300...and then some (plus a quick diatribe on the NBA)

Gates of Fire
My wife loves this book but I just could not get into it. The story of Thermopylae is a great one but the narrative version never pulled me in.

SPOILER ALERT
Quick summary - The Persians are attacking Greece. The Spartans (along with many others) want to slow the progress of the Persians to allow better preparation of defenses. They choose Thermopylae because of the huge geographical advantage it provides the defenders. They are able to thin the enemy out considerably and slow the advance. At the same time, the Greek navy is defeating the Persians. The 300 'Spartiates' are the best and brightest Greece has to offer and take the assignment knowing it is suicide but treating it as an honor.

I think the book was very historically accurate (good) but the narrative dragged at times (bad).

NBA All-Star Weekend
Where to start?

• Dunk Contest - Traveshamockery. Dwight Howard's sticker dunk was the best thing in the last 7 or 8 years. But that Green can really fly
• Game - Ugh. Is defense dangerous? Why is everyone so afraid of it? Very, very, very painful
• Scene - Wow. What a cliche. The game is in Vegas and we have NBA stars, rappers, and half of Hollywood acting like degenerates. The words 'shots fired' probably were broadcast over the police radios more this weekend than in the rest of the year combined.

Books

I love to read. I tend to get stuck on specific subjects and read everything I can find about it. I hope someone reads some of these opinions and posts some comments. Always interested in the thoughts of others. I will start with my favorite.

Ender's Game
I first read this book my senior year of high school and have probably read it 10x or so since then. I like the sequels and the prequel/parallel stuff of the last couple of years has been enjoyable but all pale relative the the first installment. You can't help but feel sorry for Ender. He suffers in every way conceivable. Remove from his sister, twisted by the military trainers, forced to put his friends in harms way without knowing. Truly sad. I think what I loved most about the story was the interaction between Peter and Valentine. Orson Scott Card does a great job with these books, though I am really not a huge fan of his other work. There has been much talk about turning this into a movie. It would be interesting to see but I'm sure would ultimately disappoint.