Dun...dun...DUUUUUUNNNNN!!!!

"Er, excuse me, who am I?
Hello?
Why am I here? What's my purpose in life?
What do I mean by who am I?" - [1]

These are the same questions that we're going to ask about this blog.

Who am I?... I am Alex Hall: actor, novelist, and aspiring super genius. Oh... I am also hilarious.

Hello?... HI THERE!

Why am I here?... I enjoy learning. Learning new things, weird things, fun things... just about anything really (except most forms of dancing). Lately, I have developed somewhat of a "curriculum" for myself. I have been working steadily through it, and found one thing, in particular to be lacking.

Okay, two things really.

First, I have found that I can consume large amounts of information, text, etc, but my ability to synthesize these into a holistic understanding is lacking at best. I am hopeful that in writing about thoughts I have, quotes I like, and random experiences, I can begin to really pull all of these things together into a broader understanding of that ultimate of esoterica: The Human Condition.

In other words, I want to sound smart at fancy parties.

Second, It's a lonely road. As much as I enjoy reading and listening to lectures... it's difficult to stay motivated and finish that book when, at the end, I know that it's just over. So, in addition to helping myself forge those iron bits of knowledge into steely witticisms and genius, I hope that some fellow smarty trousers will show up and offer their insights and ideas.

In other words, I'm going to mooch your ideas so I sound even smarter at even fancier parties. 


What's my purpose in life?...


Okay, okay, I can't tie everything nicely into that quote. Here's the part where I'm going to tell you a little bit about the "curriculum" I've developed.

It involves books and lectures. Rather, and here's my inner geek, it involves a Kindle and an iPod.

Books

With the Kindle, I will be reading through the "Great Books". There is a list by Mortimer J. Adler called Great Books of the Western World, but I found his list to be too eurocentric. Not to mention that prohibitive price (did you see above that I'm an actor (read: poor).

On a side note, I highly recommend Mr. Adler's How to Read a Book.

Instead, I found this wonderful list online: http://www.thegreatbookslist.com/ . It's still rather eurocentric, but much less so than Mr. Adler's list. Also, the actor in me forces me to read the entire Shakespearean Canon, not just the selected titles.

I started with The Epic of Gilgamesh and plan to work my way chronologically through the list.

Actually, I listened to an audiobook of it from the library, but I can't find that version online.

What's great about the majority of the books in this list is that they can be found on www.gutenberg.org. I just throw them on my kindle and I'm set.

Unfortunately, I am having a difficult time with the books native to languages other than Greek, Latin, and English. The translations are frequently under copyright, which means I'll have to get them from the library or buy them from Amazon. Right now, I'm searching for a copy of The Egyptian Book of the Dead. I found one by E.A. Wallis Budge online, but it is entirely unreadable.

While I search for that one, I'm reading The Iliad, and The Odyssey is up next.

Lectures

Simultaneous to my devouring of these supposed "Great Books", I am also listening to lectures through The Teaching Company and The Modern Scholar.

These are a bit less organized, since I will be listening to what I can find from the library.

I cannot justify purchasing these lectures because the quality is inconsistent. Sometimes, they are absolutely fantastic. Other times, the lecturer is so monotone that I have difficulty concentrating.

I am working through history lectures at the moment, and doing so in chronological order as much as is feasible. I'm trying to line up the history lectures with the books I'm reading so that I'll have a basic knowledge of the culture from which the literature comes. I will also listen to the lecture series on a particular book simultaneous to, or immediately after my own reading.

Art, Music, Movies & Video Games

Art and Music are both entrenched within the realm of the Smarty Trousers, and I don't think anyone will dispute them.

After nearly a century, movies have become accepted in most circles as an intellectual pursuit.

But VIDEO GAMES? What!?!? Video Games make you stupid and fat, right?

Just like literature, art, movies, and music, video games are a creative expression of cultural ideas and passions. And, just like the accepted smarty trousers pursuits, there are good ones, and less good ones. I enjoy playing video games, and feel that I often learn a great deal from them. Therefore, I will include my thoughts on any video games I might play as well.

And remember, this is about sounding smart at parties.

Wait, never mind... video gamers all live in their parents' basement and smell like fritos. They don't get invited to parties.

Nonetheless, I like me some video games.

What do I mean by who am I?

See, I told you that quote stopped lining up.


How is this blog going to proceed? Honestly, I don't know. I'm going to write at least one entry per book with thoughts, quotes, silly words, and anything else I dream up. I have promised myself that I will read one book per week, so this should mean one entry per week.

Surely I'll have other things I want to comment on.

"Curiously enough, the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias as it fell was Oh no, not again. Many people have speculated that if we knew exactly why the bowl of petunias had thought that we would know a lot more about the nature of the Universe than we do now."

Until next time... use those big fancy words and sound smarty!


[1]  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams