Sunday Morning Book Thread 07-05-2015: The Course of Human Events [OregonMuse]

reading-the-declaration-of-independence-to-the-troops.jpg

"We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident, That Everyone Is Entitled To Elect Their Own Profligate And Irresponsibile Leaders, A Lifetime Of Free S*%# From The Government, The Destruction of Traditional Morality, And Compulsory Gay Marriage For All."

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

Book thread TRIGGER WARNINGS for holding these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Also, that George Takei is a perfect example of what happens when you scratch a progressive and, hey looky there, a racist pops out.

Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.
-Frederick Douglass

Not many people knew this better than Douglass did. From his wikipedia page:

When Douglass was about twelve years old, Hugh Auld's wife Sophia started teaching him the alphabet, although Maryland state law prohibited teaching slaves to read...When Hugh Auld discovered her activity, he strongly disapproved, saying that if a slave learned to read, he would become dissatisfied with his condition and desire freedom...One day Mrs. Auld saw Douglass reading a newspaper; she ran over and snatched it from him, with her face showing that education and slavery were incompatible with each other.

What we take for granted, Douglass had to fight for.

Of education being incompatible with slavery there can be no doubt. After all, an educated man might ask the question, why do I have to wear these chains? History teaches that an ignorant populace is the breeding ground for tyranny and despotism. Did you think Billy Ayres doesn't know this?

Exceptional Americans

There is no question that Douglass was a remarkable man and our country is better for him having lived in it. Blogger Don Surber, last seen on the ONT explaining how the British dissing of Ben Franklin to his face was a factor in the colonies subsequent decision to take up arms against England, has written a book of biographical sketches of some other, not as well-known, remarkable Americans, Exceptional Americans: 50 People You Need To Know. Surber's book

tells the stories of 50 less-than-famous people who -- given the opportunities that our great nation provides -- made their country and indeed, the world, better. From Anne Hutchinson's stand for freedom of religion, which helped establish Rhode Island, to Norman Borlaug's rise from a farm boy to a Nobel laureate, whose improvements to wheat have saved a billion lives, Americans have made the world better. Most of the people profiled are little known today, but their names should be sung from sea to shining sea. This book is a tribute to only a few of the millions of Americans who have made the USA the greatest land of all.

The Kindle edition is available for $2.99.

And while I was looking at that book, Amazon showed me this YA book, Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal.

Sitting tall in the saddle, with a wide-brimmed black hat and twin Colt pistols on his belt, Bass Reeves seemed bigger than life. Outlaws feared him. Law-abiding citizens respected him. As a peace officer, he was cunning and fearless. When a lawbreaker heard Bass Reeves had his warrant, he knew it was the end of the trail, because Bass always got his man, dead or alive...He made more than 3,000 arrests, and though he was a crack shot and a quick draw, he only killed fourteen men in the line of duty. The story of Bass Reeves is the story of a remarkable African American and a remarkable hero of the Old West.

So here's someone who spent his entire life running around, arresting and shooting people. I suppose it would be churlish of me to point out that if he were white, he'd be condemned as a racist oppressor.

But carping aside, Reeves sounds like a complete badass. AMC should make a TV series about him.

An Unlikely Story

In light of the recent SCOTUS Obergefell v. Hodges decision, I offer this:

Rosaria Butterfield used to be a tenured professor of English and Women's Studies at Syracuse University. A self-described "leftist lesbian professor", she and her partner were active in many progressive causes.

She despised Christians.

Then, she became one.

Then, her conversion story she wrote for Christianity Today magazine went viral.

Then, she wrote a book about it, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert.

She does not like gay "reparative " or "conversion" therapy where they try to make a homosexual heterosexual. Even though she herself is now married (to a man (who has always been a man)) and is a homeschooling mom, she thinks that celibacy is the better choice for homosexuals who wish to follow Christ, which has the advantage of being a long-standing Christian tradition, from its earliest days.

A more "filled-out" version of Butterfield's testimony, one which I like a little better, can be found in one of her other articles, Engaging Gay Activists on Campus: A Primer.

She's also written a follow-up book, Openness Unhindered, which was just released on July 1st.

Butterfield's response to the Obergefell decision is quite good, and the accompanying graphic (go to the main page and scroll down a bit to see it) is brilliant.

And, this being the book thread and all, she's got a good article on reading, written for a Christian audience, You Are What - and How - You Read.

New Old Pournelle Series Now Available on Kindle

Back in the 80s, science fiction author Jerry Pournelle edited a multi-volume series of stories and articles focusing on various aspects of war, called, appropriately enough, There Will Be War. I believe there were 9 in the series. The first two are available on Kindle, and presumably the others will be forthcoming. The first volume contains the classic western short story Spanish Man's Grave by James Warner Bellah and also the original Enders Game (before Card expanded it into a full-length novel).

Volume 2 has also been released. I have not seen Volume 3 as of yet.

Fun Fact: The person chiefly responsible for converting Pournelle's TWBW series to e-book format is none other than veteran moron commenter epobirs, who is listed as the technical editor. Maybe he could fill us in on the release dates of the other books in the series.

While I was getting information on Pournelle's book, here's another one that Amazon waved in my face, and it might be of interest for a number of you on this Smart Military Blog, A History of Strategy: From Sun Tzu to William S. Lind, by Martin Von Creveld, and with a forward by Jerry Pournelle, which

...begins with the Chinese military literature, then reviews the Greek, Roman and Byzantine works before proceeding to the Middle Ages. From Machiavelli and Montecuccoli to Guibert and Frederick the Great, van Creveld chronicles the gradual transition from medieval to Napoleonic warfare. Subsequent chapters delve into the literature of naval warfare, including Mahan and Corbett, then examine the works of the leading strategists of the early 20th century, including Moltke, Liddell Hart, and Ludendorff. The final chapter considers the modern strategists behind such concepts as Mutually Assured Destruction, terrorism, insurgency, and 4th Generation War.

At 116 pages, it's a lot shorter than I thought such a wide-ranging survey would be. I don't know if that's good or bad. It's $4.99 on Kindle.

The Origin of Pulp

Here is a lengthy New Yorker piece on the origin and history of paperback books, based on the book American Pulp: How Paperbacks Brought Modernism to Main Street by Paula Rabinowitz.

And if you get tired of reading such a long article, there are a couple of cartoons on the page that you can use to play the game ace mentioned awhile back where you discard the original cartoon caption and replace it with "I think I'm going to kill myself", and see that it still works.

For Those Of You Who Just Can't Get Enough 50 Shades - Now, There's More

Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian by E L James has just been released.

And, guess what happened?

The new book "Grey" by E.L. James -- which tells her "Fifty Shades" story from Christian Grey's point of view -- has topped 1 million in sales in just four days.

Publisher Vintage Anchor announced the news Monday. Tallying print, audiobooks and e-books together, "Grey" has sold more than 1.1 million copies.

I wonder if it's any good? Hint: no. This NY Times review says, hell no. Or, you can read this, The 10 Very Best Lines From The New York Times Book Review Of "Grey"

Moron Recommendations

In the mood for a little horror reading? Lurking moron Christopher wants me to tell you all about his author friend's books. The eponymous main character of the first one, Teddy, has an unusual problem:

Teddy Dormer lives with a condition unlike any other: in order to sleep, he must not only inadvertently steal the ability for others around him to sleep, but he also experiences their worst nightmares, memories, and darkest secrets. This is a condition he has lived with his entire life, often with dire consequences, but he has a system that works for him. Teddy lives on the road, perpetually moving from place to place, never subjecting his presence on the same population for longer than a single night.

But then, of course, Something Happens, and everything goes to smash.

Christopher also tells me that Michael Anderson's second novel, Wake is

one of the creepiest things I've read in a long time and that's saying something because very little creeps me out these days. It's another Teddy Dormer story, but far darker. I'm only about halfway through the book, and it's one of the weirdest things I've read involving a whole host of dark stuff like demon kids, school shootings, Japanese ghosts, and viral contagions spread through radio and television signals. And Michael promised me it gets weirder.

Sleep tight, kiddies. Don't let the bedbugs bite. (Insert Cryptkeeper laugh).

___________

Heard from another lurker, Michael Kennedy, an actual 'MD' doctor, who has a couple of books out, the first being A Brief History of Disease, Science and Medicine. This is a college-level

...introduction to the history of medicine [which] begins with the evolution of infectious diseases at the end of the last ice age. It describes the origin of science and medicine in ancient civilizations, including China and India. The first third of the book covers the early period that is considered the "classical" history of medicine. The remainder describes the evolution of modern medicine and surgery up to the present. The final chapter is a history of medical economics and explains the origin of health insurance, HMOs and medical malpractice lawsuits, subjects explained nowhere else in the medical school curriculum.

Dr. Kennedy has also written a personal memoir, available on Kindle, War Stories: 50 Years in Medicine.

A memoir of a medical career of 50 years. The memoir is chiefly about patients and their stories. What we did then and what we know now.

I'll bet he's seen a lot in 50 years.

___________

Now who doesn't like compost? Certainly lurking moron David the Good from last week's gardening thread does. Heck, he even wrote a book about it, Compost Everything: The Good Guide to Extreme Composting. David says:

It has really been a good seller thus far, mostly because it tosses out all the hard work and restrictive rules on composting. After years of experimentation with Native American methods and various other techniques, that book almost wrote itself. And it's funny, which is more than one can say about Ag Extension composting guidelines.

If there's a lazy way to do it, you know most morons will like it.

Thanks to moronette Tammy al-Thor for passing this along.

___________

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 08:57 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Somebody needs to slap the shit out of Bruce Jenner for his statements on freedom. What a loon.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 05, 2015 09:00 AM (iQIUe)

2 I wonder if the taxpayer has to foot Mooch's wig bills, too.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 05, 2015 09:01 AM (iQIUe)

3 Currently re-reading the Hot Gate series by John Ringo on the Kindle. Great series.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at July 05, 2015 09:05 AM (GpgJl)

4 Got nothin' to say on this here Articulate, High-Class Book Thread. I found a large-ish stack of Perry Mason books at the Book Barn this week, and have been immersing myself in low-class fiction.

All those years of my yoot when the parents watched Raymond Burr et. al. playing out the stories on teh teevee have left indelible images of Mason, Della, Paul Drake, Lt. Tragg, DA "Ham" Burger. It's like running 'em all in my head once again!

I'll probably revert to "good" books in a week or two....

Posted by: MrScribbler at July 05, 2015 09:07 AM (P8YHq)

5

I read Ace's reading assignment this morning.

Poe's, The Fall of the House of Usher.

Gloomy as the first time I read it, although, I have to admit it didn't have the same impact as when I was younger. Maybe I'm more calloused now.

Now back to sci-fi, to which my heart belongs.

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at July 05, 2015 09:09 AM (qCMvj)

6 The Ender's Game short story is all he needed to write.None of the guilt about destroying a race,bring it back etc.Just a good quick read with a twist ending.I own a copy of There Will Be War volume 1.

Posted by: steevy at July 05, 2015 09:09 AM (sPO3u)

7

Rosaria Butterfield used to be a tenured professor of English and
Women's Studies at Syracuse University. A self-described "leftist
lesbian professor", she and her partner were active in many progressive
causes.

She despised Christians.

Then, she became one.
Even though she herself is now married (to a man (who has always been a man)) and is a homeschooling mom

Woah, hold it a minute. I thought they were born that way just like being white or black. Now she's straight and married to a guy. Next we'll find out that men and women are really born that way and we can't choose what sex (screw that gender shit) we are like a shirt to wear.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at July 05, 2015 09:12 AM (DiZBp)

8

btw, this may be the whole text of the Poe piece.

https://www.englishclub.com/reading/story-house-of-usher.htm

I did not compare to my hard copy. I should have assumed it was wholly online somewhere.

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at July 05, 2015 09:12 AM (qCMvj)

9 Sorry. Didnt see that this was the book thread.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 05, 2015 09:13 AM (iQIUe)

10 Good morning, smart people.

I haven't been reading much lately, but I have a small stack beside me for this week. Call Of The Wild, an old favorite The Education Of Little Tree, and my 1926 copy of Poe's works so I can read Fall Of The House Of Usher...

The Poe book was part of grandpa's collection. An entire "Walter J Black" series of books that includes every old classic you can imagine.
Kinda cool to make use of these things again.

Posted by: Chi at July 05, 2015 09:13 AM (F0Qf/)

11 I have a one volume complete works of Poe somewhere...

Posted by: steevy at July 05, 2015 09:15 AM (sPO3u)

12 In high school, I had one crappy history teacher and two mediocre ones (as opposed to my english, science and math teachers, who were awesome). As a result, I hated history classes and did not take any history in college at all.

On the other hand, I loved Noel B Gerson's historical fictions. He wrote "biographies" of prominent colonial and Revolutionary War figures.

I got a lot of history from him that the mediocrities did not teach.

I just "googled" him on Wikipedia, and it says he wrote 325 books with a variety of pen names.

He was also a member of the "greatest generation."

Personal hero.

Posted by: LochLomondFarms at July 05, 2015 09:16 AM (mDd/3)

13 In high school, I had one crappy history teacher and two mediocre ones (as opposed to my english, science and math teachers, who were awesome). As a result, I hated history classes and did not take any history in college at all.

On the other hand, I loved Noel B Gerson's historical fictions. He wrote "biographies" of prominent colonial and Revolutionary War figures.

I got a lot of history from him that the mediocrities did not teach.

I just "googled" him on Wikipedia, and it says he wrote 325 books with a variety of pen names.

He was also a member of the "greatest generation."

Personal hero.

Posted by: LochLomondFarms at July 05, 2015 09:16 AM (mDd/3)

14 Reading the "Fully Restored Edition" of Agatha Christie's first Poirot book "The Mysterious Affair at Styles." Also includes Inspector Japp and the narrator is Hastings. Christie had "it" right from the start.

She originally wrote Poirot's exposition scene as a courtroom scene, rather than the now-standard scene where all the principals gather in the home where the crime occurred. This edition includes both. Haven't got that far.

Somehow I hear David Suchet in my inner ear whenever I read Poirot's lines. His portrayal is brilliant.

Posted by: doug at July 05, 2015 09:17 AM (09LiA)

15 The Poe book was part of grandpa's collection. An entire "Walter J Black" series of books that includes every old classic you can imagine.
Kinda cool to make use of these things again.
Posted by: Chi at July 05, 2015 09:13 AM (F0Qf/)

Yes, it is.

I am wondering if all of our copies are a bit different as they are reprinted at varying times, in varying collections.

Mine is in The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction I had on my shelf. What a great anthology of short fiction. I had forgotten all about it.

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at July 05, 2015 09:18 AM (qCMvj)

16 The oldest president to assume office:
Harry Reid would be 77.1 years of age, Jan 20, 2017
Nancy Pelosi would be 76.8 years of age, Jan 20, 2017
Bernie Sanders would be 75.35 years of age, Jan 20, 2017
Joe Biden would be 74.16 years of age, Jan 20, 2017
John Kerry would be 73.1 years of age, Jan 20, 2017
1) Ronald Reagan was 69.95 years of age, Jan 20, 1981
Hillary Clinton would be 69.3 years of age, Jan 20, 2017
2) William Henry Harrison was 68.06 years of age, March 4, 1841
Elizabeth Warren would be 67.6 years of age, Jan 20, 2017
3) James Buchanan was 65.86 yeas of age, March 4, 1857

Posted by: Islamic Rage Boy at July 05, 2015 09:19 AM (e8kgV)

17 Somebody needs to tell Denzel about Bass Reeves

Posted by: Art Mullen at July 05, 2015 09:19 AM (jgFVL)

18 14 When I read a Sherlock Holmes story I still picture him as played by Jeremy Brett.

Posted by: steevy at July 05, 2015 09:19 AM (sPO3u)

19 Question for any amateur radio types that hang out here: What QRP book do you recommend?

(FYI: QRP is operating with very low power.)

Posted by: doug at July 05, 2015 09:19 AM (09LiA)

20 Somehow I hear David Suchet in my inner ear whenever I read Poirot's lines. His portrayal is brilliant.
Posted by: doug at July 05, 2015 09:17 AM (09LiA)

A great idea to read these.

I'm a fan of the tv series, but I haven't gotten through all of the episodes yet. There are so many, and we watch them age over time.

It's good to hear the portrayal is similar to the author's intention.

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at July 05, 2015 09:20 AM (qCMvj)

21 History Channel has a show Gunslingers,pretty sure Bass Reeves is going to be featured.

Posted by: steevy at July 05, 2015 09:20 AM (sPO3u)

22 We're supposed to have finished the Fall of The House of Usher by this Friday right? I downloaded it but I have been working on other stuff.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at July 05, 2015 09:20 AM (GpgJl)

23 We're supposed to have finished the Fall of The House of Usher by this Friday right? I downloaded it but I have been working on other stuff.
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at July 05, 2015 09:20 AM (GpgJl)

yea, next weekend I think

I will probably forget a lot over one week! But, I jotted down a few notes of interest to remind me next weekend.

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at July 05, 2015 09:21 AM (qCMvj)

24 @18 Definitely my favorite Holmes! Shame he died so young. Not to take away from many other excellent Holmes like Cumberbatch...

Jonny Lee Miller (CBS' Sherlock) is the worst. Lucy Liu is the only thing that makes it watchable.

Posted by: doug at July 05, 2015 09:24 AM (09LiA)

25 g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at July 05, 2015 09:24 AM (KCxzN)

26 Listened to The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicle #1) by Patrick Rothfuss after having read it a couple of years ago to prep for book two, and still a terrific fantasy. Hope the series continues to be as good.

Read The Three-Body Problem (Three-Body #1) by Liu Cixin, translated from Chinese last year and up for the Hugo award for best novel. It has some interesting math and science in it, tells an interesting story about a female Chinese engineer who builds up an antagonism for other people and does some bad things. It ends in such a way the rest of the trilogy could be good. It's a bit flat to read for me but I liked it, though don't think it deserves best novel, which I would give to either Kevin Anderson's The Dark Between The Stars or Jim Butcher's Skin Game (Dresden Files #15).

Posted by: waelse1 at July 05, 2015 09:27 AM (oAK6v)

27 20 Somehow I hear David Suchet in my inner ear whenever I read Poirot's lines. His portrayal is brilliant.
Posted by: doug at July 05, 2015 09:17 AM (09LiA)

A great idea to read these.

I'm a fan of the tv series, but I haven't gotten through all of the episodes yet. There are so many, and we watch them age over time.

It's good to hear the portrayal is similar to the author's intention.
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at July 05, 2015 09:20 AM (qCMvj)

==========
Suchet is great. The later episodes are of movie quality.

Suchet is also a Christian and has written and appeared in several documentaries, e.g., on the Life of St. Paul and the Life of St Peter which are pretty good.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 05, 2015 09:27 AM (iQIUe)

28 Chrissy Teigen cares! At the end of a long holiday weekend, especially if you spend any part of it on I-95, everyone is a little worn out so it's helpful to get some schooling on "how to ask questions of a woman".

https://instagram.com/p/4KsJexpjQj/

Posted by: MTF at July 05, 2015 09:29 AM (shLnc)

29 Woah, hold it a minute. I thought they were born that way just
like being white or black. Now she's straight and married to a guy.

Even the question destroys their agenda-- If she was not really a lesbian, how many homosexuals are confused like she was? And if she's really a lesbian now pretending to be straight, how and why could she do that?

They have to have it be innate, immutable, and inalterable. Otherwise it's a choice and involves personal responsibility and autonomy, which, as we know, lefties loathe.

Posted by: Pappy O'Daniel at July 05, 2015 09:30 AM (oVJmc)

30 Well stumbled across a hardcover 1962 edition, sans dust jacket, of Fail Safe yesterday at a thrift store for $1.59. First time I had ever read the book and it was interesting still because of the people depicted in the book. Like the New York Congressman who finds himself at NORAD when the glitch happens and for him to realize his whole family will have to be sacrificed with millions of New Yorkers to prevent the Soviets from blowing up the whole world.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 05, 2015 09:30 AM (tBwwp)

31 Artisinal,
just talking to SMFH - I just went through the whole box. About 25 or 30 old & dusty books. Almost everything from Shakespeare, to Voltaire, to Tolstoy, Hugo, etc...

Thank goodness I don't have any Melville, or I'd be obligated to slog through that again.

These books seem to date anywhere from the early twenties through the late thirties - maybe something like a book of the month thing? I'll have to search for their history...

Posted by: Chi at July 05, 2015 09:32 AM (F0Qf/)

32 thing about Sun Tzu is he's only one author among literally thousands amid just that one era of Chinese military literature. and he's not necessarily held in highest regard. Instead, the era witnessed many competing schools of thought, with Sun Tzu just the one most translated in the West.

it results in a very lopsided and incomplete view of Asian military thought, ignoring influential strategists such as Cao Cao, who is probably the real 800lb gorilla.

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at July 05, 2015 09:33 AM (mkgnt)

33 If anyone needs a laugh, YouTube Honest Trailers 50 Shades. Includes horrible lines from the book that thankfully didn't make the movie.

Posted by: Kenway at July 05, 2015 09:36 AM (jgFVL)

34 Chi,

The Classics Club.

Posted by: SMFH at it all at July 05, 2015 09:36 AM (kmtse)

35 Why did I say NORAD? He was at SAC, Omaha.

"Want to play a game?"

That will be my excuse. Yeah.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 05, 2015 09:37 AM (tBwwp)

36 What was the Poe story with the man under the floorboards?
Telltale Heart, I think?

Posted by: Chi at July 05, 2015 09:37 AM (F0Qf/)

37 Thanks for the mention. The "Brief History" book was published in 2004 and still sells a few copies a month on Amazon. June is usually a good month, as is December, because friends give it as a gift. It's aimed at medical students and nurses but seems to be OK for anyone with a bit of science background.

The second book may be a bit technical for those without some exposure to medicine in spite of my efforts to explain things.

Thanks again.

Posted by: Mike K at July 05, 2015 09:38 AM (5namt)

38 19 ... Doug, Try "ARRL's Low Power Communications: The Art and Science of QRP". Most QRP books are about building rigs, this one is more about operating. I assume there is a ton of stuff, forums and such, online. Also, look into books on simple wire antennas if portability is a factor. Haven't operated in a while but QRP has been my favorite method.

Posted by: JTB at July 05, 2015 09:40 AM (FvdPb)

39 36 Yes.

Posted by: steevy at July 05, 2015 09:41 AM (sPO3u)

40 Yes - Bass Reeves was an ultimate bad-ass, and fully deserves to have a full-fledged movie or mini-series made about him. There was a tiny indy feature made a whole ago, which sank and left bare traces at IMDb. I ran across some accounts of his career while researching law enforcement in the Oklahoma territory, which was a truly dangerous place in the last quarter of the 19th century. Since the inception of the US Marshal service in the late 18th century, there have been something like 250-300 killed on active duty -- and half of them in the Oklahoma Territory in the late 1800s.
I think another 'ron two weeks ago recommended "Bacon, Beans and Gallantines" by Joseph Conlin - a history of food in the old west. Found it on Amazon, ordered it, and it came Friday. Very lively and readable - enjoying it very much so far,

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at July 05, 2015 09:41 AM (95iDF)

41 Question for any amateur radio types that hang out here: What QRP book do you recommend?

Wish I could help you, but I've never been a QRP enthusiast.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 09:43 AM (LkQLS)

42 is this working?

Posted by: Comrade Arthur at July 05, 2015 09:43 AM (h53OH)

43 Posted by: Mike K at July 05, 2015 09:38 AM (5namt)

Shoot. Actual published authors are here again - I should put on some pants, huh?

Posted by: Chi at July 05, 2015 09:43 AM (F0Qf/)

44 Damn it, my book review won't post!

--------------
I just finished
"The Miraculous Torpedo Squadron" by Mori which is the journal of a Japanese Kate* pilot in WW2.
short, cheap (2.99) and has enough pictures to show you what's going on.

*the most common Japanese carrier borne torpedo bomber

The man was in the same aviation class with famous Saburo Sakai!

Ok ok, is it any good?

Well, sort of. If you're into WW2 in the Pacific it is tremendous because there's a shortage of engish language accounts from front line Japanese soldisrs and sailors.
Compared to ALL OTHER front line accounts of ww2 it is a little bland.

Mori was in it up to his neck. 2 years of combat over China. Torpedoed the BB California at Pearl Harbor. Blown up at Midway. Shot down at Guadalcanal* and starved with the rest of the J. soldiers by Cape Esperance for 2-3 weeks until he was evacuated.

* a lucky break because very few J torpedo pilots survived the Battle of Santa Cruz a couple of weeks later.

Recommended.

Posted by: Comrade Arthur at July 05, 2015 09:44 AM (h53OH)

45 Ahhh. Mori's NAME was enough to wipe out the comment software!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00THSCSS8/

Posted by: Comrade Arthur at July 05, 2015 09:45 AM (h53OH)

46 No,Bass Reeves is not going to be in Gunslingers looking at the cast listing.Too bad.

Posted by: steevy at July 05, 2015 09:45 AM (sPO3u)

47 36 What was the Poe story with the man under the floorboards?
Telltale Heart, I think?

Got it in one.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 09:45 AM (LkQLS)

48 Very cool to see MDA's books make the book thread. Wake gets extremely bizarre at the end of the book.

Currently reading S.W. Erdnase's "The Expert At The Card Table" and "When to Rob A Bank" from the Freakonomics guys.

Posted by: clsesq at July 05, 2015 09:46 AM (cdiDN)

49 After the several mentions of Louis L'amour last week I re-read Jubal Sackkett and The Sackett Brand, two of my favorites from that series. Also picked up a bunch of others at the used book store that I never got around to. Man! That is some satisfying reading.

Posted by: JTB at July 05, 2015 09:48 AM (FvdPb)

50 The oldest president to assume office:

Harry Reid would be 77.1 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

Nancy Pelosi would be 76.8 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

Bernie Sanders would be 75.35 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

Mitch McConnell would be 74.92 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

Joe Biden would be 74.16 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

John Kerry would be 73.1 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

1) Ronald Reagan was 69.95 years of age, Jan 20, 1981

Hillary Clinton would be 69.3 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

2) William Henry Harrison was 68.06 years of age, March 4, 1841

Mitt Romney would be 69.86 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

Elizabeth Warren would be 67.6 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

John Boehner would be 67.17 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

Rick Perry would be 66.87 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

3) James Buchanan was 65.86 yeas of age, March 4, 1857

Ben Carson would be 65.34 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

Jeb Bush would be 63.9 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

Carly Forrina would be 62.38 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

Mike Huckabee would be 61.41 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

Rick Santorum would be 58.69 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

Chris Christie would be 54.38 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

Rand Paul would be 54.04 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

Scott Walker would be 49.2 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

Ted Cruz would be 46.07 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

Marco Rubio would be 45.48 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

Bobby Jindal would be 45.43 years of age, Jan 20, 2017

Posted by: Islamic Rage Boy at July 05, 2015 09:50 AM (e8kgV)

51 I'm currently reading Ship of Ghosts, about the USS Houston and its sinking very early in WWII and the survivors who were enslaved and forced to work on the Burma railway by the Japanese.

Coincidentally, the USS Houston was FDR's favorite ship and they ferried him all over the place before the war. That would be the same FDR who sent George Takei's family to Arkansas to live in an internment camp.

Posted by: huerfano at July 05, 2015 09:50 AM (bynk/)

52 Reading Karen Armstrong's 2014 "Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence."

Last phrase from the book jacket synopsis, "Fields of Blood makes vividly clear that religion is not the problem."

Good rebuttals throughout the book for anybody that wants to start in with "but, the crusades."

Posted by: the littl shyning man at July 05, 2015 09:50 AM (U6f54)

53 >>52 Reading Karen Armstrong's 2014 "Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence."

Interesting. I've read several of hers over the years but not the one.

Posted by: Lea at July 05, 2015 09:53 AM (vmMMi)

54 @38 Thanks, JTB. You nailed it; just what I was looking for.

Posted by: doug at July 05, 2015 09:54 AM (09LiA)

55 Somewhat related to Bass Reeves - saw one of those long author interviews on CSPAN (the kind where someone noteworthy is the interviewer) with Nicholas Johnson, author of "Negroes and the Gun: The Black Tradition of Arms." Just an intelligent guy with an interesting take on gun rights (pro 2nd Amendment - would Takei consider him an inauthentic black in clown-face, too???). Been on my much too long "to read" list...

Posted by: Lizzy at July 05, 2015 09:55 AM (NOIQH)

56 There were a couple of mentions about the Geneva Bible this week. I had never heard of it. (You guessed it, I am no biblical scholar.) The historical aspects of its making and the influence on the KJ version is fascinating.

Can anyone recommend an edition, probably the 1599 version, that is compete and doesn't have microscopic print? The reviews on Amazon are all over the place.

Posted by: JTB at July 05, 2015 09:55 AM (FvdPb)

57 OT, but screw it, I don't have a lot of time today. Just thought I would tell the horde that we have a new honorary member, courtesy of Clan Hrothgar as of 3AM this morning. He held off on being born on the Fourth so we would have more time to get things back on track.

Makes it more important we start to reverse course and don't let these commie bastards f^#k up this country even more !

Regards to all
~H

Posted by: Hrothgar at July 05, 2015 09:57 AM (ftVQq)

58 Just finished Thunderball by Ian Fleming (5 stars) and Emergence: Dave vs. The Monsters book 1 (4 stars). Thunderball introduces SPECTRE, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and an eeevil plan to extort the West for one hundred miiiilllliioonnn dollars by stealing nukes. The film was very much in the spirit of the book, like From Russia With Love. It's interesting to see how Fleming wrote Bond as basically an asshole with a heart of gold. I'm not sure which of those two aspects is actually the superficial one.

Dave vs. The Monsters: how can you not have high hopes for a book with a title like that? It's another "chosen one" monster hunter book. I think I'd have liked it better if the author had dialed down the superpowers a bit, or even more, kept it at an almost-normal guy taking down monsters with a wood-splitting maul. But come on, caving in monsters' heads with a maul, that's worth 4 stars. Dave, a safety engineer on an oil rig, is basically an asshole but not too bad otherwise, and the background characters are fairly well written. This is mind candy, but not too fattening. Imagine Monster Hunter International vs the Posleen and you've got a pretty good picture of the book.

Posted by: Agent J at July 05, 2015 09:57 AM (ueOgE)

59
HeyJackass.com is hilarious. For July alone, 5 shot in the ass and 2 in the junk. Going to be a great month in Chicago!

ps: they've added a selfie-o-meter for negligent discharges.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 05, 2015 10:00 AM (iQIUe)

60 Congrats, Hrothgar. Hope everything went easily and continues well.

Posted by: JTB at July 05, 2015 10:00 AM (FvdPb)

61 Best Takei "meme" I've seen shows Clarence Thomas, caption "votes for the party that set his ancestors free" and then one of Takei, caption "votes for party that personally put him into an internment camp."

I guess each one had an expiration date that we're just supposed to stop remembering about those deeds by.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at July 05, 2015 10:03 AM (39g3+)

62 Congratulations, Hrothgar!

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 10:05 AM (LkQLS)

63 >> Somebody needs to tell Denzel about Bass Reeves

Dang, that would be a good movie. Like an Equalizer II: The Original Badass.
------

Congratulations on the little one, Hrothgar!!

Posted by: Lizzy at July 05, 2015 10:05 AM (NOIQH)

64 Shoot. Actual published authors are here again - I should put on some pants, huh?

Dude, on this thread, it's mandatory!

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 10:06 AM (LkQLS)

65 The Posleen?! You're what's for dinner.

Posted by: Fewenuff at July 05, 2015 10:11 AM (hWJc0)

66 Re-reading

"Bust" by Ken Bruen and Jason Starr.

Which according to the back cover will teach you 5 valuable lessons.

The first of which is:

"When you hire someone to kill your wife, don't hire a psychopath."

The story plays out like a Pulp Noir Farce or perhaps Pulp Noir Restoration Comedy-

there is quite a bit of black humor along with crosses, double crosses, triple crosses, dead bodies, and completely bungled plans.

The main character is Max Fisher, a successful businessman who wants to have his wife murdered and live happily ever after with his hot secretary.

So, if you need characters to sympathize with-

this book ain't that.

Every character in the book is after something they want badly which is at cross purposes with one or more of the other characters.

Lest this sound too grim...it isn't.

"Bust" is a fun and amusing read as every character scrambles to avoid the looming disaster that their own actions have provoked.

"Bust" is part of a series, including "Slide" and "The Max" concerning Max Fisher and his continuing fall into the world of crime.

And the series maintains a reasonably high quality throughout.

No, they are not great literature, but they are good pulpy fun reads.

I started re-reading "Bust" because there is a new book in the series "Pimp" to be released later this summer.

And I wanted to catch up with the characters again before reading "Pimp".

"Bust" is available in paperback or on Kindle at Amazon.

Check it out.

Posted by: naturalfake at July 05, 2015 10:11 AM (KUa85)

67 I'm slogging through "Memoir From Antproof Case," by Mark Helprin.

The guy can write, but I just haven't connected with the protagonist, and it's a difficult read because of that.

His other stuff seems more accessible, especially his short stories. He wrote one called, "Perfection: A Story," and it is the confluence of baseball and Hasidism and the Holocaust. Wonderful.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at July 05, 2015 10:12 AM (Zu3d9)

68 welcome baby hrothgar!!!!

Posted by: phoenixgirl, i was born a rebel at July 05, 2015 10:14 AM (0O7c5)

69 All that clear blue sky I had this morning has gone away now. Looks like rain a-coming.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at July 05, 2015 10:14 AM (GpgJl)

70 Still slogging through 'The Last 100 Days'. It is astonishing that so many in Germany understood that Hitler was destroying the people and the country, and yet could not muster the fortitude to stop the war.

It was an ongoing, "Well, this what the Fuhrer wants..."

Sound familiar?

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at July 05, 2015 10:14 AM (F2IAQ)

71 Can anyone recommend an edition, probably the 1599 version, that is compete and doesn't have microscopic print? The reviews on Amazon are all over the place.

My mom got a copy of the 1599 reprint, and yeah the text is a little small but its a huge book. And its compounded by being written in such old English its nearly incomprehensible in parts unless you already know the Bible well. But its an interesting historical piece.

The modern version is easier to read and has terrific notes by men such as RC Sproul, James Montgomery Boice, Sinclair Ferguson, JI Packer, etc.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at July 05, 2015 10:17 AM (39g3+)

72 Congrats there Hrothgar. Hope all the correct number of parts are there.

*peers at email with a bit of trepidation*
Got someone giving a short novel a look over. This email is some of their feedback. So a bit nervous.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 05, 2015 10:18 AM (tBwwp)

73 Also working on the moron-recommended 'When the Wicked Seize a City'. I can only read it for a bit at the time, then have to put it down. It's just too disgusting to read non-stop.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at July 05, 2015 10:18 AM (F2IAQ)

74 NOW you tell me, Muse...
I should try to class up & hit the book thread more often, I guess.

I may hit the thrift stores nearby if they're open today. I'd love to find The Princess Bride (I heard here that it's an excellent read), and an old book that introduced me to James Lileks -Falling Up The Stairs.
I remember nothing about it other than that I enjoyed it immensely, and that I had to seek out more Lileks. Late 80's, early 90's?

Posted by: Chi at July 05, 2015 10:18 AM (F0Qf/)

75 This thread discriminates against Sans-Culottes! To the barricades!

Posted by: Slightly Confused 200-year-old French Guy at July 05, 2015 10:20 AM (pubde)

76 >>> 19 Question for any amateur radio types that hang out here: What QRP book do you recommend?

(FYI: QRP is operating with very low power.)
Posted by: doug at July 05, 2015 09:19 AM (09LiA)

Did you mean LGBQRP? I can help with that!

Posted by: Kaitlynn Jenner at July 05, 2015 10:20 AM (2mJMN)

77 Chris Philbrook's anthology Unhappy Endings: Tales from the world of Adrian's Undead Diary. Very depressing stuff, but it's somehow comforting that as bad as things are, at least they aren't zombie bad.

Posted by: Dig Dug at July 05, 2015 10:20 AM (D9XSs)

78 >>> Sound familiar?
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at July 05, 2015 10:14 AM (F2IAQ)

No, not even remotely! Pretty much everyone around me feels America is in need of a Gotterdamerung, as well.

Posted by: POTUS 0Bola at July 05, 2015 10:22 AM (2mJMN)

79 I've read several of the Perry Mason books and really prefer them to the TV show. In the books, Mason is a bit of a rogue and there is a good amount of humor. There were a few Perry Mason movies, I think in the 30s, that were closer to the book character and they are a lot of fun. TCM shows them once in a while.

I scored a copy of The Omnibus Of Crime edited by Dorothy Sayers. Mine is an original printing from 1929 and is in great shape for a for an 86 year old book. Sayers intro section alone is worth the cost: witty, instructive, and even an historical view point. I first learned about it in an article about Michael Dirda. He thinks it is an especially fine collection of golden era mysteries and, as usual, he is correct.

Posted by: JTB at July 05, 2015 10:22 AM (FvdPb)

80 No love for the compost book?

Among the list of things you'll learn:

...get rid of unwanted bodies.

Posted by: RushBabe at July 05, 2015 10:23 AM (uI9Lg)

81 I remember nothing about it other than that I enjoyed it immensely, and that I had to seek out more Lileks. Late 80's, early 90's?

James Lileks is a well-known (conservative) blogger who loves 40s-50s American kitsch. Check out his books 'The Gallery of Regrettable Food' (unintentionally disgusting photos from 50s-60s era cookbooks) and also 'Interior Desecrations' (hideous home decor from the 70s). Both are laugh-out-loud funny.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 10:23 AM (LkQLS)

82 Compost?

Unwanted and inconvenient reporter?

Footfall

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 05, 2015 10:24 AM (tBwwp)

83 74 I may hit the thrift stores nearby if they're open
today. I'd love to find The Princess Bride (I heard here that it's an
excellent read), and an old book that introduced me to James Lileks
-Falling Up The Stairs.

I remember nothing about it other than that I enjoyed it immensely,
and that I had to seek out more Lileks. Late 80's, early 90's?

Posted by: Chi at July 05, 2015 10:18 AM (F0Qf/)

I got a copy of the Princess Bride for the Kindle a couple of years ago. The book is nowhere near as good as the movie.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at July 05, 2015 10:24 AM (GpgJl)

84
Had a guy stop buy during the community yard sale yesterday who was looking for books, specifically, Westerns.

We had none to offer, but I was able to cue him into the Lewes library's annual Labor Day weekend used book sale, which may satisfy his yearning. I hope he takes the time and gets there in September.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars(TM) at July 05, 2015 10:25 AM (VLTL9)

85 I got a copy of the Princess Bride for the Kindle a couple of years ago. The book is nowhere near as good as the movie.

Yup. One of the few exceptions where the movie is an improvement over the original book.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 10:27 AM (LkQLS)

86 I have another request for help finding an old story. Since OM already introduced the topic of horror stories, this will fit right in.

I'm pretty sure I read this in an old Alfred Hitchcock collection. I read it in the 70s, but no idea when it was published - before that, obviously. It's a short story, about two old ladies, sisters, who live with a young nephew and his wife. They're resentful about living in straitened circumstances, and remember when things were better, and talk all the time about how well-off they were when young, and how Daddy left all these bonds, and their nephew didn't have to be such a tightwad because there was plenty of money if he'd just loosen up a bit.

There's a very sinister old folks' home in town, and the two sisters shudder just to think of it. They keep hearing about contemporaries of theirs who end up being put in the home, because they're destitute or their family doesn't want them anymore, and it's understood that that's the equivalent of a death sentence. They become convinced that their nephew and his wife are planning to put THEM in the home, to get rid of them and then have all the money to themselves. So they start a fire in the house, leaving their young relatives trapped inside. They escape and plan to sell some of the bonds so they can live comfortably at last. When they speak to the family lawyer, they discover that there IS no money. Their nephew had hidden from them the fact that the bonds they'd relied on had been worthless for years. He'd supported them out of charity, but never let them know, to spare their feelings. Now he's gone, there's no money, and their destination is... the old folks' home.

Anyone remember this story?

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at July 05, 2015 10:27 AM (VBbCO)

87 I got a copy of the Princess Bride for the Kindle a couple of years ago. The book is nowhere near as good as the movie.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at July 05, 2015 10:24 AM (GpgJl)

Which means the movie must be pretty darn good, and is on the top of my playlist if I ever watch another movie!

Posted by: Hrothgar at July 05, 2015 10:28 AM (ftVQq)

88 >>Among the list of things you'll learn:
...get rid of unwanted bodies.

Reminds me of a movie, "The Last Supper." Still not sure if it was meant to be a Lefty fantasy story or a tale of how Lefties really are evil....

Posted by: Lizzy at July 05, 2015 10:28 AM (NOIQH)

89 Yeah, Muse - I've read his blog a few times. Usually just when linked.
I remember laughing at that book. Literally, laughing out loud. I think it may have been a murder-mystery?

And Vic,
I'm watching the movie now (for the 100th time?). I got a whopping 2 1/2 hours sleep, and when I woke up, there it was, ready to start. But I've heard here (more than once) that the book was great.

Posted by: Chi at July 05, 2015 10:28 AM (F0Qf/)

90
Reading "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and a history of the El-Alamein Campaign. The latter I started last summer, the former I found here in our summer place's summer reading library.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars(TM) at July 05, 2015 10:29 AM (VLTL9)

91 71 ... Thanks Christopher. I note the Patriots version of the 1599 gets the most good reviews. I may give that one a try. It includes some of the early American documents that were influenced by the Geneva (vs. KJV).

Posted by: JTB at July 05, 2015 10:31 AM (FvdPb)

92 Sarah Hoyt has a new short story up:

http://accordingtohoyt.com/2015/07/04/the-bombs-bursting-in-air/

Posted by: SDN at July 05, 2015 10:31 AM (p/ktF)

93
Anyone remember this story?

In many ways, that is the story of Obama?

Wrong response?

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars(TM) at July 05, 2015 10:32 AM (VLTL9)

94 Posted by: Hrothgar at July 05, 2015 09:57 AM (ftVQq)

Congrats! A new white All-American male is EXACTLY what we need, and more of 'em.

All the best to you and yours.

Posted by: RushBabe at July 05, 2015 10:32 AM (uI9Lg)

95 I was flipping through the channels the other day and happened upon the Fox News "Legends and Lies of the West" episode on Bass Reeves. I had never heard of the guy. And, yes, he did seem like a total badass.

Posted by: I Work for Dick Jones at July 05, 2015 10:32 AM (ERDLa)

96 "When Hugh Auld discovered her activity, he strongly disapproved, saying
that if a slave learned to read, he would become dissatisfied with his
condition and desire freedom."

This is exactly what the Acorn folks told James O'Keefe when he was posing as a pimp and asking about where his young whores could get an education. Don't get them too educated, then they won't do what you want!

Posted by: pj at July 05, 2015 10:33 AM (cHuNI)

97 Which means the movie must be pretty darn good, and is on the top of my playlist if I ever watch another movie!

You've never seen Princess Bride? How is that even possible?

You need to get a copy of it for the first time when you'll be up all night with baby Hrothgar (which will be all too soon, you'll discover).

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 10:33 AM (LkQLS)

98 I read so much crap for work during the week that the very thought of reading for entertainment gives me a sick headache. However, I do plan to read The Road to Serfdom again this month. Seems highly apropos.

Posted by: Insomniac at July 05, 2015 10:33 AM (mx5oN)

99 You've never seen Princess Bride? How is that even possible?

Inconceivable!

Posted by: Insomniac at July 05, 2015 10:34 AM (mx5oN)

100 Oregon Muse, cut Hrothgar some slack. Until I threatened him with the leg of a mule, he had never read David Brin's novel The Postman and had only seen the movie.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 05, 2015 10:34 AM (tBwwp)

101 So is Rosaria Butterfield - gender traitor? LGBTraitor? Has-bian?

Posted by: Insomniac at July 05, 2015 10:36 AM (mx5oN)

102 I've read several of the Perry Mason books and
really prefer them to the TV show. In the books, Mason is a bit of a
rogue and there is a good amount of humor. There were a few Perry Mason
movies, I think in the 30s, that were closer to the book character and
they are a lot of fun. TCM shows them once in a while.

Posted by: JTB at July 05, 2015 10:22 AM

I've never seen the movies, but Gardner's original Mason is definitely a much more interesting character -- a little less dignified outside the courtroom, more likely to push the rules, in short a somewhat "darker" character -- than Burr's portrayal. I, too, prefer the books, which is not unusual for me in the book versus movies/teevee game.

Posted by: MrScribbler at July 05, 2015 10:38 AM (P8YHq)

103
The NRA magazine had a relativly long article about Reeves and his guns a fee months ago.That the first I had ever heard of him.

In my Grandmother's third husband's stuffI came across a set (about 25)ofArmy AMS maps of Korea dated 1950. They are in good condition and each is 24X36".

They areinteresting to look at but I don't know what to do with them. Any ideas?

Posted by: freaked at July 05, 2015 10:38 AM (BO/km)

104 Inconceivable!

Posted by: Insomniac
----------------------------
Ha!
Yes, it's a must-see.

And sorry for being so late in offering my "congrats!"
I well come the new Moron, and I don't really care if he's white. Not sure how that matters at all.

Posted by: Chi at July 05, 2015 10:39 AM (F0Qf/)

105 I gave some spaces the weekend off.

Posted by: freaked at July 05, 2015 10:39 AM (BO/km)

106 103
The NRA magazine had a relativly long article about Reeves and his guns a fee months ago.That the first I had ever heard of him.

In my Grandmother's third husband's stuffI came across a set (about 25)ofArmy AMS maps of Korea dated 1950. They are in good condition and each is 24X36".

They areinteresting to look at but I don't know what to do with them. Any ideas?

Posted by: freaked at July 05, 2015 10:38 AM (BO/km)

Have them matted and framed, perhaps?

Posted by: Insomniac at July 05, 2015 10:39 AM (mx5oN)

107 Where am I going to hang 25 24"x36" maps? I don't have a map room or command center. I don't even have a basement.

Posted by: freaked at July 05, 2015 10:43 AM (BO/km)

108 Freaked -
If they're not really valuable, maybe wallpaper?
I bet they'd make a cool accent wall in an office or library...

Posted by: Chi at July 05, 2015 10:43 AM (F0Qf/)

109 So is Rosaria Butterfield - gender traitor? LGBTraitor? Has-bian?

I'm very curious about what reactions Prof. Butterfield got from her ex-lover, lesbian friends, faculty, students, etc. when she converted. But she has little or no discussion of this in any of her online articles that I've found.

It could be that it was very painful and she doesn't want to talk about it. Which is understandable.

And I have no idea what her general political outlook now is. She could still be a raving lefty for all I know.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 10:44 AM (LkQLS)

110 107 Where am I going to hang 25 24"x36" maps? I don't have a map room or command center. I don't even have a basement.
Posted by: freaked at July 05, 2015 10:43 AM (BO/km)

Oops, I glossed over the 25 of them part. Frame one and see if there's any sale value for the rest?

Posted by: Insomniac at July 05, 2015 10:45 AM (mx5oN)

111 I also read "The Fall of the House of Usher" for Ace's thread. I was under the impression that thread was for this evening but I could, easily, be wrong. I hadn't read it since junior high. I'll just say for now that I got a lot more out if it this time.

Posted by: JTB at July 05, 2015 10:45 AM (FvdPb)

112 Frame them, Freaked, and display with copies of SLA Marshall's River and Gauntlet and/or Pork Chop Hill.

Posted by: goatexchange at July 05, 2015 10:45 AM (Wg4KD)

113 oh - yeah, I missed the '25' part too. concur with Insomniac. could get old paperback copies of SLAM and sell as set....?

Posted by: goatexchange at July 05, 2015 10:47 AM (Wg4KD)

114 Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 10:44 AM (LkQLS)

I'd bet even money that the usual cast of characters was utterly horrible to her after her conversion became public.

Posted by: Insomniac at July 05, 2015 10:47 AM (mx5oN)

115 107
Where am I going to hang 25 24"x36" maps? I don't have a map room or command center. I don't even have a basement.

Posted by: freaked at July 05, 2015 10:43 AM (BO/km)

donate them in your families name to somewhere that would be interested.....take the coolest one and frame it for yourself....there are map shops that love this kind of stuff.....contact one of them and see if they'll buy them in a lot from you......

Posted by: phoenixgirl, i was born a rebel at July 05, 2015 10:47 AM (0O7c5)

116 I have a frame I can put one in and will maybe do that. I don't really want to sell them on ebey or anything because old Grandpa Hu probably had them every since 1950.

Posted by: freaked at July 05, 2015 10:48 AM (BO/km)

117 Freaked - or donate to good cause:

http://www.pritzkermilitary.org/

Posted by: goatexchange at July 05, 2015 10:48 AM (Wg4KD)

118 give them as Christmas presents to people in in your family with a little note of the history

Posted by: phoenixgirl, i was born a rebel at July 05, 2015 10:49 AM (0O7c5)

119 She could still be a raving lefty for all I know.

Let me clarify: perhaps this is a bit strong. Any progressive/lefty "vibe" I might get from her online articles is weak, at best. But neither has she explicitly repudiated any of her earlier positions, save her lesbian inclination. So I don't know.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 10:49 AM (LkQLS)

120 Still reading Wolfe 's Look Homeward, Angel. He is so hard to read. I lose track of who is talking sometimes and I have to re-read entire pages over again.

Posted by: Jmel at July 05, 2015 10:49 AM (cfFqn)

121 Bass was profiled on Fox's western history series . According to the creators of the Lone Ranger , Bass is not the basis of the Lone Ranger . Still, a very impressive career . There will be War series brings back a lot of old memories of haunting the Willow Grove Mall B Dalton and the used copies at the Newtown Book and Record Exchange . Good Tomes .

Posted by: Drpullit at July 05, 2015 10:49 AM (a8/VC)

122 Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.

Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.

- Groucho Marx

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this sh1t at July 05, 2015 10:50 AM (eEb+d)

123 "Army AMS maps of Korea dated 1950."

Have them digitally scanned. At that size, a quality scan might be expensive, or more than you want to pay.

Museums might be interested in the originals, either as a donation (which they would love) or as a purchase.

Posted by: Louie Hu at July 05, 2015 10:50 AM (eICq0)

124 Reading "Independence Day," by Ben Coes, a great writer (member of the Reagan WH) in the vein of Flynn and Thor.

Posted by: RushBabe at July 05, 2015 10:51 AM (uI9Lg)

125 Via Instapundit, here's a short story by Sarah Hoyt called "Bombs Bursting in Air". It's a moderately entertaining 5-minute read.

I've never been much of a science fiction guy, so the incessant sci-fi references on his blog (and the occasional ones here) are pretty much lost on me.

I did very much enjoy Heinlein's Starship Troopers, though, which is really more of a political/philosophical treatise, with the actual action seemingly an afterthought.

Posted by: I Work for Dick Jones at July 05, 2015 10:51 AM (ERDLa)

126 And I forgot the actual Sarah Hoyt story link

http://bit.ly/1HFr5Bd

Posted by: I Work for Dick Jones at July 05, 2015 10:52 AM (ERDLa)

127 49 Posted by: JTB at July 05, 2015 09:48 AM (FvdPb)
____

Read L'Amour's "Education of a Wandering Man." The man led a fascinating life before he started writing. His reading lists are incredible, too.

Posted by: Long Running Fool at July 05, 2015 10:53 AM (/A5gb)

128 I'd bet even money that the usual cast of characters was utterly horrible to her after her conversion became public.

]I would not bet against you.

And maybe that's the reason why she's no longer in academia, because it quickly became intolerable for her to be there.

Which is unfortunate, because we need to break up the monolithic lefty academic culture, and it's a shame that Prof. Butterfield is no longer around to help with this.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 10:53 AM (LkQLS)

129 I well come the new Moron, and I don't really care if he's white. Not sure how that matters at all.
Posted by: Chi at July 05, 2015 10:39 AM (F0Qf/)

Threw that in because white males appear to be an endangered species, as well as the most reviled, in 2015 America. I hope society changes back to normal during his growing-up years.

Posted by: RushBabe at July 05, 2015 10:56 AM (uI9Lg)

130 I Work for Dick Jones at July 05, 2015 10:51 AM

Pournelle's "Falkenberg's Legions" are military fiction that focuses on the military and political with very little science fiction beyond a simple extrapolation from WWII maritime tactics in the pacific. Starships are little more than maritime vessels, and islands in the pacific become planets.

Posted by: Louie Hu at July 05, 2015 10:56 AM (eICq0)

131 Continuing with my chess reading. It's relaxing and VERY distracting from all the shitty news out there. I've started recreating games on my own board based on the recaps of famous games. It's slow and there's a lot of referring back to the books about some of the symbols, but fun. (Thanks to OM for the suggestions about a board and pieces.)

I know many of these are Grand Master games of the past but wow! I suspect the only way I'll ever win a game is to pull a gun on my opponent and threaten his family. That approach has the added benefit of shortening the learning curve.

Posted by: JTB at July 05, 2015 10:56 AM (FvdPb)

132
If I could find the right museum I would give them to it. Also some other old photos and military stuff he had.

Speaking of military and books and stuff I just finished Chickenhawk by Robert Mason. He was a 1st Calvery Huey pilot in Nam 65-66 and the book is his story from training thru that time. Not a bad book if you are interested in that kind of thing.

Posted by: freaked at July 05, 2015 10:58 AM (BO/km)

133 I was just thinking that people in academia would make Rosaria Butterfield life untenable and that some people in the "loving and tolerant left" probably issues death threats.

Interesting story. I liked this quote:

"Do not misuse Christ by asking Him to baptize your feelings; instead, ask Christ to fill up your heart and soul and thereby create your feelings;"

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 05, 2015 11:00 AM (OSs/l)

134 >>>Reeves sounds like a complete badass.

As a matter of fact, my first name is a contraction of "Badass". And if Michael Brown reached for my gun, I'd have capped him too.

Posted by: Bass Reeves at July 05, 2015 11:01 AM (QNcbF)

135 Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 05, 2015 11:00 AM (OSs/l)

That requires a certain maturity....one that might be difficult to find in our hedonistic society.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at July 05, 2015 11:03 AM (Zu3d9)

136 127 ... "Read L'Amour's "Education of a Wandering Man." The man led a fascinating life before he started writing. His reading lists are incredible, too."

Read it, loved it and it's on the 'accessible' book shelf. Some reviewers found it dull with all the lists. I thought it was fascinating and a huge resource of titles I should check out.

Posted by: JTB at July 05, 2015 11:04 AM (FvdPb)

137
goatexchange I will definitly look into that. Also I just found that one of Robert Mason's Hueys is at the US Veterans Memorial Museum in Huntsville. That's not that far from here and I am going to look into maybe donating them there.

Louie I could scan them and probably should. I can scan them free cause I knows people.

Posted by: freaked at July 05, 2015 11:04 AM (BO/km)

138 Posted by: Louie Hu at July 05, 2015 10:56 AM (eICq0)

I think that there are several books with Falkenberg's Legions. I have read as many as I can find, and they are all at least a good read.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at July 05, 2015 11:04 AM (Zu3d9)

139 So Mr. O'Muse, what is that painting? I really like it.

Posted by: HH at July 05, 2015 11:05 AM (Qia1Z)

140 So Mr. O'Muse, what is that painting? I really like it.

Not sure, but I saw it, unattributed, on this page:

http://bit.ly/1KH6DyL

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 11:11 AM (LkQLS)

141 Rosaria Butterfield? I will turn her back. There ain't no woman alive I can't seduce, if I set my mind to it. I am the female Bill.

Posted by: Hillary Clinton at July 05, 2015 11:11 AM (QNcbF)

142 Greetings:

A Mr. George Takei tweeted that, in his personal experience, most men have not been created equal and, indeed, some have not been well-endowed by their creator.

Posted by: 11B40 at July 05, 2015 11:11 AM (evgyj)

143 *looks at inside cover of the paperback edition of Prince of Sparta by Pournelle and Stirling*

Books in series: Prince of Mercenaries, Go Tell the Spartans, Falkenberg's Legion, Birth of Fire, High Justice, and King David's Spaceship.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 05, 2015 11:12 AM (tBwwp)

144 Congrats, Hrothgar. Best you and your family and God bless them all.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 05, 2015 11:16 AM (OSs/l)

145 Re-reading "Heroes Without Glory: Some Good Men of the Old West".

After last week, felt a need to remember the strength of character that helped build a nation.

Posted by: Long Running Fool at July 05, 2015 11:17 AM (/A5gb)

146 Just finished "The Professor and the Madman," the story of Dr. William Minor and the O.E.D. He suffered from dementia praecox before it was diagnosed. Sent in 10,000 or more sentence examples of first usage for the dictionary. (If you're a Seattle-area person, his brother is the Minor that Minor Street was named after.)

Posted by: John Pomeroy at July 05, 2015 11:17 AM (4LdUV)

147

Jonny Lee Miller (CBS' Sherlock) is the worst. Lucy Liu is the only thing that makes it watchable.

Really? I hink he does a fine job. It's the writers of the show that need to be horse whipped, every 4-5 episodes they just can't resist throwing in a bunch of leftist garbage. Question: Do you think he's back on smack with the season finale?

Posted by: Weirddave at July 05, 2015 11:20 AM (WvS3w)

148 Picked up a copy of "Monty Walsh" at a junk store for $2. Raining today so maybe I'll get started on it.

Posted by: fairweatherbill getting wet at July 05, 2015 11:21 AM (kVNBz)

149 Of education being incompatible with slavery there can be no doubt. After all, an educated man might ask the question, why do I have to wear these chains? History teaches that an ignorant populace is the breeding ground for tyranny and despotism. Did you think Billy Ayres doesn't know this?

Of course. That's why the left has worked so hard to first take over education, and second render it useless. Education is no longer about educating the young, but providing a jobs program for democrats.
Defund public ed!

Posted by: Iblis at July 05, 2015 11:25 AM (b9F5S)

150

I'm finding myself, more and more, peeking into The Washington Free Beacon's Culture/Book Reviews section.

http://freebeacon.com/tag/book-reviews/

A few really good items in there over the 4th.

The Spirit of '76
Review: Barry Alan Shain, 'The Declaration of Independence in Historical Context'

The Detection Club
Review: Martin Edwards, 'The Golden Age of Murder'

and today's post

Bush the Elder
Review: John Sununu, 'The Quiet Man: The Indispensable Presidency of George HW Bush'

(kinda coincides with the Poiret discussion. I seem to watch the detective and mystery type tv series a lot, but still hold to reading sci-fi - probably because there just isn't a lot of good scifi tv out there atm)

husband asking me to cut his hair... bleh. Family BBQ today.

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at July 05, 2015 11:26 AM (qCMvj)

151 That picture (which is probably related to Washington's farewell to the troops?) made me think of the "Newburgh" address which Washington gave to his officers-some of whom who were planning to revolt for back pay. A very moving incident in history:

http://tinyurl.com/qxcxtr3

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 05, 2015 11:28 AM (OSs/l)

152 I'm about two thirds of the way through The Wealth of Nations. Once I'm finished with it I'll probably read something cheap and easy, maybe another Dresden book, before tackling a biography of John Hawkwood that I bought when I was in Portland.

Posted by: Colorado Alex at July 05, 2015 11:29 AM (10ydV)

153 I liked that book a lot-The Professor and the Madman.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 05, 2015 11:31 AM (OSs/l)

154 There Will Be War v. 6: "Guns of Darkness", ed. J E Pournelle. This is the last of these collections I happen to own; previously reviewed here were vv. 2, 4, and 5. As usual I haven't finished it but I've gotten through over half the offerings, so... I'll review what I've read.

All originally published by Tor. *Don't* buy that version unless it's used (like mine). The whole set is being reissued by Castalia House. (Thanks epobors(?sp) for that reminder.)

This one promises to focus on 'the fog of war', when both sides have made their plans and are now 'ignorant armies clashing by night'. The enemy makes his plans too which can mess up YOUR plan, and other unforeseen effects can come into play.

The most important essay is Chanoff and Toai's "Lessons From Vietnam", here looking at the propaganda and strategy of the North. There's nothing here about how Nixon was winning the war over the early 1970s. What it *does* do is discuss how the South got so weak in the 1960s that the Viet Cong felt confident enough for Tet. A lot of this involves useful-idiocy. The North was always keeping its Marxists under strict party-line control, and allowing various nationalists, Buddhists, and anti-corruption advocates just enough leeway for just long enough to appear on American televisions. When the North won, all those duraki ended up in the camps. Especially the Buddhists.

Somehow when the North was promising "socialism in the North and democracy in the South" everyone believed it. After the war the North's mouthpieces metaphorically teabagged the useful idiots on camera: of COURSE the whole dissident movement in the South were working for the North all along, hahaha, you fools, lolz. (The postmortem gloating is surely mostly lies, especially given the early 1970s, but the propaganda worked for the North in America which is the point.) There are a lot of other gems here. For instance: Susan Sontag (to whom we owe respect b/c Rushdie) and Joan Baez (about whom I never cared) had apparently turned against the so-called "peace movement" after Vietnam. Warnings are applied to El Salvador. Analogous warnings *should* be applied to Syria as I keep hearing calls to support the so-called "Free Syria Army" whose hard-core is, duhh, al-Qaeda.

On to the stories.

In Chris Anvil's "Ideological Defeat", the Soviets have conquered the Eastern Seaboard, but fail to control it. The Soviet ambassador here insists that he will win because he has the Party, Technology, Education, and Ideology which the locals - the O'Cracy's - don't. For all that, the O'Cracy's have the manoeuvrability advantage, they can get there firstest with the mostest. Why? Because they own the railroads, which the Marxists can't use because the O'Cracy's would sabotage them. So much for the Party, Technology, Education, and Ideology. On similar lines Vinicoff and Martin offer "Render Unto Caesar", on how a colony on another planet might secede and attain her own sovereignty. Both involve secret plans and clever tricks.

We might not have to act against the bureaucracy ourselves. It's possible the bureaucracy will perish from pure senility. E Michael Blake's "A Glorious Triumph for the People" takes this literally: what if Brezhnev's nomenklatura had discovered the secret of eternal life. Looking at the Democratic field today, this might be happening already.

On the minus side, Fortschen (author of "One Second After") in "By Thought Alone" uses a similar trick as "Render": here, China programs all its citizens to become psychokinetic, and defeat the Soviets and cow the Americans thereby. The ESP premise is really, REALLY stupid, and it is beneath both Fortschen and Pournelle. The Benfords' "Battleground" pits a man and his Three-Laws-Safe computer against a time-shifting alien. Mind you, if they win, then they've taught the computer how to foretell the future and how to save mankind. That little twist ending has been done to death in Asimovian stories, and even in the stupid movie "I, Robot", so I cannot recommend it either.

On the themes of military mindf*ck, Poyer's "Nonlethal" discusses a Bosnian conflict into which America and the Soviets blunder. Since neither side can get out easily, both agree not to use lethal force. Instead they use tranq darts and hallucinogenic gas, to somewhat amusing effect (but you don't want an overdose, oh no). Someone cheats and smuggles real bullets onto the field. This one is intriguing; unlike "By Thought Alone", it could happen. "Doughfoot Sanctum" involves an insane war modelled after the Armageddon. I won't spoil it, but -

We learn that Solzhenitsyn was originally going to co-write "Gulag Archipelago" with one Shalamov, but Shalamov died before he could offer much help. Shalamov here offers "Pugachev's Last Battle" - about a POW returned from the front, whom Stalin sends to Kolyma. Kolyma is a horrible place, and this story is mainly here to remind American Leftists of that fact.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at July 05, 2015 11:31 AM (AVEe1)

155 It's the writers of the show that need to be horse whipped, every 4-5 episodes they just can't resist throwing in a bunch of leftist garbage.

Posted by: Weirddave at July 05, 2015 11:20 AM (WvS3w)
---
Remember: if the pain of watching outweighs the pleasure, there's always the option of cancelling your subscription. It's what I did 10+ years ago.

You need to reach the point of saying, "why am I paying to torment myself?"

Posted by: asianmencephalosaurus at July 05, 2015 11:33 AM (mG3Qj)

156 My mommy says I am only 6 and a half years old...

Posted by: Joe Biden at July 05, 2015 11:33 AM (JG47A)

157 I'll have to get "Exceptional Americans" that OM mentioned in his post. I grew up in Rhode Island and even as a kid thought it was neat that RI was established by folks that cheesed off the Puritans. The teacher didn't phrase it that way but even second graders knew what she meant.

Posted by: JTB at July 05, 2015 11:33 AM (FvdPb)

158 I guess I'll put in another plug for Eric Metaxas' book,"Seven men and the Secret of their Greatness" which is very inspiring which deals with characteristics that make for great men. George Washington is one of the men profiled. I gave it to a young friend of mine who's more than 30 years younger than I am and is going to serve a new. larger church. He's only been a minister for year. He told me that his UG degree was in history so I thought it was a good choice

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 05, 2015 11:36 AM (OSs/l)

159 Off topic.

I found this via Instapundit this morning.

http://tinyurl.com/q7vjfq5

I hope it brightens your day. It is so beautiful, it moved me to tears.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative....outlaw in America at July 05, 2015 11:40 AM (+1T7c)

160 159 Off topic.

I found this via Instapundit this morning.

http://tinyurl.com/q7vjfq5

I hope it brightens your day. It is so beautiful, it moved me to tears.
Posted by: Bossy Conservative....outlaw in America at July 05, 2015 11:40 AM (+1T7c)

Diminished only by the progtard assholes shitting their lies all over the comments section.

Posted by: Insomniac at July 05, 2015 11:47 AM (mx5oN)

161 I gave it to a young friend of mine who's more than 30 years younger than I am and is going to serve a new. larger church. He's only been a minister for year.

I appear to be standing on your lawn. I'll get off it.

Posted by: Insomniac at July 05, 2015 11:48 AM (mx5oN)

162 #159 thank you, that was wonderful.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 11:49 AM (LkQLS)

163 @147 Sherlock/Jonny Lee Miller. Missed the finale.

I read an interview with the producers/writers where they thought that the strong emphasis on the character's dysfunction was one of the signature virtues of their vision of the series. To my mind, they went *way* over the top with the dysfunction to the detriment of the character and the stories.

I haven't seen Miller in anything else, so I'm judging him by this character. All of the other actors are fine. I do think the writing varies from pedestrian to extremely poor. Not much for the actors to work with.

Moffat & Gatiss write far more interesting scripts for the BBC Sherlock. Cumberbatch & Freeman do a wonderful job portraying the characters, as do the supporting actors. The Beeb may be a lefty outfit but they do produce some fine dramas.

Posted by: doug at July 05, 2015 11:50 AM (09LiA)

164
I ran across a reference to Lord Thomas Cochrane in some of my recent reading. I'd never heard of him before. One of history's great badass characters:

http://alturl.com/mb2pj

Posted by: Frankly at July 05, 2015 11:51 AM (8CjR3)

165 Diminished only by the progtard assholes shitting their lies all over the comments section.

Posted by: Insomniac at July 05, 2015 11:47 AM (mx5oN)

They're everywhere and they're insatiable!

Posted by: Hrothgar at July 05, 2015 11:51 AM (ftVQq)

166 I've started "Adios, America" which is already infuriating, just as Coulter undoubtedly intended. And then, this morning I found an article on the news feed saying that the family of the woman murdered by the illegal piece of shit in San Francisco, that family isn't focused on the murderer's immigration status; they just want to heal. How do you "heal" two days after your daughter was murdered?

To take my mind off what I'm reading elsewhere, I am re-reading "Shogun" which is one of my all-time favorites. And I started "The Lord of the Rings" but I have stopped at Book Two because of the unceasing drear. I don't think I ever read it before when prospects for the future seemed so dim.

Posted by: Tonestaple at July 05, 2015 11:55 AM (WdorP)

167 They're everywhere and they're insatiable!

So they're locusts?

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 05, 2015 11:56 AM (6mTDT)

168 Posted by: Frankly at July 05, 2015 11:51 AM (8CjR3)

"False muster" is one of the reasons I made sure to enter grand-son of Hrothgar in the AoS Horde rolls effective today!

Posted by: Hrothgar at July 05, 2015 11:58 AM (ftVQq)

169 167 They're everywhere and they're insatiable!

So they're locusts?

Or, relatives.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 12:08 PM (LkQLS)

170 Common Core is about making the plebs equally stupid....

Posted by: torabora at July 05, 2015 12:10 PM (wv6rU)

171 Tonestaple ... I know what you mean about LOTR. I re-read it every year but it isn't a happy, happy book. There is struggle, sacrifice, eventual victory but at a cost, sometimes a heavy cost. I continue to read it for the beautiful writing, imaginative vision and grand story-telling art. When it gets too oppressive for my mood, I put it down for a week and read cozy mysteries or Louis L'Amour or PG Wodehouse.

Posted by: JTB at July 05, 2015 12:12 PM (FvdPb)

172 So how come the White House was ready with those gay flood lights? Did they get told something ahead of time?

Posted by: torabora at July 05, 2015 12:13 PM (wv6rU)

173 I re-read it every year but it isn't a happy, happy book. There is struggle, sacrifice, eventual victory but at a cost, sometimes a heavy cost

It's very bittersweet. Frodo never really gets back to normal. Doing what he did, handling the Ring, going to Mordor, took its toll on him. Only by leaving Middle Earth completely and irrevocably could his wound he healed.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 12:17 PM (LkQLS)

174 Somebody needs to tell Denzel about Bass Reeves

Posted by: Art Mullen at July 05, 2015 09:19 AM (jgFVL)

I've been thinking Nick Searcy. Would be a great series. Same with the Buffalo Soldiers. I recently learned that not only were they fierce and dedicated warriors, but they were deployed to protect and guard the national parks (i.e., Yellowstone and Yosemite). Their stories should be told in a dramatic tv format, then people would know.

Posted by: Comrade Moron April at July 05, 2015 12:18 PM (CmBOu)

175 Their stories should be told in a dramatic tv format, then people would know.

Agreed--I'm trying to include what I can in my Loyal Valley series (the story of Emanuel Stance's MoH is in Bystanders), but a dedicated Buffalo Soldiers series would be a great idea. That's an area of military history that needs to be preserved and passed on. Unfortunately, one problem that I learned of just over Christmas from a reenactor is that the Ninth Cavalry didn't have a unit historian, so many of their stories were simply never recorded.
If you get the chance to go to a living history event where the Buffalo Soldiers are presenting, btw, I recommend going. Nice men, and a lot of them (maybe all?) are veterans themselves.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 05, 2015 12:29 PM (iuQS7)

176 There Will Be War is an awesome collection overall. There are indeed 9 books total in the series.
I picked up on a number of authors through it, Orson Scott Card among them, as well as it provoking my love of Kipling. I especially enjoyed Pournelle's opening essays, and regularly refer to several of them.

Posted by: Sam at July 05, 2015 12:29 PM (mkv9z)

177 Buffalo soldiers.

Did you ever see this movie (a John Ford cavalry western)?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054292/

"Sergeant Rutledge", starring Woody Strode and Jeffrey Hunter.

Jeffrey Hunter was also in "The Searchers", opposite John Wayne. And Woody Strode was in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", as Wayne's ranch hand.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative....outlaw in America at July 05, 2015 12:30 PM (+1T7c)

178 I ran across a reference to Lord Thomas Cochrane in some of my recent reading. I'd never heard of him before. One of history's great badass characters:

-
I read a biography of him some years ago. One thing I remember is that he was denied the honor he deserved because his victories weren't bloody. He didn't lose enough of his own men to be considered great.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at July 05, 2015 12:32 PM (fAGvL)

179 This morning I received EPUB files of the proposed final versions of Volumes III and IV of There Will Be War ebook edition. They look good with nicely rendered new covers that are 3D versions of the art from the originals.

So those should be available very soon. Meanwhile, new print versions of volumes I and II (as a single book if I was paying attention properly) are also on the way. The entire set of nine volumes should be at the major venues well before the election season.

Posted by: Epobirs at July 05, 2015 12:36 PM (IdCqF)

180 Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at July 05, 2015 10:12 AM (Zu3d9)

I couldn't connect with Memoirs from Antproof Case, either. Stopped two chapters in; perhaps just reading too late at night when I'm tired, but screw it. Life is short, I'll read something else.

I did read The Road Out of Hell, which someone recommended a few weeks back, and that was gripping. It is amazing what humans can endure and still come out of it whole and good.

Posted by: Comrade Moron April at July 05, 2015 12:43 PM (CmBOu)

181 #179 thanks for the update, Epobirs!

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 12:46 PM (LkQLS)

182 67, don't miss Helprin's A Soldier of The Great War. Read it about 20 years ago ( I picked it up for a buck on the remainder table). Terrific, beautifully written novel.

Posted by: JoeF. at July 05, 2015 12:56 PM (78vwv)

183 Mark Helprin used to receive literary awards and rave reviews. Then he came out as Conservative--he wrote speeches for Bob Dole---and a hawk.

Posted by: JoeF. at July 05, 2015 12:59 PM (78vwv)

184 boulder terlit hobo at July 05, 2015 11:31 AM

Thanks for that. I want to get those books.

Posted by: Lester Failsworth Jr at July 05, 2015 01:04 PM (jJd4x)

185 Free men are educated. Slaves are not.

Free men are armed. Slaves are not.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at July 05, 2015 01:06 PM (mur8B)

186 So they're locusts?

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 05, 2015 11:56 AM (6mTDT)

"Swarms" of new "officials" to eat out our substance!

Posted by: Hrothgar at July 05, 2015 01:10 PM (ftVQq)

187 Free men are educated. Slaves are not.

Free men are armed. Slaves are not.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at July 05, 2015 01:06 PM (mur8B)
Disarmed, but formerly free, people are slaves but just haven't realized it yet!!

Posted by: Hrothgar at July 05, 2015 01:15 PM (ftVQq)

188 Pournelle's Falkenberg series is available in a single volume titled The Prince. Fantastic, topical for the times and tailor-made for the Horde.

Posted by: Chico Escuela at July 05, 2015 01:19 PM (oifcv)

189 http://voxday.blogspot.com/2015/07/there-will-be-four.html

The new covers for the first four volumes.

Posted by: Epobirs at July 05, 2015 01:23 PM (IdCqF)

190 Those lines from the NYT review of "Grey" are flippin' hiLARious. Thanks for the link.

Thanks also, OregonMuse, for the book thread every week. I appreciate all the suggestions. It gives me some things to look for at the local library.

Posted by: Captain Whitebread (Face For Radio, Voice For Print) at July 05, 2015 01:31 PM (rJUlF)

191 Compost Everything can change your life in a good way, whether you are a gardener, or just a moron with need to dispose of excess hobo remains.

Posted by: Gordon at July 05, 2015 01:32 PM (///9r)

192 Regarding Rosaria Butterfield:

Have any of you guys heard of Dr. Joseph Nicolosi? He is a licensed psychologist who specializes in SSA and reparative therapy, practices in California.

His website contains a plethora of informative articles and interviews, most notably the client stories. If you take the time to go there, read "Educating a College Professor on Homosexuality."

He also talks about the sexual development of adolescents and how vulnerable they are to the promotion of the gay culture.

http://tinyurl.com/omqknfv

Posted by: Joanne at July 05, 2015 01:47 PM (indTK)

193 Read an excellent book this week - "You Should Have Known" by Jean Hanff Korelitz. The protagonist is a psychotherapist in Manhattan with a doctor husband and a perfect son and is about to have her first book published (also titled "You Should Have Known"), but then the mother of a child at her son's tony private school is brutally murdered, her husband disappears, she begins to realize he's not the man she thought he was, and she really should have known. The author does a great job of maintaining the protagonist's voice, even as she learns more and more about her husband and her own willful blindness to his true character. Very readable.

Posted by: biancaneve at July 05, 2015 01:53 PM (vP4/o)

194 I read a great steampunk novel called "Karen Memory" which takes place in Seattle. Lance Bass plays a large part in the story, tho it is fiction. You'll like him.

Posted by: 4 Corners Fan at July 05, 2015 01:56 PM (DbqVL)

195 This, then, is the new illiteracy, the illiteracy of those who can read but don't. [...] This new illiteracy is more pernicious than the old, because unlike the old illiteracy it does not debar its victims from power and influence, although like the old illiteracy it disqualifies them for it.

--- Gene Wolfe

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at July 05, 2015 02:07 PM (OFsYt)

196 Epobirs, thanks for the heads up.on those works.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 05, 2015 02:08 PM (6mTDT)

197 173 ... Not just Frodo. Although it's not part of the main book, one of the appendices mentions that Sam, near the end of his life, takes a ship to the Undying Lands. He was the last direct link to the Ring. I got the impression, never stated, this was granted due to his devotion to Frodo and the need to eliminate the last vestige of the Ring's influence in Middle Earth.

Posted by: JTB at July 05, 2015 02:28 PM (FvdPb)

198 193 - Sounds interesting! I just checked, and it's available at our library, so I'll got take a look at it this week.

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at July 05, 2015 02:43 PM (VBbCO)

199 Has George Takei renounced Japanese citizenship yet?

Posted by: Burnt Toast at July 05, 2015 02:48 PM (NaeCR)

200 I appear to be standing on your lawn. I'll get off it.

You don't have to get off of it, Insomniac. Depending on where you're standing the bee nest, the poison ivy or the mole holes will get ya.;^)

Just kidding. You can stand on my lawn -untroubled- anytime you want to.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 05, 2015 02:50 PM (OSs/l)

201 Fredrick Douglass' sons, Lewis and Charles, both enlisted in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. Lewis served as the 54th's regimental sergeant major until May, 1864.

Posted by: mrp at July 05, 2015 03:25 PM (JBggj)

202 I just stumbled across a great deal for those who don't have Larry Correia's "Monster Hunter International" yet; it is free today in the Amazon Kindle Store:

http://tinyurl.com/qzhbsdg

Posted by: John the Baptist at July 05, 2015 03:42 PM (Xs981)

203 Using the eyeballs for the first Flavia de Luce mystery, "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie." Really enjoying it, and I'm glad it was recommended on the Book Thread. Even better, the library has all of them.

Using the ears for "Cold Shot" by Mark Henshaw. Techno-espionage thriller. Fantastic book. It's only the second in a series, and the next one won't hit the shelves until next year, so I'm practically on the ground floor. A quick high-concept description: CIA discovers Iranians making nuke in Venezuela.

Posted by: Weak Geek at July 05, 2015 03:54 PM (+P39t)

204 #202 Dang it, I wish I had known about this before I put up the book thread this morning.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 05:24 PM (LkQLS)

205 I just finished Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series after 10 years of reading it off on. I originally started it because I heard it was an influence for the show "Lost", which I was into, but now I wonder if that is because the endings for both were dissatisfying and didn't hardlyanswer anything, though I still greatly enjoyed the first 4 volumes of the books the first 4 seasons of "Lost".

Posted by: norrin radd at July 05, 2015 06:17 PM (SMZzI)

206 Have any of you guys heard of Dr. Joseph Nicolosi? He is a licensed psychologist who specializes in SSA and reparative therapy, practices in California.

I know nothing about him, but I'm surprised his practice hasn't been shut down by the SJWs.

I do notice though, on his website, not a single article about or reference to lesbians. All of the client stories are about men. All of the 'theoretical' articles are focused on male homosexuality. I wonder why the presentation s so lop-sided?

Not a criticism, this just seems odd to me.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 06:48 PM (LkQLS)

207 Oh, duh. The reason for Nicolosi's focus on male homosexuals is because that is the one group he has been working with exclusively for the past 15 years.

Now my question is, can any of his theraputic solutions be directly applied to lesbians, or is there a completely different psychology involved?

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 06:54 PM (LkQLS)

208 204 #202 Dang it, I wish I had known about this before I put up the book thread this morning.
Posted by: OregonMuse at July 05, 2015 05:24 PM (LkQLS)

It will be there a while. MHI is part of the Baen Free Library now.

Posted by: BornLib at July 07, 2015 06:19 AM (zpNwC)

Processing 0.03, elapsed 0.0369 seconds.
14 queries taking 0.0141 seconds, 216 records returned.
Page size 147 kb.
Powered by Minx 0.8 beta.