Sunday Morning Book Thread 08-13-2017

Prim Library, Sierra Nevada College

Good morning to all you 'rons, 'ettes, lurkers, and lurkettes. Welcome once again to the 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 natural disasters, or Literally Hitler, and special snowflakes do not last. And unlike other AoSHQ comment threads, the Sunday Morning Book Thread is so hoity-toity, pants are required. Even if it's these pants, because if you want ugly, you can't go wrong with golf pants.

Downfall

The beginning of this week marked the anniversary of what ultimately turned out to be the end of World War II, which was accomplished by the use of atomic weapons on two Japanese cities.

The anti-nuke crowd has been dining out for decades on an Eisenhower quote to the effect that the United States didn't "have to" use those bombs. I've always wondered what was his basis for saying that. What was he thinking? Did he agree with the anti-nukers that Japan was on the verge of surrender, anyway? Did he not believe the estimates of the horrific American casualties that would certainly have resulted when Japan's home islands were invaded? Or was he just getting soft in the head? I really would like to know.

As for Operation Downfall, here is a book on the subject that was recommended in last week's thread: Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947 By D.M. Giangreco.

The Amazon blurb is quite long and hard to excerpt but it ends with:

Hell to Pay examines the invasion of Japan in light of the large body of Japanese and American operational and tactical planning documents unearthed by the author in both familiar and obscure archives, as well as postwar interrogations and reports that senior Japanese commanders and their staffs were ordered to produce for General MacArthur's headquarters. Hell to Pay clarifies the political and military ramifications of the enormous casualties and loss of material projected by both sides in the climatic struggle to bring the Pacific War to a conclusion through a brutal series of battles on Japanese soil. This groundbreaking history counters the revisionist interpretations questioning the rationale for the use of the atom bomb and shows that President Truman's decision was based on very real estimates of the truly horrific cost of a conventional invasion of Japan.

Those of us infected with tldritis can always settle for Chuck Dixon's graphic novel about Operation Downfall, Storming Paradise.

It Pays To Increase Your Word Power®

PINCHFART was a 16th century word for a miser.

Usage: I'd rather be a pinchfart than a pinchloaf, which just sounds more substantial, and not in a good way.

Prim Library, Sierra Nevada College - Exterior

(h/t to lurker 'Octopus' for the Prim Library photos)

Obfuscation

So in the wake of the Google brouhaha, there have been side discussions about ditching Google, using browsers other than Chrome, removing Google apps from your phone, etc. This is done to disassociate from what has become a fascistic corporation and also to staunch the flow of personal data being collected by various Google apps on our devices and stored on Google servers. To facilitate the latter goal, typically efforts have been focused on figuring out ways to stop the data flow, plugging the holes, building smarter firewalls, etc.

But there is another method that can be used.

What if, instead of figuring out how to refuse Google's data requests, the response is enthusiastic and voluminous? What happens if you, give Google a gushing torrent of data with every request? Then it will be impossible for the Google algorithms to search through it all, and so therefore all the collected data is pretty much useless. That's the theory behind AdNauseam, a Chrome extension that Google has removed from the Chrome store because, apparently, it works. What it does is send a click response to every ad on every page you load. That is, it makes Chrome believe you've actuallyclicked on the ads, and by clicking on every ad, there's no pattern discernable by the Google algorithms so they won't know what kind of ads with which to target you.

It's kind of like the discovery process of a lawsuit, where litigant 'A' requests thousands of emails from litigant 'B', who then prints them all out and delivers hundreds of boxes to litigant 'A's attorney's offices.

Or maybe a better analogy would be a warplane dumping out bucketloads of 'chaff' to confuse enemy radar.

The word for this is obfuscation. Which is also the title of a book on this subject:

[The authors] Finn Brunton and Helen Nissenbaum mean to start a revolution. They are calling us not to the barricades but to our computers, offering us ways to fight today’s pervasive digital surveillance—the collection of our data by governments, corporations, advertisers, and hackers. To the toolkit of privacy protecting techniques and projects, they propose adding obfuscation: the deliberate use of ambiguous, confusing, or misleading information to interfere with surveillance and data collection projects. Brunton and Nissenbaum provide tools and a rationale for evasion, noncompliance, refusal, even sabotage—especially for average users, those of us not in a position to opt out or exert control over data about ourselves. Obfuscation will teach users to push back, software developers to keep their user data safe, and policy makers to gather data without misusing it.

The press release for AdNauseam 3.0 gives more details.

Moron Library

Or maybe it's a bookstore. Anyway, I got this pic from one of my lurking peeps who said:

Hi there from a long time lurker!
I thought I'd send this along to you.
My good friend Darren's library here, in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Okay, it isn't a library exactly.
He tries to sell everyone books but, we mostly just read them there, not pay and drink his coffee.:-)

So he's living a life of leisure and getting someone else to pay for it. Truly the Moron™ lifestyle.

Calls For Submission

Attention moron authors: here is a list of 17 calls for submission for various publications. Some might be worth looking into, but some are definitely for SJWs only.

(h/t Anna Puma)

Story Title Request

A lurker writes:

Am keen to find the title and author of a sci-fi book from 30+ years ago. Earth boy memorises flight/maths tables, ends up on a space ship, computer fails, he does calculations for hyperspace etc and saves the day. Can any of the ace horde help me out?

Right. I think this is a Heinlein short story and the character is Andrew Jackson 'Slipstick' Libby. But I forget the title. Perhaps one of you morons could help out here.

[Update: 'Starman Jones' it is! Which is a Heinlein story, but not the one I was thinking of. Thanks to the many morons who knew better.]

___________

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.

Posted by: OregonMuse at 08:59 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Although I’m the least worthy candidate to be reading this, being a crass materialistic pleasure-seeker, I’m gleaning much from Rod Dreher’s The Benedict Option. Dreher believes we cannot stem the tide of religious and moral decline, but merely hope to surf the wave to shore.

“Nobody but the most deluded of the old school Religious Right believes that this cultural revolution can be turned back. The wave cannot be stopped, only ridden. With a few exceptions, conservative Christian political activists are as ineffective as White Russian exiles, drinking tea from samovars in their Paris drawing rooms, plotting the restoration of the monarchy. One wishes them well but knows deep down that they are not the future.”

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 08:58 AM (QGoUX)

2 That library is one terrific-looking space.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 09:01 AM (0mRoj)

3 Good morning Fellow Book Threadists (and after the recent rains, all the ships at sea).

We've had a number of serious disruptions this week so uninterrupted time to read has been rare. (Don't you just hate that?) So I've started several books but haven't finished any of them.

I mentioned last week about book darts. The ones that I just got from Amazon don't match my ancient ones from Levingers. They are slightly smaller but work as well and do not harm the pages. The only problem with book darts is they make me think of ever more places I want to mark: certain Tennyson poems, passages from Churchill, Shakespeare's Sonnets, endless places in ancient philosophical works, etc. And of course I have to take time to find these lines. It interrupts my reading but it's worth it. I liken it to prospecting for gold and marking the rich areas.

BTW, Levingers used to have lots of small, useful items for readers and writers. The last few years they have gone more and more upscale, dropping a lot of these nice but utilitarian items. What they offer is top notch, especially their leather goods. I'm sure they are following their buyers' preferences but I miss the smaller things. Oh well.

Posted by: JTB at August 13, 2017 09:02 AM (V+03K)

4 Tolle lege
Have been busy, finished book 10 of Thomas Carlyle's History of Friedrick II and in it the death of Friedrich's father Friedrich Wilhelm. And am 2/3 rds way through book 11 the beginning of the reign of Friedrich. Also am continuing from finishing Cross Channel Attack from the US Army Center of Military History by reading a booklet I havd had since a young teenager Breakout- Drive to the Seine by David Mason who has also penned Shadow over Babylon.

Posted by: Skip at August 13, 2017 09:04 AM (pPKG5)

5 5

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at August 13, 2017 09:05 AM (/qEW2)

6 Just wanted to drop in and thank the Horde for all the book sales! Best week evah.

You guys fully rock. Hope you like the series. The final book is in the proofing stage. I changed the title to "The Imperial Rebellion," because "Destinies Fulfilled" was kinda meh.

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at August 13, 2017 09:05 AM (cfSRQ)

7 I'll take that library to go, please.

Not the amount of cleaning required to keep it looking so nice, just the library itself, you understand.

Posted by: right wing yankee at August 13, 2017 09:06 AM (26lkV)

8 Good Sunday morning, horde. I am heavy-hearted this morning, with news of the world, and plan to begin Meditations this morning. Hope it helps put me in a better state of mind.

Posted by: April at August 13, 2017 09:06 AM (e8PP1)

9 How many trees died to build that library?

Earth boy memorises flight/maths tables, ends up on a space ship, computer fails, he does calculations for hyperspace etc and saves the day

I have the book, have read it, but can't recall the title, author. Give me a few minutes. It will come to me in a day or two. Was just re-reading it a few days ago.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at August 13, 2017 09:07 AM (m9X4Y)

10 "Nobody but the most deluded of the old school Religious Right believes that this cultural revolution can be turned back. The wave cannot be stopped, only ridden. With a few exceptions, conservative Christian political activists are as ineffective as White Russian exiles, drinking tea from samovars in their Paris drawing rooms, plotting the restoration of the monarchy. One wishes them well but knows deep down that they are not the future."

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 08:58 AM (QGoUX)

Here's my problem with Dreher's "Benedict" option: if I understand it correctly, he wants Christians to do a strategic retreat into closed communities until "things get better."

But if there are no Christians in the world, things won't "get better", they can only get worse. Or perhaps this is like "going Galt" and what Dreher wants to for us to hide until Western civilization utterly collapses into chaos and ruin. Is that what he wants?

Ugh. Sounds like a counsel of despair to me. Jesus said we are to be the light of the world, but it sounds like Dreher is telling us to hide our light under a bushel basket, which, as far as I can tell, is direct disobedience to Jesus' command.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 09:07 AM (+Xgkm)

11 Do you think these big institution libraries have cats roaming around to keep the mice population down?

Posted by: Skip at August 13, 2017 09:08 AM (pPKG5)

12 I believe the title is "Starman Jones".

Posted by: Rob Crawford at August 13, 2017 09:08 AM (fVubI)

13 Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 09:07 AM (+Xgkm)

I haven't read the book, but well put, OM.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 13, 2017 09:09 AM (iVOAv)

14 Dreher believes we cannot stem the tide of religious and moral decline, but merely hope to surf the wave to shore.

Right, and then what? We struggle out of the surf and get clubbed and skinned?

Dreher's phrase perfectly describes Conservatism, Inc., btw.

If they actually fought back, they might accomplish something.

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at August 13, 2017 09:09 AM (cfSRQ)

15 'Misfit' is the short story where Libby saves the day with math. I have it in the Heinlein collection 'The Past Through Tomorrow', which also has the first Lazarus Long story 'Matheuselah's Children.'

Interestingly enough, in later Lazarus Long books, Libby is transgendered and transitions to female. Heinlein was beyond cutting edge in accepting LBGTetc stuff, but his hardcore libertarianism is anathema to that movement today - Lazarus was accepting of any weird lifestyle you can name but as soon as government started mandating lifestyles or stealing the fruits of his labor through taxation he was out of there.

Posted by: Baron at August 13, 2017 09:10 AM (tKi9u)

16 This groundbreaking history counters the revisionist interpretations questioning the rationale for the use of the atom bomb and shows that President Truman's decision was based on very real estimates of the truly horrific cost of a conventional invasion of Japan.

Eh, whatever the cost, we could have absorbed it.

Posted by: Barack Obama at August 13, 2017 09:10 AM (/qEW2)

17 Earth boy memorises flight/maths tables, ends up on a space ship, computer fails, he does calculations for hyperspace etc and saves the day

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at August 13, 2017 09:07 AM (m9X4Y)
---
Starman Jones, Heinlein.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 09:10 AM (QGoUX)

18 8 Good Sunday morning, horde. I am heavy-hearted this morning, with news of the world, and plan to begin Meditations this morning. Hope it helps put me in a better state of mind.
Posted by: April at August 13, 2017 09:06 AM (e8PP1)

By "Meditations" you mean drinking, I assume.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 09:11 AM (0mRoj)

19 Eisenhower quote to the effect that the United States didn't "have to" use those bombs. "

Well, we all have opinions...
Note that this is based on his meeting with Stimpson in early July of '45 - and at the time there were many who thought that Japan would NOT fight further after every major defeat (FWIW, that's a very Western perspective on war/conflict).
The interview quote from the early 60's is a pull from a larger statement.
Much like a comment about a "military industrial complex" from another Ike speech...

Posted by: Anon a mouse... at August 13, 2017 09:11 AM (MINbv)

20 Earth boy memorises flight/maths tables, ends up on a space ship, computer fails, he does calculations for hyperspace etc and saves the day

Starman Jones by Robert Heinlein
ASIN: B00APA1MLQ

$6.99 for the Kindle

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at August 13, 2017 09:11 AM (m9X4Y)

21 How many trees died to build that library?

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at August 13, 2017 09:07 AM (m9X4Y)

But.....sustainable......green, even.

Posted by: BignJames at August 13, 2017 09:12 AM (x9c8r)

22 Fen - Ran into casual reference of Fenelon in my reading a early 18th century writer but not sure if these are all connected.

Posted by: Skip at August 13, 2017 09:12 AM (pPKG5)

23 Howdy
Picked this up at my local used book store.

Letters Home: 1944-1945 by Bernice 'Bee' Falk Haydu

Bee was a member of the Women's Air Force Service Pilots, or WASPs, during WW2. WASPs were formed partly to then famed aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran's effort to free up men for combat duty. Their job was to fly planes from manufacturing plants to military airfields. About 1100 women became WASPs and they flew everything the air force had. Her book contains the letters she wrote to her mom, who fortunatly kept them, about her daily life in the WASPs as well as it's history and the efforts to award them veteran status. Even though they were subject to all things military, they were considered civilian contractors.

WASP website:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/lzvgdf

One of the lovely WASPs. She's a cutie in pigtails and flew bombers.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/y9ylpypd

Posted by: JackS at August 13, 2017 09:12 AM (DknNB)

24 Earth boy memorises flight/maths tables, ends up on a space ship, computer fails, he does calculations for hyperspace etc and saves the day.

That could have been me, but those NASA pigs excluded me from the program.

Posted by: Hillary Clinton at August 13, 2017 09:13 AM (/qEW2)

25 I'm not very good with names

people

faces

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at August 13, 2017 09:13 AM (m9X4Y)

26 Not a lot of reading for me this week. My reading time has been taken up with writing, which is going well for a change; and troubleshooting the Kindle I just got, which is NOT going well. Has anyone else had this problem- my Amazon account says the Kindle is registered to me, but the device itself swears up and down that it's still unregistered. Amazon tech support was moderately helpful (before I called them, my account wasn't even showing the Kindle's existence), but apparently the problem is only partly fixed. Alas.

Anyway, I did start reading Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror, which I think comes Moron recommended. It's good so far, and doesn't seem to be completely full of nonsense. Always a plus, and given that I've heard some of the author's other books were a little less well-researched, I'm glad this one bucks the trend.

Posted by: right wing yankee at August 13, 2017 09:13 AM (26lkV)

27 I want to thank OM for the recommendation of Churchill's History of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

Mr. Mpfs is reading it now and can't put it down.

Posted by: mpfs at August 13, 2017 09:13 AM (wYwj3)

28 OM, I'm sure you are correct about the Heinlein story and Slip-Stick Libby but can't find the specific title right now. I do remember the story.

Posted by: JTB at August 13, 2017 09:13 AM (V+03K)

29 There is a small book store near here that I think your life is in danger when visiting. The owner piles books on book on books and the piles are over my head. If ever an earthquake, the whole building would collapse.
Surprising, he knows right where to find a book if you ask him. Getting it out of the pile isn't that easy. He does have shelves but they have been filled long ago.

Posted by: Colin at August 13, 2017 09:14 AM (sMVpR)

30 I'm on the second CD of "Travels With Charley" read by Gary Sinise and it continues to be a delight. I've never been much for books on tape except for long distance driving but this experience has me keeping an eye open for others I might enjoy. Has anyone listened to Bernard Cornwell or Patrick O'Brian audio books? What did you think of them?

Posted by: JTB at August 13, 2017 09:14 AM (V+03K)

31 By "Meditations" you mean drinking, I assume.
Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 09:11 AM (0mRoj)

Ha, yeah....that, too.

Posted by: April at August 13, 2017 09:14 AM (e8PP1)

32 I'm reading 1Q84. Some 1000 page Japanese masterpiece that's been translated into 50,000 page masterpieces in dozens of other languages.

Don't bother. You spend the entire book waiting for something to happen, and it never does. And I think that's the point.

Posted by: Moron Robbie, Not Quite as Low-IQ as Michael Obama, But Not as Smart as Some Birds at August 13, 2017 09:15 AM (psH+N)

33 You right wingers are always trying to push revisionist histories. Star Jones was a co-host of the View who underwent bariatric surgery.

Posted by: Hillary Clinton at August 13, 2017 09:16 AM (/qEW2)

34 I had a friend who used to collect newspapers and matchbooks.

You can guess what happened.

Posted by: mpfs at August 13, 2017 09:17 AM (wYwj3)

35 Thanks OM for posting that link to submissions. Some are not wastes, for example one is asking for stories in the vein of King's The Fog. Or writing about super villains taking the world over.

Then there is the Amazon contest Pen to Publish that opened July 25th who's deadline is November 10th. Grand prize is about $22,000 and a book contract.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 13, 2017 09:17 AM (lmPMy)

36 From previous thread:

152 148-Now "where's" my Mecedes-Benz
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 13, 2017 08:17 AM (iVOAv)

Your friends all drive Porsches?

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 09:17 AM (0mRoj)

37 There is a small book store near here that I think
your life is in danger when visiting. The owner piles books on book on
books and the piles are over my head. If ever an earthquake, the whole
building would collapse.
Surprising, he knows right where to find a
book if you ask him. Getting it out of the pile isn't that easy. He does
have shelves but they have been filled long ago.

Posted by: Colin at August 13, 2017 09:14 AM (sMVpR)
Sounds like my kind of place.And wouldn't it be funny (interesting, not hilarious) if the building collapsed in an earthquake, only to be held up by the still-intact stacks of books? You'd walk in and see the roof resting on paper pillars.

Posted by: right wing yankee at August 13, 2017 09:17 AM (26lkV)

38 Your friends all drive Porsches?"

He must make amends...

Posted by: Anon a mouse... at August 13, 2017 09:17 AM (MINbv)

39
Ugh. Sounds like a counsel of despair to me. Jesus said we are to be the light of the world, but it sounds like Dreher is telling us to hide our light under a bushel basket, which, as far as I can tell, is direct disobedience to Jesus' command.
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 09:07 AM (+Xgkm)
---

That's an issue I have too. "Strategic retreat" doesn't seem to work against cultural fascists. One doesn't have to get back in their faces, but one can stand one's ground.

But I get his desire for an archipelago of like-minded folk, like monasteries but with internet connectivity.

Which is kinda like what the HQ is, but with booze and dick jokes. Although I bet there were some abbeys...

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 09:18 AM (QGoUX)

40 34 I had a friend who used to collect newspapers and matchbooks.

You can guess what happened.
Posted by: mpfs at August 13, 2017 09:17 AM (wYwj3)

*eyes oily rag collection*

Uh oh.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 09:20 AM (0mRoj)

41 Something triggered my memory of the Hugo awards; I think it was an off hand comment about the rabid puppies campaign. Went to Amazon to search for past Hugo Winners and found one by Clifford D. Simak titled 'Way Station' that looked interesting.

ASIN: B00YO78RRS
238 pages
priced at almost nine bucks for the kindle. out of my reach.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at August 13, 2017 09:20 AM (m9X4Y)

42 First, the novel the lurker is remembering is indeed "Starman Jones." The story OM is thinking of does indeed exist but, instead of piloting a spaceship, Andrew Libby provides the calculations necessary to move an asteroid into place for some reason I can't recall.

The hero in Starman Jones had a "photographic memory" and had memorized logarithm tables or something like that which meant he could provide information necessary for the pilot to get the ship to where it was supposed to go.

In other news, I read "Slow Death in the Fast Lane" a couple of weeks ago and I am now reading "A Stranger in My Own Hometown." Both are by J. W. Kerwin who I think is a 'ron. They are highly enjoyable books, not real heavy on the murder mystery but very entertaining looks at a lawyer's life in a very corrupt New Jersey town.

And I am reading a book called "Being Adopted." I gave a baby up back in the late 70s, and it was a closed adoption as was the norm back them. My sister, miraculously the only family member who knew about this at the time, had her DNA out on ancestry.com because said sister's main hobby is geneology. So beautiful daughter (really, she is) found sister and the rest is one visit and a million emails, just about daily or more since April, and reading a book about being adopted, which is way more complicated than mom and dad telling you they chose you.

PS: I'm a grandma. That is so freaky.

Posted by: Tonestaple at August 13, 2017 09:21 AM (Od8s9)

43 19
Eisenhower quote to the effect that the United States didn't "have to" use those bombs. "

Well, we all have opinions...
Posted by: Anon a mouse... at August 13, 2017 09:11 AM (MINbv)
---
I read a monograph a while back that highlight the widely divergent predictions of casualties if Japan was invaded. MacArthur and his staff basically said the Japanese were demoralized and finished and it would be fairly easy. Part of the reason the generals did this is that they wanted to be hailed in history as the Conqueror of Japan.

The Army Air Force and Navy wanted to starve them for a year before going in. The Army hated that plan.

The medical corps and personnel directorates thought otherwise, noting that the US took more losses inside of Germany than outside of it. That's is, the more certain Germany's defeat became, the harder they fought.

Fun fact: The Purple Hearts we made in anticipation of the invasion was sufficient to last us until a few years ago.

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at August 13, 2017 09:21 AM (cfSRQ)

44 I want to thank OM for the recommendation of Churchill's History of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

Mr. Mpfs is reading it now and can't put it down.
Posted by: mpfs at August 13, 2017 09:13 AM (wYwj3)
-----------

Me too and me too. I really appreciate the author's light touch because some of the stuff is difficult for softies like me to read. Right now I'm reading about the training in Scotland headed by the two older guys who look like mild-mannered ministers but literally wrote the book on how to kill in hand-to-hand combat in very unpleasant ways. Grim stuff.

But a very enjoyable book. And fascinating. The more I read about Churchill, the more I want to know.

Posted by: bluebell at August 13, 2017 09:22 AM (UoSKV)

45 We are about a month away from the great event when Hillary's book hits the book stores and becomes number one on the NYT's best seller list. She must be have finished it by now..or her ghost writers have finished it....it takes awhile for the millions that will be printed to get distributed from the printer.

Posted by: Colin at August 13, 2017 09:22 AM (sMVpR)

46 I have Dreher's book, though I haven't started it. Will say this, like me, Dreher is Eastern Orthodox, in his case, Russian Orthodox. That is a Church well-schooled in enduring persecution (though as Americans we don't know as much about it as our Old World brethren.) I doubt that he advocates hiding-out, but I agree with what I understand to be his point that political action has failed us.
An Orthodox priest who is a mutual acquaintance of mine and his was ministering to Orthodox prisoners at a federal facility. Some of them were Slavic, and this priest asked if any in the group knew the Lord's Prayer. One prisoner, a man in his sixties, stood up, crossed himself, and recited it perfectly in Church Slavonic. Knowing that the man had grown up in Soviet Russia, the priest asked how he had learned the prayer. "My babushka taught it to me," said the man. The Soviets weren't bothered by the little old women in headscarves going to church, but the little old women were busy planting seeds. I imagine Dreher wants us to keep planting seeds. (Perhaps I should read the book!)

Posted by: Miss Sippi at August 13, 2017 09:23 AM (5fPhA)

47 Haven't read The Benedict Option myself but the "Benedict" for whom it's named -- St. Benedict of Nursia -- as the founder of the Benedictine monastic tradition, ended up playing a critical role in helping to save/preserve Western civilization for its later "Renaissance".

I THINK Dreher's point is that if Christians concentrate on preserving and protecting their beliefs and their way of life, rather than wasting time and effort on fruitless political pursuits, eventually that way of life will be rediscovered by the rest of the world -- probably not in our lifetimes, but eventually. The other Benedict -- Pope Emeritus Benedict -- also said something to that effect as well.

Posted by: Secret Square at August 13, 2017 09:23 AM (9WuX0)

48 We didn't need to use the A bomb. In fact, we didn't have to win the war at all.

Posted by: I'm Anonosaurus Wrecks and I approved this message at August 13, 2017 09:24 AM (Nwg0u)

49 8 ... April, Do give "Meditations" a try. I've had reason lately to help me through a few things and it works. Aurelius shows how to keep matters in perspective so they don't overwhelm us.

I hope you will join the discussion on the AOSHQ Goodreads group. It is proving to be enlightening and VERY useful.

Posted by: JTB at August 13, 2017 09:25 AM (V+03K)

50 Posted by: Skandia Recluse at August 13, 2017 09:20 AM (m9X4Y)

I've seen Way Station multiple times on sale from Bookbub, if you watch out for Clifford Simak books eventually you'll probably see it for $2.

Posted by: waelse1 at August 13, 2017 09:25 AM (+7KtG)

51 Finished reading Smear by Sharyl Attkisson, started Fool Moon by Jim Butcher. It likely confirmation bias, but yeah, everyone is lying to me except maybe the 'rons and 'ettes. Though someone swiped my Value-rite . . . different issue.

Probably going to stay on a fiction kick for a while. The news continues to resemble a bad alt-history in which America immolates itself.

Posted by: Long Running Fool at August 13, 2017 09:25 AM (+JV0f)

52 We didn't need to use the A bomb. In fact, we didn't have to win the war at all.

Posted by: I'm Anonosaurus Wrecks and I approved this message at August 13, 2017 09:24 AM (Nwg0u)

It's true...we could have just quit...like Iraq.

Posted by: BignJames at August 13, 2017 09:26 AM (x9c8r)

53 Andrew Libby (a.k.a. slipstick Libby) gets a very brief mention in Heinlein's "Time Enough For Love"

I think he gets a mention in some of the Lazarus Long stories about the Howard Foundation, Methuselah Children.

Except for the pervy sex urges in "Time Enough for Love," it is a great story.

SciFi Nerds like myself find adult themed sexual stuff 'icky' which is a technical term.

Heinlein also introduces adult themes in "Stranger in Strange Land".

I think Heinlein was a swinger.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at August 13, 2017 09:26 AM (m9X4Y)

54 Slipstick Libby was a lightning calculator in the Heinlein story "Misfits." Max Jones was the boy who memorized the astrogation tables from his uncle's manuals who saved the day in "Starman Jones." (Spoiler alert)

Posted by: RoadRunner at August 13, 2017 09:27 AM (qXwqa)

55 One of my favorites as a kid was The Runaway Robot by Lester Del Ray

Classic 60s sci-fi, maybe not so well respected by sci-fi cork sniffers, but I loved it.

Posted by: Common Tater at August 13, 2017 09:27 AM (Mw7bJ)

56 eyes oily rag collection*

Uh oh.
Posted by: Insomniac

Hah!

Posted by: mpfs at August 13, 2017 09:28 AM (wYwj3)

57 What happens when the Benedict Option becomes the Krak de Chevalier?

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 13, 2017 09:28 AM (lmPMy)

58 waelse1 at August 13, 2017 09:25 AM

Thanks for the tip about bookbub.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at August 13, 2017 09:28 AM (m9X4Y)

59 Bernie Sanders is a pinchfart.

Posted by: BourbonChicken at August 13, 2017 09:29 AM (rnAwa)

60 Has anyone mentioned that there's a fourth Amy Lynn book out? Just bought it; haven't read it yet.

Posted by: RoadRunner at August 13, 2017 09:30 AM (qXwqa)

61 Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 09:07 AM (+Xgkm)

I agree. People need to see there is an alternative. Also, it sounds like Dreher doesn't believe in the possibility of a sovereign work of God (is he even a believer, or does he just believe Christianity has good ideas?)

It's been 40 years since the last national revival and they generally come around about that often. Comments I've seen in passing from multiple sources around the country lead me to believe we are seeing the first stirrings of the next. If we run away now tens of thousands who are hungry for Truth and Light (and they are) will be left with no guide home.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 13, 2017 09:31 AM (rp9xB)

62 One of my favorite parts of the book, the kid and his robot are eventually discovered by the gruff Space Barge captain in his dilapitated old scow, but of course behind the rough exterior is a heart of gold. He rummages around in his box of old Robot parts, and upgrades the Robot from B/W to a Color vision eye tube.

Posted by: Common Tater at August 13, 2017 09:31 AM (Mw7bJ)

63 While waiting in a doctor's office, I started reading Seneca's "Letters From a Stoic", which is proving to be a wonderful read. It synchs very well with "Meditations" and gives me a chance to chuckle at two thousand year old sarcasm regarding politicians and those around them.

I continue reading "Meditations", savoring it bit by bit, and following the trails suggested to me by Aurelius. On the Goodreads Horde group, FireHorse referenced Saint Augustine's "Confessions" as part of related works. I have an excellent translation of the Confessions by the late Sister Maria Boulding although I haven't started it yet. One more for the list.

Posted by: JTB at August 13, 2017 09:31 AM (V+03K)

64 Posted by: JTB at August 13, 2017 09:14 AM (V+03K)

I was listening to books for a while when I was commuting 55 miles to work every day. I rejected most of them within the first disc because I disliked the readers.

1356 by Bernard Cornwell made the cut. It was not only outside of my usual subject matter, but the reader was good and I was interested throughout.

Posted by: April at August 13, 2017 09:31 AM (e8PP1)

65 Roadrunner you'll find the fourth book to be an explosive trip back home. Fifth book being written as I type this.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 13, 2017 09:32 AM (lmPMy)

66 Bernie Sanders is a pinchfart.

Posted by: BourbonChicken

Pinch my finger. Uhuh. Uhuhuhuh.

Posted by: Joe Biden at August 13, 2017 09:33 AM (/qEW2)

67 And since I haven't shilled the books here in a while:

(remove spaces from the links)

A Kingdom of Glass: https://www.amazon.com/ Kingdom-Glass-Novel-Garia-Cycle-ebook /dp/B06XC9X5R4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-textie=UTF8qid=1502631874sr=1-1

By the Light of the Moon: https://www.amazon.com/Light-Moon-Blake-Smith-ebook /dp/B071VM8SGJ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8qid=1502631732sr=8-1

By the Light of the Moon is only 99 cents, people! C'mon, you know you want some cheap entertainment...

Posted by: right wing yankee at August 13, 2017 09:34 AM (26lkV)

68
It's true...we could have just quit...like Iraq.

Posted by: BignJames at August 13, 2017 09:26 AM (x9c8r)

--

Hey, c'mon now. That was carefully planned. There was a re-election campaign to win and the president needed SOMETHING that he could point to as a successful foreign policy promise he'd kept.

Those lobster ain't gonna eat themselves, after all.

Posted by: Moron Robbie, Not Quite as Low-IQ as Michael Obama, But Not as Smart as Some Birds at August 13, 2017 09:34 AM (psH+N)

69 Listened to O Is For Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone #15) by Sue Grafton, where Kinsey finds her 1st ex, who she hasn't seen in 14 years, has problems which she investigates. Not great but a solid outing.

Read After Worlds Collide by Wylie and Balmer, the sequel to When Worlds Collide when two planets entered the solar system and made a beeline for Earth. Both are entertaining though old-fashioned since it writes about space rockets in the 1930's. This one has a good sense of wonder at what they find, and I wish they had managed to continue the series.

Read Residue (Jack Bishop #1) by Steve Diamond, which throws you very quickly into a world with monsters and people with abilities, and a teenage boy seeks a father who has disappeared. Good but wish there was more initial world-building to help me buy into the premise, the writing is sometimes rough.

Posted by: waelse1 at August 13, 2017 09:35 AM (+7KtG)

70 Eisenhower was the first RINO.

Posted by: Jack Sock at August 13, 2017 09:36 AM (IDPbH)

71 Something that may amuse the Morons...I was doing the writerly equivalent of "hold my beer" coming up with impossible genres earlier, when I blurted out "Post-apocalyptic Cosy Mysteries!" And everyone laughed.

Then my sister said, "I can write one!" and she did. It's only a short story, but it fulfills all the requirements. So if you want to see the very first of its kind, try it out for a mere 99 cents. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074DL3PY1 "Toxic to Touch" by Juliet Chase. (She's written some other very silly stuff and a few romances, too.)

My writing goes very well, aided by an unscheduled transfer to the ranks of the unemployed. But not to worry, the severance was quite generous and I am very much appreciating the time to write!

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at August 13, 2017 09:36 AM (hnzFp)

72 I imagine Dreher wants us to keep planting seeds. (Perhaps I should read the book!)
Posted by: Miss Sippi at August 13, 2017 09:23 AM (5fPhA)
---
As he says, Benedict had no idea that the schools he founded would have such an impact on Western civilization. "Rome's fall left behind a staggering degree of material poverty...These monastaries kept faith and learning alive."

I may not be his target demo, but I do agree that there are things worth preserving. I think a lot of people agree, hence the renewed interest in the original philosophy of the Founding Fathers.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 09:36 AM (QGoUX)

73 I've been reading/listening to Welcome to the Orthodox Church by Frederika Matthewes-Green. This book is very detailed, and useful in that she describes some of the more subtle differences between the Orthodox beliefs and practices and those of "Western" churches. In a couple of places so far, I think she misunderstands Catholic teaching, but I find myself intrigued by what she is saying -- since I live near Jerusalem, I note that the Orthodox call the Church of the Holy Sepulchre the "Church of the Resurrection" -- rather than concentrating on Jesus' suffering and death, the Orthodox look to his victory over death in the Resurrection.
Living here, I am familiar with the intense historic rivalries between the various Christian bodies (Greek, Ethiopian, Coptic, Armenian, Latin Catholic) that hold space in the Church of the Resurrection (various monks and priests have at times come to blows there), so I take some of her historical information with a grain of salt.
Overall, however, I would definitely recommend the book to anyone interested in the Eastern Christian variety of faiths, especially the information about icons and the liturgy.

Posted by: Alifa at August 13, 2017 09:37 AM (UYSiU)

74 I THINK Dreher's point is that if Christians
concentrate on preserving and protecting their beliefs and their way of
life, rather than wasting time and effort on fruitless political
pursuits, eventually that way of life will be rediscovered by the rest
of the world -- probably not in our lifetimes, but eventually. The other
Benedict -- Pope Emeritus Benedict -- also said something to that
effect as well.

Posted by: Secret Square at August 13, 2017 09:23 AM (9WuX0)
-----
The problem is that this was entirely dependent on other Christians doing the heavy lifting. The barbarian kingdoms didn't civilize themselves - fearless missionaries did that work.The monasteries served an important purpose, but they didn't operate alone.I think Benedict's point is also misunderstood. He wasn't saying to retreat, he was saying that we cannot be defeated and to keep up the good fight.

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at August 13, 2017 09:39 AM (cfSRQ)

75 61 Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 09:07 AM (+Xgkm)

I agree. People need to see there is an alternative. Also, it sounds like Dreher doesn't believe in the possibility of a sovereign work of God (is he even a believer, or does he just believe Christianity has good ideas?)

It's been 40 years since the last national revival and they generally come around about that often. Comments I've seen in passing from multiple sources around the country lead me to believe we are seeing the first stirrings of the next. If we run away now tens of thousands who are hungry for Truth and Light (and they are) will be left with no guide home.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 13, 2017 09:31 AM (rp9xB)

Very much a Christian, see my earlier comment. Eastern Orthodox, one of the founders of the Russian Orthodox congregation in St. Francisville LA.

Posted by: Miss Sippi at August 13, 2017 09:39 AM (5fPhA)

76 There was a good piece that came out this week about the state of YA publishing and how SJW's are turning it into Lord of the Flies. Sadly it seems more and more of the publishing industry is going down this path. Very discouraging for those of us hoping to publish

http://www.vulture.com/2017/08/the-toxic-drama-of-ya-twitter.html

Posted by: Biggs Darklighter at August 13, 2017 09:40 AM (Jeh5i)

77 Good morning, everyone.

I'm re-reading Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer, who in the early 2000s had an excellent Christian blog called Internet Monk. It's directed to the "de-churched"-- those who are disenchanted with the religious institutions of American Christianity -- on how to continue to practice their faith by keeping it centered on Jesus. I corresponded with Michael several times before his death in 2010, and found him to be a man with a good heart who truly sought God in his life.

For fun -- and this is more of a graphic novel, so I don't know if it really "counts" on the book thread -- I bought the Stan Lee memoir "Amazing Fantastic Incredible", illustrated by Colleen Doran.

Posted by: Captain Whitebread at August 13, 2017 09:40 AM (rJUlF)

78 Sabrina- Good luck with the writing! More time is always a good thing. If only someone could manage to combine more time with a regular paycheck.

Your sister's book sounds pretty neat. Once I get my Kindle sorted out, I'll have to take a closer look at it.

Posted by: right wing yankee at August 13, 2017 09:41 AM (26lkV)

79 "Ye can take me life, but ye cannae take me fllllatus!!!"

/Mel Gibson, from the epic battle scene in "Pinchfart"

Posted by: Muldoon at August 13, 2017 09:41 AM (wPiJc)

80 Sabrina sorry to hear about the change in job status. That new genre sounds intersting.

Robot Inspector, "It was Alf the BEM in the solarium with an Acme disintegrator beam that killed Mr. Fluffy. Or the crazy sophont mutant plant."

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 13, 2017 09:42 AM (lmPMy)

81 Eisenhower was the first RINO.

Posted by: Jack Sock at August 13, 2017 09:36 AM (IDPbH)

Andrew Johnson was the first RINO. Republicans have been apologizing for their existence since the very beginning.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 13, 2017 09:43 AM (rp9xB)

82 It's been 40 years since the last national revival
and they generally come around about that often. Comments I've seen in
passing from multiple sources around the country lead me to believe we
are seeing the first stirrings of the next. If we run away now tens of
thousands who are hungry for Truth and Light (and they are) will be left
with no guide home.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 13, 2017 09:31 AM (rp9xB)
------This. My Catholic diocese is being overrun with converts, and my parish (which is a college town) is being swamped. They've been begging people to become sponsors and I did it a year ago. There are a few older folks, but the young ones are craving structure, proper gender roles and they despise all the SJW crap they are being fed. The rival is already underway.

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at August 13, 2017 09:43 AM (cfSRQ)

83 "Revival." Ugh.

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at August 13, 2017 09:44 AM (cfSRQ)

84 Reading Mark Bowden's latest, "Hue 1968." Some of the most vicious fighting ever performed by US soldiers (mostly Marines) in any conflict, and unflinchingly described by Bowden, who you may remember from "Black Hawk Down" and other fine efforts. You get to see the Vietnam War from both sides, as he has interviewed and researched the enemy survivors and accounts very thoroughly. An amazing piece of journalism, but you won't like it if you can't take criticism of American military leaders (Westy and others) -- they don't come off very well, but the bravery and smarts of soldiers like Col. Ernie Cheatham and Major Ron Christmas come shining through, along with many of their men.

Posted by: Octopus at August 13, 2017 09:45 AM (TjN6o)

85 I came across mention of "Through the Magic Door" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I thought I was familiar with most of his writing but this was a new one. It's a series of chapters about his favorite books and authors, the specific works he enjoys best, and why they are so appealing. Interspersed are his notions of why a small selection of excellent writing is worth the time to seek out and read. (Echoes of Marcus Aurelius and Seneca.)

I'm only a few chapters in and it is proving to be a delightful read. It feels like having relaxed conversations with a charming and enthusiastic host, sitting comfortably, pipe in hand and a drink by your elbow, while he discourses on his love of books. This was a free Kindle book, and a good copy, but I may look for a good physical edition as well.

I might have been in a fanciful mood, but the tone of his words, especially compared to Sherlock Holmes stories, made me think of Teddy Roosevelt: educated, positive, boisterous, comfortable in his choices and enthusiasms, with a bit of self-deprecating humor.

Posted by: JTB at August 13, 2017 09:46 AM (V+03K)

86 Mote than 50% of the atomic bomb victims were children
More than 50% were female

Posted by: Sure at August 13, 2017 09:46 AM (unqkk)

87 Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 13, 2017 09:43 AM (rp9xB)

Andrew Johnson was an actual Democrat.

Posted by: Jack Sock at August 13, 2017 09:46 AM (IDPbH)

88 While waiting in a doctor's office, I started reading Seneca's "Letters From a Stoic", which is proving to be a wonderful read.

-
In the book Blood of the Caesars by Stephen Dando-Collins, the author proposes that Seneca murdered Germanicus in league with Germanicus's wife. Vermanicus was a noble Roman who might well have become emperor and thus have avoided Caligula, Claudius, Nero st al. but for his mysterious illness and death. The book is supposed to be non-fiction but the best I can conclude is that the assertion is not proven. Like many Dando-Collins books, although I doubt his conclusion, there is much good inform and enjoyment in the process.

P.S. In the fictional I, Claudius, Germanicus's death is blamed on his young son, Caligula.

Posted by: I'm Anonosaurus Wrecks and I approved this message at August 13, 2017 09:46 AM (Nwg0u)

89 I actually get the feeling that Dreher is very hopeful, he just doesn't place his hope in other people or in institutions, i.e., we can't vote our way out of this situation.

Since I also grok the vibe that we're in one of those weird, shifting fin de siecle periods of dissolution and decay before rebirth into something new, I understand the desire for building an ark.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 09:47 AM (QGoUX)

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 09:47 AM (QGoUX)

91 *dances on lip of barrel*

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 09:48 AM (QGoUX)

92 Posted by: Miss Sippi at August 13, 2017 09:39 AM (5fPhA)

Yeah, saw that after I posted. I still think he is underestimating God in a big way. I do agree that *politics* isn't the answer either though. Prayer is. It's amazing how prayer is undervalued even among faithful believers. Combined with obedient action it can change the world in major ways in a very short time.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 13, 2017 09:48 AM (rp9xB)

93 P.S. In the fictional I, Claudius, Germanicus's death is blamed on his young son, Caligula.

Posted by: I'm Anonosaurus Wrecks and I approved this message at August 13, 2017 09:46 AM (Nwg0u)
Both the books and the tv miniseries are brilliant, btw.

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at August 13, 2017 09:48 AM (cfSRQ)

94 Since I also grok the vibe that we're in one of those weird, shifting fin de siecle periods of dissolution and decay before rebirth into something new, I understand the desire for building an ark.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 09:47 AM (QGoUX)
-----------

As do I. But this time I hope we can leave off such things as mosquitoes, poisonous snakes, rats, poisonous spiders, etc.

Posted by: bluebell at August 13, 2017 09:49 AM (UoSKV)

95 GROWL! The autocucumber on this latest generation Fire is worse than ever and apparently can't be completely turned off.

Posted by: I'm Anonosaurus Wrecks and I approved this message at August 13, 2017 09:49 AM (Nwg0u)

96 omething that may amuse the Morons...I was doing the writerly equivalent
of "hold my beer" coming up with impossible genres earlier, when I
blurted out "Post-apocalyptic Cosy Mysteries!" And everyone laughed.
=====

Funny story, hope it comes out well. Isn't that how Frankenstein and Dracula were born?

Posted by: mustbequantum at August 13, 2017 09:49 AM (MIKMs)

97 Nice library pics!

Yay bookthread!

We are IKEA-ing shortly for KTY so I may have to vamoose.

Posted by: votermom pimping great books! at August 13, 2017 09:50 AM (hMwEB)

98 Finished Larry Correia's most recent Monster Hunter book, "Monster Hunter Seife" Good stuff, it is essentially a rescue mission story with a good amount of monster killing along the way.

Posted by: Darth Randall at August 13, 2017 09:53 AM (RXbMv)

99 That should read Monster Hunter Seige.

Posted by: Darth Randall at August 13, 2017 09:54 AM (RXbMv)

100 Posted by: Jack Sock at August 13, 2017 09:46 AM (IDPbH)

I thought I had heard/read that he was a *former* democrat, but it's been a while and it's not something they taught in school (the older I get the more I'm at a loss to tell what they *did* teach in school). The Rs having an actual democrat as VP would be even worse.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 13, 2017 09:55 AM (rp9xB)

101 As do I. But this time I hope we can leave off such things as mosquitoes, poisonous snakes, rats, poisonous spiders, etc.

Posted by: bluebell at August 13, 2017 09:49 AM (UoSKV)
---
Or roaches! Why roaches?!

I am reminded of the Pomp and Circumstance segment of Fantasia 2000, where the unicorns, dragons, and gryphons are laughing at the call to join the animals in the ark.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 09:55 AM (QGoUX)

102 Last year Robert Wehrman published "Walking Man", a biography of Colin Fletcher. I've enjoyed Fletcher's book for decades: "The Complete Walker", "The Man Who Walked Through Time", and others. I liked the combination of why to walk and hike in the back country areas (done in a pleasant, conversational style), the gear it takes to make it possible, and how to do so safely. Fetcher is considered the grandfather of today's backpacking enthusiasts, especially the solo walkers, but he was a rather private person so most of the biography will be new to me. So far, the book is revealing and very well written and has the feel of Fletcher's own style.

Posted by: JTB at August 13, 2017 09:55 AM (V+03K)

103 Eisenhower was the first RINO"

What I do know is that post WW2 was the high water mark of the "unimedia", and that many comments and quotes from speeches were routinely pulled away from context...

Posted by: Anon a mouse... at August 13, 2017 09:57 AM (MINbv)

104 I THINK Dreher's point is that if Christians
concentrate on preserving and protecting their beliefs and their way of
life, rather than wasting time and effort on fruitless political
pursuits, eventually that way of life will be rediscovered by the rest
of the world -- probably not in our lifetimes, but eventually.

I have no dog in this fight (except that I would like to see the rot of the last 8 years reversed), but it seems you are referring to "culture wars" (ex. keep Christ in Christmas, gay marriage, etc.).

I've heard some conservative Christians who would agree that it is wrong to get involved in such causes. Maybe that's true to some extent. After all, your hope isn't in political change - that is the left's God. But there is another factor to be considered. If Christians ignore or think they can filter out popular culture, it seems they will lose their children and their fellow parishioners: the left is very skilled at spreading rot. IMHO Christians should at least be well educated enough in the fallacies of the left to preserve their communities by refuting these fallacies and trying to stem the spread. And also by exercising your right to vote.

Here's a post from FenelonSpoke from the last thread that I think illustrates the problem:

Evil exists in many forms-some evident as we watch the evening news and some more hidden and less obvious. Injustice is evident in the blatant acts of racism and white nationalism in display this evening-but equally present in unacknowledged white privilege and unequal opportunity in the church and society. Immigrant communities, people of color, women and sexual minorities, and many other groups in church and society face oppression on a daily basis. How will we respond each day? How will we live differently-with intentionality-to "resist" and "reject" the forces in our world that do not reflect God's vision for God's people.

Part of the latest communication I got from my boss. I also got one from his boss-which I couldn't bear to read yet. I am not a Neo-Nazi. I do not support David Duke. Neither do I support tearing down Confederate monuments or firing people from their jobs for giving a non politically correct POV. I also am obviously against burning people down their cities or running over people. but the use of the word "resist" even if it is in quotes does not make me happy. I wish I could be more honest with my boss.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke

I don't know how sincere this guy is, but clearly he's using kafkaesque leftist buzzwords. Not a good sign.

Again, sorry to be a buttinsky, but I think there's nothing untoward about exercising some amount of political/cultural activism. And it falls under the rubric of "love thy neighbor", not "I equate salvation with politically favorable results".

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at August 13, 2017 09:57 AM (/qEW2)

105 My youngest is snoring so loudly that I am distracted (working day Fri, overnight shift Fri-Sat, RenFaire Sat, another overnight shift Sat).

What recommendations should I make to senior engineering student so she has something entertaining to counter the SJW folk who are starting to recruit? She is libertarian/conservative and quit reading for fun after a few years of 'recommended' AP English books.

Posted by: mustbequantum at August 13, 2017 09:58 AM (MIKMs)

106 Late to the party - exhausted from all day in the heat, at San Marcos' monthly "Art Squared" event. The Daughter Unit had her origami earrings at a booth there - which sold like hotcakes ... but it was something like 108 degrees equivalent by the time we could break down and go home.
I did get halfway through Georgette Heyer's "Regency Rake" though... nice atmosphere, a dry and witty voice, subtle plotting ... I will read as many of the other Heyers available, so perhaps I will be able to absorb style and tone by osmosis.
Hope to be able to bash out another Luna City chronicle by November.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at August 13, 2017 09:58 AM (xnmPy)

107 How many trees died to build that library?

Ask not how many trees died to build (and populate!) that library, but rather ask how much carbon is thereby being sequestered, saving us from Global Warming (and therefore for the chillin').

Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 13, 2017 09:59 AM (R3Kyj)

108 Thanks to Octopus for the library pics...will have to check out the college next time I'm in that area.

I've been reading a lot on the American Revolution lately, and the latest is "American Crisis: George Washington and the Dangerous Two Years After Yorktown 1781-1783" by William M. Fowler, Jr. Most history classes skip from Yorktown to the Treaty of Paris with little detail in between. It's a great look into how easily the gains could have been lost during this period, when both sides were still trying figure out exactly what was happening, and how Washington was instrumental in making sure that didn't happen.

Posted by: Dwight at August 13, 2017 10:01 AM (iAl7a)

109 mustbequantum, I've been not blogging for more than a month, but the books I've blogged are all non SJW so it's a place you can browse. Link in nic.

Posted by: votermom pimping great books! at August 13, 2017 10:01 AM (hMwEB)

110 I love Darren's "library". That's a lot closer to my own collection than I care to admit.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 10:03 AM (QGoUX)

111 mustbequantum, for an engineering student she will like The Hidden Truth by Moron Hans Schantz.

Posted by: votermom pimping great books! at August 13, 2017 10:03 AM (hMwEB)

112 the only thing wrong with the bomb was we didn't have it two years earlier.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at August 13, 2017 10:04 AM (AxFdW)

113 Your friends all drive Porsches?

I do have a color TV. So I've got that going for me. Which is nice.

Posted by: Bob the Bilderberg at August 13, 2017 10:05 AM (7oUUT)

114 shoulda a-bombed Berlin

Posted by: votermom pimping great books! at August 13, 2017 10:05 AM (hMwEB)

115 Tony the Mooch on with George S. What a self-fellating cocksucker. Saying that Trump is doing the Charlottesville thing wrong,should listen to Ivanka and Jared, and Bannon must go.

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 13, 2017 10:06 AM (pV/54)

116 He rummages around in his box of old Robot parts, and upgrades the Robot from B/W to a Color vision eye tube.
Posted by: Common Tater at August 13, 2017 09:31 AM (Mw7bJ)

I've always been amused by the old sci-fi writers completely whiffing on predicting solid state electronics. So you have FTL starships and computers using vacuum tubes.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 10:06 AM (+Xgkm)

117 Finished "The Summer Before the War" by Helen Simonson and it ended up being a major disappointment as previously well described characters turned out to be ultimately stick figures used in service to an SJW wish list. The sappy dickweeds in the book group felt otherwise but that's why different people can read the same text and have wildly differing reactions; but trust me, it sucked maximum cock.

Much better was the portion of Patrick O'Brian's "The Yellow Admiral", the second from last of the Aubrey/Maturin series. Unfortunately when he was out on a blockade he got a borderline incoherent letter from his wife, Sophie, because her bitch mother had found some letters from a former squeeze while rooting around in Jack's shit. Stephen and his wife, Diana, Sophie's cousin, are doing their best to help mend things with Diana stating that she has it "on the best authority" that Jack's technique of quickly boarding an enemy ship with guns blazing also describes his idea of foreplay.

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 13, 2017 10:06 AM (y7DUB)

118 'Misfit' is the short story where Libby saves the day with math. I have it in the Heinlein collection 'The Past Through Tomorrow', which also has the first Lazarus Long story 'Matheuselah's Children.'

Interestingly enough, in later Lazarus Long books, Libby is transgendered and transitions to female. Heinlein was beyond cutting edge in accepting LBGTetc stuff, but his hardcore libertarianism is anathema to that movement today - Lazarus was accepting of any weird lifestyle you can name but as soon as government started mandating lifestyles or stealing the fruits of his labor through taxation he was out of there.
Posted by: Baron at August 13, 2017 09:10 AM (tKi9u)

Heinlein's writing deteriorated after his stroke, he hit famous status, and the 60's madness kicked into gear. It's interesting that the man who came up with the Crazy Years eventually participated in its madness to some extent.

Posted by: WOPR (Colonial Marines can't use harsh language) at August 13, 2017 10:07 AM (J70i0)

119 110 I love Darren's "library". That's a lot closer to my own collection than I care to admit.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 10:03 AM (QGoUX

No need to tell us. We've all seen the pictures.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 10:07 AM (+Xgkm)

120 Sierra(with an ESS) libraries have Madres roaming around..looking for cougar bait...GREATTTTT...books be damned to a little lite reading.

Posted by: saf at August 13, 2017 10:08 AM (cS/ge)

121 It is a Heinlein novel but it's STARMAN JONES.

Posted by: AllofthemFrank at August 13, 2017 10:08 AM (jiQvT)

122 I read The Ten Thousand by Michael Curtis Ford. Published in 2001 it is a novelization of the "March to the Sea" in 400BC of the Greek mercenaries trapped in ancient Persia after the Satrap that hired them, Cyrus, got killed in battle with his brother, the ruler of the Persian Empire. Told from the perspective of Xenophon's "squire," the book has some good moments: the battle scenes are pretty good and and the old Greek mercenary telling the bawdy story of the priapic rooster is very funny, plus the narrator's "voice" generally feels right. But, unfortunately, there is just too much weirdness: the squire is apparently banging one of Cyrus's concubines but maybe she is a spy (? - denoument was so vague I couldn't figure out why the squire was upset) and the author spends 67 pages telling us Xenophon hates his Daddy. Rating = 2/5. The actual story is thrilling enough and Xenophon's Anabasis is widely available.

I also read Mark IV vs A7V by David Higgins. Part of the Osprey "Duel" series, the book covers the first tank versus tank fight during the combat around Villers-Bretonneux, France, in 1918. Some of the technical development information is a re-hash of other available data but a good review if you're not familiar. There are some illustrations of interior gun positions and the discussion of the British and German tank doctrine is best part of the book. The computer graphics by Ian Palmer are unfortunately a bit dark and muddy. A point that I not realized before was that the British 6-pounder in their "male" tanks was essentially the same cannon as the captured Belgian 57mm casemate guns the Germans used for their A7V. Rating = 3.5/5.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at August 13, 2017 10:08 AM (5Yee7)

123 ... of course, had we had the bomb in 1943, used it on germany and japan and ended the war then, we'd be here now debating whether the u.s. was worse than hitler and tojo.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at August 13, 2017 10:08 AM (AxFdW)

124 No need to tell us. We've all seen the pictures.
---
Not all of them, kitten. You couldn't handle it.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 10:09 AM (QGoUX)

125 Eris, the lip is a very narrow margin between salvation or damnation in the Barrel.

please stop dancing on it while wearing roller skates.

So will there be a literary spelunking component of the Vegas event?

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 13, 2017 10:10 AM (lmPMy)

126 "Ye can take me life, but ye cannae take me fllllatus!!!"

/Mel Gibson, from the epic battle scene in "Pinchfart"

Posted by: Muldoon

Yeah. They can't take away your dignity. Only ones' flatus can do that.

Posted by: Whitney Houston at August 13, 2017 10:10 AM (/qEW2)

127 Your friends all drive Porsches?
Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 09:17 AM

Your IBM mainframe must make abends?

(You're an old geek if you get that.

)

Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 13, 2017 10:10 AM (R3Kyj)

128 Krak de Chevalier?

Those early bumper cover plastics just cant take the sun.

Posted by: DaveA at August 13, 2017 10:11 AM (FhXTo)

129 Or roaches! Why roaches?!
------------

True. Although the answer there may be that something has to survive a nuclear war.

Posted by: bluebell at August 13, 2017 10:11 AM (UoSKV)

130 123 ... of course, had we had the bomb in 1943, used it on germany and japan and ended the war then, we'd be here now debating whether the u.s. was worse than hitler and tojo.
Posted by: musical jolly chimp at August 13, 2017 10:08 AM (AxFdW)
----
Yes! We're Number 1! We're Number 1!

You of course realize they have been saying We Are Worse Than Hitler all this time anyway.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 10:13 AM (QGoUX)

131 106 ... While at the used book store I was looking for Georgette Heyer books after several folks recommended them. This is a huge store but there were only a few copies and they weren't especially inexpensive. (This is the same store I was able to get most of the Patrick O'Brian books for a dollar apiece.) One of the clerks told me they can't keep Heyer's books on the shelf, they sell quickly, which also explains the price tags. I did get a couple of her stories but my vision of a dollar-a-book outing didn't happen.

Posted by: JTB at August 13, 2017 10:13 AM (V+03K)

132 just before my internet church starts, I wanted to comment on the Christians nixing political action idea
(Thanks for the book Thread!)
I do agree that *politics* isn't the answer either though. Prayer is. It's amazing how prayer is undervalued even among faithful believers. Combined with obedient action it can change the world in major ways in a very short time.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette

I agree here, with the added urging to STUDY the WORD being the primary action. The Lord God honors His Word where he finds it, and by studying and believing the Word, we Christians take in the preservative of our nation. That's what's lacking: the Faith which is the Word taken in and implanted in our human spirits.

Singing and praying are nice, but study of the Bible from the original languages with a pastor-teacher has to increase, IMO. and if that's what Dreher is suggesting, I agree with him, too.

Posted by: booknlass at August 13, 2017 10:15 AM (Ldq+P)

133 So will there be a literary spelunking component of the Vegas event?
Posted by: Anna Puma at August 13, 2017 10:10 AM (lmPMy)
---
I'm hoping to take in a few book stores. Terlit Hobo seems game, and I'm sure there are others.

I wonder if I can bring my cocktail into the store, like on teh Strip.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 10:15 AM (QGoUX)

134 The anti-nuke crowd has been dining out for decades on an Eisenhower quote to the effect that the United States didn't "have to" use those bombs. I've always wondered what was his basis for saying that. What was he thinking? Did he agree with the anti-nukers that Japan was on the verge of surrender, anyway? Did he not believe the estimates of the horrific American casualties that would certainly have resulted when Japan's home islands were invaded? Or was he just getting soft in the head? I really would like to know.

Eisenhower spent almost all the war in the European Theatre of Operations. I think he admitted later that he did not have all that good a grasp of the situation in the Pacific.

MacArthur was such a vain ass that he waved away any casualty estimates not provided by his staff of sycophantic toadies.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 13, 2017 10:16 AM (nUt1y)

135 Recommended here awhile back, I read Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened Japan by Giles Milton. This is the story of William Adams whose storm-damaged ship lands in Japan in 1600. Not the first Englishman to reach Japan, Adams is the first to stay, learn the language and customs, and becomes the intermediary between Europeans and the Shogun. After the English establish a trading post there, he helped to get Jesuit and Franciscan priests banished from Japan and convinced the Shogun that the Protestantism of the English and the Dutch was vastly different and very anti-Catholic.

Every time English traders were in difficulty, they called on Adams to petition the Shogun for relief, which was often granted. After twenty years Adams died in Japan. Shortly afterwards a new anti-foreigner Shogun expelled all Europeans from Japan. Two hundred years later when Europeans began to trade again in Japan, they found the name of William Adams to still be well-known and his exploits remembered. This is a well-written and well-researched history of an interesting person, time and country.

On the Kindle I read Five Years to Freedom: The True Story of a Vietnam POW by James N. Rowe. Rowe was not a guest at the Hanoi Hilton, rather as a Green Beret adviser to the ARVN, he was captured in a firefight in which they were heavily outnumbered in the Mekong delta. For over five years he was kept in a series of camps in the swampy canal-laced U Minh forest. As all but a small handful of our POW's in Vietnam, Rowe conducted himself bravely and honorably during his captivity. His eventual escape and rescue during a U. S. helicopter and ARVN ranger offensive is a most thrilling story. He was afraid of being killed by his captors as well as being mistaken as just another black-pajama VC by the helicopter crews. Recognized as an American and picked up, he began his long-awaited journey home. An excellent and interesting story.

Posted by: Zoltan at August 13, 2017 10:16 AM (go62B)

136 Posted by: JTB at August 13, 2017 10:13 AM (V+03K)

That's why I'm willing to pay new paperback prices or on-sale Kindle prices for her books. Jim Butcher and Terry Pratchett are pretty much the only other ones I'm willing to do that with, and for the same reason.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 13, 2017 10:20 AM (rp9xB)

137 Col. James Rowe was later assassinated by Philippine communists.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 13, 2017 10:20 AM (lmPMy)

138 Having gotten several worthwhile book recommendations here and on goodreads, I'm taking the plunge and joining the goodreads group.

So... 'Hi', I guess.

I'm generally bouncing between mystery, suspense, science fiction and fantasy - but sometimes I'll do some heavy lifting.

Posted by: Dornak the dornakular at August 13, 2017 10:20 AM (ReLq4)

139 the only thing wrong with the bomb was we didn't have it two years earlier.
Posted by: musical jolly chimp at August 13, 2017 10:04 AM (AxFdW)

We wouldn't have used it sooner. What pushed the US to use it against Japan is an interesting stew of problems and concerns. Most of those issues didn't apply to Germany.

The anti-bomb people would be complaining about the mass starvation had we blockaded Japan instead.

Posted by: WOPR (Colonial Marines can't use harsh language) at August 13, 2017 10:21 AM (J70i0)

140 @61- Pollo

I so hope you are right young lady.
I was there for the last one.
Early 70's.
The Cross and the Switchblade by Nicki Cruz and The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey (hope I got the correct spelling on that name).

Major error in Hal's book as well as many others since then.
The pre 70th Week of Daniel rapture of the church.
The Left Behind series is another example.

Best treatise on the subject that I've seen is The Pre-wrath Rapture of the Church by Marv Rosenthal. I've mentioned it here a number of times.

Posted by: teej at August 13, 2017 10:22 AM (flbmJ)

141 Started reading Adventures in my youth by Armin Schneiderbaur. His memoirs of a very young Wehrmacht infantry officer on the Eastern Front.

It's quite insightful to me on the inner workings of the German officer class and a class it was. Being composed of a significant portion of German genetics I could see myself in that world. Some of my old world ancestors probably were or served under the officer class. Thankfully for me they made it to America.

Posted by: Beartooth at August 13, 2017 10:22 AM (4EuJq)

142 That should read Monster Hunter Seige.
Posted by: Darth Randall at August 13, 2017 09:54 AM (RXbMv)

Whew. Seife is german for soap. I thought Correia might have jumped the laundry

Posted by: Kindltot at August 13, 2017 10:24 AM (mkDpn)

143 Eisenhower spent almost all the war in the European Theatre of Operations. I think he admitted later that he did not have all that good a grasp of the situation in the Pacific.

MacArthur was such a vain ass that he waved away any casualty estimates not provided by his staff of sycophantic toadies.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 13, 2017 10:16 AM (nUt1y)

Richard Frank in "Downfall" does a good job going over the inability to really determine what the casualties would have been. But looking at Okinawa and Iwo Jima, where US infantry casualties were something like 40% of the total for the whole Pacific theater, it most likely would have been ugly.

Posted by: WOPR (Colonial Marines can't use harsh language) at August 13, 2017 10:24 AM (J70i0)

144 130: "they've been saying we're worse than hitler"

true enough. in 1995 i perused a copy of "the nation" on the meaning of ww II: racism. but not the racism of germany and japan, of which there was one article. no, it was a condemnation of american racism in 12 of 17 articles (iirc).

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at August 13, 2017 10:25 AM (AxFdW)

145 Heinlein also introduces adult themes in "Stranger in Strange Land".

I think Heinlein was a swinger.
Posted by: Skandia Recluse

Actually, he was when he was married to his second wife. Eventually, he ran far and fast from her. Met and married Virginia, and lived happily ever after. Or something like that.

He wrote "Stranger in a Strange Land" as a satire, which I think a lot of his fans mistake for his more literal "juveniles" which I loved and read back in the 1960's.

Heinlein was appalled at his "censor" at Scribners (who had him under contract for the 1950's), so he started writing "Stranger" for the time when he was out of the contract with them and free to say what he wanted.

He interrupted writing "Stranger" to write "Starship Troopers", in part out of an angry reaction to something Eisenhower said in the 1958 or 59. That book continued to get the most mail and response for the rest of this life; both good and bad.

Yes, I have a lot of respect and admiration for some of the things Eisenhower did as a President, but he literally was something of a RINO. He considered running as a Democrat in 1952, but realized he could not win the nomination over Adlai Stevenson, and then declared as a Republican. He also did not care for Richard Nixon, his running mate.

"Stranger" is a satire, an exaggeration. It's supposed to be adult and funny.

It's funny, because Heinlein was actually a very worldly and well read man, who knew a lot about a lot of things. At one time, he was very much a "one worlder", and for a world government. He also outgrew those ideas, and became more what we would now call a Libertarian. It's funny that a goof like Scalzi criticizes him while trying to rip off some of his style for his own books.

Posted by: Bozo Conservative....lost in America at August 13, 2017 10:25 AM (S6Pax)

146 Heinlein Audible.

Audible seems to have a Heinlein novel as a cheap daily deal at least a few times a year. Starman Jones was the latest about a month ago.
This week I listened to the previous one:The Rolling Stones.
Now I want a flat cat. (but our dogs might not)

With about 2 hours in car during daily commute the option of increasing speed of playback I've tripled number of books I can 'finish' in a month.

Between cheap audible and Library (Overdrive) titles, I think I could live to 200 and not run out of titles I'd like to read.

Posted by: SouthEast PA Lurker at August 13, 2017 10:25 AM (vFHFh)

147 Jinkies!!! Its a laundry monster! Run Shaggy!

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 13, 2017 10:26 AM (lmPMy)

148 132, Polliwog is entirely correct. Pray, pray, pray. Find ways to make it a habit such that you notice if you don't do it, such as starting the moment you turn on your car to leave for work. Write tiny little ones (Bless them, O Lord, and have mercy on me, a sinner) that you can say on any occasion - I use that one on the freeway A LOT. Prayer works: it will make you a better person and it can help a whole lot of people.

Posted by: Tonestaple at August 13, 2017 10:26 AM (Od8s9)

149 12 Rob Crawford is correct; Starman Jones.

Late to the thread as usual. That is my shtik.

Read a book on Mary Cassett, and several teaching art books like Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edward.

Reread, with great pleasure, The Forever Engine by Frank Chadwick and Military Misfortunes: The Anatomy of Failure in War by Eliot Cohen and John Gooch.

Reread, for meh, Alternate Generals (Alternate Generals #1 by Harry Turtledove.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 13, 2017 10:27 AM (hyuyC)

150 So, how is that "bash the fash" thing working out for the left?

We told them it would not end well...

Posted by: 18-1 at August 13, 2017 10:28 AM (aZq03)

151 and we face a similar problem with north korea today. in the 20-some years since carter's initiative to pyongyang brought an agreement we would do nothing they've developed their nuke capacity to the brink of deliverable icbm's. should we continue to do nothing, what will the situation look like in 20 more years?

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at August 13, 2017 10:29 AM (AxFdW)

152 I've been reading a lot on the American Revolution lately, and the latest is "American Crisis: George Washington and the Dangerous Two Years After Yorktown 1781-1783" by William M. Fowler, Jr. Most history classes skip from Yorktown to the Treaty of Paris with little detail in between. It's a great look into how easily the gains could have been lost during this period, when both sides were still trying figure out exactly what was happening, and how Washington was instrumental in making sure that didn't happen.
Posted by: Dwight at August 13, 2017 10:01 AM (iAl7a)

There's also a lot of fighting that happened in that period, in the South, the Northwest, and especially in the Caribbean. I picked up a book on that recently, "After Yorktown" but was left unsatisfied. A good primer, but not much detail, and the author had an annoying writing style.

Posted by: josephistan at August 13, 2017 10:30 AM (ANIFC)

153 I have driven past the Prim library for many years, but last Saturday was the first time I ever drove into the parking lot and looked at the place. It was being used as overflow parking and shuttle bus stop for a big Tahoe lakeshore event at the home next to Michael Milken.

Posted by: scottst at August 13, 2017 10:32 AM (IDdVj)

154 A novel about the invasion of Japan that I enjoyed: "The Burning Mountain," published in 1983.

Main characters are an American Army officer, and a Japanese Army officer and his sister, who became friends as teenagers before the war when the American's family was in Japan. The American returns to Japan as an invading infantry officer in Operation Coronet (Tokyo-area invasion)...and I'll leave the preview at that. It's not all melodrama stuff. Good military fiction, IMHO.

Posted by: Gref at August 13, 2017 10:32 AM (AMIL/)

155 Re: Heinlein, yeah he got much more overtly sexual in his later writing and I have also read that he and Virginia (his 2nd? wife) were swingers but don't know that for a fact. I don't care for most of his post-Stranger in a Strange Land writing and prefer his earlier stuff.

Two of his books, Starship Troopers and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, really helped me understand the responsibilities of citizenship and the fact that someone has to pay for that "free lunch" back when I was a teenager back in the 1970s.

The "juveniles" are a lot of fun and he slipped in some libertarian philosophy in there. Sliderules and interstellar spaceships!

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at August 13, 2017 10:33 AM (5Yee7)

156 Thanks for the Adnauseam tip. I also found TrackMeNot made by the same team. Was easy to install manually but had to dig to find the instructions here: https://github.com/dhowe/AdNauseam/wiki/Install-AdNauseam-on-Chrome-Without-Google's-Permission

Posted by: motamir at August 13, 2017 10:33 AM (T7PQe)

157 Sabrina sorry to hear about the change of job status, hope the hunt goes well, look forward to book three of your Pluto series!

Posted by: waelse1 at August 13, 2017 10:35 AM (xFBqL)

158 ... in other words, should we take down the kim regime at some considerable loss of life to avoid a holocaust.

saddam was a similar problem. bush made a credible rationale that we couldn't wait for the smoking gun.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at August 13, 2017 10:37 AM (AxFdW)

159 I think it may be a few months since I've re-told my "slipstick" joke. So.

Several years ago now, on a Lark, I taught my kid how to use a slide rule. No reason really; you go through the usual excuses, like, all the computers may go out someday, or, my favorite, ever notice how all these marks are just like the frets on a guitar, and did you ever hear of Pythagoras? Stuff like that.

Then, kid gets accepted to a major military academy in the western U.S. and I double-dare to do the first year math homework on the slide rule. Kid is always up for a dare. Thing is, at Academy you show all your work. All of it. So on about day 3, it's all "Cadet Davis, see me after class."

Yes, a career mathematician can tell from your problem-charting that you used a "manual logarithmic device" and not a TI or laptop. Who knew? And who knew that the chairman of that math department was perhaps the world's leading surviving authority, and had a private, invitation-only slide rule museum? And that you could get famous on your third day?

Posted by: Stringer Davis at August 13, 2017 10:39 AM (H5rtT)

160 146 .. Thanks for the heads up about the Heinlein audio books on sale occasionally. "The Rolling Stones" was the first Heinlein book I ever read, probably in second or third grade, and it's still has a warm spot in my memory.

Posted by: JTB at August 13, 2017 10:39 AM (V+03K)

161 Up-thread Bozo Conservative says that Heinlein was engaged in the "swinging" lifestyle with his 2nd wife but that wasn't Virginia. I stand corrected.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at August 13, 2017 10:40 AM (5Yee7)

162 After twenty years Adams died in Japan. Shortly afterwards a new anti-foreigner Shogun expelled all Europeans from Japan.

The Shogun's final words to them were, "This is Japan! Not ¡Jeb!pan!"

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at August 13, 2017 10:40 AM (/qEW2)

163 Sorry Polli,
I see the dreaded auto-c got me.
Must start proof reading. By this time next year for sure.

Morning booknlass,
Reading through the ont comments the morning the other day I saw that you seconded my Tommy Emmanuel reccomendation.
You have very good taste.
Incredible player and fun entertainer too.

Posted by: teej at August 13, 2017 10:41 AM (flbmJ)

164 162 After twenty years Adams died in Japan. Shortly afterwards a new anti-foreigner Shogun expelled all Europeans from Japan.

The Shogun's final words to them were, "This is Japan! Not �Jeb!pan!"
Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at August 13, 2017 10:40 AM (/qEW2)

Prease crap!

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 10:41 AM (0mRoj)

165 103 Eisenhower was the first RINO"

What I do know is that post WW2 was the high water mark of the "unimedia", and that many comments and quotes from speeches were routinely pulled away from context...
Posted by: Anon a mouse... at August 13, 2017 09:57 AM (MINbv)

Eisenhower ran as a Republican to counter the most conservative members of the GOP. He agreed with the New Deal programs and expanded some of them. He was an opponent of McCarthy. He opposed Israel's (and others) invasion of Egypt. The main evidence he was a RINO is that liberal historians consider him one of the greatest Presidents.

Posted by: Jack Sock at August 13, 2017 10:43 AM (IDPbH)

166 "I THINK Dreher's point is that if Christians concentrate on preserving
and protecting their beliefs and their way of life, rather than wasting
time and effort on fruitless political pursuits, eventually that way of
life will be rediscovered by the rest of the world -- probably not in
our lifetimes, but eventually.

My now FB friends that were close "Christian outreach" friends 35 years agp tend to tell me that it is a spiritual battle, not political. I do think spiritual is upstream of culture, which is upstream of politics ... so to speak.

But the battle takes place in real world relations, and just as we work for money and are pretty diligent about feeding our body, we have some certain civic responsibilities that should not be neglected.

Coordinating those efforts with a church is useful (assuming the church has the right motives) ... but the individual speaking to the school board (for instance) gets the chance to "let his light shine" by having personally developed the whole concept of God given liberty, and then his lamp of liberty shines, translated into civic discourse that his neighbors will respect.

Posted by: illiniwek at August 13, 2017 10:44 AM (7Ep0P)

167 "Both the books and the tv miniseries are brilliant, btw"

One of those serendipitous occasions where the combination of excellent writing and superb acting creates a classic production. The late John Hurt's portrayal of Caligula was one of the highlights of the series. So many, now famous, British actors cast in that show.

Posted by: Tuna at August 13, 2017 10:45 AM (jm1YL)

168 Posted by: Stringer Davis at August 13, 2017 10:39 AM (H5rtT

-- a very sweet story, Stringer.

Posted by: willow at August 13, 2017 10:45 AM (FKrah)

169 Yes, a career mathematician can tell from your problem-charting that you used a "manual logarithmic device" and not a TI or laptop. Who knew? And who knew that the chairman of that math department was perhaps the world's leading surviving authority, and had a private, invitation-only slide rule museum? And that you could get famous on your third day?

Posted by: Stringer Davis at August 13, 2017 10:39 AM (H5rtT)

Good for you and good for your son. My high school class of 1979 was the last to be taught how to use a "slip-stick." The young engineers I work with don't even know what a slide rule is or that there are actually tables of logarithms and trigonometric functions.

I have a modest slip-stick collection myself and the widow of a good friend gave me his circular slide rule when he passed away.

As far a hand-held calculators go, I prefer to use Reverse Polish Notation so I use a Hewlett Packard.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at August 13, 2017 10:46 AM (5Yee7)

170 Why are the protests in Charlottesville being described as violent rather than "mostly peaceful."

Posted by: blaster at August 13, 2017 10:47 AM (jHrzU)

171 Stringer Davis, that's an awesome story and a great kid!

Posted by: votermom pimping great books! at August 13, 2017 10:47 AM (hMwEB)

172 I've seen a slide rule but never actually learned how to use one. Math isn't exactly my forte' anyways.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 10:48 AM (0mRoj)

173 170 Why are the protests in Charlottesville being described as violent rather than "mostly peaceful."
Posted by: blaster at August 13, 2017 10:47 AM (jHrzU)

I assume this is a rhetorical question.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 10:48 AM (0mRoj)

174 The fire bombing was worse ( do not mean not valid) than the a-bombs in my opinion and many others. You don't hear much about that. Funny how the mode of destruction means more to some than the destruction itself.

Posted by: Jack Sock at August 13, 2017 10:50 AM (IDPbH)

175 "...and had a private, invitation-only slide rule museum..."
---
I'm totally gonna use that one!

And of course there is:

http://www.sliderulemuseum.com/

They have a slide rule loaner program for fans of retrocalc.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 10:50 AM (QGoUX)

176 172 I've seen a slide rule but never actually learned how to use one. Math isn't exactly my forte' anyways.
Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 10:48 AM (0mRoj)

There's an old Indian saying about that, Soh Cah Toa.

Posted by: Jack Sock at August 13, 2017 10:52 AM (IDPbH)

177 I was at the beach last week so not really keyed into what is going on, but googling it up, apparently Trump went down to Charlottesville to lead a Nazi rally and then drove his limo into the crowd.

Posted by: blaster at August 13, 2017 10:52 AM (jHrzU)

178 I witnessed the cultural shift. In my 1974 frosh Chemistry class, when the prof stated on Day 1 that slide-rules would be allowed but not the HP and TI hand calculators, some kid stood up, faced the 200 students and asked, "how many have slide-rules?" one-third raised their hands. "How many have HP-35s?" two-thirds raised their hands. The professor stood and thought about it... then said, "OK, society has shifted. You can use both."

Posted by: goatexchange at August 13, 2017 10:53 AM (YFnq5)

179 For those familiar with Gen. Curtis E. 'Iron Pants' LeMay this might be a shocker.

...I do not regret Pres. Truman's decision-it speeded up the denouement-but I considered dropping the bomb no more necessary than the planned invasion of Japan. The jig was already up. Neither, for that matter, did I agree with the decision to invade Europe...

From 'Impact' volume 5.

An interesting and great combat leader.

Posted by: JackS at August 13, 2017 10:53 AM (DknNB)

180 http://www.sliderulemuseum.com/

They have a slide rule loaner program for fans of retrocalc.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 10:50 AM (QGoUX)

He also sells parts (or did) and I got a replacement slider for my two-foot mahogany K&E several years ago.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at August 13, 2017 10:53 AM (5Yee7)

181 There's an old Indian saying about that, Soh Cah Toa.
Posted by: Jack Sock at August 13, 2017 10:52 AM (IDPbH)

I know that's a mnemonic device for trig functions but that's about it.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 10:53 AM (0mRoj)

182 177 I was at the beach last week so not really keyed into what is going on, but googling it up, apparently Trump went down to Charlottesville to lead a Nazi rally and then drove his limo into the crowd.
Posted by: blaster at August 13, 2017 10:52 AM (jHrzU)

That's exactly what happened.

Posted by: This... is CNN at August 13, 2017 10:54 AM (sdi6R)

183 The late John Hurt's portrayal of Caligula was one of the highlights of the series. So many, now famous, British actors cast in that show.
Posted by: Tuna at August 13, 2017 10:45 AM (jm1YL)
---
Wasn't his Caligula a delightful imp (until he wasn't)?

But Sian Phillips' Livia stole the show.

Don't eat the figs.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 10:54 AM (QGoUX)

184 What recommendations should I make to senior
engineering student so she has something entertaining to counter the SJW
folk who are starting to recruit? She is libertarian/conservative and
quit reading for fun after a few years of 'recommended' AP English
books.
Posted by: mustbequantum at August 13, 2017 09:58 AM (MIKMs)

For fun? H. Beam Piper and Randall Garrett (can be found for free on gutenberg.org) and F. Paul Wilson and L. Neil Smith.

For information and history? Ralph Raico

Posted by: Kindltot at August 13, 2017 10:54 AM (mkDpn)

185 177 blaster: that's why i'm staying on the beach.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at August 13, 2017 10:55 AM (AxFdW)

186 I went to Harvest Books outside of Philadelphia on Friday for one of their warehouse sales. I picked up some good books - The Secret War for the Union, by Edwin C. Fishel, about military intelligence in the Civil War; Christopher Duffy's classic, The Armies of Frederick The Great; "The Battle for Crete" by John Hall Spencer; "The Last Ditch" by David Lampe, about the British plans to resist German invasion in WWII, "Cromwell Against The Scots" by John D. Grainger; and "General Monck" by Maurice Ashley, about Cromwell's right hand who helped restore the Stuarts to the throne.

The bad news is that they lost their lease, and the owner is going to just sell better quality books on line, so for the next six weeks they'll be getting rid of most of their stock with a sale each weekend.

Posted by: josephistan at August 13, 2017 10:55 AM (ANIFC)

187 Oh, Stringer Davis, how utterly cool!

I distinctly remember slide rule instruction in physics class -- but darned if I can remember anything practical.

As I am essentially a LitTwit, Dorkhestra member, and totally ArtsFart, that is the best. My proto-engineer thinks I am an idiot to begin with, and thought my obsession with trying to relearn slide rule was nonsensical.

Posted by: mustbequantum at August 13, 2017 10:55 AM (MIKMs)

188 LeMay wrong about that one,the Soviets would have had all Europe if we didn't invade.Stalin's plan all along was to"liberate" Europe from Hitler.

Posted by: steevy at August 13, 2017 10:55 AM (rmVvL)

189 There's an old Indian saying about that, Soh Cah Toa.
Posted by: Jack Sock at August 13, 2017 10:52 AM (IDPbH)

I know that's a mnemonic device for trig functions but that's about it.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 10:53 AM (0mRoj)

sine divided by cosine equals tangent (?)

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at August 13, 2017 10:56 AM (5Yee7)

190 O, hai, everyone. Just got here. Re The Benedict Option, the author is mentioned in today's Gospel reading: "Ye of little faith." He may do well to remember, "All things are possible with God." Is the author unaware of the spiritual revivals the West has undergone?

Posted by: SandyCheeks at August 13, 2017 10:56 AM (joFoi)

191 190 O, hai, everyone. Just got here. Re The Benedict Option, the author is mentioned in today's Gospel reading: "Ye of little faith." He may do well to remember, "All things are possible with God." Is the author unaware of the spiritual revivals the West has undergone?
Posted by: SandyCheeks at August 13, 2017 10:56 AM (joFoi)

All things are possible, but precious few are probable.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 10:57 AM (0mRoj)

192 LeMay was one of the Strategic Bomber school, like Spaatz and Harris, who thought with just another ton of bombs the war would end. They were wrong.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 13, 2017 10:58 AM (nUt1y)

193 For the Benedict Option, I'll have mine traditional style with a side of hash browns and a coffee.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 10:58 AM (0mRoj)

194 I've always been amused by the old sci-fi writers
completely whiffing on predicting solid state electronics. So you have
FTL starships and computers using vacuum tubes.
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 10:06 AM (+Xgkm)

There are reasons for this, part of it is that science fiction is extrapolation from the present, the other is that a number of the high producing writers of the golden age were either professional or amateur electronics people: George O Smith was an engineer for example, and John W. Campbell, the editor of Astounding, was a hobbyist.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 13, 2017 10:58 AM (mkDpn)

195 Miss Sippi

Way off topic --

Once installed an X-ray machine for a dentist. His last name was Sippi. His wife was the office manager. She signed my paperwork "Mrs. Sippi." Being of simple mind, I thought it hilarious. Didn't laugh out load, or say anything - knew she had heard it all before. Sure she was in on the joke though. Could have signed her first name instead of Mrs. Think of her every time you post.

Posted by: French Jeton at August 13, 2017 10:59 AM (WMvHw)

196 I've always been amused by the old sci-fi writers
completely whiffing on predicting solid state electronics. So you have
FTL starships and computers using vacuum tubes.
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 10:06 AM (+Xgkm)

The starship would have to be massive and would only have room for the computer.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 10:59 AM (0mRoj)

197 Ugh.
Hopefully the second cup of coffee will go more towards getting rid of this always happens, post gig/late night headache than the first one did.
If not I'll be mowing and doing laundry with it for a companion.
Really appreciating having you good people's comments to read this am.

Posted by: teej at August 13, 2017 11:00 AM (flbmJ)

198 @175 I'm totally gonna use that one!

__________________
Hey, baby. Want to stop over to my Faber-Castell and check out my Otis King?

Posted by: Stringer Davis at August 13, 2017 11:01 AM (H5rtT)

199 Really appreciating having you good people's comments to read this am.
Posted by: teej at August 13, 2017 11:00 AM (flbmJ)

We're good only by comparison. I mean, have you SEEN those other guys?

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 11:01 AM (0mRoj)

200
"Wasn't his Caligula a delightful imp (until he wasn't)?

But Sian Phillips' Livia stole the show.

Don't eat the figs."

Her scenes with John Hurt were must see TV. Livia met her match.

Posted by: Tuna at August 13, 2017 11:01 AM (jm1YL)

201 They have a slide rule loaner program for fans of retrocalc.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes

I've still got my Pickett that I got for Christmas in 1973, just as pocket calculators were starting to appear in high school. We had to use slide rules in some math classes in high school, and little pocket size books with Log and Trig tables.
I had a chemistry teacher in college remark that he never worried about leaving his slide rule on his desk, but he did worry about leaving his calculator out. That was when they were more rare and expensive.

I leave my HP Scientific on my desk at work all the time, and never worry about it being stolen. Because most people don't like RPN.

And this ties into the Bookthread.....how?

All the old SF remarked about GIANT computers doing all the heavy lifting. That was somewhat true in the 1960's through the 1980's; big mainframes with time sharing access to get computing done.

it's been so gradual and obvious, we really don't grasp the REVOLUTION in computing in the last 35 years.

Posted by: Bozo Conservative....lost in America at August 13, 2017 11:02 AM (S6Pax)

202 198 @175 I'm totally gonna use that one!

__________________
Hey, baby. Want to stop over to my Faber-Castell and check out my Otis King?
Posted by: Stringer Davis at August 13, 2017 11:01 AM (H5rtT)

Seems a sure fire method for never getting laid.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 11:02 AM (0mRoj)

203 For fun? H. Beam Piper and Randall Garrett (can be found for free on gutenberg.org) and F. Paul Wilson and L. Neil Smith.

For information and history? Ralph Raico

Posted by: Kindltot at August 13, 2017 10:54 AM (mkDpn)

Piper would definitely have had the Platinum-level membership in the Horde. Libertarian and one of his novellas, "Null ABC," involves a political part of illiterates and literacy is strongly regulated; not a fan of politicians was he. Piper's failing is that he was a believer in the United Nations but he didn't foresee the sh!t-show that the UN would be become.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at August 13, 2017 11:02 AM (5Yee7)

204 Hey Skandia Recluse, are you still around? I sent you a sooper sekrit e-mail.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 11:02 AM (+Xgkm)

205 Posted by: Kindltot at August 13, 2017 10:58 AM (mkDpn)

They should have consulted with my favorite and unappreciated inventor of all time , Nikola.

He's even had to have his name associated with a scam company. Never caught a break.

Posted by: Jack Sock at August 13, 2017 11:02 AM (IDPbH)

206 Is there an Indian mnemonic for sin(a+b) and cos(a+b)? Asking for a friend.

Posted by: Elizabeth Warren at August 13, 2017 11:03 AM (/qEW2)

207 195 Miss Sippi

Way off topic --

Once installed an X-ray machine for a dentist. His last name was Sippi. His wife was the office manager. She signed my paperwork "Mrs. Sippi." Being of simple mind, I thought it hilarious. Didn't laugh out load, or say anything - knew she had heard it all before. Sure she was in on the joke though. Could have signed her first name instead of Mrs. Think of her every time you post.
Posted by: French Jeton at August 13, 2017 10:59 AM (WMvHw)

Too funny!!

Posted by: Miss Sippi at August 13, 2017 11:03 AM (5fPhA)

208 Ha! Re Aaron Palmer's circular slide rule (1841):

Palmer's slide rule enjoyed only a limited success, largely because of poor marketing and the American public's fear that use of the device "[would] tend to weaken the mind, by causing it to rely upon mere mechanism to make its numbered computations"

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 11:04 AM (QGoUX)

209 I still have the slide rule I used in high school and one I picked up at a thrift shop. I rarely need math more complicated than balancing a checkbook these days. But I did use it to pass one of my ham radio tests and when calculating lengths of wire for a dipole antenna. To stay with the reading topic, I use the original instruction booklet for anything more than basic functions.

Posted by: JTB at August 13, 2017 11:04 AM (V+03K)

210 I use an Abacus.

Posted by: Joe Biden at August 13, 2017 11:06 AM (IDPbH)

211 174 The fire bombing was worse ( do not mean not valid) than the a-bombs in my opinion and many others. You don't hear much about that. Funny how the mode of destruction means more to some than the destruction itself.

Posted by: Jack Sock at August 13, 2017 10:50 AM (IDPbH)

In Europe, many, many British and American soldiers were appalled by the damage done to cities in Germany by the Bomber Offensive. They had no idea what the bombers had "achieved" until they occupied the cities, one by one. In the UK, there was a post-war public opinion backlash against Bomber Command and its official Area Bombing policy. So much so that a Bomber Command Campaign Medal was not authorized, despite the RAF pushing for it.

Posted by: Gref at August 13, 2017 11:06 AM (AMIL/)

212 @203: oops, that should be "political party" of illiterates. You know, like Democrats.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at August 13, 2017 11:07 AM (5Yee7)

213 Do kids today learn long division? Or is it considered antiquated and unnecessary

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 13, 2017 11:07 AM (pV/54)

214 As a thought exercise:

The reaction of the leftists and NeverTrumpers to the Charlotteville incident will:
(a) Cause more whites to vote for Democrats
(b) Cause more whites to vote for Trump

Which is, saying "all whites are racists, Trump is racist and anyone who supports Trump is racist" will accomplish what?

For 40+ years the Democrats have pursued racial division for a temporary advantage. At ever-increasing diminishing returns.

They forgot that it was only going to be temporary--sooner or later, whites were going to start playing the same racial solidarity game.

It is now later.

And it will only get uglier.

Posted by: RoyalOil at August 13, 2017 11:07 AM (oF/7l)

215 213 Do kids today learn long division? Or is it considered antiquated and unnecessary
Posted by: Ignoramus at August 13, 2017 11:07 AM (pV/54)

1) Yes.
2) Who knows.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 11:08 AM (0mRoj)

216 Greetings:

My father took one of those all-expense=paid tours of the western Pacific in the '40s including some beach days on Saipan and Peleliu so early August is a perennial time of annoying idiocy.

One thing that never seems to percolate up informationally is that Imperial Japan had substantial numbers (hundreds of thousands) of men under arms throughout eastern Asia, in China, Manchuria, Southeast Asia and Indonesia. Granted its naval and air forces were severely diminished and its logistics were worse than problematic, that's still some serious military power.

My father used to enjoy saying, "The only thing wrong about the A-bombs was we only had two."

Posted by: 11B40 at August 13, 2017 11:09 AM (evgyj)

217 "All the old SF remarked about GIANT computers doing all the heavy lifting. That was somewhat true in the 1960's through the 1980's; big mainframes with time sharing access to get computing done. "

And yet, they were essentially correct. Have you seen the gigantic data centers used by cloud computing services? And the little Chrome Books used to access the cloud services are nothing more than fancy terminals, like a VT100.

Posted by: Bacon Jeff at August 13, 2017 11:11 AM (3JQ/p)

218 I was at the beach last week so not really keyed into what is going on, but googling it up, apparently Trump went down to Charlottesville to lead a Nazi rally and then drove his limo into the crowd.

Posted by: blaster at August 13, 2017 10:52 AM (jHrzU)

"Yes. That is exactly what happened. This is Brian Stelter, the hairless hall-monitor, reporting for CNN News."

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 11:11 AM (+Xgkm)

219 "So you have FTL starships and computers using vacuum tubes."

The future will see a resurgence in the use of CRTs, analog gauges, slide rules, and helmets that look like fishbowls.

Posted by: freaked at August 13, 2017 11:12 AM (BO/km)

220 So are they removing the Robert E Lee statue or not?

Posted by: Jack Sock at August 13, 2017 11:12 AM (IDPbH)

221 Once installed an X-ray machine for a dentist. His last name was Sippi. His wife was the office manager. She signed my paperwork "Mrs. Sippi."

Sippi Longstocking?

Posted by: Dr. Evil at August 13, 2017 11:12 AM (/qEW2)

222 170
Why are the protests in Charlottesville being described as violent rather than "mostly peaceful."

Posted by: blaster at August 13, 2017 10:47 AM (jHrzU)

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

And why are the participants labeled as "Right Wingers" and "Counter Protesters"?

Posted by: Javems at August 13, 2017 11:13 AM (yOqwj)

223 #159 That's a beautiful story, Stringer Davis.

Posted by: andycanuck at August 13, 2017 11:13 AM (mJ8mX)

224 As a thought exercise:

The reaction of the leftists and NeverTrumpers to the Charlotteville incident will:
(a) Cause more whites to vote for Democrats
(b) Cause more whites to vote for Trump

Which is, saying "all whites are racists, Trump is racist and anyone who supports Trump is racist" will accomplish what?

...And it will only get uglier.

Posted by: RoyalOil at August 13, 2017 11:07 AM (oF/7l)

When you have someone as white-bread as Tucker Carlson berating Democrats for only telling whites that they are disgusting and racists, we are there. As someone who's ancestor fought for the entire (1st) American Civil War in the 79th Pennsylvania, the movement to destroy the Confederate monuments sickens me.

That sh!t happened over a century ago, but the race baiters just can't let it go.

Slavery existed before the colonization of North America and exists in the world now.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at August 13, 2017 11:15 AM (5Yee7)

225 Sigh. Missed the movie thread yesterday. Ah well. Maybe I'll wedge in my thoughts on endings on an OT tomorrow.

Books...funny you mention Chuck Dixon, OM. I just finished his book 'Gomers'. Zombie Apoc book. It's pretty good. Some characters are kinda underdeveloped but others are pretty good. It skips some of the usual steps of a zombie novel : the initial outbreak (actually my favorite part) and the mid-catastrophe and more or less starts the novel after the 60 mark when most of the survivors are dead and the ones that are left are hard core raiders or isolationist. Lots of good, specific detail. It's clear Chuck did some disaster research for this one.

Also finished (finally) the second book in Brian McClellan's gunpowder mage series. Long book, lot of twists and turns in it and it fails to actually address all the plots in the book. I know, second book in a series and all that, but this one really feels like a two parter. If you want a doorstopper that's not typical fantasy, I recommend it.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at August 13, 2017 11:15 AM (xJa6I)

226 202 198 @175 I'm totally gonna use that one!

__________________
Hey, baby. Want to stop over to my Faber-Castell and check out my Otis King?
Posted by: Stringer Davis at August 13, 2017 11:01 AM (H5rtT)

Seems a sure fire method for never getting laid.
Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 11:02 AM (0mRoj)

*****

Better luck if it's Otis Day and the Knights.

Posted by: Diogenes at August 13, 2017 11:15 AM (0tfLf)

227 222 Same game the media always plays.They control theway things are perceived.(less than they used to,but they still control it)

Posted by: steevy at August 13, 2017 11:15 AM (rmVvL)

228 "In my 1974 frosh Chemistry class, when the prof stated on Day 1 that slide-rules would be allowed ... goatexchange

I was a chem major the year before that and used a slide rule ... can't recall if they allowed calculators, am thinking no, for the exams at least. Calculators were relatively expensive still ($200 in real dollars maybe?), but costs came down fast.

Posted by: illiniwek at August 13, 2017 11:15 AM (7Ep0P)

229 I had cable news on yesterday morning and they were already in a froth that Trump hadn't yet condemned the White Supremacists. And that was before the crazy driver.

Wanna bet they were high fiving each other when that broke and got added to the mix,

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 13, 2017 11:16 AM (pV/54)

230 Don't know what a slide rule is for.

Posted by: Sam Cooke at August 13, 2017 11:17 AM (ANIFC)

231 When there's a white person, there's a problem. When there's no white person, there's no problem.

Posted by: Quoty McQuoterson Obama at August 13, 2017 11:18 AM (eLttb)

232 I haven't read Dreher's latest but I read a lot of him back in the day when he wrote for NR, and it seems to me-

that he's always been in retreat.

It's his first instinct.

I believe he started out as Roman Catholic

and retreated from that cuz they were icky and not cool enuff to-

Eastern Orthodox.

A smaller (in the US) and thus more exclusive group.

Then retreated from Conservatism to Crunchy Conservatism (his invention- the usual 3rd way crapola)

a really elite, influential group of tens across this great land of ours.

and about that time I'd lost track of him cuz life's too short.

And now, he's all about retreating from public life and hiding in a monastery-in essence.

He struck me as a guy who's instincts are progressive but who's too smart and religious to fall for the silliness, but who really really really wants to be one of the cool kids.

So, he forms/joins his ever smaller clubs seeking the elite cache'.

You know, like the kid in high school who forms the really really really cool and elite "AV and Pokemon Battle Club".

And you're not invited!

I expect in roughly ten years, he'll be living in a cave somewhere alone as the elite, sole practitioner of "Rodism" and "Drehertology".

You can make the argument that he's running toward something not away but....meh.

It's never time to stand your ground and fight for what you believe with this guy.

YMMV.

Posted by: naturalfake at August 13, 2017 11:18 AM (NyJwR)

233 For 40+ years the Democrats have pursued racial division for a temporary advantage. At ever-increasing diminishing returns.

They forgot that it was only going to be temporary--sooner or later, whites were going to start playing the same racial solidarity game.

It is now later.

And it will only get uglier.

Posted by: RoyalOil

That's only half of their diminishing returns. As Vic mentioned on the EMT, at a netroots conference for Dem gov of Georgia candidates, a white candidate (Stacey Evans) was shouted down by black activists merely because she was white. I think this shows that Democrats are just sleazy opportunists interested in their career to the extent to their own lives, and they don't care if everything goes to shit after that. Hillary is the exemplar. I hope Stacey comes to her senses and does a Jim Justice (ie. make the switch).

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at August 13, 2017 11:18 AM (/qEW2)

234 I was a chem major the year before that and used a slide rule ... can't recall if they allowed calculators, am thinking no, for the exams at least. Calculators were relatively expensive still ($200 in real dollars maybe?), but costs came down fast.
Posted by: illiniwek at August 13, 2017 11:15 AM (7Ep0P)

I am still amazed by the electronics revolution. I'm just old enough to remember when calculators and desktop computers were expensive and rare. Now computers are cheap and calculators are practically disposables.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 11:18 AM (0mRoj)

235 When I started the navy's nuc power school in 1975 we were told we could not use the new electronic calculaters. Had to use slide rules, which they provided. The new calculators, I think made by TI, cost about 200 bucks.

It's amazing how us young and dumb sailors could quickly do complex math problems with a piece of wood that slide between two other pieces of wood.

Posted by: JackS at August 13, 2017 11:19 AM (DknNB)

236 For those who haven't checked one out, an Otis King:
http://tinyurl.com/ybs5ka3z

As one can easily see, it's a multi-tasker.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at August 13, 2017 11:19 AM (H5rtT)

237 Pinchfart = a series of freeps.

Howdy y'all.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy at August 13, 2017 11:19 AM (bIwZ6)

238 Don't know what a slide rule is for.

Posted by: Sam Cooke at August 13, 2017 11:17 AM (ANIFC)

Impress chicks: "hey baby, mine is two feet of solid mahogany!"

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at August 13, 2017 11:20 AM (5Yee7)

239 Eisenhower was the first RINO.

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

Theodore the Great and Father Abraham get bumped off the list!!!

When you like few politicians, distrust those in public service, and distrust government in general you aren't likely to get what you want politically. Off to the catacombs it is.

Posted by: RioBravo at August 13, 2017 11:21 AM (giT7q)

240 214
They forgot that it was only going to be temporary--sooner or later, whites were going to start playing the same racial solidarity game.

It is now later.

And it will only get uglier.
Posted by: RoyalOil at August 13, 2017 11:07 AM (oF/7l)

If I have a binary choice between groveling and apologizing for being white, or being an out-and-proud, in-your-face white supremacist, I'll choose the latter.

And I suspect that the post-millenial generation is not buying this "abolishing whiteness" crap in colleges. The pushback is going to be epic.

Posted by: rickl at August 13, 2017 11:22 AM (sdi6R)

241 I used to have a watch with a slide rule bezel. When I travelled a lot overseas I would dial in the exchange rate for the country I was in. It was really useful.

I looked for a long time for one like it, but couldn't find one. Finally got a Pulsar with an E6B but I can't hardly see it unless i have my bifocals on.

Posted by: blaster at August 13, 2017 11:22 AM (jHrzU)

242 They forgot that it was only going to be temporary--sooner or later, whites were going to start playing the same racial solidarity game.
It is now later.
And it will only get uglier.
Posted by: RoyalOil at August 13, 2017 11:07 AM (oF/7l)

I am stealing this.

I've been working a few ideas in my head about the next GP rant for Monday, which is going to be about Charlottesville, and your comment pretty much solidified my thinking on what the sapient simian is going to say.

So thank you in advance.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 11:22 AM (+Xgkm)

243 "I mean, have you SEEN those other guys?"

Yes. Yes, I have.
Sad.
And now I must, unfortunately be about getting some stuff done.
Leofb

Posted by: teej at August 13, 2017 11:24 AM (flbmJ)

244 Fat Boy can be passive aggressive. Will he launch missiles in the general direction of Guam, but not aimed for Guam?

My pet Trump response is to sink a NORK sub. Escalating Tit for Tat is proven Game Theory.

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 13, 2017 11:24 AM (pV/54)

245 I use an Abacus.

Posted by: Joe Biden

I thought that was the think they hung about yo neck in the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner.

Posted by: Maxine Waters at August 13, 2017 11:25 AM (/qEW2)

246 236 For those who haven't checked one out, an Otis King:
http://tinyurl.com/ybs5ka3z
As one can easily see, it's a multi-tasker.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at August 13, 2017 11:19 AM (H5rtT)

I thought Otis King was B.B.'s younger brother.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 11:26 AM (+Xgkm)

247 I thought that was the think they hung about yo neck in the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner.
Posted by: Maxine Waters at August 13, 2017 11:25 AM (/qEW2)

That's Rime of the Ancient Mariner, you illiterate, ignorant waste of carbon.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 11:26 AM (0mRoj)

248 Many young men are already radicalized.

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 13, 2017 11:26 AM (pV/54)

249 Speaking of space travel and vacuum tubes, one of the Lensman books had the good guys reconfiguring the asteroid belt to make the equivalent of a vacuum tube. It was to create a beam capable of melting rogue planets the bad guys were using as weapons. I thought that was so neat back in 1960. And Doc Smith had Seaton using a fancy slide rule in the Skylark books before he created a cubic mile computer to control his moon-sized space ship. Love that stuff.

Posted by: JTB at August 13, 2017 11:27 AM (V+03K)

250 I've been working a few ideas in my head about the next GP rant for Monday, which is going to be about Charlottesville, and your comment pretty much solidified my thinking on what the sapient simian is going to say.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 11:22 AM (+Xgkm)

I made the same comment to Mrs. Cop last night. Rather than declaring victory in the mid-1970s, the Civil Rights Movement has devolved into something ugly. They have totally pissed-away Martin Luther King's legacy.

I would prefer to live my life unconcerned with the color of someone's skin and only look at the content of their character. 'Tis not to be.

*sigh*

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at August 13, 2017 11:27 AM (5Yee7)

251 >>>If I have a binary choice between groveling and apologizing for being white, or being an out-and-proud, in-your-face white supremacist, I'll choose the latter.

There's a third way.

Posted by: Shaun King at August 13, 2017 11:27 AM (/qEW2)

252 248 Many young men are already radicalized.
Posted by: Ignoramus at August 13, 2017 11:26 AM (pV/54)

I do have to wonder how many young white men are getting sick and tired of being shit on incessantly.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 11:28 AM (0mRoj)

253 'I thought that was the think they hung about yo neck in the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner.'

That's an alchemist.

Posted by: Shelia Jackson-Lee who should change her last name at August 13, 2017 11:28 AM (BO/km)

254 Because most people don't like RPN

Two things that never get borrowed- HP calculators (at least the RPN only ones) and Cross pens.

Posted by: Fox2! at August 13, 2017 11:28 AM (brIR5)

255 I made the same comment to Mrs. Cop last night. Rather than declaring victory in the mid-1970s, the Civil Rights Movement has devolved into something ugly. They have totally pissed-away Martin Luther King's legacy.

I would prefer to live my life unconcerned with the color of someone's skin and only look at the content of their character. 'Tis not to be.

*sigh*
Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at August 13, 2017 11:27 AM (5Yee7)

Pretty much every social activist group has to constantly invent newer and more outlandish grievances in order to justify their continued existence.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 11:29 AM (0mRoj)

256 Do people suffering from Rime Disease write limericks at inappropriate moments?

Posted by: andycanuck at August 13, 2017 11:31 AM (mJ8mX)

257 Good morning, teej. about Tommy Emmanuel, a friend in NM turned me on to him. I had loved his playing without knowing his name.

and Illiniwek, I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter, please.

On break from church. I haven't read the book in penned by Dreher. but if more believers in Christ would actually submit themselves to a pastor-teacher daily for an hour, take in the Word and by believing it, make it part of their souls, our nation would be restored.

What passes for church now often emphasizes works for salvation. Religion. the Devil's ace trump.

Posted by: booknlass at August 13, 2017 11:31 AM (Ldq+P)

258 And I suspect that the post-millenial generation is not buying this "abolishing whiteness" crap in colleges. The pushback is going to be epic.

Posted by: rickl at August 13, 2017 11:22 AM (sdi6R)

===

I hope you are right. Time will tell. The Progs are continually evolving their weaponry. The inherent white racism card is mostly played-out. So the current white-guilt weapon being employed to keep the white tribe voters divided is white privilege. This one is definitely working, but not as well as the old inherent white racism weapon.

Posted by: Gref at August 13, 2017 11:31 AM (AMIL/)

259 I do have to wonder how many young white men are getting sick and tired of being shit on incessantly.

For a group of people who constantly say that stereotypes are bad, they sure do like to use them to disparage white folk.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy at August 13, 2017 11:31 AM (bIwZ6)

260 247 I thought that was the think they hung about yo neck in the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner.
Posted by: Maxine Waters at August 13, 2017 11:25 AM (/qEW2)

That's Rime of the Ancient Mariner, you illiterate, ignorant waste of carbon.
Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 11:26 AM (0mRoj)

I wrote a rhyme about Grand Marnier. I'm a musical genius!

Posted by: Kanye at August 13, 2017 11:32 AM (ANIFC)

261 Posted by: RioBravo at August 13, 2017 11:21 AM (giT7q)

Teddy wasn't a RINO. He was a Bull Moose and Abe was the first GOP president so kind of hard to be a RINO. Eisenhower only ran as a Republican to stop other Republicans. That's the definition of a RINO. Need another non derogatory acronym for Trump since he also ran as a Republican when he really isn't one.

Posted by: Jack Sock at August 13, 2017 11:32 AM (IDPbH)

262 When I am king of the world, everyone will use sliderules only for at least two years.

Not to learn ancient technology, but to learn and appreciate the precision of data.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 13, 2017 11:32 AM (R3Kyj)

263 There's some stuff Dreher has done that's kind of questionable, like writing a sort of tell-all book about his sister after she died. Also, he was a devout Catholic until the priest scandals, at which point he couldn't say enough bad things about Catholicism.

Posted by: Barb the Evil Genius at August 13, 2017 11:32 AM (FQKBL)

264 OT: music

Here is a new album from the black gospel group "The Blind Boys of Alabama" who have been recording since 1948! NPR had a story this morning.

(link to NPR)

http://preview.tinyurl.com/ydywknnf

Posted by: RioBravo at August 13, 2017 11:34 AM (giT7q)

265 Because most people don't like RPN

Two things that never get borrowed- HP calculators (at least the RPN only ones) ...
Posted by: Fox2! at August 13, 2017 11:28 AM (brIR5)

Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) is the only way to go with a handheld calculator. Add to that, the functionality of the input stacks on an HP calculator and you can do complex mathematical calculations just like you would do on paper and see your intermediate steps.

Trying to do all that with a TI as one long string of algebra is a guarantee of heartache.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at August 13, 2017 11:35 AM (5Yee7)

266 Is there an Indian mnemonic for sin(a+b) and cos(a+b)? Asking for a friend.

Posted by: Elizabeth Warren at

*****

Yeah.

The squaw on the hippopotamus is equal to the sum of the squaws on the other two hides.

/just the punchline

Posted by: Muldoon at August 13, 2017 11:35 AM (wPiJc)

267 Reminder that taking the position of not wanting to see Western Civilization, culture, and society destroyed and eliminated DOES NOT make you a white supremacist or white nationalist. Don't fall for the tricks of the Marxists on all sides.

Ugh.

Posted by: Widespread Pepe at August 13, 2017 11:35 AM (XFue2)

268
And I suspect that the post-millenial generation is not buying this "abolishing whiteness" crap in colleges. The pushback is going to be epic.
Posted by: rickl at August 13, 2017 11:22 AM

Ah yes, the much ballyhooed "backlash" which is just around the corner but never seems to arrive.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 13, 2017 11:35 AM (IqV8l)

269 I made the same comment to Mrs. Cop last night. Rather than declaring victory in the mid-1970s, the Civil Rights Movement has devolved into something ugly. They have totally pissed-away Martin Luther King's legacy.

I would prefer to live my life unconcerned with the color of someone's skin and only look at the content of their character. 'Tis not to be.

*sigh*

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop

They lack the balance to say "Ok, this is reasonable". So they must always push things further by suggesting more and more outlandish positions (whose consequences they are insulated from). They when someone says "Hey! That's nuts!" they know they're still activists. Their life has meaning. They can shout "racist!!!"

You might as well face it, they're addicted to virtue signaling, activism, anger.

Posted by: Robert Palmer at August 13, 2017 11:36 AM (/qEW2)

270 The Left is using Charlottesville to cry for the ouster of alt-right Bannon. They've tried before.

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 13, 2017 11:36 AM (pV/54)

271 Re: The Calls For Submission request.

I noticed that there are not submission requests for stories in Romance or Erotica Genres. They only appear to want pain and suffering. Strange.

Posted by: Pamela at August 13, 2017 11:36 AM (nO7IA)

272 We always talk about assimilation of immigrants but we need assimilation of African Americans. Unfortunately they derogatorily call it acting white and do everything they can to remain separate. ( yes not all)

Posted by: Jack Sock at August 13, 2017 11:38 AM (IDPbH)

273 The Nationals have a double header today, so no heavy reading while the radio is on, just light stuff that doesn't require concentration. Fortunately, I have about five lifetimes worth of books to choose from that qualify.

Posted by: JTB at August 13, 2017 11:38 AM (V+03K)

274
I use an Abacus.

Posted by: Joe Biden

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

Saw a segment on some show or another about kids solving complex calculations using an imagined abacus. You could see them moving the imaginary beads with their hands in thin air.

Posted by: Javems at August 13, 2017 11:38 AM (yOqwj)

275
Saw a segment on some show or another about kids solving complex calculations using an imagined abacus. You could see them moving the imaginary beads with their hands in thin air.
Posted by: Javems at August 13, 2017 11:38 AM

Twinkles calculations.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 13, 2017 11:40 AM (IqV8l)

276

Could the protestors (who had a permit) sue the Governor/local police? Encouraging another group to come attack your protest seems a violation of civil rights...

Posted by: 18-1 at August 13, 2017 11:40 AM (aZq03)

277 I thought a slide rule was the one where the catcher is not allowed to block home plate.

Posted by: Muldoon at August 13, 2017 11:40 AM (wPiJc)

278 "Need another non derogatory acronym for Trump since he also ran as a Republican when he really isn't one."

Trump is rebranding the R party to be more inclusive including by bringing in Deplorables. There are Black and Brown Deplorables out there. Young Deplorables too. Move 5% of the voting electorate and Trump moves from being a Plurality President to a Majority President.

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 13, 2017 11:42 AM (pV/54)

279 263 There's some stuff Dreher has done that's kind of questionable, like writing a sort of tell-all book about his sister after she died. Also, he was a devout Catholic until the priest scandals, at which point he couldn't say enough bad things about Catholicism.

Posted by: Barb the Evil Genius at August 13, 2017 11:32 AM (FQKBL)

I probably should've read his book before mouthing off about it. Problem is, I've never had much respect for pretty much anything Dreher has to say, so I will tend to interpret him in the worst possible light.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 11:42 AM (+Xgkm)

280 Do people suffering from Rime Disease write limericks at inappropriate moments?
Posted by: andycanuck

Sound like......Muldooon!!!

Posted by: Bozo Conservative....lost in America at August 13, 2017 11:42 AM (S6Pax)

281 Richard Spencer is a Marxist sympathizer. His family is worth over a 100 million. He is shady as fuck. Dont fall for this guy and other like him controlling the right because they are not right wing..... They are Marxist sympathizers.

Both sides were controlled yesterday to paint Deplorables and Pro Ameticans as bad people with bad think and wrong think.

Posted by: Widespread Pepe at August 13, 2017 11:42 AM (XFue2)

282
Calls for submission
Calls for dominance

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 13, 2017 11:43 AM (IqV8l)

283 "Vintage" Otis Kings are going for $100 +/- on eBay.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 11:44 AM (+Xgkm)

284 I thought a slide rule was the one where the catcher is not allowed to block home plate.
Posted by: Muldoon at August 13, 2017 11:40 AM (wPiJc)

Ha!

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at August 13, 2017 11:44 AM (xJa6I)

285 "Need another non derogatory acronym for Trump since he also ran as a Republican when he really isn't one."
***
Trump isn't the second coming of Reagan, but he is more conservative then the leadership of the Republican party...

Posted by: 18-1 at August 13, 2017 11:45 AM (aZq03)

286 272 We always talk about assimilation of immigrants but we need assimilation of African Americans. Unfortunately they derogatorily call it acting white and do everything they can to remain separate. ( yes not all)
Posted by: Jack Sock at August 13, 2017 11:38 AM (IDPbH)

That's something deeply bothers me: the notion that becoming literate and educated, staying out of criminal activity, and working to improve your personal situation in a non-antisocial way makes you a race traitor.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 13, 2017 11:45 AM (0mRoj)

287 Do people suffering from Rime Disease write limericks at inappropriate moments?
Posted by: andycanuck

Sound like......Muldooon!!!

*****

There's never an inappropriate time for a limerick.

Posted by: Muldoon at August 13, 2017 11:46 AM (wPiJc)

288 Highly recommend One Ranger by H. Joaquin Jackson. A living legend who was a Texas Ranger (the law enforcement force not the baseball team) from 1966 to 1993. It is written in a style I can bets describe as lean. It's not flowery but interesting. Any fans of westerns will enjoy the true tales of a legend. Sadly Jackson died in 2016, but he lives on in this book. By the way if you want to know what he looks like, search for Texas Monthly cover and Jackson. The epitome of Texas Ranger.

Posted by: Rgallegos at August 13, 2017 11:46 AM (59GQk)

289 Charlotte I don't give a damn.

Posted by: saf at August 13, 2017 11:46 AM (cS/ge)

290 It's all about the Narrative.

Nazi bad, Commie good. Even though they are kissing cousins.

Whitey bad, All others good. Even though good and bad exists in all colors.

Ham Sammich bad. Drugs and being fat good. Mama Cass and all.

Narrative.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at August 13, 2017 11:46 AM (5VlCp)

291 America is built on the notion of a shared culture. It is why to this point America has prospered through waves of immigration.

The Germans, French, Italians, etc became Americans, or at least their children did.

The left's intentional effort to stop that will destroy the country as it is constituted...but replace it with something easier to rule.

Posted by: 18-1 at August 13, 2017 11:47 AM (aZq03)

292 "Heinlein was actually"
"Eisenhower was the first RINO."

Heinlein wrote a lot of stories and some of it espouses perversity (mainly incest and pedophilia). Heinlein only received mild public criticism. Probably because Heinlein walked a fine line and was such a good writer. Phillip Jose Farmer wrote some mighty perverse books to go along with his best sellers. Phillip Jose Farmer's perverse books are really perverse and may be hard to find. I'm remembering one where a Police Detective is killed by having his penis bitten off by a woman who has him tied down and has put in her stainless steel dentures.

Posted by: Mudd at August 13, 2017 11:47 AM (WAzyc)

293 Posted by: Ignoramus at August 13, 2017 11:42 AM (pV/54)

It's my opinion that Trump is someone with an innately liberal personality that is presently pursuing some of the conservative agenda arising from nationalism.

Posted by: Jack Sock at August 13, 2017 11:47 AM (IDPbH)

294 Calls for submission
Calls for dominance

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr.

Dude, you beat me to it. Not cool.

Posted by: Mohammed at August 13, 2017 11:48 AM (/qEW2)

295 "What passes for church now often emphasizes works for salvation. Religion. the Devil's ace trump.

Posted by: booknlass

right. American Catholics today tend to be very "self-willed", which I mean as a good thing. But the WASPy nature of all but three (I think) of the founders was vital ... the willingness to depart from a pope and a king as the ruler of their liberty and independence.

Most religion and most churches I'd estimate are held together mostly by the (tribal) power of groups. That can be good or bad I suppose, but the more the individual studies independently (from just their church doctrine), the more personal liberty they will likely have (even if it only makes them stronger in their own church).

That of course holds true for Orwellian revisionist history versus real history as well, or global warming new improved science over real science. ha

Posted by: illiniwek at August 13, 2017 11:49 AM (7Ep0P)

296 OM, I've never read through any of Dreher's books, but I have read a lot of excerpts from a site that loves to fisk him. My LCMS denomination is having speak on his book at one of their conferences, so I guess there are people who buy into it.

Posted by: Barb the Evil Genius at August 13, 2017 11:50 AM (FQKBL)

297 Speaking of NAZIs...a large part of the reason the German National Socialists came to power is that the establishment left, right, and center refused to do anything about the left's street theater.

The populace turned to the National Socialists because they would do something about the leftist thugs in the streets...

Posted by: 18-1 at August 13, 2017 11:50 AM (aZq03)

298 Sound like......Muldooon!!!
He caught it on his vacation to Nantucket.

Posted by: andycanuck at August 13, 2017 11:52 AM (mJ8mX)

299 I said it way back during the primaries. With Trump we'd get a Rudy Giuliani dealing with national issues.

A radical shrinking of the federal government isn't in the cards (sadly). There's not enough votes out there.

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 13, 2017 11:52 AM (pV/54)

300 Actually, Randall Garrett would get the Platinum membership too: Prolific writer, punster, gun enthusiast, wrote under multiple pseudonyms, libertarian, fantasist, lecher, and brilliant raconteur. He also got himself ordained as a priest in a splinter Catholic sect, and spent the last years of his life in a coma.

Here is a link to the story Foreign Hand Tie

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30497

and poet, he was something of a poet too

"In a hall of strange description (Antiquarian Egyptian),

Figuring his monthly balance sheet, a troubled monarch sat

With a frown upon his forehead, hurling interjections horrid

At the state of his finances, for his pocketbook was flat.

[. . . ]

"As he growled, the Royal grumbler spied a bit of broken tumbler

In a long undusted corner just behind the chamber door.

When his hungry optics spied it, he stood silently and eyed it,

Then he smote his thigh with ecstasy and danced about the floor.

"'By the wit Osiris gave me! This same bit of glass shall save me!

I shall sell it as a diamond at some stupendous price!

And whoe'er I ask to take it will find, for his own sweet sake, it

Will be better not to wait until I have to ask him twice!'"

Posted by: Kindltot at August 13, 2017 11:52 AM (mkDpn)

301 "Am keen to find the title and author of a sci-fi book from 30+ years ago."

Starman Jones is the story you're thinking of.

Posted by: Monty James at August 13, 2017 11:52 AM (gKOMX)

302 Hell to Pay clarifies the political and military ramifications of the enormous casualties and loss of material projected by both sides in the climatic struggle to bring the Pacific War to a conclusion through a brutal series of battles on Japanese soil.

Um, shouldn't that be: "climactic?"

Posted by: socratease at August 13, 2017 11:55 AM (2GbWn)

303 To Count a Mockingbird

/Abacus Finch

Posted by: Muldoon at August 13, 2017 11:55 AM (wPiJc)

304 Um, shouldn't that be: "climactic?"
Global Warming caused WW2!!!

Posted by: andycanuck at August 13, 2017 11:56 AM (mJ8mX)

305 The Count of Monte Crisco???

Posted by: andycanuck at August 13, 2017 11:57 AM (mJ8mX)

306 "Eisenhower was the first RINO."
Depends on word definitions. FDR wasn't unpopular with the masses. The FDR amendment was put in by the political class. Otherwise Bill Clinton would still be President. eg Eisenhower was as far toward non-socialism as the voters wanted. I have read that everyone expected a return to the great depression. Marshall plan probably stopped that from happening. Tell me the Marshall Plan isn't socialism.

The Israeli invasion was a collusion of Israel, France and UK. What President could let that stand?

Japan could have been isolated and turned into an 1950's version of 2017 North Korea. Eisenhower could have meant that.

Posted by: Mudd at August 13, 2017 11:58 AM (WAzyc)

307 Abacus Cadabra

Posted by: The Mathematical Magician at August 13, 2017 12:00 PM (IDPbH)

308 Tom Bossert -- a White House staffer -- did a great job responding to Jake Tapper's saying "when did Trump stop beating his wife"

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 13, 2017 12:01 PM (pV/54)

309 I've always been amused by the old sci-fi writers completely whiffing on predicting solid state electronics. So you have FTL starships and computers using vacuum tubes.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 10:06 AM (+Xgkm)

Maybe it was intentional? I'm sure a lot of their reading audience would be considered "nerds" of the day, technicians, engineers, and young boys who aspired to those things. Using something that was familiar and powerful as part of the technological infrastructure of the future makes some sense; it makes the background seem "scientific" and not mere fantasy.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 13, 2017 12:02 PM (+v28m)

310 Do kids today learn long division? Or is it considered antiquated and unnecessary Posted by: Ignoramus at August 13, 2017 11:07 AM (pV/54)
=====

13yo grandkid is finally learning analog clock reading. Pretty funny. She was told that it was unnecessary and antiquated. Hah. Just wait until I start her on Roman numerals. /s

Posted by: mustbequantum at August 13, 2017 12:03 PM (MIKMs)

311 What's weird is the disconnect in SF writers' thinking about computers.

A superintelligent computer will be a vast thing, big as a small town!

But we will also have robots with an intelligent robot brain small enough to fit inside a humanoid torso, if not the head!

So why not just hook up a keyboard to the robot brain and call it a computer?

Because robots go in a different metaphor slot: they're "mechanical men" rather than "giant brains."

Posted by: Trimegistus at August 13, 2017 12:03 PM (nxttm)

312 Calls for submission

Calls for dominance
---

At .01 cents per word, I'm not sure how much submission or dominance you're going to get. Or the quality...

Posted by: shibumi at August 13, 2017 12:06 PM (aT+Bx)

313 What passes for church now often emphasizes works for salvation. Religion. the Devil's ace trump.

Posted by: booknlass

That is a criticism I've seen of Rick Warren's philosophy of "Purpose Driven" (I admit I've never read the book). It is not as bad as Osteen or Benny Hinn, but it tends towards discouraging Bible reading and substituting a kind of justification-by-works theology. But again, I've never read it, and I've no dog in the fight, but he has an awful lot of critics who seem to know what they're talking about.

Posted by: Mohammed at August 13, 2017 12:07 PM (/qEW2)

314 Well, in 1957 there were still commercial-built computers made out of tubes. (I have a user's manual for one.) So I don't really fault them for projecting current technology rather than having a deep understanding of the implications of quantum mechanics.

Posted by: socratease at August 13, 2017 12:07 PM (2GbWn)

315 Off goat sock.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at August 13, 2017 12:07 PM (/qEW2)

316 "A radical shrinking of the federal government isn't in the cards (sadly). There's not enough votes out there."

Weren't enough votes for Obama's increasing it either.

Immigration is going to reverse for awhile. BLM, SJW, drug gangs and muslims are going to insure that.

A shortage of workers is going to break government, medicine and education oligopolies in a way that allows automation.

Government will shrink for the same reason it expanded. Greed.

Posted by: Mudd at August 13, 2017 12:08 PM (WAzyc)

317 Maybe it was intentional? I'm sure a lot of their
reading audience would be considered "nerds" of the day, technicians,
engineers, and young boys who aspired to those things. Using something
that was familiar and powerful as part of the technological
infrastructure of the future makes some sense; it makes the background
seem "scientific" and not mere fantasy. Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 13, 2017 12:02 PM (+v28m)
=====

You may have something there. I grew up in the 60s and recall a water-powered 'computer' doing complex calculations using the basics of 1/0. Tiny little streams of water as power stamped into plastic pieces.

Posted by: mustbequantum at August 13, 2017 12:08 PM (MIKMs)

318 CNN says you have to say "Holy Goat" when referencing Mo.

Posted by: andycanuck at August 13, 2017 12:08 PM (mJ8mX)

319 Pinchshart.

Posted by: Ready For Hillary!!11!! at August 13, 2017 12:09 PM (Tyii7)

320 "Wasn't his Caligula a delightful imp (until he wasn't)?

But Sian Phillips' Livia stole the show.

Don't eat the figs."

Her scenes with John Hurt were must see TV. Livia met her match.

Posted by: Tuna at August 13, 2017 11:01 AM (jm1YL)

It was a tremendous series all around.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at August 13, 2017 12:09 PM (auHtY)

321 So what is on the front page that's making it so slow to load. Is anyone else experiencing this?

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 12:10 PM (+Xgkm)

322 13yo grandkid is finally learning analog clock reading. Pretty funny. She was told that it was unnecessary and antiquated. Hah. Just wait until I start her on Roman numerals. /s

Posted by: mustbequantum at August 13, 2017 12:03 PM (MIKMs)
---
A coworker told me her 10-year-old nephew couldn't read, nay, understand analog clock reading and had to be taught. This blew my mind.

One thing about analog is, you see a particular point in time/space as part of a larger whole. A digital readout is so of the moment and unforgiving.

I also like the fudge factor of analog time; "one-ish" is practically one o'clock, right?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 12:10 PM (QGoUX)

323 When I homeschooled my kids, I started teaching Eldest Daughter long division. We got tripped up when she keep asking why we did it that way. I didn't really have an answer for her.

Posted by: Barb the Evil Genius at August 13, 2017 12:10 PM (FQKBL)

324 Gingrich was selling his book Understanding Trump a few months ago, and he did a pretty tight hour with Q and A.

https://youtu.be/AIO4H4G55KA

One of the topics was the left's psychological need for Trump to fail.

Posted by: BourbonChicken at August 13, 2017 12:10 PM (rnAwa)

325 Don't eat the figs."

Her scenes with John Hurt were must see TV. Livia met her match.
Posted by: Tuna at August 13, 2017 11:01 AM (jm1YL)

I remember that line. Also a young Patrick Stewart (with hair!) as the hyper-ambitious Sejanus.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 12:12 PM (+Xgkm)

326 Tube powered FTL drives have a much warmer tone. All the cool people with beards and sweaters know that.

Posted by: Moron Robbie, With an IQ Higher Than Michael Obama but Lower Than Most Birds at August 13, 2017 12:12 PM (psH+N)

327 "Nazi bad, Commie good. Even though they are kissing cousins.
Whitey bad, All others good. Even though good and bad exists in all colors.
Ham sammich bad. Drugs and being fat good. Mama Cass and all.
Narrative.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy

right ... but they conflate and if we accept in part, we give them too much.

I means founders were incredibly good, despite not stopping slavery immediately (the one thing the left uses to mark them as evil) They have to be recognized for their contribution to the continuum of Western advancement. The Declaration and its implementation in the constitution put us on the course for individual liberty never seen before.

American culture is better than Che culture, in WW2 it was better than Japan culture (look how prisoners were treated by each). Heck, Japan even had their own people commit suicide rather than be captured, but look at them now (still Japanese mono-culture, but more individually liberated).

To say all cultures have good and bad is too much moral equivalence. We can get our calculators out and run the numbers on liberty, opportunity, health care even. We Win. Mostly it was white people that did it, but that distracts from the point of Liberty and Justice for All. (so they shout down blacks that leave the left for the Liberty for All camp, because their camp is factional/tribal oriented)

Posted by: illiniwek at August 13, 2017 12:13 PM (7Ep0P)

328
One of the topics was the left's psychological need for Trump to fail.
--

Pretty obvious I think.

Doesn't everyone want their sworn enemies to fail?

Posted by: shibumi at August 13, 2017 12:15 PM (aT+Bx)

329 323 Because it works? It can actually be derived from first mathematical principles, essentially a successive approximation technique. I sort of re-discovered it when I had to do long division in my head while walking between firing positions trying to do interpolation of wind drift effects in a long-range rifle match.

Posted by: socratease at August 13, 2017 12:16 PM (2GbWn)

330
When I homeschooled my kids, I started teaching Eldest Daughter long division. We got tripped up when she keep asking why we did it that way. I didn't really have an answer for her.
Posted by: Barb the Evil Genius at August 13, 2017 12:10 PM

Because it works?

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 13, 2017 12:16 PM (IqV8l)

331 Eisenhower ran as a Republican to counter the most conservative members of the GOP. He agreed with the New Deal programs and expanded some of them. He was an opponent of McCarthy. He opposed Israel's (and others) invasion of Egypt. The main evidence he was a RINO is that liberal historians consider him one of the greatest Presidents.

Posted by: Jack Sock at August 13, 2017 10:43 AM (IDPbH)

I couldn't agree more. He was more opposed to McCarthy than he was to commies in the government. Hell, I'd opine that Truman was more against the commies than Ike. Ike was a FDR wannabe. The more I learn about him the less I like.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at August 13, 2017 12:17 PM (auHtY)

332 I taught Chelsea medium division. Yet, she persisted.

Posted by: Ready For Hillary!!11!! at August 13, 2017 12:17 PM (Tyii7)

333 *hic*

Posted by: Ready For Hillary!!11!! at August 13, 2017 12:17 PM (Tyii7)

334 It's my opinion that Trump is someone with an innately liberal personality that is presently pursuing some of the conservative agenda arising from nationalism.
Posted by: Jack Sock

Yes, this, to a degree. The Left is largely anti-nationalist (American) in sentiment, because they want a world - wide collectivist state, where no one can escape from the State.
Part of their agenda looks attractive at first glance, in terms of some domestic politics. But most of it is meant to undermine the present (decaying) social structure. The momentum towards decay and social anarchy changes from year to year, but that is the general direction we're going.

Trump is not a world-side socialist, but does subscribe to a lot of the socially liberal bits and pieces, but not the whole agenda. He's shrewd enough to know where his votes were going to come from.

Posted by: Bozo Conservative....lost in America at August 13, 2017 12:18 PM (S6Pax)

335

Ready For Hillary!!

We weren't

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 13, 2017 12:18 PM (IqV8l)

336 317 I grew up in the 60s and recall a water-powered 'computer' doing complex calculations using the basics of 1/0. Tiny little streams of water as power stamped into plastic pieces

the term you're looking for is "fluidic logic".

Posted by: Anachronda at August 13, 2017 12:19 PM (rM1DU)

337 "So you have FTL starships and computers using vacuum tubes."

In Witches of Karres a pirate had a fold up war-robot (looked like giant spider) that was inflated and operated by energy fields.

A vacuum tube would be better as a description than a transistor when a starship has wave-guides or energy pipes. The sun is the solar system's cathode. :-)

Posted by: Mudd at August 13, 2017 12:19 PM (WAzyc)

338 Posted by: Mohammed at August 13, 2017 12:07 PM (/qEW2)

That's one of the funnier sock fails I've seen in awhile.

Posted by: rickl at August 13, 2017 12:19 PM (sdi6R)

339 The Left has the conceit that they're on the right side of history. It's a kind of foundational principle going back to Marx. Trump's succeeding would belie that.

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 13, 2017 12:19 PM (pV/54)

340 LOL, socratease, I tried the because it works thing and she didn't really accept that as a complete answer. I couldn't have come up with the rest of your answer, though.

Posted by: Barb the Evil Genius at August 13, 2017 12:20 PM (FQKBL)

341 A coworker told me her 10-year-old nephew couldn't read, nay, understand analog clock reading and had to be taught. This blew my mind.

I remember in the 80's at school and there was a girl who couldn't read the wall clock. I thought of how to clarify it: "just visualize three separate disks, each with one hand and ...", but at that point she shushed me up. I don't think I was boysplaining, just trying to be helpful. I suspect our current crop of millennials will destroy themselves because they are too narcissistic to think they need to be taught anything.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at August 13, 2017 12:20 PM (/qEW2)

342 Anybody read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Robotic Edition)? They've replaced the n-word with "robot"

"Part of the reasoning behind the substitution of the word is that the "n-word" makes people uncomfortable, and nobody should ever have to feel uncomfortable for any reason, unless he or she is being guilted into donating to public television or radio."

There's a Kindle edition with illustrations that I'm considering ordering.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 12:21 PM (QGoUX)

343 Because it works? Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 13, 2017 12:16 PM (IqV8l)
=====

That is where I start ranting about math education right now. For heaven's sake, just take something as a given and work with it. If you have the talent to see around the corners, great -- and I'll bet money right now that whatever fashionable teaching is not going to help that talented youngster.

However, plain teaching of plain math facts will give any kid (mathidiot or not) the basics for future success. We are failing our kids right now.

Posted by: mustbequantum at August 13, 2017 12:21 PM (MIKMs)

344 "Nazi bad, Commie good. Even though they are kissing cousins.
Whitey bad, All others good. Even though good and bad exists in all colors.
Ham sammich bad. Drugs and being fat good. Mama Cass and all.
Narrative.

-
We'll never know the motives of those guys shouting allahu ackbar but that guy yestersay, Mr. Run-'em-over, we know everything we need to know about him. And those crazy-ass alt righters who brought helmets and weapons for their riot while Antifa bring weapons and wear masks to exercise free speech.

Posted by: I'm Anonosaurus Wrecks and I approved this message at August 13, 2017 12:22 PM (Nwg0u)

345 334 It's my opinion that Trump is someone with an innately liberal personality that is presently pursuing some of the conservative agenda arising from nationalism.
Posted by: Jack Sock

Here is the way I look at it: I think Trump has the heart of a liberal with the head of a conservative.

Rudy Giuliani is the opposite. He's got the heart of a conservative with the head of a liberal.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 12:22 PM (+Xgkm)

346 Re: slide rules and calculators, I still have a circular slide rule I inherited from one of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency / charter NASA employees. In high school, I opted to get a calculator instead of a class ring - they were about the same price, and my parents couldn't afford both.

Still reading Jerome's "Three Men in a Boat". Life has been busy this week. Next up is "The Screwtape Letters" and "1984", since my daughter is reading them for English class.

Posted by: roamingfirehydrant at August 13, 2017 12:22 PM (THS4q)

347 Just saw an ad on TV for an upcoming series called "The Orville." Never heard of it before.

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

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 13, 2017 12:22 PM (IqV8l)

348 339 The Left has the conceit that they're on the right side of history. It's a kind of foundational principle going back to Marx. Trump's succeeding would belie that.

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 13, 2017 12:19 PM (pV/54)

---

I've never thought about it, but they do tend to use that arc-of-history nonsense in place of a belief in God's grace and mercy.

Global warming and The Gay is their religion, and history is their peace. That's really tragic for those humans to clearly be searching for something to fill those roles in that very specific way.

Posted by: Moron Robbie, With an IQ Higher Than Michael Obama but Lower Than Most Birds at August 13, 2017 12:23 PM (psH+N)

349 "Ugh. Sounds like a counsel of despair to me. Jesus said we are to be the light of the world, but it sounds like Dreher is telling us to hide our light under a bushel basket, which, as far as I can tell, is direct disobedience to Jesus' command."
- Oregon Muse

-------
Ditto. Between his thoughts on this and his "we must split the country apart" he seems alarmist & extreme to me. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Disappointed to see his book is getting traction. The only time I can see it being applied is if Islam takes over them US & begins beheadings. And then it is not just Christians who will need to hide. But until then...I don't know what bible he is reading.

Posted by: Gorilla gone fishing at August 13, 2017 12:24 PM (i9Gy2)

350 Odd, I came across the Giancreco book title in the local library system, but they only have the audiobook. Another good book that touches on the questions surrounding the end of the Pacific War is Downfall by Richard Frank (he also wrote a very thorough book on Guadalcanal).

But the whole "debate" was and is baseless, and meaningless. There was nothing special about "the bomb". March 9 in Tokyo had 2X the deaths at Nagasaki - yet there is no March 9 museum, no March 9 "day". A mayor of Tokyo a few years back used to gently mock the "cult of Hiroshima" for this reason.

The A-bomb failed in its purpose of creating any sort of special shock effect. The Japanese Army did not change their minds because of it - and they shouldn't have - because the bomb didn't affect their basic calculus, which was not to prevail, but to earn a better deal than unconditional surrender through inflicting enough pain on the US.

It ended up being a pretext, not a reason, for the peace party in Tokyo to finally test the system and tell the military to quit.

If there was/is any debate with any sensible basis (moral debate), it was about bombing cities, in general. Nuclear weapons didn't change any of that. To pretend their is some special moral issue to blast waves created by fission of uranium, vs. chemical reactions in TNT, is obviously idiotic, but fairly representative of the sloppy illogical thinking and emoting that have spread from such "questions" as the use of the bomb to now just about any serious topic.

Posted by: rhomboid at August 13, 2017 12:24 PM (QDnY+)

351 310 13yo grandkid is finally learning analog clock reading. Pretty funny. She was told that it was unnecessary and antiquated.

When Jr Chronda was learning analog clock reading, I looked around the house and realized that all of the analog clocks (including my wristwatch) were humorous devices that ran counterclockwise. Probably scarred him for life.

Posted by: Anachronda at August 13, 2017 12:24 PM (rM1DU)

352 I still have my Scholastic Book Club version of The Runaway Robot. It's a great fun read--Rex is what every kid wanted in a robot friend.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at August 13, 2017 12:25 PM (MZcWR)

353 I remember in the 80's at school and there was a girl who couldn't read the wall clock. I thought of how to clarify it: "just visualize three separate disks, each with one hand and ...", but at that point she shushed me up. I don't think I was boysplaining..."
------

Zzzzzzzzzz.....

Actually, I'm trying to think how one would explain the concept of a clock to someone. I don't know! I just learnted it.

And this isn't the Millennials' fault, it is the fault of their parents. Not to go all Heinlein, but one should know just a little bit about a lot of practical things.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 12:26 PM (QGoUX)

354 Anybody read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Robotic Edition)? They've replaced the n-word with "robot"

"Part of the reasoning behind the substitution of the word is that the "n-word" makes people uncomfortable, and nobody should ever have to feel uncomfortable for any reason

-
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous literature or to take arms against a sea of troubles and censor the shit outta that shit.

Posted by: I'm Anonosaurus Wrecks and I approved this message at August 13, 2017 12:26 PM (Nwg0u)

355 However, plain teaching of plain math facts will give any kid (mathidiot or not) the basics for future success. We are failing our kids right now.

Posted by: mustbequantum at August 13, 2017 12:21 PM (MIKMs)

---

I firmly believe that the reason I, and so many other kids, struggled with math is because it wasn't taught as a language. Yes, that formula is great, and I can memorize it for a test, but teaching what the formula is, why it is used, and where everything came from to the point where the kids could come up with the formula on their own if need be seems like a much better idea.

I can't imagine what the common core approach is like.

Posted by: Moron Robbie, With an IQ Higher Than Michael Obama but Lower Than Most Birds at August 13, 2017 12:28 PM (psH+N)

356 Silly me I forgot I picked up a link to a BBC radio play on he Aubrey/ Maturin novel Desolation Island by Patrick O'Brian in two parts.I listened to the first part, thought it helped having read it already but it could be followed by anyone.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0375250

Posted by: Skip at August 13, 2017 12:28 PM (pPKG5)

357 >>>>>"Nazi bad, Commie good. Even though they are kissing cousins.

Whitey bad, All others good. Even though good and bad exists in all colors.

Ham sammich bad. Drugs and being fat good. Mama Cass and all.

Narrative.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy
.
.
.
.While I understand it's all about "words" to liberals it never fails to amaze me that they think hitler and Germany under his rule were any different that Russia under Stalin.

I mean you can smack a liberal in the face with facts about how both of those Countries were exactly the same thing but they refuse to listen because "nazi"........

Posted by: The Great White Scotsman at August 13, 2017 12:28 PM (0pcwX)

358 The fundamental challenge for young children learning how to read an analog clock is the fact that we have 10 fingers (decimal reference point). When an adult starts explaining about the 'big hand' and the 'little hand' the child's mind cannot reconcile the 10 fingers on his/her hands with the 12 digits on the face of the clock, resulting in a tremendous cognitive dissonance.

All of which makes me wonder if kids with polydactyly have an easier time of telling time.

Posted by: Muldoon at August 13, 2017 12:29 PM (wPiJc)

359 352 Damn, I remember that book.

Posted by: socratease at August 13, 2017 12:30 PM (2GbWn)

360 Richard Frank (he also wrote a very thorough book on Guadalcanal).

-
My favorite Guadalcanal book. If someone were to ask for a good book to start military history, I would recommend that book.

Posted by: I'm Anonosaurus Wrecks and I approved this message at August 13, 2017 12:30 PM (Nwg0u)

361 ...and then, they throw in the "second hand", which when you think about it, is really the third hand. Enough to drive a child bonkers.

Posted by: Muldoon at August 13, 2017 12:30 PM (wPiJc)

362 I have heard of a few people who can't well read a clock and clueless what 1/4 till the hour ment.

Posted by: Skip at August 13, 2017 12:30 PM (pPKG5)

363 mustbequantum, Eldest Daughter got a pretty basic math education from me. She was the one who wanted to see around the corners.

Posted by: Barb the Evil Genius at August 13, 2017 12:30 PM (FQKBL)

364
"Part of the reasoning behind the substitution of the word is that the "n-word" makes people uncomfortable, and nobody should ever have to feel uncomfortable for any reason"

---

Damn right, yo. Ain't nobody got time for that word in the literatures.

Posted by: 99% of All Rappers at August 13, 2017 12:31 PM (psH+N)

365 Off modern language sock that every person in the US is exposed to constantly.

Posted by: Moron Robbie, With an IQ Higher Than Michael Obama but Lower Than Most Birds at August 13, 2017 12:33 PM (psH+N)

366 >>>>>The fundamental challenge for young children learning how to read an
analog clock is the fact that we have 10 fingers (decimal reference
point). When an adult starts explaining about the 'big hand' and the
'little hand' the child's mind cannot reconcile the 10 fingers on
his/her hands with the 12 digits on the face of the clock, resulting in a
tremendous cognitive dissonance.

All of which makes me wonder if kids with polydactyly have an easier time of telling time.
.
.
.I think it was the Romans who first divided the day into 24 hours, 12 hours of dark and 12 hours of light. Caused all sorts of confusion and adjustments throughout the year.

Posted by: The Great White Scotsman at August 13, 2017 12:33 PM (0pcwX)

367 Posted by: Muldoon at August 13, 2017 12:29 PM (wPiJc)

Or bare footed kids.

Posted by: The Mathematical Magician at August 13, 2017 12:33 PM (IDPbH)

368 When I homeschooled my kids, I started teaching Eldest Daughter long division. We got tripped up when she keep asking why we did it that way. I didn't really have an answer for her.

Posted by: Barb the Evil Genius

I don't like long division. I think the reason it's as clunky as it is is because you're basically trying to construct an answer as you go along.

You multiply the dividend by something. "Oh, it's too big, go one smaller and shift one place to the right". Like trying to figure out the square root of 2. "Oh, that's too big...".

It's kind of a hit-or-miss, although not really that bad. I guess if there were something better available, it would have been discovered by now.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at August 13, 2017 12:34 PM (/qEW2)

369 If you've got a pterodactyl, it's probably always time to worry about your fingers.

Posted by: Moron Robbie, With an IQ Higher Than Michael Obama but Lower Than Most Birds at August 13, 2017 12:34 PM (psH+N)

370 I love dial clocks, you can get as little or as much information as you need at a glance. Gotta get the kids to understand the difference between analog and digital. The world is analog (at least down to the quantum level) and digital is just an approximation.

Posted by: socratease at August 13, 2017 12:35 PM (2GbWn)

371 When I homeschooled my kids, I started teaching Eldest Daughter long division. We got tripped up when she keep asking why we did it that way. I didn't really have an answer for her.

-
Because shut up.

Posted by: I'm Anonosaurus Wrecks and I approved this message at August 13, 2017 12:35 PM (Nwg0u)

372 In 1967 we played army across the front and back yards of the neighborhood. Earlier generations of boys played cowboys and indians. Now, in 2017 they will be playing white nationalists and antifascists.

Posted by: Count de Monet at August 13, 2017 12:37 PM (JO9+V)

373 If you've got a pterodactyl, it's probably always time to worry about your fingers

-
And you need to figure out what the really, really big hand says.

Posted by: I'm Anonosaurus Wrecks and I approved this message at August 13, 2017 12:37 PM (Nwg0u)

374 362 I have heard of a few people who can't well read a clock and clueless what 1/4 till the hour ment

Mrs Chronda gets annoyed when she asks me what time it is and I read a digital clock, then announce a fuzzy analog time; "quarter after", for example. "No it isn't; the clock says 7:13."

Responding "well, if you could see the clock, why did you ask me?" doesn't help.

Posted by: Anachronda at August 13, 2017 12:39 PM (rM1DU)

375 .While I understand it's all about "words" to liberals it never fails to
amaze me that they think hitler and Germany under his rule were any
different that Russia under Stalin.
***
In 1939 the two were allied and invaded Poland together.

In fact during the Winter War, the allies almost went to war with the Soviet union as well.

Posted by: 18-1 at August 13, 2017 12:39 PM (aZq03)

376 If you've got a pterodactyl, it's probably always time to worry about your fingers.

Always keep it on a leash. *hic*

Posted by: Ready For Hillary!!11!! at August 13, 2017 12:39 PM (Tyii7)

377 When I homeschooled my kids, I started teaching Eldest Daughter long division. We got tripped up when she keep asking why we did it that way. I didn't really have an answer for her.

Posted by: Barb the Evil Genius at August 13, 2017 12:10 PM (FQKBL)

Long division is the perfect example of an algorithm, which is just a formalized method of accomplishing a task. Long division is really just iterative estimation.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 13, 2017 12:40 PM (+v28m)

378 Has anyone read Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach? The upcoming movie's screenplay was written by Tom Stoppard, but I wasn't that moved by the trailer. I would love to hear from any readers of the book as to how they liked it.

Posted by: Dwight at August 13, 2017 12:40 PM (iAl7a)

379 Do robots like fried chicken and watermelon?

Posted by: I'm Anonosaurus Wrecks and I approved this message at August 13, 2017 12:40 PM (Nwg0u)

380 I had a sixth grade math teacher who taught us how to do square roots with pencil and paper. I don't really remember it now, but it was pretty cool at the time.

Posted by: rickl at August 13, 2017 12:40 PM (sdi6R)

381 Anybody read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Robotic Edition)? They've replaced the n-word with "robot"

So now Jim is a member of Kraftwerk?

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at August 13, 2017 12:41 PM (/qEW2)

382 They've replaced the n-word with "robot"
"Part of the reasoning behind the substitution of the word is that the "n-word" makes people uncomfortable

--Eris, The All-Hailable

I Literally Cannot Wait for their re-make of Mandingo.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at August 13, 2017 12:42 PM (H5rtT)

383 Re: dropping the atomic bombs. According to the book Unbroken, the Japanese planned to kill all their American POWs on August 22, 1945. That's 35,000 people. I don't know if the United States found about it and this was part of our motivation for dropping the bombs, or if it was just a coincidence that we managed to get Japan to surrender two weeks before the "all-kill" date.

Posted by: Jim S. at August 13, 2017 12:42 PM (ynUnH)

384 Do robots like fried chicken and watermelon?

Uh, oh...

Posted by: Fuzzy Zoeller at August 13, 2017 12:42 PM (Tyii7)

385 Just think of a clock as a pie -- and divide it up that way. Interesting how it also 'squares' with basic geometry.

I firmly believe that the reason I, and so many
other kids, struggled with math is because it wasn't taught as a
language. Yes, that formula is great, and I can memorize it for a test,
but teaching what the formula is, why it is used, and where everything
came from to the point where the kids could come up with the formula on
their own if need be seems like a much better idea. I can't imagine what the common core approach is like Posted by: Moron Robbie, With an IQ Higher Than Michael Obama but Lower Than Most Birds at August 13, 2017 12:28 PM (psH+N)

=====

Accept the rules; and when you can work outside and around the rules, you have arrived; but without having the talent you can still enjoy and use the functions. Languages have rules: music; mathematics; spoken, written and parsed communications; rules are a fact of life. You do not need to know why a certain word is (masc) or (fem), since it has nothing to do with sex, you just follow the rules and can become fluent.

Posted by: mustbequantum at August 13, 2017 12:43 PM (MIKMs)

386 354
A co-worker yesterday quoted Churchill as saying, "When you're young, if you're not a liberal, you don't have a heart; but when you're older, if you're not a conservative, you don't have a mind."

Not sure if he's right about it's being Churchill, but it resonated with me.

Posted by: booknlass at August 13, 2017 12:44 PM (Ldq+P)

387 The philosopher C.D. Broad said something like that: "Not to be radical when one is young argues hardness of heart; to remain so when one is old suggests softness of head."

Posted by: Jim S. at August 13, 2017 12:46 PM (ynUnH)

388 Actually, I'm trying to think how one would explain the concept of a clock to someone. I don't know! I just learnted it.

I just think that the main thing that would be confusing about an analog clock is that each marking on the disk has a *different* significance for each hand, so it might be easier to think of each hand being put on a separate disk, like each pair of digits on a digital clock is laid side by side.

I admit most people don't have this difficulty. I didn't. I know nothing about child education. It was just a theory by someone in elementary school himself.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at August 13, 2017 12:47 PM (/qEW2)

389 Churchill never said that.
That was said by Mark Twain.
To a robot. A vacuum tube robot.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at August 13, 2017 12:48 PM (H5rtT)

390 The national clock is reading five minutes to 666.

Posted by: I'm Anonosaurus Wrecks and I approved this message at August 13, 2017 12:48 PM (Nwg0u)

391 And then we melt the analog clocks and watches

Posted by: Picasso at August 13, 2017 12:51 PM (JO9+V)

392 ...and then, they throw in the "second hand", which when you think about it, is really the third hand. Enough to drive a child bonkers.

Posted by: Muldoon at August 13, 2017 12:30 PM (wPiJc)

You joke, Muldoon, but I wonder if you haven't hit upon a fundamental truth. Could it be that the idiomatic use of "hand" to describe the pointing devices on a clock dial be the source of confusion? Kid looks at a clock, and sees a round dial with two pointers, and some adult is telling him about the "hour hand" and the "minute hand". Kid goes, "I don't see any hands?"

Most other analog displays, we use the term "needle", or "pointer", right?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 13, 2017 12:52 PM (+v28m)

393 "if Islam takes over them US begins beheadings.
And then it is not just Christians who will need to hide. But until
then...I don't know what bible he is reading.
Posted by: Gorilla gone fishing

in the OT there was a case of the prophets hidden in the cave, and talk of "there will always be (at least) a remnant".

But that was under adverse rulers, and we are not in that situation. We have those assault guns with the thing that goes up, not to mention open networks and more liberty than those regimes ever offered.

Posted by: illiniwek at August 13, 2017 12:53 PM (7Ep0P)

394 Minush bee plush and minush the square root of ... *hic*

Ok - maybe I should stick to law.

Posted by: Hillary Clinton at August 13, 2017 12:54 PM (/qEW2)

395 Do robots like fried chicken and watermelon?
Posted by: I'm Anonosaurus Wrecks and I approved this message at August 13, 2017 12:40 PM (Nwg0u)

Ummmmm........yes.

"When the sun goes down, and the tide goes out,
The robots gather round and they all begin to shout,
Hey, hey Uncle Fudd and slap their big metal feet on the Mississippi mud."

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at August 13, 2017 12:54 PM (5VlCp)

396 I Literally Cannot Wait for their re-make of Mandingo.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at August 13, 2017 12:42 PM (H5rtT)
----

"All the shocking realism! All the magnificence and depravity!"

"In Africa, my synthetic people were born free!"
"Dat's right! Free robots!"

"And after you hang me, kiss my shiny metal ass!"

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 12:54 PM (QGoUX)

397 Another look at metric time and dates?

Posted by: The French at August 13, 2017 12:55 PM (JO9+V)

398 And then we melt the analog clocks and watches

Posted by: Picasso

*******

Well, hello! /Dali

Posted by: Muldoon at August 13, 2017 12:55 PM (wPiJc)

399 You joke, Muldoon, but I wonder if you haven't hit upon a fundamental truth.

*****

Even a blind ascetic stumbles upon a fundamental truth now and then. Or an acorn.

Posted by: Muldoon at August 13, 2017 12:57 PM (wPiJc)

400 I had a sixth grade math teacher who taught us how to do square roots with pencil and paper. I don't really remember it now, but it was pretty cool at the time.

Posted by: rickl at August 13, 2017 12:40 PM (sdi6R)

I remember doing that, but the precise procedure, no. It's simply not as generally useful as long division.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 13, 2017 12:57 PM (+v28m)

401 There are three ways to heaven, good works, grace of God, and contributions to the Clinton Family Foundation.

Posted by: I'm Anonosaurus Wrecks and I approved this message at August 13, 2017 12:59 PM (Nwg0u)

402 Ugh. Sounds like a counsel of despair to me. Jesus said we are to be the light of the world, but it sounds like Dreher is telling us to hide our light under a bushel basket, which, as far as I can tell, is direct disobedience to Jesus' command.

My aunt-in-law was well-off financially when her kids were in school, and was constantly asked why she was sending them to public schools instead of private Christian schools. She'd respond, "If all the Christians took their kids out of public schools there'd be no Christians in public schools."

Posted by: Jim S. at August 13, 2017 01:00 PM (ynUnH)

403 Jim S., I also don't know whether the US knew in detail of any order to kill Allied POWs on a certain date, but I believe we were aware of orders that had been sent to regional commanders (southeast Asian occupied areas, for example), to kill POWs, internees, and others when/if the home islands were invaded.

One of the biggest concerns of Allied commanders in terms of the mechanics of surrender was, in fact, preventing the murder of Allied POWs and others by Japanese authorities in various places, and of course quickly getting them assistance (we knew the horrible conditions prevailing for prisoners and detainees).

This touches on another key calculus, for those who (stupidly) fancy themselves man-gods with superhuman moral judgement, and on this basis make baseless and slanderous assertions about the (utterly mundane) use of the A-bombs. Can't recall if it was Frank, or someone else, who did a good rough calculation of the death-toll - throughout Japan's area of control, from Singapore to China - of every month the war continued. It was very high, it was growing for obvious reasons of logistics and deteriorating health among the victims, and the only way to stop it was to stop the war as quickly as possible.

I've always thought that Okinawa was a decent rough proxy for what would happen in Kyushu or Honshu if Operations Olympic or Coronet actually had to be launched. In terms of destruction and casualties for the locals.

You add the ongoing death toll every day in the Empire, to the Okinawa-like catastrophe - on a larger scale - likely to occur in the home islands from an invasion, and you have a holocaust all in itself. This ignores the Allied KIA resulting directly from an invasion.

Posted by: rhomboid at August 13, 2017 01:01 PM (QDnY+)

404 Well, hello! /Dali

Posted by: Muldoon at August 13, 2017 12:55 PM (wPiJc)

Carol Channing, is that you?

Posted by: Picasso at August 13, 2017 01:04 PM (JO9+V)

405 There are three ways to heaven, good works, grace of God, and contributions to the Clinton Family Foundation.
Posted by: I'm Anonosaurus Wrecks and I approved this message at August 13, 2017 12:59 PM (Nwg0u)

Hahaha...now that's funny! And by getting involved with the Clinton Family, you might get to heaven a little faster than you think.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at August 13, 2017 01:04 PM (5VlCp)

406 Now, in 2017 they will be playing white nationalists and antifascists.
Posted by: Count de Monet at August 13, 2017 12:37 PM

Hey, a refight of the Spanish Civil War

Posted by: Skip at August 13, 2017 01:05 PM (pPKG5)

407 Hey, a refight of the Spanish Civil War

Posted by: Skip at August 13, 2017 01:05 PM (pPKG5)

Well, the good guys won that one. Friendly omen?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 13, 2017 01:08 PM (+v28m)

408
Hey, a refight of the Spanish Civil War
Posted by: Skip

Who will make up the Abraham Lincoln Brigade?

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 13, 2017 01:10 PM (IqV8l)

409 You may have something there. I grew up in the 60s and recall a water-powered 'computer' doing complex calculations using the basics of 1/0. Tiny little streams of water as power stamped into plastic pieces.
Posted by: mustbequantum at August 13, 2017 12:08 PM (MIKMs)

===
There's a scene in Rollerball where Jonathan E. gets an audience with one of the "ruling" computers, and it is depicted as having a water-based memory system.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 13, 2017 01:12 PM (EZebt)

410 393 "if Islam takes over then US begins beheadings.
And then it is not just Christians who will need to hide. But until then...I don't know what bible he is reading.
Posted by: Gorilla gone fishing
-------
in the OT there was a case of the prophets hidden in the cave, and talk of "there will always be (at least) a remnant".

But that was under adverse rulers, and we are not in that situation. We have those assault guns with the thing that goes up, not to mention open networks and more liberty than those regimes ever offered.

-Posted by illiniwek
-----

Exactly. I have spent the last 4-5 years or so mostly reading foreign websites....and getting into the portals of other countries so I could read local papers. I'm so glad I did, b/c now Google has changed their algorithms to control what you see.

I can tell you there has been a shift in the comment sections of the citizens, and now it is heartbreaking. I'll summarize some of the most common comments...and remember...these are Europeans.

- Don't give up your 2nd amendment rights...ever.
- if America loses rights to free speech, we are all doomed.
- Watch, America will sacrifice women & children on the Altar of Islam, just like Europe.

I'm getting off topic I think. And where does Dreher live? B/c I see churches growing....maybe not mainline....but others. And let's recall that Trump won...not the SJWs.

Charlottesville is horrible. But it was bound to happen. I'm just surprised it didn't happen sooner w/the media banging the drum 24/7. And that's where I take hope. Considering how many people live in this country, the majority is holding steady & calm. So this whole Dreher thing seems like scaring people, and there is a self-fulfilling prophecy aspect.

/stream of consciousness off. So sorry.

Posted by: Pinch fart Gorilla at August 13, 2017 01:14 PM (OmYtF)

411 My mom taught me how to read a clock in about five minutes of time. What's the big deal about this?

And the idea of time itself isn't really that important until you start getting older.

Posted by: Soona at August 13, 2017 01:18 PM (Fmupd)

412 Nude.
Lena Dunham.

Posted by: I'm Anonosaurus Wrecks and I approved this message at August 13, 2017 01:18 PM (Nwg0u)

413 Skandia Recluse:

I have no idea who uses ASINs. I was a bookseller for over twenty-five years, and never used one once in the entire time. ISBN s (International Standard Book Number) run the book world.

I use abe.com and recommended it to all my customers who were looking for used books. There are a whole raft of used book dealers who sell through ABE. I recommend Better World Books. I've never had an issue with them. That said, I need to tack on the most annoying draw back: time between ordering and receiving book. ABE is not Amazon. You're not going to get your book two days later; you will receive it seven to ten days later because all these guys ship U.S. mail book rate. But, as I said above, I usually order from Better World Books, usually pay $3.47 per book and get free shipping. Another caution: all of the cheap end books are reading copies only. This site is not for you OCD first first collectors.

Posted by: Deplorable lady with a deplorable basket of deplorable cats at August 13, 2017 01:20 PM (UY5/p)

414 413 Posted by: Deplorable lady with a deplorable basket of deplorable cats at August 13, 2017 01:20 PM (UY5/p)
--------
Thanks for the info!! All the used bookstores here have been knocked outta business.

And I'd rather give business to other sellers....not Amazon. I buy enough of their Kindle books.

Posted by: Pinch fart Gorilla at August 13, 2017 01:24 PM (OmYtF)

415 I think it was the Romans who first divided the day
into 24 hours, 12 hours of dark and 12 hours of light. Caused all sorts
of confusion and adjustments throughout the year.
Posted by: The Great White Scotsman at August 13, 2017 12:33 PM (0pcwX)

It came from the Greeks who got it from the Baylonians, who probably got it from earlier cultures, but the Babylonians had a thing for 60, 6 and 12. I mean serious things for 60 since that was their "hundred"
The basis of the clock and the 360 degrees in a circle come from the same place.

counting in dozens is in a way easier than 10; 12 is divisible in three ways where ten is only divisible in 2.
Further, dozen would be easiest if you worked in base 12. If you had to count on your fingers, you could just go each joint in each of the fingers.

This is not advocacy, since varying bases make me whimper in frustration and I think counting by "scores" is the height of mathematical prodigyship.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 13, 2017 01:35 PM (mkDpn)

416 I Literally Cannot Wait for their re-make of Mandingo.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at August 13, 2017 12:42 PM (H5rtT)

I never read Mandingo, but I did read The Tattooed Rood. The slaves there were mostly Christians.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 13, 2017 01:39 PM (mkDpn)

417 Most other analog displays, we use the term "needle", or "pointer", right?
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 13, 2017 12:52 PM (+v28m)

mickey mouse watch

Posted by: Kindltot at August 13, 2017 01:41 PM (mkDpn)

418 OK, you guys all left me here. *sigh*

You want I should wipe down the counter and put the chairs on the tables for the Janitors?

Posted by: Kindltot at August 13, 2017 01:45 PM (mkDpn)

419 It's a sad day for our culture when Lena Dunham can upstage the venerable Booke Threade.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 01:51 PM (QGoUX)

420 AdNauseum sounds really bad.

See, companies pay Google money to display ads per click. My company has paid for ads at various times.

So when you click every ad, you are draining those companies accounts.

Posted by: goodluckduck at August 13, 2017 02:08 PM (V8zw+)

421 All hail Eris,
Last week I recommended a book series for teens and young adults to look into. I said it was the Unwound series.

Actually, the series is Unwind , by Neal Shusterman. Sorry if this little mistake sent you or anyone else in the wrong direction.

Posted by: bergerbilder at August 13, 2017 02:28 PM (lIZQs)

422 From a google search:

"The Unwind Dystology is a series of science fiction novels by young adult literature author Neal Shusterman. It consists of Unwind, UnWholly, UnSouled, and UnDivided, as well as the companion books UnStrung and UnBound."

Posted by: bergerbilder at August 13, 2017 02:32 PM (lIZQs)

423 414 pinch fart: You're very welcome. Yes, it's not only new book stores that were driven out of business by the chains and Amazon. The used book stores took a massive hit, too. Here in Omaha, the only used book store left is Half Price Books, which is a chain. In fact, all of the used book stores closed even before I did. Every now and again, somebody tries to start one up, but usually only last two or three months. There's only one new, general bookstore left in Omaha, and it caters to West Omaha money. It's Warren Buffett's favorite bookstore, and for one day a year, it is a Berkshire Hathaway company and sells books at the annual BH shareholders meeting (Woodstock for millionaires). And the library system sucks, which is why ABE gets so much of my money. My favorite used book store employed the single most knowledgeable mystery book person in the world, and I always called her when I was stuck on an author. The store closed, Carlyn got a couple of short time jobs, then retired to the Ozarks. I could have cried.

But I must say it's Omaha's own fault. I don't think there is a more anti-intellectual town in the whole country. The people with money who can afford to buy books, won't. Their money goes to impressing the neighbors. The right cars parked in the right driveway. Inside the house, they might be sitting on wooden crates and eating off a used card table, but it's still the right house in the right neighborhood, and the right vehicles are parked in the driveways during the day and the garages at night. (Got to live up to those Covenants, you know.) People are actually proud of never having read a single book since they graduated. Argh!

Posted by: Deplorable lady with a deplorable basket of deplorable cats at August 13, 2017 02:38 PM (UY5/p)

424 For those interested on how Liberty can be Restored~
Liberty First! : The Path to Restoring America by Mrs. KrisAnne Hall
and a first person witness and account the History of the Rise, Progress and Termination of the American Revolution by Mercy Otis Warren. First published in 1805. Mrs. Warren was prolific in her writings. There are some that espouse the idea that women had no place in the Founding of this Nation unless they were the wives of slaveholders or camp followers.

Posted by: Pamela at August 13, 2017 02:38 PM (nO7IA)

425 Sabrina, you had me at "post-apocalyptic cozy mystery." I just bought the story and will read it today. Looking forward to it!

Posted by: Dr Alice at August 13, 2017 02:41 PM (LaT54)

426 Thanks, OM.

Posted by: nickshaw at August 13, 2017 03:31 PM (eC/Ak)

427 >>>My good friend Darren's library here, in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Is that a painting?

Posted by: m at August 13, 2017 04:08 PM (p6cpl)

428 Posted by: bergerbilder at August 13, 2017 02:28 PM (lIZQs)

That wasn't me, but I was intrigued enough to put it on my library list, so thanks!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 13, 2017 05:03 PM (QGoUX)

429 Thanks, OM.

Posted by: nickshaw at August 13, 2017 03:31 PM (eC/Ak)

You're welcome. What did I do?

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader at August 13, 2017 05:04 PM (+Xgkm)

430 Because the book thread is on Sunday mornings, when I'm typically at church and doing family things, I almost never am able to post in a timely fashion. So here I am, after I'm sure everyone else has already moved on to brighter pastures and more active threads.

All right, horde. I am in the final stages of writing a novel, and I need to figure out what to do next. I know the decision trees get quite complicated at this point, and each novelist seems to have her own Secret Sauce to getting published. Do any of you have any advice? Any bloggers or writers whose advice I should read? I've avoided reading the How to Get Your Novel Published advice, because I didn't want to bother until I had an actual novel in hand.

I've spent my summer rewriting and revising the novel three times, and tonight, God willing, I will finish entering all my changes from the printout into my electronic document. I have actually kept to my internal schedule. One way or another, tonight I will have finished this novel.

Next: Do I go to one of those wannabe-author reading circles, where they critique it and you have to rewrite based on other people's advice? Or do I start writing introduction letters to editors and agents? Or do I attend some Sci-Fi/Fantasy writers event (of which I know nothing) and start meeting people? Or do I start writing excerpts on my blog (which has nothing to do with my book)? Or do I create a new blog and start writing about how awesome my ideas are? Or do I just put my head down and get Book 2 in the trilogy written?

Or do I just take up drinking?

Posted by: Smallish Bees at August 13, 2017 05:32 PM (l7l9g)

431 Oh, and what about beta readers? When do they get involved? And what about picking a good editor--or getting picked by one? I don't want to be broken on the wheel of a bad editor. And what publishers should I approach? I'm not an obviously "conservative" author, but neither do I make much with the popular intersectional nonsense that infests the Hugo awards and so on. Really, now I'm at sea.

But I've got a book! So in your face, goblin of unfinished novels!

Posted by: Smallish Bees at August 13, 2017 05:35 PM (l7l9g)

432 But I've got a book! So in your face, goblin of unfinished novels!
Posted by: Smallish Bees at August 13, 2017 05:35 PM (l7l9g)

Try and contact Sabrina Chase. She's offered advice here before. I' m sure others here can help too.

Posted by: weirdflunky at August 13, 2017 05:47 PM (vQjzK)

433 Smallish Bees, those writers reading circles. Word of advice, find someone already on the scene and ask if they know of a group that has interest in the genre your story is set in. Also on your first meet with a likely group, just say you are still working on your first novel and watch/listen how they critique someone else, do they actually offer advice to make the story better or simply tear it down? Then decide if you want to expose your precious story to them.

Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at August 13, 2017 07:13 PM (BTvE8)

434 Smallish Bees, also the thread stays active the whole day, although the responses do wind down.

Posted by: goodluckduck at August 13, 2017 08:08 PM (V8zw+)

435 I'm veeeeeeeeeeeery late here, but a serious question for Morons who have published:

Do I need to get an agent?

Back in the early '90s when I was bullish on writing, I read that I needed an agent.

Back then publishers had high leverage on writers.

Is that still the case?

Can I get by finishing my novel without an agent?

Thanks, Moron writers!

Posted by: logprof at August 13, 2017 09:20 PM (GsAUU)

436 Smallish Bee: Getting published is a Catch 22 situation. The publishers will not buy a manuscript unless the author has an agent. Agents will not talk to writers who have not been published professionally. I know this sounds absolutely ridiculous coming from a former bookstore owner, but I strongly suggest self publishing through Amazon. Yes, you will be responsible for your own promotion, but you would be even if you were picked up by a real house. You can also check out the Writer's Guide at the library and peruse the agents listed there. One or two might actually respond to an unsolicited query letter. Whatever you do, do not listen to the siren song of an agent or a "publisher" who wants you to pay them. Those bottom feeders make their living by preying on people who are so desperate to be published, they will pay through the nose for the privilege and are then shocked as hell to discover they are expected to be their own distributors as well as promoters. Remember: Any idiot with a computer can call himself a "publisher". Good luck.

Posted by: Deplorable lady with a deplorable basket of deplorable cats at August 13, 2017 11:54 PM (UY5/p)

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