Ring-a-ling, free education

The choice of Franklin’s account of his journey of self-education as the cornerstone of the Harvard Classics demonstrates Charles Eliot’s mission in creating the five-foot shelf of books: “to afford a good substitute for a liberal education to anyone who would read them with devotion.”

The Harvard Classics
The Shelf of Fiction

Selected by Charles W. Eliot, LLD

The most comprehensive and well-researched anthology of all time comprises both the 50-volume “5-foot shelf of books” and the the 20-volume Shelf of Fiction. Together they cover every major literary figure, philosopher, religion, folklore and historical subject through the twentieth century.

http://bartleby.com/hc/

For modern stuff, throw in a Usenet subscription, a subscription to http://v3.newzbin.com/, MIRC and bittorrent, and there's hardly a book you can't get free.

Links:
gutenberg.com
scrapetorrent.com

irc://irc.atomic-irc.net:6667/ebooks

irc://irc.undernet.org:6667/bookz

irc://irc.nullus.net:6667/bookwarez

irc://irc.team-scorpio.com/scorpio-e-bookz

Free music:
rate and explore on launchcast.yahoo.com
Download the CDs you like off Usenet by nzbs off newsbin

Currently listening to Bronx Theme by DJ Cam

VD's taste turns peccable

I dled Dragonlance off Usenet - what GARBAGE! I got halfway through the first Chronicle before losing all respect as an army of lizard men, previously invincible in teams of 8, lays nary a scratch on the escaping prisoners, but meekly fall before the Somnambulist knight's mustachioed strokes, otherwise demurring to interrupt our escaping heroes as they shuttles laps between camp's center and surrounding swamp. Because, unlike the above-average Chuck E. Cheeze patron, the lizard men were fully taken in by their animatronic wicker dragon, including the lizard mage rulers who built it.

At least Susan Cooper permitted her antagonist to tag along at a polite distance. The D&D duo simply omit the villain entirely.

One can stand only so much manly weeping and diplomatic defusal of angry shouting before "more emo" starts floating up from the page. A random sampling of other books in the interminable franchise confirmed the worst: some uninspiring dragons, a bit of bizarre tattoo porn, and more Rasta coughin' up chronic. Fortunately the herb master never discovers menthol, preserving that infinite canvas on which the authors paint his tantalizing nearness to death.

Cryptonomicon is amusing but had better pick up, and Philippino girls is slumming regardless of strata.

Meaning of Phineas Priest

I refer to the Biblical, not skinhead, example. God has declared the brotherhood of all men in Christ. Please don't be alarmed, I'm baaasically harmless. Look, some grass!