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Sunday Morning Book Thread 09-25-2016: E Deplorobus Unum [OregonMuse]

biblioteca-publica-bogota.jpg
Public Library, Bogota, Colombia, Interior and Exterior

(h/t to Rod for the library pic)


Good morning to all of you morons and moronettes and bartenders everywhere and all the ships at sea. Welcome to AoSHQ's stately, prestigious, internationally acclaimed and high-class Sunday Morning Book Thread, where men are men, all the 'ettes are gorgeous, safe spaces are underneath your house and are used as protection against actual dangers, like tornados, hurricanes, and the election of Hillary Clinton, and special snowflakes do not last. And unlike other AoSHQ comment threads, the Sunday Morning Book Thread is so hoity-toity, pants are required. Even if it's these.


Alphabet Soup

Via WeaselZippers, science! has discovered that words, not just some words, but words in general, indeed, the very concept of "words", are responsible for the oppression of women.

The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image by Leonard Shlain, who claimed, among other things:

"Literacy has promoted the subjugation of women by men throughout all but the very recent history of the West...Misogyny and patriarchy rise and fall with the fortunes of the alphabetic written word."

Teh stupid, it burns!

First off, hasn't the idea of some sort of primeval feminist paradise, a matriarchal golden age of Goddess worship and universal peace shown to be a complete load of hooey? Second, if the literate word is so oppressive to women, then why do women dominate the writing and publishing industries? Schlain hedges his sweeping statement with the qualifier "...all but the very recent history of the West", but if the oppression is so pervasive, there is no adequate explanation for why it should suddenly be different now. I think that Schlain has managed to get things precisely backwards: the truth is that literacy has actually *empowered* women and liberated them, because facility with words does not depend upon physical strength or agility, which favors males.

The 1-star reviews complain about his bad science and pseudo-science, and Schlain's admission that "By profession, I am a surgeon... I am by nature a storyteller" kind of gives the game away. He's telling a story, or constructing a myth, not conducting a scientific investigation. It's not the way things are, it's the way he would like them to be.

Also, one of the things words have allowed us to do is to accumulate medical knowledge. This enables us to learn about the human body so we can ameliorate the effects of disease, injury, and old age. So all of us, both men and women, can live healthier, happier lives. Because of words. This should have been something that the author, who was an associate professor of surgery at University of California, San Francisco, until his death in 2009, ought to have been able to appreciate.


saddest book.jpg
The Saddest Book In The World


(h/t Anonosaurus Wrecks for the pic)


Help A Moron Out

The father of moron commenter and fellow OB cob CBD, who was a voracious reader of history, passed back in May, and CBD inherited his library of several hundred history books. Once he takes the ones he wants, he would like to know of any of you morons have any ideas what to do with the rest. He's ruled out donating them to his local library since he thinks they'll take a few and then pulp the rest. He's tried to donate them to Hillsdale College, but they didn't return his e-mail. And reselling them individually through Amazon or Alibris is a PITA he'd like to avoid.

So I'm putting this out there in the hopes that any of the MoronHorde™ might have any ideas.


The Old Gray Mare

A few weeks back, John Kerry had another flare-up of hoof-in-mouth disease:

...But if you decide one day you're going to be a terrorist and you're willing to kill yourself, you can go out and kill some people. You can make some noise. Perhaps the media would do us all a service if they didn't cover it quite as much. People wouldn't know what's going on.

Every time Kerry says something dumb like this, I always think, does he think he can make hay out of this, or is he just horsing around?

But even though we all had fun laughing at the horse's ass, I don't think what he said is completely ridiculous.

After all, when some jackass goes running out onto the field during an NFL game, they don't show his antics, because notoriety is what the jackass wants. I think this is NFL policy. Although, if the jackass in question was a 22-year-old hottie who just so happened to be naked, I suppose the policy might get suspended for a few seconds, especially if there's a Moron™ in the control room.

And would our equine SoS ever dare to suggest implementing his policy domestically? Would #BLM be the national pests that they are if they were just ignored?

I doubt it. I suspect that what Kerry chiefly wants ignored is stuff (like ISIS attacks) that reveals the magnitude of his failures, both his and those of his boss.

But along these lines, Anna Puma mentioned an old novel "where the media decides to ignore and ridicule terrorists instead of reporting on all the sensationalist gory details."

Originally published in 1979, the terrorist bad guys of Dean Ing's novel Soft Targets are planning a terrorist attack on the U.S., which, back then, was simply unpossible:

Hakim Arif stars as the leader of the Arab-backed El-Fatah band of terrorists who have in their group a Panamanian and - surprise - two Israeli members of a religious sect whose beliefs are so convoluted as to ally them with their own enemy. Maurice Everett is the FCC Chairman whose idea to have the country's major TV networks ridicule terrorists versus giving them the publicity they and their backers so crave, puts him and the co-creators of the idea at the top of El-Fatah's hit list.

It's an interesting idea, but only for back then, when terrorism was far from our shores. Not today. I can't imagine such a policy being implemented for something like 9/11, or even that Florida gay nightclub that got shot up.

On the other hand, as Martin Luther once said, "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." At some point, these ISIS clowns need to be laughed at. Perhaps after a bunch of heavy ordnance gets jammed down their throats.


Gene Wilder

So I watched this interview of Gene Wilder, who passed away a few weeks back, and it turns out he was also a novelist. I never knew that.

His first novel is titled My French Whore: A Love Story, set during WWI:

It's almost the end of the war and Paul Peachy...enlists, and ships off to France. Peachy instantly realizes how out of his depth he is—and never more so than when he is captured. Risking everything, Peachy—who as a child of immigrants speaks German—makes the reckless decision to impersonate one of the enemy's most famous spies.

As the urbane and accomplished spy Harry Stroller, Peachy has access to a world he could never have known existed—a world of sumptuous living, world-weary men, and available women. But when one of those women—Annie, a young, beautiful and wary courtesan—turns out to be more than she seems, Peachy's life is transformed forever.

Wilder also wrote Something to Remember You By: A Perilous Romance, a romance set in WWII, and The Woman Who Wouldn't.


Moron Recommendations

Veteran moron commenter Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing is reading the new Hitler bio, Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939, by Volker Ullrich.

Many previous biographies have focused on the larger social conditions that explain the rise of the Third Reich. Ullrich gives us a comprehensive portrait of a postwar Germany humiliated by defeat, wracked by political crisis, and starved by an economic depression, but his real gift is to show vividly how Hitler used his ruthlessness and political talent to shape the Nazi party and lead it to power. For decades the world has tried to grasp how Hitler was possible. By focusing on the man at the center of it all, on how he experienced his world, formed his political beliefs, and wielded power, this riveting biography brings us closer than ever to the answer.

MP4 says this new bio is good enough to stand with Sir Ian Kershaw's 2-volume set.

Prof. Kershaw has a number of books on various facets of Nazi Germany and WWII, among them Luck of the Devil: The Story of Operation Valkyrie

The July 1944 Plot to kill Adolf Hitler was a desperate attempt by a group of senior officers to redeem Germany's honour and end the Second World War. They were heroic because they knew their chances of success were slight and that the result of their failure would undoubtedly be a terrible death. They wanted to leave a message for later generations: that there were Germans who understood the evils of Nazism and were willing to act against it...Luck of the Devil is...a brilliant account of just what happened in those fateful days at Hitler's Wolf's Lair headquarters, when his opponents came so astonishingly close to assassinating what is one of the modern era's most terrible figures.

It has always astounded me how these plots against Hitler failed due to fluke circumstances beyond all prediction or control. The phrased used in the title of Gershaw's book, Luck of the Devil, sums it up just about perfectly.


Books By Morons

I heard this week from a lurking moron who wants me give a shout out to his wife on the occasion of the publication of her first book, Into Thin Ayre: An Emerson Ayre Novel, which he describes as "an urban fantasy, an average woman in Ottawa (Canada) who has powers and responsibilities thrust upon her." The Amazon blurb says:

Emerson Ayre was a normal girl with a normal life until a supernatural inheritance leaves her questioning the nature of reality.

Forced into moonlighting in a job that she doesn't want and can't quit, Emerson joins the ranks of an elite group of women with special powers tasked with protecting the future of the planet.

And on a personal note, the author's husband added "I liked how she used all the stupid stuff her husband does as inspiration. Who knew I would be so useful?"

$2.99 on Kindle.


___________

Moron lurker author Vince Milam has published the third of his "Challenged World" series, which I first mentioned here last November. The first two in the series, The Unknown Element and Pretty Little Creatures were released last years. The series follows a group of ordinary people who must rise above themselves to fight supernatural evil.

The third book, Gather The Seekers, continues the adventures of Cole Garza, sheriff of a small Gulf Coast town, who, along with his two companions, is once again drawn into a battle that is way bigger than he is:

The intrepid trio of Cole, Nadine, and Francois are joined by others with the same “radar” to hone in on evil activities – all wrapped around a tale of ISIS waging jihad in America. Jude Gill is a spiritual warrior from San Francisco with tats, spiked hair, and an attitude. She is joined by Luke Sikes from Virginia, another spiritual warrior. Luke is a former NFL linebacker and brings a spiritual ferocity to the tale. These two – Jude and Luke – join Francois the French priest as a potent trio of seekers. Every spiritual warrior needs secular help. Francois is again aided by Nadine and Cole, while Jude is assisted by Jean Murphy – a retired cop. Jean holds little truck with malfeasance, having been hardened by the mean streets of Oakland. Luke’s aide-de-camp is Nick Capellas, a Department of Homeland Security agent. Nick is young, handsome (“eye candy” according to Nadine), and unsure at best of the eclectic team he has been pulled into. Jihad in America.

Trigger warnings for absolute Good, absolute Evil, and for Christianity being true. Also, even though these books are a series, each can be read as a "stand-alone" novel. Vince assured me of this.

Today, Sunday, the price for the Kindle edition of this book has been reduced to 99 cents.


___________

Moronette Sgt. Mom tells me that the third volume of her Luna City Chronicles series is now live on Amazon:

Welcome to Luna City, Karnes County, Texas … Population 2,454. This does not count the strangers come to town, searching for the fabulous Mills treasure-hoard, the seldom-seen Agua Dulce ghost-horsemen, and the mysterious lights spotted floating over the highway on one dark and moonless night.Ex-celebrity chef, Richard Astor-Hall (formerly Rich Hall, the Bad Boy Chef) has his hands full managing the Luna Café and Coffee … plus some outside catering jobs … and a fund-raising charity event in which he might be drafted into playing a much bigger part than he agreed on at the start. A touch of mystery, a bit of possible romance

Kindle version $3.99. There's also a dead tree edition.


___________

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.

http://www.bookhorde.org/p/aoshq-authors.html

___________

Don't forget the AoSHQ reading group on Goodreads. It's meant to support horde writers and to talk about the great books that come up on the book thread. It's called AoSHQ Moron Horde and the link to it is here: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/175335-aoshq-moron-horde.

___________

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

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

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM




Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Good morning bookworms

Posted by: Skip at September 25, 2016 08:59 AM (JfUI4)

2 Could send pictures by next week of almost finished college reading room been working at. By then only thing missing will be new entry doors and furniture, oh and the muti million dollar painting to be hung on wall.

Posted by: Skip at September 25, 2016 09:01 AM (JfUI4)

3 What do you have in Military History CBD? I'm mainly interested in the Revolutionary War, Civil War, WW1, and WW2.

For the right price, I would take some off your hands.

Posted by: Tim in Illinois at September 25, 2016 09:03 AM (d76uN)

4 Could send pictures by next week of almost finished college reading room been working at. By then only thing missing will be new entry doors and furniture, oh and the muti million dollar painting to be hung on wall.

Posted by: Skip at September 25, 2016 09:01 AM (JfUI4)


Excellent. Can't wait to see the pics.

Posted by: OregonMuse at September 25, 2016 09:03 AM (CehCK)

5 but if the oppression is so pervasive, there is no adequate explanation for why it should suddenly be different now

Ahem

Posted by: Kickass Grrl Power at September 25, 2016 09:05 AM (rwI+c)

6 And still reading A Sea of Words by Dean King. Have the kindle version but wish it was a paperback thinking it would be handier looking up words.

Posted by: Skip at September 25, 2016 09:05 AM (JfUI4)

7 Finished the W.E.B. Griffin series on the Marines through book 8. Thought that would be a good stopping point before moving on to the last two books, which dealt with Korea. I was hoping by now he would have moved on a few more to incorporate Vietnam or a few "side shows" the way he did in the Army series. But it appears he is bogged down in spies and Philadelphia cops now which I thought were good, but I still prefer the military ones.


Anyway, have now moved on to something a little lighter; the Mercedes Lackey Elemental Masters series but I started in the middle so I could move on to a few of the later ones without getting burned out. She has released book 11 now so some of the later books that I was waiting on a price decease down below $10 before getting them is now here.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 25, 2016 09:06 AM (mpXpK)

8 Now that is a library.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 25, 2016 09:07 AM (mpXpK)

9 The Microwave cookbook joke makes you a singlophobe. And a singlist.

You cis-married normative deplorable, you.

I need a safe space.

Posted by: WhatWhatWhat? - I speak of the Pompatous of Love at September 25, 2016 09:07 AM (WlGX+)

10 That told bint on the "Cooking for Losers" book looks a lot like Geraldine Ferraro.



Posted by: Hairyback Guy at September 25, 2016 09:08 AM (ej1L0)

11 And reselling them individually through Amazon or Alibris is a PITA he'd like to avoid.

Find out if there's a local charitable Book Fair in your area. They'll get picked up by people who really want them.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at September 25, 2016 09:08 AM (iLoHX)

12 This week I read Echoes of Honor by David Weber. This is the eighth book in the excellent Honor Harrington series. Echoes is longer than the previous books in the series and tells the story of Honor's escape from a prison planet and her return home. As usual, there are plenty of space battles, but I also enjoy the descriptions of the politics involved on both sides of the Manticore/PEEP war.

Posted by: Zoltan at September 25, 2016 09:08 AM (JYer2)

13 Once he takes the ones he wants, he would like to know of any of you morons have any ideas what to do with the rest.

As I've said before, I can't shake the feeling that I should be sealing my books in plastic and burying them in lead-lined boxes. History books especially.

Posted by: rickl the deplorable at September 25, 2016 09:09 AM (sdi6R)

14 Posted by: Tim in Illinois at September 25, 2016 09:03 AM (d76uN)

I just began cataloging them.....

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at September 25, 2016 09:10 AM (Zu3d9)

15 You could also find out if there is a used book dealer in the area. Maybe they will buy the lot. I've had some come through at garage sales and do that.

Posted by: no good deed at September 25, 2016 09:10 AM (/O5Ax)

16 The Saddest Book In The World


I will have to find a copy of that cook book. So far the only way I get a more balanced meal, if not a good one, is TV dinners. I do go ahead and cook a big meal once in a while when I get desperate but then I have left overs for a month.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 25, 2016 09:11 AM (mpXpK)

17 Thanks for the link, OM! The third book is released into the wild and already has a couple of nice reviews.
And yes, the cliff-hanging endings will always be there. Eventually, we will do an omnibus edition, of three or four of the Chronicles bound together.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at September 25, 2016 09:12 AM (xnmPy)

18 Re CBD's history books: If there is a Veteran's Hospital or Nursing Home in his area, they may appreciate his donation.

Posted by: Zoltan at September 25, 2016 09:13 AM (JYer2)

19 To quote Sam Gamgee, "Well, I'm back."

It's been a hectic couple of weeks on the road. My FIL passed away (not unexpected and he went peacefully in his sleep). Between the funeral and settling legal matters (Mrs. JTB had sole legal authority), things were busy. Thanks to all those who prayed and wished us well. And Farmer's advice about traffic construction problems saved us a LOT of trouble in the northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin area. I'm now convinced the nastiest, most vile and dreaded words in the English language are: ROAD WORK AHEAD.

While visiting with her cousins and nieces and nephew, I got a huge, and delightful, surprise. Although we stay in casual touch, we hadn't seen her nieces and nephew for 17 years. They were small children then and are now in their 20s, so this was the first time we conversed as adults. They noticed some of the books I had brought and started asking why those and what was their appeal to me. This led to hours of discussion about reading and the value of literature, which was a welcome respite from the funeral matters for them. The upshot is that they asked for a list of what I considered valuable and fun reading suggestions and WHY I enjoyed them. I thought they might be humoring me but they brought up the matter and seemed genuinely interested. I'm thrilled and will get them their lists soon. They may not do much with it, being busy with their 20-something lives (no snark) but I hope they do.

In a similar vein, her cousins know we are retired, something several of them are close to, and asked what we do to stay occupied. Of course, this included reading, both current stuff and classic literature. So there will be a separate list for them with book suggestions. They see this as a chance to learn about books they never had time for and may not have heard of.

I hope these book discussions will lead to more contact with the family. They are nice people and the young ones are impressive (a commercial pilot, an Army Sargent, and an excellent artist).

Posted by: JTB at September 25, 2016 09:14 AM (V+03K)

20 Didn't havd the email but would have liked to send in story read a week or so ago about a township fighting a personal free library, one of those bird house looking stands in front of a house where you can take or leave a book. They wanted permanent structure permits and all sorts of paperwork/ fees to have it.

Posted by: Skip at September 25, 2016 09:15 AM (JfUI4)

21 He's ruled out donating them to his local library since he thinks
they'll take a few and then pulp the rest. He's tried to donate them to
Hillsdale College, but they didn't return his e-mail. And reselling them
individually through Amazon or Alibris is a PITA he'd like to avoid.



He may be wrong about that library thing. What out local library does with donated books is number 1, see if they don't have a copy already and if in reasonably good shape, put it on the shelf. next 2; they will put it up at those library sales they periodically have to raise money. And finally they will put them on tables to give away for free.


Only after that will they consider throwing them out. Librarians have a tendency to be professional book hoarders that abhor throwing books away.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 25, 2016 09:15 AM (mpXpK)

22 The Amazon reviews for "Microwave Cooking for One" are hilarious:

Alone in my dark apartment, having worn my 3 Wolf Moon T-Shirt as well for countless weeks, found this book to be my bible. I sit at my dining room table, playing World of Warcraft night after night, sobbing silently for want of notice by another human being. Pizza boxes piling up, chinese food leftovers filling my fridge, I was beginning to run out of options. I recently lost my job as a Custodial Consultant for sniffing the ammonia in the utility closet. My funding for my gourmet meals from such world renown chefs as Boyardi and Uncle Ben had begun running low. Stumbling in a drunken daze through the local bookstore, my elbow carelessly knocked a book onto the floor as I turned a corner. As I peered down, I saw the title, "Microwave Cooking for One."

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Illuminated Savage at September 25, 2016 09:15 AM (jR7Wy)

23 you see, men's brains use words to represent symbolically concepts, objects and functions. women's brains have sparkly.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at September 25, 2016 09:16 AM (WTSFk)

24 I'm reading Leonard Maltin's early-80s Our Gang book, which I believe is out of print, but I got a copy at a used book sale.

Especially fascinated by the lives of the show's many black leading actors, from Sunshine Sammy, Farina and Pineapple to the legendary Stymie (my favorite OG actor ever) and finally Buckwheat.

Since virtually all of the OG shorts are readily available for free on the youtubes, it's often a matter of reading and viewing, reading and viewing.

The early Depression era was my favorite cast. And screw that MGM crapola with Alfalfa, Darla, the way overrated Buckwheat and don't even get me started on f'ing Froggy. (though I temper my Froggy-hate with the knowledge that kid did die at the tragically young age of 16 when he was run over while delivering newspapers, post-Our Gang.)

Anyway, the book is a fascinating depiction of the old-tyme film industry from the early silent era up to WW. Having way more fun reading this than I thought I would.

Posted by: WhatWhatWhat? - I speak of the Pompatous of Love at September 25, 2016 09:16 AM (WlGX+)

25 ... thank you feminism for explaining things so clearly!

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at September 25, 2016 09:19 AM (WTSFk)

26 cbd can you organize it and sell stuff in bundles?

Posted by: phoenixgirl, deplorable is better than despicable at September 25, 2016 09:20 AM (0O7c5)

27 CBD,

Still interested. Keep me in mind please.

Posted by: Tim in Illinois at September 25, 2016 09:20 AM (d76uN)

28 Concerning CBD's history books: what about asking if a senior center, nursing home or assisted living facility would be interested in them? The facilities I've seen usually have a library the residents can use. I agree with his concerns about donating to the local library.

Posted by: JTB at September 25, 2016 09:21 AM (V+03K)

29 Actually i think a good idea is after you get them organized, publish a list to the Horde and see what you can get for them.

Posted by: Tim in Illinois at September 25, 2016 09:22 AM (d76uN)

30 I've been on a jack reacher binge lately...

Posted by: A deplorable dude in MI at September 25, 2016 09:22 AM (qXXGi)

31 ... just kidding! :-D

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at September 25, 2016 09:23 AM (WTSFk)

32 So the cookbook for one is a joke huh?

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 25, 2016 09:23 AM (mpXpK)

33 Posted by: WhatWhatWhat? - I speak of the Pompatous of Love at September 25, 2016 09:16 AM (WlGX+)


OTAY! It's on,biwiches!

Dit him, Zombie Froggie!

Posted by: Buckwheat at September 25, 2016 09:24 AM (miR0C)

34 Starts furiously Binging for "microwave cooking for one".

Posted by: andycanuck at September 25, 2016 09:26 AM (LdMbv)

35 vic

have you thought of a delivery service like blue apron or pea pod? they have meals for 2......they delivery a box with fresh ingredients and instructions and you put the thing together.......all the restaurants around here....have take out and we have great healthy mediteranean "fast food" places that are really good, really healthy and really inexpensive.

Posted by: phoenixgirl, deplorable is better than despicable at September 25, 2016 09:28 AM (0O7c5)

36 I'ts "National Punctuation Day", so be sure to use lots' of punctuations!!!


I am reminded of a book from my youth "On Your Marks" by Richard Armour. It's a collection of silly poems about punctuation marks. I still have a signed copy, which I see you can buy on Amazon for about a dollar.

Posted by: freaked at September 25, 2016 09:30 AM (BO/km)

37 29
Actually i think a good idea is after you get them organized, publish a list to the Horde and see what you can get for them.





Posted by: Tim in Illinois at September 25, 2016 09:22 AM (d76uN)
great idea....

Posted by: phoenixgirl, deplorable is better than despicable at September 25, 2016 09:30 AM (0O7c5)

38 6 ... Skip, I mentioned "A sea of Words" a while back and found a used copy for under 2 bucks. I agree the paper version is easier to use. Keep looking, it's worth the find.

Posted by: JTB at September 25, 2016 09:30 AM (V+03K)

39 35
vic

have you thought of a delivery service like blue apron or pea
pod? they have meals for 2......they delivery a box with fresh
ingredients and instructions and you put the thing together.......all
the restaurants around here....have take out and we have great healthy
mediteranean "fast food" places that are really good, really healthy and
really inexpensive.


Posted by: phoenixgirl, deplorable is better than despicable at September 25, 2016 09:28 AM (0O7c5)

The only one I know of around here is "meals on wheels" for poor elderly folks. The only take out that I now other than fast food places are the steak houses and I have done that a few times.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 25, 2016 09:31 AM (mpXpK)

40 I would think Cooking for One would be a great book, simple and quick ideas other than throwing a pre made bought frozen item in a micowave.

Posted by: Skip at September 25, 2016 09:31 AM (JfUI4)

41 Still reading "Hollywood Party" and just got through the HUAC hearings. Some of the congresscritters were a bit short-sighted in rejecting assistance from labor leaders who devoted a great deal of time and energy to opposing the communists, but really, is anyone surprised? Anyone? It is good to know, as the eeeeeeevil blacklist rears its head, that the author is not going to try to tell me that these commies were heroes.

On my kindle I paused reading "The New Trail of Tears" which I highly recommend but it is DEE-PRESS-ING. God rot the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education, and pretty much all of the laws passed by Congress.

I paused that to read "Rome Sweet Home" by Scott Hahn. I got a couple of talks by him on CD and he's a really good teacher, so I figured I would try some of his books. This one, as he and his wife figure out contraception, has some tiring moments, and, although I know why they do it, referring to sexual intercourse constantly as "the marriage act" is really annoying. But I'll cope. The current pope is incredibly annoying but I'm so glad I am Catholic.

Posted by: Tonestaple at September 25, 2016 09:31 AM (VsZJP)

42 Help A Moron Out

"The father of moron commenter and fellow OB cob CBD, who was a voracious reader of history, passed back in May, and CBD inherited his library of several hundred history books. Once he takes the ones he wants, he would like to know of any of you morons have any ideas what to do with the rest. He's ruled out donating them to his local library since he thinks they'll take a few and then pulp the rest. He's tried to donate them to Hillsdale College, but they didn't return his e-mail. And reselling them individually through Amazon or Alibris is a PITA he'd like to avoid"

Well, I know I'd love to get a crack at them - 90% of what I read is military history. If CBD can get a list together, I'd make an offer on what I'd be interested.

There's also a solid used book seller here in the Philadelphia area called Harvest Books, who specializes in better history & non-fiction books. Not sure where the books are located, or how far Harvest Books may be willing to travel for a good library, but if CBD sees this, let me know & I'll give him contact info for me & Harvest.

Posted by: josephistan at September 25, 2016 09:31 AM (7qAYi)

43 My novel "A Place Outside The Wild" continues to sell well, thanks again to the Horde. For those of you still reading it, I hope you enjoy it, and please do leave a review -- once I get above 50 reviews Amazon will actively promote it and I won't have to constantly pimp it out on social media.

I originally intended it to be a stand alone but my muse doesn't seem to agree. So there will be a sequel a some point, possibly after I finish the book I'm working on now.

Posted by: Emile Antoon Khadaji at September 25, 2016 09:31 AM (JjW88)

44 Saw the message about CBD's Dad's books. The Navy would be glad to have them. I already messaged him. When there are free books available they go like hot cakes. Sailors and Marines, and I am sure Soldiers and Air Men love something to read on do down time.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at September 25, 2016 09:32 AM (7Xbcu)

45 34 Starts furiously Binging for "microwave cooking for one".

Posted by: andycanuck at September 25, 2016 09:26 AM (LdMbv)


Sounds like too much work for me.

Posted by: rickl the deplorable at September 25, 2016 09:33 AM (sdi6R)

46 And on a personal note, the author's husband added "I liked how she used all the stupid stuff her husband does as inspiration. Who knew I would be so useful?

--

Now THAT is supportive hubby!

To him I say:
You, sir, are a true Moron and a gentleman!

Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 09:33 AM (Om16U)

47 Read the play Sir Thomas More written by Anthony Munday and various others including a scene or a bit more by Shakespeare. The Shakespeare sections are good but otherwise mediocre and mixed quality.

Read Shakespeare's Measure for Measure where the Duke of Vienna leaves his deputy Angelo in charge while he takes a trip. In
disguise he remains in the city and watches as Angelo abuses his power,
threatening to execute a man unless his sister who's entering a convent will sleep with
him. The Duke makes sure all ends well and the play has a lot of humor (Lucio is pretty hilarious), enjoyed it a lot.

Listened to The Roman Hat Mystery (Ellery Queen #1) by 'Ellery Queen', a charming
1920's murder-mystery tackled by NY Detective Queen and his son Ellery.
A man is murdered in a crowded theatre, and the only clue is his top
hat has gone missing. Quite an effort of digging, questioning and
theorizing before the perp is brought to justice. More tame than a Marlowe story but enjoyed it.

Posted by: waelse1 at September 25, 2016 09:34 AM (DXrCk)

48 If it hasn't been covered yet, Scankles' new book reviews at Amazon got a good scrubbing of negative reviews. It's building again and is almost as entertaining as reading here, if you're looking for some feel good reading.

http://tinyurl.com/gqohgua

Posted by: dartist at September 25, 2016 09:34 AM (3zi7q)

49 Are we sure that alphabet book isn't just a sly prank, with is super-secret message being: "We would be better off w/out language because my wife/women in my life won't shut up!" ?

Posted by: Lizzy at September 25, 2016 09:34 AM (NOIQH)

50 I'm going through a similar problem: a relative with a large library who has to get rid of most of the books.

In my case, the collection includes three or four sub-collections of fairly specific interest, so I'm looking for libraries (or schools or something) which can use those works in particular. It seems a great shame to break up a collection that took years to put together.

Posted by: Trimegistus at September 25, 2016 09:34 AM (YIUnI)

51 'Eating Out of Cans for One' has been my bible.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at September 25, 2016 09:35 AM (iLoHX)

52 CBD, I would love to see a list of those history books too. Because I don't have nearly enough.

Which reminds me -- there's a Free Little Library around the corner. Time to see what's there.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Illuminated Savage at September 25, 2016 09:35 AM (jR7Wy)

53 I read "The Dressmaker" this week. It's a tale of hilarity, woe, secrets, and revenge in a small town in Australia. The ending left something to be desired, but overall, it was time well spent.

Posted by: no good deed at September 25, 2016 09:36 AM (/O5Ax)

54 Librarians have a tendency to be professional book hoarders that abhor throwing books away.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 25, 2016 09:15 AM (mpXpK)

My library wasn't interested. They said they just resell them by the pound.

I haven't checked in his town yet.

But as expected, the Horde has come through with some good suggestions. There is no particular rush, so I might do a combination of donating and selling.

But the catalog comes first. Oh, what a pain!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at September 25, 2016 09:37 AM (Zu3d9)

55 I have written before the Kindle app on my Samsung isn't user freindly and thought a real Kindle was much better to move around a book.

Posted by: Skip at September 25, 2016 09:38 AM (JfUI4)

56 CBD, on organizing the books - there are apps that let you scan the barcode and it ids the book and puts it in list.

The Goodreads app does that to add it to your bookshelf but I think there are other apps that do it too.

Also be sure to shake out each book as there may be hidden treasures between pages (like a dollar bill, or more likely, an old letter or photo)

Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 09:38 AM (Om16U)

57 Punctuation (?) Day . . . was: yesterday!

Posted by: Trimegistus at September 25, 2016 09:38 AM (YIUnI)

58 Librarians may be hoarders in their personal capacity, but public libraries tend to be awful about "staying relevant" and getting rid of any books which aren't last year's best-sellers, the Harry Potter series, and fawning biographies of Democrats.

Posted by: Trimegistus at September 25, 2016 09:40 AM (YIUnI)

59 I read A Place Outside the Wild this week, as it was mentioned last week and is by a Moron Author, and has a great title, full of implication for our world.

I quite enjoyed it and read it in one 24 hour period. Good action, competent characters, good pacing. Recommended.

My only complaint (which was compensated on Amazon by the bonus AoS star) was the explanation and motivations of the instigators, which seemed underdeveloped and perhaps a bit of a bait-and-switch (but in a disappointing way).

Also started and stopped The Lies of Locke Lamora after hitting 20%. It was also mentioned on here but I just didn't like it or the general conceit of the social commentary, or the story structure, or the swearing, etc etc.

Now rereading The Pilgrim's Regress.

Posted by: .87c at September 25, 2016 09:40 AM (APdPY)

60 IMAGINE FOR A MOMENT that Trump wins the election. Imagine that he forces the DoJ and FBI to do their jobs and prosecute Hillary and the gang. Guess what the first thing will be that Hillary will do? Go ahead, guess.

If you guessed saying, "Hillary can't possibly stand for trial, because she has this horrible neurological problem, and you should all feel ashamed of yourselves for being mean to this sick old lady," you'd be right.

Posted by: Smallish Bees at September 25, 2016 09:40 AM (yjhOG)

61 Another idea to donate to - any local historical societies that might be relevant? Some of the better established ones have their own libraries.
If there is one, it might be helpful to just ask - they may have suggestions.

Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 09:40 AM (Om16U)

62 Oh, and I've been reading Ovid's "Metamorphoses." It's weird and fun.

Posted by: Smallish Bees at September 25, 2016 09:41 AM (yjhOG)

63 I've been on a jack reacher binge lately...

Posted by: A deplorable dude in MI at September 25, 2016 09:22 AM (qXXGi)


Lee Child writes a good action novel.

I binged on him for a while.

He's found a great formula, which he uses pretty much every time. His great gift is finding different characters and settings for plugging into his formula.

I stopped binging cuz the formula became too obvious. But I still read him every once in a while.

Because...he writes a good action novel.

Posted by: naturalfake at September 25, 2016 09:42 AM (miR0C)

64 Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 09:38 AM (Om16U)

I assumed that there are apps, although many of the books are far too old for bar codes! Hopefully they will accept typed ISBN numbers.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at September 25, 2016 09:42 AM (Zu3d9)

65 I think I would put a sizable wager on if Trump wins Barak gives Hillary a pardon

Posted by: Skip at September 25, 2016 09:42 AM (JfUI4)

66 Well back to work

Posted by: Nevergiveup at September 25, 2016 09:42 AM (7Xbcu)

67 But as expected, the Horde has come through with some good suggestions. There is no particular rush, so I might do a combination of donating and selling.

But the catalog comes first. Oh, what a pain!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at September 25, 2016 09:37 AM (Zu3d9)

I'm so obsessive, that I catalog my books as I acquire them.

Posted by: josephistan at September 25, 2016 09:42 AM (7qAYi)

68 'Punctuation (?) Day . . . was: yesterday!'


!!!


Well I was busy yesterday so will celebrate today. I can't find my copy of "On Your Marks" though. I was going to transcribe one of the poems.

In reading the reviews I was reminded that the forward was by Ogden Nash.

Posted by: freaked at September 25, 2016 09:44 AM (BO/km)

69 It's weird and fun.

Posted by: Smallish Bees at September 25, 2016 09:41 AM (yjhOG)

Try Kafka's "Metamorphosis."

It's weird, but not so fun. Sobering maybe....

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at September 25, 2016 09:44 AM (Zu3d9)

70 CBD, link in nick, another idea for your books (not in NY though..)

Posted by: runner at September 25, 2016 09:44 AM (c6/9Q)

71 51 'Eating Out of Cans for One' has been my bible.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at September 25, 2016 09:35 AM (iLoHX)


*fistbump*

Posted by: rickl the deplorable at September 25, 2016 09:45 AM (sdi6R)

72 One thing that comes up evry once in a while
Do you mark (highlight, underline passages ect)your books?

I don't and never, ever have, but don't know why. My mom does heavily.

Posted by: Skip at September 25, 2016 09:45 AM (JfUI4)

73 I think I would put a sizable wager on if Trump wins Barak gives Hillary a pardon

Then you subpoena her, and force her to tell the effing truth for once. No 5th Amendment claims, since she can't incriminate. If she refuses, you jail her for contempt. And if she lies, you jail her for perjury.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at September 25, 2016 09:46 AM (iLoHX)

74 Also be sure to shake out each book as there may be hidden treasures between pages (like a dollar bill, or more likely, an old letter or photo)
Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 09:38 AM (Om16U)

When I was working in fine book auctions, I was ging through a box of books from an estate & found a book safe! Inside was filled with jewelry & gold coins. My boss let me keep a coin for myself & a necklace to give to my mom, the rest we auctioned off.

Posted by: josephistan at September 25, 2016 09:47 AM (7qAYi)

75 >>So I'm putting this out there in the hopes that any of the MoronHorde might have any ideas.

This homeschooler is always looking for good history books.

There are homeschool groups around who could spread the word when you have a listing.

It might only be some people wanting a book or two each, so I don't know if it's worth the effort.

Posted by: Mama AJ at September 25, 2016 09:47 AM (gTQoY)

76 Posted by: runner at September 25, 2016 09:44 AM (c6/9Q)

I have never heard of them....but it sounds marvelous.

Thanks!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at September 25, 2016 09:48 AM (Zu3d9)

77 I know that CBD never has typos, but scanning the publication page might work instead.

Posted by: mustbequantum at September 25, 2016 09:49 AM (MIKMs)

78 55
I have written before the Kindle app on my Samsung isn't user freindly
and thought a real Kindle was much better to move around a book.

Posted by: Skip at September 25, 2016 09:38 AM (JfUI4)

I have found that it did have a learning curve but after that I have had no problems. Sure, a kindle itself IS easier to use, but it is a dedicated reader that is pretty much good for only that.

But after I have had my Gal Tab 2 for several years now the battery is starting to get weak and I don;t use it for much other than a reader. So I am considering going back to the kindle because it is easier to navigate and it is easier on the eyes. When the battery on it goes out I will probably go to a paper white.
For the life of me I wish they would make the battery changeable.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 25, 2016 09:50 AM (mpXpK)

79 Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at September 25, 2016 09:48 AM (Zu3d9)

You bet !

Posted by: runner at September 25, 2016 09:50 AM (c6/9Q)

80 The only one I know of around here is "meals on
wheels" for poor elderly folks. The only take out that I now other than
fast food places are the steak houses and I have done that a few times.


Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 25, 2016 09:31 AM (mpXpK)

blue apron and pea pod are mail order but use local farmers to fulfill the meal ingredients......you sign up online with them....i don't know if they are available everywhere though.

Posted by: phoenixgirl, deplorable is better than despicable at September 25, 2016 09:50 AM (0O7c5)

81 I am guessing we will not hear much from the trolls today, given the polls that have come out this morning.

Posted by: tofer732 at September 25, 2016 09:50 AM (PJMpr)

82 Almost finished reading Dan Humphreys' "A Place Outside the Wild". Excellent. Gripping story, great character development. Ya done good, Moron.

Posted by: That Deplorable SOB Van Owen at September 25, 2016 09:50 AM (AY9O7)

83 "He had early perceived that there were certain causes and certain people who were the key to acceptance by the media. If you faithfully endorsed these causes and people, faithfully supported them, faithfully praised them and worked for them, you had an automatic ticket to headlines, editorials, coy little friendly references in society and gossip columns, constant and flattering mentions in political columns and and commentary, and a guaranteed permanent invitation to be on all the major television programs which provided so sure an effective an access to the minds and emotions of your countrymen."

Allen Drury, "The Throne of Saturn", 1970 (!)

Posted by: Kodos the Executioner at September 25, 2016 09:51 AM (J8/9G)

84 what to do with a book collation? give it to a coffee shop. or sell it to the people who decorate coffee shops. books by the yard. it's a business.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at September 25, 2016 09:51 AM (WTSFk)

85 I'd like to join the AoSHQ Goodreads group.

I looked into "Gether the Seekers," but the priest is French. Why can't he be Spanish or Italian? I don't think I could take several hundred pages of a Frenchman barking French phrases.

Posted by: Darrin at September 25, 2016 09:51 AM (BXE4h)

86 At some fundraiser for whatever. I get dragged along all the time. What the hell am I doing here

Posted by: Bigbys other phone at September 25, 2016 09:53 AM (Wa5Jd)

87 Oh, and I've been reading Ovid's "Metamorphoses." It's weird and fun.

Posted by: Smallish Bees at September 25, 2016 09:41 AM (yjhOG)



Ovid's always a fun read, Smallish Bees.

A fun modernish kind of sideways riff on the "Metamorphoses" is

"You're an Animal, Viskovitz!" by Alessandro Boffa.

It's available in hardcover used on amazon for $0.01.

Posted by: naturalfake at September 25, 2016 09:56 AM (miR0C)

88 Just started reading Paul Johnson's _The Birth of the Modern_, about the period 1815-1830 which he identifies as the origin of the modern world. It starts out with a whole chapter about the Battle of New Orleans -- indicating that despite being after the treaty was signed, it was still significant. See, the British didn't recognize the treaty by which France stole back Louisiana from Spain before selling it to the U.S.A., so if the British had been in possession of New Orleans at the end of hostilities, they might well have handed it over to Spain. Or just kept it for safekeeping.

It's also kind of awesome how Andrew Jackson just straight-up invaded Florida on his own authority. That man did whatever he liked and dared anyone to stop him.

Posted by: Trimegistus at September 25, 2016 09:56 AM (YIUnI)

89 80 blue apron and pea pod are mail order but use local
farmers to fulfill the meal ingredients......you sign up online with
them....i don't know if they are available everywhere though.


Posted by: phoenixgirl, deplorable is better than despicable at September 25, 2016 09:50 AM (0O7c5)

One thing I have been doing lately is dividing up stuff I cook and send half of it over to MIL who has the same problem I do. She sends stuff over to me likewise.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 25, 2016 09:56 AM (mpXpK)

90 ... i knew a guy years ago who bought a grand mansion, one of those huge edifices built by the robber barons but left derelict by the 80's. he fixed it up (to live in, not to flip, which people do now) but it was so huge he couldn't fill all the rooms. the library was a vast, two story, wood paneled room in need of books to fill the shelves that lined the walls. that's what he ended up looking for, books by the yard.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at September 25, 2016 09:57 AM (WTSFk)

91 Posted by: Kodos the Executioner at September 25, 2016 09:51 AM (J8/9G)

Heh. What a great quote.

Posted by: OregonMuse at September 25, 2016 09:58 AM (CehCK)

92 OK I found one ....


***********************



?
Why is a question mark?
What can it be?
Already you've two of them. How about three?
It looks like an acrobat perched on a ball
Who has to be nimble or else he will fall.
His legs come down straight,
But his back is a curve,
And keeping his balance
Takes talent
And nerve.
Or is it like smoke that comes lazily curling
From a blaze underneath in a ball that is twirling?
Or a hook used for hanging?
Or maybe a genie
Coming out of a bottle?
(The bottle is teeny.)
Whatever it looks like (Have you a suggestion?),
The question marks raises (and lowers) a question.
No reason to scorn it or ever to doubt it.
This mark's made its mark.
Any question about it

Richard Willard Armour (1906-1989)

Posted by: freaked at September 25, 2016 10:00 AM (BO/km)

93 (... btw, the literary set here might look down upon my friend as an uncultured lout or buffoon. but let me tell you, a finer fellow you could not find...)

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at September 25, 2016 10:02 AM (WTSFk)

94 Vic: regarding WEB's Marine series.

I have both a Fairbairn/Wilkinson and a Shanghai Municipal Police Colt .380 ordered by Fairbairn to equip his police force.

The Colt is part of my pre-war .32 automatics collection (even though it's a .380), and the Fairbairn fighting knife is a ...collection accessory - mostly because of McCoy.

Posted by: retropox at September 25, 2016 10:03 AM (KM/Af)

95 Vic, I have the latest version of the Paperwhite Kindle. When reading something with a ton of footnotes, it's convenient to be able to click on the number, read the note, and go back to the text. Much easier than when the footnotes are at the end of the book or chapter. This has been a lot blessing when reading a "collected letters of X" book which are usually heavy with footnotes.

Posted by: JTB at September 25, 2016 10:03 AM (V+03K)

96 I've been reading Ovid's "Metamorphoses." It's weird and fun.


Posted by: Smallish Bees

Quoting VMom, You, sir, are a true Moron and a gentleman!

We were talking Latin curricula the other day. The standard approach involves Gaul, Sallust's Catiline, and quite a bit of Cicero. I think this is the "Jenney and Scudder" course. An old gal-pal and I befriended a witty old pharmacist once, 40 years back, and he remembered the two main Latin courses from which all other high-school texts were derived. He couldn't actually "speak" Latin, but, having studied living hell out of it back when Pharmacy demanded it, could compose a Latin sentence on any subject just by squinting off into the distance.

When I subjected my kid to Latin tutelage at age 8, I found there is yet another Latin course, "Latin via Ovid." Fascinating as the subject matter was, compared to old blowhard Caesar going on and on about his many excellences, Ovid's Latin constructions are outright weird. I think most Romans went straight to Greek when they wanted to write artsy or in great depth, and they used Latin for blunt pronouncements about farm policy and murder-lists. Augustus changed that with some heavy patronage, and Latin's famous concision became code-like.
Long story having been shortened, I can read Cicero, but Ovid's a little bitch.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at September 25, 2016 10:04 AM (H5rtT)

97 You would think that Amazon would shut off all comments on Hillary's wonderful book, That way serious buyers, who are mostly donors would just buy it. Its filling up again with comments like this:

I ordered this book from the Clinton Foundation for 2.5 million USD. It
came with a certificate good for one free ambassadorship and a
guaranteed seat on the State Department advisory board. I only give it
one star because when I received the book I found all the pages had been
deleted.

Posted by: Colin at September 25, 2016 10:04 AM (du8ty)

98 therr is a quirky bookstore in Ojai, California that is an outside used bookstore and it is delightful. Goes with the vibe of the town which is also very quirky. It's called Bart's Books of Ojai. Worth a visit if you ever find yourself in So Cal.

Posted by: IC at September 25, 2016 10:05 AM (vBpiM)

99 Richard Willard Armour (1906-1989)
Posted by: freaked at September 25, 2016 10:00 AM (BO/km)


Richard Armour. Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time.

Used to read his books back in the day. Kind of an Ogden Nash knock-ff, and I don't mean that in a bad way:

Last night my teenaged daughter had
A slumber party, may I add
I got no slumber
Thanks to the hi-fi, squealing and such

And now I'm tip-toeing off to work, warned by my mate
"Be quiet, dear. They're sleeping late."

The above is from memory, so I know I missed some things, but that was the sort of stuff he'd write. That is, commentaries on modern life in verse form.

Posted by: OregonMuse at September 25, 2016 10:05 AM (CehCK)

100 I like this Richard Armour quote:

Melville died in New York on September 28, 1891, blissfully unaware that, in the years to come, so many people would leave the hyphen out of 'Moby-Dick'.

Posted by: freaked at September 25, 2016 10:06 AM (BO/km)

101 Anyway, the book is a fascinating depiction of the old-tyme film industry from the early silent era up to WW. Having way more fun reading this than I thought I would.

Posted by: WhatWhatWhat? - I speak of the Pompatous of Love at September 25, 2016 09:16 AM (WlGX+)


Never cared for Our Gang, myself, but it sounds like you're really enjoying the book, which is good. If there ever was an "Age of Innocence" in the movies, it was during the silent days, when the flickers were considered a brand-new toy and not a bauble for horny men (and women) to dangle in front of star-struck wannabe actors.

Speaking of which, I just finished writing a post about a Hollywood scandal I'd never heard of - the 1937 rape of a young dancer named Patricia Douglas, who, denied justice, decided to sue MGM, with the results that you'd expect. It's a long piece (about 1300 words) so I don't know if I should post it tomorrow or offer it as a short bit to anyone who wants it e-mailed to them. We'll see.

Right now I'm trying to decide whether to hop on the bike for a ride or just be lazy all day.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at September 25, 2016 10:06 AM (xoU17)

102 And welcome back, JTB!

Posted by: OregonMuse at September 25, 2016 10:06 AM (CehCK)

103 for those books, if Hillsdale doesn't respond, maybe some other Republican club on some other campus ... or are there conservative styled fraternities? Would be nice to spread them to a place where they would get used by many, and those young brains on leftist campuses need them most.

Posted by: illiniwek at September 25, 2016 10:06 AM (n6rAX)

104 The Ig Nobel Awards announced!

http://preview.tinyurl.com/j48pene

I used the link from Sydney Morning Herald just because I like the 'smh' tag.

The goat guy got one!

Posted by: mustbequantum at September 25, 2016 10:07 AM (MIKMs)

105 They wanted to leave a message for later generations: that there were Germans who understood the evils of Nazism and were willing to act against it...

===

Baloney. 1944 was a little late to start "understanding the evils of Nazism." The plotters were trying to make the best of a bad military situation. They were trying to save their own skin. They were not going to restore freedom or democracy to Germany. The failed plot does not make them heroes and they should not be glorified.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at September 25, 2016 10:08 AM (EZebt)

106 88
It's also kind of awesome how Andrew Jackson just straight-up invaded Florida on his own authority. That man did whatever he liked and dared anyone to stop him.
Posted by: Trimegistus at September 25, 2016 09:56 AM (YIUnI)


In many ways, this is the story of Obama.

Posted by: rickl the deplorable at September 25, 2016 10:09 AM (sdi6R)

107 IIRC the Hitler plotters were overly concerned with who would be in charge afterwards lest a power vacuum lead to a military collapse and a non-negotiated peace, instead of just killing the fucker. So many were involved in the plot it was a miracle it didn't leak. And then another miracle of sorts when the bomb got moved away from where Hitler was.

Posted by: Ignoramus at September 25, 2016 10:09 AM (bQxkN)

108 And this one...


"It's all right to hold a conversation, but you should let go of it now and then."

Posted by: freaked at September 25, 2016 10:10 AM (BO/km)

109 I used the link from Sydney Morning Herald just because I like the 'smh' tag.

The goat guy got one!


Posted by: mustbequantum at September 25, 2016 10:07 AM (MIKMs)

Well worth reading for a Sunday..polyester and goats!
Reproduction Prize [Egypt] - The late Ahmed Shafik, for
studying the effects of wearing polyester, cotton, or wool trousers on
the sex life of rats, and for conducting similar tests with human males.

Posted by: Colin at September 25, 2016 10:12 AM (du8ty)

110 About Andrew Jackson, yesterday Obama took a dig at Jackson in his remarks yesterday at the opening of the African American Museum. Expect a continuing effort to excise Jackson from our history.

Posted by: Ignoramus at September 25, 2016 10:14 AM (bQxkN)

111 Reproduction Prize [Egypt] - The late Ahmed Shafik, for

studying the effects of wearing polyester, cotton, or wool trousers on

the sex life of rats, and for conducting similar tests with human males.

Posted by: Colin at September 25, 2016 10:12 AM (du8ty)
=====
He obviously found 'two wild and craaaazy guys' for his work.

Posted by: mustbequantum at September 25, 2016 10:14 AM (MIKMs)

112 Someone here mentioned a book on a previous book thread called "Koba the Dread" by Martin Amis. I ordered it from Amazon, and just finished it last night. The parallel between the purges then, and the political atmosphere now is chilling. I am sorry to say that I *knew* in a general way what had happened during the Russian purges, but I was shocked at the depth of depravity of the Stalinists.

It is unbelievable how Stalin was able to do the things he did in broad daylight for nearly 40 years. Simply incredible.

Posted by: LA ette, lakeside lurker at September 25, 2016 10:17 AM (F53IU)

113 So Kerry wants to bring in more terror, but don't inform the public of the downside to their immigration/invasion policy. Sure, that helps their cause, of conquering America for the Democrats.

It seems Democrats found that domestic terrorism does not help their "gun control" (and over time, confiscation) plans, since it is obvious these nuts are best stopped with many armed responsible citizens.

Media is perfectly willing to ignore violence though, as the SC riots were "mostly peaceful" according to mostly leftist propagandist networks. And even Obama/Clinton said they were mostly righteous protests (riots) and they deserved room to riot.

Paris has 1000 or so car burnings a year, and they have no go zones, but the burnings are by "youth" or something not identified as Muslim jihadists, if reported at all. And of course England had all those girls molested and abused for years ... media ignored and covered it up ... that didn't help anything, it was merely submission to terror.

If there is to be mocking of the incidents, it should be mocking of the Democrats who support the invasion, as a purely anti-American cynical political ploy for demographic victory.

Posted by: illiniwek at September 25, 2016 10:18 AM (n6rAX)

114 I usually keep any books I have forever. And I don't care to see books trashed (maybe Amy Schumer's book). My local thrift store takes books, as does the recycling centre, where I've picked up the odd free book.

Posted by: Northernlurker at September 25, 2016 10:20 AM (s7hQ/)

115 It is now officially autumn so I began my 51st annual reading of LOTR. With the reading I've done the past year about the culture and influences around Tolkien and CS Lewis (fascinating in its own right), I think there will be nuances I haven't seen before. More fun.

Also, I re-read the first books in the Martha's Vineyard mystery series by Philip Craig. Always enjoyable.

I haven't started them yet, but I just got Churchill's "The World Crisis" about WW I, and CS Lewis' "Pilgrims Regress". It's part of my attempt to get most or all of Lewis' published works over time. Not one disappointment so far.

Posted by: JTB at September 25, 2016 10:22 AM (V+03K)

116 "Literacy has promoted the subjugation of women by men throughout all but the very recent history of the West...Misogyny and patriarchy rise and fall with the fortunes of the alphabetic written word."


If literacy has promoted the subjugation of women by men, just think what parallel parking has done.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 25, 2016 10:23 AM (SRKgf)

117 It is fitting, not to mention chilling, that comments 112 and 113 were back-to-back.

Posted by: rickl the deplorable at September 25, 2016 10:23 AM (sdi6R)

118 I just bought a big stack of toddler board books for grandson ($3 for bagful) at a local thrift store. Wipe them down with Clorox wipes and he's good to go. At his age (2), it just seems silly to get him something really 'nice' when he just carries them around and is still really hard on things.

Posted by: mustbequantum at September 25, 2016 10:24 AM (MIKMs)

119 94 I have both a Fairbairn/Wilkinson and a Shanghai Municipal Police Colt .380 ordered by Fairbairn to equip his police force.



The Colt is part of my pre-war .32 automatics collection (even
though it's a .380), and the Fairbairn fighting knife is a ...collection
accessory - mostly because of McCoy.

Posted by: retropox at September 25, 2016 10:03 AM (KM/Af)

I used to be into collecting stuff like that but since the internet has come along the places you find it at are going way up in price on good things. I have kind of gone away from it now.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 25, 2016 10:24 AM (mpXpK)

120 Has CBD contacted a second-hand bookstore about buying out his father's library?

Also, CBD could become a Fulfillment by Amazon seller. If he does this he'd have to create an entry for each book, which generates a unique bar code, print out the bar codes, slap them on the books, then ship the books to an Amazon warehouse. Amazon takes care of mailing it to the buyer. This would be a lot more work for CBD, but if he has out-of-print books that are valuable, he could get a fair amount of money doing this. CBD should check out the Amazon Prime prices for some of the titles to see if it's worth doing.

Posted by: biancaneve at September 25, 2016 10:25 AM (IKOfL)

121 WhatWhatWhat? - I speak of the Pompatous of Love at September 25, 2016 09:16 AM (WlGX+)

What was the name of the Book about Our Gang.

Posted by: Patrick from Ohio at September 25, 2016 10:25 AM (dKiJG)

122 I started an attempt to read The Fourth K by Mario Puzo this morning.
I couldn't continue. There appears to be a particular type of novel that doesn't interest me at all and would be a waste of time to attempt. This is one of those.

Fortunately it is one of those I found free at the local recycling centre. I also attempted to reread a copy of The Hobbit, which I picked up at the same place. The book was falling apart and I found it too difficult to read because of that.
I've read The Hobbit many times, by the way.

Posted by: Northernlurker at September 25, 2016 10:25 AM (s7hQ/)

123 Posted by: ThunderB at September 24, 2016 12:30 PM (qq4lq)

Listened to Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World this week. I'd avoided it for quite a while because the movie had only the narrator surviving and, silly me, I assumed that meant the book did too. So the book has closer to ahappy ending than the book, there are some quite amusing bits, and I was happy I understood why one of the characters was happy about a certain geologic feature he found.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at September 25, 2016 10:28 AM (GDulk)

124 I have that Our Gang book. It really is interesting!

Posted by: madamemayhem at September 25, 2016 10:30 AM (yTnCT)

125 94 Vic: regarding WEB's Marine series.

Do you know why he hasn't continued/finished the series? He just quit in the middle of Korea. It still drives me crazy, I want to know what happened to all the characters!

Posted by: bebe's boobs destroy at September 25, 2016 10:30 AM (YhV5r)

126 I read Pickett's Charge: A New Look at Gettysburg's Final Attack by Phillip T. Tucker. Tucker dived into letters and diary accounts of survivors and eye-witnesses to the Confederate assault on the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg. The author presents his argument that the attack was not folly of Robert E. Lee's part but actually a brilliantly conceived plan to break Mead's Army of the Potomac and thus end the war.

The author's arguments are well laid out and I found them convincing. Essentially the Confederates lost because of command and control failures, not because the Union troops were too strong at the objective. Even with the plan falling apart almost immediately, the Union survivors admit that the Confederates almost won.

I could only read the book an hour or so at a time, because the retelling of the assault is pretty grim and author disrupts the flow of the narrative by constantly giving thumbnail biographies of the casualties.

I had not really paid much attention to Pickett's Charge before because I had always believed the "Lee's Folly" myth concerning the assault. Tucker debunks the myth extremely well.

My criticisms of the book are that it could have been shorter that would have allowed a smoother narrative flow; however, I suspect that he wanted to give every identifiable casualty credit for their sacrifice for both sides. Also, while the maps are pretty clear, there really needed to be one small-scale map of the fight for "The Angle" because it gets a bit confusing.

Overall, I give the book 4 out of 5 stars. That being said, the depth of scholarship is quite impressive.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at September 25, 2016 10:30 AM (5Yee7)

127 I haven't started them yet, but I just got Churchill's "The World Crisis" about WW I, and CS Lewis' "Pilgrims Regress". It's part of my attempt to get most or all of Lewis' published works over time. Not one disappointment so far.
Posted by: JTB at September 25, 2016 10:22 AM (V+03K)

Did you get the full 6 volume set of "The World Crisis" or the abridged edition? It took me forever to track down the complete set, but now it's finally back in print thanks to the 100th anniversary of WWI

Posted by: josephistan at September 25, 2016 10:31 AM (7qAYi)

128 Have donated and bought books to Goodwill

Posted by: Worgo at September 25, 2016 10:31 AM (BE5b0)

129 I'm re-reading The Bronx is Burning, which covers New York City during 1977, a year of peak mayhem.

The city is broke. Whole neighborhoods in Brooklyn and The Bronx are crumbling from crime, arson and white flight. The Yankees are winning, when they're not beating on each other in the clubhouse. A popular Daily News columnist becomes the public contact for a serial killer who targets young women and calls himself the Son of Sam. When the lights go out in a city-wide blackout, mass looting breaks out. And there's a free-for-all mayoral race with the hapless incumbent Abe Beame, Mario Cuomo, feminist Bella Abzug, the king of Harlem Percy Sutton, and an unknown guy from the Village who looked a lot like Big Bird, Ed Koch.

Must reading if you want to understand how big cities decline, and what leftism can bring.

Koch brought a modicum of sanity. The Reagan boom especially lifted the boats of Wall Street, which fixed NYC's finances. After the Dinkins interregnum, NYC had 20 years of moderate Republican and quasi-Republican rule and now stands as the only large US city with low crime.

Posted by: Ignoramus at September 25, 2016 10:31 AM (bQxkN)

130 Koch brought a modicum of sanity. The Reagan boom especially lifted the boats of Wall Street, which fixed NYC's finances. After the Dinkins interregnum, NYC had 20 years of moderate Republican and quasi-Republican rule and now stands as the only large US city with low crime.
Posted by: Ignoramus at September 25, 2016 10:31 AM (bQxkN)

No worries, we're hard at work taking care of that.

Posted by: Bill DiBlasio at September 25, 2016 10:34 AM (7qAYi)

131 OT...Flowers won't be at the debate. Crap!

Posted by: Bob at September 25, 2016 10:36 AM (n3hky)

132 If you're not averse to using your credit card online, selling books on Amazon is extremely easy, especially since you can order pick-ups on the USPS website now.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at September 25, 2016 10:36 AM (GcpvU)

133 But the catalog comes first. Oh, what a pain!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at September 25, 2016 09:37 AM (Zu3d9)



I had that problem during a move: which books were in which box, so I could find them later?

Solution: put the books in the box spine upward, then photograph the box and notes its number.

Now whenever I need a particular book (way too many to place on the groaning shelves) I look up the photos, find the box, and go fish it out.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 25, 2016 10:36 AM (SRKgf)

134 The city is broke. Whole neighborhoods in Brooklyn and The Bronx are crumbling from crime, arson and white flight. The Yankees are winning, when they're not beating on each other in the clubhouse. A popular Daily News columnist becomes the public contact for a serial killer who targets young women and calls himself the Son of Sam. When the lights go out in a city-wide blackout, mass looting breaks out. And there's a free-for-all mayoral race with the hapless incumbent Abe Beame, Mario Cuomo, feminist Bella Abzug, the king of Harlem Percy Sutton, and an unknown guy from the Village who looked a lot like Big Bird, Ed Koch.
====

Memories from a very happy childhood!

Posted by: San Franpsycho at September 25, 2016 10:37 AM (EZebt)

135 "I had not really paid much attention to Pickett's Charge before because I had always believed the "Lee's Folly" myth concerning the assault. Tucker debunks the myth extremely well."

I didn't know the details before I first visited Gettysburg, but when I saw with my own eyes that Pickett's Charge was over a mile and half of open ground against artillery embedded in the hills, all I could say was "What the Fuck was Lee thinking!"

Posted by: Ignoramus at September 25, 2016 10:38 AM (bQxkN)

136 A youtube video explains the illness I suspect Ms. Clinton suffers from.
There is a quite lengthy period of introduction, if you want to cut to the chase, go to about 22 minutes in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEhUup1psD4

Posted by: navybrat at September 25, 2016 10:38 AM (w7KSn)

137 102 ... Thanks, OM.

BTW, a warning for folks who always participate in the book thread (also the chess, food, gardening, guns, and weekday art, etc., threads). They are addictive. When life gets in the ways of these threads, it really bothers me. Being necessary doesn't make it pleasant. :-)

Posted by: JTB at September 25, 2016 10:38 AM (V+03K)

138 Many thanks to whoever recommended The History of English Podcast. I'm about to start episode 38 (of 83). Just fascinating stuff and very thoroughly done.

Posted by: t-bird at September 25, 2016 10:38 AM (eeTCA)

139 NYC had 20 years of moderate Republican and quasi-Republican rule and now stands as the only large US city with low crime.

Which the current Bolshie occupant of Gracie Mansion is rapidly undoing.

Posted by: Fox2! at September 25, 2016 10:38 AM (brIR5)

140 First off, hasn't the idea of some sort of primeval feminist paradise, a matriarchal golden age of Goddess worship and universal peace shown to be a complete load of hooey?
***
There is an argument that matriarchal societies were common before the rise of civilization - you can see hints of it in the legends of a number of civilizations - and that these matriarchal societies were brutal - regularly practicing human sacrifice.

What we do know for certain though is that civilization was tied to patriarchal societies - which indicates its importance if you want a free or at least well feed society.

Certainly the civilizations that ended up being the inputs to western thought were patriarchal - the Romans, the Greeks, the Jews, and the Anglo-Saxons.

So to an extent there is truth to the original statement - all the hallmarks of civilization, including writing, are tied to patriarchal societies.

If you want to go back to dying at 25 and eating roast baby for dinner though, I guess matriarchy could be exactly the choice for you.

Posted by: 18-1 at September 25, 2016 10:39 AM (oyTLT)

141 OT...Flowers won't be at the debate.

Probably got an offer she couldn't refuse.

Posted by: t-bird at September 25, 2016 10:40 AM (J3phO)

142 50 I'm going through a similar problem: a relative with a large library who has to get rid of most of the books.

...

It seems a great shame to break up a collection that took years to put together.
Posted by: Trimegistus at September 25, 2016 09:34 AM (YIUnI)


I've amassed a pretty good collection of books about the history of spaceflight, many of them out of print. A few years ago I went hog wild on AbeBooks and Alibris. If there is a choice, I don't buy the most expensive or least expensive copy, but pick one somewhere in the middle. I apparently learned how to read the booksellers' descriptions, because I've never been disappointed. Most of them are in great condition.

I buy hardcovers whenever possible, and then Brodart the dust jackets. I have the clear plastic Brodart covers in a variety of sizes that will fit almost any book.

It would not be inaccurate to call me a book hoarder amateur librarian rather than a reader.

Posted by: rickl the deplorable at September 25, 2016 10:40 AM (sdi6R)

143 125 Do you know why he hasn't continued/finished the
series? He just quit in the middle of Korea. It still drives me crazy,
I want to know what happened to all the characters!

Posted by: bebe's boobs destroy at September 25, 2016 10:30 AM (YhV5r)

Originally I thought he was having health problems but then he started all those other series. I just don't know now unless he is having a hard time doing the research. He does do a LOT of research for those books because he tries to make them as historically accurate as possible. Unlike one author who tries to make out like his anti-church novels are accurate when they are pure fiction.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 25, 2016 10:43 AM (mpXpK)

144 You should watch how the media should deal with Mass Shootings or Murders, it's called NewsWipe with Charlie Booker. They talk how the media sensationalism of the Killer fuels more killers.

Posted by: Patrick from Ohio at September 25, 2016 10:43 AM (dKiJG)

145 I have my blog post up - I talk about Banned Books Week in general.

Link in nic

Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 10:44 AM (Om16U)

146 Re disposing of a book collection - Years ago when I had aspirations of amassing a large personal library I read about a collector who was breaking up his collection and auctioning it. He specifically did not want it going en masse to a library. He said he'd had a lot of enjoyment in acquiring the collection one book at a time and he wanted new collectors to have the same opportunity. That really stuck with me.

And the large personal library never really happened and now I'm trying to get rid of the books I have. I keep very few of the books I've read. Most of the books on my shelf are books I've bought because they looked interesting and haven't read yet.

Posted by: biancaneve at September 25, 2016 10:45 AM (IKOfL)

147 43
I have told lots of people about your book and they all want a sequel, some continuation of the story.

Posted by: Peggy at September 25, 2016 10:45 AM (HBU7W)

148 Dean Ing presented an interesting and out of the box idea with Soft Targets. And he wrote it during the Iran hostage crisis and the 444 days of shame.

Actually Fa'tah in the book is already in the US and is carrying out terror attacks. One being a very public and gruesome attack during a parade in Colorado. Hakim the terrorist is a twisted individual and shows Ing has studied a couple of the mutts.

"Hakim bought a chocolate bar to tempt, but not to entertain, his empty stomach. Slipping the candy into a pocket of his silk shirt away from the newly extended armpit holster, he thought of the pleasures of self-denial. He salivated for the chocolate. Later he would watch Talith eat it."

"Hakim held the sidearm in his coat and retraced his steps, winking again at the little girl just before he shot her."

Posted by: Anna Puma at September 25, 2016 10:45 AM (fzR64)

149 One of our Morons™ posted a link to Scott Adams' blog article on why Trump doesn't scare him. It prompted an interesting discussion here, with WhatWhatWhat hilariously illustrating how he used to get things done in NY, and how he now gets things done in Texas. (Basically, he has to use a lot more words and small talk now.)

Anyway, I sent the Scott Adams link to my husband, because this kind of stuff fascinates him. He just ordered the "pre-suasion" book by Robert Cialdini recommended by Adams. I'll let you know what he thinks of it.

Thanks to whomever posted that link - may have been WhatWhatWhat himself, but old age precludes my remembering.

Posted by: bluebell at September 25, 2016 10:45 AM (xpSCc)

150 @131 Not even a dried bouquet on the side table?

This is trivial in the extreme, but good for a laugh. "Publication despite yourself."
My kid sent me a link yesterday to the aggregation of all the Amazon reviews I've written in ten years, both books and products. OK, it's not like I linked them to the moves of the 1892 Havana chess match, but taken together they take on a form of their own. Try pulling yours and skimming through: you'll find you have a writing style even if you thought you didn't, and there's a lot of autobiography that emerges.

American Express's security service is so good (they once called me at 11 PM to ask if I happened to be flying from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore that evening), that I suspect they have an operative in a cubicle analyzing my every charge and bill to protect me. I got their card as soon as I could afford one, because back in the day if you arrived at a better hotel on a motorcycle in the middle of the night, soaked through, there was a fair chance that with The Card they'd let you in, and without it, not. So in 40 years I've overcome any resentment at their snooping on me. Put together 40 years of charges with their subject matter and location, and you can come up with a pretty good personality profile. In the places and cases it's wrong, at least it's comically so. Makings of a 21st cent.novel, you might say.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at September 25, 2016 10:46 AM (H5rtT)

151 127 ... I got the abridged version. Couldn't find an affordable edition of the full six volumes. I will keep an eye open at the used book stores, though. Never know when a treasure will appear.

Posted by: JTB at September 25, 2016 10:46 AM (V+03K)

152 88
It's also kind of awesome how Andrew Jackson just straight-up invaded Florida on his own authority. That man did whatever he liked and dared anyone to stop him.

Posted by: Trimegistus at September 25, 2016 09:56 AM (YIUnI)


Andrew Jackson is the father of the Democratic Party, so this behavior should not be surprising.

Posted by: OregonMuse at September 25, 2016 10:49 AM (CehCK)

153 Many of the books that get some praise here, if I'm interested I'll buy them on Amazon used for $4 including shipping. Now if the grid ever goes down I'll maybe get around to reading more than a chosen chapter. But I find reading several Amazon comments about the book to be pretty informative and helpful, and highlights major points, and even alternative positions.

I won't ever qualify as an academic, but at least it rounds out my perspective a little, beyond what the regular morons cover here.

Posted by: illiniwek at September 25, 2016 10:49 AM (n6rAX)

154 135 "I had not really paid much attention to Pickett's Charge before because I had always believed the "Lee's Folly" myth concerning the assault. Tucker debunks the myth extremely well."

I didn't know the details before I first visited Gettysburg, but when I saw with my own eyes that Pickett's Charge was over a mile and half of open ground against artillery embedded in the hills, all I could say was "What the Fuck was Lee thinking!"
Posted by: Ignoramus at September 25, 2016 10:38 AM (bQxkN)

Me and my Dad walked it, I kept thinking how did these men just keep marching and not run for cover.

Posted by: Patrick from Ohio at September 25, 2016 10:49 AM (dKiJG)

155 (... it was interesting too go through the books by the yard library at a local coffee shop. they were mostly books from the 20's and 30's, many with dust jackets touting their weeks on best seller lists, rave reviews from cultural lions and enduring value... hadn't heard of any ofd them.)

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at September 25, 2016 10:51 AM (WTSFk)

156 24 I'm reading Leonard Maltin's early-80s Our Gang book, which I believe is out of print, but I got a copy at a used book sale.

Posted by: WhatWhatWhat? - I speak of the Pompatous of Love at September 25, 2016 09:16 AM (WlGX+)


I've heard that the actor who played Alfafa was a sadistic a-hole. Would ask you to stick your hand in one of his pockets where he had an open knife hidden, that sort of sadistic.

Posted by: OregonMuse at September 25, 2016 10:52 AM (CehCK)

157 23 you see, men's brains use words to represent symbolically concepts, objects and functions. women's brains have sparkly.

-
The real problem with words is once you use them, they're there. Take Ms. Clinton and her email. Not even Bitbleach can wipe away the stupid, the lies, and the desperation. If only we lived in a world of communication by only grunts and arm waving, then maybe Ms. Clinton would have a chance.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at September 25, 2016 10:54 AM (Nwg0u)

158 [... the 20's... wow, that's almost 100 years ago...]

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at September 25, 2016 10:55 AM (WTSFk)

159 It is unbelievable how Stalin was able to do the things he did in broad daylight for nearly 40 years. Simply incredible.
Posted by: LA ette, lakeside lurker at September 25, 2016 10:17 AM (F53IU)

It's incredible that so many apologists for Stalin remained in positions of influence without any repercussions to their careers.

Posted by: Kodos the Executioner at September 25, 2016 10:56 AM (D8P+Q)

160 I won't ever qualify as an academic, but at least it
rounds out my perspective a little, beyond what the regular morons
cover here. Posted by: illiniwek at September 25, 2016 10:49 AM (n6rAX)
=====

I have been recommending reading the reviews of assigned books to younger people I know for a long time. Doesn't get you out of reading the danged thing, but helps with discussion and paper ideas and then you don't have to read so intently if you really hate it. Gives enough familiarity for education purposes, but if nothing appeals, at least you can get a decent grade.

Posted by: mustbequantum at September 25, 2016 10:56 AM (MIKMs)

161
OT...Flowers won't be at the debate.

He wont bring her flowers anymore.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 25, 2016 10:58 AM (IqV8l)

162 It often slips my mind that John Kerry is our Secretary of State. I'll bet he gets that a lot.

Posted by: Clay at September 25, 2016 10:58 AM (/DNWp)

163 Voter Mom, yeah "Banned Books Week" has become a tool of oppression. The concept of controlling what books are 'acceptable' without alerting people to what is banned is one of the few things in the upcoming new book by David Weber set in his Honorverse that I found interesting.

Shadow of Victory is going to officially hit the bookshelves soon But there is an Advanced Reader Copy available and the first 19 chapters can be read on Baen.

In Shadow of Victory one oppressive planet's government doesn't even announce which books are no longer allowed to be sold. The titles simply vanish from catalogs, the electronic editions vanish, and soon the hardcopy versions also vanish from the libraries. The reasoning is quite simple and makes sense - if the banishment is made public then well people will be tempted to read the 'forbidden' book.

The biggest problem with these Nineteen chapters is very simple. It is telling of events that have already happened from different perspectives or from earlier in the lives of some characters. And some of these characters have already died in previous books. Not a single sighting of Admiral Honor Harrington is experienced during these chapters either.

So as of this moment I feel no urge to spend $15 on an advanced copy.

Posted by: Anna Puma at September 25, 2016 11:00 AM (fzR64)

164 With Flowers not coming, that opens up a seat. I think it would be better to have someone from Hillary's shady past rather than Bill's anyway.

I wonder if Pat Smith or any of the other Benghazi parents will be there . . . .

Posted by: bluebell at September 25, 2016 11:00 AM (xpSCc)

165 Re: CBD's history books. My eldest daughter attended The Ashbrook Academy at Ashland University in Ohio this summer. It is a small, conservative, liberal arts school. She had an intensive study of The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution and Gettysburg Address. I'm sure the books would be welcomed there.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at September 25, 2016 11:01 AM (SeD0w)

166 Narcos on Netflix provides a detailed character study of Pablo Escobar. He's a monster with parallels to Stalin. Paranoid, clever, ruthless, amoral, with a charismatic ability to gain total loyalty from an inner circle.

Posted by: Ignoramus at September 25, 2016 11:01 AM (bQxkN)

167 It's incredible that so many apologists for Stalin remained in positions of influence without any repercussions to their careers.
Posted by: Kodos the Executioner at September 25, 2016 10:56 AM (D8P+Q)


Heh. It's also incredible how so many apologists for Stalin come crawling out of the woodwork of Amazon reviews like palmetto bugs every time there's a new book published that tells the truth about their Great Leader.

Posted by: OregonMuse at September 25, 2016 11:02 AM (CehCK)

168 My local library takes donations of books, which they then put into their bookstore to sell. Money goes to help the general fund of the library.

I donated books to the library that my mother owned when she passed. Two sets of Time Life books,one covering the Old West, and one covering WWII. Very heavy on photographs, which the library liked, in addition to the historical articles.

Most libraries will no longer accept encyclopedias, etc. but they were very happy with those Time Life sets.

Posted by: Jen the original at September 25, 2016 11:02 AM (ntZAP)

169 I should get that cooking for one book. I'm so used to cooking for dad and myself I'm at a loss when, on occasion, it's just me...

Posted by: Brother Cavil at September 25, 2016 11:03 AM (vyqqu)

170 Question for OregonMuse: If I send you a library photo, what dimensions should it be? I don't want to blow the margins and have a hamster's death on my hands.

Posted by: pookysgirl at September 25, 2016 11:03 AM (ar2KI)

171 Speaking of Gettysburg, has anyone read "The Devil's To Pay" by Eric Wittenberg about the importance of General Buford's stand on the first day of battle?

Also, if you can get to the battlefield, you should. Seeing it and walking the grounds greatly adds to understanding what happened. The Gettysburg site is especially well done.

Posted by: JTB at September 25, 2016 11:04 AM (V+03K)

172 I've been to Bogota but I never saw the library, even though our hosts were serious book lovers. I did see the Museo de l'ora.

Posted by: Northernlurker at September 25, 2016 11:06 AM (s7hQ/)

173 CBD, do you have a list of the books?

Posted by: Jean at September 25, 2016 11:07 AM (ngn8T)

174
CBD, do you have a list of the books?

Posted by: Jean at September 25, 2016 11:07 AM (ngn8T)

Not yet. I will be cataloging them in the next few months.

I have gotten some great ideas from The Horde, so I will have to decide what to do.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at September 25, 2016 11:08 AM (Zu3d9)

175 I don't want to blow the margins and have a hamster's death on my hands.

Posted by: pookysgirl at September 25, 2016 11:03 AM (ar2KI)

[in case OregonMuse doesn't see your question....]

We have to resize most images, so just send it to him as is.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at September 25, 2016 11:09 AM (Zu3d9)

176 We just got back from Chattanooga TN, there on a college visit. We went to (tiny) Covenant College, situated atop Lookout Mt. WOW! What an incredible place. The college sits on top of the mountain; the main building has a turret/tower that can be seen all over the Chattanooga area. They have chapel 3X a week, and we got to attend the Friday service. Incredibly moving.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at September 25, 2016 11:10 AM (SeD0w)

177 'Eating Out of Unheated Cans for One' has been my bible.
Fixed.

Posted by: andycanuck at September 25, 2016 11:11 AM (LdMbv)

178 170 Question for OregonMuse: If I send you a library photo, what dimensions should it be? I don't want to blow the margins and have a hamster's death on my hands.

Posted by: pookysgirl at September 25, 2016 11:03 AM (ar2KI)


Don't worry about the size. In fact, the bigger the better. I like pics with lots of detail, where you an even read the individual titles of books.

I love big pics, and I cannot lie...

Seriously, make 'em big. I can always scale them down.

In fact, what I do is display the reduced-size version on the book thread, but then you can click on it to see the uuuuge version.

So it's all good.

Posted by: OregonMuse at September 25, 2016 11:11 AM (CehCK)

179 I don't want to blow the margins and have a hamster's death on my hands.
Better on your hands than elsewhere.

Posted by: richard gere at September 25, 2016 11:12 AM (LdMbv)

180 Someone mentioned Martin Amis above.


I'm currently slowly rereading my way thru the novels of Kingsley Amis, his father, who I think is one of the great writers of the 20th Century.

Reading him is interesting cuz he did most of his writing in the late 50s-mid eighties,

so a lot of the novels concern people dealing with the in various ways with the social upheavals of the 60's-70s.

He's too good a writer to frame it that way but uses humor and mockery to show the effects on individual characters.

For instance, "Girl, 20" in part concerns a famous British composer destroying his marriage and reputation-

so he can bang a hippie chick and prove how "with it" he is.

The interesting thing is how many of the exact things that the leftards harp on now come up in the vernacular of the 60's. Same as it ever was, I guess.

Anyway Kingsley Amis would be a good Ur-Moron as he loved drink, had a wicked sense of humor, and was a conservative.

Check him out.

Posted by: naturalfake at September 25, 2016 11:12 AM (miR0C)

181 So it's all good.
Posted by: OregonMuse at September 25, 2016 11:11 AM (CehCK)

It's going to be a collage, so I needed to know how big to make the whole thing. Thanks!

Posted by: pookysgirl at September 25, 2016 11:14 AM (ar2KI)

182 Hundreds of thousands of lives could have been saved if the media hadn't covered Pearl Harbor.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 25, 2016 11:15 AM (Nwg0u)

183

CBD just pile up a stack and photo the spines and post, we can read title and author...

I'd be looking for history of science/medicine and roman military stuff...

Posted by: In Vino Veritits at September 25, 2016 11:16 AM (PjWy4)

184 170 Question for OregonMuse: If I send you a library photo, what dimensions should it be? I don't want to blow the margins and have a hamster's death on my hands.

Posted by: pookysgirl at September 25, 2016 11:03 AM (ar2KI)


One more thing: make sure the focus is a sharp as you can make it. I've received blurry pics from a couple of morons and I can't use 'em.

Posted by: OregonMuse at September 25, 2016 11:16 AM (CehCK)

185 "blurry pics"

Stack crawls by drunk Morons - a future best seller.

Posted by: Anna Puma at September 25, 2016 11:18 AM (fzR64)

186 There is an argument that matriarchal societies were common before the rise of civilization - you can see hints of it in the legends of a number of civilizations - and that these matriarchal societies were brutal - regularly practicing human sacrifice.

-
If I recall correctly, it was H.G. Wells in The Outline of History that he ascribes the birth of the patriarchy to man's discovery that he, also, has a role in procreation.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 25, 2016 11:21 AM (Nwg0u)

187 It's ironic that in a country more tolerant than just about any on the planet we have to spend so much time being hectored about perceived slights like 4th graders on a playground whining over who gets to play on the swings as opposed to the seesaws.

At this rate of reverse-maturation most of the populace will soon be sitting in poopy diapers while crying in high chairs.

Posted by: Meremortal.... at September 25, 2016 11:22 AM (3myMJ)

188 THIS MORNING'S TEA. Because what are books without a good cup of tea to wake up your thinkbox?

This Sunday morning I'm drinking a yellow tea provided by Seven Cups. It's called Mo Gan Huang Ya. (http://tinyurl.com/jg84qzg)

Yellow tea is like green tea, but they add a step of steaming it under a cloth or some other unusual process. It's apparently hard to make correctly. Seven Cups does a good job of sourcing their teas, so I tend to trust them better than I do my own tastebuds.

Mo Gan Huang Ya tea is from Mo Gan Shan, the highest mountain in Zhejiang province of China. It's brilliant. It is sweet, mild, has no bitterness whatsoever, and provides a woodsy outdoor quality. The liquor is a rich transparent gold, with a rich mouthfeel--so lots of umami.

Posted by: Smallish Bees at September 25, 2016 11:23 AM (YPgXi)

189 186 There is an argument that matriarchal societies were common before the rise of civilization - you can see hints of it in the legends of a number of civilizations - and that these matriarchal societies were brutal - regularly practicing human sacrifice.

You can say that America's inner cities are matriarchical societies. How's that working out?

Posted by: Kodos the Executioner at September 25, 2016 11:24 AM (D8P+Q)

190 'Eating Out of Unheated Cans for One' has been my bible.
Fixed.
Posted by: andycanuck at September 25, 2016 11:11 AM (LdMbv)
-----------------

Andy, you're breaking my heart. You and mustbequantum both. You don't know how to turn on the stove, and he doesn't know how to turn on his oven. I weep.

Posted by: bluebell at September 25, 2016 11:24 AM (xpSCc)

191 Bottom line:
Women are just as strong, just as smart and just as capable, in every conceivable way, as men. It's just that guys have always used their superior physical prowess and intrinsic cunning to oppress women down through the innumerable centuries so the poor gals never had a chance to show that they are just as strong, just as smart etc.

Got it.

Posted by: jbspry at September 25, 2016 11:24 AM (Tcn31)

192 By the by, if you like "Deploribus Unum", I made a Great Sral of Trump featuring it.
It's on the sidebar of my blog (link in nic)

Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 11:25 AM (Om16U)

193 Smallish Bees, I've never figured out what umami is supposed to taste like.

Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 11:25 AM (Om16U)

194 186 There is an argument that matriarchal societies were common before the rise of civilization - you can see hints of it in the legends of a number of civilizations - and that these matriarchal societies were brutal - regularly practicing human sacrifice.

-
If I recall correctly, it was H.G. Wells in The Outline of History that he ascribes the birth of the patriarchy to man's discovery that he, also, has a role in procreation.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 25, 2016 11:21 AM (Nwg0u)

Makes one reconsider the old canard that women have a "civilizing" effect on men. I'm not so sure that's true.

Posted by: Insomniac - Irredeemably Deplorable at September 25, 2016 11:26 AM (0mRoj)

195 I give Western Civilization a few more decades. It cannot survive at this current trajectory.

Posted by: Pepe, The Irredeemable at September 25, 2016 11:27 AM (g6VuL)

196 Stringer Davis:

I'm also teaching my students Ovid (in English), the Amores and Metamorphoses. They have been making short films and other dramatic presentations of Metamorphoses (not Amores, happily--I want to keep my job), which they have been assiduously keeping me from seeing any hints of. That means they're proud of their work and want to show it off in its best light. It's astonishing to see how these young people's minds light up when given great material to kindle their imaginations.

Posted by: Smallish Bees at September 25, 2016 11:27 AM (YPgXi)

197 By the by, if you like "Deploribus Unum", I made a Great Sral of Trump featuring it.
It's on the sidebar of my blog (link in nic)
Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 11:25 AM (Om16U)
--------------

And it is, indeed, great. The hair is my favorite part. I wish ace would tweet it out so everyone could see it.

I wish Donald Trump could see it. I bet he'd love it.

Posted by: bluebell at September 25, 2016 11:27 AM (xpSCc)

198 Cooking for one. Just cook for two, and save half for tomorrow.
The problem is motivation, so take pix and share it somewhere
Next thing you know ppl will think you're a chef.

Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 11:29 AM (Om16U)

199 OT...Flowers won't be at the debate.



He wont bring her flowers anymore.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 25, 2016 10:58 AM (IqV8l)


She's off to visit Algernon.

Posted by: Count de Monet at September 25, 2016 11:29 AM (JO9+V)

200 By Profession, I am a meme..... By nature I am a 2-D naughty green frog.

Posted by: Pepe, The Irredeemable at September 25, 2016 11:30 AM (g6VuL)

201 Aww thanks bluebell

Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 11:30 AM (Om16U)

202 I didn't know the details before I first visited Gettysburg, but when I saw with my own eyes that Pickett's Charge was over a mile and half of open ground against artillery embedded in the hills, all I could say was "What the Fuck was Lee thinking!"

Posted by: Ignoramus at September 25, 2016 10:38 AM (bQxkN)


The ground is actually rolling and troops on the approach routes went out of view in two shallow swales. One the major command and control failures for the Confederates was that no one was making certain that the artillery kept ammunition in reserved for the assault. The Confederate artillery was supposed to do a preparatory bombardment for about 15-20 minutes but ended up firing for about two hours and expended all their long-range ammunition; the artillery was also supposed to advance on the flanks with the assault but that didn't happen since they didn't have ammunition left.

Tucker quotes a letter from Lee to Jefferson Davis that confirms that Lee was ill and Lee himself didn't think he had recovered from his heart attack in 1862. The ultimate failure of command was on the part of Lee because he didn't supervise his subordinate commanders during the attack.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at September 25, 2016 11:31 AM (5Yee7)

203 Votermom: It's the same with any other flavor. You'd be hard pressed to identify what "salty" tastes like, unless you've had salt. Have some unsweetened high-quality green tea, like a sencha. If you prepare it carefully, avoiding oversteeping the leaves or too high a temperature, you can get a good sense of what umami is. You can also taste it really clearly with the seaweed wrapping around sushi. Auguste Escoffier (most famous French chef of all time) made veal broth that highlighted this flavor.

Posted by: Smallish Bees at September 25, 2016 11:31 AM (YPgXi)

204 To me, umami is kind of like soy and Worcestershire sauces if you take away the salty factor....that deep, rich flavor, and maybe also like the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at September 25, 2016 11:32 AM (GcpvU)

205 IIRC the military historian John Keegan makes the point that military strength leads to stability which promotes civilization.

Posted by: Ignoramus at September 25, 2016 11:32 AM (bQxkN)

206 If I remember my Joseph Campbell in regards to Crete, it was still matriarchal in that the Queen who ruled. And every seven or fourteen years or was it every year, the 'King' after living a life of comfort would be trotted off to get his head lopped off.

MZB's book The Firebrand has a lot of the how great a matriarchy is claptrap in it. Especially at the end as Kassandra meets Klytemnestra. And how Kassandra's companion at the end turns out to be a man in drag. I should really chuck that book out my library since have not read it in years.

Posted by: Anna Puma at September 25, 2016 11:32 AM (fzR64)

207 Regarding what to do with CBD's dad's books, start with a service organization that works with lots of people: homeless shelters, soup kitchens, prison outreach groups, etc.

Anybody/everybody has a cause that matters to them. I guarantee, if you have a lot of GOOD books, you will be doing them a service by donating them.

Way too many of these places are filled with pulp dreck, and the readers get tired of the same garbage. And they DO read.

Not only does donating the books give a resource to some organization that will use them well, but if they are unorganized, there might be a way for the very organization of them to be a project for some people who could use a challenge like that to help refocus their own minds.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 25, 2016 11:32 AM (Pz4pT)

208
By Profession, I am a meme..... By nature I am a 2-D naughty green frog.
Posted by: Pepe, The Irredeemable


Trying to escape from an invisible box.
Oh, wait a minute. That's a mime.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 25, 2016 11:33 AM (IqV8l)

209 If anyone is interested there is a humble bundle deal for science fiction written by scientists plus a few science books for aspiring scify writers:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/hc7h5xh

Either $1+, $8+, or $15+ for the whole set of 14 books. They're in ePUB, PDF, or MOBI.

note:
A % of the money can go to a charity with one of the defaults being SFWA being the fascists that have set themselves against Larry Correia. I just zero them and unicef out and give to the salvation army instead.

Posted by: bananaDream at September 25, 2016 11:34 AM (Ag8Mw)

210 Speaking of Gettysburg, has anyone read "The Devil's To Pay" by Eric Wittenberg about the importance of General Buford's stand on the first day of battle?

Also, if you can get to the battlefield, you should. Seeing it and walking the grounds greatly adds to understanding what happened. The Gettysburg site is especially well done.

Posted by: JTB at September 25, 2016 11:04 AM (V+03K)

Yes and yes. The Devil's to Pay and a great book that is an easy read. I always find walking the battlefield to be a moving experience.

I have to sign off.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at September 25, 2016 11:35 AM (5Yee7)

211 Bottom line:
Women are just as strong, just as smart and just as capable, in every conceivable way, as men. It's just that guys have always used their superior physical prowess and intrinsic cunning to oppress women down through the innumerable centuries so the poor gals never had a chance to show that they are just as strong, just as smart etc.

Got it.
Posted by: jbspry at September 25, 2016 11:24 AM (Tcn31)


Heh. I'm not sure I've ever seen feminism boiled down so succinctly and accurately before.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 25, 2016 11:36 AM (Pz4pT)

212 From Little Round Top looking down across the Devil's den of rock jumbles and trying to imagine CSA troops swarming through that and up into the teeth of the Union line, well, if that don't send shivers up and down your spine then you are dead.

Posted by: Count de Monet at September 25, 2016 11:36 AM (JO9+V)

213 Anna thanks for the tip about the Honerverse book.

Also yes, throw out your MZB book, ick, she's a horrid person.

Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 11:38 AM (Om16U)

214 'Eating Out of Unheated Cans for One' has been my bible.
Fixed.
Posted by: andycanuck at September 25, 2016 11:11 AM (LdMbv)
-----------------

Andy, you're breaking my heart. You and mustbequantum both. You don't know how to turn on the stove, and he doesn't know how to turn on his oven. I weep.

Posted by: bluebell at September 25, 2016 11:24 AM (xpSCc)


I know how, and prefer not to.


Whenever ANYBODY starts talking about recipes and making stuff, my eyes glaze over, and all I can think of is going to a drive-thru window, or popping something in a microwave.


Good grief, people, it's food. You shove it in your mouth, it breaks down and helps keep the furnace running.


That's it! That's what it's for!! All this nonsense about preparing meals, to me, is so much sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 25, 2016 11:40 AM (Pz4pT)

215 When I went to Gettysburg the local shops had cassettes with guided tours -- make a left here, here's what happened here, get out and walk around, etc. Very informative and helpful. Expect they now have it on CD.

Posted by: Ignoramus at September 25, 2016 11:40 AM (bQxkN)

216 Read Shakespeare's Measure for Measure where the Duke of Vienna leaves his deputy Angelo in charge while he takes a trip. In
disguise he remains in the city and watches as Angelo abuses his power,
threatening to execute a man unless his sister who's entering a convent will sleep with
him. The Duke makes sure all ends well and the play has a lot of humor (Lucio is pretty hilarious), enjoyed it a lot.

Listened to The Roman Hat Mystery (Ellery Queen #1) by 'Ellery Queen', a charming
1920's murder-mystery tackled by NY Detective Queen and his son Ellery.
A man is murdered in a crowded theatre, and the only clue is his top
hat has gone missing. Quite an effort of digging, questioning and
theorizing before the perp is brought to justice. More tame than a Marlowe story but enjoyed it.

-
Speaking of Shakespeare and mysteries, I read Closed Casket by Sophie Hannah this week. It is a new Hercule Poirot in which one of the suspects has a fixation on Shakespeare's King John which he considers to be Shakespeare's greatest play. It kept me amused.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 25, 2016 11:40 AM (Nwg0u)

217 Campbell's anthropology is quite dodgy. Lots of 20th century anthropology, especially paleo-anthropology of ancient Europe, is extremely dodgy.

The idea of ancient matriarchies is compounded of Robert Graves's "White Goddess", feminist wishful thinking, and bullshit. Actual stone-age societies all over the world are male-dominated. Among primitives, women are little more than beasts of burden. It was those bad old "patriarchal" farmers and city-builders who first acknowledged women as humans. The noble savages of the grasslands and forests thought they were ridiculous pussies for that.

Posted by: Trimegistus at September 25, 2016 11:41 AM (YIUnI)

218 Posted by: jbspry at September 25, 2016 11:24 AM (Tcn31)

Perhaps the perfect argument for universal concealed carry.

"God made Man...Colt made them equal."

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at September 25, 2016 11:41 AM (Zu3d9)

219 So yeah, that "saddest book in the world," I would track it down, but that stuff in front of the frumpy old lady in the picture looks like too much work to me.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 25, 2016 11:42 AM (Pz4pT)

220 213 Anna thanks for the tip about the Honerverse book.

Also yes, throw out your MZB book, ick, she's a horrid person.
Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 11:38 AM (Om16U)

If her daughter is to be believed, MZB was beyond horrid. Evil and depraved come to mind.

Posted by: Insomniac - Irredeemably Deplorable at September 25, 2016 11:43 AM (0mRoj)

221 "Good grief, people, it's food. You shove it in your mouth, it breaks down and helps keep the furnace running.
"

I always thought the ultimate purpose of food was to make a turd?

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at September 25, 2016 11:44 AM (J+eG2)

222 Regarding the question about what to do with his father's old history books, has he considered contacting the Pritzker Military Library in Chicago? I apologize if I am late with this suggestion.

Posted by: RPL at September 25, 2016 11:45 AM (pd7YZ)

223 When I went to Gettysburg the local shops had cassettes with guided tours -- make a left here, here's what happened here, get out and walk around, etc. Very informative and helpful. Expect they now have it on CD.
Posted by: Ignoramus at September 25, 2016 11:40 AM (bQxkN)


When I was at Gettysburg, I hired one of the Ranger guides. He gets in the car, talks, and tells you where to stop. Which was nice, but I've done the cassette guided tours in other Civil War battlefields, and it works just as well. I guess it's nice having a stranger riding in the car with you, but really...

Posted by: BurtTC at September 25, 2016 11:45 AM (Pz4pT)

224 "Good grief, people, it's food. You shove it in your mouth, it breaks down and helps keep the furnace running.
"
-----------------------
I always thought the ultimate purpose of food was to make a turd?
Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at September 25, 2016 11:44 AM (J+eG2)


That too.


The river keeps on rolling, big wheel keeps on turning.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 25, 2016 11:47 AM (Pz4pT)

225 CBD, you might also consider donating to a local prison. Not joking.

Years on end with nothing to do? I'd read everything I could.

Just a suggestion.

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at September 25, 2016 11:47 AM (/xgFI)

226 180 Someone mentioned Martin Amis above.


I'm currently slowly rereading my way thru the novels of Kingsley Amis, his father, who I think is one of the great writers of the 20th Century.

Reading him is interesting cuz he did most of his writing in the late 50s-mid eighties,

so a lot of the novels concern people dealing with the in various ways with the social upheavals of the 60's-70s.

He's too good a writer to frame it that way but uses humor and mockery to show the effects on individual characters.

For instance, "Girl, 20" in part concerns a famous British composer destroying his marriage and reputation-

so he can bang a hippie chick and prove how "with it" he is.

The interesting thing is how many of the exact things that the leftards harp on now come up in the vernacular of the 60's. Same as it ever was, I guess.

Anyway Kingsley Amis would be a good Ur-Moron as he loved drink, had a wicked sense of humor, and was a conservative.

Check him out.
Posted by: naturalfake at September 25, 2016 11:12 AM (miR0C)

I am also reading "Experience" by Martin Amis. It is his autobiography sort of woven together with his relationship with his father, Kingsley Amis. Kingsley was quite the little Marxist during his early years, but apparently he grew up.

Posted by: LA ette, lakeside lurker at September 25, 2016 11:47 AM (F53IU)

227 MZB's book The Firebrand has a lot of the how great a matriarchy is claptrap in it.

Posted by: Anna Puma at September 25, 2016 11:32 AM (fzR64)


Same with her book The Mists of Avalon. Goddess-loving feminist matriarchs vs. eeevil Christian brutal thugs. Of course, Christianity does frown on molesting your kids and also giving them to the child molester you're living with, so I can well understand MZB's animosity.

Posted by: OregonMuse at September 25, 2016 11:48 AM (CehCK)

228 CBD, you might also consider donating to a local prison. Not joking.

Years on end with nothing to do? I'd read everything I could.

Just a suggestion.
Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at September 25, 2016 11:47 AM (/xgFI)


Yep, but as I suggested above, find an organization that does prison ministries/outreach. They can/will operate as a go-between, so you don't have to deal with a prison system bureaucracy.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 25, 2016 11:49 AM (Pz4pT)

229 215
When I went to Gettysburg the local shops had cassettes with guided
tours -- make a left here, here's what happened here, get out and walk
around, etc. Very informative and helpful. Expect they now have it on
CD.

Posted by: Ignoramus at September 25, 2016 11:40 AM (bQxkN)
we have that too.....from way back....we used to visit Gettysburg several times a year....it was a great tool.....i know it's still in a box i never unpacked after our move.....there's probably an app for it now.....did you know they aren't putting cd players in new cars? and my husbands car....although it's not a "self driving" car creepily "reads" speed limit signs .....there is a frontage road off the 10 between here and tucson that has a visible from the highway speed limit sign of 35....the 10 is 75 in that stretch.....very dangerous if you are on auto drive .... it will abruptly slow you down...

Posted by: phoenixgirl, deplorable is better than despicable at September 25, 2016 11:49 AM (0O7c5)

230 On the odd chance somebody's interested I want to expand on my instant dislike of The Fourth Keith.
There's a central character named Francis Xavier Kennedy, who I will describe as a liberal's caricature of a liberal- handsome, brilliant, selfless, heroically committed to the welfare of the poor and obstructed in his nobility of purpose by conservatives.
It could have been ripped from today's toady headlines.
Gag me with a spoon.
Not that anybody asked.

Posted by: Northernlurker at September 25, 2016 11:51 AM (JOAwo)

231


Whenever ANYBODY starts talking about recipes and making stuff, my eyes glaze over, and all I can think of is going to a drive-thru window, or popping something in a microwave.


Good grief, people, it's food. You shove it in your mouth, it breaks down and helps keep the furnace running.


That's it! That's what it's for!! All this nonsense about preparing meals, to me, is so much sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Bless your heart.

Posted by: LA ette, lakeside lurker at September 25, 2016 11:52 AM (F53IU)

232

ENCORE Westerns channel on satellite has half a dozen Dean Martin Westerns on today, including 'Rough Night in Jericho' which is not played much...

Both Conan movies on SUNDANCE...

Muscle Beach Party, Jail House Rock, Stormy Weather (Lena Horn singing!), and Littlest Rebel (Shirley Temple dick punching Abraham Lincoln) on TCM...

Posted by: In Vino Veritits at September 25, 2016 11:53 AM (PjWy4)

233 I used to represent a number of juvenile offenders and went to see them in juvie jail. I was surprised to see that their very modest library tended toward. Stephen King and other horror writers. I guess the theory is that any reading is better than no reading.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 25, 2016 11:53 AM (Nwg0u)

234 Smallish Bees, I've never figured out what umami is supposed to taste like.

Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 11:25 AM (Om16U)



Basically, umami taste like MSG minus the saltiness.

Put some Accent on your tongue.


Or if you can get past the fishy smell, sip a spoonful of high quality fish sauce like "Red Boat"-

if you can minus out the fishiness and saltiness mentally...That's umami.


An interesting experiment is to make a stew or chili in two batches that are exactly the same except one gets a slug of "Red Boat" fish sauce while cooking.

You'll be surprised at the difference.

Posted by: naturalfake at September 25, 2016 11:53 AM (miR0C)

235 OM - You might take a look at Eric Metaxas new book, If You Can Keep It. He is more hopeful than I am but lays out the case saving these United States and the citizens responsibilities to that end.

And the rec for Vince Milan - I read the Unknown Element and I think I reviewed it on VMom's blog. Fun read!

Posted by: Long Running Fool at September 25, 2016 11:54 AM (L0bUn)

236 The Pixies are restless, my friends.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 25, 2016 11:54 AM (Nwg0u)

237 Bless your heart.
Posted by: LA ette, lakeside lurker at September 25, 2016 11:52 AM (F53IU)


Sometimes people say, "hey Burt, why not find a good woman who likes to cook, it'll be a match made in heaven!"


Well, the problem is, I don't think I could be happy with a woman who is happy with cooking. I would rather find a pile of money, hire a servant and have THAT person cook for me. Quid pro quo, with the quid being actual quid.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 25, 2016 11:55 AM (Pz4pT)

238 214
Whenever ANYBODY starts talking about recipes and making stuff, my eyes glaze over, and all I can think of is going to a drive-thru window, or popping something in a microwave.
Posted by: BurtTC at September 25, 2016 11:40 AM (Pz4pT)


I can do that!

Well, the fast food part anyway.

Posted by: rickl the deplorable at September 25, 2016 11:57 AM (sdi6R)

239 Food Preparation - The Epicurean Model vs the Stoic Model.

I wonder what kind of reviews a book like that would get?
----
As I said it's been years since the last time I read The Firebrand and all I can remember is the terrible parts. I guess the second hand bookstore will be getting a few new books soon. Though I plan to keep the anthologies of short stories MZB edited, not going to blame those writers for her sins.
----
Voter Mom, the initial reviews of Shadow of Victory at Baen are not that reassuring. I hope Weber and his editor keep working on it.

Posted by: Anna Puma at September 25, 2016 11:58 AM (fzR64)

240 210 ... RBC, Thanks. I'll order it today.

If you visit Gettysburg battlefield, check out the Devil's Den rocky area, as Count De Monet said. It is a chilling experience.

Posted by: JTB at September 25, 2016 11:58 AM (V+03K)

241

Craig's List or BackPage will solve your food problems.

Go under 'Escorts', have them come over, make jerky out of them. Self-delivering food, and free too.

Problem solved, problem staying solved.

Posted by: In Vino Veritits at September 25, 2016 11:58 AM (PjWy4)

242 I used to represent a number of juvenile offenders and went to see them in juvie jail. I was surprised to see that their very modest library tended toward. Stephen King and other horror writers. I guess the theory is that any reading is better than no reading.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 25, 2016 11:53 AM (Nwg0u)


Yep. And if you spend enough time around some of the folks who tend to end up in prisons/treatment programs/homeless shelters, the majority of them can still read, and still get something valuable out of reading something worth reading.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 25, 2016 11:58 AM (Pz4pT)

243 From Drudge: Amazon steps in to "Fix" Hillary's book reviews, gives her book a five star rating.

It's good to be queen.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 25, 2016 12:00 PM (Nwg0u)

244 Craig's List or BackPage will solve your food problems.

Go under 'Escorts', have them come over, make jerky out of them. Self-delivering food, and free too.

Problem solved, problem staying solved.
Posted by: In Vino Veritits at September 25, 2016 11:58 AM (PjWy4)


Too gamey.


So I've heard.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 25, 2016 12:01 PM (Pz4pT)

245 I guess it is okay to run another plug for Golden Isis right?

Kindle - http://astore.amazon.com/aoshq-20/detail/B014BTSEYO

Nook - http://preview.tinyurl.com/zynnfah

Posted by: Anna Puma at September 25, 2016 12:02 PM (fzR64)

246 I'm not sure that letting prisoners read horror novels is a good thing. It might give them ideas.

Posted by: rickl the deplorable at September 25, 2016 12:02 PM (sdi6R)

247 Gettysburg, has anyone read "The Devil's To Pay" by Eric Wittenberg about the importance of General Buford's stand on the first day of battle?

Also, if you can get to the battlefield, you should. Seeing it and walking the grounds greatly adds to understanding what happened. The Gettysburg site is especially well done.
Posted by: JTB at September 25, 2016 11:04 AM (V+03K)

Don't forget to visit the Calvary Battle field, also you can hire a Park Ranger that will drive your car and give you a the history of the place.

Posted by: Patrick from Ohio at September 25, 2016 12:03 PM (dKiJG)

248 I noticed INSTY pimping Luna City Chronicles latest and greatest the other day.

You can't sling a dead cat around here without hitting another big timer.

I found a penny on the ground the other day. I'm a big timer too, I reckon. Yay for me!

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at September 25, 2016 12:04 PM (/xgFI)

249 I'm not sure that letting prisoners read horror novels is a good thing. It might give them ideas.
Posted by: rickl the deplorable at September 25, 2016 12:02 PM (sdi6R)


Sure, except, you know, they're in prison. So they already HAVE ideas.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 25, 2016 12:04 PM (Pz4pT)

250 Amazon also disappeared 90% of the reviews. The only negative reviews remaining are five star reviews that rip the book in the comments.

http://tinyurl.com/hyf8sdp

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 25, 2016 12:05 PM (Nwg0u)

251 I'm not sure that letting prisoners read horror novels is a good thing. It might give them ideas.

I'm outraged.

Posted by: Millennial Prison Clown at September 25, 2016 12:06 PM (Tyii7)

252 Nude psychedelic cow

Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 12:08 PM (Om16U)

253

Amazon flushed my current Hitlery book review but did leave mine of her previous book, LOL.

Ima put up another 1 star and see what happens.

Posted by: In Vino Veritits at September 25, 2016 12:09 PM (PjWy4)

254 If you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods, the tour of Andersonville prison/ national cemetery is worth the trip. Standing on the site and trying to imagine the human misery in that place is truly terrible.

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at September 25, 2016 12:09 PM (/xgFI)

255 How close are you to Americus weirdflunky?

Posted by: freaked at September 25, 2016 12:14 PM (BO/km)

256 25 miles

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at September 25, 2016 12:15 PM (/xgFI)

257 225 CBD, you might also consider donating to a local prison. Not joking.

Years on end with nothing to do? I'd read everything I could.

Just a suggestion.
Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at September 25, 2016 11:47 AM (/xgFI)
---
CBD, save it for the kamps! We'll have a few stolen hours in the evenings after slaving in the mines, and Alexthechick can read to us at storytime.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Illuminated Savage at September 25, 2016 12:16 PM (jR7Wy)

258 If we're at the book flogging portion of the Book Thread...

Part Four of "Wearing the Cat", "The Black Room" should be available next weekend on the kindle.

Assuming the book cover is ready, which i'm assured it will be.

"The Black Room", is the stunning conclusion of "Wearing the Cat" in which everything comes together and all is revealed.

Parts 1-3 of "Wearing the Cat" are currently available on amazon should you wish to catch WTC Fever*









*A low grade brain infection rather like ringworm of the medulla oblongata.

Posted by: naturalfake at September 25, 2016 12:16 PM (miR0C)

259 The saddest monument is a Big flat rock that was used as a diving platform when the soldiers were kids in Massachusetts, I always wondered how the got that big rock all the way to Gettysburg.

Some of the Stores sell old Newspapers from the war and they are not that much, Harpers Weekly etc. for like 5 to ten dollars. I bought some just for the front page art.

Posted by: Patrick from Ohio at September 25, 2016 12:17 PM (dKiJG)

260 '25 miles'

My parents live about 15 minutes from Andersonvile. 71 miles from here.

Posted by: freaked at September 25, 2016 12:18 PM (BO/km)

261 Has anyone read Mark Helprin's "In Sunlight and in Shadow"? I have started it three times, but I haven't pushed my way through. Jay Nordlinger over at National Review says it's an epic love story like none other he's ever read. Sounds great, but I need to get traction. (I love "Soldier of the Great War" and other books, and "Soldier" is maybe my favorite book ever. At least, by modern authors.)

Posted by: Smallish Bees at September 25, 2016 12:20 PM (YPgXi)

262 CBD -- the Fiancee donates used books to the local VA hospital. Recuperating people have a lot of time on their hands....and it's a tax deduction.

Posted by: deplorable cthulhu at September 25, 2016 12:21 PM (EzgxV)

263 "The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image" is about words themselves oppress women? And words are, if the title is to be believed, in conflict with images in this regard, thus putting images on the side of women?

And yet... feminists been hectoring us for decades about how images oppress women and words would set them free.

Apparently, feminists still believe in a woman's prerogative to change her mind.

Posted by: The Deplorable Prothonotary Warbler at September 25, 2016 12:22 PM (0OG8D)

264 Marion Zimmer Bradley, having decided that women were equal to men, read about some horrible things male perverts have done, and thought to herself "I can top that".

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 25, 2016 12:22 PM (6FqZa)

265 Stronger Together

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JMECLZQ/

I'm seeing 626 reviews, 81% of which are one-star, including some of the humorous ones. This is roughly what it was last week.

On the other hand, others are noticing the missing reviews.


Posted by: OregonMuse at September 25, 2016 12:25 PM (CehCK)

266


My Amazon review on Hitlery/Cane's book since last one got 'poofed':

'The Plan' is nothing less than the death knell of the Republic, the elimination of the Constitution and Bill of Rights as we know it, and the imposition from the top down of Progressive Socialism as a tool for the Controllers, Masters, Owners and Elitists (along with their salad tossing stooges) to finally solidify control of the greatest force for good the world has ever produced.

DO read the book. They lay it all out right there and aren't shy about it. Oh, you have to decode the ProgTard vocabulary, but they are laughingly rubbing your nose in their plans.

They HATE the middle class, minorities, the military and small business owners. HATE THEM. Their plans are to deconstruct, marginalize and gain control over all these groups... and they say so right here...

Aside from the content, the actual production and editing of the book is also miserable. You'd think for your election manifesto you'd pay for top class rewrite and editing... but no. It's like it was just a check box to do and screw, because they knew most copies would end up in US Embassy waiting rooms in 5th world crap holes, USDA cafeterias propping up broken table legs and being used to start the diesel up in shite burn barrels...

Posted by: In Vino Veritits at September 25, 2016 12:26 PM (PjWy4)

267 My only complaint (which was compensated on Amazon by the bonus AoS star) was the explanation and motivations of the instigators, which seemed underdeveloped and perhaps a bit of a bait-and-switch (but in a disappointing way).

In the interest of avoiding spoilers I shan't go into too much detail other than to say at the point of the reveal it is both a) a long dead issue for those revealing it and b) amidst a much bigger and more immediate happening for the characters involved. I would be interested in a little more spoilery conversation if you'd like. Dhumphreys 5252 at g mail dot com.

Posted by: Emile Antoon Khadaji at September 25, 2016 12:28 PM (rvzMR)

268 Stronger Together

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JMECLZQ/

I'm seeing 626 reviews, 81% of which are one-star, including some of the humorous ones. This is roughly what it was last week.

On the other hand, others are noticing the missing reviews.

-
According to the WND story, there were 2,200 hundred reviews which then got reduced to just over 200.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 25, 2016 12:32 PM (Nwg0u)

269 When my son Old enough I plan on taking a trip with him to wear our great great great great grandfather fought in the Civil War, Hoover's gap Tennessee, he was Shot and listed as Dead his Captain promoted him to Sargent so his wife would get a good pension, he finished the war as a Lt Colonel. This is all in his records that I got from the National Archives. He fled Germany because it was traditional that the youngest goes into the Preisthood, he had to document all this so he could get a disability benefits because he was shot in the shoulder and had a hard time with getting work. I have like 8 inches of paper work and it's fascinating to read it.

Posted by: Patrick from Ohio at September 25, 2016 12:37 PM (dKiJG)

270 Via WeaselZippers, science! has discovered that words, not just some words, but words in general, indeed, the very concept of "words", are responsible for the oppression of women.

"Feminist Declares the Invention of the Alphabet the Root of Sexism, Misogyny & Patriarchy..."

My guess is they made up this unbelievable BS after Hillary had so much trouble understanding the letter "C"...

The use of the alphabet to classify intelligence is sexist and misogynistic!

Posted by: Clyde Shelton at September 25, 2016 12:39 PM (7A4qQ)

271 I had that problem during a move: which books were in which box, so I could find them later?
Solution: put the books in the box spine upward, then photograph the box and notes its number.
Now whenever I need a particular book (way too many to place on the groaning shelves) I look up the photos, find the box, and go fish it out.
Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 25, 2016 10:36 AM (SRKgf)

-------------------------------
NO! The 2nd best way* to ruin a good book is to box it with the spine up. Box them flat. Putting them in boxes spine up breaks the spine/paper connection and ruins the book. Even if it's for a "short time". Your idea would work if you re-pack the books correctly after you take the picture but don't leaven them that way.

* the 1st Best way to ruin a book is to read it in the bathtub when you are sleepy.

Posted by: John Pomeroy at September 25, 2016 12:43 PM (mXHrk)

272 Socrates said that writing and reading were to be discouraged because literacy weakens memory. People will depend on books and not on experts; all the learned application of ancient wisdom will atrophy and die.

People are making similar arguments today about the Internet.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 25, 2016 12:47 PM (6FqZa)

273 The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image by Leonard Shlain, who claimed, among other things:

"Literacy has promoted the subjugation of women by men throughout all but the very recent history of the West...Misogyny and patriarchy rise and fall with the fortunes of the alphabetic written word."


The Left are inherently anti-intellectual and pine away for returning to the Leftist version of the Garden of Eden and becoming again the Nobel Savage.

Posted by: The Intellectual Hat at September 25, 2016 12:49 PM (vBeA5)

274 Love the pic of the Bogota Library. Not a Homeless American in sight.

Yes, donate to a prison (or rehab/nursing home). Reading history is invaluable to becoming a good person. Or do a little Free Library in front of your house.

Posted by: PJ at September 25, 2016 12:49 PM (cHuNI)

275 Misogyny and patriarchy rise and fall with the fortunes of the alphabetic written word

Niger literacy: 19.1%
Afghanistan: 38.2%

What do you think, ladies? Want to move to those feminist paradises, Niger or the North West Frontier?

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at September 25, 2016 12:52 PM (6FqZa)

276 he 1st Best way to ruin a book is to read it in the bathtub when you are sleepy. Posted by: John Pomeroy at September 25, 2016 12:43 PM (mXHrk)
=====

I am still waiting for my library to tell me if I win the prize for the most fines/damaged books over the past 20+ years. A few hardcover history might put me over the top. My response to paying fines: I pay so much that the next expansion should be named after me.

Posted by: mustbequantum at September 25, 2016 12:55 PM (MIKMs)

277 The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image by Leonard Shlain, who claimed, among other things:

"Literacy has promoted the subjugation of women by men throughout all but the very recent history of the West...Misogyny and patriarchy rise and fall with the fortunes of the alphabetic written word."

-
This does explain progressive education philosophy and results.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 25, 2016 12:58 PM (Nwg0u)

278 The father of moron commenter and fellow OB cob CBD, who was a voracious reader of history, passed back in May, and CBD inherited his library of several hundred history books. Once he takes the ones he wants, he would like to know of any of you morons have any ideas what to do with the rest. He's ruled out donating them to his local library since he thinks they'll take a few and then pulp the rest. He's tried to donate them to Hillsdale College, but they didn't return his e-mail. And reselling them individually through Amazon or Alibris is a PITA he'd like to avoid.

So I'm putting this out there in the hopes that any of the MoronHorde might have any ideas.


I'll take them. E-mail me at the e-mail on my blog linked in my nic.

Posted by: The Biblio-Hat at September 25, 2016 12:59 PM (vBeA5)

279 Patrick from Ohio - That is a cool story and I think it was done often, and often the gift was taken and the recipient lived to take advantage of it.

Posted by: Skip at September 25, 2016 01:03 PM (JfUI4)

280 The Saddest Book In The World


All in the way you look at it. Obviously, the author has enough self-esteem to believe that just because she's alone doesn't mean she's not worth the time and trouble of a good meal!

Posted by: SMOD 2016! at September 25, 2016 01:06 PM (YeKKY)

281 I came to the conclusion that Amazon Book reviews were pretty much worthless a long time ago. After I read Michell Maulkin's book In Defense of Internment I thought it was a well written book and highly researched with lots of footnotes citing references.


There was a concerted effort to savage the book and her personally as well.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 25, 2016 01:11 PM (mpXpK)

282 The reviews on that language/Goddess book are pretty amusing. Its either "what a pile of nonsense" or "this is the best book ever written and I bought ten copies!"

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 25, 2016 01:12 PM (39g3+)

283 I'm reading Leonard Maltin's early-80s Our Gang book, which I believe is out of print, but I got a copy at a used book sale.

Posted by: WhatWhatWhat? - I speak of the Pompatous of Love at September 25, 2016 09:16 AM (WlGX+)

Dang! Just checked and my local liberry doesn't have that one. It DID have all of Gene Wilder's books. Go figure...

My screensaver is a group photo of the Our Gang kids, including Stymie, who truly was outstanding. Froggy and Scotty and many others were really "meh" characters. Chubby was worthwhile for the comic relief (esp. the "Oh, Miss Crabtree" episode!), and Joe (the massive, old-beyond-his-years looking kid) seemed to be included as the film equivalent of a sideshow freak.

Posted by: SMOD 2016! at September 25, 2016 01:17 PM (YeKKY)

284 Patrick from Ohio - That is a cool story and I think it was done often, and often the gift was taken and the recipient lived to take advantage of it.
Posted by: Skip at September 25, 2016 01:03 PM (JfUI4)

In the actual muster roll it lists him as deceased, he tried to come back to his unit but was unable to sleep on the hard ground. The medical records show the path the bullet took, it went just below the collarbone then traveled out near his shoulder blade, how he survived that is amazing.

Posted by: Patrick from Ohio at September 25, 2016 01:19 PM (dKiJG)

285 Oh, and a little O/T about "word appropriation," I recently heard someone going on about language and how the left constantly changes it to suit their purposes.

Do you know what word really hits a homerun with millenials via focus groups? "Sustainable." Off the charts.

Ugh.

Posted by: SMOD 2016! at September 25, 2016 01:21 PM (YeKKY)

286 The current pope is incredibly annoying but I'm so glad I am Catholic.

Posted by: Tonestaple at September 25, 2016 09:31 AM (VsZJP)

You just reminded me of a convert who pulls no punches as a traditional Catholic. While she calls Bergoglio "the anti-pope," she believes Benedict is the worst pope evah. I'll let her explain. She ALWAYS provides food for thought.

http://bit.ly/2cVUpLb

Posted by: SMOD 2016! at September 25, 2016 01:28 PM (YeKKY)

287 Punctuation (?) Day . . . was: yesterday!
Posted by: Trimegistus at September 25, 2016 09:38 AM (YIUnI)

The hubs informed me today is National Lobster Day and if you wear a lobster-related item to Red Lobster they give you some little freebie off the menu.

Posted by: SMOD 2016! at September 25, 2016 01:44 PM (YeKKY)

288 Do you know what word really hits a homerun with millenials via focus groups? "Sustainable." Off the charts.

I'm skeptical of the value of focus groups, but that word makes me instantly annoyed. As soon as I hear it or read it, I know they're trying to con me.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 25, 2016 01:47 PM (39g3+)

289 Amazon wil hide reviews if they get enough downvotes or get flagged.

Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 02:11 PM (Om16U)

290 JTB, how nice to reconnect with readers in yoru family!

I am sorry to hear about your FIL. RIP.

Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 02:22 PM (Om16U)

291 >>>Every time Kerry says something dumb like this, I always think, does he think he can make hay out of this, or is he just horsing around?


It's not dumb, it's evil. It's not to cover up his failures. It's to cover up the side effects of this administration's immigration policy.

Posted by: Yakovlev Yak at September 25, 2016 02:54 PM (dtWKK)

292 Off bovine aerodynamic sock.

Posted by: Yuimetal at September 25, 2016 02:55 PM (dtWKK)

293 Oops, forgot to plug this.

GOODREADS GROUPIES PLEASE VOTE IN NOVEMBER POLL!

VOTING CLOSES FRIDAY!

ONLY 2 PPL HAVE VOTED SO FAR.
IF YOU DON'T VOTE THE TERRORISTS WIN.

LINK:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/z335vye

Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 02:56 PM (Om16U)

294 I'm never very comfortable portraying those who tried to assassinate Hitler as heroic. Yes, they wanted to kill Hitler but mostly because they thought he was ruining the war effort and wanted to make peace and keep a lot of the gains the German military had made. Most of them were pretty content in 1941 when Hitler was winning on all fronts and seemingly could do no wrong. For the most part, it was only when the war wasn't going well that they turned on him. If they had gotten their way and the Allies had have accepted their terms, it would likely have guaranteed a third world war with Germany.

Posted by: Tiny Montgomery at September 25, 2016 03:14 PM (HSWZG)

295 Interesting discussion on the Hitler bio. I just got done reading Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" and as big as it was, a lot was missing. For instance, he barely touches on the internal situation in the Soviet Union (I think he could have devoted a short summary to that) and during the portion where he chronicles individual acts of Nazi crimes against humanity, he completely fails to even mention Mengele. It is better as a primary source (as he was present in Germany as a journalist at the time) than a great work of history. Good, but not truly great. For that I recommend the 3 volume history on Nazi Germany written by Richard Evans. I have read all three of those and those are outstanding. I can't speak to a Hitler bio, though. I have not read a dedicated Hitler biography, not even Kershaw's.

Posted by: CatchThirtyThr33 at September 25, 2016 03:29 PM (1bq0H)

296 293 ... Vote registered. Thanks for the reminder.

Posted by: JTB at September 25, 2016 03:30 PM (V+03K)

297 Patrick from Ohio-Not sure how much American Civil War history you have read but there are photographs of surviving wounded, the disfigurement that some lived through is hadly to be believed.

Posted by: Skip at September 25, 2016 03:56 PM (JfUI4)

298 Re: the idea of mocking terrorists, I think it could work but it would fly in the face of modern feminism. A large portion of ISIS recruits are societal failures; physically weak, impotent with women; and failures in most types of social settings. I suspect a Venn diagram of ISIS recruits and American mass shooters would overlap quite a bit. So in terms of mocking them, you would have to point out their failures of obtaining the masculine ideal. Being successful with women (not in terms of sexual conquests but just comfortable around women socially and beyond) being physically capable of hard work and most specifically, successfully being the head of a family and providing for them. All of these things have been torn down by modern feminism. If there is no masculine ideal, how do you mock those who have failed to achieve it?

Posted by: TxSheepdog at September 25, 2016 03:59 PM (ymiT3)

299 Books can take you places you will never see, I often as I read historical war books will be reading aboug someplace and look it up on Google maps. Reading the Battle of the Bulge you can go to ground and virtually be where you are reading. Well reading Sea of Words see under the word Diamond Rock and read in late 1803 Commadore Samuel Hood on the 74 Centaur took the small pyramid shaped island off the se corner of Martinique. They hauled artillery onlt it and used it as a unsinkable ship. It is easily found on Google map and is labled HMS Diamond Rock.

Posted by: Skip at September 25, 2016 04:14 PM (JfUI4)

300 Speaking of Shakespeare and mysteries, I read Closed Casket by Sophie
Hannah this week. It is a new Hercule Poirot in which one of the
suspects has a fixation on Shakespeare's King John which he considers to
be Shakespeare's greatest play. It kept me amused.



That would give a character an air of distinction, thought it was a weak play myself, though the history is interesting.

Posted by: waelse1 at September 25, 2016 04:18 PM (DXrCk)

301 Speaking of Shakespeare and mysteries, I read Closed Casket by Sophie Hannah this week. It is a new Hercule Poirot in which one of the suspects has a fixation on Shakespeare's King John which he considers to be Shakespeare's greatest play. It kept me amused.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 25, 2016 11:40 AM (Nwg0u)

That's on my to-read pile.

Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 04:28 PM (Om16U)

302 Finished Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge by John Ringo. Not bad, it lacks the focus that Larry Correia brings to the monster hunter universe. it is written as a "memoir" so that's understandable. The protagonist is more than a little over the top in being the smartest and most capable person on the planet, let alone in a room. But as the story progresses, it becomes a it more focused. I enjoyed it, and would rate it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Posted by: Darth Randall at September 25, 2016 04:35 PM (6n332)

303 Signed up for NaNoWriMo. Maybe this time I can do it?

Didn't someone say there's a Moron group on NaNo? I didn't see one...

Posted by: Ex-liberal at September 25, 2016 04:46 PM (gsdjp)

304
Late to the thread.
Been compusively running all my stuff through Grammarly, and wading through the thousands of flags to find the hundreds of mistakes. An embarrassing number of mistakes.

Second editions, which should be mostly free of mistakes, are going up now.

I'm thinking about restarting my old blog, but really have nothing to say. I might just post pretty pictures, (I am an amateur photographer), and just claim the domain name.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at September 25, 2016 05:14 PM (NTn0N)

305 303 Signed up for NaNoWriMo. Maybe this time I can do it?

Didn't someone say there's a Moron group on NaNo? I didn't see one...
Posted by: Ex-liberal at September 25, 2016 04:46 PM (gsdjp)

Oh goodness! Anna should know.

Tell y'all what - I'll start a Nano thread on the goodreads group so ppl can post links etc

Posted by: Deplorable @votermom at September 25, 2016 05:14 PM (Om16U)

306 The theme of literacy as oppression seems to have been around for a while. Twenty-plus years ago I read an article (from WSJ, I think) about a professor of child development (or feminist child development or something) at Stanford who taught her students that reading to children was child abuse, because it introduced them into a violent, patriarchal world.

Young children only pretend to like adults reading to them because they have been so traumatized by the experience that they feel like their lives are in danger if they don't act enthusiastic about Dad reading them a story.

Article did not state if this teacher used written tests or books in the classroom.

Something also filters through my memory banks about the glories of a society built on oral traditions, propounded by newspaper columnists who were "Latino studies" types.


Posted by: KT at September 25, 2016 05:19 PM (qahv/)

307 Books can take you places you will never see,

-
That's why I read Penthouse Forum.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 25, 2016 05:38 PM (Nwg0u)

308 The theme of literacy as oppression seems to have been around for a while. Twenty-plus years ago I read an article (from WSJ, I think) about a professor of child development (or feminist child development or something) at Stanford who taught her students that reading to children was child abuse, because it introduced them into a violent, patriarchal world.

-
About 30 years ago, at the height of Afrocentrism, I read an article in Time, I think, that included the opinion that literacy is racist precisely because if you write something down, it can't be amended or, I like to call it, ObamaClintoned.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With More Je Ne Sais Quoi! at September 25, 2016 05:43 PM (Nwg0u)

309 re: the orphaned history books. What kind of history? How many books? I could find out if my local library wants them.

Posted by: Richard McEnroe at September 25, 2016 06:25 PM (Kucy5)

310 What I find interesting about Leonard Shlain's writing is that he starts out from an archaeological perspective. He says that the peoples he researched and dug up started with goddess worship, then replaced them with gods as time went on.

He instantly and without hesitation presumes this is a bad thing. But what if its not? What if moving from earth fertility goddesses to various more sophisticated concepts represented by gods is progress? Why is moving from female to male bad, by definition?

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at September 25, 2016 07:56 PM (39g3+)

311 I still feel that if Stauffenberg had been serious, his bomb would have had a trigger, not a timer.

Posted by: RNB at September 25, 2016 08:45 PM (DjjZJ)

312 Check out http://www.kingbooksdetroit.com/

I know they will buy entire collections.

Posted by: wilyliam at September 25, 2016 09:58 PM (gsn6e)

313 I guess that'll learn me to be too busy for the book thread...

96
When I
subjected my kid to Latin tutelage at age 8, I found there is yet
another Latin course, "Latin via Ovid." Fascinating as the subject
matter was, compared to old blowhard Caesar going on and on about his
many excellences, Ovid's Latin constructions are outright weird.


"Latin via Ovid" was the text I learned from. Towards the end of the book, there are bits from (IIRC, book is in a box) Virgil as well, which is more straightforward. But you have to work through a lot of Ovid to get there. 'Course, now that the Latin professor has retired, there's no Latin of any kind at my local community college anymore.

The same fellow who taught Latin also taught Russian. One of his students had bought him a book about Greek mythology in Russian while on a trip to Moscow. We've been using at as supplemental reading. There were several times during the back end of Latin via Ovid that I was working on the same story in Latin and Russian. It was interesting.

Long story having been shortened, I can read Cicero, but Ovid's a little bitch.

That's due to Ovid's patented student-annoying poetry blender, through which he runs all the sentences.

Posted by: Anachronda at September 26, 2016 01:05 AM (Oi5b2)

314 Dorothy Sayer's "Strong Poison." Not as good as, say, "Busman's Honeymoon," but is introducing Harriet Vane.

Posted by: BJ54 at September 26, 2016 05:35 AM (zsn5a)

315 Bogota HEAD Librarian...open all dem books or better yer X Ray them...sniff test...............

Posted by: saf at September 26, 2016 12:09 PM (+zN6H)

316 "Hi."

Posted by: Clayton Barnett at October 01, 2016 06:04 PM (ug1Mc)

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A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
News/Chat