Grab the nearest book

Over at Hot Dogs, Pretzels and Perplexing Questions, Bob has set a task requiring the following information:

1. Grab the nearest book (that is at least 123 pages long).
2. Open to p. 123.
3. Go down to the 5th sentence.
4. Type in the following 3 sentences.
5. Tag five people.

This is actually the second time that I've been tagged by this thing - I last posted on this theme in December 2006.

So what am I reading? Well, next to my desk, someone has left a copy of MBTI® Manual - A Guide to the Development and Use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® by Isabel Briggs Myers, Mary H. McCauley, Naomi L. Quenk and Allen L. Hammer.

Here's the offending text:

However, about twice as many people who report a J preference fall into the "clear" and "very clear" categories as compared to those who report a P preference (26.4% versus 13.7%), and about three times as many of those reporting an S preference fall into the "very clear" and "clear" categories as compared to those reporting an N preference (28% versus 9%). Two factors must be considered in attempting to interpret these results. First, the data are based on the national sample, which included more Sensing and Judging types than Intuitive and Perceiving types.

Now before you ask, I don't buy into Myers Briggs Testing® at all, no matter how much you put it to me. I work in a department at work that is insistent on using the bloody thing and I cannot for the life of me see any usefulness in it whatsoever.

And thanks Bob. Just when I've got a book with long sentences.

So yeah. There you go.

Tags go out to: Plonka, Romulus Crowe, Tom Sheepandgoats, Huinca and Ordinary Girl. And why not?

5 Songs to Die For

I've been tagged by Beepbeepitsme. The theme of this "tag" (phew, "internet meme" cleverly avoided... d'oh!) is to list 5 tunes that you'd like played at your funeral.

Normally I don't take this sort of thing seriously at all, so we'll see how we go with this:

I have a couple written into my previous Will, so I better put those in:

1. The Gambler - Kenny Rogers
2. Loser - Beck

So that leads us to three more songs which is going to be tricky.

So how about these:

3. Ding Dong the Witch is Dead - The cast of The Wizard of Oz
4. Dead - The Pixies

And I probably need a nice one to finish up, particularly if I have a night funeral followed by a wake:

5. Under the Milky Way Tonight - The Church

I missed out a few that would fit this theme nicely, actually:

Good Die Young (The Divinyls), Asshole (Dennis Leary), Eulogy (Tool), Say Hello to the Angels (Interpol)

That's done. I might leave this tag open this time - pop me as comment if you have a go at this.

What is written on page 123?

OK. This is an "internet meme" (I hate this word - it's sooooooooooooooo pretentious) from Beep! Beep! It's Me.

Beep was tagged by Silly Humans, another excellent blog, by the way, but I thought I'd join in.

I think this one has the potential to be quite interesting.

Beep's post is here.

Silly Humans post is here.

The "meme" (someone come up with a different word, please. In-joke is good. Fad is better) goes a little bit like this:

• The rules:-
• Find the nearest book.-
• Name the book and the author.-
• Turn to page 123.-
• Go to the fifth sentence on the page.-
• Copy out the next three sentences and post to your blog.-
• Tag three more folks.

So how did I do?

Well, the book I had nearest me is one called "One No, Many Yeses" by a guy named Paul Kingsnorth.

"Not alone in their outrage or their resistance. Not alone in the growing realisation that economic, not just political independence is something to be fought for. That fight has begun, and it doesn't look like stopping any time soon."

I'm glad it stops there:

• A - one more sentence and we would have got to the end of the chapter.
• B - do you know how frightfully embarrassing it is for a small-a anarcho-capitalist to be quoting an anti-globalisation book?

Anyway, I'm tagging Adam, Einzige and Ted Plonka, next.

Have fun, y'all.

UPDATE: Well, I can't tag Einzige just yet. For some reason, those of us in the "New Blogger" (it's a Beta no longer) can't post comments at those in the "Old Blogger" unless we go anonymous. Thanks Google.