Sunday Morning Book Thread 10-09-2016: Applauding Mediocrity [OregonMuse]

Library of Moron JTB

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, where men are men, all the 'ettes are gorgeous, safe spaces are underneath your house and are used as protection against actual dangers, like tornados, hurricanes, IRS audits, and getting caught in the path between Hillary! and giant bags of cash, and special snowflakes can't stand the heat. And unlike other AoSHQ comment threads, the Sunday Morning Book Thread is so hoity-toity, pants are required. Even if it's these gawdawful things.

H/T to JTB for today's library pic. He tells me that "the photos show, at most, about half of the books in there. Some of the shelves are stacked two and three deep. And then there are several hundred books in the house as well as hundreds more on the Kindle and Nook. If I never bought another book (yeah, right!) I cold read for a few decades with what I have now."

You can click on the pic for better snooping.

World's Oldest Library

Has just been rennovated:

Located in Fez, Morocco, the al-Qarawiyyin library is part of the world's oldest continually operating university, al-Qarawiyyin University, which opened in 859. The library got several small additions and renovations over its millennium-long existence, but it wasn't until 2012 that Canadian-Moroccan architect Aziza Chaouni decided to give it a total face lift.

Great. What does it have?

Al-Qarawiyyin is home to approximately 4,000 manuscripts, NPR reports.

Is it just me, or does that not sound like much?

There are 9th-century Qurans written in Kufic calligraphy and the oldest known accounts of the life of the prophet Muhammed. One such book is the original "Muqadimmah," a famous 14th-century text from the North African historian Ibn Khaldun.

That's a misleading or poorly written sentence. The Muqadimmah is not really a life of Mo. As will be discussed later, it is a work of history and sociology and many other things.

Naturally, the old-school marxists at The Guardian have managed to work in some vintage 'class struggle' rhetoric to the restoration effort. You can easily imagine hearing a rousing chorus of "The Internationale" resounding through the cubicles at the Guardian offices:

“The people who work here jealously guard the books,” says one of the caretakers. “You can hurt us, but you cannot hurt the books.”

Who wants to hurt them? The West? ISIS? An evil djinn? The article doesn't say. But it does mention, almost as an aside:

The library's restoration comes at a time when extremists are rampaging the region's heritage. Across Syria and Iraq, the militants of the Islamic State have carried out cultural atrocities that include ransacking the great library of Mosul, burning thousands of manuscripts, bulldozing ancient Assyrian cities like Nimrud and Hatra in Iraq, blowing up the Temple of Bel in Palmyra and sacking the oasis city's museum, in addition to destroying tombs and mausoleums of Shia and Christian saints.

In other words, what Muslims have to fear most these days is the depredations of other Muslims. And what did that guy mean when he said "you cannot hurt the books?" Really? Seems to me a rampaging ISIS mob with Molotov cocktails and a few RPGs could hurt the books real bad.

And incidentally, the marxist social theorists really need to up their game here. After all, it's not angry hordes of berzerk Lutherans that are threatening the Muslim library, it's the library caretakers' own co-religionists. The commie class-warfare narrative simply has no room for the green-on-green 'struggle' that's been the unremarked sideshow of the ascent of Wahabism over the past half century. Guardian editors and staff, please take note.

“Throughout the years, the library underwent many rehabilitations, but it still suffered from major structural problems, a lack of insulation, and infrastructural deficiencies like a blocked drainage system, broken tiles, cracked wood beams, exposed electric wires, and so on,” she said..”

Well, isn't this, as they say, the story of Islam?

Yes, this is just me being churlish. Everyone wants to portray Islamic culture in the best possible light, and give it every benefit of the doubt, and I'm just tired of it (it's like we all have to stand there and pretend that some guy who calls himself "Caitlyn" is perfectly normal). Sometimes these efforts sound a bit touchy:

[The library] was founded by a Muslim woman named Fatima al-Fihiri in the year 859, debunking the myth that muslim women were subjugated.

And that defensive and petulant declaration just comes out of nowhere. It has nothing to do with the subject at hand, which is the hows and the whys of the library restoration, not the history of women's rights in Islam. But since it's been brought up, no, it actually doesn't "debunk" anything. All it does is show that maybe there were exceptions to what might have been a general condition. After all, it's not particularly surprising that a woman in the 1% (Fatima was the daughter of a wealthy merchant) would make out OK. One has to wonder, though, about all the other women back then who didn't have her pot of money.

I've read a number of articles about this restoration, and none of them say what this library contains and what is worth studying, other than a few historic old manuscripts. Not that there's no scholarship in the Islamic world. I've heard that there's actually quite a lot, but most of it is what we might call "Qur'anic studies", which I'd guess would be of little interest to non-Muslims.

They're letting western tourists in to see the restoration, but it's not clear whether, in the long run, non-Muslims will be allowed. It used to be that the only way you could get to this library was through the mosque it was part of, which means that only Muslims had access. The French added an external door when they did their restoration work in 1940, but again, it's not clear whether this door will be allowed to be used.

A new months ago, the library pic for one Sunday book thread was one I found of the Qatar National Library. The reason I thought it noteworthy was how kind of unimpressive it looked. You've all seen the jaw-dropping magnificence of the various national and academic libraries of other countries in photos I've used, but this? It looks kind of like a state college library, and not a particularly prestigious one at that. I just used the pic without comment because I wanted to see what kind of reaction I'd get. The best was by naturalfake who commented: "Wow, look at all those Qur'ans."

So my guess is that this library, once completely restored and functional, will be an Islamic library of interest to no one else except Qur'anic scholars, and maybe some historians. And we're all supposed to stand around and applaud and say "Bravo."

One last thing:

One such book is the original "Muqadimmah," a famous 14th-century text from the North African historian Ibn Khaldun.

This being the book thread, I had to look this up. The Muqadimmah actually sounds kind of interesting. It was written by Ibn Khaldun in 1377 and the way I would describe it is that it's Khaldun's attempt to explain how the world works. It's mostly history, but also topics relating to sociology, economics, political theory, demography, and other other fields are also explored.

I grabbed a pdf version of an English translation, which you can get here. There's also a Kindle version you can get for $2.99, which might be good except that there's no text formatting so it looks like one big run-on sentence. In other words, a wall of text. Who can read such a book?

One Last Thing and This Time I Mean It

More on Ibn Khaldun's 'Muqaddimah', I was flipping through the pdf version and discovered that he has some things to say about nomadic Arab culture that are extremely critical. In fact, the chapter where I pulled the following quote is titled 'Places that succumb to the Arabs are quickly ruined.' No, I did not make that up. Here is a bit of what he had to say:

The reason for this is that (the Arabs) are a savage nation, fully accustomed to savagery and the things that cause it. Savagery has become their character and nature. They enjoy it, because it means freedom from authority and no subservience to leadership. Such a natural disposition is the negation and antithesis of civilization. All the customary activities of the Arabs lead to travel and movement. This is the antithesis and negation of stationariness, which produces civilization. For instance, the Arabs need stones to set them up as supports for their cooking pots. So, they take them from buildings which they tear down to get the stones, and use them for that purpose. Wood, too, is needed by them for props for their tents and for use as tent poles for their dwellings. So, they tear down roofs to get the wood for that purpose. The very nature of their existence is the negation of building, which is the basis of civilization. This is the case with them quite generally.

I have to stop here, otherwise I'd have to quote the whole chapter. Ordinarily this would be more than enough to elicit cries of 'raaaaaysizzem' from the guardians of the public narrative, except that Ibn Khaldun is of Arab-Berber extraction and I don't think they'd be able to get away with calling him a 'white Arab'. Again I say it is incumbent upon the cultural marxists to put on their big boy pants and explain how and why something like this, which clearly doesn't fit into their "evil white imperialists vs. saintly brown people" template, can exist.

And I just think it's worth reading someone not bound by the current regime of pinch-faced fascists.

Lying Together

Normally, I don't like linking to WND (formerly Worldnet Daily), whom I consider to be the Weekly World News of conservative journalism, but they appear to be the only outlet covering this story.

First, they reported that Hillary's new book was getting royally schlonged in the Amazon reviews. Actually, come to think of it, another conservative commentator to mention Hillary's epic schtupping was, not to put too fine a point on it, me:

3. As I'm typing this on Friday afternoon, 84% of the Amazon reviews are of the 1-star variety, and it's rare that you see something on Amazon with reviews so lopsidedly bad. Not to mention hilarious.

Yeah, but then something weird happened. One fine day earlier last week, a bunch of reviews simply disappeared:

WND previously reported there were more than 1,200 reviews, and the number grew to than 2,000.

But Thursday afternoon, there were only 255, with many of the most critical reviews removed by Amazon, whose CEO, Jeff Bezos, owns the Washington Post, which created an army of 20 reporters and researchers to investigate the life of Donald Trump.

So I've been watching this for a week, and the number of reviews of Stronger Together go up and up and up and then there is some sort of reduction. I am not sure why this is happening. It's unlikely that Amazon is doing this to make Hillary's book look better, as the WND article implies, because the ratio of negative vs. positive reviews isn't being changed for the better. In fact, it's actually gotten worse (for Hillary) in the time I've been watching it. The percentage of one-star reviews has gone up from 84% to 89% despite the removing of hundreds of reviews, so if Amazon really is trying to puff up Hillary, they're doing a really bad job.

But here is something interesting, guess which Clinton crony I discovered is on the Amazon Board of Directors? I mean, besides Jeff Bezos?

Go on, take a guess.

Give up? OK, it's none other than AoSHQ's old gal pal, the Master of Disaster, the Lady of Fail, the Queen of Incompetence, The Countess of Crap, The Duchess of Derp, Jamie Gorelick.

After she almost singlehandedly caused 9/11, she jumped over to Fannie Mae and helped ruin the economy. Having screwed up and destroyed everything in reach, she then left government for the private sector where she's evidently done very well for herself. Doesn't matter that she's effed up everything she's been a part of, she's managed to ensconce herself on a a couple of corporate governing boards in addition to Amazon:

Ms. Gorelick has served as a director of VeriSign, Inc. since January 2015, a director of United Technologies Corporation from February 2000 to December 2014, and a director of Schlumberger Limited from April 2002 to June 2010.

Yes, being part of the incestuous nest of rat spiders infesting Washington DC does have its benefits. I doubt she's working for free.

Sudden thought: If WND is the conservative Weekly World News, then is Glenn Beck kind of like Bat Boy?

Hidden Meanings In Anagrams

Moron author Mark Huffman obviously has way more spare time on his hands than is good for him, because he sent me a bunch of clever anagrams last week. I'll just post a few of them here. I always marvel at people who can play with words like this. For example, you can rearrange the letters in the phrase PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, AGE SIXTY-SEVEN to read any of the following:

Cynics maintain addled sexagenarian is pretty old, over the hill.
Next, she noticed mild heart pain. I’ll say it: advanced years, no girl!
"Edict: no votes! I shall INHERIT a dynasty!" explained relic grandma.
An elderly lady’s extensive medical chart: hip distortion, angina.
"Sanders, ill health vex poor ancient granny," aides icily admitted.
Alarmed analysts candidly predict her exit soon, invite healing.

Also VOTE FOR HILLARY CLINTON FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is actually "Convict liar of felony; after this, send her to time-out at federal prison."

Likewise CANDIDATE HILLARY CLINTON BLAMES A "TRUMP ALLERGY" FOR INTERRUPTIONS DURING HER CAMPAIGN SPEECH is: "In alarm, frail grandma can’t stop coughing! Horrid, unethical cripple may be pretty ill - needs nurse!"

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE HILLARY CLINTON SAYS MANY DONALD TRUMP VOTERS ARE "BASKET OF DEPLORABLES" really means "'Slay and kill every one of those tainted Republican bastards dead!' rants nasty, immoral old cripple."

The hidden meaning of HILLARY CLINTON’S DOCTOR CLAIMED THAT SHE IS IN VERY GOOD HEALTH is, believe it or not, "Lady isn’t a teetotaler - overdid chronic alcoholism nightly. (Shh!)"

But what about Trump? It turns out that DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA has many hidden meanings, among them:

A foul temper - distressed! Don’t nominate pathetic fraud!
The loudest candidate. The fat, inept moron’s a dumpster fire!
Muttonheaded infant. A complete disaster! Fire P.O.S. turd!
Utter amateur’s dim chatter did offend peoples, nations.
See truth of fantastic man: determined, adored populist!
Tested, tried. Famous, talented star. Proud, fine champion!
Mideast? It suffered prompt nuclear detonation deaths.
He is "Dad" first. Melania touted potent stud performance!
I sat up, nodded. "Triumph of confident real estate master!"
Rich, self-funded, toupeed titan promotes, attains dream!
Utter amateur’s dim chatter did offend peoples, nations.

Lastly, there's this from another moron, who has found another hidden meaning:

Fun fact: the letters in "Miss Universe Alicia Machado" can be rearranged into "A vicious dame. She's a criminal."

Just saying.

Posted by: Doctor Cynic at September 30, 2016 12:15 PM (ZnEDc)

Books By Morons

Moron author T.S. O'Neil is back with the fourth book of his Blackfox Chronicles, Mexican Hat Trick, which

...reunites Retired Sheriff’s Department Detective turned Private Investigator, Eidetic Eddie Doyle with Former Force Recon Marine, Michael Blackfox, in a rollicking tale of murder, counterfeiting and kidnapping south of the border. A rogue’s gallery of new villains, including a pathological ex-French Foreign Legionnaire, a bloodthirsty drug kingpin, and a conniving corporate attorney, conspire to corner the counterfeit apparel market. Mexican Hat Trick is Florida Glare—south of the border.

I had to look up "Florida Glare", a term I had never heard before. No, it's not a species of orange. It's a sub-genre of crime fiction:

In this genre, as Dave Barry, a late-arriving practitioner, puts it, a bunch of “South Florida wackos”—all heavily armed, all loquacious, all barely aware of one another’s existence—blunder through petty crime, discover themselves engaged in actual murder, and then move in unconscious unison toward the black comedy of a violent climax.

So it sounds like it's kind of like "L.A. noir", only with an extra helping of stupid.

Mr. O'Neil also has a proposition for you morons: "I'd love to get some reviews quickly and would buy a limited number of folks a book if they would be willing to do a review. I think that number would be about 25. Any potential reviewers can just send me an email at timoneil (at) brighthouse dot com, tell me that they want to be a reviewer, and I'll buy them the book."

A free book for a review. Not too bad of a deal.

What I'm Reading

The main character of Michel Faber's The Book of Strange New Things is a devout Christian, but this is not a Christian novel. The plot takes him trillions of miles away from Earth to the first interstellar settlement, but this is not a science-fiction novel:

It begins with Peter, a devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Bea. Peter becomes immersed in the mysteries of an astonishing new environment, overseen by an enigmatic corporation known only as USIC. His work introduces him to a seemingly friendly native population struggling with a dangerous illness and hungry for Peter’s teachings—his Bible is their “book of strange new things.” But Peter is rattled when Bea’s letters from home become increasingly desperate: typhoons and earthquakes are devastating whole countries, and governments are crumbling. Bea’s faith, once the guiding light of their lives, begins to falter.

This is a novel of things falling apart and the center not holding: failing relationships, hapless governments, crumbling economies, dying societies. The planet Peter finds himself on is itself kind of dead; there are few animals, the vegetation is sparse, and the landscape is pretty much the same everywhere, flat and featureless. But the inhabitants have a hunger for Peter's Bible teaching and their numbers are growing, even as his relationship with his wife is deteriorating. Faber deftly reveals the inexorable marital decline in a series of heartbreaking text messages between husband and wife.

This is an emotionally affecting novel. I found myself caught up in the characters' conflicts and couldn't stop thinking of how unbearable it would be if I were trillions of miles away (literally) from my wife as everything around her is slowly sliding into chaos and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it except send her texts that can seemingly only be interpreted as empty platitudes.

All in all, I enjoyed it, even if it isn't a happy novel.

This was a $1.99 Bookbub special of a few weeks back that has, alas, ended. It's back up to $12.99 now.

___________

Moronette 'votermom' is putting together a list of moron authors over on the Goodreads site which is intended to be accessible to non-members. Here is the list she has compiled so far. Let her know if there's an author she's missing.

http://www.bookhorde.org/p/aoshq-authors.html

___________

Don't forget the AoSHQ reading group on Goodreads. It's meant to support horde writers and to talk about the great books that come up on the book thread. It's called AoSHQ Moron Horde and the link to it is here: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/175335-aoshq-moron-horde.

___________

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.

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Good morning.

Posted by: HH at October 09, 2016 08:59 AM (DrCtv)

2 Tolle lege! Tolle lege!

Posted by: Skip at October 09, 2016 09:00 AM (sWbjH)

3 Come visit my presidential library! See my El Camino with AstroTurf in the bed. Ass indeed!

Posted by: Bill in Chappaqua at October 09, 2016 09:02 AM (qlPzn)

4 Still working on A Sea of Words by Dean King, almost done. But it lead me to The Black Ship by Dudley Pope about a bloody mutiny on a British man of war during the Napoleoic era. Also thinking of next Guilty as Sin by Edward Klein. So much to read, so little time.

Posted by: Skip at October 09, 2016 09:03 AM (sWbjH)

5 The worlds oldest continuously operating library.

And Vic has an overdue book from there.

Figure the odds, right?

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at October 09, 2016 09:04 AM (J+eG2)

6 OM did my email get through? Might have totally finished pictures in a couple of weeks. There also is a smaller reading room off the main one that is less complete as it has 6 doors to be replaced.

Posted by: Skip at October 09, 2016 09:06 AM (sWbjH)

7 This week I read The Sleepwalkers by Paul Grossman. Willie Krause is a detective-inspector with the Berlin police force during the early '30's as Hitler is rising to power. Kraus is a Jew. His case of foreign-born women going missing leads him to discover early medical experiments being done by the Nazis. He tries to bring the perps to justice while trying not to be arrested himself and while trying to remain alive. Very good descriptions of Berlin during this period.

Posted by: Zoltan at October 09, 2016 09:07 AM (JYer2)

8 Reading Max Hastings, "Catastrophe". This is another history of the events leading to the 1914 Weltkrieg. It blames the Germans.

Hastings is at least honest, so lays out the motivations of all the parties involved. The nation that comes out the worst isn't really Germany though - it's Serbia, the Pakistan of the Slavs. It was a new nation, effectively ungovernable, with three factions that could not agree on anything. One of those factions was the Black Hand.

Add to that, that the Russians were supporting the Serbs for very shortsighted tactical reasons: Serb-sponsored terrorism in the Austro-Hungarian Empire weakened that flank of Russia's borders.

So I'm not buying Hastings' premise. The French and English at the time didn't buy it either ("TO HELL WITH SERVIA", to quote one headline). Even the Tsar thought the Serbs had screwed the pooch on the Ferdinand affair, and recommended they accede to most (but not all) the Austro-Hungarian demands.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at October 09, 2016 09:10 AM (Owpxv)

9 {i]Posted by: Skip at October 09, 2016 09:03 AM (sWbjH)

I'm on the second book of the series (Post Captain) with a little "Sea of Words" on the side. I have five more books to score before I have the entire series (mostly in hardback). The local used book store basically gave me about ten of them ($1.00 ea), but Bezos will make a few more $$ from me before it's over!

Flogging, press gangs, strange diseases, and violent battles, it sounds like a foretaste of the Hillary regime!

Posted by: Hrothgar at October 09, 2016 09:12 AM (wCEn4)

10 Islam - keeping countries third-world shit-holes since 700AD.

Posted by: Insomniac - Irredeemably Deplorable at October 09, 2016 09:15 AM (0mRoj)

11 I'm just finishing up Rick Atkinson's trilogy on WWII, starting with An Army at Dawn and finishing with Guns at Last Light. This series is a real masterwork, and I can't recommend it highly enough. It's got the gripping narrative of a first-rate novel, even though you know how it turns out, and makes it easier to understand the movements of armies, the motivations of their leaders (often not what you would hope for in someone entrusted with so many lives), and give you a good picture of things that happened to the ordinary soldiers on both sides.

Getting through the whole series takes awhile, but it's well worth it.

Posted by: pep at October 09, 2016 09:15 AM (LAe3v)

12 When literate classical-era Arabic-speakers said "Arab" they usually meant the Arab of the desert, whose Islam was nominal. This is the Arab whom sura 9 condemns.

The Arabic-speaking upper crust identified as Muslim. The common Cairene called himself an "Egyptian", the Damascene a "Syrian", and so forth.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at October 09, 2016 09:15 AM (Owpxv)

13 Speaking of Muslims:

Two killed in Jerusalem shooting attack
Five others wounded in a shooting attack near Israel Police headquarters and the light rail station on Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem; one 60-year-old woman was left in critical condition, while a police officer sustained serious injuries; both later succumbed to their wounds.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at October 09, 2016 09:16 AM (K63aO)

14 Ha! The 'perpetually offended left.' I'm stealing that.

Posted by: LASue at October 09, 2016 09:17 AM (m/IZ9)

15 "'You know, it's a funny thing,' Ted said in an ironic, musing voice. 'Every convention I can remember in my adult life, in either party, they've managed to sell to the public as a desperate, last-ditch battle by a tiny little band of vastly outnumbered liberals, fighting tooth and nail against an enormous, overwhelming conspiracy of conservatives - whereas actually, nine times out of ten, the situation has been exactly the reverse. The liberals have had nearly all the press, all the television, all the radio, all the academic, scientific, publishing, theatrical, communications world - every possible means of publicity and favorable presentation to the American people.'"

- Allen Drury, "Capable of Honor" 1966 (!)

Posted by: Kodos the Executioner at October 09, 2016 09:17 AM (J8/9G)

16 Jerusalem terrorist carried out attack on day he was set to be jailed for prior offense

Western Legal Leniency will get us all killed

Posted by: Nevergiveup at October 09, 2016 09:18 AM (K63aO)

17 Amazing that that description of Arabs from 1377 can still applied today, over 600 years later. Sure, you could point to Dubai with all its tallest this, and largest that, but for most people in the region? Living like their ancestors from centuries gone by.

Posted by: Lizzy at October 09, 2016 09:18 AM (NOIQH)

18 The libraries of Timbouktou had more books than the Moroccan library, in several African languages as well as Arabic. Unfortunately their version of ISIS - Ansar Dine - did their best to burn them. They're getting digitised now.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at October 09, 2016 09:18 AM (Owpxv)

19 I miss wood paneling and air conditioners.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at October 09, 2016 09:18 AM (EZebt)

20 AND Speaking of muslims and vetting:

Former MK Azmi Bishara, who fled Israel after being charged with treason, was reportedly awarded a visa to the US, the Washington Free Beacon reported Thursday.

The news site reported that Bishara is among the speakers at the Arab Center Washington, DC's first annual conference, titled "Democracy in the Arab World: The Obama Legacy & Beyond." It will take place on October 14 at the city's JW Marriott Hotel, blocks away from the White House.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at October 09, 2016 09:20 AM (K63aO)

21 Good morning, Book Thread Hordelings!

The re-write of the novel is going well. I'm on page 128 of about 200, so I'm hoping to have it done in the next week or two.
Calling all Horde authors: Has anybody used CreateSpace, or similar self-publishing platforms? Tell me about your experience. Where you satisfied with the system? Was it expensive/ difficult to use? Do you have to copyright a manuscript in order to use the programs, or is simply applying for copyright (to be issued whenever they get around to reading the application) enough to move forward?
I'm looking forward to self-publishing my first novel- hopefully before the end of the year- and I need all the advice I can get. Thanks in advance.
In reading news, I just got my hands on the 7th edition of Wheelock's Latin, in case I
ever have some spare time to pick up another language. Like I don't
already have enough to do. I've also acquired another Calvin and Hobbes
book, because everyone needs some laughter in their lives.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at October 09, 2016 09:20 AM (26lkV)

22 hi

Posted by: Sisqui at October 09, 2016 09:21 AM (k5g8v)

23 I use CreateSpace. The system is fairly user-friendly, but they do try to bilk you for "services" like designing a book cover.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at October 09, 2016 09:22 AM (Owpxv)

24 What the heck is with this formatting? I swear, I didn't mean for comment 21 to look like that.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at October 09, 2016 09:22 AM (26lkV)

25 Ironic that you posted the photo of my completely overstuffed book shelves. We went to the annual sale at our local library (always dangerous) and came home with more books. To be fair, some will be gifts: clean copies of CS Lewis that I already have; odd topics: rigid headle weaving (I know that sounds potentially dirty); some James Clavell novels Mrs. JTB meant to read decades ago.

The sick part is we are probably going back there later today. Good thing we have plenty of boxes on the floor.

Posted by: JTB at October 09, 2016 09:22 AM (V+03K)

26 And speaking of muslims:

The father of New York bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami said on Saturday that the FBI had made mistake after mistake in handling the case and is now punishing the family for his sons wrongdoing by barring them from travelling to the United States.


Cry me a river

Posted by: Nevergiveup at October 09, 2016 09:22 AM (K63aO)

27 Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata by Hans Orberg

I've been reading a different type of book this week, a textbook. I've been attempting to teach myself Latin for some time now with mixed success. I've been using Latin Via Ovid which is a more or less standard book. I do like it but it consists primarily of literary latin, the myths of gods and heroes from the works of Ovid. I practice declinig nouns and conjugating verbs per tables in the book.

This week I stumbled across Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata Pars I Familia Romana. This book takes the total immersion approach. It is all in latin, and by all, I mean all. If you go to the word glossary in the back of the book, it either defines the words in latin or references the page where the word was introduced and defined, frequently by a picture. Teaching the complex latin grammar by examples rather than by English explanation causes a certain see Spot, see Spot run, run, Spot, run style but that is the way I learned to read. The idea is that you learn latin like you learned English as a toddler. Rather than stories of gods and heroes, these are simple stories of everyday life, sort of as if Beaver Cleaver's dad owned slaves. Fun fact, in the days of Ancient Rome, the sound of a switch swatting the rump of a deserving child is, "tuxtax tuxtax tuxtax." And now, I think, dad is getting ready to beat a slave with a rod for stealing. Defining words by pictures creates a certain ambiguity of English translation but that allows you to think in latin. For example, I learned the word "baculum" by picture and don't know if the English translation is rod, staff, cane or what but I do know dad is getting ready to whump a thieving slave with one.

One unusual fact in the Kindle edition, apparently because the book is so laden with pictures, the entire book is presented as graphics. This creates some difficulties. You can't change the font size (which is a little small for these occuli antiqui). You can zoom in on the entire page as you can with any picture but that is annoying and time consuming. Further, the definition feature of Kindle doesn't work. Finally, the pages load more slowly than regular pages.

Be that as it may, this book is breaking a learning barrier for me.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at October 09, 2016 09:23 AM (Nwg0u)

28 I read a bit of Mexican Hat Trick for Tim . . . He has an interesting, fun style somewhat in the vein of Elmore Leonard. Well worth checking out.

Posted by: Emile Antoon Khadaji at October 09, 2016 09:25 AM (EZWZx)

29 Who can read such a book?


You are familiar with the works of James Joyce, yes?

Posted by: V the K at October 09, 2016 09:25 AM (Ovnvw)

30 I use CreateSpace. The system is fairly user-friendly, but they do try to bilk you for "services" like designing a book cover.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at October 09, 2016 09:22 AM (Owpxv)
Does the system allow you to upload your own covers? Because I can't draw, but I'm pretty sure I could find someone outside the CreateSpace network to do it for me. Or do you have to use someone they recommend?

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at October 09, 2016 09:27 AM (26lkV)

31 Adding to #30- I know I'll have to pay a little money for things like copy-editing and cover art. That doesn't scare me; this is an investment, and while I'm a poor artist, I'm not a starving artist.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at October 09, 2016 09:29 AM (26lkV)

32 The Iliad and the Odyssey right next to Tarzan and Conan the Barbarian. Love it! We moderns really are lucky. Not only can we peasants read and write, but we can have personal libraries that rival those of kings. Plus air conditioning!

Finished Ben Coes' thriller "Power Down", about a concerted terrorist effort against America's energy resources and infrastructure. Coes really knows how to keep a breakneck pace while bounding back and forth between characters.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Imperatrix Siculus at October 09, 2016 09:29 AM (jR7Wy)

33 I shall have to send pics of my own library, but it will have to be in installments, since there are bookshelves scattered all through the house, not just in a dedicated room...

I'm coming down the last stretch of getting the next book out there: The Golden Road (a picaresque Gold Rush adventure) has gone out to beta readers - and while I wait for feedback, I am re-reading some of my historical references ... and making up some period costumes to wear at book and market events. Having fun doing millinery - I like wearing hats, and they are required as part of late Victorian or Edwardian author drag...

The Golden Road should be available by mid-November, in time for the Christmas Market in New Braunfels.

Currently reading (or re-reading) The Triumphs and Trials of Lotta Crabtree, by David Dempsey and Ramond Baldwin, which is both a bio of her ... and a real-life legal thriller. It seems that after she passed away in the mid-1920s, her will was contested by two women who claimed to be her next of kin. She was extremely wealthy, and had invested wisely in her time, and left a considerable estate, mostly to various charities.

One of the women claimed to be her daughter through a brief and never-announced marriage, the other, the illegitimate daughter of her brother. So her executors and lawyers were put through an epic of researching - of what Lotta and her brother had been doing some forty years before. It's all quite fascinating.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at October 09, 2016 09:30 AM (xnmPy)

34 OM did my email get through?

Posted by: Skip at October 09, 2016 09:06 AM (sWbjH)

Yes, I got your email, thank you. Did you not get my reply?

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 09, 2016 09:31 AM (moXGJ)

35 I'll be spending the day reading the emails of clients who I secretly hope spend the rest of their lives in jail.

But at least I get the chance to work in this economy, so there's that.

Posted by: Oschisms at October 09, 2016 09:32 AM (ZsN9X)

36 You can hurt us but you cannot hurt the books



You might want to rethink that, bro.

Posted by: Library of Alexandria at October 09, 2016 09:33 AM (9q7Dl)

37 I have used CreateSpace for years for the print version of my books. Pretty straightforward, and I never use the stuff you have to pay extra for. No need in my case, and since I always do the ebook first the "Kindle conversion" is amusing.

All authors should get and read the NOLO Copyright Handbook. Even if you have sworn devotion to legacy publishers and think indie is an Abomination Unto Nuggan. "Copyright" is the author's as soon as a work is "fixed in a tangible form". This could be a file saved to a hard disk, a thumb drive, or a paper printout. (Vague ideas noodling around your skull don't count.) Registering that copyright is a legal formality that only increases the amount of damages awarded in the event your copyright is violated. How you *license* that copyright is where the nightmares can start. Hint: I have licensed nothing. While I permit a variety of outlets to sell my works in their various forms, I can yank them at any time I so desire.

There are a number of sites that cover indie publishing steps--is this something the Book Thread might spawn? Maybe a monthly Author's Thread? We don't want to scare the readers with too many scary details of the making of the sausage here, I think

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at October 09, 2016 09:34 AM (SuJIo)

38 You can hurt us but you cannot hurt the books



You might want to rethink that, bro.

Posted by: Library of Alexandria at October 09, 2016 09:33 AM (9q7Dl)

Don't forget to bring the marsh mellows to the book burning

Posted by: Nazi at October 09, 2016 09:37 AM (K63aO)

39 Hello Book Threadians!



If you're reading "Wearing the Cat" or would like to,

today will be the last day to get the surprising and stunning final volume of WTC for the moron-friendly, low, low, introductory price of $0.99.



"Wearing the Cat - Part Four: The Black Room"

https://www.amazon.com/Wearing-Cat-Part-Four-Black-ebook/dp/B01LX27AIK



Check it out.

Posted by: H D Woodard - "Wearing the Cat - Part Four: The Black Room" at October 09, 2016 09:38 AM (9q7Dl)

40 Nice library, but it appears incomplete because no Great Books.

On a different note: I recently was introduced to an amazing historical fiction writer: Bernard Cornwell. I made it through all three grail quest novels (set around the early part of the 100 years war) as well as the follow-up, 1356. I'm now into the Winter King, the first of three set around the Arthurian Legend. I'm totally hooked on Cornwall. I plan to wade through the Saxon series next and then eventually get to the signature series about Sharps, set around the Napoleanic Wars.

Posted by: Czar Peter at October 09, 2016 09:38 AM (qaWk6)

41 Some of the shelves are stacked two and three deep.

You have shelves? Luxury.

Posted by: rickl the deplorable at October 09, 2016 09:38 AM (sdi6R)

42 "Don't forget to bring the marsh mellows to the book burning"

My favorite part!

Posted by: Fahrenheit 451 at October 09, 2016 09:39 AM (J+eG2)

43 I read J.D. Vance's autobio "Hillbilly Elegy" when it first came out. He is a Yale Law grad who came from a highly dysfunctional Scots-Irish background. He uses the book to muse on why he succeeded when so many others like him don't.

Something was missing, though, and it was supplied by Kevin Williamson (yeah, yeah) in a brilliant column, "Albion's Ashes", in Commentary.
http://tinyurl.com/hsobupk
The title is a play on "Albion's Seed", the brilliant history on the continuing cultural footprint of the different parts of England from which various parts of America were settled. Williamson asks the right
question.

"We know what to do about poor kids with IQs of 120 - what about the ones with IQs of 100? What about those with IQs of 90?"

This is true of all parts of the American demographic, since
changes in society are going to render more and more of them economically
superfluous. That was the big question in Charles Murray's "Bell
Curve", for those who bothered to actually read it.

Posted by: pep at October 09, 2016 09:39 AM (LAe3v)

44 It's only a short trip from Progressivism to book burning.


Odd, that.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at October 09, 2016 09:40 AM (J+eG2)

45 Whoever this "Mark Huffman" fellow is, he's obviously very clever, and I would imagine he tweets these sorts of anagrams out sometimes under the handle @R_M_Huffman - at least, that's what I would do if I were him.

Posted by: Doctor Cynic at October 09, 2016 09:41 AM (nkrB2)

46 SO

Posted by: Nevergiveup at October 09, 2016 09:42 AM (K63aO)

47 So a termite walks into a pub and says, "Bar tender?"

Posted by: Muldoon at October 09, 2016 09:42 AM (wPiJc)

48 Do we consider a library a collection of books, or the space used to house them?

Posted by: josephistan at October 09, 2016 09:43 AM (7qAYi)

49 I did my own covers. You have to follow CreateSpace's pattern so they can auto-print the cover. CreateSpace doesn't make it easy to find the template to get started on user-designed covers but, a little websearching, and:
https://www.createspace.com/Help/Book/Artwork.do

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at October 09, 2016 09:43 AM (Owpxv)

50 38
You can hurt us but you cannot hurt the books
You might want to rethink that, bro.


Posted by: Library of Alexandria at October 09, 2016 09:33 AM (9q7Dl)



Don't forget to bring the marsh mellows to the book burning

Posted by: Nazi


They do keep one warm on a cold night, though.

Posted by: Savonarola at October 09, 2016 09:44 AM (LAe3v)

51 Whoever this "Mark Huffman" fellow is, he's obviously very clever, and I would imagine he tweets these sorts of anagrams out sometimes under the handle @R_M_Huffman - at least, that's what I would do if I were him.
Posted by: Doctor Cynic at October 09, 2016 09:41 AM (nkrB2)

Har de har. I just linked his name to his author page on Amazon, so morons can check out "Mark", or "R.M.", or as I like to call him, "Pumpkinhead" for themselves.

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 09, 2016 09:45 AM (moXGJ)

52 Do we consider a library a collection of books, or the space used to house them?

Posted by: josephistan at October 09, 2016 09:43 AM (7qAYi)

Yes. I've received photos from morons of both.

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 09, 2016 09:46 AM (moXGJ)

53 The reason for this is that (the Arabs) are a savage nation, fully accustomed to savagery and the things that cause it. Savagery has become their character and nature. They enjoy it, because it means freedom from authority and no subservience to leadership. Such a natural disposition is the negation and antithesis of civilization.

-
Sounds like a description of the Democrat platform.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at October 09, 2016 09:47 AM (Nwg0u)

54 OM, yes got reply. Yes the company I work for is doing the renovation but have been doing much of lower work by myself mostly. Will send more info hopefully in a couple of weeks when 100% done if you can wait till then to use it.

Posted by: Skip at October 09, 2016 09:47 AM (sWbjH)

55 Does anyone have or use those free personal give and take roadside libraries?

Posted by: Skip at October 09, 2016 09:49 AM (sWbjH)

56
Does the system allow you to upload your own covers? Because I can't draw, but I'm pretty sure I could find someone outside the CreateSpace network to do it for me. Or do you have to use someone they recommend?
Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at October 09, 2016 09:27 AM (26lkV)

Yes. For a professional result, I recommend it. When I used CreateSpace, I contracted a cover artist first, then a cover designer to turn his painting into a cover, then a formatter to do the interior text and bundle everything into the final file that went to CreateSpace. I can't say whether or not it helps sales, but the product looked professional, and the book did eventually get picked up by a publisher.

Posted by: Doctor Cynic at October 09, 2016 09:50 AM (nkrB2)

57 Islam is a made up religion for fools.

Over the last 50 years, people the world over have devolved and gotten more foolish.

No wonder it has been so successful in spreading it's message of hate and death lately.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at October 09, 2016 09:50 AM (ej1L0)

58 Good morning Fellow Book Threadists. As I continued the careful reading of "The Everlasting Man" (and enjoying it more this time). This ties in with other books I've been reading lately. I realized how little trust I still have in scientific pronouncements. Obviously, there's AGW bullshit, that dead wrong government recommended 'food pyramid' they pushed for decades, 'cancer causing' substances that require consuming five Pacific Oceans of something 14 times a day for twenty years to be harmful (because some asshat in the fifties decided that was the standard), constantly considering theory to be the same as fact (I HATE the term 'settled science'), scholarly pronouncements, given as fact, on the society and culture of prehistoric man based on two bones and a tooth.

We all have our own examples.

This reminds me of a line from "Lost Legacy" a Heinlein novella from 1941! It reflects the problem when anything coming from a 'scientist' (white coat optional) takes on the varnish of immediate fact and unquestioned truth.

"Professor Whoosistwitchell would reconstruct one of our great grand-daddies from his collar bone and his store teeth and deliver a long dissertation on his most intimate habits."

This is part of almost complete disillusionment about the society, the culture, and government anything. No wonder I spend more time reading from earlier times, limiting political matters, and concentrating on having affordable fun.

I generally try to be more upbeat. Maybe I'm just tired lately. Time for more coffee.

Posted by: JTB at October 09, 2016 09:51 AM (V+03K)

59 Hillary's ilk will eventually get to book burning, the free but limited speach is only the beginning.

Posted by: Skip at October 09, 2016 09:51 AM (sWbjH)

60 55 Does anyone have or use those free personal give and take roadside libraries?
Posted by: Skip at October 09, 2016 09:49 AM (sWbjH)
---
There's one of those wee free library hutches right down the street from me. I took a YA SF novel from it and I need to find something suitably horrible from my collection because tit for tat.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Imperatrix Siculus at October 09, 2016 09:55 AM (jR7Wy)

61
Har de har. I just linked his name to his author page on Amazon, so morons can check out "Mark", or "R.M.", or as I like to call him, "Pumpkinhead" for themselves.


Posted by: OregonMuse at October 09, 2016 09:45 AM (moXGJ)

Rumor is that's what his wife and kids call him, too - "ol' P. H." for short. Haven't heard what his friends call him, but I doubt he has any anyway. I'm sure he appreciates the link, though - human interaction or recognition of *any* kind is probably more than he deserves!

Posted by: Doctor Cynic at October 09, 2016 09:59 AM (nkrB2)

62 "Does anyone have or use those free personal give and take roadside libraries? "

Around here, those who have them usually place them next to their Hillary 2016 yard sign, drive a Prius with marriage equality, and coexist bumper stickers , and go on NextDoor to brag about their virtue signaling.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at October 09, 2016 10:02 AM (J+eG2)

63 55 Does anyone have or use those free personal give and take roadside libraries?
Posted by: Skip at October 09, 2016 09:49 AM (sWbjH)


I've not seen a roadside one, but the laundry room in our apartment complex has an informal give & take library. People drop off old books & DVDs, they're always gone by the end of the weekend. I've picked up a few paperbacks.

Posted by: josephistan at October 09, 2016 10:03 AM (7qAYi)

64 Currently reading Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Oren. Still on the lead up to war, May 67. Really good. Oren has an excellent narrative style. He plays up the role of the UN and the Blue Helmets in the lead up, but I don't know if that's because he really believes in them or it was just the feeling at the time. After Srebinica, it hard to imagine anyone paying them much attention.

In SF, finished Fire with Fire by Gannon. Its FREE on Kindle. The idea being to read volume 1 and hopefully get you interested to read the rest of the series. The start was a little slow, but the last half more than made up for it and I bought the next in the series since I ended up enjoying the first one quite a lot.

Just started The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. Too early to say what I think.

Posted by: countrydoc at October 09, 2016 10:04 AM (bmh4d)

65 we might call "Qur'anic studies",

Red wire, Green Wire:
The Eternal Quest for ...Boom

Posted by: DaveA at October 09, 2016 10:04 AM (8J/Te)

66 Speaking of createspace...

I'm currently working on the print versions of all 4 volumes of "Wearing the Cat".

Actually, getting things into print format isn't particularly hard.

The big hold-up does seem to be getting the covers right. Esp. if you have your own design.


RWW,

createspace also has preformated, cover designs if you care to use those.

Posted by: naturalfake at October 09, 2016 10:05 AM (9q7Dl)

67 Just started The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. Too early to say what I think.

-
Cave! Lengthy portions are in latin.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at October 09, 2016 10:06 AM (Nwg0u)

68 So, Amazon.

I'm a Top 150 reviewer on Amazon as well as a Vine Voice, and I'll tell you there is a LOT of angst going on right now inre Amazon's reviewing system...by Amazon. There is a huge crackdown on items provided for free to peple for review, for instance.

But underlying this is a general crackdown on what are seen as fake reviews. If Amazon thinks reviews ae fake, by whatever criteria they use, they'll be deleted. What would be interesting in the case of Clinton's book is if the five star reviews are being deleted at the same rate.

Regardless, Amazon has been very sensitive to the reputation of their reviews and are taking measures, some of which seem ham handed, to fix them.

Posted by: VA GOP Sucks at October 09, 2016 10:06 AM (qcCvJ)

69 *people.

Damn iPad.

Posted by: VA GOP Sucks at October 09, 2016 10:07 AM (qcCvJ)

70 I really enjoyed 'Name of the Rose' and the next one (Foucault?), but then he changed translators. I think the translators are underappreciated.

Posted by: mustbequantum at October 09, 2016 10:07 AM (MIKMs)

71 Thanks for the publishing suggestions, people! Keep 'em coming!
This is what I love about this place- no matter what questions get asked, someone knows the answer.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at October 09, 2016 10:08 AM (26lkV)

72 Finished "Rome Sweet Home" by Scott and Kimberly Hahn. I really ended up not liking Scott Hahn all that much as he seemed rather manipulative to me, as I've said. Don't ask me for examples as I finished the book on Monday and I could not find any - it's just a feeling. As a theologian, I will absolutely read him, but not as a man.

I started Kurt Schlichter's novel, "People's Republic" and so far it seems standard thriller: ex military goes on rescue mission saddled with a bit of a doofus. I haven't put it down yet and I'm not usually a thriller reader, so that's something.

And "Hollywood Party" continues to show what total flaming treasonous assholes communists are, and what liars. I really don't like them much.

Posted by: Tonestaple at October 09, 2016 10:09 AM (VsZJP)

73 Old post about Jamie Gorelick, who created the wall between the CIA and the FBI:

The CIA couldn't tell the FBI that this guy bin Laden was planning a domestic attack, else they'd be committing a felony, thank you Jamie Gorelick, peace be unto her.

So they told Bush in August 2001 that bin Laden was planning a domestic attack in the hope that a light bulb would go off in Bush's head so that he'd tell the FBI. He didn't.

Had the FBI looked, they had reports of strange guys paying to learn to fly big jets who didn't care about how to land. It could have played differently.

Posted by: Ignoramus at October 09, 2016 10:10 AM (bQxkN)

74 I'd send in a library pic, but I lost most of my library in a Charleston flood several years ago. I sacrificed my books to raise up my wife's furniture above the waterline.

She thought that was a terrific idea. Sigh...

That house is now a rental. And flooded again. Second flooding in two years (third total). We had just finished the repair and had renters move in. Got a entire month worth of rent after "only" 10 months of renovation. Now have to do it all over again. Thankfully no one we know was hurt.

The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Posted by: countrydoc at October 09, 2016 10:11 AM (bmh4d)

75 27 ... AW, Thanks for mentioning the Latin ebook. I want to learn Latin for several reasons but always stall out, especially with the grammar. Time for a new approach.

Posted by: JTB at October 09, 2016 10:12 AM (V+03K)

76 The CIA couldn't tell the FBI that this guy bin Laden was planning a domestic attack, else they'd be committing a felony, thank you Jamie Gorelick, peace be unto her. So they told Bush in August 2001 that bin Laden was planning a domestic attack in the hope that a light bulb would go off in Bush's head so that he'd tell the FBI. He didn't.

Sounds to me like Gorelick's "wall" didn't change anything. The CIA's information went to the proper channel which is Bush, and Bush made the decision to go read My Pet Goat again rather than tell the FBI "go stop this thing".

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at October 09, 2016 10:13 AM (Owpxv)

77 The Great American Pin-up and a Comfort Aire AC all in one pic. I'm impressed. No, really!

Posted by: Corona at October 09, 2016 10:13 AM (ragzU)

78 The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.


Posted by: countrydoc at October 09, 2016 10:11 AM (bmh4d)
Amen

Posted by: phoenixgirl, gird up your loins, this is not the time to go wobbly at October 09, 2016 10:13 AM (0O7c5)

79 I finally had time to read lately, which I haven't had in a while, and I used it to read the first four Nero Wolfe mysteries. They're written from a private dick's first-person perspective in the '30s, so if you can get into the archaic slang, it's a fun window into a time where men were men, women were dames, and 272 pounds was remarkably large, and not the average weight of my patients.

Posted by: Doctor Cynic at October 09, 2016 10:15 AM (nkrB2)

80 Around here, those who have them usually place them next to their Hillary 2016 yard sign, drive a Prius with marriage equality, and coexist bumper stickers , and go on NextDoor to brag about their virtue signaling.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at October 09, 2016 10:02 AM (J+eG2)
---
Howdy neighbor!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Imperatrix Siculus at October 09, 2016 10:15 AM (jR7Wy)

81 I enjoyed "The Name of the Rose" years ago. But it isn't light and frothy reading.

Posted by: JTB at October 09, 2016 10:15 AM (V+03K)

82 Lots of words in the Book Thread.

Posted by: Weasel at October 09, 2016 10:17 AM (Sfs6o)

83 "Bar tender?"


Heh.

Posted by: Corona at October 09, 2016 10:17 AM (ragzU)

84 "Howdy neighbor! "

Some things remain a constant, yes?



I see your little slice of heaven is coming back to normality.

We really need to get down there, as I enjoy all the little shops.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at October 09, 2016 10:20 AM (J+eG2)

85 Miss me yet? Simpler times.

Posted by: Harambe at October 09, 2016 10:20 AM (qlPzn)

86 I have lot of projects going and I have started getting audio books in order to make a dent in my TBR pile. I really liked them for my car commute, but I am wondering if I am too old now to multitask my brain. I am doing a needlepoint tapestry for my daughter in law and listening to an audiobook and find myself finishing the tapestry sections faster but wondering what I just heard. My painting and quilting seem to go lots faster but I find I have to go back and listen to the good parts again.

Posted by: Abby Coffey at October 09, 2016 10:20 AM (HBU7W)

87 70
I really enjoyed 'Name of the Rose' and the next one (Foucault?), but
then he changed translators. I think the translators are
underappreciated.


Posted by: mustbequantum

I didn't care much for Foucault's Pendulum. His next one was Baudolino, which was pretty good if you like magical realism. Neither one came close to NOTR, though. Eco died recently.

Posted by: pep at October 09, 2016 10:20 AM (LAe3v)

88 Thanks to whoever linked this earlier:

http://www.baen.com/the-creatures-of-man.html

A fun read.

Posted by: DaveA at October 09, 2016 10:21 AM (8J/Te)

89 Posted by: Doctor Cynic at October 09, 2016 10:15 AM (nkrB2)
-----------
Interesting you mention that, Doc. I had the opportunity to take several long car trips recently and have been really enjoying the radio programs from the '30s, '40s and '50s on the Radio Classics channel. Much, much different time in America.

Posted by: Weasel at October 09, 2016 10:23 AM (Sfs6o)

90 I see your little slice of heaven is coming back to normality.

We really need to get down there, as I enjoy all the little shops.
Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at October 09, 2016 10:20 AM (J+eG2)
---
Yes, I'm so relieved. We've got pedestrian and vehicle traffic going through again and I'm hitting Main Street around noon today. Gotta show support for those proprietors remaining -- alas for the poor hipster record store, artisanal shave shoppe, and dog bakery owners!

When the brew pub gets back on its shaky feet, then we will know the community's heart is ticking again.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Imperatrix Siculus at October 09, 2016 10:24 AM (jR7Wy)

91 This popped up as an Amazon recommendation for me and I will have to pick it up.

http://tinyurl.com/jew66jr

Posted by: steevy at October 09, 2016 10:25 AM (fA75F)

92 debunking the myth that muslim women were subjugated.

And Sir Joseph A. Schmortimer double-parked his horse back in 932, debunking the myth that Christians are law-abiding citizens.

Posted by: t-bird at October 09, 2016 10:25 AM (9mTYi)

93 Sounds to me like Gorelick's "wall" didn't change anything. The CIA's information went to the proper channel which is Bush, and Bush made the decision to go read My Pet Goat again rather than tell the FBI "go stop this thing".

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at October 09, 2016 10:13 AM (Owpxv)

Well, to be fair to Bush, the info he received was on the order of "somebody somewhere is planning an attack sometime", and how is he supposed to respond? How is he is supposed to know that *this* one is different than all the other security alerts he receives daily?

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 09, 2016 10:26 AM (moXGJ)

94 None of the above re: the wall and Bush are correct.

Posted by: DaveA at October 09, 2016 10:26 AM (8J/Te)

95 This week I encountered what I will call "bias" in two books. Sometimes it is difficult to discern if the bias is that of the author or the character.

I am going with character and story in one of James Sallis' Blue Bottle, one of the Lew Griffin series whose main character is a black detective which takes place in pre Katrina New Orleans. One reviewer said "it is a literate mystery, a study of racism and identity." So, it is essential to the book.

I picked up Sallis as recommended here. And I am glad that I did. He is a beautiful writer. This was my first read in the series and I like the character. I am currently reading Willnot, which is not a part of the Griffin series. And the writing is so good. I am sticking with Sallis.

The second book I picked from the library shelf ... mystery. Time of Departure,Douglas Schofield. The main character is supposed to be a tough Florida female prosecutor of a prickly nature, not well liked. All well and good. First page, 2nd paragraph "Not just because I was another female interloper in what his right wing mentality believed should have remained a male preserve...". I persevered a few more chapters and gave up. The plot is not that intriguing and the irritants, author or character, too much. Life is too short.

And finally I am revisiting Thomas Merton, again as a result of a mention here in this great book thread. It's been years, but it's good reading. Really enjoying Henri Nouwen Encounters With Merton: Spiritual Reflections. It's one of the books I had donated. And one that I am not going to reacquire as a keeper.

This is long so apologies for that. But thanks -- I always find some good reads I would not have found on my own. One thing -- some time a go there was mention of historical fiction I believe, a female author, Red Kremlin, Red Something and a few other books she had written. Can't remember much so if it rings a bell of any kind let me know. Thanks to whoever recommended Stalin: Court of the Red Tsar.

Posted by: gracepc at October 09, 2016 10:27 AM (OU4q6)

96 Maybe I should put "Panzer Leader" by Heinz Guderian in the Little Free Library hutch.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Imperatrix Siculus at October 09, 2016 10:28 AM (jR7Wy)

97
It is always amazing to see a book thread topic that fits so exactly with a book I just read yesterday. I'm not sure if "False Flag" by Henry Brown was mentioned here, or if GoodReads/Amazon recommended it to me.

"False Flag" (ASIN: B00X6B4RVS) is book three in the series, and I would call it speculative fiction. It starts with a number of character sketches that could have been taken from your daily news feed. Then an element of conspiracy is added, and the story goes on from there.

I had the idea one might also call them 'juvenile' in the sense of Heinlein's books being labeled as such. (I'm not sure which books were so labeled.) Attaching such a label would be an insult to the demographic that would find these stories interesting and I'm not sure the story line is appropriate for young boys; young adult boys perhaps, young men of military age might find them interesting, old men with military service might (or might not) find them interesting.

They are heroic war stories of heroes and villains. In one paragraph I immediately thought of the magazine "Soldier of Fortune" (sofmag.com) which is still being published and that was a surprise to me as I thought of that magazine as something out of the '70's and '80's.

Book #1 is "Hell and Gone" (ASIN: B00M8JFP9M) with "Tier Zero" (ASIN: B00M8F8EV2) next capped by "False Flag". The author (Henry Brown) seems to say there will be another. He also says he had to go indy publishing because the established publishers wouldn't accept the material. Detractors will say it glorifies war and gun violence. Book #2 seems to be a variation on "Taken", the Liam Neeson movie about a kidnapped daughter. You could say that "John Wick" glorifies gun violence and the dvd commentary does admit that it is 'gun porn'.

I read #3, and #1 straight through, in that order and am just starting "Tier Zero". You might want to take them in order 1-2-3.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at October 09, 2016 10:30 AM (+3P+V)

98 The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.

-
If the Lord is taking out the trash, I've got a few suggestions.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at October 09, 2016 10:34 AM (Nwg0u)

99 A book, a treasure, a tool, a revelation:

The Path Of The Masters - The Yoga of the Audible Life Stream, Julian P. Johnson.

It's rare, but you can get a copy for $20 at abebooks.com. First edition was 1939.

Posted by: Meremortal.... at October 09, 2016 10:34 AM (3myMJ)

100 "Panzer Lieder"? No, but if you hum a few bars...

Posted by: Stringer Davis at October 09, 2016 10:36 AM (H5rtT)

101 Much, much different time in America.

Posted by: Weasel at October 09, 2016 10:23 AM (Sfs6o)

A long time ago I had to ride along with one of my drivers. He was not only lousy at his job, but a rather unpleasant and boring fellow.

I was not looking forward to the trip (East Bay to Tracy to Stockton and back). But he listened to 1930s radio programs...serialized thrillers and westerns and such.

They were fantastic! And I didn't have to make idle conversation!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at October 09, 2016 10:36 AM (Zu3d9)

102 Excuse OT but the world's newest acronym has been coined: RAT (Republican Against Trump). I know I'll be using it often.

Posted by: andycanuck at October 09, 2016 10:37 AM (LdMbv)

103 "The Name of the Rose" is excellent, and though it's not "light", it's a great read.
"Foucalt's Pendulum" had a great concept and some sections were really exhilarating, but it had some dull spots too. I'd recommend it though.

Dan Brown loved both as he ransacked them--especially the latter for his awful Da Vinci Code and probably his other anti-Catholic crap books.*

* Eco was not a big fan of The Church, but he at least was respectful and knew what he was talking about.

Posted by: JoeF. at October 09, 2016 10:37 AM (hT0G4)

104 Waiting for the Wife to get ready so we can go out and buy food for breaking the fast. Sigh. Gonna be expensive

Posted by: Nevergiveup at October 09, 2016 10:38 AM (K63aO)

105 knew what he was talking about.

-
That is sooooo last century.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at October 09, 2016 10:40 AM (Nwg0u)

106 Don't know about others in the Horde, but I really dislike trilogies. For the most part, I just read books 1 and 3 and skip 2 altogether. For really huuuuge, bookshelf-busting series books I get bored after about 4.

Posted by: mustbequantum at October 09, 2016 10:42 AM (MIKMs)

107 Ibn-Khaldun had a rather Spengleresque theory of How History Works: there's barbarians out in the wastelands (like the Arabs he was ragging on in the quote above) who are tough and fierce and have tons of "group feeling" or tribal identity or whatever you want to call it.

They invade and conquer some rich soft civilized culture, take their stuff, set themselves up as rulers, stomp the previous ruling class down to bureaucrats and flunkies . . .

. . . And then lose their toughness and tribal identity, becoming drunk and soft and incapable, until the next bunch of savages comes across the border.

This was a pretty accurate picture of how societies worked, until it wasn't. Specifically, until the Industrial Revolution meant that the drunk soft decadent civilized cultures could still mop the floor with the savages.

One can argue that Islam's interactions with the West have been an endless series of Muslims trying, and failing, to be the virtuous barbarians.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 09, 2016 10:42 AM (0Djhs)

108 Regarding the Amazon purge of negative Skankle reviews. I have not checked to confirm this, but when I checked it out when you first mentioned it, OM, after giggling at the better-written ones, I noticed few of them were verified purchases. I wonder if they went through and dumped those?

Posted by: the deplorable chiefjaybob, who hates everyone at October 09, 2016 10:42 AM (G2Sc9)

109 *looks at the side-bar story on there only being five sailors left alive from USS Arizona*

One must remember the War Department's initial war warning message went to the Philippines and the Canal Zone but skipped Hawai'i.

That the War Department's own warning from General Marshall to General Short sent on Dec. 7th was sent via Western Union because the atmospherics for radio were bad. and Heaven forbid they try to ask the Navy Department.

Sometimes the walls are not in writing but are actual mental blocks.

Posted by: Anna Puma at October 09, 2016 10:42 AM (dfDBO)

110 "Excuse OT but the world's newest acronym has been coined: RAT (Republican Against Trump). I know I'll be using it often."

And As I commented on the last thread....

You need to file a police report.

Cause that was just stolen.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at October 09, 2016 10:43 AM (J+eG2)

111 Will send more info hopefully in a couple of weeks when 100% done if you can wait till then to use it.

Posted by: Skip at October 09, 2016 09:47 AM (sWbjH)

Yeah, no worries, you're about 3-4 back in the queue for moron library pics, so there's no rush.

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 09, 2016 10:44 AM (moXGJ)

112 The U.S. military is fatter than ever, and the Army is leading the way with more than one in 10 soldiers considered clinically overweight, according to new Defense Department data obtained by Military Times.

Coming in a close second is the Air Force, followed by the Navy.

Marines appear to be the fittest service members in todays force. Yet despite the Corps culture of fitness and vigor, more than 4,800 Marines appear to be heavier than regulations allow.

These previously undisclosed health statistics offer new insights into the militarys growing problem with obesity and how it varies from service to service. The issue has broad implications for the health and readiness of todays force.

To many GMTs, To much Bullshit PC Training, and not enough real training and time being Sailors, Soldiers and Marines.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at October 09, 2016 10:47 AM (K63aO)

113 RUS -> Republicans Unter Skankles

Posted by: Anna Puma at October 09, 2016 10:47 AM (dfDBO)

114 "Excuse OT but the world's newest acronym has been coined: RAT (Republican Against Trump). I know I'll be using it often."

And As I commented on the last thread....

You need to file a police report.

Cause that was just stolen.
Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at October 09, 2016 10:43 AM (J+eG2)


I like that...I am stealing it also. Thanks

Posted by: Nevergiveup at October 09, 2016 10:47 AM (K63aO)

115 OM, I'm sending you mine today and I'd better be bumped up in the queue. Tacky grandeur, my friend.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Imperatrix Siculus at October 09, 2016 10:48 AM (jR7Wy)

116 Maybe I should put "Panzer Leader" by Heinz Guderian in the Little Free Library hutch.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Imperatrix Siculus at October 09, 2016 10:28 AM (jR7Wy)


Now that would be hilarious!

Posted by: countrydoc at October 09, 2016 10:48 AM (bmh4d)

117 Posted by: Abby Coffey at October 09, 2016 10:20 AM (HBU7W)

My sister and I just had a discussion about audio books --pretty much they don't work for me or for her. Unless in the car, and someone else is driving!

But she is an artist, and quilts and paints as well. She has found that podcasts work best for her.

Posted by: gracepc at October 09, 2016 10:49 AM (OU4q6)

118 I love all the Nero Wolfe books, especially the early ones: different technology, expectations and culture, and where a dollar was a serious bribe. (These things were part of why I enjoyed "Golden Isis".) In the same way, I enjoy those old radio dramas. They make great car trip listening. And I like trying to figure out how they created the sound effects that were so effective.

Posted by: JTB at October 09, 2016 10:50 AM (V+03K)

119 Thousands gathered in the shadow of the massive USS John P. Murtha on Saturday to send the ship into active service and honor its namesake.

The U.S. Navy commissioned the ship named for the late longtime congressman and decorated Marine Corps veteran from Western Pennsylvania during a ceremony at Penns Landing in Philadelphia.

Sigh..Gag me.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at October 09, 2016 10:51 AM (K63aO)

120 Okay I finally finished William Gibson's The Peripheral. If you like Gibson, this doesn't disappoint.

I wrote a few times that I haven't read anything from him for a while, and I haven't read long form fiction in about as long, so I am not sure if it was me or Gibson, but I found it hard to break into the world he was writing - I don't know if I started to "get it" or if his writing became less dense as I got into it, but, yes, I got into it.

He's a got a new cyberpunk concept here, and it is kind of mindblowing. I don't consider this as a spoiler because it is what the book is about, and it is introduced early in the book, but it becomes more fully revealed as the book goes on.

Imagine that you had the computing power to take snapshot of the world at a given moment and stick it in the Matrix. Now, at some future date, you come back and access that snapshot. Touching that world now changes that world - you have created a new parallel universe that has a new future - your present is no longer the future of that snapshot that you took.

There are some constraints - once you have accessed the snapshot - Gibson calls it a "stub" - you are synced up in time from the point of that access. Time passes at the same rate in the two worlds, and you cannot, from outside the stub change that - i.e., you can't rewind or fast forward or jump to a different time in the stub.

Also, the communication channel between the "real world" and the stub is two way. So the people who live in the stub - who consider themselves in the "real world" - can, through telepresence - a very advanced telepresence - visit the world outside the stub, and vice versa.

It's like you have a version of Sims v. 10000 where the Sims are sentient and can break the 4th wall.

Also, this creates a universe - a multiverse - for Gibson to write in. Imagine that you reboot the stub back to the original state, let's you experiment with it. Or if you ran multiple instances of the stub, make a change in one that you don't in another (Gibson does allude to just this sort of thing late in the book). Imagine you have parallel versions of the same stub, and the people from the parallel stubs meet themselves in the "real world" - or cross over into different stubs. Lots of potential material for stories.

Posted by: blaster at October 09, 2016 10:51 AM (ACqhm)

121
Going along with a theme :
Prayers for the Assassin (ASIN: B000FCKRWO)
Sins of the Assassin (ASIN: B0013G3ELM)
Heart of the Assassin (ASIN: B002IFSR64)

All by Robert Ferrigno (now priced at #7.59 - just a bit beyond my preferred price range of free-$3. Bob Euchre calling the game with 'Wild Thing' pitching.)

In the universe of the Assassin, Islam is dominate, they are all honorable men, and Assassination is a legitimate tool of State Craft. Interesting to read if you can afford the price and the time.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at October 09, 2016 10:52 AM (+3P+V)

122 And I like trying to figure out how they created the sound effects that were so effective.
Posted by: JTB at October 09, 2016 10:50 AM (V+03K)
--------
Sound effects explained by Joel and the 'Bots:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCFQFgLQJvM

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Imperatrix Siculus at October 09, 2016 10:52 AM (jR7Wy)

123 "Panzer Lieder"? No, but if you hum a few bars...

-
My favorite scene in the movie The Battle of the Bulge is the jackboot stomping, Panzerlied singing scene. I also love the timpany on horseback scene from Patton.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at October 09, 2016 10:54 AM (Nwg0u)

124 Mohammed was a very nice man who killed Jews and Christians and slept with 9 year old girls.

The End.

Posted by: Muqadimmah at October 09, 2016 10:56 AM (dtWKK)

125 JTB I am so glad you liked my book. I best go and slave over the hot word processor some more right?

Posted by: Anna Puma at October 09, 2016 10:56 AM (dfDBO)

126 Yes, Anna. Yes you do.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Imperatrix Siculus at October 09, 2016 10:57 AM (jR7Wy)

127 "Now that would be hilarious!"


I have a few more suggestions as well.

http://tinyurl.com/jyl5ggd

http://tinyurl.com/zawe5nl

http://tinyurl.com/zm2ybfm

http://tinyurl.com/zyvtnmv

http://tinyurl.com/z5qb6g9

http://tinyurl.com/jrkcoc9

I like to read, while I'm waiting to be advanced to a full Village Idiot.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at October 09, 2016 10:57 AM (J+eG2)

128 Excuse OT but the world's newest acronym has been coined: RAT (Republican Against Trump). I know I'll be using it often.
Posted by: andycanuck at October 09, 2016 10:37 AM (LdMbv)


There was an article here, that rotten little Boehner minion Ann Wagner is leading the charge locally.


Roy "Grinch" Blunt appears to be assembling his poll data... er, I mean considering his options.


I hope Trump trounces Hillory in the state, and all these rotten RAT fascists lose their races. Wagner won't, because she's safe, but state-wide I hope Blunt is toast, as is the idiot Democrat the Republicans nominated for Governor.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 09, 2016 10:59 AM (Pz4pT)

129 OM, I'm sending you mine today and I'd better be bumped up in the queue. Tacky grandeur, my friend.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Imperatrix Siculus at October 09, 2016 10:48 AM (jR7Wy)

If I think a pic is really good, I'll bump it up in the queue.

Or, bribery. I'm always open to, uh, inducements and emoluments

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 09, 2016 11:01 AM (moXGJ)

130 VIA, I wouldn't want to part with my copy of Liberal Fascism. The Alexis de Tocqueville would end up unread on their shelf.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Imperatrix Siculus at October 09, 2016 11:01 AM (jR7Wy)

131 The latest issue of Fur-Fish-Game magazine has a great article about surfcasting for stripers and blues on the east coast, something I used to do a lot decades ago. It was fun being reminded about all the factors (tide, weather, bird activity, sea bottom structure, how to read the water, etc.) that went into a successful trip to the beach. A bit different from the gear and approach I use for taking panfish from a pond.

Posted by: JTB at October 09, 2016 11:02 AM (V+03K)

132 World's oldest library to survive the Islamic burning and pillaging, you mean. Muslims had a nasty habit of burning libraries when they were spreading across the Arabian Peninsula and northern Africa.

Posted by: Mak Dietzler at October 09, 2016 11:05 AM (RG7ZU)

133 @123 Don't forget the U-boat crews singing, in The Enemy Below and Das Boot.
Magnificent. I wish our troops sounded as good. [paraphrasing]

However, we had Sousa, and the Duckworth chant, and then, Glenn Miller.
Poor bastards never knew what hit 'em.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at October 09, 2016 11:06 AM (H5rtT)

134 "You can hurt us, but you cannot hurt the books."

I can bite Huma's earlobe. I can bite her fingers and toes until she bleeds, but I cannot destroy the Holy Qu'ran.

Posted by: Hillary Clinton at October 09, 2016 11:06 AM (dtWKK)

135 125 ... Anna, Yes, please keep at it. I want to read the next one.

Posted by: JTB at October 09, 2016 11:07 AM (V+03K)

136 Book-related, because it's based on a book...

Saw the movie "Room" last night. Have you people heard of this one/seen it? Oscar nominated, and the actress won Best Actress.

Holy cow. If you don't know the story, I won't spoil it. I don't watch many movies these days, but this one... it's a very powerful subject, deftly handled, and quite unique in its tone, style, and perspective.

See it, but be prepared: it's not for the faint of heart.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 09, 2016 11:08 AM (Pz4pT)

137 A few years ago I purged my home library of almost all of my books. Only kept the ones that had real emotional resonance or a specific connection to a specific person, place, or time in my life (and everything by Pratchett). It was liberating! I felt guilty holding on for show things meant to be read, not merely looked at. If a book is sitting prominently on a shelf signaling my virtue in oh so many ways, it's not being shared with someone who might enjoy it as I did. I now read, savor, and immediately try to give away the few books I buy. I also spend A LOT more time at the public library, where the relatively limited choices push me in directions I probably would not have gone on my own.

Posted by: weeping fat man in the bathtub at October 09, 2016 11:09 AM (oFVzZ)

138 I bite Huma on the buttocks and tell her, "I'm the mistake that came back to bite you on the ass". She laughs and licks the blood from my lips.

Posted by: Hillary Clinton at October 09, 2016 11:09 AM (dtWKK)

139 'Cause that was just stolen.
Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice
I just read it on a Tweet at Mike Cernovich's Twitter feed so we'll both need a safe-house, VIA!

Posted by: andycanuck at October 09, 2016 11:11 AM (LdMbv)

140 Very very well written and informative. Many thanks!

And style points for the obligatory 5 a's in 'raaaaaysizzem'.

Morning all you deplorables.

Posted by: Bozo 'disinfranchised and misunderstood' at October 09, 2016 11:12 AM (B+MYz)

141 Barbara Tuchman has a quote somewhere in Guns of August that the most nightmarish aspect of the German invasion of Belgium and Northern France for the people in the occupied regions was the endless singing by the troops.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 09, 2016 11:12 AM (0Djhs)

142 133
@123 Don't forget the U-boat crews singing, in The Enemy Below and Das Boot.
Magnificent. I wish our troops sounded as good. [paraphrasing]

However, we had Sousa, and the Duckworth chant, and then, Glenn Miller.
Poor bastards never knew what hit 'em.


Posted by: Stringer Davis at October 09, 2016 11:06 AM (H5rtT)
=====
But you forgot my favorite of all time -- Zulu! Behold the power of song.

Posted by: mustbequantum at October 09, 2016 11:13 AM (MIKMs)

143 The Wales vs. Zululand Song Contest and Kill-a-Thon is the best part of the movie.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 09, 2016 11:13 AM (0Djhs)

144 JTB I am so glad you liked my book. I best go and slave over the hot word processor some more right?

Posted by: Anna Puma at October 09, 2016 10:56 AM (dfDBO)

Yes, you should. You go now.

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 09, 2016 11:14 AM (moXGJ)

145 Flynne Fisher? Thought Gibson had been dipping into Tron's databanks. That I think would be called a shout out since Flynn's trip through the digital Looking Glass was not one way.

As for digital people escaping into the real world in more than just a telepresence, we can look to Japan circa 1990 as Kia Asamiya, founder of Studio Tron, had made that leap in logic with the series Compiler where the denizens of the Internet decide to conquer the 3D world of the users.

Then in Tron: Legacy we have Klue and his digital army racing to get to the portal so he can conquer the world of the users.

Also in Japan we've had games/animes like Phantasy Star Online 2 and Digimon where the residents of those digital worlds can actually make themselves present in this physical world and affect it.

I guess I've read too much and seen too much ne?

Posted by: Anna Puma at October 09, 2016 11:15 AM (dfDBO)

146 Barbara Tuchman has a quote somewhere in Guns of August that the most nightmarish aspect of the German invasion of Belgium and Northern France for the people in the occupied regions was the endless singing by the troops.
Posted by: Trimegistus at October 09, 2016 11:12 AM (0Djhs)


The singing? I would have thought the rape and pillaging was a bit of a problem as well... oh yes, there was rape and pillage by the Krauts in WWI.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 09, 2016 11:16 AM (Pz4pT)

147 Barbara Tuchman has a quote somewhere in Guns of
August that the most nightmarish aspect of the German invasion of
Belgium and Northern France for the people in the occupied regions was
the endless singing by the troops.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 09, 2016 11:12 AM (0Djhs)
=====Bagpipers. I think the legends were that they sent opponents screaming for safe spaces away from the sound.

Posted by: mustbequantum at October 09, 2016 11:17 AM (MIKMs)

148 Weird pants guy has some interesting radio gear amongst all the clutter.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at October 09, 2016 11:18 AM (3nqz0)

149
Barbara Tuchman has a quote somewhere in Guns of August that the most nightmarish aspect of the German invasion of Belgium and Northern France for the people in the occupied regions was the endless singing by the troops.
Posted by: Trimegistus

The Barbara Tuchman Overdrive was singing taking care of business.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at October 09, 2016 11:19 AM (IqV8l)

150 "The Alexis de Tocqueville would end up unread on their shelf."


Still struggling through mine, in small chunks.

And I forgot a few others.

http://tinyurl.com/h2v5nyc

Which is used to fight this one

http://tinyurl.com/jbuf5hq

And

http://tinyurl.com/j2nofbt

http://tinyurl.com/zmzjwex

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at October 09, 2016 11:20 AM (J+eG2)

151 So the Krauts can carry a tune as well as they carry off the women and cattle?

Posted by: Anna Puma at October 09, 2016 11:20 AM (dfDBO)

152 Election continues to be a race to the bottom that will turn on turnout.

PussyGate will only affect some women voters at the margin. e.g., won't affect Black men turnout. May even help Trump with Hispanic men, seriously.

Debate tonight gives Trump an opportunity to speak directly to Americans.

Trump can hit with public/private to get BernieBots to stay home.

Posted by: Ignoramus at October 09, 2016 11:22 AM (bQxkN)

153 They molest goats and boys and defecate in the oasis. Only a fool or a traitor would bring them in to their country by the millions.

Posted by: Ibn Khaldun at October 09, 2016 11:22 AM (dtWKK)

154 So the Krauts can carry a tune as well as they carry off the women and cattle?
Posted by: Anna Puma at October 09, 2016 11:20 AM (dfDBO)


Whistle while you work, as it were.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 09, 2016 11:23 AM (Pz4pT)

155 131 The latest issue of Fur-Fish-Game magazine has a great article about surfcasting for stripers and blues on the east coast, something I used to do a lot decades ago. It was fun being reminded about all the factors (tide, weather, bird activity, sea bottom structure, how to read the water, etc.) that went into a successful trip to the beach. A bit different from the gear and approach I use for taking panfish from a pond.
Posted by: JTB at October 09, 2016 11:02 AM (V+03K)

Lived in Fl many years so I hear you. Surprise for me here in AZ. Went to local lake Pleasant fishing and found that strippers have adapted to fresh water here and being invasive and voracious feeders need to have their numbers reduced dramatically, so no limit. In fact if caught at any size you are to keep them and its not unheard of to catch 100+ if you get into a feeding boil. There's guide boat named Snapper Snatcher that makes a full time living at hammering the things. I'm considering an inflatable and trying my hand at spearfishing them, something I miss from my scuba days in FL.

Posted by: Bozo 'disinfranchised and misunderstood' at October 09, 2016 11:23 AM (B+MYz)

156 "...the endless singing by the troops."

My father wrote in his WWII memoir of listening to the Germans singing Christmas carols at night from 400 yards away somewhere east of Metz.

Posted by: Meremortal.... at October 09, 2016 11:23 AM (3myMJ)

157 If I do NaNoWriMo this year, it will basically be a series of essays connected in some fashion. This will be therapy: topics that I need to explore (or excoriate) written on a manual typewriter so I can literally pound out the words. A chance to get rid of some of the piss and vinegar that keeps building in my soul.

Posted by: JTB at October 09, 2016 11:24 AM (V+03K)

158 Have you heard a whole bunch of Germans singing? The line between that and the actual rape and pillage, she is a fine one.

Yes, in Europe there was more deliberate kick-ass in WWI than later (excepting of course for the moment your Final Solution, which kind of grew out of it). US'ns were not above it either, back in the day. It was a concept that gripped the world. The Brit propaganda poster of the iron boot treading on a Belgian woman did as much as the Lusitania to get the US into the war. Yet the Brits, in Boer days, invented the concentration camp, and there was Amritsar after all.

A Belgian couple who ran a very fine private WWII museum near Liege confided to my father and me that in their childhood, the occupying German troops were quite jolly, and shared rations and chocolate -- right up until D-Day. Then things got back to German/Belgian normal. There's a strong German ethnicity in the border cantons, and the Reich played heavily on that, to the point of releasing Belgian POW's early if their families were of German extraction.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at October 09, 2016 11:24 AM (H5rtT)

159 The song is Panzerlied, and no its not a Nazi song, hum it all the time but should try to remember the german lyrics. Was Rommel's favorite tune.

Posted by: Skip at October 09, 2016 11:24 AM (sWbjH)

160 "Only a fool or a traitor would bring them in to their country by the millions."

Behold, the healing and unifying power of "And".

You rang?


Can I finish my waffle first?

Posted by: Barky McFcukstick at October 09, 2016 11:24 AM (J+eG2)

161 Bill Millin was the WWII piper on D-Day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Millin

Posted by: mustbequantum at October 09, 2016 11:25 AM (MIKMs)

162 Checking in on the fly as I'm currently responsible for the well-being of a manic 2-y.o who swiped my coffee and is fearless.

Reading an advanced copy of The Long Road to Boston. Pretty good so far.

Finished If You Can Keep It by Eric Metaxas - review is up at BookHorde.org.

Gotta go - child found a hammer.

Posted by: Long Running Fool at October 09, 2016 11:25 AM (L0bUn)

163 >>>if Amazon really is trying to puff up Hillary, they're doing a really bad job.

To be honest, they've done a good job on my ass.

Posted by: Hillary Clinton at October 09, 2016 11:25 AM (dtWKK)

164 162 Checking in on the fly as I'm currently responsible for the well-being of a manic 2-y.o who swiped my coffee and is fearless.

Reading an advanced copy of The Long Road to Boston. Pretty good so far.

Finished If You Can Keep It by Eric Metaxas - review is up at BookHorde.org.

Gotta go - child found a hammer.
Posted by: Long Running Fool at October 09, 2016 11:25 AM (L0bUn)


Said child sounds like a Future Moron! Awesome!

Posted by: RondinellaMamma at October 09, 2016 11:28 AM (oQQwD)

165 >>>Jamie Gorelick.

Lick me, baby!

Posted by: Al Gore at October 09, 2016 11:30 AM (dtWKK)

166 As for me on little free librarys, there is only one I know of in Chester County but at time I was driving by it had no idea what it was. I thought it was a yard sculpture, it was that nice looking.

Posted by: Skip at October 09, 2016 11:30 AM (sWbjH)

167

A quick note to those on Goodreads/Amazon.

Amazon changed the guidelines for getting reviews when offering your book. Might want to check the details.

Amazon bans incentivized reviews tied to free or discounted products

http://tcrn.ch/2dmb3nT

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/18288332-new-amazon-guidelines

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201929730

The details are bit wobbly. And there is much discussion of these new rules. People are saying the reviews of their books are disappearing on Amazon, even if not warranted.

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at October 09, 2016 11:31 AM (qCMvj)

168 If I had a hammer,

I'd hammer on the TeeVee.

If I had a hammer,

I'd hammer on the cat.

If I had a hammer,


I'd hammer on the toilet,

Cause I really, really don't like that.

Posted by: some 2-year old at October 09, 2016 11:32 AM (3nqz0)

169 @145 yes there are lots of real to digital crossings and vice versa - heck, Gibson invented it.

Mostly the digital space is not self aware, though, it is where meatspace people go.

The Matrix had a similar premise but there was a one to one relationship with real to digital, and the Matrix was clearly not the "real world." In The Peripheral physics etc may not be changed. Only knowledge.

Posted by: blaster at October 09, 2016 11:32 AM (ACqhm)

170 Hidden Meanings In Anagrams

Moron author Mark Huffman obviously has way more spare time on his hands than is good for him, because he sent me a bunch of clever anagrams last week.

Hey, WD posted an ONT with chili a few days back, and I came up with the following anagram of Hillary Clinton:

Tranny chili, LOL.

Posted by: Yuimetal at October 09, 2016 11:33 AM (dtWKK)

171 In Holger H. Herwig's book, "The Marne, 1914", he mentions another aspect of the German invasion of Belgium:

Will Irwin, an American journalist observing the German "gray machine of death" marching across Belgium, reported on something he had never heard mentioned in any book on war--"the smell of a half-million unbathed men...That smell lay for days over every town."

Posted by: rickl the deplorable at October 09, 2016 11:34 AM (sdi6R)

172 Have you heard a whole bunch of Germans singing? The line between that and the actual rape and pillage, she is a fine one.

Yes, in Europe there was more deliberate kick-ass in WWI than later (excepting of course for the moment your Final Solution, which kind of grew out of it). US'ns were not above it either, back in the day. It was a concept that gripped the world. The Brit propaganda poster of the iron boot treading on a Belgian woman did as much as the Lusitania to get the US into the war. Yet the Brits, in Boer days, invented the concentration camp, and there was Amritsar after all.

A Belgian couple who ran a very fine private WWII museum near Liege confided to my father and me that in their childhood, the occupying German troops were quite jolly, and shared rations and chocolate -- right up until D-Day. Then things got back to German/Belgian normal. There's a strong German ethnicity in the border cantons, and the Reich played heavily on that, to the point of releasing Belgian POW's early if their families were of German extraction.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at October 09, 2016 11:24 AM (H5rtT)


The connection of war and brutal treatment of civilians has a long long history, but historians noted that the Germans raised the stakes quite clearly in the First World War.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 09, 2016 11:34 AM (Pz4pT)

173 The military band was an invention of the Ottomans at their peak. Okay, Haydn had kettle drums in his classical orchestra, but we have cymbals and triangles in the band today because Mozart was so taken with all things "a la Turk."

Pretty sure I've read accounts of Crusader armies singing on the march, but it would have been the equivalent of plainsong psalm-chanting, not actual military songs. Wonder just how far back marching songs actually go. Be careful: Kipling and many others liked to put music-hall ballads into Roman legion's mouths.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at October 09, 2016 11:35 AM (H5rtT)

174 Nice rant by OM, surprised in Arab countries there are any libraries that old that have survived. As long as most are Qurans guess they won't get a target on their back.

Read Timon of Athens by Thomas Middleton and Shakespeare which is a story of Timon, a rich guy dispensing his wealth to his "friends" until he is in peril. He then
finds no one will help him, and his view of humanity turns black. Good writing and story, enjoyed it.

Read Shakespeare's MacBeth, which is great though the witch scene in Act 3 should be cut.

Listened to Into The Wild (Malcontents #2) by Larry Correia, a followup to the terrific Into The Storm which was the Dirty Dozen In Space. Here the story is smaller scale, where members of the Sixth Platoon are to guard some academics investigating mysterious ruins and find trouble. Lot of action and good characters, enjoyed it but not as much as its predecessor.

Posted by: waelse1 at October 09, 2016 11:35 AM (yUCLK)

175 OT snippets:

15 deaths attributed to Matthew.
Slow weekend in Chicago, 2 dead, 26 wounded. 43% in a recent poll said Trump should quit the race. The same 43% who have been saying that all along.
CNN says first question at debate will be about Trump's "sex talk". This is CNN.

Posted by: Meremortal.... at October 09, 2016 11:36 AM (3myMJ)

176 Read Shakespeare's MacBeth, which is great though the witch scene in Act 3 should be cut.

-
My favorite of the Bard's works.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at October 09, 2016 11:37 AM (Nwg0u)

177 Only a fool or a traitor would bring them in to their country by the millions.

Behold, citizen, and embrace the power of 'and'...

Posted by: Barack Hussein Obama at October 09, 2016 11:37 AM (MwzBE)

178 2yo is such an enjoyable age -- if you can keep them alive. Son found toilet plunger and suctioned the tiles right off the kitchen floor. Grandson is not quite as adventurous yet but no doubt will be there soon.

Posted by: mustbequantum at October 09, 2016 11:37 AM (MIKMs)

179 "The connection of war and brutal treatment of civilians has a long long history, but historians noted that the Germans raised the stakes quite clearly in the First World War."


We'll take "Two members of the AXIS Party" for $100.00 Alex

Posted by: The Japanese military at October 09, 2016 11:37 AM (J+eG2)

180 9th century is old for a library. two older libraries worthy of discussion are the alexandria library (destroyed) and the villa of the papyri, herculaneum, whose scrolls are charred from the eruption of vesuvius that destroyed pompei. it's the oldest intact library from the ancient world. non-invasive technologies are being employed to read the ink on the charred remains.

what i think is remarkable is the volume of ancient texts that survive from greece and rome (and biblical texts) despite the paucity of original documents. there are but a few scraps of ancient writing that exist today.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at October 09, 2016 11:37 AM (WTSFk)

181 155 .. Bozo, Oh yeah. That striper fishing must be great. I learned surf fishing off the rocks in Rhode Island. The ONLY thing I miss about Florida (I don't like hot weather) is the fishing from shore and the sea wall in St. Pete Beach. Lady fish for sport, sheepshead, snapper, and snook (if VERY lucky) for fun and good eating.

Posted by: JTB at October 09, 2016 11:38 AM (V+03K)

182 My favorite of the Bard's works.

-------------------

Mine is King Lear.

Posted by: V the K at October 09, 2016 11:39 AM (jn7FC)

183 (... notably the dead sea scrolls and copies of the gospels from the 3rd century are the earliest, i think.)

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at October 09, 2016 11:40 AM (WTSFk)

184 CNN says first question at debate will be about Trump's "sex talk". This is CNN.

"I'm not really sure how to answer this. Hillary, you're a well-known apologist and attorney for actual sex crimes, could I hire you for a consultation?"

Posted by: t-bird at October 09, 2016 11:41 AM (P6iJV)

185 Isn't Book of Kells a survivor from that era?

Posted by: mustbequantum at October 09, 2016 11:42 AM (MIKMs)

186 I've been reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman this week. I'm not too far in, but so far it's interesting enough.

I also read Ottoline and the Yellow Cat to my little kids this week and since Chris Riddle and Neil Gaiman teamed up to do an illustrated version of Gaiman's children's books, so I might get those too.

Posted by: Lauren at October 09, 2016 11:43 AM (V1MhP)

187 >>>> the most nightmarish aspect of the German invasion of Belgium and
Northern France for the people in the occupied regions was the endless
singing by the troops.<<<<<

What is the definition of comic opera?

A German one.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at October 09, 2016 11:44 AM (x3uSY)

188 So the Krauts can carry a tune as well as they carry off the women and cattle?

Posted by: Anna Puma

Cattle?

Posted by: J.S. Bach at October 09, 2016 11:44 AM (dtWKK)

189 @184

But of course the first question will be about that.

What better way to completely derail any sort of discussion of the issues by making that the first question.

Basically Trump needs to go hammer tongs to the whole lot of them.

Posted by: Kreplach at October 09, 2016 11:46 AM (+lv+r)

190 184 CNN says first question at debate will be about Trump's "sex talk". This is CNN.

"I'm not really sure how to answer this. Hillary, you're a well-known apologist and attorney for actual sex crimes, could I hire you for a consultation?"
Posted by: t-bird at October 09, 2016 11:41 AM (P6iJV)


Someone in the Trump campagn needs to read this blog.

Posted by: Bozo 'disinfranchised and misunderstood' at October 09, 2016 11:46 AM (B+MYz)

191 Speaking of the Book of Kells, the movie based on its story, The Secret of Kells, is quite charming.

Posted by: Lauren at October 09, 2016 11:46 AM (V1MhP)

192 Need to run some errands before the Nats game. BBL.

Posted by: JTB at October 09, 2016 11:47 AM (V+03K)

193 CNN says first question at debate will be about Trump's "sex talk". This is CNN.

-
Sex is bad, mmmmKay? Mr. Trump, do you sex?

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at October 09, 2016 11:47 AM (Nwg0u)

194 Taking a break from some heavier stuff this week and reading a few James Bond novels (The Spy Who Loved Me, Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only). All available on Kindle for less than $2.00 Several hours of great bedtime reading for $6.00. How great a buy is that?

They are great, quick reads and very evocative of a bygone era. Ian Fleming is a master wordsmith who can invoke a mood of tension or fear, and paint a vivid scene, in a few sentences. I suspect that due to the popularity of the Bond novels with us hoi polloi and their "unsophisticated" subject matter, his skill as a writer is vastly unappreciated.

As a bonus, a tv station had one of those James Bond marathons over the past couple of weeks.

As an aside, Jamie Gorelick is the prototype success story of the Clinton era. Talent, determination, and hard work count for little. What matters is your connections, your resume, your politics. Millenials, if you want to be rich in the upcoming age of Hilary!, don't choose Steven Jobs or Bill Gates as role models. Be like Jamie.

Posted by: RM at October 09, 2016 11:47 AM (U3LtS)

195 192--

You mean the Dodger Game?

Posted by: Czar Peter at October 09, 2016 11:47 AM (qaWk6)

196 Thanks for that question, Martha as it highlights the lack of prioritzation and the galling bias of the press. You ask me about something I said over a decade ago, and have already apologized for...I'm not finished, Martha...and yet you ignore that she set the Middle East on fire. She compromised national security for her own personal privacy. She's ruined the lives of the women her husband abused. And on and on.

Or

Martha, take that question, fold it up til its all corners, and shove it up your ass!

Could go either way.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at October 09, 2016 11:48 AM (kTF2Z)

197 What I'm reading right now are classics like 1984, Animal Farm, Farenheight 451, a bunch of Brad Thor, etc.

I have a 60 minute daily train ride so that's where I'm squeezing in book reading.

Posted by: Kreplach at October 09, 2016 11:49 AM (+lv+r)

198 >>>Barbara Tuchman has a quote somewhere in Guns of August that the most nightmarish aspect of the German invasion of Belgium and Northern France for the people in the occupied regions was the endless singing by the troops.


Barbara Tuchus can go kiss my hairy fat Teutonic ass.

Posted by: J.S. Bach at October 09, 2016 11:49 AM (dtWKK)

199 Pretty sure I've read accounts of Crusader armies singing on the march, but it would have been the equivalent of plainsong psalm-chanting, not actual military songs.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at October 09, 2016 11:35 AM (H5rtT)

The hymn 'Fairest Lord Jesus' is supposedly (according to the hymn book my church uses) a Crusader hymn.

I can imagine Christian armies singing it en route to Jerusalem. I would like to organize some folks from my church to sing it outside one of our local mosques, but then again, I'm a dick.

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 09, 2016 11:49 AM (moXGJ)

200 I think the Hecate scene in Macbeth was just early fan service. The audiences loved the witches and the singing and dancing so "moar foul black midnight hags!"

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at October 09, 2016 11:51 AM (x3uSY)

201 I can imagine Christian armies singing it en route to Jerusalem. I would like to organize some folks from my church to sing it outside one of our local mosques, but then again, I'm a dick.

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 09, 2016 11:49 AM (moXGJ)
---
March past in Crusader garb as you sing it.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Imperatrix Siculus at October 09, 2016 11:51 AM (jR7Wy)

202 Barbara Tuchus can go kiss my hairy fat Teutonic ass.
Posted by: J.S. Bach

-
Old Basher Bach had 20 children so he must have had some predilection toward pussy grabbing.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at October 09, 2016 11:52 AM (Nwg0u)

203 My late uncle The Famous Artist was in our navy before WWII broke out, did all the stuff sailors did in that era, and spoke often about what a moving experience it was to be on a big ship with just about the whole crew on deck, singing. Guys even climbed up into the lines, just to be all Errol Flynn and shit.

And I had a motor cycling chum, chief engineer on a Brit sea-going vessel, who'd gone to sea for his "National Service" as a teenager in the early 50's. He told me the one thing he missed the most about the old sea life, as he called it, as shipboard conditions improved, was the passing away of group singing. Officers and crew sang together each and every, and men on watch sang in sections at their tasks.

Each nation has its own singing traditions. During the Great Awakening, Americans would walk 20 miles to be in a huge songfest. That looks about gone now, but the Baltics still do it big time. Euro song fest (got talent?) must be making inroads.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at October 09, 2016 11:53 AM (H5rtT)

204 The mascot for the college down the road are The Crusaders.

Coincidentally, one of the few colleges I'd feel comfortable sending my horde.

Posted by: Lauren at October 09, 2016 11:54 AM (V1MhP)

205 Come Back Here You Little So-And-So - a limerick



Babysitting results in a clamor
You stutter, you yell and you stammer
But you can bet without fail
All things look like a nail
To a toddler who's swinging a hammer!

Posted by: Muldoon at October 09, 2016 11:54 AM (wPiJc)

206 @202 They say his organ had no stops.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at October 09, 2016 11:55 AM (H5rtT)

207 Im going to buy "America the Ingenious" by Kevin Baker.
He reviews inventions that shaped the country. He explores the design of the Prairie Schooner for one and how it was well an 'ingenious' design to settle the country .

The Yankee Clipper as well as the safety pin, gatling gun, oil rig and the many modern invention are reviewed.

Posted by: Bozo 'disinfranchised and misunderstood' at October 09, 2016 11:55 AM (B+MYz)

208 Bach had 20 children so he must have had some predilection toward pussy grabbing no stops on his organ.




FIFY

Posted by: Muldoon at October 09, 2016 11:56 AM (wPiJc)

209 Barbara Tuchus can go kiss my hairy fat Teutonic ass.

Posted by: J.S. Bach at October 09, 2016 11:49 AM (dtWKK)

Hey Pops, about my allowance? Prince la-de-dah Frederick is a cheapskate bastard (also a complete fag) and I'm tired of eating gruel, nicht wahr?

Posted by: CPE Bach at October 09, 2016 11:56 AM (moXGJ)

210 203: name of your uncle the famous artist?

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at October 09, 2016 11:57 AM (WTSFk)

211 The voice of Lady Elaine Fairchild was "Mr." Rogers. Makes me wonder if he was a closet tranny. Unfortunately wikipedia is not letting me update his article to add LGBT.

Boomerang, toomerang, soomerang!

Posted by: Caitlyn Jenner at October 09, 2016 11:57 AM (dtWKK)

212 Posted by: t-bird at October 09, 2016 11:41 AM (P6iJV)

Perhaps he could talk about how illicit sex has suddenly gone from being fine to engage in to being unacceptable to even talk about in private.

The New Puritanism.

But enough of that, back to the books. I'm considering some rereading of my favorite Kipling stories. I do that about every 10 years. The Phantom Rickshaw, oh yeah.

Posted by: Meremortal.... at October 09, 2016 11:57 AM (3myMJ)

213 Stringer- beat me by => <= that much

Posted by: Muldoon at October 09, 2016 11:57 AM (wPiJc)

214 From Hot Air: Morning Consult: First samples show Trump's supporters don't care about that video

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at October 09, 2016 11:59 AM (Nwg0u)

215 Saw a funny meme."Women bought 80,000 copies of Shades of Gray.Offended Trump said pussy."

Posted by: steevy at October 09, 2016 12:01 PM (fA75F)

216 Ooh. Ooh. Muldoon's Lament.

We were wailing on Germans, and such,
and dick-whoopin' Barbara the Tuch
Whilst reelin' and rockin'
I forgot to get Bach in
Stringer beat me- by just=><=that much.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at October 09, 2016 12:01 PM (H5rtT)

217 The New Puritanism.

Only when it suits them.

Posted by: t-bird at October 09, 2016 12:01 PM (LbA10)

218 Nood

Posted by: Skip at October 09, 2016 12:01 PM (sWbjH)

219 The Yankee Clipper as well as the safety pin, gatling gun, oil rig and the many modern invention are reviewed.

Posted by: Bozo 'disinfranchised and misunderstood' at October 09, 2016 11:55 AM (B+MYz)


The thing to remember about an oil rig is that it is, first and foremost, a hoisting apparatus built for the purpose of putting or removing long strings of pipe into a hole in the ground.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at October 09, 2016 12:03 PM (3nqz0)

220 "Prairie Schooner"?!!
My good man, do you mean a Studebaker Conestoga?

Posted by: Stringer Davis at October 09, 2016 12:04 PM (H5rtT)

221 Islam's greatest problem is that its been too infested with Arabic culture. Its basic themes of struggle against sin, help the needy in your community, be strong against enemies, and prepare for the coming judgment of God are solid and wise in their way, but they were so wrapped in Arabic mentality, steeped in ancient god and goddess worship that came before it, and written by a madman with too many wives he couldn't control that its just awful.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 09, 2016 12:05 PM (DlhFY)

222
Speaking of singing soldiers or in military movies. I always liked in Branagh's Henry V, after the battle of Agincourt, the soldiers start singing Non nobis, Domine

Posted by: TheQuietMan at October 09, 2016 12:05 PM (auHtY)

223 Read Timon of Athens by Thomas Middleton and Shakespeare which is a story of Timon, a rich guy dispensing his wealth to his "friends" until he is in peril. He then
finds no one will help him, and his view of humanity turns black. Good writing and story, enjoyed it.


Isn't that always the way? Your "friends" are only your "friends" until shit gets real, then they scatter to the four winds. There's always a point in life when you find out who your real friends are. Pro tip: there will be far fewer than you thought.

Posted by: Insomniac - Irredeemably Deplorable at October 09, 2016 12:06 PM (0mRoj)

224 Hey muldoon, it looks like you're getting some stiff competition in the limerick dept from Stringer Davis.

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 09, 2016 12:06 PM (moXGJ)

225 216 Ooh. Ooh. Muldoon's Lament

****


Heh!

Posted by: Muldoon at October 09, 2016 12:07 PM (wPiJc)

226 Finished the 3rd of the Jao Empire series by Eric Flint. He has a new cowriter on this one. Great space opera series. Exciting, suspenseful battles, good guys you can root for and bad guys you can really despise. All in all great fun. Hope the 4th book doesn't take as long to be published as the 3rd.

Posted by: Tuna at October 09, 2016 12:08 PM (JSovD)

227 "and written by a madman "

Let us drill down to the root problem, shall we?

An illiterate madman who was sexually attracted to six year old girls.

And liked power.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at October 09, 2016 12:09 PM (J+eG2)

228 "Speaking of singing soldiers or in military movies. I always liked in Branagh's Henry V, after the battle of Agincourt, the soldiers start singing Non nobis, Domine"

Yes, it was quite moving. The score for that movie was exceptionally good.

Posted by: Tuna at October 09, 2016 12:09 PM (JSovD)

229 Islam's greatest problem is that its been too infested with Arabic culture. Its basic themes of struggle against sin, help the needy in your community, be strong against enemies, and prepare for the coming judgment of God are solid and wise in their way, but they were so wrapped in Arabic mentality, steeped in ancient god and goddess worship that came before it, and written by a madman with too many wives he couldn't control that its just awful.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 09, 2016 12:05 PM (DlhFY)


I think it's worse than that. islam is a false religion made up to justify and enhance living as a bandit. It makes virtues out of vices.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at October 09, 2016 12:10 PM (3nqz0)

230 Wife was cleaning out the junk closet yesterday and found her father's diary from Feb. 1945. He was serving on a warship in the Pacific. A sentence of two for each day. I started reading them yesterday. Really interesting seeing his point of view.

The diary books are about the size of a pocket Bible but only 20 or so pages long. He wrote on both sides of the paper and now the booklets are becoming unbound and pages are coming out. Don't know what to do with them but did stop reading them to limit the damage.

One thing he mentioned was bombers flying to Tokyo. All their radios were tuned to Tokyo stations because they figured if the bombers were successful the radio stations would go off the air.

Amazing these little books were in the "junk" closet.

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at October 09, 2016 12:10 PM (AFCi5)

231 Women bought 80,000 copies of Shades of Gray.Offended Trump said pussy.

He should have made the more elegant dinners.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 09, 2016 12:10 PM (DlhFY)

232 QM, you bet. I've heard that live; university men's chorus marching into recital carrying candles through the audience. Hair on neck standing up. Current events file, Dave Brubeck was at that concert -- they were premiering new songs of his, at his age! -- and gave a snappy little salute for that performance. Funny, all the college kids seemed to know exactly who he was...

You know there's another one, right? Agincourt Hymn, written for the occasion, and there are good recordings of it, Dave Swarbrick or the Silly Sisters. Tough.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at October 09, 2016 12:12 PM (H5rtT)

233 @2, skip

Or as we say down south: tollite legite, y'all!

Posted by: Unsure if deplorable at October 09, 2016 12:14 PM (reARY)

234 islam is a false religion made up to justify and enhance living as a bandit.

Well my thought is that, if you stripped away the Arabic cultural influences and the anti-woman frustration from Muhammad, its actually a decent religion that could be beneficial to cultures, even though it is utterly false. There are religions like that out there: Sikhs, for example. Buddhism, generally speaking. Islam could be in that category if they stripped out the stuff that's so corrosive and destructive. For about 500 years, it was that way in a lot of the world.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 09, 2016 12:14 PM (DlhFY)

235
Wife was cleaning out the junk closet yesterday and found her father's
diary from Feb. 1945. He was serving on a warship in the Pacific. A
sentence of two for each day. I started reading them yesterday. Really
interesting seeing his point of view.



The diary books are about the size of a pocket Bible but only 20 or
so pages long. He wrote on both sides of the paper and now the booklets
are becoming unbound and pages are coming out. Don't know what to do
with them but did stop reading them to limit the damage.



One thing he mentioned was bombers flying to Tokyo. All their radios
were tuned to Tokyo stations because they figured if the bombers were
successful the radio stations would go off the air.



Amazing these little books were in the "junk" closet.

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at October 09, 2016 12:10 PM (AFCi5)=====My suggestion is to scan them into computer files (maybe pdf or photo) and make a gift for the family members surviving. Last year for Christmas I gave everyone memory sticks to scan everyone's scattered family photos so we can all have copies. You can ask your local library how to archive the books themselves.

Posted by: mustbequantum at October 09, 2016 12:17 PM (MIKMs)

236 One thing he mentioned was bombers flying to Tokyo. All their radios were tuned to Tokyo stations because they figured if the bombers were successful the radio stations would go off the air.

Amazing these little books were in the "junk" closet.

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at October 09, 2016 12:10 PM (AFCi5)


They also used RDF, radio direction finding. You have a receiver with a very directional antenna, tuned to a station of interest. Rotate the antenna, and note the direction of the "null" where the signal is weakest. (the nulls are typically much sharper than the peaks). The angle of the null relative to your line of travel gives you a bearing.

Using two stations far apart, can give you cross bearings, which can tell where you are.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at October 09, 2016 12:18 PM (3nqz0)

237 Also finished "Hard Luck Hank, Basketful of Crap". Gotta love old Hank. I'll probably move on to the 3rd in the series now.

Picked up the Audible version of "Dr. Knox" by Peter Speigleman. Has anyone read any of his other mysteries?

Posted by: Tuna at October 09, 2016 12:18 PM (JSovD)

238 He told me the one thing he missed the most about the old sea life, as he called it, as shipboard conditions improved, was the passing away of group singing. Officers and crew sang together each and every, and men on watch sang in sections at their tasks.

Interesting bit about the singing. When I was a young man I had some neighbors, two sisters. And these gals sure knew how to throw a party. One interesting thing about their parties was the esoteric groups of people they would have at their parties.

At one party they threw, it turned out they had a group of Royal Navy sailors from the HMS Amazon, which had made port in Houston (yes, Houston has a seaport, even though it's 50 miles inland). And somehow the girls had invited these guys to their party. One thing that stood out about these guys is their group singing, which they did engage in at the party. We all found this very interesting, and they said it was common practice aboard ship.

Posted by: The Oort Cloud - Deplorable Source of all SMODs at October 09, 2016 12:19 PM (2pIEi)

239 Islam could be in that category if they stripped out the stuff that's so corrosive and destructive. For about 500 years, it was that way in a lot of the world.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 09, 2016 12:14 PM (DlhFY)


If you stripped all the evil shit out of the koran, you'd have nothing left but the covers. A fundamental problem is that allah is depicted as capricious and unknowable. Closer to the concept of satan than the God of Abraham.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at October 09, 2016 12:21 PM (3nqz0)

240 Islamists are trying to drag us back into the 7th century.

Posted by: Skip at October 09, 2016 12:24 PM (sWbjH)

241 People used to sing socially quite a bit, up until around WW2 when by then radio and the ready access to records replaced what folks would do together with professional recordings. Its still around in places like churches and in rural communities, especially in the hills of the Appalachians, but its largely gone.

Its hard to even get people to go caroling any more. Kids these days think singing Christmas carols is stupid -- they don't much care about Christmas period any longer (when you get presents all year long, what's Christmas?).

One of my favorite scenes in Justified was in the second season with that horrible old woman Mags Bennett sitting with her awful criminal family singing old mountain songs. She couldn't sing worth sour apples but that didn't matter because it was all from the heart and everyone loved the songs.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 09, 2016 12:24 PM (DlhFY)

242 Well my thought is that, if you stripped away the Arabic cultural influences and the anti-woman frustration from Muhammad, its actually a decent religion that could be beneficial to cultures

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 09, 2016 12:14 PM (DlhFY)

As long as you excise all the "slay the infidel" parts of the Qur'an, I guess.

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 09, 2016 12:24 PM (moXGJ)

243 " Not that there's no scholarship in the Islamic world. I've heard that
there's actually quite a lot, but most of it is what we might call
"Qur'anic studies", which I'd guess would be of little interest to
non-Muslims."

imo, there is much to be learned, on how to run a fascist style religion, including the PC religion, aka Cultural Marxism.

They move into other countries as a minority, but insist on having their own "religion" allowed. When they get critical mass they just take over.

If they have conquered and are the majority, they may allow others, but they will essentially be a slave class. But often they need the slave class, as in the west developing MENA oil.

So the "devilish" methods for attaining totalitarian control over a people via a "dogmatic religion" might be found in their deeper academic histories. Alinksy probably learned from them, like he learned from Capone. Ayers learned to get into the institutions, instead of just bombing them, and now his fellow domestic terrorists are working at universities, after serving time.

There are certainly advantages to being a parasite, as long as there are surviving hosts from which to suck the blood of life. The Ottoman Empire became the "sick man of Europe" as they fell behind the Western Renaissance, and western thinkers brought us the enlightenment. The main reason they were not sick before that was they were able to feed off the cultures they conquered by the sword.

The globalists like Hillary want a hemisphere of open borders and trade ... invade the world invite the world, a new twist on conquering from within. Has that ever worked? It they achieve it, it would be at the expense of Free America. That's why there is talk of Texit, escape from the paper rich plutocrat overlords.

Posted by: illiniwek at October 09, 2016 12:27 PM (n6rAX)

244 I recommend reading religous texts of all sorts, you can see where they're wrong or damaged but it also gives you an insight into what others believe and why. Reading the Koran explained a lot to me about Islam and why Muslims behave like they do. Reading writings about Buddha made more sense of the often contradictory way Buddhists behave. Its pretty fascinating stuff.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 09, 2016 12:28 PM (DlhFY)

245 I'd send you a picture of my library but it's just an LG Gpad I use as a Kindle reader

Posted by: Ron in Austin at October 09, 2016 12:29 PM (CZqym)

246 I'd add that the PC religion is "critical theory" ... they tear down what was built, but what do they build. They tear down the police departments to start fires, for example.

Posted by: illiniwek at October 09, 2016 12:44 PM (n6rAX)

247 OM, I just sent you two snaps of some of my books. Looks less impressive on an iPhone, I must say. But many tactile pleasures to be had up close!

Posted by: All Hail Eris at October 09, 2016 12:59 PM (dGXW9)

248 Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at October 09, 2016 12:10 PM (AFCi5)=====My suggestion is to scan them into computer files (maybe pdf or photo) and make a gift for the family members surviving....

Posted by: mustbequantum


******


I enthusiastically second this suggestion. My brother did that for all of us brothers with my Dad's WWII diary (which some may remember I shared extensively here at the HQ last year. Actually my brother scanned the hand-written pages and then did a side-by-side transcription for improved ease of reading.

Posted by: Muldoon at October 09, 2016 01:04 PM (wPiJc)

249 Posted by: Trimegistus at October 09, 2016 11:12 AM (0Djhs)

I remember that quote. Someone at the HQ mentioned a quote they had read in a different book that the Germans were freaked out by the US doughboys because they fought silently and Europeans traditionally didn't do that. It's been years since the comment though and I have no idea what the source was.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at October 09, 2016 01:05 PM (GDulk)

250 "The Alexis de Tocqueville would end up unread on their shelf."

I have to use Text-to-Speech for that one. I have a hardcopy but it sat on the shelf for about 5 years whereas I listened to the first volumei in the course of about a week's spinning/knitting/WoW playing. I don't remember as much as if I had seen the words, but I cannot remember something I never read either so I count it as good enough.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at October 09, 2016 01:11 PM (GDulk)

251 Posted by: Lauren at October 09, 2016 11:46 AM (V1MhP)

My kids like that one and also the one about the selkie by the same people.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at October 09, 2016 01:21 PM (GDulk)

252 Woke up late today - guess I'll just read the thread.

Christopher Taylor, I sent you an email!

Posted by: Votermom the deplorable @vm on gab at October 09, 2016 01:24 PM (Om16U)

253 Democracy in America is best read in small bursts, a few pages at a time like separate magazine articles rather than in one continuous read like a book.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 09, 2016 01:34 PM (DlhFY)

254 Working through my back log on audible; I finished Lolita (read by Jeremy Irons, it was fantastic), As You Wish (stories from the making of the Princess Bride - this book should only be listened to IMO, has many of the stars of the movie doing the narration), and now working on White Knight, number 9 in the Dresden Files series. Also picked up in a recent audible sale The Hobbit, The Godfather, and the Complete Sherlock Holmes, among other things. Debating on which to listen to next.

Posted by: SouthCounty at October 09, 2016 01:53 PM (6CSR9)

255 "245
I'd send you a picture of my library but it's just an LG Gpad I use as a Kindle reader


Posted by: Ron in Austin at October 09, 2016 12:29 PM (CZqym)"


You are missing out on one of the often overlooked advantages of book cases full of books. If the book cases are set up along exterior walls, the books themselves provide a significant amount of insulation that can make a noticeable difference in your utility bills. You can use the dollars you save heating and cooling your house to buy more book shelves and more books so there is a virtuous cycle aspect to coming back from the used book store with arms full of books. Again.

Posted by: Obnoxious A-Hole at October 09, 2016 02:00 PM (+QFqi)

256 Just from the headlines from various sites, looks like Pence is going to abandon ship. Maybe someone who has read it all can confirm or deny.

Posted by: Tim in Illinois at October 09, 2016 02:03 PM (d76uN)

257 They move into other countries as a minority, but insist on having their own "religion" allowed. When they get critical mass they just take over.

Posted by: illiniwek at October 09, 2016 12:27 PM (n6rAX)

I think you would like The Camp of the Saints, a remarkably prophetic 1973 novel by Jean Raspail about mass immigration.

The Camp of the Saints is the October group read in the AoSHQ Moron Horde goodreads group, if you would like to join and participate in the discussion. Link to the goodreads group in my sig.

Posted by: cool breeze at October 09, 2016 02:04 PM (StZrq)

258 Sigh! It looks like the AoSHQ Moron Horde goodreads group URL has been pixy-banned along with all goodreads.com URLs.

A working link to the goodreads group is near the bottom of OregonMuse's main post in every recent Sunday Morning Book Thread.

Posted by: cool breeze at October 09, 2016 02:11 PM (StZrq)

259 I remember reading, in John Toland's The Rising Sun, I think, of Japanese scouts approaching American bases during WWII and being flabbergasted by jazz, which they couldn't understand at all.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at October 09, 2016 02:24 PM (Nwg0u)

260 "469
Can't they jail you in Canada for saying something politically incorrect?



Posted by: steevy at October 09, 2016 01:46 PM (fA75F)



I think dissing fags is considered hate speech there now.

Posted by: Country Boy - Deplorable and proud of it at October 09, 2016 02:02 PM (Idu2i)"


I remember watching some silly, made in Canada show with my kids. It was something about some kids who rescued a baby deer that was dying and then their father being arrested for having a wild animal without a permit or some such thing. The part that made an impression on me was when the cop is putting the handcuffs on the father, one of the kids asks the cop, "Don't you have to read him his rights?" The cop replies, "No. That's only on television."

That impression on the rights you have in Canada has never left me. I don't think they have to read you your rights when they arrest you in Mexico either.

Posted by: Obnoxious A-Hole at October 09, 2016 02:26 PM (+QFqi)

261 Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at October 09, 2016 11:37 AM (Nwg0u)


Reading MacBeth I couldn't help but hear Verdi's opera in my head the whole time. Great atmosphere, story and characters.

Posted by: waelse1 at October 09, 2016 02:46 PM (yUCLK)

262 Dang it. Trump has even ruined porn for me this week.

Posted by: Mopy Dick at October 09, 2016 02:47 PM (NnnZy)

263 Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at October 09, 2016 11:51 AM (x3uSY)

Yah, it's obvious someone thought "They love the witches! Let's give 'em more witches!". Don't know if was Shakespeare, since the style of poetry is so different.

Posted by: waelse1 at October 09, 2016 02:51 PM (yUCLK)

264 I'm glad I'm not the only one fed up with coddling Islam and other bankrupt destructive cultures.

Posted by: wannabeanglican at October 09, 2016 02:51 PM (V71z9)

265 260 Canada hasn't been dubbed the Shiny Happy Gulag for nothing.

Posted by: wannabeanglican at October 09, 2016 03:28 PM (V71z9)

266 I've had a few short stories published, if you want to add me to the list, Votermom. The collections that include them are:
Bless Your Mechanical Heart
Sci Phi Journal #3

I need to hire someone to do good covers for me and get some stuff up on Amazon.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at October 09, 2016 03:32 PM (hR1Jj)

267 I have read selections of the Muqaddimah in college. It's an interesting read. I doubt it is on offer in colleges these days, as there are sections which are out and out racist. Still, it is an interesting read...the sections we focused on were the ones relating to "asabiyyah", or "group feeling", or the willingness of people to fight and die for one another, such as in caliphates and other such societies.

Posted by: CatchThirtyThr33 at October 09, 2016 04:55 PM (jON4b)

268 "Calling all Horde authors: Has anybody used CreateSpace, or similar self-publishing platforms? Tell me about your experience. Where you satisfied with the system?"

Good timing as I did a detailed blog post on this subject yesterday.

https://pushingrubberdownhill.com/2016/10/08/how-to-publish-a-book-on-amazon/

Posted by: Adam at October 09, 2016 05:41 PM (7L85l)

269 I read The Book of Strange New Things. I thought it was well-written and unique. It made me sad as well, but I did enjoy it. I remember wanting to know more of his wife. I wish the author had given me more of her story.

Posted by: Quirky bookworm at October 09, 2016 06:24 PM (gppsv)

270 JTB - Now that you've shown us the inside....

NICE Library - again !

When you posted the outside pic and said it
doubled as a ham shack, I wondered (for the
briefest instant) if you raised pigs in there.

Posted by: JT at October 09, 2016 06:32 PM (4pyxN)

271 I just finished "The Vigilantes" by W.E.B.
Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV.

It took FOREVER to get going and establish the characters and the plot and the main character
and his love interest were boring clichés IMO.
There was a story there, but it wasn't told very well.
The ending was a pretty good chase scene
and there were enough shitbirds left over for a sequel which the authors alluded to, and since they did such a crappy job with this book, I have no interest in reading it.

Posted by: JT at October 09, 2016 06:47 PM (4pyxN)

272 Oh, and one more thing....

The above named book was set in Philadelphia
and it just so happens that one of our fellow posters on this blog is a fella that posts under the name Wyatt Earp and he happens to BE a Philly cop AND a published author.

Posted by: JT at October 09, 2016 07:03 PM (4pyxN)

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