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Sunday Morning Book Thread 02-22-2015: Worse Than The 60s [OregonMuse]


70s dizzy decor.jpg
"And You'll Sit In This Room Until You Learn To Behave Yourself"


Good morning to all of you morons and moronettes and all the ships at sea. Welcome to AoSHQ's stately, prestigious, and high-class Sunday Morning Book Thread. The only AoSHQ thread that is so hoity-toity, pants are required. Or kilts. Kilts are OK, too. But not tutus. Unless you're a girl.

Book Quote

Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself.

–George Bernard Shaw

By the way, this was C.S. Lewis' view, as well. In his essay 'On Three Ways of Writing For Children' which appears in his Of Other Worlds anthology, he talks about reading a manuscript of a children's story involving a child being given a kind of magical gadget (as opposed to the more traditional magic ring, or sword or some such) festooned with buttons and switches and knobs that did all sorts of fantastic things and when he told the author that he really didn't much care for that sort of thing, her reply was, "I don't either, but it's what the modern child wants." Lewis disagreed with this and went on to explain his own writing method, which was that he wrote his children's stories because the children's story was that genre that seemed to him to be the best for what he wanted to say.


Run For Your Lives, It's the '70s!

If you feel like doing a bit of cringing, you should check out these crappy book covers from the 70s, and by the way, some of them are NSFW-ish. Yeah, people actually used to buy this stuff. They didn't have anything better.

But while we're on the subject of the 70s, I'd like to take a moment and recommend internet snarkmeister James Lileks' hilarious beat-down of that decade's home design fads, Interior Desecrations: Hideous Homes from the Horrible '70s and you young kids, who incidentally need to be off my lawn, don't realize how bad it was.

Warning!

This book is not to be used in any way, shape, or form as a design manual. Rather, like the documentary about youth crime "Scared Straight," it is meant as a caution of sorts, a warning against any lingering nostalgia we may have for the 1970s, a breathtakingly ugly period when even the rats parted their hair down the middle.

Yeah, it was bad I remember my mother, a long-time subscriber to Better Homes & Gardens magazine, finally getting fed up with it one day (must have been in 1974 or maybe 75) and cancelling her subscription. The decor ideas had gotten so bizarre and ugly month after month that, as she put it, 'why should I continue to pay money for this garbage?'


Coolidge

Amity Shlaes, author of the excellent history of the Depression era, The Forgotten Man, has also written a biography of President Calvin Coolidge, entitled, appropriately enough, Coolidge. That's good news. Even better news is that you can get the Kindle version for the low, low, Vic-approved price of $2.99 until February 23rd.

Also available for the same sale price at B&N and Google.

Via BookBub.

The End of History

Whither history? I have read that unlike other ancient views of human history that tend to be cyclical in nature, with the same old stuff happening over and over again, the Bible is unique in that its map of human and divine events is definitely linear: the world had a definite beginning and will have a definite end. This is true even though sometimes in the wisdom books such as Ecclesiastes you can see the world-weariness of "there is nothing new under the sun" and other similar observations. This is one of Christianity's gifts to civilization, the idea history as development and upward progress.

Which got picked up by a number of writers and philosophers, notably the German philosopher Hegel.

In 1989, historian Francis Fukuyama published a controversial essay entitled The End of History in which he enlisted Hegelian philosophy to argue that our secular, representative democracy is not only the crowning achievement of western civilization, but also that it's the best form of government than ever can be. In other words, no future system of government that man can devise will ever be any better than what we have now.

That's a bit frightening, isn't it?

Especially nowadays when the elected national officials of both parties seem to be in an unholy alliance whose goal is to destroy the country.

Fukuyama's thesis is obviously not without its critics. And perhaps they might make some good points. But ultimately, the only way to refute Fukuyama is to come up with something better, a more just, fair and benevolent form of government and thus far, nobody ever has.

Fukuyama expanded the original essay into a book, The End of History and the Last Man, published in 1992.

One of the problems that's going to have to be overcome in order for just, competent government to be established is corruption, and while it's always existed, there just seems to be more of it around than there used to be. And of course, outside of the west, it's hard to find a country that isn't run by what amounts to be an organized criminal network. Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security by Sarah Chayes spells out some hard truths in this regard. One Amazon reviewer says this:

While in Afghanistan, Sarah Chayes learned that the corrupt government had been mischaracterized as a simple patronage system. In reality, it operated as a vertically integrated criminal syndicate where financial rewards were not distributed downward from patron to client, but instead moved "up the chain of command…in the form of gifts, kickbacks, levies paid to superiors, and the purchase of positions."

Tony Soprano uptwinkled this.

It seems to me that a good way to fight corruption in our own country is to greatly reduce the size and scope of the federal government. With fewer teats on the federal pig, there will be less milk to fight over and less reason for unethical behavior. I remember once watching some TV debate or panel discussion and everyone was weeping and wailing over the "influence of money in government" (John McCain was a panelists) and they were proposing this or that new regulation to remedy the situation (on top of the regulations that are already in place). I remember thinking, you know, if you fools would simply stop regulating the production of widgets, then the widget industry and Big Widget wouldn't have any reason to hire widget lobbyists to bribe and coerce congress to make sure the widget legislation is advantageous to whatever widget companies were paying for the lobbyists.

But of course, this did not occur to anyone on the panel.

Thanks to longtime moron commenter 'boulder terlit hobo' for tipping me to the Chayes book in last week's thread.


New Book From A Dead Guy

Ripped from the sidebar: Apparently, a hitherto unknown, unpublished Sherlock Holmes story was found recently in some guy's attic. Well, it was published, but not published-published:

The wooden bridge in the Scottish town of Selkirk was destroyed by the great flood of 1902 and locals organised a three-day event to raise funds for a new one in 1904. As part of the event, organisers sold a collection of short stories by locals called The Book o' the Brig. The famed author, who loved visiting Selkirk and the surrounding area, contributed a tale before opening the final day. Mr Elliot...was given the 48-page pamphlet more than 50 years ago by a friend, but forgot about it until recently when he looked in the attic.

It is believed the story - about Holmes deducing Watson is going on a trip to Selkirk - is the first unseen Holmes story by Doyle since the last was published over 80 years ago.

The lost story can be read here.

And speaking of Arthur Conan Doyle, here are 19 things you maybe didn't know about him. The one about believing in the existence of faeries, that one I had heard about, where he was fooled by those hoax photographs. What I didn't know was that he spent a million pounds of his own money to promote the fraudulent claims. Ouch. That's what I call a true believer.


New Book From Yet Another Dead Guy

The widow of Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel discovered some manuscripts and illustrations during a remodel of her California home, Random House announced ths Wednesday. The new book "What Pet Should I Get" will be published in July. Some background:

"We believe that he wrote and illustrated What Pet Should I Get? somewhere between 1958 and 1962—as the brother and sister in the book are the same as those in his bestselling Beginner Book One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish which was published in 1960," says Goldsmith.

But wait. There's more:

At least two more books will be published from the materials discovered, though titles and publication dates have yet to be announced.

Oh, the books that they'll sell.


The Height of Fashion

You ever see a bunch of emos walking down the street, decked out in their ridiculous black attire and wonder to yourself, 'why are they wearing that?' I mean, other than the fact that they collectively have the intelligence of a bowling pin? The larger question is, why do people wear weird crap? Why'd They Wear That?: Fashion as the Mirror of History by Sarah Albee might have the answer, which covers the history of fashion, from ancient times to the present. And not only what people wore, but what people did (and do) to their bodies, such as squeezing a child's head between two boards to elongate it (Mayans), and footbinding (Chinese), not to mention corsets, which, the author says, exert as much as 88 pounds of force on the internal organs. Ouch. How do corseted women even breathe?

And there's a whole section devoted to armor and battle dress.

I haven't read this book, I just stumbled upon it while searching for something else and it looked like it might be interesting.


Help Out A Moron Author

Moron commenter AllenG is attempting to crowdsource his writing of a fantasy novel, which if I am reading his description correctly, will be called "Fire & Frost". It takes place on a world that is not your usual mountains-and-forests fantasy fare:

Fire & Frost is set in a fantasy world of my own invention. You will find nary an elf, dwarf, orc, or ogre in it. Instead, you will find a world quite unlike our real one. Mediatus is a planar world with definite edges- not a globe like our own. Those edges each lead to lands called Borders, and beyond the Borders to one of four elemental realms. Within those realms live creatures each attuned to their element.

Go here to contribute to this effort. Hopefully, Allen will be joining the swelling ranks of moron authors very soon.

___________

So that's all for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, bribes, rumors, threats, and insults may be sent to OregonMuse, Proprietor, AoSHQ Book Thread, at the book thread e-mail address: aoshqbookthread, followed by the 'at' sign, and then 'G' mail, and then dot cee oh emm.

What have you all been reading this week? Hopefully something good, because, as you all know, life is too short to be reading lousy books.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM




Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Had been re-reading the Honor Harrington series but wifey got me the
Basic Economics book by Thomas Sowell and am now working on it. It may
be a little "too basic" though as I haven't seen anything that I didn't
already know. There are some interesting little stories and examples in
it.

Posted by: Vic at February 22, 2015 08:55 AM (wlDny)

2 And You'll Sit In This Room Until You Learn To Behave Yourself


I never did like that style of furniture, even in the 60s.

Posted by: Vic at February 22, 2015 08:56 AM (wlDny)

3 If you feel like doing a bit of cringing, you should check out these crappy book covers from the 70s, and by the way, some of them are NSFW-ish. Yeah, people actually used to buy this stuff. They didn't have anything better.


Hey I liked that Destroyer" Series and still do. As for the lurid book covers there is an old axiom, Sex Sells and it still does.

Posted by: Vic at February 22, 2015 09:00 AM (wlDny)

4 I actually like the 70s aesthetic. Lots of hair, the smell of coffee, Led Zeppelin, cigarettes, and wood paneling on everything.

Posted by: Blackford Oakes at February 22, 2015 09:00 AM (KVnkf)

5 Amity Shlaes Coolidge book was on sale last week one day for $1.99. I came close to buying it because I like that Forgotten Man book so well..

Posted by: Vic at February 22, 2015 09:01 AM (wlDny)

6 One of the problems that's going to have to be overcome in order for
just, competent government to be established is corruption, and while
it's always existed, there just seems to be more of it around than there
used to be.



The founders understood this very well. You can not defeat corruption. It has been around since Og cheated his cave mates out of food. The founder's solution was to make government as small as possible so the corruption would have the least impact. That lasted until some time in the mid 1800s.

Posted by: Vic at February 22, 2015 09:04 AM (wlDny)

7 Fashion? Like tattoos and body piercing?

Posted by: Clive Coptic, professional skeptic at February 22, 2015 09:05 AM (08AbP)

8 Well I see you covered that.

Posted by: Vic at February 22, 2015 09:05 AM (wlDny)

9 Before I read the post I just want to thank everyone who recommended the "Flashman" series. I started the first one this week and it is a delight. Such utter, unrelieved, pragmatic self- interest which, not surprisingly, leaves room for some truth. Flashman makes a rogue like Long John Silver look like a choir boy. The allusions to strictly 19th century Britain matters just adds to the fun. (The notes at the end do help.) I'm sure I'll enjoy the whole series.

Posted by: JTB at February 22, 2015 09:07 AM (FvdPb)

10 ...and so...
...to breakfast...

Posted by: Clive Coptic, professional skeptic at February 22, 2015 09:10 AM (08AbP)

11 Coolidge is still up for cheap but at $2.99

Posted by: Vic at February 22, 2015 09:11 AM (wlDny)

12 I love "Interior Desecrations"! I can't find my copy right now, but one of my favorites was of a room all done up in red and plaid, with the main focus a sort of wide daybed. Lileks pointed out that it has no back, so there's no way of leaning back comfortably. He'd have to sit on the edge of it, with his legs apart and his hands resting on his knees, like a surly Scotch laird, maybe with his claymore within easy reach.

I happened to find the source of all those ghastly home decoration ideas: "The Practical Encyclopedia of Good Decorating and Home Improvement", 17 volumes, published in 1971. There's more, much, much more of the same in there. Lileks could have put out several volumes on the same subject.

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at February 22, 2015 09:13 AM (VBbCO)

13 It's difficult for anyone born after about 1975 or so to realize how porny the Seventies were. It was everywhere. The barber shop had a big stack of Playboys for patrons to look at while waiting. People had coffee table books by people like Helmut Newton and David Hamilton which were pure smut. (Hamilton would literally go to jail nowadays for his photos of early-teen girls.)

Given the existence of the Web, I'm sure kids nowadays can find more smut than I could in my own pubescent days, but back then it was much more public.

Posted by: Trimegistus at February 22, 2015 09:13 AM (LxTSb)

14 There's only one book that I need.

Posted by: Barack Hussein Obama at February 22, 2015 09:13 AM (jkdqY)

15 There is one problem with that Basic Economics book by Thomas Sowell though. Wifey got me the dead tree version vs the Kindle. And it doesn't have the "buy Kindle version for $1" option noted at the web site.


I am having a tough time reading the small print. I had presiously abandoned dead tree books for this reason and was going to Kindle only where I could control the type size.

Posted by: Vic at February 22, 2015 09:14 AM (wlDny)

16 when I think of 70s era fiction I think of Michael Moorcocks Cornelius Quartet

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 09:15 AM (rwSqB)

17 The End of History"

Interesting but sorely convoluted read. For a far more accurate assessment of the political human condition, I prefer the much more concise (thus better analyzed and written) explanation from Heinlein:

"Bad Luck"

/if you've never sourced the quote, do it. Now.

Posted by: anon a mouse at February 22, 2015 09:15 AM (/jpU8)

18 Two recommendations this week.

I'm reading Alex Berenson's "Twelve Days," a thriller about negating a false flag operation which was designed to get the US to declare war on Iran. Berenson's "John Wells" series has been consistently on the same high level as Daniel Silva's books. No need to read them in order, but the development of the characters is best appreciated by reading in order.

"Pogue's Basics" by David Pogue is book of tips and shortcuts to make you more productive with your computers and gadgets. This is not like Pogue's doorstop "Missing Manual" books; it is about 350 pages of brief tips and tricks for tablets, phones, cameras, Windows, Mac OS X, applications, Internet, Facebook and Twitter. Unless you are a super geek, you will likely learn something useful. I got it from the library, but the Kindle version was relatively reasonable.

Posted by: doug at February 22, 2015 09:16 AM (IuOGC)

19 I remember some of those cheesy covers! There were some heady thrills to be had in the well-thumbed stacks of my local childhood bookstabulary. Dad would be off in the history section and I'd be left unchaperoned looking at this week's fresh Piers Anthony horror. Ron Goulart is a repeat offender; the cover of "Heil Hibbler" was so awful I simply had to have it.

Here's another page of skeevy SF covers:

http://www.vintagepbks.com/sleazesfcovers.html

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 09:21 AM (KH1sk)

20 I have a day off so I can be an early contributor to the book thread and not one of the last people to check in. Yay!! I can also be one of the people to get my name on the Sunday most frequent poster list, but I'll just forget about that now. ;^)

I had this book in my car that I forget to return to a prop room after an acting scene I was in. It was called Murder for Christmas" and contains stories about---you guessed it- murder for Christmas. It's not Christmas, you say? Well, with all the snow it felt like that and it was s good time to settle in with a bunch of little stories.. It's 26 tales by authors well known and not so well known including a lovely one featuring Hercule Poirot, "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding" and other authors including Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers and G.k. Chesterton. In it was a very well written story by a author whose name I have seen but whose books I had never read'-Simenon- who has a detective named Maigret. So now, I've read about five novels about Maigret-and the detective is a hard working,, thoughtful, happily married French Police Inspector. No really contrived mysteries, but great psychological insight and the mysteries have only been less than 200 pages each.I could read Simenon for a long time because I think he has about 75 or more Maigret novels. :^)

And on the theological side, I am reading "Practical Theology" by Thomas Kreeft who is-r was-he might be retired- professor at Boston College. The subtitle of the book is " 350 ways your mind can help you become a Saint"-SpirituaL direction by Saint Thomas Aquinas. It's snippets from Aquinas' writings with Kreeft pointing out the significance. It's a good introduction (or follow up) to Aquinas who wrote a lot of pages.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at February 22, 2015 09:22 AM (DXzRD)

21 Shag carpet!

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc.,etc. at February 22, 2015 09:25 AM (vPh3W)

22 It has been around since Og cheated his cave mates out of food.

Today I will demonstrate that my client, Og, was framed.

Posted by: Caveman lawyer at February 22, 2015 09:27 AM (mx5oN)

23 JTB,

If you are enjoying Flashman, you might want to look into some non-fiction books by Byron Farwell. "Queen Victoria's Little Wars", "Eminent Victorian Soldiers", "Mr. Kipling's Army", and "Armies of the Raj" are all very good. They give a lot of background on the regimental system and many of the personalities and campaigns Flashman encounters.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living... at February 22, 2015 09:27 AM (MkQKr)

24 Looking at those 70's covers, I see nothing but a bunch of win.

Posted by: Sam in Va at February 22, 2015 09:28 AM (bpLqa)

25 pjmedia.com has a "Preparedness Week" series starting with http://bit.ly/1FLduWM

The pjmedia.com store offered an excellent free ebook by James Jay Carafano, PhD called "Surviving the End: A Practical Guide for Everyday Americans in the Age of Terror" at http://bit.ly/17nD3hY (If it doesn't show as free, try the link in the cited article for the extended URL with the FREE promo) I chose the Kindle format book and copied it onto my Kindle via USB cable. (Requires login via Facebook account or free pjmedia.com account -- your choice.)

From the cited article: "Carafano writes not with a Chicken Little doomsday mentality but with an eye toward clear thinking and calm judgment in a crisis (and with just the right amount of humor). His solutions are not over the top or prohibitively expensive rather, his ideas only require reasonable amounts of time and money. Most simply put, Carafano drills down his philosophy of preparedness to health, faith, family, and education.

"In Surving the End, Carafano looks at five distinct threats: epidemic disease, nuclear explosions, terrorism in its may forms, EMPs (electromagnetic pulses), and cyber attacks. While each of these scenarios carry their own scariness, theyre all quite real and carry their own far-reaching consequences. With each threat, Carafano examines the potential danger and fallout (no pun intended) and looks at practical and reasonable ways to ensure safety and long-term survival in each situation."

Even if the other scenarios are not of interest, I recommend reading the "Cyber Hygene" section and following the advice to minimize your exposure to identity theft.

Not a quick read, but quite well written. Take it in chunks.

Posted by: doug at February 22, 2015 09:30 AM (IuOGC)

26 That room looks like a torture chamber from the Village. All you need is Number Six in a straight jacket in the corner.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living... at February 22, 2015 09:30 AM (MkQKr)

27 Just got into The Black Count by Tom Reiss. It is the story of Alexandre Dumas father, who was evidently a huge badass, and the inspiration for Dumas's stories. It is on sale for kindle 1.99.

Posted by: FCF at February 22, 2015 09:30 AM (kejii)

28 Given the existence of the Web, I'm sure kids nowadays can find more smut than I could in my own pubescent days, but back then it was much more public.

Posted by: Trimegistus
-------------------------
Just look in the bushes.
That's where all porn is stashed.

Posted by: shredded chi at February 22, 2015 09:31 AM (ghk1f)

29 14
There's only one book that I need.


Posted by: Barack Hussein Obama at February 22, 2015 09:13 AM (jkdqY)

It must be "Ten ways to wok your dog"

Posted by: Killerdog at February 22, 2015 09:31 AM (vntmB)

30 "And You'll Sit In This Room Until You Learn To Behave Yourself"

LOL. Well said. Definitely NOT a room to engender calm reflection. peace and serenity.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at February 22, 2015 09:32 AM (DXzRD)

31 >>>>"Pogue's Basics"<<<<<

Should be a Shane MacGowan tab book.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living... at February 22, 2015 09:33 AM (MkQKr)

32
When I was a kid it would bug me that I wasnt allowed to check out books from the older kids section. Certainly had the reading comprehension. So, I read newspapers and my older brothers' books which were FASCINATING!

Posted by: Bruce J. at February 22, 2015 09:33 AM (iQIUe)

33 ...although that book 'Cockshy' does look interesting.

Posted by: Barack Hussein Obama at February 22, 2015 09:33 AM (jkdqY)

34 I have a day off so I can be an early contributor to the book thread and not one of the last people to check in.

What kind of job do you have where you have to work on Sunday? Does it interfere with your Lord's Day worship?

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 22, 2015 09:35 AM (bP980)

35 Oh, the 70's furniture! Makes me think of the movie "Sleeper" even though that was supposed to be in the future. So keen it's neek!

Posted by: Lizzy at February 22, 2015 09:35 AM (lHHyw)

36 FCF, I got that Dumas too. Looks interesting.

Posted by: NCKate at February 22, 2015 09:37 AM (RNq50)

37 13 It's difficult for anyone born after about 1975 or so to realize how porny the Seventies were. It was everywhere. The barber shop had a big stack of Playboys for patrons to look at while waiting. People had coffee table books by people like Helmut Newton and David Hamilton which were pure smut. (Hamilton would literally go to jail nowadays for his photos of early-teen girls.)

Given the existence of the Web, I'm sure kids nowadays can find more smut than I could in my own pubescent days, but back then it was much more public.
Posted by: Trimegistus at February 22, 2015 09:13 AM (LxTSb)





Kids these days will never know the creepy joy of finding a stash of porn in the woods, either.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 22, 2015 09:37 AM (yxw0r)

38 I'll probably be sorry I asked this, ;^) but what is "Scourge of the Blood Cult" about"?. The woman looks a little like Marie Antoinette might look in skimpy attire.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at February 22, 2015 09:38 AM (DXzRD)

39 whilst wandering around the interwebs looking at Moorcock stuff...
http://is.gd/CXid3g

would make a great mathematician tattoo

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 09:38 AM (RtqhG)

40 As a kid I liked to check out The Destroyer and Mack Bolan covers.I only actualy read some Destroyer books recently though.Pity that the movie wasn't better.

Posted by: steevy at February 22, 2015 09:39 AM (KETbL)

41 Posted by: OregonMuse at February 22, 2015 09:35 AM (bP980)

No, it doesn't interfere with my worship. I'm a pastor, :^) although admittedly it's sometimes nice to just be a person in the pew and not having to lead worship and preach.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at February 22, 2015 09:41 AM (DXzRD)

42 What was going on in the 70s anyway? Was it basically the 20s on steroids? I favor the idea that history tends to be cyclical so I'm trying to understand.

Posted by: @votermom at February 22, 2015 09:41 AM (dperT)

43 .>It's difficult for anyone born after about 1975 or so to realize how porny the Seventies were....

Her's just one example: Parents bought a set of mugs from a Crate Barrel type store where we bought kitchen stuff and modern furniture. Big, sturdy ivory-colored mugs covered in simple blue line drawing of bunnies. Cute! Oh wait --- look closely at the bunnies: they're all in various sexual positions.
Mom loved to serve coffee to out of town guest just to see if they'd notice....

Posted by: Lizzy at February 22, 2015 09:42 AM (lHHyw)

44 42 The economy was much better in the 20's and America in much better shape.Just waking up to being a superpower.

Posted by: steevy at February 22, 2015 09:42 AM (KETbL)

45 42

not the 20s

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 09:43 AM (w0THY)

46 Denis Leary used to do a bit in his standup about the bad 70's close being the reason people got naked so much.Something like that.

Posted by: steevy at February 22, 2015 09:44 AM (KETbL)

47 its complex

there was a popular culture 50s thing through shows like Happy Days but not much of an echo to anything at all really

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 09:45 AM (w0THY)

48 Here's another page of skeevy SF covers:
Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 09:21 AM


* screams like Howard Dean *

I actually read Phillip Jose Farmer's "Flesh." The edition I had was one of those two-story books that combined it into one volume with Farmer's "Lord Tyger," a strange Tarzan-style story with lots of extra sex, weirdness and baseball.

Farmer was a damn good writer. I would have read these even if they didn't have the juicy stuff in 'em.

Posted by: MrScribbler at February 22, 2015 09:49 AM (P8YHq)

49 46 Clothes not close.How did I do that?

Posted by: steevy at February 22, 2015 09:49 AM (KETbL)

50 I missed most of the 70s being overseas, mostly in 'Nam. Got out in 77 and by then it was in its last gasp. And if you thing the US was "porny" in the 70s should have seen Olongapo city in its heyday.

Posted by: Vic at February 22, 2015 09:50 AM (wlDny)

51 it was the cold war era but spiritually its like everyone gave up and just got stoned.

there was a kind of disdain towards children or parents of especially young children, as if you were wasting resources and, anyway, you probably couldn't attend orgies or whatever.

it was evidence of what an irresponsible square you were, since abortion was legal and the pill was newish

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 09:50 AM (Qjije)

52 Not totally OT because I read the novelization...

Tonight at 8:30 Eastern, CBS presents the movie "Act of Valor" for all of us non-Oscars viewers.

This was not a favorite with the lefty critics -- Rotten Tomatoes gave it 25% for critics, but 72% of the audience liked it (3.9 of 5). http://bit.ly/1Jz0l5S

From the RT summary: "An unprecedented blend of real-life heroism and original filmmaking, Act of Valor stars a group of active-duty U.S. Navy SEALs in a film like no other in Hollywood's history. A fictionalized account of real life Navy SEAL operations, Act of Valor features a gripping story that takes audiences on an adrenaline-fueled, edge-of-their-seat journey. When a mission to recover a kidnapped CIA operative unexpectedly results in the discovery of an imminent, terrifying global threat, an elite team of highly trained Navy SEALs must immediately embark on a heart-stopping secret operation, the outcome of which will determine the fate of us all. Act of Valor combines stunning combat sequences, up-to-the-minute battlefield technology, and heart-pumping emotion for the ultimate action adventure film-showcasing the skills, training and tenacity of the greatest action heroes of them all: real Navy SEALs"

Posted by: doug at February 22, 2015 09:51 AM (IuOGC)

53 would make a great mathematician tattoo

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 09:38 AM (RtqhG)
I'd think you would run out of ink!

Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 09:53 AM (ftVQq)

54 This week I read 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi by Michael Zuckoff with the Annex Security Team. After a brief history of Libya and brief biographies of the main people involved, this book tells in fascinating detail what happened that fateful night in Benghazi when our diplomatic station was overrun and our CIA Annex was attacked. It's a story of brotherhood and bravery in service to our country. The book does not cover the politics and ass-covering which occurred in the weeks and years afterwards. When I finished, I was so saddened that these brave men had an administration that was either too incompetent or too traitorous to support them. They deserved so much better.

Posted by: Zoltan at February 22, 2015 09:54 AM (EGaHt)

55 Act of Valor is good alternative to the Oscars. Turns out the one thing SEALs can't do well is act, but who cares? Lotsa terrorists die.

Posted by: Lizzy at February 22, 2015 09:54 AM (lHHyw)

56 OK, when Emus are walking down the street and you wonder why they dress like that, just realize they are trying to differentiate themselves from the ostriches.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 22, 2015 09:55 AM (t//F+)

57 That wallpaper! Egad! Never before thought to ask the question, what would four crossed eyes look like?

Posted by: mindful webworker - my eyes! my eyes! at February 22, 2015 09:55 AM (EUw/L)

58 What was going on in the 70s anyway? Was it basically the 20s on steroids? I favor the idea that history tends to be cyclical so I'm trying to understand.
Posted by: @votermom at February 22, 2015 09:41 AM (dperT)
---
I think the 60's destroyed or discredited so much of what was considered the cultural norm, especially the division between public and private, in the name of "honesty", that anything went. In the realm of fashion, it was sort of rootless and untethered to reality. Structured clothing, architecture that referred back to historical styles, and notions of good taste were all oppressive tools of the [XXX]. It can only last so long, though. You will note the mad rush back to personal grooming and suits by the 80's.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 09:56 AM (KH1sk)

59 Well I woke up late, but congratulations to Krakatoa for possibly the lamest post ever on this blog. Not that I click on a politics blog to read about books or gardening, but that last post is so far beyond useless I'm actually stunned. Top men, ace.

Posted by: grumi1 at February 22, 2015 09:57 AM (voIZg)

60 And if you thing the US was "porny" in the 70s should have seen Olongapo city in its heyday.
Posted by: Vic at February 22, 2015 09:50 AM (wlDny)
---
I made a brief stop post-Pinatubo and it was still kinda porny, but also very sad.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 09:58 AM (KH1sk)

61 The whole purpose of the Shapewear Conspiracy is to make women wear things that they can't wait to take off.

Posted by: J. Moses Browning at February 22, 2015 09:59 AM (KkWr2)

62 What was going on in the 70s anyway? Was it basically the 20s on steroids?

No, I think the 70s were just the logical extension of the 60s. The 60s blooming into full flower, as it were.

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 22, 2015 10:01 AM (bP980)

63 I saw Shapewear Conspiracy open for Dashboard Confessional in Minneapolis, 2003

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 10:02 AM (KqgTG)

64 How do corseted women even breathe?


You take small, shallow breaths.


I have a wonderful book, 1000 Dessous, that's a history of lingerie, and let me just say that, yeah, women have been doing allllll kinds of things to squeeze themselves into various and sundry shapes over the years.

I'm trying to remember who it was who noted at the height of the bullet bra phenomenon that she was getting ready in a dressing room and the women were all various shapes but, funnily enough, they all wore exactly the same bra.

Posted by: alexthechick - Ragebunny now with MAGIC Jazz Hands at February 22, 2015 10:05 AM (IrByp)

65 The whole purpose of the Shapewear Conspiracy is to make women wear things that they can't wait to take off.

I concur. I think it was one of several conspiracies around back then ("women's 'lib'" was another) whose only purpose was to make it easier for men to get laid.

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 22, 2015 10:06 AM (bP980)

66 What most people think is the 60s was actually the 70s. The 60s were still pretty conservative.

Posted by: Bruce J. at February 22, 2015 10:06 AM (iQIUe)

67 Posted by: grumi1 at February 22, 2015 09:57 AM (voIZg)

Please stop with the grousing. It's not "A" politics blog. I think one of the nice things about this place is that it doesn't have just politics-because we'd all be deadly dull if we lived and breathed politics 24/7. If you like to garden you click on that. If you like to read you click on a book thread, or you can do guns or video games or discuss football or read movie reviews sometimes. And I'm grateful to any cob logger who takes the time to post anything. We all can certainly talk at great length even if a post is not content driven, Perhaps you can start your own website and only have things you like on it.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at February 22, 2015 10:06 AM (DXzRD)

68 The design on the wall paper has been popular for the past few years. Look at IKEA or clothing.

Posted by: Bruce J. at February 22, 2015 10:07 AM (iQIUe)

69 Posted by: grumi1 at February 22, 2015 09:57 AM (voIZg)


I'm certain the Hot Air button on your computer works.

Posted by: Insomniac at February 22, 2015 10:07 AM (mx5oN)

70 I just finished binge-watching and enjoying the original Amazon series "Bosch", so I decided to try out on Kindle the first book of the series of Harry Bosch stories by Michael Connelly.

I'm a little less than 100 pages in and am enjoying it quite a bit. Connelly takes his time building Bosch's character and spends a lot paragraphs on police procedural details. In the books, Bosch is a Vietnam veteran rather than a Gulf War vet as he is portrayed in the new video series.

These books started 23 years ago and as Bosch investigates, I find myself recollecting how we communicated and researched back before smart phones and vast computer data bases and instant interwebs access to pretty much everything.

I'm looking forward to continuing with the rest of the series.

Posted by: Elinor, Who Usually Looks Lurkily at February 22, 2015 10:08 AM (NqQAS)

71 The 70's was just a continuation of the 60's with better hygiene, more structured and expensive clothing and the presumption that their generation had discovered sex and hedonism. And I saw no need to dispel the young ladies' illusions.

Posted by: JTB at February 22, 2015 10:08 AM (FvdPb)

72 They froze me back in the 70s waiting for bell bottoms to make a comeback. Still waiting...

Posted by: Ed Noon, stripped for action at February 22, 2015 10:09 AM (ppaKI)

73 Posted by: Vic at February 22, 2015 08:55 AM (wlDny)

I'm in the middle of doing that right now - I'm following the book timeline that includes all the subseries, since there are important events that happen off the regular Honor timeline that have significant effect in her books.

http://honorverse.wikia.com/wiki/Honorverse_novels

Posted by: Grabthar's Hammer at February 22, 2015 10:09 AM (Edob3)

74 71 The 70's was just a continuation of the 60's with better hygiene, more structured and expensive clothing and the presumption that their generation had discovered sex and hedonism. And I saw no need to dispel the young ladies' illusions.
Posted by: JTB at February 22, 2015 10:08 AM (FvdPb)

It is funny how every generation seems to think that. The Sodomites and Gomorrahns would not be impressed, nor would Caligula.

Posted by: Insomniac at February 22, 2015 10:11 AM (mx5oN)

75 What most people think is the 60s was actually the 70s. The 60s were still pretty conservative.

I think that's right. What we think of as the 60s (i.e. drugs, sex, music) was actually only part of a smallish minority in the 60s. It eventually mainstreamed, and that's how we got the 70s.

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 22, 2015 10:11 AM (bP980)

76 These books started 23 years ago and as Bosch investigates, I find myself recollecting how we communicated and researched back before smart phones and vast computer data bases and instant interwebs access to pretty much everything.

I'm looking forward to continuing with the rest of the series.
Posted by: Elinor, Who Usually Looks Lurkily at February 22, 2015 10:08 AM (NqQAS)



I'm a huge Dick Francis fan and I was rereading one of his earliest works and there's a reference in there to getting the operator to set up an international call and the characters head off for dinner while they are waiting for that to be done because it will take a few hours to do.

Now? You pull the magic box out of your pocket, tap a few things, bitch because it's taking 10 seconds, and then, voila, you are looking at the person on the other side of the world as you talk to him.

Posted by: alexthechick - Ragebunny now with MAGIC Jazz Hands at February 22, 2015 10:11 AM (IrByp)

77 Lileks' books on 70's interior design and 1950's regrettable food recipes and ads are HILARIOUS.

He describes the result of one 50's recipe as looking like something that landed on Mr. Spock's back and made him insane.

Do yourself a favor and pick them up.

Posted by: Radeaminit at February 22, 2015 10:11 AM (4HYng)

78 Your description of the Bible and the history of religion seems backwards.

The Old Testament, at least, is just one cycle after another of the Jewish people falling away from God's commands and getting punished/enslaved, then being rescued to try again.

Norse religion, among others, has a definitive beginning, and final apocalypse.

Posted by: adolfo_velasquez at February 22, 2015 10:12 AM (Lp6I1)

79 @70 - Bosch

Didn't see the series, but I've found the books to be consistently worthwhile. Happy reading.

Posted by: doug at February 22, 2015 10:12 AM (IuOGC)

80 Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself.

Come on, girls! Gather 'round the teleprompter so Auntie Val can have us read a story...

Posted by: Barack Obama at February 22, 2015 10:12 AM (FcR7P)

81 Re: 60's fashion.

I had a teacher in high school say of a portly colleague -- "He invented the bell bottom shirt."

Great guys. Good times.

Posted by: Ron at February 22, 2015 10:15 AM (4HYng)

82 I made a brief stop post-Pinatubo and it was still kinda porny, but also very sad.
Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 09:58 AM (KH1sk)

I did, too. The girls were more than a bit desperate. I was there with the Fife, part of the Indy battle group.

Posted by: Grabthar's Hammer at February 22, 2015 10:15 AM (Edob3)

83 I'd like to thank the Moron reader that recommended "The Last Policeman" trilogy by Ben Winters. I am now reading book 3 very slowly so that I don't get to the end and have no more of it to read. I understand he has written other stuff and I need to hit Amazon.

I bought the hard copy and when I finished book 1 I knew it was a winner and set it to a longtime reader friend (the one that wouldn't give back my copy of "Cryptonomicon" but bought me a new one). I called him the other day to see if he wanted me to send him book 2 and he said, not to worry, he'd already bought books 2 and 3.

Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 10:15 AM (ftVQq)

84 I'd like to watch Bosch, but I don't have Amazon prime. Gonna try the books.

Posted by: @votermom at February 22, 2015 10:17 AM (k2+5O)

85 Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself.



Come on, girls! Gather 'round the teleprompter so Auntie Val can have us read a story...

Posted by: Barack Obama at February 22, 2015 10:12 AM (FcR7P)


... from the only book that counts!

Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 10:18 AM (ftVQq)

86 I'd like to watch Bosch, but I don't have Amazon prime. Gonna try the books.

Posted by: @votermom at February 22, 2015 10:17 AM (k2+5O)

Connolly is a pretty good long term read with lots of books!

Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 10:20 AM (ftVQq)

87 It's Rules for Rascally Radicals, by Uncle Saul Alinsky.

Posted by: Barack Hussein Obama at February 22, 2015 10:21 AM (jkdqY)

88 Dr. Suess' widow has been milking that guy for a while now.

Posted by: Zap Rowsdower at February 22, 2015 10:22 AM (MMC8r)

89 Connelly

Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 10:22 AM (ftVQq)

90 Posted by: Barack Hussein Obama at February 22, 2015 10:21 AM (jkdqY)

And it's the copy with the Explosives Appendix written by some guy in my neighborhood named Bill Ayres!

Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 10:23 AM (ftVQq)

91 I'd like to thank the Moron reader that recommended "The Last Policeman" trilogy by Ben Winters. I am now reading book 3 very slowly so that I don't get to the end and have no more of it to read. I understand he has written other stuff and I need to hit Amazon.

I bought the hard copy and when I finished book 1 I knew it was a winner and set it to a longtime reader friend (the one that wouldn't give back my copy of "Cryptonomicon" but bought me a new one). I called him the other day to see if he wanted me to send him book 2 and he said, not to worry, he'd already bought books 2 and 3.
Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 10:15 AM (ftVQq)



Yeah, I got Book 3 and more or less stared at it for two days because I knew once I started it, that was it.

I think I'm going to pick up The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman because it looks like fun and I really admire writers who can tailor their voice for different audiences and genres.

Posted by: alexthechick - Ragebunny now with MAGIC Jazz Hands at February 22, 2015 10:24 AM (IrByp)

92 would make a great mathematician tattoo
Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 09:38 AM (RtqhG)
That is the full development of the Yellow Sign from Chambers' The Repairer of Reputationss.The sign also comes up in the Cthulhu Mythos
(Looking at it may not drive you mad from existential horror, but it may be useful to observe yourself for temporary psoriasis symptoms)

Posted by: Kindltot at February 22, 2015 10:25 AM (t//F+)

93 The best thing to come out of the '60's and '70's was music, IMHO. I consider the decade between '65 and '75 to be the Golden Age of Rock.

The Beatles had repaired to the studio for their best works, the Bee Gees hadn't gone disco, Yes put out their first album in '68, Eric Clapton was emerging from his heroin addiction to be hailed as a solo artist.

American music found the anti-war movement (Creedence Clearwater Revival). Woodstock was the high water mark for the rebellion against Teh Man (as long as you stayed away from the bad brown acid). Country rock was born (the Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco, and later on, the Eagles and the Dead). Jimi Hendrix blazed a trail that guitar technicians wouldn't comprehend for another ten years or so. Prog rock began here with Kansas. Underground FM radio was all the rage (I remember listening to WZZK out of Birmingham where whole sides of albums were played with no commercials, in Alabama! of all places). Don Kirshner's Rock Concert was a staple on Friday nights, as was In Concert.

Then there was the technology. Four channels instead of just two, which didn't last long thanks to no one being able to agree on a format. Music became portable thanks to 8-track tapes, then cassettes.

Album art was actually large enough to see and got made into those poster thingys. And yes, a lot of young adults had rooms that looked like the above picture. Drugs were crappy, the drapes matched the carpet (and there was lots of carpet, IYKWIM) and it was all very groovy, baby and far out, man. Like, heavy.

And lawns were made of Astroturf.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this sh1t at February 22, 2015 10:27 AM (0HooB)

94 You don't need $2k to publish AllenG. Perhaps $500 for a good editor these days, maybe $50 for a decent cover artist. Publishing the digital version is free of course, and Amazon platform CreateSpace will allow you to Print On Demand the paperback at no cost as well. Oh, and Bookbub is THE most powerful advertiser - I've sold 250,000 copies of my 22 novels while incurring less than $10k total costs. Best of luck!

Posted by: Roark at February 22, 2015 10:30 AM (bY48k)

95 Thanks to the Book Thread folks for encouragement to start reading books again. Still re-learning, but enjoying it.

I found myself abruptly at the end of the narrative part of Mark Twain's Autobiography, part 1, big fat study edition. So, I picked up the next book I found lying around. Once again, I found one of those things Milady discovers in the thrift store bins for two bits:

Understanding the Times of Christ
William W. Menzies
Gospel Publ House, Springfield Mo. 1969

First thing I noticed about this book was, unlike the squinty Twain book, I didn't need my glasses. Normal-size type is still readable for me. Or I'm in denial about the blurriness. :/

This small book (124 pages) serves its purpose well: to give a broad, general background for understanding of New Testament times.

The author covers the history leading up to the times of Christ, the politics of Rome, and Palestine of the time, the society and daily life of Judaism of the time, the broad spread of Judaism, and Judaism functioning amid a pagan world.

The final two chapters are specifically about Jesus' life. The earlier chapters generally eschew footnotes (acknowledgements are made in the introduction), but derive from historical study and describe what you wouldn't pick up from reading the scriptures, while the last two chapters mostly derive from and reiterate the Gospels, relating them to the context aforedescribed.

As this is an area of interest of mine, I was intrigued that EITHER I was better informed than I realized OR the author and I are mis-informed in the same ways. I did glean some new information about the historical contexts, and some political-social matters. It was for me, then, in a way, a good "lite" refresher course; the arrangement of the information especially gave me a better perspective of the context and sequence of some events.

The author lapses regularly into some statement or other of Christian doctrine or teaching. Usually only a sentence at the end of a section, and not abrasive, nor unexpected in a publication from the Assemblies of God, but sometimes just seeming gratuitously inserted. Despite that, it was refreshing to read a book on Biblical historical context which came from a position of faith rather than cynicism and doubt.

Ironically, the chapter I found most informative was the section on the Essenes at Qumran. Ironically, I say, because the Essenes never get a mention in the New Testament, and really had nothing to do with the Christ story. The author includes them because of the newsworthiness-popularity, still in 1969, of the "Dead Sea Scroll" community.

The Essenes had a run of two hundred years, devoted to purifying themselves in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Just about one hundred years before, and one hundred years after Christ. It's already painfully obvious, practically redundant, when the author points out that, from a Christian's perspective, basically, they missed the boat they were packing for.

And after taking a couple of weeks to consume Twain's bio, it was nice to buzz through this little volume in a day. In learning to read all over again, that's a bit of encouragement.

But now I have the habit, I'm wondering, what to read now?

Posted by: mindful webworker - see spot! see spot run! see spots before my eyes! at February 22, 2015 10:31 AM (EUw/L)

96 I've been bingeing on late Victorian murder mysteries lately. This week's example is Strings of Murder by Oscar death Muriel. It is the story of young London aristocrat disgraced Investigator Frey who assigned to investigate a politically sensitive murder of a violin virtuoso in semi-barbaric (compared to London) Edinburgh. Frey is a bit of an asshole of the snob variety given to snide comments and to make matters worse he is assigned to work not only with but under Investigator McGray, an asshole of the thug variety given to responding to perceived insults by means of physical assaults. Worse still, McGray is head of a Victorian X Files-like department, consisting of himself and Frey, and the clear demonic aspects of the murder allows McGray to give full rein to his superstitions, much to the disgust of Frey. I was a music major in undergrad and one of the things that attracted me to this book was the theme of music. A cursed violin may be responsible for a series of grisly murders. The violin was the very violin used by Tartini to compose, or more accurately to transcribe, The Devil's Trill Sonata which had (in real life) been revealed to Tartini in a dream by the Devil. The violin was then used by Paganini who (in real life) was believed to have sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for his virtuosity. And now it is the motive, and perhaps more, for a series of murders.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at February 22, 2015 10:32 AM (LImiJ)

97 I think that's right. What we think of as the 60s (i.e. drugs, sex, music) was actually only part of a smallish minority in the 60s. It eventually mainstreamed, and that's how we got the 70s.
Posted by: OregonMuse at February 22, 2015 10:11 AM (bP980)

Working for the college paper, I was asked to catalogue a bunch of photos of SDS meetings from '67-'68. I told my supervisor that there must be a mistake. Everyone was dressed so prim and proper. The girls all wearing these paisley skirts and matching short jackets, nylons, hair styled, etc. He laughed. Said, no, that's how people really looked.

Posted by: Bruce J. at February 22, 2015 10:32 AM (iQIUe)

98 Found a used copy of "Pyrates" by Fraser, a comic spoof of swashbuckling stories. If it has the over the top attitude of the Flashman series, it should be fun. Next in line after "Flashman".

Posted by: JTB at February 22, 2015 10:33 AM (FvdPb)

99 but that last post is so far beyond useless

Apparently da joos have stolen this mornings Hot Air button.

Posted by: DaveA at February 22, 2015 10:37 AM (DL2i+)

100 'On Three Ways of Writing For Children'

Crayons. Finger-paint. Paste.

Posted by: Uncle Joe Busyhands at February 22, 2015 10:37 AM (Dwehj)

101 @96 - Victorian mystery

Suggest Caleb Carr's "The Alienist"

Posted by: doug at February 22, 2015 10:38 AM (IuOGC)

102 I'd like to watch Bosch, but I don't have Amazon prime. Gonna try the books.

Posted by: @votermom at February 22, 2015 10:17 AM (k2+5O)

**********

Last fall, I took a continuing education class at the local community college. Because I had a valid student email address, that qualified me to get Amazon Prime membership at half price ($49).

That gave me free 2-day shipping for the holidays, and I more than made up my membership cost. The three of us order a lot from Amazon anyway, and being able to watch Bosch is a bonus. We mostly watch stuff on Neflix.

I try to patronize my local brick and mortar Barnes & Noble as much as I can, but between clueless staff and special orders taking two weeks rather than two days, utilizing Amazon is a more efficient use of my time.

Posted by: Elinor, Who Usually Looks Lurkily at February 22, 2015 10:40 AM (NqQAS)

103 No, it doesn't interfere with my worship. I'm a pastor, :^)

Oh, so you only work one day a week, then...


Posted by: OregonMuse at February 22, 2015 10:41 AM (bP980)

104 SCORE. I've been wanting that Coolidge book since it came out. Thanks for the heads-up!!

Posted by: Book at February 22, 2015 10:43 AM (AlkUj)

105 Lileks's Interior Desecrations is hysterical - I laughed until I was crying, and over the Gallery of Regrettable Food, too ... although I think some of the cracks about the company-provided recipe books were a low blow. My mother had a good collection of those from the 1950s and 60s - and yes, because of cheap printing, some of the pictures did look pretty horrible, but many of the recipes that Mom depended on were pretty good.

I really don't think in real life anyone but fashion-addled serial redecorators, or perhaps someone moving into a brand new house or setting up a model really went all out, as documented in Interior Desecrations. I was a teenager in the 1970s and I have to say that my parents' and grandparents' homes looked more like the interiors in A Christmas Story ... rather plain, with plenty of solid old furniture from earlier decades, and one or two family antiques. It was pretty much the same with the homes of friends, too - plain, sturdy, not particularly trendy. Although I think one friend's mother did have a capiz shell lamp. (One of those column-shaped chandeliers with strings of circular flattened shell discs hanging from the frame at the top, and several light bulbs down the center. They were big in the PI back in the day, lots of military people stationed in the Far East bought them as a novelty.)

Posted by: Sgt Mom at February 22, 2015 10:44 AM (95iDF)

106 I finished Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome.

JKJ was a writer of the 1880's and was fairly well read, and really shows that underpinning of the fairly useless idle rich well educated man-about-town that P G Wodehouse was mocking.
He also reads an awful lot like Twain's travelogues but without the deeper understanding or pathos that Twain brought, and surely without the pie-in-the-face comedy Twain liked.
I will point out that I figure that Twain was also mocking the high-falutin' dives into traditional history that JKJ dove into, but Twain also surfaced with a splash and a splutter where JKJ slowly drifted back to the current time and took his comedy back up in the next act.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 22, 2015 10:45 AM (t//F+)

107
crappy book covers from the 70s. Yeah, people actually used to buy this stuff. They didn't have anything better.



Happen to own and have read A World of Trouble by Robert E. Toomey, and thought it was an enjoyable space romp. Analog magazine era dress up like the natives and run around as a spy sort of thing, as I recall. Liked it.

And while I haven't read The Tin Angel by Ron Goulart, have read a decent number of his books along similar lines. Comic novel of adventure in a bizarre future America where the President is a dog eating Kenyan and everyone walks around staring into their portable phones all day. No wait -- that's our future. But anyway, Goulart is pretty solid, although he writes light fiction instead of the stuff that takes itself way too seriously, which means he tends to get overlooked.

But still, judging a book by its cover and all that.

Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at February 22, 2015 10:46 AM (kdS6q)

108 I read a neat little sci fi book a couple of months ago, " Glory Main" by Henry V. O'Neil. Can't remember where I heard about it. Here, maybe? Anyway, the sequel, " Orphan Brigade", came out recently and I read it last night. The author is a former army guy. The 1st sets up the 2nd very nicely and has little twist at the end that I did not see coming. I'm trying to summarize without giving away too many details. Familiar story of a young man, son of a powerful government official, finding his true self serving in the military in a decades long war against an alien we have no means of communicating with. Therein lies the mystery because they look just like humans. Go to Amazon and read the synopsis. It does a better job than I do. Resonably priced.

Posted by: Tuna at February 22, 2015 10:50 AM (JSovD)

109 I actually remember that Ron Goulart cover (which isn't all that bad, really). Goulart was a very funny satirist.

Posted by: PersonFromPorlock at February 22, 2015 10:50 AM (U4QC6)

110 97 Working for the college paper, I was asked to catalogue a bunch of photos of SDS meetings from '67-'68. I told my supervisor that there must be a mistake. Everyone was dressed so prim and proper. The girls all wearing these paisley skirts and matching short jackets, nylons, hair styled, etc. He laughed. Said, no, that's how people really looked.

Posted by: Bruce J. at February 22, 2015 10:32 AM (iQIUe)
------------
In the hell that is helping my dear hoarder mom downsize, I've found numerous magazines from the '60's and '70's. Really, in the latter part of the '60's the styles were lovely. The '70's styles were rather unfortunate by today's standards, but even in those magazines (Better Homes and Gardens, etc.), it wasn't a hippy, rolling-in-the-mud-at-Woodstock look.

Also found some Scholastic magazines from the '70's that were given out in school. Filled, of course, with eco-babble and early SJW crap.

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at February 22, 2015 10:52 AM (54JS6)

111 ah, b-boy, then you remember Father Tree on the radio! Long pause after the album finished...faaar out....

Posted by: geezer der mensch at February 22, 2015 10:52 AM (1i/Fh)

112 One of the sci-fi publishing houses was rumored to use paintings done by the daughter of one of the senior editors because it was the cheapest way they could find artwork, and he wanted to promote his daughter's art.
It got so bad that the editor would stage the paintings in the public areas and ask authors to write book based on them.
The paintings were supposed to be dreadful.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 22, 2015 10:53 AM (t//F+)

113 Two books for those so inclined --Leap and Breakthrough by Michael Grumley. I have'em on Kindle.
Sci-Fi stuff for those of us bored with the mundane world of our current idiot leader. Sometimes I just need to escape the stupidity.

Posted by: rld77 at February 22, 2015 10:54 AM (gvaRO)

114 Now? You pull the magic box out of your pocket, tap a few things, bitch because it's taking 10 seconds, and then, voila, you are looking at the person on the other side of the world as you talk to him.

Posted by: alexthechick - Ragebunny now with MAGIC Jazz Hands at February 22, 2015 10:11 AM (IrByp)

***********

So true!

During the ice storms of the last week, I pre-positioned candles, lighter, and paperbacks for the inevitable loss of power and wifi signal.

There's nothing like revisiting a much-loved dog-eared novel hunched over the light of a flickering flame while wearing your winter coat and Bob Cratchit fingerless gloves.

Posted by: Elinor, Who Usually Looks Lurkily at February 22, 2015 10:55 AM (NqQAS)

115 "I think it was one of several conspiracies around back then ("women's
'lib'" was another) whose only purpose was to make it easier for men to
get laid."

Reading about all those European teenage girls who are heading off to join up with the Islamic State, along with my own lifetime experience in America, I have come to the conclusion that women need structure because, without it, they self-destruct. How else could it be for people who make serious decisions based on their emotions? And I think most of them are smart enough to know this, at least instinctively, and will prefer a harsh, cruel, even evil structure to none at all. "Anything goes" will naturally push them into joining or creating a structure with rules, restrictions, and clearly delineated expectations. Look at the SJW harpies.

"Women's liberation" tried to remove them from structure to be 'themselves' and independent. The horrific destruction wrought upon American families is still rippling. Of all the women I know from that era, exactly two have not been divorced at least once.

Posted by: Df82 at February 22, 2015 10:57 AM (Tndz+)

116 We happen to be living in times worse than the 70's in many ways.

Posted by: steevy at February 22, 2015 10:57 AM (KETbL)

117 The Old Testament, at least, is just one cycle after another of the Jewish people falling away from God's commands and getting punished/enslaved, then being rescued to try again.

It was written that way. It's built around a now-lost text called the "Deuteronom(ist)ic History", probably composed under King Josiah in the 600s BC.

DtrH was the first attempt in the West to devise a theory of history. That theory was, "do what is in the Book of Deuteronomy or you're all boned", hence the scholarly label for the text.

Baruch Helpern, "The First Historians: The Hebrew Bible and History"; Richard Friedman, "The Hidden Book In The Bible"; lots of other books since then but I haven't kept up since ~1999.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at February 22, 2015 10:57 AM (AVEe1)

118
During the ice storms of the last week, I pre-positioned candles, lighter, and paperbacks for the inevitable loss of power and wifi signal.

=======

hee like survivalist caches in your house

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 10:59 AM (Cq0oW)

119 I finished reading Pat Barker's Regeneration, the first book in her WWI series. It's set in a hospital for mentally disturbed soldiers and the main focus is on the psychologist who treats them. Interesting, and once again I wondered how anyone ever survived WWI. Also read Ron Hansen's Exiles, about Gerard Manley Hopkins and a shipwreck in which five Catholic nuns were drowned that inspired him to go back to writing poetry. Hopkins was a Catholic convert from Anglicanism who became a Jesuit and had felt that writing poetry interfered with his vocation. I'm not a huge poetry fan, but I do like Hopkins's poems "Pied Beauty" and "The Windhover".

Posted by: biancaneve at February 22, 2015 11:01 AM (Zl68m)

120 @1 Vic

"..Basic Economics book by Thomas Sowell and am now working on it. It may be a little "too basic" though as I haven't seen anything that I didn't already know."



Got it 2 years ago from my wife and thought the same. I think the intended audience isn't conservatives with knowledgable business experience.

Posted by: Curious Wonder at February 22, 2015 11:01 AM (dn5q9)

121 Related to books: I find I'm watching less and less TV and spending more time reading and with hobbies. Admittedly, I'm in my sixties and outside the advertisers demographic, but sheesh! It's either more 'reality' shows aimed at the immature or ANOTHER cop series of grim city life.

This isn't a complaint because it means more time given to worthwhile activities.

Posted by: JTB at February 22, 2015 11:02 AM (FvdPb)

122 Oh, and for those of you who are fans of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Tales and haven't read the latest, " The Empty Throne", get crackin'. The young Uhtred was awesome but the older Uhtred is even awesomer!

Posted by: Tuna at February 22, 2015 11:02 AM (JSovD)

123 " the mosin is behind the fridge! ammo can under the sofa! if i don't come back from the cellar, you know what to do! "

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 11:03 AM (Cq0oW)

124 121
Same here. Gave up on TV a couple of years ago. Guess what? Don't miss it a bit.

Posted by: Tuna at February 22, 2015 11:04 AM (JSovD)

125 ah, b-boy, then you remember Father Tree on the radio! Long pause after the album finished...faaar out....

There was also the King Biscuit Flour Hour.

And the bored people who manned the album presses would occasionally inscribe witticisms in the vinyl. I have a copy of ELP's live Brain Salad Surgery tour that says, "Love from Andy and Arun" and an Eagles album that says, "Is it illegal to yell "Theater" in a fire house?"

Pink Floyd sound effects. The faint mouse squeeks on Klaatu albums. Good times.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this sh1t at February 22, 2015 11:04 AM (0HooB)

126
Lileks' books on 70's interior design and 1950's regrettable food recipes and ads are HILARIOUS.
Posted by: Radeaminit



Pity he seems to stopped writing those types of books, instead going back to publishing them as content on his website. He's so prolific that I tend not to read his daily postings because it's like stepping into a river that runs too fast. And any subject tends to get scattershotted around his constantly tweaked site.

Slowing down to collect a topic and revise his writing made his books more assessable for the casual reader and a better read.

Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at February 22, 2015 11:07 AM (kdS6q)

127 Backwards Boy -- I think you are right that the 70s (including five years before and after) were defined by the music. The experiments with forms and history in music that actually sold was astonishing. Graduating from college in '79, I remember waking up my dorm floor at some ridiculous hour in the morning to listen to Queen -- who threw everything but the kitchen sink into BR. The baroque and before classical recreations were a hoot as well.

Sadly, pop has taken over again.

Posted by: Mustbequantum at February 22, 2015 11:09 AM (MIKMs)

128 Greetings:

Unsolicited "Book Quote" from my father. "You haven't really read a book until you've read it at least twice."

Posted by: 11B40 at February 22, 2015 11:14 AM (yMbU8)

129 There was also the King Biscuit Flour Hour. Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this sh1t

Did they play that old-timey music.

Posted by: Pappy O'donnel at February 22, 2015 11:15 AM (Moh0M)

130 Kudos to the person recommending, "Zen and Motorcycle Maintenance" here on a former book thread. Received and read recently.

Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at February 22, 2015 11:15 AM (dn5q9)

131 What most people think is the 60s was actually the 70s. The 60s were still pretty conservative.

I
think that's right. What we think of as the 60s (i.e. drugs, sex,
music) was actually only part of a smallish minority in the 60s. It
eventually mainstreamed, and that's how we got the 70s.


Posted by: OregonMuse at February 22, 2015 10:11 AM (bP980)


I know this isn't about books, but I happened upon the Monty Python "Meaning of Life" movie recently. I believe it was made in the early 80s, but it was certainly a continuation on the theme.


What fascinated me though, was that I got about 15 minutes in, and figured out it was absolutely, completely unfunny. It's not that I've become a prude, and I don't think it is because I have seen it before. It's just... not funny. Oh, let's take some jabs at religion. Yes, let's show a sex ed class where the boys are bored, even though the teacher is boinking his wife, right there in the classroom.
Ho hum. Their earlier films are still great. This one? An excess of "hey, let's see what we can get away with."

Posted by: BurtTC at February 22, 2015 11:17 AM (Dj0WE)

132
You don't need $2k to publish AllenG. Perhaps $500 for a good editor these days, maybe $50 for a decent cover artist.
Posted by: Roark




If you've read AllenG posts, you know the other $1450 is to hire a ghostwriter.....


Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at February 22, 2015 11:18 AM (kdS6q)

133 The main book I've been getting into is W M Thackston, "Introduction to Syriac".

Syriac is Edessene post-Aramaic. This earned a lot of prestige among Christians during the later Roman Empire, so it spread around and surpassed its ancestor, Imperial Aramaic. Other communities still kept their Aramaics, like the Jews and Mandaeans.

It's supposed to be easier than Arabic and Hebrew, but it's got some quirks of its own. For instance, there are four (4) alphabets one has to learn. This book goes for Estrangelo / Estrangela*. There's also Nestorian and Jacobite, and it's recommended you learn the old Imperial Aramaic alphabet as well (you know it as the "Hebrew" alphabet).

*One more thing is that pronunciations are screwed up in Aramaic. East Syrians pronounce the vowel-to-alif long "a" like "a". WEST Syrians seem to have fallen under Canaanite influence or something because they say it "o".

Since Syriac is Semitic, it's written with the consonant-markers rather than actual vowels and consonants, and it leaves it to the reader to decide how to pronounce them...

And to that, there's that "begadkepat" thing. There's no independent (for instance) "t" or "th" like I'm used to in Greek, Arabic or, for that matter, English. It's normally "t". If there's a vowel in from of it, it's "th". This is true for all six "stop" consonants. Even across a word: "bna vayta" for "I built a/the house". THAT much reminds me of how Welsh deals with nasal consonants and b, d, g.

Syriac scholars usually underline consonants which get aspirated like this. Arabic scholars usually don't because they don't have to; that language is more careful with consonants.

Anyway, so to review: I appreciate the author giving early heads-up on the weirdness. I think I could use some more help on some of it, though; because bayta should be baytha under a strict application of these rules, but for whatever reason Thackston didn't apply this rule here. I don't know if this is a typo or if the y is counted as a consonant here.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at February 22, 2015 11:19 AM (AVEe1)

134 All you need to know about 70's "design" are the following:

Harvest Gold
Avocado Green
Burnt Orange

Anything and everything was derived from that lovely color palette....

*tries to get image of TiFW parents' chic living room ensemble of orange couch, avocado recliners, and gold carpet out of head; fails miserably*

Posted by: Teresa in Fort Worth, TX (@Teresa_Koch) at February 22, 2015 11:20 AM (PZ6/M)

135
This was not a favorite with the lefty critics -- Rotten Tomatoes gave it 25% for critics, but 72% of the audience liked it (3.9 of 5). http://bit.ly/1Jz0l5S

From the RT summary: "An unprecedented blend of real-life heroism and original filmmaking, Act of Valor stars a group of active-duty U.S. Navy SEALs in a film like no other in Hollywood's history. A fictionalized account of real life Navy SEAL operations, Act of Valor features a gripping story that takes audiences on an adrenaline-fueled, edge-of-their-seat journey. When a mission to recover a kidnapped CIA operative unexpectedly results in the discovery of an imminent, terrifying global threat, an elite team of highly trained Navy SEALs must immediately embark on a heart-stopping secret operation, the outcome of which will determine the fate of us all. Act of Valor combines stunning combat sequences, up-to-the-minute battlefield technology, and heart-pumping emotion for the ultimate action adventure film-showcasing the skills, training and tenacity of the greatest action heroes of them all: real Navy SEALs"
Posted by: doug at February 22, 2015 09:51 AM (IuOGC)

I really like that movie. I rented it from Red Box and went and bought my own copy the same day. Weimy the sharpshooter is my boy. I don't think I've ever seen it on TV before...heh. An interesting choice to go up against the Oscars, which I won't be watching, although, of course rooting for American Sniper.

Posted by: Gem at February 22, 2015 11:23 AM (c+gwp)

136 No comparison between the 20's and the '70's. While I've never been fond of some of the '20's fashions (the parted in the middle, slicked down hair and baggy knickers on the men), Coolidge was in the WH, the country was prosperous and Ruth was banging them out of the park at Yankee Stadium. (He was also banging them in the hotel rooms but that's another story.)

The 1920's produced some fine architecture. We have a surviving 1920's movie palace here that is gorgeous and the '20's apartment building I used to live in was beautiful too. There's a reason why NYC real estate and apartment listing distinguish between pre and postwar buildings - because the craftmanship and details and materials used prior to WWII are far superior in most respects to anything that came later.

I'm obviously biased because I was a high school kid during the 1970's but I'd say the Golden Age of rock was between 1965 and 1975, when disco took over and blighted the airwaves.

And the 70's produced some great, great movies - the Godfather films, Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Deliverance, Fiddler on the Roof (my all time favorite musical) Cabaret,...., that's just off the top of my head.

Much of everything else was pretty crappy - I think everyone had either an avocado green or a harvest gold kitchen.

Posted by: Donna &&&&&& V. (brandishing ampersands) at February 22, 2015 11:24 AM (+XMAD)

137 mindful webworker - see spot! see spot run! see spots before my eyes! at February 22, 2015 10:31 AM (EUw/L)

You could do much, much worse than to read everything Twain ever wrote.

Posted by: Enby at February 22, 2015 11:25 AM (QP2lF)

138 Oh and speaking of the 70's, Toffler's "Future Shock" blew chunks.

Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at February 22, 2015 11:27 AM (dn5q9)

139 A more modern book cover of questionable taste

http://www.ufunk.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/selection-du-weekend-128-59.jpg

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 11:28 AM (1RvOn)

140 Posted by: Teresa in Fort Worth, TX (@Teresa_Koch) at February 22, 2015 11:20 AM (PZ6/M)
----
You forgot the Fourth Horseman -- Burnt Umber!

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 11:29 AM (KH1sk)

141 "I know this isn't about books, but I happened upon the Monty Python "Meaning of Life" movie recently. I believe it was made in the early 80s, but it was certainly a continuation on the theme. "

I remember seeing it in the theater when it came out and feeling disappointed, since I was a huge Python fan. At that point they were running out of ideas and, as you say, just relying shock and grossness (the scene where the obese glutton explodes after gorging himself.)

Posted by: Donna &&&&&& V. (brandishing ampersands) at February 22, 2015 11:29 AM (+XMAD)

142 my house is avocado green, siding from the 70s

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 11:30 AM (Cq0oW)

143 I had an avocado refrigerator until 2005. It went TU and my landlord mentioned he thought it was one he had bought for his first wife as a wedding present.

I admit that my house has the "Home and Gardens dream kitchen" from 1964, blond wood cabinets, sparkly formica counter tops and the original linoleum flooring.

I like it. However, my girlfriend, who used to sell kitchen remodels, burst out laughing when she saw it for the first time.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 22, 2015 11:30 AM (t//F+)

144 Here's another page of skeevy SF covers:

Some of those books are outright pr0n ("Starship Intercourse"? really?), probably shouldn't count.

But yes, Philip Jose Farmer, Poul Anderson, and van Vogt have cause to be ashamed of their publishers

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at February 22, 2015 11:32 AM (AVEe1)

145 Just finished "The Martian" by Andy Weir... really good. Didn't know that it's going to be released as a movie this year at Thanksgiving (Matt Damon plays the lead character, and Ridley Scott is directing it).

Posted by: Infidel Matatween at February 22, 2015 11:33 AM (Jls4P)

146 "...the Golden Age of rock was between 1965 and 1975,..."

+1000

Posted by: foolish idiot at February 22, 2015 11:33 AM (Axa8z)

147 All you need to know about 70's "design" are the following:

Harvest Gold
Avocado Green
Burnt Orange

Anything and everything was derived from that lovely color palette....


Posted by: Teresa in Fort Worth, TX (@Teresa_Koch) at February 22, 2015 11:20 AM (PZ6/M)


...and it spread to kitchen appliances.



Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at February 22, 2015 11:33 AM (FMbng)

148 A younger friend jealously describes the 70s as "The Golden Age... after the Vietnam War and before AIDS".

Oh, and cocaine was cool... before celebrities started dying from it.

Posted by: cool breeze at February 22, 2015 11:34 AM (A+/8k)

149 @135 Act of Valor movie
>I really like that movie. I rented it from Red Box

Me, too. Yes the acting is a bit stiff. (These are actually *real* SEALS). From Wikipedia --

"In 2007, Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh of Bandito Brothers Production filmed a video for the Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen which led the U.S. Navy to allow them to use actual active duty SEALs. After spending so much time working closely with the SEALs, McCoy and Waugh conceived the idea for a modern day action movie about this covert and elite fighting force. As Act of Valor developed with the SEALs on board as advisors, the filmmakers realized that no actors could realistically portray or physically fill the roles they had written and the actual SEALs were drafted to star in the film. The SEALs would remain anonymous, as none of their names appear in the film's credits"

Posted by: doug at February 22, 2015 11:35 AM (IuOGC)

150 Always funny to read folks looking at the 1970s.

I graduated HS in 1970. So, the '70s were my coming of age, m/l. The first few years I was trying to figure out why I was in a liberal arts college, and where went all that excitement that was happening at colleges on TV in the '60s. Finally figured out college was killing me, and left before graduation. Unlike Gov. Walker, I didn't have a good job calling me away, though.

Then there was that most pleasant and memorable couple of quiet years, when Milady came to visit and we ended up staying together, getting to know each other.

Then for the latter half of the '70s, I went nuts. I tried to go into business, and ended up with an excellent education in what not to do. Lost good friends. Ended the decade under a half-million dollar lawsuit. (Which I "won," finally, in 1980, by losing but to a much smaller amount.)

Still, I feel like I missed the '70s in a lot of ways because I was either studying, working, or trying to do business, when I was supposed to be at the disco and doing cocaine.

Hm. The year I graduated from college was closer by two decades to the end of WW2 than it is to today. Pass the geritol.

Posted by: mindful webworker - what, me old? at February 22, 2015 11:35 AM (EUw/L)

151 the golden age!

Lmao

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 11:35 AM (Cq0oW)

152 My favorite thrift-shop find was an unused, Sears Avocado-enameled pressure canner.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 22, 2015 11:36 AM (t//F+)

153 I admit that my house has the "Home and Gardens dream kitchen" from 1964, blond wood cabinets, sparkly formica counter tops and the original linoleum flooring.

I like it. However, my girlfriend, who used to sell kitchen remodels, burst out laughing when she saw it for the first time.


Posted by: Kindltot at February 22, 2015 11:30 AM (t//F+)


ah, but does that counter top have the stainless steel edge cap?

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at February 22, 2015 11:36 AM (FMbng)

154 Fukuyama is a hack. Standing on the shoulders of Hegel, an even bigger hack.

Posted by: kartoffel at February 22, 2015 11:37 AM (szYND)

155 One good thing to come out of the '70's - "The Day of the Jackal" which,amazingly, Frederick Forsyth wrote in 2 weeks to earn some extra coin.

I read it this past week and stayed up far too late one night to finish it. (Sure sign of a great read: "Oh damn,it's 1 am and I have to go to work tomorrow - but just one more chapter" and you're still reading at 2.) It's fascinating how it manages to suck you in despite the fact that you know damn well the Jackal won't succeed because DeGaulle wasn't assassinated. It's because the killer is so diabolically clever that you can't imagine how he's going to be stopped.

Posted by: Donna &&&&&& V. (brandishing ampersands) at February 22, 2015 11:38 AM (+XMAD)

156 should have signed that "Spengler" Mr Kartoffel

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 11:39 AM (Cq0oW)

157 Reading "Girl On a Train," only about a quarter into it.

She's a fucking psychopath.

Posted by: the littl shyning man at February 22, 2015 11:39 AM (U6f54)

158 >>Me, too. Yes the acting is a bit stiff. (These are actually *real* SEALS).

Yeah, we saw it in a theater on opening weekend - wanted to be sure to financially support such a worthy effort.

Posted by: Lizzy at February 22, 2015 11:39 AM (lHHyw)

159 Now I have to dig up my copy of The Decline of the West. Not that it was a fun or easy read, but I'd recommend it ahead of Fukuyama or Jared Diamond any day.

Posted by: kartoffel at February 22, 2015 11:40 AM (szYND)

160 I like it. However, my girlfriend, who used to sell kitchen remodels, burst out laughing when she saw it for the first time.





Posted by: Kindltot at February 22, 2015 11:30 AM (t//F+)




Point out to her that whatever she designed as tres chic at the time is doubtless being laughed at right now.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at February 22, 2015 11:40 AM (oKE6c)

161 She's a fucking psychopath

=====

well as long as there are sex scenes...

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 11:41 AM (Cq0oW)

162 Part of why made it the golden age was radio, at least in these parts.
You would hear the current rock, Motown, singer/songwriter and some country, on the same station.

Posted by: foolish idiot at February 22, 2015 11:42 AM (Axa8z)

163 88 Dr. Suess' widow has been milking that guy for a while now.

I never knew she was into necrophilia.

o.k., I denounce myself.

Posted by: RightWingProf at February 22, 2015 11:44 AM (cI22C)

164 Posted by: foolish idiot at February 22, 2015 11:42 AM (Axa8z)



Yeah, Top 40. Plus songs from movies, or movie themes.

Posted by: HH at February 22, 2015 11:44 AM (Ce4DF)

165 159 Now I have to dig up my copy of The Decline of the West. Not that it was a fun or easy read, but I'd recommend it ahead of Fukuyama or Jared Diamond any day.

Posted by: kartoffel at February 22, 2015 11:40 AM (szYND)




Not a Diamond fan. His books are a lightly encrypted version of leftist cant and excuse-making for Africa as having been deprived of various plants, animals, and other natural resources, while ignoring - and therefore utterly failing - to address the success of, e.g., Japan, which doesn't have squat.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at February 22, 2015 11:44 AM (oKE6c)

166 A more modern book cover of questionable taste

Ha! I mentioned that book in last week's thread. Maybe I should have posted that photo, too.

Second thought, maybe not.

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 22, 2015 11:44 AM (bP980)

167
Oh, and cocaine was cool... before celebrities started dying from it.

Posted by: cool breeze at February 22, 2015 11:34 AM (A+/8k)

I don't see the problem here.

Posted by: RWC - Coffee. Yes please. at February 22, 2015 11:45 AM (HKu0W)

168 ah, but does that counter top have the stainless steel edge cap?
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at February 22, 2015 11:36 AM (FMbng)


No, but it does have the jig-sawed "moulding" in front of the set-back cabinets and that sculptured facing above the kitchen sink window to make it look less "square"

The counter back-splash is capped with a stainless steel edge cap.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 22, 2015 11:45 AM (t//F+)

169 Oh, and after watching Act of Valor where they rescue a journalist hostage, I get even more angry about Obama delaying his approval of a rescue mission for the Americans held by ISIS. We have very skilled, brave men who were not allowed to do something that they specialize in. Grrrrrr!

(sorry for getting political on the book thread)

Posted by: Lizzy at February 22, 2015 11:46 AM (lHHyw)

170 *searches the Interwebz and comes up empty*

http://www.ginodachille.com/gallery/commercial-art/01-science-fantasy/18/
No example of the second cover Gino D'Achille did for Anne McCafrfrey's Dragonflight.

But Gino's later cover for same book is on the Interwebz labeled as a bad cover.
http://tinyurl.com/mwpeo4t

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 11:46 AM (1RvOn)

171 Reading about all those European teenage girls who are heading off to join up with the Islamic State, along with my own lifetime experience in America, I have come to the conclusion that women need structure because, without it, they self-destruct.

I agree, but the latest 3 girls who have headed off to become "jihadi brides" all come from Muslim families, judging by their names. Wouldn't they ALREADY have structure in their lives? This isn't Sally Slutwick of Upper Borstal who's tired of booze binging and puking in the gutter every weekend, looking for "meaning" in her life. I wonder what sort of conversations they heard at home - maybe their families were among the "vast majority" of Muslims who don't actually DO jihad, but behind closed doors express their admiration and support for those heroic boys who do. Where else would they get a crazy idea like this?

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at February 22, 2015 11:47 AM (VBbCO)

172 to get an idea how much it sucked, consider manufacturing. there was no japan or china as rivals to us, Taiwan only produced cheap misshapen toys. there was only the USA, England, France, Germany. our cars were "the best" and you could see cardboard under the chassis to soak up the oil at new car lots.

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 11:47 AM (Cq0oW)

173 Not a Diamond fan. His books are a lightly encrypted version of leftist cant and excuse-making for Africa as having been deprived of various plants, animals, and other natural resources, while ignoring - and therefore utterly failing - to address the success of, e.g., Japan, which doesn't have squat.

Not to mention Singapore and Hong Kong. At least Africa has land. Sing. and HK don't even have that.

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 22, 2015 11:47 AM (bP980)

174 Sunday TV..... Politics, politics, news, politics....

Hillbilly Thrill Rides.


Sold.

Posted by: RWC - Coffee. Yes please. at February 22, 2015 11:47 AM (HKu0W)

175 Uh, yeah, sorry for the politics too. How about that wallpaper?!

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at February 22, 2015 11:48 AM (VBbCO)

176 I'd like to recommend David Hackett Fischer's "The Great Wave" for anyone who is wondering whether we should be more scared of inflation or deflation. He doesn't have an answer, but you'll certainly be more informed.

I was born in 1973 with high levels of testosterone and no porn. The Barnes and Noble catalog was my jack bible for years. Imagine telling a teenager today that you beat it to a 1"x1" picture of the cover of "The Joy of Sex" in a book catalog.

Posted by: Oschisms at February 22, 2015 11:48 AM (ZsN9X)

177 Posted by: foolish idiot at February 22, 2015 11:42 AM

Also, the last of the Radio Personalities, at least on L.A. radio.

Loved listening to Lohman and Barkley on the way to work in the morning. While sitting in a freeway traffic jam, you could tell who else was listening to them by the synchronized pantomime laughter....

The 70s were pretty damn nice, actually. Lots of bookstores, and I had good jobs, so could afford to patronize them regularly.

Posted by: MrScribbler at February 22, 2015 11:48 AM (P8YHq)

178 Oops, duh.

"The year I graduated from college high school..."

Posted by: mindful webworker - what, me old? at February 22, 2015 11:48 AM (EUw/L)

179 So, the movie "Bernie" is coming on in a few minutes. Supposed to be really good, based on a true story.
Any thoughts?

Posted by: shredded chi at February 22, 2015 11:49 AM (ghk1f)

180 Right now on TCM is Forbidden Planet followed by 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 11:50 AM (1RvOn)

181 Oh, and I recognize almost everything in "Interior Descecrations." I'm just the perfect age for that.

Posted by: Oschisms at February 22, 2015 11:50 AM (ZsN9X)

182 153 I admit that my house has the "Home and Gardens dream kitchen" from 1964, blond wood cabinets, sparkly formica counter tops and the original linoleum flooring.

I LOVE that early 60s look! Last year I converted all our family slides from the '50s to the '60s to digital formal and made a slideshow to burn to dvd and send to my relatives. Now when I look at the pictures of my sister and me as babies, I find myself looking at the cool curtains, linoleum and couches we had back then!

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at February 22, 2015 11:50 AM (VBbCO)

183 Bernie? That's the Texas one? with Jack Black?

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 11:51 AM (Cq0oW)

184 179 So, the movie "Bernie" is coming on in a few minutes. Supposed to be really good, based on a true story.
Any thoughts?

Posted by: shredded chi at February 22, 2015 11:49 AM (ghk1f)

Spoiler alert - he's dead throughout most of the movie.

Posted by: RWC - Coffee. Yes please. at February 22, 2015 11:51 AM (HKu0W)

185 My father's business was kitchen and bath remodeling. I worked with him in the 80's and had the rare pleasure of ripping out these abortions called 60's and 70's "décor". Good god, some of these kitchens were out there. I do believe I saw it all. Actually, I saw just about everything from turn of the century up to the 70's, but nothing...nothing on this earth rivals the goofiness of the 60's and 70's.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at February 22, 2015 11:51 AM (FMbng)

186 Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 11:46 AM (1RvOn)
---
Anna, I cherish my Barsoom novels with the Gino d'Achille covers. His critics can suck xenomorph eggs.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 11:52 AM (KH1sk)

187 to get an idea how much it sucked, consider manufacturing. there was no japan or china as rivals to us, Taiwan only produced cheap misshapen toys. there was only the USA, England, France,

In those days, we an expression to denote extreme disapproval of something: "aw, that's made in Japan." In other words, it was cheap, poorly manufactured crap. That was indeed Japan's reputation back then.

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 22, 2015 11:52 AM (bP980)

188 "I was born in 1973..."

And everyone who remembers seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan said...

Posted by: foolish idiot at February 22, 2015 11:52 AM (Axa8z)

189 French cars were considered superior to Japanese cars when they first appeared. No joke

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 11:53 AM (Cq0oW)

190 I do home remodeling for a living. A LOT of kitchens.
Sadly, most go for granite, but you'd be surprised how many people are going retro - google "vintage Formica" to see what choices are available. It's really amazing.

Posted by: shredded chi at February 22, 2015 11:54 AM (ghk1f)

191 173 Not a Diamond fan. His books are a lightly encrypted version of leftist cant and excuse-making for Africa as having been deprived of various plants, animals, and other natural resources, while ignoring - and therefore utterly failing - to address the success of, e.g., Japan, which doesn't have squat.

Not to mention Singapore and Hong Kong. At least Africa has land. Sing. and HK don't even have that.

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 22, 2015 11:47 AM (bP980)



Yep. I was making the best case against Diamond. A lefty would argue that Singapore and HK obtained their wealth from others, and of course, they're partially right (how they managed to do so redounds to their credit, however).


I'm talking from the get-go: "here we are buck naked, shivering, in the middle of nowhere, and we don't have squat. Now - what do we do about it?"

Posted by: Jay Guevara at February 22, 2015 11:54 AM (oKE6c)

192 Posted by: shredded chi at February 22, 2015 11:49 AM (ghk1f)
---
Really good. Everyone gave a great performance, especially the School of Rock guy.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 11:54 AM (KH1sk)

193 Just finished "The Last Crusade", subtitled The Epic Voyages of Vasco Da Gama by Nigel Cliff. It is indeed an epic and reads like a novel. Portugal, with a population of about a million set out to smash Islam, a continuation of the Iberian Reconquista. First conquered Ceuta in North Africa (today still belongs to Spain) and slowly followed the west African coast to cut off the Moorish gold supply. Eventually this led to the search for a Christian king, the Prester John of legend they thought they found in Ethiopia after rounding the Cape of Good Hope. But by then their attention became focused on India, to really stick it to Islam and get rich in the bargain.

It was war to the knife with the Islamic world and some incredible victories in India, the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. They were pretty merciless in battle, atrocities were common and the author is at times a bit more sympathetic to Islam than most of us are, but he does mention that this was a feature of the age by most combatants. Inspiration for Columbus and Spain to get in the act via a different route. Portugal with such a small population eventually couldn't sustain the enormous losses of sea travel and combat in this period.

Get this book, it's a great read and fascinating history.

Posted by: JHW at February 22, 2015 11:54 AM (w+zdY)

194 Hillbilly Slingshot


http://tinyurl.com/lklmwek


Just trying to bring some culture to the horde

Posted by: RWC - Coffee. Yes please. at February 22, 2015 11:55 AM (HKu0W)

195 All Hail Eris, his McCaffrey book covers do suck dragon eggs for their really poor portrayal of the dragons. His cover for Dragonquest of F'nor's brown dragon Canth really gives you this sea serpent vibe. But the female form he has pretty well dialed in judging by how he drew Lessa.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 11:55 AM (1RvOn)

196 NOOD

Posted by: Y-not at February 22, 2015 11:55 AM (9BRsg)

197 Actually, I saw just about everything from turn of the century up to the 70's, but nothing...nothing on this earth rivals the goofiness of the 60's and 70's.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at February 22, 2015 11:51 AM (FMbng)
---
I'm convinced that every adult, top down, was on drugs. Witness the AMC Pacer.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 11:56 AM (KH1sk)

198 183
Yep. Reading the wiki page now - sounds like a good story, and reviews are off the charts.

Posted by: shredded chi at February 22, 2015 11:57 AM (ghk1f)

199 (I remember listening to WZZK out of Birmingham where whole sides of albums were played with no commercials, in Alabama! of all places).

Yeah, and this is why these so-called "classic rock" stations suck: they only play the same songs. For example, the only 'Cream' you ever hear is either Sunshine of Your Love or White Room, and rarely do they play anything else.

The "Classic Rock" radio format is just top 40, only with a different playlist.

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 22, 2015 11:58 AM (bP980)

200 Piffle All Hail Eris, I offer Googie architecture which even permeated The Flintstones cartoon series.

http://www.spaceagecity.com/googie/

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 11:59 AM (1RvOn)

201 197 I'm convinced that every adult, top down, was on drugs. Witness the AMC Pacer.


Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 11:56 AM (KH1sk)
------------------------------
Ahhh, the Pacer ... When our family was in the market for a new car, my siblings and I begged our parents to get a Pacer. We weren't on drugs, but thought it was cool. Wisely, the folks said no.

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at February 22, 2015 12:00 PM (54JS6)

202 First of all:
Those edges each lead to lands called Borders,

Raciiiiist!

Secondly, I read many recommendations of GK Chesterton over the last few years here I finally got around to reading one: 'The Man Who Was Thursday".

My take: two zombie thumbs up from those dead movie guys. Definitely recommend.


Posted by: Guy Mohawk at February 22, 2015 12:00 PM (ODxAs)

203 Posted by: JTB at February 22, 2015 10:33 AM (FvdPb)

For a different take from Fraser look for "Quartered Safe Out Here" and mourn for the Empire!

Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 12:00 PM (ftVQq)

204 I just remembered something about the '70's - I was 16 or so and flipping through a Time magazine in the dentist's waiting room and came across an article about the photographer Helmut Newton. The story was accompanied by one of his photos - a naked model on all fours with a riding saddle on her back. This was Time magazine. Even with the popularity of 50 Shades, I can't imagine them printing that photo today - a million feminist heads would explode. Hell, I found it a disturbing photo, which is why I still remember it.

But Newton did have beatiful models. What strikes me is how unappealing much of the sexually explicit stuff in the 1970's was - at least for straight women. "The Joy of Sex" featured ugly and/or wimpy looking hippie men in their illustrations. And my sister actually had the terrible, evil "Our Bodies,Ourselves" by the Boston Women's Collective (ie Mary Cloggenstein and Co.) as a college textbook. (And my sister went to a Catholic women's college filled with feminist Sr. Mary Pantsuits.)

Good God, that book was dreadful. Full of photos of nude, hairy, ugly women "celebrating" their bodies - along with rants about evil men, the greatness of abortion, the badness of traditional motherhood and traditions in general. I remember one of the authors bragging that her diaperless toddler daughter had peed on the living room floor in front of guests because this showed that daughter didn't have hangups. I recall thinking "WTF? We're supposed to just go around peeing on the floor whenever we feel like it?"

Posted by: Donna &&&&&& V. (brandishing ampersands) at February 22, 2015 12:00 PM (+XMAD)

205 In those days, we an expression to denote extreme
disapproval of something: "aw, that's made in Japan." In other words, it
was cheap, poorly manufactured crap. That was indeed Japan's reputation
back then.


Posted by: Oregon Muse at February 22, 2015 11:52 AM


Are you maybe confusing the '70s with the '50s?

I owned my only three Japanese cars in the '70s (a pair of two-cylinder Hondas and a Mazda rotary) in the '70s, and they were actually of better quality than most of the American rides. In fact I wish I still had one of the Hondas....

Also bought my first French car in the '70s. You may laugh, but it was a very good little machine. Only the dealers and parts availability sucked.

Posted by: MrScribbler at February 22, 2015 12:00 PM (P8YHq)

206 Hey -- don't diss the Pacer! I looooved ours and it was the precursor of the minivan -- a safe people and junk hauler.

Posted by: Mustbequantum at February 22, 2015 12:00 PM (MIKMs)

207 chi it's good. enjoy

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 22, 2015 12:01 PM (Cq0oW)

208 Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 11:55 AM (1RvOn)
---
Anna, I had the Bantam covers which were highly ornate and beautiful, drawn by Elizabeth Malczynski. Best ever illustrator of Pern dragons, to my mind. Nostalgia!

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 12:01 PM (KH1sk)

209 Kudos to the person recommending, "Zen and Motorcycle Maintenance" here on a former book thread. Received and read recently.

Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at February 22, 2015 11:15 AM (dn5q9)

And another book goes on the rereading list!

Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 12:02 PM (ftVQq)

210 Michael Wheelan really could never get a good grasp on Pern dragons either.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 12:02 PM (1RvOn)

211 My buddy owned a AMC Pacer in 1990. On the one hand, he was driving. On the other hand, everybody knew where on the middle class spectrum he landed, and it wasn't toward the high end.

He ended up junking it when a mechanic put it up on a lift, showed him how rusted the chassis was, and explained to him that he was driving a deathtrap.

Posted by: Oschisms at February 22, 2015 12:03 PM (ZsN9X)

212 I do home remodeling for a living. A LOT of kitchens.
Sadly, most go for granite, but you'd be surprised how many people are going retro - google "vintage Formica" to see what choices are available. It's really amazing.

Posted by: shredded chi at February 22, 2015 11:54 AM (ghk1f)

My father and brother are still in the business. The stories they tell me. If I remember right, that white formica with the gold specs was continually available. I always saw it on the sample rings You also had that rose colored stuff with blue specs, and multi specs, and holy shit. In these parts the kitchen renovation styles seem to drift toward a much older period. You don't see any push for 60's and 70's stuff...yet.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at February 22, 2015 12:04 PM (FMbng)

213 I agree, but the latest 3 girls who have headed off
to become "jihadi brides" all come from Muslim families, judging by
their names. Wouldn't they ALREADY have structure in their lives? This
isn't Sally Slutwick of Upper Borstal who's tired of booze binging and
puking in the gutter every weekend, looking for "meaning" in her life. I
wonder what sort of conversations they heard at home - maybe their
families were among the "vast majority" of Muslims who don't actually DO
jihad, but behind closed doors express their admiration and support for
those heroic boys who do. Where else would they get a crazy idea like
this?

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at February 22, 2015 11:47 AM (VBbCO)


Maybe they come from families of "assimilated muslims" who live pretty much a secular Western lifestyle, and pay only enough lip service to islam to avoid being branded as apostates?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 22, 2015 12:05 PM (Jh0nR)

214 I would kill for an 83 AMC Eagle station wagon.
really. I want one badly.

Posted by: shredded chi at February 22, 2015 12:05 PM (ghk1f)

215 Right now on TCM is Forbidden Planet followed by 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 11:50 AM (1RvOn)


And then 2010, and then Close Encounters. It's all-day Sci-Fi-palooza. This evening, however, they switch genres and will show The Man Who Would be King, which I remember as being a good movie, although I haven't seen it in years.

Posted by: CQD at February 22, 2015 12:05 PM (2dzsA)

216 206 Hey -- don't diss the Pacer! I looooved ours and it was the precursor of the minivan -- a safe people and junk hauler.

Posted by: Mustbequantum at February 22, 2015 12:00 PM (MIKMs)
--------------------------
My '70's self just called from the yellow corded wall phone to say she's incredibly jealous and is stomping off to her room (white French provincial furniture and orange-flower wallpaper) to rant in her diary with the psychedelic cover and crappy lock.

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at February 22, 2015 12:06 PM (54JS6)

217 Toffler's "Future Shock" blew chunks.

Alan Moore's "Future Shocks" on the other hand . . .

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at February 22, 2015 12:07 PM (AVEe1)

218 176 I'd like to recommend David Hackett Fischer's "The Great Wave" for anyone who is wondering whether we should be more scared of inflation or deflation. He doesn't have an answer, but you'll certainly be more informed

Thanks for the tip. I recommend any and all of David Hackett Fischer's books. He seems to be one of the few academics who can write well and has a genuine love for and appreciation of the Founding Fathers. "Paul Revere's Ride" is a fine account of the Revolution.

Posted by: Donna &&&&&& V. (brandishing ampersands) at February 22, 2015 12:09 PM (+XMAD)

219 o rant in her diary with the psychedelic cover and crappy lock.
Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at February 22, 2015 12:06 PM (54JS6)

Ha! You had one of those too! Those locks were ridiculous.

Posted by: Donna &&&&&& V. (brandishing ampersands) at February 22, 2015 12:10 PM (+XMAD)

220 Are you maybe confusing the '70s with the '50s?

No, it was indeed the 70s, which was the time, as you observe, when Japanese manufacturing got its quality control issues resolved.

Perhaps it took some time for news of that to reach those of us in the hinterlands.

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 22, 2015 12:10 PM (bP980)

221 Finished listening to Larry Correia's Monster Hunter International, first of his monster hunter series (think he's up to #5 now). Prefer the great characters of the GrimNoir series but was excellent with an exciting conclusion.

Also listened to the novel Pronto by Elmore Leonard which features Raylan Givens and a bookie who is being squeezed by the police and the Mob. Raylan is a bit more of a hick in the book than on TV, and if you remember the first scene of the TV show, this ties into it. Very good story.

Finished reading Neuromancer by William Gibson, first of the Cyberpunk novels. I frequently had a hard time understanding what was going on, basically the main character Case is a hacker in the Matrix which is controlled by powerful AIs (sound familiar?). The writing is pretty amazing and the book was very entertaining.

Read Bloody Copper, Roaring Lead by R. D. Harless, author of They Tell Me I'm The Bad Guy, a fun superhero story. This book tells the story of a PI in 1920's Chicago sent on a job to the copper mines out West to track someone down. Fun read as he deals with all the trouble raining down on his head as tackles the mysteries around him.

Posted by: waelse1 at February 22, 2015 12:10 PM (0nPie)

222 Be warned, then. Fischer endorses price and wage controls, so he is a typical socialist in the solutions he reaches for, but the research is solid and the thesis is fascinating.

Posted by: Oschisms at February 22, 2015 12:11 PM (ZsN9X)

223 Posted by: waelse1 at February 22, 2015 12:10 PM (0nPie)

0nPie might be the best hash ever.

Posted by: Oschisms at February 22, 2015 12:14 PM (ZsN9X)

224 Just finished the two volume set of Robert Heinlein's biography.

I learned a lot. The first volume especially was an eye-opener.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at February 22, 2015 12:16 PM (u82oZ)

225 Just finished the two volume set of Robert Heinlein's biography.

I learned a lot. The first volume especially was an eye-opener.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at February 22, 2015 12:16 PM (u82oZ)
---
What did you learn, Salty Dog? I checked them both out but never had time to read them. Worth going back to the library?

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 12:17 PM (KH1sk)

226 Heh.
Mom had a sewer pipe failure on the bottom of her tri-level two years ago, so I got to tearing out carpet...

I found the zebra linoleum floor that I grew up with. Yes, the entire downstairs floor is covered in a hideous zebra pattern. It's still there, but nobody cares. Loser brother lives down there, so we never go down there (well, I walk through to let my doggie out back when I visit. Even the dog looks at that floor & thinks twice about walking on it)

Posted by: shredded chi at February 22, 2015 12:18 PM (ghk1f)

227 Been ages since I read Grumbles from the Grave on Heinlein.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 12:20 PM (1RvOn)

228 23 the guy that moves pianos for a living

JTB, I want to add my hosannahs about Byron Farwell.

He is a fun author to read, with great tales of a colorful subject.

The best IMHO

Queen Victoria s Little Wars
Mr. Kipling s Army
Armies of the Raj.

His book on the Gurkhas is good history, but a better one is

Bugles and a Tiger My Life in the Gurkhas by John Masters.


The odd format is because Pixy is giving me trouble.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at February 22, 2015 12:21 PM (u82oZ)

229 Posted by: shredded chi at February 22, 2015 12:18 PM (ghk1f)
---
I would totally rock the zebra linoleum. A couple hot pink flokati rugs, some crushed velvet curtains, and voila!, Den of Iniquity.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 12:22 PM (KH1sk)

230 64 How do corseted women even breathe?

You take small, shallow breaths.

I have a wonderful book, 1000 Dessous, that's a history of lingerie, and let me just say that, yeah, women have been doing allllll kinds of things to squeeze themselves into various and sundry shapes over the years.

I'm trying to remember who it was who noted at the height of the bullet bra phenomenon that she was getting ready in a dressing room and the women were all various shapes but, funnily enough, they all wore exactly the same bra.

Posted by: alexthechick - Ragebunny now with MAGIC Jazz Hands at February 22, 2015 10:05 AM (IrByp)

There is an interesting account by a modern woman who adopted corsetry and found it liberating. She liked how it improved her posture, unlike her bra which always pulled her shoulders forward into a slump. She liked the looks she got. Of course, she has been attacked by feminists.

"It definitely helps your posture. It helps with grace of movement because it reminds me to keep my back straight. People started asking me if I was a dancer, which I did not expect at all. I'd always considered myself quite clumsy. I would say I'm a lot more graceful now than before I started wearing the corset."

Most surprising of all (to me), she liked how it changed her relationship with food. Naturally tending toward plumpish, she was always hungry, ate only salads from the menu, obsessed over the lowest calorie dish. Once she could only eat half of what she had ordered, because of the corset and volume limitations, she could order anything she wanted, she could enjoy anything she ate, enjoy dinner out, enjoy meal-time conversation...

Victorian Secrets: What a Corset Taught Me about the Past, the Present, and Myself
http://www.amazon.com/Victorian-Secrets-Corset-Taught-Present-ebook/dp/B00E25AV3K/ref=sr_1_1_twi_1

Posted by: Old Toby at February 22, 2015 12:25 PM (WZQdF)

231 All wrapped in a Googie house All Hail Eris?

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 12:26 PM (1RvOn)

232 "But ultimately, the only way to refute Fukuyama is to come up with something better, a more just, fair and benevolent form of government and thus far, nobody ever has."

That't not necessarily true. If the "best" form of government can't protect/defend the nation/society, it is not really best or sustainable. Fukuyama's pronouncement was pre-mature - he assumed history ended with fall of USSR.

But 9/11 and Al-Queda / ISIS is ensuring a twist to the story, and our current "leaders" don't seem to be up to the task.

Posted by: Saxon at February 22, 2015 12:27 PM (WDySP)

233 "I agree, but the latest 3 girls who have headed off to become "jihadi
brides" all come from Muslim families, judging by their names."

"Maybe they come from families of "assimilated muslims" who live pretty much a secular Western lifestyle"

I'm not super familiar with the last three (because I don't care) but that was my impression. Some friend of theirs' brother went off to be a fighter in Syria and they were inspired. They lied to their actual families, who reported them to the authorities and want them back.

But there have been others, from the Balkans and Austria. France. Germany. It isn't an isolated or occasional phenomenon.

And even if they were all from practicing, observant Muslim families, I don't think that damages my conclusion. They live in hyper-liberal Western European societies where public nudity, homosexuality, drug use, and other practices at total odds with Islam are not merely tolerated but condoned or even encouraged. They are deliberately going to a harsh place where a much more rigid structure is promised. That God will smile on them for doing so is just icing on the cake.

Posted by: Df82 at February 22, 2015 12:28 PM (Tndz+)

234 "a better one is Bugles and a Tiger My Life in the Gurkhas by John Masters."

Seconded.

Posted by: torquewrench at February 22, 2015 12:29 PM (noWW6)

235 For the record, the corset stuff is nonsense. Working women wore corsets too and they didn't lace them that heavily. Corsets are making an underground comeback. (I saw one design on Amazon with 111 reviews). I think women, especially new mothers, are tired of trying to exercise themselves back into shape. Foundations Revealed has a lot of historical info on corsets and other garments.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 22, 2015 12:29 PM (Lqy/e)

236 I would totally rock the zebra linoleum. A couple hot pink flokati rugs, some crushed velvet curtains, and voila!, Den of Iniquity.
Posted by: All Hail Eris
-------------------------
Yeah. Couple that floor with the BRIGHT orange walls I found under the paneling in the living room a few years back - I realize now that my folks were pretty "happening" back then.

They used to have weekend "get-togethers" when I was a kid. Shit. They were fuckin' liquor fueled '70's parties, complete with sending me to bed early - "chi sounds like he has a sore throat. Make him a hot toddy!"

Posted by: shredded chi at February 22, 2015 12:32 PM (ghk1f)

237 "What Pet Should I Get" sounds like an instant Seuss classic. I can just imagine the various fanciful creatures and their descriptions.

Posted by: rickl at February 22, 2015 12:32 PM (sdi6R)

238 Googie is the bomb, Anna! Fitting for an Atomic Age aesthetic. I love Googie unashamedly and unironically.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 12:34 PM (KH1sk)

239 I bought the Kindle edition of Coolidge. Thanks for the tip!

Posted by: rickl at February 22, 2015 12:38 PM (sdi6R)

240 Googie house, Googie doghouse, Googie garage, and a Googie pool? With a few strategic plastic pink flamingos?

Both the Powerball and Mega Millions rolled.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 12:40 PM (1RvOn)

241
I think many of the authors of those 70s books were afflicted by the "Sure, Why Not?" virus when it came to choosing the book cover...

How about a guy as a car with a flaming eagle perched on him? Sure, why not!

How about an otherworldly female with two planets as her boobs? Sure, why not!

Speaking of the planets as boobs cover, isn't that John Brunner of Stand on Zanzibar fame?

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars(TM) at February 22, 2015 12:41 PM (bWFHa)

242 225 All Hail Eris

The book sets Heinlein's life in context with the wider society. The coverage of his upbringing was extensive, as was his quest to get into a military academy.

The description of the 1920's USNA and how this worked on his character was well done. A plus was the focus on his time in USS Lexington (CV-2), with CAPT Ernest King as his CO.
Heinlein's comments on CAPT King were incorporated in a biography of FADM King I had read, but that biography was not as insightful as Heinlein's biography.

One of the biggest surprises was his close encounters with the art community, during his time living in Greenwich Village ! and near Hollywood.

Other surprises:
All of his medical troubles, not just tuberculosis.

His lifestyle choices are detailed.

He was absolutely a stereotypical Naval Aviator type ashore, even if he was a black shoe, and only a LT(jg) when he was medically retired. I had more sea time than he did, and a higher rank - which was surprising.

His political campaigning and his political evolution from hard-core socialist to Reagan Republican was also a surprise.

A lot of focus on his writing, and where it all came from was great. This helped me understand the Early Heinlein and the Late Heinlein difference.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at February 22, 2015 12:42 PM (u82oZ)

243 An aircraft carrier in the 1930s must have seemed pretty futuristic.

(I've mentioned before that my dad also served aboard the Lex, but that was after Heinlein's time there.)

Posted by: rickl at February 22, 2015 12:47 PM (sdi6R)

244 201
Ahhh, the Pacer ... When our family was in the market for a new car,
my siblings and I begged our parents to get a Pacer. We weren't on
drugs, but thought it was cool. Wisely, the folks said no.


I was living in Germany at the time. The Germans called it "Moon Car".

Posted by: Anachronda at February 22, 2015 12:49 PM (o78gS)

245 230 Old Toby

"How to be a Victorian: a dawn-to-dusk guide to Victorian life" by Ruth Goodman has a lot to say about corsets, as well as being a great guide to a long-lost culture.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at February 22, 2015 12:49 PM (u82oZ)

246
Corsets are making an underground comeback.

My idiotic DiL is a big fan of them because she can't stop stuffing food down her piehole.

Her mother is, too, based on the dress that she wore to the wedding three years ago. With roll upon roll of backfat spilling over the strapless top, she looked like a hideously overstuffed bag of cake icing.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars(TM) at February 22, 2015 12:51 PM (bWFHa)

247 243 rickl

Absolutely. The USS Lexington (CV-2) was the most modern ship in the fleet, and it's electric motor drive was decades ahead of it's time. Plus, ENS Heinlein was in communications and fire-control -- both very SFnal at that time.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at February 22, 2015 12:53 PM (u82oZ)

248 Thanks NaCly. I had no idea he served under King! I will definitely check it back out.

I began my Heinlein reading years ago, starting with his later, groovier, polyamorous stuff, plus his libertarian classic The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. It's only recently that I read his early works, especially his juveniles.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 12:54 PM (KH1sk)

249 Podakyne of Mars perchance?

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 12:56 PM (1RvOn)

250 Send every single one of them to Massachusetts or San Francisco.

Posted by: Richard McEnroe at February 22, 2015 12:57 PM (XO6WW)

251 Compared to the ex-USS Jupiter, USS Langley, Lex and Sara were truly floating palaces. Covered wagon compared to converted battlecruiser.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 12:59 PM (1RvOn)

252 Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 12:56 PM (1RvOn)
--
Oops, I think Podkayne is the only one I haven't read. Rocket Ship Galileo, Tunnel in the Sly, Space Cadet, and Starman Jones off the top of my head.

Rocket Ship Galileo has my fave sci-fi trope -- Nazis on the Moon!

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 01:00 PM (KH1sk)

253 Michael Avallone-- apparently there was nothing that man could not write. Certainly there was no contract he would turn down.

Posted by: Richard McEnroe at February 22, 2015 01:00 PM (XO6WW)

254 ("Starship Intercourse"? really?)

-
To cum where no man has cum before.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at February 22, 2015 01:01 PM (E7S0Y)

255 You do know who would have a hard time on the Moon All Hail Eris?

Werewolves.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 01:03 PM (1RvOn)

256 A lot of focus on his writing, and where it all came
from was great. This helped me understand the Early Heinlein and the
Late Heinlein difference.



Posted by: NaCly Dog at February 22, 2015 12:42 PM (u82oZ)

I got halfway through Book 1 and while I found it fascinating and intend to finish (probably both books), it was a bit slow for me at least. Based on your comments, I think I stopped right before a lot more formative stuff happened, so it goes back in the active reading pile (which is becoming dangerously high)!

Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 01:06 PM (ftVQq)

257 Bugles and a Tiger My Life in the Gurkhas by John Masters.

The odd format is because Pixy is giving me trouble.
Posted by: NaCly Dog
-------------

I can strongly recommend all of Master's novels, but most of all, the autobiography trilogy, 'Bugles and a Tiger', 'The Road Past Mandalay', and 'Pilgram Son'

There is a terrible moment in 'The Road Past Mandalay' where Masters' (in his command) troops are surrounded by Jap troops behind enemy lines, and they have only the option of certain capture or leaving behind their wounded to be tortured by the Japs.

Of the *novels*, I thoiught 'The Night Runners of Bengal' to be the best, though 'Bhowani Junction' was made into a movie. They are all historical in nature, and consequent of his own personal experiences.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc.,etc. at February 22, 2015 01:10 PM (l1zOH)

258 Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 01:00 PM (KH1sk)

Yo Eris, I just ordered "RS Galileo" for grandson #1, hope I done good. My intent, if he gets into RAH, is to order every one I can find of his early stuff!

Later, I will give him my dog-eared copy of MIAHM if he proves worthy!

Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 01:10 PM (ftVQq)

259 248 All Hail Eris

You are welcome.

I recommend "Double Star", Have Spacesuit will Travel" and "Beyond this Horizon".

Posted by: NaCly Dog at February 22, 2015 01:10 PM (u82oZ)

260 Later, I will give him my dog-eared copy of MIAHM if he proves worthy!
Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 01:10 PM (ftVQq)
---
With you guiding him, how can he not?

Still teaching slide rules and other arcane knowledge?

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 01:13 PM (KH1sk)

261 257 Mike Hammer

Yes, The Road Past Mandalay is an eye-opener. As commander asking for the best person you had to stop an attack, knowing that you have doomed that officer to death, must be very tough. A posthumous VC is not a recompense.

"Bhowani Junction" is a great book about the Anglo-Indians, the partition of India, and the divided loyalties of the Regimental CO. And a smoking hot femme fatale.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at February 22, 2015 01:16 PM (u82oZ)

262 Femme fatale of Bhowani Junction was played by Ava Gardner with Stuart Granger. Win all around.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 01:19 PM (1RvOn)

263 I'm not a writer, but I sure wouldn't title a book "The End of History". Not with a straight face, anyway.

It's sort of reminiscent of "God Himself could not sink this ship". I wouldn't have said that, either.

Posted by: rickl at February 22, 2015 01:19 PM (sdi6R)

264 257 Mike Hammer

The biography of John Masters is very difficulty to get, even with ILL. The price on Amazon is astonishing.

Max Hastings' book "Warriors: Exceptional Tales from the Battlefield" (2005) has an insightful chapter on John Masters.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at February 22, 2015 01:21 PM (u82oZ)

265 Still teaching slide rules and other arcane knowledge?



Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 01:13 PM (KH1sk)

Hopefully the three, soon to be four, grasshoppers will pick up a bit of the old wisdom before they need it. This summer there will be extended zen lessons in: set the log upright, split the log, stack the pieces, set the log upright...
Interesting bit of Heinleinia I remember from one of his books (hope I remember it correctly), namely that he and his wife were busy working out moon landing rocket trajectories using pencils, paper torn from a roll of butcher paper, and slide rules, so don't knock my double precision K and E.

Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 01:22 PM (ftVQq)

266 I cannot fathom how Pixy keeps this site at all functional with what seem to be totally random variable formatting rules! I think three spaces always works and I slipped and used just two. But I swear that most of the time two works for me.

Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 01:25 PM (ftVQq)

267 265 Hrothgar

Orbits. In "Space Cadet". Three days of work (they used log tables, paper torn from a roll of butcher paper and a slide rule) for one throwaway line.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at February 22, 2015 01:25 PM (u82oZ)

268 If you got to the bottom of the page of the "bad 70s book covers" link, there is another link to a 1938 issue of Homes and Gardens magazine where they visit Hitler's chateau in the Alps.

Posted by: rickl at February 22, 2015 01:29 PM (sdi6R)

269 Posted by: NaCly Dog at February 22, 2015 01:25 PM (u82oZ)

I think you nailed it, and dayum, how could I forget log tables. A lot of work so the tiny detail would be right, that's RAH. I need to make sure I add "Space Cadet" to the procurement list

Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 01:30 PM (ftVQq)

270 Sounds like a lot of fun, Hrothgar. Enjoy!

Posted by: NaCly Dog at February 22, 2015 01:33 PM (u82oZ)

271 This is why most current science fiction is pure pablum. The writers don't care enough to get the girders that underpin their story correct.

As in "Well since the quantum state of the solar aether is in flux..."

Crud now I have to fit that line into something I am writing, its just too deliciously good as bad writing.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 22, 2015 01:34 PM (1RvOn)

272 Posted by: NaCly Dog at February 22, 2015 01:33 PM (u82oZ)
Thanks for the tips on his memoir and the Space Cadet one as well. I think the grand-kids will enjoy these as much as I did once upon a time in a land so very far away!

Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 01:35 PM (ftVQq)

273 Thanks to all for the mention of books by John Masters and Byron Farwell. The search will begin soon.

Heinlein: Don't forget "The Rolling Stones". (It predates the rock band.) It was the first of his books I read and remained one of my favorites. That was third or fourth grade and by junior high I had read everything by Heinlein to that point. Stranger In A Strange Land was an eye opener to a seventh grader.

Posted by: JTB at February 22, 2015 01:38 PM (FvdPb)

274 #13

The Hamilton books might not get published in the US today but he wouldn't be in any trouble for the foreign editions. All of the models were of age in the countries where the photos were shot. (Consider Nastassja Kinski's early career.) Also, they aren't as young as they look. Hamilton had a talent for finding young women who were late bloomers or just looked much younger. Hollywood does this every day when casting for kid shows, as it is easier to get a ten year old playing an eight year old to memorize a script. Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel are full of girls with driver's licenses playing junior high jailbait.

Posted by: Epobirs at February 22, 2015 01:42 PM (IdCqF)

275 don't knock my double precision K and E.
Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 01:22 PM (ftVQq)
--
Knock it? I praise it!

Make the 'hoppers hand-tooled leather holsters. Begun, the Nerd Wars have!

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 01:46 PM (KH1sk)

276 (Oops. Meant to send this earlier. Good thing the Book Thread is not time-sensitive like open threads. )

Df82: "I have come to the conclusion that women need structure because, without it, they self-destruct. How else could it be for people who make serious decisions based on their emotions?"

I read Df82's comment to my daughter. She didn't object. In fact, she added, with our feminized society, we have a lot of men who have the same problem of overly emotionally influenced decisions. Thought that was pretty insightful.

...

Instead of strong men like M Thatcher, we get weak gals like B Hussein.

Posted by: mindful webworker - dadperson at February 22, 2015 01:50 PM (EUw/L)

277 **spinning the rack of bad paperback books**

Check out these other fab reads (some NSFW):

http://www.vintagepbks.com/covers_by_genre.html

Satan Was a Lesbian!

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 01:50 PM (KH1sk)

278 I hope the grand kids enjoy the Heinlein juveniles as much as I did. If possible, show them how to use a slide rule, including some of the more advanced functions, and log tables. Give them an idea of what was accomplished without batteries and computers. They might just be intrigued by playing with a slide rule. I still have mine and used it when I took my General level ham radio test.

Posted by: JTB at February 22, 2015 01:55 PM (FvdPb)

279 #131

It depends. Some of the stuff in that movie that bored me in the theater in 1983 are now the highlights of the movie. Especially 'The Crimson Permanent Assurance.' What appealed to me at 19 is different from what appeals to me at 50.

Although the topless girls chasing Graham Chapman to his death in slow motion still works for me. Just like watching the 'Blurred Lines' video with the audio muted.

Posted by: Epobirs at February 22, 2015 02:05 PM (IdCqF)

280 Instead of strong men like M Thatcher, we get weak gals like B Hussein.

Posted by: mindful webworker - dadperson at February 22, 2015 01:50 PM (EUw/L)


Sheer Poetry!

Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 02:23 PM (ftVQq)

281 Make the 'hoppers hand-tooled hobo leather holsters. Begun, the Nerd Wars have!



Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 22, 2015 01:46 PM (KH1sk)

Posted by: Hrothgar at February 22, 2015 02:24 PM (ftVQq)

282 #191

The premise that the Native Americans failed to develop further before Europeans showed being due to the lack of horse always struck me as bull, so to speak.

Posted by: Epobirs at February 22, 2015 02:34 PM (IdCqF)

283 It's sort of reminiscent of "God Himself could not sink this ship".

They couldn't hit a @#$% ELEPHANT at this d

Posted by: John Sedgwick at February 22, 2015 02:42 PM (AVEe1)

284 Not a Diamond fan. His books are a lightly encrypted version of leftist cant and excuse-making for Africa as having been deprived of various plants, animals, and other natural resources, while ignoring - and therefore utterly failing - to address the success of, e.g., Japan, which doesn't have squat.

Diamond would say that Japan was close enough to China to take on some lessons.

Diamond's thesis works pretty well in explaining the Old World versus the New World (and we can throw in the Indonesia and New Guinea as being like the New World). He is, yes, entirely useless on explaining Africa and Australia.

Anyway, now we got Peter Watson's "The Great Divide", so we may safely consign Diamond's books to the bin.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at February 22, 2015 02:47 PM (AVEe1)

285 NaCly - This is a late post, but if you happen to look here again, ABE has a couple of paperbacks of 'The Road Past Mandalay" $1.00..., and free shipping!
http://tinyurl.com/pqc2vqs

Also, several copies of 'Bugles and a Tiger, My Life in the Gurkhas', for around $8.00, again free shipping :

http://tinyurl.com/m5s5nt6

Posted by: Barky at February 22, 2015 10:38 PM (l1zOH)

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