......

Nonfiction is OK, nominate if you want.

I may join...

......

is it official yet? does the book club have a name?

I've received 5 PMs so far.

my mom's entire family came from baltimore. i've been there several times and i like it sometimes but not others . . . except for the inner harbor and ft. mchenry, which are good. i can see where 40-50 years ago it may have been a good place to live, but it seemed a lot like certain parts of the city have gone straight to hell, and i understand it's right up there with detroit nowadays among the crime capitals of the us of a. i dunno, maybe it's because last time we went it was just so extraordinarily grey and dreary outside and we ended up stopping in this smoky pub with lotto and keno stuff all over it.

and what's with that domino sugars sign? my mom informs me it's been there as long as she can remember . . . why don't they take it down?

^ Because it it awesome. Raymond Carver?

domino sugars is a baltimore company. the plant was right there. the sign is a town feature. would you trash the liberty bell because it's no longer in use? god!! what are you?

and the inner harbor is a foul stinking hole, a tourist trap, a vomitorium, a shame. it's like the fucking mall of america around a puddle of water. you find that likeable?

baltimore is fucking beautiful in its decay the way new york in the 70's was too, but in a much smaller scale. the people are funky, the junkies are like space aliens, and the yuppies stay the fuck away (except for some pockets). has a great little underground, racial troubles, good coffeeshops, awesome seafood, a vast working class, a couple of universities (one of which is world-class awesome), and everything that makes a town interesting and great to live in.

you need some poetry man. i would say go buy a kilo at walmart but they don't sell it there. i don't know where you can find it. maybe in an old bookstore, if you manage to get admitted to their inner sanctum. and quit taking those fucking square pills.

Square pills!
Ha!

oh noumeal i always said you type alot, but for once i am grateful. i think you would make a great organizer.

Which one? I might have went there. Hopkins?

yeah, but the liberty bell is a) a national landmark with historical significance, and b) doesn't rise out of this giant industrial hellhole to contribute to the blighted landscape. --EDIT-- i just googled the sign -- it actually doesn't look bad at night (i didn't know it lit up, as i've only seen it in the daytime).

call me insane, but i'd rather live in a town full of yuppies who spend all their time on their cell phones and palm pilots while driving their beamers to the office tower than a town full of race riots, drug raids, 1 am shootings, and dilapidated brownhouses. at least the yuppies keep the place . . . clean. (which, by the way, was the one thing that imo separated the inner harbor from the rest of the city . . . but it's been a while since i've been there, so it's possible that area's been destroyed too.)

balamer has some potential . . . they just need a giuliani to clean the place up.

oh, i wish you a slow, painful death :fuckyou:

yeah, hopkins kicks fucking ass in medical-related fields. and they have some amazing libraries as well (italian manuscripts... long story)

Ha ha.....there aren't race riots in Baltimore. We like Baltimore just the way it is;)

Update: 14 members, including myself

Authors: 22 (one asked for thrice and one twice)

Thoughts: OK, there is a wide range of ages and education levels represented.

On Saturday, I will make a list of all suitable books by the nominated authors and post it. I'd like all steps of the process to be transparent. Then we'll discuss and once we've decided on a master list, I'll choose 5 randomly and we'll have a PM vote. Sound good?

You bastard! You're only saying you want to make it transparent so that we don't pick up on the fact that you're using us for some mind control thing!

Kidding, of course, sounds ace.

You guys also need to send me your postal addresses because I have packets prepared for everyone. Each packet contatins a pamphlet, a DVD, and a small red pill. Instructions for what to do with these will be provided soon after you all receive packets. May Arthelion bless us. We will see him soon.

I haven't got an address at the moment, can I just send you my bank details? Arthelion willing, they should be with you by Wednesday. When is the redemption of our souls again?

haha cute

yeah noumy, cute.

Your soul will be redeemed when the coffers of Arthelion's prophet are full. (Or, at least full enough to afford the new Tonka radio-controlled toy bulldozer).

.........

i think we should bring back this idea it never really got going.

All Noumenal's fault. And the whole time-zone thing. But mainly Noumenal. The swine.

as in we read a book and then discuss it on here?
been wanting to pick up sontag's "on photography" for quite a while.
anyone?

Everybody should make suggestions, then there could be a vote on which book to read.

good idea.
well, you've got mine.