of the murder victim, and within short order, there is a roll in the hay and then some goodbyes are said. The sister of of Rhoda was very wooden and I don't know of any reader who would have anymore than a passing interest in reading further about the character.
Some other characters in this book you wonder about, as Grisham starts to develop them somewhat (ie. see the situation with Sam and the Durant woman) and then goes nowhere with them. I thought for sure that Sam would be not only developed, but that he would have a major impact on the plot at the end, just based on how his character was an anomaly and the situation that he was in. But alas, after reading the ending, Sam would have been completely omitted from the book and the reader would not have noticed a difference except in the weight of the book.
While some people found the human interest story of the Ruffins interesting, I did not. Sure, Calia Ruffin was one of the jurors, but most readers will fail to see the actually connection of her and the title of the book. If she was the only one alive after all is said and done, that would have made for a more interesting story, in line with the title. Further, all of the descriptions about Southern black cooking is lost on me, and I don't think Grisham understands that maybe not all of his readers are from the South and would understand - or even care - about such detail. I've also noticed that Grisham seems rather formulaic in portraying Black people - they never seem to be the bad guys and while I commend him for wanting to bring awareness to race relations, it almost seems that he relishes the opportunity to harp on long-held stereotypes, whether they be for Whites or Blacks.
The ending was not in much doubt. I had written in my book (actually, I highlight and write in all my novels) at one point way before the last third of the book, that I suspected how the "mystery" would be solved in the end. I was disappointed that I was right and that I was able to figure out the book. This was not the case with earlier Grisham novels. The ending here was way too quick, and just like King of Torts and a Painted House, the reader just suspects that the rising action will at some point reach a climax. But it never does and it gets frustrating, because the reader can likely inject his/her own ideas as to how the book should end, and likely those suggestions would be a vast improvement from how the book actually ends.
Overall, I'd give the book maybe a 3 out of 5. It is by no means Grisham's worst work, but it is getting there. I am hoping that he takes a break from writing to mentally regroup and refuse contracts that require him to churn out a book a year. In the 1990s that may have worked for him, but it doesn't anymore.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
What Would You Do If These Were Your Children?
You would think in this day and age, nothing would surprise you, but I continue to be horrified by some of the things I read in the newspaper everyday. It should come as no surprise, from a theological perspective, since those of us who have read Scripture know that people are innately evil and sinful and while the manifestations of this sometimes are kept in check...in 2009, society seems to value individual freedoms over societal responsibility. In other words, pretty much anything goes, and there are no controls and worthwhile deterrents towards certain behaviours. You see it all the time in how young people nowadays spit in the face of authority, whether it be the police, teachers, or their parents. And life seemingly has little value, given how some people will willfully abort children or kill someone over something as trivial as a pack of cigarettes or for looking at them the wrong way.
I cringed as I read a very sad report of a gang rape that occurred in Richmond, California, last weekend. During a homecoming dance, a 15-year-old girl was waiting to meet up with her dad, when she got lured into a secluded area where she was offered alcohol, became intoxicated, and ended up being viciously gang-raped by a number of boys/men, all the while up to 20 people were watching and filming it. It was only through someone who overheard this incident happening several blocks away, when police were finally notified and they found the victim unconscious and barely clinging on to life.
Two people (if I can use that term loosely) have been arrested, one a 15-year-old, whose name cannot be mentioned for some reason, and a 19-year-old, Manuel Ortega, who was caught running from the scene. If Ortega is in fact guilty, I hope that he gets put into a nice prison full of folks who are itching to show this bastard what a real gang rape is like. Honestly, I really don't understand (I really, really don't) why anyone would attack a girl like this, and moreover, why so many people would just look on, laugh about it, tell their friends, and in some cases, participate. My first question is, what kind of parents did these kids have?
Now, there have been more details about the environment - Richmond is apparently a rougher neighbourhood and has a high concentration of hispanics. That may partially explain some of the behaviour - I know it's not PC to say this, but if you look at any ghetto area in the state of California, it's not Whites and it's not Asians who are perpetrating rapes, drive-by shootings, and gang murders. Sadly, these other segments of society (Blacks and Hispanics), while overwhelmingly liberal in their political views, have a higher rate of absentee fathers, a healthy respect for girls and women, and a solid family structure. That kind of environment will foster these types of dregs in society, who believe that they are entitled to sexually take advantage of a young girl who made a bad choice to become inebriated in the presence of teenaged boys. Who knows what will happen to this poor girl - obviously her life has changed and she may end up not being able to cope with such a sad, sad tragedy.
Unfortunately, California is one of the most liberal States in the U.S., and with the ACLU in full force and rape not being a capital crime, that 15-year-old will probably be out in a few years, while Ortega may be out in a few more after that. Let's just hope there is some dispensing of prison justice for these guys as well as the others who will eventually get caught.
I also hope for a speedy physical recovery and for the best outcome possible, emotionally, for this young girl, who, regardless of any bad choices that she may have made that night, did not deserve to be raped in any way, shape or form.
The second story that I read today involves a married father of a three-year-old toddler in Florida. Now, here's a hispanic hero if there ever was one. He had some European guy stay over at his house as an overnight guest. In the morning, after he left, his three-year-old son reported to him that the house guest had molested him in the middle of the night. So what did this upstanding and responsible father do? Did he do what society prescribes and call the cops and let them be frustrated at not being able to make an arrest due to some bureaucratic challenge or the inability to conjure up enough evidence? You know, my son is almost seven and never once has he mentioned to me that anyone has molested him. If he ever does, I know to take it seriously. So for a three-year-old to report to his father that he was molested, any father should take seriously. Kids don't just make this crap up, you know! Anyway, this heroic father did the sensible thing and did not waste the police's time. Instead, he grabbed one of his neighbours (a heroic Black guy, also to be commended to help his friend), and tracked down this pedophile and gave him some home-cooked justice. The cops found the perv bleeding profusely from the head. And sure enough, rather than commending a father for doing his JOB and taking his perental RESPONSIBILITY seriously, what do the cops do? They arrest the father and he's now in jail. The poor boy's mother was interviewed and she, in tears, said she doesn't understand why the father, who was just protecting his son, is now behind bars. Every single neighbour, who was interviewed, said they would have done the same thing, had it been their kid who was molested.
Rather than arrest him, they should have given Mr. Manuel Vega a medal. Same for the Black neighbour, Krish Carter. Good job guys, and I hope that there is enough backlash towards the authorities that they let these guys go and drop the charges. People may complain about "vigilante justice" and such, but remember, if people had total faith in justice system and know that it would fairly prosecute criminals, rather than letting them loose via a plethora of technicalities, stuff like this would never happen. As such, this is what happens the the justice system, and by extension, the government, fails its citizens.
I cringed as I read a very sad report of a gang rape that occurred in Richmond, California, last weekend. During a homecoming dance, a 15-year-old girl was waiting to meet up with her dad, when she got lured into a secluded area where she was offered alcohol, became intoxicated, and ended up being viciously gang-raped by a number of boys/men, all the while up to 20 people were watching and filming it. It was only through someone who overheard this incident happening several blocks away, when police were finally notified and they found the victim unconscious and barely clinging on to life.
Two people (if I can use that term loosely) have been arrested, one a 15-year-old, whose name cannot be mentioned for some reason, and a 19-year-old, Manuel Ortega, who was caught running from the scene. If Ortega is in fact guilty, I hope that he gets put into a nice prison full of folks who are itching to show this bastard what a real gang rape is like. Honestly, I really don't understand (I really, really don't) why anyone would attack a girl like this, and moreover, why so many people would just look on, laugh about it, tell their friends, and in some cases, participate. My first question is, what kind of parents did these kids have?
Now, there have been more details about the environment - Richmond is apparently a rougher neighbourhood and has a high concentration of hispanics. That may partially explain some of the behaviour - I know it's not PC to say this, but if you look at any ghetto area in the state of California, it's not Whites and it's not Asians who are perpetrating rapes, drive-by shootings, and gang murders. Sadly, these other segments of society (Blacks and Hispanics), while overwhelmingly liberal in their political views, have a higher rate of absentee fathers, a healthy respect for girls and women, and a solid family structure. That kind of environment will foster these types of dregs in society, who believe that they are entitled to sexually take advantage of a young girl who made a bad choice to become inebriated in the presence of teenaged boys. Who knows what will happen to this poor girl - obviously her life has changed and she may end up not being able to cope with such a sad, sad tragedy.
Unfortunately, California is one of the most liberal States in the U.S., and with the ACLU in full force and rape not being a capital crime, that 15-year-old will probably be out in a few years, while Ortega may be out in a few more after that. Let's just hope there is some dispensing of prison justice for these guys as well as the others who will eventually get caught.
I also hope for a speedy physical recovery and for the best outcome possible, emotionally, for this young girl, who, regardless of any bad choices that she may have made that night, did not deserve to be raped in any way, shape or form.
The second story that I read today involves a married father of a three-year-old toddler in Florida. Now, here's a hispanic hero if there ever was one. He had some European guy stay over at his house as an overnight guest. In the morning, after he left, his three-year-old son reported to him that the house guest had molested him in the middle of the night. So what did this upstanding and responsible father do? Did he do what society prescribes and call the cops and let them be frustrated at not being able to make an arrest due to some bureaucratic challenge or the inability to conjure up enough evidence? You know, my son is almost seven and never once has he mentioned to me that anyone has molested him. If he ever does, I know to take it seriously. So for a three-year-old to report to his father that he was molested, any father should take seriously. Kids don't just make this crap up, you know! Anyway, this heroic father did the sensible thing and did not waste the police's time. Instead, he grabbed one of his neighbours (a heroic Black guy, also to be commended to help his friend), and tracked down this pedophile and gave him some home-cooked justice. The cops found the perv bleeding profusely from the head. And sure enough, rather than commending a father for doing his JOB and taking his perental RESPONSIBILITY seriously, what do the cops do? They arrest the father and he's now in jail. The poor boy's mother was interviewed and she, in tears, said she doesn't understand why the father, who was just protecting his son, is now behind bars. Every single neighbour, who was interviewed, said they would have done the same thing, had it been their kid who was molested.
Rather than arrest him, they should have given Mr. Manuel Vega a medal. Same for the Black neighbour, Krish Carter. Good job guys, and I hope that there is enough backlash towards the authorities that they let these guys go and drop the charges. People may complain about "vigilante justice" and such, but remember, if people had total faith in justice system and know that it would fairly prosecute criminals, rather than letting them loose via a plethora of technicalities, stuff like this would never happen. As such, this is what happens the the justice system, and by extension, the government, fails its citizens.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Scofield ScofieldRG III ESV Study Bible from Oxford University Press - First Impressions
Our new church (been attending for about eight months), in which I am also now a newly minted elder, has been using the English Standard Version (ESV) for many years (the ESV was released as a translation in 2001). As a new guy, and one who has little familiarity with the ESV, it was a bit of an adjustment. And while I know firsthand that many folks at the church continue to use whatever version they used previously, I thought that I would officially adopt the ESV as my translation for study and Scripture memorization, after using the NIV exclusively, since I became a believer in 1991. This, of course, is not an easy task, with almost all of my Scripture memorization coming from the NIV. Furthermore, I was just FINALLY getting used to the layout of my trusty Zondervan NIV slimline Bible. I have since retired it, and have been using the very nice hardcover ESV wide-margin Bible that I received when I became a member of our new church in June. However, while I like that hardcover Bible, it is not a study Bible, and I've always wanted to own a study Bible (IMHO, the Life Application Bible is not a study Bible).
A couple of other things to note...I find that with my ESV hardcover, that the margin notes are in the middle and very, very, very small - like, impossible to read small. I was doing some reading and saw that a new thinline ESV leatherbound Bible was coming out in January 2010, and originally had a order placed on Amazon for it, but I've obviously since changed my mind, after reading about the less-than-stellar quality of the binding of Crossway Bibles, not to mention issues with font sizes that people have reported. Crossway, as you may know, essentially "owns" the rights to the ESV. I was hoping to find the ESV from another publisher, but from what I understand, Crossway has an essential monopoly on ESV Bibles.
Enter the well-regarded and long-established Oxford University Press, which happens to be licenced to publish the ESV Bible, but only as a "Scofield Study Bible". I had no idea who this Scofield fellow was, so I did some digging and found out that he was quite the avid dispensationalist. I have also read a few folks who advise others to stay away from Scofield as he was a divorced man (who later remarried) and also he fought for the Confederate army, and he had a drinking problem - but again, if you read his WHOLE story, and not just the parts, you'll see that all of that was before he became saved, and after he was saved, he was quite the different man (sort of like a fellow who wrote 13 or so of the NT books?)
I am nowhere close to be a dispensationalist, but rather than less theological bias cloud my judgment, I figured I can always ignore the notes that have to do with that area of theology. Boy, I am glad I made that decision.
So I ordered the ScofieldRG III ESV Study Bible in hardcover from Amazon, back in June. It apparently was on backorder, so I literally wanted through the whole summer and early fall, and a deep price cut they gave me (after I complained about such long waiting times), only to find out 3 weeks ago that they are unable to get it from the publisher. I found that hard to believe, but what's done is done and they already cancelled my order (it is the only item that I have never been able to get from Amazon.ca, but it was also the most desired item in all my orders. Oh well...so I, still being an avid eBay buyer (not so much a seller anymore due to fees and such), checked eBay, and I found the ScofieldRG III ESV Study Bible in bright blue leatherbound (turns out to be bonded leather, which essentially the particleboard of leather construction). The price was OK, the shipping was high, but it would have still come out to less than what I'd pay in the store or through Amazon.ca (and no retail taxes if I buy from the U.S.), I placed my order. I was relieved to find out it was brand new, still sealed, and that the blue was actually a navy blue, rather than the smurf blue that was on the stock photo.
My trusty new ScofieldRG III leather Bible in navy blue from Oxford Press, showed up today and since I was home with a bad cough and sore throat (and staying up all night due to the cough), it was a welcome addition to my bedside as I was in bed resting anyway... Obviously, I haven't read through it all yet, but I can provide some initial impressions on the Bible.
Obviously, the first thing that anyone experiences with a new Bible is the look and feel. This Bible has about 1890 pages or so and you could feel the weight of the Bible - it was not as heavy as a hardcover, but it was no thinline either. It was also much bigger in size. However, the Bible feels good in the hands, the bonded leather does not look and feel like bonded leather at all (I have many bonded leather Bibles in other translations). There is a thumb indexing system and on this Bible, the tabs are silver and the writing is in black. The overall Bible pages is coated with a layer of silver glitter (or whatever it's called in the industry - I think you know what I'm talking about - collectively the pages are sprayed or treated with a silver looking material).
When I open the Bible, it feels stiff, but not too much so that it stay open properly. The pages are sewn together, not glued, which make for a more long-lasting lifespan (unlike my glued NIV thinline, which has several pages falling out after 13 years).
What impressed me the most was the font size - very readable, even for people with bad eyesight like me. Yet the font is not overly large to make the reader think it is a large-print Bible. In my edition, words of Christ are in red and while I've read some reviews where people have said that it's way too bright read, I didn't find that to be the case. The red text is a neither-here-or-there issue for me, so it really doesn't matter to me either way. The study notes and chain references (on the outer margins) are easy to read and there are tables and charts throughout the Bible. Yes, the dispensationalist theology is there, but it is not rampant like someone would have you believe (I've sampled several chapters already from the Old and New Testaments). Again, if you don't subscribe to dispensationalism, just ignore the notes on it. It is still worthy study Bible otherwise. My one observation for improvement is in the area of balance of notes. By this I mean that at some points in my initial perusal, some books and chapters were heavy with notes, while other books and chapters barely had any. I would have liked to see some balance here, and while I know it's more exciting to talk about more theologically engaging things, even for some of the lesser-known books of the Bible or lesser-read passages (and sometimes there are sparse notes on even well-known passages), some more contextual information would go a long way.
The Bible includes several very colourful maps at the back, made out of thinner pages, so that they don't start falling out like in my NIV Bible. The front of the Bible has a few additional pages which you can record births, deaths, marriages, etc., and this section is done on high quality paper with texturing, so it really does have a old-world, historical feel. Very classy and well done.
The pages are thin, and the accompanying product card said not to use highlighters and such, as they would leak through or bleed through the pages. I can relate, as my NIV did that...however, in using my highlighter already on the Bible, I can tell you firsthand that the pages don't allow for bleeding (that much) and you can highlight to your heart's content - you may see a slight trace of it, but when you turn the page over, you won't see the entire highlighted section bleed through - trust me on this one - of course, it may just be the highlighter I used).
Each book has an introduction and a blurb about key themes and a layout of the book. The Scofield system does pride itself on helping the reader understand Scripture as a whole, and as a result, I really like how the notes and summaries really aid to this end.
The Bible also comes with the standard strip cloth bookmark (in matching blue). There is also a concordance in the back that, while it is not comprehensive, is better than nothing. Included in the back as well is a summary of the chain references, a Bible dictionary and topical index.
Overall, I am impressed with this Bible greatly. The quality of construction does seem very top notch and the readability of the font and typeset shows favour with this reader. I look forward to using this Bible for many more years to come. My wife opened the package and after inspecting it herself, she wanted one as well. If Amazon did start stocking the hardcover version again, I'll probably pick up one those as well. I would give this ScofieldRG III ESV Study Bible from Oxford Press top marks.
A couple of other things to note...I find that with my ESV hardcover, that the margin notes are in the middle and very, very, very small - like, impossible to read small. I was doing some reading and saw that a new thinline ESV leatherbound Bible was coming out in January 2010, and originally had a order placed on Amazon for it, but I've obviously since changed my mind, after reading about the less-than-stellar quality of the binding of Crossway Bibles, not to mention issues with font sizes that people have reported. Crossway, as you may know, essentially "owns" the rights to the ESV. I was hoping to find the ESV from another publisher, but from what I understand, Crossway has an essential monopoly on ESV Bibles.
Enter the well-regarded and long-established Oxford University Press, which happens to be licenced to publish the ESV Bible, but only as a "Scofield Study Bible". I had no idea who this Scofield fellow was, so I did some digging and found out that he was quite the avid dispensationalist. I have also read a few folks who advise others to stay away from Scofield as he was a divorced man (who later remarried) and also he fought for the Confederate army, and he had a drinking problem - but again, if you read his WHOLE story, and not just the parts, you'll see that all of that was before he became saved, and after he was saved, he was quite the different man (sort of like a fellow who wrote 13 or so of the NT books?)
I am nowhere close to be a dispensationalist, but rather than less theological bias cloud my judgment, I figured I can always ignore the notes that have to do with that area of theology. Boy, I am glad I made that decision.
So I ordered the ScofieldRG III ESV Study Bible in hardcover from Amazon, back in June. It apparently was on backorder, so I literally wanted through the whole summer and early fall, and a deep price cut they gave me (after I complained about such long waiting times), only to find out 3 weeks ago that they are unable to get it from the publisher. I found that hard to believe, but what's done is done and they already cancelled my order (it is the only item that I have never been able to get from Amazon.ca, but it was also the most desired item in all my orders. Oh well...so I, still being an avid eBay buyer (not so much a seller anymore due to fees and such), checked eBay, and I found the ScofieldRG III ESV Study Bible in bright blue leatherbound (turns out to be bonded leather, which essentially the particleboard of leather construction). The price was OK, the shipping was high, but it would have still come out to less than what I'd pay in the store or through Amazon.ca (and no retail taxes if I buy from the U.S.), I placed my order. I was relieved to find out it was brand new, still sealed, and that the blue was actually a navy blue, rather than the smurf blue that was on the stock photo.
My trusty new ScofieldRG III leather Bible in navy blue from Oxford Press, showed up today and since I was home with a bad cough and sore throat (and staying up all night due to the cough), it was a welcome addition to my bedside as I was in bed resting anyway... Obviously, I haven't read through it all yet, but I can provide some initial impressions on the Bible.
Obviously, the first thing that anyone experiences with a new Bible is the look and feel. This Bible has about 1890 pages or so and you could feel the weight of the Bible - it was not as heavy as a hardcover, but it was no thinline either. It was also much bigger in size. However, the Bible feels good in the hands, the bonded leather does not look and feel like bonded leather at all (I have many bonded leather Bibles in other translations). There is a thumb indexing system and on this Bible, the tabs are silver and the writing is in black. The overall Bible pages is coated with a layer of silver glitter (or whatever it's called in the industry - I think you know what I'm talking about - collectively the pages are sprayed or treated with a silver looking material).
When I open the Bible, it feels stiff, but not too much so that it stay open properly. The pages are sewn together, not glued, which make for a more long-lasting lifespan (unlike my glued NIV thinline, which has several pages falling out after 13 years).
What impressed me the most was the font size - very readable, even for people with bad eyesight like me. Yet the font is not overly large to make the reader think it is a large-print Bible. In my edition, words of Christ are in red and while I've read some reviews where people have said that it's way too bright read, I didn't find that to be the case. The red text is a neither-here-or-there issue for me, so it really doesn't matter to me either way. The study notes and chain references (on the outer margins) are easy to read and there are tables and charts throughout the Bible. Yes, the dispensationalist theology is there, but it is not rampant like someone would have you believe (I've sampled several chapters already from the Old and New Testaments). Again, if you don't subscribe to dispensationalism, just ignore the notes on it. It is still worthy study Bible otherwise. My one observation for improvement is in the area of balance of notes. By this I mean that at some points in my initial perusal, some books and chapters were heavy with notes, while other books and chapters barely had any. I would have liked to see some balance here, and while I know it's more exciting to talk about more theologically engaging things, even for some of the lesser-known books of the Bible or lesser-read passages (and sometimes there are sparse notes on even well-known passages), some more contextual information would go a long way.
The Bible includes several very colourful maps at the back, made out of thinner pages, so that they don't start falling out like in my NIV Bible. The front of the Bible has a few additional pages which you can record births, deaths, marriages, etc., and this section is done on high quality paper with texturing, so it really does have a old-world, historical feel. Very classy and well done.
The pages are thin, and the accompanying product card said not to use highlighters and such, as they would leak through or bleed through the pages. I can relate, as my NIV did that...however, in using my highlighter already on the Bible, I can tell you firsthand that the pages don't allow for bleeding (that much) and you can highlight to your heart's content - you may see a slight trace of it, but when you turn the page over, you won't see the entire highlighted section bleed through - trust me on this one - of course, it may just be the highlighter I used).
Each book has an introduction and a blurb about key themes and a layout of the book. The Scofield system does pride itself on helping the reader understand Scripture as a whole, and as a result, I really like how the notes and summaries really aid to this end.
The Bible also comes with the standard strip cloth bookmark (in matching blue). There is also a concordance in the back that, while it is not comprehensive, is better than nothing. Included in the back as well is a summary of the chain references, a Bible dictionary and topical index.
Overall, I am impressed with this Bible greatly. The quality of construction does seem very top notch and the readability of the font and typeset shows favour with this reader. I look forward to using this Bible for many more years to come. My wife opened the package and after inspecting it herself, she wanted one as well. If Amazon did start stocking the hardcover version again, I'll probably pick up one those as well. I would give this ScofieldRG III ESV Study Bible from Oxford Press top marks.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Awenda Provincial Park - A Great Experience
Our family has gone camping for years. My wife and I camped even before we had kids, and we have visited many of the provincial parks in Ontario.
We just came back from what we felt was truly the best experience camping (excluding weather). It was at Awenda Provincial Park, near Penetanguishine / Midland. This is a fabulous park, particularly for those with families. While I don't have time to get into all the aspects of what we liked in detail, I would like to point out a couple of tings which may be of benefit to those looking for somewhere to camp, particularly if you have kids, and even if you don't.
I have two big pet peeves when it comes to camping: privacy and noise. I like more of the former and none of the latter. They are inter-related. One can argue that noise is everywhere...maybe, but I find that at campsites which are within close proximity of each other (and you can tell this by whether you feel comfortable taking a wizz in the bushes in broad daylight), you tend to get noise at night, from either rowdy young adults who had too much to drink, or those who can't shut their dogs up.
Most campgrounds offer radio-free sites, but radios have not generally been a problem over the years, for us. Awenda offers radio-free and pet-free sites (we were in the Snake campsites). At night it was so quiet.
But moreover, the camp sites are so spread apart, you cannot see your neighbour and it's not because of simply a dense smattering of trees, but each site really is a bit of a hike from the next. We camped with friends who have kids who are a bit boisterous when they talk and I'm not kidding you, you could not hear them, day or night. And yes, they were talking and shouting. We could hear a bit of other neighbours, but it was so faint, you didn't even know what they were saying...everyone had kids, so it was a great family area. Also, not be awakened by some yappy canine was such a treat! I really do not like dogs period, and I am glad that they had pet-free zones at Awenda.
Another forward-thinking family-friendly aspect to Awenda Provincial Park was that they had kids' educational programs running daily, whether it be learning about the habitat of some animals or the local industry in the surrounding towns. This is great for those parents who want variety and it is also a nice alternative when the weather does not co-operate.
While I did not go to the beach due to my aversion to beaches and my self-imposed avoidance of anywhere scantily clad women may be, my wife and kids went and they said the beach was awesome - white sand, clear water, lots to do.
The entrance to the park was a nice long ride in the car...if you have bladder control problems and are relieved to see the "Welcome to Awenda" sign, be prepared to wait for some time before hitting the registration desk. It's not as bad as Algonquin, but it's not your common short-distance from highway to park entrance either.
Only a few things I didn't like about the park - 1) the outhouses are not lighted, so expect to take a dump in the dark (our last camping experience, which was at Arrowhead, near Huntsville last month, was eased by lighted outhouses). 2) some comfort stations (showers) are nowhere near walking distance - they could have probably put more of them in, but that may simply cause more traffic. 3) Getting to the park was a bit of a challenge - you go into Penetanguishine, and go through a few streets before hitting a concession road, and then more turns. The Awenda signs along the way are very small. If you have a GPS, you'll be fine; if you're using a paper map, study it carefully before heading out.
I didn't get a chance to fish this weekend, mostly due to weather (it rained all weekend and it was freezing cold), so I can't speak on the fishing aspect, but I do plan to go back there next year with the family.
Overall, I really enjoyed Awenda and plan to go back. I really liked the privacy (lots of trees and shade), the quietness, and the stuff for kids to do. Each campsite has a longer-than-usual "driveway" to get into the site, so your campsite is not as close to the road as some are. The beach was great, and there are good hiking trails if you want to burn off your hamburger lunch.
We just came back from what we felt was truly the best experience camping (excluding weather). It was at Awenda Provincial Park, near Penetanguishine / Midland. This is a fabulous park, particularly for those with families. While I don't have time to get into all the aspects of what we liked in detail, I would like to point out a couple of tings which may be of benefit to those looking for somewhere to camp, particularly if you have kids, and even if you don't.
I have two big pet peeves when it comes to camping: privacy and noise. I like more of the former and none of the latter. They are inter-related. One can argue that noise is everywhere...maybe, but I find that at campsites which are within close proximity of each other (and you can tell this by whether you feel comfortable taking a wizz in the bushes in broad daylight), you tend to get noise at night, from either rowdy young adults who had too much to drink, or those who can't shut their dogs up.
Most campgrounds offer radio-free sites, but radios have not generally been a problem over the years, for us. Awenda offers radio-free and pet-free sites (we were in the Snake campsites). At night it was so quiet.
But moreover, the camp sites are so spread apart, you cannot see your neighbour and it's not because of simply a dense smattering of trees, but each site really is a bit of a hike from the next. We camped with friends who have kids who are a bit boisterous when they talk and I'm not kidding you, you could not hear them, day or night. And yes, they were talking and shouting. We could hear a bit of other neighbours, but it was so faint, you didn't even know what they were saying...everyone had kids, so it was a great family area. Also, not be awakened by some yappy canine was such a treat! I really do not like dogs period, and I am glad that they had pet-free zones at Awenda.
Another forward-thinking family-friendly aspect to Awenda Provincial Park was that they had kids' educational programs running daily, whether it be learning about the habitat of some animals or the local industry in the surrounding towns. This is great for those parents who want variety and it is also a nice alternative when the weather does not co-operate.
While I did not go to the beach due to my aversion to beaches and my self-imposed avoidance of anywhere scantily clad women may be, my wife and kids went and they said the beach was awesome - white sand, clear water, lots to do.
The entrance to the park was a nice long ride in the car...if you have bladder control problems and are relieved to see the "Welcome to Awenda" sign, be prepared to wait for some time before hitting the registration desk. It's not as bad as Algonquin, but it's not your common short-distance from highway to park entrance either.
Only a few things I didn't like about the park - 1) the outhouses are not lighted, so expect to take a dump in the dark (our last camping experience, which was at Arrowhead, near Huntsville last month, was eased by lighted outhouses). 2) some comfort stations (showers) are nowhere near walking distance - they could have probably put more of them in, but that may simply cause more traffic. 3) Getting to the park was a bit of a challenge - you go into Penetanguishine, and go through a few streets before hitting a concession road, and then more turns. The Awenda signs along the way are very small. If you have a GPS, you'll be fine; if you're using a paper map, study it carefully before heading out.
I didn't get a chance to fish this weekend, mostly due to weather (it rained all weekend and it was freezing cold), so I can't speak on the fishing aspect, but I do plan to go back there next year with the family.
Overall, I really enjoyed Awenda and plan to go back. I really liked the privacy (lots of trees and shade), the quietness, and the stuff for kids to do. Each campsite has a longer-than-usual "driveway" to get into the site, so your campsite is not as close to the road as some are. The beach was great, and there are good hiking trails if you want to burn off your hamburger lunch.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Stopping Power - Why 70 Million Americans Own Guns, by J. Neil Schulman - Book Review
That may have been the longest article title yet for this blog. But anyhow...
Tonight I just finished reading J. Neil Schulman's book, "Stopping Power: Why 70 Million Americans Own Guns". What follows will be a very short review of the book with my perspectives and opinions on what I have read, in general (I don't want to get too specific, since that will just cause the length of this posting to spiral out of control, and I'm sure no one wants that). I read this book alongside another book (totally unrelated) titled "None of These Diseases - The Bible's Health Secrets for the 21st Century" - more on this another time.
With a title like Stopping Power, my initial thought was that the book would talk at great length about defensive gun use, particularly in the type of firearm and ammunition that it would take to incapacitate an attacker. I was sure that at some point, there would be references to ballistic jelly and bullet expansion, wound channels, what calibre or shot size ammo to use, etc. I thought it would discuss some of the legal ramifications of defensive firearm use and provide real-life scenarios to buttress all the points.
I was wrong on all counts, and it stemmed from my faulty understanding of the title of the book and the subsequent assumptions that I made as a result. The book does not discuss the specifics of ballistic stopping power or anything like that; rather, the reference Stopping Power, refers instead to the curbing of government abuse of powers and limiting liberties and natural rights. It was a bit of a bummer, since I had thought that the book was something else. But I digress...
Schulman, a self-proclaimed libertarian anarchist, spent a large portion of the book railing against perceived government interference in infringing the right for an individual to bear arms. He tackles a variety of topics related to this, and if nothing else, it kept the book fairly interesting, since it didn't get bogged down on legal or philosophical arguments (which I can take, but that's not why I bought the book). He does a good job in providing responses to many common arguments for gun control.
The highlight of the book for me was when he listed his correspondence with Gary Kleck, who many pro-gun writers seemingly quote regarding his assertion that there are an estimated 2.5 million instances of defensive gun use per year. Be that as it may, I have always wondered how that estimate was derived - many books quote the number without explaining how Kleck got to that number. To Schulman's credit, that is discussed in length. To date, it's the only book I've seen that has addressed the numbers behind the number. It's also helpful that Schulman pointed out that Kleck is a lifelong Democrat, is a member of many Democratic organizations, and is for gun control, so it's not like he was a puppet for the NRA or something. Kudos to Kleck for having some journalistic integrity by reporting on something as the facts, even if the conclusion flies against his personal view.
I also liked how Schulman had the second amendment broken down word for word and line by line by well known English professors and linguists. That chapter was helpful in shedding light on the wording of the second amendment, wording which has been used by both sides of the debate to try to buttress their own points.
But that is where the positives end, for me anyway. Since the early parts of the book, I simply could not get past the fact that most of the book is simply a collection of his previous writings, all meshed together in such a way that the flow of continuity is not there. You can really tell that he wrote the various articles at various times, since there is just not that singular sense of fluidity in the book. While it was a collection of topics presented, the cut and pasting of various articles and correspondence made for a very choppy read, which is probably why it took me so long to get through the book. I just find it a bit of a turn-off to see that he just cut and paste various writings he did previously (the audience for these were all different). It's like if I cut and paste an email I wrote to someone and put it here - you would have a hard time getting past the fact that while I wrote it, it wasn't expressly written for this purpose (and my blog entries are written different than an email at work to someone, etc.)
I also found that he included cuts and pastes of internet correspondence and in some cases, letters he wrote to others but could not paste their response. To read a set of letters where he is the only one writing is difficult, since you can't really see how his target responded (you an discern somewhat from his response, but it's not the same). I've always had a bit of an issue with quoting anything from the internet, in a "real book". In his case, he was quoting messages from chat sites and bulletin boards. I think I would have preferred seeing him collect up all this information and then disseminate it all at once in a way that is easier to follow.
Schulman, while pro-gun, reveals that he is left-wing on many other issues (ie. he is pro-choice and pro-gay). That is his opinion, but he goes out of his way to emphasize that, as if he considered it a badge of honour.
Overall, I'd give the book a B-. The content is OK, albeit a bit scatterbrained. I agree with most of what he is saying, but I think that the vehicle or delivery method/presentation could have been greatly improved. I bought his other book "Self-Control, Not Gun Control" and hope that it is structured a little bit better than this one.
Tonight I just finished reading J. Neil Schulman's book, "Stopping Power: Why 70 Million Americans Own Guns". What follows will be a very short review of the book with my perspectives and opinions on what I have read, in general (I don't want to get too specific, since that will just cause the length of this posting to spiral out of control, and I'm sure no one wants that). I read this book alongside another book (totally unrelated) titled "None of These Diseases - The Bible's Health Secrets for the 21st Century" - more on this another time.
With a title like Stopping Power, my initial thought was that the book would talk at great length about defensive gun use, particularly in the type of firearm and ammunition that it would take to incapacitate an attacker. I was sure that at some point, there would be references to ballistic jelly and bullet expansion, wound channels, what calibre or shot size ammo to use, etc. I thought it would discuss some of the legal ramifications of defensive firearm use and provide real-life scenarios to buttress all the points.
I was wrong on all counts, and it stemmed from my faulty understanding of the title of the book and the subsequent assumptions that I made as a result. The book does not discuss the specifics of ballistic stopping power or anything like that; rather, the reference Stopping Power, refers instead to the curbing of government abuse of powers and limiting liberties and natural rights. It was a bit of a bummer, since I had thought that the book was something else. But I digress...
Schulman, a self-proclaimed libertarian anarchist, spent a large portion of the book railing against perceived government interference in infringing the right for an individual to bear arms. He tackles a variety of topics related to this, and if nothing else, it kept the book fairly interesting, since it didn't get bogged down on legal or philosophical arguments (which I can take, but that's not why I bought the book). He does a good job in providing responses to many common arguments for gun control.
The highlight of the book for me was when he listed his correspondence with Gary Kleck, who many pro-gun writers seemingly quote regarding his assertion that there are an estimated 2.5 million instances of defensive gun use per year. Be that as it may, I have always wondered how that estimate was derived - many books quote the number without explaining how Kleck got to that number. To Schulman's credit, that is discussed in length. To date, it's the only book I've seen that has addressed the numbers behind the number. It's also helpful that Schulman pointed out that Kleck is a lifelong Democrat, is a member of many Democratic organizations, and is for gun control, so it's not like he was a puppet for the NRA or something. Kudos to Kleck for having some journalistic integrity by reporting on something as the facts, even if the conclusion flies against his personal view.
I also liked how Schulman had the second amendment broken down word for word and line by line by well known English professors and linguists. That chapter was helpful in shedding light on the wording of the second amendment, wording which has been used by both sides of the debate to try to buttress their own points.
But that is where the positives end, for me anyway. Since the early parts of the book, I simply could not get past the fact that most of the book is simply a collection of his previous writings, all meshed together in such a way that the flow of continuity is not there. You can really tell that he wrote the various articles at various times, since there is just not that singular sense of fluidity in the book. While it was a collection of topics presented, the cut and pasting of various articles and correspondence made for a very choppy read, which is probably why it took me so long to get through the book. I just find it a bit of a turn-off to see that he just cut and paste various writings he did previously (the audience for these were all different). It's like if I cut and paste an email I wrote to someone and put it here - you would have a hard time getting past the fact that while I wrote it, it wasn't expressly written for this purpose (and my blog entries are written different than an email at work to someone, etc.)
I also found that he included cuts and pastes of internet correspondence and in some cases, letters he wrote to others but could not paste their response. To read a set of letters where he is the only one writing is difficult, since you can't really see how his target responded (you an discern somewhat from his response, but it's not the same). I've always had a bit of an issue with quoting anything from the internet, in a "real book". In his case, he was quoting messages from chat sites and bulletin boards. I think I would have preferred seeing him collect up all this information and then disseminate it all at once in a way that is easier to follow.
Schulman, while pro-gun, reveals that he is left-wing on many other issues (ie. he is pro-choice and pro-gay). That is his opinion, but he goes out of his way to emphasize that, as if he considered it a badge of honour.
Overall, I'd give the book a B-. The content is OK, albeit a bit scatterbrained. I agree with most of what he is saying, but I think that the vehicle or delivery method/presentation could have been greatly improved. I bought his other book "Self-Control, Not Gun Control" and hope that it is structured a little bit better than this one.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Mr. and Mrs...
I have, over the years, been increasingly convinced that the reason why today's kids, in most part, tend to be less polite than their counterparts from generations past is because adults have failed to instill and pass on something as simple as a basic standard of greeting from their kids towards other adults. One thing that I value tremendously from the partially Asian culture in which I was raised is the whole aspect of greetings towards adults. To many Asian kids, other adults get addressed as Uncle (insert name) and Auntie (insert name), despite the fact that these folks are not biologically related to them. It is a sign of respect and reverence for those who are older than yourself. When the adult is a non-Asian and don't get the Uncle and Auntie bit, we are to address them formally by Mr. (insert name) or Mrs. (insert name) or Miss (insert name) or Ms. (insert name).
The overall culture has gravitated towards little kids calling adults by their first name. While this may seem minor or trite, I think it is the beginning of the erosion of the child's respect system in their developing years.
There was a lady in our pre-natal class, with whose family we were casual friends. She always struck me as a bit pretentious, why with her "keeping up with the Joneses" attitude and her tremendously liberal philosophy - her sister's a lesbian, so what do you expect. Anyhow, I remember she was telling her kid (3 at the time) to call me "Jeremy". That is my name, but I ain't letting no 3-year-old call me by my first name. I kindly corrected, "It's Mr. (my last name) to you." His mom thought that I was nuts - of course, she teaches her son to use all medical terms to describe his body - I mean, how ridiculous does it sound to have a 3-year-old say, "I need to clean my penis." And this lady is a teacher (your taxpayer dollars at work). I also did that with another one of my wife's daycare kids. As much consternation and eye-rolling as parents will give me upon me correcting them to call me Mr. (my last name), I think I am doing a service to their children in the long run.
My son, 6, is continually instructed to call people Mr. and Mrs. (insert last name name). And his father (me) models this for him, in that I call his teacher Mrs. (her surname) when I address her directly in conversation, and I call his principal (who has changed a few times) his her surname, prefaced by the appropriate Mr./Mrs./Miss/Ms. Now, that being said, don't get me wrong, I don't call everyone I know who is older than me by Mr. and Mrs. I think part of it is discretionary for adults, but I think for kids, calling adults by their first name is out of bounds. I believe that students, no matter what age, should call their teachers Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss (surname), no different than congregation people should call their minister Pastor (first name or last name). I do this with all my pastors at my church, despite the fact that a number of them have said that I can just call them by their name. I can do that but I will preface it with "Pastor". It just is a sign of respect, in my view. No different if you address an officer, you say "sir" or "Officer (surname" or "Constable (surname)" or "Detective (surname)". All of this sounds rather gay at first, but when you get used to it, it will be second nature. For parents with kids, I think it's important to model respect for authority figures and even adults in general.
This past Sunday, we went to our friends' place, and their last name was hard to pronounce for my son. They were Japanese and so it was not unusual for our friend to suggest to my son, "Why don't you just call me Uncle Doug." Makes sense to me.
I know some parents who have changed their kids' addressing of us when our son addresses them as Mr. or Mrs. Again, it seems counter-intuitive, but there is something about offering respect when respect is due that really gives a child a sense of order and a yielding to those who are either in authority, or have more life experience than us. I am 36, and I still call my parents' friends Uncle (first name) or Auntie (first name), even though I'm not related to them. It's not awkward in the least and it confers the elder-respect that is so often missing in today's me-first culture.
The overall culture has gravitated towards little kids calling adults by their first name. While this may seem minor or trite, I think it is the beginning of the erosion of the child's respect system in their developing years.
There was a lady in our pre-natal class, with whose family we were casual friends. She always struck me as a bit pretentious, why with her "keeping up with the Joneses" attitude and her tremendously liberal philosophy - her sister's a lesbian, so what do you expect. Anyhow, I remember she was telling her kid (3 at the time) to call me "Jeremy". That is my name, but I ain't letting no 3-year-old call me by my first name. I kindly corrected, "It's Mr. (my last name) to you." His mom thought that I was nuts - of course, she teaches her son to use all medical terms to describe his body - I mean, how ridiculous does it sound to have a 3-year-old say, "I need to clean my penis." And this lady is a teacher (your taxpayer dollars at work). I also did that with another one of my wife's daycare kids. As much consternation and eye-rolling as parents will give me upon me correcting them to call me Mr. (my last name), I think I am doing a service to their children in the long run.
My son, 6, is continually instructed to call people Mr. and Mrs. (insert last name name). And his father (me) models this for him, in that I call his teacher Mrs. (her surname) when I address her directly in conversation, and I call his principal (who has changed a few times) his her surname, prefaced by the appropriate Mr./Mrs./Miss/Ms. Now, that being said, don't get me wrong, I don't call everyone I know who is older than me by Mr. and Mrs. I think part of it is discretionary for adults, but I think for kids, calling adults by their first name is out of bounds. I believe that students, no matter what age, should call their teachers Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss (surname), no different than congregation people should call their minister Pastor (first name or last name). I do this with all my pastors at my church, despite the fact that a number of them have said that I can just call them by their name. I can do that but I will preface it with "Pastor". It just is a sign of respect, in my view. No different if you address an officer, you say "sir" or "Officer (surname" or "Constable (surname)" or "Detective (surname)". All of this sounds rather gay at first, but when you get used to it, it will be second nature. For parents with kids, I think it's important to model respect for authority figures and even adults in general.
This past Sunday, we went to our friends' place, and their last name was hard to pronounce for my son. They were Japanese and so it was not unusual for our friend to suggest to my son, "Why don't you just call me Uncle Doug." Makes sense to me.
I know some parents who have changed their kids' addressing of us when our son addresses them as Mr. or Mrs. Again, it seems counter-intuitive, but there is something about offering respect when respect is due that really gives a child a sense of order and a yielding to those who are either in authority, or have more life experience than us. I am 36, and I still call my parents' friends Uncle (first name) or Auntie (first name), even though I'm not related to them. It's not awkward in the least and it confers the elder-respect that is so often missing in today's me-first culture.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Changing Commenting Policies Here
While I continue to maintain my policy of no moderation of comments, I have changed, after 2+ years of this blog being in existence, my policy of who is allowed to comment. It has become apparent to me why so many websites require you to register before commenting. While most anonymous comments have been civil and even if you disagree with me, you can say so, I have found that the anonymity of the internet allows anyone to abuse the commenting feature, to turn what would be a normal sensible comment either for or against my position, to one of unrelated ad-hominem attacks on me. I don't really care about this last part as long as you make a concerted effort to address the topic in the blog, irregardless if you agree with it or not. As long as you provide a sensible response, despite the position, I have no issue. What I have an issue with is people abusing the comments privilege and using it to just launch unrelated personal attacks without any type of objective support. If you disagree with something that I am saying, by all means engage the topic and put in your two cents and your supporting and buttressing thoughts. I won't delete you comment, as you can see by the many comments posted that have disagreed with me in one way or another. But I won't have cowards hiding behind anonymous accounts trolling around here looking to just post their non-sensical dribble. If you want to post a comment, have the stones to create an account and engage the topic at hand. The best way to persuade someone towards your position is to do it with facts and supporting evidence, not with childish name-calling and personal attacks. Thus, I am restricting commenting privileges to not allow anonymous comments. I suspect that this will cut down on the number of comments I receive, but I figure for the people who really have something worthwhile to say, they will make the effort to create accounts. At the same time, I will continue my policy of no moderation, which means that even existing unrelated anonymous comments will be kept, if for no other reason, to show why I have made this change in policy.
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