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aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com CBD: cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com Buck: buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com joe mannix: mannix2024 at proton.me MisHum: petmorons at gee mail.com J.J. Sefton: sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com | Sunday Morning Book Thread 09-13-2015: Forgetting 9/11 [OregonMuse]![]() Peace of Mind Bookstore, Tulsa, OK Good morning to all of you morons and moronettes and bartenders everywhere and all the ships at sea. Welcome to AoSHQ's stately, prestigious, internationally acclaimed and high-class Sunday Morning Book Thread. The Sunday Morning Book Thread is the only AoSHQ thread that is so hoity-toity, pants are required. Or kilts. Also, assless chaps don't count. Serious you guys. Kilts are OK, though. But not tutus. Unless you're a girl. Life is too short to read books that I'm not enjoying.Heh. A woman after my own heart. TRIGGER WARNING this week for laughing at the international conspiracy masterminded by Jews (9/11 was a master plot, concocted by a handful of Israelis and dual passport Americans and carried out by the resources of the Mossad.) Oh, those crafty Jooos. I'll bet they used their unholy and perverse shapeshifting skillz to pull it off. [*snort!*] Civilization And Its Malcontents Searching Amazon for books on 9/11 gets you a whole lot of crazy. You'll find good stuff, too, of course, but the number of "inside job" books that the tinfoil hatters have been cranking out is quite depressing (but this site is an oasis of sanity). In the art thread yesterday, commenter 'Mortimer' provided the following quote: Forgetfulness occurs when those who have been long inured to civilized order can no longer remember a time in which they had to wonder whether their crops would grow to maturity without being stolen or their children sold into slavery by a victorious foe.That quote is from Civilization and Its Enemies: The Next Stage of History by Lee Harris. I'll add this: "After 9/11, America woke up, hit the snooze button, and went back to sleep." This was said by Bill Maher a few years ago, if you can believe that, although I'm recalling what I heard from memory and was unable to google up his exact words. And while no doubt he followed it up with something stupid, it's a perfect description of the mindset that started to develop in America after a few months following the WTC terrorist attacks. "Forgetting" is a major theme of Harris' book. We, as Americans, have collectively forgotten where we have come from, how we got here, and what it takes to maintain civilization. Paradoxically, a big reason for this is our civilization's success, that has produced a standard of living unequaled in human history. Add to this the progressive poison that civilization is something that just sort of springs up naturally, no matter what you do or how you live, and the only reason it hasn't is because it is deliberately being thwarted by evil white guys who want to hog all of the resources, and you have a recipe for decadence and decay. Forgetting shows up again in his follow-up book, The Suicide of Reason: Radical Islam's Threat to the West: Whether by choice or not, the West finds itself in a low-grade yet bitter war with Islamic fanaticism. It is a war the West is singularly ill-equipped to fight. The foe is resistant to any of the normal methods of conflict resolution such as negotiation, economic sanctions, or conventional armed confrontation. Since the Enlightenment, the West has forgotten how to oppose fanaticism, and it is Lee Harris' goal to remind us what we are up against.And speaking of the progressive poison, The Devil's Pleasure Palace: The Cult of Critical Theory and the Subversion of the West by Michael Walsh has been mentioned by several morons on recent book threads. It's all about "critical theory" and the Frankfurt School: At once overly intellectualized and emotionally juvenile, Critical Theory - like Pandora’s Box - released a horde of demons into the American psyche. When everything could be questioned, nothing could be real, and the muscular, confident empiricism that had just won the war gave way, in less than a generation, to a central-European nihilism celebrated on college campuses across the United States. Seizing the high ground of academe and the arts, the New Nihilists set about dissolving the bedrock of the country, from patriotism to marriage to the family to military service; they have sown (as Cardinal Bergoglio – now Pope Francis – once wrote of the Devil) “destruction, division, hatred, and calumny” – and all disguised as the search for truth.C.S. Lewis just e-mailed and said "What have I been telling you?" The Other McCain blog has a good, detailed review here. Pulp! Over at Sarah Hoyt's blog, there's a guest post by one of her artist friends who put on display a few examples from her extensive collection of pulp magazine and book covers. Mild warning for PG-13ish nudity. The commentary is pretty funny. Oh Noes! SJWs Always Lie: Taking Down the Thought Police by Vox Day is currently listed as an Amazon #1 best-seller in the "Political Philosophy" category. I can already hear the SJW heads exploding. I like the description of Vox Day in this review:I doubt that anyone since George W. Bush has caused so many on the Left to completely lose their shit, and W was nowhere near as successful at getting his hapless enemies to do EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTED.VD carries the impressive title "Supreme Dark Lord of the Evil Legion of Evil" and is described by Black Gate magazine and The Wall Street Journal as the most hated man in science fiction. His book is a demonstration of 3 laws concerning SJWs that appear to be inviolable: 1. SJWs always lie. 2. SJWs always double down. 3. SJWs always project. To this I would add "4. SJWs always overreach", but that's probably a subset of #2. OK, this made me laugh out loud: When I was looking at Day's book on Amazon, the following suggestions appeared in the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" section down at the bottom of the screen: John Scalzi Banned This Book But He Can Never Ban My Burning Love: A Pretty, Pretty Girl Dreams of Her Beloved While Pondering Gender Identity, Social Justice, and Body Dysmorphia by "Alexa Eren", a book that was ...banned by John Scalzi, despite Ms. Eren being a huge Scalzi fan and an unemployed transgendered up-and-coming romance author who needed the money so xe could one day buy xerself a big, beautiful lawn of xer own. Soon to be nominated for the Hugo, don't miss the story of a love so bold it broke the Internet!This, uh, "book" is only 21 pages long, but the Kindle file size is nearly 1.5 megabytes. This suggests there's lots of pictures in it, which is good news for you morons who have trouble with the big words. Amazon also showed me SJWs Never Lie: Censorship is Tolerance! Freedom is Slavery! Ignorance is Strength! by a collection of illustrious authors, including "Brianna Scalzi" and "George R. R. Moretons", which is a ringing defense of, well, SJWs, obviously. I'll give you one more: John Scalzi is Not a Rapist: A Respected Grand Master of Science Fiction Refutes Certain Allegations Made by a Devoted but Mistaken Fan by "Richard Milhous Scalzi". Apparently, there have been rumors swirling around about this for years and Mr. Scalzi wants to set the record straight. And, of course, the SJWs responded with anti-parody parodies such as John Scalzi Is Not A Very Popular Author And I Myself Am Quite Popular: How SJWs Always Lie About Our Comparative Popularity Levels by "Theophilus Pratt." This John Scalzi fellow is nothing if not inspirational. Interview With A Manly Man Here are a couple of excerpts from a recent American Spectator interview with conservative author Brad Thor. After saying that we need to go out of our way to support (by paying for) conservative efforts in books and movies, he says: It’s still a meritocracy, but we need to ask ourselves — before we hand over a single dollar for a movie ticket or a novel — am I helping further the career of someone whose ideas I believe in and agree with, or not?Earlier in the interview, he touched upon his responsibilities as a writer: I am positive my publisher would rather I kept my politics and my patriotism to myself. Who knows how many more books I could sell if I wasn’t constantly calling out the failures of the progressive policies and their Utopian, big government vision? But I am an American, a steward of the Republic before I am anything else. People before me didn’t bleed and die so that I could remain silent in order to sell more books. They fought to help protect my freedoms. What kind of man would I be if I didn’t strive to live up to their sacrifices?I'm not so sure he'd sell more books if he toned down the politics. I think that any gain would be more than offset by the loss of disappointed conservative readers. But that's just my opinion. There's a photo of BT that accompanies the interview, and the phrase "boyish good looks" comes to mind. I can see how Mr. Thor would be very appealing to the 'ettes. Strays I was cleaning out the AoSHQ mailbag earlier this week and several items that had been in there for a while shook loose that might be of interest. From veteran commenter Mike Hammer, here are 66 Book Stores on Route 66, from where I stole the book thread photo. The Peace of Mind Bookstore is described as "one of America’s largest collections of occult, New Age and metaphysical books." It also carries "herbs, stones, crystals, incense, runes and tarot cards." None of that stuff is of interest to me, so I probably would never go there, should I ever find myself in Tulsa. But I have to admit, it does look like a nice place to sit down and read a book. One of you morons, I forget who, sorry, brought to my attention The Neglected Books Page. This is a blog that is dedicated to books that have been mostly forgotten, but are still worth reading. Some of the books are available for free on Gutenberg or other text achive sites, or in used editions via Amazon or ABE Books, and some are simply out of print and hard or impossible to find anywhere. I have bookmarked this site and suggest you all do the same. There are a crap ton of book suggestions contained therein, and even if you can't find something you like now, you should refer back to it periodically and who knows, you'll probably find something you'd like to read for low cost, or maybe even free. Lastly, my mentioning of the passing of the great Soviet history chronicler Robert Conquest prompted an e-mail from commenter Gene, who told me the following anecdote: When a revised edition of Conquest's The Great Terror was going to be published in 1990, the British author Kingsley Amis suggested that it get a new title. Conquest replied, "How about 'I Told You So, You F***ing Fools'"? What I'm Reading Last week, Sabrina Chase told us of one of her book discoveries: ...a highly entertaining YA series by Phillip Reeve, Larklight and sequels. Set in a world where the British Empire never died, it just went into space in aether-ships. Features moon mushrooms, young space pirates, a floating mansion (Larklight of the title) which has a cranky old gravity engine and an ancient secret, (TRIGGER WARNING FOR ATC) evil giant spiders wearing bowler hats, and extremely subtle and funny homages to "War of the Worlds" only from a human perspective. Extremely fun and highly recommended to the Horde.So I went out and got it, but never got to it, because along the way, I got sidetracked by Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan, which is also a cyberpunk YA novel: It is the cusp of World War I. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ genetically fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship, and the most masterful beast in the British fleet.Aleksandar Ferdinand is one of the teen-aged protaganists and his father the Archduke has been murdered in Sarajevo (WWI,remember?) at the beginning of the book, and Deryn Sharp, an English lass, has disuised herself as a boy to enlist in the British Air Service as a midshipman. They'll eventually meet and then, as they say, zany hijinks will ensue. There are two sequels, Behemoth, and the third book in the series, Goliath. But getting back to Sabrina's recommendations, Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space by Philip Reeve is the first book, there are two others, Starcross: A Stirring Adventure of Spies, Time Travel and Curious Hats which is followed by Mothstorm: The Horror from Beyond ___________ So that's all for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, bribes, rumors, threats, and insults may be sent to OregonMuse, Proprietor, AoSHQ Book Thread, at the book thread e-mail address: aoshqbookthread, followed by the 'at' sign, and then 'G' mail, and then dot cee oh emm. What have you all been reading this week? Hopefully something good, because, as you all know, life is too short to be reading lousy books. Comments(Jump to bottom of comments)1
Still working on The Heirs of Alexandria series.
Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 08:59 AM (t2KH5) 2
TRIGGER WARNING this week for laughing at the international conspiracy masterminded by Jews
Only on the internet can you find mindless idiots. Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 09:01 AM (t2KH5) 3
New kindle and not one book yet, thinking getting Lavin
Posted by: skip at September 13, 2015 09:05 AM (elU2t) 4
Hey, Peace of Mind on Cherry St. I've been there.
Been a long time. Looks cozy, but smelled of incense, as I recall. Suddenly, I miss ol' Louis Meyer's bookstore on Peoria. And Louis. Posted by: mindful webworker - one page at a time at September 13, 2015 09:08 AM (hJ+K2) 5
It's still a meritocracy, but we need to ask ourselves-before we hand
over a single dollar for a movie ticket or a novel - am I helping further the career of someone whose ideas I believe in and agree with, or not? I've tried to stop giving any money to the most lefty of companies. The left loves to say that corporations are conservative yet if you look at them far too many of them support left wing causes or are in bed with lefty politicians. So I now delight in seeing that Macy's is closing stores or Yahoo is tanking. Fuck them all right to being out of business. Posted by: TheQuietMan at September 13, 2015 09:12 AM (DiZBp) 6
Great post as usual, OM. The SJW thing simultaneously annoys and humors me. They are such joyless assclowns, these SJWs.
I'm reading "consider the Fork" a book about some historical aspects of cooking and Lewis's "screwtape letters." Well time to head off to drill (I'm in the national guard). You all have a great Sunday! Posted by: Dana- author of Outward Frontier, a military sci-fi novel available on Amazon kindle at September 13, 2015 09:14 AM (eTvJc) 7
This week I read Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner. It was first published in 1968, won a Hugo, and is considered one of the classics of Sci-Fi. It is about a powerful corporation, nearing global domination both business wise and politically, that is about to take over an African country. There is also a second story line about a shy, bookish man, trained to be an assassin, who is sent to rescue the world's greatest geneticist who is about to make a breakthrough in genetic engineering that would change the world.
This was not an easy read. I was on the verge of giving up on it all through the book until the last quarter of it. The author brings the stories together and leaves the reader thinking about the future of humanity. Posted by: Zoltan at September 13, 2015 09:15 AM (THsLo) 8
Looking at that picture I note the corner mirror. That tells you a lot about our society when even a bookstore has to have an anti-theft mirror in it.,
Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 09:20 AM (t2KH5) 9
This has been a week of getting started on different reading projects.
I finally got going on reading the articles in the new Old Farmers Almanac: astronomy, weather patterns, plant propagation, predicted eclipses, and so much more. I glanced through the upcoming weather predictions but we are right on the dividing line between two sectors which can differ. Makes planning difficult. They did get it mostly right last year. Posted by: JTB at September 13, 2015 09:22 AM (FvdPb) 10
Thanks, OM, for all the review links. I'm currently reading "The Devil's Pleasure Palace." I agree with the general thrust of Walsh's arguments, but think that Walsh has made the book less accessible and appealing by his digressions. Imagine a VDH or Thomas Sowell book on the Frankfurt School. Much more impact.
*** @5 I agree and reluctantly have stopped using Mozilla Foundation products (Firefox, Thunderbird) for the same reason. They've gone full SJW. Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 09:26 AM (0crjF) 11
9 I finally got going on reading the articles in the
new Old Farmers Almanac: astronomy, weather patterns, plant propagation, predicted eclipses, and so much more. I glanced through the upcoming weather predictions but we are right on the dividing line between two sectors which can differ. Makes planning difficult. They did get it mostly right last year. Posted by: JTB at September 13, 2015 09:22 AM (FvdPb) I haven't got my copy yet. Walmart does not carry the OFA. They carry a different brand which is not as good. I have to go to the local IGA to get it. Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 09:27 AM (t2KH5) 12
@5 I agree and reluctantly have stopped using
Mozilla Foundation products (Firefox, Thunderbird) for the same reason. They've gone full SJW. Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 09:26 AM (0crjF) I went to Pale Moon and it locks up on Ace's site due to memory issues on my old computer. So I had to go back to FF. Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 09:29 AM (t2KH5) 13
I agree with Thor. For decades I could never understand conservatives flocking to movie theaters to give their hard-earned money to Hollywood. All most all there take those dollars and give to progressive candidates who are hell-bent on destroying the United States and its Constitution.
Posted by: Zoltan at September 13, 2015 09:31 AM (THsLo) 14
Oops, that should be #10 above not 5.
Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 09:31 AM (t2KH5) 15
Rereading M. Kundera's Book of Laughter and Forgetting. Loved it in college, have not read it since then. Read it in my poli sci days, when we gawped at the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in real time. Never thought I would be rereading with an entirely differet perspective, seeing what is happening here, now.
The parts about erasing history and memory, mob behavior, and how once you have a society where basic needs are taken care of, people turn inward and still want to "DO SOMETHING" or think they have some unique insight or gift to offer the world and once everyone thinks they are a 'writer' and have a platform (internet) no one will STFU and will listen to anyone else, then chaos. Absolutely prophetic. Posted by: Goldilocks at September 13, 2015 09:33 AM (uInAy) 16
11 ... Vic, I'm usually in line at the B&N the first day the OFA comes out. It's become a tradition. My grandfather got me started on the OFA and World Almanac back in the fifties and it stuck. Happily. Although I don't get the World Almanac every year anymore since I don't have to do homework now.
Posted by: JTB at September 13, 2015 09:34 AM (FvdPb) 17
@12 Vic - try Opera
Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 09:34 AM (0crjF) 18
Thanks for posting the pulp covers, OM! I laughed so much the first time I saw them.
Posted by: @votermom at September 13, 2015 09:35 AM (cbfNE) 19
I'm just about done with Vol. 1 of Shelby Foote's Civil War trilogy. I think I need a break before tackling vol. 2. I thought about re-reading Camp of the Saints, but I can just read the papers for the 21st century version.
I have read a few of Mr. Thor's books. I generally find them entertaining, and they're a quick read, but there have been a fee times when I've thought "Scott Harvath is lucky that all of his foes are such poor marksmen." Some of the gunfights remind me of an A-Team episode. Still, he's absolutely right about being careful to not fund our enemies. Posted by: PabloD at September 13, 2015 09:36 AM (3RNW8) Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at September 13, 2015 09:38 AM (iQIUe) 21
Slightly OT - question for the amateur radio people.
I'm a new ham and have decided to learn Morse code. Any suggested learning resources? *** FWIW, I know Google is a bit lefty, but I personally don't think they are evil and they don't go SJW -- they don't want to impact earnings! My primary web browser is Google Chrome and I user Opera as my backup. Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 09:39 AM (0crjF) 22
"Forgetting" is a major theme of Harris' book.
It is your fate, forgetfulness. All of the old lessons of life, you lose and gain and lose and gain again. Posted by: Leto II, the Voice of Dar-es-Balat at September 13, 2015 09:39 AM (KUNl3) 23
I went to Pale Moon and it locks up on Ace's site due to memory issues on my old computer. So I had to go back to FF.
Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 09:29 AM (t2KH5) That's unfortunate. I went to Pale Moon during the Eich furor and never went back to FF. Got a new Win 8 box and I never even installed FF. You know what browser absolutely sucks on this new Win 8 box? IE 11. You'd think that the guys who make the app would know how to integrate it into their own platform, but IE locks up regularly and I have to go to the task manager to shut it down and restart it. Good job, Microsoft. ( *golf clap* ) Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 09:42 AM (hbfwE) 24
So, what's the deal? Jews send out Happy NY and May Peace Come to All of Us cards and the Muslims send out May the New Year Be Blessed by the Killing of Many Jews cards?? Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at September 13, 2015 09:46 AM (iQIUe) 25
I'm a new ham and have decided to learn Morse code. Any suggested learning resources?
Congrats on your license. Ham for 45 years, myself. You might want to look into one of the apps available for this purpose. Like this one: http://www.justlearnmorsecode.com/ Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 09:46 AM (hbfwE) 26
A week or two ago someone mentioned Arundel by Kenneth Roberts and I was able to find a copy. It looks good so far. The cover is a painting by N. C. Wyeth and that never hurts. I like the first person narrative (reminds me of Rider Haggard) and so far Roberts has caught the feel of the colonial period. Also, I'm interested in early Quebec history due to an ancestral connection. If the book continues so well I'll definitely be going for more of them.
Posted by: JTB at September 13, 2015 09:46 AM (FvdPb) 27
I am reading the most recent Lt Leary book by Drake, The Sea Without a Shore. David Drake generally turns out a good book, but this one has a different tone. It actually has competent characters trying to do good things beyond just surviving.
The most recent books have been foreshadowing a series by John Lambshead, but I haven't found them yet locally. I may have to break down and get an Amazon membership. Lucy's Blade was a fantastic first novel. I am also reading on my E-reader The Rape of the Mind by Joost Meerloo. Meerloo had been a psycho-analyst and a member of the Dutch Underground during the Nazi occupation, he also was part of the US review on the North Korean's use of "brain washing" which he calls Menticide. You can find it online for free, I suggest it. It is clear to me that a lot of the Agitprop and Alynski techniques are variations on these themes. Posted by: Kindltot at September 13, 2015 09:47 AM (3pRHP) 28
I went to Pale Moon and it locks up on Ace's site due to memory issues on my old computer. So I had to go back to FF.
Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 09:29 AM (t2KH5) That's unfortunate. I went to Pale Moon during the Eich furor and never went back to FF. Got a new Win 8 box and I never even installed FF. You know what browser absolutely sucks on this new Win 8 box? IE 11. You'd think that the guys who make the app would know how to integrate it into their own platform, but IE locks up regularly and I have to go to the task manager to shut it down and restart it. Good job, Microsoft. ( *golf clap* ) Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 09:42 AM (hbfwE) Opera is an alternative. For those who want the flexibility of the old versions of Opera, I suggest Otter Browser. http://otter-browser.org/ It's still in beta, and a lot of features haven't been fully implimented, but it works with the HQ and I'm generally happy with it as an incomplete, yet stable, browser... Posted by: The Otter Hat at September 13, 2015 09:48 AM (KUNl3) 29
25 ... I agree with OM about this morse code site. I believe that's the one I recently started to try to revive my flagging CW skills. The ability to set the character speed and spacing is a huge benefit.
Posted by: JTB at September 13, 2015 09:50 AM (FvdPb) 30
Just finished a Jack Reacher novel. (Summer beach read leftover.)
These things are the literary equivalent chewing gum. Enjoyable while you're doing it. Utterly forgettable five minutes after you've finished. And yet, you still find yourself getting another stick from the pack. Posted by: Pragmatata at September 13, 2015 09:52 AM (QolCq) 31
"FWIW, I know Google is a bit lefty, but I personally don't think they
are evil and they don't go SJW -- they don't want to impact earnings!" Eric Schmidt was personally in Obama campaign headquarters on Election Day 2012, coordinating the efforts of a team of Google engineers whom he had detailed to go assist the data ops of Obama For America. Posted by: torquewrench at September 13, 2015 09:52 AM (noWW6) 32
@23 Bought a new Win 8.1 box and upgraded to Win 10. I'm not a fan of Cortana/Bing cloud integration (and attendant loss of privacy) so I flipped all of the switches and killed all of the live tiles to make it as much like as Win 7 as possible. I used IE to download Chrome. No interest in IE. I may consider the Edge browser when it grows up.
If you upgrade to Win 10, be sure to have at least 12 GB fee and read up on the privacy and bandwidth issues of Win 10. It is a very different beast, with some real pluses and minuses. Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 09:52 AM (0crjF) 33
I knew I'd spelled Lewis Meyer's name wrong as soon as I hit post on my previous comment, so I did some research, and here's my book report.
Lewis Meyer ran the Lewis Meyer Bookstore on Brookside in Tulsa from 1935 to 1994. He hosted "Lewis Meyer's Bookshelf" on KOTV Tulsa for 42 years. Located at one end of what used to be known as "The Strip", the Lewis Meyer Bookstore sits so unobtrusively next to the old Brook Theater that you'd have to hunt for it if you didn't know the place. It's a small store crammed with thousands of books, from Chinese history, house repairing, karate and astrology to fiction, children's books, adults only books and inspirational books.... http://tulsatvmemories.com/meyer.html A funny little man with a high-pitched voice and an infectious smile, he was far from standard television fare, as he sat at a desk, talking about books. He was extremely popular; when he reviewed a book, the local effect was like an Oprah endorsement. He knew his wares and his customers. Milady and I bought many an esoteric volume there. When I was bogged down in an elaborately annotated three-volume study translation of the Bhagavad Gita, Lewis directed me to a slim pocket-sized translation by Yogi somebody, one of a whole set of little Gita books. That treasured volume resides on my main at-hand shelf. We always enjoyed chatting with Lewis and his lovely wife who frequently helped at the store. They were quite gracious. Lewis also authored some small volumes. Abebooks appears to have a good collection, including Off the Sauce, Meyer's frank, witty and stark recollection of his battles with the bottle. http://bit.ly/ab-lewis-meyer Amazon has two of his books for a penny, Preposterous Papa (about his father) in softcover, The Tipsy Witch & other fairy tales in hardcover. If I did this link correctly, it should show you the Meyer page on Amazon, with credit link to Ace (though what credit he gets for a penny purchase, I can't imagine): bit.ly/amaz-lewis-meyer I wonder where in the catacombs my copies of Meyer's books are...? Posted by: mindful webworker - bookstore report at September 13, 2015 09:52 AM (hJ+K2) 34
Speaking of Sarah Hoyt, Larry Correia has announced that they will be co-writing a book in the Monster Hunter International universe soon. The MHI universe is expanding to embrace other authors. The first non-Correia MHI book will be written by John Ringo, to be released by end of the year. Posted by: IllTemperedCur at September 13, 2015 09:53 AM (o98Jz) 35
I've come to agree with Mr. Thor also - regarding buying books, or music, or going to the movies made by people who essentially despise me as a conservative, rather religious, Second-Amendment-supporting American business owner. Used to be that the only ones that I boycotted that way were Jane Fonda and Cat Stephens ... now, the list is longer and grows every time some celebutard actor, writer, or musician opens their fat yap.
I did have a lovely book-related experience this week at the Giddings Word Wrangler Festival -- that's a book event last Thursday and Friday in Giddings, Texas, where they brought in about thirty local (and mostly indy-writers, some of whom I had met at other such book events) for a celebration of books. It was a lovely community thing - the mayor spoke at the evening bash, and at mid-day Friday there was a luncheon at the community center. Not just for the authors, but the volunteers, and about twenty kids from the gifted and advanced program, and there were city workers, fireman and local policemen drifting in for fried catfish and all the trimmings. One of the key parts of the event was having those authors who did children's books go out to local schools and do readings. On Friday, they brought in busloads of kids to the library to go around to talk to all the authors, and collect autographs. (Which was fun but, oy, the writer's cramp!) It was a fantastic experience - and the community support for it all was absolutely fantastic. Posted by: Sgt. Mom at September 13, 2015 09:55 AM (95iDF) 36
@32 - Don't forget to remove all the telemetry (including what they recently patched into 7 and
![]() http://www.hwinfo.com/misc/RemoveW10Bloat.htm Posted by: ThisBeingMilt at September 13, 2015 09:56 AM (MbrzC) 37
The second book I read this week was Glenn Beck's It IS About Islam: Exposing the Truth About Islam, Al Qaeda, Iran, and the Caliphate. This is a wake up call to the American people. Using quotes from the Koran, from the Hadith (the collected deeds and sayings of Muhammad), and from quotes of current day Imams and Muslim leaders; Beck takes apart the arguments of apologists for Islam in the western world.
After a history of Islam, Beck take on thirteen lies that these apologists use. Islam is religion of peace, Jihad is a peaceful inner struggle, the Caliphate is just a pipe dream, Islam is tolerant towards non-Muslims are some of the lies refuted by the Koran, Hadith, and pronouncements by present day Muslim leaders. By a fortunate happenstance, I was also reading volume II of William Manchester's The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Alone 1932-1940. The parallels between Obama's administration's attitude towards Islam and the British government's attitude towards Hitler and fascism are stunning. They both believed that if only we would talk, get to know, and come to an agreement war could be avoided. Both societies were shaken by previous war and were unwilling to see evil for what it is and to call it out. Winston Churchill and a few others were brave to do so. Today Glenn Beck, Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and others are calling out Islam; but like in the 30's, the warnings are mostly going unheeded. If we continue down this path I fear the result will be the same---World War. Get and read this book and then pass it on to someone who promises to read it and to pass it on. Posted by: Zoltan at September 13, 2015 09:57 AM (THsLo) 38
Good morning everyone
Posted by: chemjeff - anti-Trump/anti-Jeb/pro-conservative/pro-beer/pro-Huskers at September 13, 2015 09:59 AM (2XMpf) 39
On the advice of a moron (sorry, can't remember who) I've been reading "A Long Time Until Now ". Better than I expected, although the protagonists have many more useful skills for survival in the Paleolithic world than one would expect in a random group. It works,though,as does the human interaction.
Posted by: That SOB Van Owen at September 13, 2015 09:59 AM (xrET7) 40
@31 Gotta pick your battles. Find me a browser from a company with right-wing owners/managers. To my knowledge, no such beast exists.
I'm a big Google user and they rarely do anything to really annoy me politically. Live and let live. Now, the lack of security in Google's Android platform annoys the hell out me. Most security-conscious IT types carry Apple iThings for that reason. The Android Stagefright fault was announced in March/April and I still don't have a fix for my Motorola handset. Stagefright exploits are in the wild. That is not the only unpatched exploit in my Android 4.4.4 handset. Android security sucks. Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 09:59 AM (0crjF) 41
Oh -- and I talked up the book project that my daughter and I are writing together; the Chronicles of Luna City - a sort of Cecily Alaska, and Lake Woebegon Minnesota but set in South Texas - and related some of the plot lines and characters: the HS football team is the Mighty Fighting Moths, their Homecoming game is seemingly cursed, and the railroad never came through because the local landowners' daughter ran away with a railroad engineer in 1885 ... everyone said basically, "Finish it and take my money!"
I'm going to try and bring it out by November, as the writing is going very fast, so take a look at what I've posted so far on my book website, www.celiahayes.com Posted by: Sgt. Mom at September 13, 2015 10:01 AM (95iDF) 42
Yeah, google is evil. There are ideas floating around how google can throw elections by using their search engine.
Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at September 13, 2015 10:01 AM (iQIUe) 43
LOL at "those crafty Jooos." Good stuff, OregonMuse.
Thanks for the link to Michael Walsh's book on critical theory and the Frankfurt School. I'm reading that now. You should take a look "The Frankfurt School of Social Research and the Pathologization of Gentile Group Allegiances" by Kevin MacDonald: http://www.kevinmacdonald.net/chap5.pdf Posted by: chedolf at September 13, 2015 10:01 AM (ZtPHO) 44
Re: 36
for you 7 and 8.1 users script to remove patches that added in telemetry over the last couple months. https://gist.github.com/xvitaly/eafa75ed2cb79b3bd4e9 Posted by: ThisBeingMilt at September 13, 2015 10:03 AM (MbrzC) 45
I mentioned last week that I'm going to begin reading Shakespeare's plays for the first time in decades. I began with Hamlet. This will be a VERY long, years long, effort. Between enjoying the literary aspects and then hearing the different possible deliveries in my imagination, I don't get far in a reading session. But I'm not in a hurry. I did get a Shakespeare Lexicon which is too damn interesting. It's like reading the OED. (Yeah, I'm one of THOSE people.)
Posted by: JTB at September 13, 2015 10:04 AM (FvdPb) 46
@36 Agree completely. My primary OS is Debian Linux. If I can shoehorn it on to the 32 GB SSD on my new Win 10 laptop, I'll default to Debian. If I can't shoehorn it in, I'll blow away Win 10 and go Debian only.
Bottom line is that telemetry-by-default is now on in Win 7, Win 8.x, and Win 10. You can drastically reduce it by tweaking, but can not entirely eliminate it. I don't know if that is true about Mac OS X. Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 10:05 AM (0crjF) Posted by: Zoltan at September 13, 2015 10:08 AM (THsLo) 48
I think that I am a bit shocked at how malleable the minds of Americans have turned out to be. For some reason, I expected our children to be able to see what stands plainly before us no matter what their "teachers" taught them. I know that when I was a child I was a total cynic, doubting everything and everyone, but I never doubted self-interest or that people would seek it.
Posted by: Grump928(C) at September 13, 2015 10:11 AM (rwI+c) 49
Read the latest Ace Atkins' "Robert B. Parker's Kickback" Spenser novel. Meh, and I'm a Parker fan who liked the previous Atkins books. There are better beach books.
*** Read Barry Eisler's "Graveyard of Memories" 2014 John Rain prequel novel. No political crap like some of the later Rain books, but it really seemed like he was going through the motions. Nice glimpses of contemporary Japanese culture, but Eisler seems to have lost the handle on what makes his protagonist interesting. Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 10:11 AM (0crjF) 50
Finished Battle of wits : the complete story of codebreaking in World War II by Stephen Budiansky. This is a most readable and informative WWII code-breaking book. An excellent overview. His use of examples to put matters in context is first rate.
This book is a recommended update to Ultra Goes To War by Ronald Lewin. Just finished Waterloo : the history of four days, three armies, and three battles by Bernard Cornwell. This is an excellent history, distilled to just the right strength for me. Well written and informative. I want to thank the Moron who recommended it on the Book thread. On deck: Secret warriors : the spies, scientists, and code breakers of World War I by Taylor Downing. This is a pedestrian author writing about intelligence issues I know about, but occasionally there is a new nugget or a different context worth noting. Posted by: NaCly Dog at September 13, 2015 10:15 AM (u82oZ) 51
Good morning literary Morons.
Hopefully I have finally submitted the 'last' revisions to CreateSpace the files for the physical version of Golden Isis. So I can offer it to lovers of the printed page soon. Speaking of the War on Terror. I am patiently waiting the seven business days for the humans at GoFundMe to review my campaign to raise funds for the sequel to Golden Isis. Their software flagged the word "Isis" since ISIS is presently a bad word. Link to my book via AoS Amazon - http://astore.amazon.com/aoshq-20/detail/B014BTSEYO Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 10:17 AM (7IaDA) 52
@48 To not believe what the colleges & MSM say means that one inevitably has to develop a depressing world view. Not attractive.
I'm a news/politics junkie, but find it hard to be very optimistic and am spending more time on hobbies and less on news & public affairs. Even the true conservatives have read the handwriting on the (fundraising/PAC) wall and are moderating to get some of those sweet, sweet GOPe/RNC funds. Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 10:18 AM (0crjF) 53
To add my two cents:
It was after 9-11 that the "COEXIST" bumper stickers became popular. On first blush, it seems like a laudable wish. But in reality it is a nightmare. There is a symbol on that bumper that people want us to coexist with, that at it's core is evil. Like the fantasy itself that it is possible for cultures to persist while coexisting with cultural opposed to their persistence, good and evil cannot coexist in peace. Evil will always seek dominion. The "COEXIST" bumper sticker did not just spring up our of thin air. It has its roots in ideology that is ancient and that we have experienced throughout our life times. Make love, not war. Give peace a chance. Better red than dead. etc, etc. We see, and have seen - we are experiencing now - the product of "COEXIST". "COEXIST" can only exist by destroying the good in favor of the fantastical perfect - utopia. Posted by: Semper In Stercus at September 13, 2015 10:20 AM (BZAd3) 54
51 Anna Puma
I will buy your book when it's in a cellulose version. If you want, I can write a review as well. Please let me know. My email is my nic with an underscore between the two parts, and ksbroadband.net after the each linker. This is slightly cryptic to foil those dastardly spambots. Posted by: NaCly Dog at September 13, 2015 10:24 AM (u82oZ) 55
currently reading Vox day's selenoth books, the wardogs coin at present.
I'd given up reading both fantasy and sci fi decades ago as they were simply boring the shit out of me. it was back when all the flagontrance "novels" and obsession with world building was going on. huge yawn. I picked his books because of the recent Hugo bullshit. I can't say he's a great writer or that the selenoth series is very original. it's good enough to hold my interest and kindle is cheap enough that I don't mind buying it, like if I'd found it all in a bargain bin somewhere. i did try john c wright as well and just no. can't get into that at all. Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at September 13, 2015 10:24 AM (Cq0oW) 56
Some shameless self promotion for my short book on kindle.
http://tinyurl.com/qf242d3 It is a case study of Leftist media slander. In his best-seller last year on Roger Ailes, leftist Gabriel Sherman from New York magazine defamed my father, a broadcast executive who'd hired Ailes in the 1970s. Sherman devoted a chapter to my father's TV venture, grossly misrepresenting him and it. I did my best to set the record straight. Posted by: rrpjr at September 13, 2015 10:25 AM (s/yC1) 57
About half way done with "'salem's Lot" and once they figured out it was (spoiler alert) vampires, it suddenly got less creepy, although I'm sure that's because I already know whose hand just landed on Susan's shoulder while she's creeping up on the Marsten house.
And Shogun continues slowly. I have started two dead-tree books: one is "What happens at Mass" by Jeremy Driscoll, OSB (Order of St. Benedict, for the heathens among us which included me up until last year). This is going to tell me all the little details about mass that I have not yet caught on to and I expect it to make the experience even more important. The other is "The Sign of the Cross" by St. Alphonsus Liguori, about this tiny little prayer that we may say a dozen times a day, and what it really means. And then I volunteered to teach a class at RCIA and told the coordinator to pick which subject. I figured she'd give me something simple, but no, she gives me "the source and summit of our lives" as Catholics. So in three months, I'm teaching what is basically an adult Catechism class on the Eucharist. Fortunately it's not until December so I have some time to study. Posted by: Tonestaple at September 13, 2015 10:25 AM (dCTrv) 58
Well I have installed Opera but will take a while to learn how to configure it.
Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 10:26 AM (t2KH5) 59
Good stuff in the reading section today.
Currently I am reading Terry Brooks's Foundations of Shannara (on book 3) and will soon begin Anna's nifty e-book. Posted by: exdem13 at September 13, 2015 10:30 AM (ry4ab) 60
Recommende it last week and will again this week: The Return of the Great Depression 2.0 by Vox Day. Very enjoyable for an economics book and he does explain the different schools of economic thought.
And I also like Mediterranean Grains and Greens by Paula Wolfert. Yes, it is a cookbook, but she has a lot of stories on the recipes and lifestyle of those countries. Posted by: Notsothoreau at September 13, 2015 10:31 AM (Lqy/e) 61
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Good stuff in the reading section today. Currently I am reading Terry Brooks's Foundations of Shannara (on book 3) and will soon begin Anna's nifty e-book. Posted by: exdem13 at September 13, 2015 10:30 AM (ry4ab) I gave up on T. Brooks. Every book he has written in the past 10 years is a repeat of the same plot. Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 10:33 AM (t2KH5) 62
I am really saddened by what the Soviet Justice Wankers have wrought in the world of science-fiction. Some will grok this reference. The Hammer has fallen and in the chaos, all that is left of the beauty of Western civilization is this gorgeous glass whale by Steuben. As my hand reaches tenderly to just caress such unicorn-like beauty, a brute of the Eloi mob smashes it into tiny glittery slivers.
Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 10:34 AM (7IaDA) 63
Get and read this book and then pass it on to someone who promises to read it and to pass it on.
Posted by: Zoltan at September 13, 2015 09:57 AM (THsLo) This is what kills me about Islam. People act as if "peace" is written throughout it - as if peace is at it's core. Peace, as a concept in Islam, exists almost exclusively in paradise. Everything else is a struggle, a struggle to temporarily predominate over, and eventually wipe out all that is not Islam. No question that Islam is hard to understand. Very, very few Muslims understand it. Clerics and Mullahs and Ayotollahs within Islam are self appointed, generally illiterate dregs of Muslim society who've managed to memorize a few verses from the quran and build a following out of religious zeal. But even though Islam is hard to understand (it was written by an insane person, in all likelihood) it is not hidden, and peace is virtually nowhere to be found in it. Posted by: Semper In Stercus at September 13, 2015 10:36 AM (BZAd3) 64
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I mentioned last week that I'm going to begin reading Shakespeare's plays for the first time in decades. I began with Hamlet. This will be a VERY long, years long, effort. Between enjoying the literary aspects and then hearing the different possible deliveries in my imagination, I don't get far in a reading session. But I'm not in a hurry. I did get a Shakespeare Lexicon which is too damn interesting. It's like reading the OED. (Yeah, I'm one of THOSE people.) ------------- Although I am more in favor of Shakespeare in performance over print, it can never hurt to read The Bard. He has a remarkable ability for images, the turn of phrase, and the ability to boil down character development and introspection into a long paragraph. Which makes him better than any "mainstream" 21st century writer. And that is before his word-games, puns, and multiple-meaning jokes. Posted by: exdem13 at September 13, 2015 10:36 AM (ry4ab) 65
fwiw the only sci fi and fantasy authors I seek out are Gene Wolfe and PKD
Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at September 13, 2015 10:38 AM (Cq0oW) 66
>>I have read a few of Mr. Thor's books. I generally find them entertaining, and they're a quick read, but there have been a fee times when I've thought "Scott Harvath is lucky that all of his foes are such poor marksmen."
Heh, yeah. Harvath is so pefect, too. But they're fun reads. I've been reading Matthew Reilly's Shane Shofield series this summer at the pool - non-stop action, fluffy fun. I have no idea what Reilly's politics are which is a welcome break of the politicization of everything. Posted by: Lizzy at September 13, 2015 10:38 AM (NOIQH) 67
I've seen that computer mag at the bottom of the pulp covers blog before at an old computer site I browse.
Imagine cybersex on a 300 baud modem. Posted by: Pappy O'Daniel at September 13, 2015 10:39 AM (oVJmc) 68
But even though Islam is hard to understand (it was
written by an insane person, in all likelihood) it is not hidden, and peace is virtually nowhere to be found in it. Posted by: Semper In Stercus at September 13, 2015 10:36 AM (BZAd3) The latest on the Islam front if that a Koran has been found and it was carbon dated back to before Mohamed was born. Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 10:40 AM (t2KH5) 69
62
I am really saddened by what the Soviet Justice Wankers have wrought in the world of science-fiction. Some will grok this reference. The Hammer has fallen and in the chaos, all that is left of the beauty of Western civilization is this gorgeous glass whale by Steuben. As my hand reaches tenderly to just caress such unicorn-like beauty, a brute of the Eloi mob smashes it into tiny glittery slivers. ------------ I wonder how many Leftist readers of "The Butcher's Bill" got the point that it was the hippy masters of that world who were ultimately responsible for Hammer's tanks smashing the beautiful alien city to pieces while digging out the mercs hired by the more radical hippies? Posted by: exdem13 at September 13, 2015 10:40 AM (ry4ab) 70
I plan to re-read the Book of Laughter and Forgetting - I cannot find my copy and it's not available on kindle (sad trombone). Need to track it down at the library...
Posted by: Lizzy at September 13, 2015 10:40 AM (NOIQH) 71
Still re-reading the Aubrey-Maturin series by Pattick O'Brian, although I'm nearly done having reached The Commodore. Its really amazing to think that he managed to craft 21 such high quality literature that is still so completely engaging and readable out of the war with Napoleon (and the United States, briefly). Patrick O'Brian created the great literary double act of the 20th century in his two sailors and the books are destined to become not just classics but recognized as the best literary series to come out of the century.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at September 13, 2015 10:41 AM (39g3+) 72
Posted by: JTB at September 13, 2015 10:04 AM (FvdPb)
Shakespeare died 400 years ago come next year so I plan to go through his works then. Other than the occasional movie haven't paid much attention since college. Listened to Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler, another terrific Marlowe novel. A man released from prison is looking for his old flame and leaves a path of destruction in his wake, and Marlowe is looking for him. Listened to Cold City by F. Paul Wilson, a Repairman Jack novel from his early days, after he went dark but before he took on that moniker and started taking cases for people. It was enjoyable but not one of the best Jack books. Read Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad, a story of revolutionaries in old Russia (it was published in 1910, between the failed 1905 uprising and 1917 revolution). A young college student is unwittingly drawn into a revolutionary assassination. It reminded me a bit of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, though it's less emotionally involving than that work or Conrad's The Secret Agent. Good novel though not one of Conrad's best. Posted by: waelse1 at September 13, 2015 10:41 AM (32TmE) 73
It is a case study of Leftist media slander. In his best-seller last year on Roger Ailes, leftist Gabriel Sherman from New York magazine defamed my father, a broadcast executive who'd hired Ailes in the 1970s. Sherman devoted a chapter to my father's TV venture, grossly misrepresenting him and it. I did my best to set the record straight.
Posted by: rrpjr at September 13, 2015 10:25 AM (s/yC1) Did you ever contact Sherman and ask him to correct the record about your father? Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 10:44 AM (hbfwE) 74
>>We see, and have seen - we are experiencing now - the product of "COEXIST". "COEXIST" can only exist by destroying the good in favor of the fantastical perfect - utopia.
Truthful coexist bumpersticker: https://underthehill.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/coexist.png Posted by: Lizzy at September 13, 2015 10:45 AM (NOIQH) 75
Anna fwliw I think the advent of gaming, beginning with Dungeons and Dragons, did as much harm to originality in the field as the SJWs did.
Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at September 13, 2015 10:48 AM (Cq0oW) 76
I've mentioned this before, but I switched to the Epic Privacy Browser about the time that guy got fired at Mozilla and everybody was ditching Firefox. I wasn't even using Firefox; I'm a Mac guy (shut up) and was perfectly content with Safari. I think I found Epic via a link at Instapundit, but I'm not 100% certain.
https://www.epicbrowser.com/ Read about it at the above link. Among its other attributes, it blocks ads by default. I know that the ads are a problem for some people around here. I don't remember how long ago the Mozilla incident was, but I've been using Epic ever since. I haven't had many problems. At first I noticed that embedded videos wouldn't play on certain sites, but they seem to have fixed that. The main thing I notice now is that photos don't show up on Tumblr sites. While I'm not a Tumblrina, I do follow links there occasionally (like Everything's a Problem from the other day). No biggie. I can always launch Safari to view those sites. Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 10:51 AM (sdi6R) 77
@64 My favorite way to work through an "obscure" play is book-club readers' theater, where each member takes one role and does all the homework for it. Then you read it together, so you can take breaks to interrupt and ask questions. It's the only way to do the Greek plays, and it also works for Firesign scripts.
If everything goes well, by the time you've exhausted the darn thing, you're ready to perform it in public. Somebody told me once that back in the old days, that's how Real Actors did it. Posted by: Stringer Davis at September 13, 2015 10:52 AM (xq1UY) 78
Some years ago there was an independent coffee shop down the road with big overstuffed chairs. Every couple of weeks I'd take my Kindle, buy a latte, and relax for a while. And then, under a sign stating that they didn't support the theory, they started selling 9/11 truther books. I stopped going and they went out of business. I like to think that it was the lack of my biweekly few dollars that drove them into bankruptcy.
Posted by: The Great White Snark at September 13, 2015 10:52 AM (Nwg0u) 79
Read the latest Ace Atkins' "Robert B. Parker's Kickback" Spenser novel. Meh, and I'm a Parker fan who liked the previous Atkins books. There are better beach books.
Ace Atkins is a better author than Robert Parker, but his style and Parker's are so different that the books just don't work as well. Parker's writing was simple, quick, dialog-heavy, and focused on direct action and resolution. Atkins is more thoughtful, slower, subtle, and his Spencer more a detective. That's not bad, its just not Spencer. And Parker truly had a gift for hilarious, sparkling dialog which Atkins does not share. Posted by: Christopher Taylor at September 13, 2015 10:53 AM (39g3+) 80
Just finished Waterloo : the history of four days, three armies, and three battles by Bernard Cornwell.
This is an excellent history, distilled to just the right strength for me. Well written and informative. I want to thank the Moron who recommended it on the Book thread. ------------- Cornwell did a lot of research for his Sharpe novels, so it comes as no surprise that an actual history text on the battle comes out so well. Posted by: exdem13 at September 13, 2015 10:53 AM (ry4ab) 81
It's a beautiful day outside. I hope all who can are availing themselves of that hint of crispness in the air. For those unfamiliar with The Outside, it's like an rdbrewer picure in three dimesions, plus spiders.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Scourge of the Atlantic Seaboard at September 13, 2015 10:54 AM (jR7Wy) 82
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." -Groucho Marx Posted by: BackwardsBoy at September 13, 2015 10:58 AM (LUgeY) 83
What kind of gaming group did you hang with Bigby? I have been in sword+sorcery hack+slash groups and a Soviet Justice Wanker group. The SJW insistence of trying to understand the monsters had me rooting for the monsters.
Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 11:00 AM (7IaDA) 84
53, I was standing at a table at a ministry fair at church last week when I heard a lady saying to someone else, "I just didn't like the way he talked about Islam." I then heard her mention the name "Peter Kreeft." I don't know if I have any of his books yet, but you know they will be in my future.
As Mark Steyn put it about that ridiculous "Coexist" bumpersticker, the first character is the one that keeps all the rest of them from doing just that. Posted by: Tonestaple at September 13, 2015 11:00 AM (dCTrv) 85
Ian Douglas, "Blowing Sh!t Up On The Moon", book two of the "Blowing Sh!t Up Around The Solar System" series. Also known as "Luna Marine" in the Heritage trilogy. Sequel to "Blowing Sh!t Up On Mars".
Here another bunch of aliens, different from the first book's aliens, have left a colony or two on the Moon before bugging out. The UN occupies these and, again, the US Marine Corps is called upon to explain things to them. This one took a bit longer to read than the first one. The first one had a more focused plot. (Perhaps too focused, in that the aliens were a MacGuffin.) This one involves several missions on the Moon, plus an asteroid. The aliens aren't a MacGuffin so, perhaps ironically, we see more of them - rather, of what they left us. It seemed that Douglas was tempted to host a Marine invasion of that asteroid, too. But this would have raised the stakes too high for a scene that wasn't going to be the climax. So Douglas satisfies himself with nuking it. These aliens are still just as silly. Here they've taught the Iraqis the Sumerian language and that famous Base-60 numeral system. That was pop-archaeology in 1990 for you. The main character here is, I think, Jack the nephew of the archaeologist David Alexander in that first book, although David is here too. Jack is in training to be a Marine. They call him "Flash" because he blurts out that he wants to go to spaaaace during boot-camp. Reminder to all potential recruits in basic training: keep your goddamn mouth shut. Recommended for those who like seeing stuff blowed up in vacuum and low-to-no gravity. Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 13, 2015 11:01 AM (AVEe1) 86
And then, under a sign stating that they didn't support the theory, they started selling 9/11 truther books. I stopped going and they went out of business. I like to think that it was the lack of my biweekly few dollars that drove them into bankruptcy.
Posted by: The Great White Snark at September 13, 2015 10:52 AM (Nwg0u) Heh. It was you, plus a lot of other of their customers (ex-customers) who obviously felt the same way. Pro tip: Never sell 9/11 truther books if you want more customers to walk in the door. Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 11:02 AM (hbfwE) 87
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I am reading the most recent Lt Leary book by Drake, The Sea Without a Shore. David Drake generally turns out a good book, but this one has a different tone. It actually has competent characters trying to do good things beyond just surviving. ----------- The Lt. Leary books are Drake at his most matured writing style and composition. (As he will be more than ready to tell you.) They do not have the place in my heart that some of his earlier books do, but they are all very good and are a nice tip of the hat to Aubrey and friends. Posted by: exdem13 at September 13, 2015 11:03 AM (ry4ab) 88
62 Anna Puma.
Some will grok this reference. Heinlein SiaSL The Hammer has fallen Lucifer's Hammer Niven and Pournelle. and in the chaos, all that is left of the beauty of Western civilization is this gorgeous glass whale by Steuben. ??? As my hand reaches tenderly to just caress such unicorn-like beauty, a brute of the Eloi mob smashes it into tiny glittery slivers. H.G. Wells Time Machine Posted by: NaCly Dog at September 13, 2015 11:04 AM (u82oZ) 89
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For those unfamiliar with The Outside, it's like an rdbrewer picure in three dimesions, plus spiders. Posted by: All Hail Eris, Scourge of the Atlantic Seaboard at September 13, 2015 10:54 AM (jR7Wy) I'm going to have to go Outside at some point to finish the lawnmowing that got rained out yesterday. In addition to spiders, Outside also features some small bee-like creatures that nest in holes in the ground. I'm not sure what they are. They don't look like honeybees, wasps, or yellow jackets. They're small and gray. I didn't see a hint of yellow on them. I got stung the last time I mowed, and yesterday I emptied an entire can of Raid into two holes. They were close together, so I think it's one nest with two openings. Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 11:04 AM (sdi6R) 90
Forgetfulness occurs when those who have been long inured to civilized order can no longer remember a time in which they had to wonder whether their crops would grow to maturity without being stolen or their children sold into slavery by a victorious foe.
---- There's a flip-side to that coin: Living in the fantasy that the present is wildly different from the past when it really isn't... all that much. A friend and I went to see a movie. We were late, so we didn't even bother to get out of the car. Sitting in the parking lot, he whips out his smart-phone. "Let me check where else it's playing!" (Tap, tap, tap... Pause, pause...) "It's at [other theater] in a half hour! We can make that!" Then while I'm driving, he goes into this glowing monologue about "What did we ever do before cell phones?" I said, "You're kidding, right? We had the newspaper entertainment section sitting there on the back seat, and we would pick it up and look at it. It was actually the same amount of time or quicker than what you just did with your phone. And it cost me $2.50 a month. And, just for an added bonus, we weren't being tracked by advertising companies or the government." He goes "...Oh," like I had ruined his fun, or like I had cast aspersions on his girlfriend or something. I run into crap like that all the time where innovation is more expensive, not much better, or actually FAR WORSE than the previous method, and people don't want to hear it. Posted by: RKae at September 13, 2015 11:04 AM (M/lRw) 91
64 ... I agree that Shakespeare is, properly, seen and heard on stage and, sometimes, on screen. But even with my hearing aids I have to concentrate on the spoken word in a live performance and miss part of the acting. (I can overcome this in music with a good set of headphones and because a visual aspect isn't as important.) Reading the words at leisure is letting me get the depths of meaning and possibilities you mentioned.
And I get to ham it up, in my mind, as much as I like. No doubt some of the deliveries are 'interesting'. With the 400th anniversary coming up next year, I hope there will be some good publications and productions. Posted by: JTB at September 13, 2015 11:06 AM (FvdPb) 92
39 On the advice of a moron (sorry, can't remember who) I've been reading "A Long Time Until Now ". Better than I expected, although the protagonists have many more useful skills for survival in the Paleolithic world than one would expect in a random group. It works,though,as does the human interaction.
Posted by: That SOB Van Owen at September 13, 2015 09:59 AM (xrET7) --- That was me, I think. I've looked at my immediate circle of coworkers, and should we be transported back to the stone age, the pool of skills would include foreign languages not yet in existence, video games, mixology, PowerPoint presentations, contract law, cartooning, and microwaving burritos. We have ONE guy who does First Response work and he would have the only practical skills in the bunch. We wouldn't last a week. Posted by: All Hail Eris, Scourge of the Atlantic Seaboard at September 13, 2015 11:06 AM (jR7Wy) 93
But even though Islam is hard to understand (it was written by an insane person, in all likelihood) it is not hidden, and peace is virtually nowhere to be found in it.
It is, by design, the exact polar opposite of Christianity. There is nothing in islam that refers to becoming a better person. No forgiveness, no mercy, no freedom, no compassion, no charity, nothing. It's a societal cancer that needs to be eradicated if man is to survive. It is the essence of evil and hatred. They will impose their will on us if we don't impose our will on them. It's that simple. Posted by: BackwardsBoy at September 13, 2015 11:07 AM (LUgeY) 94
not in a group sense.
what i mean is after gaming arrived nearly every fantasy novel had to have elves dwarves wizards etc. which was not always a feature before. it became so formulaic. it's one of the problems I have with the vox day book I'd mentioned earlier in fact. it comes across as influenced by warhammer, down to describing of various elf subraces and coloration of trolls, dwarf tech and culture, etc. Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at September 13, 2015 11:08 AM (Cq0oW) 95
84 53, I was standing at a table at a ministry fair at church last week when I heard a lady saying to someone else, "I just didn't like the way he talked about Islam." I then heard her mention the name "Peter Kreeft." I don't know if I have any of his books yet, but you know they will be in my future.
Posted by: Tonestaple at September 13, 2015 11:00 AM (dCTrv) I wonder if she was referring to Kreeft's book "Between Allah Jesus: What Christians Can Learn from Muslims" From the Amazon blurb: What would happen if Christians and a Muslim at a university talked and disagreed, but really tried to understand each other? What would they learn? That is the intriguing question Peter Kreeft seeks to answer in these imaginative conversations at Boston College. An articulate and engaging Muslim student named 'Isa challenges the Christian students and professors he meets on issues ranging from prayer and worship to evolution and abortion, from war and politics to the nature of spiritual struggle and spiritual submission. While Kreeft believes Christians should not learn extremism or unitarian theology from Muslims, he does believe that if we really listened we could learn much about devoted religious practice and ethics. She may have been objecting because Kreeft sounds conciliatory. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0830837469/ Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 11:08 AM (hbfwE) 96
All Hail Eris, so the title for you book will be Fifty Ways to Die Stupidly After the Apocalypse?
1. Never eat a burrito that is thawed. Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 11:10 AM (7IaDA) 97
masterminded by Jews (9/11 was a master plot, concocted by a handful of Israelis and dual passport Americans and carried out by the resources of the Mossad.)
Aye, ....yie..... yie *head shaking facepalm* Now, I know where the 3 crayons short imbeciles get their mind-numbing comedy from. 2) The 'dancing Israelis' on the morning of 9/11 had foreknowledge of things to come *head ---------> desk* Posted by: 98ZJUSMC Staring at the Lake in the rain at September 13, 2015 11:11 AM (kGWsl) 98
I'd given up reading both fantasy and sci fi decades ago as they were simply boring the shit out of me.
That is why I started *writing* scifi. Posted by: V the K at September 13, 2015 11:11 AM (c/Ipt) 99
The latest on the Islam front if that a Koran has been found and it was carbon dated back to before Mohamed was born.
Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 10:40 AM (t2KH5) They probably found it buried in an ancient "Palestinian" archaeological dig site . Posted by: Semper In Stercus at September 13, 2015 11:12 AM (BZAd3) 100
OT but gloomy and rainy here in Central FL since yesterday. It's like being in Seattle. No wonder they invented grunge and started shooting heroin.
Posted by: Insomniac at September 13, 2015 11:12 AM (FGIR8) 101
NaCly Dog, the Steuben reference is to Lucifer's Hammer too. Niven actually mentioned Steuben glass in at least one of his Known Space stories too.
Posted by: Kindltot at September 13, 2015 11:12 AM (3pRHP) 102
I've been reading Ralph Peters' Hell or Richmond about the Wilderness campaign. I quite liked his Cain at Gettysburg so I'm reading, and enjoying, this. Some reviewers say they historical fiction novel have too much historical and not enough fiction. Others launch ad hominem attacks against Peters such as diagnosing him as insane for his racism against our brothers in the Middle East. If you enjoy a realistic look at the events and people of the Civil War, you'll enjoy this book.
Incidentally, this is one of several books I'm "reading" by Immersive Reading. For perhaps 50% more in cost, you get the Kindle book.and the Audible book. You can listen and then pick up and.read at just the right spot as well as vice versa. I can listen on my way to the gym then plop my Kindle on the elliptical and keep going. Posted by: The Great White Snark at September 13, 2015 11:13 AM (Nwg0u) 103
It seems to me that Dungeons and Dragons diverted the pulp market into novels based on this or that trademarked game-campaign world. It also raised the profile of certain of the authors associated with this literature - Tracy Hickman, Douglas Niles, R. A. Salvatore. They weren't bad authors but they also weren't great.
Between them all they helped stuff bookstore shelves with elf poop, for maybe a decade and a half. Now I guess we got George Martin style "gritty" fantasy, and YA, so the old D&D-based dreck has retreated some. Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 13, 2015 11:13 AM (AVEe1) 104
I'm a fan of EFF's Privacy Badger. In the arms race between trackers & privacy tools, it seems to be one of the better current options -- https://www.eff.org/privacybadger
*** "In February 2014, Mozilla announced that it was going to add preset tiles that included ads to Firefox. Users hated the idea and Mozilla put the plan on hold. Now, Mozilla has not only brought back the idea of Suggested Tiles Firefox ads, it's deployed them." From Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols on ZDNet at http://goo.gl/VdjWgX Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 11:13 AM (0crjF) 105
I never did understand why so many asinine 911 conspiracy theories have taken such hold on so many otherwise intelligent people. Why they think a YouTube video or some rant on some obscure blog written by a nobody must contain the "real" truth about that "event" makes no sense, but I really think it's related to Bush Derangement Syndrome. It really bugged some people that Bush got a chance to act and look and BE presidential so soon after the disputed election, and it caused some to lose their mind. Same with Giuliani who really stepped up. The lefties in NY never forgave him for beating Dinkins.
That said, the only sliver of the conspiracy theories that I think might contain the truth is the fact that Flight 93--headed for the Capitol-could very well have been shot down intentionally. The truth might come out in 50 or 100 years-if ever. And even though I and most people here would think it was entirely justified, most Americans probably couldn't handle that. We have large swath of stupidity and immaturity among the citizenry. Posted by: JoeF. at September 13, 2015 11:14 AM (Dzu+I) 106
Bigby, might as well blame a guy with the initials JRRT then.
George RR Martin GoT series is not gritty, it is nihilism wrapped in a wolf's pelt. Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 11:18 AM (7IaDA) 107
Just like with most JFK conspiracies where groups that hated each other--The Mafia/ Castro; the CIA/ Rich Texas Oilmen etc. got together to assassinate the president, so it is with 9-11 theories. On the one hand, the Israelis did it; on the other, Pakistani cab drivers were tipped off and all stayed home that day. Which is it?
Posted by: JoeF. at September 13, 2015 11:19 AM (Dzu+I) 108
The latest on the Islam front if that a Koran has been found and it was carbon dated back to before Mohamed was born.
I took a look at the Koran in question and laughed hard. It is obviously a production of the Umayyad period and not even early Umayyad. (Canonical order of the available suras, 18-19-20; "bismillah al-rahman al-rahim" between the suras; an illuminated red dividing squiggle between suras; sura 18 which is known to be based on the 630 AD propaganda of Heraclius; ...) The carbon-dating has to be wrong. I hear that Umayyad-palaeography experts like Keith Small are starting to ask questions. Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 13, 2015 11:19 AM (AVEe1) 109
100 OT but gloomy and rainy here in Central FL since yesterday. It's like being in Seattle. No wonder they invented grunge and started shooting heroin.
Posted by: Insomniac at September 13, 2015 11:12 AM (FGIR ![]() And then there's the particularly high rate of serial killers. Spent a year and a half in Seattle. I'll pass in the future. Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at September 13, 2015 11:21 AM (yxw0r) 110
I never did understand why so many asinine 911 conspiracy theories have taken such hold on so many otherwise intelligent people.
A good friend of mine is like that. 40, very intelligent, Conservative, with a Libertarian bent, just started his own business six months ago. All in on the 9/11 CT's and ............... ....chemtrails. I don't know. *shrugs* Posted by: 98ZJUSMC Staring at the Lake in the rain at September 13, 2015 11:22 AM (kGWsl) 111
99 They probably found it buried in an ancient "Palestinian" archaeological dig site .
Posted by: Semper In Stercus at September 13, 2015 11:12 AM (BZAd3) They are saying now that it is "almost as old as Islam which is not what was originally posted. Could it be a little bit of editing by the library in Birmingham, England? http://artnt.cm/1K6pqRc Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 11:22 AM (t2KH5) 112
exdem13, NaCly Dog, and Kindltot - pretty much.
I should have written Morlock but my fingers typoed Eloi. And then I thought about it, Eloi is correct since it is the self-described pretty and smart ones who are truly smashing everything. Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 11:23 AM (7IaDA) 113
I watched the 25th anniversary re-run of Ken Burns' "The Civil War" on PBS this week.
Was Shelby Foote's written prose as elegant as his comments in this series? Is he worth reading? Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 11:23 AM (0crjF) Posted by: Soothsayer, now with a low profile tip and ergonomical handle at September 13, 2015 11:24 AM (9uvGO) 115
" I never did understand why so many asinine 911 conspiracy theories have taken such hold on so many otherwise intelligent people. "
Where have you found these so-called "intelligent" people? From where I sit, I am surrounded by dimwits, people who have utterly abandoned all logic and reason in favor of bumper sticker slogans and rehearsed three word responses to inquiries. Posted by: navybrat at September 13, 2015 11:26 AM (ETxiG) Posted by: Soothsayer, now with a low profile tip and ergonomical handle at September 13, 2015 11:26 AM (9uvGO) 117
113 Was Shelby Foote's written prose as elegant as his comments in this series? Is he worth reading?
Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 11:23 AM (0crjF) He is better than Ken Burns. I read the first volume of Foote's history. I got through part of the second volume but it bored me to death. Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 11:27 AM (t2KH5) 118
92
39 On the advice of a moron (sorry, can't remember who) I've been reading "A Long Time Until Now ". Better than I expected, although the protagonists have many more useful skills for survival in the Paleolithic world than one would expect in a random group. It works,though,as does the human interaction. Posted by: That SOB Van Owen at September 13, 2015 09:59 AM (xrET7) --- That was me, I think. I've looked at my immediate circle of coworkers, and should we be transported back to the stone age, the pool of skills would include foreign languages not yet in existence, video games, mixology, PowerPoint presentations, contract law, cartooning, and microwaving burritos. We have ONE guy who does First Response work and he would have the only practical skills in the bunch. We wouldn't last a week. --------------- It's fun little realizations like that one which have me enjoying zombie apocalypse stories of varying quality. For doomsday scenarios which do not cover om-nom-nom-nom, the old chestnuts Farnham's Freehold and Lucifer's Hammer are hard to beat. I also once read a great SF story about a post-Bomb USA where bandits plague a farming village, whose mayor decides to send out an appeal to The Scouts. Posted by: exdem13 at September 13, 2015 11:28 AM (ry4ab) 119
A good friend of mine is like that. 40, very intelligent, Conservative, with a Libertarian bent, just started his own business six months ago. All in on the 9/11 CT's and ...............
....chemtrails. I don't know. *shrugs* I don't understand that either. My best guitar-playing buddy is like that. I've known him since he was a teenager and never thought he'd believe in something as kooky as the 9/11 CT. And chemtrails. I can't get why some people will allow others to do their thinking for them. Where is their enthusiasm for truth? Posted by: BackwardsBoy at September 13, 2015 11:29 AM (LUgeY) 120
I have been enjoying Brad Thor's Code of Conduct. I haven't read one of Thor's books in a while and was pleased that it is such a good read. 5 Stars. And good conservative critique of the Soros/Wilsonian crowd.
Posted by: hmitchell3rd at September 13, 2015 11:29 AM (ZW1SS) 121
Where have you found these so-called "intelligent" people?
Here, mainly. The morons here are several cuts above commenters elsewhere, including conservative commenters elsewhere. Maybe the Pixyware screens for people who can think fast. Maybe the multiplier effect of smart comments keeps others on our toes. Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 13, 2015 11:31 AM (AVEe1) 122
Tolkien was original for his time and a decent writer, not awesome. he strikes me, years later, as the fantasy equivalent of Tolstoy in that they both yammered on for interminable pages about nonsense and backstory.
but, look again at the period and prior to it. CS Lewis wasn't writing elf poop and his dwarfs were a different critter than Tolkien. Barkers Tekumel is probably just as detailed as Middle Earth but owes nothing to the gutter ball everything after seems to have fallen into. There was plenty of strands the field could have followed but they all went one way and it sucked ass. publishers, of course, share a lot of the blame. Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at September 13, 2015 11:31 AM (Cq0oW) 123
I never did understand why so many asinine 911 conspiracy theories have
taken such hold on so many otherwise intelligent people. It makes people feel superior to believe they have access to secret knowledge no one else has figured out yet. FWIW, I think there are parts of 9-11 the Government is hiding, but the broad brush that Mohammedan fanatics hijacked airplanes and used them as bombs is what happened. Posted by: V the K at September 13, 2015 11:32 AM (c/Ipt) 124
They are saying now that it is "almost as old as Islam which is not what was originally posted. Could it be a little bit of editing by the library in Birmingham, England?
http://artnt.cm/1K6pqRc Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 11:22 AM (t2KH5) Another MAJOR problem with using radiocarbon dating on something like this is that the process is only ever considered to be accurate on samples over 50,000 years old (and this doesn't consider the myriad of other limitations to the process). *This statement doesn't deminish the practically of the process, in my mind. Posted by: Semper In Stercus at September 13, 2015 11:34 AM (BZAd3) 125
Anna, I half remember that the Morlocks were the ones actually tending the machines and making stuff work. I also remember there was some sort of pastiche on the sequence where the Morlocks were treated in a less negative light.
I am reminded of the dynamic turned on its head in the books The Godwhale, and Half Past Human by TJ Bass, where the Nebbish lived in immense underground Hives and the surface of the Earth was converted into agricultural land to feed the massive numbers of these humans. The only dwellers on the surface were the wild Pelagic humans who lived in small scattered undersea habitats on the continental shelf and survived by raiding the coastal gardens. Kind of a combination of the Time Machine, and The Population Bomb - Bass was an MD, too, and he put an awful lot of biochem into his work - first time I ever heard of the Krebs cycle in a Sci-Fi book. Posted by: Kindltot at September 13, 2015 11:34 AM (3pRHP) 126
A good friend of mine is like that. 40, very intelligent, Conservative, with a Libertarian bent, just started his own business six months ago. All in on the 9/11 CT's and ...............
....chemtrails. I don't know. *shrugs* Posted by: 98ZJUSMC Staring at the Lake in the rain at September 13, 2015 11:22 AM (kGWsl) Chemtrails?? Really?? Your friend picked himself a doozy. Of all the tinfoil hat conspiracy theories on the market these days, that one has got to be the most tinfoil hattiest. Well, almost. The one where lizard people are living among us is actually the most tinfoil hattiest. Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 11:35 AM (hbfwE) 127
Conspiracy theories, might as well ask why some still firmly hold to the notion FDR let Pearl Harbor happen.
What did someone say, it is very hard to reason someone out of a belief they never were reasoned into. Look at the psychology of the person holding that belief. Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 11:38 AM (7IaDA) 128
The one where lizard people are living among us is actually the most tinfoil hattiest.
We got worried our cover was blown, so moved operations to Ceres. Posted by: captain hss'thk at September 13, 2015 11:38 AM (AVEe1) 129
Well, almost. The one where lizard people are living among us is actually the most tinfoil hattiest.
Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 11:35 AM (hbfwE) You forgot HAARP. Posted by: Kindltot at September 13, 2015 11:38 AM (3pRHP) 130
113 ... "Was Shelby Foote's written prose as elegant as his comments in this series? Is he worth reading?"
I like Foote's prose, both his novels and the CW history. I even enjoyed the interviews he gave over the years. There's a stateliness in his writing, without being a prig, that appeals to me. Posted by: JTB at September 13, 2015 11:40 AM (FvdPb) 131
113
I watched the 25th anniversary re-run of Ken Burns' "The Civil War" on PBS this week. Was Shelby Foote's written prose as elegant as his comments in this series? Is he worth reading? --------------- Foote's best prose is best encountered in his novels. That being said, his omnibus history is a labor of love and history. He covers everything in the continental war, so be warned about going straight through. There are some good reasons for AoSHQ readers to take the plunge or selectively read at times. 1. He puts a lot of feeling into the narrative, so the why comes through as much as the who-what-where. 2. He runs through campaigns in sequence, so instead of the usual historical treatment of marches and battles seemingly happening in isolation, the strategic shift in focus and the ebb and flow of army energy is better to understand. 3. He shows that the vast majority of the war was fought west and south of the Appalachians. Yeah, yeah, Virginia and Bobby Lee, Gettysburg, and all that... The bulk of the fighting (if not the bulk of the slaughter) was in the Midwest and Deep South, and it was there that the true strategic decisions of the war were accomplished. 4. His history is one of the few surveys to take the time to mention the sideshows in some depth, like the attempted CSA conquest of New Mexico, the Red River debacle, and the perpetual tangle of "low intensity conflict" in the Kansas-Missouri-Arkansas triangle. Posted by: exdem13 at September 13, 2015 11:41 AM (ry4ab) 132
63, I went to the Muslim Student Association at UC Irvine because I knew they had three translations of the Koran posted right next to each other. I then searched for "love" and what I found is, yes, the word is in there, but unlike the Judaeo-Christian God, Allah's love for his creation is entirely conditional. Allah only loves you when you are following his rules to the letter and he doesn't love you any other time, apparently. The Judaeo-Christian God, the real one, loves His creation with eternal and unconditional love, no matter how badly we act up. He will always take us back. Not so with Allah, as I understand it, because none of your sins are forgotten by Allah and when you die, your virtue will be weighed against your sinfulness and whichever is greater determines your final destination. Allah is NOT a nice guy.
Posted by: Tonestaple at September 13, 2015 11:41 AM (dCTrv) 133
Did you ever contact Sherman and ask him to correct the record about your father?
Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 10:44 AM (hbfwE) Yes. Twice. Posted by: rrpjr at September 13, 2015 11:42 AM (s/yC1) 134
Was Shelby Foote's written prose as elegant as his comments in this series? Is he worth reading?
- It is one of my all time favorite books. Although the tree volume set is quite lengthy, Shelby has a way of compacting a lot of information into a small space, particularly regarding character. Be warned, however, that it is not about only the combat. There is much politics, economics etc. If you don't want to go whole hog, some excerpts have been published as independent books. The Stars In Their Courses, for example, is an excerpt about Gettysburg. Posted by: The Great White Snark at September 13, 2015 11:43 AM (Nwg0u) Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 11:43 AM (t2KH5) 136
Oregon Muse, what about the Nazis living on the Moon in secret colonies because they perfected the UFO?
Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 11:44 AM (7IaDA) 137
Anyone read "Infinite Jest," by David Foster Wallace?
Opinions? It was recomended to me by a friend, but he also loved "A Confederacy of Dunces," which I disliked intensely. Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at September 13, 2015 11:44 AM (Zu3d9) 138
112
exdem13, NaCly Dog, and Kindltot - pretty much. I should have written Morlock but my fingers typoed Eloi. And then I thought about it, Eloi is correct since it is the self-described pretty and smart ones who are truly smashing everything. ------------------ "Eloi" perfectly describes the urbanite hipster SJW crowd who live in an artificial carefree paradise while rough beings they barely see or acknowledge keep their world going, and sometimes pick off the ones who wander into a dark corner. Posted by: exdem13 at September 13, 2015 11:45 AM (ry4ab) Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at September 13, 2015 11:45 AM (Cq0oW) 140
Allah is NOT a nice guy.
Posted by: Tonestaple at September 13, 2015 11:41 AM (dCTrv) Fortunately, as you noted, he is a fiction. He is not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He does not exist. Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at September 13, 2015 11:47 AM (yxw0r) 141
Allah is NOT a nice guy.
Posted by: Tonestaple at September 13, 2015 11:41 AM (dCTrv) Fortunately, as you noted, he is a fiction. He is not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He does not exist. - I'm going to go full Church Lady on this. Could it be Satan? Posted by: The Great White Snark at September 13, 2015 11:49 AM (Nwg0u) 142
Allah is NOT a nice guy.
Posted by: Tonestaple at September 13, 2015 11:41 AM (dCTrv) Where did the idea that we all worship the same God come from anyway? It must be a fairly modern idea. Posted by: @votermom at September 13, 2015 11:50 AM (cbfNE) 143
National Geographic magazine is in trouble:
https://tinyurl.com/ovxcvql The magazine's domestic circulation peaked at about 12 million copies in the late 1980s; today, the publication reaches about 3.5 million subscribers in the United States and an additional 3 million subscribers abroad through non-English-language editions. Wow. I knew that subscriber numbers had peaked and were in decline, but I didn't know it was that bad. Welp, I'm about to add myself to that trend. I've been a subscriber for 45 years since I was 12 in 1970, but I have decided not to renew for 2016. The article blames the decline on the rise of the internet, and while that is certainly true, another problem is that they have gone all-in on the global warming/climate change BS. That's been the case for years, actually. I've mostly kept subscribing out of habit. I hardly even read it anymore; I just take it out of the mailbox and throw it on the pile. Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 11:51 AM (sdi6R) 144
135 RIP Moses Malone at 60 from a heart attack.
http://fxn.ws/1UPpCsU Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 11:43 AM (t2KH5) Well, crap. More evidence that big guys don't last long. Jerome Kersey and I shared the same height and weight. We are the Great Danes of the human world. Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at September 13, 2015 11:52 AM (yxw0r) 145
CreateSpace is asking me to describe Golden Isis. Should I just copy over the Kindle blurb?
Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 11:52 AM (7IaDA) 146
Well, almost. The one where lizard people are living among us is actually the most tinfoil hattiest.
If they all look like Morena Baccarin, I'm OK with that. Posted by: BackwardsBoy at September 13, 2015 11:52 AM (LUgeY) 147
I tried Epic's proxy on the previous thread. It does change my IP, but it changes it to one that is under the ban hammer. So at least we know what the trolls are using!
Posted by: t-bird at September 13, 2015 11:54 AM (FcR7P) 148
138
exdem13 "Eloi" perfectly describes the urbanite hipster SJW crowd who live in an artificial carefree paradise while rough beings they barely see or acknowledge keep their world going, and sometimes pick off the ones who wander into a dark corner. ---------- "Death to Urban Elves!" http://www.jack-donovan.com/axis/2014/08/death-to-urban-elves-2/ Posted by: chedolf at September 13, 2015 11:54 AM (ZtPHO) 149
@ 134 "If you don't want to go whole hog, some excerpts have been published as independent books. The Stars In Their Courses, for example, is an excerpt about Gettysburg."
Thanks to all for the comments. My library has this book and it sounds like a good way to get started. Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 11:56 AM (0crjF) 150
It's hard to not believe in lizard people in a world where Hillary! is a serious presidential candidate.
Posted by: The Great White Snark at September 13, 2015 11:56 AM (Nwg0u) 151
I'm a new ham and have decided to learn Morse code. Any suggested learning resources?
*** FWIW, I know Google is a bit lefty, but I personally don't think they are evil and they don't go SJW -- they don't want to impact earnings! My primary web browser is Google Chrome and I user Opera as my backup. Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 09:39 AM (0crjF) Surely there are some online classes or self-teaching software for International Morse Code? I'd be shocked if there weren't. And google isn't a "little bit" Left. They are whack-a-doodle left, and evil. Their search engine tracks you, and it would not surprise me that their browser does, too. That's their main business, after all, marketing your information. Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 13, 2015 11:56 AM (eNeRn) 152
>>Well, almost. The one where lizard people are living among us is actually the most tinfoil hattiest.
Posted by: OregonMuse Ha. Yes that is a crazy one. *flicks tongue* Posted by: James Carville at September 13, 2015 11:57 AM (c7vUv) 153
136 Oregon Muse, what about the Nazis living on the Moon in secret colonies because they perfected the UFO?
I thought that was just a movie on YouTube. Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 11:59 AM (hbfwE) 154
149 Thanks to all for the comments. My library has this book and it sounds like a good way to get started.
Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 11:56 AM (0crjF) If your library is like mine it is stocked as a shelf reference only meaning that it is not available for check out. But since I knew the librarian she let be check it out. Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 11:59 AM (t2KH5) 155
Anybody know the breakdown by party affiliation in 2012 prez election?
Posted by: Velvet Ambition at September 13, 2015 12:00 PM (R8hU8) Posted by: Sandra Flook at September 13, 2015 12:00 PM (Dwehj) 157
It's fun little realizations like that one which have me enjoying zombie apocalypse stories of varying quality. For doomsday scenarios which do not cover om-nom-nom-nom, the old chestnuts Farnham's Freehold and Lucifer's Hammer are hard to beat. I also once read a great SF story about a post-Bomb USA where bandits plague a farming village, whose mayor decides to send out an appeal to The Scouts.
Posted by: exdem13 at September 13, 2015 11:28 AM (ry4ab) --- Me, I like om-nom-rom-coms. Mark Henry's "Happy Hour of the Damned" is a fun zom-romp. But as many have said on the threads, "Lucifer's Hammer", "Fallen Angels", and "The Last Centurion" really get one to thinking about preserving the essentials. Posted by: All Hail Eris, Scourge of the Atlantic Seaboard at September 13, 2015 12:01 PM (jR7Wy) 158
@147 I can run Privacy Badger on this site with no difficulties. (Sorry, Ace!)
It found four trackers -- google analytics, google tag services, paypal, and sonobi. Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 12:01 PM (0crjF) 159
145 CreateSpace is asking me to describe Golden Isis. Should I just copy over the Kindle blurb?
Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 11:52 AM (7IaDA) --- It's The Sound of Music meets Daschel Hammet! Posted by: All Hail Eris, Scourge of the Atlantic Seaboard at September 13, 2015 12:03 PM (jR7Wy) 160
Facebook comment from guy in germany saying how bias coverage of invasion has been. Has yet to meet a german wh supports this crap and that the elected political leaders in Merkel's own party were not consulted. And remember, Merkel is the conservative so who does one vote for?
https://pbs.tw___.com/media/COy4KDjWoAIF6Dm.jpg Reminds me of our elected officials who do what they want and dont give a shit about what the people who elected the want. Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at September 13, 2015 12:03 PM (iQIUe) 161
I should have had Privacy Beaver on my email server. Sigh.
Posted by: Ready For Hillary!!11!! at September 13, 2015 12:04 PM (Dwehj) 162
*deploys Sweet Reason on CreateSpace*
No you silly gits, I have specifically told you I already have a Kindle version so stop trying to port this version over. Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 12:04 PM (7IaDA) 163
Re: 36
for you 7 and 8.1 users script to remove patches that added in telemetry over the last couple months. https://gist.github.com/xvitaly/eafa75ed2cb79b3bd4e9 Posted by: ThisBeingMilt at September 13, 2015 10:03 AM (MbrzC) So how does one use this? Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 13, 2015 12:05 PM (eNeRn) 164
158 It found four trackers -- google analytics, google tag services, paypal, and sonobi.
Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 12:01 PM (0crjF) Trackers don't track if you run noscript. Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 12:06 PM (t2KH5) 165
I'm going to go full Church Lady on this. Could it be Satan? Posted by: The Great White Snark at September 13, 2015 11:49 AM (Nwg0u) Of course it is. (I miss Dana Carvey.) And Votermom has a great point...when did the powers that be decide we all worship the same God? Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at September 13, 2015 12:06 PM (yxw0r) 166
I should have had Privacy Beaver on my email server. Sigh.
Posted by: Ready For Hillary!!11!! at September 13, 2015 12:04 PM (Dwehj) Theodore Cleaver: Gee Mrs. Clinton, it sounds like you're giving us the business. Posted by: TheQuietMan at September 13, 2015 12:06 PM (DiZBp) 167
Where did the idea that we all worship the same God come from anyway? It must be a fairly modern idea.
Posted by: @votermom at September 13, 2015 11:50 AM (cbfNE) I think it came from the 19th century liberal Christian theologians, with all of their "universal fatherhood of God and universal brotherhood of man" jazz Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 12:08 PM (hbfwE) 168
Theodore Cleaver: Gee Mrs. Clinton, it sounds like you're giving us the business.
Bill was never too hard on The Beaver. Posted by: Ready For Hillary!!11!! at September 13, 2015 12:09 PM (Dwehj) 169
You forgot HAARP.
Posted by: Kindltot at September 13, 2015 11:38 AM (3pRHP) I had to Google that. Ugh. ( *facepalm* ) Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 12:09 PM (hbfwE) 170
I started reading the WTC link in the post, but had to stop after a couple paragraphs because I could feel my intelligence leaking away.
Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 12:09 PM (sdi6R) 171
Hi everybody,
Observation from my dad's WWII diary after the breakout at Anzio and two days before the Allies entered Rome. June 2, 1944 36 Div finished off Velletri. Some 250-300 PW's. Other fronts including II Corps and Eighth Army moving well forward. Official count thru VI Corps cage is well over 6,500 PW's, which is more than they took through the entire Italian campaign up to the time the present offensive started. Camino fell to our troops late in period. Mopping up continues. The fog of battle hangs over all the country. Smoke, fog, and dust limits visibility to barely a mile. Without the war, undoubtedly this would be beautiful spring weather. Dad spent a fair amount of time during this period in a Stinson L5 observation plane viewing the battlefield from the air, a unique perspective. Ironically he often saw beauty among the havoc of war. This is a theme I am trying to capture in my novelization of the events. Hope to publish soon. Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at September 13, 2015 12:10 PM (NeFrd) 172
@151 Virtually EVERY search engine tracks you, as do virtually every browser and online advertising system. Google is no better or worse than the competition. It was just first in building the ad model.
"If you don't pay for the service, you ARE the product." TANSTAAFL "OK Google"/Google Now, "Cortana"/Bing, "Alexa"/Amazon, and "Siri"/Safari are both personal assistants and spying systems. Can't have one without the other. Apple and Microsoft decided they had to emulate Google. As more of us disable tracking, more sites are going to refuse service. Mobile ad blocking in Apple's iOS 9 is likely to bring things to a head quickly. Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 12:10 PM (0crjF) 173
among = amid
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at September 13, 2015 12:10 PM (NeFrd) 174
Dana Carvey is dead? Posted by: Soothsayer, now with a low profile tip and ergonomical handle at September 13, 2015 12:12 PM (9uvGO) 175
@164 True, but many sites don't work with noScript
You might want to consider ublock origin as an alternative, as recommended by Steve Gibson. https://www.grc.com/sn/sn-523.pdf Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 12:13 PM (0crjF) 176
So how does one use this?
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 13, 2015 12:05 PM (eNeRn) Copy and paste the script commands it to a text file, change the extension to .cmd, save it, and run it. Although I would be very careful about running stuff on my computer from some guy on the internet. The commands look OK, but as a general rule, you need to use extreme caution. Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 12:13 PM (hbfwE) 177
The old joke is, "No, just his career"
Posted by: Kindltot at September 13, 2015 12:13 PM (3pRHP) 178
Funny is that Germany has just been forced to back off their shit. It was so bad they've actually temporarily exited the Schengen pact (the EU open-borders treaty) and they're going to start building separate camps for the refugees and they're implementing border controls again.
And- surprise surprise- they're begging for everyone else to share the refugees. This is why you don't go off and do crap like this unilaterally. Germany expected everyone else to jump off the cliff with them, and now they're left holding the bag. Posted by: Zack at September 13, 2015 12:14 PM (Qerbt) 179
Posted by: Dana- author of Outward Frontier, a military sci-fi novel available on Amazon kindle at September 13, 2015 09:14 AM (eTvJc)
I know who you used to be, now that I went and looked at a couple of Kindle books I bought a year or so ago. Talk about a change in writing style! Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at September 13, 2015 12:14 PM (GDulk) 180
170 I started reading the WTC link in the post, but had to stop after a couple paragraphs because I could feel my intelligence leaking away.
Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 12:09 PM (sdi6R) Yeah, that's my bad, I should have posted a warning about the potential for IQ loss. Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 12:14 PM (hbfwE) 181
Zombie, could your movie be Sooner or Later with Rex Smith, featuring the minor hit You Take My Breath Away?
Posted by: Ynot you say at September 13, 2015 12:15 PM (TFWFz) 182
Okay my so awesome fellow literary Morons, it looks like the printed version of Golden Isis is finally available for your purchase.
Here is the direct link to CreateSpace store - https://www.createspace.com/5705570 Not sure how long it will take to replicate to Amazon. Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 12:16 PM (7IaDA) 183
I think it came from the 19th century liberal Christian theologians, with all of their "universal fatherhood of God and universal brotherhood of man" jazz
Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 12:08 PM (hbfwE) The Baha'i religion has it as a tenet, and they were founded in the mid-19th century, so that is consistent. Posted by: @votermom at September 13, 2015 12:16 PM (cbfNE) 184
This is why you don't go off and do crap like this
unilaterally. Germany expected everyone else to jump off the cliff with them, and now they're left holding the bag. Posted by: Zack at September 13, 2015 12:14 PM (Qerbt) Proves the old adage that you can have open borders and you can have welfare, but not both at the same time. And thanks to the open border Bushes and Obamas we are trying hard for both. Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 12:18 PM (t2KH5) 185
Since the Enlightenment, the West has forgotten how to oppose fanaticism,
Say what? We did pretty well against fanatacism in WWII. Europe threw in the towel when their empires collapsed - and they've been trying to commit societal suicide ever since. America was doing fine until Reagan finally succeeded in destroying the Soviet Union. But, once the USSR disappeared America immediately pretended that it had never existed and we joined Europe on that suicidal drive. We passed the Eurotrash with the election of the 84 IQ, talentless, dog-eating America-hating retard - blew past them with that pathetic attempt (sadly successful) to totally do away with America. Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at September 13, 2015 12:18 PM (zc3Db) 186
174
Dana Carvey is dead? Posted by: Soothsayer, now with a low profile tip and ergonomical handle at September 13, 2015 12:12 PM (9uvGO) you people are terrible.... Posted by: phoenixgirl, i was born a rebel at September 13, 2015 12:19 PM (0O7c5) 187
Harry's has some decent comments for a change where readers are recalling their youthful enthusiasm in the 1970s for actresses who proudly removed their knickers. Jenny Agutter is a favorite. ![]() http://hurryupharry.org/2015/09/11/oh-shut-up/ Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at September 13, 2015 12:19 PM (iQIUe) 188
174
Dana Carvey is dead? Posted by: Soothsayer, now with a low profile tip and ergonomical handle at September 13, 2015 12:12 PM (9uvGO) Or retired. Off to a better place. Like Buzzion and Jeff Goldblum. *moment of silence* Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at September 13, 2015 12:20 PM (yxw0r) Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 12:20 PM (7IaDA) 190
Proves the old adage that you can have open borders and you can have welfare, but not both at the same time. And thanks to the open border Bushes and Obamas we are trying hard for both.
Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 12:18 PM (t2KH5) Actually ... you can't really have either and sustain a decent nation. I don't know why this old adage became accepted. Maybe because it's cute? But it isn't correct. neither is Margaret Thatcher's cute line that "Socialism works until you run out of other people's money." Socialism doesn't work even with unlimited amounts of other people's money. Socialism forces stagnation, no matter how rich a nation is. Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at September 13, 2015 12:21 PM (zc3Db) 191
The carbon-dating has to be wrong. I hear that Umayyad-palaeography experts like Keith Small are starting to ask questions.
Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 13, 2015 11:19 AM (AVEe1) It's on parchment, which is treated lambskin. They dated the parchment. But parchment was scarce and costly. Some muzzie writer probably got hold of some non-islamic text, and scraped the ink off with a knife, and re-used the parchment. After all, to their way of "thinking", non-islamic texts are worthless, anyhow. Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 13, 2015 12:22 PM (eNeRn) 192
148
"Death to Urban Elves!" http://www.jack-donovan.com/axis/2014/08/death-to-urban-elves-2/ ----------- Heh heh heh, it is mighty, and accurate. The smart know-it-all Hipster Elves are the pointy-eared idiots who petitioned for Sauron to be admitted into Ost-in-Edhil and helped him to forge the Rings of Power. There are no monster-hunting wardens of Mirkwood or knights-errant of Rivendell in their ranks. Posted by: exdem13 at September 13, 2015 12:24 PM (ry4ab) 193
190 Actually ... you can't really have either and
sustain a decent nation. I don't know why this old adage became accepted. Maybe because it's cute? But it isn't correct. neither is Margaret Thatcher's cute line that "Socialism works until you run out of other people's money." Socialism doesn't work even with unlimited amounts of other people's money. Socialism forces stagnation, no matter how rich a nation is. Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at September 13, 2015 12:21 PM (zc3Db) Technically you can not get federal welfare if you are a resident alien however they skate around this by registering their illegal kids who were born here. Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 12:25 PM (t2KH5) 194
"universal fatherhood of God and universal brotherhood of man"
May one presume that you are not a Traveler from The East, so to speak? Si quaeris those otherwise intelligent and industrious citizens who are up to their armpits in conspiracy theories, you need look no farther than your local Lodge. Founded as they are on a pretty outlandish conspiracy (at least it has some good guys in it), I haven't met a Brother yet who wouldn't bite on a fresh one. And yes, I realize that I'm in barrelful-of-swords-over-Niagara territory, here. Posted by: Stringer Davis at September 13, 2015 12:29 PM (xq1UY) 195
I disabled Java on the advice of some other Morons to help with page load speed and cut data suckage here. Damn, does this place ever load/reload guickly now.
Posted by: The Margins at September 13, 2015 12:29 PM (1eYr7) 196
exdem13 the hipster elves 'mean well' since they see the long warp of the loom called life. Except when they are being so clever and tangle up their shoe-laces by being so haughty.
Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 12:29 PM (7IaDA) 197
OT
does anyone know if coons will tear heads off chickens and not eat the body? I had 2 chickens killed. There was an opening at the top of the coop maybe 4 inches, for a vent. It's blocked now. Hardware wire walls. Would a weasel only kill 2? Posted by: CaliGirl at September 13, 2015 12:30 PM (BHl9S) 198
does anyone know if coons will tear heads off chickens and not eat the body?
Posted by: CaliGirl at September 13, 2015 12:30 PM (BHl9S) Do you have any Haitians in the area? Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at September 13, 2015 12:32 PM (zc3Db) 199
As more of us disable tracking, more sites are going to refuse service. Mobile ad blocking in Apple's iOS 9 is likely to bring things to a head quickly.
Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 12:10 PM (0crjF) I use DuckDuckGo as my search engine, which at least claims not to track me. And Pale Moon for a browser, with AdBlock latitude and Noscript running. But google is much more evil than their competitors, based on who they support. Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 13, 2015 12:32 PM (eNeRn) 200
195 I disabled Java on the advice of some other Morons to help with page load speed and cut data suckage here. Damn, does this place ever load/reload guickly now.
Posted by: The Margins at September 13, 2015 12:29 PM (1eYr7) Did you mean JavaScript or Java? And as far as JavaScript being turned off goes - wow. Posted by: First-Rate Political Hack at September 13, 2015 12:34 PM (sJuWI) 201
It's on parchment, which is treated lambskin.
Probably handed down for generations as the family beat-sock until the lanolin wore off. Then "some muzzie writer scraped it off with a knife, and re-used the parchment. " Posted by: t-bird at September 13, 2015 12:34 PM (FcR7P) 202
94 "universal fatherhood of God and universal brotherhood of man"
May one presume that you are not a Traveler from The East, so to speak? Heh, no, but I remember reading the beginning of Lew Wallace's' great novel Ben Hur, and it starts out with the 3 Wise Men meeting up and comparing notes, and thinking how odd it was that three mideastern kings who lived over 2 millennia ago all sounded like 19th century liberals. Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 12:35 PM (hbfwE) 203
197
OT does anyone know if coons will tear heads off chickens and not eat the body? I had 2 chickens killed. There was an opening at the top of the coop maybe 4 inches, for a vent. It's blocked now. Hardware wire walls. Would a weasel only kill 2? Posted by: CaliGirl at September 13, 2015 12:30 PM (BHl9S) santeria Posted by: phoenixgirl, i was born a rebel at September 13, 2015 12:35 PM (0O7c5) 204
Those proles with the "Co-Exist" bumper stickers in religious symbols in actually "co-exist" with no one except their own kind.
Libs gotta lib unless your not a lib then they want you to sit down and shut up. Posted by: Hairyback Guy at September 13, 2015 12:35 PM (ej1L0) 205
Did you mean JavaScript or Java? And as far as JavaScript being turned off goes - wow.
Posted by: First-Rate Political Hack at September 13, 2015 12:34 PM (sJuWI) Javascript, obviously. And you get the added advantage that a good deal of the pre-processing byt he text box is done through javascript, so when you turn it off you gain access to all unicode characters. Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at September 13, 2015 12:36 PM (zc3Db) 206
I have read a number of accounts of people walking around Europe right after WW2 attempting to get back home or find relatives. It seems weird that people could walk across countries (europe really isnt that big) and among people who wanted to kill them a few months earlier. Sometimes there were train rides they could use but most of it was by walking.
I read one story about some Jews who were liberated from a KZ, managed to get hold of a huge car (gas was a problem) and ended up driving to one of their SS guards family home in germany to kill him. They knew where everyone lived b/c some of the prisoners worked in the payroll office of the camp. So, they go to this guy's house and it is his parents home and they invite them in. SS guy shows up and is as friendly as hell and they all set down for a meal. Ex -prisoners end up totally freaked out and leave. I have to find out where I read it. It was one of the million bizarre stories of WW2. Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at September 13, 2015 12:37 PM (iQIUe) 207
does anyone know if coons will tear heads off chickens and not eat the body?
Maybe if the raccoon couldn't get more than his paws in and couldn't drag the whole chicken out. Posted by: t-bird at September 13, 2015 12:37 PM (FcR7P) 208
The one where lizard people are living among us is actually the most tinfoil hattiest.
Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 11:35 AM (hbfwE) ****Ahem**** Posted by: Lizard Lives Matter at September 13, 2015 12:37 PM (NqQAS) 209
They were taken where they roost. That part is elevated and made of wood.
http://tinypic.com/r/295b812/8 Posted by: CaliGirl at September 13, 2015 12:38 PM (BHl9S) 210
https://youtu.be/bApaK6qUfyI caligirl
Posted by: phoenixgirl, i was born a rebel at September 13, 2015 12:38 PM (0O7c5) 211
Did you mean JavaScript or Java? And as far as JavaScript being turned off goes - wow.
Posted by: First-Rate Political Hack at September 13, 2015 12:34 PM (sJuWI) ***** Java was the option I was,given in settings, with the ability to white list sites. This is in Chrome. Loads unbelievably fast now. Posted by: The Margins at September 13, 2015 12:38 PM (QNcbF) 212
Was Shelby Foote's written prose as elegant as his comments in this series? Is he worth reading?
Posted by: doug at September 13, 2015 11:23 AM (0crjF) Those are two different questions, sort of. Well, at least one and a half. Foote is a good writer but his history of the Civil War is very shallow; basically just one long series of colorful anecdotes. So read him for pleasure, definitely, but not for knowledge of the subject. For that, the best history of the Civil War is an eight-volume series by Allan Nevins. The most important and unique of those eight are the first four, which cover the years 1847 through 1861 (before the shooting started). If you really want to understand the origins of the war, read those. The next four do a masterful job of describing the war on all fronts and tying the military campaigns in with the political and economic backstory. Finish all eight volumes and you will earn the coveted Civil War scripture knowledge merit badge. Nevins is a good writer, too, although not as florid as Foote. Posted by: HTL at September 13, 2015 12:39 PM (g9xCo) 213
Losing a stale sock.
Posted by: ManWithNoParty, unperson from Free Market Jesus Paradise at September 13, 2015 12:39 PM (mG3Qj) 214
197
There is a place maybe 4 miles from me on winery property where they do that. It's really creepy up there Posted by: CaliGirl at September 13, 2015 12:40 PM (BHl9S) 215
Listened to the first of Jim Butcher's Furies series on TTS. It is a lot grimmer than the Dresden series with very little of what I consider Butcher's signature humor until nearly the end. Overdrive for the greater Houston area only has books 1, 2, and 5 for some reason and Half-Price Books had 3 and 4, so I did pick them up and hope I don't regret it.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at September 13, 2015 12:41 PM (GDulk) 216
I'm heading out to the library to pick up my first Vince Flynn novel, "Term Limits". I want to see what all you right wing nut jobs are going on about.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Scourge of the Atlantic Seaboard at September 13, 2015 12:43 PM (jR7Wy) 217
204
Libs gotta lib unless your not a lib then they want you to sit down and shut up. Posted by: Hairyback Guy at September 13, 2015 12:35 PM (ej1L0) Don't forget "fired from your job" and/or "driven out of business". Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 12:44 PM (sdi6R) 218
Ever hear American Cousin being read out loud? It was suppose to be a real knee slapper back in the day. Now, I can;t understand a think they are saying. Maybe, the Ace of Spades, HeadQuarters Playas' shd do an ensemble reading of American Cousin? Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at September 13, 2015 12:46 PM (iQIUe) 219
so.... kasich won't support shutting down the gov't over planned parenthood......
Posted by: phoenixgirl, i was born a rebel at September 13, 2015 12:46 PM (0O7c5) 220
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at September 13, 2015 12:10 PM (NeFrd)
I'm really looking forward to getting that when it's finished. Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at September 13, 2015 12:46 PM (GDulk) 221
Well on the bright side, All Hail Eris is not consulting books on pirates; that might have given her ideas.
![]() Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 12:47 PM (7IaDA) 222
For that, the best history of the Civil War is an eight-volume series by Allan Nevins.
- Well, we found one. Someone who thinks Foote wasn't long enough. Posted by: The Great White Snark at September 13, 2015 12:49 PM (Nwg0u) 223
I enjoy Long Day's Journey Into Night, but the rest of O'Neill's work - sheesh! I can barely understand it. I blame it on how much American English has changed. I like the Iceman Cometh but how can anyone plod or sit thru that much human misery? I thought of ONeill bc he and his pals use to do summer theater at CapeCod. I dont think any of them were real actors but they wd act out ONeill's plays. We cd do something like that. Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at September 13, 2015 12:50 PM (iQIUe) 224
I read one story about some Jews who were liberated from a KZ, managed to get hold of a huge car (gas was a problem) and ended up driving to one of their SS guards family home in germany to kill him....
Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at September 13, 2015 12:37 PM (iQIUe) What a story. I'd like to know where you read this, too. Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 12:50 PM (hbfwE) 225
@202 O man, we could go on all day about Lew Wallace. The penultimate Man of His Times, in a literary sense. Ambassador to the Ottomans, and the man who got Billy The Kid. To understand 19th century American sensibilities, you have to get Ben-Hur ("A Tale of The Christ"). Moby-Dick was a failed, forgotten experiment.
That said, the writing is for sure 19th century, and he was kind of a piece of work. Posted by: Stringer Davis at September 13, 2015 12:51 PM (xq1UY) 226
They actually still have playwrite workshops where writers have professional actors do their plays. I had an actor neighbor who use to do that in Ojai. He enjoyed it. Lasted a week. They werent' big productions. The actors just read from the scripts and there was some minor blocking and no real costumes. It just gave the playwrites an idea of who their play would look.
Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at September 13, 2015 12:52 PM (iQIUe) 227
Browns 20 jets 17
Posted by: simplemind at September 13, 2015 12:52 PM (BTnAK) 228
>>>Interview With A Manly Man Here are a couple of excerpts from a recent American Spectator interview with conservative author Brad Thor.
Brad Thor is a wuss. If she had any courage, she'd admit that she identifies as a woman, and get a sex change. Posted by: Caitlyn Jenner at September 13, 2015 12:53 PM (+eVpX) Posted by: William of Ockham at September 13, 2015 12:53 PM (oKE6c) 230
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at September 13, 2015 12:46 PM (GDulk)
**** If I go the self-publishing route will probably be available by early November. In that event I expect I will do a promotional offer of a free Kindle version and announce it here for the Horde for anybody who's interested. (I'll mark the price up before I tell my family it's available, they get to pay full price) ![]() Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at September 13, 2015 12:55 PM (NeFrd) 231
205
And you get the added advantage that a good deal of the pre-processing byt he text box is done through javascript, so when you turn it off you gain access to all unicode characters. Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at September 13, 2015 12:36 PM (zc3Db) ΅Ζΰιόρ! Hmm. Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 12:55 PM (sdi6R) 232
What a story. I'd like to know where you read this, too.
Posted by: OregonMuse at September 13, 2015 12:50 PM (hbfwE) ========= Yeah, I will look around. I just worry that some people wd see the story as humanizing the SS guy and he does not deserve that. . Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at September 13, 2015 12:55 PM (iQIUe) 233
an ensemble reading of American Cousin?
Same ending? [leaps, turns ankle, something in Latin, rides off in all directions] Could answer age-old question, Other than that, how was the play? Posted by: Stringer Davis at September 13, 2015 12:56 PM (xq1UY) 234
Doesn't work with Epic, apparently.
Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 12:56 PM (sdi6R) Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at September 13, 2015 12:56 PM (zc3Db) 236
&&&&&&&&
Test Posted by: ManWithNoParty, unperson from Free Market Jesus Paradise at September 13, 2015 12:57 PM (cygkw) 237
>>>There's a photo of BT that accompanies the interview, and the phrase "boyish good looks" comes to mind. I can see how Mr. Thor would be very appealing to the 'ettes.
"boyish good looks" is any oxymoron, since all forms of masculinity are ugly and induce revulsion. It is simply not plausible that any women is really attracted to men, no matter hpw they look. They simply feel sorry for them, but this sympathy is misplaced, given that they are violent oppressors. They should be locked in camps and given SUVs so that they can kill themselves off in violent games. Then women will revert to their natural state, which is lesbianism. Posted by: Caitlyn Jenner at September 13, 2015 01:01 PM (+eVpX) Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 01:01 PM (sdi6R) Posted by: phoenixgirl, i was born a rebel at September 13, 2015 01:01 PM (0O7c5) 240
Overdrive for the greater Houston area only has books 1, 2, and 5 for some reason and Half-Price Books had 3 and 4, so I did pick them up
That's how I've been stocking up on the "There Will Be War" series - used bookstores. I won't buy them new and give Tor my money. I could get the Castalia House reissue but browsing used bookstores is just so much more fun. I reviewed the ones I'd found up to now, here: #2, 4, 5, 6. This past week I've found #3 and 7. Woot! I haven't started #3 yet (I'd been finishing Douglas). Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 13, 2015 01:01 PM (AVEe1) 241
Guess I don't know how to do it.
Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 01:01 PM (sdi6R) 242
still no ampersands for me
Posted by: phoenixgirl, i was born a rebel at September 13, 2015 01:02 PM (0O7c5) 243
Yeah, I will look around. I just worry that some people wd see the story as humanizing the SS guy and he does not deserve that. .
People need to understand that evil doesn't snarl and twist its moustache ends. Its not some demonic constant horror, the worst people in history were kind and decent at times. SS prison camp guards were good to their kids and cracked jokes to each other like any soldier. Being a nice guy otherwise doesn't somehow negate the evil you do. Posted by: Christopher Taylor at September 13, 2015 01:03 PM (39g3+) 244
exdem13, I do love Drake's Igniting the Reaches trilogy. I've re-read those until I had to buy replacement copies.
Posted by: Kindltot at September 13, 2015 01:04 PM (3pRHP) 245
Guess I don't know how to do it.
Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 01:01 PM (sdi6R) You might be doing it correctly but just using characters that don't print. I lied a bit when I said "all unicode". Also, you have to use the base ten reps for the characters (at least I have had to). Hex has never worked for me. Other than that just the normal "&#XXXX;" will do it. Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at September 13, 2015 01:05 PM (zc3Db) Posted by: The Great White Snark at September 13, 2015 01:08 PM (Nwg0u) 247
I was just trying the usual foreign punctuation, like accents, tildes, and umlauts. I don't know what base ten reps means.
Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 01:08 PM (sdi6R) Posted by: John Wilkes Scalzi at September 13, 2015 01:10 PM (W5DcG) Posted by: Soothsayer, now with a low profile tip and ergonomical handle at September 13, 2015 01:11 PM (HMqgh) 250
There are lions dying in Zimbabwe, and all you decadent, selfish Americans can think about is, "how can I display ampersands on pixy?" Shameful!!! Ok, that was fun. That rush of moral superiority is like crack to me.
Posted by: Caitlyn Jenner at September 13, 2015 01:13 PM (+eVpX) Posted by: The Great White Snark at September 13, 2015 01:13 PM (Nwg0u) 252
CNET offers this up - the 15 Most Powerful Female Superheroes
http://preview.tinyurl.com/os4g3zk Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 01:13 PM (7IaDA) 253
Racoons will kill poultry, not haul it off, just kill it.
Damned coons getting into my corn too. Hate 'em. Posted by: Kindltot at September 13, 2015 01:13 PM (3pRHP) 254
I was just trying the usual foreign punctuation, like accents, tildes, and umlauts.
A lot of them don't print from the regular extended ASCII. You have to find other unicode versions for some of them. I don't know what base ten reps means. Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 01:08 PM (sdi6R) Not hex ... though that might not mean anything to you either. You can try a couple of characters that will print: Type: ì and í Also, & is the ampersand. Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at September 13, 2015 01:13 PM (zc3Db) Posted by: Soothsayer, now with a low profile tip and ergonomical handle at September 13, 2015 01:14 PM (HMqgh) 256
ì
Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 01:15 PM (sdi6R) 257
Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 01:08 PM (sdi6R)
And don't go too crazy with it or you'll tick off Pixy. Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at September 13, 2015 01:15 PM (zc3Db) 258
I would actually pay to see a movie version of the DC Comics Bombshells just from the cover.
Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 01:16 PM (7IaDA) 259
So why doesn't the Option key work? Those numeric codes are too hard to remember.
Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 01:16 PM (sdi6R) 260
Has a sad at the passing of Moses Malone.
He was my age. Is this the NFL thread, or can be treated as same? Chiefs up 7-0 early. Posted by: teej who wants a lab puppy at September 13, 2015 01:16 PM (NqaQ9) 261
Is it too much to have a football thread up before kickoff?
Posted by: buzzion at September 13, 2015 01:17 PM (zt+N6) 262
Sept 4 th was the anniversary of the infamous "Give Me Your Children" speech. I thought it was the 12th but I think that was the day they shipped the kids off to Chelmno where they were murdered in gas vans. It's a horrifying speech -- give up your children so others can live... Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at September 13, 2015 01:17 PM (iQIUe) 263
So why doesn't the Option key work?
I never used it. Don't even know what it is ![]() Those numeric codes are too hard to remember. Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 01:16 PM (sdi6R) Search for a page of "ASCII codes" or unicode tables. Or just write down the codes of the characters you might use. Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at September 13, 2015 01:19 PM (zc3Db) 264
I'm getting the Bears/Packers game and the Colts/Bills game. Not watching either. Posted by: Soothsayer, now with a low profile tip and ergonomical handle at September 13, 2015 01:21 PM (HMqgh) 265
Three is easy.
Batgirl Wonder Woman And,,, um,,, uh,,, Supergirl? I mean, there had to be a supergirl,, right? Posted by: teej who wants a lab puppy at September 13, 2015 01:21 PM (NqaQ9) 266
Spiderwoman is another. And there has been a dusting off of Hawkgirl. Don't forget She-Hulk.
Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 01:23 PM (7IaDA) 267
Is it too much to have a football thread up before kickoff?
You'll get nothing and you'll like it. Posted by: Ace of Smails HQ at September 13, 2015 01:23 PM (lakYA) 268
Is it too much to have a football thread up before kickoff?
We've been clamoring for elbows for a while. Peaches put it best with the "who ya gotta blow" comment the other night. 'Ettes is teh awesome. Posted by: BackwardsBoy at September 13, 2015 01:24 PM (LUgeY) 269
181 Zombie, could your movie be Sooner or Later with Rex Smith, featuring the minor hit You Take My Breath Away?
Posted by: Ynot you say at September 13, 2015 12:15 PM Ynot, Zombie said no. Commenter Mortimer made that suggestion in the ONT. http://acecomments.mu.nu/?blog=86&post=358948#c24178028 Posted by: olddog in mo at September 13, 2015 01:24 PM (k0Jgx) 270
There are 15 girl superheros?? I can't even name three.
Posted by: Soothsayer ------ She Hulk Thor me Posted by: Caitlyn Jenner at September 13, 2015 01:24 PM (+eVpX) Posted by: Soothsayer, now with a low profile tip and ergonomical handle at September 13, 2015 01:26 PM (HMqgh) Posted by: Soothsayer, now with a low profile tip and ergonomical handle at September 13, 2015 01:27 PM (HMqgh) 273
Thank you so much for this thread.
I occasionally take breaks from news and the HQ. But threads like this remind me I do miss out on some really thought provoking threads. Posted by: Stateless Infidel at September 13, 2015 01:27 PM (AC0lD) 274
There is now an elbow thread.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at September 13, 2015 01:28 PM (GDulk) Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at September 13, 2015 01:28 PM (NeFrd) 276
Tyler Locket with a regular season punt return for touchdown in his first regular season game. Great kid with great game.
Chiefs up two td's now with Kelce's second TD catch. Gotta go.@ Posted by: teej who wants a lab puppy at September 13, 2015 01:28 PM (NqaQ9) Posted by: BackwardsBoy at September 13, 2015 01:28 PM (LUgeY) 278
nood NFL
Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 01:29 PM (t2KH5) Posted by: Soothsayer, now with a low profile tip and ergonomical handle at September 13, 2015 01:29 PM (HMqgh) 280
221 Well on the bright side, All Hail Eris is not consulting books on pirates; that might have given her ideas.
Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 12:47 PM (7IaDA) --- Ye do ken what day is fast arrivin', don't ye? Posted by: All Hail Eris, Scourge of the Atlantic Seaboard at September 13, 2015 01:33 PM (jR7Wy) 281
Arrrrggg lassie!!!! That Aye do!!!!
Posted by: Anna Puma at September 13, 2015 01:35 PM (7IaDA) 282
Oh dang, late, but if anyone is still interested in Shelby Foote/Civil War history books, you might consider one comprehensive survey book as an alternative to Foote's very good but very long books. Battle Cry of Freedom by McPherson. Read it when it came out many years ago. At that time it was the best/first one-volume summary history, or that's the buzz I recall. Anyway, it was quite good. Have read quite a bit on the Civil War and that book I found very well executed and it provided a good grasp of the major issues/causes/events. Also recall to this day the many interesting small cultural tidbits, such as the changes in language directly to attributable to the war (use of "the" instead of "these" United States following the war, origins of many words still in the American lexicon, etc.). Posted by: rhomboid at September 13, 2015 01:39 PM (QDnY+) Posted by: Retired Geezer at September 13, 2015 01:40 PM (i4j3t) 284
Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 01:40 PM (sdi6R) 285
c7
Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 01:42 PM (sdi6R) 286
I give up.
Posted by: rickl at September 13, 2015 01:42 PM (sdi6R) 287
Squaresville, baby.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Scourge of the Atlantic Seaboard at September 13, 2015 01:42 PM (jR7Wy) Posted by: @votermom at September 13, 2015 01:51 PM (cbfNE) 289
I just finished "Rain: Rise of the Living Dead" Book 1.
Yeah, it's another zombie apocalypse book but it was good enough to move on to the next installments. "Rain" is still a free download from Kindle. http://amzn.to/1ONZEnP It starts off with our unlikely protagonist, who's a gamer geek, out hiking in Wales with his best buddy, the buddy's girlfriend and her friend, who the geek has a crush on. Through the thick fog, the hikers can make out what could be other hikers or zombies, since a lightning-fast plague has descended upon the UK since they began their hiking/camping trip a day ago. Mayhem ensues. Posted by: RushBabe at September 13, 2015 01:55 PM (1WSHx) 290
So; is Rain ripping off John Ringo's Graveyard Sky series?
Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 02:03 PM (t2KH5) 291
So; is Rain ripping off John Ringo's Graveyard Sky series?
Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 02:03 PM (t2KH5) Can't say for sure. I haven't read the Ringo books. Heck, "Rain" is free. What have you got to lose? Posted by: RushBabe at September 13, 2015 02:10 PM (1WSHx) 292
If this isn't satire --- it's hilariously sad: Mom writes how she inadvertently raised an ecotwit monster.
http://tinyurl.com/pjbsoeo Posted by: Lizzy at September 13, 2015 02:10 PM (NOIQH) 293
Underground Sky Amazon description.
Zombies are real. And we made them. Are you prepared for the zombie apocalypse? The Smith family is, with the help of a few marines. When an airborne zombie plague is released, bringing civilization to a grinding halt, the Smith family, Steven, Stacey, Sophia and Faith, take to the Atlantic to avoid the chaos. The plan is to find a safe haven from the anarchy of infected humanity. What they discover, instead, is a sea composed of the tears of survivors and a passion for bringing hope. For it is up to the Smiths and a small band of Marines to somehow create the refuge that survivors seek in a world of darkness and terror. Now with every continent a holocaust and every ship an abattoir, life is lived under a graveyard sky. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). It was released in 2013. Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 02:15 PM (t2KH5) 294
Zombie Anime "School Live" it looks like a very light hearted anime, about a bunch of girls that live in a school after a Zombie apocalypse. I thought the first episode was so stupid but I watched it till the end and was blown away by how dark it turned in the last minute of the show.
For thos who recommended "Hard Luck Hank Screw the Galaxy" very good and funny book. The third book in the series was not as good. Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at September 13, 2015 02:16 PM (c4yY7) 295
Well, we found one. Someone who thinks Foote wasn't long enough.
Posted by: The Great White Snark at September 13, 2015 12:49 PM (Nwg0u) There was another. But I tracked him down and ended his life for daring to agree with me. Now I am the only one. Posted by: HTL at September 13, 2015 02:19 PM (g9xCo) 296
Anybody here ever use Popcorntime?
Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at September 13, 2015 02:20 PM (c4yY7) Posted by: @votermom at September 13, 2015 02:22 PM (cbfNE) 298
Slightly OT - question for the amateur radio people.
I'm a new ham and have decided to learn Morse code. Any suggested learning resources? Hope its not too late for this. Try to find the Gordon West WB6NOA training CD for Morse code. Check the W5YI.org site to buy them. Start at the 0-5wpm level. Start at the beginning and listen in about 20-30 minute segments. Keep repeating each segment until you learn it, then move on to the next. Never listen to them more than 20-30 minutes at a time, no more than once or twice a day. Any more than that and you are wasting your time. But the West study materials are the best. Yes, a bit pricey and $40 but they are worth it if you really want to learn Morse. Posted by: The Oort Cloud - Source of all SMODs at September 13, 2015 02:23 PM (AYY6Y) 299
Posted by: Lizzy at September 13, 2015 02:10 PM (NOIQH)
The really sad thing Lizzy is there are literally millions of these little idiots running around. Doomed we are. Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at September 13, 2015 02:25 PM (LCJlx) 300
292 If this isn't satire --- it's hilariously sad: Mom writes how she inadvertently raised an ecotwit monster.
http://tinyurl.com/pjbsoeo Posted by: Lizzy at September 13, 2015 02:10 PM (NOIQH) --- This can't be real. I refuse to believe it's real. Posted by: All Hail Eris, Scourge of the Atlantic Seaboard at September 13, 2015 02:29 PM (jR7Wy) 301
>>This can't be real. I refuse to believe it's real.
I know, right? Except the blog itself looks uber-CA progressive, so I think it is. Posted by: Lizzy at September 13, 2015 02:31 PM (NOIQH) 302
#243
The movie 'Conspiracy' does a very good job of illustrating this with a sequence at the end showing the home life of Adolf Eichmann after leaving the conference where the Final Solution was laid out. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266425/?ref_=nv_sr_2 Posted by: Epobirs at September 13, 2015 02:36 PM (IdCqF) 303
Posted by: Lizzy at September 13, 2015 02:31 PM (NOIQH)
--- Whatever happened to the universal mother's admonishment "You'll eat it! You'll eat it and like it!"? Seriously, a few generations ago this kid would have been sent to sea or banished to a military academy (I wanted to say "wasting away in a mine shaft digging ore", but I'm not that cruel *hee hee*), but now his mommy caters to his every whim. How about letting the little bastard pick his own organic field greens? Okay, so I'm not mommy material. Posted by: All Hail Eris, Scourge of the Atlantic Seaboard at September 13, 2015 02:42 PM (jR7Wy) 304
Whoof. Finally caught up. Sgt. Mom, I see you're going to be in my neck of the woods soon--hoping to get to come and at least say hello!
Read Parzival this week (or most of it--had to skip the Gawain sections because of time constraints, but I'll go back and get those in later this week if I can). Think we're going to have some *good* class discussions, especially about Book 9. Glad I decided to spend a whole week on this one. On deck for next week: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, if I have time to re-read before I put the lectures together. I also have a very nerdy indexing project that should be an interesting read (it's about Roman coins). Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at September 13, 2015 02:42 PM (iuQS7) Posted by: All Hail Eris, Scourge of the Atlantic Seaboard at September 13, 2015 02:44 PM (jR7Wy) 306
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Scourge of the Atlantic Seaboard at September 13, 2015 02:42 PM (jR7Wy)
Nope, you totally *are* mommy material. Kids need to know that they are a welcome addition to a family, not the God of the family. Babies are utterly selfish and have to be lovingly taught that the world doesn't revolve around them after all. Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at September 13, 2015 02:46 PM (GDulk) 307
Indeed, Eris. There are some points where I prefer Borroff, but I knew the campus bookstore would already have this one. The trick will be not getting too far off in the weeds with stuff from my dissertation when I know some of these kids will be reading the book for the first time!
Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at September 13, 2015 02:47 PM (iuQS7) 308
307 ... Elisabeth, I read the Tolkien version but that was ages ago and, frankly, I don't remember very much. What do you prefer in the Borroff edition?
Posted by: JTB at September 13, 2015 03:05 PM (FvdPb) 309
Eric Schmidt was personally in Obama campaign headquarters on Election Day 2012, coordinating the efforts of a team of Google engineers whom he had detailed to go assist the data ops of Obama For America.
Posted by: torquewrench at September 13, 2015 09:52 AM (noWW6) Yeah, Google is an integral part of Obama Machine Politics. Those mfers are tongue-bathing him somewhere as I type this. What they know about you, about me, about us all, is given as a gift to him. And think about what they know. Terrifying. Posted by: Gem at September 13, 2015 03:11 PM (c+gwp) 310
Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 02:15 PM (t2KH5)
Well, the characters in "Rain" eventually take to the sea to escape teh zombies, but the Brit military has no love for survivors and is shown to treat the survivors like animals in a pen. In fact, the rumor going around on the few snatches of radio transmissions the main characters hear is that the UK is going to be nuked to eradicate the plague but the US is sending rescue boats for all those people in the camps. Both books sound similar, though. Posted by: RushBabe at September 13, 2015 03:11 PM (1WSHx) 311
JTB, figures I'd get slammed with a sinus headache just as I read your question... and it's been long enough since I looked at them side by side (and compared either to the original) that I can't remember off the top of my head. I think it had something to do with phrasing. What's funny is that I prefer Tolkien's version of Pearl to Borroff's. And of course, to the best of my knowledge, his is the *only* translation of Sir Orfeo, which is very well worth the read.
Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at September 13, 2015 03:18 PM (iuQS7) 312
290 So; is Rain ripping off John Ringo's Graveyard Sky series?
Posted by: Vic-we have no party at September 13, 2015 02:03 PM (t2KH5) I've been watching the excellent TNT series The Last Ship (virus apocalypse), and this season they added a military guy from Australia nicknamed Wolf. I'm guessing it's a shout out to the Ringo series. Posted by: waelse1 at September 13, 2015 03:19 PM (ttFVL) 313
Here are a couple of excerpts from a recent American Spectator interview with conservative author Brad Thor... Mentioned earlier in the week, but fwiw Thor has a pretty serious case of TDS: Brad Thor BradThor Aug 31 Trump said hed impose a 35% tax on FORD cars made in Mexico. Only Congress can levy taxes. Trump already showing how he'd abuse his office. Just assumes Trump is going all Palpatine instead of the usual "I am a Bill" Schoolhouse Rock process. Thor says a lot of stuff like that. Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at September 13, 2015 03:23 PM (kdS6q) 314
311 ... Elisabeth, Sorry about your sinus headache. You have my sympathy and, unfortunately, my empathy. The local library has a copy of Borroff's translation which I'll check out this week. It will be interesting to compare it to my old Tolkien copy. Thanks. I wonder how I will respond to the poem now versus my much younger self.
Posted by: JTB at September 13, 2015 03:41 PM (FvdPb) 315
Still re-reading my way through the Richard Jury mysteries by Martha Grimes. Still love 'em for their humor and their humanity.
Re: Books on 9/11. My favorite is called Names of the Dead, An Elegy for the Victims of 9/11, by Diane Schoemperlen. It alphabetically lists the names of all the people who were lost on that horrible day. Interspersed in the names are small lists of the things they loved and hated, the clothes and jewelry they wore, statistics of the planes, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, small fictional imaginings of place and time, and even tattoos. All of the non-fictional information was taken from media reporting. I read this book every year on 9/11. It is my way to remember. Posted by: bookaday at September 13, 2015 04:12 PM (Djtwl) 316
I'm still pecking away at St. Augustine's "Confessions". Each entry has something that feels uncomfortably familiar.
Upon losing his young friend, who had found salvation on his deathbed and felt estranged from the decadent Augustine, he writes: "... I wept most bitterly, and I found repose in bitterness. Indeed I was unhappy; yet this unhappy life of mine was dearer to me than the friend whom I had lost. Certainly I would like to change my life, but not to part with it; I would prefer rather to part with my friend." Posted by: All Hail Eris, Scourge of the Atlantic Seaboard at September 13, 2015 04:19 PM (jR7Wy) 317
If you like Westerfeld's books, don't miss Cherie Priest's "Clockwork Century" series, starting with "Boneshaker."
Steampunk AND zombies! What's not to like? Posted by: TB at September 13, 2015 04:28 PM (8u/5i) 318
Double fist pump on "Boneshaker"!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Scourge of the Atlantic Seaboard at September 13, 2015 04:37 PM (jR7Wy) 319
292 If this isn't satire --- it's hilariously sad: Mom writes how she inadvertently raised an ecotwit monster.
http://tinyurl.com/pjbsoeo Posted by: Lizzy at September 13, 2015 02:10 PM (NOIQH) The one thing I noticed that was missing a FATHER. Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at September 13, 2015 04:49 PM (c4yY7) 320
For those that don't know of him, Peter Kreeft is a professor of Philosophy at Boston College. He is Roman Catholic and has some excellent books and article. This is his website:
http://www.peterkreeft.com/home.htm Posted by: FenelonSpoke at September 13, 2015 05:01 PM (dKQ1C) 321
Can't remember if I've actually met Kreeft--I don't think so--but I did get to hear him speak at a C. S. Lewis Foundation conference ten years ago and liked what I heard. Don't always agree with him, naturally, but he has good things to say.
Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at September 13, 2015 05:21 PM (iuQS7) 322
Loving the Gutenberg.org link. Have 3 books downloaded.
Posted by: skip at September 13, 2015 05:24 PM (elU2t) 323
I am again reading "Daniel Deronda" by George Eliot. The literary portrait of Grandcourt ranks up there with James' Gilbert Osmond in "Portrait of a Lady" as two of the most coldly narcissistic villains in English literary history.
Last week we had a poster argue that there were no great women writers as compared to great male authors such as Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. I disagree. I think George Eliot is one of the great women novelists. Just for fun and light stuff I am reading "Holy Humor" by Cal and Rose Samra which is just a collection of funny and cute cartoons, snippets and articles related to church/the Christian life Posted by: FenelonSpoke at September 13, 2015 05:53 PM (dKQ1C) 324
I do enjoy the Book Thread immensely, and am always grateful to Oregon Muse regarding the significant effort that it surely requires.
Problem: I seem unable to make it through the thread/comments without ordering a book. There is probably a name for this pathology that transcends the simple affinity implied by 'bibliophile'. Drat. Today 'Battle of wits : the complete story of codebreaking in World War II' got the nod. There goes another ten bucks. As an aside, I too have become more and more conscious regarding the fact that many among the sociopolitical movers and shakers are seemingly innocuous, but in fact are collecting their money from the uninformed masses. Frankly, I feel that Google is one of the more insidious of those. They are an inside power-player, and I have taken all measures to avoid using/supporting them in any way. To a degree, the same is true of Amazon. The impact of Amazon is the depletion of social capital represented by retailers. I simply do not buy books (or anything else) through Amazon. I must add that I speak here of used books. I cannot recall the last time that I bought a new book. So far, there hasn't been anything that I haven't been able to find locally, or, via Biblio or ABE. I fully understand that Amazon used sales are by independents, but Amazon still collects their clicks and commission. Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at September 13, 2015 06:04 PM (9mTYi) 325
Mike,
I don't know what the name of it is, but it's probably something that requires a 12 step program. "I am Fenelon and I am a biblioholic." The church I serve is having a book sale. We could be selling books every month until the end of 2018 and I'd probably still have books left over. Posted by: FenelonSpoke at September 13, 2015 06:09 PM (dKQ1C) 326
The church I serve is having a book sale. We could be selling books every month until the end of 2018 and I'd probably still have books left over.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke -------------- Ha! I know how that works. You take books to the the sale, but, inevitably find something there and succumb to a purchase. I suppose that if one takes home fewer books than one purchases, then there is a weaning effect. But I'm dubious. The analogy is the alcoholic, "Oh, I can have one drink." Anyhow, the funny thing about church bazaar's is that it results in this great churning of 'stuff' within the community. The stuff from your attic ends up in someone else's basement, and then a year or two later, in what is a sort of square dance, there is allemande right and all of the stuff goes through another shift. Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at September 13, 2015 06:26 PM (9mTYi) 327
I think that I am a bit shocked at how malleable the minds of Americans have turned out to be. For some reason, I expected our children to be able to see what stands plainly before us no matter what their "teachers" taught them. I know that when I was a child I was a total cynic, doubting everything and everyone, but I never doubted self-interest or that people would seek it.
Posted by: Grump --------------------- I am very, very late to the thread, but want comment anyhow. The above is certainly true. This morning in a Sunday School class, three different people piped up with how they donate support to the SPLC, because they are against 'hate'. I was stunned. Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at September 13, 2015 06:31 PM (9mTYi) 328
216: Vince Flynn, baby! You will love Term Limits, but then you will move on to meet the incomparable Mitch Rapp from the rest of Vince Flynn's novels. You are about to start an incredibly memorable and rewarding journey. Read them 'in order'.
Posted by: Mahtomedi at September 13, 2015 07:12 PM (DGzyA) 329
Just watched on book tv Capital Murder, the bankrupting of Harrisburg. How a local government (mayor) ran amuck as a virtual dictator.
Posted by: skip at September 13, 2015 07:45 PM (elU2t) 330
92
I've looked at my immediate circle of coworkers, and should we be transported back to the stone age, the pool of skills would include foreign languages not yet in existence, video games, mixology, PowerPoint presentations, contract law, cartooning, and microwaving burritos. We have ONE guy who does First Response work and he would have the only practical skills in the bunch. We wouldn't last a week. There's a post-apocalyptic YA series in there somewhere. Posted by: Anachronda at September 13, 2015 09:49 PM (o78gS) 331
126
Chemtrails?? Really?? Your friend picked himself a doozy. Of all the tinfoil hat conspiracy theories on the market these days, that one has got to be the most tinfoil hattiest. How soon they forget. Posted by: Roswell Rods at September 13, 2015 09:56 PM (o78gS) 332
I simply do not buy books (or anything else) through Amazon. I must add that I speak here of used books. I cannot recall the last time that I bought a new book. So far, there hasn't been anything that I haven't been able to find locally, or, via Biblio or ABE.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at September 13, 2015 06:04 PM (9mTYi) Amazon owns Abebooks.com. Posted by: HTL at September 13, 2015 10:25 PM (g9xCo) 333
@240 - Just saw a post by Vox Day - looks like Pournelle is starting to put together a NEW volume of "There Will Be War." Whoo-hoo!
Posted by: Rolf at September 13, 2015 10:48 PM (n+40i) 334
Amazon owns Abebooks.com.
Posted by: HTL -------------------- Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! S'truth. Well, crap. The neighborhood is going to hell. Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at September 13, 2015 11:04 PM (9mTYi) 335
A late add... The URL is a link to my musings on the tenth anniversary of September Eleventh. Thanks!
Posted by: SPinRHF-16 at September 13, 2015 11:51 PM (Vt65u) 336
"113...Was Shelby Foote's written prose as elegant as his comments in this series? Is he worth reading?" If you got the time, Foote's got the words. Yes, he is an elegant writer and threads the stories together very well. But in volume 3, I almost put it down - reading about Cold Harbor made me cry "When will the killing stop!" It got to be very, very depressing. For shorter and more focused books, by the two leading Yankee participants, read the memoirs of Grant and Sherman. But before you start any military history of the Civil War, I recommend a primer on the technology, something like "The Civil War Military Machine" by Drury and Gibbons. Posted by: Whitehall at September 14, 2015 09:31 AM (fedY5) 337
>I agree and reluctantly have stopped using Mozilla Foundation products (Firefox, Thunderbird) for the same reason. They've gone full SJW.
Agreed on Firefox, which was easily replaced with Chrome (or with Chromium). Thunderbird is a bit trickier. There are adequate replacements for Thunderbird on Linux, but I'm stuck using Windows at work, and every other Windows-based mail client I've tried stinks on ice. (Don't even think of bringing up the abortion known as Outlook.) Posted by: salfter at September 14, 2015 02:33 PM (kmvkg) 338
34
Speaking of Sarah Hoyt, Larry Correia has announced that they will be co-writing a book in the Monster Hunter International universe soon. The MHI universe is expanding to embrace other authors. The first non-Correia MHI book will be written by John Ringo, to be released by end of the year. Posted by: IllTemperedCur at September 13, 2015 09:53 AM (o98Jz) The year 2016 that is. Baen has their publishing schedule up for the time period through May 2016 and it's not in there. The good news is we'll be getting Sarah Hoyt's next Darkship series novel in May. Posted by: BornLib at September 14, 2015 08:32 PM (zpNwC) Processing 0.06, elapsed 0.0724 seconds. |
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Primary Document: The Audio
Paul Anka Haiku Contest Announcement Integrity SAT's: Entrance Exam for Paul Anka's Band AllahPundit's Paul Anka 45's Collection AnkaPundit: Paul Anka Takes Over the Site for a Weekend (Continues through to Monday's postings) George Bush Slices Don Rumsfeld Like an F*ckin' Hammer Top Top Tens
Democratic Forays into Erotica New Shows On Gore's DNC/MTV Network Nicknames for Potatoes, By People Who Really Hate Potatoes Star Wars Euphemisms for Self-Abuse Signs You're at an Iraqi "Wedding Party" Signs Your Clown Has Gone Bad Signs That You, Geroge Michael, Should Probably Just Give It Up Signs of Hip-Hop Influence on John Kerry NYT Headlines Spinning Bush's Jobs Boom Things People Are More Likely to Say Than "Did You Hear What Al Franken Said Yesterday?" Signs that Paul Krugman Has Lost His Frickin' Mind All-Time Best NBA Players, According to Senator Robert Byrd Other Bad Things About the Jews, According to the Koran Signs That David Letterman Just Doesn't Care Anymore Examples of Bob Kerrey's Insufferable Racial Jackassery Signs Andy Rooney Is Going Senile Other Judgments Dick Clarke Made About Condi Rice Based on Her Appearance Collective Names for Groups of People John Kerry's Other Vietnam Super-Pets Cool Things About the XM8 Assault Rifle Media-Approved Facts About the Democrat Spy Changes to Make Christianity More "Inclusive" Secret John Kerry Senatorial Accomplishments John Edwards Campaign Excuses John Kerry Pick-Up Lines Changes Liberal Senator George Michell Will Make at Disney Torments in Dog-Hell Greatest Hitjobs
The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny More Margaret Cho Abuse Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed" Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means Wonkette's Stand-Up Act Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report! Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet The House of Love: Paul Krugman A Michael Moore Mystery (TM) The Dowd-O-Matic! Liberal Consistency and Other Myths Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate "Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long) The Donkey ("The Raven" parody) News/Chat
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