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Sunday Morning Book Thread 04-10-2016: Honest Graft [OregonMuse]
Millicent Library, Fairhaven, Massachusetts
Good morning to all of you morons and moronettes and bartenders everywhere and all the ships at sea. And to all you young lovers wherever you are, we hope your problems are few. 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. And when I type up the book thread, my pinkies remain elevated the whole time, that's how classy it is.
“Books are the liberated spirits of men, and should be bestowed in a heaven of light and grace and harmonious color and sumptuous comfort, like this, instead of in the customary kind of public library, with its depressing austerities and severities of form and furniture and decoration. A public library is the most enduring of memorials…. All other things which I have seen today must pass away and be forgotten; but there will still be a Millicent Library when by the mutations of language the books that are in it now will speak in a lost tongue to your posterity.”
--Mark Twain, in an 1894 letter, wherein he called the Fairhaven library “ideal”
Sad Puppies IV: The Embiggening Larry Correia has announced that he won't be involved with SP this year, so, according to the Sad Puppies IV web page, the mantle was taken up by Kate "the Impaler" Paulk, Sarah Hoyt, the Beautiful But Evil Space Princess, and the Redhead of Doom, Amanda Green. Here is the list they've compiled from submitted recommendations from readers. Here it is in spreadsheet form. And the social-justice-wanker crowd's reaction is getting more and more over-the-top hysterical. This is what Irene Gallo, art director for Tor/Forge Books said about the Puppies *last* year:
“There are two extreme right-wing to neo-nazi groups, called the Sad Puppies and the Rabid Puppies respectively, that are calling for the end of social justice in science fiction and fantasy. They are unrepentantly racist, sexist and homophobic. A noisy few but they’ve been able to gather some Gamergate folks around them and elect a slate of bad-to-reprehensible works on this year’s Hugo ballot.”You will never see a more wretched hive of scum and villainy as that statement. It's the Mos Eisley cantina of dishonesty and lies. Author Eric Flint, no conservative he, devoted a blog post to fisking it, it was so disgusting.
Free Audio Book And while we're on the subject of Sad Puppies, a new one from the Evil Lord of Evil Himself is scheduled for release next month. The Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent will be available on May 24th. Here is what you need to know: 1. This is an audio book
2. It is narrated by actor and conservative favorite Adam Baldwin
3. If you pre-order it now, you can get it for FREE
4. Here is the link And here's a taste:
Rifts happen, so you should be ready when universes collide. A policy with Stranger & Stranger can cover all of your interdimensional insurance needs. Rated “Number One in Customer Satisfaction” for three years running, no claim is too big or too weird for Tom Stranger to handle.Don't know if there will eventually be an ebook version. I would assume so, but I couldn't find any information on it.
But now Tom faces his greatest challenge yet. Despite being assigned the wrong – and woefully inadequate – intern, Tom must still provide quality customer service to multiple alternate Earths, all while battling tentacle monsters, legions of the damned, an evil call center in Nebraska, and his archnemesis, Jeff Conundrum. Armed with his Combat Wombat and a sense of fair play, can Tom survive? And will Jimmy the Intern ever discover his inner insurance agent?
It’s time to kick ass and adjust claims.
The Nazi Occult Library
Nazi a-hole Heinrich Himmler was supposedly really into the occult. So much so that he built up a uuuge library of occult books. Which has been found:A rare library of books on witches and the occult that was assembled by Nazi SS chief Heinrich Himmler in the war has been discovered in the Czech Republic.Raiders of the Lost Arc depicted this as a Nazi search for some occult object of unimaginable power that they could use as a military weapon, but the reality is far more prosaic:
The books - part of a 13,000-strong collection - were found in a depot of the National Library of Czech Republic near Prague which has not been accessed since the 1950s.
Himmler was obsessed with the occult and mysticism, believing the hocus-pocus books held the key to Ayran supremacy in the world.So, he was just looking for some sort of primeval "Aryan" religion to supplant Christianity. Not the Necronomicon, then. No doorways to unnatural dimensions where the geometry is all wrong, and nobody getting their face melted off. No supernatural weapon. Dang. That might have been useful. I figure what our country needs most of all right now is a visit from the Great Old Ones, I mean, why should we be supporting the LESSER of two evils? We should go all-in on this. We need to wipe the slate clean. We need to counter the seductive allure of the Sweet Meteor of Death (SMOD) campaign with our own Great Old Ones (GOO) Party. SMOD vs. GOO. Whoever wins, we lose. Like that Simpsons spoof on the 1996 elections where Clinton and Dole were kidnapped and replaced by interstellar ne'er-do-wells Kang and Kodos. You know, if that actually happened right now, I probably wouldn't object. (I've always gotten a kick out of K & K. They look like octopuses stuffed inside an old school vacuum tube.)
The bulk of the collection was called the 'Witches Library' and concentrated on witches and their persecution in medieval Germany.
Moron Recommendations A couple of weeks ago, moron commenter 'MarkW' recommended The Proud Tower; a Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914 by historian Barbara Tuchman. Why? Because
[i]t's a fascinating history of a period when the ruling class was completely out of touch with the common people because of changes in technology and demographics, and also refused to heed signs of unrest such as suicidal terrorist attacks, shootings and bombings. There was one assassination too many, though. The result was WWI...Let's see, out of touch leaders, rapid technological advancement, terrorist attacks, changing demographics, what other age does this remind me of, hmmm, wait, don't tell me, it's right on the tip of my tongue...
___________ Moron commenter Hillbillyking recommends Barry Eisler's novels featuring John Rain, a half-Japanese, half-American assassin-for-hire, who specializes in making his kills look like natural causes. The first in the series is A Clean Kill in Tokyo:
[T]he aftermath of an otherwise routine hit on a government bureaucrat brings Rain to the attention of two men he knows from the old days in Vietnam: a friend who's now a Tokyo cop and an enemy who betrayed Rain long ago and is now the CIA's station chief in Japan. Like the gangster who hired Rain to kill Yasuhiro Kawamura, they want something the dead man had--a computer disk containing proof of high-level corruption, information that could destroy Japan's ruling political coalition. The search for the disk leads them to a woman Rain has come to love, a talented young jazz musician who also happens to be Kawamura's daughter. In this taut, brilliantly paced debut thriller, set in a vividly rendered Tokyo, the author manages an unlikely feat; he earns the reader's sympathy and concern for his protagonist, an amoral assassin who is one of most compelling characters in recent crime fiction.The Kindle edition is $4.99 Hillbillyking especially likes the latest in the series, The God's Eye View, which he calls "a stark portrayal of what could be going on behind the scenes with the NSA":
NSA director Theodore Anders has a simple goal: collect every phone call, email, and keystroke tapped on the Internet. He knows unlimited surveillance is the only way to keep America safe.The disturbing part is that there are probably government officials even now who believe as this fictitious NSA director does.
Evelyn Gallagher doesn’t care much about any of that. She just wants to keep her head down and manage the NSA’s camera network and facial recognition program so she can afford private school for her deaf son, Dash.
But when Evelyn discovers the existence of an NSA program code-named God’s Eye, and connects it with the mysterious deaths of a string of journalists and whistle-blowers, her doubts put her and Dash in the crosshairs of a pair of government assassins.
___________ Hey, ever hear about the New Jersey shark attacks of 1916?
[They] were a series of shark attacks along the coast of New Jersey, in the United States, between July 1 and July 12, 1916, in which four people were killed and one injured. Since 1916, scholars have debated which shark species was responsible and the number of animals involved, with the great white shark and the bull shark most frequently cited. The incidents occurred during a deadly summer heat wave and polio epidemic in the Northeastern United States that drove thousands of people to the seaside resorts of the Jersey Shore.Moron in good standing Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing recommends two books on the subject, Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 by Michael Capuzzo and
___________ And speaking of MP4, earlier this week, I opined that perhaps our country would function better if we simply allowed some low-level bribery, and were upfront about it. MP4's response was this book, Plunkitt of Tammany Hall: A Series of Very Plain Talks on Very Practical Politics by George Washington Plunkitt, an old-school Tammany Hall machine politician who was active at the beginning of the 20th century. His ruthlessly pragmatic talks on How Civil Governments Should Do Stuff established him as kind of a low-rent Machiavelli for the modern world. He is famous for arguing for a distinction between "honest" and "dishonest" graft, and by "graft", I think he means "using your political position to channel public funds to yourself." So what, exactly, is the difference between the two? Plunkitt's wiki page explains:
For dishonest graft, one works solely for one's own interests. For honest graft, one pursues, at the same time, the interests of one's party, state, and person.Actually, even with the explanation, I'm not seeing much of a distinction between the two. There seems to be a (for lack of a better word) temporal element here. That is, if the project is already going to happen, then it is all right for a politician to
He made most of his money through the purchase of land that he knew would be needed for public projects. He would buy such parcels and then resell them at an inflated price. (This was "honest graft." "Dishonest graft," according to Plunkitt, would be buying land and then using influence to have a project built on it.)
Plunkitt was also a thoroughgoing party man, believing in appointments, patronage, spoils, and all of the practices curtailed by the civil service law. He saw such practices as both the rewards and cause of patriotism. He hated the civil service system and believed it would be the downfall of the entire governmental system.Heh. After the various scandals involving bloated and corrupt government service agencies, I'm tempted to agree with Plunkett on this. Plunkitt's book is only a buck ninety-nine on Kindle.
Books by Morons I got to read an advance copy of moron lurker Joe Courtemanche's debut novel Assault on Saint Agnes. When I first loaded it on my tablet, it was like 11PM and I thought I'd read a page or two to get a feel for it. Well, next thing I knew, it was 12:30AM and I was 20 chapters into it and I had to force myself to put it down, otherwise I'd have been up all night. So yeah, it's a page-turner:
When terrorists assault Saint Agnes Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota, they expect to find a congregation of lambs: they get Bobby Kurtz instead. An unrepentant Cold Warrior, Kurtz destroys the terror cell with violent finality. Against his will, Kurtz is pulled back into the life he left behind decades before. He reluctantly picks up the burden of hunting the terrorists in our midst. He risks his life, and his marriage, in a single-minded pursuit of victory over evil.The author is eminently qualified to write about Islamic terrorism:
Joseph Courtemanche is a former Police Officer and Middle East/North Africa analyst. He is a distinguished veteran of the Naval Security Group of the United States Navy, and an Arabic Linguist with training at the University of Minnesota and the Defense Language Institute (Honors Graduate)You can purchase Assault on St. Agnes at the above link, or it is available for pre-order on Kindle.
___________ About a year ago, I heard from a moronette who wanted help for her son, Zeppy Chang, to help get his book self-published, and to clean up the editing issues that were a problem in his book, Dungeons and Diamonds: Press Start. Mr. Cheng appreciated the help he received, and for the past year, he has been writing like a hyperactive demon monkey. He has since published 4 more SF-F novels, and I don't know how he finds the time to play the video games or watch the anime that serve as his inspiration. I'll just list the titles: Binary Seven
Power Trip: The journey of a card-playing hero
War on the Rolling Plains
Armed, Cute, and Dangerous The prices range from 99 cents to $2.99.
___________ Moronette 'votermom' is putting together a list of moron authors over on the Goodreads site which is intended to be accessible to non-members. Here is the list she has compiled so far. Let her know if there's an author she's missing.
___________ Don't forget the AoSHQ reading group on Goodreads. It's meant to support horde writers and to talk about the great books that come up on the book thread. It's called AoSHQ Moron Horde and the link to it is here: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/175335-aoshq-moron-horde.
___________ So that's all for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, bribes, rumors, threats, and insults may be sent to OregonMuse, Proprietor, AoSHQ Book Thread, at the book thread e-mail address: aoshqbookthread, followed by the 'at' sign, and then 'G' mail, and then dot cee oh emm. What have you all been reading this week? Hopefully something good, because, as you all know, life is too short to be reading lousy books.
Comments
(Jump to bottom of comments)1
Good morning bookworms
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 09:00 AM (9VEpl)
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Ah the book thread. After I finished the Black Tide Rising series last week I started a re-read of the Harry Potter series. I wanted another long series and I already had this series on my device. But oddly enough for at least one book so far it has required me to delete the book from my library and re-download it.
It did that once before when I was down in GA looking out after my uncle. But unfortunately enough and aggravating as hell I had no access to the internet there. In fact, my cell phone would not even get signal there.
It did that once before when I was down in GA looking out after my uncle. But unfortunately enough and aggravating as hell I had no access to the internet there. In fact, my cell phone would not even get signal there.
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 10, 2016 09:08 AM (vvmPQ)
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Finished The Bomber War, Arthur Harris and the Allied Bomber Offensive 1939 -45 by Robin Neilland, it was a very good read and dispelled the argument of area bombing being a unavoidable form of warfare. His argument is under the technology of the time it's all that could be done. And letting your enemy go unmolested is not a option in war. He also dispelled the notion that the USAAF which in theory was out for precision bombing under the circumstances also performed area bombing. It was well integrated with person stories from aircrew of all nations. Well worth it, wish Ted would read it if just to understand the terminology. He doesn't get into it except to comment that today it is still somewhat unavoidable if a total air campaign was to occur.
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 09:11 AM (9VEpl)
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that are calling for the end of social justice in science fiction and fantasy.
Oh what a set up line.
Goodreads suggested to me, a coupla books from Spider Robinson. They were collected short stories, some of which appeared in Analog back in the mid '70's about Callahan's Crosstime Bar. Since I remembered the name, and had some nostalgia for the good old days I bought two.
Callahan's bar stories were infamous for punday puns, and I thought of Seamus Muldoon. So I'm reading along into the book and was stopped dead in my tracks by one sentence that reminded me of why I stopped reading Analog back in the seventies.
And that is why we are where we are today.
It would be like the Europeans migrating out of Europe as the Followers of the Prophet Muhammad migrated into Europe.
Oh what a set up line.
Goodreads suggested to me, a coupla books from Spider Robinson. They were collected short stories, some of which appeared in Analog back in the mid '70's about Callahan's Crosstime Bar. Since I remembered the name, and had some nostalgia for the good old days I bought two.
Callahan's bar stories were infamous for punday puns, and I thought of Seamus Muldoon. So I'm reading along into the book and was stopped dead in my tracks by one sentence that reminded me of why I stopped reading Analog back in the seventies.
And that is why we are where we are today.
It would be like the Europeans migrating out of Europe as the Followers of the Prophet Muhammad migrated into Europe.
Posted by: Skandia Recluse at April 10, 2016 09:11 AM (jFrtJ)
5
Yay, Book Thread!
My latest acquisition is the four volume, bilingual edition of The Count of Monte Cristo. It's one of my favorite books and I'm so excited to have it in French and English. The only trouble is I keep losing my place because I can't stop myself from switching between languages and my French isn't good enough to switch automatically.
The other part of that Amazon order was the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, by Bede. It's fascinating, how a dude who never traveled outside of Northumbria could compile so much information about Christendom, with only 700s era technology available to him.
Changing topics completely, what do people recommend for calculus/physics textbooks, as if I was homeschooling a kid? I'm not; I'm homeschooling myself, but I'd like a good, basic introduction to those topics, even though I'm not very good at math.
My latest acquisition is the four volume, bilingual edition of The Count of Monte Cristo. It's one of my favorite books and I'm so excited to have it in French and English. The only trouble is I keep losing my place because I can't stop myself from switching between languages and my French isn't good enough to switch automatically.
The other part of that Amazon order was the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, by Bede. It's fascinating, how a dude who never traveled outside of Northumbria could compile so much information about Christendom, with only 700s era technology available to him.
Changing topics completely, what do people recommend for calculus/physics textbooks, as if I was homeschooling a kid? I'm not; I'm homeschooling myself, but I'd like a good, basic introduction to those topics, even though I'm not very good at math.
Posted by: right wing whippersnapper- quietly rebellious at April 10, 2016 09:11 AM (26lkV)
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This is the only thread if I get a first I don't have to get the others. Thanks OM
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 09:12 AM (9VEpl)
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Those interested in the social divide in Europe in the early 1900s (and prior) and in this case in Great Britain and who also like SF/Fantasy would be interested in the Phoenix and The Ashes by Mercedes Lackey. This is a very good tale in the Elemental Masters series.
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 10, 2016 09:15 AM (vvmPQ)
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Just got Rickrolled in McDonald's...
*sadness*
On the bright side, I just got the following in the mail:
Science Fiction Stories of Rudyard Kipling
Diversity of Creatures by Rudyard Kipling (a collection of short stories)
Steampunk I
Steampunk II
*sadness*
On the bright side, I just got the following in the mail:
Science Fiction Stories of Rudyard Kipling
Diversity of Creatures by Rudyard Kipling (a collection of short stories)
Steampunk I
Steampunk II
Posted by: Dogstar at April 10, 2016 09:17 AM (U6GjV)
9
5 Posted by: right wing whippersnapper- quietly rebellious at April 10, 2016 09:11 AM (26lkV)
I loved that book. Classical tale of revenge.
I loved that book. Classical tale of revenge.
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 10, 2016 09:19 AM (vvmPQ)
10
I'm going back to Campaigns of Napoleon, I find if I read to much the tablet screen shining at me is wrecking my eyesight in the short term anyway. I have it down as low as it can go but it's still quite bright.
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 09:19 AM (9VEpl)
11
I read Two For The Lions by Lindsey Davis. This is the tenth book in the Marcus Didius Falco series. Falco is an informer/detective in first century A. D. Rome. In this book he becomes a tax auditor for the Emperor Vespasian and is immersed in the seedy world of the Circus. Soon there are murders of both valuable wild animals and a popular gladiator which Falco sets off to solve. Davis blends in a liberal amount of humor into her mysteries which makes a good story entertaining and fun to read.
Recommended here several times, I read Pattern Recognition by William Gibson. It took me awhile to get hooked. I'm not a big fan of advertising/marketing, but after about 80 pages, I got into the story and enjoyed the book very much. A side thought: If the author got paid for product placement, he is, indeed, a rich man. I never read a book with so many brand names mentioned.
Recommended here several times, I read Pattern Recognition by William Gibson. It took me awhile to get hooked. I'm not a big fan of advertising/marketing, but after about 80 pages, I got into the story and enjoyed the book very much. A side thought: If the author got paid for product placement, he is, indeed, a rich man. I never read a book with so many brand names mentioned.
Posted by: Zoltan at April 10, 2016 09:20 AM (JYer2)
12
That interdimensional insurance agent could use a plucky robot sidekick.
He could warn Tom of impending trouble by running around yelling "Stranger Danger!", or something.
He could warn Tom of impending trouble by running around yelling "Stranger Danger!", or something.
Posted by: Robbie the Robot, looking for work at April 10, 2016 09:22 AM (H9MG5)
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Good morning fellow Book Threadists. It has been a week of somewhat diverse reading. First, I am continuing my careful, slow, painfully detailed reading of 'Paradise Lost'. And enjoying every minute of it. Milton writing about Hell and the fallen angels could make Charles Dickens at his most dour and depressing seem light and spritely. Whew! My edition uses the original wording and part of my enjoyment is working out the now archaic meanings. Most times I am aware of what the definitions are but have to dig through my sludge of memory to find them. I've found that reading some of the passages aloud leads to more appreciation of Milton's technique.
Yes, I am weird that way.
Yes, I am weird that way.
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 09:29 AM (V+03K)
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I read some of the early John Rain books back when they first came out. The author is a big fan of judo/grappling, so he can write some pretty realistic fight scenes. The idea of a Vietnam-era veteran of the old Studies and Observation Group running around in the modern day kicking ass is pretty far fetched (guy would have to be in his late 50s to mid 60s) but hey, it's fiction, no worries.
Had to stop reading Eisler's books, though, when I couldn't stomach the anti-Bush diatribes he kept slipping into his novels. Dude, we get it, you're a clueless liberal, stop reminding us. After the second or third book, I just stopped caring about the hero because of the author's obnoxious political views.
Which is too bad, the series had some promise, but that's the danger of putting your pet politics in a novel. You're going to alienate some readers that would ordinarily not care about that kind of thing. When you keep getting kicked out of the narrative because of the author's need to break his arm patting himself on the back, then it becomes time to move on and find a better author.
Had to stop reading Eisler's books, though, when I couldn't stomach the anti-Bush diatribes he kept slipping into his novels. Dude, we get it, you're a clueless liberal, stop reminding us. After the second or third book, I just stopped caring about the hero because of the author's obnoxious political views.
Which is too bad, the series had some promise, but that's the danger of putting your pet politics in a novel. You're going to alienate some readers that would ordinarily not care about that kind of thing. When you keep getting kicked out of the narrative because of the author's need to break his arm patting himself on the back, then it becomes time to move on and find a better author.
Posted by: Pave Low John at April 10, 2016 09:31 AM (b5yHT)
15
Re: Eisler. I liked the "God's Eye View," but I thought the writing was not up to the earlier books. I considered recommending it here, but one's reaction to the issues raised might depend on how you view Snowden's revelations. To my mind, that sort of surveillance gives altogether too much power to government. Abuse is inevitable, as Snowden's revelations (and some other recent revelations) have shown. A conservative/libertarian could enjoy the book. The tech was quite accurate. YMMV. http://www.barryeisler.com/gods-eye-view.php
The "John Rain" character was interesting and the depiction of modern Japan, and other exotic locations, was fascinating. The writing was quite good.
Be aware that Eisler is a committed lefty and some of the later Rain books were full of sucker punches.
"Last week, while on tour promoting The God's Eye View, it was a thrill and an honor to appear on Democracy Now! and The Young Turks, two great shows that have had a huge influence on my political outlook. We talked about the Apple/FBI standoff; why abolishing the CIA isn't a radical position; why Clinton's rhetoric, votes, and policies qualify her as a Neocon; and why subsequent events so often prove my novels (depressingly) prescient." -- "Appearing On the Shows That Radicalized Me" March 3 post on http://barryeisler.blogspot.com
The "John Rain" character was interesting and the depiction of modern Japan, and other exotic locations, was fascinating. The writing was quite good.
Be aware that Eisler is a committed lefty and some of the later Rain books were full of sucker punches.
"Last week, while on tour promoting The God's Eye View, it was a thrill and an honor to appear on Democracy Now! and The Young Turks, two great shows that have had a huge influence on my political outlook. We talked about the Apple/FBI standoff; why abolishing the CIA isn't a radical position; why Clinton's rhetoric, votes, and policies qualify her as a Neocon; and why subsequent events so often prove my novels (depressingly) prescient." -- "Appearing On the Shows That Radicalized Me" March 3 post on http://barryeisler.blogspot.com
Posted by: doug at April 10, 2016 09:32 AM (G/QqO)
16
Thanks for the shoutout, OM.
Yes, you've got Plunkitt's distinction without a difference right. He's basically saying, "keep your ear to the ground, and if you hear of some good shwag coming your way, get yourself in a position to cash in on it." And the older I get, the more I agree with Plunkitt on abolishing "snivel service."
I just finished the new Sinatra bio (or actually, volume 2), Sinatra: The Chairman. Really good, if slipshod and rushed for the last 10 years of Sinatra's life, though, admittedly, he wasn't doing very much during those years. It's chock full of great stories, as well, and is pretty clear-eyed about Sinatra's anger, grudges and Mob connections (a lot of people got beaten badly for speaking back to Frank or trying to defend themselves from his rages; the author makes a good case that one man trying to keep Sinatra away from his wife was murdered).
And about his treatment of women, too. Of course, it often came back to bite him, as when he proposed marriage to the newly-widowed Edith Mayer Goetz, the haughty, Hollywood-royalty daughter of MGMs Louis B. Mayer. "I couldn't marry you, Frank," she sputtered at his proposal, "why, you're - you're nothing but a hoodlum!"
I've got a few books on the table, having just come back from a library book sale, but nothing special. I ought to be like the other morons around here and write.
Anyway, just dropping in to say hello. Hope you all have a great Sunday.
Yes, you've got Plunkitt's distinction without a difference right. He's basically saying, "keep your ear to the ground, and if you hear of some good shwag coming your way, get yourself in a position to cash in on it." And the older I get, the more I agree with Plunkitt on abolishing "snivel service."
I just finished the new Sinatra bio (or actually, volume 2), Sinatra: The Chairman. Really good, if slipshod and rushed for the last 10 years of Sinatra's life, though, admittedly, he wasn't doing very much during those years. It's chock full of great stories, as well, and is pretty clear-eyed about Sinatra's anger, grudges and Mob connections (a lot of people got beaten badly for speaking back to Frank or trying to defend themselves from his rages; the author makes a good case that one man trying to keep Sinatra away from his wife was murdered).
And about his treatment of women, too. Of course, it often came back to bite him, as when he proposed marriage to the newly-widowed Edith Mayer Goetz, the haughty, Hollywood-royalty daughter of MGMs Louis B. Mayer. "I couldn't marry you, Frank," she sputtered at his proposal, "why, you're - you're nothing but a hoodlum!"
I've got a few books on the table, having just come back from a library book sale, but nothing special. I ought to be like the other morons around here and write.
Anyway, just dropping in to say hello. Hope you all have a great Sunday.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at April 10, 2016 09:32 AM (GUDMx)
17
Happy to see Barbara Tuchman mentioned. How about a history book thread?
Posted by: Libra at April 10, 2016 09:33 AM (GblmV)
18
I've found that reading some of the passages aloud leads to more appreciation of Milton's technique.
Yes, I am weird that way.
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 09:29 AM (V+03K)
If that's weird, then so am I. It's amazing, the difference between reading words on a page and saying them out loud, especially with certain older works, which were originally performed as plays or verbal poetry, back when many people couldn't read. Apparently, pre-printing press people used to have reading parties, where they would get together solely to hear a famous epic poem, almost like going to the theater/opera.
Yes, I am weird that way.
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 09:29 AM (V+03K)
If that's weird, then so am I. It's amazing, the difference between reading words on a page and saying them out loud, especially with certain older works, which were originally performed as plays or verbal poetry, back when many people couldn't read. Apparently, pre-printing press people used to have reading parties, where they would get together solely to hear a famous epic poem, almost like going to the theater/opera.
Posted by: right wing whippersnapper- quietly rebellious at April 10, 2016 09:35 AM (26lkV)
19
Read James Fenimore Cooper's The Spy a couple weeks ago. This was Cooper's first novel. Interesting as it is a novel of the American Revolution that includes villainous American "militia" (bandits, more or less) and virtuous Englishmen even as it is obviously pro-American.
Also read Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida. Not one of his better ones, despite some snappy dialogue. No real resolution at the end.
Got a couple of books on American Indian history that I've been looking through - Taylor's book on weapons (small and an overview, but quite a lot of info packed in for all that. He also spends a decent amount of space on wooden and leather armor used prior to the widespread adoption of guns, which is usually overlooked.); Laubin's book on archery (not very detailed re bows and arrows, though the info on technique is interesting); and Sundtrom's Storied Stone, a survey of rock art in the Black Hills.
I'm expecting a museum book on southern powderhorns and a history of the Ohio frontier in the late 18th century to arrive sometime next week.
Also read Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida. Not one of his better ones, despite some snappy dialogue. No real resolution at the end.
Got a couple of books on American Indian history that I've been looking through - Taylor's book on weapons (small and an overview, but quite a lot of info packed in for all that. He also spends a decent amount of space on wooden and leather armor used prior to the widespread adoption of guns, which is usually overlooked.); Laubin's book on archery (not very detailed re bows and arrows, though the info on technique is interesting); and Sundtrom's Storied Stone, a survey of rock art in the Black Hills.
I'm expecting a museum book on southern powderhorns and a history of the Ohio frontier in the late 18th century to arrive sometime next week.
Posted by: Grey Fox at April 10, 2016 09:36 AM (bZ7mE)
20
Good Morning! I went on a book raid Friday at Harvest Books, just outside of Philadelphia. They're mainly an internet outfit, but once a month or so they have a warehouse sale. I picked up "Modern Naval Combat" (1986, so not so modern anymore), but a nice reference on Cold War ships; Vols 1-3 (of 7!) of "The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to 1900" (1996 reprint ed.); "Lord Churchill's Coup", a re-assessment of the Glorious Revolution & the Nine Year's War; "A Time To Die", about the Kursk tragedy; "Weird U.S." & "Weird PA", about local folklore, roadside Americana urban legends & supernatural stories. All that for under $30, and I got some DVDs thrown in too!
Posted by: Josephistan at April 10, 2016 09:37 AM (7qAYi)
21
Yay book thread!!
Posted by: @votermom at April 10, 2016 09:38 AM (nbrY/)
22
I read last year Hugo winner book "The three-body problem" by Cixin Liu. What is interesting, the book looks anti-SJW for me. Student Red guards during Cultural revolution behave like SJW in colleges now.
Radical environmentalists in the book betrayed Earth and human to aliens.
Book itself is hard core SF book and worth reading, but I don't know if it was best book of the year
Radical environmentalists in the book betrayed Earth and human to aliens.
Book itself is hard core SF book and worth reading, but I don't know if it was best book of the year
Posted by: redmonkey at April 10, 2016 09:38 AM (ntMM4)
23
As an antidote to Barbara Tuchman and "The Proud Tower" which I read many years ago and reject the premise, is Niall Ferguson and "The War of the World", which in my opinion matches the facts and reality of the pre-WWI era better than Tuchman's revisionism.
Ferguson's premise was that the empires of the pre-WWI era were falling apart, and democracy was rising. And frankly, the rising democracies of Europe were the popular way to enact ethnic cleansing of minorities, which was a big source of social friction.
Shorter: the ethnic diversity of Europe imposed by the empires was making people unhappy, and they sought more homogenous ethnic / national identity. This also is not popular today with the Elites.
Ferguson's premise was that the empires of the pre-WWI era were falling apart, and democracy was rising. And frankly, the rising democracies of Europe were the popular way to enact ethnic cleansing of minorities, which was a big source of social friction.
Shorter: the ethnic diversity of Europe imposed by the empires was making people unhappy, and they sought more homogenous ethnic / national identity. This also is not popular today with the Elites.
Posted by: Bossy Conservative.....lost in America at April 10, 2016 09:39 AM (+1T7c)
Posted by: @votermom at April 10, 2016 09:39 AM (nbrY/)
25
I also enjoy 'Count of Monte Cristo'. I have the French text as well but all that revealed is that my knowledge of French has dropped officially to 'not good enough'. SIGH!
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 09:39 AM (V+03K)
26
Neil Gaiman, 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane'. Published by William Morrow HarperCollins.
I bought this one at a Target in south Colorado Springs on Friday afternoon, between conventions. It's not for kids.
The narrator has gone to a funeral, so *also* has time to spare after this is done; he returns to his old neighbourhood with a 'u'. (He's British with a splash of Ashkenaz, like Gaiman himself, and like me.) He remembers an incident that happened there at age seven which incident, because Gaiman, was an incident of otherworldly horror. Think Stephen King's "It" or Dan Simmons' "Summer of Night", but British. Also the narrator's childhood wasn't happy, in that emo-British and Jewish way of things.
Narrator befriends a local girl, who has been eleven for a long time (*koff* Laet den raette komma in). They both go off to the Wood Between The Worlds, under an orange sky. There they meet what we'll learn is a wandering succubus. The demoness tricks narrator into bringing a part of her with him, back to Blighty. Lots of horrible creepy things then happen back home, which the narrator cannot fully understand himself - partly because he was seven, mostly because nobody human should be exposed to transdimensional aberrations. Especially not, um, secksual ones.
The prose is mostly excellent, as one has come to expect of Gaiman. Also we do get the expected Sense Of Wonder. And it brings the creepy. And the literary allusions, here from "Alice In Wonderland" and "The Magician's Nephew".
Gaiman ladles the pathos thick - sometimes too thick. Here are some excerpts from page 10: "I was three... my aunt took me to see Iolanthe... died soon after, in the hospital". "seventh birthday party had consisted of... fifteen empty folding chairs". "a soft-haired black kitten I loved wholeheartedly, whom I immediately named Fluffy... a month later it was run over".
Stephen King's own early (failed) novel "Blaze" (now a Bachmann Book) has/had scenes like that. This inspired King himself, reviewing his own book, to quote Oscar Wilde, "One must have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without laughing". Gaiman should have taken those words to heart.
My copy also came with a "reading group guide". To this group, you're not invited. Because here's #3:
Because the narrator is male and most of the other characters are female, this story has the potential to become a stereotypical narrative in which a male character saves the day. How does the story avoid that pitfall?
Whoever floated that little sneer was a smug little momzer, to borrow a Gaiman word. It also misses the POINT of this book, which is partly about the helplessness of youth; one might as well ask this about a textbook on glaciology (oh, wait). I don't know if this sneer is Gaiman's fault anymore, given what he's lately said about Trigger Warnings. I blame HarperCollins. I'm pretty close to boycotting that publisher.
I bought this one at a Target in south Colorado Springs on Friday afternoon, between conventions. It's not for kids.
The narrator has gone to a funeral, so *also* has time to spare after this is done; he returns to his old neighbourhood with a 'u'. (He's British with a splash of Ashkenaz, like Gaiman himself, and like me.) He remembers an incident that happened there at age seven which incident, because Gaiman, was an incident of otherworldly horror. Think Stephen King's "It" or Dan Simmons' "Summer of Night", but British. Also the narrator's childhood wasn't happy, in that emo-British and Jewish way of things.
Narrator befriends a local girl, who has been eleven for a long time (*koff* Laet den raette komma in). They both go off to the Wood Between The Worlds, under an orange sky. There they meet what we'll learn is a wandering succubus. The demoness tricks narrator into bringing a part of her with him, back to Blighty. Lots of horrible creepy things then happen back home, which the narrator cannot fully understand himself - partly because he was seven, mostly because nobody human should be exposed to transdimensional aberrations. Especially not, um, secksual ones.
The prose is mostly excellent, as one has come to expect of Gaiman. Also we do get the expected Sense Of Wonder. And it brings the creepy. And the literary allusions, here from "Alice In Wonderland" and "The Magician's Nephew".
Gaiman ladles the pathos thick - sometimes too thick. Here are some excerpts from page 10: "I was three... my aunt took me to see Iolanthe... died soon after, in the hospital". "seventh birthday party had consisted of... fifteen empty folding chairs". "a soft-haired black kitten I loved wholeheartedly, whom I immediately named Fluffy... a month later it was run over".
Stephen King's own early (failed) novel "Blaze" (now a Bachmann Book) has/had scenes like that. This inspired King himself, reviewing his own book, to quote Oscar Wilde, "One must have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without laughing". Gaiman should have taken those words to heart.
My copy also came with a "reading group guide". To this group, you're not invited. Because here's #3:
Because the narrator is male and most of the other characters are female, this story has the potential to become a stereotypical narrative in which a male character saves the day. How does the story avoid that pitfall?
Whoever floated that little sneer was a smug little momzer, to borrow a Gaiman word. It also misses the POINT of this book, which is partly about the helplessness of youth; one might as well ask this about a textbook on glaciology (oh, wait). I don't know if this sneer is Gaiman's fault anymore, given what he's lately said about Trigger Warnings. I blame HarperCollins. I'm pretty close to boycotting that publisher.
Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at April 10, 2016 09:39 AM (6FqZa)
27
And thanks for that head's up on "The World Before The War." I've been looking for a book on the late 19th - early 20th century anarchist terrorist wave, and while this may not fit the bill entirely, it looks like a good start.
Posted by: Josephistan at April 10, 2016 09:40 AM (7qAYi)
28
As to Tuchman , she is a 'pop' historian , all derision intended : good fro airports and such . The far better account of the coming of WW! is The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark . It focuses more on the individuals , the human beings , that 'led' their nations into a war from which civilization has never recovered . It is generous to call these men stupid , more becoming as one reads the text , is bad . To wit , there is a point when arrogance and ill will cross over into bad as in evil : I give you John Kerry and Hillary Clinton . Stupid , yes . Arrogant , yes and in combination , bad . The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark . Put in the stack that has the obligatory 100 year accounts of Verdun and Somme : bad men do v. bad things .
Posted by: jay hoenemeyer at April 10, 2016 09:40 AM (uvj0z)
29
Ah, the bestest thread of all. *sinks into plush Corinthian leather Horde Library chair*
The essence of good writing is supposed to be "don't tell me, show me. But SWJs want to tell you what to think as you read, because Commies hate subtlety and fear that you might take a meandering mental path to you own conclusions. Hate and fear, that's what drives them.
The best weapon to fight them? Humor.
Humor and trebuchets flinging baskets of angry snakes.
The essence of good writing is supposed to be "don't tell me, show me. But SWJs want to tell you what to think as you read, because Commies hate subtlety and fear that you might take a meandering mental path to you own conclusions. Hate and fear, that's what drives them.
The best weapon to fight them? Humor.
Humor and trebuchets flinging baskets of angry snakes.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 09:41 AM (jR7Wy)
30
I should have known better as seeing the title but I really tried to give 'The Profiteers:Bechtel and the Men Who Built the world' by Sally Denton a chance. The subject matter should have been sufficient to get a good book out of but the author went in with an agenda that overwhelmed my ability to get past just the introduction.
That introduction revolves around the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and she trots out ever lefty cliche against the Bush administration in the process of eventually getting to how this involves Bechtel.
It could just as easily been titled 'Bechtel are EEEVIL and So Are You If You Don't Hate Them Like I Do' and saved me some trouble.
That introduction revolves around the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and she trots out ever lefty cliche against the Bush administration in the process of eventually getting to how this involves Bechtel.
It could just as easily been titled 'Bechtel are EEEVIL and So Are You If You Don't Hate Them Like I Do' and saved me some trouble.
Posted by: Epobirs at April 10, 2016 09:41 AM (IdCqF)
Posted by: Admiral John "Colander" Byng at April 10, 2016 09:42 AM (6FqZa)
32
And that's why I keep hitting the F5 button like a monkey in a crack experiment. Where else but AoSHQ am I going to find an Admiral Byng joke?
And that's why I keep hitting the F5 button like a monkey in a crack experiment. Where else but AoSHQ am I going to find an Admiral Byng joke?
Posted by: Josephistan at April 10, 2016 09:44 AM (7qAYi)
33
Haven't been doing much reading lately, what with everything and all. I'm working my way through DF Jones' "Colossus" books about a super-computer that takes over the world. Read the first one in a couple of hours, it's a real page-turner. The second, "The Fall of Colossus" hasn't quite grabbed me yet. It's set a few years later when Colossus is worshiped as a god (which he predicted) and I'm not getting the same "awareness" of the setting yet.
One thing, the depiction of women in these is really sexist...so much so that it even bothers me.
One thing, the depiction of women in these is really sexist...so much so that it even bothers me.
Posted by: BeckoningChasm at April 10, 2016 09:46 AM (AroJD)
34
Plunkitt is a favorite of mine. I did a book report on Plunkitt of Tammany Hall in 7th grade and developed no small bit of admiration for the fellow who shrugged off criticism with "I seen my opportunities, and I took 'em!". These ward heelers actually looked out for their underserved constituents, when not taking bribes and knocking back a few at McSorley's.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 09:47 AM (jR7Wy)
35
But SWJs want to tell you what to think as you read, because Commies hate subtlety and fear that you might take a meandering mental path to you own conclusions.
Which is why publishers put Reading Group Guides in books like Raymond Farrin's "Structure and Qur'anic Interpretation". And now they've done this to Neil freakin' Gaiman.
Christians do it too - Rifqa Barry, "Hiding In The Light" - but arguably their books are expected to be read in a bible-study setting. I'm supposed to join some sort of cult in order to read Gaiman now?
Which is why publishers put Reading Group Guides in books like Raymond Farrin's "Structure and Qur'anic Interpretation". And now they've done this to Neil freakin' Gaiman.
Christians do it too - Rifqa Barry, "Hiding In The Light" - but arguably their books are expected to be read in a bible-study setting. I'm supposed to join some sort of cult in order to read Gaiman now?
Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at April 10, 2016 09:47 AM (6FqZa)
36
I did a rundown myself about Sad Puppies 4 at chicagoboyz.net earlier this week. Another round of No Award may very well sink the Hugos in all but the most SJW literary circles - especially if Dragon Con steps up to the plate with their own award program.
Barbara Hambly wrote a fantasy-thriller about the Nazis trying to use the occult. Suncross, wherein a wizard from a world where magic is functional winds up being transported by a circle of Nazi occultists ... it's a cracking good read.
I haven't been doing much pleasure reading this week - too much to do with my own stuff, and with migrating all my stuff from a barely-functioning computer to a new one - a lot of files wound up being scattered between the old computer, some thumb drives and an external hard drive. We're aiming to bring out the Second Chronicle of Luna City early in May - since nearly everyone that has posted a review has loved it and want desperately to know the resolution to the cliff-hanging ending. I'll send the links and announcement to OM, as soon as the book is live.
Just started on Ian McEwan's Atonement - no opinion so far.
Barbara Hambly wrote a fantasy-thriller about the Nazis trying to use the occult. Suncross, wherein a wizard from a world where magic is functional winds up being transported by a circle of Nazi occultists ... it's a cracking good read.
I haven't been doing much pleasure reading this week - too much to do with my own stuff, and with migrating all my stuff from a barely-functioning computer to a new one - a lot of files wound up being scattered between the old computer, some thumb drives and an external hard drive. We're aiming to bring out the Second Chronicle of Luna City early in May - since nearly everyone that has posted a review has loved it and want desperately to know the resolution to the cliff-hanging ending. I'll send the links and announcement to OM, as soon as the book is live.
Just started on Ian McEwan's Atonement - no opinion so far.
Posted by: Sgt. Mom at April 10, 2016 09:48 AM (oK6A/)
37
These are the days that make Tammany Hall look good.
Posted by: @votermom at April 10, 2016 09:50 AM (nbrY/)
38
>>My copy also came with a "reading group guide".
Ugh, I hate when that is included because, as you illustrated, the questions are terrrrrrrible.
* * *
Hate to mention this because it is just so awful, but...Random House gave Lena Dunham her own publishing imprint. This damaged, abusive 3rd wave feminist will be selecting which books will be marketed to young women. Can only imagine what kinds of stories she'll pick.
Ugh, I hate when that is included because, as you illustrated, the questions are terrrrrrrible.
* * *
Hate to mention this because it is just so awful, but...Random House gave Lena Dunham her own publishing imprint. This damaged, abusive 3rd wave feminist will be selecting which books will be marketed to young women. Can only imagine what kinds of stories she'll pick.
Posted by: Lizzy at April 10, 2016 09:54 AM (NOIQH)
39
Science Fiction Stories of Rudyard Kipling
Posted by: Dogstar at April 10, 2016 09:17 AM (U6GjV)
Kipling wrote sci-fi? I did not know that.
Hmmmm. This bears looking into...
Posted by: Dogstar at April 10, 2016 09:17 AM (U6GjV)
Kipling wrote sci-fi? I did not know that.
Hmmmm. This bears looking into...
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 09:55 AM (PwHBA)
40
Where else but AoSHQ am I going to find an Admiral Byng joke?
I know, right? Encouraging, innit?
I'll defend Tuchman's Tower to this extent: her portrayals of the goings-on surrounding The Hague and other attempts to found world government are character-driven bitter high comedy. Just that part would make a great movie, especially if Woody Allen suddenly discovered he was a conservative.
ISTR she described anti-Semitism in Austria-Hungary as being primarily anti-orientalism. Jews arriving in germanic Austria were from the eastern realms, wore eastern cloaks and robes, practiced eastern rites. Interesting take.
Wot no "Don Quixote USA"? Well, it really is that rare.
I know, right? Encouraging, innit?
I'll defend Tuchman's Tower to this extent: her portrayals of the goings-on surrounding The Hague and other attempts to found world government are character-driven bitter high comedy. Just that part would make a great movie, especially if Woody Allen suddenly discovered he was a conservative.
ISTR she described anti-Semitism in Austria-Hungary as being primarily anti-orientalism. Jews arriving in germanic Austria were from the eastern realms, wore eastern cloaks and robes, practiced eastern rites. Interesting take.
Wot no "Don Quixote USA"? Well, it really is that rare.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 09:55 AM (xq1UY)
41
But SWJs want to tell you what to think as you read...
I know what an SJW is, but SWJ is, what, a single-wheel jerk?
I know what an SJW is, but SWJ is, what, a single-wheel jerk?
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 09:56 AM (PwHBA)
42
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 09:56 AM (PwHBA)
---
Simpering, Whinging Jerkoffs?
My bad.
---
Simpering, Whinging Jerkoffs?
My bad.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 09:57 AM (jR7Wy)
43
Wot no "Don Quixote USA"? Well, it really is that rare.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 09:55 AM (xq1UY)
Actually, I did I write-up for DQ-USA, but it got bumped due to overload. You'll see it next week
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 09:55 AM (xq1UY)
Actually, I did I write-up for DQ-USA, but it got bumped due to overload. You'll see it next week
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 09:58 AM (PwHBA)
44
Simpering, Whinging Jerkoffs?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 09:57 AM (jR7Wy)
Works for me.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 09:57 AM (jR7Wy)
Works for me.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 09:59 AM (PwHBA)
45
As a break from the 'heavy' reading, I'm continuing the gentle comedy of manners in 'The Semi-Detached House'. As I said last week, this is like mild Jane Austen. It is completely light and enjoyable. And it is contagious: it could lead to re-reading most of PG Wodehouse.
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 10:00 AM (V+03K)
46
The Brit courts have issued one of their superinjunctions which barrs media from reporting on certain subjects. The subject is Elton John and his "wife" having a threesome and the need to protect "their children" from the news. LOL
Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at April 10, 2016 10:00 AM (iQIUe)
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 10:00 AM (xq1UY)
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 10:00 AM (1xUj/)
49
The subject is Elton John and his "wife" having a threesome
Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at April 10, 2016 10:00 AM (iQIUe)
Ugh and double ugh. That's an image I absolutely Do Not Need on a Sunday morning.
Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at April 10, 2016 10:00 AM (iQIUe)
Ugh and double ugh. That's an image I absolutely Do Not Need on a Sunday morning.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 10:02 AM (PwHBA)
50
I want a sad puppies T-shirt! Has anyone seen one?
Posted by: Jean at April 10, 2016 10:03 AM (cXiMR)
51
5 ... right wing whippersnapper, Thanks for mentioning the Ecclesiastical History by Bede. It now goes on the list to acquire. I sampled it several centuries ago in freshman year English but don't remember much. Now it's the kind of item I can take time for and appreciate.
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 10:03 AM (V+03K)
52
Good morning all. I was wondering if I could ask for some advice. My son is finishing up 8th grade and a light bulb went off the other day. The only books he has read are what school assigns him. I have helped him pick a few when he has options like the Hobbit, George Washington's Secret Six by Brian Kilmeade, and a few others.....but I admittedly spend way too much of my focus on him with lacrosse and lifting.
I figured High School will be the last time I have a chance to make sure he is well read.
So...any recommendations for what a young man should read?
I started the list with Lord of the Rings and Conan...lots of Conan.
I figured High School will be the last time I have a chance to make sure he is well read.
So...any recommendations for what a young man should read?
I started the list with Lord of the Rings and Conan...lots of Conan.
Posted by: Mattinj at April 10, 2016 10:04 AM (VoPjS)
53
Oh, and among my bedside books is the second volume of Rick Geary's richly illustrated "A Treasury of Victorian Murder", which will be my armchair reading for today since it's 37 degrees outside.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 10:04 AM (jR7Wy)
54
Armed, Cute, and Dangerous looks to be an interesting take on the Magical Girl Trope.
What is the Magical Girl Trope? Sailor Moon is an example in which young girls are imbued with magical abilities. But the earliest anime version is Sally the Witch in which a young witch plays hooky to visit mundane Earthling kids. Sally the Witch was inspired by the American sitcom Bewitched which in turn was inspired by the movie I Married a Witch starring Veronica Lake.
And oh yeah, please buy my book?
http://astore.amazon.com/aoshq-20/detail/B014BTSEYO
I seriously need to get to writing or Cheng is going to be on the Sad Puppies V list before me.
What is the Magical Girl Trope? Sailor Moon is an example in which young girls are imbued with magical abilities. But the earliest anime version is Sally the Witch in which a young witch plays hooky to visit mundane Earthling kids. Sally the Witch was inspired by the American sitcom Bewitched which in turn was inspired by the movie I Married a Witch starring Veronica Lake.
And oh yeah, please buy my book?
http://astore.amazon.com/aoshq-20/detail/B014BTSEYO
I seriously need to get to writing or Cheng is going to be on the Sad Puppies V list before me.
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 10:05 AM (Wj6Ip)
55
Tell the class what you're reading behind your textbook, Mr. Bander.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 10:06 AM (jR7Wy)
56
I got an email saying last day for Hugo nominations was March 30, so isn't info about the SP slate a bit tardy? I actually tried to figure out who they suggested, but just saw a huge comment list, so gave up.
Posted by: gm at April 10, 2016 10:07 AM (K0tm3)
57
Bandernsatch if the title had 'Mewling Quims' you know the Empress would have bought it.
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 10:07 AM (Wj6Ip)
58
8th grade? "Animal Farm", "Starship Troopers", the first couple of "Foundation", "Helliconia Winter".
Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at April 10, 2016 10:08 AM (6FqZa)
59
Tell the class what you're reading behind your textbook, Mr. Bander.
Cyndi Wood, PMOY 1974.
Oh, that doesn't count as reading.
I've been sort of illiterate this week. Mostly reading blog comments about He Who Shall Not Be Named.
Cyndi Wood, PMOY 1974.
Oh, that doesn't count as reading.
I've been sort of illiterate this week. Mostly reading blog comments about He Who Shall Not Be Named.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 10:09 AM (1xUj/)
60
"Vmom", he whispered. "I sent you a couple of ebooks by email. If they are really bad, just burn'm and we'll say no more about it, eh?" the jolly old santa impersonator's eye's twinkled as he laughed. Then he turned to the Horde to say, in his all serious philosopher voice,
"Some in the Horde were generous in their support of my first effort and I thank you for that support. I come before you, to annoy you, yet again and pimp my book 'Wolf Hunters : Safari'
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E0EO4WQ/?tag=aoshq-20
about a rich man's son who goes adventuring, goes native; adopting the native lifestyle among the redhead cloned descendents of Kheru Yaaluu. A story in two parts where a twist at the end of part one sets up part two. "
"A collection of short stories titled 'A Taste of Imagination' might be more appealing to the varied interest of you Morons.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E1PHJQ2/?tag=aoshq-20
An Alaskan bush pilot has mechanical difficulties and is forced down in the wilderness. Six stories in all, an old tale retold about humanity's thirst for knowledge, a lone survivor remembers his lost comrades, a field agent for the bureau wants a quiet retirement in a backwater port where nothing ever happens, a young Iraqi war vet interviews for a slot on a colony ship, and 'We come in Peace : Why can't we be friends?"
They are cheap. I hope you will give me another chance. I think the writing is better, and the proof reading has improved. Quoting a Guild Navigator, "I abase myself before the Horde. The words must flow."
"Some in the Horde were generous in their support of my first effort and I thank you for that support. I come before you, to annoy you, yet again and pimp my book 'Wolf Hunters : Safari'
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E0EO4WQ/?tag=aoshq-20
about a rich man's son who goes adventuring, goes native; adopting the native lifestyle among the redhead cloned descendents of Kheru Yaaluu. A story in two parts where a twist at the end of part one sets up part two. "
"A collection of short stories titled 'A Taste of Imagination' might be more appealing to the varied interest of you Morons.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E1PHJQ2/?tag=aoshq-20
An Alaskan bush pilot has mechanical difficulties and is forced down in the wilderness. Six stories in all, an old tale retold about humanity's thirst for knowledge, a lone survivor remembers his lost comrades, a field agent for the bureau wants a quiet retirement in a backwater port where nothing ever happens, a young Iraqi war vet interviews for a slot on a colony ship, and 'We come in Peace : Why can't we be friends?"
They are cheap. I hope you will give me another chance. I think the writing is better, and the proof reading has improved. Quoting a Guild Navigator, "I abase myself before the Horde. The words must flow."
Posted by: Skandia Recluse at April 10, 2016 10:10 AM (jFrtJ)
61
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 10:09 AM (1xUj/)
---
Don't utter his name aloud without having the proper wards in place!
---
Don't utter his name aloud without having the proper wards in place!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 10:11 AM (jR7Wy)
62
Well, there goes my book budget for the summer. Or for the month. Depends on how much actual work I want to get done between chapters.
Posted by: antisocialist at April 10, 2016 10:11 AM (9n14Y)
63
The original Little Fuzzy by Piper. Alien planet and strange lifeforms. Gun fights. Government corruption. Drinking and smoking. Legal fight over the question is that knee-high bipedal lifeform with the luxurious pelt an intelligent species or something that will be a Terran fashion statement in about a year?
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 10:11 AM (Wj6Ip)
64
Mattinj: For middle-school boys: Louis L'Amour. Tons of them, a welcome escape after homework. My son now searches them out at garage sales and reads them to his sons.
Posted by: Wenda (sic) at April 10, 2016 10:12 AM (pZEKq)
65
Hell, All Hail Eris that particular name even makes the Mad Arab cringe and gibber while gnawing a finger off.
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 10:13 AM (Wj6Ip)
66
Posted by: Mattinj at April 10, 2016 10:04 AM (VoPjS)
Sherlock Holmes
The Hardy Boys
Tom Clancy
The Red Badge of Courage
All Quiet on The Western Front
Sherlock Holmes
The Hardy Boys
Tom Clancy
The Red Badge of Courage
All Quiet on The Western Front
Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at April 10, 2016 10:16 AM (Rk1eQ)
67
I think the SJWs in science fiction got all moist about Three-Body Problem because a lot of them don't actually read anymore. All they know is it's a book by a Chinese Guy, which means he's not only a Magical Foreigner but also a Magical Marxist. Naturally he deserves an award.
THe book, as you point out, has a devastating depiction of the Cultural Revolution -- which to me was the best part of the book; the science fiction part was (shh!) actually kind of lame.
Expecting contemporary Social Justice Warriors to have enough self-awareness to recognize themselves in the radical Maoists of China's Cultural Revolution is probably asking too much of the silly little idiots.
THe book, as you point out, has a devastating depiction of the Cultural Revolution -- which to me was the best part of the book; the science fiction part was (shh!) actually kind of lame.
Expecting contemporary Social Justice Warriors to have enough self-awareness to recognize themselves in the radical Maoists of China's Cultural Revolution is probably asking too much of the silly little idiots.
Posted by: Trimegistus at April 10, 2016 10:16 AM (itaqR)
68
I post the Daily Deals from Amazon books in my news thread. And the quality of that selection they put up there has deteriorate to the point that it is a waste of time.
Personally I have gone to Bookbub for better books at low prices. Unfortunately I can't put a link in the morning thread because they e-mail you their selections daily.
I know it has been posted before, but here is a link to the Bookbub home page. You have to sign up and give them your e-mail address so they can mail you their daily selection. You also get to tailor your reading preferences so they send you the selection you prefer.
https://www.bookbub.com/home/
Personally I have gone to Bookbub for better books at low prices. Unfortunately I can't put a link in the morning thread because they e-mail you their selections daily.
I know it has been posted before, but here is a link to the Bookbub home page. You have to sign up and give them your e-mail address so they can mail you their daily selection. You also get to tailor your reading preferences so they send you the selection you prefer.
https://www.bookbub.com/home/
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 10, 2016 10:17 AM (vvmPQ)
69
Trimegistus, you mean the not-silly and quite terrifying useful idiots correct?
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 10:18 AM (Wj6Ip)
70
52 ... LOTR and Conan are a good start. Make sure to use the original Conan stories by Robert Howard. They are much better than later stories by others. You might want to consider the Heinlein 'juveniles' which are creative, encourage an improved vocabulary, and are before he got wacky sexy about everything. Then there are the H. Rider Haggard novels like 'She' and 'King Solomon's Mines'.
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 10:18 AM (V+03K)
71
Ugh and double ugh. That's an image I absolutely Do Not Need on a Sunday morning.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 10:02 AM (PwHBA)
=============
I do find the use of superinjunctions interesting. They are archaic. I think the court sends out emails to media and warns them they can be prosecuted. Brit courts have no jurisdiction in Scotland where the papers will print the banned stories. It's always male celebs with their dicks caught in their zippers and then trying to suppress the stories to protect their image.
Ugh and double ugh. That's an image I absolutely Do Not Need on a Sunday morning.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 10:02 AM (PwHBA)
=============
I do find the use of superinjunctions interesting. They are archaic. I think the court sends out emails to media and warns them they can be prosecuted. Brit courts have no jurisdiction in Scotland where the papers will print the banned stories. It's always male celebs with their dicks caught in their zippers and then trying to suppress the stories to protect their image.
Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at April 10, 2016 10:20 AM (iQIUe)
72
*pauses to ponder something*
Could it be that Himmler fell victim to the occult after watching the 1922 Swedish silent film Haxan: Witchcraft through the Ages?
Could it be that Himmler fell victim to the occult after watching the 1922 Swedish silent film Haxan: Witchcraft through the Ages?
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 10:21 AM (Wj6Ip)
73
Well, I read "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" in the 8th grade, and look how I turned out. In my defense, it was brandy-new at the time.
"Time of the Great Freeze" by Robert Silverberg was a good one, too. I went on to read more Silverberg, and came to think of him as a "poor man's Poul Anderson." If it looks like I'm recommending Anderson, I guess I am.
That was when Lord of The Rings was enjoying its first thunderous re-discovery. I'll reveal an embarrassment and admit that I thought the world of Paul Simon back then, and there was a literary interview in which he shrugged off the whole Tolkien enthusiasm as "Aryan fairy tales," and I took that to heart at the time. But not long after, the original Lampoon's "Bored of The Rings" came out, and I really learned a lot about lampooning from that.
I was also reading some John Barth, Thomas Mann and Hermann Hesse in those times, but, realistically? Can't say they are worthwhile compared to Conan.
"Time of the Great Freeze" by Robert Silverberg was a good one, too. I went on to read more Silverberg, and came to think of him as a "poor man's Poul Anderson." If it looks like I'm recommending Anderson, I guess I am.
That was when Lord of The Rings was enjoying its first thunderous re-discovery. I'll reveal an embarrassment and admit that I thought the world of Paul Simon back then, and there was a literary interview in which he shrugged off the whole Tolkien enthusiasm as "Aryan fairy tales," and I took that to heart at the time. But not long after, the original Lampoon's "Bored of The Rings" came out, and I really learned a lot about lampooning from that.
I was also reading some John Barth, Thomas Mann and Hermann Hesse in those times, but, realistically? Can't say they are worthwhile compared to Conan.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 10:21 AM (xq1UY)
Posted by: nckate at April 10, 2016 10:22 AM (B7rRP)
75
Rudyard Kipling did indeed write science fiction; in fact he's a lot more influential in the field than one might realize.
I think (not 100% sure) that RK may have invented the idea of a story taking place in a future society with no visitors from the author's own time dropping in. His story "With The Night Mail" is a faux journalistic article from the far-off year 2000 AD -- including some fake ads!
He could be considered the father of "realistic" science fiction; trying to depict a future or alien society as it would be rather than to deliver the author's opinions about social class or imperialism.
I think (not 100% sure) that RK may have invented the idea of a story taking place in a future society with no visitors from the author's own time dropping in. His story "With The Night Mail" is a faux journalistic article from the far-off year 2000 AD -- including some fake ads!
He could be considered the father of "realistic" science fiction; trying to depict a future or alien society as it would be rather than to deliver the author's opinions about social class or imperialism.
Posted by: Trimegistus at April 10, 2016 10:24 AM (itaqR)
76
Are we sure that's not the Shawshank State Penitentiary?
Posted by: SGT York at April 10, 2016 10:24 AM (fD3MM)
77
Anna: yeah, them, too.
Posted by: Trimegistus at April 10, 2016 10:25 AM (itaqR)
78
O Book Thread, like water in the desert are your pixels to me! I hang on by my fingernails all week, just waiting for you...
In other news, according to my editor I am the sole cause of the Great Comma Shortage of 2016. Sorry. In other other news. Scrivener's html output is even more garbage-laden than Word's, an achievement of dubious distinction. I am hoping there is a way to tame the beast, because otherwise I quite like it for book writing.
Currently reading and enjoying Mall Purchase Night, or the dangers of being a mall cop in a mall built over a gate to Tir na nOg.
In other news, according to my editor I am the sole cause of the Great Comma Shortage of 2016. Sorry. In other other news. Scrivener's html output is even more garbage-laden than Word's, an achievement of dubious distinction. I am hoping there is a way to tame the beast, because otherwise I quite like it for book writing.
Currently reading and enjoying Mall Purchase Night, or the dangers of being a mall cop in a mall built over a gate to Tir na nOg.
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at April 10, 2016 10:26 AM (GG9V6)
79
Could it be that Himmler fell victim to the occult after watching the 1922 Swedish silent film Haxan: Witchcraft through the Ages?
I have a thesis-in-a-box for a film major, which will be ignored by my two film major sons.
See how the themes and imagery in Kurosawa's "Ran" derive from Fritz Lang's "Die Niebelungen".
Shot for shot at times, especially when the castle burns. Everyone says "Ran" is King Lear, but they haven't seen Nibelungen.
I have a thesis-in-a-box for a film major, which will be ignored by my two film major sons.
See how the themes and imagery in Kurosawa's "Ran" derive from Fritz Lang's "Die Niebelungen".
Shot for shot at times, especially when the castle burns. Everyone says "Ran" is King Lear, but they haven't seen Nibelungen.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 10:27 AM (1xUj/)
80
Finished...The Gift of Rain by Tan Twang Eng. Good read.
Reading... While Europe slept by Bruce Bawer. Very good so far.... religion of peace expose by a leftist who couldn't handle the racist/homophobia of the US and has discovered something is terribly wrong in the European community where he was seeking refuge.... His eyes were opened pretty quickly to the Islamic threat...if only all leftists could learn from example...
Finished...The Gift of Rain by Tan Twang Eng. Good read.
Reading... While Europe slept by Bruce Bawer. Very good so far.... religion of peace expose by a leftist who couldn't handle the racist/homophobia of the US and has discovered something is terribly wrong in the European community where he was seeking refuge.... His eyes were opened pretty quickly to the Islamic threat...if only all leftists could learn from example...
Posted by: I'll call your Katy Perry and raise you a Kanye at April 10, 2016 10:28 AM (Qj6zv)
81
Mein Gott Bandersnatch, now you going to make me watch back to back Die Niebelungen and Ran?
Nein nein nein! or I shall not get any writing done.
Nein nein nein! or I shall not get any writing done.
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 10:31 AM (Wj6Ip)
82
I have a collection of Kipling's short stories of horror & suspense.
Posted by: Josephistan at April 10, 2016 10:31 AM (7qAYi)
83
Sabrina, you may want to get a look at Atlantis Word Processor. It's very similar to Word 2003, is compatible with DOC and DOCX, very light on resource requirements, and has the very useful feature of outputting directly to EPUB.
It's one glaring deficit, mainly for non-fiction, is the lack of tables. There are discussions on their forums going back to 2002 in which they say it is coming soon. This year it's actually happening. The beta with table support is now available for testing.
It's one glaring deficit, mainly for non-fiction, is the lack of tables. There are discussions on their forums going back to 2002 in which they say it is coming soon. This year it's actually happening. The beta with table support is now available for testing.
Posted by: Epobirs at April 10, 2016 10:32 AM (IdCqF)
84
60 "Vmom", he whispered. "I sent you a couple of ebooks by email. If they are really bad, just burn'm and we'll say no more about it, eh?" the jolly old santa impersonator's eye's twinkled as he laughed. Then he turned to the Horde to say, in his all serious philosopher voice,
--
I got them - thanks!
They have to do their time in my book prison camp first with the other inmates. The book pile, it's like a digital jenga right now.
--
I got them - thanks!
They have to do their time in my book prison camp first with the other inmates. The book pile, it's like a digital jenga right now.
Posted by: @votermom at April 10, 2016 10:33 AM (nbrY/)
85
I do find the use of superinjunctions interesting.
Yeah, imagine what the Democrats could do with them.
They are archaic. I think the court sends out emails to media and warns them they can be prosecuted.
Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at April 10, 2016 10:20 AM (iQIUe)
Can any British citizen get one, or only the rich and famous? And what would be the basis for the government deciding that it would not be in anybody's best interest form them to know about Elton John's meat sandwich?
Yeah, imagine what the Democrats could do with them.
They are archaic. I think the court sends out emails to media and warns them they can be prosecuted.
Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at April 10, 2016 10:20 AM (iQIUe)
Can any British citizen get one, or only the rich and famous? And what would be the basis for the government deciding that it would not be in anybody's best interest form them to know about Elton John's meat sandwich?
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 10:34 AM (PwHBA)
86
Nein nein nein! or I shall not get any writing done.
Consider it research. You have to go back to the well sometimes.
All of a sudden you'll find a need to put a kidnapped girl plotting revenge against the clan that took her into your work.
Consider it research. You have to go back to the well sometimes.
All of a sudden you'll find a need to put a kidnapped girl plotting revenge against the clan that took her into your work.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 10:34 AM (1xUj/)
87
Don Quixote USA was a fun read.
Posted by: @votermom at April 10, 2016 10:35 AM (nbrY/)
88
Posted by: Mattinj at April 10, 2016 10:04 AM (VoPjS)
Gerrold Durrell (NOT LAWRENCE)
Bafut Beagles, The Whispering Lands, The Drunken Forest, My Family and Other Animals
Jerry was an animal collector who decided to collect his own zoo. The last book talks about his childhood when his family lived on Corfu and he spent a lot of time poking things with a stick, the others are about his collecting expeditions in Cameroon and South America
Mark Twain's Roughing It, and anything by Willy Ley if you can find it (and it is worth the search)
Also, Terry Pratchett, Bujold, Christopher Anvil, Eric Frank Russell, Harry Harrison - none of which are high art (except maybe Bujold) but they are based in part on very serious concepts that kind of introduce the ideas to kids so they can follow them up later when they are in a thinking mood.
And maybe dare him to read Davvy Crockett's autobiography.
Gerrold Durrell (NOT LAWRENCE)
Bafut Beagles, The Whispering Lands, The Drunken Forest, My Family and Other Animals
Jerry was an animal collector who decided to collect his own zoo. The last book talks about his childhood when his family lived on Corfu and he spent a lot of time poking things with a stick, the others are about his collecting expeditions in Cameroon and South America
Mark Twain's Roughing It, and anything by Willy Ley if you can find it (and it is worth the search)
Also, Terry Pratchett, Bujold, Christopher Anvil, Eric Frank Russell, Harry Harrison - none of which are high art (except maybe Bujold) but they are based in part on very serious concepts that kind of introduce the ideas to kids so they can follow them up later when they are in a thinking mood.
And maybe dare him to read Davvy Crockett's autobiography.
Posted by: Kindltot at April 10, 2016 10:36 AM (6DMur)
Posted by: Nigel Ungen at April 10, 2016 10:36 AM (2rmvw)
90
74
My son enjoyed the Tarzan books, anything by ERB. Should be free on kindle.
Posted by: nckate at April 10, 2016 10:22 AM (B7rRP)
Many of those, as well as the Mars series, are available for free from Gutenberg. However, not all of them are.
My son enjoyed the Tarzan books, anything by ERB. Should be free on kindle.
Posted by: nckate at April 10, 2016 10:22 AM (B7rRP)
Many of those, as well as the Mars series, are available for free from Gutenberg. However, not all of them are.
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 10, 2016 10:36 AM (vvmPQ)
91
I wanted to mention that the book I am serializing on my website (for free) will soon be available as a trade paperback and an ebook through Amazon.
Some readers were unhappy with having to read the pdf chapter-by chapter format, so if you want to force me to take your money, I guess I will
The Bengal Bridegift, www.annecleeland.com
Some readers were unhappy with having to read the pdf chapter-by chapter format, so if you want to force me to take your money, I guess I will
The Bengal Bridegift, www.annecleeland.com
Posted by: artemis at April 10, 2016 10:37 AM (AwPyG)
92
Sure Bandernsatch, go back to the well... where have I heard that trope before? Oh wait, such anime movies as Magic Boy in which the sensei has his apprentice do such mundane chores as chopping wood or fetching water from a very cold and distant mountain stream.
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 10:39 AM (Wj6Ip)
93
78 Currently reading and enjoying Mall Purchase Night, or the dangers of being a mall cop in a mall built over a gate to Tir na nOg.
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at April 10, 2016 10:26 AM (GG9V6)
I have that in paperback and liked it. It is too bad they don't have it in Kindle format. I have a tough time reading paperbacks now.
If you like Rick Cook they do have his Wiz Biz series in Kindle. That is my favorite series by him. Entertaining and funny.
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at April 10, 2016 10:26 AM (GG9V6)
I have that in paperback and liked it. It is too bad they don't have it in Kindle format. I have a tough time reading paperbacks now.
If you like Rick Cook they do have his Wiz Biz series in Kindle. That is my favorite series by him. Entertaining and funny.
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 10, 2016 10:40 AM (vvmPQ)
94
65 Hell, All Hail Eris that particular name even makes the Mad Arab cringe and gibber while gnawing a finger off.
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 10:13 AM (Wj6Ip)
Like speaking the true name of Azathoth.
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 10:13 AM (Wj6Ip)
Like speaking the true name of Azathoth.
Posted by: Insomniac at April 10, 2016 10:40 AM (0mRoj)
95
Scored a number of hardback Andre Norton and Alan E. Nourse books to replace my somewhat tattered paperbacks. Huzzah! Used books stores for the win.
Alan E. Nourse also wrote one of the best books on medicine, Intern. I recommend it to a select group of pre-med students.
Been reading up on the game Diplomacy, as I am part of a WeirdDave run e-mail game.
For light reading,I am rereading the Mote in Gods Eye.
Alan E. Nourse also wrote one of the best books on medicine, Intern. I recommend it to a select group of pre-med students.
Been reading up on the game Diplomacy, as I am part of a WeirdDave run e-mail game.
For light reading,I am rereading the Mote in Gods Eye.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at April 10, 2016 10:40 AM (u82oZ)
96
Hey votermom! Would you add me to your list of AoSHQ authors? I've written a novel called Leviathan, published by Lampion Press (and blurbed by Tim LaHaye, coauthor of the Left Behind series), link here: http://tinyurl.com/h7agg7k
...as well as a series of holiday-themed short stories about a vampire psychiatrist: http://tinyurl.com/gl89zvm
Sequel to Leviathan in the works, with a third to follow. Thanks a ton!
...as well as a series of holiday-themed short stories about a vampire psychiatrist: http://tinyurl.com/gl89zvm
Sequel to Leviathan in the works, with a third to follow. Thanks a ton!
Posted by: Doctor Cynic at April 10, 2016 10:41 AM (nkrB2)
97
92 Sure Bandernsatch, go back to the well... where have I heard that trope before? Oh wait, such anime movies as Magic Boy in which the sensei has his apprentice do such mundane chores as chopping wood or fetching water from a very cold and distant mountain stream.
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 10:39 AM (Wj6Ip)
Waxing cars, sanding floors, painting fences...
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 10:39 AM (Wj6Ip)
Waxing cars, sanding floors, painting fences...
Posted by: Insomniac at April 10, 2016 10:41 AM (0mRoj)
Posted by: Nevergiveup at April 10, 2016 10:42 AM (HGMvv)
99
Doctor Cynic, will do.
Artemis, send me the link to Amazon when the t goes on sale and I will add it too.
My email is my nic at gmail
Artemis, send me the link to Amazon when the t goes on sale and I will add it too.
My email is my nic at gmail
Posted by: @votermom at April 10, 2016 10:43 AM (nbrY/)
100
Votermom, thanks for the review of "Tears in the Darkness"...I've been looking for a good book about the Bataan death march. I went to the Philippines way back in '81, pre - Mt. Pinatubo, and went to Camp ODonnell to watch some bombing practice. Didn't realize until much, much later that I was standing where the death march ended for those who survived.
Posted by: antisocialist at April 10, 2016 10:44 AM (9n14Y)
101
Haxan has a not-at-all-subtle antireligious tone, which may not have inspired Himmler but certainly dovetailed with his own ideas.
The neopagan/"occultist"/anti-church movements of the 1920s were part of the whole boom in "revolutionary" thinking after WWI, and there were plenty of links between and among them. You had Nazi occultists like Himmler, Italian fascist occultists like Evola, but also Russian "Cosmicist" bolshevik occultists even some American lefty occultists like Henry Wallace.
Since modern "progressive" politics and modern "alternative spirituality" movements all trace a lot of their DNA back to the Twenties, it can be a lot of fun to point out to both Lefties and Woo fans that there are some Nazis in their woodshed.
The neopagan/"occultist"/anti-church movements of the 1920s were part of the whole boom in "revolutionary" thinking after WWI, and there were plenty of links between and among them. You had Nazi occultists like Himmler, Italian fascist occultists like Evola, but also Russian "Cosmicist" bolshevik occultists even some American lefty occultists like Henry Wallace.
Since modern "progressive" politics and modern "alternative spirituality" movements all trace a lot of their DNA back to the Twenties, it can be a lot of fun to point out to both Lefties and Woo fans that there are some Nazis in their woodshed.
Posted by: Trimegistus at April 10, 2016 10:44 AM (itaqR)
102
I second (or third) ERB's Martian series. Wonderful exotic locales described in purple and puce, but also an underlying humor and celebration of grit and determination. "I yet live!", as John Carter has said in many a tight spot.
I would also, for the adults, recommend "Jane Carver of Waar" in which a salty ginger biker chick is transported to an alien world much like Barsoom.
I would also, for the adults, recommend "Jane Carver of Waar" in which a salty ginger biker chick is transported to an alien world much like Barsoom.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 10:46 AM (jR7Wy)
103
Been reading up on the game Diplomacy, as I am part of a WeirdDave run e-mail game.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at April 10, 2016 10:40 AM (u82oZ)
I'm sorry I missed out on Weirddave's Diplomacy thread. I used to play it on the weekends back in my college days in the 70s. No e-mail then, we did it live and turned in our little slips of paper to the head guy who would read out our moves and move the pieces accordingly. Games would take 8-12 hours. I liked it better than Risk, but I doubt I'd have the patience for it now.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at April 10, 2016 10:40 AM (u82oZ)
I'm sorry I missed out on Weirddave's Diplomacy thread. I used to play it on the weekends back in my college days in the 70s. No e-mail then, we did it live and turned in our little slips of paper to the head guy who would read out our moves and move the pieces accordingly. Games would take 8-12 hours. I liked it better than Risk, but I doubt I'd have the patience for it now.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 10:46 AM (PwHBA)
104
@95 Nourse! I was about to mention his great juvenile, "Trouble on Titan." If you go to its listing on The Big On-Line Store with A and Z in Its Name, there is a review by me from five years ago, and every year I get a comment or note on it.
Did you know, he wrote most of those "So You Want To Be A___" pamphlets they used instead of vocational counseling in high schools, and most of the Readers Digest "I Am Joe's ___" medical articles? And a book called "Bladerunner."
Did you know, he wrote most of those "So You Want To Be A___" pamphlets they used instead of vocational counseling in high schools, and most of the Readers Digest "I Am Joe's ___" medical articles? And a book called "Bladerunner."
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 10:47 AM (xq1UY)
105
For a teenaged boy, I recommend Edgar Rice Burroughs and Heinlein juveniles, esp. Space Cadet, Citizen of the Galaxy, and Tunnel in the Sky.
The early Tarzan (up to Number 10) and Tarzan and the Foreign Legion are the best ones. The Mars (Barsoom) series and his Moon Maid series include some of his best writing. I have a complete collection, from back in the day. Ask about others.
The early Tarzan (up to Number 10) and Tarzan and the Foreign Legion are the best ones. The Mars (Barsoom) series and his Moon Maid series include some of his best writing. I have a complete collection, from back in the day. Ask about others.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at April 10, 2016 10:48 AM (u82oZ)
106
I wound up buying H. L. Menken's autobiography at the Library Book-sale yesterday.
I haven't cracked it, since I am in two other books.
I haven't cracked it, since I am in two other books.
Posted by: Kindltot at April 10, 2016 10:48 AM (6DMur)
107
*taps chin with finger*
What if it was possible to literally get lost in a book? What if you got lost in two books at the same time?
What if it was possible to literally get lost in a book? What if you got lost in two books at the same time?
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 10:49 AM (Wj6Ip)
108
Nonsense! Vox Day is the Supreme Dark Lord, proclaimed by the Evil League of Evil. Larry is the International Lord of Hate!
Posted by: Will at April 10, 2016 10:50 AM (+d/dO)
109
104 @95 Nourse! I was about to mention his great juvenile, "Trouble on Titan."
---
Definitely not to be confused with Samuel R. Delaney's "Trouble on Triton", subtitled "An Ambiguous Heterotopia".
---
Definitely not to be confused with Samuel R. Delaney's "Trouble on Triton", subtitled "An Ambiguous Heterotopia".
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 10:51 AM (jR7Wy)
110
Thanks Votermom,
At the risk of being annoying, I actually have two series in print already, and Mr. Muse has been kind enough to help promote them. One is British detective, and one is historical mystery.
And I second the ERB Tarzan--John Carter recommendation for young people--I still have every book in my bookcase.
At the risk of being annoying, I actually have two series in print already, and Mr. Muse has been kind enough to help promote them. One is British detective, and one is historical mystery.
And I second the ERB Tarzan--John Carter recommendation for young people--I still have every book in my bookcase.
Posted by: artemis at April 10, 2016 10:52 AM (AwPyG)
111
Ugh.
Work has been eating up so much time and insisted on being unnecessarily bothersome-
that I've done very little reading or writing lately.
However, the subject of government graft and bribery has been much on my mind.
And I think, like so much else in gov't, once "Our Betters" cut themselves loose from the idea of America, once they freed themselves from it's concepts, heritage and history- and essentially went from being "public servants" to "our minders"-
that the governance simply became a game of who could grab the most cash for themselves and their cronies.
Once that happened the nation was doomed.
Obama simply upped the ante to extraordinarily obscene levels.
Chicago corruption can work, for lack of a better word. Because it still has a state and nation surrounding it to absorb the deleterious effects.
But, applied to all of America? Yeah, no - it simply becomes generational theft and enslavement.
Tammany Hall could "work". Tammany Nation can't.
Work has been eating up so much time and insisted on being unnecessarily bothersome-
that I've done very little reading or writing lately.
However, the subject of government graft and bribery has been much on my mind.
And I think, like so much else in gov't, once "Our Betters" cut themselves loose from the idea of America, once they freed themselves from it's concepts, heritage and history- and essentially went from being "public servants" to "our minders"-
that the governance simply became a game of who could grab the most cash for themselves and their cronies.
Once that happened the nation was doomed.
Obama simply upped the ante to extraordinarily obscene levels.
Chicago corruption can work, for lack of a better word. Because it still has a state and nation surrounding it to absorb the deleterious effects.
But, applied to all of America? Yeah, no - it simply becomes generational theft and enslavement.
Tammany Hall could "work". Tammany Nation can't.
Posted by: naturalfake at April 10, 2016 10:53 AM (2rmvw)
112
I would highly recommend all of Tuchmans's work. She's just a good read, and the subject matter is topical and interesting.
Some quibbles with her scholarship here or there doesn't bother me. It's been years since I read the stuff. Probably could and should pick them up again.
Some quibbles with her scholarship here or there doesn't bother me. It's been years since I read the stuff. Probably could and should pick them up again.
Posted by: BurtTC at April 10, 2016 10:54 AM (Dj0WE)
113
Vic, I got my ebook version of Mall Purchase Night via the Baen Bundles--so it should be available for purchase now.
For ravenous readers or Morons on a budget, I do recommend the Baen Bundles. One way to get many books for cheap, and usually good ones. It's their way of keeping their fans happy (who liked getting discounted books) and still selling on Amazon. You pay ahead of time and when the new books go live, you can download the whole bundle. Usually a mix of brand new books and old classics being reissued.
For ravenous readers or Morons on a budget, I do recommend the Baen Bundles. One way to get many books for cheap, and usually good ones. It's their way of keeping their fans happy (who liked getting discounted books) and still selling on Amazon. You pay ahead of time and when the new books go live, you can download the whole bundle. Usually a mix of brand new books and old classics being reissued.
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at April 10, 2016 10:55 AM (GG9V6)
114
Now and then I like to learn practical skills, at least for the knowledge if not to use. One thing is being able to find my way with a compass and map. Never needed this growing up since I lived on an island. Walk a ways in any direction and you came to the Atlantic Ocean. Plus my town was established not that long after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, so it wasn't exactly a trackless forest. Even the local Boy Scout troop didn't stress the skill.
A friend, retired army, recommended 'Map Reading and Land Navigation' the army field manual. Just started it but it looks like fun. And I do have a decent compass. I've always enjoyed looking at maps, maybe I can learn to use one that doesn't involve I-95 or I-80.
A friend, retired army, recommended 'Map Reading and Land Navigation' the army field manual. Just started it but it looks like fun. And I do have a decent compass. I've always enjoyed looking at maps, maybe I can learn to use one that doesn't involve I-95 or I-80.
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 10:55 AM (V+03K)
115
http://www.freedomwithwriting.com/freedom/uncategorized/18-free-writing-contests-with-cash-prizes/
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 10:55 AM (Wj6Ip)
116
"Bladerunner."
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 10:47 AM (xq1UY)
Nourse's Bladerunner was about the practice of black-market medicine under socialized medicine regime in the US.
I remember thinking when I read it in high school that it was pretty far-fetched.
He also wrote a novel called The Fourth Horseman, about the outbreak of antibiotic resistant plague that was made worse by a pharma company pushing a toxic antibiotic that it had patent to, instead of a modification of an old antibiotic (amoxicyllin or erythromycin) that was not patenable
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 10:47 AM (xq1UY)
Nourse's Bladerunner was about the practice of black-market medicine under socialized medicine regime in the US.
I remember thinking when I read it in high school that it was pretty far-fetched.
He also wrote a novel called The Fourth Horseman, about the outbreak of antibiotic resistant plague that was made worse by a pharma company pushing a toxic antibiotic that it had patent to, instead of a modification of an old antibiotic (amoxicyllin or erythromycin) that was not patenable
Posted by: Kindltot at April 10, 2016 10:55 AM (6DMur)
117
I find it telling that all of the recommendations on this thread for books for young men are all from at least 30-40 years ago.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 10:56 AM (PwHBA)
118
Wow, Pixy-misa and the hamsters are kind this morning. That link went through.
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 10:56 AM (Wj6Ip)
119
108 Nonsense! Vox Day is the Supreme Dark Lord, proclaimed by the Evil League of Evil. Larry is the International Lord of Hate!
Posted by: Will at April 10, 2016 10:50 AM (+d/dO)
Wait, what? I thought Correia was the ELoE and Vox was the ILoH. Dang it, I need a program to keep these titles straight!
Posted by: Will at April 10, 2016 10:50 AM (+d/dO)
Wait, what? I thought Correia was the ELoE and Vox was the ILoH. Dang it, I need a program to keep these titles straight!
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 11:00 AM (PwHBA)
120
117 I find it telling that all of the recommendations on this thread for books for young men are all from at least 30-40 years ago.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 10:56 AM (PwHBA)
---
I hope it's just nostalgia on our part.
Maybe Horde parents should ask their kids what they're reading and you can do a book thread on contemporary YA literature. Heck, even I like some current YA fiction.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 10:56 AM (PwHBA)
---
I hope it's just nostalgia on our part.
Maybe Horde parents should ask their kids what they're reading and you can do a book thread on contemporary YA literature. Heck, even I like some current YA fiction.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 11:01 AM (jR7Wy)
Posted by: Kindltot at April 10, 2016 11:01 AM (6DMur)
122
118 Wow, Pixy-misa and the hamsters are kind this morning.
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 10:56 AM (Wj6Ip)
I should think so. I've had Pixy reject links I've tried to post that are half that length.
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 10:56 AM (Wj6Ip)
I should think so. I've had Pixy reject links I've tried to post that are half that length.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 11:02 AM (PwHBA)
123
Nostalgia? Or being let loose in a used book store with $5?
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 11:02 AM (Wj6Ip)
124
I've been on a Len Deighton kick lately. First, a quote.
"[A]ny writer's fatal enemies are alcohol and ptaise."
According to Wiki, we may be getting some Deighton movies:
the nine Samson novels are currently in pre-production with Clerkenwell Films,[13] who have hired Oscar-winner Simon Beaufoy to adapt the novels for television. In addition, the BBC has commissioned the writers of the last five James Bond films, to adapt Deighton's alternate history novel SS-GB for a five-part TV miniseries.[14]
"[A]ny writer's fatal enemies are alcohol and ptaise."
According to Wiki, we may be getting some Deighton movies:
the nine Samson novels are currently in pre-production with Clerkenwell Films,[13] who have hired Oscar-winner Simon Beaufoy to adapt the novels for television. In addition, the BBC has commissioned the writers of the last five James Bond films, to adapt Deighton's alternate history novel SS-GB for a five-part TV miniseries.[14]
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at April 10, 2016 11:02 AM (Nwg0u)
125
@116 We have a sort of Nourse underground going on. Cool.
I did not read them, but he wrote some of the first medical white-papers on AIDS and HIV, before they were [spoiler alert] on everyone's lips.
@101 Trimegistus, I don't disagree at all with what you say about occultism in the 20's, but I'd add that it was not new, but a revival, and probably a more widespread one than we saw in the 60's. Mysticism (and pacifism!) were as American as apple pie, though certainly arrived at through other lines of thought than we associate with them now.
I did not read them, but he wrote some of the first medical white-papers on AIDS and HIV, before they were [spoiler alert] on everyone's lips.
@101 Trimegistus, I don't disagree at all with what you say about occultism in the 20's, but I'd add that it was not new, but a revival, and probably a more widespread one than we saw in the 60's. Mysticism (and pacifism!) were as American as apple pie, though certainly arrived at through other lines of thought than we associate with them now.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 11:02 AM (xq1UY)
126
Tammany Hall could "work". Tammany Nation can't.
Posted by: naturalfake at April 10, 2016 10:53 AM (2rmvw)
Yeah, I'm not seeing the benefit of graft in any level of government. It is the opposite of government of, by and for the people.
In essence though, that is where we are. We have no real spoils system anymore, just a permanently ensconced public service industrial complex, dominated of by and for the Democrat Party.
It hardly looks like progress to me.
Posted by: naturalfake at April 10, 2016 10:53 AM (2rmvw)
Yeah, I'm not seeing the benefit of graft in any level of government. It is the opposite of government of, by and for the people.
In essence though, that is where we are. We have no real spoils system anymore, just a permanently ensconced public service industrial complex, dominated of by and for the Democrat Party.
It hardly looks like progress to me.
Posted by: BurtTC at April 10, 2016 11:03 AM (Dj0WE)
127
Recommendations for a young fellow
The Autobiography of Ben Franklin
The Memoirs of Ulysses S Grant
The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War 1861-1865 by Leander Stillwell.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OP91YVQ/?tag=aoshq-20
The Autobiography of Ben Franklin
The Memoirs of Ulysses S Grant
The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War 1861-1865 by Leander Stillwell.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OP91YVQ/?tag=aoshq-20
Posted by: Skandia Recluse at April 10, 2016 11:05 AM (jFrtJ)
128
Maybe Horde parents should ask their kids what they're reading and you can do a book thread on contemporary YA literature. Heck, even I like some current YA fiction.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 11:01 AM (jR7Wy)
I know there's a lot of homo themed and grrl powah! books aimed specifically at yoots. But, like you, I've read some modern YA stuff that I do not find objectionable. So I know it's not all SJW trash.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 11:01 AM (jR7Wy)
I know there's a lot of homo themed and grrl powah! books aimed specifically at yoots. But, like you, I've read some modern YA stuff that I do not find objectionable. So I know it's not all SJW trash.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 11:06 AM (PwHBA)
129
For young boys, SF/Fantasy is a good way to get them started on reading critically. I would recommend Pratchett because he does assume a level of literacy which had my younger ones searching for references and asking questions -- leading to 'classics' and starting them on reading for information and ideas as well as entertainment.
My youngest two loved the Maximum Ride series of novels by James Patterson and other authors. Paolini was good because written (mostly) by a teenage boy. For some reason, a lot of the boys I knew loved those mouse novels -- dozens of them and thick (can't remember the author, my kids didn't like them but their friends did).
My youngest two loved the Maximum Ride series of novels by James Patterson and other authors. Paolini was good because written (mostly) by a teenage boy. For some reason, a lot of the boys I knew loved those mouse novels -- dozens of them and thick (can't remember the author, my kids didn't like them but their friends did).
Posted by: mustbequantum at April 10, 2016 11:06 AM (MIKMs)
130
G'morn, y'all. I went through the morning thread, VicNews & Commentary (thanks, Vic), and scanned the rest of the comments. I have plowed through the Book post and all its amazingly varied content as usual.
Probably my only bookish contribution today:
Despite my trying my best to handle it gently, my 1911 copy of Washington Irving's Sketch Book broke in two, right about smack in the middle. I'm concerned individual pages may be getting loose next.
What do you call the little bunches of pages, little booklets, that are combined for a hardback? I'm sure there's some printer's term I might've even known once decades ago. Anyway, looks like there's a paper that wraps around them, to which they're all bound or glued, and that's what's become torn, or rotted away, between two booklets. Only one thread still links the two sections. (I'm describing this poorly, I think - a pic would be worth 100 words.)
I have no idea if or how I could do a decent repair myself. Probably won't try getting a pro book re-binder to work on it. Hate this nice old book falling apart, though.
Now to peruse the bookthread comments. But first, a refill of the ol' coffee mug.
Probably my only bookish contribution today:
Despite my trying my best to handle it gently, my 1911 copy of Washington Irving's Sketch Book broke in two, right about smack in the middle. I'm concerned individual pages may be getting loose next.
What do you call the little bunches of pages, little booklets, that are combined for a hardback? I'm sure there's some printer's term I might've even known once decades ago. Anyway, looks like there's a paper that wraps around them, to which they're all bound or glued, and that's what's become torn, or rotted away, between two booklets. Only one thread still links the two sections. (I'm describing this poorly, I think - a pic would be worth 100 words.)
I have no idea if or how I could do a decent repair myself. Probably won't try getting a pro book re-binder to work on it. Hate this nice old book falling apart, though.
Now to peruse the bookthread comments. But first, a refill of the ol' coffee mug.
Posted by: mindful webworker - slowly he turned, inch by inch, page by page at April 10, 2016 11:06 AM (macz7)
131
"[A]ny writer's fatal enemies are alcohol and ptaise."
What the hell is 'ptaise', some kind of sauce?
Nothing like a one-letter typo to ruin your entire sentence.
What the hell is 'ptaise', some kind of sauce?
Nothing like a one-letter typo to ruin your entire sentence.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 11:09 AM (PwHBA)
132
P'taise, second cousin once removed by P'tina?
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 11:09 AM (Wj6Ip)
133
Can any British citizen get one, or only the rich and famous? And what would be the basis for the government deciding that it would not be in anybody's best interest form them to know about Elton John's meat sandwich?
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 10:34 AM (PwHBA)
==============
Theoretically, anyone can get one but I think the reality is no. Big problem is that it costs money alot of money for the attys. The best interest if the interest of the children. They always use the children which is pathetic.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 10:34 AM (PwHBA)
==============
Theoretically, anyone can get one but I think the reality is no. Big problem is that it costs money alot of money for the attys. The best interest if the interest of the children. They always use the children which is pathetic.
Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at April 10, 2016 11:10 AM (iQIUe)
134
mindful webworker, the little booklets are "signatures". The damage you describe is pretty easy to fix, actually. I took a wonderful class on book rebinding that helps with that--but for a true antique you might want to consult a pro. If you don't care about museum-quality restoration, though, you could probably do it yourself. Try looking up YouTube videos on book repair or binding.
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at April 10, 2016 11:10 AM (GG9V6)
135
I find it telling that all of the recommendations on this thread for books for young men are all from at least 30-40 years ago.
Yeah, we're all recycling what we liked in 1974. I have reached out to a 19 year old boy to see if he recommends something from a few years ago.
OTOH, it's before the crack of noon so I don't know that I'll have anything for this thread. Maybe next week's.
Yeah, we're all recycling what we liked in 1974. I have reached out to a 19 year old boy to see if he recommends something from a few years ago.
OTOH, it's before the crack of noon so I don't know that I'll have anything for this thread. Maybe next week's.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 11:10 AM (1xUj/)
136
All Hail Eris, since I am reading the memoirs of Wm T Sherman, a book on Medieval Europe and one of Drake's RCN books, getting lost in two books would mean I would get confused expecting General Sherman to be leading a charge of Carolingian knights against grounded elements of the Alliance Fleet.
Which come to think of it is something that H. Beam Piper would have written, but it would have been John Singleton Mosby leading the charge.
Which come to think of it is something that H. Beam Piper would have written, but it would have been John Singleton Mosby leading the charge.
Posted by: Kindltot at April 10, 2016 11:10 AM (6DMur)
137
Posted by: mustbequantum at April 10, 2016 11:06 AM (MIKMs)
Would mouse novels be the Redwall series by Brian Jacque (sp?). The author passed away fairly recently I believe.
Would mouse novels be the Redwall series by Brian Jacque (sp?). The author passed away fairly recently I believe.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at April 10, 2016 11:11 AM (GDulk)
138
Mike Mullen's Ashfall trilogy is a great post-Yellowstone Caldera read in the juvey-pocalypse genre.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 11:11 AM (jR7Wy)
139
@114 JTB you're about to get very popular with certain Boy Scout leaders. There has been a civil war going on in scouting for a decade, over dumb ol' map skills as required in the Handbook vs modern gee-whiz-o'cache GPS fun. Now they are having trouble finding people to teach old-fashioned map and compass skills. Wonder where Chief Scout Gates stands on that one.
One little thing: fail not to factor in your magnetic declination chart. With the axis wobbling all over due to global warming, there's probably a weekly update.
I was more or less in the GPS business, and did not find out how much its accuracy was compromised in the woods until I went on a related Scout adventure.
Annapolis, at least, has seen the error of their ways. I'm looking forward to the planetarium at AFA re-opening for practical studies, and would not at all surprised to see a sextant hatch on the B-21 like they had on the XB-17.
One little thing: fail not to factor in your magnetic declination chart. With the axis wobbling all over due to global warming, there's probably a weekly update.
I was more or less in the GPS business, and did not find out how much its accuracy was compromised in the woods until I went on a related Scout adventure.
Annapolis, at least, has seen the error of their ways. I'm looking forward to the planetarium at AFA re-opening for practical studies, and would not at all surprised to see a sextant hatch on the B-21 like they had on the XB-17.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 11:13 AM (xq1UY)
140
I find it telling that all of the recommendations on this thread for books for young men are all from at least 30-40 years ago.
ahem, it is the duty of old people to tell young people of the old things so that the old things are not forgotten. (My high school Latin teacher was 92 years old, and I know nuthin 'bout Latin.)
ahem, it is the duty of old people to tell young people of the old things so that the old things are not forgotten. (My high school Latin teacher was 92 years old, and I know nuthin 'bout Latin.)
Posted by: Skandia Recluse at April 10, 2016 11:15 AM (jFrtJ)
141
Gerrold Durrell (NOT LAWRENCE)
Bafut Beagles, The Whispering Lands, The Drunken Forest, My Family and Other Animals
Jerry was an animal collector who decided to collect his own zoo. The last book talks about his childhood when his family lived on Corfu and he spent a lot of time poking things with a stick, the others are about his collecting expeditions in Cameroon and South America
Mark Twain's Roughing It, and anything by Willy Ley if you can find it (and it is worth the search)
Posted by: Kindltot at April 10, 2016 10:36 AM (6DMur)
==============
The Durrells is a 6 part miniseries that just began airing by the BBC. It deals with life in Corfu. You can find and watch it online.
Bafut Beagles, The Whispering Lands, The Drunken Forest, My Family and Other Animals
Jerry was an animal collector who decided to collect his own zoo. The last book talks about his childhood when his family lived on Corfu and he spent a lot of time poking things with a stick, the others are about his collecting expeditions in Cameroon and South America
Mark Twain's Roughing It, and anything by Willy Ley if you can find it (and it is worth the search)
Posted by: Kindltot at April 10, 2016 10:36 AM (6DMur)
==============
The Durrells is a 6 part miniseries that just began airing by the BBC. It deals with life in Corfu. You can find and watch it online.
Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at April 10, 2016 11:15 AM (iQIUe)
142
130 ... MW, There's a book out there: 'Hand Bookbinding' by Aldren A. Watson. It describes how to do the most basic repairs to full new bindings. It might help.
Watson also wrote 'Hand Tools: Their ways and Workings' which is one of the finest books I've read on the topic.
Watson also wrote 'Hand Tools: Their ways and Workings' which is one of the finest books I've read on the topic.
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 11:15 AM (V+03K)
143
Also for YAs, I would recommend the books of British author John Christopher, and he's got quite a few. Particularly his 'Tripods' trilogy:
The White Mountains
The City of Gold and Lead
The Pool of Fire
...and the prequel
When The Tripods Came.
Why these haven't been turned into a billion-dollar Hollywood franchise is beyond me.
The White Mountains
The City of Gold and Lead
The Pool of Fire
...and the prequel
When The Tripods Came.
Why these haven't been turned into a billion-dollar Hollywood franchise is beyond me.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 11:16 AM (PwHBA)
144
My favorite chapter of The Proud Tower was the one about the anarchists.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at April 10, 2016 11:17 AM (Nwg0u)
145
ahem, it is the duty of old people to tell young people of the old things so that the old things are not forgotten.
My grandmother (b. 1896) was always pushing Kipling and Lewis Carroll on me. I thought it was because she was very literate.
Later I realized it was just the popular literature of her day.
My grandmother (b. 1896) was always pushing Kipling and Lewis Carroll on me. I thought it was because she was very literate.
Later I realized it was just the popular literature of her day.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 11:17 AM (1xUj/)
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 11:18 AM (xq1UY)
147
The Left is getting rocked on its heels lately. Civil war on the Dem side, pushback in Sci-Fi. The Present is a war zone, the revisionism of the Past is a bore, so all that remains is a grab for the Future. Witness the Boston Globe's Sunday Trump fantasy world.
That's why the Sad Puppies movement is so important. Deny those lefty bastards a single moment's peace.
That's why the Sad Puppies movement is so important. Deny those lefty bastards a single moment's peace.
Posted by: mrp at April 10, 2016 11:18 AM (JBggj)
148
Polliwog -- That's it! Redwall. About 10 years ago, every single12-14 yo boy was reading those. Mine didn't like them and skimmed through the first to keep up with peer discussions, but that was it. It was funny to hear a bunch of sports and metalhead boys discussing the latest Redwall, though.
Posted by: mustbequantum at April 10, 2016 11:18 AM (MIKMs)
149
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 11:13 AM (xq1UY)
---
I was at a lecture recently and the speaker discussed the infantalization of relying on GPS versus being situationally aware of your surroundings and your location in the bigger picture.
I still like to get an overhead map view of my destination prior to departing.
Also, anybody who designs an app that converts standard Google-style maps into Middle Earth-style illustrations will get bags full of my money thrown at them.
---
I was at a lecture recently and the speaker discussed the infantalization of relying on GPS versus being situationally aware of your surroundings and your location in the bigger picture.
I still like to get an overhead map view of my destination prior to departing.
Also, anybody who designs an app that converts standard Google-style maps into Middle Earth-style illustrations will get bags full of my money thrown at them.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 11:18 AM (jR7Wy)
Posted by: Skandia Recluse at April 10, 2016 11:19 AM (jFrtJ)
151
What do you call the little bunches of pages, little
booklets, that are combined for a hardback? I'm sure there's some
printer's term I might've even known once decades ago. Anyway, looks
like there's a paper that wraps around them, to which they're all bound
or glued, and that's what's become torn, or rotted away, between two
booklets. Only one thread still links the two sections. (I'm describing
this poorly, I think - a pic would be worth 100 words.)
I have no idea if or how I could do a decent repair myself. Probably
won't try getting a pro book re-binder to work on it. Hate this nice
old book falling apart, though.
Now to peruse the bookthread comments. But first, a refill of the ol' coffee mug.
Posted by: mindful webworker - slowly he turned, inch by inch, page by page at April 10, 2016 11:06 AM (macz7)
One of my hobbies is (badly) binding sketchbooks.
But Sabrina has all the information
I have replaced the end papers at that hinge with gauze and paper glued in with either elmers paper glue or boiled wheat paste, you may want to buy some old trashed books at a thrift shop and practice on them first, since it can be tricky.
If you love the book and don't have the tools, I would take to a book binders' and tell them why you love it and ask for a quote.
booklets, that are combined for a hardback? I'm sure there's some
printer's term I might've even known once decades ago. Anyway, looks
like there's a paper that wraps around them, to which they're all bound
or glued, and that's what's become torn, or rotted away, between two
booklets. Only one thread still links the two sections. (I'm describing
this poorly, I think - a pic would be worth 100 words.)
I have no idea if or how I could do a decent repair myself. Probably
won't try getting a pro book re-binder to work on it. Hate this nice
old book falling apart, though.
Now to peruse the bookthread comments. But first, a refill of the ol' coffee mug.
Posted by: mindful webworker - slowly he turned, inch by inch, page by page at April 10, 2016 11:06 AM (macz7)
One of my hobbies is (badly) binding sketchbooks.
But Sabrina has all the information
I have replaced the end papers at that hinge with gauze and paper glued in with either elmers paper glue or boiled wheat paste, you may want to buy some old trashed books at a thrift shop and practice on them first, since it can be tricky.
If you love the book and don't have the tools, I would take to a book binders' and tell them why you love it and ask for a quote.
Posted by: Kindltot at April 10, 2016 11:21 AM (6DMur)
152
Finished The Bomber War, Arthur Harris and the Allied Bomber Offensive 1939 -45 by Robin Neilland, it was a very good read and dispelled the argument of area bombing being a unavoidable form of warfare. His argument is under the technology of the time it's all that could be done. And letting your enemy go unmolested is not a option in war. He also dispelled the notion that the USAAF which in theory was out for precision bombing under the circumstances also performed area bombing. It was well integrated with person stories from aircrew of all nations. Well worth it, wish Ted would read it if just to understand the terminology. He doesn't get into it except to comment that today it is still somewhat unavoidable if a total air campaign was to occur.
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 09:11 AM (9VEpl)
I am confused. Are you using "dispelled" correctly here? I'm not trying to be a Grammar Nazi, but my reading of this comes out with mutually contradicting sentences. Maybe I'm reading "dispelled" wrongly?
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 09:11 AM (9VEpl)
I am confused. Are you using "dispelled" correctly here? I'm not trying to be a Grammar Nazi, but my reading of this comes out with mutually contradicting sentences. Maybe I'm reading "dispelled" wrongly?
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 11:21 AM (UsLZp)
153
drat
Posted by: Kindltot at April 10, 2016 11:21 AM (6DMur)
154
My grandmother (b. 1896) was always pushing Kipling and Lewis Carroll on me. I thought it was because she was very literate.
Later I realized it was just the popular literature of her day.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 11:17 AM (1xUj/)
---
Right?! That's just what the average well-read middle-class person had on his or her shelf. So glad Dad was a reader and I was able to go over his bookcase like a swarm of locusts.
Later I realized it was just the popular literature of her day.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 11:17 AM (1xUj/)
---
Right?! That's just what the average well-read middle-class person had on his or her shelf. So glad Dad was a reader and I was able to go over his bookcase like a swarm of locusts.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 11:22 AM (jR7Wy)
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 11:22 AM (xq1UY)
156
I took one bookmaking class and made a little book. I doubt if I could ever do it on my own. But it is a nice skill. One guy made a little photo album and pasted b&w photos of street jazz musicians in Paris. It was an accordion book and the ends were covered with black and white zebra like design material. The book was in it's own little box also covered with the same material. It was very nice. He was an asian guy who taught spanish at some toney private school in LA. His work was just too good. Must have been an artist and the teaching gig was to pay the bills.
Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at April 10, 2016 11:22 AM (iQIUe)
157
What the hell is 'ptaise', some kind of sauce?
Great with ptarmigan.
Careful of the canned stuff. You'll get ptomaine.
Great with ptarmigan.
Careful of the canned stuff. You'll get ptomaine.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 11:23 AM (1xUj/)
158
All Hail Eris, attended a con in 2010 that was Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Anime. They decided to dress up the con map into a fantasy treasure map which caused finding the elevators well nigh impossible among other issues. This was the same con which had split itself into two physical entities separated by at least a mile and contracted a bus service that did not run on the last day of the con. Needless to say this con pretty much vanished into oblivion after this.
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 11:24 AM (Wj6Ip)
159
Oh, that's pterrible.
Ptui.
"I would have such a fellow whipped for o'erdoing Termagant" always sounds a little like "Cook, where's my Hasenpfeffer," doesn't it?
Ptui.
"I would have such a fellow whipped for o'erdoing Termagant" always sounds a little like "Cook, where's my Hasenpfeffer," doesn't it?
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 11:26 AM (xq1UY)
160
Oh my Anna. That's what happens when you put art geeks in charge! 
I would want my ME maps rigorously to scale, of course.
I would want my ME maps rigorously to scale, of course.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 11:26 AM (jR7Wy)
161
At least I made it before 7 p.m. today, so I got that goin' for me.
On the recent discussion of James Bond and Matt Helm books, there's a new hero out there who features some cool gadgets that probably exist.
Orphan X, by Greg Hurwitz, was quite the thrill ride. I pictured the protagonist as Daniel Craig, as he's not too pretty but very effective. Highly recommended. I had to wait for 34 others on the wait list at the 'brary, but it was worth it. The "orphans" are named for all the letters of the alphabet, so this series is just getting rolling.
After that I immediately started "The Drifter," by Nicholas Petrie, about a PTSD-suffering 'stan/Iraqi war vet who stops to help the widow of a fellow soldier who committed suicide. It's also a page turner. This is a debut novel, and if it concludes as well as it's going, this author will also be on my "must-read" list.
On the recent discussion of James Bond and Matt Helm books, there's a new hero out there who features some cool gadgets that probably exist.
Orphan X, by Greg Hurwitz, was quite the thrill ride. I pictured the protagonist as Daniel Craig, as he's not too pretty but very effective. Highly recommended. I had to wait for 34 others on the wait list at the 'brary, but it was worth it. The "orphans" are named for all the letters of the alphabet, so this series is just getting rolling.
After that I immediately started "The Drifter," by Nicholas Petrie, about a PTSD-suffering 'stan/Iraqi war vet who stops to help the widow of a fellow soldier who committed suicide. It's also a page turner. This is a debut novel, and if it concludes as well as it's going, this author will also be on my "must-read" list.
Posted by: RushBabe at April 10, 2016 11:26 AM (OuXal)
162
157 What the hell is 'ptaise', some kind of sauce?
Great with ptarmigan.
Careful of the canned stuff. You'll get ptomaine.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 11:23 AM (1xUj/)
Yes, I've heard that's what happened to the Egyptian king, Ptolemy.
Great with ptarmigan.
Careful of the canned stuff. You'll get ptomaine.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 11:23 AM (1xUj/)
Yes, I've heard that's what happened to the Egyptian king, Ptolemy.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 11:27 AM (PwHBA)
163
pterry was Pratchett's online name. I think there are lots of jokes out there on the pt theme.
Posted by: mustbequantum at April 10, 2016 11:28 AM (MIKMs)
164
Egypt had plenty of bouts of Ptolemy from the one who stole Alexander's body to the one Caesar bumped off for Cleopatra VII.
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 11:29 AM (Wj6Ip)
165
139 ... Hi Stringer, Yeah, I've read enough to know about finding true north vs. magnetic north, etc. Just have to learn to apply it. To say I'm starting from scratch is an understatement. I hope to use the map reading and orienteering as a way to get some exercise, desperately needed. Fortunately, Manassas Battlefield is nearby and would provide an easy way to practice the basics in a known area. Already have topo maps for it.
I love the idea of the Navy reintroducing sextant navigation. They were still being used by local sailors when I was a kid. Some are probably gathering dust in attics while their grandkids use digital devices.
I love the idea of the Navy reintroducing sextant navigation. They were still being used by local sailors when I was a kid. Some are probably gathering dust in attics while their grandkids use digital devices.
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 11:30 AM (V+03K)
166
speaking of cons, there is a ComiCon in Argentina.
Have you ever been soooo tempted?
http://www.argentinacomiccon.com.ar/
Have you ever been soooo tempted?
http://www.argentinacomiccon.com.ar/
Posted by: Kindltot at April 10, 2016 11:31 AM (6DMur)
167
Sextants? Pfffft. The true nav hipster uses lodestones.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 11:31 AM (jR7Wy)
168
How does one scale to leagues and miles such phrases as "take about twenty hobbit paces."
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 11:31 AM (Wj6Ip)
169
Ships have binnacles -- a pedestal supporting a compass with a glass dome around it -- because when magnetic direction finding was first discovered the common sailors thought it was witchcraft and the captain had to have a way of consulting the compass without the crew observing him.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 11:33 AM (1xUj/)
170
168 How does one scale to leagues and miles such phrases as "take about twenty hobbit paces."
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 11:31 AM (Wj6Ip)
---
Just smoke a bowl of pipe-weed and get the aerial view of the Shire.
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 11:31 AM (Wj6Ip)
---
Just smoke a bowl of pipe-weed and get the aerial view of the Shire.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 11:33 AM (jR7Wy)
171
163 pterry was Pratchett's online name. I think there are lots of jokes out there on the pt theme.
Posted by: mustbequantum at April 10, 2016 11:28 AM (MIKMs)
In one of the Asterix books (Asterix in Egypt, strangely enough), they had a bunch of those words-beginning-with-p jokes. My favorite was the old guy reading an Egyptian newspaper (stone tablets, of course), and it's opened to the comics page, one of which is "P'Nuts" with Egyptian-styled renditions of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, etc.
Posted by: mustbequantum at April 10, 2016 11:28 AM (MIKMs)
In one of the Asterix books (Asterix in Egypt, strangely enough), they had a bunch of those words-beginning-with-p jokes. My favorite was the old guy reading an Egyptian newspaper (stone tablets, of course), and it's opened to the comics page, one of which is "P'Nuts" with Egyptian-styled renditions of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, etc.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 11:34 AM (PwHBA)
172
Please, somebody cite a book on PT boats, so we can get Ptolemy and his ptarmigan in there.
I'm cleaning the big garage, and have been for 20 years, but this time it's personal. Got into the boxes of papers that came out of my grandparents' attic, that had been just stacked and covered for 5 years in a space where I'm supposed to be restoring a race car. Lots of old business records, my dad and his brothers' letters home from WWII, heart-breaking old sympathy cards, what you'd expect.
And I found a treasure. A brand new, still folded "War Map" that must have been an insert in Collier's or some other large-format magazine. Absolutely lurid litho color, no damage or fading -- it's like it didn't even belong to my family.
I like maps as art, since their political messages are so well-hidden. But I'm rough on art maps. I have a lot of them framed or mounted or otherwise stuck up, and they've all been degraded in some way or another (often just by border changes that I do not approve of). I'm keeping this one in the trunk until I've figured out a truly sunproof way to display it. Going to have to be both sides glass, because there is a Theatre of War on each side.
I'm cleaning the big garage, and have been for 20 years, but this time it's personal. Got into the boxes of papers that came out of my grandparents' attic, that had been just stacked and covered for 5 years in a space where I'm supposed to be restoring a race car. Lots of old business records, my dad and his brothers' letters home from WWII, heart-breaking old sympathy cards, what you'd expect.
And I found a treasure. A brand new, still folded "War Map" that must have been an insert in Collier's or some other large-format magazine. Absolutely lurid litho color, no damage or fading -- it's like it didn't even belong to my family.
I like maps as art, since their political messages are so well-hidden. But I'm rough on art maps. I have a lot of them framed or mounted or otherwise stuck up, and they've all been degraded in some way or another (often just by border changes that I do not approve of). I'm keeping this one in the trunk until I've figured out a truly sunproof way to display it. Going to have to be both sides glass, because there is a Theatre of War on each side.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 11:34 AM (xq1UY)
173
Niall Ferguson and "The War of the World",
-
I remember seeing a documentary made from that book, I think on PBS. I wasn't terribly impressed but it was frightening. As I recall, the basic theme was that world wars begin when ethnic conflicts occur on the fringes of decaying empires.
-
I remember seeing a documentary made from that book, I think on PBS. I wasn't terribly impressed but it was frightening. As I recall, the basic theme was that world wars begin when ethnic conflicts occur on the fringes of decaying empires.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at April 10, 2016 11:35 AM (Nwg0u)
174
Right?! That's just what the average well-read middle-class person had on his or her shelf. So glad Dad was a reader and I was able to go over his bookcase like a swarm of locusts.
****
When i read books like "Little Women " and "Patty Fairfield", I look at the titles that nicely educated, well read young ladies were expected to be familiar with and I say to myself, damn...so glad I have more choices than "Undine and Syntram" and ""Pilgrim's Progress ". I'd never finish the first book.
****
When i read books like "Little Women " and "Patty Fairfield", I look at the titles that nicely educated, well read young ladies were expected to be familiar with and I say to myself, damn...so glad I have more choices than "Undine and Syntram" and ""Pilgrim's Progress ". I'd never finish the first book.
Posted by: antisocialist at April 10, 2016 11:35 AM (9n14Y)
175
I devoured 4 books by Roger Crowley that I got from Amazon last week. Very timely and extraordinarily well written.
"Empires of the Sea" The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto and the Contest for the Center of the World
"1453, the Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West"
"City of Fortune, How Venice Ruled the Seas"
And my favorite, how tiny Portugal, with a population of about a million, went after Islam like an enraged bull at a red flag, and pioneered the sea route to India and lead to Columbus's and Magellan's voyages.
"The Last Crusade"
I have a near complete set of the Hakluyt Society's books, original accounts of travel and exploration that I was lucky enough to get very cheap, a discarded, unread set from an air Force base. Fascinating accounts.
And last, an old classic, "The Great Siege of Malta 1565" by Ernle Bradford. All the above books show how much of a close run thing it was for Europe to escape Muslim conquest.
"Empires of the Sea" The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto and the Contest for the Center of the World
"1453, the Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West"
"City of Fortune, How Venice Ruled the Seas"
And my favorite, how tiny Portugal, with a population of about a million, went after Islam like an enraged bull at a red flag, and pioneered the sea route to India and lead to Columbus's and Magellan's voyages.
"The Last Crusade"
I have a near complete set of the Hakluyt Society's books, original accounts of travel and exploration that I was lucky enough to get very cheap, a discarded, unread set from an air Force base. Fascinating accounts.
And last, an old classic, "The Great Siege of Malta 1565" by Ernle Bradford. All the above books show how much of a close run thing it was for Europe to escape Muslim conquest.
Posted by: JHW at April 10, 2016 11:35 AM (kn0BL)
176
Just smoke a bowl of pipe-weed and get the aerial view of the Shire.
================
Aye, many a good time I've had with my friend, the Longbottom Leaf.
================
Aye, many a good time I've had with my friend, the Longbottom Leaf.
Posted by: Pip at April 10, 2016 11:35 AM (JBggj)
177
Stringer, they have glass that blocks UV rays, I think.
I'd still hang it up in a room protected from direct sunlight. What a find!
I'd still hang it up in a room protected from direct sunlight. What a find!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 11:36 AM (jR7Wy)
178
Sextants? Pfffft. The true nav hipster uses lodestones.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 11:31 AM (jR7Wy)
The use of lodestones and these new-fangled astrolabes degrades the essential knowledge of how to use sun stones and back-staffs.
Actually I use a deLorme gazette and a compass for driving. It has fewer issues with battery life, and I get a broader view of my options and the terrain.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 11:31 AM (jR7Wy)
The use of lodestones and these new-fangled astrolabes degrades the essential knowledge of how to use sun stones and back-staffs.
Actually I use a deLorme gazette and a compass for driving. It has fewer issues with battery life, and I get a broader view of my options and the terrain.
Posted by: Kindltot at April 10, 2016 11:38 AM (6DMur)
179
Oops, The Last Crusade is by Nigel Cliff. "Conquerors" is the one by Roger Crowley, both on the same subject, Portugal's war against Islam and the sea route to India.
Posted by: JHW at April 10, 2016 11:38 AM (kn0BL)
180
Don't ptaise me, bro.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at April 10, 2016 11:39 AM (Nwg0u)
181
I took a look at that list of Sad Puppies-recommended book for this year, and the first one listed is "The Martian" by Andy Weir. I have that book, got it when it first came out a couple of years ago. And it is the most PC thing I've read in ages. It is so politically correct the book creaks and groans with every turn of a page.
(That, and while it's clear Weir read all the books extant on the exploration of Mars, works by Zubrin, Bova, Aldrin, etc, he is clearly utterly clueless about how NASA works as an organization.)
Yes, it was a decent story, but his political correctness along with some of his other errors detracted from the story in my estimation, and certainly would not warrant being at the top of their Hugo list.
(That, and while it's clear Weir read all the books extant on the exploration of Mars, works by Zubrin, Bova, Aldrin, etc, he is clearly utterly clueless about how NASA works as an organization.)
Yes, it was a decent story, but his political correctness along with some of his other errors detracted from the story in my estimation, and certainly would not warrant being at the top of their Hugo list.
Posted by: The Oort Cloud - Source of all SMODs at April 10, 2016 11:39 AM (AJdlq)
182
As I recall, the basic theme was that world wars begin when ethnic conflicts occur on the fringes of decaying empires.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at April 10, 2016 11:35 AM (Nwg0u)
Boy, I'm sure glad that's not happening now!
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at April 10, 2016 11:35 AM (Nwg0u)
Boy, I'm sure glad that's not happening now!
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 11:41 AM (PwHBA)
183
I took a look at that list of Sad Puppies-recommended book for this
year, and the first one listed is "The Martian" by Andy Weir. I have
that book, got it when it first came out a couple of years ago. And it
is the most PC thing I've read in ages. It is so politically correct
the book creaks and groans with every turn of a page.
================
Perhaps a "stalking horse" selection?
year, and the first one listed is "The Martian" by Andy Weir. I have
that book, got it when it first came out a couple of years ago. And it
is the most PC thing I've read in ages. It is so politically correct
the book creaks and groans with every turn of a page.
================
Perhaps a "stalking horse" selection?
Posted by: mrp at April 10, 2016 11:42 AM (JBggj)
184
BREAKING: Word from a teenager before noon.
"I read Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy like four times over in seventh grade. Also really liked a YA series called Mortal Engines."
"I read Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy like four times over in seventh grade. Also really liked a YA series called Mortal Engines."
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 11:42 AM (1xUj/)
185
179 Oops, The Last Crusade is by Nigel Cliff. "Conquerors" is the one by Roger Crowley, both on the same subject, Portugal's war against Islam and the sea route to India.
Posted by: JHW at April 10, 2016 11:38 AM (kn0BL)
"Mister we could use a man like Vasco de Gama again..."
Posted by: JHW at April 10, 2016 11:38 AM (kn0BL)
"Mister we could use a man like Vasco de Gama again..."
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 11:44 AM (PwHBA)
186
More suggestions for young people,
Anything by Jack London
and weight training and martial arts.
and range time.
Anything by Jack London
and weight training and martial arts.
and range time.
Posted by: Skandia Recluse at April 10, 2016 11:45 AM (jFrtJ)
187
I just can't believe I'm seeing "Undine and Syntram" dissed here. Two different avant-garde directors have adapted it to film. I guess if you can live with disagreeing with Lafcadio Hearn, I won't be able to save you.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 11:45 AM (xq1UY)
188
"There are two extreme right-wing to neo-nazi groups, called the Sad Puppies and the Rabid Puppies respectively, that are calling for the end of social justice in science fiction and fantasy. They are unrepentantly racist, sexist and homophobic. A noisy few but they've been able to gather some Gamergate folks around them and elect a slate of bad-to-reprehensible works on this year's Hugo ballot."
If you just tell a story without reference to social justice, you are attempting to censor social justice. If every main character isn't a minority lesbian, you are racist sexist, homophobic. The censors accusing the opposition of censorship.
This woman is probably like my sister, who said she was going Bernie. Every time I gently tried to point out how libtardedness was harming her, her kids, her husband she would become so distressed, I didn't have the heart to continue. WASTF.
If you just tell a story without reference to social justice, you are attempting to censor social justice. If every main character isn't a minority lesbian, you are racist sexist, homophobic. The censors accusing the opposition of censorship.
This woman is probably like my sister, who said she was going Bernie. Every time I gently tried to point out how libtardedness was harming her, her kids, her husband she would become so distressed, I didn't have the heart to continue. WASTF.
Posted by: angela urkel at April 10, 2016 11:46 AM (ZdSzs)
189
I snapped up the free Correia audiobook, he often has them for a low price. He may release these short stories on e-book after writing enough of them.
Plan to take a look at the Sad Puppies list, didn't get involved in it this year because it's a huge time commitment and I think the rules were changed so it has less impact. I'll just assume the Hugo awarded books are SJW-approved.
Listened to Correia's Into The Storm, a fantasy take on The Dirty Dozen. Really terrific ear-turner, one of the best things he's done. It has bullets as well as flaming swords, magic and fighting robots. Hope it becomes a series.
Read Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus about a fictional Roman general returning home after decades of fighting. He and his sons return with some captives including the Queen of the Goths. He has her son killed, and after the Emperor marries her she seeks vengeance. A bizarre, bloody tale of revenge including rape, murder, cannibalism and more until nearly everyone is dead. Wouldn't say I liked it much but it kept your interest.
Plan to take a look at the Sad Puppies list, didn't get involved in it this year because it's a huge time commitment and I think the rules were changed so it has less impact. I'll just assume the Hugo awarded books are SJW-approved.
Listened to Correia's Into The Storm, a fantasy take on The Dirty Dozen. Really terrific ear-turner, one of the best things he's done. It has bullets as well as flaming swords, magic and fighting robots. Hope it becomes a series.
Read Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus about a fictional Roman general returning home after decades of fighting. He and his sons return with some captives including the Queen of the Goths. He has her son killed, and after the Emperor marries her she seeks vengeance. A bizarre, bloody tale of revenge including rape, murder, cannibalism and more until nearly everyone is dead. Wouldn't say I liked it much but it kept your interest.
Posted by: waelse1 at April 10, 2016 11:48 AM (67qEc)
190
181 I took a look at that list of Sad Puppies-recommended book for this year, and the first one listed is "The Martian" by Andy Weir. I have that book, got it when it first came out a couple of years ago. And it is the most PC thing I've read in ages. It is so politically correct the book creaks and groans with every turn of a page.
Posted by: The Oort Cloud - Source of all SMODs at April 10, 2016 11:39 AM (AJdlq)
I haven't read Weir's novel, but it has been recommended many, many times here on the book thread and this is the first time I've heard someone complain that it was too PC.
Very odd.
Posted by: The Oort Cloud - Source of all SMODs at April 10, 2016 11:39 AM (AJdlq)
I haven't read Weir's novel, but it has been recommended many, many times here on the book thread and this is the first time I've heard someone complain that it was too PC.
Very odd.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 11:48 AM (PwHBA)
191
A friend, retired army, recommended 'Map Reading and Land Navigation' the army field manual. Just started it but it looks like fun. And I do have a decent compass. I've always enjoyed looking at maps, maybe I can learn to use one that doesn't involve I-95 or I-80.
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 10:55 AM (V+03K)
For a compass to use in finding one's way in the trackless wilderness, you cannot go wrong with a Silva Ranger.
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 10:55 AM (V+03K)
For a compass to use in finding one's way in the trackless wilderness, you cannot go wrong with a Silva Ranger.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 11:49 AM (UsLZp)
192
Yes, it was a decent story, but his political
correctness along with some of his other errors detracted from the story
in my estimation, and certainly would not warrant being at the top of
their Hugo list.
Posted by: The Oort Cloud - Source of all SMODs at April 10, 2016 11:39 AM (AJdlq)
It could be that Paulk, Hoyt and Greene care more about good storytelling and good science fiction than they care about politics in art. I know they care a lot about the idea of people doing things to succeed, and dislike the grey goo school of literature.
Weir might have been off on things, but there is nothing like a good, exciting novel/movie crossover to bring readers back to Science fiction.
correctness along with some of his other errors detracted from the story
in my estimation, and certainly would not warrant being at the top of
their Hugo list.
Posted by: The Oort Cloud - Source of all SMODs at April 10, 2016 11:39 AM (AJdlq)
It could be that Paulk, Hoyt and Greene care more about good storytelling and good science fiction than they care about politics in art. I know they care a lot about the idea of people doing things to succeed, and dislike the grey goo school of literature.
Weir might have been off on things, but there is nothing like a good, exciting novel/movie crossover to bring readers back to Science fiction.
Posted by: Kindltot at April 10, 2016 11:50 AM (6DMur)
193
A bizarre, bloody tale of revenge including rape, murder, cannibalism and more until nearly everyone is dead.
Posted by: waelse1 at April 10, 2016 11:48 AM (67qEc)
So pretty much your usual Shakespeare, then.
Posted by: waelse1 at April 10, 2016 11:48 AM (67qEc)
So pretty much your usual Shakespeare, then.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 11:50 AM (PwHBA)
194
Oregon Muse, National Geographic has just announced the found Vasco da Gama's ship the "Esmeralda" in the Gulf of Oman.
http://tinyurl.com/grv5avl
http://tinyurl.com/grv5avl
Posted by: JHW at April 10, 2016 11:50 AM (kn0BL)
195
Re: book repair: One of my brothers who collects old books has an arrangement with whoever does the repair for his local library. Little freelance cash for them, a good job for him.
Posted by: Wenda (sic) at April 10, 2016 11:52 AM (pZEKq)
196
A bizarre, bloody tale of revenge including rape, murder, cannibalism
and more until nearly everyone is dead. Wouldn't say I liked it much
but it kept your interest.
==============
I read Titus while taking a college Shakespeare course. He must have written that on a bet.
and more until nearly everyone is dead. Wouldn't say I liked it much
but it kept your interest.
==============
I read Titus while taking a college Shakespeare course. He must have written that on a bet.
Posted by: mrp at April 10, 2016 11:53 AM (JBggj)
197
Posted by: waelse1 at April 10, 2016 11:48 AM (67qEc)
---
Julie Taymor directed the film version Titus and I enjoyed it very much. Very stylish, as you might imagine from the Broadway director of "The Lion King", to which I was dragged reluctant and ended up liking a lot more than the movie.
---
Julie Taymor directed the film version Titus and I enjoyed it very much. Very stylish, as you might imagine from the Broadway director of "The Lion King", to which I was dragged reluctant and ended up liking a lot more than the movie.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 11:53 AM (jR7Wy)
198
Curse you, Book Thread, Destroyer of Budgets!!
The comments on TWD finale last week were hilarious and evil. It has earned the title of The Walking Darwin Awards for me. Seriously, a bunch of Morons could do so much better than Rick et al. Crossbows AND longbows, living together! Trebuchets and flamethrowers and... er, wait, this does tie in to books. The survivors in Lucifer's Hammer are far better examples. Larry and Jerry mary-sue sometimes, but overall I can believe their characters really would make it through the winter.
I would hesitate to recommend Bujold to a young'n of my own; thinking of Cordelia's visit with Aral's jealous ex-boyfriend Ges Vorrutyer in Shards of Honor and Mark's stay in Ryoval's health spa in Mirror Dance and such like. ...hey, am I the only one who thinks Gregor is Bothari's son? Retcon-or-not, Bujold had the outsider in Captain Vorpatril's Alliance describe Gregor as hatchet-faced. So maybe he had more than one reason for interest in Rene "Ghem"bretten's ancestry, as well as his unplanned departure from Komarr years earlier. I didn't hate the latest Vorkosigan book but it was pretty meh, and as someone else said, seems like this will be the last of the series.
John F Carr (and Roland Green, for the first sequel) has a series continuing Piper's Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen. The last one should be out sometime this year. The third book needed better proofreading and is mostly setup for what happens next. Overall, lots of fun with the battles and political maneuvering on both sides.
The comments on TWD finale last week were hilarious and evil. It has earned the title of The Walking Darwin Awards for me. Seriously, a bunch of Morons could do so much better than Rick et al. Crossbows AND longbows, living together! Trebuchets and flamethrowers and... er, wait, this does tie in to books. The survivors in Lucifer's Hammer are far better examples. Larry and Jerry mary-sue sometimes, but overall I can believe their characters really would make it through the winter.
I would hesitate to recommend Bujold to a young'n of my own; thinking of Cordelia's visit with Aral's jealous ex-boyfriend Ges Vorrutyer in Shards of Honor and Mark's stay in Ryoval's health spa in Mirror Dance and such like. ...hey, am I the only one who thinks Gregor is Bothari's son? Retcon-or-not, Bujold had the outsider in Captain Vorpatril's Alliance describe Gregor as hatchet-faced. So maybe he had more than one reason for interest in Rene "Ghem"bretten's ancestry, as well as his unplanned departure from Komarr years earlier. I didn't hate the latest Vorkosigan book but it was pretty meh, and as someone else said, seems like this will be the last of the series.
John F Carr (and Roland Green, for the first sequel) has a series continuing Piper's Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen. The last one should be out sometime this year. The third book needed better proofreading and is mostly setup for what happens next. Overall, lots of fun with the battles and political maneuvering on both sides.
Posted by: Helena Handbasket at April 10, 2016 11:54 AM (xki5G)
199
To mindful at 130.
They sell stuff called "book binder's tape" or "book repair tape".
This is black fabric tape, about the same size as duct tape, but the difference is fabric and the type of adhesive used is less destructive to old paper.
If all the quires have separated, then everything may have to go in a box.
They sell stuff called "book binder's tape" or "book repair tape".
This is black fabric tape, about the same size as duct tape, but the difference is fabric and the type of adhesive used is less destructive to old paper.
If all the quires have separated, then everything may have to go in a box.
Posted by: navybrat at April 10, 2016 11:55 AM (8QGte)
200
the Broadway director of "The Lion King", to which I was dragged reluctant and ended up liking a lot more than the movie.
I thought the Lion King theatrical production was just going to be "placate the wee ones". I was amazed. It was eye-opening in terms of what can be done in live performance.
I thought the Lion King theatrical production was just going to be "placate the wee ones". I was amazed. It was eye-opening in terms of what can be done in live performance.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 11:55 AM (1xUj/)
201
With the talk of lode stones and sun stones, which are fascinating devices and techniques, it's a good thing I'm living now. If I had been a Viking navigator, the ship would have discovered Oslo. Not the greatest sense of direction.
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 11:55 AM (V+03K)
202
*makes manly bow to OM*
Thanks for the Thread!
Now I might have said "makes a leg", but only the readers of archaic literature would have understood.
*makes manly bow to OM*
Thanks for the Thread!
Now I might have said "makes a leg", but only the readers of archaic literature would have understood.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 11:56 AM (9mTYi)
203
I would highly recommend all of Tuchmans's work. She's just a good read, and the subject matter is topical and interesting.
-
I quite like Tuchman. I'm sure she made mistakes, as all writers do, but I find her generally accurate and very interesting. The biggest legitimate criticism of her Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Guns of August is that she ignored the role of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's conflict Serbia as a cause of the war. This is inexplicable in that role is both central and fascinating. My guess is that it was simply a question of scope. If she were to open that can of vipers, she would have been into a multitude of Balkan labyrinths and another 500 pages (like Sleepwalkers).
Incidentally, my take on the root cause of WWI is an excess of buffoons in positions of power.
-
I quite like Tuchman. I'm sure she made mistakes, as all writers do, but I find her generally accurate and very interesting. The biggest legitimate criticism of her Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Guns of August is that she ignored the role of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's conflict Serbia as a cause of the war. This is inexplicable in that role is both central and fascinating. My guess is that it was simply a question of scope. If she were to open that can of vipers, she would have been into a multitude of Balkan labyrinths and another 500 pages (like Sleepwalkers).
Incidentally, my take on the root cause of WWI is an excess of buffoons in positions of power.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at April 10, 2016 11:56 AM (Nwg0u)
204
Compass binnacles got a lot more complicated with the introduction of iron hulls and rotating propeller shafts. I've always wondered what de-gaussing did to them. Of course GPS and its constellation are so damned reliable, we'll never...
I regret deeply that LORAN was shut down. We're going to regret that.
My kitchen table is pretty darn nice, thanks. It has a substantial steel trundle built in, so that it can slide open to accept a table leaf. And somewhere along the line, that big metal slide got itself magnetized. I swear I did not do this, at least on purpose. Honest, I didn't even know until I was conducting a compass instruction session for several tenderfoots, around it. One of my more amusing, if least productive, scouting adventures. Did you know you can make a compass needle rotate?
I regret deeply that LORAN was shut down. We're going to regret that.
My kitchen table is pretty darn nice, thanks. It has a substantial steel trundle built in, so that it can slide open to accept a table leaf. And somewhere along the line, that big metal slide got itself magnetized. I swear I did not do this, at least on purpose. Honest, I didn't even know until I was conducting a compass instruction session for several tenderfoots, around it. One of my more amusing, if least productive, scouting adventures. Did you know you can make a compass needle rotate?
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 11:57 AM (xq1UY)
205
With the talk of lode stones and sun stones, which are fascinating devices and techniques, it's a good thing I'm living now. If I had been a Viking navigator, the ship would have discovered Oslo. Not the greatest sense of direction.
Posted by: JTB
--------------
Dammit. Moonstones don't get respect anymore.
Posted by: JTB
--------------
Dammit. Moonstones don't get respect anymore.
Posted by: Wilkie Collins at April 10, 2016 11:57 AM (9mTYi)
206
Great with ptarmigan.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 11:18 AM (xq1UY)
Heh. There is, or used to be, at any rate, a large air charter outfit in Canada's North called Ptarmigan Airways. I remember flying into Yellowknife, and riding into town in a truck, and seeing a tumble-down old log cabin with "Ptarmigan Pterminal" written on it in aerosol paint.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 11:18 AM (xq1UY)
Heh. There is, or used to be, at any rate, a large air charter outfit in Canada's North called Ptarmigan Airways. I remember flying into Yellowknife, and riding into town in a truck, and seeing a tumble-down old log cabin with "Ptarmigan Pterminal" written on it in aerosol paint.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 11:58 AM (UsLZp)
207
Sabrina Chase: ...the little booklets are "signatures".
Okay, thanks. I'm sure I knew that once, but so long ago that your answer doesn't even ring the tiniest bell.
Thanks for the answers on rebinding. YouTube- the modern how-to knowledge encyclopedia.
Kindltot: ...you may want to buy some old trashed books at a thrift shop and practice on them first, since it can be tricky. [or] ...take to a book binders' and tell them why you love it and ask for a quote.
Thanks, also!
Okay, thanks. I'm sure I knew that once, but so long ago that your answer doesn't even ring the tiniest bell.
Thanks for the answers on rebinding. YouTube- the modern how-to knowledge encyclopedia.
Kindltot: ...you may want to buy some old trashed books at a thrift shop and practice on them first, since it can be tricky. [or] ...take to a book binders' and tell them why you love it and ask for a quote.
Thanks, also!
Posted by: mindful webworker - sig nature! at April 10, 2016 11:58 AM (macz7)
208
181. Well the Sad Puppies theme is they nominate books they liked w/o any regard for any PC or political slant. Not to be the conservative filtered version but to be straight up "Did I enjoy this SF story" Of course the SJWs feel they are cut out because too much of that crap will ruin a story regardless of word smithing skills.
Now for myself personally I have gotten to a mental state where it takes very little cheerleading for social justice to ruin my enjoyment of a book so I could not be neutral like the Sad Puppies are, but still good for them.
Now for myself personally I have gotten to a mental state where it takes very little cheerleading for social justice to ruin my enjoyment of a book so I could not be neutral like the Sad Puppies are, but still good for them.
Posted by: PaleRider at April 10, 2016 11:58 AM (3kUGE)
209
They sell stuff called "book binder's tape" or "book repair tape".
This is black fabric tape, about the same size as duct tape, but the difference is fabric and the type of adhesive used is less destructive to old paper.
If all the quires have separated, then everything may have to go in a box.
Posted by: navybrat at April 10, 2016 11:55 AM (8QGte)
****
This is also called "gaff" tape, and can probably be found more inexpensively if searched for by this name.
This is black fabric tape, about the same size as duct tape, but the difference is fabric and the type of adhesive used is less destructive to old paper.
If all the quires have separated, then everything may have to go in a box.
Posted by: navybrat at April 10, 2016 11:55 AM (8QGte)
****
This is also called "gaff" tape, and can probably be found more inexpensively if searched for by this name.
Posted by: Tim in GA at April 10, 2016 11:58 AM (YLidQ)
210
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 11:56 AM (9mTYi)
--
Is that anything like "a well-turned ankle"?
--
Is that anything like "a well-turned ankle"?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 12:00 PM (jR7Wy)
211
191 ... "For a compass to use in finding one's way in the trackless wilderness, you cannot go wrong with a Silva Ranger.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 11:49 AM (UsLZp)"
AOP, I have the Suunto MC-2, which seems to have the same features. Can't remember why I chose it over the Silva. Still have to learn how to use it effectively. (Or at all.)
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 11:49 AM (UsLZp)"
AOP, I have the Suunto MC-2, which seems to have the same features. Can't remember why I chose it over the Silva. Still have to learn how to use it effectively. (Or at all.)
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 12:01 PM (V+03K)
212
191 A friend, retired army, recommended 'Map Reading and Land Navigation' the army field manual. Just started it but it looks like fun. And I do have a decent compass. I've always enjoyed looking at maps, maybe I can learn to use one that doesn't involve I-95 or I-80.
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 10:55 AM (V+03K)
For a compass to use in finding one's way in the trackless wilderness, you cannot go wrong with a Silva Ranger.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 11:49 AM (UsLZp)
---
Here, let me have that!
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 10:55 AM (V+03K)
For a compass to use in finding one's way in the trackless wilderness, you cannot go wrong with a Silva Ranger.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 11:49 AM (UsLZp)
---
Here, let me have that!
Posted by: Butterbur who doesn't know his asshole from a hole in the ground at April 10, 2016 12:03 PM (rlfds)
213
And somewhere along the line, that big metal slide got itself magnetized.
--------------
It is a consequence of the sliding. Any ferrous metal will, when abraded, acquire 'magnetism'. The crystalline structure actually is forced to physically align, and thus become 'magnetic'.
I have found pieces of tableware, forks, knives, etc. in restaurants that have been so affected. Contrary to common opinion, stainless steel does have some ferrous content.
It is *very* common for metal files and rasps to become magnetized.
--------------
It is a consequence of the sliding. Any ferrous metal will, when abraded, acquire 'magnetism'. The crystalline structure actually is forced to physically align, and thus become 'magnetic'.
I have found pieces of tableware, forks, knives, etc. in restaurants that have been so affected. Contrary to common opinion, stainless steel does have some ferrous content.
It is *very* common for metal files and rasps to become magnetized.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 12:03 PM (9mTYi)
Posted by: Butterbur who doesn't know his asshole from a hole in the ground at April 10, 2016 12:03 PM (rlfds)
215
The trouble with the book thread is it's so tasty, it prevents me from reading.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 12:03 PM (jR7Wy)
216
If we are going to talk Martian movies, guess will have to one day sit down and watch Aelita: Queen of Mars which is a Soviet science fiction film.
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 12:05 PM (Wj6Ip)
217
Oh dear God. Mrs. JTB just brought up our 2 volume Oxford English Dictionary to use when words from 'Paradise Lost' stump me. The OED is an extremely dangerous book. I can get lost in it for hours or longer looking up 27th level definitions and unexpected etymologies. I had planned to load some ammo this week but the OED could side track that. I doomed, I tells ya. Doomed!
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 12:06 PM (V+03K)
218
seeing a tumble-down old log cabin with "Ptarmigan Pterminal" written on it in aerosol paint.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon
--------------
I don't get the joke.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon
--------------
I don't get the joke.
Posted by: Psmith, the Wodehouse character at April 10, 2016 12:06 PM (9mTYi)
219
JTB: 'Hand Bookbinding' by Aldren A. Watson... [and] 'Hand Tools: Their ways and Workings'..."
Thanks, also. Despite all my experience with and observation of the vastness and depth of the Moron Horde Knowledgepedia, I am still surprised when I receive such replies.
Thanks, also. Despite all my experience with and observation of the vastness and depth of the Moron Horde Knowledgepedia, I am still surprised when I receive such replies.
Posted by: mindful webworker - book warm? at April 10, 2016 12:07 PM (macz7)
Posted by: SMFH while circling the drain... at April 10, 2016 12:08 PM (rlfds)
221
I have a Silva, but it's so old (how old is it?) that when I tried to look up a picture to get the model name, it just shows as "Vintage." North has moved a couple of times since I got it.
When you start to add chromium to steel to make it stainless, the alloy becomes non-magnetic. Then, at a certain content, it's magnetic again. I can remember when junk men and car hunters used to "test" for stainless with a magnet, and then get in fights over this puzzling physical phenomenon, as better stainless got popular.
When you start to add chromium to steel to make it stainless, the alloy becomes non-magnetic. Then, at a certain content, it's magnetic again. I can remember when junk men and car hunters used to "test" for stainless with a magnet, and then get in fights over this puzzling physical phenomenon, as better stainless got popular.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 12:08 PM (xq1UY)
222
The OED is an extremely dangerous book.
------------
Stay away from Bartlett's, it is a trap from which one cannot escape.
"It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations." - Winston Churchill
I know this to be true, thus I have several of such books.
------------
Stay away from Bartlett's, it is a trap from which one cannot escape.
"It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations." - Winston Churchill
I know this to be true, thus I have several of such books.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 12:11 PM (9mTYi)
223
Further reporting from an actual teenager:
"Thinking further I also remember reading A Scanner Darkly in 8th grade, and in class I had to read The Book Thief but it turned out to be quite good"
"Thinking further I also remember reading A Scanner Darkly in 8th grade, and in class I had to read The Book Thief but it turned out to be quite good"
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 12:13 PM (1xUj/)
224
Incidentally, my take on the root cause of WWI is an excess of buffoons in positions of power.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at April 10, 2016 11:56 AM (Nwg0u)
Boy, I'm sure glad that's not what we have now!
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at April 10, 2016 11:56 AM (Nwg0u)
Boy, I'm sure glad that's not what we have now!
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 12:14 PM (PwHBA)
225
Did you know that aluminum is not magnetic? I just learned that.
Posted by: Barack Obama at April 10, 2016 12:14 PM (UsLZp)
226
I find it telling that all of the recommendations on this thread for books for young men are all from at least 30-40 years ago.
-
And that is a problem in itself. I'm rereading a book I loved in high school, Funeral in Berlin. The world has so changed and, given that they don't teach history anymore, I doubt many high school students could understand what the hell was going on. One thing I like in the book is the cynical jokes told by Russki Colonel Stok. Few are the high schoolers who could understand them today. Similarly, I doubt many could understand what the big deal was with Jack Burden's lady friend having an affair in All the King's Men.
-
And that is a problem in itself. I'm rereading a book I loved in high school, Funeral in Berlin. The world has so changed and, given that they don't teach history anymore, I doubt many high school students could understand what the hell was going on. One thing I like in the book is the cynical jokes told by Russki Colonel Stok. Few are the high schoolers who could understand them today. Similarly, I doubt many could understand what the big deal was with Jack Burden's lady friend having an affair in All the King's Men.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at April 10, 2016 12:14 PM (Nwg0u)
227
Don't know if there will eventually be an ebook version. I would assume so, but I couldn't find any information on it.
The sample had my popliteal regions gripping the seats! To heck with the book, when is the movie coming out?
The sample had my popliteal regions gripping the seats! To heck with the book, when is the movie coming out?
Posted by: Duncanthrax the Bellicose at April 10, 2016 12:16 PM (OF/aZ)
228
217 Oh dear God. Mrs. JTB just brought up our 2 volume Oxford English Dictionary to use when words from 'Paradise Lost' stump me. The OED is an extremely dangerous book. I can get lost in it for hours or longer looking up 27th level definitions and unexpected etymologies. I had planned to load some ammo this week but the OED could side track that. I doomed, I tells ya. Doomed!
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 12:06 PM (V+03K)
Is that the one with the tiny, tiny print that comes with the magnifier?
I bought that one for Mrs. Muse some years ago. You need to tie a rope around your waist and have your wife hold the other end in case you get lost in there.
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 12:06 PM (V+03K)
Is that the one with the tiny, tiny print that comes with the magnifier?
I bought that one for Mrs. Muse some years ago. You need to tie a rope around your waist and have your wife hold the other end in case you get lost in there.
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 12:16 PM (PwHBA)
Posted by: OregonMuse at April 10, 2016 12:17 PM (PwHBA)
230
O/T,
Search underway for sailor missing from the USS Carter Hall
http://tinyurl.com/jm3sbhp
"Citing an early internal Navy report they had obtained, Navy Times reported that the sailor is a female third-class Petty Officer. They also cited the report in saying a pair of boots with a note was found on deck near the rear of the ship..."
Damn.
Search underway for sailor missing from the USS Carter Hall
http://tinyurl.com/jm3sbhp
"Citing an early internal Navy report they had obtained, Navy Times reported that the sailor is a female third-class Petty Officer. They also cited the report in saying a pair of boots with a note was found on deck near the rear of the ship..."
Damn.
Posted by: SMFH while circling the drain... at April 10, 2016 12:18 PM (rlfds)
231
Looking at the picture of the Millicent Library I was struck again by the impression of permanence depicted by the construction.
As though it were intended to last for ages.
You see this in so many pics of old buildings--they meant these things to last.
Today, so much gives the impression of impermanence.
Looking at the picture of the Millicent Library I was struck again by the impression of permanence depicted by the construction.
As though it were intended to last for ages.
You see this in so many pics of old buildings--they meant these things to last.
Today, so much gives the impression of impermanence.
Posted by: irongr4ampa at April 10, 2016 12:19 PM (P/8aq)
232
Did you know that aluminum is not magnetic? I just learned that.
Posted by: Barack Obama
-------------
He learns something 'new' every day. Pretty easy thing in his case.
Posted by: Barack Obama
-------------
He learns something 'new' every day. Pretty easy thing in his case.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 12:20 PM (9mTYi)
233
He made most of his money through the purchase of land that he knew would be needed for public projects. He would buy such parcels and then resell them at an inflated price. (This was "honest graft." "Dishonest graft," according to Plunkitt, would be buying land and then using influence to have a project built on it.)
-------------------
I think the "honest" vs "dishonest" graft comes down to how much you're influencing the selection process. "Honest" graft means that the best item is still chosen. "Dishonest" graft means that the local government might end up with a lesser result.
For instance, let's say that the city needs to build a new fire station in an area that's judged to not have sufficient coverage by the local fire department. In the Honest Graft scenario, you don't interfere in the selection process that determines where the station will be built. So the station's location will hopefully be in as good of a location as the city can get. In the Dishonest Graft scenario, you weigh the scales so that a plot of land that you own is the one chosen as the location of the new station. Because you influenced the selection process, the result might be an inferior location. For instance, a station that isn't centrally located within the affected area, or that is in a neighborhood that's difficult to get in and out of, could mean that the resulting coverage by the new station isn't as effective as it could be.
In short, "honest" graft only hurts the local government by costing it extra money. "Dishonest" graft also hurts it by causing the money that it spends to be used less efficiently (in addition to the marked up costs).
-------------------
I think the "honest" vs "dishonest" graft comes down to how much you're influencing the selection process. "Honest" graft means that the best item is still chosen. "Dishonest" graft means that the local government might end up with a lesser result.
For instance, let's say that the city needs to build a new fire station in an area that's judged to not have sufficient coverage by the local fire department. In the Honest Graft scenario, you don't interfere in the selection process that determines where the station will be built. So the station's location will hopefully be in as good of a location as the city can get. In the Dishonest Graft scenario, you weigh the scales so that a plot of land that you own is the one chosen as the location of the new station. Because you influenced the selection process, the result might be an inferior location. For instance, a station that isn't centrally located within the affected area, or that is in a neighborhood that's difficult to get in and out of, could mean that the resulting coverage by the new station isn't as effective as it could be.
In short, "honest" graft only hurts the local government by costing it extra money. "Dishonest" graft also hurts it by causing the money that it spends to be used less efficiently (in addition to the marked up costs).
Posted by: junior at April 10, 2016 12:21 PM (fgd5X)
234
Today, so much gives the impression of impermanence.
Posted by: irongr4ampa
--------------
See: Any newly-constructed public building, particularly 'Public Housing'.
Posted by: irongr4ampa
--------------
See: Any newly-constructed public building, particularly 'Public Housing'.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 12:21 PM (9mTYi)
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 12:23 PM (9mTYi)
236
Oregon Muse,
Thanks as always for the weekly delight of the Book Thread. I leave up the tab for several days while leisurely checking the links and references that abound in the post and comments. And for the humor. Mrs. JTB knows when I'm re-reading the thread because of the basso profundo giggling she hears.
Thanks as always for the weekly delight of the Book Thread. I leave up the tab for several days while leisurely checking the links and references that abound in the post and comments. And for the humor. Mrs. JTB knows when I'm re-reading the thread because of the basso profundo giggling she hears.
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 12:23 PM (V+03K)
237
Looking at the picture of the Millicent Library I was struck again by the impression of permanence depicted by the construction.
I had to look up Fairhaven, MA, and was surprised that it's right across the river from New Bedford.
Which I don't really think of as a book thread town.
I had to look up Fairhaven, MA, and was surprised that it's right across the river from New Bedford.
Which I don't really think of as a book thread town.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 12:23 PM (1xUj/)
238
Back when my folks were retired; after visiting us in Alaska they got T-shirts printed up (his and hers). The shirts each had a picture of a gamebird and were captioned:
"Ptarm"
and
"Ptarm-again"
"Ptarm"
and
"Ptarm-again"
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at April 10, 2016 12:24 PM (NeFrd)
239
Almost finished with Muldoon's 'To Save Us From Ruin'.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 12:25 PM (9mTYi)
240
238 Back when my folks were retired; after visiting us in Alaska they got T-shirts printed up (his and hers). The shirts each had a picture of a gamebird and were captioned:
"Ptarm"
and
"Ptarm-again"
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at April 10, 2016 12:24 PM (NeFrd)
---
So your parents are to blame, after all.
"Ptarm"
and
"Ptarm-again"
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at April 10, 2016 12:24 PM (NeFrd)
---
So your parents are to blame, after all.
Posted by: SMFH while circling the drain... at April 10, 2016 12:25 PM (rlfds)
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at April 10, 2016 12:25 PM (Nwg0u)
242
That must surely be re-phrasing by a journalist.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 12:23 PM (9mTYi)
Said "journalist" needs a sternly-worded reprimand.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 12:23 PM (9mTYi)
Said "journalist" needs a sternly-worded reprimand.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 12:26 PM (UsLZp)
243
navybrat: ..."book binder's tape" or "book repair tape".
This is black fabric tape, about the same size as duct tape, but the difference is fabric and the type of adhesive used is less destructive to old paper....
Tim in GA: This is also called "gaff" tape, and can probably be found more inexpensively if searched for by this name....
Thanks. This is much better than my first (quickly dismissed) thought of trying some plain ol' masking tape.
If I can't get this book fixed with all these fine recommendations, it'll be because... I'm so lazy.
This is black fabric tape, about the same size as duct tape, but the difference is fabric and the type of adhesive used is less destructive to old paper....
Tim in GA: This is also called "gaff" tape, and can probably be found more inexpensively if searched for by this name....
Thanks. This is much better than my first (quickly dismissed) thought of trying some plain ol' masking tape.
If I can't get this book fixed with all these fine recommendations, it'll be because... I'm so lazy.
Posted by: mindful webworker - I mean, busy! at April 10, 2016 12:27 PM (macz7)
244
Said "journalist" needs a sternly-worded reprimand.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon
-------------
Heh. We were visiting an old retired salt who had a yappy little dog which started nipping around at our feet when we entered the guy's house. The old guy shouted at the dog "Lay aft you little sonofabitch!"
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon
-------------
Heh. We were visiting an old retired salt who had a yappy little dog which started nipping around at our feet when we entered the guy's house. The old guy shouted at the dog "Lay aft you little sonofabitch!"
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 12:29 PM (9mTYi)
245
228 ... OM, our edition predates the magnifier version. It was actually an anniversary gift to ourselves (which says something about us, I guess). The caution about anchoring myself with a rope is well advised. Now I have to dig out our Bartlett's Quotes book. Might as well live dangerously.
And looking forward to the chess thread. I'll set put the board shortly.
And looking forward to the chess thread. I'll set put the board shortly.
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 12:30 PM (V+03K)
246
Mike Hammer: ...I have found pieces of tableware, forks, knives, etc. in restaurants that have been so affected....
Heh - at one restaurant we go to, almost every time, I'd get a magnetized knife, and, waiting for our order, amused myself getting it to twirl around chasing the fork. Wondered how it got that way.
Heh - at one restaurant we go to, almost every time, I'd get a magnetized knife, and, waiting for our order, amused myself getting it to twirl around chasing the fork. Wondered how it got that way.
Posted by: mindful webworker - easily amused at April 10, 2016 12:30 PM (macz7)
247
@165
If you can find a copy, I highly recommend "The Power of Maps" by Denis Wood. As an introduction to cartography,I don't think it can be beat.
Larry Corriea's Tom Stranger stories are available for free on his website. (HTML, not PDF, MOBI, EPub, etc.) He wrote them as marketing material to encourage people to buy his early books.
For Young Adult reading, I'm shocked that no one has mentioned The Chronicles of Narnia.
A lot of Kipling's short storIes are accessible, evocative, and a full frontal assault on the modern ethic of multiculturalism.
Heinlein's Starship Troopers is a classic for young boys, as are Orson Scott Card's Enders Game, and John Steakley's Armour.
In more recent releases, L. Jagi Lamplighter's ongoing Rachel Griffin series is excellent.
If you can find a copy, I highly recommend "The Power of Maps" by Denis Wood. As an introduction to cartography,I don't think it can be beat.
Larry Corriea's Tom Stranger stories are available for free on his website. (HTML, not PDF, MOBI, EPub, etc.) He wrote them as marketing material to encourage people to buy his early books.
For Young Adult reading, I'm shocked that no one has mentioned The Chronicles of Narnia.
A lot of Kipling's short storIes are accessible, evocative, and a full frontal assault on the modern ethic of multiculturalism.
Heinlein's Starship Troopers is a classic for young boys, as are Orson Scott Card's Enders Game, and John Steakley's Armour.
In more recent releases, L. Jagi Lamplighter's ongoing Rachel Griffin series is excellent.
Posted by: Luke at April 10, 2016 12:32 PM (XU7n3)
248
Wondered how it got that way.
Posted by: mindful webworker
---------------
It probably happens when the dump all of the utensils into a single wash tray, where they slither around together.
Mrs. H always sighs when she sees me playing with the forks and knives at a restaurant, which often involves balancing something on a water glass rim. Usually there is some mumbling about how she might have married an accountant instead of an engineer.
Posted by: mindful webworker
---------------
It probably happens when the dump all of the utensils into a single wash tray, where they slither around together.
Mrs. H always sighs when she sees me playing with the forks and knives at a restaurant, which often involves balancing something on a water glass rim. Usually there is some mumbling about how she might have married an accountant instead of an engineer.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 12:35 PM (9mTYi)
249
Heh - at one restaurant we go to, almost every time, I'd get a magnetized knife, and, waiting for our order, amused myself getting it to twirl around chasing the fork. Wondered how it got that way.
Posted by: mindful webworker - easily amused at April 10, 2016 12:30 PM (macz7)
Simply striking a piece of carbon steel on the end, while aligned in a magnetic field will do that. The vibration shakes up atoms in the crystal lattice, and in the presence of a magnetic field, a plurality of them will settle back in alignment with that field. So a carbon steel knife falling, butt-end down, on a tile floor, while pointing North, can become magnetized.
Posted by: mindful webworker - easily amused at April 10, 2016 12:30 PM (macz7)
Simply striking a piece of carbon steel on the end, while aligned in a magnetic field will do that. The vibration shakes up atoms in the crystal lattice, and in the presence of a magnetic field, a plurality of them will settle back in alignment with that field. So a carbon steel knife falling, butt-end down, on a tile floor, while pointing North, can become magnetized.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 12:36 PM (UsLZp)
250
Alls I knows 'bout this Sad Puppy stuff is what I've gathered in passing on this blog. So unfamiliar with it, I've had to be refreshed each time whether the Sad Puppies are the SJWs or the other. (I think I've got it down now, though.)
But, reading the quote in the post, my thought was like this:
angela urkel: The censors accusing the opposition of censorship.
Projection by the tyrants, as usual. I presume the one side is not "calling for the end of social justice in science fiction and fantasy" - not calling for suppression of anything else - except insofar as "social justice" means calling for an end to anything they don't like. I mean, one side wants liberty and the other wants to stifle it.
* re-reads the above*
Writing words doesn't seem to be working too well for me today. Maybe I've had too much coffee?
But, reading the quote in the post, my thought was like this:
angela urkel: The censors accusing the opposition of censorship.
Projection by the tyrants, as usual. I presume the one side is not "calling for the end of social justice in science fiction and fantasy" - not calling for suppression of anything else - except insofar as "social justice" means calling for an end to anything they don't like. I mean, one side wants liberty and the other wants to stifle it.
* re-reads the above*
Writing words doesn't seem to be working too well for me today. Maybe I've had too much coffee?
Posted by: mindful webworker - or need more bacon at April 10, 2016 12:42 PM (macz7)
251
Honest v dishonest graft sounds a lot like picking up some random dude at the bar. You know you're going to get f@#$ed. You're just hoping he's had his shots and knows what you're doing.
The thought of "hey, maybe I should go call a cab and get out of here" doesn't seem to enter their minds.
The thought of "hey, maybe I should go call a cab and get out of here" doesn't seem to enter their minds.
Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at April 10, 2016 12:42 PM (6FqZa)
252
And it's time for me to venture outside, and install the yesterday-purchased water pump into #2 Suburban. And the new alternator bearing, and new idler, and new belt tensioner, and new serpentine belt. The old serpentine belt looks absolutely fine, and I will keep it as a spare, along with the old idler and tensioner wheels, with fresh grease packed in their little bearings (the ubiquitous 6203's). But I will have as many new parts in that department as I can, because with the serpentine belt system, there is zero fault tolerance. One link fails, the whole chain is kaput.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 12:42 PM (UsLZp)
253
you're->he's
Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at April 10, 2016 12:43 PM (6FqZa)
254
Thanks SO MUCH for the heads' up on the Stranger & Stranger a-book!
Just (pre-)ordered, and blogged on it (link in nic).
Just (pre-)ordered, and blogged on it (link in nic).
Posted by: speedster1 at April 10, 2016 12:44 PM (vUcdz)
255
Plunkitt's "honest" graft, reminds me of the government officials who wound up owners of land in Manor just outside of Austin when Bergstrom Air Force base was turned over to the city as a new international airport in the 1990's. They tried to advance the Manor Airport plan even after the Feds had offered up Bergstrom. Giggle.
Posted by: Marooned at April 10, 2016 12:44 PM (XhyuK)
256
Alberta - I ginkgo you caught me,
Finished The Bomber War, Arthur Harris and the Allied Bomber Offensive 1939 -45 by Robin Neilland, it was a very good read and dispelled the argument of area bombing being a unavoidable form of warfare. His argument is under the technology of the time it's all that could be done. And letting your enemy go unmolested is not a option in war. He also dispelled the notion that the USAAF which in theory was out for precision bombing under the circumstances also performed area bombing. It was well integrated with person stories from aircrew of all nations. Well worth it, wish Ted would read it if just to understand the terminology. He doesn't get into it except to comment that today it is still somewhat unavoidable if a total air campaign was to occur.
(This is has hard to do on a tablet)
Finished The Bomber War, Arthur Harris and the Allied Bomber Offensive 1939 -45 by Robin Neilland, it was a very good read and dispelled the argument of area bombing being a avoidable form of warfare.
I think the (un)attached to avoidable is the misstake.
I need a editor to reveiw my reveiws
Finished The Bomber War, Arthur Harris and the Allied Bomber Offensive 1939 -45 by Robin Neilland, it was a very good read and dispelled the argument of area bombing being a unavoidable form of warfare. His argument is under the technology of the time it's all that could be done. And letting your enemy go unmolested is not a option in war. He also dispelled the notion that the USAAF which in theory was out for precision bombing under the circumstances also performed area bombing. It was well integrated with person stories from aircrew of all nations. Well worth it, wish Ted would read it if just to understand the terminology. He doesn't get into it except to comment that today it is still somewhat unavoidable if a total air campaign was to occur.
(This is has hard to do on a tablet)
Finished The Bomber War, Arthur Harris and the Allied Bomber Offensive 1939 -45 by Robin Neilland, it was a very good read and dispelled the argument of area bombing being a avoidable form of warfare.
I think the (un)attached to avoidable is the misstake.
I need a editor to reveiw my reveiws
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 12:45 PM (9VEpl)
Posted by: speedster1 at April 10, 2016 12:46 PM (vUcdz)
258
As I said it's hard, especially to find mistakes when you can't see but a few lines at a time.
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 12:47 PM (9VEpl)
259
Posted by: mrp at April 10, 2016 11:53 AM (JBggj)
Reading about Titus, it's thought to be an early work that he may have just been a contributor.
Reading about Titus, it's thought to be an early work that he may have just been a contributor.
Posted by: waelse1 at April 10, 2016 12:48 PM (Lvqlh)
260
And the new alternator bearing,...
------------
Okay..., I draw the line at that. I admire your devotion to the cause, but gee, a reman alternator is $40.00 or so, no?
Is it a bushing, or a roller? Does it have to be pressed on/off the shaft, or in/out of the housing?
I sure hope so, because I don't have a press, and that's an easy way for me to beg off.
------------
Okay..., I draw the line at that. I admire your devotion to the cause, but gee, a reman alternator is $40.00 or so, no?
Is it a bushing, or a roller? Does it have to be pressed on/off the shaft, or in/out of the housing?
I sure hope so, because I don't have a press, and that's an easy way for me to beg off.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 12:48 PM (9mTYi)
261
Mike Hammer: Mrs. H always sighs when she sees me playing with the forks and knives at a restaurant, which often involves balancing something on a water glass rim...
Heh. One random thought following another....
My dear nonagenerian mom does this trick sometimes at family dinners (usually after she's had more than her usual one glass of wine) which involves laying the handle of one spoon over the handle of another spoon, bopping the bowl part of the under spoon, to flip the over spoon into a water glass. (She couldn't get it to work last Thanksgiving, but a cousin tried it and did it.)
At a restaurant one time with Milady, I tried it and got it the first time. I left for the washroom, and I came back to broken glass and saturated tablecloth. Milady's attempt at the trick in my absence had been... less than successful.
I should write a book about it. (Trying to be on-topic.)
Heh. One random thought following another....
My dear nonagenerian mom does this trick sometimes at family dinners (usually after she's had more than her usual one glass of wine) which involves laying the handle of one spoon over the handle of another spoon, bopping the bowl part of the under spoon, to flip the over spoon into a water glass. (She couldn't get it to work last Thanksgiving, but a cousin tried it and did it.)
At a restaurant one time with Milady, I tried it and got it the first time. I left for the washroom, and I came back to broken glass and saturated tablecloth. Milady's attempt at the trick in my absence had been... less than successful.
I should write a book about it. (Trying to be on-topic.)
Posted by: mindful webworker - illustrated, of course at April 10, 2016 12:49 PM (macz7)
262
Never use masking tape on books.
The glue is very acidic.
Don't get me wrong, it will last a while, maybe a decade.
Then your pages turn to dust.
The glue is very acidic.
Don't get me wrong, it will last a while, maybe a decade.
Then your pages turn to dust.
Posted by: navybrat at April 10, 2016 12:50 PM (8QGte)
263
Aluminium is a nonferrous metal, i have a truck load to scrap if the economy ever needs it again. It doesn't right now so it's worth very little.
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 12:51 PM (9VEpl)
264
Newer books for boys: I think Rick Riordan writes great adventures.
Ptarmigan in ptaise sauce is a recipe for ptomaine poisoning.
Ptarmigan in ptaise sauce is a recipe for ptomaine poisoning.
Posted by: @votermom at April 10, 2016 12:52 PM (nbrY/)
265
11 I read Two For The Lions by Lindsey Davis. This is the tenth book in the Marcus Didius Falco series. Falco is an informer/detective in first century A. D. Rome. In this book he becomes a tax auditor for the Emperor Vespasian and is immersed in the seedy world of the Circus. Soon there are murders of both valuable wild animals and a popular gladiator which Falco sets off to solve. Davis blends in a liberal amount of humor into her mysteries which makes a good story entertaining and fun to read.
Recommended here several times, I read Pattern Recognition by William Gibson. It took me awhile to get hooked. I'm not a big fan of advertising/marketing, but after about 80 pages, I got into the story and enjoyed the book very much. A side thought: If the author got paid for product placement, he is, indeed, a rich man. I never read a book with so many brand names mentioned.
Posted by: Zoltan at April 10, 2016 09:20 AM (JYer2)
Love the Falco series, just wish they were not so hard to find on audiobook
Recommended here several times, I read Pattern Recognition by William Gibson. It took me awhile to get hooked. I'm not a big fan of advertising/marketing, but after about 80 pages, I got into the story and enjoyed the book very much. A side thought: If the author got paid for product placement, he is, indeed, a rich man. I never read a book with so many brand names mentioned.
Posted by: Zoltan at April 10, 2016 09:20 AM (JYer2)
Love the Falco series, just wish they were not so hard to find on audiobook
Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at April 10, 2016 12:54 PM (c4yY7)
266
On Arthur Harris and Bomber Command, the very young Freeman Dyson was pulled from his studies and detailed to the RAF as a statistician and operations researcher, working to improve combat outcomes.
He has written about that in bits and pieces elsewhere, but there is autobiographical audio here, in several segments:
http://www.webofstories.com/play/freeman.dyson/35
One depressing reality related by Dyson is that he discovered deficiencies in the escape systems of the mainstay RAF heavy bomber of the day, which were resulting in regular deaths of aircrew. He pushed to get those corrected on the production line, but he was never able to get anyone in the command structure to take this seriously and order the alterations.
When you see Dyson arguing his case tenaciously with regard to, say, anthropogenic global warming being an oversold concept, understand that he's been tempered in fire from such early experiences.
He has written about that in bits and pieces elsewhere, but there is autobiographical audio here, in several segments:
http://www.webofstories.com/play/freeman.dyson/35
One depressing reality related by Dyson is that he discovered deficiencies in the escape systems of the mainstay RAF heavy bomber of the day, which were resulting in regular deaths of aircrew. He pushed to get those corrected on the production line, but he was never able to get anyone in the command structure to take this seriously and order the alterations.
When you see Dyson arguing his case tenaciously with regard to, say, anthropogenic global warming being an oversold concept, understand that he's been tempered in fire from such early experiences.
Posted by: torquewrench at April 10, 2016 12:58 PM (noWW6)
267
Don't ptaze me, bro!
Posted by: Josephistan at April 10, 2016 12:58 PM (7qAYi)
268
What is the name of the book Barbara Hambly wrote about where the Nazi bring a wizard into our world.
Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at April 10, 2016 01:01 PM (c4yY7)
269
"The old serpentine belt looks absolutely fine, and I will keep it as a spare"
What's always bugged me about that design is that even if one has a spare along, and basic tools, doing a roadside replacement of a serp belt is essentially impossible.
There are products which purport to be a solution, a segmented emergency belt which can be put in place in individual pieces and then connected together and tightened. Won't work brilliantly well, or work for long, but enough to get you out of trouble and in to a proper garage setting.
I haven't ever had occasion to test one of these. I probably ought to.
What's always bugged me about that design is that even if one has a spare along, and basic tools, doing a roadside replacement of a serp belt is essentially impossible.
There are products which purport to be a solution, a segmented emergency belt which can be put in place in individual pieces and then connected together and tightened. Won't work brilliantly well, or work for long, but enough to get you out of trouble and in to a proper garage setting.
I haven't ever had occasion to test one of these. I probably ought to.
Posted by: torquewrench at April 10, 2016 01:03 PM (noWW6)
270
Said "journalist" needs a sternly-worded reprimand.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 12:26 PM (UsLZp)
maybe someone should fan the tail of that journalist
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 12:26 PM (UsLZp)
maybe someone should fan the tail of that journalist
Posted by: Kindltot at April 10, 2016 01:04 PM (6DMur)
271
What's always bugged me about that design is that even if one has a spare along, and basic tools, doing a roadside replacement of a serp belt is essentially impossible.
-------------
The wheel-lug wrench of my '95 S-10 matches the spring-loaded tensioner pulley for the serpentine belt. Installing/removing a belt is super easy.
-------------
The wheel-lug wrench of my '95 S-10 matches the spring-loaded tensioner pulley for the serpentine belt. Installing/removing a belt is super easy.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 01:05 PM (9mTYi)
272
Finished The Bomber War, Arthur Harris and the Allied Bomber Offensive 1939 -45 by Robin Neilland, it was a very good read and dispelled the argument of area bombing being a avoidable form of warfare.
I think the (un)attached to avoidable is the misstake.
I need a editor to reveiw my reveiws
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 12:45 PM (9VEpl)
Got it, Skip. I sort of read between the lines, and figured that was the gist of it.
Some typos can be damned hard to catch because they subtly alter the meaning of a sentence, without making it look wrong. And you know what you meant to write, so you gloss over it on a quick re-read.
And nobody in the Horde ever has fun with typos.
I think the (un)attached to avoidable is the misstake.
I need a editor to reveiw my reveiws
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 12:45 PM (9VEpl)
Got it, Skip. I sort of read between the lines, and figured that was the gist of it.
Some typos can be damned hard to catch because they subtly alter the meaning of a sentence, without making it look wrong. And you know what you meant to write, so you gloss over it on a quick re-read.
And nobody in the Horde ever has fun with typos.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 01:07 PM (UsLZp)
273
And nobody in the Horde ever has fun with typos.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon
------------
Heh. tell grammie winger that.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon
------------
Heh. tell grammie winger that.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 01:09 PM (9mTYi)
274
I don't even like sci-fi, but that Tom Stranger book sounds like a blast, so I ordered it.
///
"Himmler was obsessed with the occult and mysticism."
Before Hitler came to power, even somewhat after, a lot of Germans were so obsessed. They had a while back to nature and nature-worshipping culture, sort of like our hippies and New Agers. One of their spawn was Gudrun Ensslin, girlfriend of Baader and top terrorist in Germany in the '60s.
///
"Himmler was obsessed with the occult and mysticism."
Before Hitler came to power, even somewhat after, a lot of Germans were so obsessed. They had a while back to nature and nature-worshipping culture, sort of like our hippies and New Agers. One of their spawn was Gudrun Ensslin, girlfriend of Baader and top terrorist in Germany in the '60s.
Posted by: PJ at April 10, 2016 01:12 PM (cHuNI)
275
Okay..., I draw the line at that. I admire your devotion to the cause, but gee, a reman alternator is $40.00 or so, no?
Is it a bushing, or a roller? Does it have to be pressed on/off the shaft, or in/out of the housing?
I sure hope so, because I don't have a press, and that's an easy way for me to beg off.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 12:48 PM (9mTYi)
The bearing is a few dollars. Alternator puts out fine. I have a press, if it comes to that. Usually, the rotor shaft pulls out of the inner race easily, and then the whole bearing can be knocked out of the end bell with a small hammer and drift, and the new ones installed the same way, taking care to drift only on the outer race for the install.
If, upon taking it down, I find the brushes are worn to nubbins, I will buy new ones.
But alternators are pretty easy to service. The bearing was very noisy, so it has to be replaced.
Is it a bushing, or a roller? Does it have to be pressed on/off the shaft, or in/out of the housing?
I sure hope so, because I don't have a press, and that's an easy way for me to beg off.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 12:48 PM (9mTYi)
The bearing is a few dollars. Alternator puts out fine. I have a press, if it comes to that. Usually, the rotor shaft pulls out of the inner race easily, and then the whole bearing can be knocked out of the end bell with a small hammer and drift, and the new ones installed the same way, taking care to drift only on the outer race for the install.
If, upon taking it down, I find the brushes are worn to nubbins, I will buy new ones.
But alternators are pretty easy to service. The bearing was very noisy, so it has to be replaced.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 01:13 PM (UsLZp)
276
"There are two extreme right-wing to neo-nazi groups, called the Sad Puppies and the Rabid Puppies respectively ..." They are unrepentantly racist, sexist and homophobic ....
This is the reason I boycott all TOR books. While TOR management apologized. They did not say she was wrong. No one from TOR has ever said that Sad Puppies weren't racist Nazi's.
I believe they agree with her but consider it bad business to say it out loud.
I haven't bought a TOR book since this incident. And I buy 5-10 Science fiction books a month.
This is the reason I boycott all TOR books. While TOR management apologized. They did not say she was wrong. No one from TOR has ever said that Sad Puppies weren't racist Nazi's.
I believe they agree with her but consider it bad business to say it out loud.
I haven't bought a TOR book since this incident. And I buy 5-10 Science fiction books a month.
Posted by: Gary at April 10, 2016 01:13 PM (tr1xk)
277
>How does one scale to leagues and miles such phrases as "take about twenty hobbit paces."
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 11:31 AM
The Roman Legion marched in thousands (mils) of paces. A pace is apart of steps. So, a mile is 1K paces for an average man (5.28 ft). Hobbit paces might be approximated by a dwarf or very short person.
Is All Hail Eris around?
Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2016 11:31 AM
The Roman Legion marched in thousands (mils) of paces. A pace is apart of steps. So, a mile is 1K paces for an average man (5.28 ft). Hobbit paces might be approximated by a dwarf or very short person.
Is All Hail Eris around?
Posted by: Ti at April 10, 2016 01:17 PM (iLoHX)
Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine, Still Accepting Harem Applicants at April 10, 2016 01:18 PM (lutOX)
279
"The wheel-lug wrench of my '95 S-10 matches the spring-loaded tensioner
pulley for the serpentine belt. Installing/removing a belt is super
easy."
Realized after reading your response that I brainfarted my original comment.
What I had meant to say that performing a roadside replacement is essentially impossible _on certain vehicles_. Obviously it's fine on some vehicles, yours proving the point.
pulley for the serpentine belt. Installing/removing a belt is super
easy."
Realized after reading your response that I brainfarted my original comment.
What I had meant to say that performing a roadside replacement is essentially impossible _on certain vehicles_. Obviously it's fine on some vehicles, yours proving the point.
Posted by: torquewrench at April 10, 2016 01:19 PM (noWW6)
280
paces for an average man (5.28 ft).
-------------
*?!*
Yikes!
*resigns self to 'less than average man' status*
-------------
*?!*
Yikes!
*resigns self to 'less than average man' status*
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 01:19 PM (9mTYi)
281
WTF does WASTF mean?
Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine, Still Accepting Harem Applicants at April 10, 2016 01:18 PM (lutOX)
We Are So Totally Fucked.
And not in a good way.
Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine, Still Accepting Harem Applicants at April 10, 2016 01:18 PM (lutOX)
We Are So Totally Fucked.
And not in a good way.
Posted by: SMFH while circling the drain... at April 10, 2016 01:20 PM (rlfds)
282
@280 There was another comical "typo." For the Romans a pace was a pair of steps. Two steps equal to 5.28 is pretty reasonable.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 01:21 PM (xq1UY)
283
I used to be an avid reader, 2 or 3 books a week, but now I rarely open anything made of paper and I don't like e books in general. I think it might be eye strain related. I am trying to get back into the habit. I picked up an old paper book copy of Assignment in Eternity by Robert A. Heinlein at Half Price Books. It's from his early, less weird phase so I'm enjoying it.
Posted by: digitalbrownshirt at April 10, 2016 01:22 PM (ROUi8)
284
Listened to a few of the Web stories, nice little treat
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 01:22 PM (9VEpl)
285
I am reading a ton of scholarly articles on Intelligent Design and how unsupported Darwinism really is, now that we know so much about how insanely complicated, delicate and non-random the biological processes of even the simplest of organisms really are.
Very interesting stuff.
Very interesting stuff.
Posted by: Sharkman at April 10, 2016 01:23 PM (CS7jF)
286
281 WTF does WASTF mean?
Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine, Still Accepting Harem Applicants at April 10, 2016 01:18 PM (lutOX)
We Are So Totally Fucked.
And not in a good way.
Posted by: SMFH while circling the drain... at April 10, 2016 01:20 PM (rlfds)
***
Duly noted, and will become part of the repertoire
Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine, Still Accepting Harem Applicants at April 10, 2016 01:18 PM (lutOX)
We Are So Totally Fucked.
And not in a good way.
Posted by: SMFH while circling the drain... at April 10, 2016 01:20 PM (rlfds)
***
Duly noted, and will become part of the repertoire
Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine, Still Accepting Harem Applicants at April 10, 2016 01:23 PM (lutOX)
287
I like the library pictures but I would like to see some famous prison libraries too. Like in "Escape from Alcatraz" where Clint was a book runner handing out reading materials to the cons.
It would be great to see the libraries in the prisons where Denny Hastert and Kevin Donovan end up.
It would be great to see the libraries in the prisons where Denny Hastert and Kevin Donovan end up.
Posted by: Hairyback Guy at April 10, 2016 01:25 PM (ej1L0)
288
I hope they have good books in the prison library.
Posted by: Ready For Hillary!!11!! at April 10, 2016 01:26 PM (Dwehj)
289
What's always bugged me about that design is that even if one has a spare along, and basic tools, doing a roadside replacement of a serp belt is essentially impossible.
There are products which purport to be a solution, a segmented emergency belt which can be put in place in individual pieces and then connected together and tightened. Won't work brilliantly well, or work for long, but enough to get you out of trouble and in to a proper garage setting.
I haven't ever had occasion to test one of these. I probably ought to.
Posted by: torquewrench at April 10, 2016 01:03 PM (noWW6)
Well, on the '97 Suburban, the serpentine belt can be removed by simply deflecting the belt tensioner. There is a 3/8" square hole in the tensioner arm so one can insert the drive end of a ratchet or flex handle to do that, which takes a little effort, but not a lot. Some makes have a half-inch square hole. I think I might be able to do it without removing the upper half of the fan shroud, but it's a piece of cake with that piece removed, which is easy in its own right.
My beef with serpentine belt systems is not that changing the belt itself is hard, quite the contrary. It's that if just one of the devices or idlers which the belt runs on goes bad, you are shut down. Zero redundancy.
I always carry a small tool box when on a road trip. Basic cheap-ass 3/8" drive socket set, a few combination wrenches, Vise Grips, Crescent wrench, hammer, screwdrivers, and hex keys. Pliers, etc. They all fit in one plastic "one handed" tool box with lift-out tray. Has saved my butt innumerable times.
There are products which purport to be a solution, a segmented emergency belt which can be put in place in individual pieces and then connected together and tightened. Won't work brilliantly well, or work for long, but enough to get you out of trouble and in to a proper garage setting.
I haven't ever had occasion to test one of these. I probably ought to.
Posted by: torquewrench at April 10, 2016 01:03 PM (noWW6)
Well, on the '97 Suburban, the serpentine belt can be removed by simply deflecting the belt tensioner. There is a 3/8" square hole in the tensioner arm so one can insert the drive end of a ratchet or flex handle to do that, which takes a little effort, but not a lot. Some makes have a half-inch square hole. I think I might be able to do it without removing the upper half of the fan shroud, but it's a piece of cake with that piece removed, which is easy in its own right.
My beef with serpentine belt systems is not that changing the belt itself is hard, quite the contrary. It's that if just one of the devices or idlers which the belt runs on goes bad, you are shut down. Zero redundancy.
I always carry a small tool box when on a road trip. Basic cheap-ass 3/8" drive socket set, a few combination wrenches, Vise Grips, Crescent wrench, hammer, screwdrivers, and hex keys. Pliers, etc. They all fit in one plastic "one handed" tool box with lift-out tray. Has saved my butt innumerable times.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 01:27 PM (UsLZp)
290
I put Hobbits at maybe a little over 3 feet, dwarves under 4, elves 4 and a half
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 01:29 PM (9VEpl)
291
Is All Hail Eris around?
Posted by: Ti at April 10, 2016 01:17 PM (iLoHX)
---
I'm here. I always circle back to the book thread, which never sputters out like other threads.
Posted by: Ti at April 10, 2016 01:17 PM (iLoHX)
---
I'm here. I always circle back to the book thread, which never sputters out like other threads.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 01:30 PM (jR7Wy)
292
Kang and Kodos are amusing til they turn blue.
http://www.merzo.net/characters/
1CMPPZARDALU.gif
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Heritage_Universe#Zardalu
http://www.merzo.net/characters/
1CMPPZARDALU.gif
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Heritage_Universe#Zardalu
Posted by: DaveA at April 10, 2016 01:30 PM (DL2i+)
293
What I had meant to say that performing a roadside replacement is essentially impossible _on certain vehicles_. Obviously it's fine on some vehicles, yours proving the point.
Posted by: torquewrench
-------------
Yeah, well I was surprised to learn that myself. Of course the engine bay is roomier than a sedan, and the axially located engine makes life easier too.
Posted by: torquewrench
-------------
Yeah, well I was surprised to learn that myself. Of course the engine bay is roomier than a sedan, and the axially located engine makes life easier too.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 01:30 PM (9mTYi)
294
I work 12 hours shifts at a computer. very little time to read, but I have been enjoying audiobooks - Wodehouse - I'd worn out my hard copies of his stuff - and Chandeler, ditto, with a little Faulkner thrown in from time to time.
All work when read aloud.
All work when read aloud.
Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine, Still Accepting Harem Applicants at April 10, 2016 01:31 PM (lutOX)
295
What I had meant to say that performing a roadside replacement is essentially impossible _on certain vehicles_. Obviously it's fine on some vehicles, yours proving the point.
Posted by: torquewrench at April 10, 2016 01:19 PM (noWW6)
Yeah, some front-drive jobs put the engine mount inside the circuit of the belt. And on some Hondas, IIRC, if you replace the timing belt, you are expected to replace the water pump, too, because it is driven by the timing belt, and a failed water pump bearing could lead to the belt slipping, and the entire engine grenading.
Posted by: torquewrench at April 10, 2016 01:19 PM (noWW6)
Yeah, some front-drive jobs put the engine mount inside the circuit of the belt. And on some Hondas, IIRC, if you replace the timing belt, you are expected to replace the water pump, too, because it is driven by the timing belt, and a failed water pump bearing could lead to the belt slipping, and the entire engine grenading.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 01:32 PM (UsLZp)
296
I would put Hobbits at 3.5 feet, Dwarfs at 4-5 feet, and Elves at a willowy 5.5-6 feet.
I base everything on my own 5' 6" height (the best height).
I base everything on my own 5' 6" height (the best height).
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 01:32 PM (jR7Wy)
297
Hobbit paces might be approximated by a dwarf or very short person.
Is All Hail Eris around?
Posted by: Ti at April 10, 2016 01:17 PM (iLoHX)
You mean AtC, surely?
Is All Hail Eris around?
Posted by: Ti at April 10, 2016 01:17 PM (iLoHX)
You mean AtC, surely?
Posted by: Kindltot - purveyor of fine Ravage Repellent and other lifesaving products at April 10, 2016 01:33 PM (6DMur)
298
*hic*
Posted by: Hillary! at April 10, 2016 01:33 PM (89T5c)
299
My take on WW1 was that it was a conflict between 19th century --or earlier--notions of "honor" and 20th century ideals expediency; a collision between archaic ideals of military tactics and 20th century weapons-- cities and civilians were bombed and both horses and men went down in hails of machine-gun fire.
Then add Bolsheviks and anarchists and mustard gas.
Then add Bolsheviks and anarchists and mustard gas.
Posted by: JoeF. at April 10, 2016 01:33 PM (HpA9z)
300
* runs away from Kindltot, hides behind plexiglass *
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 01:34 PM (jR7Wy)
301
My beef with serpentine belt systems is not that changing the belt itself is hard, quite the contrary. It's that if just one of the devices or idlers which the belt runs on goes bad, you are shut down. Zero redundancy.
------------------
I once stopped to help an old guy whose idler pulley ( or something) had seized. The belt had heated to auto-ignition temperature, was on fire, and dripping burning rubber onto the road under his truck. I managed to snuff it out before it set the whole truck on fire.
------------------
I once stopped to help an old guy whose idler pulley ( or something) had seized. The belt had heated to auto-ignition temperature, was on fire, and dripping burning rubber onto the road under his truck. I managed to snuff it out before it set the whole truck on fire.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 01:35 PM (9mTYi)
302
Yikes!
*resigns self to 'less than average man' status*
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 01:19 PM (9mTYi)
A "pace" is a pair of steps, so you count a pace every time you put your right (or left, just be consistent) foot forward. Counting paces, not steps, averages out a little of the inconsistency caused by uneven ground underfoot.
*resigns self to 'less than average man' status*
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 01:19 PM (9mTYi)
A "pace" is a pair of steps, so you count a pace every time you put your right (or left, just be consistent) foot forward. Counting paces, not steps, averages out a little of the inconsistency caused by uneven ground underfoot.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 01:35 PM (UsLZp)
303
Tuchmann is so highly readable that it's hard to fault her mistakes. Clark's "Sleepwalkers" is a tour de force though. Highly recommended.
Posted by: JoeF. at April 10, 2016 01:36 PM (HpA9z)
304
A "pace" is a pair of steps,
According to whom?
When I pace out a golf shot I count each individual step as one yard.
According to whom?
When I pace out a golf shot I count each individual step as one yard.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 01:37 PM (1xUj/)
305
OT/
Anyone good at TAXES? I'm wondering if and how I should take a deduction on a tech conference I attended in Las Vegas last October. I paid out of pocket to further my own skills as a web developer. ($400 for registration; $500 in Airfare/Hotel) I am a full time employee but have a very small business where I do contract work for an old client. My schedule C is already down to just $70.21 in profit so taking this as an expense would put it well into loss territory. I dunno.. I don't wont to be flagged for audit because I had only $850 in revenue but $1500 in expenses.
p.s. - I'm doing my taxes by hand (TurboTax is for pussies).
Anyone good at TAXES? I'm wondering if and how I should take a deduction on a tech conference I attended in Las Vegas last October. I paid out of pocket to further my own skills as a web developer. ($400 for registration; $500 in Airfare/Hotel) I am a full time employee but have a very small business where I do contract work for an old client. My schedule C is already down to just $70.21 in profit so taking this as an expense would put it well into loss territory. I dunno.. I don't wont to be flagged for audit because I had only $850 in revenue but $1500 in expenses.
p.s. - I'm doing my taxes by hand (TurboTax is for pussies).
Posted by: Serious Cat at April 10, 2016 01:38 PM (Uy6ri)
306
A "pace" is a pair of steps,
According to whom?
---------
Uh, oh.
And that's when the fight began.
;-)
According to whom?
---------
Uh, oh.
And that's when the fight began.
;-)
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 10, 2016 01:38 PM (9mTYi)
307
I put Hobbits at maybe a little over 3 feet, dwarves under 4, elves 4 and a half
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 01:29 PM (9VEpl)
Tolkien's Elves were tall, and somewhat slender, but athletic.
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 01:29 PM (9VEpl)
Tolkien's Elves were tall, and somewhat slender, but athletic.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 01:38 PM (UsLZp)
308
Alberta- if you saw it corrected the mistake you pointed out
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 01:39 PM (9VEpl)
309
From memory Tolkien wrote the tallest hobbit was almost 4 foot and could ride a smaller horse. But it's been awhile.
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 01:41 PM (9VEpl)
310
p.s. - I'm doing my taxes by hand (TurboTax is for pussies).
Posted by: Serious Cat
-----------------
We will lie for you.
Posted by: Serious Cat
-----------------
We will lie for you.
Posted by: H&L Brock at April 10, 2016 01:41 PM (9mTYi)
311
As to Tuchman , she is a 'pop' historian, all derision intended: good for airports and such. The far better account of the coming of WW1 is The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark.
Posted by: jay hoenemeyer at April 10, 2016 09:40 AM (uvj0z)
Agreed. To understand the runup to World War I, you can hardly do worse than read Barbara Tuchman. She was not a formally trained historian, and her treatment of the subject matter was, as a result, shallow, conventional, sloppy and biased. She twisted the facts, used inflammatory language and omitted numerous details that contradicted her narrative. Not in the interests of brevity, but rather of polemicism. She gets high marks for readability, but that's about all.
Posted by: jay hoenemeyer at April 10, 2016 09:40 AM (uvj0z)
Agreed. To understand the runup to World War I, you can hardly do worse than read Barbara Tuchman. She was not a formally trained historian, and her treatment of the subject matter was, as a result, shallow, conventional, sloppy and biased. She twisted the facts, used inflammatory language and omitted numerous details that contradicted her narrative. Not in the interests of brevity, but rather of polemicism. She gets high marks for readability, but that's about all.
Posted by: HTL at April 10, 2016 01:42 PM (PI8Vq)
312
I could be wrong but put elves under human hight.
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 01:43 PM (9VEpl)
313
don't wont to be flagged for audit because I had only $850 in revenue but $1500 in expenses.
--
I don't do our taxes. However, I was curious about hobby income recently and for that you can only deduct up to the amount you earned.
Don't know if it's the same for business income.
--
I don't do our taxes. However, I was curious about hobby income recently and for that you can only deduct up to the amount you earned.
Don't know if it's the same for business income.
Posted by: @votermom at April 10, 2016 01:43 PM (nbrY/)
314
According to whom?
When I pace out a golf shot I count each individual step as one yard.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 01:37 PM (1xUj/)
The Romans, for one. And most anyone in field work, where pacing distances was a required skill. I remember pacing off stations to mark stations for geophysical surveys. And that is how were taught to do it.
In golf, as in fishing, quoted dimensions are flexible.
When I pace out a golf shot I count each individual step as one yard.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 01:37 PM (1xUj/)
The Romans, for one. And most anyone in field work, where pacing distances was a required skill. I remember pacing off stations to mark stations for geophysical surveys. And that is how were taught to do it.
In golf, as in fishing, quoted dimensions are flexible.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 01:45 PM (UsLZp)
315
Yeah, Tolkien Elves (and high humans) were taller than ordinary mankind. However, I always view Elves as shorter than humans, topping out about 5'5 and averaging 5' or so. Dwarves around 4' tall. In my game/writing world, I have no Hobbits, and Gnomes are elemental creatures, not a race of humanoids.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 01:45 PM (39g3+)
316
Alberta- if you saw it corrected the mistake you pointed out
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 01:39 PM (9VEpl)
I did. Thanks.
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 01:39 PM (9VEpl)
I did. Thanks.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 01:46 PM (UsLZp)
317
I'm going to throw down the gauntlet and say that I like Tim Kirk's illustrations of Tolkien characters the best.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at April 10, 2016 01:46 PM (jR7Wy)
318
The more I watch it, the harder I laugh, because the guy is determined to hit everything in his path.
https://raiderforums.com/images/sidebar/01.gif
The more I watch it, the harder I laugh, because the guy is determined to hit everything in his path.
https://raiderforums.com/images/sidebar/01.gif
Posted by: SMFH while circling the drain... at April 10, 2016 01:47 PM (rlfds)
319
I am reading a ton of scholarly articles on Intelligent Design and how unsupported Darwinism really is, now that we know so much about how insanely complicated, delicate and non-random the biological processes of even the simplest of organisms really are.
Its a pretty blatant flaw in modern science that they are so dedicated to naturalism they reject the plain evidence in front of them. I would respect Darwinian scientists a lot more if they would take the evidence as it is, rather than trying to find some tortured way to fit it into a predetermined structure. I think 50, 100 years from now there's going to be an entirely new system in place that rejects and mocks the current scientific ideology the way current scientists do 17th century medicine and cosmology.
Its a pretty blatant flaw in modern science that they are so dedicated to naturalism they reject the plain evidence in front of them. I would respect Darwinian scientists a lot more if they would take the evidence as it is, rather than trying to find some tortured way to fit it into a predetermined structure. I think 50, 100 years from now there's going to be an entirely new system in place that rejects and mocks the current scientific ideology the way current scientists do 17th century medicine and cosmology.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 01:49 PM (39g3+)
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 10, 2016 01:51 PM (UsLZp)
321
309 ... IIRC, Bandobras Took (Bull Roarer) was supposed to be 4 and a half feet tall and could ride a small horse. Only Merry and Pippen, after drinking the Ent draughts, ended up taller according to the LOTR preface.
I remember too much weird stuff.
I remember too much weird stuff.
Posted by: JTB at April 10, 2016 01:52 PM (V+03K)
322
Maybe gaming is were I picked up my ideas of differences between the humanoid races.
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 01:52 PM (9VEpl)
323
"To understand the runup to World War I, you can hardly do worse than read Barbara Tuchman."
John Schindler, himself a published WWI historian, pulled no punches in his piece on "That Terrible Tuchman Woman".
John Schindler, himself a published WWI historian, pulled no punches in his piece on "That Terrible Tuchman Woman".
Posted by: torquewrench at April 10, 2016 01:53 PM (noWW6)
324
Nain Rawat practiced his step for years so that it was always the same, uphill, downhill, climbing a mountain. He modified a Buddhist rosary to keep track of them. He hid a compass in a prayer wheel. Then he mapped Nepal and Tibet.
Great Trigonometric Survey. He is known to history as Pundit Number One.
And that's where that comes from.
Great Trigonometric Survey. He is known to history as Pundit Number One.
And that's where that comes from.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 01:54 PM (xq1UY)
325
Alberta - I really don't mind the point out, it's possible I will copy and post the review so want it understandable.
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 01:55 PM (9VEpl)
326
The Gnome was a very fine engine, in some great warplanes in the past
I like playing gnomes in computer games, I just don't like them in my world setting.
No matter how hard I try, I just can't care much about the whole Sad Puppies/SFWA awards thing. I never have cared about awards except for how they can affect sales, and I consider traditional publishing to be a rip-off anyway. They abuse and rob authors, and every year get more blatantly leftist and outrageously biased.
I like playing gnomes in computer games, I just don't like them in my world setting.
No matter how hard I try, I just can't care much about the whole Sad Puppies/SFWA awards thing. I never have cared about awards except for how they can affect sales, and I consider traditional publishing to be a rip-off anyway. They abuse and rob authors, and every year get more blatantly leftist and outrageously biased.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 02:00 PM (39g3+)
327
Huh! There's something new.
Pace, as I understood the word, as defined in most online dictionaries is 'one step'. I had never heard of pace being two successive steps.
However, The Oxford Dictionary includes a second definition of 'two successive steps'.
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/pace?q=Pace
and of course the definition for pace as a rate of travel.
Pace, as I understood the word, as defined in most online dictionaries is 'one step'. I had never heard of pace being two successive steps.
However, The Oxford Dictionary includes a second definition of 'two successive steps'.
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/pace?q=Pace
and of course the definition for pace as a rate of travel.
Posted by: Skandia Recluse at April 10, 2016 02:04 PM (H9ers)
328
You leave Babs alone! You damn well leave her alone! Back off!
You leave Babs alone! You damn well leave her alone! Back off!
Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at April 10, 2016 02:06 PM (iQIUe)
329
Pace is also a very archaic form of "with due deference to" used by Stephen Maturin in the Patrick O'Brian sea novels.
Also: a conjugated form of peace in Latin
Also: a conjugated form of peace in Latin
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 02:08 PM (39g3+)
330
So proud of my first published book review for the Conservative Book Club on the OJ Simpson trial. http://bit.ly/1SI2Vpm
Posted by: anonymous-9 at April 10, 2016 02:09 PM (gDfQc)
331
I always thought that Mark Fuhrman got railroaded, he was a useful distraction and a monster for the defense team to build up to confuse the idiots on the jury and get what they wanted.
To me the best outcome of the OJ trial would have been for laws to have a total media black out on trials until after the jury decision, like Canada does. That's not a violation of free speech, its protection of the rights of the defendant and the other people involved. All the publicity of celebrity and hot trials damages justice.
To me the best outcome of the OJ trial would have been for laws to have a total media black out on trials until after the jury decision, like Canada does. That's not a violation of free speech, its protection of the rights of the defendant and the other people involved. All the publicity of celebrity and hot trials damages justice.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 02:15 PM (39g3+)
332
Cool anonymous-9!
Posted by: @votermom at April 10, 2016 02:16 PM (nbrY/)
333
Doesn't help that shows like Judge Judy and The People's Court, not to mention a fuckton of fictional courtroom TV drama, shows the legal profession as Must See TV.
Does Canada have a Judge Judy?
Does Canada have a Judge Judy?
Posted by: SMFH while circling the drain... at April 10, 2016 02:19 PM (rlfds)
334
331 I always thought that Mark Fuhrman got railroaded, he was a useful distraction and a monster for the defense team to build up to confuse the idiots on the jury and get what they wanted.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 02:15 PM (39g3+)
=============
I use to be a filing deputy in WLA. The detectives present their cases to you requesting that they be filed or rejected. He was a very good detective. And, no, he was never a racist. Very fair in his cases and not a hard ass at all.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 02:15 PM (39g3+)
=============
I use to be a filing deputy in WLA. The detectives present their cases to you requesting that they be filed or rejected. He was a very good detective. And, no, he was never a racist. Very fair in his cases and not a hard ass at all.
Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at April 10, 2016 02:21 PM (iQIUe)
335
On Arthur Harris and Bomber Command, the very young Freeman Dyson was pulled from his studies and detailed to the RAF as a statistician and operations researcher, working to improve combat outcomes.
He has written about that in bits and pieces elsewhere, but there is autobiographical audio here, in several segments:
http://www.webofstories.com/play/freeman.dyson/35
I read Dyson's book "Disturbing The Universe" some years ago and he touched on this. He put to rest one of the common myths that it was the USAAF that destroyed Dresden. He made it clear that it was the RAF that did the job. Yes, the Americans came along the next day and dropped some bombs there, but all they did was "stir the rubble", as Dyson put it.
He has written about that in bits and pieces elsewhere, but there is autobiographical audio here, in several segments:
http://www.webofstories.com/play/freeman.dyson/35
I read Dyson's book "Disturbing The Universe" some years ago and he touched on this. He put to rest one of the common myths that it was the USAAF that destroyed Dresden. He made it clear that it was the RAF that did the job. Yes, the Americans came along the next day and dropped some bombs there, but all they did was "stir the rubble", as Dyson put it.
Posted by: The Oort Cloud - Source of all SMODs at April 10, 2016 02:23 PM (AJdlq)
336
"Pace," in the literary sense, is the latin "peace." It kind of means, "settle down." It's an admission of disagreement, and the intent not to argue the point.
Or, "Don't ptaise me bro."
Or, "Don't ptaise me bro."
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 02:24 PM (xq1UY)
337
Was Dyson the author of the phrase "to further convulse the rubble"?
It's frequently used to express the futility of a perfectly good bombing mission.
Anybody connected with the Strategic Bombing Survey says it a lot.
I've searched for it in Latin authors, because it sounds, you know, classical.
I would like to translate it into good Latin.
And embroider it on my jacket.
It's frequently used to express the futility of a perfectly good bombing mission.
Anybody connected with the Strategic Bombing Survey says it a lot.
I've searched for it in Latin authors, because it sounds, you know, classical.
I would like to translate it into good Latin.
And embroider it on my jacket.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 02:28 PM (xq1UY)
338
Has anyone every read/heard of a prepper book called The Lost Ways? It's pretty pricey, $37 for Kindle edition, $37 plus $9 shipping and handling for paper copy. I got lured into the infomercial for it by watching a video about a 14-hour self-feeding bonfire and it sounds interesting.
Posted by: Gem at April 10, 2016 02:30 PM (c+gwp)
339
I have no problems with the bombing of Dresden. It was a transportation hub to the east and had numerous war industries in the city. Also, after extensive research, the casualties were around 25k and not 250k. Goebbels like to add zeros to everything for propaganda purposes.
I have no problems with the bombing of Dresden. It was a transportation hub to the east and had numerous war industries in the city. Also, after extensive research, the casualties were around 25k and not 250k. Goebbels like to add zeros to everything for propaganda purposes.
Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at April 10, 2016 02:30 PM (iQIUe)
340
It kind of means, "settle down." It's an admission of disagreement, and the intent not to argue the point.
Or, "Don't ptaise me bro."
That strikes me as a very useful term for modern use. Pace - we shall agree to disagree.
Or, "Don't ptaise me bro."
That strikes me as a very useful term for modern use. Pace - we shall agree to disagree.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 02:31 PM (39g3+)
341
But but but the porcelain! And Vonnegut in the basement!
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 02:32 PM (xq1UY)
342
I have no problems with the bombing of Dresden.
It was objectively a horrible event, but all of war is, and with the best tech of the time that was as good as they could do with bombing. That event caused a lot of problems for the Germans and caused them to decentralize a lot of their industry, hiding it in caves and mines and forest bunkers which cost millions of dollars and man hours that the could have used for other things.
Plus: it warned Hitler not to pull another Coventry, and comforted the people of England with retaliation for what took place. Churchill had to live with both letting Coventry burn to protect cracking ENIGMA and destroying Dresden. He was a strong enough man to do both, because it had to be done.
It was objectively a horrible event, but all of war is, and with the best tech of the time that was as good as they could do with bombing. That event caused a lot of problems for the Germans and caused them to decentralize a lot of their industry, hiding it in caves and mines and forest bunkers which cost millions of dollars and man hours that the could have used for other things.
Plus: it warned Hitler not to pull another Coventry, and comforted the people of England with retaliation for what took place. Churchill had to live with both letting Coventry burn to protect cracking ENIGMA and destroying Dresden. He was a strong enough man to do both, because it had to be done.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 02:36 PM (39g3+)
343
Pace is also a very archaic form of "with due deference to"
I always thought that was pronounced "pah-chey" and was a different word.
I always thought that was pronounced "pah-chey" and was a different word.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at April 10, 2016 02:38 PM (1xUj/)
344
And, finally, Pace is a form of picante sauce that doesn't come from New York City...
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 02:42 PM (39g3+)
345
In the book I just read Dresden was a total Allied effort. It may have been asked to destroy it by the Russians or at least they were informed of it happening by the USAAF something not normally done. The USAAF was to bomb it first by day because it was found on the few times it was tried bombing by site was easier first. The daylight raid was canceled. The RAF bombed it the first night but subsequently was hit by the Americans and the RAF again.
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 02:46 PM (9VEpl)
346
The scary part here is that I understood all of the weird references in that scify rant. Books I have enjoyed lately are John Conroe's Demon Accord series, up to 9 books there. Andrew Wood's Elemental series, Dinosaur Wars by Thomas Hopp, Taylor Anderson's Destroyermen is a must, and The Pankaran Chronicles series by C. S. Night. Taylor Anderson's newest book will be out in June, if I remember right. I re-read all the Demon Accord books when the new one comes out. I think I have read it three times from start to the last one.
Posted by: Timothy Pruett at April 10, 2016 02:49 PM (gAJjA)
347
That it was still useful to hit Dresden is really not the question. Germany was still dangerous and a war going on that long many parties wanted it to get over by any means possible.
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 02:49 PM (9VEpl)
348
No matter how hard I try, I just can't care much about the whole Sad Puppies/SFWA awards thing. I never have cared about awards except for how they can affect sales, and I consider traditional publishing to be a rip-off anyway. They abuse and rob authors, and every year get more blatantly leftist and outrageously biased.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 02:00 PM (39g3+)
Mrs. Oort at one time did book reviews for a well-read web site, so for a long time she would receive newly published books from Berkeley/Penguin, all of the SF variety. I read quite a few of them, and holy shit, you would not believe the hardcore, bark-on SJW horseshit those people would publish. One thing in particular that struck me about this stuff was how totally consumed with hate these SJW types (writers in this case) are. It is not simply a matter of disagreement on political subject X, Y or Z. Not even the sort of Trump/Cruz/Whoever arguments we've seen around here of late that are of the "not only do I disagree with you, but you are a frog fornicating pond scum d-bag. So there." variety.
No, it is quite clear that the SJW not only hate people like us with the heat of a thousand suns, but they would KILL us if they could figure out how. Joe Haldeman, for instance. I'd enjoyed his stuff since the '70s (Forever War, Mindbridge, he even wrote a couple of decent Star Trek novels back then). But more recently he has just flat gone round the SJW bend with the hate, along with the rest of them. A damned shame. I'm serious, boys and girls. They hate us and want us dead. It is really just that bad...
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 02:00 PM (39g3+)
Mrs. Oort at one time did book reviews for a well-read web site, so for a long time she would receive newly published books from Berkeley/Penguin, all of the SF variety. I read quite a few of them, and holy shit, you would not believe the hardcore, bark-on SJW horseshit those people would publish. One thing in particular that struck me about this stuff was how totally consumed with hate these SJW types (writers in this case) are. It is not simply a matter of disagreement on political subject X, Y or Z. Not even the sort of Trump/Cruz/Whoever arguments we've seen around here of late that are of the "not only do I disagree with you, but you are a frog fornicating pond scum d-bag. So there." variety.
No, it is quite clear that the SJW not only hate people like us with the heat of a thousand suns, but they would KILL us if they could figure out how. Joe Haldeman, for instance. I'd enjoyed his stuff since the '70s (Forever War, Mindbridge, he even wrote a couple of decent Star Trek novels back then). But more recently he has just flat gone round the SJW bend with the hate, along with the rest of them. A damned shame. I'm serious, boys and girls. They hate us and want us dead. It is really just that bad...
Posted by: The Oort Cloud - Source of all SMODs at April 10, 2016 02:49 PM (AJdlq)
349
Re Dresden, I was simply reporting what Dyson, who was there, said about it. NO one here was present at that time, and so Dyson's statement supersedes anyone here as far as I'm concerned.
Posted by: The Oort Cloud - Source of all SMODs at April 10, 2016 02:56 PM (AJdlq)
350
I think actually being in Dresden during the bombings probably gives you a less accurate feel for the event in terms of strategic and military significance and validity.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 02:59 PM (39g3+)
351
329 Pace is also a very archaic form of "with due deference to" used by Stephen Maturin in the Patrick O'Brian sea novels.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 02:08 PM (39g
Mark Steyn uses this word in this manner quite frequently.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 02:08 PM (39g
Mark Steyn uses this word in this manner quite frequently.
Posted by: Gem at April 10, 2016 03:01 PM (c+gwp)
352
Also would add that Robin Neilland throughout the book says while the commanders of the RAF and USAAF got along there wasn't much cooperation between them. That Dresden was a combined effort the order had to come from above. He puts it at the feet of Churchill.
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 03:15 PM (9VEpl)
353
319 I am reading a ton of scholarly articles on Intelligent Design and how unsupported Darwinism really is, now that we know so much about how insanely complicated, delicate and non-random the biological processes of even the simplest of organisms really are.
Its a pretty blatant flaw in modern science that they are so dedicated to naturalism they reject the plain evidence in front of them. I would respect Darwinian scientists a lot more if they would take the evidence as it is, rather than trying to find some tortured way to fit it into a predetermined structure. I think 50, 100 years from now there's going to be an entirely new system in place that rejects and mocks the current scientific ideology the way current scientists do 17th century medicine and cosmology.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 01:49 PM (39g3+)
Nonsense.
Get thee both to a library and learn more about the subject.
319 I am reading a ton of scholarly articles on Intelligent Design and how unsupported Darwinism really is, now that we know so much about how insanely complicated, delicate and non-random the biological processes of even the simplest of organisms really are.
Its a pretty blatant flaw in modern science that they are so dedicated to naturalism they reject the plain evidence in front of them. I would respect Darwinian scientists a lot more if they would take the evidence as it is, rather than trying to find some tortured way to fit it into a predetermined structure. I think 50, 100 years from now there's going to be an entirely new system in place that rejects and mocks the current scientific ideology the way current scientists do 17th century medicine and cosmology.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 01:49 PM (39g3+)
Nonsense.
Get thee both to a library and learn more about the subject.
Posted by: eman at April 10, 2016 03:26 PM (MQEz6)
354
No, it is quite clear that the SJW not only hate people like us with the heat of a thousand suns, but they would KILL us if they could figure out how. . . . A damned shame. I'm serious, boys and girls. They hate us and want us dead. It is really just that bad...
Posted by: The Oort Cloud - Source of all SMODs at April 10, 2016 02:49 PM (AJdlq)
*****
I love the "Old Man's War" series, but John Scalzi, like Haldeman, has become similarly unbearable.
Posted by: The Oort Cloud - Source of all SMODs at April 10, 2016 02:49 PM (AJdlq)
*****
I love the "Old Man's War" series, but John Scalzi, like Haldeman, has become similarly unbearable.
Posted by: Elinor, Who Usually Looks Lurkily at April 10, 2016 03:28 PM (NqQAS)
355
Two steps equal to 5.28 is pretty reasonable.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 01:21 PM (xq1UY)
Yo' lef', yo lef', yo lef', right, lef'!
Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 10, 2016 01:21 PM (xq1UY)
Yo' lef', yo lef', yo lef', right, lef'!
Posted by: Hrothgar at April 10, 2016 03:55 PM (wYnyS)
356
I've been watching Unboken (2014) for the first time.Its not changing a thing for me since I was a kid. If you start a war you have no expectations of how it will be executed.
Also the commander of this POW camp is a NCO as was the one in charge of the camp in the Bridge Over the River Kwai,not a Col.
Also the commander of this POW camp is a NCO as was the one in charge of the camp in the Bridge Over the River Kwai,not a Col.
Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2016 04:36 PM (9VEpl)
357
Plunkitt of Tammany Hall is in the public domain and you can download it from gutenberg.org
Posted by: microcosme at April 10, 2016 06:39 PM (8QCtS)
358
Love the weekly books column. Always leave a bit poorer in the wallet, but richer in text. Thumb's up on the audio-book find! Thanks,
Posted by: Wry Mouth at April 10, 2016 06:48 PM (LbZ6h)
359
Get thee both to a library and learn more about the subject.
The problem is we do know too much about the subject, hence the conclusions we reach.
There's a kneejerk presumption that Darwinian Evolution isn't just true but that anyone who finds fault with it is an imbecile or ignoramous. And that's not scientific learning, its religious faith.
If you start out presuming that certain conclusions or places evidence take you must be false even before examining the evidence, your entire methodology is flawed. Good science takes what the evidence presents, even if its something you don't personally care for.
The problem is we do know too much about the subject, hence the conclusions we reach.
There's a kneejerk presumption that Darwinian Evolution isn't just true but that anyone who finds fault with it is an imbecile or ignoramous. And that's not scientific learning, its religious faith.
If you start out presuming that certain conclusions or places evidence take you must be false even before examining the evidence, your entire methodology is flawed. Good science takes what the evidence presents, even if its something you don't personally care for.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 10, 2016 07:54 PM (39g3+)
360
Thanks everyone for their wonderful suggestions for a young man to read!
Posted by: Mattinj at April 10, 2016 10:44 PM (VoPjS)
361
Larry Correia is the International Lord of Hate. And he's damn proud of it.
Posted by: SwansonNation at April 11, 2016 02:30 AM (aZ1D2)
362
dffdgdfdfdf dbvdfbdgbdg bgd gdd f f
Posted by: refge at April 12, 2016 06:02 AM (4n7Iu)
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