Sunday Morning Book Thread 03-29-2020

Thomas Jefferson's Library, Charlottesville, VA

Good morning to all you 'rons, 'ettes, lurkers, and lurkettes, wine moms, frat bros, crétins sans pantalon (who are technically breaking the rules), hermits, louts, layabouts, recluses, introverts, and other low-energy morons whose hair is not yet on fire. Welcome once again to the stately, prestigious, internationally acclaimed and high-class Sunday Morning Book Thread, a weekly compendium of reviews, observations, snark, witty repartee, hilarious bon mots, and a continuing conversation on books, reading, spending way too much money on books, writing books, and publishing books by escaped oafs and oafettes who follow words with their fingers and whose lips move as they read. Unlike other AoSHQ comment threads, the Sunday Morning Book Thread is so hoity-toity, pants are required. Even if it's these pants, which would look fine back in the 70s at Harvey Milk's barbecue/disco party.

Pic Note:

Thomas Jefferson built up his library from scratch more than once. A fire destroyed his first library in 1770, which included all of the books he inherited from his fater, Peter Jefferson. He built it back up again and then when the invading British Army burned the congressional library in 1814, he was able to sell 6500 books to Congress to replace the ones lost in the fire.

But wait, there's more:

Following the 1815 sale of almost all of his library to Congress, Jefferson continued to acquire books. The Retirement Library Catalogue in Jefferson’s hand constitutes his third and final library at Monticello. This 83-page bound manuscript is at the Library of Congress and available online. After Jefferson died in 1826, his library at Monticello was sold at auction by Nathaniel P. Poor in 1829 in Washington, D.C. The printed Poor Catalogue is available here, and is almost identical to the Retirement Library Catalogue. A transcription of the Retirement Library Catalogue was completed by John R. Barden in 1999, and edited by Thomas Baughn. More about the Retirement Library here.

It Pays To Increase Your Word Power®

If you’re EFFASCINABLE, then you’re susceptible to being enchanted or bewitched.

I think "fascinate" "fascinating" and "fascination" may be related words.

I found it used in a 17th-century book entitled (take a deep breath): An explanation of the grand mystery of godliness, or, A true and faithfull representation of the everlasting Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the onely begotten Son of God and sovereign over men and angels.

The word occurs in a paragraph wherein the author (Henry More, 1614-1687) has got a pretty good anti-astrology rant going:

...and lastly, seeing there is that affinity and frequent association of Astrology with Daemonolatry and ancient Pagan Superstition; that person certainly must have a strangely-impure and effascinable passivity of Phancie, that can be bound over to a belief or liking of a Foolery so utterly groundless as Astrology is, and so nearly verging toward the brinks of Apostasie and Impiety.

I think he's saying that belief in something silly like astrology is evidence that that person will be easily sucked into believing things that cross the line from 'silly' over into 'dangerous'.

Some of TJ's Books, Monticello

What Would Thomas Jefferson Read?

Those interested in finding out more about TJ's reading should check out Five Books Thomas Jefferson Owned That Every Patriot Should Read:

Today, Jefferson is long dead, and...[t]oday, untold numbers of books are available free online, and many more can be purchased...The paradox is that while we are awash with the sum total of human knowledge readily available at little or no cost, our society is increasingly ignorant.

We must take a page from the lives and practices of many of the Founding Fathers, and return to the wisdom inherent in a broad education. We must once again pick up those books that they read, and then build on that timeless wisdom to further secure the future for the United States. We cannot continue as a nation unless we understand the very ideas that created our nation.

With that in mind, I sat down and studied the lists of books Jefferson is known to have owned, and compiled a list of five that should be of great interest to American patriots and scholars. In some cases, I put the book on my list because I wanted to read it. In other cases, it is because I have read it. In all cases, I will speculate on why Jefferson might have found a particular book to be of value, and how it might benefit you today.

Spoilers: Two of the books mentioned are Locke's Treatises of Government and Plutarch's Lives.

They Don't Publish Books Like This Any More:

Fantasy World Map

I thought this was fun:

(click to enlarge)

Not shown:

LaLa Land
Fantasy Island
Gor
Cimmeria
Cloud 9

...and of course:

Lower Middle Earth (from Bored of the Rings). I couldn't find a decent scan of the BotR map. This is the only one I was able to find, and it's way small.

But, I did discover that this book existed: Fantasy Map Maker Jump Start: 61 Easy Tips for Fantasy World Building with Real Earth Science:

In this concise and practical how-to guide, professional author and creative cartographer, D.N.Frost, explains the myriad ways our planet creates all the environments on Earth, and she delivers those concepts in 61 useful bite-sized tips that help you to:

* Build your fantasy world with a blueprint of how civilizations thrive and the power of geology in your back pocket.
* Make your world make sense. And keep all the features you love.
* Create the coolest world you can dream up. With unique places and cultures that defy logic but still feel real.

Within FANTASY MAP MAKER JUMP START, you’ll learn why the Earth formed as it did, how to mirror that realism in your invented world, how to adapt your fantasy cultures to their unique environment, and how to break all the rules for the most epic fantasy setting your stories have ever seen.

Only $4.99 on Kindle

(h/t Albert Pupo for the fantasy map)

Moron Recommendations

Did you know that in 1953, newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II commanded that all children born in Britain that year were to be given a copy of the King James bible in celebration of her coronation?

I didn't, either, but you can learn about this and other surprising facts about the KJV in In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How It Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture, by Alister McGrath, recommended by a lurking moron:

This fascinating history of a literary and religious masterpiece explores the forces that obstructed and ultimately led to the decision to create an authorized translation, the method of translation and printing, and the central role the King James version of the Bible played in the development of modern English

You'll also learn about the Great She Bible and the Vinegar Bible.

Because KJV + Shakespeare = English.

___________

And speaking of current events, here is one that might be of interest, and by "of interest", I mean "disturbing and maybe even depressing". It's called China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America's Dependence on China for Medicine

Millions of Americans are taking prescription drugs made in China and don't know it--and pharmaceutical companies are not eager to tell them. This is a disturbing, well-researched wake-up call for improving the current system of drug supply and manufacturing. Several decades ago, penicillin, vitamin C, and many other prescription and over-the-counter products were manufactured in the United States. But with the rise of globalization, antibiotics, antidepressants, birth control pills, blood pressure medicines, cancer drugs, among many others are made in China and sold in the United States. China's biggest impact on the US drug supply is making essential ingredients for thousands of medicines found in American homes and used in hospital intensive care units and operating rooms.

It is a bit disturbing to be so dependent on a country whose government hates us.

The author, Rosemary Gibson, has written a number of other books about healthcare in America, including Wall of Silence: The Untold Story of the Medical Mistakes That Kill and Injure Millions of Americans and The Treatment Trap: How the Overuse of Medical Care Is Wrecking Your Health and What You Can Do to Prevent It.

___________

40 I continued my China reading jag.
I finished China: A History, by John Keay. It covers the entirety of Chinese history, and is quite readable and entertaining. Recommended.

I'm now reading Mao: The Unknown Story, by Jung Chang. It is also quite readable. I'm only 100 pages in, and Mao is weaseling his way into positions of power in the CCP. The real takeaway is what a total toolbag the man was. Lazy, duplicitous, entitled, a shameless lickspittle to those who could help him, and an absolute sadist, he was the whole package. He may be the only man in history to make Stalin look good by comparison.

Posted by: pep at March 22, 2020 09:20 AM (T6t7i)

There's a whole lotta history in John Keay's China: A History:

Taking into account the country's unrivaled, voluminous tradition of history writing, John Keay has composed a vital and illuminating overview of the nation's complex and vivid past. Keay's authoritative history examines 5,000 years in China, from the time of the Three Dynasties through Chairman Mao and the current economic transformation of the country. Crisp, judicious, and engaging, China is the classic single-volume history for anyone seeking to understand the present and future of this immensely powerful nation.

And if Jung Chang's Mao: The Unknown Story is not the definitive biography of Mao ZeDong, it darn well should be. A man possessed by Satan himself. And it's disturbing to read the Amazon customer reviews that actually defend this monster.

___________

Who Dis:

(click to enlarge)
Last week's 'who dis' was British actress Jennifer Jones.

National Emergency Library

A lurking moron sent me a link to this:

To address our unprecedented global and immediate need for access to reading and research materials, as of today, March 24, 2020, the Internet Archive will suspend waitlists for the 1.4 million (and growing) books in our lending library by creating a National Emergency Library to serve the nation’s displaced learners. This suspension will run through June 30, 2020, or the end of the US national emergency, whichever is later.

During the waitlist suspension, users will be able to borrow books from the National Emergency Library without joining a waitlist, ensuring that students will have access to assigned readings and library materials that the Internet Archive has digitized for the remainder of the US academic calendar, and that people who cannot physically access their local libraries because of closure or self-quarantine can continue to read and thrive during this time of crisis, keeping themselves and others safe.

This library brings together all the books from Phillips Academy Andover and Marygrove College, and much of Trent University’s collections, along with over a million other books donated from other libraries to readers worldwide that are locked out of their libraries.

Books By Morons

We have some quarantine price reductions from a couple three moron authors:

A lurking moron who goes by the nic 'Long-time Commenter, First-time Reader' e-mailed me with this offer:

I wanted to tell you about a project I've started in this time of quarantine. For as long as I can keep it up, I'll be giving away a brand-new short story every other day to the folks on my mailing list. A few of these are already written, but most of them I'm writing as I go, and none of them have ever been published before. I released the first one today.

What kind of stories will he be writing? He didn't say, but perhaps we can get some idea from the novel that he wrote, Fate's Balance:

The citizens of Skyrah enjoy a unique gift: the ability to exert influence over the essence of existence, redirecting the flows of nature as they live their lives in service to the tenets of Justice and Mercy. Yet despite this gift, Skyrah's promises have failed to materialize for many of its people:

A prideful thief, desperate to escape the city.

An optimistic novice, innocently colliding with reality.

An aging guard, grappling with shame and regret.

An old woman, whose mysterious blind eyes somehow see the darkness at the heart of Skyrah... a growing doom that threatens to consume them all.

Fate's Balance is available for 3.99 on Kindle. Also available in paperback.

To join LtCFtR's mailing list, you can sign up at this link: https://mailchi.mp/a94bf3e5e2ff/willneely.

___________

'Ette author Libby Malin has a pretty drastic price reduction on one of her novels:

My romantic-comedy FIRE ME! will be free for five days in the Kindle store starting Monday, March 30 through Friday, April 3, 2020.

I've been offering some freebies to fight blahs during our isolation. FIRE ME! tells the story of Anne Wyatt, who goes into work one day prepared to resign, but changes course and tries to get laid off instead when she finds out her boss is about to let someone go -- she wants the severance package. The action takes place in one day, and this book was bought for film by Fox Studios and Ben Stiller's Red Hour Production company (alas, no movie yet!). It was originally published by a traditional publisher, but rights reverted to me a few years ago, and I updated and self-published it.

Here's what Publishers Weekly says of the book: "...an amusing tale of a woman who finds herself and love while trying to get fired...Malin populates the novel with a number of entertaining characters, such as poor unlucky Lenny and Anne’s termination competition, Sheila. Many will empathize with Anne as she struggles to figure out just what she wants to do in life. Readers...will enjoy Anne’s antics and daydream of making their own splendid exits from hellish jobs."

Here's a link to FIRE ME! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C54NC9V.

___________

'Ette author Celia Hayes is putting her three biggest books (lengthwise!) on sale for half price in the Kindle version, hoping to provide escape and diversion during the Kung Flu lockdown.

The Luna City Compendium #1
The Luna City Compendium #2

She says

I can't help thinking that Luna City is a nice place to escape into...I'm having fun escaping into writing the next installment in the series...

Ms. Hayes has also reduced the price on her Adelsverein Trilogy, which is the historical series set in the Hill Country of Texas - all about how so many Germans settled there, starting in the 1840s.

___________

Speaking of immigrants, I just started the first installment in Swedist writer Vilhelm Moberg's Emigrant series, The Emigrants:

Considered one of Sweden's greatest 20th-century writers, Vilhelm Moberg created Karl Oskar and Kristina Nilsson to portray the joys and tragedies of daily life for early Swedish pioneers in America. His consistently faithful depiction of these humble people's lives is a major strength of the Emigrant novels.

Moberg's extensive research in the papers of Swedish emigrants in archival collections, including the Minnesota Historical Society, enabled him to incorporate many details of pioneer life. First published between 1949 and 1959 in Swedish, these four books were considered a single work by Moberg, who intended that they be read as documentary novels...

Book 1 introduces Karl Oskar and Kristina Nilsson, their three young children, and eleven others who make up a resolute party of Swedes fleeing the poverty, religious persecution, and social oppression of Småland in 1850.

Just like a bunch of German families came to America and found their way to Texas, a bunch of Swedish families came to America and found their way to the upper Midwest, notably Minnesota. In fact, the novel's intro says that one-quarter of Sweden's population fled that country during the 1850s. Living conditions there must've been really bad to produce that immense a migration.

The novels in Moberg's quartet are The Emigrants, Unto A Good Land, The Settlers, and The Last Letter Home. In the early 70s, they were adapted for film in two 3+ hour movies, The Emigrants and The New Land. Mrs. Muse and I just finished watching them, which is how I found out about the books.

___________

So that's all for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, bribes, insults, threats, ugly pants pics and moron library submissions 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.

Checklist For Morons:

Posted by: OregonMuse at 09:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 PROLOGUE – CONCERNING BOGGIES

Before the crossing of the Papier-Mâché Mountains, the boggies had become divided into three distinct breeds: Clubfoots, Stools, and Naugahydes. The Clubfoots, by far the most numerous, were swarthy, shifty-eyed, and short; their hands and feet were deft as crowbars. They preferred to live in the hillsides where they could mug rabbits and small goats, and they supported themselves by hiring out as torpedoes for the local dwarf population. The Stools were larger and oilier than the Clubfoots, and they lived in the fetid lands at the mouth and other orifices of the Anacin River, where they raised yaws and goiters for the river trade. They had long, shiny black hair, and they loved knives. Their closest relations were with men, for whom they handled occasional rubouts. Least numerous were the Naugahydes, who were taller and wispier than the other boggies and who lived in the forests, where they maintained a thriving trade in leather goods, sandals, and handicrafts. They did periodic interior decorating work for the elves, but spent most of their time singing lurid folk songs and accosting squirrels.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:01 AM (Dc2NZ)

2 I regret not getting a book at the used book store, and greatly fear their survival in a long shutdown.

Posted by: Skip at March 29, 2020 09:02 AM (ZCEU2)

3 Unusually shallow chair in the library. For ladies with voluminous skirts?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:02 AM (Dc2NZ)

4 hiya

Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 09:02 AM (arJlL)

5 Patti Smith

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 09:03 AM (ONvIw)

6 Books!

Posted by: ALH at March 29, 2020 09:04 AM (NP5PC)

7 Alice Cooper sans make-up.

Posted by: BignJames at March 29, 2020 09:04 AM (X/Pw5)

8 Nice Lieberry!

Those ain't pants. They ain't even shorts.

Patti Smith after an all-nighter servicing her band mates.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at March 29, 2020 09:05 AM (Z+IKu)

9 As for fantasy mapmaking, Lin Carter's excellent little book "Imaginary Worlds" suggested that the would-be author study an (Earth) atlas to understand logical terrain formation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginary_
Worlds:_The_Art_of_Fantasy

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:06 AM (Dc2NZ)

10 Journal of the Plague Year (The "Curate edition" read well in e-book).

Posted by: Slow Learner at March 29, 2020 09:06 AM (hafXH)

11 Is that Patti Smith?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:06 AM (Dc2NZ)

12 Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's Patti Smith having a universal reaction to reading Finnegan's Wake, although it looks like she made it well past the point that most sane people did.

Posted by: Captain Hate at March 29, 2020 09:07 AM (y7DUB)

13 Imma gonna hafta try TBOTR

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar at March 29, 2020 09:07 AM (BiNEL)

14 11 Is that Patti Smith?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:06 AM (Dc2NZ)

Who else has that face?

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 09:07 AM (ONvIw)

15 Patti Smith. Who wrote a good auto bio

Posted by: Ignoramus at March 29, 2020 09:08 AM (9TdxA)

16 The Who Dis is Fred Gwynn

Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 09:08 AM (arJlL)

17 Hey everyone!

No writing last week, still building up momentum for Battle Officer Wolf II. Re-reading the original, I'm struck by how much my writing style has change (for the better, I think).

Reading this week: "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War." I mentioned this last week and given the stress and crazyness (and having my kids stuck at home), these wonderful anthologies are the perfect tonic.

You can just open up a book, flip to an article and dig in. This week I read all about the Union capture of New Orleans. The great thing about this is that each topic will have a main article, then responses and sub-articles.

This was because these are all taken from Century Magazine, a big publication in the 1880s. What would happen is one article would appear, and then other veterans would write in with their views, and pretty soon you have the equivalent of a 19th Century comment board, complete with flame wars!

This series (there are four books total) is where a lot of the controversies regarding the war came into play. This was where Longstreet dared to question Lee's strategy at Gettysburg, for example.

Anyhow, it's a combination between big-picture histories and small vignettes. More on that in another comment.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 09:08 AM (cfSRQ)

18 booken morgen horden

Posted by: vmom 2020 at March 29, 2020 09:08 AM (G546f)

19 The fantasy map unfortunately leaves out the important detail that Solla Sollew was on the banks of the beautiful river Wahoo.

Posted by: Dan Smoot's Apprentice at March 29, 2020 09:08 AM (H8QX8)

20 Good morning all! There was some talk a few weeks ago about generation ship books, which I have never read but sounded interesting. So this week I am reading Orphans of the Sky.

Posted by: Jordan61 at March 29, 2020 09:09 AM (6ofTb)

21 I read the content like a sucker.

Gawd I love Patti Smith.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:09 AM (gd9RK)

22 And Jennifer Jones was American, not British

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 09:09 AM (ONvIw)

23 They did periodic interior decorating work for the
elves, but spent most of their time singing lurid folk songs and
accosting squirrels.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:01 AM (Dc2NZ)

---
"Slow and sullen, yet stupid..."

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 09:09 AM (cfSRQ)

24 Patti Smith is also a talented photographer. Saw an exhibit at the Smithsonian (or was it the DIA?).

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:09 AM (Dc2NZ)

25 Unusually shallow chair in the library. For ladies with voluminous skirts?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:02 AM (Dc2NZ)

It's actually an upholstered sugar scoop.

Posted by: hogmartin at March 29, 2020 09:10 AM (t+qrx)

26 wait,aside from must wear pants rule,we now have a no stabbing rule?

OM flexing his tyrant muscle in this quarandemic!

Posted by: vmom 2020 at March 29, 2020 09:10 AM (G546f)

27 "I think he's saying that belief in something silly like astrology is evidence that that person will be easily sucked into believing things that cross the line from 'silly' over into 'dangerous'."

I'd love to hear what he'd say about people who believe in Howard Zinn's teaching.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 29, 2020 09:10 AM (V2Yro)

28 19
The fantasy map unfortunately leaves out the important detail that Solla Sollew was on the banks of the beautiful river Wahoo.

Posted by: Dan Smoot's Apprentice at March 29, 2020 09:08 AM (H8QX

---
The original printing of The Lorax contains a reference to Lake Erie (specifically the humming-fish pond).

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 09:11 AM (cfSRQ)

29
g'mornin', book-ish 'rons

that's Alice Cooper

Posted by: AltonJackson at March 29, 2020 09:11 AM (CeiD8)

30 Ahoy, bookfagz!

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:12 AM (NWiLs)

31 I'd love to hear what he'd say about people who believe in Howard Zinn's teaching.
Posted by: Tom Servo at March 29, 2020 09:10 AM (V2Yro)

They're enlightened, of course.

Posted by: Dan Smoot's Apprentice at March 29, 2020 09:12 AM (H8QX8)

32 Gawd I love Patti Smith.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:09 AM (gd9RK)

Same here. In fact, I've been listening to her in my song rotation for the last week.

Posted by: Mr. Feverhead at March 29, 2020 09:12 AM (fg6n8)

33 Who Dis:

Looks like Boris Karloff wearing a wig

Posted by: TheQuietMan at March 29, 2020 09:12 AM (4mKR9)

34 OK, no cheating, for five points what's Alice Cooper's name and what sport is he good at?

Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:12 AM (gd9RK)

35 Looking at your list, OM -- two out of four ain't bad, right?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:13 AM (Dc2NZ)

36 Fun fact: In 1897, when the Library of Congress finally moved into a building of its very own for the first time (which is now known as the Jefferson Building), the Library had been taking up a quarter of the space in the Capitol Building.

Around 2003 when Tony Blair spoke before a Joint Meeting of Congress, he got a laugh when he apologized for the British burning down the Library and not mentioning who else occupied the building.

Posted by: Vendette at March 29, 2020 09:13 AM (nRNOc)

37 Alice Cooper is Vincent something, and he's a golfer.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:13 AM (NWiLs)

38 34 OK, no cheating, for five points what's Alice Cooper's name and what sport is he good at?
Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:12 AM (gd9RK)

Its his real name and he is good at making barrels?

Posted by: Mr. Feverhead at March 29, 2020 09:13 AM (fg6n8)

39 Patti Smith is also a talented photographer.

She was besties with Mapplethorpe.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:14 AM (gd9RK)

40
OK, no cheating, for five points what's Alice Cooper's name and what sport is he good at?

Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:12 AM

don't recall his actual name, but Alice Cooper is 'sposed to be a really good golferer

Posted by: AltonJackson at March 29, 2020 09:14 AM (CeiD8)

41 Although golf is a game moreso than a sport.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:14 AM (NWiLs)

42 Is that Joyce Carol Oates?

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at March 29, 2020 09:14 AM (2JVJo)

43 Half marks to Insom.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:15 AM (gd9RK)

44 Anyway, I bought the Olive Beaupre, The Bookhouse, to read to the grandsons. The stuff that passes for literature these days makes me ill.

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 09:15 AM (ONvIw)

45 All but hit send on a Amazon book History of Napoleon by same author who just wrote about Churchill this week. The Churchill book would be a great read too.

Posted by: Skip at March 29, 2020 09:16 AM (ZCEU2)

46 Vincent Furnier and golf.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:16 AM (gd9RK)

47 OK, no cheating, for five points what's Alice Cooper's name and what sport is he good at?
Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:12 AM (gd9RK)

Vincent Furnier. Golf.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at March 29, 2020 09:16 AM (2JVJo)

48 Rereading the Narnia chronicles. And I've been enjoying Nancy Forbes and Basil Mahon's "Faraday Maxwell and the Electromagnetic Field," a marvelous look at the history of electromagnetics.

Posted by: Hans G. Schantz at March 29, 2020 09:17 AM (FXjhj)

49 Alice Cooper is Vincent something, and he's a golfer.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:13 AM (NWiLs)

Vincent....starts with F......supposedly took up golf to cure his drug/alcohol problem.

Posted by: BignJames at March 29, 2020 09:17 AM (X/Pw5)

50 WTF, Bander?

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at March 29, 2020 09:17 AM (2JVJo)

51 I can't seem to focus for very long on any one book. I keep flitting from one to another.

I blame the quarantine! Which is odd, in that it gives me an excuse for burrowing in without guilt.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:18 AM (Dc2NZ)

52 I don't read much newer sci-fi, but decided to give a book with six short stories by current authors a chance. The book is called "Forward." The result is mediocre. One story is that if all of the white men left, everyone else would make a near utopia of earth. Yet, that wasn't the worst story. The worst is one that was a chick sci-fi story which meant virtually no science and lots of feelings. I will say that Andy Weir had a decent story. The ending though was a big neon sign of "THIS PLAN WILL FAIL."

Posted by: WOPR at March 29, 2020 09:18 AM (YNKh1)

53 Just finished reading "Secret on the Tarmac" by Christopher Sign. It was OK but it really had no revelations past page 75. I have loaned it to a friend but if any Morons want to read it, shoot me an Email at dlkerns30@hotmail.com I will mail it to you.

Posted by: Picric at March 29, 2020 09:18 AM (nonGu)

54 49 Alice Cooper is Vincent something, and he's a golfer.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:13 AM (NWiLs)

Vincent....starts with F......supposedly took up golf to cure his drug/alcohol problem.
Posted by: BignJames at March 29, 2020 09:17 AM (X/Pw5)

IIRC he's spent a lot of time helping musicians overcome substance abuse, and is overall a really good dude.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:19 AM (NWiLs)

55 Greetings, all, from The Land of the Knee-Walking Turkeys!

No idea who the Mystery Guest is. Something tells me that even when she (?) was younger, she was no Jennifer Jones.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 29, 2020 09:19 AM (rpbg1)

56 So I recently heard a defense of Astrology that might, could, sort of, perhaps have an actual basis in science. That in ancient times (like when Biden was a young man) the month you were born in determined what food your mom ate while pregnant and the nutrients, amount, preparation & etc. could have a common impact on everyone's personality who was born during that time. I don't really buy it but it's better than believing magic planet rays determine you should play the lottery this month.

Posted by: Mr. Feverhead at March 29, 2020 09:20 AM (fg6n8)

57 I can't seem to focus for very long on any one book. I keep flitting from one to another.

I blame the quarantine! Which is odd, in that it gives me an excuse for burrowing in without guilt.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:18 AM (Dc2NZ)

It's the feeling that you should be doing something. You ever go on vacation for two or three weeks and it is only about halfway through that you start to relax? Same thing, your mind is stuck on its routine.

Posted by: WOPR at March 29, 2020 09:20 AM (YNKh1)

58 Vincent....starts with F......supposedly took up golf to cure his drug/alcohol problem.

Posted by: BignJames at March 29, 2020 09:17 AM (X/Pw5)

IIRC he's spent a lot of time helping musicians overcome substance abuse, and is overall a really good dude.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:19 AM (NWiLs)

I've watched some videos of him on youtube. He's very down to earth and tells some great stories. I really liked the ones he had about Keith Moon

Posted by: TheQuietMan at March 29, 2020 09:20 AM (4mKR9)

59 When I was probably about 13 or so I spent time in the school library looking for books with racy, sexy parts. Always found a few, wish I could remember the titles. Sex sold me on a good school library book. School boys have strange tastes at that age. I wonder if the girls did the same.

Posted by: Colin at March 29, 2020 09:20 AM (VW+Vt)

60 Now I'm listening to Patti's "The People Have the Power".

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:20 AM (Dc2NZ)

61 a way a lone a last a loved a long the / riverrun, past Eve and Adams from swerve of shore to bend of bay

That's all I got

Posted by: Ignoramus at March 29, 2020 09:21 AM (9TdxA)

62 Stuff I learned about New Orleans' capture...

No one agrees on who thought up the Union goal or plan.

The USS Brooklyn was one tough ship. Took a Confederate shell that smashed into the hull and lodged there. Had it detonated, she would have sank, but the rebel gunners were so panicked they forgot to remove the safety on the fuse.

When the rebel ram Manassas slammed into the Brooklyn, a man emerged from the rear hatch, only to topple over immediately. Apparently the quartermaster of the Brooklyn tagging him with the sounding line (which had a lead weight on the end).

The Governor Moore (part of the Louisiana Navy) slammed into the USS Varuna and was so close that she couldn't bring her pivot gun to bear, so the rebels depressed it all the way and fired at the Varuna through their own deck. Twice.

Upon capturing the city, the US flag was raised over the post off and customs house, but not city hall, because that wasn't federal property. The state flag was, however, hauled down.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 09:21 AM (cfSRQ)

63 Those pants are dreadful, btw, sort of Christopher Street meets Easter Parade

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 09:22 AM (ONvIw)

64 Good Sunday morning, horde!

I'm late, which kinda sucks, since I actually knew the who dis for once. I don't know any of those old movie stars, but I'm pretty good with punk/alt rock musicians.

Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 09:22 AM (OX9vb)

65 59
When I was probably about 13 or so I spent time in the school library
looking for books with racy, sexy parts. Always found a few, wish I
could remember the titles. Sex sold me on a good school library book.
School boys have strange tastes at that age. I wonder if the girls did
the same.

Posted by: Colin at March 29, 2020 09:20 AM (VW+Vt)

---
V.C. Andrews.

Yes, yes they did.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 09:22 AM (cfSRQ)

66 Thanks for the Henry More link. I love the way - typically for the 17th C - the table of contents is effectively a Cliff Notes version of the book.

More was one of the Cambridge Platonists. And that should caution against this reading:

"I think he's saying that belief in something silly like astrology is evidence that that person will be easily sucked into believing things that cross the line from 'silly' over into 'dangerous'."

I don't think that's it. At the time, astrology was associated with a strong determinist view of life. Those who then embraces it would be talking of DNA today. The Platonists tended to the opposite view; something almost akin to existentialism at times. They were the sort that William James called "hard headed".

Once again, a link to the truly indispensable reading on this period: Lewis's introduction contains a discussion of this (and much else):

https://tinyurl.com/qlqs42j

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 09:22 AM (ZbwAu)

67 Candyland is way easier than Golf. Hell, Trivial Pursuit is easier than golf. I have heard the arguments as have we all but they are mainly arbitrary. Many will say in a sport you have to run around or you have to get hit etc. We see so many examples of how that can't be right. Is figure skating a game?

This is a complicated subject and not the right thread even. But I will leave this as the kids say. Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus combined have been on more Sports Illustrated covers than any other human. I could be wrong as thing change and maybe Lebron is on every month. But I bet I am right. They have both been on the cover over 20 times.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 09:23 AM (hHxp2)

68 WTF, Bander?

Thread was slow and I got bored. You get the five points.

Five Points to Poppins!

I has been announced.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:23 AM (gd9RK)

69 I'd love to hear what he'd say about people who believe in Howard Zinn's teaching.

Effascismable.

Posted by: t-bird at March 29, 2020 09:24 AM (asM0l)

70 Now reading War and Peace. Just finished Sense and Sensibility. Wealth of Nations and Annals of Rome on the sideboard, since I can only take them in small doses.

Posted by: Caliban at March 29, 2020 09:25 AM (QE8X6)

71 Anyway, didn't do any writing this week. Started to, since I thought I had an idea of where to go (and had sketched it out), but I broke Ian Fleming's cardinal rule - never re-read what you've already written. I did, and got paralyzed.

So I am planning to take out my "scene slips" - pieces of paper where I sketch down ideas for a scene or even a chapter - today and work my way forward a bit, which is progress even if none of it gets translated into actual notebook writing today.

And for reading? Well, last night I decided to see if any new reviews for The Director's Cut or Thirteen Moons had popped up. They hadn't, but I did find a short story, Theda, which is described as:

An overly shy college student who is enamored with the long-deceased actress Theda Bara is transported one night across the veil that separates the realm of the living from that of the dead. It is here that, to his astonishment, the beautiful silent film star appears and seductively convinces him that if he can only invoke her presence properly, she could join him on his side of the veil. As the young man returns to the earthly realm and begins working toward that goal, he is totally unaware of what his actions will lead to.

This could be good. It could be awful. In the words of Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, I'll let you know.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at March 29, 2020 09:25 AM (2JVJo)

72 Good morning all - and thanks for the linkage, OM!
The Daughter Unit and I have taken to doing home renovation during this time of Serious Social Distancing ... including rebuilding the hallway book shelf, in a floor to ceiling fashion. Our local handy guy suggested setting the shelves between the studs, to maximize space, and offered a discount if we did the demolition ourselves ... so we've spent the weekend ripping out plasterboard ... and discovering that a good portion of that plasterboard had been damaged by a water leak from the AC unit in the attic some years ago.
Nothing like having to spend a lot of time at home to look around and think, "You know, I'm not happy with the way this room/floor/paint looks. I'm gonna go down to Home Depot/Lowes' and do something about it..."
Both those joints were absolutely jumping all last week - and Home Depot to the point where they were controlling access.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at March 29, 2020 09:25 AM (xnmPy)

73 One story is that if all of the white men left,
everyone else would make a near utopia of earth.

Posted by: WOPR at March 29, 2020 09:18 AM (YNKh1)

---
This is 100 percent true.

Posted by: The Aztecs, eating your heart at March 29, 2020 09:25 AM (cfSRQ)

74 Who Dis:

A young, very young Keith Richards.

Posted by: Jake Holenhead at March 29, 2020 09:25 AM (P1GvV)

75 I wonder if "effascinable" would be right to describe Catherine Moreland in Northanger Abbey. Watched the new movie version with my wife. I am VERY skeptical about The Monk being on Catherine's reading list. That book was a bit porny for Jane. But I haven't checked; does any hordester remember?

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 09:25 AM (ZbwAu)

76 My small-size British edition of Bored of the Rings also has ia hard-to-read map, but I can make out regions such as Anacin, Bardahl, Tudor and Fordor, and Gonad.

Maybe some of the references, like Bardahl and Krona, would be hard to comprehend by today's younger audiences. I don't care. It's still one of the funniest books ever written.

Look also for National Lampoon's Doon, a parody of guess what series which emerged in the '80s when the David Lynch film came out. It is in the same style as Bored, and it even parodies the glossary of the original Herbert novel. Example:

"Orthodontothopter: An appliance consisting of fixed metal strips held in place by rubber bands. Expensive, but in the long run, definitely worth it."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 29, 2020 09:26 AM (rpbg1)

77 60 Now I'm listening to Patti's "The People Have the Power".

I'm not super fond of that one, or that whole album, really.

But I never get tired of anything on Easter or Horses

Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 09:26 AM (OX9vb)

78 That in ancient times (like when Biden was a young man) the month you were born in determined what food your mom ate while pregnant and the nutrients, amount, preparation & etc. could have a common impact on everyone's personality who was born during that time.

I have a simpler theory. The month you are born in puts you in a cycle of days getting longer or days getting shorter and your first experience of a year imprints itself on your personality, so people born in January experience life opening up in summer and have that in common.

I got nothing for when Jupiter alligns with Mars.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:26 AM (gd9RK)

79 I read Bird Box: Don't Open Your Eyes by Josh Thalerman. In this horror novel an entity causes people to commit deadly violence and suicide if they as much as glimpse this unknown. A woman and two children survive for four years in a house with the windows covered, and go out only if blindfolded. Finally, Malorie decides to take a chance and floats down a river in a rowboat with the children in hopes of finding a sanctuary. This was made into a movie in 2018 with Sandra Bullock.

On the Kindle, I read The Last Marine by T. S. Ransdell. An ad for the book describes it as "culture war fiction." In a future totalitarian America, the SJW's are running the show. The President is just a figurehead, and the real power rests with a woman (of course) general who is not only the head of the military, but of the internal security forces as well. She hires a young, ambitious historian/journalist, Joel Levine, to write a piece to remind the nation of its past sins in the Sino-American War. Levine is allowed to interview Sean Harris, the last living Marine veteran who has been in prison for fifty years after a failed coup attempt against a SJW government. Harris tells the story of the war from a Marine's point of view. The last battle scene is especially well written. Riveting. The premise of the book is frightening because it looks like we are heading in that direction. Ransdell is a Marine veteran and served deployments in the Middle East. I'm going to spend the $4.99 on the second book.

Posted by: Zoltan at March 29, 2020 09:26 AM (3ugDL)

80 This is a story from WW2 I'd never heard of. "The Forgotten 500" by Gregory A. Freeman is the story of Operation Halyard (Aug-Dec 1944), the rescue of over 500 Allied aircrew from German occupied Yugoslavia. Most were American bomber crews that escaped capture by the Germans. Protected by Serbian villagers and Chetniks commanded by Gen. Draza Mihailovich they were rescued by a few OSS agents and C47 crews that landed at a tiny makeshift landing zone on a mountain plateau near Pranjane, Serbia. Not a plane nor man was lost.

Most of the book is the back stories of those involved with the rescue and the political intrigue between the Allies, Chetniks (royalists), and Partisans (commies) led by Josip Broz Tito. Thanks in part to British SOE agent James Klugmann (a Soviet spy who helped recruit the "Cambridge Five" British spy ring) who lied in reports about Mihailovich thus ensuring by mid 1944 all support would go to the "good" commie Tito. Churchill would regret this decision. In Italy the 15th Air Force instructed it's bomber crews to avoid the Chetniks; "They will cut your ears off and turn you over to the Germans." Of course that wasn't true.

And how was Milhailovich's support for the Allies rewarded? July 1946 he was executed by Tito's government after a show trial for treason and war crimes (he fought Tito's Partisans as well as the Germans). 1948 Truman posthumously awarded him The Legion of Merit, but thanks to the U.S. State Dept. it was kept secret for decades. They didn't want to offend the commies.

Posted by: Jake Holenhead at March 29, 2020 09:27 AM (P1GvV)

81 For those interested in military/espionage thrillers, C.W. Lemoine has offered the first four books in his "Spectre" series for $.99 (ebook only) through the end of April. I can't comment about the quality as I've not read them, but I figured I'd pass it along.

https://books2read.com/u/3JKQBB

Posted by: antisocial justice beatnik at March 29, 2020 09:27 AM (DTX3h)

82 A young, very young Keith Richards.
Posted by: Jake Holenhead at March 29, 2020 09:25 AM (P1GvV)
-----------

I don't think photography existed when Keith Richards was young.

Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing
at March 29, 2020 09:27 AM (WEBkv)

83 64 Good Sunday morning, horde!

I'm late, which kinda sucks, since I actually knew the who dis for once. I don't know any of those old movie stars, but I'm pretty good with punk/alt rock musicians.
Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 09:22 AM (OX9vb)

And I would typically be no good at punk singers, but I lived in a 70s student co-op and one of the women was a crazed Patti Smith fan.

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 09:27 AM (ONvIw)

84 Alice Cooper's Killer album was a gem when it came out. Wore out the tracks on the vinyl as a rebellious yout.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at March 29, 2020 09:29 AM (EgshT)

85 Upon capturing the city, the US flag was raised over the post off and customs house, but not city hall, because that wasn't federal property. The state flag was, however, hauled down.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020

*
*

Was the story we've always heard, about General Butler confiscating all the family silver and thus becoming known as "Spoons" Butler, true?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 29, 2020 09:29 AM (rpbg1)

86 Hopefully I won't be interrupted on book matters this week or experience 505 errors from this wonderful software. Finished Sister Carrie last week and I couldn't agree more with Edmund Wilson when he said Dreiser was a terrible writer. Some of the passages where he tried philosophizing about the human condition read like a clunky parody of Proust. Purportedly he was an influence on Fitzgerald, whom I think is wildly overrated, and Faulkner (maybe the decline of Hurstwood fascinated him and, welp, for all his greatness Bill drank a lot). As I've said previously he reminds me of those depressing Midwest contemporaries like Upton Sinclair and Sherwood Anderson who stained up my wonder years with their crap. Plus he was a journalist by trade about which my disdain should be obvious.

That said it wasn't unrelentingly terrible and was a page turner of sorts. I gave it a three at Goodreads so that's ok. He really only had two main characters, Carrie and Hurstwood, and the title character was oddly ill defined (I'm guessing that Dreiser isn't a fave of the wimmenz studies harpies and might even have his own chapter of REEEE within the coven). Hurstwood, whom I internally pictured as Stacy Keach, was a good example of "a man's gotta know his limitations" when he gave up a good, but boring, life to pursue young cooch.

That was a book group read and since, in Pandemic mania, our meeting place is closed, who knows when we'll get together next? There was talk of discussing it by email but that hasn't happened. Plus it's not like I don't have other stuff to read.

Posted by: Captain Hate at March 29, 2020 09:29 AM (y7DUB)

87 That book was a bit porny for Jane. But I haven't checked; does any hordester remember?
Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 09:25 AM (ZbwAu)
---

Yep, Lewis's The Monk was porny.

Oh, would she have read it? It was very popular. And as it was, uh, seminal, any parody of gothic novels would have to give it a nod.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:30 AM (Dc2NZ)

88 Another thing I have been doing is clearing out some books that I am never going to read again. Some will go to used stores that accept them in trade, but I will be putting up a list in the summer for any NH or MA Morons who want to come by Stately Poppins Manor and leave with a couple of boxes full of books.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at March 29, 2020 09:30 AM (2JVJo)

89 I wonder if "effascinable" would be right to
describe Catherine Moreland in Northanger Abbey. Watched the new movie
version with my wife. I am VERY skeptical about The Monk being on
Catherine's reading list. That book was a bit porny for Jane. But I
haven't checked; does any hordester remember?

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 09:25 AM (ZbwAu)

It makes sense because in chapter 7 of novel Henry Tilney tells her that hadn't been a "terribly decent (novel) come out since Tom Jones, except The Monk" and all the others "are the stupidest things in creation." She preferred Mrs. Radcliffe's novels like Udolpho.

Posted by: Vendette at March 29, 2020 09:30 AM (nRNOc)

90 Alice Cooper wore a bra at home? I know he was weird until he became normal and took up golf. But no way he wore a bra lounging at home. I get the joke and wish I could ad more to the discussion.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 09:30 AM (hHxp2)

91 For you Post-Apocalyptic-ish fantasy fans, Moe Lane (formerly of RedState) is kickstarting his first novel he drafted during NaNoWriMo starting Wednesday; Frozen Dreams.

I was a Beta reader, and it was pretty good. A fantasy/noir detective novel set in a future Baja California.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/moelane/frozen-dreams-a-novel

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at March 29, 2020 09:30 AM (ijEPD)

92 But I never get tired of anything on Easter or Horses

or....

Posted by: Radio Ethiopia at March 29, 2020 09:31 AM (gd9RK)

93 Left off the Fantasy Map: Galt's Gulch

Posted by: FloridaMan - still believes this is overreaction at March 29, 2020 09:31 AM (r28kI)

94 Those who then
embraces it would be talking of DNA today.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 09:22 AM (ZbwAu)

---
Yes, I've noticed that mentality popping up more recently, particularly regarding various social problems. "Well, X group simply is biologically predisposed to doing that. Nothing can be done."

And they then ignore historical periods where things were totally different, pretending that social conditions are irrelevant.

To give a well-known example, Thomas Sowell has pointed out that black families were once the most cohesive of any ethnic group. After liberation from slavery, the desire to be near one's kin, having children close, etc. was immensely powerful. Abandoning children was unspeakable.

It took decades to destroy those values and get where we are today.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 09:31 AM (cfSRQ)

95 82 A young, very young Keith Richards.
Posted by: Jake Holenhead at March 29, 2020 09:25 AM (P1GvV)
-----------

I don't think photography existed when Keith Richards was young.
Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing
at March 29, 2020 09:27 AM (WEBkv)

The bird in the "camera" would chisel the picture in a stone tablet with its beak.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:32 AM (NWiLs)

96 I'll be back. Going to throw some clothes into the wash.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at March 29, 2020 09:32 AM (2JVJo)

97 I've read not one thing this week. I usually average two books a week but this isolation-thing is doing some very bad things to my head and I can't concentrate on anything. I'm wondering if other people with depression are experiencing the same.

Posted by: grammie winger at March 29, 2020 09:32 AM (lwiT4)

98 And I've been enjoying Nancy Forbes and Basil Mahon's "Faraday Maxwell and the Electromagnetic Field," a marvelous look at the history of electromagnetics.

Posted by: Hans G. Schantz at March 29, 2020 09:17 AM (FXjhj)

*coughnerdcough*

Posted by: vmom 2020 at March 29, 2020 09:33 AM (G546f)

99 Those pants are fine. I would wear them to a gay hop.

Posted by: The Easter Bunny at March 29, 2020 09:33 AM (Tnijr)

100 Who Dis?

Every formerly sentient human after reading one paragraph of James Joyce.

Posted by: Muldoon at March 29, 2020 09:33 AM (m45I2)

101 Who dis?

That's a man baby!

Posted by: Muad'dib at March 29, 2020 09:33 AM (/bKbU)

102 Am reading Patrick Quentin's A Puzzle for Fools, the first (1936) in a series about theatrical producer and ex-drunk Peter Duluth, who turns amateur detective while in a sanatarium drying out. Two murders happen, and his future wife Iris is suspected. There are a few of those "said-isms" that modern writing texts warn us about, like "I exclaimed imploringly." Touches of humor, too.

No idea whether this will turn out to be a well-reasoned solution like those in Ellery Queen, or a more modern thing were the detective just gets a hunch and follows it.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 29, 2020 09:34 AM (rpbg1)

103 The bird in the "camera" would chisel the picture in a stone tablet with its beak.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:32 AM (NWiLs)

It's a living!

Posted by: hogmartin at March 29, 2020 09:34 AM (t+qrx)

104 Good morning fellow Book Threadists. I hope everyone had a pleasant, if separate, week of reading.

Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2020 09:34 AM (7EjX1)

105
I cant believe Thomas Jefferson wouldnt own a porn collection.

Posted by: MHK at March 29, 2020 09:34 AM (iQIUe)

106 There was talk of discussing it by email but that hasn't happened. Plus it's not like I don't have other stuff to read.
Posted by: Captain Hate at March 29, 2020 09:29 AM (y7DUB)
-----------

My book club is supposed to try doing our early April meeting via Zoom. I don't know how well that will work, but we will see.

As an aside, my youngest daughter told me that Generation Z has now taken to calling themselves Zoomers since so many of them are using it for their college classes now. She said they used to use Zoomers as a joke playing on Boomers but now it actually makes sense.

Posted by: bluebell at March 29, 2020 09:35 AM (/669Q)

107 I don't think photography existed when Keith Richards was young.
Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing
at March 29, 2020 09:27 AM (WEBkv)

The bird in the "camera" would chisel the picture in a stone tablet with its beak.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020

*
*

Fun fact: Keith dated Betty Rubble before she married Barney.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 29, 2020 09:35 AM (rpbg1)

108 the lady from that tv show "MOM" after a really hard week?

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 09:35 AM (hHxp2)

109 I'm wondering if other people with depression are experiencing the same.
Posted by: grammie winger at March 29, 2020 09:32 AM (lwiT4)

yeah
not ready, not crafting
over snacking
bad signs

Posted by: vmom 2020 at March 29, 2020 09:35 AM (G546f)

110 Who Dis?

Finnegan, not yet a wake.

Posted by: Muldoon at March 29, 2020 09:35 AM (m45I2)

111 Morning, Horde!

I've been reading The Dark Ages 476-918, by Charles Oman. It was published in the 1800s, and I'm not sure how much value it has as a history book. What I like about it is the tone. Books from the era have a confidence in their narrative that's missing from today; modern nonfiction writers try, but it just comes across as whiny to me. Older authors happily tell you what to think about XYZ historical figure, and while I don't usually like people telling me what to think, it is kind of fascinating in these cases.

On the writing front, I've finished the first book of my Mercenary series; it should be out soon. Big tough guy wanders around pseudo-Europe slaying monsters and ogling the ladies in a series of short, episodic adventures. Yes, I was inspired by The Witcher; why do you ask?

Posted by: right wing yankee at March 29, 2020 09:35 AM (zlzYb)

112 Daguerre took one of the first pictures with Keith Richards as the subject

Posted by: Skip at March 29, 2020 09:35 AM (ZCEU2)

113 Jordan61 @20, if you are interested in the concept of generation ships, a more recent (from the 1990s) use of the concept is Gene Wolfe's series "The Book of the Long Sun".

"Orphans of the Sky" is, of course, a classic.

Posted by: John F. MacMichael at March 29, 2020 09:35 AM (9AOND)

114 "Vincent Furnier"

Discovered by FZ btw.

Posted by: A Zillion Dollar Baby at March 29, 2020 09:36 AM (Tnijr)

115 {{{vmom}}}

Posted by: grammie winger at March 29, 2020 09:36 AM (lwiT4)

116 I didn't read anything this week, either, except for the HR slide presentation from the company who is taking over my department at work.

So, in the midst of isolation, we have to try to decide whether to try to get hired by the new company, or look for another job (as if anyone is hiring right now).

Sigh.

I need a good humorous book this week.

Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 09:36 AM (OX9vb)

117 Alice Cooper was also on a top state level track team in high school.

Posted by: Vashta Nerada at March 29, 2020 09:36 AM (HX5Qm)

118 As an aside, my youngest daughter told me that Generation Z has now taken to calling themselves Zoomers since so many of them are using it for their college classes now. She said they used to use Zoomers as a joke playing on Boomers but now it actually makes sense.
Posted by: bluebell at March 29, 2020 09:35 AM (/669Q)

It's certainly more succinct than "Tide-Pod-eating retards who bring shame to their families and disgrace to their ancestors."

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:37 AM (NWiLs)

119 I need a good humorous book this week.
Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 09:36 AM (OX9vb)
------------

Can't go wrong with P.G. Wodehouse.

Posted by: bluebell at March 29, 2020 09:37 AM (/669Q)

120 I didn't read anything this week, either, except for the HR slide presentation from the company who is taking over my department at work.
---
This is the saddest sentence I've ever read.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:37 AM (Dc2NZ)

121 In keeping with the theme of keeping yourself pleasantly occupied during Wuhan Lung Rot lock-down, here's information some vintage cocktail books:

The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks by David A. Embury ("new, revised ed." 195

. An important book with lots of information concerning the development of the cocktail. Author was an attorney with a knowlege of cocktails before, during and after Prohibition. Not just a book of recipes, the author sets out to help the reader avoid some pitfalls and tells you what he likes (strong "dry" cocktails) and doesn't like. Rating = 5.0/5 (Book went through three editions and rather expensive; there is a fairly recent reprint but I don't for which ed.)

Esquire's Handbook for Hosts ("new enlarged ed." 1953). Lot's of mid-century advice for the eligible bachelor on food and drink. Sprinkled with some amusing drawings, it is a bit frank about how the bachelor should pursue and capture his prey (his not too unwilling lady friend). Fun book; rating = 4.5/5 (the reprint does not have the information on outdoor parties).

Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide ("revised ed." 1972). Lots of recipe's and some advice on how to run a bar. Pretty good but he does tend to brag about how great and innovative he is. Rating = 4.25/5.0 (There is a 1947 edition out there, but Trader Vic writes that he dropped a number of unpopular/outdated recipes from his revised book).

Three Bottle Bar by H.i.Williams (1952, I have the British ed. from 1954). Curious little book with 50 recipes in which you only need 1 bottle each of gin, whiskey and white wine. He gives a bit of advise on mixing drinks, expanding the bar (add rum and scotch) and using a simple syrup to avoid wasting sugar (post-WWII shortages!). Some original ideas but not indispensible; rating = 4.0/5.

Esquire Party Handbook (1965 edition). More food recipes than the "Handbook for Hosts" but not as well organized. Rating = 3.5/5.

The "Old Mr. Boston" Bartender's Guide is useful, too. I have the 1948 (lots of older recipes) and 1979 editions (newer recipes and a bit more mixing advise). It is interesting to see how some some liquors disappear (such as Creme d' Yvette) and appear (such as vodka) between the two editions. Lots of these are available at different price-points; rating = 3.9/5.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at March 29, 2020 09:37 AM (00fXp)

122 Was the story we've always heard, about General
Butler confiscating all the family silver and thus becoming known as
"Spoons" Butler, true?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 29, 2020 09:29 AM (rpbg1)

---
The part I read only covers the initial capture, not the occupation. There may be a piece on that later. It runs chronologically.

Funny you mentioned that, though. One of my ancestors claimed to have owned the shop where the alleged theft took place.

I suspect it's like being at Woodstock.

Anyhow, having been ruined financially, they went back to Germany for a spell, returning later on, presumably when their fortunes improved.

This time they settled in Long Island. They were Jewish (and proud Confederates!), and the branch that stayed in Europe was wiped out in the subsequent unpleasantness.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 09:38 AM (cfSRQ)

123 She isn't from State Farm and she isn't Jake
She's trying to read about someone's wake
His name is Finnegan
And she has to begin again
Poor Patti Smith just can't stay awake

Posted by: Radio Ethiopia at March 29, 2020 09:38 AM (gd9RK)

124 Amazon has a number of Kindle C.S. Lewis books on sale today.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 29, 2020 09:38 AM (DMUuz)

125 97 I've read not one thing this week. I usually average two books a week but this isolation-thing is doing some very bad things to my head and I can't concentrate on anything. I'm wondering if other people with depression are experiencing the same.
Posted by: grammie winger at March 29, 2020 09:32 AM (lwiT4)

I'm doing supr

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:38 AM (NWiLs)

126 Good morning!

Let's smile and be happy & strike fear in the hearts of killjoy leftists everywhere.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 29, 2020 09:38 AM (u82oZ)

127 Foolery so utterly groundless as Astrology

-
I think that that there may be or, back in olden days, may have been some validity to astrology. A baby born on December 21 who first several months are an experience of cold, snow, and ice may have a different view on the world than a baby born on March 21 amidst the greenery and flowers.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 29, 2020 09:38 AM (+y/Ru)

128 Today is a rare case of my being here and actually wearing pants. A bathrobe is my usual attire. But I had to pick up an order at Krogers. I was pleased about how fast it was; they'd warned of delays. One nice thing was that, for 3 items I had ordered, they didn't have them in stock, so they replaced them with more expensive variants, at the originally quoted price.

For my current reading, I'm mentally down, as I don't feel very well (no, not the Yellow Plague). So I'm as usual going to the standard backups, GKC, Lewis, and Bill James. Also Waugh's essays. The last included one, "Two Unquiet Lives" which has a brutal (and fun) takedown of Steven Spender.

Of course, Waugh was notable for viciousness. But there are a few where that changes. His "The American Era in the Catholic Church" includes a very favorable note on the black Catholics in Maryland. And of course, there is the entire shift of tone when he writes about Wodehouse.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 09:38 AM (ZbwAu)

129 thanks grammie
sucky weather doesn't help
must remember to take my vit F

Posted by: vmom 2020 at March 29, 2020 09:39 AM (G546f)

130 I need a good humorous book this week.

Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 09:36 AM (OX9vb)
------------

Can't go wrong with P.G. Wodehouse.

Posted by: bluebell at March 29, 2020 09:37 AM (/669Q)

Dave Barry can make me lol.

Posted by: BignJames at March 29, 2020 09:39 AM (X/Pw5)

131 I am surprised TJ's library remains standing and that the left hasn't torched the place. Nice pic.

Posted by: Locke Common at March 29, 2020 09:39 AM (0rJX+)

132 lol vit D
not F

Posted by: vmom 2020 at March 29, 2020 09:39 AM (G546f)

133 ... effascinable passivity of Phancie...

*********

I heard this in Mike Tyson's voice.

Posted by: Muldoon at March 29, 2020 09:39 AM (m45I2)

134 I'm purring through "Treasure Island," which I've never read before. For a classic of literature, it's a good story. Much more straightforward than I had expected, which is a relief. Hooray for the Internet Archive!

I see that "The Andromeda Strain" is being snapped up around the country. I read this in high school and loved it. The printout pages and the like really grabbed me.

Now I see a different author has grabbed the concept and produced "The Andromeda Evolution," with updates in technology. I flipped through this in the supermarket, and it looked interesting.

As a rule, I dislike piggyback authors, but Crichton's name appears on the cover, so he might have had a hand in this.

Have any Morons read this? What did you think?

Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2020 09:39 AM (u/nim)

135 11 Is that Patti Smith?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:06 AM (Dc2NZ)

Yes, but CN beat you at #5. You have to be pretty quick on the book thread.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 09:40 AM (Nq3+Y)

136 Posted by: John F. MacMichael at March 29, 2020 09:35 AM (9AOND)

Thanks for the recommendation!

Posted by: Jordan61 at March 29, 2020 09:40 AM (6ofTb)

137 ALERT!! BREAKING NEWS!!

The today only Kindle Daily Deals has a shit ton (sorry about the technical jargon) of CS Lewis books for $1.99 each. This includes most of the Narnia books and some compendiums of his essays on prayer and being Christian.

Just FYI.

Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2020 09:40 AM (7EjX1)

138 I've read not one thing this week. I usually average two books a week
but this isolation-thing is doing some very bad things to my head and I
can't concentrate on anything. I'm wondering if other people with
depression are experiencing the same.

Posted by: grammie winger at March 29, 2020 09:32 AM (lwiT4)

I've been having similar issues, partly because I'm also stuck in the house with a person who is NOT taking this well. I've been doing a lot of sewing, to keep myself away from the news.

Hang in there.

Posted by: right wing yankee at March 29, 2020 09:40 AM (zlzYb)

139 Plutarch? Wasn't he one of the Keebler Elves?

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 29, 2020 09:41 AM (+y/Ru)

140 Look also for National Lampoon's Doon, a parody of guess what series which emerged in the '80s when the David Lynch film came out. It is in the same style as Bored, and it even parodies the glossary of the original Herbert novel. Example:

"Orthodontothopter: An appliance consisting of fixed metal strips
held in place by rubber bands. Expensive, but in the long run,
definitely worth it."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 29, 2020 09:26 AM (rpbg1)

---
Bored of the Rings is unquestionably funnier than Doon, but the latter has its moments. I own both.

For those who don't know, the central joke of Doon is that Arruckus - Dessert Planet - is a vast sugary wasteland populated with giant salt pretzels. It is also the sole source of beer.

The Freedmenmen have permanently bloodshot eyes from constant exposure.

Lots of mocking Herbert's oddball writing style as well.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 09:41 AM (cfSRQ)

141 I need a good humorous book this week.
Posted by: April

Dave Barry's Big Trouble

Tricky Business is good too !

Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 09:41 AM (arJlL)

142
Alice Cooper was Eddie Haskell

In the early 70s, it was widely reported that Leave It to Beaver
star Ken Osmond had become "rock star Alice Cooper." According to
Cooper, the rumor began when a college newspaper editor asked him what
kind of kid he was, to which Cooper replied, "I was obnoxious,
disgusting, a real Eddie Haskell." However, the story ended up reporting
that Cooper was the real Haskell.

It got to the point where Cooper had a t-shirt made reading: No. I'm not Eddie Haskell

Posted by: TheQuietMan at March 29, 2020 09:41 AM (4mKR9)

143 lol vit D

not F

Posted by: vmom 2020 at March 29, 2020 09:39 AM (G546f)

LOL I was wondering

Posted by: grammie winger at March 29, 2020 09:41 AM (lwiT4)

144 "Alice Cooper" is used a chorus/refrain on one of the songs on Frank Zappa's Fillmore East 1971 album.

MisHum has been providing an excellent introduction to Frank Zappa on the ONT, BTW.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 29, 2020 09:41 AM (DMUuz)

145 124 Amazon has a number of Kindle C.S. Lewis books on sale today.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 29, 2020 09:38 AM (DMUuz)

Will definitely look into this.

As for Patti Smith, my college experience with the fellow co-op person who blasted her shit day and night, turned me off forever. Wasn't she a big fan of Nader and other leftist causes?

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 09:41 AM (ONvIw)

146 This is the saddest sentence I've ever read.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:37 AM (Dc2NZ)

*snif...thank you

Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 09:42 AM (OX9vb)

147 >>I'm wondering if other people with depression are experiencing the same.

Yes. I though I would catch up on reading but no.

Posted by: Lizzy at March 29, 2020 09:42 AM (bDqIh)

148 What the hell? Let's try this again:

97 I've read not one thing this week. I usually average two books a week but this isolation-thing is doing some very bad things to my head and I can't concentrate on anything. I'm wondering if other people with depression are experiencing the same.
Posted by: grammie winger at March 29, 2020 09:32 AM (lwiT4)

I'm doing surprisingly well, but mostly by keeping up with my usual activities as much as possible. The hair-on-fire hysteria going on all around is aggravating, though I'm trying to tune that out as much as possible.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:42 AM (NWiLs)

149 Hang in there.

Posted by: right wing yankee at March 29, 2020 09:40 AM (zlzYb)

You too!

Posted by: grammie winger at March 29, 2020 09:42 AM (lwiT4)

150 I've been playing duolingo though
added Latin last week
so far I can say a bunch of people are sleeping
it's a bit weird

Posted by: vmom 2020 at March 29, 2020 09:42 AM (G546f)

151 "Can't go wrong with P.G. Wodehouse"

Gutenberg has a bunch of free Wodehouse. Latest addition in February was "Ukridge".

"Ukridge is always on the verge of making a fortune and counting his thousands before they are made. But Dame Fortune is a fickle jade. She eludes him in his great scheme about the dog college, wherein he was to turn out a world supply of trained dogs"

Posted by: freaked at March 29, 2020 09:42 AM (Tnijr)

152 "The Atlas of Middle Earth" is a good read that "explains" middle earth in the context of real earth geology and geography. (It doesn't neglect all of the historical maps.)

Posted by: Mikey NTH - Quarantine Special - Free Delivery of Lockdown Laments from The Outrage Outlet! at March 29, 2020 09:42 AM (cT2Wi)

153 Good morning, y'all. Thanks for the National Emergency Library link, OM. Methinks it will be useful.

Posted by: Bert G at March 29, 2020 09:43 AM (OMsf+)

154 Insomniac - that's wonderful!

Posted by: grammie winger at March 29, 2020 09:43 AM (lwiT4)

155 Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 09:36 AM (OX9vb)

April! I remember you mentioning you are a true crime fan, like me. There is a podcast called Small Town Murder which I am really enjoying. It's done by two comedians which sounds weird I know, but it's good.

Posted by: Jordan61 at March 29, 2020 09:44 AM (6ofTb)

156 34 OK, no cheating, for five points what's Alice Cooper's name and what sport is he good at?
Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:12 AM (gd9R

Vincent Damon Fournier, and he's quite a golf enthusiast.

Used to golf regularly with Bob Hope.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 09:44 AM (Nq3+Y)

157 Bored of the Rings is unquestionably funnier than Doon, but the latter has its moments. I own both.

For those who don't know, the central joke of Doon is that Arruckus - Dessert Planet - is a vast sugary wasteland populated with giant salt pretzels. It is also the sole source of beer.

The Freedmenmen have permanently bloodshot eyes from constant exposure.

Lots of mocking Herbert's oddball writing style as well.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020

*
*

Doon is so on-target with its lances that even if it isn't as funny as Bored, it's as memorable.

The "gom jabbar" from the original is called the "kareem-abdul jabbar," translated as "the long-legged, high-handed enemy." And the "Kwisatz Haderach" becomes the "Kumquatz Haagendasz."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 29, 2020 09:44 AM (rpbg1)

158 This has been mostly light and amusing reading this week.

The MASH books have long been a weakness of mine, silly and over the top as they are. However, the first two in the series, "MASH Goes to Maine" and "MASH Mania" are my favorites and better than the original for my taste. This week it was "MASH Mania" which is damn funny, completely non-PC, and sometimes quite poignant. These first two were written by Hooker himself, not co-written. I wish he had done more like these.

Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2020 09:45 AM (7EjX1)

159 Hope I'm not too OT but this video about the virus I think needs to go..uh...viral. This was posted by a friend whose wife is a cardiologist who has been tangentially involved in fighting this thing in NYC. I highly recommend watching this.

https://youtu.be/cjUOpvmDE7k

Posted by: WTP at March 29, 2020 09:45 AM (WQfDg)

160 The hair-on-fire hysteria going on all around is aggravating, though I'm trying to tune that out as much as possible.

Yep. I think doing just that is key to weathering this storm.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at March 29, 2020 09:45 AM (EgshT)

161 Insomniac - that's wonderful!
Posted by: grammie winger

Oh, here we go........

Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 09:45 AM (arJlL)

162 If anyone is looking for a good movie, PATTERNS (195

written by Rod Seeling. The ultimate "tell off the asshoe boss (but who isn't entirely an asshoe)" story. It's on YT.

Posted by: Citizen of Bureaustan at March 29, 2020 09:45 AM (ldmQR)

163 Finnegan's Wake didn't put Patti to sleep, she's just resting her eyes. She's a sharp chick who tears through books like this the way I tear through P.G. Wodehouse or Saki.

Posted by: so many clever people at March 29, 2020 09:45 AM (vc4+d)

164
Thomas Jefferson's Library featuring The Un-Comfy Chair.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2020 09:46 AM (z0XD8)

165 IIRC he's spent a lot of time helping musicians overcome substance abuse, and is overall a really good dude.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:19 AM (NWiLs)

Politically conservative, too, iirc.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 09:46 AM (Nq3+Y)

166 154 Insomniac - that's wonderful!
Posted by: grammie winger at March 29, 2020 09:43 AM (lwiT4)

I reckon it is. I've experienced that inability to concentrate many a time over the years. Going and doing something you like that doesn't require much concentration, yet is sufficiently distracting, can help.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:46 AM (NWiLs)

167 Now that I've read the content...

Thomas Jefferson was a cool dude. I like people who are curious about what's going on around them, and he certainly had wide ranging interests. The experimental garden at Monticello is one of my favorite 'tourist' attractions.

I may have to pick up a copy of the mapmaking book. Part of authoring is worldbuilding, and geography isn't always as intuitive as it looks. I have some background because I grew up on construction sites (drainage is drainage, whether it's a little culvert or a giant river) but I should probably do some actual learning about the subject instead of winging it.

Posted by: right wing yankee at March 29, 2020 09:46 AM (zlzYb)

168 Yeah, CN, Patti Smith is definitely a leftist.

Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 09:46 AM (OX9vb)

169 I'm going to go watch church online. Not ours - Ha

Posted by: grammie winger at March 29, 2020 09:46 AM (lwiT4)

170 29
g'mornin', book-ish 'rons

that's Alice Cooper

Posted by: AltonJackson at March 29, 2020 09:11 AM (CeiD

Tisn't.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 09:47 AM (Nq3+Y)

171 I read Louis L'amour's book "The Sackett Brand". I remember it as cannon but this time the story seemed bland and obviously part of a series. The story had no twists and turns at all other than to say over and over that if you messed with a Sackett, they would all team up and never quit.

There were some good Sackett books and obviously they meant a lot to the author. But I much prefer his stand alone novels. Two I have read recently that I really liked were The Iron Marshal and To Tame a Land.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 09:47 AM (hHxp2)

172 Currently reading The Bombers and the Bombed: Allied Air War Over Europe 1940-1945 by Richard Overy. This is very well sourced. The strategic implications are well laid out. He shows how the UK effort was bungled, the USAAF finally got the right strategy, and plenty from the German perspective, from the defenses, leadership, and the local fire and civil defense efforts.

He shows how the Germans, under severe bombing, never buckled. He has a spot-on detail missed by many others on what the Combined Bombing Offensive missed in their target analysis. This is going to be the definitive top-down analysis of the bombing campaign. He puts the personal struggles of all into bracing context.

I recommend this, and other books by this author.

He is the same author of that tour-de-force analysis, Why the Allies Won.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 29, 2020 09:47 AM (u82oZ)

173
I'm Your Huckleberry, Finn - a limerick

A young water skier named Jake
Soon realized he'd made a mistake
He tried some hot-dogging
But it's mighty tough slogging
To make it through Finnegan's wake

Posted by: Muldoon at March 29, 2020 09:47 AM (m45I2)

174 From Doon:

The boy grew silent. Something was troubling his mother - something she chose to deny rather than explain. And he knew she knew he could perceive them - had she not been his teacher? Had she not made it her own goal to educate her son in the Boni Maroni Ways and Means?

True, such training was unusual for a boy; the Boni Maroni order was, after all, principally composed of women.

Perhaps I am a woman, Pall thought.

But his heightened powers of observation were able to discern, between his legs and hidden from the casual observer by the clothing of his race, those telltale organs that confirmed his intuition that he was indeed a male-man.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 09:48 AM (cfSRQ)

175 Since our books are sourced from the public library, a voracious reading habit has me jonesing.
Savoring "the roosevelt myth" (john t flynn) 1948. Devastates the TCM old movies attitude where everybody worships him. Absolutely prolonged and deepened the depression and ww2 while exploding growth of federal control and budget. A lying manipulative jerk.
Must reading, every page rich with "he f*ucking did What?"

Posted by: getting the banned back together socialist distancing at March 29, 2020 09:48 AM (BuDVX)

176 Greetings, O Book Thread!

While I have been industriously writing during the Great Hunkering, I wish to bring news of particular interest to the 'ettes. A relative of mine, Olivia Sinclair, is writing a romance series (that I have christened the "Abs" for the splendid muscular torsos that grace the covers). The particular volume I recommend for Horde consumption is "Damon" -- because it features a love scene with extensive (and pertinent!) quotations from the Constitution. Which is something not often encountered in romance novels!
Now, for another work of mine in progress--can anyone recommend some good early histories of China? Bonus points for fortresses and wars vs court intrigue.

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 29, 2020 09:48 AM (exg7Q)

177 My first and almost certainly last attempt with James Joyce was Dubliners. I know I didn't make it through the first chapter.

My enjoyment rate with classics is probably over 75%, so I try to get to something "new to me" several times a year.

Favorite recently was Tristam Shandy. Never on my radar, but thoroughly enjoyed it. Probably at least a few others hear that would enjoy novel with odd discressions about obscure 18th century British Dutch sieges.

Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at March 29, 2020 09:48 AM (x8Q/V)

178 I finished up the flight attendant (soon to be an hbo max series with kaley cuocco) I picked up one of Andrew kaplan's scorpions series, he's ex israeli army, he started this series with an freelance cia operative, who was raised by a Saudi sheikh, he uses a fair number of foreign names and smatterings of languages, in Arabic or Russian or Ukrainian for authenticity, the first places are close to reality, the second are on point, the last one,scorpion winter takes place in the Ukraine and yemen, the first part is that an op is blown in the latter region, and he ends up in the former, where he is given a tip that one candidate is to be assassinated, guess what happens next, oh and he gets involved with a scorching hawt campaign staffer, as they get chased through all the places, that hunter biden would hang out,

Posted by: gaius martius at March 29, 2020 09:48 AM (hMlTh)

179 "His fater,Peter Jefferson" maybe HE ate the books?

Posted by: saf at March 29, 2020 09:48 AM (5IHGB)

180 Hey, Jordan, I'll check that out! I like My Favorite Murder, which is also done by a couple of very funny gals.

Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 09:48 AM (OX9vb)

181 Is that Patti Smith?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:06 AM (Dc2NZ)

Who else has that face?
Posted by: CN

Who'd want one?

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 29, 2020 09:48 AM (+y/Ru)

182 Nearly 50 years ago I worked in the computing/math department of a major medical school. In a group dripping with nerds, the biggest nerds were the three systems programmers.

One of these guys said he believed in astrology to some extent because he had been a physics major. Physical forces vary during the year, so it just made sense to him that there might be something to the idea that being born at different times of the year made a difference in your personality.

He also used to talk about how someday computers would be small enough to carry around with you. Mind you, this was in the days in where there were only room-sized mainframes.

But then he also went up on the roof to smoke a joint at lunch every day.

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at March 29, 2020 09:49 AM (fTtFy)

183 If anyone is looking for a good movie, PATTERNS (195 written by Rod Seeling. The ultimate "tell off the asshoe boss (but who isn't entirely an asshoe)" story. It's on YT.
Posted by: Citizen of Bureaustan at March 29, 2020

*
*

I saw that on the Oldmovies channel. Friday night I watched Phone Call From a Stranger. It's a drama, not a thriller, but very good, with Gary Merrill, Michael Rennie as a doctor with a sad past, Shelley Winters when she was young and cute, Keenan Wynn as an obnoxious but lovable novelty salesman, and Bette Davis. Script by stage writer Nunnally Johnson. Quite good.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 29, 2020 09:49 AM (rpbg1)

184 Yes, I've noticed that mentality popping up more recently, particularly regarding various social problems. "Well, X group simply is biologically predisposed to doing that. Nothing can be done."

This is a fairly common position amongst the actual "alt right" (as opposed to the media definition where everyone to the right of Mao is "alt right").

It's possible to accept that there are differences among groups and to still treat members of those groups as individuals. Treating people as individuals is one of the foundations of modern conservatism.

Posted by: Ian S. at March 29, 2020 09:50 AM (6XLoz)

185 I've read not one thing this week. I usually average two books a week but this isolation-thing is doing some very bad things to my head and I can't concentrate on anything. I'm wondering if other people with depression are experiencing the same.
Posted by: grammie winger at March 29, 2020 09:32 AM (lwiT4)

Same here. I'll pick up a book and then put it back down again. I'm pissed at myself for not writing, and I really am depressed, though I can't put a finger on exactly why. There's a sort of hollow feeling in me that's more than my usual depression. I can't sleep, and even doing something completely mindless- sitting on the couch watching TV - drives me batty.

I need a reward. "Finish this scene and I'll dress up like Anna Held. Finish this chapter and I'll undress, too."

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at March 29, 2020 09:51 AM (2JVJo)

186 168 Yeah, CN, Patti Smith is definitely a leftist.
Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 09:46 AM (OX9vb)

This wouldn't bother me if I liked listening to her, but I don't. I remember myself having to leave my room because her greatest fan was playing the same 2 LPs over and over and over. It became unbearable to the point two of the guys threatened to vote her out of the co-op.

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 09:52 AM (ONvIw)

187 185 I've read not one thing this week. I usually average two books a week but this isolation-thing is doing some very bad things to my head and I can't concentrate on anything. I'm wondering if other people with depression are experiencing the same.
Posted by: grammie winger at March 29, 2020 09:32 AM (lwiT4)

Same here. I'll pick up a book and then put it back down again. I'm pissed at myself for not writing, and I really am depressed, though I can't put a finger on exactly why. There's a sort of hollow feeling in me that's more than my usual depression. I can't sleep, and even doing something completely mindless- sitting on the couch watching TV - drives me batty.

I need a reward. "Finish this scene and I'll dress up like Anna Held. Finish this chapter and I'll undress, too."
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at March 29, 2020 09:51 AM (2JVJo)

I think the circumstances we're in right now play a huge part in that.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:52 AM (NWiLs)

188 I'm continuing with "Praying the Rosary Like Never Before". It is so different from the simple rote that I was taught as a youngster, with no attempt to provide depth, understanding, or context. It was a mechanical process that was meaningless. That kind of approach led to half a century of me being an agnostic. What a waste.

Anyhow, I'm taking the book slowly to absorb the many references and meanings that are so new to me. There are a lot of diversions as I spend time with JP II writings and, finally, start to read the Gospels.

Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2020 09:53 AM (7EjX1)

189 Once again, a link to the truly indispensable reading on this period: Lewis's introduction contains a discussion of this (and much else):

https://tinyurl.com/qlqs42j

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 09:22 AM (ZbwAu)

That book is actually in the public domain? Wow. I guess the Estate of C.S. Lewis did not care enough about it to renew the copyrights.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 09:53 AM (Nq3+Y)

190 Same here. I'll pick up a book and then put it back down again. I'm pissed at myself for not writing, and I really am depressed, though I can't put a finger on exactly why. There's a sort of hollow feeling in me that's more than my usual depression. I can't sleep, and even doing something completely mindless- sitting on the couch watching TV - drives me batty.

I need a reward. "Finish this scene and I'll dress up like Anna Held. Finish this chapter and I'll undress, too."
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at March 29, 2020

*
*

I'm still getting used to having Internet at home. But I need to apply the seat of my pants to the seat of my chair and write *something*. I have an idea that is bounding around the back of my mind like a kitten with a rattle ball. So I need to sit down and start playing with it. . . .

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 29, 2020 09:53 AM (rpbg1)

191 Was going to ask this Thomas Jefferson, is he a daytime commentator?
Don't see him in the evening or weekends, nice library though.

Posted by: Skip at March 29, 2020 09:53 AM (ZCEU2)

192 Reason # 2,593,228 why I hate the MSM:
ABC's GMA lead story is about how President Trump is mulling over quarantining parts of the country, and "the immediate, strong reaction" to the idea.
Here's the formula: spend 10 minutes on the story, using as many Democrats as possible (because Orange Man Bad), and at the end taking 10 seconds to turn into Emily Litella "He changed his mind. Never mind!"

Posted by: Mr. Trashbag, Shoggoth and Eater Of Toes at March 29, 2020 09:53 AM (T09ml)

193 I need a good humorous book this week.

Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 09:36 AM (OX9vb)

The late Patrick McManus was a funny writer. He wrote columns for Field and Stream magazine about hunting and fishing and the adventures he had as a child in northern Washington State. Even if you're not into the outdoors (and I am not), he can be gut-bustingly funny at times.

https://tinyurl.com/wc9973m

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at March 29, 2020 09:53 AM (2JVJo)

194 Started Landscape and Memory by Simon Schama last week, which I think was the last thing he wrote before he went full lib retard. I started it years ago and put it down for some reason; maybe I got bogged down on looking up some footnotes or something. Anyway it's well narrated and about telling the history of an era by scrutinizing the landscape. He starts with a section on visiting the Cross at Giby in Poland with stones commemorating partisans who fell to the krauts and commies. He then goes on to describe his family's ties to the area as Jew lumberjacks, pretty much laying waste to a stereotype. He then finds a grown over jooo cemetery out in the sticks that barely anyone knew about.

He then goes on to narrate Polish/Lithuanian deep forest areas that remained fairly pristine though massive border realignments through the 17th through 19th centuries and how the Lithuanian bison was such an awesome wild beast that could only thrive in the deep woods. It's very enjoyable to read and shows what a good writer Schama was before he became a bitter politicized dickhole.

Posted by: Captain Hate at March 29, 2020 09:54 AM (y7DUB)

195 Of course, Waugh was notable for viciousness. But
there are a few where that changes. His "The American Era in the
Catholic Church" includes a very favorable note on the black Catholics
in Maryland. And of course, there is the entire shift of tone when he
writes about Wodehouse.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 09:38 AM (ZbwAu)

---
A friend of mine is reading Waugh's Sword of Honour trilogy. He says it is alternately hilarious and heart-breaking. Waugh's satire was subtle, which made it both funnier but also more potent.

I much prefer it to Catch-22 or MASH, because the things Waugh writes about may actually have happened, though in a slightly different form.

He piles minor absurdities on top of each other, creating a mountain of foolishness, but each step is all too plausible.

And unlike Heller or Hooker, he never forgets the seriousness of the war itself. When you least expect it, he'll drop a line to the effect of:

"At that very moment, unbeknownst to Guy, another train packed with doomed souls rolled mournfully into the night."

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 09:55 AM (cfSRQ)

196 Just finished rereading Ordeal by Sea: The Tragedy of the U.S.S. Indianapolis by Thomas Helm. Talk about being in the shit due to a life-altering experience. Whew.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at March 29, 2020 09:55 AM (EgshT)

197 May the depression is maybe due to hardly anything being normal anymore.

This shit has to stop and soon.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at March 29, 2020 09:56 AM (f7Img)

198 The late Patrick McManus was a funny writer. He wrote columns for Field and Stream
magazine about hunting and fishing and the adventures he had as a child
in northern Washington State. Even if you're not into the outdoors
(and I am not), he can be gut-bustingly funny at times.

https://tinyurl.com/wc9973m

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at March 29, 2020 09:53 AM (2JVJo)

---
My parents loved his stuff. He's got a bunch of memorable characters who pop up from time to time and does riffs on camping with Army surplus gear.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 09:56 AM (cfSRQ)

199 112 Daguerre took one of the first pictures with Keith Richards as the subject
Posted by: Skip at March 29, 2020 09:35 AM (ZCEU2)
_______

But it was disappointing compared with the Velasquez portrait of Richards.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 09:56 AM (ZbwAu)

200 That post was horrid. I need more coffee.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at March 29, 2020 09:57 AM (f7Img)

201 I switched to audio books. I am new to them, trying to figure out if I like them.
I finished "Founding Fathers" by Captivating History. 24 hours worth.
The Amazon free trial offer.

Posted by: navybrat at large at March 29, 2020 09:57 AM (w7KSn)

202 "The Atlas of Middle Earth"
---
A brilliant idea. Thanks! I just pulled it from the shelf.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 09:58 AM (Dc2NZ)

203 I'm continuing with "Praying the Rosary Like Never
Before". It is so different from the simple rote that I was taught as a
youngster, with no attempt to provide depth, understanding, or context.
It was a mechanical process that was meaningless. That kind of approach
led to half a century of me being an agnostic. What a waste.

Anyhow, I'm taking the book slowly to absorb the many references and
meanings that are so new to me. There are a lot of diversions as I
spend time with JP II writings and, finally, start to read the Gospels.

Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2020 09:53 AM (7EjX1)

---
Bless you!

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 09:58 AM (cfSRQ)

204 I need a good humorous book this week.

Posted by: April at March 29, 2020

*
*

Aside from the aforementioned Bored of the Rings and Doon, look for Red Sky at Morning by Richard Bradford. It's a 1968 novel, a coming-of-age story of a teenage boy during WWII, when his father, a shipbuilder, joins the Navy and sends him and his mother to Sagrado, NM (a town modeled on Santa Fe), to keep them safe. Hilarious, with colorful eccentric characters -- a novel with people you'd want to spend time with in real life.

H'wood filmed it in 1968 or '69 with Richard Thomas in the lead. I'm not sure he was right for it, as I've never seen the flick. The novel is dynamite.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 29, 2020 09:58 AM (rpbg1)

205 118
It's certainly more succinct than "Tide-Pod-eating retards who bring shame to their families and disgrace to their ancestors."
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:37 AM (NWiLs)
_______

Well, unlike some my age, I think the name "Boomer Removal" for the Yellow Peril is pretty funny. The kind of thing we would have said, back in the day when Lampoon formed our thinking.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 09:58 AM (ZbwAu)

206 Thanks for the suggestions! I think I'll go with Dave Barry or Patrick McManus.

I've never read P. G. Wodehouse, though...come to think of it, I think I have one of his books lying around here somewhere, which I picked up at a thrift store. Maybe I'll try that one.

Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 09:59 AM (OX9vb)

207 Daguerre took one of the first pictures with Keith Richards as the subject
Posted by: Skip at March 29, 2020 09:35 AM (ZCEU2)
_______

But it was disappointing compared with the Velasquez portrait of Richards.
Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 09:56 AM (ZbwAu)

Fun fact: Vic fronted Keef the money for his first guitar.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at March 29, 2020 09:59 AM (2JVJo)

208 Regarding the word EFFASCINABLE, one of my favorite words is ENSCORCELL, which means 'to enchant'. I can never use it in a real sentence, unfortunately.

I first encountered the word by reading an article by Maureen Dowd, of all people Once she started using it, I saw it published several times after that. It was kind of like James Taranto's crusade to have a word - I now forget which one - used in common parlance again.

Posted by: Darrell Harris at March 29, 2020 09:59 AM (m2EfB)

209 It's certainly more succinct than "Tide-Pod-eating retards who bring shame to their families and disgrace to their ancestors."
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:37 AM (NWiLs)

I prefer your long form.

Posted by: Dan Smoot's Apprentice at March 29, 2020 09:59 AM (H8QX8)

210 Prefacing this book review by saying that I despise all vampire, werewolf, zombie and assorted other monster genres.

With that established, I tell you this: Hie thee hence immediately and read our own Christopher R. Taylor's Life Unworthy. It is an excellent story well written.

Imagine you are a Pole in 1942, living in the Bloodlands (the area of Eastern Poland/Western Ukraine in which Stalin and Hitler managed to murder 12 million people between 1933 and 1945), just trying to survive another day, trying to keep your head down, terrified every second of every day.

Unleashed into this environment is an extremely pissed off werewolf who has just survived being gassed at Auschwitz. A situation that cannot be imagined to be worse suddenly is.

I really enjoyed this book even though the subject matter was so dark. Well-written characters, a lot of action, plenty of terror, and a huge number of Nazis getting what they deserve via angry lycanthrope.

I cannot recommend this book too highly.

Posted by: Sharkman at March 29, 2020 10:00 AM (ulOTf)

211 210 Prefacing this book review by saying that I despise all vampire, werewolf, zombie and assorted other monster genres.

BURN THE HERETIC!!!!

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:00 AM (NWiLs)

212 I loved the first two Sackett books. (Which got made into the movie) The movie annoyed me by having the two younger brothers show up to help the older brother.

The movie was more reflective of the later Sackett books then the ordinal two.

Posted by: Big V Caffeinated at March 29, 2020 10:01 AM (XEC2p)

213 We went to Monticello this September and the SJW tour ruined it.

We did get plenty of architectural pics for ideas and the grounds are cool, being on top of a mountain.

My wife and I looked at each other more than a few times wanting to get out of the house tour, but we ended up just ignoring the girl giving the tour who was probably one of the perps tearing statues down. Disappointing. But we got what we needed. Beautiful home. Back in the day, that must have been quite a sight for visitors.

Madison's Montpelier was a much more enjoyable tour.

Posted by: jsg at March 29, 2020 10:01 AM (B95HO)

214 Last week had Read Tolkien Day, which got me going on some of his non-LOTR stories. I already had a nice hardcover edition of "Tales From The Perilous Realm", which contains most of these and has illustrations by Alan Lee. The first I read was "Roverandom", a story that began as a bedtime story for Tolkien's small children. Not surprising, it is a sweet, creative story about a toy dog and his adventures. Besides the pleasant reading, it is fun to note certain echoes that made me think of Bilbo in "The Hobbit".

The second story was "Farmer Giles of Ham", written (or published) in the late 1940s. Tolkien had a sly, sometimes michievous, sense of humor and this story shows that. He skewers certain academics and turns the 'brave knight dragom slayer' motif on its head. Thoroughly enjoyable. It was easy to imagine Tolkien sharing this at meetings of the Inklings with a smile on his face.

Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2020 10:02 AM (7EjX1)

215 It's certainly more succinct than "Tide-Pod-eating retards who bring shame to their families and disgrace to their ancestors."

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 09:37 AM (NWiLs)

I prefer your long form.

Posted by: Dan Smoot's Apprentice at March 29, 2020 09:59 AM (H8QX

---
The thing is, there's a clear line between the Zoomers and the Millennials, and they resent the conflation just as much as Gen Xers dislike being called Boomers.

My eldest daughter is a Millennial, but her sisters are Zoomers and their worldviews are quite different.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 10:02 AM (cfSRQ)

216 There were some good Sackett books and obviously
they meant a lot to the author. But I much prefer his stand alone
novels. Two I have read recently that I really liked were The Iron
Marshal and To Tame a Land.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 09:47 AM

I'm a huge fan of The Walking Drum. It sucks that L'Amour died before finishing the sequel, though.

Posted by: Bert G at March 29, 2020 10:03 AM (OMsf+)

217 Riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay of horses.

Horses!

Horsey, horsey, HORSES!

Horsey, worsey, coursey, florsey, HORSES!!!

PORSEY!!! Pony! PHONY Ponies.

HORSES!

Can you do the Pony? Like My Little Pony?

The Mashed Potaty? The Alligaty?

All the way a lone. Lost my horsey scone! A last a loved a long the

HORSES!!!

Posted by: Patti Smith Dream at March 29, 2020 10:03 AM (z0XD8)

218 OM, Thanks for the thread, of course, and especially for that fantasy chart. Delightful!

Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2020 10:03 AM (7EjX1)

219
The second story was "Farmer Giles of Ham",
written (or published) in the late 1940s. Tolkien had a sly, sometimes
michievous, sense of humor and this story shows that. He skewers certain
academics and turns the 'brave knight dragom slayer' motif on its head.
Thoroughly enjoyable. It was easy to imagine Tolkien sharing this at
meetings of the Inklings with a smile on his face.

Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2020 10:02 AM (7EjX1)

---
That is a great story. It's basically Sam Gamgee unleashed.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 10:04 AM (cfSRQ)

220 210 Prefacing this book review by saying that I despise all vampire, werewolf, zombie and assorted other monster genres.

With that established, I tell you this: Hie thee hence immediately and read our own Christopher R. Taylor's Life Unworthy. It is an excellent story well written.

I second this, including the part about despising the genre. Life Unworthy is very good.

Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 10:04 AM (OX9vb)

221 On apocalypse, few did it better, more richly and amusingly than Walker Percy in "Love in the Ruins."

Percy's beat was the human paradox which is always holding the seeds of ruin.

Posted by: Dan Smoot's Apprentice at March 29, 2020 10:05 AM (H8QX8)

222
The late Patrick McManus was a funny writer. He wrote columns for Field and Stream

magazine about hunting and fishing and the adventures he had as a child

in northern Washington State. Even if you're not into the outdoors

(and I am not), he can be gut-bustingly funny at times.

https://tinyurl.com/wc9973m

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at March 29, 2020 09:53 AM (2JVJo)

I second this recommendation. McManus was hilarious.

And, MP4, when I'm feeling depressed, but can't even settle down to something mindless, I turn on whatever mindless tv show I can find, then do stretches, sit ups, push ups, etc. whenever I start getting restless. Usually in sets of five. I don't know how much benefit there is in it, but it makes me feel like I'm not just sitting on the couch, letting my brains ooze out of my ears.

Posted by: right wing yankee at March 29, 2020 10:05 AM (zlzYb)

223 Imagine you are a Pole in 1942, living in the Bloodlands (the area of Eastern Poland/Western Ukraine in which Stalin and Hitler managed to murder 12 million people between 1933 and 1945), just trying to survive another day, trying to keep your head down, terrified every second of every day.

Unleashed into this environment is an extremely pissed off werewolf who has just survived being gassed at Auschwitz. A situation that cannot be imagined to be worse suddenly is.

I really enjoyed this book even though the subject matter was so dark. Well-written characters, a lot of action, plenty of terror, and a huge number of Nazis getting what they deserve via angry lycanthrope.

I cannot recommend this book too highly.
Posted by: Sharkman at March 29, 2020 10:00 AM (ulOTf)

That sounds right in my wheelhouse. One of my favorite parts of Bloodlands was about the Polish Underground out in the sticks, which what I gathered from the narrative is what you encountered very quickly when leaving an urban area. Anyway those guys trusted nobody because both sides were gunning for them, and were major league asskickers.

Posted by: Captain Hate at March 29, 2020 10:06 AM (y7DUB)

224 And, MP4, when I'm feeling depressed, but can't even settle down to something mindless, I turn on whatever mindless tv show I can find, then do stretches, sit ups, push ups, etc. whenever I start getting restless. Usually in sets of five. I don't know how much benefit there is in it, but it makes me feel like I'm not just sitting on the couch, letting my brains ooze out of my ears.
Posted by: right wing yankee at March 29, 2020 10:05 AM (zlzYb)

Exercise, even mild exercise, is beneficial.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:07 AM (NWiLs)

225 @158 --

JTB, count me among those who love the "M*A*S*H" books. "Vienna" and "Miami" are my favorites, and "Montreal" and "Moscow" were disappointments. Consequently, I never read "Mania." Never read "Maine" or "New Orleans," either. The others -- constant rereads. Loved the footnotes.

Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2020 10:07 AM (u/nim)

226 A lot of folks commenting on C. S. Lewis today. Having listened to Bob Dylan's new 17-minute track on the JFK assassination, with all its name-dropping, I was rather hoping Bob might have spared a plug for Brother Jack, whose death on the very same day was completely ignored by the world, owing to the far higher profile end of POTUS 35. But he did not.

Posted by: Slow Learner at March 29, 2020 10:08 AM (hafXH)

227 177 My first and almost certainly last attempt with James Joyce was Dubliners. I know I didn't make it through the first chapter.

My enjoyment rate with classics is probably over 75%, so I try to get to something "new to me" several times a year.

Favorite recently was Tristam Shandy. Never on my radar, but thoroughly enjoyed it. Probably at least a few others hear that would enjoy novel with odd discressions about obscure 18th century British Dutch sieges.
Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at March 29, 2020 09:48 AM (x8Q/V)
________

I have a friend who is deeply into military history. (That is, on land.) He said that Tristram Shandy was the best book he'd read to understand the Vauban system of fortifications. Things like exactly how a Half Moon differed from a Ravelin.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 10:08 AM (ZbwAu)

228
Once In A Lifetime - a limerick

I once read Ulysses by choice
(I say in my still, small voice)
'Twas so darned depressing
I shall e'er count my blessing
I'm so happy I'll never re-Joyce

Posted by: Muldoon at March 29, 2020 10:08 AM (m45I2)

229 Jefferson died broke. So very sad, his final years.

Posted by: navybrat at large at March 29, 2020 10:09 AM (w7KSn)

230 Speaking of writing, though not of books...

Is anyone watching "Devs" on Hule or FX?

Excellently written series. Almost novelistic -wehat with the casual foreshadowing and excellent play of ideas in both dialogue, characters, and the action.

All within the context of a slow burning thriller.

Extremely well done.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2020 10:09 AM (z0XD8)

231 Anyone else struggling with the stuff they crank out for kids' reading these days? I know the whole "just be thankful they're reading" mantra. But, a lot of it is too snarky by half or PC preacht

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 10:10 AM (ONvIw)

232 213
We went to Monticello this September and the SJW tour ruined it.

We did get plenty of architectural pics for ideas and the grounds are cool, being on top of a mountain.

My wife and I looked at each other more than a few times wanting to
get out of the house tour, but we ended up just ignoring the girl giving
the tour who was probably one of the perps tearing statues down.
Disappointing. But we got what we needed. Beautiful home. Back in the
day, that must have been quite a sight for visitors.

Madison's Montpelier was a much more enjoyable tour.

Posted by: jsg at March 29, 2020 10:01 AM (B95HO)

Well that's a bummer, Nurse Ratched and I were talking about taking a trip to Monticello while we're at the NoVaMoMe.

Posted by: Jordan61 at March 29, 2020 10:10 AM (6ofTb)

233 There's a really nice hardback edition of Farmer Giles, profusely illustrated by Pauline Baynes (I grew up with the basic paperback version, which had a few pictures).

It would make a nice gift.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 10:11 AM (Dc2NZ)

234 Keef is on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. With a cig and Lute slung low.

Posted by: klaftern at March 29, 2020 10:11 AM (RuIsu)

235 "Treasure Island" is a lot of fun, WG. But when you are done, "Kidnapped" is better.

Posted by: Slow Learner at March 29, 2020 10:11 AM (hafXH)

236 Good morning all, Thanks OM, as ever.

Not much reading this week, just an occasional Conan. Mostly editing and trying to prep my own work, so i can send it off to a publisher sometime. Meanwhile, struggling mightily with MS Word and citations and references. Drowning in their self-help tutorials, none of which sink in. there seems to be some magic i am missing (I am NOT an MS fan, only using it as that's the standard. i drafted everything in Open Office).

Ya'll hang in there.

Posted by: goatexchange at March 29, 2020 10:12 AM (iUjXP)

237 Grandpa, what did you do in the Great Hunkering Down?

Why, Little Boo, I was a hero.
I did jack shit.

Posted by: Ignoramus at March 29, 2020 10:13 AM (9TdxA)

238 With that established, I tell you this: Hie thee hence immediately and read our own Christopher R. Taylor's Life Unworthy. It is an excellent story well written.

I second this, including the part about despising the genre. Life Unworthy is very good.
Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 10:04 AM (OX9vb)

I've been toying with reading this, but as my husband is forever watching and reading Holocaust themed books and shows, I find it hard to mix the camps with werewolf lit. I may read it anyway, as I always enjoy the author's more philosophical posts

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 10:14 AM (ONvIw)

239 213
We went to Monticello this September and the SJW tour ruined it.

Sounds awful. Is there anything they haven't ruined?

Posted by: Dan Smoot's Apprentice at March 29, 2020 10:14 AM (H8QX8)

240 Prefacing this book review by saying that I despise all vampire, werewolf, zombie and assorted other monster genres.

Posted by: Sharkman at March 29, 2020 10:00 AM (ulOTf)

---
LOL, same here. Didn't keep me from writing one, and I hear people like it as well.

I think the key is how much you use the supernatural element as a crutch. It's like the sidebar Ace posted during the week about how so many current writers can't write actual dialog because they have no idea how people talk.

Same thing. I think a lot of monster genre writers don't have a lot of life outside their fantasy world, and that makes it flat.

My wife and I are watching Cowboy Bebop on Hulu and it's funny how awful the shows they advertise are. They look downright bad - stupid premise, bad acting. These are clearly people who live sheltered lives and can't write anything else.

You write what you know. Even if you don't know an actual vampire (or werewolf), you can know real people and real events.

Over 29 years of reading books and living life, I've noticed that the best authors - the ones that feel real - use life events to spur their work.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 10:14 AM (cfSRQ)

241 >>With that established, I tell you this: Hie thee hence immediately and read our own Christopher R. Taylor's Life Unworthy. It is an excellent story well written.

Yes!

Posted by: Lizzy at March 29, 2020 10:14 AM (bDqIh)

242 I cannot recommend this book too highly.
Posted by: Sharkman at March 29, 2020 10:00 AM (ulOTf)

Life Unworthy is a really great book

Posted by: vmom 2020 at March 29, 2020 10:15 AM (G546f)

243 Nurse Ratched and I were talking about taking a trip to Monticello while we're at the NoVaMoMe.

Posted by: Jordan61 at March 29, 2020 10:10 AM (6ofTb)
If you can tune out some of the OMG! Those Poor Slaves! rhetoric, it's a great place to visit. Go on a sunny day if you can; the view from the top of the hill is magnificent.

Posted by: right wing yankee at March 29, 2020 10:15 AM (zlzYb)

244 195
A friend of mine is reading Waugh's Sword of Honour trilogy. He says it is alternately hilarious and heart-breaking. Waugh's satire was subtle, which made it both funnier but also more potent.

I much prefer it to Catch-22 or MASH, because the things Waugh writes about may actually have happened, though in a slightly different form.

He piles minor absurdities on top of each other, creating a mountain of foolishness, but each step is all too plausible.

And unlike Heller or Hooker, he never forgets the seriousness of the war itself. When you least expect it, he'll drop a line to the effect of:

"At that very moment, unbeknownst to Guy, another train packed with doomed souls rolled mournfully into the night."
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 09:55 AM (cfSRQ)
______

In the introduction to Arthur Marder's Operation Menace, there's a part saying "Apologies to Evelyn Waugh. We all thought you were making it up. Turns out to have been accurate." (Not a direct quote, paraphrase from memory.)

You've got a point. It is all too common for people to use folly-of-war arguments based on the inevitable SNAFUs as entailing the idea that resisting the enemy is itself folly. Non sequitur.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 10:16 AM (ZbwAu)

245 Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 10:14 AM (cfSRQ)

And I did like your vampire work. It was devoid of the modern vampire chicklit feel that so many are fond of, and replaced it with action, action, action.

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 10:16 AM (ONvIw)

246 Well inspired by Patti Smith and my youth in East Lansing, I looked up the old student co-op and it still exists and sadly, pretty much in its old form. I even spotted some of the old furniture.

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 10:19 AM (ONvIw)

247 I'm going to put the clothes in the dryer, make another cup of tea and see if I can at the least sketch out one scene.

Hope you all have a lovely day.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at March 29, 2020 10:20 AM (2JVJo)

248 Late to the game. Did anyone already do

"I saw The Effascinable Passivity of Phancie open for The Incredible String Band at the Springfield Faire in '69, right before they played Woodstock."

Posted by: mindful webworker
Congregation and Contagion
at March 29, 2020 10:22 AM (Sr48m)

249 I read Farmer Gil of Ham as a kid.

Posted by: BourbonChicken at March 29, 2020 10:22 AM (LxTcq)

250 You've got a point. It is all too common for people
to use folly-of-war arguments based on the inevitable SNAFUs as
entailing the idea that resisting the enemy is itself folly. Non
sequitur.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 10:16 AM (ZbwAu)

---
The other element that my friend has noticed is how the work becomes more somber as it progresses.

Men at Arms (the first book) is very light-hearted and silly. It's about the Phoney War and training, etc.

But as the series progresses, the tone changes. I pointed out to him that the US version of WW II was that we sat it out, then got in, ramped up production and won.

But the British were in a lot longer and suffered a lot more. Even the upper-crust "Smart Set" that Waugh wrote about was feeling the pinch. Yes, there were casualties, but not as bad as 1918. Still, everything was cramped and short, even booze was hard to find.

And what was it for? Did Poland get saved? Waugh doesn't go for Heller's "War is just a racket" cop-out because it's not. There was a real difference in your life depending on whether you lived under Nazi occupation or not.

But what about those abandoned to the Soviets? Didn't that undercut the whole point of the war?

The most important work of fiction in my life was Lord of the Rings. Sword of Honour is a close second.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 10:24 AM (cfSRQ)

251 Here's another vote for Patrick McManus. I remember reading one of his Field & Stream pieces in the high school library and achieving my highest stage of laughter -- shaking soundlessly and producing tears. Then I looked up over the top of the magazine and saw two of the girls looking at me and grinning.

Damn -- they do notice me!

Wish I could remember the piece. I think it was about him blackmailing a TV station friend to put on a hunter advice show. With Retch Sweeney. I'd love to find that one again.

***

The map is missing Xanth.

Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2020 10:25 AM (u/nim)

252 "One story is that if all of the white men left, everyone else would make a near utopia of earth."

*Looks back at the history of human civilization*

If it weren't for white men, we would all still be wearing skins for clothes and grunting for language.

I actually have a theory about why this is, let's call it Sharkman's Anthropological Theory of Civilizatiion. I postulate that complex science/logic based civilization arose first in Europe among white folk because the weather is so bad that you will die trying to live outside year round. So we had to invent proper housing, heating systems, food storage, sanitation systems, etc.

I may be full of shit on this, but I compare Europe to Africa, where the natives can live out in the bush year round without freezing to death, for the most part.

Posted by: Sharkman at March 29, 2020 10:25 AM (ulOTf)

253 I've been on a mystery jag. I have reread several of the Judge Dee mysteries by Robert Van Gulik. He was a Dutch historian who lived in China for many years. These are classics of the historical mystery genre.

Also took a crack at the Midnight, Texas series by Charlaine Harris. Not bad.

Posted by: Dr Alice at March 29, 2020 10:25 AM (oW/8k)

254 BOOK NERDS!!

Posted by: Ogre at March 29, 2020 10:27 AM (KnJdm)

255 Zoltan, sometimes a review gets me to order a book right away. The Last Marine is now on my kindle .
Thanks!

Posted by: RI Red at March 29, 2020 10:29 AM (p/KmR)

256 FIRST!!!!!

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:31 AM (Zz0t1)

257 Print, is dead.

Posted by: Egon Spengler at March 29, 2020 10:31 AM (Zz0t1)

258 Did Mao like little boys because I'm thinking he liked little boys.

Posted by: Kilroy wasn't here at March 29, 2020 10:31 AM (2DOZq)

259 Now everyone is going to know it was me.

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:31 AM (Zz0t1)

260 Did Mao like little boys because I'm thinking he liked little boys.
Posted by: Kilroy wasn't here at March 29, 2020 10:31 AM (2DOZq)

Tighter holes.

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:32 AM (Zz0t1)

261 257 Print, is dead.
Posted by: Egon Spengler at March 29, 2020 10:31 AM (Zz0t1)

I love print, especially for the kids, but I still buy hardcopies, although many are used. I prefer page turning to scrolling down.

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 10:32 AM (ONvIw)

262 Sad to hear about the Monticello tour going all SJW. But not surprising in the least. The UVa Alumni magazine has become a guilt fest.

Back when I was a the U, I joined the Jefferson Society. One of the perks was a tour - at dawn - of Monticello on Founder's Day (Mr Jefferson's birthday.) We got to see stuff that wasn't included in normal tours, like the upstairs, and the indoor privy off the bedroom. One guy almost got us kicked out by playing the harpsichord. (BTW, none of the chairs was uncomfortable.)

But that's probably gone now. In the 90s the effing administration evicted the society from Jefferson Hall (temporarily, at least) for sexism and underage drinking. I was talking to a Richmond reporter, explaining what a total pile of crap the case was - the usual officialdom pack of lies and distortions, swallowed whole by the effing journos. He tried to quiz me to see what I knew about it; then gave up when I killed every question. I did grant that the underage drinking was true. He said 'Yes,m but no one cares about that."

No, that was the most important thing. It was the one actual charge they could make stick, and which was illegal. After that, when they returned, they no longer could have a keg at the meetings. (Except the 175 year reunion in 2000. No university administration will ever do anything to piss off the alums. That could cost money.)

During that time, we had a letter writing campaign to support the Society. But I was unable to send one. Every time I tried, it turned into "You fucking Stalinist bastards." One of my friends said his wife had the same problem, so he ended up writing two, one for each of them.

Sorry to rant. This still pisses me off. Another friend from those days has pointed out that, to a university administrator, nothing counts as "a tradition" unless they can raise cash off it. The Hell with all of them. They're as vile as jouirnolists.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 10:33 AM (ZbwAu)

263 SPONGE!!!!

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:33 AM (NWiLs)

264 Posted by: Sharkman at March 29, 2020 10:25 AM (ulOTf)

Shorter version: Necessity is the Mother of invention.

Posted by: Kilroy wasn't here at March 29, 2020 10:33 AM (2DOZq)

265 I knew a chick that could accurately tell strangers what star sign they were just from meeting them and assessing their personality. She was weird.

Posted by: ... at March 29, 2020 10:33 AM (uEbPt)

266 Print, is dead.

******

Are you referring to the art form formerly known as 'prints'?

Posted by: Muldoon at March 29, 2020 10:33 AM (m45I2)

267 261 257 Print, is dead.
Posted by: Egon Spengler at March 29, 2020 10:31 AM (Zz0t1)

I love print, especially for the kids, but I still buy hardcopies, although many are used. I prefer page turning to scrolling down.
Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 10:32 AM (ONvIw)

Reading long documents on the computer screen gives me a massive fucking headache, so I still print stuff out.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:34 AM (NWiLs)

268 I'm here!
I think the book thread is my favorite. So many ideas. You are really an eclectic bunch.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 10:34 AM (QzF6i)

269 I prefer page turning to scrolling down.
Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 10:32 AM (ONvIw)

I agree.

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:34 AM (Zz0t1)

270 INSOM!!!!

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:34 AM (Zz0t1)

271 265 I knew a chick that could accurately tell strangers what star sign they were just from meeting them and assessing their personality. She was weird.
Posted by: ... at March 29, 2020 10:33 AM (uEbPt)

A WITCH!!!

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:34 AM (NWiLs)

272 I still print stuff out.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:34 AM (NWiLs)

This.

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:34 AM (Zz0t1)

273 268 I'm here!
I think the book thread is my favorite. So many ideas. You are really an eclectic bunch.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 10:34 AM (QzF6i)

You take that back!

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:35 AM (NWiLs)

274 So I recently heard a defense of Astrology that might, could, sort of, perhaps have an actual basis in science. That in ancient times (like when Biden was a young man) the month you were born in determined what food your mom ate while pregnant and the nutrients, amount, preparation & etc. could have a common impact on everyone's personality who was born during that time. I don't really buy it but it's better than believing magic planet rays determine you should play the lottery this month.
Posted by: Mr. Feverhead at March 29, 2020 09:20 AM (fg6n

I have entertained similar thoughts. Diet may well enter into it, but simply what season of the year it is, as children go through the various stages of childhood development could have an effect.

In a nutshell: astrology arose from centuries of keen observation of behavior traits linked to birthdate, and then got monetized by charlatans who posited the stars as causative agents, rather than simple seasonal markers.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at March 29, 2020 10:35 AM (miJU3)

275 Reading long documents on the computer screen gives me a massive fucking headache, so I still print stuff out.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:34 AM (NWiLs)

Me too and that blue light filter thing actually makes it worse for me.

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 10:36 AM (ONvIw)

276 A WITCH!!!
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:34 AM (NWiLs)

Is it just me that finds the strategy of throwing a woman in the lake to determine her witchness a GENIUS plan?

I mean, if she drowns, not a witch. Swims, kill her. She's a witch.

Doing what they can to keep the bitches in place.

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:36 AM (Zz0t1)

277 Reading long documents on the computer screen gives me a massive fucking headache, so I still print stuff out.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:34 AM (NWiLs)

Quickly looking back at previous pages is why I print it out.

Posted by: Kilroy wasn't here at March 29, 2020 10:37 AM (2DOZq)

278 There's a historic plantation near New Orleans -- Laura Plantation -- which uses a clever dodge around the "all slavery, all the time" narrative so many other antebellum historic sites have resorted to. Instead, their tour focuses on the Strong Empowered Creole Women who ran the place, and how oppressed they were by the Patriarchy of Anglophone American society. Which is utter bullshit, by the way, since Louisiana's law code didn't change when it became a state. But at least it provides some variety.

Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2020 10:38 AM (DKCFT)

279 Lest anyone forget:

https://youtu.be/L3tnH4FGbd0

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:38 AM (Zz0t1)

280 253 I've been on a mystery jag. I have reread several of the Judge Dee mysteries by Robert Van Gulik. He was a Dutch historian who lived in China for many years. These are classics of the historical mystery genre.

Also took a crack at the Midnight, Texas series by Charlaine Harris. Not bad.
Posted by: Dr Alice at March 29, 2020 10:25 AM (oW/8k)
______

I love Judge Dee. The books, generally, can be classed in 3 groups:

1. Celebrated Cases Solved by Judge Dee. (Dee Goong An). This is a straight translation, not a story by Van Gulik.

2. Those with titles of the form The Chinese X Murder. These are written by Van Gulik, but are almost entirely built up from actual old Chinese detective stories.

3. The rest. There is a clear loss of quality, although not always so. Most still have good parts.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 10:38 AM (ZbwAu)

281 Thanks for the signal boost OM! And thank you for the weekly book thread. I work most Sundays, but I always make time to go back and read through it.

Posted by: Long-time Commenter, First-time Reader at March 29, 2020 10:38 AM (jDjQx)

282 OK, you guys sold me. I just downloaded the Kindle version of Life Unworthy. I'm a fan of the Monster Hunter series, so I'll probably enjoy a story about a Nazi-eating werewolf.

Posted by: PabloD at March 29, 2020 10:38 AM (skjjf)

283 The article on Jefferson's book is crap. There is considerable debate over how much Locke actually influenced the founding fathers, with very little evidence that Jefferson himself ever even read Locke's treatises on government (the "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" being about the only reference anywhere in his writings). The supposed influence of Locke is likely a bit of 19th century revisionism.

Locke was well respected for his writings on epistomology, not necessarily on government. People forget he wrote about aspects of philosophy other than political theory. Jefferson was asked to give the three most important writers in different areas, and he classified Locke as an epistomologist, not a political theorist.

The guy people should be reading is Algernon Sidney, a friend and contemporary of Locke but a bit more traditionalist. Well well known and respected in Colonial America, and quoted a lot by the founding fathers. He was remembered with honor by both British and Americans into the early 20th century, but has largely been forgotten; in part, I suspect, because he doesn't fit so neatly into the "American Revolution as a straight-up product of the Enlightenment" paradigm that dominates a lot of thinking today (he also highlights the problem that the Enlightenment wasn't the clean break from the past that it is often portrayed as).

Posted by: Grey Fox at March 29, 2020 10:38 AM (nBq51)

284 Quickly looking back at previous pages is why I print it out.
Posted by: Kilroy wasn't here at March 29, 2020 10:37 AM (2DOZq)

and 49% or 1432/27583 is no substitute for a page number and book mark

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 10:39 AM (ONvIw)

285 The local library is closed, the entire library system of five towns. I understand to one degree; its impossible to disinfect books at any reasonable rate of speed (not that this was somehow an issue the last 250 previous infections we faced).

So I went into their online catalog for some ebooks, figuring if I can't get real books at least I can get some things to read. They have a fair number, including copies of books that they no longer carry in print for... reasons which elude me.

So I try to "check some out" and the books are on hold. Ebooks. As if they have only one physical copy which has to be handed around physically. An electronic file.

Which makes me wonder what imbecile came up with the idea that libraries should only be able to get single DRM copies of books. What knuckle-dragging retard at publishing thought this was a reasonable concept? Why on earth can libraries not get a version of an ebook that can be shared to multiple people?

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 10:39 AM (KZzsI)

286 I think the book thread is my favorite. So many ideas. You are really an eclectic bunch.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 10:34 AM (QzF6i)

You take that back!
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:35 AM (NWiLs)

Ease up, she just means we have photographic memories.

Posted by: hogmartin at March 29, 2020 10:40 AM (t+qrx)

287 Good morning Hordemates.
I have to say, the pants of the last couple of weeks has caused me to recheck my manhood. Having done so I find my Levi's provide a kind of comfort I hadn't realized before. Manhood secured. And for this I am grateful.

Now after coffee I will be cleaning the guns that didn't get lost in the canoe accident, followed by knife sharpening, and then some W.E.B.Griffin reading while drinking whiskey and smoking a cigar.

Posted by: Diogenes at March 29, 2020 10:41 AM (axyOa)

288 I have a good friend, Tom Pado. He wrote an autobiography which is on Amazon now, fascinating! Lots of personal stuff, lots of technical stuff (underwater exploration, inventions, patents). He went from growing up poor just down the street from the steel mills in Gary, Indiana, to living large in Australia and traveling the world to sell his invention. Name of the book, Damn the Pressure, Full Speed Ahead.

Posted by: AgathaPagatha at March 29, 2020 10:41 AM (xDMjB)

289 Eeyore, so glad to see another Judge Dee fan! The short stories are good too - I think there are one or two collections.

Posted by: Dr Alice at March 29, 2020 10:41 AM (oW/8k)

290 Ease up, she just means we have photographic memories.
Posted by: hogmartin at March 29, 2020 10:40 AM (t+qrx)

And cake!

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:41 AM (Zz0t1)

291 275 Reading long documents on the computer screen gives me a massive fucking headache, so I still print stuff out.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:34 AM (NWiLs)

Me too and that blue light filter thing actually makes it worse for me.
Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 10:36 AM (ONvIw)
_____

I have the same problem. By the time this thread ends, I will have one (coming on now). That happens always.

But I still show up.

I do, however, stick mostly to print. The Lewis sale is nice to see - for others. I believe I now own everything he published under his name, in paper. (Not Spirits in Bondage - didn't care for it.)

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 10:42 AM (ZbwAu)

292 Good morning Hordemates.
I have to say, the pants of the last couple of weeks has caused me to recheck my manhood. Having done so I find my Levi's provide a kind of comfort I hadn't realized before. Manhood secured. And for this I am grateful.

Now after coffee I will be cleaning the guns that didn't get lost in the canoe accident, followed by knife sharpening, and then some W.E.B.Griffin reading while drinking whiskey and smoking a cigar.
Posted by: Diogenes at March 29, 2020 10:41 AM (axyOa)

Remember, Levi Strauss wants to take your guns.

Cleaning guns in Levi's is a slap to the face.

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:42 AM (Zz0t1)

293 Kindle editions of CS Lewis books are $1.99 today.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at March 29, 2020 10:43 AM (/+bwe)

294 Ease up, she just means we have photographic memories.
Posted by: hogmartin at March 29, 2020 10:40 AM (t+qrx)

And cake!
Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:41 AM (Zz0t1)

But then she would've said we were an enteric bunch.

Posted by: hogmartin at March 29, 2020 10:43 AM (t+qrx)

295 So I try to "check some out" and the books are on
hold. Ebooks. As if they have only one physical copy which has to be
handed around physically. An electronic file.

Which makes me wonder what imbecile came up with the idea that
libraries should only be able to get single DRM copies of books. What
knuckle-dragging retard at publishing thought this was a reasonable
concept? Why on earth can libraries not get a version of an ebook that
can be shared to multiple people?

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 10:39 AM (KZzsI)

Yeah, that drives me nuts!

Posted by: Jordan61 at March 29, 2020 10:43 AM (6ofTb)

296 285 - somebody on Twitter told me that libraries can get hard copy books for steep discounts, whereas the ebooks are not discounted and cost them a lot more. I have not verified this but that could be the reason. I too have had difficulty in finding some ebooks available on my library website.

Posted by: Dr Alice at March 29, 2020 10:44 AM (oW/8k)

297 I think next week's word of the week should be "eclectic".

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 10:44 AM (QzF6i)

298 Hi, sharon! You arrived while we are still discussing books!

Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 10:44 AM (OX9vb)

299 277 Reading long documents on the computer screen gives me a massive fucking headache, so I still print stuff out.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:34 AM (NWiLs)

Quickly looking back at previous pages is why I print it out.
Posted by: Kilroy wasn't here at March 29, 2020 10:37 AM (2DOZq)

That. And highlighting and notes. Especially when reviewing documents in a professional capacity.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:44 AM (NWiLs)

300 @Oilfield_Rando

"Old expression. The proof of the, uh, you know, is gonna be in eating the pudding, you know. What's it gonna look like?"

Video: https://tinyurl.com/rlbzfyy

Posted by: Tami at March 29, 2020 10:45 AM (cF8AT)

301 Why on earth can libraries not get a version of an ebook that can be shared to multiple people?
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 10:39 AM (KZzsI)

It's a token ring mentality.

Old school network people will get this.

Everyone else will just think it's gay.

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:45 AM (Zz0t1)

302 Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2020 10:38 AM (DKCFT)

The Myrtles Plantation in St Francisville avoids the everything is about slavery by being known as the haunted plantation.

Posted by: Kilroy wasn't here at March 29, 2020 10:46 AM (2DOZq)

303 I finished The Peenemunde Raid by Martin Middlebrook about the August 17-18, 1943 Bomber Command raid on the Nazi's rocket research/production facilities at Peenemunde. (This is not rocket science.) Eisenhower suggested that this raid prevented us from losing the war on the theory that if the Nazis had had operational V-1 a few weeks earlier, they could have bombarded the English ports and prevented Overlord. Ike was probably exaggerating in that the raid neither targeted nor seriously disrupted the V-1 program (although they were tested and produced very near by) but rather they targeted V-2 research and production. Nevertheless, the raid probably did delay the V-2 becoming operational by a few months which saved thousands of Allied lives (mostly civilian).

The raid is noteworthy in addition to its effects for several reasons. It was an early example of the Germans' use of wild boar and tame boar night fighter tactics which freed the inceptors from being tied to ground control radar. It was the first, although limited, use of Schrage Musik upward-firing night fighter armament, a weapon that would create havoc among British bombes. The British continued their use of "window" antiradar defense that had proved so successful at Hamburg a few weeks earlier but, contrary to standard doctrine, flew much lower and in full moonlight with master bombers accepting the increased risk in exchange for increased accuracy against a crucial target.

Middlebrook is one of my favorite historical writers. (I won't call him a historian because I'm quite sure that this farmer turned author isn't welcome at the we-are-serious-historians meetings. (You know farmers; stick a seed in the ground and it grows.) He visited the Somme battlefield and was so moved he wrote his first book, The First Day On the Somme, and the rest, as they say, is history.

He is quite objective and fair. The German experience is related as well as the British and he fully fully describes the horror of being under the bombs as, in this case, Wernher von Braun was. Middlebrook is good at describing the full range of the experience if battle, the heroism, the cowardice, the horror, the genius, the stupidity etc.

Other Middlebrook books I recommend include Battleship (about the Japanese sinking the Prince of Wales and the Repulse), The Nuremburg Raid (the Brits lose 96 heavy bombers), and The Berlin Raids (Bomber Harris tries and fails to win the war without invading the continent).

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 29, 2020 10:46 AM (+y/Ru)

304 Yeah, that drives me nuts!
Posted by: Jordan61 at March 29, 2020 10:43 AM (6ofTb)

Arrrr, that it do, lass, that it do.

Posted by: Pirate with a ship's wheel on the front of his pants at March 29, 2020 10:46 AM (NWiLs)

305 "could have a common impact on everyone's personality who was born during
that time. I don't really buy it but it's better than believing magic
planet rays determine you should play the lottery this month."

what I learned long ago, was the Zoroastrians (or some such) branched into two groups ... one watched the stars for signs/seasons ... and maybe some indication of special events when significant conjunctions occurred. iirc, this was the "Magi" that knew of the birth of JC, before it happened I presume. So we can look back and see some interesting conjunctions and even some retrograde motion ("the star stood" ... over Bethlehem, I think) ...

The other branch did the evil corrupted side ... astrology, your life is "controlled" by your sign, let me tell you your future. Seems like less free will.

Posted by: illiniwek at March 29, 2020 10:46 AM (Cus5s)

306 231. When I started working at the library I was taken aback by the gross titles and subject matter of children's books. So many scatological references, also boogers, behinds, etc. I'd never get those for any child. But there is so much childrens lit that is genius.

Posted by: kallisto at March 29, 2020 10:46 AM (y+Ufa)

307 298
Hi, sharon! You arrived while we are still discussing books!

Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 10:44 AM (OX9vb)

++++++++Although had to start at the beginning to figure out why Alice Cooper was important.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 10:46 AM (QzF6i)

308 Good morning to our literate hordelings.

Just began reading Guts and Gunships by Dr. Mark Garrison. He was a gunship pilot during the Vietnam War and this work is his account of his tour.

Hell of a story teller.

Posted by: Tonypete at March 29, 2020 10:47 AM (Y4EXg)

309 Why on earth can libraries not get a version of an ebook that can be shared to multiple people?
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 10:39 AM (KZzsI)

Licensing, just like how many computers you can put Microsoft Word on, or how many people can have access to the scanner at work.

Posted by: April at March 29, 2020 10:47 AM (OX9vb)

310
Yeah, that drives me nuts!
Posted by: Jordan61 at March 29, 2020 10:43 AM (6ofTb)

What's worse is how the e-copy vanishes the second your borrowing period is over. I do not use the library e-books for that reason alone.

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 10:47 AM (ONvIw)

311 Ease up, she just means we have photographic memories.
Posted by: hogmartin at March 29, 2020 10:40 AM (t+qrx)

Oh. Carry on, then.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:47 AM (NWiLs)

312 283

Locke was well respected for his writings on epistomology, not necessarily on government. People forget he wrote about aspects of philosophy other than political theory. Jefferson was asked to give the three most important writers in different areas, and he classified Locke as an epistomologist, not a political theorist.

Posted by: Grey Fox at March 29, 2020 10:38 AM (nBq51)
________

The trouble with that (and I don't disagree on Locke's influence) is that his epistemology doesn't work. At best, it's full of holes and loose ends. That's what led both Berkeley and Hume to come up with their systems. And note, BTW, I came to this conclusion at Mr Jefferson's University. That wasn't because of hostile professors; all but two of who were of the Empiricist tradition.

I go further than that: go back to Aristotle and Aquinas.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 10:48 AM (ZbwAu)

313 306 231. When I started working at the library I was taken aback by the gross titles and subject matter of children's books. So many scatological references, also boogers, behinds, etc. I'd never get those for any child. But there is so much childrens lit that is genius.
Posted by: kallisto at March 29, 2020 10:46 AM (y+Ufa)

I've had an idea for a children's picture book kicking around in my head for years but haven't had the guts to write it yet.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:49 AM (NWiLs)

314 Late to the thread but that picture of the woman with Finnegan's Wake is photoshopped. Nobody has ever made it that far into that book.

Posted by: DR.WTF at March 29, 2020 10:49 AM (aS1PU)

315 Continuing my ''escapism only" reading journey. Will finish Sabrina Chase's "'Sequoyah'' trilogy today. Another fun read as was her ''Argonauts of Space" trilogy that I mentioned last week. I'll miss the world and the characters she created when I'm done. What to read next? Hm, hm, hm...

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 10:49 AM (gLRfa)

316 OK, you guys sold me. I just downloaded the Kindle version of Life Unworthy.

-
I quite enjoyed it.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 29, 2020 10:50 AM (+y/Ru)

317 This week I've done a fair amount of re-reading in my old science fiction collection -- some Poul Anderson short stories and an anthology called "Beyond Flesh" edited by Gardner Dozois.

Anderson deserves a revival. Damn, that man was a good writer, and his stuff only got better as he got older. His late work is some of the best SF and fantasy ever written. But he's been stuffed down the memory hole so completely that the usual suspects don't even bother to include him on their lists of Things Which Are Problematic.

The Dozois anthology is all good stories, but it dates from the early Nineties and it shows. The Scary Christians! theme is there, fortissimo. Apparently every SF writer who didn't vote for Reagan decided that the US was doomed to a fundamentalist Christian dystopia future.

Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2020 10:50 AM (DKCFT)

318 I borrow ebooks from my library all the time. They have a list of newly acquired ones by date so as soon as they get them, I can reserve a copy. When it's available, they email me and I can download. You can only keep for 2 weeks but if you don;t finish, you can rereserve and when it arrives, it will have your bookmark.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 10:50 AM (QzF6i)

319 306 231. When I started working at the library I was taken aback by the gross titles and subject matter of children's books. So many scatological references, also boogers, behinds, etc. I'd never get those for any child. But there is so much childrens lit that is genius.
Posted by: kallisto at March 29, 2020 10:46 AM (y+Ufa)

Yes there is, but the crappy stuff is pushed hard. That's why I ordered some vintage anthologies.

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 10:50 AM (ONvIw)

320 Remember, Levi Strauss wants to take your guns.

Cleaning guns in Levi's is a slap to the face.
Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:42 AM (Zz0t1)

Sponge,
I'm old enough to remember sitting around the campfire and discovering the Levis "crotch rivet" the hard way. My dad thought that was very funny. A right of passage on my first fishing trip.

Posted by: Diogenes at March 29, 2020 10:50 AM (axyOa)

321 I've had an idea for a children's picture book kicking around in my head for years but haven't had the guts to write it yet.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:49 AM (NWiLs)

Remember, new rules state it must turn all kids gay or trannies.

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:51 AM (Zz0t1)

322 321 I've had an idea for a children's picture book kicking around in my head for years but haven't had the guts to write it yet.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:49 AM (NWiLs)

Remember, new rules state it must turn all kids gay or trannies.
Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:51 AM (Zz0t1)

Good thing I've never been much for rules.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:51 AM (NWiLs)

323 I very much appreciate the kind words for Life Unworthy, it am very fond of that book and how it turned out. It was a blast to write and research for, although I fear it marked me on some kind of sinister figure FBI list for all the reference material I went through.

There were some good Sackett books and obviously they meant a lot to the author. But I much prefer his stand alone novels.

Sackett Brand was a bit of a problem for L'Amour as an author because it crashed two beloved, but conflicting concepts that he wrote about: the rugged individual who needs no one and finds his way by force of will, character, and skill... and the family that always sticks together and helps each other out through any adversity.

Those two concepts just do not blend, so the book feels oddly uneven and conflicted to me.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 10:51 AM (KZzsI)

324 It's funny how photos of Monticello and Mt.Vernon make the rooms look much bigger than they actually are.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 10:52 AM (gLRfa)

325 Well, Thomas Jefferson did have a copy of Cesare Beccarias On Crimes and Punishment, which is supposed to be one of the greatest book on the reform and understanding of the reason for people to submit to governance.

I see that he read it in the original Italian too.

Some historian once pointed out, how can one do anything with Jefferson, when he appears to have done everything already? Millionaire Playboy Philanthropist, with interests from anthropology and archeology through farming, economics and politics? He sounds like Doc Savage.

Posted by: Kindltot at March 29, 2020 10:52 AM (6rS3m)

326 285 Christopher R TaylorWhich makes me wonder what imbecile came up with the idea that libraries should only be able to get single DRM copies of books.

Precisely the knuckle-dragging retards in legacy publishing that just want ebooks to go AWAY! They are terrified that people will read the ebooks, then not buy the (very expensive) paper books. They only understand the market for paper books, how to tweak and manipulate it. Then the scampering mammals of indie publishing, frolicking in the electronic undergrowth, start gnawing on their profits and they can't figure out why they aren't able to take over the same way.

The good news is the indies (like me) are finding ways to get in the library catalogs with much more rational pricing schemes. (The legacy publisher scheme that really makes me mad is the "25 reads and then you have to buy a new copy" which is INSANE, like electrons wear out or something.) Librarians want to get books to readers and they have very fixed budgets to do so. All these extortionate library costs the legacy publishers come up with do is push librarians to try indie (cheaper, simpler, and just as good). So I'm following Bonaparte's dictum to "never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake" and giggling from the sidelines....

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 29, 2020 10:52 AM (exg7Q)

327 So many scatological references, also boogers, behinds, etc. I'd never get those for any child. But there is so much childrens lit that is genius.
Posted by: kallisto

----

"Everybody Poops" as an example? Children's libraries have become the initial step in destroying Protestant work ethic and modesty in kids. And thus in adults.

Posted by: Tonypete at March 29, 2020 10:52 AM (Y4EXg)

328 Sponge,
I'm old enough to remember sitting around the campfire and discovering the Levis "crotch rivet" the hard way. My dad thought that was very funny. A right of passage on my first fishing trip.
Posted by: Diogenes at March 29, 2020 10:50 AM (axyOa)

A bit before my time, but I remember the stories.

I'm a Duluth Trading Ballroom Jeans guy now.

No crotch rivet, but you can squat without blowing the seams.

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:52 AM (Zz0t1)

329 Shorter version: Necessity is the Mother of invention.

-
Whaaa? We're all Zappa all the time now?

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 29, 2020 10:53 AM (+y/Ru)

330
"Everybody Poops" as an example? Children's libraries have become the initial step in destroying Protestant work ethic and modesty in kids. And thus in adults.
Posted by: Tonypete at March 29, 2020 10:52 AM (Y4EXg)

Isn't that a song by REM?

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:53 AM (Zz0t1)

331 "Everybody Poops" as an example? Children's libraries have become the initial step in destroying Protestant work ethic and modesty in kids. And thus in adults.
Posted by: Tonypete at March 29, 2020 10:52 AM (Y4EXg)

Hit REM song back in the day.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:53 AM (NWiLs)

332 329 Shorter version: Necessity is the Mother of invention.

-
Whaaa? We're all Zappa all the time now?
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 29, 2020 10:53 AM (+y/Ru)

In the future. For fifteen minutes.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:54 AM (NWiLs)

333 What's worse is how the e-copy vanishes the second
your borrowing period is over. I do not use the library e-books for that
reason alone.

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 10:47 AM (ONvIw)

---
I've never tried to check out an e-book.

I do read books on the i-pad, but they're the OOP stuff from the Hathi trust or whatever.

If I were hard-up for reading material, I'd probably go that route. There so much old stuff that I really should read and it's just sitting there, free.

Of course I've got books around the house also stockpiled, so not as much of an issue.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 10:55 AM (cfSRQ)

334 303 I finished The Peenemunde Raid by Martin Middlebrook about the August 17-18, 1943 Bomber Command raid on the Nazi's rocket research/production facilities at Peenemunde. (This is not rocket science.) Eisenhower suggested that this raid prevented us from losing the war on the theory that if the Nazis had had operational V-1 a few weeks earlier, they could have bombarded the English ports and prevented Overlord. Ike was probably exaggerating in that the raid neither targeted nor seriously disrupted the V-1 program (although they were tested and produced very near by) but rather they targeted V-2 research and production. Nevertheless, the raid probably did delay the V-2 becoming operational by a few months which saved thousands of Allied lives (mostly civilian).
...
Other Middlebrook books I recommend include Battleship (about the Japanese sinking the Prince of Wales and the Repulse), The Nuremburg Raid (the Brits lose 96 heavy bombers), and The Berlin Raids (Bomber Harris tries and fails to win the war without invading the continent).
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 29, 2020 10:46 AM (+y/Ru)
________

D K Brown wrote in a few places that one effect of the bombings which is often overlooked is the disruption of the workers' nights. That led to slower and sloppier work. But it won't show as material damage.

Haven't seen that book on PoW; will have to look it up.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 10:55 AM (ZbwAu)

335 Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:53 AM (Zz0t1)

Beat me to it, you sedentary invertebrate bastard!

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:55 AM (NWiLs)

336 "Everybody Poops" as an example? Children's libraries have become the initial step in destroying Protestant work ethic and modesty in kids. And thus in adults.
Posted by: Tonypete at March 29, 2020 10:52 AM (Y4EXg)

Appalling. I have also read some reviews of the Thomas the Tank Engine series that complain hideously about the need to be "really useful". I guess they need a stoner engine that loafs on the sidings

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 10:55 AM (ONvIw)

337 Good thing I've never been much for rules.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:51 AM (NWiLs)

Good.

Carry on.

As you've told me. No better time than the present.

GetRdone.

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:55 AM (Zz0t1)

338 "One story is that if all of the white men left, everyone else would make a near utopia of earth."

-
Ahhh, the fantasy genre.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 29, 2020 10:55 AM (+y/Ru)

339 Beat me to it, you sedentary invertebrate bastard!
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:55 AM (NWiLs)

WINNING!!!

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:56 AM (Zz0t1)

340 I'm following Bonaparte's dictum to "never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake" and giggling from the sidelines....

Publishers are a perfect example of a business that is so set in its ways and determined that not only are their opponents wrong but that doing the opposite of what is smart will somehow win in the end.

However, they should love ebooks because they are extremely cheap to produce and they are getting away with charging as much for an ebook as a paperback novel. The profit margins are huge.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 10:56 AM (KZzsI)

341 what's Alice Cooper's name and what sport is he good at?
Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:12 AM (gd9RK)

Golf. No idea what his real name is though....

Posted by: Some Guy in Wisconsin at March 29, 2020 10:56 AM (90+00)

342 grammie,

Mrs. JTB has a suggestion for your reading. Try the Amelia Peabody Egyptology mysteries by Elizabeth Peters. Set in the early 1900s, lots of adventure, lots of humor, and well written. We read the whole series as it came out and loved it. The first in the series is "Crocodile on the Sandbank" introduces the characters and sets the tone. Chances are any used book store or library will have it.

Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2020 10:56 AM (7EjX1)

343 I'm reading Orlando Furioso, Paradoxes of Defense, and Python Crash Course.

Posted by: Colorado Alex In Exile at March 29, 2020 10:57 AM (SgjGX)

344 341 what's Alice Cooper's name and what sport is he good at?
Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:12 AM (gd9RK)

Golf. No idea what his real name is though....
Posted by: Some Guy in Wisconsin at March 29, 2020 10:56 AM (90+00)

Puddin Tame

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:57 AM (NWiLs)

345 Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler

Thanxs for the tip on The Pennemunde Raid.
I'll give it a go next.

Posted by: Diogenes at March 29, 2020 10:57 AM (axyOa)

346 Leaving the thread early. Going to go . . .
Read a book.

Posted by: RI Red at March 29, 2020 10:58 AM (p/KmR)

347 My Livestream of Mass is blaring the air raid/civil defense warning sound.

Weird. And fascinating at the same time.

Posted by: Tonypete at March 29, 2020 10:58 AM (Y4EXg)

348 347 My Livestream of Mass is blaring the air raid/civil defense warning sound.

Weird. And fascinating at the same time.
Posted by: Tonypete at March 29, 2020 10:58 AM (Y4EXg)

PUT OUT THAT LIGHT!!!

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:59 AM (NWiLs)

349 what's Alice Cooper's name and what sport is he good at?
Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:12 AM (gd9RK)

He was discovered by Frank Zappa.

Frank saw his show at an LA club. Cooper did his blood and gore antics on stage and everyone left repulsed.

Zappa said "If you can clear a room that fast, you MUST be on my record label."

And the rest is history.

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:59 AM (Zz0t1)

350 The Dozois anthology is all good stories

I loved those, but by sometime in the 90's, I noticed all this SJW crap creeping in without knowing what SJW even was. Had to take them off my Christmas wish list.

Posted by: t-bird at March 29, 2020 10:59 AM (IMdOQ)

351 The trouble with that (and I don't disagree on Locke's influence) is that his epistemology doesn't work. At best, it's full of holes and loose ends. That's what led both Berkeley and Hume to come up with their systems. And note, BTW, I came to this conclusion at Mr Jefferson's University. That wasn't because of hostile professors; all but two of who were of the Empiricist tradition.

I haven't studied beyond pop-culture/sophomore Phil101 depth, but that was my impression as well.

In addition to Algernon Sidney, the other "lost" influence on the founding fathers that seems to be completely ignored is Vindicaea Contra Tyrannos. Not to hard to see why it is ignored - it is a 16th century Huguenot text written during the Wars of Religion. It also happens to be the first development of "Contract Theory," predating both Locke and Hobbes a couple generations. In other words, THE foundational concept of the US system - the idea that rulers are legitimate only as long as they fulfill their duty to the ruled - was developed by an anonymous French Calvinist using the Bible as a source. Kinda puts a crimp in the usual "enlightenment" narrative.

Posted by: Grey Fox at March 29, 2020 10:59 AM (nBq51)

352 Vince Fournier

Posted by: kallisto at March 29, 2020 10:59 AM (y+Ufa)

353 oh JTB, tell missus I love that series!

Grammie, I think the first book might be Crocodile on the Sandbank

Posted by: vmom 2020 at March 29, 2020 10:59 AM (G546f)

354 My Livestream of Mass is blaring the air raid/civil defense warning sound.

Weird. And fascinating at the same time.
Posted by: Tonypete at March 29, 2020 10:58 AM (Y4EXg)

Reenactment of "The Diary of Anne Frank?"

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 11:00 AM (Zz0t1)

355 347: I remember the civil defense siren blaring every Saturday at 1PM. I don't miss it.

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 11:00 AM (ONvIw)

356 Appalling. I have also read some reviews of the
Thomas the Tank Engine series that complain hideously about the need to
be "really useful". I guess they need a stoner engine that loafs on the
sidings

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 10:55 AM (ONvIw)

---
That's funny!

The engineer with a goofy smile and bag of munchies feeding weed into the furnace and deeply breathing in the resulting smoke.

The fire never gets hot enough to produce much steam, but hey man, mellow out.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 11:00 AM (cfSRQ)

357 Thomas Jefferson's Library featuring The Un-Comfy Chair.

If I am ever fortunate enough to have a dedicated library room, it will have a chair like that to suggest that visitors are welcome but not expected to stay for very long.

Posted by: Bob the Bilderberg at March 29, 2020 11:02 AM (qc+VF)

358 Alice Cooper is important because when you are crazy about girls but at 14 the art/war of seduction learned from TV are useless in real time.
Bullies, shitty no soul teachers. Bad grades. Bad at sports. Snarking at boys loops us back to Bullies.

If you bang your head might as well have some music for the occasion.

So Miss Sharon...there you go.

Posted by: Humphreyrobot at March 29, 2020 11:02 AM (1oqSI)

359 Can anyone recommend novels similar to Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series?

I stopped reading when he went WOKE and introduced GENERIC STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER as a quasi-replacement to Bosch, so now fuck him.

Posted by: Two Weeks From Reading a Book at March 29, 2020 11:02 AM (+dsLj)

360 I prefer Wrangler myself in jeans, they fit and are comfortable. Levis seem deliberately designed to be uncomfortable the first fifty wearings. Plus the stupidity of the ownership.

Regarding writing from home, the key is regularity, lack of distraction, and pattern.
-Pick a specific time when you write, set it aside. Write that time period without anything turned on (no TV, no music, nothing). Treat it as a work period, a set number of hours.
-Turn off your internet on that system, make notes of what you need to research, and check that later.
-Don't write every day, because you'll burn out. Force yourself to take at least one day off a week, to let your brain explore other ideas and wander off various paths you might not have considered
-Make sure you're rested and well-fed before writing. A lot of "writer's block" is just not feeling up to the job.
-Write. Even if its awful or stupid or you feel it was a waste, when you're in that time period... write. Its like practicing throwing a ball as a kid when you want to be a pitcher, no matter how awful you throw, you're still training your body to do it better.
-Remember that when you're not writing you're still a writer. Every author is thinking about what they will write even when not writing, or is absorbing phrases, events, personalities, and life around them to better write about it later. Don't feel guilty when you can't be writing, you aren't cheating, you're studying.
-Keep a schedule, keep on that schedule. Treat it seriously, as if its a job.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:02 AM (KZzsI)

361 but you can squat without blowing the seams.
Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:52 AM

Is this a reference to GAINZZ! Threads or tinyurl?

Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 29, 2020 11:02 AM (RY7ZM)

362 Oh, yes. Earlier this week I did finish Gaston Leroux's Mystery of the Yellow Room. I found it a bit disappointing. One event in particular was implausible; the villain just didn't have time to change quickly enough not to be recognized in one of his disappearances. It is the choice of both Chesterton and Carr as best locked room story. Actually, there's a clever twist at the end which I liked, but which didn't related to the locked room.

Leroux is better remembered for Phantom of the Opera.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 11:02 AM (ZbwAu)

363 Alice Cooper = Vince Furnier. Grew up in (and AFAIK, still lives in) NE Phoenix, he's adopted my old high school (Arcadia) as his pet project, and does benefits there most every spring.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 29, 2020 11:02 AM (V2Yro)

364 My Livestream of Mass is blaring the air raid/civil defense warning sound.

Weird. And fascinating at the same time.
Posted by: Tonypete at March 29, 2020 10:58 AM (Y4EXg)

Did Hawaii's civil defense guy screw up again?

Or...did he get it right this time?

Posted by: Diogenes at March 29, 2020 11:03 AM (axyOa)

365 The fire never gets hot enough to produce much steam, but hey man, mellow out.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 11:00 AM (cfSRQ)

While the series added some "foreign" engines, it blessedly has not tossed aside the need to be useful and take responsibility. The other line that repeatedly shows up in the books is "It's all my fault".

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 11:04 AM (ONvIw)

366 civil defense siren

There are two still standing near me, tho not tested in years.
Dont think many people around here know what these relics of the cold war are.

Posted by: getting the banned back together in surplus CD doughboy helmets at March 29, 2020 11:05 AM (ee9Yd)

367 A. H. Lloyd, in volume 4 of Battles and Leaders, check out Lt. Cushibg's account of the destruction of the C. S. S. Albemarle. It would make a damn good movie.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, USS Lone Fire at March 29, 2020 11:05 AM (g8Yc+)

368 If you bang your head might as well have some music for the occasion.

So Miss Sharon...there you go.

Posted by: Humphreyrobot at March 29, 2020 11:02 AM (1oqSI)

+++++++Understood.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 11:06 AM (QzF6i)

369 Did Hawaii's civil defense guy screw up again?

Or...did he get it right this time?
Posted by: Diogenes

---

If we ever have a real tornado at noon on Wednesday in our area, no one will pay any attention at all to the sirens.

Posted by: Tonypete at March 29, 2020 11:06 AM (Y4EXg)

370 Cushing. Geez.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, USS Lone Fire at March 29, 2020 11:06 AM (g8Yc+)

371 For any military history nerds, Osprey is making five books a week available for free for the next four weeks.

https://preview.tinyurl.com/ul9hgna

Posted by: spindrift at March 29, 2020 11:06 AM (75Q6c)

372 If we ever have a real tornado at noon on Wednesday in our area, no one will pay any attention at all to the sirens.
Posted by: Tonypete at March 29, 2020 11:06 AM (Y4EXg)

This.

And, you asked for it.

https://youtu.be/m6HtoWWpJpg

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 11:07 AM (Zz0t1)

373 Alice Cooper = Vince Furnier. Grew up in (and AFAIK, still lives in) NE Phoenix, he's adopted my old high school (Arcadia) as his pet project, and does benefits there most every spring.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 29, 2020 11:02 AM (V2Yro)

Thought he was from Mich.

Posted by: BignJames at March 29, 2020 11:07 AM (X/Pw5)

374 I go further than that: go back to Aristotle and Aquinas.
Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 10:48 AM (ZbwAu)

I agree that the consent of the governed thing was Locke's biggest claim to fame. On the "episemology" side, he was indeed part of the great stream that included Aristotle and Aquinas. So was Newton. Hume was an allergic reaction to Newton on behalf of the idealists, as he makes quite clear with the billiard balls thing, and so too probably was Berkeley.

Posted by: Caliban at March 29, 2020 11:08 AM (QE8X6)

375 Oh, the Left has been after Thomas since before they were after the Confederate statues. He's been a hate figure for the woke-folk for some time now.

Remember it doesn't have to make sense - except in context of "all ideation preceding the current iteration of the neo-Maoists' party line must be excised from cultural memory."

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at March 29, 2020 11:09 AM (II2Y0)

376 ''Everybody Poops" as an example? Children's libraries have become the initial step in destroying Protestant work ethic and modesty in kids. And thus in adults.
Posted by: Tonypete at March 29, 2020 10:52 AM (Y4EXg)

Isn't that a song by REM?
Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:53 AM (Zz0t1)''

Damn you. Now I've got an ear worm with that singer's whiny voice ..."Everybody poops...."

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 11:09 AM (gLRfa)

377 Damn you. Now I've got an ear worm with that singer's whiny voice ..."Everybody poops...."
Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 11:09 AM (gLRfa)

Just doin' my job, ma'am.

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 11:10 AM (Zz0t1)

378 I stopped reading when he went WOKE and introduced
GENERIC STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER as a quasi-replacement to Bosch, so now
fuck him.

Posted by: Two Weeks From Reading a Book at March 29, 2020 11:02 AM (+dsLj)

So many books are like that nowadays. I'll go looking to see what's free with Prime, and it seems every plot summary starts with a description of the Strong Female Lead Character. Ugh.
The only series I can think of that might be similar to Bosch is the John Sandford Prey series.

Posted by: Jordan61 at March 29, 2020 11:10 AM (6ofTb)

379 Day 2 of the East Texas Lockdown: Just got back from a trip to Home Depot, picked up $300 worth of gardening stuff and plantings so I can work in the yard most of the day. (nice sunny spring day here so far!) Home Depot is only allowing 100 people in at a time (voluntarily) but I didn't have to wait in line. (maybe this afternoon it'll be more crowded) Overall, a lot of people on the road, doing stuff. Small businesses, parks, and public venues closed, but other than nobody seems to be treating this like House Arrest.

I suspect that the main real world impact of the Stay at Home order will be to shutter most small businesses, and to give the local Constabulary the right to Lean On anyone who's out doing anything that bugs them for any reason, without having to worry about "probable cause" or other technicalities like that.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 29, 2020 11:10 AM (V2Yro)

380 Fascinate is probably the right root. EFFASCINABLE is one of those words which strike the eye wrong.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 29, 2020 11:11 AM (QrImU)

381 Dozois made Asimov's SF Magazine the pre-eminent SF magazine . . . and then he killed it himself. It was politics. Beginning around 1990 or so, every single issue had to contain at least one Climate Apocalypse story and one Scary Christians! story. Sometimes they managed a twofer, where it was the Scary Christians! who caused the Climate Apocalypse, or the Climate Apocalypse led to the Scary Christians! taking over. After Clinton got elected a third theme crept in: the Future Healthcare Dystopia in which nobody gets proper treatment for anything because we won't have Hillarycare in the dystopian future. Occasionally it was the Scary Christians! who created the Healthcare Dystopia to stop abortion, but usually it was just generic white men in ties.

I stopped subscribing in the mid-1990s, when I realized I had something like a year of unread issues piled up, and no desire to read them because I knew what would be inside.

When Dozois stepped down as editor, his deputy Sheila Williams took over and doubled down, adding a steady drumbeat of Women Being Oppressed stories.

I just wanted to read about spaceships.

Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2020 11:11 AM (DKCFT)

382 Puddin Tame

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 10:57 AM (NWiLs)

And if you aks me again, I'll tell you the same!

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 11:11 AM (Nq3+Y)

383 Greetings:

/and speaking of 1814, I'm taking a little trip down the mighty Mississip via "The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America" by William C. Davis and which probably wasn't in any of Mr. Jefferson's libraries.

History-wise, it includes almost incredible amounts of detail but the maps are poor in the extreme barely legible without a 10-power magnifier. Their letterings are poorly done and they shouldn't have been reduced so much. Apparently, fold-ins/fold-outs are no longer recognized for their value especially when it comes to mappings. As a typography buff, legibility comes first for me.

Still a worthwhile read about an important American battle.

Posted by: 11B40 at March 29, 2020 11:11 AM (evgyj)

384 Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 29, 2020 10:52 AM (exg7Q)

Everything I read is in the public domain, and I love to read it on my laptop because I can make it REALLY BIG. At my age, reading hard copy print editions is just too exhausting.

Posted by: Caliban at March 29, 2020 11:11 AM (QE8X6)

385
I remember the civil defense siren blaring every Saturday at 1PM. I don't miss it.

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 11:00 AM

ours goes off at Noon every Saturday

Posted by: AltonJackson at March 29, 2020 11:12 AM (jBVKC)

386 357 Thomas Jefferson's Library featuring The Un-Comfy Chair.

If I am ever fortunate enough to have a dedicated library room, it will have a chair like that to suggest that visitors are welcome but not expected to stay for very long.
Posted by: Bob the Bilderberg at March 29, 2020 11:02 AM (qc+VF)

better save your cash for the chair

even if you removed the provenance from the chair, one would still be looking at 10K plus for a chair of that order

and it's actually just a sitting room chair in the library

Period chairs made specifically for the library are off the chart $$$

Posted by: REDACTED at March 29, 2020 11:12 AM (rpxSz)

387 Alice Cooper = Vince Furnier. Grew up in (and AFAIK,
still lives in) NE Phoenix, he's adopted my old high school (Arcadia)
as his pet project, and does benefits there most every spring.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 29, 2020 11:02 AM (V2Yro)

Thought he was from Mich.

Posted by: BignJames at March 29, 2020 11:07 AM (X/Pw5)

Maybe you're thinking of Kid Rock? He's from Detroit.

Posted by: Vendette at March 29, 2020 11:12 AM (nRNOc)

388 civil defense siren

More recently the area around san luis obispo nuke power plant (as seen in china syndrome) was required to install widespread OMG WE GONNA DIE CUZ NUCULUR BAD!!11 sirens around the county. Of course more recently the plant was shut down CUZ WE DONT NEED NO STEENKING LECTRICITY!! IT COMES OUT THE WALL FINE, DUH!!

Posted by: getting the banned back together for a plant tour at March 29, 2020 11:13 AM (ee9Yd)

389 >>> In the early 70s, it was widely reported that Leave It to Beaver

star Ken Osmond had become "rock star Alice Cooper."

The rumor I always heard was that John Holmes was Eddie Haskell.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at March 29, 2020 11:13 AM (vuisn)

390 When the bowels are full
And the john, the john is yours alone
When you're sure you've had enough
Of the pain, don't hang on

Just let yourself go
'Cause everybody cries
And everybody poops sometimes

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 11:14 AM (NWiLs)

391 Damn you. Now I've got an ear worm with that singer's whiny voice ..."Everybody poops...."

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 11:09 AM (gLRfa)

Don't use many plys

Posted by: Vendette at March 29, 2020 11:14 AM (nRNOc)

392 Wife made a bitchen breakfast this morning.

Bacon, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy......with a cup of coffee, I'm not complaining about life at this moment.....

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 11:15 AM (Zz0t1)

393 Just let yourself go
'Cause everybody cries
And everybody poops sometimes
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 11:14 AM (NWiLs)

REM? Whiny, Harping people holding hands?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 29, 2020 11:15 AM (QrImU)

394 Posted by: Tom Servo at March 29, 2020 11:02 AM (V2Yro)

Thought he was from Mich.
Posted by: BignJames at March 29, 2020 11:07 AM (X/Pw5)

Alice Cooper / Vince Furnier was born in Detroit; but his family moved to Phoenix when he was still young because the Detroit winters were very damaging to his health.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 29, 2020 11:15 AM (V2Yro)

395 ''Everybody Poops" as an example? Children's libraries have become the initial step in destroying Protestant work ethic and modesty in kids. And thus in adults.
Posted by: Tonypete at March 29, 2020 10:52 AM (Y4EXg)

Isn't that a song by REM?
Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:53 AM (Zz0t1)''

Never let it be said that a Moron will waste an opportunity to expand on a bad idea. LOL

Now that ear worm is working overtime. Help!

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 11:16 AM (gLRfa)

396 REM? Whiny, Harping people holding hands?
Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 29, 2020 11:15 AM (QrImU)

Even THEY admitted that song was a HUGE mistake.

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 11:16 AM (Zz0t1)

397 I stopped reading when he went WOKE and introduced
GENERIC STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER as a quasi-replacement to Bosch, so now

I was reading a Roman mystery series by Lindsey Davis involving a detective who somehow manages to hook up with a Senator's daughter way out of his class reach. The Senator's daughter character does a lot of the detecting and thinking. Then they have a daughter, who grows up and takes over as the main character doing the detecting.

Now, putting aside how this is incredibly a-historical and ridiculous, the author clearly always meant for a female character to be the main one, but didn't think that would sell so they wrote a series with the guy to establish themselves.

The same sort of thing is going on with Gary Corby's Athenian mystery series, where the main character (Socrates' older brother) meets a girl who is smarter and righter than he is, who ends up being the main detective even though he always "solves" everything in the end, even if it doesn't make sense how he worked it out.

If you want to write a female character, do it, don't make her the better half of a team over your alleged protagonist guy.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:16 AM (KZzsI)

398 Isn't that a song by REM?

If you feel like letting go
Hold on
If you think you've had too much...
Well hang on
Cause everybody...

Posted by: t-bird at March 29, 2020 11:17 AM (cfSLd)

399 The only series I can think of that might be similar to Bosch is the John Sandford Prey series.

***********

Thanks, i havent read that so might finally give me something worth reading this week.

Posted by: Two Weeks From Reading a Book at March 29, 2020 11:17 AM (+dsLj)

400 "Zappa said "If you can clear a room that fast, you MUST be on my record label."

There was a rumor going around that Cooper bit the head off a live chicken onstage. Zappa phoned him to ask if the story was true. Cooper denied it, and Zappa then told him, "Well, whatever you do, don't tell anyone you didn't do it".

Posted by: freaked at March 29, 2020 11:17 AM (Tnijr)

401 Even THEY admitted that song was a HUGE mistake.
Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 11:16 AM (Zz0t1)

Just like Stalin.

Wait...

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 29, 2020 11:17 AM (QrImU)

402 359 "Can anyone recommend novels similar to Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series?"

I got tired of Connelly and all his big L.A. cop department politics bullshit.

But liking crime novels set in L.A., I like everything by Robert Crais, with his ex-military L.A. guys Elvis Cole, private detective, and his partner Joe Pike, as deadly a character as there ever was.

And the food. Crais always slips in kitchen food prep mealtime stuff, so you learn how to do such things as cottage cheese pancakes.

Posted by: Les Kinetic at March 29, 2020 11:17 AM (+fPHo)

403 Regarding the Who Dis - Yeah, that happened to me every time I tried to read Finigans Wake too.

Posted by: Last at March 29, 2020 11:18 AM (BdIMF)

404 My uncle called. He's leaving some food on the front porch for me to pick up.

Posted by: kallisto at March 29, 2020 11:18 AM (y+Ufa)

405 I too have been reading a lot of public domain old books lately. Partly because the library is closed, and partly because it is my determination to read all the classic books I should have in my youth but never could get into back then.

I still have a hard time reading Dickens, he writes too much a tract and not enough a novel.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:19 AM (KZzsI)

406 Well that's a bummer, Nurse Ratched and I were talking about taking a trip to Monticello while we're at the NoVaMoMe.
Posted by: Jordan61 at March 29, 2020 10:10 AM (6ofTb)

At one point the SJW started talking about mass incarceration and my wife said "For breaking the law?"

Silence.

After that, we just trailed back and paid her no mind.

Posted by: jsg at March 29, 2020 11:19 AM (aiWhJ)

407 Growing up in Phoenix was interesting in the 60's and 70's; I didn't have a single school friend who was actually born there. The city went from a population of 50,000 to 1 million in 20 years. Now the Valley is at about 5,000,000 I think.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 29, 2020 11:19 AM (V2Yro)

408 Morning Horde.
Did the majority of my move yesterday. Spent the night in my new place.

Didn't sleep hardly at all
Trying to decide if I want to make some coffee and try to get Lucy out of her hiding place or cry.

Posted by: Nurse ratched at March 29, 2020 11:19 AM (mJH4o)

409 Oh, the Left has been after Thomas since before they
were after the Confederate statues. He's been a hate figure for the
woke-folk for some time now.

Remember it doesn't have to make sense - except in context of "all
ideation preceding the current iteration of the neo-Maoists' party line
must be excised from cultural memory."

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at March 29, 2020 11:09 AM (II2Y0)

---
The Jefferson/Jackson dinners are now "Legacy Dinners."

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 11:20 AM (cfSRQ)

410 Meghan poops on my face and I call it French toast

Posted by: Prance Harry at March 29, 2020 11:20 AM (CLteG)

411 Didn't sleep hardly at all
Trying to decide if I want to make some coffee and try to get Lucy out of her hiding place or cry.
Posted by: Nurse ratched at March 29, 2020 11:19 AM (mJH4o)

Embrace the power of and.....

Sorry....it'll get better. It usually does.

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 11:20 AM (Zz0t1)

412 395 ''Everybody Poops" as an example? Children's libraries have become the initial step in destroying Protestant work ethic and modesty in kids.

Posted by: Tonypete at March 29, 2020 10:52 AM (Y4EXg)

And then add a dollop of Drag Queen Story Hour to groom little kids so they won't defend themselves against being molested later on.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 11:20 AM (Nq3+Y)

413 404 My uncle called. He's leaving some food on the front porch for me to pick up.
Posted by: kallisto at March 29, 2020 11:18 AM (y+Ufa)

Is he going to leave it out in a shiny metal bowl?

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 29, 2020 11:20 AM (V2Yro)

414 Day 2 of the East Texas Lockdown: Just got back from a trip to Home Depot, picked up $300 worth of gardening stuff and plantings so I can work in the yard most of the day. (nice sunny spring day here so far!) Home Depot is only allowing 100 people in at a time (voluntarily) but I didn't have to wait in line. (maybe this afternoon it'll be more crowded) Overall, a lot of people on the road, doing stuff. Small businesses, parks, and public venues closed, but other than nobody seems to be treating this like House Arrest.

I suspect that the main real world impact of the Stay at Home order will be to shutter most small businesses, and to give the local Constabulary the right to Lean On anyone who's out doing anything that bugs them for any reason, without having to worry about "probable cause" or other technicalities like that.
Posted by: Tom Servo at March 29, 2020 11:10 AM (V2Yro)

Went to Home Depot in East Mesa a couple of days ago. They were doing that "hundred person" BS, and there was a long line. I walked back to the truck and drove a mile to Lowes, and waltzed right in, got my three items, and left.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at March 29, 2020 11:20 AM (miJU3)

415 Meghan poops on my face and I call it French toast
Posted by: Prance Harry at March 29, 2020 11:20 AM (CLteG)

I thought that was a Cleveland Steamer.

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 11:20 AM (Zz0t1)

416 "the rugged individual who needs no one and finds his
way by force of will, character, and skill... and the family that
always sticks together and helps each other out through any adversity.
Those two concepts just do not blend, so the book feels oddly uneven and conflicted to me."

Posted by C Taylor

good observation. Gangs tend to win, in real life. Self reliance, maybe now more than ever, may include the ability to form social alliances with various groups, yet maintain "social distancing" when it comes to the sovereign family unit. (as opposed to teachers showing grade school kids how to have save sex, perverse being taught as normal)

And maybe that is the story of America ... sovereign rights, yet federal government with the limited intent of fighting the roving gangs ... enemies foreign and domestic. The rugged individuals need to be able to have their own version of "collective bargaining" over their sovereignty. "We must all hang together, or surely we will all hang separately". (Ben said that, I think)

Some preppers figured out they need strong community preparation, not just a bunker.

Posted by: illiniwek at March 29, 2020 11:21 AM (Cus5s)

417 " I too have been reading a lot of public domain old books lately"

Most everything I had read lately is on Gutenberg. It's great resource and has more stuff than I could read in a lifetime.

Posted by: freaked at March 29, 2020 11:21 AM (Tnijr)

418 233 ... " There's a really nice hardback edition of Farmer Giles, profusely illustrated by Pauline Baynes (I grew up with the basic paperback version, which had a few pictures).

It would make a nice gift."

Eris, Great minds think alike. I just ordered a copy for myself. Birthday coming soon.) I have the corresponding first edition of "Smith of Wooten Major". Got it at a library sale and it is a 'sorta' uncommon book, one of the few I have that qualifies.

Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2020 11:21 AM (7EjX1)

419 If you want to write a female character, do it, don't make her the better half of a team over your alleged protagonist guy.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:16 AM (KZzsI)

The problem is many modern writers seem to be crap. They do not know how to write an interesting cast of characters instead of one 'wunderkind'- be it male or female.

I am trying to think of a good example of ensemble and I am only coming up with Star Trek (TOS.) Each of the characters is strong, but different. They compliment each other.

Complement or compliment? I am thinking complement for this usage...

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 29, 2020 11:22 AM (QrImU)

420 I fear that the same fate that has befallen comic book stores will also crush most small used book stores. They are in the same kind of boat: huge inventory, small profit margin, month-to-month survival, etc.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:22 AM (KZzsI)

421
Hey now....re: Alice Cooper... I get a half credit for getting the sport.....right? Even though I'm about 300 comments behind everyone else.... lol

Oh.... and I also thought 'Life Unworthy' was an interesting read....

Posted by: Some Guy in Wisconsin at March 29, 2020 11:22 AM (90+00)

422 In the early 70s, it was widely reported that Leave It to Beaver

star Ken Osmond had become "rock star Alice Cooper."

The rumor I always heard was that John Holmes was Eddie Haskell.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at March 29, 2020 11:13 AM (vuisn)

Maybe he was both and that's what got Jerry Mathers killed in Vietnam

Posted by: TheQuietMan at March 29, 2020 11:22 AM (865w5)

423 Yeah, I was hoping for a trip to Monticello on my way to the NoVaMoMe if we have it. Now I'm afraid it'll just annoy me. Nurse and Jordan61 and I should coordinate the same tour, and all roll our eyes in unison, heh.

Posted by: skywch at March 29, 2020 11:23 AM (Y/Ps0)

424 If it wasn't for the fucking NYC peeps coming up, the Berkshires would be pretty calm atm

I happy to see the locals acting very calm and responsible

Posted by: REDACTED at March 29, 2020 11:23 AM (rpxSz)

425 Everybody Poops" as an example? Children's libraries have become the
initial step in destroying Protestant work ethic and modesty in kids.
And thus in adults.

Posted by: Tonypete at March 29, 2020 10:52 AM (Y4EXg)

for
real the first time I saw this book was in a doctor's office. The
doctor turned out to be a real jagoff but that is beside the point. It
was odd that this guy had that book on display, he was not a
pediatrician to say the least. Also, who needs a book to tell them
everybody poops? What is the point? Don't people still have parents?
I never followed it but the first cartoon that I recall that was just pure gross out for the sake of being gross was ren and stimpy. Others shows are more obscene or controversial but that first one was when I new cartoons would never be the same.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 11:24 AM (hHxp2)

426 My special personal government is shitty muzak earworm...all day everyday forever and ever stop. Repeat.

Muzak was a perverse rape of anything musical.

Warning to the youngsters...do not research muzak. Unless you have the knack too strip power from the black sabbath that plummets memories beyond the healings of the vapors of thunderpussy.

Posted by: Humphreyrobot at March 29, 2020 11:24 AM (9PtLS)

427 414 I've been working in the yard as well to pass the time. I went to Home Depot last week but they had hardly any plants yet. Also ground is really wet here still so can;t do much except rake and clean stuff up. Hard part is a day like today, rainy and cold. Glad I have you all to talk to.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 11:24 AM (QzF6i)

428 for
real the first time I saw this book was in a doctor's office. The
doctor turned out to be a real jagoff but that is beside the point. It
was odd that this guy had that book on display, he was not a
pediatrician to say the least. Also, who needs a book to tell them
everybody poops? What is the point? Don't people still have parents?
I never followed it but the first cartoon that I recall that was just pure gross out for the sake of being gross was ren and stimpy. Others shows are more obscene or controversial but that first one was when I new cartoons would never be the same.
Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 11:24 AM (hHxp2)

I'm working on a sequel book, "If it eats, it shits."

Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 11:25 AM (Zz0t1)

429 There was a rumor going around that Cooper bit the head off a live chicken onstage.

Maybe Ozzy Osbourne started the bat eating craze in China

Posted by: TheQuietMan at March 29, 2020 11:25 AM (865w5)

430 In these almost burning times, there is no more dining en famille. Just outdoor food transfers, with love.

Posted by: kallisto at March 29, 2020 11:25 AM (y+Ufa)

431 Most everything I had read lately is on Gutenberg. It's great resource and has more stuff than I could read in a lifetime.

Yeah I've downloaded tons from there. Some of the copies aren't very well transferred to ebook format, but its fee and so much is available. Some I've had to find libra vox voice versions of, because I can't quite read myself but can handle with someone else reading.

I have "read" a lot of books like that lately while playing Skyrim and World of Warcraft.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:25 AM (KZzsI)

432 I would think the truth Everybody Poops is kind of self evincing.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 29, 2020 11:26 AM (QrImU)

433 Spring is here; so are the black sugar ants. Anyone know any ant hacks?

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at March 29, 2020 11:26 AM (7Fj9P)

434 I never followed it but the first cartoon that I recall that was just pure gross out for the sake of being gross was ren and stimpy.

Ren and Stimpy was creative but deliberately grotesque and terribly drawn. It was the start of a whole new wave of just horrible animated artwork that was cheap to produce because it didn't matter if it look awful, it was supposed to.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:27 AM (KZzsI)

435 Go to Monticello. Don't let the idiots deprive you of a wonderful experience. The grounds are beautiful and should be in full blossom in May.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 11:27 AM (QzF6i)

436 433 Spring is here; so are the black sugar ants. Anyone know any ant hacks?
Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at March 29, 2020 11:26 AM (7Fj9P)

Fire. Beautiful, purifying flame.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 29, 2020 11:27 AM (QrImU)

437 I just wanted to read about spaceships.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2020 11:11 AM (DKCFT)

About half the people out there would accuse YOU as being the who injects politics into everything, "It is Sci-Fi. Rockets. Why do always got to make everything about politics... wing-nut."

Propaganda works.
It works on about half the people ALL the time.
And the first to point it out is the one accused of doing it.

Posted by: Burnt Toast at March 29, 2020 11:28 AM (1g7ch)

438 374 I go further than that: go back to Aristotle and Aquinas.
Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 10:48 AM (ZbwAu)

I agree that the consent of the governed thing was Locke's biggest claim to fame. On the "episemology" side, he was indeed part of the great stream that included Aristotle and Aquinas. So was Newton. Hume was an allergic reaction to Newton on behalf of the idealists, as he makes quite clear with the billiard balls thing, and so too probably was Berkeley.
Posted by: Caliban at March 29, 2020 11:08 AM (QE8X6)
_______

I don't agree about Locke 'On the "episemology" side, he was indeed part of the great stream that included Aristotle and Aquinas.'

He, like virtually all the early moderns, fell into the trap the pre-Socratics did. As Aristotle points out, you will go awry if you identify intellect with sensation. And that's really what Locke did. Even Descartes sails awfully close to the wind there.

I do not see how you can start with Locke's epistemology and not end in idealism of some sort. That certainly is true of the vast body of British Empiricists.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 11:28 AM (ZbwAu)

439
Spring is here; so are the black sugar ants. Anyone know any ant hacks?

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at March 29, 2020 11:26 AM

---

Terro liquid ant bait/killer. Works on the ones here in Texas. We get them every Spring and they get in the dog food/

Put some of that out and within a day or two they are gone.

Posted by: Mr. Scott (Formerly GWS) at March 29, 2020 11:28 AM (JUOKG)

440 Spring is here; so are the black sugar ants. Anyone know any ant hacks?

Those Terro ant traps really work, but you gotta give them time. IN a couple weeks the entire nest will be wiped out.

Unfortunately, they only work on a certain sort of ant, so if you don't have that sort in your house, they just ignore the traps.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:29 AM (KZzsI)

441 "picked up $300 worth of gardening stuff and plantings so I can work in the yard most of the day."

Probably a lot of families are bending toward such healthy activity now, and the impact on "TheEconomy" may be healthy as well. Money still circulates, but maybe more toward home activities, less to corporate sports and mind bending TV.

Posted by: illiniwek at March 29, 2020 11:30 AM (Cus5s)

442 Read Forrest Gump this week by Grooms. Quite a hoot of a read. If you want laughs pick it up. Currently reading my sister's compilation of her husband's great, great granddaddy who served with 74th Illinois during the unpleasantness. The book is Letters Home and that is just what it is, Henry V. Freeman's letters home to his family. So far have read to the capture of Nashville and battle of Murfeesboro. Couple of things repeat - his need for money (they have not been paid), boots, candy and a hat. After the battle his company numbered less than forty. For those that like first hand accounts of soldiering in the 19th century, you would enjoy this book.

Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 11:30 AM (QZCjk)

443 Another vote for Patrick McManus. But I only read his columns (I have several collections of them) when I'm in a position to roar with laughter and have oxygen handy when I can't catch my breath from laughing so hard.

Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2020 11:31 AM (7EjX1)

444 435 Go to Monticello. Don't let the idiots deprive you of a wonderful experience. The grounds are beautiful and should be in full blossom in May.
Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 11:27 AM (QzF6i)

I agree. I only wish I had a heads up is all.

We had a much better tour and time at Montpelier. The tour guide there really gave a sense of the history in some of the rooms. The gardens are nice also.

Posted by: jsg at March 29, 2020 11:31 AM (aiWhJ)

445 Reading right now on Kindle through the Libby library app, Alan Furst's excellent "Mission to Paris."

Almost all Furst's novels are set in pre WW2 Europe, in that nervous mess when everyone knows Germany is building up to mayhem, but no one can figure out any way to stop it. And his settings almost always involve Paris.

Furst lived in Paris and so the descriptions of salon life, bistros, cocktail receptions, the buildings, streets, waiters, bartenders, all of it seems really genuine. And the late 30s settings are like traveling in time.

Mission to Paris resonates quite well with our current situation, the world on the brink of something huge but no one knows what, and the instigator of all the mess, Hitler's Germany, is playing a monstrous game of political disinformation propaganda.

Sounds like today, right? Except that then we had the Atlantic ocean as our Maginot line. Today, the enemy, the invisible virus, was carried here by unknowing civilians landing on airplanes in New York and everywhere else.

And WW2 even though it destroyed much of Europe, it did not crash our economy.

The central character in Mission to Paris is a Viennese-born Hollywood actor, fluent in English, German, and French. He is in Paris to shoot a film, and the Nazis want him as a vehicle to promote propaganda. Nasty people. Deadly. Vicious.

But so far, the actor has pretty good survival skills.

Posted by: Les Kinetic at March 29, 2020 11:31 AM (+fPHo)

446 Those Terro ant traps really work, but you gotta give them time. IN a couple weeks the entire nest will be wiped out.

Unfortunately, they only work on a certain sort of ant, so if you don't have that sort in your house, they just ignore the traps.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:29 AM (KZzsI)

*Taking notes*

Posted by: China at March 29, 2020 11:31 AM (hku12)

447 Anyone know any ant hacks?

That illegal but available at bodegas chinese insecticide chalk.

Oh wait.

Posted by: getting the banned back together at March 29, 2020 11:32 AM (mz9JE)

448 ''Yeah, I was hoping for a trip to Monticello on my way to the NoVaMoMe if we have it. Now I'm afraid it'll just annoy me. Nurse and Jordan61 and I should coordinate the same tour, and all roll our eyes in unison, heh.''

You would be annoyed but go anyway. The place is fascinating and the setting is quite beautiful. Just tune out the ''woke stuff". The first time we visited back in the 90's the tour was fine, meaning it wasn't all woke. The 2nd time the social justice stuff had started to creep in. I ignored it. If you have time go across the valley and check out James Monroe's place. It has been added on to over the years but the tour was interesting. Monroe and Jefferson had telescopes set up so they could view each other's homes. They visited quite often.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 11:32 AM (gLRfa)

449 Go to Monticello. Don't let the idiots deprive you of a wonderful experience. The grounds are beautiful and should be in full blossom in May.
================
We went there. The docents were tripping all over their dicks to "balance" opinions about how racisty-racist TJ was b/c: slaves. There was a plaque with a long story about a slave TJ had who was raised in his field hand cabins, then got "promoted" to Monticello. Apparently TJ was so racist he educated him, let him run some of his business affairs, then freed him. The guy moved to Cincinnati, and became a successful business man. Oh and, owned several of his own slaves.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at March 29, 2020 11:32 AM (7Fj9P)

450 412. our library has no plan to host a drag queen storytime. The parents in the community would not support that travesty.

Posted by: kallisto at March 29, 2020 11:32 AM (y+Ufa)

451 I liked Pat McManus' short columns he did in Field and Stream a lot but I tried to read one of his mystery novels (the Bo Tully books) and it was... awful. Seriously it was one of the worst books I've ever not been able to finish.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:33 AM (KZzsI)

452 I used to run with Alice Cooper on our indoor track in my club in the Catskills when Cooper was in the area. One of the nicer celebrities that came to the club.

Posted by: Kilroy wasn't here at March 29, 2020 11:33 AM (2DOZq)

453 And my mother tells me they went to Monticello a year earlier than us and it wasn't white privilege preachy. So it could be the guide you get also.

Posted by: jsg at March 29, 2020 11:33 AM (aiWhJ)

454 Late today, so haven't read comments yet...

Who Dis looks like Patti Smith.

Posted by: JQ at March 29, 2020 11:34 AM (whOIk)

455 It's a token ring mentality.

Old school network people will get this.

Everyone else will just think it's gay.
Posted by: Sponge at March 29, 2020 10:45 AM (Zz0t1)

*waves.hand*
I got it!

Posted by: vmom 2020 at March 29, 2020 11:34 AM (G546f)

456 I read "Other Minds," a bunch of related essays by Peter Godfrey-Smith. It has to do with the idea of "consciousness" and also cephalopods. Recommended.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at March 29, 2020 11:35 AM (l9m7l)

457 wful. Seriously it was one of the worst books I've ever not been able to finish.
--------------------
Planning on giving Cuckoo's Nest another go. I absolutely loved Sometimes a Great Notion but lost interest in Cuckoo's Nest. I was reading Kesey in the mid 70s so this lack of interest in Cuckoo's Nest could have been caused by being a teenager. Who knows?

Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 11:35 AM (QZCjk)

458 Other Middlebrook books I recommend include Battleship (about the Japanese sinking the Prince of Wales and the Repulse), The Nuremburg Raid (the Brits lose 96 heavy bombers), and The Berlin Raids (Bomber Harris tries and fails to win the war without invading the continent).
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 29, 2020 10:46 AM (+y/Ru)

I just purchased the Peenemunde Raid on your recommendation. I need to purchase a book on a WWII battle for my son, who is really getting into military history. He's fascinated by Alexander the Great.

Posted by: Darrell Harris at March 29, 2020 11:35 AM (m2EfB)

459 One thing puzzles me about the Girl Power! crap. That is that it can be made to work. In the mid-60s, my absolute favorite TV show (still high on my list) was The Avengers. And Emma Peel could do almost anything. (And anything she wanted to do to me.)

But it wasn't preachy and it was tongue in cheek. I must add that I was about 12 or 13 when it came on - exactly the right age to fall under her spell. But Dad was a fan, too.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 11:35 AM (ZbwAu)

460 Did you know who had to dust all of those books?
That's right. Slaves.

Posted by: Tourguide for school groups at Monticello at March 29, 2020 11:36 AM (M/9m0)

461 my son, who is really getting into military history. He's fascinated by Alexander the Great.

I recommend unto him The Virtues of War by Stephen Pressfield. Its the story of Alexander's great conquests, but from the perspective of military morale, virtues that got his army to be so successful, and how they can be lost through indiscipline and distraction.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:37 AM (KZzsI)

462 Thanks for feedback about Monticello, everyone. Montpelier sounds great too, if it will be open after renovations. Am also thinking about GW Mount Vernon. I've visited Washington DC proper, but never the surrounding historical sites in VA.

Posted by: skywch at March 29, 2020 11:37 AM (Y/Ps0)

463 Still my opinion that Confederacy of Dunces is the worst acclaimed book ever written.

Posted by: Kilroy wasn't here at March 29, 2020 11:37 AM (2DOZq)

464 I knew a chick that could accurately tell strangers what star sign they were just from meeting them and assessing their personality. She was weird.
Posted by: ... at March 29, 2020 10:33 AM (uEbPt)

A WITCH!!!
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo

"Where did you learn so much about science ?"

Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 11:38 AM (arJlL)

465 Well, of course I didn't expect to be the first to identify today's who dis... The woman is memorably homely (imo, and no beauty queen myself) but I like her music-- in small doses.

Posted by: JQ at March 29, 2020 11:38 AM (whOIk)

466 I recommend unto him The Virtues of War by Stephen Pressfield. Its the story of Alexander's great conquests, but from the perspective of military morale, virtues that got his army to be so successful, and how they can be lost through indiscipline and distraction.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:37 AM (KZzsI)
-----
Pressfield's "Gates of Fire" is also excellent.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, USS Lone Fire at March 29, 2020 11:39 AM (g8Yc+)

467 One thing puzzles me about the Girl Power! crap. That is that it can be made to work.

That's what is frustrating. I'm still baffled by how the left and right almost completely swapped places culturally and almost overnight in so many ways.

Now the left is trying to ban fun and legislate morality, they're the side putting out effectively tracts that are incredibly earnest and awkward and terrible.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:39 AM (KZzsI)

468 448 ''Yeah, I was hoping for a trip to Monticello on my way to the NoVaMoMe if we have it. Now I'm afraid it'll just annoy me. Nurse and Jordan61 and I should coordinate the same tour, and all roll our eyes in unison, heh.''

You would be annoyed but go anyway. The place is fascinating and the setting is quite beautiful. Just tune out the ''woke stuff". The first time we visited back in the 90's the tour was fine, meaning it wasn't all woke. The 2nd time the social justice stuff had started to creep in. I ignored it. If you have time go across the valley and check out James Monroe's place. It has been added on to over the years but the tour was interesting. Monroe and Jefferson had telescopes set up so they could view each other's homes. They visited quite often.
Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 11:32 AM (gLRfa)
________

The story is that Jefferson designed Ash Lawn, too, and made the door at the entrance facing Monticello so low that Monroe "would have to bow to me every time he went through it."

Back in the day, I was dating a girl who was a guide at Ash Lawn, and also in the UVa guides. Of course the job she really wanted was at Monticello, but they were tough to get part time. Still, I learnt a lot about the two she did do.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 11:40 AM (ZbwAu)

469 Are we beyond books yet?

Two things, first, I watched four episodes of the Amazon series on Ted Bundy, and it's told from the perspective of his long time girlfriend, as well as family/friends of some of the women he killed.

Extremely well done, and for anyone who has READ lots about Bundy, there's insight that one doesn't get from focusing solely on him.

Second, I listened to a podcast of Eric Weinstein interviewing his brother, Bret. Are y'all familiar with these guys? Eric appears to have some rather large chips on his shoulders, and I'm going to listen to more of his podcasts to find out exactly where he's coming from, but he has some ideas about how/why we have information that does not get out there. He seems to believe there are gatekeepers in universities, in scholarly publishing, and even book publishing, that keeps new ideas from getting heard.

Interesting subject.

His brother... well, his brother has a fascinating story to tell... and I'm not talking about the fact that he and his wife were the center of the Evergreen college blow-up.

You have to listen. It's a video that doesn't have to be watched, you can play it in the background. You have to get past Eric browbeating his brother in the beginning before the really really interesting stuff gets going.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLb5hZLw44s

Posted by: BurtTC at March 29, 2020 11:41 AM (hku12)

470 Pressfield's "Gates of Fire" is also excellent.

He does the same thing in that book, its ostensibly an entertaining read about history and the Thermopylae battle but its actually an examination of fear and how a soldier can overcome it, and be stronger because of it.

I like how he does that with his books, but it doesn't always work. His book on amazons was just bad.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:41 AM (KZzsI)

471 462 Thanks for feedback about Monticello, everyone. Montpelier sounds great
too, if it will be open after renovations. Am also thinking about GW
Mount Vernon. I've visited Washington DC proper, but never the
surrounding historical sites in VA.

Posted by: skywch at March 29, 2020 11:37 AM (Y/Ps0)

-----------
Mount Vernon is definitely worth a visit. However, last time we went, we ended up with an SJW-ish tour guide. Still a great place to go. Also check out Gunston Hall, George Mason's home. It's about half an hour from Mount Vernon.

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at March 29, 2020 11:41 AM (XXNQ+)

472 Mt Vernon is fun too. I don't think we had to take a tour. Different feeling than Monticello. I was in total awe of Thomas Jefferson and I felt priveleged to see where he lived and worked. Mt Vernon felt more like seeing a slice of life of the times but no real sense of George Washington.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 11:41 AM (QzF6i)

473 463 Still my opinion that Confederacy of Dunces is the worst acclaimed book ever written.
-----------------------------
I actually loved it. Amazing characters: Ignatius, Myrna Minkoff, and his mother. Remember, this was written during the early sixties. I think Toole killed himself in 1971 and it took Walker Percy to bring it to publication in the 80s at the request of his mother.

Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 11:41 AM (QZCjk)

474 I've had an idea for a children's picture book kicking around in my head for years but haven't had the guts to write it yet.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo

The Hongry Moose ?

Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 11:42 AM (arJlL)

475 My uncle called. He's leaving some food on the front porch for me to pick up.

-
I miss the old days when only crack houses took such precautions.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 29, 2020 11:42 AM (+y/Ru)

476 Fauci is writing some really nice fiction work these days too, where everyone dies from the flu.

Posted by: Hotgas VIP Member at March 29, 2020 11:42 AM (Gl2vL)

477 If you have time go across the valley and check out James Monroe's place. It has been added on to over the years but the tour was interesting. Monroe and Jefferson had telescopes set up so they could view each other's homes. They visited quite often.
Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 11:32 AM (gLRfa)

We did that also. It was good.

My wife wants to go back to Monticello but skip the house tour. She is into the flowers at the homes. Someone there gave her some growing vine seeds or deadheads she asked about. They were growing over a line of arbors, purple, and were beautiful. I'll have to ask.

Plus it is a good area to just take a minor 3-4 day vacation.

Posted by: jsg at March 29, 2020 11:42 AM (aiWhJ)

478 I'm reading "Indestructible" the true story of Pappy Gunn. man, what a wild dude. I'm about halfway through, and he's already used up 9 lives, and probably saved more lives in the Pacific theater than any one man could. Just crazy.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at March 29, 2020 11:42 AM (7Fj9P)

479 450 412. our library has no plan to host a drag queen storytime. The parents in the community would not support that travesty.
Posted by: kallisto at March 29, 2020 11:32 AM (y+Ufa)

In some cities, the library went ahead with DQSH events over and against objections from parents. Because freedom of expression or something.

Also, some parents are total dim bulbs who don't see anything wrong with having their children exposed to sexualized activities.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 11:42 AM (Nq3+Y)

480 Thanks for feedback about Monticello, everyone.
Montpelier sounds great too, if it will be open after renovations. Am
also thinking about GW Mount Vernon. I've visited Washington DC proper,
but never the surrounding historical sites in VA.

Posted by: skywch at March 29, 2020 11:37 AM (Y/Ps0)

There is also the Gristmill, is a couple miles away from the main Mount Vernon estate, where you can learn how they made whiskey. For a time, Mount Vernon distilled the largest amount of whiskey in the nation.

It's further down the road, but Gunston Hall (George Mason's estate) is interesting too.

Posted by: Vendette at March 29, 2020 11:42 AM (nRNOc)

481 Not shown:
Gor

Well, Gor is an entirely different planet, so it wouldn't fit in on the map. No kajira for you!

I'm going back to yesterday's Kaissa problems.

Posted by: Chuck C at March 29, 2020 11:43 AM (r6GXX)

482 461 my son, who is really getting into military history. He's fascinated by Alexander the Great.

I recommend unto him The Virtues of War by Stephen Pressfield. Its the story of Alexander's great conquests, but from the perspective of military morale, virtues that got his army to be so successful, and how they can be lost through indiscipline and distraction.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:37 AM (KZzsI)
______

I know it's old, and the author was a bit of a kook, albeit brilliant, but I still think Fuller's book does the best job of actually explaining the battles' tactics. Especially the otherwise incomprehensible Jaxarta.

I was reluctant to put Alexander at #1 on the list of great captains, but had to give in. He was.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 11:44 AM (ZbwAu)

483 Late today, so haven't read comments yet...

Who Dis looks like Patti Smith.
Posted by: JQ at March 29, 2020 11:34 AM (whOIk)

Yep, the science is settled. It's Patti Smith, but would have been Alice Cooper, except for the bra.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 29, 2020 11:44 AM (hku12)

484 Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at March 29, 2020 11:41 AM (XXNQ+)

Great minds...

Posted by: Vendette at March 29, 2020 11:44 AM (nRNOc)

485 Pressfield's "Gates of Fire" is also excellent.
Posted by: Captain Obvious, USS Lone Fire at March 29, 2020 11:39 AM (g8Yc+)

Everything of Pressfield's is great. Just some more than others. Gates of Fire was my first Pressfield book. I then read his other historical fiction books. One of my most pleasant surprises after finishing those books was to discover he wrote The Legend of Bagger Vance. Even as a golfer I always avoided reading that talked about book. Little did I know it equaled the hype and how good it was.

Posted by: Kilroy wasn't here at March 29, 2020 11:45 AM (2DOZq)

486 I was reluctant to put Alexander at #1 on the list of great captains, but had to give in. He was.
------------------
Don't want to start a flame war but Hannibal is likely the greatest general of all.

Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 11:45 AM (QZCjk)

487 Monticello went so far over budget and schedule that Jefferson died bankrupt with the house half-done.

The Democrats' love of poorly executed white-elephant construction projects goes back to the very root of the Party.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at March 29, 2020 11:46 AM (II2Y0)

488 ''Thanks for feedback about Monticello, everyone. Montpelier sounds great too, if it will be open after renovations. Am also thinking about GW Mount Vernon. I've visited Washington DC proper, but never the surrounding historical sites in VA.''

As stated above have been to Monticello, James Monroe's home but never to Madison's Montpelier. Would love to see that one too. I've read that the renovations there are really extensive.

The one place I've visited once(when I was in college)is Mt. Vernon. I so want to go back there. Try and get there if you can. Fascinating place. Also Colonial Williamsburg is in the area. Need a day or so to do that properly. Wonderful.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 11:46 AM (gLRfa)

489 The Hongry Moose ?
Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 11:42 AM (arJlL)
-----
Better that than "The Surprising Otter".

Posted by: Captain Obvious, USS Lone Fire at March 29, 2020 11:46 AM (g8Yc+)

490 I did the Mt Vernon tour 12 years ago. Pretty cool dont recall Andy SJW stuf but it was a while ago.

Posted by: Hotgas VIP Member at March 29, 2020 11:46 AM (Gl2vL)

491 35 Go to Monticello. Don't let the idiots deprive
you of a wonderful experience. The grounds are beautiful and should be
in full blossom in May.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 11:27 AM (QzF6i)

I agree. I only wish I had a heads up is all.

We had a much better tour and time at Montpelier. The tour guide
there really gave a sense of the history in some of the rooms. The
gardens are nice also.

Posted by: jsg at March 29, 2020 11:31 AM (aiWhJ)

that
does not surprise me. One place in VA that few know about and is
definitely worth seeing is The National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, VA.
It is not that far from other historic sites in Lexington etc. I doubt
anyone that went there would be disappointed. A cool thing is you get
these tours from old guys who really know their stuff and care a lot.
And also, the area is really pretty.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 11:47 AM (hHxp2)

492 Don't want to start a flame war but Hannibal is likely the greatest general of all.
Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 11:45 AM (QZCjk)
-----
"Hannibal, you know how to win a battle, but not a war."
--Hasdrubal

Posted by: Captain Obvious, USS Lone Fire at March 29, 2020 11:48 AM (g8Yc+)

493 Who Dis looks like Patti Smith.

Posted by: JQ at March 29, 2020 11:34 AM (whOIk)

And there's a very good reason for that.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 11:48 AM (Nq3+Y)

494 489 The Hongry Moose ?
Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 11:42 AM (arJlL)
-----
Better that than "The Surprising Otter".
Posted by: Captain Obvious

The Sleepless Snek

Posted by: vmom 2020 at March 29, 2020 11:49 AM (G546f)

495 Forrest Gump's author Mr. Grooms tossed water balloons at my house when we were kids in same neighborhood. Ruined the drapes/broken windows.

Posted by: azalea city at March 29, 2020 11:49 AM (WX+x0)

496 Glad I have you all to talk to.
Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice)

What are you wearing ?

Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 11:49 AM (arJlL)

497 The Legend of Bagger Face.

Posted by: butterface at March 29, 2020 11:49 AM (g7tRg)

498 Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 11:41 AM (QZCjk)

You're not the only one who loves it. I guess books can be like any other art form. It's what makes the world go round.

Posted by: Kilroy wasn't here at March 29, 2020 11:50 AM (2DOZq)

499 what's Alice Cooper's name and what sport is he good at?
Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:12 AM (gd9RK)

Golf. No idea what his real name is though....
Posted by: Some Guy in Wisconsin

Frank Sinatra

Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 11:50 AM (arJlL)

500 Also Colonial Williamsburg is in the area. Need a day or so to do that properly. Wonderful.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 11:46 AM (gLRfa)

------------
It is a wonderful place to visit and can be done in a day from DC if you get an early start. The visit is made even better by going to Pierce's BBQ down the road from the Colonial area.
Closer to DC is Woodlawn Plantation (are we still allowed to say "plantation"?), which was the home of G. Washington's nephew. There's also a Frank Lloyd Wright house nearby.

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at March 29, 2020 11:50 AM (XXNQ+)

501 492 Don't want to start a flame war but Hannibal is likely the greatest general of all.
Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 11:45 AM (QZCjk)
-----
"Hannibal, you know how to win a battle, but not a war."
--Hasdrubal
--------------------
Hannibal had to defeat Roman Legions - Alexander merely had to defeat Persians and their satrapies (who fled as soon as the Persians formations fell aparty). Totally different ball game.

Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 11:51 AM (QZCjk)

502 486 I was reluctant to put Alexander at #1 on the list of great captains, but had to give in. He was.
------------------
Don't want to start a flame war but Hannibal is likely the greatest general of all.
Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 11:45 AM (QZCjk)
_______

For a set piece battle against a known enemy, I won't argue with you. But Alex faced so many different kinds of battles and sieges, and won them all, that I have to put him first. Hannibal's record on sieges wasn't great.

And there is Hydaspes. Facing large numbers of elephants - which effectively neutered his Companions, he managed to reroute them, and win anyway.

And then there is the siege of Tyre. When Parmenio suggested a naval battle, Alex showed astounding humility in accepting that he was no master of sea warfare, and did it his way. An amazing feat, and it worked.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 11:51 AM (ZbwAu)

503 433 Spring is here; so are the black sugar ants. Anyone know any ant hacks?
Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at March 29, 2020 11:26 AM (7Fj9P)

I tried everything. I ended up calling a pest control company. Carpenter ants are just too big a deal to leave them to "old weird tricks".

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 11:51 AM (ONvIw)

504 >>> 499 what's Alice Cooper's name and what sport is he good at?
Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:12 AM (gd9RK)

Golf. No idea what his real name is though....
Posted by: Some Guy in Wisconsin

Frank Sinatra
Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 11:50 AM (arJlL)

No one has tried 'Joan Collins' yet??

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at March 29, 2020 11:51 AM (0ReGO)

505 499 what's Alice Cooper's name and what sport is he good at?
Posted by: Bandersnatch at March 29, 2020 09:12 AM (gd9RK)

Golf. No idea what his real name is though....
Posted by: Some Guy in Wisconsin

Frank Sinatra

Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 11:50 AM (arJlL)

Alicw Cooper's real name was Patti Smith and he was scary good at lacrosse.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 11:51 AM (Nq3+Y)

506 Sorry, took time out for radio mass.

I wrote about the bad state of writing above, but wanted to add some further thoughts and reflection.

I think the prevalence of the Mary Sue trope is a function of a generation that does not know how to build a team. They are all special, all snowflakes, all get a participation trophy.

My kids have been talking about this for a while. They are all about themselves, their identity, their pronouns, nothing for anyone else.

So when they write, they have no idea how actual teams work. What they do is create an idealized version of themselves backed up by a bunch of adoring fans.

You write what you know. That's what they're doing.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 11:51 AM (cfSRQ)

507 Gettysburg was the most memorable of all the historic places I visited in the area. While walking the battlefield looking at how the troops were stationed, unexpectedly, a reenactment started. It really brought to life how foolish the attack was.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 11:52 AM (QzF6i)

508 I'm a huge fan of The Walking Drum. It sucks that L'Amour died before finishing the sequel, though.
Posted by: Bert G

The Last of the Breed is my fave L'Amour.

Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 11:52 AM (arJlL)

509 Speaking of d day memorial....the ones in France, and there are many of them aside from THE memorial, are poweful. No tour guides needed, just walk around and I dare you not to get a tear or 5 in your eyes.

Posted by: Hotgas VIP Member at March 29, 2020 11:52 AM (Gl2vL)

510 And Jennifer Jones was American, not British
Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 09:09 AM

I tend to get her mixed up with British actress Jean Simmons. They look like twins separated at birth.

Posted by: JuJuBee, just generally being shamey at March 29, 2020 11:52 AM (COzlW)

511 Toast: Or they'd fall back on their "SF has always been political" inner defense perimeter. That's true, but it hasn't always been so monolithically political, nor sacrificed science and fiction to message.

Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2020 11:52 AM (DKCFT)

512 Let's see what my dad was up to this day in 1944, on the Anzio beachhead:

29 Mar
Another minor daylight raid but we still got 5 planes. 194th [FA Bn] started on a house wrecking program. Fired 30+ rds into their first house. Then 141st [FA Bn] shot around 20 to finally knock the house down.
One plane bombed the hospital (56th) during the night. 65 known casualties.

Houses in Nettuno had been heavily bombed and were no longer habitable (or safe from further bombing) so the field artillery would demolish them via barrage.
The 56th Evacuation Hospital was nicknamed "Hell's Half Acre"

Here's a link to a story of a Wisconsin woman killed in a similar bombing raid earlier that year, in February:

https://tinyurl.com/hells-half-acre

Posted by: Muldoon at March 29, 2020 11:52 AM (m45I2)

513 For all you planning on taking in Mount Vernon I would recommend an afternoon walking about Harper's Ferry if you can fit it in. I live maybe three miles from Mt. Vernon.

Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 11:53 AM (QZCjk)

514 488 As stated above have been to Monticello, James Monroe's home but never to Madison's Montpelier. Would love to see that one too. I've read that the renovations there are really extensive.

His library is on the 2nd floor and the tour guide was amazing at expressing the magnitude of the monumental works written in that room. We both agreed that was the best mini-talk out of all 3 homes.

Then some lady later on the tour asked why Madison and Jefferson didn't provide for their wives retirements better and my wife laughed out loud. Good times.

Posted by: jsg at March 29, 2020 11:53 AM (aiWhJ)

515 my son, who is really getting into military history. He's fascinated by Alexander the Great.
==============
You might want to mention Dan Carlin's "Hardcore History" podcasts to him. He did ~ 12 hours on WWI. I finished it on Armistice day. He doesn't have a military background, but the sourcing is great, and you really get an understanding of scale and scope. Damn, we're really good at killing each other.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at March 29, 2020 11:53 AM (7Fj9P)

516 Kilroy: If you don't like Confederacy of Dunces, I can deduce that you're not from New Orleans.

Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2020 11:53 AM (DKCFT)

517 I'm sick of Fauci. I'll take Didier Roualt and Dr. Birx over that little flamingo any day

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 11:53 AM (ONvIw)

518 Upthread someone pooh-poohs the hilarious and wonderful read that is-

"A Confederacy of Dunces"

I'll just say I disagree cuz there's no accounting for taste.

So, I'd say. Check out the free sample at Amazon and see if it looks like it might appeal to you.

Like Tom Sharpe(author) last week, the comedy in ACoD is a "ship of fools" comedy.

So. there isn't going to be an immediately likable character to latch onto. If that's one of your reading requirements, you probably won't be enthralled.

But, if yo0u give it a chance, you'll probably laugh quite a bit.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2020 11:54 AM (z0XD8)

519 That's what is frustrating. I'm still baffled by how the left and right almost completely swapped places culturally and almost overnight in so many ways.

Now the left is trying to ban fun and legislate morality, they're the side putting out effectively tracts that are incredibly earnest and awkward and terrible.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:39 AM (KZzsI)

That is what they tell you. The Left has been and always will be the party of degeneracy, statism, and slavery by any name.

Posted by: Burnt Toast at March 29, 2020 11:54 AM (1g7ch)

520 Kilroy: If you don't like Confederacy of Dunces, I can deduce that you're not from New Orleans.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2020 11:53 AM (DKCFT

No but I did grow up in South Louisiana.

Posted by: Kilroy wasn't here at March 29, 2020 11:54 AM (2DOZq)

521 Children, how many of these "great" books do you think were written by People of Color?
Most of them? Half? A quarter?
No. The answer is NONE.
The only books considered "great" or even worth reading back then were those written by white people.
And nearly all by white MEN.

Posted by: Tourguide for school groups at Monticello at March 29, 2020 11:55 AM (M/9m0)

522 496 Not much. Had breakfast and went back to bed.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 11:55 AM (QzF6i)

523 Posted by: Muldoon at March 29, 2020 11:52 AM (m45I2)

My uncle was there with the 1st Armored.

Posted by: CN at March 29, 2020 11:55 AM (ONvIw)

524 If you want to write a female character, do it, don't make her the better half of a team over your alleged protagonist guy.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor

Hello Mary Sue
Goodbye plot

Posted by: Ricky Nelson at March 29, 2020 11:55 AM (+y/Ru)

525 495 Forrest Gump's author Mr. Grooms tossed water balloons at my house when we were kids in same neighborhood. Ruined the drapes/broken windows.
------------------
Did your dad have words with him?

Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 11:55 AM (QZCjk)

526 that
does not surprise me. One place in VA that few know about and is
definitely worth seeing is The National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, VA.
It is not that far from other historic sites in Lexington etc. I doubt
anyone that went there would be disappointed. A cool thing is you get
these tours from old guys who really know their stuff and care a lot.
And also, the area is really pretty.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 11:47 AM (hHxp2)

I'll make a note of that thanks! Would love to do that next trip through.

Posted by: jsg at March 29, 2020 11:55 AM (aiWhJ)

527 hanks for feedback about Monticello, everyone.

Montpelier sounds great too, if it will be open after renovations. Am

also thinking about GW Mount Vernon. I've visited Washington DC proper,

but never the surrounding historical sites in VA.

Posted by: skywch at March 29, 2020 11:37 AM (Y/Ps0)

There
is also the Gristmill, is a couple miles away from the main Mount Vernon
estate, where you can learn how they made whiskey. For a time, Mount
Vernon distilled the largest amount of whiskey in the nation.

It's further down the road, but Gunston Hall (George Mason's estate) is interesting too.

Posted by: Vendette at March 29, 2020 11:42 AM (nRNOc)

Mt Vernon is run by the Ladies of Mt. Vernon. They are pretty hard core by modern standards. They used to put out a magazine and they crapped on all the cities, towns, schools etc that were taking down George Washington's name. You would be astounded by how many locales in this country have replaced Washington's name, we are talking thousands over the years.

That place has grown so much over the last couple of decades that those of use who remember it from way back when would be truly surprised. Maybe some historical places are being forgotten but not Mt. Vernon. They have a library there now that is pretty much something. It is for study, research, events etc. You can't even get in unless you are there for a specific event of made a reservation for in depth study I guess.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 11:55 AM (hHxp2)

528 A. H. Lloyd, in volume 4 of Battles and Leaders, check out Lt. Cushing's account of the destruction of the C. S. S. Albemarle. It would make a damn good movie.
Posted by: Captain Obvious, USS Lone Fire at March 29, 2020 11:05 AM (g8Yc+)

Posted by: Captain Obvious, USS Lone Fire at March 29, 2020 11:56 AM (g8Yc+)

529 The Last of the Breed is my fave L'Amour.

Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 11:52 AM (arJlL)

Mine, too, by virtue of the fact that it's the only L'Amour I have ever read.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 11:56 AM (Nq3+Y)

530 ''It is a wonderful place to visit and can be done in a day from DC if you get an early start. The visit is made even better by going to Pierce's BBQ down the road from the Colonial area.
Closer to DC is Woodlawn Plantation (are we still allowed to say "plantation"?), which was the home of G. Washington's nephew. There's also a Frank Lloyd Wright house nearby.''

That whole area is a sightseers dream come true. Also Busch Gardens for the kiddos.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 11:57 AM (gLRfa)

531 459 One thing puzzles me about the Girl Power! crap. That is that it can be made to work. In the mid-60s, my absolute favorite TV show (still high on my list) was The Avengers.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 11:35 AM

Not necessarily 'grrrl power!', but I remember reading "Island of the Blue Dolphins" for school as a kid. It was part of the Newbery Medal series of books we were told to read. I remember it being about a young girl on the island and having to fend for herself.

Looking it up now, I see it was actually based on the true story of Juana Maria, a Nicoleno Native American left alone for 18 years on San Nicolas Island during the 19th century.

I remember reading that book numerous times as a tween/early teen. Loved getting lost in the story and imaging myself, probably 12-13 years old at the time as well, being on that island.

Posted by: Clyde Shelton at March 29, 2020 11:57 AM (Do5/p)

532 Who Dis looks like Patti Smith.

Posted by: JQ at March 29, 2020 11:34 AM (whOIk)

And there's a very good reason for that.
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 11:48 AM (Nq3+Y)

Becuz she's Patti Smith's cousin, Peoni Smith?

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2020 11:57 AM (z0XD8)

533 Alice Cooper was a nationally ranked Jarts hustler. Take yo money and laugh.

Posted by: klaftern at March 29, 2020 11:58 AM (RuIsu)

534 -Keep a schedule, keep on that schedule. Treat it seriously, as if its a job.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:02 AM (KZzsI)

---
I wanted to respond to this, but the mass was on.

I agree with most of the points but this one. I get the notion of sticking to it, but I found that treating it like a job made me hate it.

Instead, I treat it like a goal, a thing that would be nice to get done, but there's no pressure.

I set deadlines, and then break them. I do value getting things done, so I try to schedule stuff, but I don't beat myself up when I adjust.

The cardinal rule I would put above everything on that list is simply this:

Have something to say.

I have started half-a-dozen fantasy epics because I love the genre, love the period, but every time I get well into it, the thing falls apart because I'm writing a genre, not telling a story.

The paradox is that I have written books in genres I rarely read precisely because I had something I needed to say.

When I announced I was writing Vampires of Michigan, people who knew me gave me the raised eyebrow. I never was into that sort of thing, but I had something to say.

That's my motivation. I'd love to make money, but mostly I write to get stuff out. I also enjoy the productivity that comes with a hobby. Watching TV, playing console games can relax or amuse, but there's nothing to show for it. I like having a stack of books to show for all that time.

I imagine my grandfather felt the same way as he watched his collection of wood carvings fill shelf after shelf.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 11:58 AM (cfSRQ)

535 522 496 Not much. Had breakfast and went back to bed.
Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 11:55 AM (QzF6i

Hmmm. This has the makings of a blues song.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 11:58 AM (NWiLs)

536 I'm not a fan of reading tablets but now with the libraries closed I can see the convenience of being able to download books from the privacy of your home.

Posted by: JuJuBee, just generally being shamey at March 29, 2020 11:59 AM (COzlW)

537 Not necessarily 'grrrl power!', but I remember
reading "Island of the Blue Dolphins" for school as a kid. It was part
of the Newbery Medal series of books we were told to read. I remember
it being about a young girl on the island and having to fend for
herself.

Posted by: Clyde Shelton at March 29, 2020 11:57 AM (Do5/p)

---
Didn't that get made as a movie? Blue Lagoon?

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 11:59 AM (cfSRQ)

538 Kilroy: Where at, if you don't mind my asking?

Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2020 11:59 AM (DKCFT)

539 Alice Cooper was a nationally ranked Jarts hustler. Take yo money and laugh.
Posted by: klaftern at March 29, 2020 11:58 AM (RuIsu)

He wasn't bad at razor tag either.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 29, 2020 11:59 AM (hku12)

540 533 Alice Cooper was a nationally ranked Jarts hustler. Take yo money and laugh.
Posted by: klaftern at March 29, 2020 11:58 AM (RuIsu)

Dude could pin kindergarteners to the ground from 80 yards away. Scary good.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 11:59 AM (NWiLs)

541 It's further down the road, but Gunston Hall (George Mason's estate) is interesting too.

Posted by: Vendette at March 29, 2020 11:42 AM (nRNOc)

fun fact about the Gristmill. That thing has been around for many decades. George Washington was a really smart guy. He had a Grist Mill so others could grind their wheat there and pay for the privilege. He also had a distillery for the same purpose. But the Grist Mill is not on the site of the original Grist Mill. But archeologists just happened to find the original distillery on the site they placed the Grist Mill. That whole area for many miles was made up of GW farms.

If you went to MT. Vernon 20 years ago, you would be shocked by the place today.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 12:00 PM (hHxp2)

542 Kilroy: Where at, if you don't mind my asking?
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2020 11:59 AM (DKCFT)

Lake Charles

Posted by: Kilroy wasn't here at March 29, 2020 12:00 PM (2DOZq)

543
One thing puzzles me about the Girl Power! crap. That is that it can be
made to work. In the mid-60s, my absolute favorite TV show (still high
on my list) was The Avengers. And Emma Peel could do almost anything.
(And anything she wanted to do to me.)

But it wasn't preachy and it was tongue in cheek. I must add that I
was about 12 or 13 when it came on - exactly the right age to fall under
her spell. But Dad was a fan, too.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 11:35 AM (ZbwAu)

And that's why it worked. Nothing preachy about it. Steed and Mrs Peel were just out to stop diabolical masterminds. It was fun and entertaining. My dad was a big fan of the show too.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at March 29, 2020 12:00 PM (865w5)

544 There was a rumor going around that Cooper bit the head off a live chicken onstage.

-
Well, I'm pretty sure it wasn't Karen Carpenter.

Posted by: Ricky Nelson at March 29, 2020 12:01 PM (+y/Ru)

545 Hmmm. This has the makings of a blues song.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 11:58 AM

Wrote a song about it. Like to hear it? Hear it go.
Woke up, had my breakfast, ahhh ha ah ah.

Posted by: Calhoun Tubbs at March 29, 2020 12:01 PM (COzlW)

546
Let's see what my dad was up to this day in 1944, on the Anzio beachhead:

Posted by: Muldoon at March 29, 2020 11:52 AM (m45I2)

---
Thanks for posting these. I was hoping to catch today's installment.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 12:01 PM (cfSRQ)

547 511 Toast: Or they'd fall back on their "SF has always been political" inner defense perimeter. That's true, but it hasn't always been so monolithically political, nor sacrificed science and fiction to message.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2020 11:52 AM (DKCF

Ah yes, the "motte and bailey defense": Stake out a controversial or outrageous position to be stunning and brave and then retreat back to your safe space when you get called out on your bullshit.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 12:01 PM (Nq3+Y)

548 The Last of the Breed is my fave L'Amour.

Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 11:52 AM (arJlL)

Mine, too, by virtue of the fact that it's the only L'Amour I have ever read.
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional

I read all of his stuff, and some of them were great.

I agree with whomever said The Sacketts got to be same old, same old.

Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 12:01 PM (arJlL)

549 I need to purchase a book on a WWII battle for my son, who is really getting into military history. He's fascinated by Alexander the Great.
Posted by: Darrell Harris at March 29, 2020 11:35 AM (m2EfB)

not a book,but that Netflix documentary series WW2 in Colour is a pretty good overview

Posted by: vmom 2020 at March 29, 2020 12:01 PM (G546f)

550 '' If you want to write a female character, do it, don't make her the better half of a team over your alleged protagonist guy.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor

Hello Mary Sue
Goodbye plot''

That's one of the reasons I enjoyed the 2 Sabrina Chase trilogies. Strong female main characters, strong male main characters that support each other.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 12:02 PM (gLRfa)

551 Ah yes, the "motte and bailey defense": Stake out a controversial or outrageous position to be stunning and brave and then retreat back to your safe space when you get called out on your bullshit.
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 12:01 PM (Nq3+Y)

Seen a commenter or two like that.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 12:02 PM (NWiLs)

552 In the Eighties I used to go to Lake Charles three or four times a year for high school competitions. Haven't seen the place in decades. I understand it's grown a lot -- that whole part of the state seems to be booming.

Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2020 12:02 PM (DKCFT)

553 There's talk below about how to support local pizza places

Download the "Slice" app.

Nearly all of the local pizza places here in Houston are signed up

I'm able to see menu and order, tip all online-- tells me when it's ready to be picked up and all too

Allows me to sample a lot of places I wouldn't even know of

Posted by: RoyalOil, Vicroy Canadian Territories at March 29, 2020 12:02 PM (vPKfA)

554 A. H. Lloyd, in volume 4 of Battles and Leaders,
check out Lt. Cushing's account of the destruction of the C. S. S.
Albemarle. It would make a damn good movie.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, USS Lone Fire at March 29, 2020 11:05 AM (g8Yc+)
---
I think I read that one before, but it was so long ago I forgot it. Lots of cool details in these essays. Thanks for the reminder!

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 12:02 PM (cfSRQ)

555 Mama Cass bit the head off a ham sammich.

Posted by: getting the banned back in a handbasket to hell at March 29, 2020 12:03 PM (Eh4zA)

556 Just got back from a constitutional with the delightful and athletic Mrs naturalfake.

While we were walking, we passed a couple who were discussing the news(?) that-

yesterday two people in Dallas were fined $400.00 each because they weren't observing social distancing outside a restaurant where they were in line for take-out.

Have no idea if this is true or not, but...Yikes!

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2020 12:03 PM (z0XD8)

557 496 Not much. Had breakfast and went back to bed.
Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice)

Go on........

Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 12:03 PM (arJlL)

558 Writing at times is like carving on a big block of granite. Write well write bad write like a dust devil. Then chip away for vocus and save the chips.

Posted by: Humphreyrobot at March 29, 2020 12:03 PM (1oqSI)

559 And speaking of Lake Charles and Coronavirus, Orlando McDaniel used to kick my ass on the track. Mine and everybody else's too.

Posted by: Kilroy wasn't here at March 29, 2020 12:03 PM (2DOZq)

560 If you went to MT. Vernon 20 years ago, you would be shocked by the place today.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 12:00 PM (hHxp2)

Indeed it has changed quite a bit in the last 20 years, especially the Visitors Center. The parking lots are still as annoying as always, and vehicles that shouldn't be on the GW Parkway in the first place still get their tops sheared off if they aren't in the correct lane for a low-level bridge about 2 miles north of the estate, so some things don't change.

Posted by: Vendette at March 29, 2020 12:04 PM (nRNOc)

561 549 I need to purchase a book on a WWII battle for my son, who is really getting into military history. He's fascinated by Alexander the Great.
Posted by: Darrell Harris at March 29, 2020 11:35 AM (m2EfB)

not a book,but that Netflix documentary series WW2 in Colour is a pretty good overview
------------------------
Nothing beats Stalingrad for senseless slaughter. Maybe Iwo or Okinawa.

Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 12:04 PM (QZCjk)

562 ''I need to purchase a book on a WWII battle for my son, who is really getting into military history. He's fascinated by Alexander the Great.
Posted by: Darrell Harris at March 29, 2020 11:35 AM (m2EfB)

not a book,but that Netflix documentary series WW2 in Colour is a pretty good overview''

I've always loved "Victory at Sea" series. Another plus is wonderful Richard Rogers score.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 12:04 PM (gLRfa)

563 He is the same author of that tour-de-force analysis, Why the Allies Won.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 29, 2020 09:47 AM (u82oZ)

Salty, thanks for the recommendation on the Bombers and the Bombed. Just ordered it from Amazon.Right now I'm reading the Mighty Eighth by Roger Freeman. Dense, but interesting read.

Posted by: Old Blue at March 29, 2020 12:05 PM (VNmG1)

564 ...Just got back from a constitutional with the delightful and athletic Mrs naturalfake...

...yesterday two people in Dallas were fined $400.00 each because they weren't observing social distancing

*********

Perhaps it should be renamed an UN-constitutional.

Posted by: Muldoon at March 29, 2020 12:05 PM (m45I2)

565
There was a rumor going around that Cooper bit the head off a live chicken onstage. Zappa phoned him to ask if the story was true. Cooper denied it, and Zappa then told him, "Well, whatever you do, don't tell anyone you didn't do it".
Posted by: freaked

In The Who song "Put the Money Down" there is a line "There are bands killing chickens."

The Who had last played in Columbus, Ohio November 1, 1969 but there is no record of any fences having fallen there. It may be a reference to Woodstock or the Isle of Wight where gatecrashers turned a ticketed festival into a free concert. The line "there are bands killing chickens" is a reference to the band Alice Cooper and their supposed habit of killing live chickens on stage.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2020 12:05 PM (aKsyK)

566 That's one of the reasons I enjoyed the 2 Sabrina
Chase trilogies. Strong female main characters, strong male main
characters that support each other.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 12:02 PM (gLRfa)

+++++Same reason I enjoyed Karin Slaughter's Will Trent series. The personalities of the characters is more important that what sex they are.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 12:06 PM (QzF6i)

567 Nothing beats Stalingrad for senseless slaughter. Maybe Iwo or Okinawa.
Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 12:04 PM (QZCjk)
-----
Peleliu was seventeen kinds of awful. And the powers that be wound up never using the island as a major base.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, USS Lone Fire at March 29, 2020 12:07 PM (g8Yc+)

568 556 Just got back from a constitutional with the delightful and athletic Mrs

Sorta gives new meaning to constitutional.

Posted by: getting the banned back together at last at March 29, 2020 12:07 PM (Eh4zA)

569
Gettysburg was the most memorable of all the historic places I visited in the area. While walking the battlefield looking at how the troops were stationed, unexpectedly, a reenactment started. It really brought to life how foolish the attack was.
Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 11:52 AM (QzF6i)

It's amazing how much insight you can get from actually walking the ground, rather than just reading the first-hand accounts. A couple of years back, I vacationed in Boston with my brother and family, and we went up to the Bunker Hill Monument (yes, I know, it's actually Breed's Hill).

While we were walking up the street, the hill seemed kind of underwhelming, like the Limeys should have been able to easily walk up the hill and spank the Colonials. But when you turn around and look down the hill from the top.... hooo boy. A commanding view of the approach to the redoubts and the slope is a LOT steeper than it seems when you climb it. No wonder it was such a militarily important piece of ground.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at March 29, 2020 12:07 PM (EGyGV)

570 That's what is frustrating. I'm still baffled by how the left and right
almost completely swapped places culturally and almost overnight in so
many ways.

Now the left is trying to ban fun and legislate morality, they're
the side putting out effectively tracts that are incredibly earnest and
awkward and terrible.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:39 AM (KZzsI)

---
I'm not picking on you, but you're raising a lot of good points.

While I agree with you in the sense of the role reversal, the key difference is that the right was actually correct about morality.

The left sold itself as the side of fun, fun fun, and yet what has all their coolness brought?

The revealed truth here is that you need some kind of restraint, that the whole "live and let live" mentality will never work because all societies have rules.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 12:07 PM (cfSRQ)

571 The coffee was cold
(Buh-da-da-bah-dum)
And the milk was spoiled
(Buh-da-da-bah-dum)
My oatmeal was lumpy
(Buh-da-da-bah-dum)
And the eggs were over-boiled

I got the blues
Yeaaaah the breakfast blues
I went back to bed all hungry
Lord I got the breakfast blues!

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 12:07 PM (NWiLs)

572 'It is a wonderful place to visit and can be done in
a day from DC if you get an early start. The visit is made even better
by going to Pierce's BBQ down the road from the Colonial area.

Closer to DC is Woodlawn Plantation (are we still allowed to say
"plantation"?), which was the home of G. Washington's nephew. There's
also a Frank Lloyd Wright house nearby.''

That whole area is a sightseers dream come true. Also Busch Gardens for the kiddos.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 11:57 AM (gLRfa)

Many miss out on George Mason's place, it is only a few miles down the road.

There is also Pohick Church that is colloquially called George Washington's country Church. His City Church is Christ's Church in Alexandria. These people are so woke, in fact that is not strong enough a term, they are ultra lefty. They took down plaques to R.E. Lee and George Washington, two former members. They said they did that because they didn't want to intimidate anyone and keep them away from services.

I just don't get people sometimes. Taking down a plaque to the Father of the Country, a member of your church? If ever there was a case for eminent domain, well, that would be it. I guess they have the right as they did it. But it is not like everyone doesn't know it is an ultra lefty Episcopal Church. I doubt there are many surprises.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 12:07 PM (hHxp2)

573 .Just got back from a constitutional with the delightful and athletic Mrs naturalfake...

...yesterday two people in Dallas were fined $400.00 each because they weren't observing social distancing

*********

Perhaps it should be renamed an UN-constitutional.
Posted by: Muldoon at March 29, 2020 12:05 PM (m45I2)

Yep. Not as much of that whole Right of Assembly dealio in Dallas these days.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2020 12:08 PM (z0XD8)

574 557 Alone unfortunately.Is that another verse for the blues song.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 12:08 PM (QzF6i)

575 So I recently heard a defense of Astrology that might, could, sort of, perhaps have an actual basis in science. That in ancient times (like when Biden was a young man) the month you were born in determined what food your mom ate while pregnant and the nutrients, amount, preparation & etc. could have a common impact on everyone's personality who was born during that time. I don't really buy it but it's better than believing magic planet rays determine you should play the lottery this month.

Yes. This was a topic in "Lost Country Life" by Dorothy Hartley (1979). A wonderful book about traditional English country life pre- Industrial Revolution.

The dilemma was better to be pregnant when Mom could eat well and have a nice big baby, or better to be less well-nourished while pregnant and make up for it feeding baby better later.

Posted by: Sal at March 29, 2020 12:08 PM (bo8pf)

576 Someone upthread mentioned Michael Chrichton.

He was an excellent author.

Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 12:08 PM (arJlL)

577 472 ... "Mt Vernon is fun too. I don't think we had to take a tour. Different feeling than Monticello. I was in total awe of Thomas Jefferson and I felt priveleged to see where he lived and worked. Mt Vernon felt more like seeing a slice of life of the times but no real sense of George Washington."

I've been to both and agree. Jefferson had a lot of influence on the structure and ammenities of Monticello. Washington seemed less concerned about the Mount Vernon house. His attention and influence was more in the land, the crops and related matters like the distillery. I thought those things reflected the man.

Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2020 12:08 PM (7EjX1)

578 yesterday two people in Dallas were fined $400.00
each because they weren't observing social distancing outside a
restaurant where they were in line for take-out.

Have no idea if this is true or not, but...Yikes!

Posted by: naturalfake at March 29, 2020 12:03 PM (z0XD

Chicago mayor Larry Lightfoot wants cops to ticket people if they walk or jog along the lakefront. But is oddly silent on the gangbangers still shooting up the place. I guess harassing taxpayers is all they are good for

Posted by: TheQuietMan at March 29, 2020 12:09 PM (865w5)

579 ''+++++Same reason I enjoyed Karin Slaughter's Will Trent series. The personalities of the characters is more important that what sex they are.''

Thanks for the heads for the recommendation. Will check those out. The Ilona Andrews writing team(husband and wife) write some kick ass male and female counterparts too.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 12:10 PM (gLRfa)

580 Peleliu was seventeen kinds of awful. And the powers that be wound up never using the island as a major base.
------------------------
An Army General had to forcefully tell Chesty Puller to slow up due to the casualties. My dad's battalion in Guam were ordered to take the northern point quickly. The entire battalion ran in company formation down a highway to seize the beach so the Third Marines could claim they had secured the island in 30 days flat. All it would have took was one or two machine guns to lay waste to them. This is how Marines do things.

Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 12:10 PM (QZCjk)

581 I've always loved "Victory at Sea" series. Another plus is wonderful Richard Rogers score.
Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 12:04 PM (gLRfa)
-----
Fun fact: Rogers was contracted to provide about a dozen themes of 3 to 4 minutes' length. It was Robert Russell Bennet who actually put those into the 13 hours of music he composed for the series, but he only got a credit as "orchestrating" the music.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, USS Lone Fire at March 29, 2020 12:10 PM (g8Yc+)

582 525
Yep mother's husband and forrest gump's author had words. We all grow up. Me too.

Posted by: azalea city at March 29, 2020 12:11 PM (WX+x0)

583 Peleliu

Got to tour an attack helicopter ship of that name.
When the tour guide crew heard one of the visitors in our group fought there, he was handed off like a dignitary with honors for a special private escort tour. Waz cool to see the kids making a fuss over the old guy.

Posted by: getting the banned back on the boat at March 29, 2020 12:11 PM (Eh4zA)

584 Gettysburg was the most memorable of all the historic places I visited
in the area. While walking the battlefield looking at how the troops
were stationed, unexpectedly, a reenactment started. It really brought
to life how foolish the attack was.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 11:52 AM (QzF6i)

Gettysburg is obstinately unwoke. They are the National Park Service and they refuse to change to date. The cool thing is you can listen to Rangers with different opinions, with different interpretations and that is a good thing. They care about the history and that is all we can ask for. The history is complicated, that is why so many died there.

Anyone who misses out on Gettysburg is really missing out. Sure there were other battles. But particularly for the North/Union/USA that is where THEY chose to remember themselves. They littered that land with monuments because they chose it to preserve their sacrifice.

It is a nice town too.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 12:12 PM (hHxp2)

585 The coffee was cold
(Buh-da-da-bah-dum)
And the milk was spoiled
(Buh-da-da-bah-dum)
My oatmeal was lumpy
(Buh-da-da-bah-dum)
And the eggs were over-boiled

I got the blues
Yeaaaah the breakfast blues
I went back to bed all hungry
Lord I got the breakfast blues!
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo

I was gonna eat the cat
but I didn't feel like Chinese.....

Posted by: JT at March 29, 2020 12:12 PM (arJlL)

586 501 492 Don't want to start a flame war but Hannibal is likely the greatest general of all.
Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 11:45 AM (QZCjk)
-----
"Hannibal, you know how to win a battle, but not a war."
--Hasdrubal
--------------------
Hannibal had to defeat Roman Legions - Alexander merely had to defeat Persians and their satrapies (who fled as soon as the Persians formations fell aparty). Totally different ball game.
Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 11:51 AM (QZCjk)
_______

The trouble with the "merely the Persians" arguement is the fact that the Asian mode of war - light cavalry with horse archers - remained a problem for European armies until gunpowder changed the equation. As the Romans found at Carrhae.

And Alexander found the answer, every time. To me, it's the "every time" that is the core of the case for him.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 12:12 PM (ZbwAu)

587 His City Church is Christ's Church in Alexandria.
--------------------
Thought about joining that church when my son was three. Then I met the nursey minders and waived off hard and fast. It has a congregation but it is mostly a virtue signally operation.

Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 12:12 PM (QZCjk)

588 It's amazing how much insight you can get from
actually walking the ground, rather than just reading the first-hand
accounts.
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at March 29, 2020 12:07 PM (EGyGV)

---
On deployment to Germany, I visited Trier. The old Roman wall is still standing at the city center. Porta Nigra and all.

Those ancient "cities" were tiny, yet this was the seat of Roman power on the German frontier.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 12:13 PM (cfSRQ)

589 So I recently heard a defense of Astrology that might, could, sort of, perhaps have an actual basis in science. That in ancient times (like when Biden was a young man) the month you were born in determined what food your mom ate while pregnant and the nutrients, amount, preparation & etc. could have a common impact on everyone's personality who was born during that time. I don't really buy it but it's better than believing magic planet rays determine you should play the lottery this month.

Yes. This was a topic in "Lost Country Life" by Dorothy Hartley (1979). A wonderful book about traditional English country life pre- Industrial Revolution.

The dilemma was better to be pregnant when Mom could eat well and have a nice big baby, or better to be less well-nourished while pregnant and make up for it feeding baby better later.
Posted by: Sal at March 29, 2020 12:08 PM (bo8pf)

I could see there being a grain (see what I did there?) of truth in that. Not all the way up to astrology, of course, but things like nutrition, as well as other conditions that affected people's lives, like weather, movements of nomadic peoples, warfare and other hardships... these are all going to have an effect on a growing fetus, as well as developing babies and toddlers, and the current research is extraordinarily clear on the point of early development setting the tone for the rest of one's life.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 29, 2020 12:13 PM (hku12)

590
But is oddly silent on the gangbangers still shooting up the place. I guess harassing taxpayers is all they are good for
Posted by: TheQuietMan at March 29, 2020 12:09 PM (865w5)

Are you kidding? Arresting gangbangers is DANGEROUS. It'd be a violation of union rules.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at March 29, 2020 12:13 PM (EGyGV)

591 Thanks for the heads for the recommendation. Will
check those out. The Ilona Andrews writing team(husband and wife) write
some kick ass male and female counterparts too.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 12:10 PM (gLRfa)

Oooh, I love Ilona Andrews! Just finished the newest book in the sweep series.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 12:13 PM (QzF6i)

592 Douay and Rheims were published before KJV.

Posted by: JAS at March 29, 2020 12:13 PM (2BZBZ)

593 580
Peleliu was seventeen kinds of awful. And the powers that be wound up never using the island as a major base.

And I'm not even sure it was a necessary battle. Mac wanted it to neutralize the airfield on it prior to the invasion of Leyte. There were easier ways to do that.

Posted by: Old Blue at March 29, 2020 12:13 PM (VNmG1)

594 Carrhea is why Europe had Knights in Shining Armor. See the Normans for an example. Too bad about Crassus drinking gold.

Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 12:14 PM (QZCjk)

595 Ain't got no more biscuits
(Buh-da-da-bah-dum)
Ain't gonna eat no scone
(Buh-da-da-bah-dum)
I was tired, my stomach was empty
(Buh-da-da-bah-dum)
I went back to bed alone

I got the blues
Yeaaaah the breakfast blues
I went back to bed all hungry
Lord I got the breakfast blues!

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at March 29, 2020 12:15 PM (NWiLs)

596 Greetings:

My father, and his BAR, worked on Peleliu. He used to like to say, "The only thing wrong with the A-bombings was we only had two.

Posted by: 11B40 at March 29, 2020 12:15 PM (evgyj)

597 102 Am reading Patrick Quentin's A Puzzle for Fools, the first (1936) in a series about theatrical producer and ex-drunk Peter Duluth, who turns amateur detective while in a sanatarium drying out. Two murders happen, and his future wife Iris is suspected. There are a few of those "said-isms" that modern writing texts warn us about, like "I exclaimed imploringly." Touches of humor, too.

The "Peter and Iris" jumped out at me- there is a movie called "Black Widow" (1956) from one of his novels. Very well-done murder mystery, starring Van Heflin and Gene Tierney as the Duluths (called Denver in the film(.

Also has Ginger Rogers in one of her few unlikeable character roles. Look for it on TCM sometime.

Posted by: Sal at March 29, 2020 12:15 PM (bo8pf)

598 Now the left is trying to ban fun and legislate morality, they're the side putting out effectively tracts that are incredibly earnest and awkward and terrible.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor

Feminist speakers: No fun a loud.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 29, 2020 12:15 PM (+y/Ru)

599 "Mt Vernon is fun too. I don't think we had to take a
tour. Different feeling than Monticello. I was in total awe of Thomas
Jefferson and I felt priveleged to see where he lived and worked. Mt
Vernon felt more like seeing a slice of life of the times but no real
sense of George Washington."

I've been to both and agree. Jefferson had a lot of influence on the
structure and ammenities of Monticello. Washington seemed less
concerned about the Mount Vernon house. His attention and influence was
more in the land, the crops and related matters like the distillery. I
thought those things reflected the man.

Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2020 12:08 PM (7EjX1)

that is a great thing about history, we can follow what matters to each of us. I never clicked with Jefferson, it was too much theory. But he was important and Monticello was great when i visited it 30 plus years ago. If it were between Monticello and Williamsburg, it would not be close for me.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 12:15 PM (hHxp2)

600 I am actually not at all concerned about virus precautions being a threat to our civil liberties. Some knowledge of history gives one perspective. During epidemics in the past the authorities were equally draconian, if not more so. Not to mention routine practices like making people stay in quarantine when a ship arrived.

Leave the panicked freaking out to the Left.

Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2020 12:16 PM (DKCFT)

601 And there's a very good reason for that.
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 11:48 AM (Nq3+Y)

Lol, OM!

Okay, since I'm too lazy to scroll back through 500+ comments:

Has it yet been noted that Patti Smith has authored several books?

No, I haven't read any of them, but I do remember seeing her interviewed on tv when Just Kids came out.

Most memorable was her induction into Rock n Roll Hall of Fame: the censors got to bleep more than they let through. You WON'T find "the song my mom liked to vacuum to" on yootoob. I believe she was trying to make a point, lol.

Posted by: JQ at March 29, 2020 12:16 PM (whOIk)

602 ''Fun fact: Rogers was contracted to provide about a dozen themes of 3 to 4 minutes' length. It was Robert Russell Bennet who actually put those into the 13 hours of music he composed for the series, but he only got a credit as "orchestrating" the music.''

I didn't know that. Thanks for enlightening me. The things Morons know! Wow.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 12:16 PM (gLRfa)

603 588 It's amazing how much insight you can get from
actually walking the ground, rather than just reading the first-hand
accounts.
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at March 29, 2020 12:07 PM (EGyGV)
--------------------------
Yes! Until you walk into the Devil's Den you have no idea how confusing it is. I had read a dozen Gettysburg histories but until I walked the ground I had no real understanding of the fourth day of battle. Fucking amazing piece of chaos called real estate.

Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 12:17 PM (QZCjk)

604 Still reading "The Jewish War." What a bunch of shit weasels! Agrippa's speech was great. He, respectfully, called them fools to think that a rebellion against Rome would succeed.

Posted by: JAS at March 29, 2020 12:17 PM (2BZBZ)

605

There's a noodie

Posted by: TheQuietMan at March 29, 2020 12:18 PM (865w5)

606 588 It's amazing how much insight you can get from
actually walking the ground, rather than just reading the first-hand
accounts.
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at March 29, 2020 12:07 PM (EGyGV)

---
On deployment to Germany, I visited Trier. The old Roman wall is still standing at the city center. Porta Nigra and all.

Those ancient "cities" were tiny, yet this was the seat of Roman power on the German frontier.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

I visited Hadrien's Wall in the north of England. It's slightly higher than a fence. I had to duck to get through a gateway and I'm a towering 5'10.

Posted by: Puddleglum at March 29, 2020 12:18 PM (6wrct)

607 Nood.

Posted by: olddog in mo, uckfay ancercay at March 29, 2020 12:18 PM (Dhht7)

608 The time to fight Rome was when Pompey came. Not 100 years later.

Posted by: JAS at March 29, 2020 12:18 PM (2BZBZ)

609 Military professionals from all over the world go to Gettysburg every year to learn about leadership, tactics, and topography. That may seem like I am overselling it but I am not. It is not on a historic site but tacticians and even diplomats go on staff rides to this day to learn lessons. It is is a very singular locale really.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 12:18 PM (hHxp2)

610
Don't want to start a flame war but Hannibal is likely the greatest general of all.
Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 11:45 AM (QZCjk)
-----
"Hannibal, you know how to win a battle, but not a war."
--Hasdrubal
--------------------
Hannibal had to defeat Roman Legions - Alexander merely had to defeat Persians and their satrapies (who fled as soon as the Persians formations fell aparty). Totally different ball game.
Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 11:51 AM (QZCjk)
_______

The trouble with the "merely the Persians" arguement is the fact that the Asian mode of war - light cavalry with horse archers - remained a problem for European armies until gunpowder changed the equation. As the Romans found at Carrhae.

And Alexander found the answer, every time. To me, it's the "every time" that is the core of the case for him.
Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 12:12 PM (ZbwAu)

My knowledge of Hannibal is woefully deficient, but my ill-informed impression is that he didn't have much of a grand strategy other than "kick Roman ass". Which meant that when he wasn't actually fighting them, he was kind of wandering aimlessly around Italy, raping looting and raping (I guess he liked rape) rather than moving towards a specific strategic goal.

I'll need to do some reading to see if I'm on the right track though.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at March 29, 2020 12:20 PM (EGyGV)

611 Fun fact: Rogers was contracted to provide about a dozen themes of 3 to 4 minutes' length. It was Robert Russell Bennet who actually put those into the 13 hours of music he composed for the series, but he only got a credit as "orchestrating" the music.''

I didn't know that. Thanks for enlightening me. The things Morons know! Wow.
Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 12:16 PM (gLRfa)
-----
I only found out relatively recently. I had (and still have) the LP with the suite of music Bennett did from the show, with Bennett conducting the famous NBC Symphony Orchestra. Awesome stuff, very evocative.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, USS Lone Fire at March 29, 2020 12:20 PM (g8Yc+)

612 582 525
Yep mother's husband and forrest gump's author had words. We all grow up. Me too.
--------------------
Was Groom's sweet on you? He didn't egg your house. That means he was sweet on you.

Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 12:20 PM (QZCjk)

613 "the song my mom liked to vacuum to"--

Well, the song IS on yootoob under its actual title, but its live performance from r&r induction is not, or wasn't the last time I looked. It was cut out from the video they posted.

Posted by: JQ at March 29, 2020 12:21 PM (whOIk)

614 When I was but a young tyke, Victory at Sea used to come on after my bedtime. I thought I was being pretty stealthy so I would crawl down the hall and peek around my Mom's easy chair to watch, then I'd sneak back down the hall to go to back to bed. And I thought I was getting away with it! Years later, Mom told me that they always knew that I was there, they just let me watch because they knew I'd go right back to bed.Victory at Sea was one of my favorite programs. I was born seven years after the war, and I've always been fascinated by it. It had shaped the world I was growing up in.

Posted by: Old Blue at March 29, 2020 12:22 PM (VNmG1)

615 592 Douay and Rheims were published before KJV.
Posted by: JAS at March 29, 2020 12:13 PM (2BZBZ)
________

The Lewis OHEL volume I linked early in the thread has a section on the various translations. One point he makes is that they were all far more interrelated than one might suspect. Including mutual influence by Catholic and Protestant translators.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 12:22 PM (ZbwAu)

616 Johnny Sequestered

Fighting commies and money hog politicians. Discovering girls curls and love is a dagger that can't be removed. Love is not a trip down Candyland.

Plus new inproved cuss word vocabulary and application.

Have computer will travel....and write a cartoon.

Posted by: Humphreyrobot at March 29, 2020 12:22 PM (1oqSI)

617 ''Oooh, I love Ilona Andrews! Just finished the newest book in the sweep series.
Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 12:13 PM (QzF6i)''

Went through everything they've written(except for some of the Kate Daniels side novellas) last year. Read the new sweep novella the day it came out. Waiting patiently for them to finish Hugh's story. He's the perfect anti hero and the very personification of ''kick ass"'.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 12:22 PM (gLRfa)

618 567 Nothing beats Stalingrad for senseless slaughter. Maybe Iwo or Okinawa.
Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 12:04 PM (QZCjk

Ahem.

Posted by: the Somme at March 29, 2020 12:22 PM (Nq3+Y)

619 The problem with Alexander is the army he commanded and tactics employed were all the work of his daddy not him. Daddy built a world beater army and equipped it with a first class counsel and staff. Alex merely used it for all its worth. Hannibal had to build his army on the run. Big Dif.

Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 12:22 PM (QZCjk)

620 My late husband loved visiting battlefields. It was somoetimes hard to visualize what happened to make an open field interesting.( Culloden was the worst. Didn't get it at all). That is why Gettysburg is so amazing. You understand just how tragic it was.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 12:23 PM (QzF6i)

621 I only found out relatively recently. I had (and still have) the LP with the suite of music Bennett did from the show, with Bennett conducting the famous NBC Symphony Orchestra. Awesome stuff, very evocative.
Posted by: Captain Obvious, USS Lone Fire at March 29, 2020 12:20 PM (g8Yc+)

My father had all of the Victory at Sea music on vinyl. I wish I had kept them.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 12:24 PM (Nq3+Y)

622 Are you kidding? Arresting gangbangers is DANGEROUS. It'd be a violation of union rules.
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at March 29, 2020 12:13 PM

Actually, it's more like the gangbanger will be out on a recognizance bond and back on the street before you finish the paperwork.

Posted by: Chuck C at March 29, 2020 12:25 PM (r6GXX)

623 537

Didn't that get made as a movie? Blue Lagoon?

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2020 11:59 AM

From the Wikipedia entry for the book:

A film adaptation of Island of the Blue Dolphins was released on July 3, 1964. It was directed by James B. Clark and starred Celia Kaye as Karana. Jane Klove and Ted Sherdeman adapted the script from O'Dell's novel, and the film was produced by Robert B. Radnitz and Universal Pictures. The film was made on a slight budget but did receive a wide release three months after its New York premiere. Howard Thompson writing for The New York Times characterized it as a children's film. Kaye won a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year for her performance. The film earned an estimated $2 million in rentals in North America.

Posted by: Clyde Shelton at March 29, 2020 12:25 PM (Do5/p)

624 ndeed it has changed quite a bit in the last 20
years, especially the Visitors Center. The parking lots are still as
annoying as always, and vehicles that shouldn't be on the GW Parkway in
the first place still get their tops sheared off if they aren't in the
correct lane for a low-level bridge about 2 miles north of the estate,
so some things don't change.

Posted by: Vendette at March 29, 2020 12:04 PM (nRNOc)

heh, I know what you are talking about.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 12:25 PM (hHxp2)

625 No microwave ovens in blues songs?

Posted by: klaftern at March 29, 2020 12:26 PM (RuIsu)

626 Tuna, finally read the Silver Shark books. Too short! More like novellas.
Currently reading Patricia Briggs newest Smoke Bitten in the Mercy Thompson series.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 12:26 PM (QzF6i)

627 Reading Auel's "Shelters of Stone" the last book in the Clan of the Cave Bear series.
Yes, i know the dialogue and love scenes are agony. But i've gotten this far and hell, the family and i are in isolation in our house.

After i finish that, i shall probably read Shogun for the 50th time or so (I re-read it every year).

Posted by: secret squirrel at March 29, 2020 12:27 PM (xyImL)

628 While I agree with you in the sense of the role reversal, the key difference is that the right was actually correct about morality.

The left sold itself as the side of fun, fun fun, and yet what has all their coolness brought?

Like Highlander, with religion, there can only be one. There can only be one dominant moral system. The left wants it to be theirs, but their system is not only incoherent and unusable, but changes almost daily.

Daddy built a world beater army and equipped it with a first class counsel and staff. Alex merely used it for all its worth.

Alexander took what his dad built and improved on it with better tech, and gave it his leadership. I mean, its not like Hannibal invented the Carthegenian army whole cloth either.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 12:27 PM (KZzsI)

629 Oh- also read Casca: the Eternal Warrior, by Barry Sadler (same guy who wrote the Ballad of the Green Beret and who was, actually, a Green Beret in Nam).

Great book- enjoyable, fast read.

Posted by: secret squirrel at March 29, 2020 12:28 PM (xyImL)

630 619 The problem with Alexander is the army he commanded and tactics employed were all the work of his daddy not him. Daddy built a world beater army and equipped it with a first class counsel and staff. Alex merely used it for all its worth. Hannibal had to build his army on the run. Big Dif.
Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 12:22 PM (QZCjk)
________

That's not so. Yes, he built on the army Phillip created. But he went much beyond that, working in types of troops new to the Macedonians, and creating real combined arms teams, probably for the first time. Look at how often he used a sort of battle group of something like Companions, hypaspists, Agrian skirmishers, Cretan archers, plus whatever else might be handy. Phillip didn't do that. He also used artillery in battle, not just sieges.

And Arbela is the first known use of actual reserves. Again, the key is his adaptability, including the adaptability of the very varied army he created. From his father's foundation, true, but well beyond that.

Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2020 12:30 PM (ZbwAu)

631 560 If you went to MT. Vernon 20 years ago, you would be shocked by the place today.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 12:00 PM (hHxp2)

Indeed it has changed quite a bit in the last 20 years, especially the Visitors Center. The parking lots are still as annoying as always, and vehicles that shouldn't be on the GW Parkway in the first place still get their tops sheared off if they aren't in the correct lane for a low-level bridge about 2 miles north of the estate, so some things don't change.
Posted by: Vendette

I still love visiting Mt. Vernon. In an area full of historical sites, it's my favorite. Helps that it is an easy drive for me and fairly close by.

Posted by: Puddleglum, W Penn expat at March 29, 2020 12:30 PM (6wrct)

632 One problem with a lot of battlefield parks is the TREES! What were cornfields or pastures when the shooting was going on are now forests as old as the park.

Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2020 12:31 PM (DKCFT)

633 According to the Daily Mail Bide take a Massive Lead on Trump. Pretty sure the headline should read Biden is a Massive Turd,. But that is just me.

Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 12:31 PM (QZCjk)

634 My late husband loved visiting battlefields. It was
somoetimes hard to visualize what happened to make an open field
interesting.( Culloden was the worst. Didn't get it at all). That is why
Gettysburg is so amazing. You understand just how tragic it was.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 12:23 PM (QzF6i)

maps don't show the elevation or topography. Sure it can sound small but when you go there, that is what everyone talks about. When those people were fighting, elevation was about the biggest thing they considered. And the rolling hills and deceptively small changes in elevation at Gettysburg were critical and why so many died.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 12:32 PM (hHxp2)

635 633
According to the Daily Mail Bide take a Massive Lead on Trump. Pretty
sure the headline should read Biden is a Massive Turd,. But that is just
me.

Posted by: Puddin Head at March 29, 2020 12:31 PM (QZCjk)

++++You are not alone

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 12:32 PM (QzF6i)

636 another thumbs up for Ilona Andrews from me

Posted by: vmom 2020 at March 29, 2020 12:33 PM (G546f)

637
ndeed it has changed quite a bit in the last 20

years, especially the Visitors Center. The parking lots are still as

annoying as always, and vehicles that shouldn't be on the GW Parkway in

the first place still get their tops sheared off if they aren't in the

correct lane for a low-level bridge about 2 miles north of the estate,

so some things don't change.

Posted by: Vendette at March 29, 2020 12:04 PM (nRNOc)

heh, I know what you are talking about.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 12:25 PM (hHxp2)

we probably have something in common to know that piece of trivia.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 12:34 PM (hHxp2)

638

Posted by: BurtTC at March 29, 2020 11:41 AM (hku12)

omg....48 min in....blown away!

Posted by: phoenixgirl at March 29, 2020 12:35 PM (0O7c5)

639 So much to reply to:
As far as funny books go, I really like the Dortmunder books by Donald E. Westlake and I just read "A Dirty Job" by Christopher Moore. This was my first Moore, but it won't be my last.

The Emigrant series is really good. If you like that you should read "Giants in the Earth" by Rolvaag. Same era, same type of protaganists, a darker ending.

Add me to the list inspired to buy Life Unworthy.

I'm reading The Passing of the Armies: An Account of the Final Campaign of the Army of the Potomac by Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain . Very interesting first hand view of the end of the war with a lot of intra-army politics thrown in. He makes a great effort to defend generals Warren and Meade. I didn't know they needed the defense and I've read a lot of Civil War history. I guess a lot of the rancor has dissipated over the years.

Posted by: Who knew at March 29, 2020 12:35 PM (SfO/T)

640 B.H. Liddell Hart''s book about Sciopio Africanus Gabe me a good picture of Hannibal and Sciopio. It's one of those books I need to go back and read again. I picked it up at the time I was listening to Mike Duncan's "History of Rome" podcast.

I should add that the above mentioned podcast would be a fine way to occupy your quarantined hours.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 12:37 PM (gLRfa)

641 For the military history buffs- an army course i took kept touting "The Personal Memoirs of US Grant" as a must read for field grade officers.
I have yet to get to it, but curious if anyone else has read it.

Posted by: secret squirrel at March 29, 2020 12:37 PM (xyImL)

642 634 My late husband loved visiting battlefields. It was
somoetimes hard to visualize what happened to make an open field
interesting.( Culloden was the worst. Didn't get it at all). That is why
Gettysburg is so amazing. You understand just how tragic it was.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 12:23 PM (QzF6i)

maps don't show the elevation or topography. Sure it can sound small but when you go there, that is what everyone talks about. When those people were fighting, elevation was about the biggest thing they considered. And the rolling hills and deceptively small changes in elevation at Gettysburg were critical and why so many died.
Posted by: Quint

And then you visit Frederickburg and wonder what was going on in the heads of the Union Generals in doing a frontal assault on Marye's Heights which were really really high and steep. Dumb.

Posted by: Puddleglum, W Penn expat at March 29, 2020 12:38 PM (6wrct)

643 oops

Posted by: Puddleglum, W Penn expat at March 29, 2020 12:38 PM (6wrct)

644 @640

gave not Gabe. Sheesh. Can't blame auto correct for that mistake

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 12:39 PM (gLRfa)

645 One problem with a lot of battlefield parks is the
TREES! What were cornfields or pastures when the shooting was going on
are now forests as old as the park.

Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2020 12:31 PM (DKCFT)

that is true, not doubt there. But at Gettysburg they have done major restorations and the Wheat Field and Peach Orchard are intact. The thing Rangers often mention is that the woods were not so dense and farm animals cleared out a lot of the brush.

That is another thing about visiting battlefields. If you go out of season, you are seeing things they did not. On the other hand, if you are really into the battle and want to study it in depth, going out of season can give you another perspective on the topography.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 12:39 PM (hHxp2)

646 ''another thumbs up for Ilona Andrews from me''

Those 2 have the most fantastical imaginations. Such fun.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 12:40 PM (gLRfa)

647 I recommend The Purple Quest by Frank Slaughter for a prequel to the founding of Carthage, its an enjoyable novel and is full of interesting history.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 12:40 PM (KZzsI)

648 In escapist mode I read Debbie Reynolds' last book, '"Leave 'Em Laughing". It didn't. There were funny stories in it...many about her daughter, Carrie Fisher. The book ended but their story didn't and knowing how it ended for them colored the entire book. Maybe the timing was just wrong.

Posted by: creeper at March 29, 2020 12:42 PM (XxJt1)

649 Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga is probably the most ridiculous one I've ever seen. Literally, the Union Army had to scale the side of a mountain.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 12:43 PM (QzF6i)

650 For the military history buffs- an army course i
took kept touting "The Personal Memoirs of US Grant" as a must read for
field grade officers.

I have yet to get to it, but curious if anyone else has read it.

Posted by: secret squirrel at March 29, 2020 12:37 PM (xyImL)

I have only read part of it but I plan to get back to it. It is on my Kindle, Many consider that book to be the best autobiography of any president. There was a pernicious rumor that Mark Twain wrote it but that had been pretty well debunked. Grant wrote the thing while he was dying of throat cancer. It was a great book for sure, but the nation at that time knew he was poor and wanted to leave something for his family. They bought it to read but also to support him. That is a good thing mind you. They do that with former Dem presidents all the time now but with much less reason.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 12:44 PM (hHxp2)

651 Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga is probably the most
ridiculous one I've ever seen. Literally, the Union Army had to scale
the side of a mountain.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 12:43 PM (QzF6i)

yeah, the high ground can be overrated. What they had at Gettysburg, Fredericksburg and so many other locales were what artillerymen would call beautiful fields of fire. You don't want to be on a mountain that was for sure.
I remember reading about a Boer War action where the Boers could sneak up and did so because the Brits were basically on a high hill with no fields of fire at all. It is the gentle slopes that will get ya.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 12:46 PM (hHxp2)

652 Good morning, horde!

This week I finished The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall. It is a story of how two couples met, the husbands feel a call to ministry, and eventually they end up pastoring a church together in New York City. It is a story of faith, believers and unbelievers, heartache, and relationships. Ultimately, I enjoyed the story, but I did struggle with some of the choices made by some of the characters because they did not have the same beliefs and values I hold. It wasn't a fast read, but it was a touching story.

I wish you all well, and I hope you are staying healthy!

Posted by: Violet at March 29, 2020 12:47 PM (9ppMC)

653 The support and love that US Grant had from the country is really surprising, he could have run for another term easily. Its interesting because these days he has a pretty poor reputation.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 12:47 PM (KZzsI)

654 650 For the military history buffs- an army course i
took kept touting "The Personal Memoirs of US Grant" as a must read for
field grade officers.

I have yet to get to it, but curious if anyone else has read it.
Posted by: secret squirrel at March 29, 2020 12:37 PM (xyImL)

Oh yes, it has been discussed on many previous book threads. The consensus is that it's one of the best books ever written by an American president. Higly recommended.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 12:49 PM (Nq3+Y)

655 And then you visit Frederickburg and wonder what
was going on in the heads of the Union Generals in doing a frontal
assault on Marye's Heights which were really really high and steep.
Dumb.

Posted by: Puddleglum, W Penn expat at March 29, 2020 12:38 PM (6wrct)

Yeah it is crazy. They were not actually dumb people. My guess, as that is not my battle, is that the guy was so sick of delays and being opposed that he just got obstinate at the wrong time. Lee made some dumb assaults at Malvern Hill, likely out of obstinancy. Hell he had won the engagement, but still made bad attacks.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 12:52 PM (hHxp2)

656 Posted by: Violet at March 29, 2020 12:47 PM (9ppMC)

Hello Violet, it is nice to see you on the book thread. Thank you for the recommendation for Dearly Beloved and I hope you and yours are staying healthy.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 12:52 PM (Nq3+Y)

657 I want to recommend the book Reunion at Fort Worden, by my mom. Its a family story, about a family reunion at a park in Washington State, up near the Olympic mountains on the sound. There's romance, but also quite a bit of drama involving mountains and some very smart debate on religion, philosophy, and life.

The paperback is now on sale
https://preview.tinyurl.com/v6qqws9

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 12:56 PM (KZzsI)

658 Just checked out the new thread and they are so serious. You should all stay here so I don;t have to get out of bed and find something to do.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 12:56 PM (QzF6i)

659 If you get to Gettysburg, be sure to walk the Devil's Den. I am not the most sensitive to 'vibes' but the Devil's Den was seriously spooky. It felt like the soldiers were battling just out of view and if you turned your head quickly, you might see one of them.

As to the rest of the battle areas, Gettysburg gives real depth to the accounts we've read. Seeing the open fields and elevations makes the movements of troops so clear and sometimes tragic.

Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2020 12:59 PM (7EjX1)

660 ''Just checked out the new thread and they are so serious. You should all stay here so I don;t have to get out of bed and find something to do.''

I read the title of the new thread and thought ''Nope. Not today. Too much depressing news and analysis this week. We need at least one day for recovery.''

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 01:00 PM (gLRfa)

661 Violet: God bless you and yours as well

I generally avoid openly Christian novels for the reason you list: usually they are written from a perspective and involving theology I just do not find admirable or agreeable.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 01:04 PM (KZzsI)

662 About Queen Elizabeth and the Bibles:She gets a lot of praise (and her funeral will be epic) but keep in mind that she is the head of the Church of England. And during her reign, the practice of Christianity has denigrated to the point where the people at the highest levels of the Church are embarrassed to speak of Christ, but are all about gay marriage and left-wing causes.I think much of the problems in Britain are a direct result of the Queen's failing in this particular duty.

Posted by: artemis at March 29, 2020 01:07 PM (AwPyG)

663 If you get to Gettysburg, be sure to walk the
Devil's Den. I am not the most sensitive to 'vibes' but the Devil's Den
was seriously spooky. It felt like the soldiers were battling just out
of view and if you turned your head quickly, you might see one of them.

As to the rest of the battle areas, Gettysburg gives real depth to
the accounts we've read. Seeing the open fields and elevations makes the
movements of troops so clear and sometimes tragic.

Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2020 12:59 PM (7EjX1)

pretty much anyone of a certain age or who cares has an image for Pickett's Charge. But to go there it becomes 3d. it was not straight on as many think. Sure some came on straight on and they were the first ones repulsed. The troops on the right had to move North at least as much as they had to move West.

They say a million people visit that county every year. And lets be honest, there is not that much around there to visit. I hope that continues but I have my concerns.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 01:12 PM (hHxp2)

664 I think much of the problems in Britain are a direct result of the Queen's failing in this particular duty.

I think the queen has definitely failed in her role as Protector of the Faith, but I don't know what she could have done differently to make things turn out other than they did.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 01:15 PM (KZzsI)

665 Christopher, I suppose it depends on the strength of her own faith. Theoretically, she can fire anyone she likes, including the archbishops who preach abortion.But remember that two of her sons publicly hung around with pedophiles with no repercussions. So I think that gives us some insight.

Posted by: artemis at March 29, 2020 01:18 PM (AwPyG)

666 That's true, I forget that she's the official head of the CofE, so she could have done a lot to control the rot at the leadership in the church.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 01:24 PM (KZzsI)

667 great thread oregon Muse. I could do this all day. You host a very friendly thread.

Posted by: Quint at March 29, 2020 01:24 PM (hHxp2)

668 OM is the best!

Posted by: artemis at March 29, 2020 01:26 PM (AwPyG)

669 ''great thread oregon Muse. I could do this all day. You host a very friendly thread. ''

Agreed. I've gotten so many good book suggestions. My Kindle library and bookshelves are proof.

Appreciate every thread OM does.

Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2020 01:46 PM (gLRfa)

670 Yes, let us praise OM! And all of you who contribute so many good suggestions. The Book Thread is my favorite.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 29, 2020 01:56 PM (Dc2NZ)

671 OM, I am shocked, shocked I tell you, that THE location for all of us Ace-o-philes is absent that map! Moronica! Recall, the infamous Horowitz Brothers proclaimed "Moronica for Morons!"

Posted by: SandyCheeks at March 29, 2020 02:09 PM (u1+n/)

672 I agree that this has been great fun OM. I have been isnpired to get out of bed and brave the world. Going to pretend that I am going in search of hand weights but really just need to get out of the house.
See you later.....uh, food thread?

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2020 02:13 PM (QzF6i)

673 ( *blushes* )

You all are too kind.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 02:17 PM (Nq3+Y)

674 "OM, I am shocked, shocked I tell you, that THE location for all of us Ace-o-philes is absent that map! Moronica!"

And what about Peruvia?

Posted by: Chris M at March 29, 2020 02:32 PM (6XZdO)

675 I read Mao: The Unknown Story some time ago, and wrote a favorable review on Amazon. At that time, you could give a Positive or Negative rating to a review. My review got more than 200 negative ratings within a few days, all of them probably "manufactured in China".

Interestingly it is one of the books that Donald Trump included on his list of books about China he had read during an interview in 2011!
https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/05/donald-trump-i-understand-the-chinese-mind.html

President Trump is undoubtedly the best informed President about China, and has been working on fixing our problems with China (trade, pharmaceuticals, theft of intellectual property) since he took office. Charles Lieber, Chair of the Chemistry Dept at Harvard is just one of more than a 1000 people being investigated: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/rebecca-grant-chinese-spying-is-major-threat-to-us-national-security

Posted by: Roland Hirsch at March 29, 2020 03:12 PM (oMkPq)

676 "Kristina" was also a musical written by former ABBA members Björn Ulvaeus (lyrics) and Benny Andersson (music). It was released in Sweden and later in the US with a translation assist by Les Misérables English lyricist Herbert Kretzmer.

Albums are available in Swedish and English. Here's a pivotal sample from a US performance by the original Kristina, Helen Sjöholm, after she's lost her child.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk76_iqw-Pc

Posted by: Paulman at March 29, 2020 03:21 PM (WKiF8)

677 Thanks, OM and Christopher! May God bless you and yours as well. Just finished with online church, here.

Christopher--I think The Dearly Beloved was meant to be a secular book that has some believers and unbelievers as the main characters. I'm not sure if the author is a Christian or not. I just had to think of it as another viewpoint to try to understand people who are different from me. Ultimately, though, I ended up enjoying the story, and I found the ending satisfying.

Posted by: Violet at March 29, 2020 03:24 PM (9ppMC)

678 Also, OM, I like your checklist for morons at the top.

I saw a headline that said Walmart is seeing an increase in the sales of tops but not of bottoms. Hmmm...

Posted by: Violet at March 29, 2020 03:32 PM (9ppMC)

679 Patti Smith? My guess was Karen Allen.

Posted by: Rusty Nail at March 29, 2020 03:37 PM (ksKMl)

680 Alice, above @116, asked for humorous book recommendations.

I will suggest a couple of classics:

First, "Cold Comfort Farm" by Stella Gibbons (1932). Not only is it very, very funny, it's opening paragraph feels all too timely just now:

"The education bestowed on Flora Poste by her parents had been expensive, athletic and prolonged; and when they died within a few weeks of one another during the annual epidemic of the influenza or Spanish Plague which occurred in her twentieth year, she was discovered to possess every art and grace save that of earning her own living."

Second, "Three Men In A Boat" by Jerome K. Jerome (1889). JKJ's humor is gentle but with an occasional razor edge. As when he describes a little Thames side town whose great claim to historical importance is that Parliament once sat there when all the members of Parliament and the lawyers fled London because the Plague was raging there. As his narrator remarks "It must have been worth a mere plague to get both Parliament and the lawyers out of town." (I quote from memory so that is not exact).

Posted by: John F. MacMichael at March 29, 2020 03:40 PM (9AOND)

681
As a rule, I dislike piggyback authors, but Crichton's name appears on the cover, so he might have had a hand in this.

Have any Morons read this? What did you think?

Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2020 09:39 AM (u/nim)
- - - - - - - - - -

Uhhhh Didn't Crichton die several years ago?

Posted by: StillJohn at March 29, 2020 03:53 PM (23p1C)

682 I liked Pat McManus' short columns he did in Field
and Stream a lot but I tried to read one of his mystery novels (the Bo
Tully books) and it was... awful. Seriously it was one of the worst
books I've ever not been able to finish.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 29, 2020 11:33 AM (KZzsI)

Mostly, unless I am deeply offended by the whole premise, I only mention that I don't like a book, and will say why it did not appeal to me.

Other people have differing tastes, and I would hate to think there is an author out there who is losing sales because I personally did not enjoy a book and I decided to crap on it.

Posted by: Kindltot at March 29, 2020 04:00 PM (6rS3m)

683 Uhhhh Didn't Crichton die several years ago?

-
They resurrected him from DNA from a mosquito trapped in amber.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 29, 2020 04:11 PM (+y/Ru)

684 Agreed. I've gotten so many good book suggestions. My Kindle library and bookshelves are proof.
-------

*mutters self-condemning curse while ordering book, per
Hans G. Schantz's recommendation above*

This place is an expensive addiction.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 29, 2020 04:42 PM (xSo9G)

685 President Trump is undoubtedly the best informed President about China, and has been working on fixing our problems with China (trade, pharmaceuticals, theft of intellectual property) since he took office. Charles Lieber, Chair of the Chemistry Dept at Harvard is just one of more than a 1000 people being investigated: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/rebecca-grant-chinese-spying-is-major- threat-to-us-national-security

Posted by: Roland Hirsch at March 29, 2020 03:12 PM (oMkPq)

Yes, I discussed this in a rant thread a while back. I think that DJT recognized before most that with the collapse of the Soviet Union, our chief geopolitical rival going forward would be China, not Russia. So he prepped accordingly.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 29, 2020 04:46 PM (Nq3+Y)

686 Alice, above @116, asked for humorous book recommendations.

I will suggest a couple of classics:

First, "Cold Comfort Farm" by Stella Gibbons (1932)

I second that enthusiastically. I'd also add Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis and anything by Mordecai Richler (Solomon Gursky was here is a personal fave).

Posted by: Captain Hate at March 29, 2020 05:23 PM (y7DUB)

687 Alice, above @116, asked for humorous book recommendations.

I will suggest a couple of classics:

First, "Cold Comfort Farm" by Stella Gibbons (1932)

I second that enthusiastically. I'd also add Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis and anything by Mordecai Richler (Solomon Gursky was here is a personal fave).
Posted by: Captain Hate
---------

Lately, there has been some discussion of James Herriot's 'All Creatures Great and Small' books. Very entertaining, often laugh out loud.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 29, 2020 05:37 PM (CDGwz)

688 Captain Hate @686, I like a lot of Kingsley Amis's work. For comedy, my favorite of his novels is "I Want It Now". It is a scathing look at the rich and entitled. It's protagonist is a rising young TV host in '60s London, Ronnie Appleyard, who memorably introduced thusly: "To be fair to young Ronnie Appleyard, he was not interested in power as such. Money and fame with a giant's helping of sex thrown in was all he was after."

Posted by: John F. MacMichael at March 29, 2020 07:10 PM (9AOND)

689 For comedy, my favorite of his novels is "I Want It Now". It is a scathing look at the rich and entitled. It's protagonist is a rising young TV host in '60s London, Ronnie Appleyard, who memorably introduced thusly: "To be fair to young Ronnie Appleyard, he was not interested in power as such. Money and fame with a giant's helping of sex thrown in was all he was after."
Posted by: John F. MacMichael at March 29, 2020 07:10 PM (9AOND)

Thanks for the heads up; he wrote a lot of books, almost all well received, so much so that it's good to get a specific recommendation.

Posted by: Captain Hate at March 29, 2020 08:37 PM (y7DUB)

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