Sunday Morning Book Thread 02-15-2015: Downfall [OregonMuse]

"Here At The IRS, We Think Your TEA Party Is Offensive To The Emperor."

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

Book Quote

Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.

-Henry David Thoreau

The Last Remnants Of The Old Republic Have Been Swept Away

I wanted to discuss the Jay Cost piece over at The Federalist, but it looks like The Big Cheese Himself has already covered it, so I can only add to what has already been said.

I especially like this observation from Cost:

[T]he New Deal...effectively inverted the constitutional schema. Previously, the federal government was only allowed to do what the Constitution expressly authorized. From the New Deal onwards, the government could more or less do anything that the Constitution did not expressly forbid.

And, sad to say, most Americans appear to be pretty much OK with this. Except for a few bitter clingers like us, that is. Thanks to the progressives, massive federal overreach became the new normal, and the only memories people have of what it was like before, the only thing that old people can remember, is the Depression.

Cost develops this and other of his ideas about government in his book A Republic No More: Big Government and the Rise of American Political Corruption, which I definitely will not be paying the $18.99 Kindle price for, even though it's probably well worth reading. I'll just wait until the price comes down a bit.

One of the Amazon reviewers of Cost's book referenced this other book, The Original Constitution: What It Actually Said And Meant by con law professor Robert Natelson, and included this juicy quote from it:

During the ratification debates advocates of the Constitution publicly listed examples of activities over which the federal government would have no authority. They did so to inform and reassure Ratifiers and members of the general public about the limited scope of federal power. Among the activities listed as within the exclusive sphere of the states were marriage, divorce, and other aspects of domestic relations; manufacturing (necessarily including labor relations); other business enterprises; agriculture and other land use; land titles and conveyancing; property outside of interstate trade; commerce wholly within state lines; state and local government; the regulation of most crimes and civil suits; social services; training the militia and appointing militia officers; religion; and education."

The U.S. Constitution would not have been ratified without these assurances by the Federalists about the actual meanings of many of the constitution's clauses...Nine of thirteen states ratified the Constitution on condition of those Federalist assurances.

In order to understand the constitution, we need to understand how English was used in the 18th century, and what certain words and phrases actually meant to someone living back then. Which may be different from the way we understand them today.

This is crucial knowledge which has been pretty much forgotten for over two centuries. And nobody cares. Which is why we're so utterly, utterly boned.

Weapons of Micro Destruction

From the sidebar earlier this week, there's a link to a Popular Mechanics article on how to make a blow gun out of playing cards. No, really. Fortunately, this comes from a book written by John Austin, Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction: Build and Master Ninja Weapons, which includes plans for how to build a Crouching Tiger Catapult, Paper Clip Grappling Hook and the Craft Stick Katana.

Austin continues the fun in a number of sequels, including Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction 2: Build a Secret Agent Arsenal and Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction 3: Build Siege Weapons of the Dark Ages.

~~Fifty Shades of Crap~~
~~Fifty Shades of Suck~~
~~Fifty Shades of Fail~~
Let The Ceaseless Mockery Begin

Well, I guess the crappy movie based on the crappy book came out this week, and to celebrate this craptacular festival of crap, here are some parodies I found by googling for, would you believe, "Fifty Shades of Gray parodies". And there's a crap ton of them out there. Here are some examples:

First up, there's Fifty Shades of Beige by "Reid Mockery", and here is a bit of the description on Amazon:

The lead character is Annis Thesia. She's not that great looking, terribly naive and has fallen hard for Bobby Beige, Pittsburgh's most eligible billionaire. The comic sexual exploits of this bizarre relationship will keep you going as you dive into the wild world of kinky sex with two total idiots...Warning: It does contain some foul language and very weird acts not meant for normal people.

Personally, I think the whole 'sparkly vampire' genre is not meant for normal people, but then again, I'm a bad person who is very judgmental. In any event, Mr. "Mockery" has already penned a couple of 'Beige' sequels, thus proving that E.L. James' crappy book will no doubt be providing material for ridicule and abuse for decades.

Then there's Fifty Shades of Black and Blue by "I.B. Naughtie", which I'm mentioning just because of the author's silly nom de plume, but it's got a crapload of 1-star reviews, so maybe it's not all that good.

How about Fifty Shades of Grey and Zombies by "Grey West", which Goodreads describes as "truly romantic" and "erotic and sweet". Really.

And if you want to combine genres, Joy McKann/Little Miss Atilla's husband has just published 50 Shades of Zane Grey, which puts the female protagonist "Anna Ironhead" in, guess what, a western setting.

Anna seeks romance and finds it in abundance as she is also courted by an honest, but toothless, Indian scout; a dishonest but well-toothed bandit; and a fairly honest but hapless telegraph clerk. In addition, Anna must endure shootouts, Indian attacks, and internal battles with her Inner Spinster and her Inner Canadian goose, whose honking erupts at the most inappropriate times.

Joy says this parody is "about as erotic as Benny Hill." Which I guess means that the characters run around in speeded-up motion over a "Yakkity Sax" soundtrack.

Oh heck, a whole bunch are listed on this page.

Finally, there's Fifty Shades of Chicken: A Parody in a Cookbook by "F. L. Fowler" that teaches you how to pull, jerk, stuff, and truss your chicken for recipes such as Dripping Thighs, Sticky Chicken Fingers, Bacon-Bound Wings, Holy Hell Wings, Mustard-Spanked Chicken, and others that are too unspeakably tasteless and rude for this high-class book thread.

Have We Reached Peak E-Book?

The LA Times reports an increase in print book sales in October:

[C]ompared to October 2013, sales of hardcovers were up 14%. Trade paperbacks rose 14.6% while mass market paperback sales were up 9.9%.

Overall, print sales are down from 2013 and the October increase didn't make up for it. However:

In England, signs are pointing to an e-book plateau. The bookstore chain Waterstones reported that print book sales at its stores were up 5% in December. In 2013, British readers spent $3.3 billion on printed books and just $455 million on e-books.

Well, OK, maybe. E-books certainly aren't the be-all and end-all of reading, and there are still advantages with dead-tree editions. Many people just prefer the solid feel of holding on to a real book. Plus, some people like to use yellow markers to highlight interesting or pertinent passages in their books, and others are inveterate scribbles of notes in the margins. You can also do these things with your e-books, but it's more difficult, and I daresay, probably not as satisfying.

So What?

When I first got my Nexus 7 tablet, I was perfectly happy with the operating system it came with, Android 4.whatever it was, maybe 1 or 2, I forget exactly. I don't use it for much, just e-reading and playing a few chess apps. But then Google pushed out 4.3, then 4 and I said OK, fine, I have no idea what new features I was getting, but whatever they were, I didn't think I was using them, it all looked pretty much the same to me.

Then they pushed v. 5, I said no, and that was it for a month or three. But then I turned the device on a week or so ago and I see the message "Android update downloaded and ready to install". So it looks like I didn't have a choice. So now I'm on 5, which looks substantially different, and my tablet is a bit slower, but other than that, not much has changed.

It's getting closer to the point where I'm going to have to buy a newer, faster tablet that will better handle the increased demands of Android 5, just so I can read my books.

Books By Morons

Longtime lurker Neil Russell broke the surface (at least in e-mail) to tell me about his series of novels featuring Rail Black, whom he describes as "hybrid of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee and Ian Fleming's James Bond, but about a half-foot taller than either." A wealthy, ex-Delta Force operator, Black now uses his talents and resources to help friends in trouble. The first novel in the series, City of War, starts out with a bang:

Caught in gridlock on the world's busiest freeway, Rail comes to the rescue of a naked woman escaping from a van. But Kimberly York is no ordinary victim, and Rail has invited violence into his life...again - as a sudden, shocking murder pulls him into a decades-old international conspiracy of greed, rare treasures, and human depravity.

Russell has since published two sequels, Wildcase, and Beverly Hills is Burning. Russell is running a promotional this weekend, so you can get the Kindle edition of BHIB for only 99 cents.

One more thing: Mr. Russell also informs me that his novels do contain a fair amount of "violence, profanity, and sex, some of it explicit", so sensitive readers should be aware of this.

___________

People write novels about all sorts of things. Cowboys. Pirates. Sparkly vampires. Detectives with paranormal abilities. Even the game of poker. I mention this because moron lurker (mostly) 'Dandolo' has written a short story, "Ace In the Hole" which is included in Poker Pulp, a collection of three poker-themed stories, available on Kindle for $2.99.

Open Question

An Amazon book listing may contain several "professional" reviews gathered from other sources (such as Publisher's Weekly). These are over and apart from the reader reviews. I was looking at this book and that book on Amazon looking for book thread material, and I happened to notice this sentence in one of these reviews:

There's not enough action for a thriller and not enough intrigue for a mystery, and a glut of description and dialogue will leave readers snoozing.

Now, presumably Amazon lists books because it wants readers to buy them, so that Amazon can turn a profit, and, incidentally, earn royalties for the author. So, my question is, what good does it do either the store or the author to include a review like that in an Amazon book listing?

___________

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

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

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:02 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Yay! Book thread!

Posted by: EC at February 15, 2015 08:52 AM (doBIb)

2 Yay! Time travel book thread!

Posted by: EC at February 15, 2015 08:52 AM (doBIb)

3 Currently re-reading the WEB Griffin Army series while waiting on fresh stuff.

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 08:53 AM (wlDny)

4 Fifty Shades of Neigh

Posted by: John Effing Kerry at February 15, 2015 08:55 AM (ihXSm)

5 From the New Deal onwards, the government could more or less do anything that the Constitution did not expressly forbid.

No, we had another break in the curve when Obama took office. He does anything he wants regardless of what the Constitution says. And congress lets him do it. Boner's no shutdown pledge you know and his chickenshit approach to the 60 vote rule.

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 08:55 AM (wlDny)

6 which I definitely will not be paying the $18.99 Kindle price
for, even though it's probably well worth reading. I'll just wait until
the price comes down a bit.

I see you have developed the Vic strategy. I refuse to pay more than $10 for a kindle book unless it is a combo book with more than one in it.

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 08:57 AM (wlDny)

7 The U.S. Constitution would not have been ratified without these
assurances by the Federalists about the actual meanings of many of the
constitution's clauses...Nine of thirteen states ratified the
Constitution on condition of those Federalist assurances.

The anti-federalists were right.

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 08:58 AM (wlDny)

8 I see you have developed the Vic strategy. I refuse to pay more than $10 for a kindle book unless it is a combo book with more than one in it.

That other book on the constitution was $9.99, so I snapped it right up. It looks very interesting and I may devote some time to it on next week's book thread.

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 15, 2015 08:59 AM (qefuX)

9 Morning all.

Well second morning for me.

Suspect arrested also

Guards outside of Bar Mitvahs? Jews get out of Europe

Fredo get out of America

Posted by: Nevergiveup at February 15, 2015 09:00 AM (nzKvP)

10 Good morning! This is a near perfect day to stay in and read. Sustained high winds (unusual for this area) will keep temps below freezing with the wind chill but those winds scoured away the snow that fell overnight. Just had to fill the bird feeders and brew some good coffee while making breakfast. Now settled in for the book thread. Yaaa!

Posted by: JTB at February 15, 2015 09:01 AM (FvdPb)

11 I buy used books..., can't recall when I last paid $10.00 for anything.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at February 15, 2015 09:01 AM (vPh3W)

12 So it looks like I didn't have a choice. So now I'm on 5, which looks
substantially different, and my tablet is a bit slower, but other than
that, not much has changed.

They do the same thing with my Samsung. I have never been a fan of automatic updates.

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 09:02 AM (wlDny)

13 I have to go out into NYC later today.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at February 15, 2015 09:02 AM (nzKvP)

14 I linked it yesterday, but here is Dave Barry's book review of "50 Shades of Grey":

https://tinyurl.com/p5akh4p

It's from a year ago, but still funny. (The page contains an autoplay video.)

Posted by: rickl at February 15, 2015 09:02 AM (sdi6R)

15 On topic of corruption, it is not just a political wedge for pundits and campaigners. It's not a joke in the slightest. Sarah Chayes, "Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security" (January 19, 2015).

Chayes argues that when the government becomes corrupt, stuff still has to get done on the local level - and in step local institutions. If you're lucky, you'll get the Sicilian mob. If you're not lucky, you'll get armed puritans.

Literally. Puritans. This is what happened during the Reformation, and it plunged England into decades of chaos and Germany into centuries.

And if you're REALLY unlucky, Boko Haram.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at February 15, 2015 09:03 AM (AVEe1)

16 I have always wondered about the New Deal. In government years The New Deal was put forth within a few years of the Russian and France revolutions. Add to that that farmers and families had begun to camp out on the WH lawn, and it is likely the government thought a revolution could happen here. I have heard Rush say that our poor are all well fed, whereas before the New Deal, people were starving,

Posted by: Chilling the most at February 15, 2015 09:03 AM (fGL3/)

17 Almost through 'American Sniper'. The movie, while entertaining, doesn't begin to tell the story. Read the book.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at February 15, 2015 09:03 AM (vPh3W)

18 Russell is running a promotional this weekend, so you can get the Kindle edition of BHIB for only 99 cents.

Why run a special on a 3rd in the series and not on the first?

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 09:04 AM (wlDny)

19 Oh this is a book thread.

I haven't had time to read lately. I'm pretty sure I can still read.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at February 15, 2015 09:04 AM (nzKvP)

20 Almost through 'American Sniper'. The movie, while entertaining, doesn't begin to tell the story. Read the book.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at February 15, 2015 09:03 AM (vPh3W)

Yeah I read Lone Survivor after I saw the movie. As a matter of fact, way back when, I read The Godfather after I saw the movie

Posted by: Nevergiveup at February 15, 2015 09:05 AM (nzKvP)

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

Too fcuking cold for kilts.

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at February 15, 2015 09:06 AM (6fyGz)

22 I have heard Rush say that our poor are all well fed, whereas before the New Deal, people were starving,
Posted by: Chilling
-----------------------------

I'd like some documentation regrading starvation here in the U.S., I've never seen any.

Too bad that The New Deal expanded and prolonged the depression. Millions suffered, and we are suffering the economic/social damage done.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at February 15, 2015 09:07 AM (vPh3W)

23 Believe it or not, I do own fifty shades of chicken. Got it as joke Christmas present a couple years ago.

I've not been reading much but I have a bunch of classics downloaded on my kindle. I just need to pick one.

Posted by: Lea - Sorry make that Miss Leaette at February 15, 2015 09:08 AM (vmMMi)

24 I'd like some documentation regrading starvation here in the U.S., I've never seen any.

Too bad that The New Deal expanded and prolonged the depression. Millions suffered, and we are suffering the economic/social damage done.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at February 15, 2015 09:07 AM (vPh3W)

Living below the poverty line here in America is like living large in many countries overseas.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at February 15, 2015 09:09 AM (nzKvP)

25 Mini-rant. I was reading this book, which is a fantasy/steampunk story of a girl who is half human half fey in a Victorian England which is recovering from a great Fey-Human war. So, good premise, good world-building. The girl, however, has all the sensibilities of a 2015 SJW college student. Urgh.

Posted by: @votermom at February 15, 2015 09:09 AM (ktJXp)

26 I'm taking a break from the heavier, contemplative material like CS Lewis and colonial navy history. I'm part way through "The Mezzo Wore Mink" by Mark Schweizer. It's the 5th or 6th in the Liturgical mystery series and is seriously funny and clever. Mrs. JTB knows when I'm reading them because I burst out laughing every few minutes.

Also, re-reading the Lumby series by Gail Fraser about the small town quirks and characters of Lumby. Relaxing and pleasant books.

Posted by: JTB at February 15, 2015 09:09 AM (FvdPb)

27 16 I have always wondered about the New Deal. In government years The New Deal was put forth within a few years of the Russian and France revolutions. Add to that that farmers and families had begun to camp out on the WH lawn, and it is likely the government thought a revolution could happen here.

Posted by: Chilling the most at February 15, 2015 09:03 AM (fGL3/)

They didn't let the crisis go to waste.

Posted by: rickl at February 15, 2015 09:09 AM (sdi6R)

28 As for buying a new tablet to read an all the software updates etc this is why I prefer my kindle just for reading over a tablet.

Posted by: Lea - Sorry make that Miss Leaette at February 15, 2015 09:10 AM (vmMMi)

29 Trying to read one of the Diane West books mentioned a few weeks back by Oregonmuse. The pages keep falling out - frustrating as hell especially given it's a new book.

Next fiction will be The Bookkeeper Thief as soon as my sweetie is done with it. Not often she swipes my books. . .

Posted by: Long Running Fool at February 15, 2015 09:10 AM (/A5gb)

30 HELP I AM TRAPPED IN BOSTON SEND HELP HOTEL ALMOST OUT OF ARTISANAL BACON HELP HELP

Also: I just started reading a weird old book, _The Saragossa Manuscript_ (or The Manuscript Recovered from Saragossa) by Jan Potocki. It's kind of an early 19th-century Arabian Nights pastiche by a Polish military officer who served with Napoleon's army. Pretty racy for its time (though not up to Casanova's memoirs).

Posted by: Trimegistus at February 15, 2015 09:12 AM (bjG2r)

31 Isn't the blonde Danish PM the same one that took a selfie with JEF in South Africa?

She pretty hot.

Posted by: Nip Sip at February 15, 2015 09:13 AM (0FSuD)

32 The best book about the depression I think is The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes. She crucifies FDR on his cross of socialism.

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 09:15 AM (wlDny)

33 PM http://tinyurl.com/pg9plpt

Posted by: Nip Sip at February 15, 2015 09:17 AM (0FSuD)

34 I read Double Cross by Ben MacIntyre. Recommended here a few weeks ago, it tells the fascinating story of MI5's operation during WWII which turned German spies into double agents and fed disinformation to Berlin throughout the war. The operation culminates in the months before and the weeks after D-Day. The work of these brave agents and their ingenious MI5 handlers convinced the Germans that the Normandy invasion was only a feint and that the real invasion was to be in the Calais region. This kept German forces in that region and prevented them from reinforcing the Normandy beachhead. This was an interesting and exciting read.

Posted by: Zoltan at February 15, 2015 09:19 AM (EGaHt)

35 We can mock that shit book all we want but somehow it turned that hack into a multi millionaire.

Posted by: steevy at February 15, 2015 09:20 AM (KETbL)

36 We can mock that shit book all we want but somehow it turned that hack into a multi millionaire.

Posted by: steevy at February 15, 2015 09:20 AM (KETbL)

and yet Correia still doesn't have a movie deal...all the proof you need that there is something seriously amiss in Hollywierd...

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at February 15, 2015 09:24 AM (6fyGz)

37 I finally forced myself to open the copy of Lena Dunham's book. I got it from the library after a waitlist of at least 500, which, in a normal town, would be disturbing, but this is Seattle.

I opened it first to a random page (as opposed to random "thought" which covers every page) and found some described as having a "sculpey face." I don't even know what that means, and I don't want to find out. I found the "word" "sculpey" to be as repellant as many find "moist." Maybe more so.

The result of my little adventure is, I will never knowingly consume anything produced by Lena Dunham as long as I live. She needs to be confined to a home for those who just aren't ... well.

Posted by: Tonestaple at February 15, 2015 09:24 AM (4muK/)

38 Well, this may not exactly fit in the book thread, but-

A comic book is still a boo- Excuse me!...

I mean, a graphic novel is still a novel.

*shifty eyes*

Anyway this is pretty hilarious-

Thor's been de-dickified.

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/02/14/female-

thor-is-what-happens-when-progressive-hand-

wringing-and-misandry-ruin-a-cherished-art-

form/#disqus_thread

You absolutely have to read the examples from the new Thoretta...

So...so-o-o-o awful...like having a fymynyst harpy lecturing you.

This are comic books- Excuse me! graphic novels made for and by people who hate their intended audience.

Funny, funny stuff. Not intentionally...

but funny!

Posted by: naturalfake at February 15, 2015 09:24 AM (KBvAm)

39
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at February 15, 2015 09:07 AM (vPh3W) --- I swear I have seen pics of American childen with bloated bellies. Now, the photos don't say if they would have been that without FDR's destruction of crops and livestock and meddling with prices.

Posted by: Baldy at February 15, 2015 09:25 AM (+35FH)

40 I do used books as well - what, am I made out of money? I have a whole stack of books about the Fred Harvey company to read through, starting with Stephen Fried's Appetite for American, which I am still stuck halfway through. (All this is in aid of my next HF novel after the next)
Half Price Books, the used books section on Amazon, and the yearly NEISD monster book sale are my best sources ... especially the NEISD one, run by the PTA. Hardbacks $1, paperbacks .50 cents.
Based on my own sales, I rather think that eBook sales are plateauing. From hints and comments at According to Hoyt in various discussions, I'm thinking that other indy-writers there are having the same experience. But anecdote is not data.
Speaking of books - can I beg for reviews of mine from any 'Rons and 'Ronettes who have read them? Thanks!

Posted by: Sgt Mom at February 15, 2015 09:27 AM (95iDF)

41 How funny, my boys got the first Mini Weapons for Christmas and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Got the sequels and a similar book, Backyard Ballistics, for their birthday.

I did recently have to explain a flying potato to my elderly ESL neighbor because of these books, though. :-/

Which led to an interesting discussion about where, exactly, produce can be launched.

Posted by: Jenny Hates Her Phone at February 15, 2015 09:28 AM (5AEaG)

42 re:comment 5, McConnell is the progressive protecting the 60 vote rule. He is more corrupt/progressive than Boehner.

Posted by: sixty vodte rule at February 15, 2015 09:29 AM (PGh+Q)

43 Finished listening to Benjamin Franklin's autobiography. Learned a lot about him. He may have said the "Early to bed, early to rise," aphorism but "Four hours of sleep gives you a real jump on the competition." would more accurately describe his actions.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at February 15, 2015 09:29 AM (GDulk)

44 42
re:comment 5, McConnell is the progressive protecting the 60 vote rule. He is more corrupt/progressive than Boehner.

Posted by: sixty vodte rule at February 15, 2015 09:29 AM (PGh+Q)

I meant to say McConehead not Boner.

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 09:31 AM (wlDny)

45 Saudi Arabia has condemned the killing in North Carolina of three American Muslim college students as a "heinous terrorist" act, and called for respecting religious beliefs and halting incitement against Muslims.

The statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency Sunday also condemned as a "terrorist" act the attacks that killed two people in Denmark, one at a panel discussion that included an artist who caricatured the Prophet Muhammad and the other outside a synagogue. In neighboring Qatar, several thousand people held a march Sunday in the capital Doha in solidarity with the families of the North Carolina victims.

1) well fuck you as the killings in NC, they were not terrorist attacks

2) But even Saudi Arabia calls the attacks in Denmark terrorist attacks and you know who does not?

Posted by: Nevergiveup at February 15, 2015 09:32 AM (nzKvP)

46
Art2 D2's Guide To Folding And Doodling

Posted by: please dont squeeze the soothie at February 15, 2015 09:34 AM (N0SJE)

47 So our wonderful labor unions are closing down the west coast ports? And these Unions are good for America exactly how?

Posted by: Nevergiveup at February 15, 2015 09:36 AM (nzKvP)

48 I swear I have seen pics of American childen with
bloated bellies. Now, the photos don't say if they would have been that
without FDR's destruction of crops and livestock and meddling with
prices.

Posted by: Baldy at February 15, 2015 09:25 AM (+35FH)

Those pictures were the results of Iodine deficiency, which was eliminated in the USA when we started adding iodine to salt. FDR had nothing to do with it. It started in the early 1900s.

http://tinyurl.com/yc3htoa

Posted by: Nip Sip at February 15, 2015 09:39 AM (0FSuD)

49 ""Four hours of sleep gives you a real jump on the competition."

Ol' Ben was a latent Renaissance man. Dabbled in a lot of things. Science, politics.......liquor, women.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at February 15, 2015 09:43 AM (as+cO)

50 47 Hey,those poor guys are only making 178 K plus benefits,practically paupers slaving for corporate overlords!

Posted by: steevy at February 15, 2015 09:43 AM (KETbL)

51 From the New Deal onwards, the government could more or less do anything that the Constitution did not expressly forbid.

Not even the plain text of the Constitution can stop them, even if a prohibition is explicit.

Right now, the executive is a dictatorship that can do anything that five schmucks in black robes haven't explicitly said "F**k No" too... and even then that might be enough.

The Congress, at this point, is simply an appendix ready to burst.

Posted by: The Political Hat at February 15, 2015 09:45 AM (0Ew3K)

52 I always prefer physical books but between cost and lack of horizontal space (seriously) I've had to compromise. The Kindle is used for collections of classics that would run to thousands of pages on a shelf, inexpensive deals on books that catch my eye, and books I want for portability.

I'm getting ever more persnickety about new fiction. Partly because I'm catching up on classics I've been meaning to read for decades. Partly because I'm not the target audience for an increasing percentage of new fiction. I am not interested in the angst and trevails of a teenage girl and the difficulties of her relationship with a zombie vampire with mommy issues or the thousand variations of 'romance' stories that fill the Amazon Daily Deal site.

The real books coming onto the house are ones I'm likely to re-read or refer to such as 'how-to' books (wood carving, fly tying, etc.) and historical matters, critical philosophy, and other references.

Posted by: JTB at February 15, 2015 09:49 AM (FvdPb)

53 reading is one of the most important things any civilized man can do. to bad the asshole sin Congress never read the bills they got on

Posted by: Nevergiveup at February 15, 2015 09:50 AM (nzKvP)

54 51
The Congress, at this point, is simply an appendix ready to burst.

Posted by: The Political Hat at February 15, 2015 09:45 AM (0Ew3K)

It must be nice getting all that pay, benefits, and perks without having to do any actual work. I mean, reading bills is sooo 20th Century.

Posted by: rickl at February 15, 2015 09:51 AM (sdi6R)

55 Posted by: Ricardo Kill at February 15, 2015 09:43 AM(as+cO)

Also a *very* hard worker and able to squeeze a penny until it screamed. Was surprised to learn he was a vegetarian (generally not obnoxiously) and drank very little alcohol. He figured meat and booze were expensive and that it was impossible to get rich by eating and drinking your money. He was essentially the original "Millionaire Next Door".

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at February 15, 2015 09:52 AM (GDulk)

56 And speaking of Amity Shlaes, her Coolidge book is up on Amazon for $2.99 now (Kindle).

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 09:52 AM (wlDny)

57 Re: Android and iOS automatic updates -- It is fine to avoid updates as long as you never purchase anything, do banking, etc. Otherwise, take the updates.

All operating systems need security updates. Apple's iOS is much better than Android at forcing the issue. My phone is Android Jelly Bean. It took six months to get the patch for Heartbleed and there haven't been any fixes since then. I don't consider it secure.

The Android "fragmentation" problem is a security problem, as is the fact that the phone companies (AT&T, etc.) are the gatekeepers for Android updates and do not find it in their interest to provide updates, whether forced or voluntary.

Windows, OS X, Linux and Chrome OS get many security updates each year, in addition to feature updates.

Posted by: doug at February 15, 2015 09:54 AM (yFA5I)

58 I finally finished-

"Blue Movie" by Terry Southern.

The novel concerns a director, clearly modeled after Stanley Kubrick, attempting to make a porno movie with top actors, top writing, top production values, etc.

It's a very well done satire with great character writing that portrays Hollywood and the movie business-

as one big manipulation machine fueled by drugs and sex and concerned almost exclusively with money.

It also contains large amounts of pretty much straight up pornographic writing-

most done in the service of humor but still, Be Warned. And it's not cutesy porno, most is very graphic.

The most interesting parts of the book concern the shooting of the movie and how the Kubrick-like director manipulates his actors and the people around him.

A satire in that everyone, including the screenwriter modeled after Terry Southern himself, gets a kick in the teeth.

The ending is a bit weak in that it's one of those 60-70s "wild and kooky" everyone goes crazy dealios,

"Blue Movie" and "Day of the Locust" would make a great combo read about the darker sides of Tinseltown.

Posted by: naturalfake at February 15, 2015 09:57 AM (KBvAm)

59 @29 Prefer Kindle over tablet

Me. too. However, some books are formatted with the expectation of color or the grey scale or a tablet/phone. Maybe never checked on eInk Kindle.

I got a study guide that was devilishly hard to use on my eInk Kindle.

Posted by: doug at February 15, 2015 09:58 AM (yFA5I)

60 OT: Steny Hoyer gets a challenger: A transgender former Navy SEAL

http://tinyurl.com/lyeerub

Posted by: The Political Hat at February 15, 2015 09:59 AM (0Ew3K)

61 Reading one of Grandpa's books, The Story of the Century. About the 100th Infantry Division in WWII. Its a recap of their formation and tour thru France to Germany. Lots of little stories and pics about badasses and heroes. My Grandpa was one of them.

I was surprised at how many Germans willingly surrendered. They were starving and demoralized and just wanted to get it over with. Too bad we can't wage war like that anymore those guys knew how to get it done.

Posted by: freaked at February 15, 2015 09:59 AM (JdEZJ)

62 The only thing that would've gotten me into pants today would have been a trip to see "The Kingsmen", but it's too darn cold out, so I'm hunkering down with Johnson's "Lawrenceville Stories". Maybe I'll crack open "Skunkworks" too, and maybe a telecom textbook.

Am I the only one who reads three or four books at once? Well, not "at once"...

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 15, 2015 10:01 AM (KH1sk)

63 Funny to read about "peak e-books." I was so excited when I got my Kindle. Downloaded a bunch of free books; classics I'd never read but need to; reference books. I then I found myself missing the dead tree versions. The last four books I've bought have been the latter.......

Posted by: chiefjaybob at February 15, 2015 10:01 AM (cgH9o)

64 >>I got a study guide that was devilishly hard to use on my eInk Kindle.

There are still things that are better in book for but for your average novel? Old school kindle can't be beat IMO. Easier on your eyes too.

I have still have a ton of physical books and am slowly trying to get them out of the house unless they are something I plan to retread or a Reference book.

Posted by: Lea - Sorry make that Miss Leaette at February 15, 2015 10:01 AM (vmMMi)

65 Its not that I dislike updates. The problem is automatic updates that I have no control over.

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 10:05 AM (wlDny)

66 @64 Yes, Kindle is very handy. Too cold to go to the library, so I used the Library's Overdrive to download a Cross novel by Patterson to my Kindle. (I denounce myself...)

Posted by: doug at February 15, 2015 10:05 AM (yFA5I)

67 Eris, I'm halfway through five books right now. A Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England, Mental Floss History of the World, one of the Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mysteries, Horse Soldiers, and a book on prepping. And that's completely normal for me. So, no you're not the only one.

Can't forget the seed catalogs either. Four of those. No wonder my house is a mess and the dishes haven't been washed.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at February 15, 2015 10:05 AM (ThxKk)

68 It would seem that the portability of ebooks would make them ideal for college students, but has that really worked out in practice? Anyone know?

Posted by: @votermom at February 15, 2015 10:06 AM (cbfNE)

69 Never read any of the "Flashman" novels but they sound like fun. Anyone here read at least the first one? What do you think? Usually I just get a copy from the used book store but the two in town rarely have any of the series and the damn library doesn't have the first book.

Posted by: JTB at February 15, 2015 10:10 AM (FvdPb)

70 I have friends who use IPads to read their accounting texts. But the pad allows annotation and notes. The Kindles I understand do not.\
Now, I use a Sony that I love dearly but it has limited bookmarking abilities and there is no way to annotate at all. It is mostly for pleasure reading.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 15, 2015 10:11 AM (t//F+)

71 Is there a list of lefty SFF authors? (Or non-SJW authors?)

Posted by: doug at February 15, 2015 10:11 AM (yFA5I)

72 It would seem that the portability of ebooks would make them ideal for college students, but has that really worked out in practice? Anyone know?

No, from what Muse Daughter has told me, the college textbook racket is every bit as bad or worse than when I was in college a couple of decades ago.

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 15, 2015 10:12 AM (qefuX)

73 Good morning Morons, it is 8 frikkin' degrees measured in Hamilton by the Miami and the shining sun is no comfort. I hate that frikkin' groundhog....

Fifty Shades of Stupid Fanfic is having its moment in the sun, and incidentally providing talking points for true BDSM enthusiasts to counter-argue and correct all the details of the situation.

Boehner is a dumbass who is letting a historic opportunity slip through his fingers, him and all other Republicans who were first elected before 2000. The rot has srt in , and this bodes ill for 2016, even if denying the Oval Office to Lieawatha or Shrillary is a priority.

Posted by: exdem13 at February 15, 2015 10:12 AM (/mTq0)

74 70
I have friends who use IPads to read their accounting texts. But the pad
allows annotation and notes. The Kindles I understand do not.\
Now, I
use a Sony that I love dearly but it has limited bookmarking abilities
and there is no way to annotate at all. It is mostly for pleasure
reading.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 15, 2015 10:11 AM (t//F+)

The Kindle does allow annotations, bookmarks, and notes. It is just clunky to use.

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 10:14 AM (wlDny)

75 I am reading Dune by Frank Herbert.

Posted by: Perdogg at February 15, 2015 10:15 AM (1EIax)

76 I also have found myself mystified at $13 ebooks, but the one I was going to buy says it is published by Hatchette, so that explains it. Since I still have books I've purchased and not read, they can wait or go broke, whichever.

Posted by: Graves at February 15, 2015 10:16 AM (3MEXB)

77 72 No, from what Muse Daughter has told me, the college
textbook racket is every bit as bad or worse than when I was in college
a couple of decades ago.

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 15, 2015 10:12 AM (qefuX)

I noticed that when Amazon had a "special" on college texts. I am sure they were past editions but the prices were outrageous. I have often wondered if professors get some kind of kickback for forcing students to buy "new" editions instead of almost new used books.

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 10:16 AM (wlDny)

78 For those following the Vic Method of ebook purchasing, I recommend www.ereaderiq.com which allows you to set and forget queries for authors and books. It emails you when there is a price drop (latest one: Georgette Heyer mystery Why Shoot a Butler? for 1.99, down from 8.99).

Be extremely wary of any mainstream media reporting about peak ebook or, really, anything to do with ebooks. Author Earnings recently discovered the usual legacy sources miss 30% or more of actual sales because many ebook authors do not use ISBNs, and those sources depend on reported ISBNs. It is true the gold rush days are over for indie writers, but I still made more than a legacy contract would have given me last year. Traditional publishers still haven't figured out their ebook sales are bad because they charge insane prices, so no wonder they think ebooks are declining in sales.

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at February 15, 2015 10:18 AM (2buaQ)

79 >>>>Never read any of the "Flashman" novels but they sound like fun. Anyone here read at least the first one? What do you think?<<<<<

Flashman is great but very politically incorrect. He uses language that would most certainly get you banned here. Once you read the first one you can read the rest in any order, but you should read "Flashman at the Charge" and "Flashman and the Great Game" back to back as they are essentially one long narrative and really the best books in the series.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living... at February 15, 2015 10:19 AM (MkQKr)

80 Female Thor is what happens when Progressive hand-wringing & misandry ruin a cherished art-form

http://tinyurl.com/lw68muv

Posted by: The Political Hat at February 15, 2015 10:20 AM (0Ew3K)

81 71 Is there a list of lefty SFF authors? (Or non-SJW authors?)
--

I'm sure there is a list somewhere of rightwing / libertarian SFF writers.
Most dead tree published one's seem to be leftwing loonies, specially the award winners. The exception is those published by Barn, which does not seem to discriminate against conservatives plus has a lot of molds, which skews right.

Posted by: @votermom at February 15, 2015 10:21 AM (cbfNE)

82 I am reading Dune by Frank Herbert.

Posted by: Perdogg at February 15, 2015 10:15 AM (1EIax)

Love that book.

Frank Herbert was a Leftist, but it seams that his Dune novels are some of the most loved Sci-Fi by conservative nerds.

Posted by: Hat Muad'Dib at February 15, 2015 10:21 AM (0Ew3K)

83 I'm not a person who makes annotations or takes notes on books generally so none of that really matters to me. I doubt I would have wanted to use one for school except for literature classes. Although it is nice that you can search the text..

Posted by: Lea - Sorry make that Miss Leaette at February 15, 2015 10:22 AM (vmMMi)

84 I noticed that when Amazon had a "special" on
college texts. I am sure they were past editions but the prices were
outrageous. I have often wondered if professors get some kind of
kickback for forcing students to buy "new" editions instead of almost
new used books.

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 10:16 AM (wlDny)

Sometimes, the professor is the one who wrote the book. So they require their textbook for a particular class and get a percentage of the price. It's a pretty good racket for some classes, though it gets a little tricky in literature/English classes when some smartass student (yours truly) already has their own copies of all the classics.
But I wouldn't be surprised if the profs get actual kickbacks for requiring a certain book or a specific edition.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at February 15, 2015 10:22 AM (ThxKk)

85 I have often wondered if professors get some kind of kickback for forcing students to buy "new" editions instead of almost new used books.

That's exactly what I meant by "college textbook racket". You have to pay > $100 for Professor Blabsalot's 'History of the Widget' and it absolutely has to be the 3rd revision of the 2nd edition, it cannot be, must not be the 2nd revision, which is on sale for much cheaper. Like you, I've long suspected that there's a lot of collusion going on between college profs and the textbook publishers.

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 15, 2015 10:23 AM (qefuX)

86 I really miss Peter Cushing btw.

I think I am going to have to watch a couple of Hammer flics this afternoon.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living... at February 15, 2015 10:23 AM (MkQKr)

87 Also finished The Illiad from Librivox. The readers are definitely not professional, but it's free so I can't complain.

Now listening to the Autobiography of Madame Guyon. According to the intro she was very influential to Franscios Fenelon about whom I also know nothing other than the Horde nic Fenelon Spoke.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at February 15, 2015 10:23 AM (GDulk)

88 81The exception is those published by Barn

--

Baen, not Barn. DYAC!

Posted by: @votermom at February 15, 2015 10:24 AM (cbfNE)

89 Regarding highlighting passages in a kindle e-book - think Amazon can track that sort of thing. as I recall seeing it mentioned an a book's page on Amazon, sort of a "see what others are highlighting!" thing. While it's not a major invasion of privacy or anything, it's just a bit...creepy.

Posted by: Lizzy at February 15, 2015 10:24 AM (WvpaS)

90 >>>Traditional publishers still haven't figured out their ebook sales are bad because they charge insane prices,

This. Guess what? If you charge too much for an ebook, I go to the library and get it for free.

Posted by: Lea - Sorry make that Miss Leaette at February 15, 2015 10:24 AM (vmMMi)

91 I genuinely don't understand why any conservative would support the American Revolution. The loyalists were the true conservatives, they were obedient to their lawful sovereign and offered constitutional solutions to the problems of the day. It's extremely obvious that liberals are the descendants of those who were Patriots (who were most predominant in New England) while conservatives are descendants from the 1/3 who were loyalists (who were most predominant in the South and Midwest).

Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 10:25 AM (5QauV)

92 81 The exception is those published by Barn, which does
not seem to discriminate against conservatives plus has a lot of molds,
which skews right.

Posted by: @votermom at February 15, 2015 10:21 AM (cbfNE)

Did you mean Baen? If so, they like conservatives because Jim Baen, the original publisher for the site was a conservative. And thus, most of the authors there are also conservative.

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 10:26 AM (wlDny)

93 Know what would be fun? "Fifty Shades of Hester Prynne."
This is sexist as hell, so go ahead and say so: you can run a sort of global-warming model through the input/output of Wymynz Litrachoor, by actual Wymynz. The same sort of stuff being said about 50 Shades was said about the Brontes -- and by comparison, there may have been some substance to this, let's talk. Mary Shelley is probably off to the side of this, for all the kink she was part of, because I don't think she was widely read outside her circle, until Later.

The first next that leapt to my mind was Various Vampire Authoresses, all jokingly bad yet enduring, and the big 'un is Harry Potter. People laughed that you could turn that little bedtime story into a big novel that sold. And then another, and another. And now it's part of the western canon.

My point, and yes I have one? The really bad chick lit used to be a lot better. In each turning, the commentary remains the same, but the actual product is more and more like a fat girl's junior-high diary.

Upside? Dagny Taggart fans aren't going to have to take it anymore about Rand's rapey "love scenes." Dagny's kink is now straight as a Rearden Rail.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2015 10:27 AM (xq1UY)

94 There's also "Fifty Thousand Shades of Grey" by Stuart Ashens which consisted entirely of the phrase "shades of grey" repeated 50,000 times.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/kqs46nb

It was sold through Amazon until a single person whined about being misled about the book's contents--despite the Amazon description stating explicitly what was in the book. The stupid people win again.

At least someone made it into an audio book:

http://youtu.be/zC_osPetDNA

Posted by: antisocial justice beatnik at February 15, 2015 10:27 AM (PZ51s)

95 Looking for stuff in fantasy/sci-fi on amazon atm. There are truly an insane number of zombie apocalypse series out there.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at February 15, 2015 10:27 AM (wt/Oq)

96 Yes, Baen.
My kindle somehow turned autocorrect back on. Urgh.

Posted by: @votermom at February 15, 2015 10:27 AM (cbfNE)

97 Also finished The Illiad from Librivox. The readers are definitely not professional, but it's free so I can't complain.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at February 15, 2015 10:23 AM (GDulk)

Is it a first edition of The Illiad?

Posted by: J-Lo at February 15, 2015 10:27 AM (0Ew3K)

98 conservative in those days == monarchist

we're not monarchist

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 15, 2015 10:28 AM (Cq0oW)

99 Flashman is a really good book. Some of the last ones have plotting problems that come from trying to fit Flashman into everything, and provide a reason to do so.

But the first ones are pretty good. Fraser was a good researcher and a good historian, and I think he had little unrealistic romance about the British military, though a great deal of affection for it.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 15, 2015 10:29 AM (t//F+)

100 Also milsf, not molds.

Geeze.

Posted by: @votermom at February 15, 2015 10:29 AM (cbfNE)

101 My son is a freshman in college and he wants nothing to do with etextbooks. Studying chinese and finance.

Posted by: NCKate at February 15, 2015 10:30 AM (IQdyy)

102 Is it a first edition of The Illiad?
--

Golf clap.

Posted by: @votermom at February 15, 2015 10:31 AM (cbfNE)

103 @91 Do go on. I'm all ears about pre-revolutionary Tories in the Midwest.
Methinks they bore a wee whiff of troll-dust in their snuffboxes, wot?

Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2015 10:31 AM (xq1UY)

104 The one thing I purely love about Kindle is being able to check the definition of a word instantly. I'm very spoiled by that.

Posted by: Tonestaple at February 15, 2015 10:31 AM (4muK/)

105 #91 Trolling CJ? Conservatives are not what Progressives say Conservatives are. Look up Classical Liberal, Progressive, and for extra credit, the Frankfurt School and get back to us.

Posted by: Graves at February 15, 2015 10:31 AM (3MEXB)

106 I mentioned last week that I had read and enjoyed a new Sherlock Holmes novel House of Silk. This week I read and enjoyed the sequel Moriarty. With the exception of one plot point which definitely stretches my willingness to suspend disbelief aggravated by a repetition, I thought it very good. Holmes is mentioned but does not appear. The master detective is Atherly Jones, the buffoon detective foil from The Sign of Four who, in this book, has chosen to respond to his humiliation by Holmes by studying Holmes technique. I have never read a book in which the clues are so blindingly obvious and yet because of the author's skill, one overlooks them and I, anyway, was shocked by the solution.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at February 15, 2015 10:32 AM (LImiJ)

107 Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 10:25 AM (5QauV)

Are you serious? Go read some history books. Or the Declaration of Independence. Look through the list of all the illegal things King George and his appointed governors did to the colonists. Then come back and tell me if your opinion changed. Common loyalists may have been in favor of the rule of law, but the ones with any authority were definitely not.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at February 15, 2015 10:33 AM (ThxKk)

108 100 Also milsf, not molds.

Geeze

Heh. Looks like your autocorrect needs an adjustment.

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 15, 2015 10:33 AM (qefuX)

109 Thanks @votermom

Did some googling and found "Blackfive TV: Military Science Fiction Writers Series" ... "Blackfive has teamed with Baen Books to provide you with a series of interviews with the best military science fiction writers in the world." followed by some recs.

Seven years old, but who cares?

Posted by: doug at February 15, 2015 10:33 AM (yFA5I)

110 Is there a list of lefty SFF authors? (Or non-SJW authors?)
Posted by: doug at February 15, 2015 10:11 AM (yFA5I)
---
Doug, Baen Books has long been a haven for military SF, which by its nature skews toward non-lefty (I won't say conservative, just realistic) world views. Ironically, I was initially attracted to Baen for their wealth of strong female characters, blissfully free of the hand-wringing sob sisters found in the more progressive Complaint SF. Some of the earliest Baen books I bought were Drake's "Hammer's Slammers" series, and though he is thought a bit of a liberal, I found him to be squarely opposed to high-handed government asshattery.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 15, 2015 10:34 AM (KH1sk)

111 Upside? Dagny Taggart fans aren't going to have to
take it anymore about Rand's rapey "love scenes." Dagny's kink is now
straight as a Rearden Rail.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2015 10:27 AM (xq1UY)

that's not how it works. They skim til offended, we are hypocrites. They demand understanding and we need to be burned at the stake for any minor, perceived transgression. And if we argue we have just proven our guilt.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 15, 2015 10:36 AM (t//F+)

112 Currently reading Temple by Matthew Reilly, which is fun so far (AtC had recommended the author). Also picked up In the garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.

I buy both e-books and used books depending on the price and whether or not I want a paper copy on hand (usually w/non-fiction).

Posted by: Lizzy at February 15, 2015 10:36 AM (WvpaS)

113 You have to get the current edition of the professor's book because that one has both the latest error corrections and mentions the Dean's pet theories and/or febrile mutterings.

Posted by: Jean at February 15, 2015 10:37 AM (ztOda)

114 JTB@69 - yes, go for any and all of the Flashman series! The fantastic thing about them (aside from the shenanigans of Flashy himself) is that they are funny (and occasionally with really heartbreaking moments) and yet historically accurate. The author put footnotes and brief explanatory essays at the end, going into what was 'real' and how he based incidents and conversation on things wot really happened. And Flashy is a cad and a rogue, a bully and a coward ... but as a character, he is brutally honest to himself, and a great observer of scenes.
The one book that should have gotten written about Flashy as a British Army officer was how he managed to fight on both sides in our Civil War. There were all kinds of hints about it scattered through the other books ... but G.M. Fraser died before he could get to it. (If you haven't already, look at his McAuslan series, too. Just immediately post-WWII British Army - seriously laugh-out-loud funny.)

Posted by: Sgt Mom at February 15, 2015 10:38 AM (95iDF)

115 I see nothing "conservative" about overthrowing the lawful government in a violent revolutions and proclaiming certain freedoms out of thin air. Sorry. The founders were the hard left of their times. Yes of course today's leftists criticize the founders but only because they didn't go far enough, not because they went too far.

Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 10:39 AM (5QauV)

116 In order to understand the constitution, we need to understand how
English was used in the 18th century, and what certain words and phrases
actually meant to someone living back then. Which may be different from
the way we understand them today.

No way Dude!

Dude...Way!

Posted by: Paladin at February 15, 2015 10:40 AM (Os2jE)

117 Last week someone was writing about "little free libraries"
Here is a post about it from another site:

http://fee.org/freeman/detail/little-free-libraries-a-love-letter

Posted by: Kindltot at February 15, 2015 10:40 AM (t//F+)

118 "Now take those kaiser rolls into the kitchen and make me a sandwich, sweetie."

Posted by: Peter Cushing at February 15, 2015 10:41 AM (eTY+n)

119 Go to YouTube and find the vid of Fifty Shades as read by Gilbert Gottfried. Funny.

Posted by: Tuna at February 15, 2015 10:42 AM (JSovD)

120 "McConnell is the progressive protecting the 60 vote rule."

Until January, 2017. Pulling that trigger early will give the Dems *two years* of propaganda, that will be screamed from the mountaintops. Seriously, folks. You really, really need to consider the long game. The Establishment(tm) got to be the Establishment for a reason.

Posted by: Df82 at February 15, 2015 10:42 AM (79mxQ)

121 Thanks for the "Flashman" reports. I'll splurge to get the first one and pick up the others as I come across them. Politically incorrect doesn't bother me and can be a point in the book's favor. Read "Semi-Tough" by Dan Jankins when it first came out. Talk about non-PC!

Posted by: JTB at February 15, 2015 10:42 AM (FvdPb)

122 Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 10:39 AM (5QauV)

But it wasn't a 'lawful government' anymore. The people in power had written down certain laws with the consent of the people, then proceeded to break them, thereby breaking the social contract that had been put in place to keep civilization functioning. Look up John Locke and Thomas Hobbes.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at February 15, 2015 10:45 AM (ThxKk)

123 @91 I genuinely don't understand why any conservative would support the American Revolution.

CJ, you should probably go tell these people that, they need your insight.

http://fee.org/

Posted by: Kindltot at February 15, 2015 10:45 AM (t//F+)

124 I see nothing "conservative" about overthrowing the lawful government in a violent revolutions and proclaiming certain freedoms out of thin air. Sorry. The founders were the hard left of their times. Yes of course today's leftists criticize the founders but only because they didn't go far enough, not because they went too far.

Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 10:39 AM (5QauV)

Read Edmund Burke. The colonists were the conservatives trying to protect their English rights and the status quo. It was the English Parliament that wanted to impose changes that violated established rights.

Posted by: The Burkean Hat at February 15, 2015 10:46 AM (0Ew3K)

125 Left vs right is a poor way to view the American revolution.
The revolutionaries were not commies.
Viewed as authoritarian/statist versus liberal/libertarian it makes more sense. Or simply put, big government vs small government.

Posted by: @votermom at February 15, 2015 10:46 AM (cbfNE)

126 Vic, 'twas ever thus, ever since they varied the hand-illuminated initial letters on those scrolls you and I toiled over...

There was a professorial confessional not long ago that revealed how cheap life has become: the main kickback to profs now for requiring the latest edition is a study-guide package, that includes the quizzes, tests, review questions, and ISNY the grading template. No quaint English sports car, no hot co-eds; just, y'know, the publisher doing your dull old prof work for you. Now that's debased.

When I was extremely-junior faculty (the dignified VICtorians had a noble title for it, "Erstwhile"), we were directed to take pity on seminar members by using the sparkly new, semi-mystical Xerox to violate copyrights. Just buying the paper quickly went through one's stipend. I can't imagine what an "ink pack" or printer repair would have done to the department budget. No wonder they're corruptible.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2015 10:48 AM (xq1UY)

127 And, CJ, none of the freedoms enumerated in the Declaration or the Constitution were proclaimed out of thin air. They mostly had their origins in English Common law, like the Magna Carta and various other statutes that had been passed by English kings going back to Alfred the Great and even before then.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at February 15, 2015 10:48 AM (ThxKk)

128 115 I see nothing "conservative" about overthrowing the lawful government in a violent revolutions and proclaiming certain freedoms out of thin air. Sorry. The founders were the hard left of their times. Yes of course today's leftists criticize the founders but only because they didn't go far enough, not because they went too far.

----

Here, CJ, have some attention.

Freedoms didn't come from thin air; they were and air inherent in all human beings (which even the founders sadly didn't fully recognize). Have you even tried reading any of the works that inspired the Revolution?

Posted by: Jenny Rolls Her Eyes at February 15, 2015 10:48 AM (5AEaG)

129 96 Yes, Baen.
My kindle somehow turned autocorrect back on. Urgh.
Posted by: @votermom at February 15, 2015 10:27 AM (cbfNE)

I don't know which is more worrisome: Artificial Intelligence, or the possibility that Artificial Intelligence will turn out not to be all that intelligent.

Posted by: rickl at February 15, 2015 10:49 AM (sdi6R)

130 Crap. That should be "they were and ARE inherent in all human beings".

Posted by: Jenny Makes Funny Typos at February 15, 2015 10:49 AM (5AEaG)

131 Listened to John Ringo's Under A Graveyard Sky, first of a zombie 4-book series. Ringo's pretty funny and I'd almost call it a comedy, as a family tries to survive the zombie apocalypse. Excellent story, look forward to book two.

Also listened to Larry Correia's [ii]Monster Hunter International, first of his monster hunter books. Really good story and final battle, fun stuff.

Read Wayward by Blake Crouch, book two in the Wayward Pines series. Another fast fun read with a terrific cliffhanger ending.

Posted by: waelse1 at February 15, 2015 10:51 AM (x+P8L)

132 Yes, I know the founders justified their illegal acts by saying their rights were violated but I don't see that as any different as homosexual activists claiming their rights are violated. Read Sydney George Fisher's True history of the American Revolution (1902). There was an enormous amount of precedent for parliamentary interference.

Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 10:51 AM (5QauV)

133 "Dune novels are some of the most loved Sci-Fi by conservative nerds."

I loved Dune. Until I learned Arabic and about Islam and Arab culture and Middle Eastern history...

A desert land full of nomads that is exploited by foreign powers for a resource necessary to make long-distance travel possible, led to victory by a religious prophet protected by 'Fedaykin' (read, "fedayin")? Huh. Where have I heard that before? Even the young mystic sister Alia isn't far from Aisha.

I also never could figure out how, if spice is necessary for all interstellar travel, how it was ever discovered in the first place. Can't get from Earth to Arrakis without interstellar travel, which is impossible without having discovered Arrakis, right?

It was like my enjoyment of Shadowrun collapsed after reading Neuromancer.

Posted by: Df82 at February 15, 2015 10:52 AM (79mxQ)

134 And, CJ, none of the freedoms enumerated in the Declaration or the Constitution were proclaimed out of thin air. They mostly had their origins in English Common law, like the Magna Carta and various other statutes that had been passed by English kings going back to Alfred the Great and even before then.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at February 15, 2015 10:48 AM (ThxKk)

Exactly. The idea of inalienable rights came about not by philosophically jerking off, but by recognizing the rights they already had and were considered sacred.

The Magna Charta will be turning 800 this year. It's most fundamental idea was that government was limited in power and that there were some things it could not infringe upon.

Perhaps we need a new Magna Charta for this day and age...

Posted by: The Barons' Hats at February 15, 2015 10:52 AM (0Ew3K)

135 I see nothing "conservative" about overthrowing the lawful government in
a violent revolutions and proclaiming certain freedoms out of thin air.
Sorry. The founders were the hard left of their times. Yes of course
today's leftists criticize the founders but only because they didn't go
far enough, not because they went too far.

The hard left of their day were in the Salon's of Paris, the American Revolution was a revolt based on the usurpation of traditional rights.

Posted by: Jean at February 15, 2015 10:53 AM (ztOda)

136 CJ, you are right, Thomas Jefferson was a racist-slave holding-homophobe who could have wrote the Communist Manifesto if he'd been so inclined.

Posted by: King George III at February 15, 2015 10:54 AM (Moh0M)

137 @91: What is this absurd babble?

Belief that rights are inherent, granted by God and not by the State = modern conservatism/revolutionaries. See also: preference for local government.

Belief that the State (especially centralized State) is paramount and decides what is and is not good for you = modern liberals/loyalists.

Are you a troll?

Posted by: Df82 at February 15, 2015 10:54 AM (79mxQ)

138 "Certain freedoms out of thin air...'

Our Natural Rights come from the Creator what naturally endowed us with 'em, you gratingly obvious dumkopf. These days though, our Constitutionally enumerated Freedoms certainly seem to be composed of thin air. Apparently.

Oh look, there's two grooms on that cake the baker was forced to make by the government.

But this thread is about books. Go read O'Reilly's 'Killing Patton'. It's historical an' shit.

Posted by: Peter Cushing, Vampyre Slayer at February 15, 2015 10:55 AM (eTY+n)

139 This is almost a novella, from Brietbart:
Report from Valhalla on the War of Fourteen Centuries

http://tinyurl.com/nblpr38

Excellent read.

Posted by: jwb7605 at February 15, 2015 10:55 AM (ZALPg)

140 Yes, I know the founders justified their illegal acts by saying their rights were violated but I don't see that as any different as homosexual activists claiming their rights are violated. Read Sydney George Fisher's True history of the American Revolution (1902). There was an enormous amount of precedent for parliamentary interference.

Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 10:51 AM (5QauV)

They were actual rights that they exercised. It was the British Parliament that tried to change that.

Again, read Edmund Burke on the subject.

Heck, I also suggest reading the 1765 Declaration of Rights and the 1774 Declaration of Rights.

Posted by: The Tri-cornered Hat at February 15, 2015 10:55 AM (0Ew3K)

141 133
The sand worms are cool though. Could use a couple of those guys roaming the Middle East right about now.

Posted by: Tuna at February 15, 2015 10:56 AM (JSovD)

142 Are you a troll?

Posted by: Df82 at February 15, 2015 10:54 AM (79mxQ)

That was a rhetorical question, right?

Posted by: HH at February 15, 2015 10:56 AM (Ce4DF)

143 @111 that's not how it works. They skim til offended

How true, and that's the great overlooked strength of Atlas Shrugged. It is 1012 pages long in some printings, so they have to do a lot of skimming. 99 of 100 anit-Randians have no substantial criticism to make, just "It didn't hold my interest." Brilliant, underappreciated strategy.

They never admit to not finishing Kapital, though. Most couldn't wade through the short-catechism of the Manifesto.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2015 10:56 AM (xq1UY)

144 Read Sydney George Fisher's True history of the American Revolution
(1902). There was an enormous amount of precedent for parliamentary
interference.

Available on Kindle for 99 cents, by the way.

Here's a 2-star review which may contain pertinent information:

This is a dull as dishwater text, although it contains many usually ignored facts about the genesis of the revolution. However, once you've struggled through a third or so of the book you realize this is all the opinion of the author with very little supportive documentation. Interesting reading, if dull beyond belief, but leaves you wondering how much is true and how much is the authors opinion 125 years after the fact. Spends far, far too much time expounding on the authors viewpoints and not enough on verifiable facts.

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 15, 2015 10:56 AM (qefuX)

145 125 Left vs right is a poor way to view the American revolution.
The revolutionaries were not commies.
Viewed as authoritarian/statist versus liberal/libertarian it makes more sense. Or simply put, big government vs small government.

Posted by: @votermom at February 15, 2015 10:46 AM (cbfNE)

Yep. Or the individual vs. the state.

Left vs. right is an especially bad way to characterize American politics, of course, because it derives originally from the French Revolution and their National Assembly, and refers to positions on issues that have no relevance here today (e.g., clericalism and views toward monarchy).

Posted by: Jay Guevara at February 15, 2015 10:56 AM (oKE6c)

146 Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 10:51 AM (5QauV)

You're not listening. Parliament and the king passed laws with the consent of the people, then turned around and broke them. There was nothing illegal or dishonorable about demanding satisfaction from a government that broke a contract and betrayed it's peoples' trust.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at February 15, 2015 10:57 AM (ThxKk)

147 "Yes, I know the founders justified their illegal acts by saying their
rights were violated but I don't see that as any different as homosexual
activists claiming their rights are violated."

Wow, really? So punitive taxes, exclusion from representation, bans on trade, seizure of private property, and forced quartering of soldiers in people's private homes weren't violations of rights?

Piss off. You're either a troll or too ignorant to honestly discuss the topic you deliberately and conspicuously brought up.

Posted by: Df82 at February 15, 2015 10:59 AM (79mxQ)

148 Or read the works of loyalist Joseph Galloway. He documented how the republican faction in the colonies constantly attempted to subvert the British constitution.

Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 10:59 AM (5QauV)

149 I also never could figure out how, if spice is necessary for all interstellar travel, how it was ever discovered in the first place. Can't get from Earth to Arrakis without interstellar travel, which is impossible without having discovered Arrakis, right?

Posted by: Df82 at February 15, 2015 10:52 AM (79mxQ)

Melange was used by Guild Navigators to enhance themselves to the point where they could fold space. This used to be done by robots and thinking machines until the Butlarian Jihad, but became dangerous afterwards -- the spice just made is safe and reliable. Humanity in the Dune universe did fragment.

Posted by: St. Alia of the Knife at February 15, 2015 10:59 AM (0Ew3K)

150 A few chapters into a biography of Ben Franklin, by Walter Isaacson. So far, so good, same old stories of Ben's early years, but with a few details new to me.

Posted by: Lincolntf at February 15, 2015 11:00 AM (2cS/G)

151 "That was a rhetorical question, right?"

Wasn't at first. I'm not here often enough to know if a CJ is a regular or not.

Posted by: Df82 at February 15, 2015 11:01 AM (79mxQ)

152 69
Never read any of the "Flashman" novels but they sound like fun. Anyone
here read at least the first one? What do you think? Usually I just get a
copy from the used book store but the two in town rarely have any of
the series and the damn library doesn't have the first book.
------------------------------
I can recommend the Flashman series in its entirety, having read the first seven or so volumes back in the Nineties and been a fan ever since. The author George MacDonald Fraser enjoyed pulling the prim and proper and PC Brit establishment with a fictional memoir of an Victorian adventurer in a most tongue in cheek fashion. Taken up as a whim in deciding to make a story starring harry Flashman, the villain of a treacly school novel, Fraser hit pay dirt and over the years churned out novel after novel between his screenwriting jobs.

The first volume "Flashman" is available online with only a little searching, but it is hit-and-miss in walk-in stores. It is mandatory reading, as it establishes Flashy as a character, his youth after getting tossed from Eton in "Tom Brown's School Days", his entry into the Queen's Service, and his inaugural adventure in the First Afghan War.

A word of warning, like "Huckleberry Finn" the Flashman books purposefully tread heavily upon the corns of historical and political correctness. Harry Flashman has all the smug self-superiority of a British gentleman of Victorian times, the same attitude that Shaw went after with a vengeance. However, that makes the series sinfully good reading right now, and watching Flashman get into and out of trouble by the skin of his....teeth....means few dull passages. (Given old Flashy's shameless pursuit of every type of woman in and out of the Empire, I can never think of the Victorian Age as being repressed again. I swear, he makes James Bond look undersexed. OK, there were a few repressed types but Flashman didn't like them either.) The books are stuffed with historical references and actual Victorian personalities, to the point that Fraser gives footnotes so you won't think he made it up.

Posted by: exdem13 at February 15, 2015 11:01 AM (/mTq0)

153 "Melange was used by Guild Navigators to enhance themselves to the point
where they could fold space. This used to be done by robots and
thinking machines"

That makes sense. Was this spelled out anywhere? I don't remember that explanation in the original. But then, I haven't read it about fifteen years.

Posted by: Df82 at February 15, 2015 11:03 AM (79mxQ)

154 Greetings"

What, no "50 Shades of Gay" ???

Posted by: 11B40 at February 15, 2015 11:04 AM (yMbU8)

155 Another tired old plug for Franklin's autobiography, plugged yesterday by an avid reader here. Great example of us not understanding 18th century plain English. He mercilessly mocks himself (and the foibles of others) and his own manipulation of his public image, in a way only an 18th century wit could.

Once you get into the swing of the thing, it is unrelentingly hilarious. What a card.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2015 11:07 AM (xq1UY)

156 Dune is pretty obviously based on our Middle East & Islam.
Spice = oil
Muad'dib = Mahdi

Posted by: @votermom at February 15, 2015 11:07 AM (pq0QP)

157 Listening to "The Panic Virus" by Seth Mnookin. It should be better than it is. The MMR vaccine panic was George Bush's fault, of course. Apparently he said something about knowing something with your heart is better than knowing with your head, which is bullshit, but Mnookin merely demonstrates his cultural illiteracy because that sort of "thinking" can be laid at the feet of Oprah and Phil Donohue. And then I think he blamed some issues with the polio vaccine - one early manufacturer sent out a bunch of contaminated batches - on Eisenhower.

The lengths to which these MSM dipshits will go to blame Republicans for EVERYTHING still surprises me. Only a little bit, but Bush and the MMR vaccine??? Oy.

Posted by: Tonestaple at February 15, 2015 11:07 AM (4muK/)

158 50 Shades of Cray-Cray, yo.

I mean, maybe it does serve a useful purpose: If the lady you're interested in loves it in either form, treat that as the sign to steer clear.

I hate Zombie America. So I'm about to start Under A Graveyard Sky, the first of John Ringo's zombie apocalypse books (and I'm told an excellent corrective to World War Z).

Posted by: Brother Cavil, by the Pale Moon light at February 15, 2015 11:09 AM (m9V0o)

159 Am re-reading The Sands of Dunkirk. It seems so unreal from the safety and comfort of my bed.

Posted by: Count de Monet at February 15, 2015 11:10 AM (JO9+V)

160 Fifty Shades of Gay is available at Amazon for 2.99. A single 2-star review by someone complaining it isn't as realistic as the original. HAH!

Posted by: Df82 at February 15, 2015 11:10 AM (79mxQ)

161 He figured meat and booze were expensive and that it was impossible to get rich by eating and drinking your money.

Sacrilege !1!1! I use to love ol' Ben! He's dead to me...DEAD!

Posted by: Paladin at February 15, 2015 11:10 AM (Os2jE)

162 Midway still has Nobel 2 3/4" 9-pellet 12 gauge cases of 250 for $80. It doesn't pattern well at extended ranges - so it's fine for your home defense 870 or the like. Very handy for dealing with evil Galactic Governors, Harkonnens, and silky boys "unexpectedly" stopping by to tell me the Founders were actually communist worms just like him/her/it.

Posted by: Peter Cushing, Vampyre Slayer at February 15, 2015 11:10 AM (eTY+n)

163 There was nothing unusual about Englishmen rebelling against the Crown in defense of their rights.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living... at February 15, 2015 11:11 AM (MkQKr)

164 "Melange was used by Guild Navigators to enhance themselves to the point
where they could fold space. This used to be done by robots and
thinking machines"

That makes sense. Was this spelled out anywhere? I don't remember that explanation in the original. But then, I haven't read it about fifteen years.

Posted by: Df82 at February 15, 2015 11:03 AM (79mxQ)

In Dune and in the sequels + supporting info, IIRC

Posted by: St. Alia of the Knife at February 15, 2015 11:11 AM (0Ew3K)

165 Posted by: Tonestaple at February 15, 2015 10:31 AM (4muK/)

Absolutely. Especially since I've been reading a lot of Public Domain books and am seeing words that just don't get used all that much any more.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at February 15, 2015 11:12 AM (GDulk)

166 Most of the country is now okay with the imposition of a complete despotism.

Posted by: Jefferson Meh at February 15, 2015 11:13 AM (7TyuC)

167 OT, but WTH.

Along with this wonderful book thread, my Sunday mornings include the excellent interviews by Ginni Thomas (wife of SCOTUS justice) on the Daily Caller web site.

Highly recommended. Under one-half hour, with accompanying text with highlights. Better than any Sunday show.

Today's -- "Cruz -- Obama Doesn't Have The Courage To Call Out Radical Islam"

Posted by: doug at February 15, 2015 11:14 AM (yFA5I)

168 Thanks for the further comments about the Flashman series. I'm getting the first one today. Sounds like fun reading over a span of time, like the Patrick O'Brian books.

I read the first Dune books as they were published but only liked the first one. The second book just didn't satisfy and never went for the later ones. Probably just my attitude at the time.

Posted by: JTB at February 15, 2015 11:15 AM (FvdPb)

169 I am looking into opening a needlecraft store in the area ( the Hobby Lobby and Walmart in the same parking lot sort of make a "yarn" store redundant) and I want to have a Little Free Library or a Yellow Shelf as part of it. I looked on-line but couldn't find *anything* about Yellow Shelf. Is it just that casual of a thing, or did they run into the same problems Little Free Library is running into now?

At the very least, I want to have my fairly extensive personal library of needlework available for reference and project ideas, but having other books available to be borrowed or perhaps a "bring one, take one" basis would be even better.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at February 15, 2015 11:18 AM (GDulk)

170 BTW, if you have not read Associate Justice Clarence Thomas' autobiography "My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir," you are missing an outstanding book.

I read it because Rush Limbaugh sang its praises. He was right. Google for Rush's interview.

Posted by: doug at February 15, 2015 11:20 AM (yFA5I)

171 There is always The American Practical Navigator , read it with a stack of scratch paper and work your way thru the problems.

Posted by: Jean at February 15, 2015 11:22 AM (ztOda)

172 "
I am looking into opening a needlecraft store in the area..."

This triggered an idea. I wonder about the viability of a "lost arts" kind of store. Knitting, canning, gardening, mending and sewing, maintenance and repair, and all the kinds of stuff our parents never bothered to teach us that suddenly seem like good ideas.

Books along those lines have been cropping up since the late 2000s. Maybe there's a market for a brick and mortar location.

Posted by: Df82 at February 15, 2015 11:25 AM (79mxQ)

173 Moar Valentines Day Candy anyone? [urp]

Posted by: Count de Monet at February 15, 2015 11:25 AM (JO9+V)

174 Mentioned this on the thread a couple of weeks ago that had the Roald Dahl quote about vaccinations. I recently read "The Irregulars" about British intelligence ops in the U.S. during WWII. Overall, a very interesting book. Of course, the author, Jennett Conant, takes obligatory potshots at the conservatives of the time while lauding progressives. It didn't ruin my enjoyment of the book, but did induce some eye rolls. Conant is the wife of Steve Kroft (yes, THAT one), so I was not very sympathetic to her when he got busted.

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at February 15, 2015 11:26 AM (54JS6)

175 91
I genuinely don't understand why any conservative would support the
American Revolution. The loyalists were the true conservatives, they
were obedient to their lawful sovereign and offered constitutional
solutions to the problems of the day. It's extremely obvious that
liberals are the descendants of those who were Patriots (who were most
predominant in New England) while conservatives are descendants from the
1/3 who were loyalists (who were most predominant in the South and
Midwest).
---------------------------------
Look at CJ people, this is why we need to make every American child pass a history class. Somebody order him a copy of Rush Revere stat!

The Revolutionaries were definitely Conservatives in their views CJ. The Bill of Rights self-explaining contain all the necessary Amendments to correct the most frequent abuses by the Crown before the Revolution. The Patriots were upset that the Crown sought to use them as a revenue piggy bank while denying them the very English right of representation to approve said taxation and its intended purpose. The Crown also intended to make them pay for the bureaucrats who would tax them, and also arbitrarily limited industry and minting of money which would allow more people to afford the income to pay the tax. There was an excellent example of a British possession whose citizens had been cowed by heavy taxation and limiting laws: Ireland. The Colonies had no intention of watching their rights erode to that level, and the non-English residents were just as ready to join in since anything that benefited the English population benefited them too.

The French Revolution was the work of liberals, I will not deny it. Instead of standing up for individual freedoms and a limited government that would support the citizens' desires, the French brought in a collectivist totalitarian government that told the citizens what they should desire. The first American leader was George Washington, a proponent of limited government who duly tendered his resignation at the end of the War of Independence, and served only 2 terms as President. The first French troika of leaders were murdered or sent to the guillotine when they became unpopular, and the lack of leadership then paved the way for Bonaparte, who didn't have to run for office or let mere elections get in the way of his work, like all the liberal Frenchmen wanted.

Posted by: exdem13 at February 15, 2015 11:28 AM (/mTq0)

176 BTW, if you have not read Associate Justice Clarence Thomas' autobiography "My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir," you are missing an outstanding book.

Second this. Thomas' grandfather was a tough-as-nails hardcase. I can't imagine any kid ever giving him any backtalk. At least not more than once.

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 15, 2015 11:29 AM (qefuX)

177 150
A few chapters into a biography of Ben Franklin, by Walter Isaacson. So
far, so good, same old stories of Ben's early years, but with a few
details new to me.
---------------------
That's a good one, you will not be disappointed.

Posted by: exdem13 at February 15, 2015 11:30 AM (/mTq0)

178 The Crown also intended to make them pay for the bureaucrats who would tax them, and also arbitrarily limited industry

Good thing that could never happen today.

Posted by: rickl at February 15, 2015 11:30 AM (sdi6R)

179 >>Books along those lines have been cropping up since the late 2000s. Maybe there's a market for a brick and mortar location.

These skills are becoming popular again as part of "urban homesteading."

Posted by: Lizzy at February 15, 2015 11:30 AM (WvpaS)

180 I see that the troll, CJ, has flung his poo and run off. That's why I never refer to the various flavors of collectivists on the Left as "liberals." They aren't; those who espouse the primacy of the government over that of the individual are totalitarians.

That's also why I don't refer to myself as a conservative. In fact we are now in the counter-culture since we believe in the concept of individual liberty and self-worth.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at February 15, 2015 11:30 AM (8+0sF)

181 Posted by: Df82 at February 15, 2015 11:25 AM (79mxQ)

Hmm. There may well be a market for a "basics of ____" shop.

The shop I'm planning on would eventually offer things like soap making but it would be more of the "frou-frou" variety. I love the products of canning but my experience with canning is only assisting my mom 30 years ago.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at February 15, 2015 11:32 AM (GDulk)

182 what good does it do either the store or the author to include a review like that in an Amazon book listing?

Maybe they expect that you disrespect the reviewer enough to consider it an endorsement.

Posted by: Anderson Cooper's Rascal Scooter Brigade at February 15, 2015 11:33 AM (MbqmP)

183 >>>In the garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.

Read that a couple years ago and thought it was pretty interesting.

Posted by: Lea - Sorry make that Miss Leaette at February 15, 2015 11:33 AM (vmMMi)

184 172
"

I am looking into opening a needlecraft store in the area..."

This
triggered an idea. I wonder about the viability of a "lost arts" kind
of store. Knitting, canning, gardening, mending and sewing, maintenance
and repair, and all the kinds of stuff our parents never bothered to
teach us that suddenly seem like good ideas.

Books along those lines have been cropping up since the late 2000s. Maybe there's a market for a brick and mortar location.
----------------
The best thing about the prepper craze of the past decade has been the resurgence of interest and information in keeping basic self-sufficiency in the American consciousness. Cover all the basics, and you will survive. Otherwise you will freeze or starve even if the zombies don't eat you.

Posted by: exdem13 at February 15, 2015 11:33 AM (/mTq0)

185 180
I see that the troll, CJ, has flung his poo and run off. That's why I
never refer to the various flavors of collectivists on the Left as
"liberals." They aren't; those who espouse the primacy of the
government over that of the individual are totalitarians.

That's also why I don't refer to myself as a conservative. In fact
we are now in the counter-culture since we believe in the concept of
individual liberty and self-worth.
-----------------
He was 100% troll for mentioning Galloway, that sniveling son of passive conformity. But the wheel has turned full circle Retired Buckeye Cop, conservatives who believe in individual effort self-worth are the counter-culture again, as they were in 1775.

Posted by: exdem13 at February 15, 2015 11:36 AM (/mTq0)

186 "Cover all the basics, and you will survive."

Imagine a world without power, and what an old fashioned foot pedaled Singer Sewing Machine would be worth.

Posted by: HH at February 15, 2015 11:37 AM (Ce4DF)

187 Or read the works of loyalist Joseph Galloway. He documented how the republican faction in the colonies constantly attempted to subvert the British constitution.
Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 10:59 AM (5QauV)

The British constitution?

Posted by: Anderson Cooper's Rascal Scooter Brigade at February 15, 2015 11:38 AM (MbqmP)

188 I'm back. Brother from GA called and talked my ear off.

I finally broke down and got the first two of the Graveyard Sky series and it turned out to be nothing like I expected. I actually thought it was about zombies. Spoiler; its not. They were actually good. I am waiting now for the price to come down on the rest of them.

But one thing I have begun to suspect; John Ringo has a fetish for 13 year old girls.

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 11:38 AM (wlDny)

189 But you do at least agree that the loyalists were the Conservative party, right? You still haven't explained if the Revolution is conservative why the biggest enthusiasm for it was in liberal New England while the least enthusiasm was in the conservative south and middle.

Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 11:39 AM (5QauV)

190 Just noting that there were lots of references given for print sales increasing, but none at all for e-books staying level.
That claim was merely asserted, as if an increase in print sales implies a decline in ebook sales.
Which it doesn't.

Posted by: Luke at February 15, 2015 11:39 AM (cSnmo)

191 These skills are becoming popular again as part of "urban homesteading."
Posted by: Lizzy at February 15, 2015 11:30 AM (WvpaS)
------------

Yep. Of course a lot of those skills used to be taught as part of shop class and home ec in schools. My Girl Scout troop (yeah, yeah, I know) craves those kinds of activities. I recently had a mom lament that there were no sewing achievement badges. Anecdotally, I've heard that the SJW-in-training crap (which I avoid at all costs) tends to go over like a lead balloon.

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at February 15, 2015 11:39 AM (54JS6)

192 Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at February 15, 2015 11:32 AM (GDulk)

Such a place should probably take a bit of a shotgun approach, try to appeal to as many hobbies, arts, and trades as practicable. Basic home and auto repair and maintenance along with knitting doilies. Cooking, canning, brewing(!). Stuff that appeals to both sexes.

I might have a cooking station for lessons and practice (with a stack of liability waivers and no open flames). In my personal experience, a LOT of people enjoy cooking but are terrified of learning it themselves through trial and error after their first attempts come out as burnt gruel. Being able to offer samples to passersby would be cool.

*sigh* I have such ideas, but no time...

Posted by: Df82 at February 15, 2015 11:40 AM (79mxQ)

193 Why are we polluting the book thread arguing with a troll about shit he knows nothing about? Remember the old saying, you can not "reason" and ignoramus out of a belief that he never "reasoned" himself in to begin with.

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 11:40 AM (wlDny)

194 Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 11:39 AM (5QauV)

I still want to know more about this British constitution you've so heavily researched. Can I order a print copy of it?

Posted by: Anderson Cooper's Rascal Scooter Brigade at February 15, 2015 11:41 AM (MbqmP)

195 In the garden of Beasts by Erik Larson

-
That is good with a certain relevance to today.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at February 15, 2015 11:41 AM (LImiJ)

196 @189: Yeah. PURITAN New England was super liberal. So liberal they put you in jail if you lit a fire on the sabbath. Idiot.

Posted by: Df82 at February 15, 2015 11:42 AM (79mxQ)

197 Remember the old saying, you can not "reason" and ignoramus out of a belief that he never "reasoned" himself in to begin with.

-
Maybe we should coin a new saying, you can't reason with an Obama.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at February 15, 2015 11:43 AM (LImiJ)

198 "John Ringo has a fetish for 13 year old girls."

Who doesn't?

Posted by: Roman Polanski at February 15, 2015 11:43 AM (79mxQ)

199 "a LOT of people enjoy cooking but are terrified of learning it
themselves through trial and error after their first attempts come out
as burnt gruel."

*Raises hand*

I think you're onto something. Maybe look into it a little more. Just saying...

Posted by: HH at February 15, 2015 11:44 AM (Ce4DF)

200 liberal New England??? Back then? What an astonishing amount of stupid you have right there.

Posted by: freaked at February 15, 2015 11:46 AM (JdEZJ)

201 >>Yep. Of course a lot of those skills used to be taught as part of shop class and home ec in schools.

Yes, I loved Home EC! Of course it helped that my mom did all that stuff at home and taught us as well (but I could never knit or needlepoint well). My mom was an uber-Girl Scout - represented the US at a big GS confab in Switzerland back in the 50's (and she still has friends from it - visits one in Canada every few years). Useful skills.

Posted by: Lizzy at February 15, 2015 11:46 AM (WvpaS)

202 What nation is constituted by the British constitution?

Posted by: Anderson Cooper's Rascal Scooter Brigade at February 15, 2015 11:46 AM (MbqmP)

203
Yes, exactly, because if Conservatives love anything, they love living under the rule of a monarch from across a fucking ocean.

Posted by: Soothsayer And The Mysterious Zionist Plot at February 15, 2015 11:46 AM (N0SJE)

204 If you want some entertaining reading, read the wikipedia entry for Isaac Merritt Singer.

I think I'd pass on cooking and canning, due to possible liability issues.

Posted by: notsothoreau at February 15, 2015 11:47 AM (Lqy/e)

205 Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 11:39 AM (5QauV)

Since when was Revolutionary War New England a liberal place? It is now, but isn't wasn't that way 225 years ago.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at February 15, 2015 11:47 AM (ThxKk)

206 I go to Costco to get new hearing aids checked. Bad move. Sunday at Costco is a zoo. A multinational one at that.

How do some of these urban girls get butts that weight 200lbs? They can hardly walk to the next free food stand.

Posted by: Nip Sip at February 15, 2015 11:48 AM (0FSuD)

207 Yes, it is actually a fact that the Puritans spawned off today's liberals. Counterintuitive but completely true. The Puritans were the Marxists of their time.

Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 11:48 AM (5QauV)

208
Conservatives also love working and forking over their hard-earned cash over to a king on a fucking throne.

Posted by: Soothsayer And The Mysterious Zionist Plot at February 15, 2015 11:48 AM (N0SJE)

209 Been reading Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. Starting book 3, today.

Posted by: Garrett at February 15, 2015 11:48 AM (mn6ks)

210 eh anyway

demoldifying a pair of swiss army mountain boots

which is more entertaining than CJ

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 15, 2015 11:49 AM (Cq0oW)

211 And, FWIW, I love the idea of a prepper store/ school.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at February 15, 2015 11:49 AM (ThxKk)

212 You funny guy CJ.

Posted by: freaked at February 15, 2015 11:49 AM (JdEZJ)

213 But you do at least agree that the loyalists were
the Conservative party, right? You still haven't explained if the
Revolution is conservative why the biggest enthusiasm for it was in
liberal New England while the least enthusiasm was in the conservative
south and middle.
Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 11:39 AM (5QauV)

Naive, uninformed, uninterested, and historically inept is not way to go through life.
Your assignment in the AoS school is to now:
1) read anything written before 1900 about the Liberal North
2) read any of the Federalist papers
3) understand something, ANYTHING about the history of the term "Liberal" in American politics.

There is wrong, which is fixable, and then there is incoherent from absolute misreading and misinformation about history, word meanings, and basic misunderstanding of concepts.
Your question is so misinformed that no answer will even make sense to you, much less convey anything other than "blablabla-conservative bigotry-blablabla"

Here: Ralph Raico on Liberalism and classic liberalism and freedom and how it has changed. Be a hero, watch it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpigLtQdEC0

Posted by: Kindltot at February 15, 2015 11:50 AM (t//F+)

214

Posted by: Kindltot at February 15, 2015 11:50 AM (t//F+)

215
Shithead, did you know that corporations came over with the Mayflower? Even before that for Jamestown.

Puritans, and all the first settlers, were capitalists.

Posted by: Soothsayer And The Mysterious Zionist Plot at February 15, 2015 11:50 AM (N0SJE)

216 Here: Ralph Raico on Liberalism and classic liberalism and freedom and how it has changed. Be a hero, watch it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpigLtQdEC0

Posted by: Kindltot at February 15, 2015 11:50 AM (t//F+)

217 Yes New England was liberal even back then, remember they supported the big government Federalist Party.

Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 11:51 AM (5QauV)

218 Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 11:48 AM (5QauV)

Who was the first ruler/leader under the British constitution?

Come on, you can answer these simple questions just as easily as you can answer ones about the Constitution of the United States of America.

Posted by: Anderson Cooper's Rascal Scooter Brigade at February 15, 2015 11:51 AM (MbqmP)

219 i think it's all half-digested mencius moldbug puritans as socialists stuff. if it is, it's a misreading

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 15, 2015 11:52 AM (Cq0oW)

220 The troll CJ debates like this - If God is omnipotent, can he make a rock so big and heavy that he himself cannot pick it up? Gotcha, wingnutz! I have won the intertubes today. Mom! More mac-n-cheese!

Posted by: Count de Monet at February 15, 2015 11:52 AM (JO9+V)

221 185
He was 100% troll for mentioning Galloway, that sniveling son of passive conformity. But the wheel has turned full circle Retired Buckeye Cop, conservatives who believe in individual effort self-worth are the counter-culture again, as they were in 1775.

Posted by: exdem13 at February 15, 2015 11:36 AM (/mTq0)

It seems to me that the meanings of "conservative" and "liberal" have mutated over time. At one point a conservative was one who defended the traditional privileges of the hereditary aristocracy, while a liberal believed in individual liberty, including economic liberty, aka free-market capitalism.

At some point the definitions got turned around. Today's liberals are statists through and through, while the conservatives defend the free market.

Posted by: rickl at February 15, 2015 11:53 AM (sdi6R)

222 Puritans, and all the first settlers, were capitalists.

Posted by: Soothsayer And The Mysterious Zionist Plot at February 15, 2015 11:50 AM (N0SJE)

You're right but, fun fact: The Puritans and the Jamestown settlers both tried a form of communism/ collectivism at first. It failed miserably b/c everybody assumed that 'the other guy' was working hard enough to make up for the first guy's laziness. So they went back to capitalism. Rather telling, no?

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at February 15, 2015 11:53 AM (ThxKk)

223 I linked it yesterday, but here is Dave Barry's book review of "50 Shades of Grey":

https://tinyurl.com/p5akh4p

It's from a year ago, but still funny. (The page contains an autoplay video.)

Posted by: rickl at February 15, 2015 09:02 AM (sdi6R)

Thanks, Dave is a funny guy, and I was sorta wondering what the actual plot was. Assuming he was being truthful, the only thing that I was apparently wrong about in my own assumptions is that I figured the chick would end up being into the bondage nonsense.

Oh well. Here's the lesson ladies: your man, he's not perfect. If he's a super hot billionaire, he's got a kinky side. You'll have to decide if you can live with that or not. Such a major literary achievement, to spell that out for the dames like that.

Posted by: BurtTC at February 15, 2015 11:54 AM (Dj0WE)

224 Does CJ stand for a certain bike riding kiddie fiddler?

Posted by: Anderson Cooper's Rascal Scooter Brigade at February 15, 2015 11:54 AM (MbqmP)

225 Kindltot, you just dodged a trip to the barrel.

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 15, 2015 11:54 AM (qefuX)

226 Breaking news: CAIR says calling ISIS "Islamic savages" is hate speech. In completely unrelated news, ISIS threatens to burn a cage full of children. See WZ.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at February 15, 2015 11:54 AM (LImiJ)

227 Yes, I loved Home EC! Of course it helped that my mom did all that stuff at home and taught us as well (but I could never knit or needlepoint well). My mom was an uber-Girl Scout - represented the US at a big GS confab in Switzerland back in the 50's (and she still has friends from it - visits one in Canada every few years). Useful skills.
Posted by: Lizzy at February 15, 2015 11:46 AM (WvpaS)
-----------

If you don't mind my asking, what does she think about the direction GS has taken today?

And, to make a halfhearted effort to stay on topic, I do recommend the "Dangerous Books" for boys and girls. Lots of basic "lost arts" information for kids.

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at February 15, 2015 11:54 AM (54JS6)

228 "Ace In the Hole"

Hmm, "50 Shades of Ace"? Sounds super sexy.

Posted by: hmitchell3rd at February 15, 2015 11:54 AM (m5msJ)

229 I buy used books..., can't recall when I last paid $10.00 for anything.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at February 15, 2015 09:01 AM (vPh3W)

Same here. And to go off-topic, that earthquake story on the sidebar annoys me. The geologists quoted in that BS didn't do any "studies" as far as I can see, beyond perhaps a literature review. All they are doing is rendering a professional opinion, tailored to the demands of the client, who is seeking sensation, right?

As a non-professional geologist (although I could get my P. Geol. standing here if I jumped through the hoops) my opinion is that such earthquakes are either unrelated to petroleum extraction at all, or else are due to deep-well injection of waste water, and if anything, will lessen the future probability of the "big one", should there be one lurking. A series of small, harmless quakes may well bleed off enough stress from the rock body in question to prevent it fracturing wholesale in such a way as to create a giant quake. There was actually discussion by seismologists in years gone by of deliberately injecting water into known killer faults, like the San Andreas, in order to lube them up, and allow for motion in a series of small quakes instead of one big every so often. Of course that proposal died, because, lawyers.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 15, 2015 11:55 AM (pcRkV)

230 Our Republic is like a computer heavily infected with viruses and malware.

The IT guy is going to give up pretty soon.

Posted by: eman at February 15, 2015 11:56 AM (MQEz6)

231 The thing's hollow... it goes on forever... and... oh my God!... it's full of stupid!

Posted by: David Bowman at February 15, 2015 11:56 AM (eTY+n)

232 206
They sit on them all day.

Posted by: Tuna at February 15, 2015 11:56 AM (JSovD)

233 Hmm, "50 Shades of Ace"? Sounds super sexy.

Posted by: hmitchell3rd at February 15, 2015 11:54 AM (m5msJ)

50 Shades of Ewok? Interesting thought, but I think I'll pass.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at February 15, 2015 11:56 AM (ThxKk)

234 they supported the big government Federalist Party.
Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 11:51 AM (5QauV)

Says the guy who's never even read the Federalist Papers to have any clue what the Federalists were trying to accomplish, or what their stances were on governments large & small.

C'mon, Chuck, let's get back to discussing the British constitution!

Posted by: Anderson Cooper's Rascal Scooter Brigade at February 15, 2015 11:57 AM (MbqmP)

235 50 Shades of Fur - An Ewok's Tale?

Posted by: Count de Monet at February 15, 2015 11:57 AM (JO9+V)

236 the dangerous books are great

I'm going to take my son on a trip through those and Caveman Chemistry - about a kind of primitive organic chem up to simple gunpowder - when he's old enough

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 15, 2015 11:57 AM (Cq0oW)

237 My guess is that this C[arshe]J[hnonos] character knows every bit as much about the American Revolution as he does about the British constitution.

Posted by: Anderson Cooper's Rascal Scooter Brigade at February 15, 2015 11:59 AM (MbqmP)

238 78
I
still made more than a legacy contract would have given me last year.

Glad to hear it.

Posted by: Anachronda at February 15, 2015 11:59 AM (o78gS)

239 Is the trip to the barrel what I think it means?

Posted by: King George III at February 15, 2015 12:00 PM (Moh0M)

240 OK scrubbed with isopropyl alcohol and now soaked in a bleach solution

time to dry then saddle soap

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 15, 2015 12:01 PM (Cq0oW)

241 They didn't call it The New Deal because it was a Constitutional Republic with sprinkles on it.

They called it The New Deal because it wasn't a Constitutional Republic anymore.

Since then we have witnessed the zombification process.

Posted by: eman at February 15, 2015 12:02 PM (MQEz6)

242 50 Shades of Ewok? Interesting thought, but I think I'll pass.

Conjures up images/smells of body hair, exposed crack in pants, mild body odor and flatulence, perhaps a small nipple piercing.

The decadence and whimsy of our times.

Posted by: hmitchell3rd at February 15, 2015 12:02 PM (m5msJ)

243 What do you think of this taxation with representation?
You silly people seem to do all the same things to yourselves you complained about.

Posted by: An Englishman at February 15, 2015 12:03 PM (WNERA)

244 There was an unwritten British constitution in the 18yh century that was widely accepted as being a mixture of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy. This is in standard history books. By setting up a pure republic the founders were destroying the constitution.

Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 12:03 PM (5QauV)

245 Let's not be ragging on our Yankee friends. They did the first "tea party", they rioted against the king, many killed and they started the revolution.

I blame MA down fall on the Irish immigrants and Black migration from the South.

Seriously.

Posted by: Nip Sip at February 15, 2015 12:03 PM (0FSuD)

246 Those pictures were the results of Iodine
deficiency, which was eliminated in the USA when we started adding
iodine to salt. FDR had nothing to do with it. It started in the early
1900s.

http://tinyurl.com/yc3htoa

Posted by: Nip Sip at February 15, 2015 09:39 AM (0FSuD)

Bloated bellies? That is a classic indicator of kwashiokor, which is chronic protein deficiency; see pictures of starving kids in Biafra. Goiter caused by iodine deficiency would manifest as a bulge in the neck.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 15, 2015 12:05 PM (pcRkV)

247 I'm waiting for Martha Stewart's autobiography: Fifty Shades of Gravy.

Posted by: vivi at February 15, 2015 12:05 PM (/Zsgn)

248 Oh shit. SNOW in the South. Time to go get some bread and milk!!

Hammer you ready for snowmageton? Costco was even selling snow shovels and a lot of them.

Posted by: Nip Sip at February 15, 2015 12:06 PM (0FSuD)

249 Oh it just got better. For certain values of better = vapidness.

Posted by: Count de Monet at February 15, 2015 12:06 PM (JO9+V)

250 243 What do you think of this taxation with representation?
You silly people seem to do all the same things to yourselves you complained about.
Posted by: An Englishman at February 15, 2015 12:03 PM (WNERA)

Slogan for our times: "No representation without taxation".

It's obscene that people who pay no tax (including getting "refunds" because they're poor) get to have a say in how taxpayers' money is spent.

Posted by: rickl at February 15, 2015 12:07 PM (sdi6R)

251 The problem with the Federalists was that they expected government to be run by honorable men with a sense of duty.

Without the Federalists we would not have had the ability to enter the world economy with any facility. We would have been reliant on foreign currency and like 17th century England, would have been weaker for it.

Posted by: Garrett at February 15, 2015 12:07 PM (mn6ks)

252 Remember everybody must do their part to halt "Global Warming". This is the most serious that to our existence right now.

Posted by: Mary Clogginstien from Brattleboro,VT at February 15, 2015 12:07 PM (D5iCY)

253 Fifty Shades of Gravy.

-
Michael Moore is first in line.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at February 15, 2015 12:07 PM (LImiJ)

254 Re: Preppers

The counties in my area of Virginia had "Survivor Day" classes for about 6 hours on a Saturday. Free. Lots of great ideas for beginning preppers. Practical stuff for storms, etc. Useful freebie handouts. Usually a couple of times a year. Don't know if it national, but worthwhile if you can go.

One booth at Survivor Day was for the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). This is more advanced and takes six or eight Saturdays for a basic certification. Free. This is a national program and prepares people to assist their families, co-workers, neighbors and (optionally) their communities in the event of serious emergencies. First aid, triage, CPR, etc. Optional online FEMA classes for more advance levels of certification. I did both and highly recommend them. Volunteers can also assist at community events.

Finally, the local radio amateurs had a booth at Survivor Day. They explained how they can help with emergency communication when phones/internet are down. Basic handheld radio costs less than $40 from Amazon. Great for personal preparedness, as well as optionally networking with other "hams" to help community. Of course you need a license, but the basic license is inexpensive ($15 test) and relatively easy to study for. I did it from a book ($25 on Amazon) without taking a class. Amateur radio clubs offer classes.

Posted by: doug at February 15, 2015 12:08 PM (yFA5I)

255 CJ, the views of those who actually fought in the American Revolution were recorded as "we'd always governed ourselves, and we meant to keep doing so".
It doesn't get more conservative than that.

Posted by: Luke at February 15, 2015 12:08 PM (cSnmo)

256 There was an unwritten British constitution in the 18yh century that was widely accepted as being a mixture of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy. This is in standard history books. By setting up a pure republic the founders were destroying the constitution.
Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 12:03 PM (5QauV)

So it's a constitution, but it's unwritten? Wow, that's deep. Does it still apply to only Britian? Or does it also cover England & Wessex?

Posted by: Anderson Cooper's Rascal Scooter Brigade at February 15, 2015 12:10 PM (MbqmP)

257 Pajama Boy: 50 Shades of Ghey

Barack Obama: 50 Shades of Macrame.

Posted by: hmitchell3rd at February 15, 2015 12:10 PM (m5msJ)

258 Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 12:03 PM (5QauV)

I can't afford to replace stupid meters like they are paper cups, you know.

Posted by: eman at February 15, 2015 12:10 PM (MQEz6)

259 Obama plays golf in CA with his hooker procuring friend Bobby Titcomb. Titcomb was arrested in HI for procuring hooks.

He played several rounds on the nine-hole course with Bobby Titcomb and
Greg Orme, childhood friends from Hawaii who flew in to meet the
president.

Posted by: Nip Sip at February 15, 2015 12:10 PM (0FSuD)

260 If you want true raunchy schlock produced on a schedule, there is Carlton Mellick III.

Such intriguing titles as The Haunted Vagina, I Knocked Up Satan's Daughter, Apeshit, ClownFellas, and Adolph in Wonderland.
http://tinyurl.com/n8kd65b

*thud*

No, not read any of them. Nor plan to.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 15, 2015 12:10 PM (nZNJN)

261 I'm waiting for Martha Stewart's autobiography: Fifty Shades of Gravy.

Posted by: vivi at February 15, 2015 12:05 PM (/Zsgn)

Sort of like Paula Dean's Fifty Shades of ...PAULA, YOU CAN'T SAY THAT, YOU ARE THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD!!

Posted by: BurtTC at February 15, 2015 12:11 PM (Dj0WE)

262 Isn't it about time for some guns?

Posted by: Nip Sip at February 15, 2015 12:11 PM (0FSuD)

263 It may be quasi-prepper, simple curiosity and part self reliance, but I'm learning to knit, crochet and do needlework. Considering I'm bigger than many NFL linemen, it looks a trifle odd but I'm old enough not to give a damn. (Can you say Rosie Greer?)

We have a treadle sewing machine that Mrs. JTB brought to the marriage. It still works and has a ton of accessories that came with it. Family legend says it was used to sew uniforms during the Spanish-American War. It is certainly old enough. It would be its own hobby to learn to use it.

Don't know if there is sufficient interest to support a brick and mortar store like Polliwog mentioned but there seems to be growing enthusiasm for these 'lost' arts.

Posted by: JTB at February 15, 2015 12:11 PM (FvdPb)

264 Women would really truly buy this:

Fifty Shades of Gronk.

Posted by: BurtTC at February 15, 2015 12:12 PM (Dj0WE)

265 How did "we always govern ourselves" when we had Parliamentary statutes (long before the Stamp Act), appointed governors and appointed upper houses?

Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 12:12 PM (5QauV)

266 Posted by: doug at February 15, 2015 12:08 PM (yFA5I)

Hmm. Nothing like that in my area that I'm aware of, but need to keep a lookout. Sounds pretty cool.

Posted by: HH at February 15, 2015 12:13 PM (Ce4DF)

267 50 Shades of Tranny

50 Shades of LGBT(. . .etc. etc.)

50 Shades of Neuter: Sex is a Social Construct

Posted by: hmitchell3rd at February 15, 2015 12:14 PM (m5msJ)

268 "unwritten British constitution"

Oxymoron. No such thing. This is garbage the British have been repeating since forever to try to paper over the fact that they have no rights. Right to free speech? Bullshit. They'll throw you in prison for quoting the writings of Winston Churchill in public because it's Islamophobic, or if you say something impolite because it's "antisocial behavior." Right to bear arms? Bullshit. Obviously. Freedom of worship? Bullshit. State religion of Britain is watered-down Anglicanism, closely followed by Islam. If your religions espouses things like defense of traditional western morality, you can expect visits from undercover British police. Right to privacy? Say hello to the GCHQ and London, the most heavily recorded, cctv location on earth. Right to due process? Bullshit. If the authorities think you've violated the State Secrets Act, you do not pass Go on your way to jail.

Not even mentioning all the punitive crap they did to the colonies.

The Founding Fathers wrote such shit down on paper for a reason.

Posted by: Df82 at February 15, 2015 12:14 PM (79mxQ)

269 CJ if thou art such a Tory, then high thee self back to the shores of yon NHS UK.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 15, 2015 12:16 PM (Y3hcZ)

270 For 69 (JTB) "Never read any of the "Flashman" novels but they sound like fun. Anyone here read at least the first one? What do you think?"

I read most of them quite a few years ago. Every one is a winner! Very funny and couldn't be more engaging. The historical background is also said to be very accurate. They are worth every penny even if you buy them new in dead tree form. You won't be disappointed.

Posted by: Taken Aback at February 15, 2015 12:16 PM (vLKgi)

271 NOOD open thread

Posted by: Y-not at February 15, 2015 12:17 PM (9BRsg)

272 nood

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 12:20 PM (wlDny)

273 Sounds like OregonMuse is almost as unhappy with Android as I am. A phone running Ubuntu (from the factory) went on sale this week. A better phone (Meizu MX4) is expected to hit the market in a few weeks.

Posted by: SpongeBobSaget at February 15, 2015 12:21 PM (zauWW)

274 Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 15, 2015 12:10 PM (nZNJN)
---
Come clean, Anna: you ARE Carlton Mellick III.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at February 15, 2015 12:21 PM (KH1sk)

275 263
It may be quasi-prepper, simple curiosity and part self reliance, but I'm learning to knit, crochet and do needlework

I've been taking basic knitting, sewing, and crochet classes at a local craft store as well. In my case, it's primarily simple curiosity. Mom tried to teach me some of this stuff when I was a young'un, but I wasn't paying attention back then.

Sadly, the local craft store doesn't teach sewing by hand; only by machine.

So far, I've been the only person of the feminally-challenged flavor in any of the classes.

Posted by: Anachronda at February 15, 2015 12:22 PM (o78gS)

276 The last remnants of the old Republic swept away. Are we talking the old German Weirmar Republic, socialist/muslim friendly or the Old Republic called America now overly socialist-muslim friendly and hostile to its own people ?

Posted by: ron n. at February 15, 2015 12:22 PM (YVQn/)

277 All Hail Eris, oh heck no. I just wish I could produce stories like he obviously does. Four a year, geez!

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 15, 2015 12:23 PM (Y3hcZ)

278 How did "we always govern ourselves" when we had Parliamentary statutes (long before the Stamp Act), appointed governors and appointed upper houses?
Posted by: CJ at February 15, 2015 12:12 PM (5QauV)

Oh, look! The British constitutional scholar weighs in with a non-answer. Guess what? You're still stupid!

Posted by: Anderson Cooper's Rascal Scooter Brigade at February 15, 2015 12:23 PM (MbqmP)

279 Delurking to remind readers here that the UK does not have a 'constitution' if there is any question of US revolutionary thought.

Magna Carta was the last attempt to define what the nobles owed to the king (although I think Simon deMontfort tried before he was executed as a traitor).

Even today, there is no defined 'constitution' in the UK.

Posted by: mustbequantuum at February 15, 2015 12:23 PM (MIKMs)

280 85
I have often wondered if professors get some kind of kickback for
forcing students to buy "new" editions instead of almost new used books.

That's exactly what I meant by "college textbook racket".
You have to pay > $100 for Professor Blabsalot's 'History of the
Widget' and it absolutely has to be the 3rd revision of the 2nd
edition, it cannot be, must not be the 2nd revision, which is on sale
for much cheaper. Like you, I've long suspected that there's a lot of
collusion going on between college profs and the textbook publishers.

If that exists, then I must have missed it in the Ph.D. classes I took. So, no there isn't any kind of money transfer/collusion that goes between publishers and college professors. One of the textbook reps that came through last week did give out candy bars to everyone since it was before Valentine's Day. The one exception being those professors that wrote the book obviously. Most of the profs I know do not try to pick the highest priced book out there. I made the bookstore order the 2014 edition of the book I am using this semester instead of the 2015 edition; they were not really thrilled, but it is my class and I am the only one teaching the class so it is my decision. Sometimes there are major differences in editions; sometimes not. I teach social media and e-commerce so usually there is a lot of difference between the editions due to changes in the Internet and technology. I do warn students about International editions of books- many students have ordered them since they are cheap and have been shocked that they show up in another language than English.

Posted by: Charlotte at February 15, 2015 12:31 PM (eZQEL)

281 But one thing I have begun to suspect; John Ringo has a fetish for 13 year old girls.

Dood,

IIRC he's got a couple of daughters himself he takes shooting.

Posted by: DaveA at February 15, 2015 12:31 PM (DL2i+)

282 @266 - hh
>Hmm. Nothing like that in my area that I'm aware of, but need to keep a lookout. Sounds pretty cool.

"Survivor's Day" may be regional. CERT is national, as are the radio amateurs.

Best way to find out about CERT is to contact your local Fire & EMS people. Our county has a designated officer who is the liaison between CERT and Fire & EMS. CERT classes were taught by a mixture of CERT and Fire people, using FEMA material. Excellent.

Otherwise, contact your state's EMS people via the FEMA link site. http://1.usa.gov/1L0cH2k

Alternatively, google CERT and [your state]

Same with getting started in amateur radio -- google amateur radio [your city] or try http://bit.ly/JQZuQw

Posted by: doug at February 15, 2015 12:44 PM (yFA5I)

283 #38: Oh, wow, that female Thor is repulsive. Should I feel bad that I was sort of rooting for Absorbing Man and Titania while reading those? But then Titania went all Ya-Ya Sisterhood on me. "Oh, no, I'm not here to fight; I'm surrendering to you because I really empathize with everything you've gone through as a woman."

And then Thorette hits Titania anyway. Aren't the ones who pump out this feminist drivel the same sort of people who scrutinize everything any cop does, ever, for things that could be twisted into a case of police brutality? Well, here Thorette has committed a clear-cut example of that very thing: she hit a perp who wasn't resisting in any way.

Posted by: Prothonotary Warbler at February 15, 2015 12:46 PM (5pg79)

284 Re: Ubuntu phone

Wired has a review. Remember, there are essentially no apps, which has been the issue with Windows phone, BlackBerry, and Tizen. Great hw/sw with no apps does not really equal a smartphone.

From a *former* Ubuntu Linux user. To my mind, their reach has always exceeded their grasp. I switched to a different Linux.

Posted by: doug at February 15, 2015 12:50 PM (yFA5I)

285 You do know what CERT and all used to be called - Civil Defense.

http://www.ufunk.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/selection-du-weekend-127-70.jpg

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 15, 2015 12:52 PM (Y3hcZ)

286 Sadly, the local craft store doesn't teach sewing by hand; only by machine.

--

I only know how to stitch by hand. I have a sewing machine but get a mental block about using it.
My mom had a Singer sewing machine with a treadle. I liked watching her use it.

Posted by: @votermom at February 15, 2015 01:00 PM (zVYEC)

287 I bought hardcovers as gifts this Christmas, Mark Steyn, and the box set of Lev Grossman's Magicians series, Lee Child.

I buy books to read on the Kindle, and if I really, really like them, I'll buy them in paper, too.

That reminds me... haven't bought anything from the Steyn Store in a while... I have all the books...maybe a mug this time.

Posted by: Dollar Store Sock at February 15, 2015 01:00 PM (KqgTG)

288 @285 LOL

I just got a note that local CERT was seeking volunteers for warming shelters because of power outages and bitter cold in the area. Purely voluntary.

Lots of emphasis on personal/family/neighborhood preparedness. The community stuff is optional.

Posted by: doug at February 15, 2015 01:01 PM (yFA5I)

289 Damn you people and your well-meaning book recommendations. Now I have to decide between eating and reading this week since most of your recommendations are not available through my local library!

Posted by: Rana at February 15, 2015 01:19 PM (uFm1t)

290 The Cheese Stands Alone

Posted by: Zakn at February 15, 2015 01:32 PM (Bvf82)

291 >Yeah I read Lone Survivor after I saw the movie. As a matter of fact, way back when, I read The Godfather after I saw the movie.

Way back when, I read The Hunt for Red October after I saw the movie. Ended up reading the rest of the Ryanverse novels (and some of Tom Clancy's other stuff in addition) before the other movies were released.

The least-faithful adaptation of them by far, of course, is The Sum of All Fears. That one also suffered from casting Ben Affleck as Jack Ryan (yeah, right!)...the less said about that, the better.

Posted by: salfter at February 15, 2015 01:59 PM (TXsAk)

292 The least-faithful adaptation of them by far, of
course, is The Sum of All Fears. That one also suffered from casting
Ben Affleck as Jack Ryan (yeah, right!)...the less said about that, the
better.

Posted by: salfter at February 15, 2015 01:59 PM (TXsAk)

It suffered from a lot more than Ben Affleck. The movie bore no resemblance to the book at all. The title was the only thing that was the same. It was butchered for PC reasons after 911 so we would not offend any sensitive muzzie assholes. As a result the movie sucked ass big time.

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 02:05 PM (wlDny)

293 @291 I did the same thing. Hunt for Red October was the first time I'd ever seen a movie and then go read the book.... and the book was SO much better, it hooked me on the series... I liked Hunt so much, I sought out a nice HC version of it . ( I just check.... wow... that book came out 31 years ago!)... well... I stopped reading Clancy at Sum of All Fears... but back in the day.. good stuff.

Posted by: Yip at February 15, 2015 02:09 PM (84SRe)

294 [106] The Great White Snark recommended "The House of Silk" by Anthony Horowitz last week. I got it from the library that very day (our branch is open on Sunday) and it was great! Thanks! I will get Moriarty, too.

Posted by: Microcosme at February 15, 2015 02:15 PM (8QCtS)

295 I'm about three-quarters through Adrian Goldsworthy's excellent biography of Julius Caeser and he really does a great job of laying out how the Roman political system worked on a day to day basis. But I'm particularly enjoying the chapters devoted to JC's dealings with the dozens of Gaulish and Germanic tribes he warred with and how he played them off against each other (they were never unified and were always at war with each other even before he showed up) and it's impressive how "civilized" he was --he would always try to persuade their leaders by pointing out the benefits of being under Rome's wing. He won over many of them;but he could be harsh with the more recalcitrant tribes, and those who double -crossed him were dealt with brutally--usually by beheading.
He conquered Gaul, but could never really finish of the German barbarians, and it's funny how to this day, the Italians view the Germans as" brutes", and the Germans view their southern neighbors as "too soft." And I'm reminded of how closely the British-- in their empire-building days-- emulated the Roman way.

And I love the names of some of the tribal warlords and chieftains--Vercingetorix, Ambiorix --they sound like the names of pharmaceuticals.

A really good book for those interested in that period of history.

Posted by: Joe F. at February 15, 2015 02:56 PM (QGhjq)

296 Vercingetorix did unite the Gaulish tribes long enough to defeat Caesar
at the battle of Gergovia. However they did not stay very united for
long and Caesar came back.

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 03:28 PM (wlDny)

297 Caesar did not deal honestly with Gauls. He'd lie, or send agents with false information. Make deals, start conflicts, then pull Roman support and take you over instead. Much of the moral greatness of Caesar comes from the book "Gallic Commentaries," written by, oh hell you know.

Rome regularly betrayed its allies, especially in the virtuous early days when they were taking over Italy. There may not be a fair and honest way to build an empire -- certainly worth discussing -- but the Romans really didn't care about that.

Now in a world (/Don LaFontaine) where you were either an empire or subject to one, you can't blame a guy for empire-building. Rome was good at it, but let's not mistake that for being good about it. They were a nasty piece of work.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2015 03:45 PM (xq1UY)

298 297--a lot of what you say might be true, but remember the Gauls (or the Germans) did not keep written records, so ALL of the history of that time that we know of and that was documented was written by Romans, and while it's true that "you know who" would certainly put his exploits in a good light--as would his acolytes and allies, his domestic Roman enemies --and there were many of them (look what happened to him in the end) , were going to deal with him harshly and put the very worst spin on his exploits.
Also, the tribes were not a collective of angels. They WERE barbarians and they could be every bit as duplicitous and dirty when dealing with the Romans-and each other--and just as, well, barbaric. Villages were sacked and burnt, slaughters were common, and everyone involved made slaves of the losers.
It was not an enlightened age. But the Romans-in context of the era--were far more "civilized." After all, it was Roman culture (as well as Greek) that was the basis for the Renaissance.

Posted by: Joe F. at February 15, 2015 04:02 PM (QGhjq)

299 RIP Book Thread

Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2015 05:23 PM (wlDny)

300 300!

Posted by: OregonMuse at February 15, 2015 06:17 PM (qefuX)

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