Sunday Morning Book Thread 01-08-2017

Philosophy Library, Mudd Hall, University of Southern California

Good morning to all you 'rons, 'ettes, lurkers, and lurkettes. Welcome once again to the stately, prestigious, internationally acclaimed and high-class Sunday Morning Book Thread, where men are men, all the 'ettes are hotties, safe spaces are underneath your house and are used as protection against actual dangers, like natural disasters, and somebody sneaking carrots into your chili, and special snowflakes do not get respect, but instead, belly laughs. And unlike other AoSHQ comment threads, the Sunday Morning Book Thread is so hoity-toity, pants are required. Even if it's these pants, which, like last week's pants, do not improve simply by being photographed on a young, attractive woman.

604 596 Virginia Woolf was a terrible author.
Posted by: dagny at January 04, 2017 03:37 PM (pH7uT)

Thank you! Reading her crap is like getting beaten with a bag of oranges.
Posted by: josephistan at January 04, 2017 03:38 PM (7HtZB)

Democratic Party Status Update: Hosed

The Democratic Party may be on the verge of imploding. In the wake of getting they butt kicked by Donald Trump, perhaps a rethink is in order. A FoxNews article from Dec. 8 says just that: I'm a Democrat but Clinton staffer Jennifer Palmieri's twisted logic is exactly why we lost, by Bryan Dean Wright, argues that the Democrats are following a defective strategy, one by which they believe, according to Wright:

...that we can cruise to electoral dominance if we build a coalition of voters based on identity politics. In other words, if Democrats can get a particular slice of Americans to the polls – women, Jews, ethnic minorities, gay men and lesbians – we will win.

The idea for this dates back most famously to 2004 when political experts John Judis and Ruy Teixeira published their book, “The Emerging Democratic Majority.” They convinced my party that hard data – demographic, geographic, economic, and political data – forecasted the dawn of a new progressive era.

They argued that there was a massive wave of Democratic voters in the country’s urban areas just waiting to support the party, and would do so for generations to come.

Now, there is an obvious flaw in this strategy that the Wile E. Coyote brain trust of the Democratic Party apparently missed. More on that later. Here is the book he's talking about, The Emerging Democratic Majority:

In five well-researched chapters and a new afterword covering the 2002 elections, Judis and Teixeira show how the most dynamic and fastest-growing areas of the country are cultivating a new wave of Democratic voters who embrace what the authors call "progressive centrism" and take umbrage at Republican demands to privatize social security, ban abortion, and cut back environmental regulations.

As the GOP continues to be dominated by neoconservatives, the religious right, and corporate influence, this is an essential volume for all those discontented with their narrow agenda -- and a clarion call for a new political order.

This book actually takes its title for an earlier, similar book that was written from someone on the other side of the aisle, The Emerging Republican Majority by Kevin Phillips.

One of the most important and controversial books in modern American politics, The Emerging Republican Majority (1969) explained how Richard Nixon won the White House in 1968—and why the Republicans would go on to dominate presidential politics for the next quarter century. Rightly or wrongly, the book has widely been seen as a blueprint for how Republicans, using the so-called Southern Strategy, could build a durable winning coalition in presidential elections. Certainly, Nixon’s election marked the end of a "New Deal Democratic hegemony" and the beginning of a conservative realignment encompassing historically Democratic voters from the South and the Florida-to-California "Sun Belt," in the book’s enduring coinage.

Kevin Phillips was kind of like the David Brooks of his day, that is, a DC Beltway "establishment" Republican who pretty much agreed with liberals on most things and who spent more time criticizing Republicans he found distasteful (i.e. actual conservatives) than Democrats. But his Emerging Majority book, one of 15 that he wrote, was very influential in GOP leadership circles. I'll bet anything that Karl Rove used to sleep with it under his pillow.

As this article discusses, the Democrats need to decide the future direction of their party, whether they're going to double down on identity/grievance politics or try to address the economic concerns of millions of working Americans who haven't been doing so well for the last couple of decades, Americans that the Democrats claim to be the champions of. Clearly, trying to stoke up women, gays, and ethnic minorities is problematic. As Wright said about The Emerging Democratic Majority:

They argued that there was a massive wave of Democratic voters in the country’s urban areas just waiting to support the party, and would do so for generations to come.

See the problem? All this strategy will do is pile up big votes in urban areas, i.e. blue states that are already solidly Democratic. And this is precisely what we saw in this election: Clinton racked up lopsided majorities in NY (Clinton 59%), California (61%) and Massachusetts (60%) which did nothing but pad her total in the popular vote which fostered the illusion that she somehow "won" the election. And this explains why the Democrat dead-enders are caterwauling and tearing their hair out over the Electoral College. Meanwhile, they've lost more governorships and state legislatures. So they've got to figure out how to stop the bleeding. Who knows, maybe they're bring back the DLC. It will be a sign of health if they do.

A Call For Submissions

Lurker Oren Litwin (who has commented in the past on this blog as 'Mastiff') is putting together an anthology, to be funded with a Kickstarter project. He tells me:

Given the talented authors we have among the Morons, I thought they would like to know that I’m putting together an anthology of military-fiction short stories, broadly defined. So, resistance fighters against Nazis in Warsaw or a tyrannical government in Ohio would qualify, as would English longbowmen or samurai. (“Near-future” speculative fiction is acceptable if set within the next decade.)

I'm guessing that if you wanted to do a story about a battle featuring longbows on one side and crossbows on the other, that would be acceptable, too.

Payment to the selected authors will depend on the success of the Kickstarter. If it funds, authors will receive a minimum of $100 each (max $1,000). If it fails, authors will receive $25 each, paid out of my pocket.

And I liked this requirement, makes it sort of conservative:

Works with strong thematic elements are encouraged. The martial virtues—honor, courage, sacrifice, as well as less traditional ones like cunning and deception—are encouraged. Nihilism can be part of the setup, but should not be the conclusion—the characters should push through nihilism to the other side, whatever that is.

Complete details can be found on Dr. Litwin's web site. The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2017.

This is the first part of an ambitious program Dr. Litwin is putting together, based on the concept of what he calls audience-driven writing:

I believe that anyone should be able to propose a general scheme for a book, join with other fans to provide funding, and then pay authors to write books that qualify. It’s an exciting idea that flips the normal model on its head.

More details here.

Dr. Litwin couldn't resist bragging about his day job. He says he spends all day keeping an eye on Islamist radicals and then writes about them.

RIP Richard Adams

According to the Guardian, Richard Adams, the author of Watership Down, has passed on:

A statement on the book’s official website said: “Richard’s much-loved family announce with sadness that their dear father, grandfather, and great-grandfather passed away peacefully at 10pm on Christmas Eve.”

The novel, first published in 1972, became one of the bestselling children’s books of all time, selling tens of millions of copies.

He was aged 96.

And I'm surprise Watership Down is considered a children's book. I read it some years ago, and it seemed pretty adult to me. I never would have thought it was a book I'd give to my kids to read. But the Guardian article says it came from a story Adams made up impromptu to entertain his daughters as he drove them to school, so what do I know?

I'm surprised that the Kindle version is available for only $4.99.

Moron Recommendations

Saw this recommendation from commenter 'Norx' in one of last week's threads: Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea. Norx says:

I had no idea the depth of poverty in North Korea until I heard the stories of expats interviewed in the South. For a book with exactly zero gunfights, it really gripped me. And it's a rare treat when an author from the LA Times disparages communism.

Posted by: Norx at December 29, 2016 10:49 AM (wx6iv)

Kindle edition currently $1.99

___________

Moron josephistan received Dear Luke, We Need to Talk, Darth: And Other Pop Culture Correspondences by John Moe as a Christmas present. It serves up a ton of pop culture jokes in the form of letters and other written material, such as Captain Kirk’s lost log entries and Yelp reviews of The Bates Motel.

An example josesphistan provided is an exchange between Ozzy & Tony Iommi about the lyrics to "War Pigs":

Dear Ozzy,
You rhymed "masses" with "masses." Please advise.

Dear Tont,
Huywg, mgfickc rock n roll, man.

Dear Ozzy,
Good point.

___________

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: OregonMuse at 09:03 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Books baby!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 08:59 AM (EnKk6)

2 So I have a question. I got a Kindle fire for Christmas. I don't have WiFi at home, so can I download books using my computer connected to the Kindle?

Posted by: HH at January 08, 2017 09:01 AM (DrCtv)

3 Ah! There you are! Good morning!

Posted by: April at January 08, 2017 09:01 AM (e8PP1)

4 Good morning to OM and my fellow Book Threadists. Love that library photo at the top of the post It has the appropriate cathedral-like appearance that books deserve.

Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 09:02 AM (V+03K)

5 Tolle lege
Still working on Russian Officers of the Revolutionary and Napoleoic wars by Alexander Mikaberidze. Its a good way to keep your Grekovs and Ilovayskis from being mixed up.

Posted by: Skip at January 08, 2017 09:02 AM (5sOEp)

6 Isn't Kevin Phillips another one that switched sides like Brock?

Posted by: Grump928(C) at January 08, 2017 09:04 AM (LTHVh)

7 Just started the futuristic gumshoe novel Gestapo Mars. The Bukowsiesque opening has our protagonist puking on the shoes of his cryotechnician as he wakes up from hypersleep. He's an assassin who's defrosted whenever there's a job to be done and he just learned that 258 years have passed. Skinny ties are back.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 09:04 AM (EnKk6)

8 Wow, those are actually pretty terrible pants.

Posted by: hogmartin at January 08, 2017 09:05 AM (8nWyX)

9 brrrrr. I may be burning books in the fireplace before this is over.

Posted by: Mike Hammer,etc., etc. at January 08, 2017 09:06 AM (ZO497)

10 I guess I should have read the next paragraph.

Doh!.

Posted by: Grump928(C) at January 08, 2017 09:07 AM (LTHVh)

11 Harcourt Fenton Mudd!!!

I better not catch you reading philosophy again!!!

Posted by: Stella Mudd at January 08, 2017 09:08 AM (9q7Dl)

12 Just started on 'Clash of the Titans' this week. Some nuances regarding the WWII German naval fleet are new to me.

I really did not know the story of the SS City of Flint. I'm probably the last to read about it.

Posted by: Mike Hammer,etc., etc. at January 08, 2017 09:09 AM (ZO497)

13 I mentioned last week that I started "Painting as a Pastime" by Winston Churchill. Well, I finished it this week which led to a major disruption of my planned reading. It's a delightful little book, less than a hundred pages, about why Churchill began painting as a hobby at age 40, what it has meant to him throughout his life, and the importance of hobbies in general.

One surprise was the humor. His description of his trepidation about beginning that first painting was worthy of PG Wodehouse. It had me laughing out loud. I expect keen insight and brilliantly written prose from Churchill (and that is here as well). I don't expect him to make me giggle.

That book led to the disruption as I started going through some of the how-to art books on the shelves.

Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 09:10 AM (V+03K)

14 "Clearly, trying to stoke up women, gays, and ethnic minorities is problematic."

It's all they've got, and I don't see any sign that it's letting up. Several of my friends posted on FB this week their intention to go to the women's march on the inauguration, with the gleeful intent to "smash the patriarchy."

Democrats and leftists (BIRM) do not understand that America has reached peak agitation. After 50 years of it, it's just an irritant.

Posted by: April at January 08, 2017 09:12 AM (e8PP1)

15 >>>Virginia Woolf was a terrible author.

She frightens me.

Posted by: Tom Baker at January 08, 2017 09:12 AM (rH4JY)

16 I read The Last of the Tin Can Sailors by James D. Hornfischer. I don't read a lot of military history, but this book certainly lives up to the very positive recommendations here. Meticulous research by Hornfischer allowed him to write a very detailed account of bravery and sacrifice by U. S. sailors during a WWII battle off the coast of Samar in the Philippines. A great read.

Posted by: Zoltan at January 08, 2017 09:13 AM (ApkN7)

17 So I have a question. I got a Kindle fire for Christmas. I don't have WiFi at home, so can I download books using my computer connected to the Kindle?

-
Yes, or go to a Starbucks or other hotspot. You probably wouldn't even have to go inside.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, This Is the Dawning of the Age of the Trumpius! at January 08, 2017 09:14 AM (Nwg0u)

18 I read Watership Down when I was in 7th grade. So, not really for elementary school kids, maybe, but it was a great read at that age, and a good introduction to some of life's harsher subjects.

Posted by: April at January 08, 2017 09:15 AM (e8PP1)

19 Posted by: April at January 08, 2017 09:12 AM (e8PP1)
---
Wouldn't it be more fun to "smoosh the Matriarchy"?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 09:16 AM (EnKk6)

20 Horde author Michael Banzet's book, A Flowershop in Baghdad, is an upcoming group read in the horde goodreads group. With that in mind, he has put the Kindle edition on sale for only $2.99. The sale is active now and runs through 1/14. It sounds like a very interesting book.

Posted by: cool breeze at January 08, 2017 09:16 AM (StZrq)

21 Isn't Kevin Phillips another one that switched sides like Brock?

Posted by: Grump928(C)

David Brock was straight at one point?

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at January 08, 2017 09:17 AM (rH4JY)

22 The Last of the Tin Can Sailors by James D. Hornfischer.

-
You'd better have a box of Kleenex near by.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, This Is the Dawning of the Age of the Trumpius! at January 08, 2017 09:17 AM (Nwg0u)

23 She frightens me.
Posted by: Tom Baker
----------

I'm afraid of her.

Posted by: Mike Hammer,etc., etc. at January 08, 2017 09:19 AM (ZO497)

24 16 I read The Last of the Tin Can Sailors by James D. Hornfischer.
Posted by: Zoltan at January 08, 2017 09:13 AM (ApkN7)

It's definitely worth reading. The focus on the personal story can make it a little confusing though; it's sometimes hard to remember if you're reading about the radar operator from Philadelphia or the lookout from Omaha or the fresh young ensign from Los Angeles or what.

If you liked it, read Shattered Sword as well. More of a broad narrative of the Battle of Midway, but it hits the same spot.

Posted by: hogmartin at January 08, 2017 09:19 AM (8nWyX)

25 As the GOP continues to be dominated by neoconservatives, the religious right, and corporate influence, this is an essential volume for all those discontented with their narrow agenda -- and a clarion call for a new political order.

===

Good thing we've left these behind.

Posted by: Bigby's Pinkyswear at January 08, 2017 09:20 AM (U0lQa)

26 Is cleaning one's bookshelves a sign of the apocalypse? If it is, take cover, because I did some of that yesterday. There are about twenty books to donate to the library- mostly teenybopper stuff that I bought when I was that age and can't stand to look at now. And there was that series in which I really liked the first book and bought the rest on the strength of that first book, only to discover that it was the proverbial neverending story (for those who are wondering, it was Richelle Mead's Bloodlines series; they're YA vampire novels).

So the shelves are a little less cluttered. But only a little. And those were just the ones in my bedroom; I haven't even looked at the ones in the rest of the house.

Posted by: right wing yankee at January 08, 2017 09:20 AM (26lkV)

27 Smash the Patriarchy.

The gathering of societal misfits on Jan 20 is going to be something to behold.

#jan20hickoryhaircuts

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at January 08, 2017 09:21 AM (89T5c)

28 I wonder if any of these Democrat strategy books that stress an 'urban' approach deal with what happens when the non-urban areas get tired of feeding the usurping, demanding, sneering, arrogant city voters. New York needs crops more than Nebraska needs MOMA or The Met.

I've thought for a long time that any future civil war in this country wouldn't be north vs south but urban against non-urban.

Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 09:21 AM (V+03K)

29 I read The Last of the Tin Can Sailors by James D. Hornfischer.
----------

Generally well-written books, his. I can recommend 'Neptune's Inferno' also.

Posted by: Mike Hammer,etc., etc. at January 08, 2017 09:21 AM (ZO497)

30 Reading an excellent book by the late professor of philosophy and a deeply committed Christian, Dr. Dallas Willard-"Hearing God"- developing a conversational relationship with God. Richard Foster, who has written many devotional books calls it "The best book on divine guidance I have ever read." and the reviews on Amazon are generally very favorable.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 08, 2017 09:22 AM (tOcW/)

31
I finally finished reading The Fatal Shore, Robert Hughes' history of Australia's years as a penal colony. It was a real slog due to the subject matter and people's behaviors largely being nasty to one another throughout. This one will go into the donations pile.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 08, 2017 09:23 AM (BK3ZS)

32 28 I wonder if any of these Democrat strategy books that stress an 'urban' approach deal with what happens when the non-urban areas get tired of feeding the usurping, demanding, sneering, arrogant city voters. New York needs crops more than Nebraska needs MOMA or The Met.
Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 09:21 AM (V+03K)

It wasn't a problem for us.

Posted by: Josef Stalin at January 08, 2017 09:24 AM (sdi6R)

33 Still deep in the Old Testament (Jeremiah). Also trying to figure out if I'm using Plotto right. But keeping to my resolution to write 1000 words a day whether I want to or not.

Posted by: joncelli at January 08, 2017 09:24 AM (1FhAQ)

34 And I'm surprise Watership Down is considered a children's book. I read
it some years ago, and it seemed pretty adult to me. I never would have
thought it was a book I'd give to my kids to read. But the Guardian
article says it came from a story Adams made up impromptu to entertain his daughters as he drove them to school, so what do I know?

It used to be children were expected to be handle some of those adult topics because, guess what? Life doesn't care if you're a kid or not, sometimes shit happens. Kids now (at least in the corrupted husk of the West) are so sheltered and coddled they don't recognize "life" so they clamor for "safe spaces" (ask the people of Srebrenica how well that works).

Posted by: Brother Cavil, Cylon without a basestar at January 08, 2017 09:24 AM (vyqqu)

35 This week I've been reading a history of Venice by Thomas F. Madden (my wife gave it to me for Christmas). I love the Venetian Republic. They were masters of ruthless badassery in the service of patriotism. Hired mercenary captain plotting treachery with the other side? Invite him back to Venice for a strategy conference, throw him a big party . . . and execute him. That's how a city of 200,000 people could go head-to-head with the major powers of Europe for five hundred years.

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 08, 2017 09:24 AM (88x1C)

36 Democrats and leftists (BIRM) do not understand that America has reached peak agitation. After 50 years of it, it's just an irritant.

Posted by: April

Don't underestimate this tactic. A small minority of bullies can intimidate the majority, as well as key people. It's what they tried to do with the electors. Slimy Alinsky tactics. I don't think it will disrupt the inauguration, especially with Hillary attending, but it would be nice if they received some pushback from counter protestors.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at January 08, 2017 09:25 AM (rH4JY)

37 34 And I'm surprise Watership Down is considered a children's book. I read
it some years ago, and it seemed pretty adult to me. I never would have
thought it was a book I'd give to my kids to read. But the Guardian
article says it came from a story Adams made up impromptu to entertain his daughters as he drove them to school, so what do I know?

It used to be children were expected to be handle some of those adult topics because, guess what? Life doesn't care if you're a kid or not, sometimes shit happens. Kids now (at least in the corrupted husk of the West) are so sheltered and coddled they don't recognize "life" so they clamor for "safe spaces" (ask the people of Srebrenica how well that works).
Posted by: Brother Cavil, Cylon without a basestar at January 08, 2017 09:24 AM (vyqqu)

We watched the cartoon remake of the book in elementary school. I remember the rabbit with rabies.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 09:27 AM (92kX2)

38 I picked up the novelazation of Rouge One, I hope the movie is not this slow. Could be that the author is trying to streach the material.

Posted by: Paladin at January 08, 2017 09:27 AM (YaToS)

39 And I almost forgot: The manuscript for A Kingdom of Glass came back from the copyeditor last night! Some of you knew it last summer as Strangers in a Strange Land, and were kind enough to beta-read for me. It's been marching slowly but steadily toward publication and- barring disaster- I should have it ready for public consumption by mid-February.

Posted by: right wing yankee at January 08, 2017 09:27 AM (26lkV)

40 That Churchill book about hobby painting led to a lot of time with other art books I have. I've found any of the 'how-to' drawing books by Claudia Nice or Cathy Johnson to be very helpful. (When you have little talent, you need more technique.) Also, for technique and pure inspiration, "Botanical Portraits" by Ann Swan and "Botanical Drawing" by Wendy Hollender are excellent. They both use colored pencils of various kinds for the color medium.

Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 09:27 AM (V+03K)

41 The demo at the Inauguration will be yet another "Protest reenactment" by old hippies and young wish-they-were hippies. They'll do all the classic bits (will we see the return of the Giant Paper-Mache heads?) but nobody really gives a damn except the protesters. They're doing it because it's the closest thing they have to a religious ritual.

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 08, 2017 09:28 AM (88x1C)

42 I got a "Three Investigators" book for Christmas. I don't remember asking for it, so I think I must have put it on my wish list for later after seeing it recommended here.

Currently reading Terry Pratchett's last book, "The Shepherd's Crown".

Posted by: roamingfirehydrant at January 08, 2017 09:28 AM (THS4q)

43 Do the Three Investigators still hang out with Alfred Hitchcock? I heard at one point his estate pulled permission so he was replaced with a fictional stand-in.

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 08, 2017 09:29 AM (88x1C)

44 38 I picked up the novelazation of Rouge One, I hope the movie is not this slow. Could be that the author is trying to streach the material.
Posted by: Paladin at January 08, 2017 09:27 AM (YaToS)

In the main, I have always found novelizations to be mostly a way to rewatch the movie. It never seems like you get any more information on the story. This is probably due to the writer writing from the screenplay?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 09:29 AM (92kX2)

45 OM - "In the wake of getting they butt kicked by Donald Trump..."

You knew I would do this, didn't you?

Them Dem Kickers

How about Them Dem Kickers,
Ain't they crumbs?
Kickin' them Dems,
In they buns.
Kickin' them Snow Flakes,
Kickin' them Sluts,
Kickin' them Dems,
Poor little butts.
Look at Them Dem Kickers,
Ain't they cute?
Some use a shower-shoe,
Some use a boot.
Them dadgum Dem Kickers,
Ain't they mean?
Run 'round kickin',
Ever Dem what's seen.
How to be a Dem Kicker?
Don't need a ticket.
Find an old Dem,
Haul off and kick it!

Posted by: Mike Hammer,etc., etc. at January 08, 2017 09:30 AM (ZO497)

46 I've been reading Ron Bertrand's "Radio Theory Handbook: Beginner to Advanced" as part of my prep for the Amateur Extra exam. If, like me, you've never been able to quite grasp the fundamentals of electricity, then this may be the book for you. It's quite the tome, but very reasonably priced. I'm less than 10 percent through it, but I'll try to give a more complete review when I'm finished.

Posted by: PabloD at January 08, 2017 09:30 AM (sZQdE)

47 Also re-reading "With Christ In The School of Prayer" by Andrew Murray-who was a pastor in the 1800s. Really good stuff about why and how we pray and thoughtful comments about why our prayers are sometimes not answered.

I am also reading "Memoirs From The House Of The Dead" by the Russian writer whose name I won't even try to spell (It begins with a "D". He also "Crime and Punishment") it's about the incarceration system in Russia, Good grief! Russian writers are grim. It doesn't mean they don't have redemptive parts, but this one is as if you're slogging through Siberia. Very interesting but not a festival of sweetness and light.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 08, 2017 09:30 AM (tOcW/)

48 Often the novelization will include movie scenes that got cut during final edit. Alan Dean Foster's original Star Wars novel had all the scenes with Luke's beloved friend Biggs in it; those were cut from the movie so Biggs was "Guy with mustache who dies five minutes after we meet him."

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 08, 2017 09:31 AM (88x1C)

49 Posted by: joncelli at January 08, 2017 09:24 AM (1FhAQ)

I am glad that you are reading Jeremiah.

What is plot?

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 08, 2017 09:31 AM (tOcW/)

50 Plotto? You mean William Wallace Cook's random story generator?

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 08, 2017 09:32 AM (88x1C)

51 I'm afraid of her.

Posted by: Mike Hammer

Join the club.

Posted by: Hu Jintao at January 08, 2017 09:32 AM (rH4JY)

52 I'm less than 10 percent through it, but I'll try to give a more complete review when I'm finished.
Posted by: PabloD
---------------

We'll expect to hear it on the air.

Posted by: Mike Hammer,etc., etc. at January 08, 2017 09:33 AM (ZO497)

53
I am also reading "Memoirs From The House Of The Dead" by the
Russian writer whose name I won't even try to spell (It begins with a
"D". He also "Crime and Punishment")

Dostoyevsky.

Posted by: Brother Cavil, Cylon without a basestar at January 08, 2017 09:33 AM (vyqqu)

54 When one of my kids was little I got asked if Thomas Wolfe and Virginia Woolf were married, since we shelved their books together.

That would have been an interesting household.

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 08, 2017 09:33 AM (88x1C)

55 48 Often the novelization will include movie scenes that got cut during final edit. Alan Dean Foster's original Star Wars novel had all the scenes with Luke's beloved friend Biggs in it; those were cut from the movie so Biggs was "Guy with mustache who dies five minutes after we meet him."
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 08, 2017 09:31 AM (88x1C)

I remember that. I had the compendium of the original triloy novelizations. Black trade paperback IIRC.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 09:33 AM (92kX2)

56 Well, I got amazon credit for Christmas, plus a bit of extra credit from my Amazon credit card, so with all that burning a hole in my pocket I got a couple of gun books - Shumway's Collected Longrifle Articles vol. 1 (I already have vol. 2) and Longrifles of Note by the same author. Mostly Golden Age Pennsylvania rifles, which isn't my particular focus these days, but nice to have anyway. I also got a copy of the captivity narrative/autobiography of a guy named Jonathan Alder, who was captured by the Indians in Ohio at age 9 I think in 1781, and lived with them for another decade or so before returning to white society. Should be interesting to compare his story with that of John Turner, another man who was captured in the same area at around the same time at roughly the same age, and who also ended up leaving the Indians, albeit when he was about 40 years old.

I've also got two more books coming, one on the Catawba Indians and one on the Revolutionary War Campaign against the Iroquois. The Catawba aren't generally well known - they were and remain a very small nation in the middle of the Carolinas who were surrounded and picked on by larger tribes. The Iroquois traveled all the way from NY to the Carolinas just to hassle them, as the Iroquois needed to kill people for ~~fun and profit~~ cultural reasons but didn't want to upset the delicate balance of alliances formed after the Beaver Wars of the 17t century. Naturally, under all this pressure, the Catawbas became one of the most warlike and badass tribes to ever walk the face of the American continent, and were among the very few Indians who sided with the Americans during the War for Independence. Should be an interesting read.

The Iroquois Campaign book should also be interesting - that campaign doesn't seem to get much attention in general histories, probably because there were no big battles. Might be an interesting case study on how to use a regular army effectively against guerrilla tactics, though - the Continental Army pretty much knocked the Iroquois out of the war, stabilizing the NY frontier, without ever meeting the Iroquois in combat apart from one minor skirmish (minor because they successfully avoided an ambush and the Iroquois left the field rather than go toe-to-toe with line infantry backed up by riflemen and artillery) , I think.

Posted by: Grey Fox at January 08, 2017 09:33 AM (bZ7mE)

57 Bet Thomas Wolfe wouldn't have been scared.

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 08, 2017 09:34 AM (88x1C)

58 I enjoyed "The Fatal Shore" but it wasn't a cheerful read.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 08, 2017 09:34 AM (tOcW/)

59 Hemingway used Blotto

Posted by: Bigby's Pinkyswear at January 08, 2017 09:34 AM (U0lQa)

60 I am also reading "Memoirs From The House Of The
Dead" by the Russian writer whose name I won't even try to spell (It
begins with a "D". He also "Crime and Punishment") it's about the
incarceration system in Russia, Good grief! Russian writers are grim. It
doesn't mean they don't have redemptive parts, but this one is as if
you're slogging through Siberia. Very interesting but not a festival of
sweetness and light.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 08, 2017 09:30 AM (tOcW/)

Freezing one's butt off for nine months of the year probably gives them a fairly dim outlook on the world.
I have no explanation for why they seem to be paid by the word and therefore write enormous tomes of grimness.

Posted by: right wing yankee at January 08, 2017 09:35 AM (26lkV)

61 Posted by: Brother Cavil, Cylon without a basestar at January 08, 2017 09:33 AM (vyqqu)

Thanks; I knew the name, but the book isn't beside me right now and I didn't want to mess up the spelling.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 08, 2017 09:35 AM (tOcW/)

62 I don't think it will disrupt the inauguration, especially with Hillary attending, but it would be nice if they received some pushback from counter protestors.
Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at January 08, 2017 09:25 AM (rH4JY)
---
Will any Horde govvies in the DC area be participating in the hurly-burly? Alas, I must work that day, otherwise I'd be furiously making giant paper mache heads and effigies as we speak.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 09:35 AM (EnKk6)

63 >>>>That's how a city of 200,000 people could go head-to-head with the major powers of Europe for five hundred years.<<<<<

The Great Wall of Malaria on the landward side helped a lot, too.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at January 08, 2017 09:35 AM (x3uSY)

64 59 Hemingway used Blotto
Posted by: Bigby's Pinkyswear at January 08, 2017 09:34 AM (U0lQa)

His characters usually were as well.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 09:35 AM (92kX2)

65 If, like me, you've never been able to quite grasp the fundamentals of electricity, then this may be the book for you.
Posted by: PabloD at January 08, 2017 09:30 AM (sZQdE)

The Make Magazine electronics book is also really good, along those lines, lots of forehead slap "oh, that's how that works" stuff. I wish I'd had it when I was twelve or so.

http://www.makershed.com/products/make-electronics-2ed

Posted by: hogmartin at January 08, 2017 09:35 AM (8nWyX)

66 I'm about halfway through Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss. So far I would say that if a TED Talk could become a book it would be this book. And I don't think "Titans" means what Tim Ferriss thinks it does. But I guess "Tools of Moderately Successful People (and a Couple of Very Successful People)" isn't as catchy.

Posted by: Emmett Milbarge at January 08, 2017 09:36 AM (nFdGS)

67 Posted by: right wing yankee at January 08, 2017 09:35 AM (26lkV)

I usually like to balance it with some shorter, lighter stories by Chekov or "The Nosel" by Gogol

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 08, 2017 09:36 AM (tOcW/)

68 Currently arguing whether Harry Potter first movie is tot friendly or not. Wife sez no, I say one of his favorites is Willy Wonka so why not

Posted by: Bigby's Pinkyswear at January 08, 2017 09:36 AM (U0lQa)

69 And I'm surprise Watership Down is considered a children's book. I read it some years ago, and it seemed pretty adult to me. I never would have thought it was a book I'd give to my kids to read. But the Guardian article says it came from a story Adams made up impromptu to entertain his daughters as he drove them to school, so what do I know?

Elmer Fudd should be required to read that book as a part of his mandatory sensitivity training.

Posted by: Bugs Bunny at January 08, 2017 09:37 AM (rH4JY)

70 right wing yankee, great news! I intend to get it for my grandkids when it's published, so looking forward to it.

Posted by: April at January 08, 2017 09:37 AM (e8PP1)

71 Grump928(C) mentioned in the morning thread that author Nat Hentoff has died at 91.

http://nydn.us/2i6Mdb8

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Hentoff

He was one of the good guys, an old-fashioned liberal who took the Constitution and Bill of Rights seriously, and criticized Democrats and Republicans alike. RIP.

Posted by: rickl at January 08, 2017 09:38 AM (sdi6R)

72 make that "The Nose" not Nosel

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 08, 2017 09:38 AM (tOcW/)

73 Book related but not strictly reading. Years ago John Cleese read "The Screwtape Letters" by CS Lewis. It only came out on cassette as far as I know and used prices are insane. I found out the readings are on YouTube. I haven't gone through all of them yet but Cleese's voice and delivery are perfect for the text.

Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 09:38 AM (V+03K)

74 Posted by: Grey Fox at January 08, 2017 09:33 AM (bZ7mE)

Titles, please? (I recently realized that my education has a huge gap where the French and Indian War and the American Revolution should be. I blame public school)

Posted by: right wing yankee at January 08, 2017 09:39 AM (26lkV)

75 Those pants! Some marketing genius thinks Leftist and other style-bereft fools will buy them.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 08, 2017 09:39 AM (u82oZ)

76 Doestoyevsky

Posted by: Bigby's Pinkyswear at January 08, 2017 09:39 AM (U0lQa)

77 I got a "Three Investigators" book for Christmas.

Wow, that just brought back a memory flash. I read a lot of books that I think were The Three Investigators when I was a kid. Were they the ones in The Mystery of the Green Ghost, or some such? Or am I thinking of something else?

Every noise in the house terrified me more than usual when I read that.

Posted by: April at January 08, 2017 09:41 AM (e8PP1)

78 Grey Fox - I've never quite sorted out the sundry tribes from the coast up to this area. Lumbbee's. Pembrokes, Arapahoes, Minnesotts. The latter seem particularly obscure.

I grew up on the Catawba river, though, so the Catawbas are kind of in my blood.

Posted by: Mike Hammer,etc., etc. at January 08, 2017 09:41 AM (ZO497)

79 Regarding North Korea, Adam Johnson's "The Orphan Master's Son" is great reading. It's fiction, but things are so strange in North Korea it's difficult to separate fiction from reality there. There are several books related to escapes from North Korea. I can recommend "Escape from Camp 14" by Blaine Harden, and meshes nicely with the related documentary "Camp 14: Total Control Zone."

Current reading: "Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague 1941 - 1968" by Heda Kovaly. Kovaly survived living in concentration camps (escaping from one of the death marches as the Nazis retreated from the Soviets) only to live under Communism. Her husband was convicted in the Slansky Trial, Stalinism at its 'best,' and murdered. She left Czechoslovakia when the Soviets cracked down in 1968 and ended up working in the Harvard Law Library. A fascinating life and a reminder of the harshness and futility under totalitarian rule.

Posted by: dwight at January 08, 2017 09:41 AM (+5lVk)

80 Posted by: Grey Fox at January 08, 2017 09:33 AM (bZ7mE)

A-a-a-a-and you forgot the book's titles.

Cuz those sound interesting.

Another thumbs up for "The Fatal Shore".

An excellent read and, of course,

the story of Old Blighty shoveling her deplorables off to an harsh and distant shore is unlikely to be full of good times.

Posted by: naturalfake at January 08, 2017 09:41 AM (9q7Dl)

81 If the Democratic vote is being confined to urban enclaves it raises an interesting question.

Butthurt progs scream about Calexit, etc. Take out New York, California, Massachusetts and Illinois from Clinton's totals and she loses in a landslide. Of these, only in Massachusetts did she win every county. In New York, California and especially Illinois there are vast geographic swaths where Clinton lost and lost badly. In Illinois, just about everything outside the Chicagoland area went heavily for Trump.

So if there is a Calexit, it would be principally be led by LA and SF. What if the rest of the state doesn't want to go along? And even if by some miracle, 1) there was a secession in CA and 2) there was a division between rural and urban areas, could the urban areas be a viable entity?

I suppose there are cases of almost wholly urban centers being viable city-states, e.g. Singapore. But Singapore has a highly-developed economy based on actually producing things; nearly a quarter of its exports are petroleum and chemicals. What can LA and SF base their economies on?

And Singapore's social structure is quite different. I don't think they tolerate a lot of parasitism and crime in the name of diversity. It is, in fact, an authoritarian state. That I can imagine the Democratic ruling class adopting.

Posted by: Kodos the Executioner at January 08, 2017 09:41 AM (J8/9G)

82 I have no explanation for why they seem to be paid by the word and therefore write enormous tomes of grimness.

Bores the censors to tears and therefore allows them to get mildly subversive material through. Seriously.

Posted by: Grey Fox at January 08, 2017 09:41 AM (bZ7mE)

83 I got John Ringo's The Last Centurion for Christmas among other books and am almost done with it. The good news is that my son is moving out and my mother in law is not moving in so one way or another I'm getting my library. Yaya.

Posted by: V the K at January 08, 2017 09:42 AM (Ovnvw)

84 Talking about the grimness of soviet period writers got me to thinking about something. There was a segment on the Klavan podcast where he was talking about being a writer in England for a time and how he would sit in meetings asking everyone whether they were crazy and why they never had a happy ending in any of their movies.

This led me to think about the popularity of various projects like George RR Martin and Walking Dead, among others. Say what you will, but neither of these can be described as 'happy.'

Then, when you look at the popularity of the various superhero projects, it makes you think that what we are seeing is another cultural divide- people who want to glory in the grimy gritty, and those who want something more happy, more idealistic.

I really think that socialism has a profoundly damaging effect on human psychology. Obviously not groundbreaking, but it is amazing how far reaching the effect it has.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 09:43 AM (92kX2)

85 Them Dem Kickers

How about Them Dem Kickers,
Ain't they crumbs?
Kickin' them Dems,
In they buns.
Kickin' them Snow Flakes,
Kickin' them Sluts,
Kickin' them Dems,
Poor little butts.
Look at Them Dem Kickers,
Ain't they cute?
Some use a shower-shoe,
Some use a boot.
Them dadgum Dem Kickers,
Ain't they mean?
Run 'round kickin',
Ever Dem what's seen.
How to be a Dem Kicker?
Don't need a ticket.
Find an old Dem,
Haul off and kick it!
Posted by: Mike Hammer,etc., etc. at January 08, 2017 09:30 AM (ZO497)

=======
Them Poems!
+1000

Posted by: Vlad the Impaler, whittling away like mad at January 08, 2017 09:43 AM (FeQVL)

86 Them Dem Kickers
Posted by: Mike Hammer,etc., etc. at January 08, 2017 09:30 AM (ZO497)

Ha! Very good. I wonder what Mr. Williams would have to say about that one?

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at January 08, 2017 09:43 AM (VSbY8)

87 ALWAYS love a good Mason Williams reference, fellow New Mexican....

Posted by: deplorablegoatexchange at January 08, 2017 09:44 AM (YFnq5)

88 The Iroquois Campaign book should also be interesting - that campaign doesn't seem to get much attention in general histories, probably because there were no big battles. Might be an interesting case study on how to use a regular army effectively against guerrilla tactics, though

===

Presaged Sherman's March in some respects

Posted by: Bigby's Pinkyswear at January 08, 2017 09:44 AM (U0lQa)

89 Wow, I get a quote & a recommendation* in the Book Thread. I'll have to put on my good pants.

*That quote from "Luke, We Need to Talk" was from memory, and not the actual quote from the book. And as a fellow Moron pointed out, it was Geezer Butler who wrote the lyrics, not Ozzy. But it still looks like a fun read.

Posted by: josephistan at January 08, 2017 09:45 AM (7qAYi)

90 http://www.makershed.com/products/make-electronics-2ed
Posted by: hogmartin at January 08, 2017 09:35 AM (8nWyX)
---
Thanks for the link. I am a big fan of MAKE Magazine and am always on the lookout for well-written books on the basics.

Does anybody else read the Book Thread with tabs to their local libraries open?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 09:46 AM (EnKk6)

91 Just finished reading "The Gene: An Intimate History," which I found kind of unsettling. If you haven't heard about any of the gene-therapy horror stories, or the recent (Chinese) experiments editing genes in human embryos, it's scary stuff. Still seems to be at the blind trial-and-error stage, but people are plowing ahead anyway.

Posted by: Geronimo Stilton at January 08, 2017 09:46 AM (4bKiB)

92 Other potential titles:

Dem Race Racers
Dem Free Stuff Stuffers
Dem Oppression Oppressors
Dem Out-Ragers

Posted by: deplorablegoatexchange at January 08, 2017 09:47 AM (YFnq5)

93 From the previous thread (because I like the idea):
We should have a "12 days of Inauguration" countdown theme for the blog.

Twelve Pudding cups,
Eleven progs a fumin,
Ten has been actors making a video,
Nine professors whining,
Eight Jihadis flying,
Seven illegals deported,
Six Rinos crying,
FIVE FLAMING SKULLS,
Four charter schools,
Three branches of government,
Two big breasts,
And an Orange Scalp Weasel perched on Don's head.

Any addendum or changes would be welcome.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 09:47 AM (92kX2)

94 >>>So if there is a Calexit, it would be principally be led by LA and SF. What if the rest of the state doesn't want to go along?

There is also a parallel movement to break up California into several (5?) states. So they can make this work. C'mon guys!

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at January 08, 2017 09:48 AM (rH4JY)

95 April, this one is "The Secret of Terror Castle". Haven't started it yet.

Posted by: roamingfirehydrant at January 08, 2017 09:48 AM (THS4q)

96 If one is going to insist on reading Hornfischer's Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, then one should read two of the books he used as sources as well.

The Battle of Leyte Gulf and The Men of the Gambier Bay by Edwin P. Hoyt.

And if you are feeling particularly ambitious there is another Hoyt book not listed in the bibliography that might be of interest: How They Won the War in the Pacific: Nimitz and his Admirals.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 08, 2017 09:49 AM (TpuGF)

97 Cuz those sound interesting.
naturalfake
-------------

Well, Grey Fox is all over this, but here are a couple lesser items:

Some capsulized commentary:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/ju9ab4k

Of possible interest
http://tinyurl.com/z9x5lzw

Posted by: Mike Hammer,etc., etc. at January 08, 2017 09:49 AM (ZO497)

98 "Does anybody else read the Book Thread with tabs to their local libraries open?"

Yes! Local library, plus Ohio Ebook Project, plus amazon.com. My lists are out of control.

Posted by: April at January 08, 2017 09:49 AM (e8PP1)

99 94 >>>So if there is a Calexit, it would be principally be led by LA and SF. What if the rest of the state doesn't want to go along?

There is also a parallel movement to break up California into several (5?) states. So they can make this work. C'mon guys!
Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at January 08, 2017 09:48 AM (rH4JY)

Something just struck me: If there is Calexit, you would need to greatly extend the border wall.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 09:50 AM (92kX2)

100 Finished Mancur Olson's The Rise and Decline of Nations: Economic Growth, Stagflation, and Social Rigidities 1980.

Inside that well-footnoted and sourced book is the germ of an idea. However, The Collapse of Complex Societies (New Studies in Archaeology) by Joseph Tainter said it better and in less words. His big conclusion is the the Law of Diminishing Returns is enough to end a civilization.

Basically it's like a cell. As the cell ages, more waste products build up. The DNA starts having errors, repair mechanisms fail, and eventually cellular apoptosis is inevitable. We are seeing that today, with the Left, Democrats, and Muslims as the human parasites (or viruses) that have hijacked a working cells and turned out junk. Subsequently, the cell dies. Only lower living organisms, not higher, survive.

Sex is a way to get around that, from The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature by Matt Ridley. So get busy. Practice makes pregnant.

BBL.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 08, 2017 09:50 AM (u82oZ)

101 I see some "Three Investigators" in the thread! Awesome! I still have my (actually my brother's) collection, haven't revisited them in a long time. And yes, they had someone else fill in for Hitchcock as the series progressed.

Posted by: josephistan at January 08, 2017 09:51 AM (7qAYi)

102 Titles:

The Indians' New World: Catawbas and their Neighbors from European Contact through the Era of Removal, by James Merrell

Year of the Hangman: George Washington's Campaign Against the Iroquois by Glenn Willliams

History of Jonathan Alder: His Captivity and Life with the Indians edited by Larry Nelson

Haven't read any of these yet, remember.

Also mentioned:

The Falcon, by John Tanner

If folks want a recommendation on the French and Indian War, Fred Anderson has written two excellent general histories: The Crucible of War and The War that made America. The former is the full history, the latter is a much shorter, easier to read version for the general reader written to accompany a PBS series, I think. He also wrote a very nice little monograph called "A People's Army" about the experience of New England militia in the F and I war and how the culture shock from a bunch of upright Puritan farmboys suddenly thrown together with the notoriously profane and brutal British army helped seed the idea that the British and the Americans might not actually be the same nation.

Posted by: Grey Fox at January 08, 2017 09:51 AM (bZ7mE)

103 Dem Race Racers
Dem Free Stuff Stuffers
Dem Oppression Oppressors
Dem Out-Ragers
Posted by: deplorablegoatexchange at January 08, 2017 09:47 AM (YFnq5)

Them Free Shitters sounds like it might have potential.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at January 08, 2017 09:51 AM (VSbY8)

104 Short story topic to tie up the OTs

California's foreign policy in the face of Nork Nukes. Go!

Posted by: Bigby's Pinkyswear at January 08, 2017 09:51 AM (U0lQa)

105 I remember the three investigators. Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and the other one.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at January 08, 2017 09:52 AM (rH4JY)

106 Someone mentioned that "Hallow Mass" is the Goodreads book du (what's French for "month"?) so I started re-reading it. It really is delightful. Kind of disgusting in bits, but I added "rugose" and "squamous" to my vocabulary. And where in hell are parts 2 and 3???? I want them NOW.

Still reading "Obsession" by Boundless Egomania but he's telling the story of Laura Black in a chapter on stalking and he's doing a pretty good job of staying out of it. I was previously only aware of this from a Lifetime (I know) movie starring Brooke Shields and Richard Thomas. It was pretty darned good, and it did leave me thinking Richard Thomas played a psychopathic loon at little too well.

I just got "Watership Down" which I have never read, and the one OM referred to about pop culture because the description made me laugh more than once.

Happy Sunday, happy reading, everyone. I will be baking chocolate chip cookies later - from scratch with butter - but, alas, not for you. Sorry. I will undoubtedly find it necessary to sample the dough often enough that I will run out of spoons. But forks will work too.

Posted by: Tonestaple at January 08, 2017 09:52 AM (+DRpa)

107 104 Short story topic to tie up the OTs

California's foreign policy in the face of Nork Nukes. Go!
Posted by: Bigby's Pinkyswear at January 08, 2017 09:51 AM (U0lQa)

We surrender.

Posted by: The United Californian Commintern at January 08, 2017 09:53 AM (92kX2)

108
There is also a parallel movement to break up California into several (5?) states. So they can make this work. C'mon guys!

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at January 08, 2017 09:48 AM (rH4JY)

New York should be split as well. The dominance of NYC in the state legislature has led to policies that have just about destroyed the upstate economy.

Posted by: Kodos the Executioner at January 08, 2017 09:53 AM (J8/9G)

109 90 ... "Does anybody else read the Book Thread with tabs to their local libraries open?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 09:46 AM (EnKk6)"

Oh yeah! I have tabs open to the library, Amazon, and B and N while reading the book thread. Saves time and a little typing.

Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 09:53 AM (V+03K)

110 105 I remember the three investigators. Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and the other one.
Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at January 08, 2017 09:52 AM (rH4JY)

The other one was Bob. Or Jose Carreras.

Posted by: josephistan at January 08, 2017 09:54 AM (7qAYi)

111 I got willowed last night, so here it is again, 'cause i thought it was so damned funny....

WalMart issued a statement that said, due to the extreme cold, it is advising all WalMart customers to wear TWO pairs of pajama bottoms when shopping at WalMart.

(14F where i am)

Oh, and my research nearing completion, I have started the actual writing part. Status: writing is hard.

Posted by: deplorablegoatexchange at January 08, 2017 09:54 AM (YFnq5)

112 Thanks for the link, hogmartin. The kiddo got one of those "electronic circuit projects for kids" kits for Christmas; that looks like a nice supplement.

Posted by: PabloD at January 08, 2017 09:55 AM (sZQdE)

113 What the wandering Cylon said. Children used to deal with pretty serious books. I first read Lord of the Rings in it's entirety when I was twelve. Sure I read Watership Down about the same time or shortly thereafter. (I also read Hardy Boys and whatever else I could get my hands on so not to say that there wasn't juvenile fluff just to keep you reading).

Now most kids either don't read or read manga comics. Better than reading nothing as at least they are having to think about plot and character development but ...

Heard elsewhere that kids who don't read novels don't develop as much empathy so this could be a partial explanation for the hostility found in so many college age students towards ideas with which they do not agree.

Posted by: Heresolong at January 08, 2017 09:55 AM (ntIeo)

114 Oh, yes please, Grey Fox - titles on the book about the Catawba tribe and the frontier during the Revolution ... I'm planning out my next historical, which will be set in the Revolution, and I need to build up my collection of research books ...
Not much going on this week in Chez Hayes - just trying to keep warm. Fortunately, there is no snow to shovel here in South Texas, but a couple of hard freezes have demolished just about all the winter vegetables.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at January 08, 2017 09:56 AM (xnmPy)

115 New York should be split as well. The dominance of NYC in the state legislature has led to policies that have just about destroyed the upstate economy.

===

Certainly doesn't help, but we're also subject to the regular rust belt jobs leaving for Mexico thing

Posted by: Bigby's Pinkyswear at January 08, 2017 09:56 AM (U0lQa)

116 I want them NOW.

As do I. That's the sign of a good read.

Posted by: no good deed at January 08, 2017 09:56 AM (hJamr)

117 right wing yankee, great news! I intend to get it for my grandkids when it's published, so looking forward to it.

Posted by: April at January 08, 2017 09:37 AM (e8PP1)
I'll be shouting the news from the rooftops, don't worry. This is my first foray into publication, so everything is new and exciting.

Posted by: right wing yankee at January 08, 2017 09:57 AM (26lkV)

118 "WalMart issued a statement that said, due to the extreme cold, it is advising all WalMart customers to wear TWO pairs of pajama bottoms when shopping at WalMart. "

Someone should write a book about the people of Walmart.

(Keeping it in the spirit of the Book Thread)

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at January 08, 2017 09:57 AM (J+eG2)

119 Didn't get to put this on the EMT thread, but since people have mentioned politics, I hope that it iso.k. to mention this here:

Michael Goodwin of the NYT castigates Dems for their all out witch hunt on Trump re: supposed Russian hacking. Just despicable politicians.

http://tinyurl.com/gshp7qg

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 08, 2017 09:57 AM (tOcW/)

120 Good luck Right Wing Yankee, just don't breaking Ben Franklin's printing press.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 08, 2017 09:58 AM (TpuGF)

121 Oh, yes please, Grey Fox - titles on the book about the Catawba tribe and the frontier during the Revolution ... I'm planning out my next historical, which will be set in the Revolution, and I need to build up my collection of research books ...

When and where, exactly?

Posted by: Grey Fox at January 08, 2017 09:58 AM (bZ7mE)

122 VIA, I would except my fellow employees and some customers would sue..

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 08, 2017 09:59 AM (TpuGF)

123 off topic, but ...Speaking of unemployment, if anyone has a lead on work in our near Philadelphia, I'm going on six months without and almost ready to get in the barrel.

Posted by: Bensdad00 at January 08, 2017 09:59 AM (5rg+w)

124 Someone should write a book about the people of Walmart.

(Keeping it in the spirit of the Book Thread)
Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at January 08, 2017 09:57 AM (J+eG2)

uhhh....

https://tinyurl.com/gozj35z

Posted by: josephistan at January 08, 2017 09:59 AM (7qAYi)

125 There is also a parallel movement to break up California into several (5?) states. So they can make this work. C'mon guys!

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at January 08, 2017 09:48 AM (rH4JY)

I can hardly wait to give any former part of CA two Senators.

Posted by: Hrothgar at January 08, 2017 10:00 AM (wCEn4)

126 I think "Silence" by Shusaku Endo is a great novel.

Classic literature as it were.

Has anyone seen the movie "Silence" released this week?

The lovely and well-read Mrs naturalfake would like to watch it today,

which I'm up for.

Though a little leery since this is Scorsese, who can do a great Mob movie, but often fails with other subjects,

and I'm not up for a 3 hour cynical, Hollywood-valuesized crapfest version of "Silence".

Posted by: naturalfake at January 08, 2017 10:01 AM (9q7Dl)

127 "Something just struck me: If there is Calexit, you would need to greatly extend the border wall. "

Speaking of which, and sorry to go off topic... have seen cost estimates for building the eeeville wall at anywhere from 15 billion to 39 billion. Add in the new Republic of Baja (formerly Southern Cal), tack on another 5 billion.

What was the size of the (anti)Stimulus under Earflaps the Fey again? And with a wall project, there would be actual freal shovel ready jobs.

In book news, still waiting for the 4th installment of Gentlemen Bastards by Scott Lynch.

Carry on.

Posted by: Twin Cities Daydrunk, Advocating violence upon climate changers at January 08, 2017 10:02 AM (TSJEX)

128 Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 08, 2017 09:57 AM (tOcW/)

Not NYT, but NY Post; Sorry.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 08, 2017 10:02 AM (tOcW/)

129 "uhhh....

https://tinyurl.com/gozj35z"

Damn..........

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at January 08, 2017 10:02 AM (J+eG2)

130 If your sole exposure to Adams' Watership Down had been the movie version, well you are in 'luck' then.

The BBC and Netflix are doing a four episode animated mini-series of the book. The actor who played Finn in The Force Awakens is on board to lend his voice and so is Gemma Atherton. They are boffo excited and all that twat as they strive to focus on some of the female rabbits.

Yeah, I am so going to totes skip it. And I still need to re-read my copy of the book.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 08, 2017 10:02 AM (TpuGF)

131 Aetius451AD, love your adaption of the 12 days of Christmas. Well done.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 08, 2017 10:03 AM (u82oZ)

132 Anna Puma, do you get inspiration for your characters working in WallyWorld?

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 08, 2017 10:03 AM (u82oZ)

133 I got willowed last night, so here it is again, 'cause i thought it was so damned funny....

WalMart issued a statement that said, due to the extreme cold, it is advising all WalMart customers to wear TWO pairs of pajama bottoms when shopping at WalMart.

Let me guess... they were having a two for one sale on pajama bottoms.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at January 08, 2017 10:03 AM (rH4JY)

134 Someone should write a book about people who are too good for Walmart. Let me think, who else are we better than?

Posted by: eskimo at January 08, 2017 10:04 AM (ucTcT)

135 13 I mentioned last week that I started "Painting as a Pastime" by Winston Churchill. Well, I finished it this week which led to a major disruption of my planned reading. It's a delightful little book, less than a hundred pages, about why Churchill began painting as a hobby at age 40, what it has meant to him throughout his life, and the importance of hobbies in general.

One surprise was the humor. His description of his trepidation about beginning that first painting was worthy of PG Wodehouse. It had me laughing out loud. I expect keen insight and brilliantly written prose from Churchill (and that is here as well). I don't expect him to make me giggle.

That book led to the disruption as I started going through some of the how-to art books on the shelves.

I am gonna have to read that one, as I am starting that hobby myself. Just painted my first cloud last night.

Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 10:04 AM (di1hb)

136 129 - They also do a daily calendar.

Posted by: josephistan at January 08, 2017 10:05 AM (7qAYi)

137 Let me guess... they were having a two for one sale on pajama bottoms.
Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear

Funny, pajama bottoms is ValJar's nickname for me. I wonder why.

Posted by: TFG at January 08, 2017 10:05 AM (MQZOg)

138 Speaking of imploding parties, the Republicans should figure out how to insure Trump is not an Ahnold Swartzenwhatever effect on a national scale. After they replace the Obama ACA tax credits with the new and improved Trump tax credits and unvirtualized lines, they will seemingly have to address the the divides represented by business/bathrooms, trade protection/lube, moar-tax-credits/infrastructure spending, and K-street/everyone-else.

Trump has focused on a lot of "problems" which a majority of Republican office-holders do not consider to be problems or, if they do consider them problems, don't consider the government at any level (except perhaps for tax cuts, tax credits, and tax abatements) to be a proper source of solutions.

Regarding "turncoats" and political books, never to be overlooked is "A Colony of the World" by Eugene McCarthy.

Posted by: RioBravo at January 08, 2017 10:07 AM (OmhcY)

139 Another '6-on-the-cricket-pitch' Book Thread, OregonMuse! Thank you. Well worth the effort to put on the chaps before reading, old chap.

Wait. Totally in a non-poofter way, of course.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at January 08, 2017 10:07 AM (DMUuz)

140 Nothing could possibly get me to wear those pants.

Posted by: m at January 08, 2017 10:07 AM (3jGss)

141 FenelonSpoke

Good morning. I trust things are calmer now. Services were cancelled, so you can luxuriate in a serene snowy morning.

Prayers are still ascending for you.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 08, 2017 10:07 AM (u82oZ)

142 I am gonna have to read that one, as I am starting that hobby myself. Just painted my first cloud last night.

Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 10:04 AM (di1hb)

Just ordered a copy for my sister who took up painting sometime ago and is quite accomplished. I told her she has to let me have the book when she is done with it!

Posted by: Hrothgar at January 08, 2017 10:07 AM (wCEn4)

143 I saw a woman wearing cow slippers at Walmart once. But this was a nice Walmart, people wear their good sweatpants there.

Posted by: josephistan at January 08, 2017 10:08 AM (7qAYi)

144 Would it be possible to have more pictures in the book thread for the non-readers?

Posted by: Weasel at January 08, 2017 10:08 AM (Sfs6o)

145 >>>They argued that there was a massive wave of Democratic voters in the country's urban areas just waiting to support the party, and would do so for generations to come.

We'll have those n*****s voting for us for the next 200 years.

Posted by: Lyndon B. Johnson at January 08, 2017 10:09 AM (rH4JY)

146 @135- "Just painted my first cloud last night."

Where did he live? Over by a tree? There's nothin' wrong with havin' a tree for a friend....

Posted by: Bob Ross, in the land of Happy Accidents at January 08, 2017 10:09 AM (TSJEX)

147 Salty Dawg, not consciously. Though I could slip in a Wal-Mart sartorial faux pas among the displaced people in the San Francisco story which is now over 80k words and I am still writing first draft.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 08, 2017 10:09 AM (TpuGF)

148 I read a short book this week, The Dahlgren Affair: The History of the Civil War's Most Controversial Cavalry Raid by Charles Rivers Editor. Although not terribly well written, it does tell an intriguing story of arrogant men whose ambition, recklessness, band lack of a moral compass had unforeseen consequences. General Judson Kilpatrick commanded a cavalry brigade in the Army of the Potomac. His strategy was to become a war hero, use that to become governor of New Jersey, and use that as a springboard to the White House. His quest for glory earned him a sobriquet he probably didn't want. Instead of his name, Kilpatrick, he became known as Kill-Cavalry (and they weren't referring to Confederate cavalry).

When the terrible conditions in Richmond's Libby Prison became known, public outrage inspired Kill-Calvary. He would lead a cavalry raid into Richmond and free the prisoners. Ignoring the chain of command, he went directly to Lincoln who sent him to Secretary of War Stanton for detailed planning and this was forced down the throats of army commander Meade and cavalry corps commander Pleasanton, both of whom disapproved. Kill-Cavalry found another after his own heart, twenty-one year old Colonel Ulric Dahlgren, to lead the actual into-Richmond part of the raid. Dahlgren was the son of an admiral, had lost a leg at Gettysburg, and desperately wanted combat glory.

Largely because of Kill-Cavalry bragging to anyone who would listen, the upcoming raid was reported in both Union and Confederate newspapers and the raid was an unmitigated failure resulting in Dahlgren's death. Worse, orders were found on Dahlgren's body indicating his intention to burn Richmond to the ground and execute Jefferson Davis and his entire cabinet. This outraged a war weary Confederacy. The Union contended that the orders were a Confederate forgery and Kill-Cavalry denied any knowledge of Dahlgren's intention but there is a strong circumstantial evidence that Secretary of War Stanton and Kill-Calvary planned those details of the raid.

Two months later, Grant launched his bloody Overland Campaign and perhaps the Confederates fought just a little bit harder knowing the depravity of the Union plans. Further, John Wilkes Booth was inspired by the plan to execute Jefferson Davis.

One final footnote: Dahlgren had been assigned to attack and destroy a Confederate artillery park. He allowed himself to be talked out of it by some captured Confederate officers who lied and told him how well defended the park was. Had Dahlgren attacked, he would not only inflicted a mighty blow on the artillery-short Confederate army, he would also have captured or killed Robert E. Lee who was passing through at the time.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, This Is the Dawning of the Age of the Trumpius! at January 08, 2017 10:10 AM (Nwg0u)

149 Grey Fox - title not decided on at this point, plot up in the air - but about two years from now. It will probably be set in Pennsylvania mainly - and part of it will be about a young Hessian soldier deserting to remain with a girl he has come to love.
The plot and other characters will develop my reading about the Revolution, the way that the Adelsverein Trilogy did.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at January 08, 2017 10:10 AM (xnmPy)

150 Posted by: Lyndon B. Johnson at January 08, 2017 10:09 AM (rH4JY)

To be fair, that strategy does seem to have worked fairly well so far!

Posted by: DNC at January 08, 2017 10:10 AM (wCEn4)

151 I've never read a Virginia Woolf book but I have read her quotes which are pretty good .

( I got a book of quotes as a kid and have been enamored of the art ever since. )

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at January 08, 2017 10:11 AM (IDPbH)

152 Um, yeah, Kevin Phillips. When Newt et al "swept" into Congress in 1994, Phillips was NPR's go-to guy for Understanding Conservatives. After a couple of fun sessions of giving bus tours of certain parts of NoVa for those who had never seen a conservative in its natural element (there's a reminder of how long ago 1994 was...) his paid-consultant role there quickly devolved into a lot of "What's the Matter with..." analysis. I don't think he ever was any kind of conservative, merely a "trusted scholar" who the left would look to when confronting Conservatives in The Mist, sociologically. A Sage.

As Grump and Cold Bear note above, another David Brock. Watchin' yaz.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at January 08, 2017 10:11 AM (H5rtT)

153 Oh yeah! I have tabs open to the library, Amazon, and B and N while reading the book thread. Saves time and a little typing.
Posted by: JTB
------

ABE Free shipping site, my favorite for used books:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/hvra972

Posted by: Mike Hammer,etc., etc. at January 08, 2017 10:11 AM (ZO497)

154 I am gonna have to read that one, as I am starting that hobby myself. Just painted my first cloud last night.
Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 10:04 AM

Was it a happy cloud?

Posted by: @TheRealBobRoss at January 08, 2017 10:11 AM (DMUuz)

155 A couple of years ago, blogger Rand Simberg wrote a series of posts about the proposed six states that could be made out of California. They are sort of like travelogues, and touch on geography, economic, social and political characteristics. Interesting reading.

http://www.transterrestrial.com/?p=57185
http://www.transterrestrial.com/?p=57204
http://www.transterrestrial.com/?p=57303
http://www.transterrestrial.com/?p=57305
http://www.transterrestrial.com/?p=57356
http://www.transterrestrial.com/?p=57361

Posted by: rickl at January 08, 2017 10:11 AM (sdi6R)

156 So the MAS ICNA convention was downtown from me and I never heard about it but 50 Klukkers + 150 FBI minders have a press conference in DC and it's a national news sensation.

Posted by: DaveA at January 08, 2017 10:12 AM (8J/Te)

157 I'm currently reading []Achilles in Vietnam by Jonathan Shay after it was mentioned in the book thread a couple of weeks ago. Wow, what an important book! I give the book 5 out of 5 stars.

Dr. Shay examines the similarities (and differences) in Achilles descent into the berserk state accounted in Homer's epic poem, The Illiad, and Vietnam combat veterans still suffering from debilitating PTSD when the book was published in 1994. The book is not for everybody because the anecdotes related by the veterans are pretty gruesome.

Dr. Shay recommends that the best way to minimize PTSD is by allowing survivors to grieve, the dead to be formally honored at company level and have entire units rotate back to the U.S. rather than individual soldiers.

While searching for Achilles in Vietnam, I discovered that Dr. Shay also wrote Odyesseus in America but I have not read that book yet.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at January 08, 2017 10:13 AM (5Yee7)

158 Weasel had recommended that book about North Korea to me previously, and it is very good. It tells the story of several "ordinary" North Korean subjects who eventually defected to the West. If you prefer a more personalized accounting of life in a totalitarian state, you will like this book. If you prefer a more academic, political, or sociological treatment, look elsewhere.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at January 08, 2017 10:14 AM (EZebt)

159 We lucked out with just a little snow yesterday. But the temps are only supposed to get into the 20s with some wind. Too cold to do anything energetic outside. A great day to read, make a big pot of soup and refill the bird feeders as needed. (I know by Wisconsin standards this is tropical.)

The furnace is working, the tea pot is hot and I have books at hand. Life is good.

Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 10:15 AM (V+03K)

160 The back story on many Walmartians would probably be something like a cross between Honey Boo Boo, Men In Black, and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

Posted by: freaked at January 08, 2017 10:15 AM (BO/km)

161 Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, This Is the Dawning of the Age of the Trumpius! at January 08, 2017 10:10 AM (Nwg0u)

Ulric's father (Rear Admiral John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren) was quite an interesting person and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division was named after him. Perhaps Ulric had a severe case of daddy issues?

Posted by: DNC at January 08, 2017 10:18 AM (wCEn4)

162 "The back story on many Walmartians would probably be something like a cross between Honey Boo Boo, Men In Black, and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest."

There's the southern Walmart culture
The northern Walmart culture
And the urban Walmart culture

Each could fill a book.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at January 08, 2017 10:18 AM (J+eG2)

163 30 protestor downtown last night against Devos for education sec. school is not a pyramid scheme was one of their chants

Posted by: A deplorable dude in MI at January 08, 2017 10:18 AM (0LQ4f)

164 Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at January 08, 2017 10:13 AM (5Yee7)

Thanks. Added this to my list on amazon.

Posted by: The United Californian Commintern at January 08, 2017 10:19 AM (92kX2)

165 154 I am gonna have to read that one, as I am starting that hobby myself. Just painted my first cloud last night.
Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 10:04 AM

Was it a happy cloud?

More of an almighty. But it made me happy.

Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 10:19 AM (di1hb)

166 Don't write off the Democrat Party. It's like an STD, every time you think you've gotten rid of it it comes flaring back up with a vengeance.

Posted by: PBJ1515 at January 08, 2017 10:19 AM (PsdJu)

167 PabloD - I'm not sure the Make electronics book will help that much with the Extra exam, now that I think about it, since it's pretty much all DC circuits and Extra is mostly AC and RMS and impedance &c. That said, I still can't recommend it highly enough, for any age. Electronics kits seem to be "wire these components up in this order, and they'll do a thing", which is nice, but they rarely tell you why, and what's going on. On the other hand, electronics books tend to be all "here's Ohm's law, calculate voltage drops across these components", but don't tell you why you should care what the numbers mean. The Make book kind of bridges the gap between the abstract and the practical, leading to the forehead-slap moments I mentioned.

So while it might not do a whole lot for getting your Extra ticket, it's a solid recommendation for you, or the kiddo, or All Hail Eris, or anyone else who has even a bit of curiosity as to why and how analog electronics work.

Posted by: hogmartin at January 08, 2017 10:19 AM (8nWyX)

168 163 30 protestor downtown last night against Devos for education sec. school is not a pyramid scheme was one of their chants
Posted by: A deplorable dude in MI at January 08, 2017 10:18 AM (0LQ4f)

Which is kind of funny when you think about it. "Smaller class sizes" is the attempt to spread the base of the pyramid.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 10:20 AM (92kX2)

169 Yay book thread!

I woke up late today. Gotta read the thread now

Posted by: Deplorable votermom @vm on Gab at January 08, 2017 10:20 AM (Om16U)

170 Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 08, 2017 10:07 AM (u82oZ)

Thanks; One service was cancelled, the one up in the hills. The church at lower altitudes is having its service and I am leaving shortly, but it is nice to get on the book thread earlier than the afternoon. Then I get to come back and write a a carefully worded-mail to my head denominational rep; Yay. :^( I greatly appreciate the prayers.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 08, 2017 10:20 AM (tOcW/)

171 163 ...so by the logic that all prog chants are lies ...

Posted by: Bensdad00 at January 08, 2017 10:21 AM (5rg+w)

172 Sgt Mom,

Just to clarify, the "Revolutionary War" along the TN-KY-OH frontier started prior Lexington and Concord with Lord Dunmore's War in 1775 and lasted for 19 years, until the battles of Fallen Timbers and the destruction of Nickajack in 1794 (I think). In other words, the frontier saw a series of conflicts that were connected to what was going on in the east but also distinct in many ways. The New York frontier was separate different from the trans-Appalachian frontier, too.

The frontier(s) was also distinct from the backcountry areas, though it is often difficult to tell were one ends and the other begins (at least for me).

Hence, helpful to have a general idea of when and where the story takes place before researching in depth...

Also, if you are writing about 18th century warfare, it would be a very good idea to get some hands-on experience with flintlocks. I can tell when author is relying on written sources and trying to "backdate" modern weapon handling/tactics/mentality.

Posted by: Grey Fox at January 08, 2017 10:22 AM (bZ7mE)

173 There's the southern Walmart culture
The northern Walmart culture
And the urban Walmart culture

Each could fill a book.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice

There are 8 million stories in the naked War-Mart...

Posted by: Jules Dassin at January 08, 2017 10:22 AM (MQZOg)

174 Don't write off the Democrat Party. It's like an STD, every time you think you've gotten rid of it it comes flaring back up with a vengeance.
Posted by: PBJ1515 at January 08, 2017 10:19 AM (PsdJu)
-----------------------------
The Republicans need to administer stronger drugs such as Hoovervilles, Agnew/Watergate, and W like the Democrats do!

Posted by: RioBravo at January 08, 2017 10:25 AM (OmhcY)

175 Don't write off the Democrat Party. It's like an STD, every time you think you've gotten rid of it it comes flaring back up with a vengeance.
Posted by: PBJ1515

Word.

Posted by: Bill Clinton at January 08, 2017 10:26 AM (MQZOg)

176 Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at January 08, 2017 10:18 AM (J+eG2)

I have an Urban Walmart experience here in Houston. I've always described it as a visit to a foreign country.

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at January 08, 2017 10:26 AM (IDPbH)

177 The consmurfatives are the problem. We need to get liberals into the village so that they will no longer be able to outvote me.

Posted by: Gargamel at January 08, 2017 10:26 AM (rH4JY)

178 173 There's the southern Walmart culture
The northern Walmart culture
And the urban Walmart culture

Each could fill a book.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice

There are 8 million stories in the naked War-Mart...

And 7,999,999 of them should never be seen naked

Posted by: Bensdad00 at January 08, 2017 10:26 AM (5rg+w)

179 166
I blame lack of vaccinations aka education

Posted by: A deplorable dude in MI at January 08, 2017 10:27 AM (0LQ4f)

180 Gonna let you know what I'm reading and make a half-assed sideways recommendation for a book I picked up at my library a couple of weeks ago.
First the recommendation: "Television, a Biography", by David Thomson. The subject matter is as stated, and as such is very interesting to people who have ever watched the tube. Brings back many memories of long past TV shows,and some more recent, many of which can still be found in reruns on some off brand station. The author also provides info on the early days of TV broadcasting in the 1940s which brings back memories of rabbit ears and snowy, unreliable reception of the 3 stations you might have gotten if you were real lucky and lived on top of a hill. The author is a Brit emigre with a decided liberal outlook which is at times problematic especially when he is discussing TV's influence on our politics, but he is a Brit at heart, so I guess I can overlook his faults because he is a keen observer of our TV past, and makes his subject interesting.

For Christmas my better half (Mrs Semi) got me the "Century Trilogy" by Ken Follett. I have just begun reading the 1st volume, "Fall of Giants", but I know the entire ride will be enjoyable. Follett is a fine writer; I have read some of his earlier works, Eye of the needle, Pillars of the Earth (another recommendation), etc. This series attempts a fictionalized history of the 20th Century, a monumental task, at least, but Follett should be up to the task. I have a Kindle, but asked for the paperback books (they are cheaper!!) and Amazon won't be able to delete them from my rickety book shelf.

Always lurking sometimes participating

Posted by: Semilitterate at January 08, 2017 10:28 AM (le+lh)

181 135 ... Iron Mike Golf, The Churchill book is available on Kindle and Nook for 2.99. I may end up getting the physical version but the ebook edition was well done.

It isn't about technique but why painting is a valuable hobby. It includes several of Churchill's paintings which were far better than I expected.

Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 10:28 AM (V+03K)

182 I blame lack of vaccinations aka education
Posted by: A deplorable dude in MI

But autism! Arggle Barggle No Vax!

Posted by: Jenny McCarthy at January 08, 2017 10:29 AM (MQZOg)

183 GET THAT DISGUSTING MAN OFF THE TV.

Posted by: the littl shyning man at January 08, 2017 10:29 AM (U6f54)

184 The Republicans need to administer stronger drugs such as Hoovervilles, Agnew/Watergate, and W like the Democrats do!

Posted by: RioBravo at January 08, 2017 10:25 AM (OmhcY)

But, but, but we might get bad press!

Posted by: Lyin' Ryan & Bitch McConnell at January 08, 2017 10:29 AM (wCEn4)

185 One recent Clinton, MS Wal-Mart story.

3am the alarms go off in store. The display case with guns was found shattered. Review of security footage showed a black youth using a skillet on the case, said perp almost tripped and fell into the broken glass, snatched a shotgun, and bolted out the side door.

More footage was reviewed and more images of the subject were round. He was also seen walking with a woman in so me scenes. Employees recognized the woman as a regular.

A short while later at another robbery a black youth was arrested. Turns out to be the Wal-Mart gun-grabber. But the real twist in the story is his companion who was not a woman but another man in drag wearing a wig.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 08, 2017 10:30 AM (TpuGF)

186 Don't write off the Democrat Party. It's like an STD, every time you think you've gotten rid of it it comes flaring back up with a vengeance.

Posted by: PBJ1515

Any time there's a problem, most people will reflexively think, "why doesn't government fix this?" That is true for a very small set of problems, but most people think it can be applied to everything. And they are not interested in auditing *how* the government goes about "solving" various problems.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at January 08, 2017 10:31 AM (rH4JY)

187 Thanks. Added this to my list on amazon.

Posted by: The United Californian Commintern at January 08, 2017 10:19 AM (92kX2)

You're welcome. That's what I love about the book thread; the Horde is pretty well-read and there are so many bad books out there that it's helpful to have the good ones pointed out.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at January 08, 2017 10:31 AM (5Yee7)

188 George Bush has put out a book of his paintings called Portraits of Courage. It's his portraits of Veterans . Proceeds will go to various veteran groups.

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at January 08, 2017 10:32 AM (IDPbH)

189 A short while later at another robbery a black youth was arrested. Turns out to be the Wal-Mart gun-grabber. But the real twist in the story is his companion who was not a woman but another man in drag wearing a wig.
Posted by: Anna Puma at January 08, 2017 10:30 AM (TpuGF)

So it was "Bob and Clyde" on this crime spree rather than Bonnie.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 10:33 AM (92kX2)

190 Grey Fox - title not decided on at this point, plot up in the air - but about two years from now. It will probably be set in Pennsylvania mainly - and part of it will be about a young Hessian soldier deserting to remain with a girl he has come to love.
The plot and other characters will develop my reading about the Revolution, the way that the Adelsverein Trilogy did.

Pennsylvania is not my main area of interest, but I list what I can think of:

Ewald's Journal. Ewald was a Hessian officer, might give some good info.

David Hackett Fischer's Washington's Crossing - before your period, but some good analysis of the Hessian mentality and ideology (no, they weren't robots or just mercenaries)

Matthew Spring, With Zeal and Bayonets Only - dry-ish and technical, but absolutely a must if you are going to try to portray the British Army in combat. They didn't fight the way people usually think they did.

Anything on the Saratoga Campaign and the Philadelphia Campaign.

Hessians never really made it to the frontier (at least as an army, what your deserter might end up doing I couldn't say) outside of the Saratoga Campaign in NY, so what you are really looking at is settled PA and New England life.

Posted by: Grey Fox at January 08, 2017 10:34 AM (bZ7mE)

191 A short while later at another robbery a black youth was arrested. Turns out to be the Wal-Mart gun-grabber. But the real twist in the story is his companion who was not a woman but another man in drag wearing a wig.
Posted by: Anna Puma at January 08, 2017 10:30 AM (TpuGF)

So it was "Bob and Clyde" on this crime spree rather than Bonnie.
Posted by: Aetius451AD

https://youtu.be/6YMPAH67f4o

Posted by: Prince Ludwig the Deplorable at January 08, 2017 10:34 AM (MQZOg)

192 One last fling on the taxpayers dime.

http://tinyurl.com/zosvxzg

Posted by: steevy at January 08, 2017 10:34 AM (r/0kC)

193 188 George Bush has put out a book of his paintings called Portraits of Courage. It's his portraits of Veterans . Proceeds will go to various veteran groups.
Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at January 08, 2017 10:32 AM (IDPbH)

Amazon link:
http://tinyurl.com/gp63bgq

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 10:35 AM (92kX2)

194 181 135 ... Iron Mike Golf, The Churchill book is available on Kindle and Nook for 2.99. I may end up getting the physical version but the ebook edition was well done.

It isn't about technique but why painting is a valuable hobby. It includes several of Churchill's paintings which were far better than I expected.

Got the Kindle version 10 sec after posting.

Mrs IMG and I value our hobbies. I have dabbled a bit alongside her (made some jewelry, help pick out fabric for her sewing projects). The closest I have come to "art" is some cabinet making a few decades back. So this is quite fresh to me. I am going to enjoy playing with all the colors.

Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 10:35 AM (di1hb)

195 Which is kind of funny when you think about it. "Smaller class sizes" is the attempt to spread the base of the pyramid.
Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 10:20 AM (92kX2)
---
My mom and I were discussing the topic of class size. As a high schooler she remembers 35-45 kids to a class. I, a late Boomer/Gen-Xer, had the same (and we often had to resort to sitting in trailers due to space shortage). We both got excellent educations because it was expected of us and of the teachers.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 10:37 AM (EnKk6)

196 192 One last fling on the taxpayers dime.

http://tinyurl.com/zosvxzg
Posted by: steevy at January 08, 2017 10:34 AM (r/0kC)

I am actually surprised he is not Louis XVIing it right up until the Inauguration.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 10:37 AM (92kX2)

197 Huh. Gloria Vanderbilt and Anderson Cooper are descendants of Judson Kilpatrick.

Posted by: roamingfirehydrant at January 08, 2017 10:37 AM (THS4q)

198 I finally finished reading The Fatal Shore, Robert Hughes' history of Australia's years as a penal colony. It was a real slog due to the subject matter and people's behaviors largely being nasty to one another throughout. This one will go into the donations pile.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 08, 2017 09:23 AM (BK3ZS)

I read it many years ago, and recall enjoying the read quite a bit. Not sure how the subject matter would make it a slog. Either one is interested in the founding of Australia, or not.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 10:38 AM (Pz4pT)

199 123 off topic, but ...Speaking of unemployment, if anyone has a lead on work in our near Philadelphia, I'm going on six months without and almost ready to get in the barrel.
Posted by: Bensdad00 at January 08, 2017 09:59 AM (5rg+w)

Sorry, Bensdad00, but I will pray for you.
Any particular kind of work?

Posted by: Deplorable votermom @vm on Gab at January 08, 2017 10:38 AM (Om16U)

200 My mom and I were discussing the topic of class size. As a high schooler she remembers 35-45 kids to a class. I, a late Boomer/Gen-Xer, had the same (and we often had to resort to sitting in trailers due to space shortage). We both got excellent educations because it was expected of us and of the teachers.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 10:37 AM (EnKk6)

I was 80's and early 90's. We probably had 20-30 kids per class. Did not seem to present much of an issue. I was also thinking that when you have smaller class sizes, it is easier for unruly students to sidetrack things.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 10:39 AM (92kX2)

201 181 135 ... Iron Mike Golf, The Churchill book is available on Kindle and Nook for 2.99. I may end up getting the physical version but the ebook edition was well done.

It isn't about technique but why painting is a valuable hobby. It includes several of Churchill's paintings which were far better than I expected.

Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 10:28 AM (V+03K)

I have his catalog raisonne. He was a remarkable painter. Got to see one of his works in a Churchill exhibition at the Morgan Library a few years ago.

Posted by: josephistan at January 08, 2017 10:40 AM (7qAYi)

202 Thanks, Grey Wolf - already have "Washington's Crossing"!
The plot will basically grow out of what I run across in researching - it's all very loose at this point. I'd rather take note of events and people who interest me, and weave the plot around it - than plot first and then try and pin the research around it. Seems to be more organic, doing it that way.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at January 08, 2017 10:40 AM (xnmPy)

203 I don't think he ever was any kind of conservative, merely a "trusted scholar" who the left would look to when confronting Conservatives in The Mist, sociologically. A Sage.

As Grump and Cold Bear note above, another David Brock. Watchin' yaz.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at January 08, 2017 10:11 AM (H5rtT)

Phillips was more than that. He worked for Nixon's campaign back in the day, from whence his "conservative" cred derives.

And Brock used to write for the American Spectator. His article on Janet Reno's Waco murders was quite a good piece of investigative journalism.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at January 08, 2017 10:41 AM (VSbY8)

204 "I have an Urban Walmart experience here in Houston. I've always described it as a visit to a foreign country."

The same, up here in Minneapolis- ours appears to be a strange sliver of Mogadishu crossed with an outdoor market in Tijuana, with now and again a confused hilljack doofus/scandi snowbilly (like me) wandering through.

Posted by: Twin Cities Daydrunk, damning snow and all its acoutrements at January 08, 2017 10:41 AM (TSJEX)

205 123 off topic, but ...Speaking of unemployment, if anyone has a lead on work in our near Philadelphia, I'm going on six months without and almost ready to get in the barrel.
Posted by: Bensdad00 at January 08, 2017 09:59 AM (5rg+w)

Crap, I meant to respond to you sooner, but I'm on my way to Mass now. Remind me later, please.

Posted by: josephistan at January 08, 2017 10:42 AM (7qAYi)

206 An idea, Sgt Mom,

If you wanted to get your Hessian and his girl to the frontier proper, you could have him be a member of the Jaeger Korp (i.e., a rifleman), not a line infantryman. Possibly the son of a gamekeeper back home...that way he'd be a bit more competent as a woodsman (but discover that he is way over his head and needs to learn FAST to survive, all the same). Plausible and offer dramatic possibilities, I think.

If you go that route he'd be armed with a short "jaeger" rifle, which were in reality great guns but much maligned in modern pop writings about the Kentucky rifle. Don't believe 'em!

Posted by: Grey Fox at January 08, 2017 10:42 AM (bZ7mE)

207 The Frontiersmen by Alan Ekert is a good read on the frontier period of Ohio, Kentucky, etc.

Ekert's Wilderness Empire is a good read for the frontier period of upstate NY.

Posted by: davidt at January 08, 2017 10:43 AM (XoldI)

208 Well, my church cancelled worship today. 4 inches of snow, some slippery roads, and they cancelled worship.

The other parts of the country are probably laughing their asses off at us.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at January 08, 2017 10:43 AM (VSbY8)

209 Don't write off the Democrat Party. It's like an STD, every time you think you've gotten rid of it it comes flaring back up with a vengeance.
Posted by: PBJ1515 at January 08, 2017 10:19 AM (PsdJu)

That would be herpes.

You can kill many of the others. Like Gonegareeah, and Sisyphus.

You can't kill most of the Democrats, sadly.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 10:44 AM (Pz4pT)

210 I just finished reading Gates of Fire by Pressman. Great book with tons of historical bits, cultural scenes of Greece at the time, and a nice perspective of events from a soldier rather than a king or politician. Its flawed by his regular use of modern colloquialisms which are (for me) jarring on the lips of Greeks from thousands of years ago, but still a very good book. In particular I appreciated the brutal, bloody combat scenes which were awful yet powerful and evocative.

Another feature that was great was the philosophical discussions of topics such as what fear is caused by, how to deal with it, and a keen question: "what is the opposite of fear?" These are not offered in a dry, pedantic manner but as a natural part of the story and characters, and were very well done. I can see why the military really likes this book.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 08, 2017 10:45 AM (39g3+)

211 I don't think he ever was any kind of conservative, merely a "trusted scholar" who the left would look to when confronting Conservatives in The Mist, sociologically. A Sage.

As Grump and Cold Bear note above, another David Brock. Watchin' yaz.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at January 08, 2017 10:11 AM (H5rtT)

Phillips was more than that. He worked for Nixon's campaign back in the day, from whence his "conservative" cred derives.

And Brock used to write for the American Spectator. His article on Janet Reno's Waco murders was quite a good piece of investigative journalism.
Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at January 08, 2017 10:41 AM (VSbY

Of course Nixon, by pretty much any measure, was NOT a conservative himself.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 10:46 AM (Pz4pT)

212 ... Judis and Teixeira show how the most dynamic and fastest-growing areas
of the country are cultivating a new wave of Democratic voters who
embrace what the authors call "progressive centrism"...

Aha! This must be the alt-center ...

Posted by: ShainS at January 08, 2017 10:46 AM (mt8X9)

213 Long time lurker, finally decided to stalk the goodreads group.

Posted by: Scott at January 08, 2017 10:46 AM (xHNhs)

214 Well, my church cancelled worship today. 4 inches of snow, some slippery roads, and they cancelled worship.

Same happened here, but in our defense, nobody has experience driving in snow, nobody salts roads, and few have chains or studs or anything to combat the weather. Plus our church is in south Salem where its all hilly.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 08, 2017 10:47 AM (39g3+)

215 So when cats chirp at birds, is this an expression of anxiety? Should the cats be given a bird that they can kill in order to sate their bloodlust?

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at January 08, 2017 10:48 AM (rH4JY)

216 My mom and I were discussing the topic of class size. As a high schooler she remembers 35-45 kids to a class. I, a late Boomer/Gen-Xer, had the same (and we often had to resort to sitting in trailers due to space shortage). We both got excellent educations because it was expected of us and of the teachers.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 10:37 AM (EnKk6)

I was 80's and early 90's. We probably had 20-30 kids per class. Did not seem to present much of an issue. I was also thinking that when you have smaller class sizes, it is easier for unruly students to sidetrack things.
Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 10:39 AM (92kX2)

I taught H.S. briefly (loved being in the classroom with students, hated administrators), and would have preferred a class size around 20. Anything larger was almost too much, nearly impossible to have meaningful discussions, and the smart (or vocal, not always the same) kids would dominate. The ones struggling can get lost.

I think if you're a crappy teacher it probably doesn't matter much. Except moar rotten snotfaces means more tests/papers to grade.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 10:50 AM (Pz4pT)

217 The other parts of the country are probably laughing their asses off at us.
Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at January 08, 2017 10:43 AM (VSbY

Maybe, but it's probably a little unfair. We wouldn't even cancel school for something like that, but we also have fleets of plows and people who generally know how to drive in it. In absence of either, it's probably a good idea to just stay home.

Posted by: hogmartin at January 08, 2017 10:50 AM (8nWyX)

218 ... Judis and Teixeira show how the most dynamic and fastest-growing areas
of the country are cultivating a new wave of Democratic voters who
embrace what the authors call "progressive centrism"...
----------------------------
Aha! This must be the alt-center ...
Posted by: ShainS at January 08, 2017 10:46 AM (mt8X9)
----------------------------
And it's real!
"Liberal" votes without the leftist slogans...

Posted by: RioBravo at January 08, 2017 10:50 AM (OmhcY)

219 When the death of Richard Adams was announced by some Moron several days ago, his book Traveller was recommended. It is the memoirs of Robert E. Lee's famous steed. I have bought it and have begun to read it. It brought to mind a characteristic I seem to share with many dating back to at least the days of Ancient Rome. While I can accept the sacrifice of soldiers at Gettysburg or Normandy with equanimity, the death or wounding of horses affects me with more emotion. I have read war memoirs from Rome to contemporary days and it is remarkable how frequently hardened soldiers who accept the death of men are moved to pity by the death of horses.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, This Is the Dawning of the Age of the Trumpius! at January 08, 2017 10:51 AM (Nwg0u)

220 123 off topic, but ...Speaking of unemployment, if anyone has a lead on work in our near Philadelphia, I'm going on six months without and almost ready to get in the barrel.

Posted by: Bensdad00 at January 08, 2017 09:59 AM (5rg+w)

Ouch, that sucks. Maybe it would be helpful if you told us what kind of work you're looking for.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at January 08, 2017 10:52 AM (VSbY8)

221 Another book I read was Sniper's Honor, another Swagger book. It was good up until the end when he kind of ruined it by writing an "it all turned out okay" chapter. Otherwise a great story of a Russian sniper in WW2, with some tepid parts about Swagger trying to find her.

And I tried another WEB Griffith book but the man's fixation on Argentina and its politics just leaves me cold, I couldn't finish.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 08, 2017 10:52 AM (39g3+)

222 I'm in favor of replacing the phrase "identity politics" with "grievance politics." There's ALWAYS a grievance involved.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at January 08, 2017 10:53 AM (MZcWR)

223 "As the GOP continues to be dominated by neoconservatives, the religious right, and corporate influence, this is an essential volume for all those discontented with their narrow agenda -- and a clarion call for a new political order."

_________

Trump bucked almost all of these nasty traits that the modern GOP had become.

We were dying with a mixture of Rick Santorum SoCon nuttery, McCain military adventurism and Paul Ryan Chamber of Commerce slavery.

Amazing when we left this behind, Republicans won the Rust Belt which hasn't happened in close to 30 years.

Posted by: Clipper Ship at January 08, 2017 10:54 AM (QzwGI)

224 A while ago someone mentioned that there was a really great podcast for history. Son hates to read, but is willing to listen and is interested in giving it a try if anyone remembers what it was.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at January 08, 2017 10:54 AM (sEDyY)

225 Maybe, but it's probably a little unfair. We wouldn't even cancel school for something like that, but we also have fleets of plows and people who generally know how to drive in it. In absence of either, it's probably a good idea to just stay home.

Posted by: hogmartin at January 08, 2017 10:50 AM (8nWyX)

Right. And on the plus side, I get to hang out on the book thread all morning, which I don't normally get to do.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at January 08, 2017 10:54 AM (VSbY8)

226 194 ... IMG, I haven't got to the coloring parts yet except to mess around. The one thing I came across that REALLY helped was how to hold the pencil and to have the paper upright like on an easel. There is a video on YouTube by Dan Nelson that explains how and why to do so.

Drawing and painting would be so much easier if I had talent. But it becoming more and more fun.

Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 10:55 AM (V+03K)

227 "Long time lurker, finally decided to stalk the goodreads group."

Hi Scott.

Welcome.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at January 08, 2017 10:56 AM (J+eG2)

228 The Frontiersmen by Alan Ekert is a good read on the frontier period of Ohio, Kentucky, etc.

Ekert's Wilderness Empire is a good read for the frontier period of upstate NY.

I would strongly caution against relying on anything Eckert wrote, sadly. I've read a whole bunch of his writings over the years, but a lot of his stuff doesn't match up with the original sources and since he doesn't use footnotes/endnotes there is noi telling where he got it. I strongly suspect that he simply takes the most lurid/catchy stories and uses them without regard for how accurate they might be.

Also, his "novelized" approach to history means he has to just make up a lot of details to fill gaps...

Posted by: Grey Fox at January 08, 2017 10:58 AM (bZ7mE)

229 New Left = Identity politics
New Right = Identitarian politics
New Center = missing

Posted by: RioBravo at January 08, 2017 10:58 AM (OmhcY)

230 When the death of Richard Adams was announced by some Moron several days ago, his book Traveller was recommended. It is the memoirs of Robert E. Lee's famous steed. I have bought it and have begun to read it. It brought to mind a characteristic I seem to share with many dating back to at least the days of Ancient Rome. While I can accept the sacrifice of soldiers at Gettysburg or Normandy with equanimity, the death or wounding of horses affects me with more emotion. I have read war memoirs from Rome to contemporary days and it is remarkable how frequently hardened soldiers who accept the death of men are moved to pity by the death of horses.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, This Is the Dawning of the Age of the Trumpius! at January 08, 2017 10:51 AM (Nwg0u)

People internalize these things differently. I can't imagine getting upset by the death of a horse in battle, but then, I have never ridden a horse before...

The three specific Civil War battles that stand out in my mind, and cause the most heartbreak, are Shilo... where the description of dying soldiers crawling to a watering hole to slake their thirst... I've stood at that watering hole.

Sherman's first assault at Vicksburg, when they KNEW a frontal assault would not work, but had to try anyway, because military protocol seemed to call for it.

The third was Cold Harbor, when Grant repeatedly pushed frontal assaults, with troops pinned in, battling sometimes hand to hand, with bodies stacking up, unable to move forward, unable to retreat.

No way for me to fully contemplate the magnitude of such sacrifice, and the names of the battlefields themselves send chills down my spine.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 11:00 AM (Pz4pT)

231 Anything larger was almost too much, nearly impossible to have meaningful discussions, and the smart (or vocal, not always the same) kids would dominate. The ones struggling can get lost.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 10:50 AM (Pz4pT)
----
I was a bit of a classroom dominatrix in my history and literature courses. What can I say, it was rough and tumble Darwinism in those days.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 11:01 AM (EnKk6)

232 So All Hail Eris, what happened when your history gang squared off against your literature gang?

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 08, 2017 11:03 AM (TpuGF)

233 I read the second MHI novel. I enjoyed it but I will take a break from the series. Someone had recommended Retief as fun SciFi to me months ago and some of Laumer's titles are on kindle now. I found the collection of short stories in Reteif: Ambassador to Space to be enjoyable. Keith pokes fun at various officious bureaucrat stereotypes in these tales set on distant planets.

Posted by: PaleRider at January 08, 2017 11:04 AM (Jen0I)

234 VM & OM, my degree is in history and poli sci, I've got 15+ years experience managing bartenders, have also quoted a substitute teacher sans-certification for half a dozen years, and was trained as a 38A (Civil Affairs) in the USAR.

I can do any kind of office work that doesn't have a training prerequisite ( i.e. medical billing or paralegal) and possess an unfounded self-confidence that i could even learn those on the fly if necessary.

Posted by: Bensdad00 at January 08, 2017 11:05 AM (5rg+w)

235 The third was Cold Harbor, when Grant repeatedly pushed frontal assaults, with troops pinned in, battling sometimes hand to hand, with bodies stacking up, unable to move forward, unable to retreat.

-
Grant, whose basic strategy was to rely upon the Union's numerical superiority to use attrition to defeat the Confederacy, was one of those who could not abide cruelty tk horses and lost his temper when he saw enlisted men whipping horses.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, This Is the Dawning of the Age of the Trumpius! at January 08, 2017 11:06 AM (Nwg0u)

236 233 I read the second MHI novel. I enjoyed it but I will take a break from the series. Someone had recommended Retief as fun SciFi to me months ago and some of Laumer's titles are on kindle now. I found the collection of short stories in Reteif: Ambassador to Space to be enjoyable. Keith pokes fun at various officious bureaucrat stereotypes in these tales set on distant planets.
Posted by: PaleRider at January 08, 2017 11:04 AM (Jen0I)

I actually found the third in the MHI series to be the best.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:07 AM (92kX2)

237 232 So All Hail Eris, what happened when your history gang squared off against your literature gang?
Posted by: Anna Puma at January 08, 2017 11:03 AM (TpuGF)
---
*finger snaps, switchblade schwings*

The History Kidz watched The World at War; the literati tykes never had a chance.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 11:07 AM (EnKk6)

238 Pale Rider, if you like Retief then perhaps H. Beam Piper's Stephen Silk might interest you.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20121/20121-h/20121-h.htm

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 08, 2017 11:08 AM (TpuGF)

239 Posted by: Grey Fox at January 08, 2017 10:58 AM (bZ7mE)

Yeah, Ekert did tend to 'elaborate' a bit, but I did find the two books I mentioned informative and fun to read.

Posted by: davidt at January 08, 2017 11:09 AM (XoldI)

240 The third was Cold Harbor, when Grant repeatedly pushed frontal assaults, with troops pinned in, battling sometimes hand to hand, with bodies stacking up, unable to move forward, unable to retreat.

-
Grant, whose basic strategy was to rely upon the Union's numerical superiority to use attrition to defeat the Confederacy, was one of those who could not abide cruelty tk horses and lost his temper when he saw enlisted men whipping horses.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, This Is the Dawning of the Age of the Trumpius! at January 08, 2017 11:06 AM (Nwg0u)

Yeah, I think the story goes, he rather disliked the sight of blood. Would get woozy. The irony being quite ironical.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 11:09 AM (Pz4pT)

241 226 194 ... IMG, I haven't got to the coloring parts yet except to mess around. The one thing I came across that REALLY helped was how to hold the pencil and to have the paper upright like on an easel. There is a video on YouTube by Dan Nelson that explains how and why to do so.

Drawing and painting would be so much easier if I had talent. But it becoming more and more fun.

In other endeavors, both as a trainer and a trainee, I've found "talent" to be a measure of "how much faster than average" proficiency can be attained.

Last time I had an art teacher was 8th grade. We do have a friend who is a HS art teacher and i am welcome in her studio, so I got that going for me.

Working on some very fundamental stuff now. What I figure is the art analog to the dime drill.

Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 11:09 AM (di1hb)

242 The Reteif books are hilarious and loads of fun, I recommend to anyone who likes humor, sci fi, and just fun. They'd make a great movie, any of the books would.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 08, 2017 11:09 AM (39g3+)

243 The progressive plan to bring more jobs to middle America.

http://tinyurl.com/juqz2pf

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, This Is the Dawning of the Age of the Trumpius! at January 08, 2017 11:10 AM (Nwg0u)

244 Anything larger was almost too much, nearly impossible to have meaningful discussions, and the smart (or vocal, not always the same) kids would dominate. The ones struggling can get lost.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 10:50 AM (Pz4pT)
----
I was a bit of a classroom dominatrix in my history and literature courses. What can I say, it was rough and tumble Darwinism in those days.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 11:01 AM (EnKk6)

I'm not sure, but I think these days there's an expectation that the smarter kids are supposed to help carry the stragglers.

Not really fair to them. Because yeah, it's a dog eat dog world out there, and shielding the little snowflakes from that is not going to help them in the long run.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 11:11 AM (Pz4pT)

245 202 ... Sgt. Mom, When you do research for the Revolutionary War book, try to borrow some repro weapons of that time. A Brown Bess musket, and a long rifle would be appropriate. The loading, accuracy (or lack of it) and 'feel' of those weapons is surprising to those not used to them. Might make a difference for your writing. And they are a LOT of fun. A reenacting group in your area could probably help.

Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 11:12 AM (V+03K)

246 "Reading her crap is like getting beaten with a bag of oranges."

Is that a reference to the 1990 movie The Grifters?

Posted by: Ok at January 08, 2017 11:12 AM (5knHt)

247 So they squealed 'Eh tu Brutus!' when the switchblade pierced their copy of Julius Caesar?

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 08, 2017 11:13 AM (TpuGF)

248 243 The progressive plan to bring more jobs to middle America.

http://tinyurl.com/juqz2pf
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, This Is the Dawning of the Age of the Trumpius! at January 08, 2017 11:10 AM (Nwg0u)

The same argument she makes works for me, in reverse: I would much rather live somewhere the 'services' are not as good rather than be force fed leftist apologia every single time I want to interact with someone else.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:13 AM (92kX2)

249 Hi Scott, you're in. Welcome!

Posted by: Deplorable votermom @vm on Gab at January 08, 2017 11:14 AM (Om16U)

250 Red state smurfs are the problem. I need to convince smurfs that I am acting in their best interests.

Posted by: Gargamel at January 08, 2017 11:14 AM (rH4JY)

251 The progressive plan to bring more jobs to middle America.

http://tinyurl.com/juqz2pf
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, This Is the Dawning of the Age of the Trumpius! at January 08, 2017 11:10 AM (Nwg0u)

That's just bloody brilliant that is.

You can really tell when someone has NEVER left their safe enclave on the coast. Good gracious, this genius probably DOES think we have cows walking up and down the street.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 11:15 AM (Pz4pT)

252 The progressive plan to bring more jobs to middle America.

http://tinyurl.com/juqz2pf
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, This Is the Dawning of the Age of the Trumpius! at January 08, 2017 11:10 AM (Nwg0u)
---------------------
An optimistic twist on the middle America proposals to be found in National Review!

Progressives thinking the morons can be redeemed by diversity as opposed to being irredeemable as per NR and H=>

Posted by: RioBravo at January 08, 2017 11:16 AM (OmhcY)

253 225 Maybe, but it's probably a little unfair. We wouldn't even cancel school for something like that, but we also have fleets of plows and people who generally know how to drive in it. In absence of either, it's probably a good idea to just stay home.

Posted by: hogmartin at January 08, 2017 10:50 AM (8nWyX)

Don't cancel school. End urban bussing programs. Reduced oil usage, daily exercise for the kids with a nice walk, reduced traffic congestion, and increased foot traffic for local businesses. Everyone wins.

Posted by: Bensdad00 at January 08, 2017 11:16 AM (5rg+w)

254 The progressive plan to bring more jobs to middle America.

http://tinyurl.com/juqz2pf
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, This Is the Dawning of the Age of the Trumpius! at January 08, 2017 11:10 AM (Nwg0u)

The same argument she makes works for me, in reverse: I would much rather live somewhere the 'services' are not as good rather than be force fed leftist apologia every single time I want to interact with someone else.
Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:13 AM (92kX2)

You can't get good Thai, or even a halfway decent pizza pie at 3AM.

Sad.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 11:17 AM (Pz4pT)

255 That's just bloody brilliant that is.

You can really tell when someone has NEVER left their safe enclave on the coast. Good gracious, this genius probably DOES think we have cows walking up and down the street.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 11:15 AM (Pz4pT)

I wonder if she realizes how her screed sounds? I bounce back and forth between wondering if the progs really do not see how offensive what they are saying is, and them knowing exactly how offensive they sound.

This reads more like playing to the home crowd rather than actually trying to make prescriptions for others.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:18 AM (92kX2)

256 The Dems bank on playing Santa Claus to the stupid out here in America.

Problem is, Santa's shit is all stale and broke and most people see the hook sticking out of the dried out bait.

See ObamaCare and $7,000.00 deductibles for working married couples.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at January 08, 2017 11:18 AM (5VlCp)

257 I felt the urge to re-read "Watership Down" in early December, after finding a random youtube video about it. And then the author died. RIP Adams...

One of the things that makes the book so memorable is that it stars off with the usual eco-fluff themes (Humans destroy nature for their own greed, yadda, yadda) but then takes a hard right turn and starts dealing with a blood-feud against an evil totalitarian regime! The war with Efrafa is shocking, and easily the best part of the book.

And anyone who wants to focus the girls in the story...are really missing the point. The fact that there aren't any girls on the team is a central plot point, and the realization that they need girls if Watership Down is going to survive is the turning point that drives the action of the last 2/3's of the book! Adding girls before that point will gut that story point...

I remember reading "The Three Investigators" as a kid! But the only detail I remember beyond the name of the series is that they had a secret clubhouse in an old RV in the middle of the junkyard.

Posted by: Castle Guy at January 08, 2017 11:18 AM (7aeqx)

258 You can't get good Thai, or even a halfway decent pizza pie at 3AM.

Sad.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 11:17 AM (Pz4pT)

I'll take White Castle or Steak and Shake over Thai and Pizza.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:19 AM (92kX2)

259 "I'm surprise Watership Down is considered a children's book."

Like the Bugs Bunny cartoons.

Most young adult books are frightening.

I quit reading The Queen's Thief series after 3 books because so many good characters were harmed realistically. (Megan Whalen Turner)

Posted by: Ok at January 08, 2017 11:19 AM (5knHt)

260 Ex's and Oh's is an annoying earworm. If I could go back in time and prevent Rob Schneider from being born, I could avert this.

Posted by: Gargamel at January 08, 2017 11:20 AM (rH4JY)

261 Nice plan by Mastiff. I'll definitely be a buyer, but not a contributor.

Last weekend, I discovered a beautiful library in the Hotel Emma in San Antonio. The hotel is built in the old Pearl Brewery and the two-story library and reading room is part of that structure. The library's almost 4000 books were donated by Sherry Kafka Wagner, a San Antonio author and book enthusiast/collector.

Posted by: LASue at January 08, 2017 11:22 AM (CLKfs)

262 You fucking wingnuts better clean up your fucking dumphole little towns and then us betters will think about letting you xenophobic parasites get your approved good jobs.

Posted by: SF Tech lib at January 08, 2017 11:23 AM (89T5c)

263 The progressive plan to bring more jobs to middle America.

http://tinyurl.com/juqz2pf

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, This Is the Dawning of the Age of the Trumpius! at January 08, 2017 11:10 AM (Nwg0u)

A basket of Winning if ever I saw one!

Posted by: Hrothgar at January 08, 2017 11:23 AM (wCEn4)

264 The one morning I'm actually home (snowed in!) and I forgot to hop on the book thread.

*sigh*

I finished the second (Beluga) in the series by Rick Gavin about the adventures of Rick and Desmond, repo men in the Mississippi Delta. I'm almost done with the third, "Nowhere Nice." Mr. Gavin is definitely Moron material and has a way with believable dialogue. The motley crew his main characters get involved with one for the books. Heh.

Highly recommended.

Posted by: SandyCheeks at January 08, 2017 11:23 AM (joFoi)

265 Does anybody else read the Book Thread with tabs to their local libraries open? Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 09:46 AM (EnKk6)
=====

Doesn't everybody?

I currently have a huuuuge fine because I found a bag-o-books stuffed under the seat in the car and I forgot that it was there. All my mordant jokes about naming the new wing after me in fines are true.

Posted by: mustbequantum at January 08, 2017 11:23 AM (MIKMs)

266 Former Soviet bloc realism and sobriety: (via WZ)

http://tinyurl.com/zf385vn

Also, the Czech gun restrictions seem lighter than the ones here.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:23 AM (92kX2)

267 I'll take White Castle or Steak and Shake over Thai and Pizza.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:19 AM (92kX2)

I'd take the Thai or pizza. Thankfully I can do that, because despite what the wonderful Ms. Byerley thinks, there are actually really good ethnic restaurants out here in the uncultured wastes.

Posted by: hogmartin at January 08, 2017 11:24 AM (8nWyX)

268 262 You fucking wingnuts better clean up your fucking dumphole little towns and then us betters will think about letting you xenophobic parasites get your approved good jobs.
Posted by: SF Tech lib at January 08, 2017 11:23 AM (89T5c)

Is that you, Kevin Williamson?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:24 AM (92kX2)

269 As I will be having some semi-minor surgery (I hope, anyway) on Tuesday and will be out of work for a few weeks, I'm lookin for book suggestions, maybe some sci fi or detective stuff but nothing really dreary or tear-inducing. Got enough on my mind in that respect. Any sugg, horde?

Posted by: antisocialist at January 08, 2017 11:24 AM (W2wn0)

270 Sgt. Mom, Another resource to check is Muzzleloader Magazine. It has excellent research based on period documentation and personal experience for the practical topics. And it deals with the period and areas you mentioned, among others. I've enjoyed it for years. Again, reenactors or black powder shooters in your area may have issues you can borrow. Our local library system doesn't get it but yours might.

Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 11:24 AM (V+03K)

271 243 The progressive plan to bring more jobs to middle America.

http://tinyurl.com/juqz2pf
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, This Is the Dawning of the Age of the Trumpius! at January 08, 2017 11:10 AM (Nwg0u)

You troglodytes need to vote for more progressive government. Once you attract our corporations to your town, our votes will make certain of it!

Posted by: rickl at January 08, 2017 11:24 AM (sdi6R)

272 *suggestions, that is. iPad spellcheck...

Posted by: antisocialist at January 08, 2017 11:26 AM (W2wn0)

273 Former Soviet bloc realism and sobriety: (via WZ)
http://tinyurl.com/zf385vn
Also, the Czech gun restrictions seem lighter than the ones here.
Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:23 AM (92kX2)

Yup......now that man is a leader.

Plus Czech weapons are wonderful for the job.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at January 08, 2017 11:27 AM (5VlCp)

274 Last weekend, I discovered a beautiful library in the Hotel Emma in San Antonio.

Posted by: LASue at January 08, 2017 11:22 AM (CLKfs)

Thank you for the tip. Always looking for good library pics.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at January 08, 2017 11:27 AM (VSbY8)

275 269 As I will be having some semi-minor surgery (I hope, anyway) on Tuesday and will be out of work for a few weeks, I'm lookin for book suggestions, maybe some sci fi or detective stuff but nothing really dreary or tear-inducing. Got enough on my mind in that respect. Any sugg, horde?
Posted by: antisocialist at January 08, 2017 11:24 AM (W2wn0)

The Jim Butcher Dresden novels are good popcorn-book fare.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:27 AM (92kX2)

276 The only reason Bugs Bunny was allowed to survive is because if he didn't, the cartoon could not go on. That is why "villains" must always lose, even if they are pursuing a righteous cause.

Posted by: Gargamel at January 08, 2017 11:28 AM (rH4JY)

277 Reading SPQR The Kings Gambit which I think was recommended in a Sunday book thread. Very good. The Roman politics of the time seems to match current day.

Posted by: Ok at January 08, 2017 11:28 AM (5knHt)

278 classroom dominatrix

Go on...

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at January 08, 2017 11:28 AM (Xk4Hx)

279 Yup......now that man is a leader.

Plus Czech weapons are wonderful for the job.
Posted by: Hairyback Guy at January 08, 2017 11:27 AM (5VlCp)

I like that at least they are telling people to stand up for themselves- rather than waiting for their government rep to arrive and clean up the mess.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:28 AM (92kX2)

280 That's just bloody brilliant that is.

You can really tell when someone has NEVER left their safe enclave on the coast. Good gracious, this genius probably DOES think we have cows walking up and down the street.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 11:15 AM (Pz4pT)

I wonder if she realizes how her screed sounds? I bounce back and forth between wondering if the progs really do not see how offensive what they are saying is, and them knowing exactly how offensive they sound.

This reads more like playing to the home crowd rather than actually trying to make prescriptions for others.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:18 AM (92kX2)

I think it starts with the sheer and utterly total ignorance, and the bitter condescension follows from that.

Another side benefit of the Trump election. Coastal libs taking their masks off. We've let them down so.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 11:29 AM (Pz4pT)

281 My bog post today is just a link to this thread, LOL

Posted by: Deplorable votermom @vm on Gab at January 08, 2017 11:30 AM (Om16U)

282 I really enjoy all the SPQR books I read. The writing is easy and fun to read and the historical stuff is so matter of fact and familiar to the characters it almost feels like reading about somewhere that exists today. The mystery, for me, is secondary to the rest of the story. I particularly appreciate how presumed the gods and worship are, nobody defends it, that's just how it is, and everyone believes.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 08, 2017 11:30 AM (39g3+)

283 Prayers requested. Our 4 week old grandson is in the hospital. Possibly pyloric stenosis. If so, then surgery to follow. He went to the ER late last night for not keeping anything down and becoming dehydrate.

Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 11:31 AM (di1hb)

284 Posted by: antisocialist at January 08, 2017 11:26 AM (W2wn0)

I liked both of these as light but interesting reading:

Tubby Meets Katrina (The Tubby Dubonnet Series)
By Tony Dunbar

Hard Magic (The Grimnoir Chronicles)
By Larry Correia

Posted by: Hrothgar at January 08, 2017 11:31 AM (wCEn4)

285 265 Does anybody else read the Book Thread with tabs to their local libraries open? Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 09:46 AM (EnKk6)
=====

Doesn't everybody?

I currently have a huuuuge fine because I found a bag-o-books stuffed under the seat in the car and I forgot that it was there. All my mordant jokes about naming the new wing after me in fines are true.

Regular cookie and candy delivery, plus being notorious with my15+ ILL deliveries every month, have garnered me not one or two but SIX librarians spread across four branches who override and fine I get :-)

Posted by: Bensdad00 at January 08, 2017 11:32 AM (5rg+w)

286 Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 11:31 AM (di1hb)

Prayers up!

Posted by: Hrothgar at January 08, 2017 11:32 AM (wCEn4)

287 " In New York, California and especially Illinois there are vast
geographic swaths where Clinton lost and lost badly. In Illinois, just
about everything outside the Chicagoland area went heavily for Trump." kodos

yeah, that mostly red map reveals it is urban areas that are led to vote Dem. It the farmers unionize and go on strike like teachers, we can bring them to their knees in a matter of weeks. Kids are not harmed much when the school monopoly cabal goes on strike, but people like to eat almost every day. Of course the left would want the military to force us to feed them ... only THEIR coercive mafias can be allowed.

But really, it was Kennedy's immigration act that changed us, despite the promise it would not transform us. They simply imported a new people. For all the talk of the stupid white hicks electing Trump, he won the white college educated (brainwashed) by 4%. It is ALWAYS the so called minorities that elect the commies. White America is bent but still votes landslide R.

Identity politics started with Republicans giving "equal rights" to blacks, with race based laws. But really it was the giving of forms of "reparations" without individual due process that probably began the slide into buying votes by mandated "payments" to select special groups. LBJ seemed to have that figured out, and got it "right", when he said he'd have the "blacks" voting Dem for 200 years.

But the Mexicans drove Rodney King and the blacks out of Compton by way of drive by shootings. And now the celebrated "most diverse" city in America is 97% "Hispanic", (which reveals their true intent). So they have to ratchet up the hate on (common enemy) whitey beyond levels society can accept, lest the special groups get jealous of other special groups.

The "deplorable, irredeemable, born KKK" language of Hate seems to have finally blown a gasket. The new tribe is the American tribe ... America First. United we Stand. E pluribus unum. The fever (of hate) has broken?

Posted by: illiniwek at January 08, 2017 11:32 AM (/aIFg)

288 I'll take White Castle or Steak and Shake over Thai and Pizza.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:19 AM
~~~~~

I've got an awesome slider recipe that tastes remarkably like the beloved White Castle, except with more a bit more meat and cheese.

Posted by: IrishEi at January 08, 2017 11:33 AM (HiDrR)

289 Iron Mike, prayers said.

Posted by: Bensdad00 at January 08, 2017 11:33 AM (5rg+w)

290 I think it starts with the sheer and utterly total ignorance, and the bitter condescension follows from that.

Another side benefit of the Trump election. Coastal libs taking their masks off. We've let them down so.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 11:29 AM (Pz4pT)

The mask thing is key, but I think it is more than hat. I think the election of Obama could be a poison pill for them. In the past they were always able to just flat out lie about their intentions in order to get their foot in the door (we are not going to force churches to marry gays or bake a gay wedding cake- that's just absurd wingnuttery, etc.)

Obama being Black served as the door, even though he was obviously a flaming prog (although even he lied on various subjects.) This taught a lot of progs that they could be openly contemptuous of the red state cohort, and still get elected.

What the state level elections taught us is this: Unless you are Barak Obama (or can magic the same set of circumstances), this does not work.

Even though they are assholes, I prefer the honesty.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:34 AM (92kX2)

291 I mentioned, in passing, a TV series called "The War that Made America," while talking about the book by Fred Anderson by the same name. Turns out the video is on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In7DxIjucyQ

Posted by: Grey Fox at January 08, 2017 11:34 AM (bZ7mE)

292 So they squealed 'Eh tu Brutus!'

Come on. It wasn't a Canadian lit class!

Posted by: Stringer Davis at January 08, 2017 11:35 AM (H5rtT)

293 Even though it's only 20° outside, it looks like the sun is going to work on my driveway. I knew the snow would take care of itself if I just had patience. Patience and laziness.

Posted by: rickl at January 08, 2017 11:36 AM (sdi6R)

294 Also, if you are writing about 18th century warfare,
it would be a very good idea to get some hands-on experience with
flintlocks. I can tell when author is relying on written sources and
trying to "backdate" modern weapon handling/tactics/mentality.
Posted by: Grey Fox at January 08, 2017 10:22 AM (bZ7mE)

Bernard Cornwell in some of his early Sharpes books mentions looking into the pan of the Baker rifle and seeing the wet powder "like grey porridge"
which was a major WTF moment for me. Author had only dealt personally with the powder out of firecrackers apparently.

By the way, I encourage everyone to play with flintlocks.

Posted by: Kindltot at January 08, 2017 11:37 AM (xNowh)

295 http://tinyurl.com/juqz2pf

If you haven't read this, you simply must. I'd almost think it was satire, it hits all the notes just right.

FYI, "progressive city councils" are one of the reasons why Middle American cities like Flint and Detroit became hellmouths.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 11:38 AM (EnKk6)

296 Prayers to Iron Mike.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at January 08, 2017 11:38 AM (MZcWR)

297 "The Jim Butcher Dresden novels are good popcorn-book fare."

My opinion was that they turned too dark; maimed and killed too many good characters after the first one. Most of his short stories are fun.

I quit reading after White Knight.

Posted by: Ok at January 08, 2017 11:38 AM (5knHt)

298 We're at 20 degrees, no wind, and plenty o sunshine. It actually feels warm enough for me to venture to the "outside". I think it could be okay. Maybe.

Posted by: madamemayhem (i wanna be sedated) at January 08, 2017 11:39 AM (yTnCT)

299 By the way, I encourage everyone to play with flintlocks.
Posted by: Kindltot at January 08, 2017 11:37 AM (xNowh)

You'll shoot Benedict Arnold's eye out!

Posted by: Revolutionary Mothers at January 08, 2017 11:39 AM (92kX2)

300 Prayers requested. Our 4 week old grandson is in the
hospital. Possibly pyloric stenosis. If so, then surgery to follow. He
went to the ER late last night for not keeping anything down and
becoming dehydrate.

Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 11:31 AM
~~~~~
Prayers sent IMG. Hoping surgery is not needed, but if it is, be comforted by the fact that surgery for pyloric stenosis has been extremely successful. A friend's baby needed it and he was home from the hospital two days later--and that was 20 years ago! (He's a middle linebacker now in college.) I'm sure it has improved even more since that time.

Posted by: IrishEi at January 08, 2017 11:40 AM (HiDrR)

301 Thanks, JTB, for the suggestions re contemporary arms - I do have a contact from several years ago when I needed to know all about a Paterson Colt and a Walker Colt, so I expect that I will do the same this time around. We do have some very enthusiastic local reenactor groups - most of them focus on the 1830s, but I do know that weaponry from sixty years before was still in use. Flintlocks, ball and black powder went on being used for a good while. Laura Ingalls Wilder described her father casting lead bullets for his own weapon into the 1870s.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at January 08, 2017 11:41 AM (xnmPy)

302 @95 -- "The Secret of Terror Castle" was the first Three Investigators book.

Have fun.

Posted by: Weak Geek at January 08, 2017 11:41 AM (zphS8)

303 295 http://tinyurl.com/juqz2pf

If you haven't read this, you simply must. I'd almost think it was satire, it hits all the notes just right.

FYI, "progressive city councils" are one of the reasons why Middle American cities like Flint and Detroit became hellmouths.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 11:38 AM (EnKk6)

Yeah, she says "people like us" would like a more rural lifestyle, without considering that maybe the targets of her ire would not like "progressive city councils".

Posted by: rickl at January 08, 2017 11:41 AM (sdi6R)

304 297 "The Jim Butcher Dresden novels are good popcorn-book fare."

My opinion was that they turned too dark; maimed and killed too many good characters after the first one. Most of his short stories are fun.

I quit reading after White Knight.
Posted by: Ok at January 08, 2017 11:38 AM (5knHt)

Hmmm, fair enough.

Robert Lynn Aspirin's Myth Adventure series is pretty much the definition of popcorn fiction- at least until the later books.

Posted by: Revolutionary Mothers at January 08, 2017 11:41 AM (92kX2)

305 I enjoy the Dresden books okay, but he's got the same problem a lot of authors do: every book gets longer and more byzantine in its plotting. He's also building up to some horrendous mega event that I don't think he even knows what it is.

The Dresden books were just something he knocked off to get published while he tried to get his "serious" fantasy work out there, but it kept being rejected. I liked the earlier ones best.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 08, 2017 11:42 AM (39g3+)

306 I am glad that you are reading Jeremiah.

What is plot?
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 08, 2017 09:31 AM (tOcW/)

He cries a lot.

Posted by: SandyCheeks at January 08, 2017 11:42 AM (joFoi)

307 Off, Daughters of the Revolution sock.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:42 AM (92kX2)

308 Enjoyed Richard Adams' Watership Down as a kid, also liked Shardik, which as I remember was a mystical story about a bear. At $13.50 for the Kindle edition won't be revisiting it soon.

Read Barbarians: How The Baby Boomers, Immigration, and Islam Screwed My Generation, a short political book by right-wing activist Lauren Southern. Talks about her experience with Leftist professors, Trump's win, the failure of establishment politicians on right and left, and dangers of mass immigration. Well-written and has hope for the future.

Read Hallow Mass by Horde member J.P. Mac, a Lovecraftian horror/comedy novel set in a Massachusetts college. Some employees of the Antiquities section at Miskatonic University guard the Necronomicon, and there are some who would take it and use it for evil. Takes a lot of shots at modern college including special snowflakes and nutty department studies, a lot of fun with some horror mixed in. Enjoyed it a lot.

Read Suck My Cosmos (Hard Luck Hank #4) by Steven Campbell, a Hank outing where the space station has become extremely expensive to live and is run by the super-rich. Hank is hired by a woman to track her rich husband to see if he is cheating on her, but this turns into a much bigger story threatening everyone on the station. The usual Hank fun filled with explosions, assassinations, gun battles and more. Think it's my favorite Hank book so far, enjoyed it a lot.

Read Through Fire (Darkship #4) by Sarah Hoyt. Hadn't read books 1-3 in the series so a bit in the dark about the setting. Some people including the female lead seem to be bred to be super-fighting machines, Earth is in turmoil and has turned into the French Revolution with conspiracies, beheadings and street gun battles. Enjoyed it though may go back to earlier books to see what led to this.

Posted by: waelse1 at January 08, 2017 11:42 AM (e9c6e)

309 269: the Sue Grafton Kinsey Milhone alphabet detective novels are good (with one miss towards the end of the alphabet). They are fast paced stories that give you a chance to figure it out without it being too obvious.

Posted by: LASue, now even more deplorable at January 08, 2017 11:43 AM (CLKfs)

310 Thank you Hrothgar and Bensdadoo!

He is being transferred to Akron (where we live. Daughter's family is an hour away) for surgery.

Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 11:43 AM (di1hb)

311 He is being transferred to Akron (where we live. Daughter's family is an hour away) for surgery.
Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 11:43 AM (di1hb)

Hope everything works out well.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:44 AM (92kX2)

312 Iron Mike, prayers for you and yours. It's painful when our babies hurt.

OM, thanks for a great book thread, yet again. It's warmed up to 20 degrees now, so a cup of coffee and new books to add to the ever-growing list is a lovely way to spend the morning!

Posted by: Moki, deplorable mom and sammich maker at January 08, 2017 11:45 AM (VnCI9)

313 Bernard Cornwell in some of his early Sharpes books mentions looking into the pan of the Baker rifle and seeing the wet powder "like grey porridge"
which was a major WTF moment for me. Author had only dealt personally with the powder out of firecrackers apparently.

A year or so ago, I was reading one of his later novels in the series, in which they end up picking off French artillerymen at 700 yards, which was amusing in itself. It got very amusing when I read his endnote disparaging a certain "recent author" who had proposed a rather more realistic max range for the Baker rifle and realized that he was talking about DeWitte Bailey, the leading authority on British military arms in the flintlock period. Had Cornwall bothered to learn anything about ballistics, he would have realized that the drop on a .60 caliber roundball at 700 yards would make any kind of accurate shooting impossible, ergo, the original sources claiming such feats have to be gross exaggerations.

Posted by: Grey Fox at January 08, 2017 11:47 AM (bZ7mE)

314 305 I enjoy the Dresden books okay, but he's got the same problem a lot of authors do: every book gets longer and more byzantine in its plotting. He's also building up to some horrendous mega event that I don't think he even knows what it is.

The Dresden books were just something he knocked off to get published while he tried to get his "serious" fantasy work out there, but it kept being rejected. I liked the earlier ones best.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 08, 2017 11:42 AM (39g3+)

Nothing wrong with trying to make money. His "Aeronaut's Windlass" is a good book.

I thought the Codex Alera series was pretty good. Had an old time feel to it (I mean it reminded me a lot of series I read when I was growing up.)

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:47 AM (92kX2)

315 I enjoyed the Myth Adventures books, the ones I read at least. They are very fun and silly. There's a great comic book adaptation of a couple of the books with Phil Foglio doing the art.

L Sprague DeCamp has some silly fantasy books out there that are a lot of fun too, but they are older so harder to find.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 08, 2017 11:47 AM (39g3+)

316 269 ... antisocialist, If you haven't read them, the Nero Wolfe books by Rex Stout are a joy: brilliant writing and clever mysteries. They are probably available at your local library, used book stores and of course as ebooks.

For light but hilarious comedy of manners, try anything by PG Wodehouse. But don't read them if it will hurt to laugh after the surgery. Because they will make you laugh.

Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 11:47 AM (V+03K)

317 Elmer Fudd, I and the Peculiar Purple Pieman of Porcupine Peak are all white males. I consider this to be racist and sexist.

Posted by: Gargamel at January 08, 2017 11:48 AM (rH4JY)

318 Question for the Horde: What is the quit smoking book Ace always recommends? One of the guys I'm taking to visit Pooky is trying to quit.

Posted by: pookysgirl at January 08, 2017 11:48 AM (Yikcg)

319 The problem with a Coalition of Interests based around identity is that ultimately they're all putting their group interests first, it'd end up with a bunch of sons all fighting for the crown. It isn't shared values, it is a bag of values that are the strongest of each group, even if most of the members hate most of the values. It's better to find real common ground, which is hard when you're counter-culture.

Posted by: Davem at January 08, 2017 11:49 AM (WFjXF)

320 Thank you BeckoningChasm and IrishEi!

Prayers sent IMG. Hoping surgery is not needed, but if it is, be comforted by the fact that surgery for pyloric stenosis has been extremely successful. A friend's baby needed it and he was home from the hospital two days later--and that was 20 years ago! (He's a middle linebacker now in college.) I'm sure it has improved even more since that time.

MrsIMG is an RN and just did a flurry of research. We are heartened by what she read.

He will have surgery today or tomorrow. Prepping for house guests. Kids will stay here, of course. Little man is in good hands. MrsIMG worked for that hospital and our kids have been there.

Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 11:50 AM (di1hb)

321 I am glad that you are reading Jeremiah.

The fun part is when you read the Septuagint of Jeremiah and realise that it makes a lot more sense in that edition.

Like reading Hamlet in the original Klingon.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at January 08, 2017 11:50 AM (Xk4Hx)

322 http://tinyurl.com/juqz2pf

If you haven't read this, you simply must. I'd almost think it was satire, it hits all the notes just right.

FYI, "progressive city councils" are one of the reasons why Middle American cities like Flint and Detroit became hellmouths.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 11:38 AM (EnKk6)

Yeah, she says "people like us" would like a more rural lifestyle, without considering that maybe the targets of her ire would not like "progressive city councils".
Posted by: rickl at January 08, 2017 11:41 AM (sdi6R)

This is why this is such a special level of dumb. Does this idiot think Indianapolis is rural? Columbus, OH? St. Louis? Denver?

What the hell is she talking about?

Does she not know most of these cities DO have "progressive city councils?"

If she's talking about real rural America, there are problems. Solving them can be complex, but it absolutely does NOT start with electing progressive city councils.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 11:50 AM (Pz4pT)

323 JTB. Love Nero Wolfe, reading him always makes me hungry.

Posted by: Bensdad00 at January 08, 2017 11:50 AM (5rg+w)

324
295 http://tinyurl.com/juqz2pf

If you haven't read this, you simply must. I'd almost think it was satire, it hits all the notes just right.

FYI, "progressive city councils" are one of the reasons why Middle American cities like Flint and Detroit became hellmouths.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 11:38 AM (EnKk6)

Oh, by all means, let's reform ourselves to be as tolerant as Melinda Byerley (from San Francisco, if her username gives out that info)!

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Irredeemable Cycling Stars (TM) at January 08, 2017 11:50 AM (BK3ZS)

325 283. IMG, Prayers up for the grandbaby. Please let us know how things go.

Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 11:51 AM (V+03K)

326 Posted by: roamingfirehydrant at January 08, 2017 09:28 AM (THS4q)

I got that in audiobook form from OverDrive and didn't get past the first chapter. "Evil, abusive, foxhunting/blooding while protagonist shows empathy for poor, persecuted fox" is practically a trope at this point. Given that in a society at subsistence farming level having a chicken or two taken by a fox could be a *huge* deal. Also, in Britain foxes are a major repository of rabies. This means that in the time/culture Disk World fits into fox hunting was actually a service to the farmers.

My complaint wasn't that the father was shown as a bully, it was the *complete* lack of originality that went into the showing was nothing like the Pratchett work that made his world so endearing.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at January 08, 2017 11:51 AM (phT8I)

327 Question for the Horde: What is the quit smoking book Ace always recommends? One of the guys I'm taking to visit Pooky is trying to quit.
Posted by: pookysgirl at January 08, 2017 11:48 AM (Yikcg)

There's a quit smoking book? I don't imagine most people quit by reading a book about it.

If the guy is making money though, more power to him.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 11:53 AM (Pz4pT)

328
Shorter Melinda Byerley:
If your town doesn't have open rutting, sex acts and scrotum inflation festivals, I'll not be darkening your doors. Good day!

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Irredeemable Cycling Stars (TM) at January 08, 2017 11:53 AM (BK3ZS)

329 The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr

Posted by: IrishEi at January 08, 2017 11:53 AM (HiDrR)

330 Thank you Aetius and Moki!

Amazing thing is how darned far he can send that spit up. Made me think Newborn Exorcist. Thru his nose past his toes.

They should be at Akron Childrens' in a couple of hours

Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 11:53 AM (di1hb)

331 Book related but not strictly reading. Years ago John Cleese read "The Screwtape Letters" by CS Lewis. It only came out on cassette as far as I know and used prices are insane. I found out the readings are on YouTube. I haven't gone through all of them yet but Cleese's voice and delivery are perfect for the text.
Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 09:38 AM (V+03K)

Thanks to being the mom of a teenager, I know how to listen to something like this without being tied to the computer...

If you want to put those on your iPod or other MP3 player, you could paste the YouTube url in the box in the linky below. Hopefully you can figure out the rest! It's not hard, just a long slog to type.

http://www.vidtomp3.com/

Posted by: SandyCheeks at January 08, 2017 11:54 AM (joFoi)

332 Love Nero Wolfe, reading him always makes me hungry.

Yeah I'm a fan too, Spenser books always made me hungry too, the stuff he'd cook up.

I thought the Codex Alera series was pretty good. Had an old time feel to it

I think that's why he had a hard time getting a publisher, it wasn't some weird twist on fantasy, or with a "strong female" lead, etc.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 08, 2017 11:54 AM (39g3+)

333 The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr
Posted by: IrishEi at January 08, 2017 11:53 AM (HiDrR)

1. Don't buy cigarettes.
2. Stop hanging around people who do.
3. Stop going places where you can smoke.
4. Find something else to do.

The end.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 11:55 AM (Pz4pT)

334 Thank you JTB.

I gotta police up all these newly acquired art supplies that are strewn all about

Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 11:55 AM (di1hb)

335 Thanks, IrishEi. I knew it had a catchy title.

Posted by: pookysgirl at January 08, 2017 11:56 AM (Yikcg)

336 Scrotum inflation festivals? Is this seriously a thing?

Like, balloons on the midway and petting zoos?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 11:56 AM (EnKk6)

337 "Evil, abusive, foxhunting/blooding while protagonist shows empathy for poor, persecuted fox" is practically a trope at this point.

Yeah its with the "Medieval character who is skeptical of religion" trope and the "strong grrrl in Victorian England who shocks everyone by defying the culture" trope. That's become the cliche.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 08, 2017 11:56 AM (39g3+)

338
336 Scrotum inflation festivals? Is this seriously a thing?

Like, balloons on the midway and petting zoos?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 11:56 AM (EnKk6)

Our own zombie (from the Bay Area) has documented such cultural milestones. I don't have the link(s) handy, but you can take my word for it that to see it isn't an edifying experience...

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Irredeemable Cycling Stars (TM) at January 08, 2017 11:58 AM (BK3ZS)

339 "I'm lookin for book suggestions, maybe some sci fi or detective stuff but nothing really dreary or tear-inducing"

Angelus Trilogy by Jon Steele. Angels, Demons, History Channel, Swiss Chocolate, Internet porn, bell ringin' hunchbacks, magical rock tour buses, the Apocalypse and other light topics.

Bit of a slow go the first 50 odd pages, then you're locked in.

Easily the best bunch of books I've read in the last several years.

Posted by: Twin Cities Daydrunk, damning snow and all its acoutrements at January 08, 2017 11:58 AM (TSJEX)

340 286 Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 11:31 AM (di1hb)

Prayers ascending. Please keep the Horde posted.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at January 08, 2017 11:58 AM (VSbY8)

341 Does anybody else read the Book Thread with tabs to their local libraries open?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 09:46 AM (EnKk6)

Not only the liberry but Amazon as well.

Posted by: SandyCheeks at January 08, 2017 11:59 AM (joFoi)

342 336 Scrotum inflation festivals? Is this seriously a thing?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 11:56 AM (EnKk6)

Do NOT go to zombie's blog and search for "scrotum inflation". What has been seen cannot be unseen.

Posted by: rickl at January 08, 2017 12:00 PM (sdi6R)

343 I'll second the Nero Wolfe mysteries.

Good old fashioned fun.

In a more modern and harder direction,

The "Hardcase" series by Dan Simmons is good and has some unique spins on the hardboiled detective genre.

Posted by: naturalfake at January 08, 2017 12:00 PM (GuDwI)

344 Great book thread! I can't reed, but I can right.

Posted by: Joe Biden at January 08, 2017 12:01 PM (rH4JY)

345 Finished off the latest Saxon Tales novel a couple of nights ago. As always, loved it. Uhtred is my hero. Cornwell writes battle scenes like no one else.

Now listening to "Hell Divers" by Nicholas Sainsbury Smith as I exercise. It's a grim... strike that....unrelentingly grim tale of a depressing...strike that....horribly depressing dystopian future where the remnants of the human race endlessly circle the destroyed Earth in nuclear powered airships held aloft by helium air bladders. The Hell Divers are those heroic souls who dive to the contaminated earth searching for spare parts and fuel cells to keep the ships aloft and, thus, the human race live. The ship has the same microcosm of society and its woes as does any population. I don't usually enjoy dystopian fiction but this one meets my criteria for listening enjoyment: 1. While exercising, does the time fly? Yes. 2. Does the story make me want to pick the actual book to find out what happens next between trips to the gym? Yes. 3. Will I read or listen to the next part of the trilogy when it comes out? Yes. Currently at a point in the narration where Divers are searching the most devastated and radioactive area on Earth. It's know as "Hades". In spite of the grim subject matter, I had to chuckle when the Divers come across the actual name of the city. Oh the irony.

Posted by: Tuna at January 08, 2017 12:02 PM (JSovD)

346 Antisocialist, if you are looking for light SF, and you have a kindle or other reader, the Gutenberg Science Fiction shelf has lots and lots and lots of old Analog/Astounding/If shorts

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Science_Fiction_%28Bookshelf%29

When I was laid up for months with a broken shoulder I plowed through it. It has all the great writers, usually the first publications of the shorts that turned into the great novels.

And such unsung and underwritten writers like Murray Yaco.

Posted by: Kindltot at January 08, 2017 12:03 PM (xNowh)

347 Our own zombie (from the Bay Area) has documented such cultural milestones. I don't have the link(s) handy, but you can take my word for it that to see it isn't an edifying experience...

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Irredeemable Cycling Stars (TM) at January 08, 2017 11:58 AM (BK3ZS)

A while back, somebody asked zombie why he took so many photographs of the disgusting barnyard exhibitions of the Folsom Street Fair, various protest demonstrations, etc., and he replied that he was documenting it for posterity. Because, he explained, there will come a time in the future when someone will bring up, for example, that there used to be this guy who inflated his scrotum to the size of a football, and without photographic evidence, it simply will not be believed.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at January 08, 2017 12:03 PM (VSbY8)

348 Someone mentioned that "Hallow Mass" is the Goodreads book du (what's French for "month"?) so I started re-reading it. It really is delightful. Kind of disgusting in bits, but I added "rugose" and "squamous" to my vocabulary. And where in hell are parts 2 and 3???? I want them NOW.

I really want to read Hallow Mass, but, alas and alack, I am a cheapskate. Does it or has it ever gone "freebie"?

Posted by: SandyCheeks at January 08, 2017 12:04 PM (joFoi)

349 Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 11:31 AM (di1hb) Prayers ascending. Please keep the Horde posted. Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at January 08, 2017 11:58 AM (VSbY

=====

Bill Withers: Sunday hymn -- 'Lean On Me'

Posted by: mustbequantum at January 08, 2017 12:04 PM (MIKMs)

350 333 The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr
Posted by: IrishEi at January 08, 2017 11:53 AM (HiDrR)

1. Don't buy cigarettes.
2. Stop hanging around people who do.
3. Stop going places where you can smoke.
4. Find something else to do.

The end.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 08, 2017 11:55 AM (Pz4pT)

Be prepared to gain 20-40 pounds.

Posted by: Pepe at January 08, 2017 12:05 PM (tPC7s)

351 The Last of the Tin Can Sailors by James D. Hornfischer.

===========

I read it also just recently. It is well done. It started a little slow because he did a lot of in depth personal background. But the actual event is very well related and knitted together with various perspectives. It was a near thing.

Posted by: Simplemind at January 08, 2017 12:05 PM (ZuGkg)

352 " thought the Codex Alera series was pretty good. Had an old time feel to it (I mean it reminded me a lot of series I read when I was growing up.)"

Agreed, though I thought it was DAMNED good. Very clever "world building", and Butcher knows how to write battle scenes, which he does all through the Codex Alera.

Always thought it shoulda been Butcher that finished Wheel of Time, just for the sake of writing the final battle.

Posted by: Twin Cities Daydrunk, damning snow and all its acoutrements at January 08, 2017 12:06 PM (TSJEX)

353 Don't forget to buy my book "Loving Our Black Presdent". I know a lot people want this book and all the funds go to fight Globall Warming and fro Gay/Lesbian Health Programs in Obamaboro.

Posted by: Mary Clogginstien from Brattleboro, VT (Soon to be Obamaboro, VT) at January 08, 2017 12:06 PM (Fbj4h)

354 Four. Weeks. Old.
One more added to the many conversations going on with The Big Guy right now.
Envelope that baby in Your love, Grace and mercy.
Guide the Dr's and nurses throughout.
And later, much later in life at Your chosen time, bring that baby back home to be with You is the basis of mine.

Posted by: teej at January 08, 2017 12:06 PM (gJ3Vg)

355 I really want to read Hallow Mass, but, alas and alack, I am a cheapskate. Does it or has it ever gone "freebie"?
Posted by: SandyCheeks at January 08, 2017 12:04 PM (joFoi)

The current $2.99 price is a sale price to coincide with the goodreads discussion. I think it goes back up to I forget how much ($6?) soonish.

Posted by: Deplorable votermom @vm on Gab at January 08, 2017 12:08 PM (Om16U)

356 "...there will come a time in the future when someone will bring up, for example, that there used to be this guy who inflated his scrotum to the size of a football, and without photographic evidence, it simply will not be believed.
Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at January 08, 2017 12:03 PM (VSbY

"
----
Good Lord.

Slightly under regulation, for a good grip?

I've learned the hard way not to chase links provided, but I'm sorta tempted to google it...and then I remember stumbling blindly for days after some of the other wonders touted on this smart military blog.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 12:08 PM (EnKk6)

357 Prayers for the little one, Iron Mike.

And prayers for you, antisocialist. If you were an ette I'd rec Georgette Heyer - her regencies are just what the doctor ordered.

Posted by: Deplorable votermom @vm on Gab at January 08, 2017 12:11 PM (Om16U)

358 So help me God, it has a Wikipedia page.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 12:11 PM (EnKk6)

359 Posted by: Kindltot at January 08, 2017 12:03 PM (xNowh)

Thank you, and that goes for everyone who's offered suggestions! Didn't know about the Gutenberg site till y'all mentioned it...I'm a happy girl!!!

Posted by: antisocialist at January 08, 2017 12:11 PM (W2wn0)

360 Oh, SandyCheeks, what you could do to get it free is get a free trial of Kindle Unlimited and read it while on the free trial.

Posted by: Deplorable votermom @vm on Gab at January 08, 2017 12:13 PM (Om16U)

361 L Sprague DeCamp has some silly fantasy books out there that are a lot of fun too, but they are older so harder to find.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 08, 2017 11:47 AM (39g3+)

Oh, the Compleat Compleat Enchater is Teh Awesome!

*fires up syllogismobile*

Posted by: Deplorable votermom @vm on Gab at January 08, 2017 12:14 PM (Om16U)

362 thought the Codex Alera series was pretty good. Had
an old time feel to it (I mean it reminded me a lot of series I read
when I was growing up.)

Agreed, though I thought it was DAMNED good. Very clever "world
building", and Butcher knows how to write battle scenes, which he does
all through the Codex Alera.
Always thought it shoulda been Butcher that finished Wheel of Time, just for the sake of writing the final battle. Posted by: Twin Cities Daydrunk, damning snow and all its acoutrements at January 08, 2017 12:06 PM (TSJEX)1
=====

Thought I was the only person who enjoyed the Codex Alera series. Butcher is an excellent writer and I thought he did a great job with that one.

Posted by: mustbequantum at January 08, 2017 12:15 PM (MIKMs)

363 355 I really want to read Hallow Mass, but, alas and alack, I am a cheapskate. Does it or has it ever gone "freebie"?

Posted by: SandyCheeks at January 08, 2017 12:04 PM (joFoi)

Wow. I'm a cheapskate, too, but $2.99 is well within even my price range. You must pinch pennies just to hear them scream.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at January 08, 2017 12:17 PM (VSbY8)

364 Great article by Andrew Klavan on the media reaction to the Chicago 4: (Via Instapundit)

http://tinyurl.com/jm7mbg6

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 12:17 PM (92kX2)

365 I prefer to call it "quantitative scrotum easing".

Posted by: Geronimo Stilton at January 08, 2017 12:17 PM (10LGw)

366 Sgt, Mom, I have all the books Grey Fox mentioned, the Eastern Frontier has always interested me more than the Old West, the struggle was much more protracted and vicious. The Iroquois Campaign he mentioned was partly a response to the Wyoming Valley massacre in Pennsylvania, maybe a bit also for the Battle of Oriskany and Cherry Valley massacres in New York,

Wennawoods publishing in Pennsylvania specializes in reprints of scarce original works on the Eastern frontier era.

http://tinyurl.com/hwqvjhp

Some other good books I can recommend are as follows.
"The Indian Wars of Pennsylvania" , 2 vols. by C. Hale snipe

"Bloody Mohawk" the French and Indian War and Revolution on New York's Frontier, by Richard Berleth

"The First Frontier", Scott Weidensaul, Indian wars in the Appalachians and East Coast, colonization through French and Indian War.

Posted by: JHW at January 08, 2017 12:18 PM (kn0BL)

367 Agreed, though I thought it was DAMNED good. Very clever "world building", and Butcher knows how to write battle scenes, which he does all through the Codex Alera.

Always thought it shoulda been Butcher that finished Wheel of Time, just for the sake of writing the final battle.
Posted by: Twin Cities Daydrunk, damning snow and all its acoutrements at January 08, 2017 12:06 PM (TSJEX)

Any writer who tried to finish that up would have had problems. Jordan had a very distinctive style. I do not think Sanderson did a terrible job, but his writing has always seemed... distant or disjointed to me (cannot put my finger on it.) This did not creep in too much into the final books- probably because he was trying to emulate Jordan's style and work heavily from the notes.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 12:20 PM (92kX2)

368 I've learned the hard way not to chase links provided, but I'm sorta tempted to google it...

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 12:08 PM (EnKk6)

No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at January 08, 2017 12:20 PM (VSbY8)

369 I would like to announce that my friend and stalwart supporter Mary Clogginstien from Brattleboro, VT will be the curator of the Styrofoam columns at my magnificent Presidential Library of Nothing. Congratulations, dear!

Posted by: Prez'nit Toonces at January 08, 2017 12:20 PM (Tyii7)

370 Thanks and WILCO, OM.

And thanks to you vm.

mustbequantum just inserted an ear worm. heh. A good one, too.

Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 12:21 PM (di1hb)

371 ABE Free shipping site, my favorite for used books:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/hvra972
Posted by: Mike Hammer,etc., etc. at January 08, 2017 10:11 AM (ZO497)

Woohoo! Thanks. Didn't know that existed on ABE.

Posted by: SandyCheeks at January 08, 2017 12:23 PM (joFoi)

372 369 I would like to announce that my friend and stalwart supporter Mary Clogginstien from Brattleboro, VT will be the curator of the Styrofoam columns at my magnificent Presidential Library of Nothing. Congratulations, dear!
Posted by: Prez'nit Toonces at January 08, 2017 12:20 PM (Tyii7)

Although, to be fair, all that will be in it is the columns and the 'office of the president elect' seal. Maybe we could use it as a dumping ground for the pages of the Affordable Care act after congress hopefully guts it.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 12:23 PM (92kX2)

373 Adding carrots to Chili makes it a stew.

Posted by: BuckIV at January 08, 2017 12:24 PM (CLfqv)

374 202 ... Sgt. Mom, When you do research for the Revolutionary War book, try to borrow some repro weapons of that time. A Brown Bess musket, and a long rifle would be appropriate.........
Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 11:12 AM
There are lots of videos of period weapons. I am so itching to take my Brown Bess replica out. But can absolutely tell you a man size target at 60 yds is probable, 100 yds its throwing dice if your going to hit.

Posted by: Skip at January 08, 2017 12:25 PM (5sOEp)

375 got a fortune cookie the other day that said "a bold and dashing adventure is in your future." i suspect it means sabrina chase is up to something.

Posted by: Anachronda at January 08, 2017 12:25 PM (jRdaV)

376 Adding carrots to chile makes it a abomination

Posted by: Skip at January 08, 2017 12:25 PM (5sOEp)

377 The death storm takes another victim.

We are friends with a bunch of wooden boat guys. They have Messabouts throughout the year, where they get together in their boats. This time of year, my husband puts together the Library Messabout. They meet at the Multnomah Library in Portland. Some put in requests of books from the closed reference stacks. They have great old boating books. Everyone reads and discusses interesting things.

The guys from Eugene canceled last night due to weather. We have a little snow and are getting freezing rain, so had to cancel it. We'll see if we can get the room to reschedule.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at January 08, 2017 12:27 PM (Lqy/e)

378 For Sgt. Mom and any others with an interest, I forgot to mention Monongahela Books. They specialize in Colonial America, the Revolution and frontier Appalachia with a very broad selection.

http://tinyurl.com/hfguvqx

Posted by: JHW at January 08, 2017 12:28 PM (kn0BL)

379 Those pants! Some marketing genius thinks Leftist and other style-bereft fools will buy them.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 08, 2017 09:39 AM (u82oZ)

I love 'em! There's room for my Mil-Spec Depends in there.

Posted by: Hillary at January 08, 2017 12:28 PM (bG+ug)

380 When I had Kindle Unlimited read many Charles River Editors books , and while not literary prose does tell you historically what happened, very good if you want to brush up on a certain event.

Posted by: Skip at January 08, 2017 12:29 PM (5sOEp)

381 o/t note on the manson situation in the sidebar:

something i just learned that i did not know is that angela lansbury's daughter hung out with the manson "family" but wasn't involved in any crimes. after the tate murders, angela spirited her out of the country to ireland where she got her off drugs and she has been a productive member of society ever since.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at January 08, 2017 12:30 PM (WTSFk)

382 ... i guess it merits mentioning here because i read it somewhere and this is a book thread. and books are for reading.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at January 08, 2017 12:31 PM (WTSFk)

383 Antisocialist, if you start downloading large number of short stories one after another the Gutenberg system will flag you and ask you prove you are not an AI ripping downloads.

Ask me how I know.

They would like a donation too.

Posted by: Kindltot at January 08, 2017 12:31 PM (xNowh)

384 Angela Lansberry always makes me think of the murder mystery series I wish someone would do: an old lady who solves murder mysteries with the most amazing complex explanations. Eventually a detective figures out by the third book or later that she's a psychotic serial killer who keeps framing other people for her crimes

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 08, 2017 12:34 PM (39g3+)

385 Posted by: Iron Mike Golf at January 08, 2017 12:21 PM (di1hb)
=====

There is sometimes a higher purpose for the Horde.

Posted by: mustbequantum at January 08, 2017 12:34 PM (MIKMs)

386 Notsothoreau, it is above freezing here and it is drizzling. Unfortunately that just means we are in a silver thaw and there is ice on everything.
Somehow above freezing and drizzle is more miserable than 28 and light snow.

The positive side is that I have not only robins, but also varied thrush in my back yard squabbling over the apples I haven't picked up yet.

Posted by: Kindltot at January 08, 2017 12:37 PM (xNowh)

387 Eventually a detective figures out by the third
book or later that she's a psychotic serial killer who keeps framing
other people for her crimes Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 08, 2017 12:34 PM (39g3+)
=====

How would that work in a totally depopulated rural England? There must be some little town in the UK that doesn't have a murderer running around.

Posted by: mustbequantum at January 08, 2017 12:39 PM (MIKMs)

388 384: murder mysteries are such a huge category. has there been a theme here? you know, there are book store devoted to the genre.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at January 08, 2017 12:39 PM (WTSFk)

389 Their designers should get right to the point and market those pants as "Pantloads".

Posted by: Noam Sayen at January 08, 2017 12:40 PM (611Lm)

390 (...& it all started with edgar allen poe, right?)

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at January 08, 2017 12:40 PM (WTSFk)

391 Adding carrots to Chili makes it a stew. Posted by: BuckIV at January 08, 2017 12:24 PM (CLfqv)
=====

Is it stew or is it pretension? Firmly in the stew category here, but some think otherwise.

Posted by: mustbequantum at January 08, 2017 12:42 PM (MIKMs)

392 Those pants remind me of the old Boston Statler-Hilton: huge ballroom.

I'll see my self out.

Posted by: Regular joe at January 08, 2017 12:44 PM (ROIz5)

393 42 I got a "Three Investigators" book for Christmas. I don't remember asking for it, so I think I must have put it on my wish list for later after seeing it recommended here.
Posted by: roamingfirehydrant at January 08, 2017 09:28 AM (THS4q)

Loved those books when I was a kid. Wonder if I'd still like them now.

I also have a vague memory of enjoying a book, around the same time, with a similar theme of teens investigating stuff, but the only thing I remember about it is that they came up with some acronym for their little group: V.A.C.U.U.M. Ring any bells for anyone?

Posted by: Splunge at January 08, 2017 12:44 PM (iMxBJ)

394 nood

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at January 08, 2017 12:45 PM (89T5c)

395 those pants + scrotum inflation

Posted by: Deplorable votermom @vm on Gab at January 08, 2017 12:45 PM (Om16U)

396 How would that work in a totally depopulated rural England? There must be some little town in the UK that doesn't have a murderer running around.
Posted by: mustbequantum at January 08, 2017 12:39 PM (MIKMs)

Ha! I've often wondered that myself. Like that Brit TV show "Midsomer Murders." So many people are turning up dead, you'd think that half the town is scheming to murder the other half.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at January 08, 2017 12:46 PM (VSbY8)

397
I've started reading Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Central Asia by Karl E. Meyer and Shareen Blair Brysac.

The players are Great Britain, the Russian Empire and China. It it the inclusion of the latter which takes this book to areas beyond other books that I've read in the past regarding "The Great Game', which have focused on GB and Russia contending with each other for the areas NW of Afghanistan and Kashmir / India.

The first third of the book dealt with the latter region and included the First and Second Afghan War as well as the Sepoy Rebellion. I've just started into reading about the Tibet / China region. It's interesting enough thus far.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Irredeemable Cycling Stars (TM) at January 08, 2017 12:50 PM (BK3ZS)

398 I'm lookin for book suggestions, maybe some sci fi or detective stuff but nothing really dreary or tear-inducing

-
Some light hearted syfy I enjoyed:

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams, the author of Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. A computer engineer is forced to resort to employing his weird school buddy when his professional, personal, and criminal problems overwhelm him.

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. A history researcher time traveler goes back to Victorian England to fix someone else's mistake and finds love and confusion while rowing the Thames.

The End of an Era by Robert J. Sawyer. A paleontologist involved in a fued regarding the cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs with his former best friend now having an affair with his wife goes back to the end of the cretaceous period with his former friend to settle the dinosaur extinction issue and gets more than he bargained for.

Though not syfy, the Liturgical Mystery series by Mark Schweizer are good. Small town police chief/church music director/aspiring mystery author solves crimes while trying to put the church service on. Laugh out loud funny.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, This Is the Dawning of the Age of the Trumpius! at January 08, 2017 12:52 PM (Nwg0u)

399 Husband said they closed the library for today due to weather.

I saw a hummingbird when this storm came in, so I put out a feeder for them. It's by the window for my home office, so I see them when at work. There is this one that scolds me if I am late putting out the feeder. I've been taking it in so it doesn't freeze. She was out there this morning.

We will have to brace the weather as I am out of cat food!

Posted by: Notsothoreau at January 08, 2017 12:52 PM (Lqy/e)

400 That would be brave not brace.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at January 08, 2017 12:53 PM (Lqy/e)

401 http://www.crisismagazine.com/2016/martyrs-know-apostasy-can-not-justified

Spoiler at link. Commentary on book/movie. Be wary of Scorsese I think. There's a lot of pain in the world, obviously. Rarely indeed if ever is there an easy way out. It is of course human to ask for an easier way even Jesus asked in the garden of olives if the cup could pass him by.

Which it didn't, not even for him. But the result is we can be redeemed.

There are three answers to prayer. Yes. Not yet. And I have a better plan.

Posted by: Simplemind at January 08, 2017 12:57 PM (ZuGkg)

402 Don't get Hallow Mass for free; it's the sort of thing we want to support

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at January 08, 2017 12:57 PM (Xk4Hx)

403 The sunlight is hitting my living room just so[//i] and it's aesthetically perfect for reading and lazing and listening to music.

Later, book people.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 12:57 PM (EnKk6)

404

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 12:58 PM (EnKk6)

405 New York needs crops more than Nebraska needs MOMA or The Met.

I've thought for a long time that any future civil war in this country wouldn't be north vs south but urban against non-urban.

Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 09:21 AM (V+03K)
-----------------------------

All the survivalist lit recommends getting out of the city asap in case of a disaster, and further recommends that you site your bug out safe space out of range of any big city from which the zombies will march out.

Can't really eat those fancy works of "art".

Posted by: Boots at January 08, 2017 12:58 PM (EBwPV)

406 There is neither sunlight nor beauty in the barrel.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 12:59 PM (EnKk6)

407 I sometimes think that when people discuss "Watership Down" what they expect are stories like the Redwall books by Brian Jacques, which are indeed for young kids to read and have them read to.
I read them to my kids years ago.

The Redwall books again anthropomorphize animals to give them various human traits (good and bad). Fun reading for kids, but not as serious as "Watership Down".
Brian Jacques also just passed away this last December, I think.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative....outlaw in America at January 08, 2017 12:59 PM (S6Pax)

408 That says something about California, that Ireland is an option for a place to dry out from.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at January 08, 2017 01:00 PM (Xk4Hx)

409 And Nat Henthoff has passed away, unbelievably the NYT has a proper obit for him.

Posted by: Boots at January 08, 2017 01:01 PM (EBwPV)

410 So while it might not do a whole lot for getting your Extra ticket, it's a solid recommendation for you, or the kiddo, or All Hail Eris, or anyone else who has even a bit of curiosity as to why and how analog electronics work.

Posted by: hogmartin at January 08, 2017 10:19 AM (8nWyX)

For those wishing to get their feet wet in electronics, can I suggest that you start by playing with some simple vacuum tube circuits, and the theory behind them? Reason being, it's possible to visualize, if not actually see what goes on inside a tube, and the tubes and their ancillary components are made on a human scale that's easy to work with.

After all, the very term, "electronics" arose to describe the art of working with vacuum tubes. Prior to that, you were an "electrician", more or less.

I can't recommend a specific book on the topic, but there are a plethora of them. In my case, a family friend gave me a huge stack of Popular Electronics magazines from the late 1950's (which I still have).

Tubes are easy to get, and still very cheap, and there are many types out there that will run happily with a D-cell to heat the filaments, and a stack of 9-volt batteries for their plate supply, so one does not have start off with expensive power supplies bearing potentially lethal voltages.

Posted by: Hillary at January 08, 2017 01:05 PM (bG+ug)

411
Wow - Nat Hentoff gone. Too bad.

All I recall about him was that his columns generally highlighted how collapsed and repugnant "liberal" "thinking" and polemics had become, as he logically and sometimes fairly obviously championed the sensible, freedom-loving, constitutionally-sound position on some controversy of the day. In contrast to the increasingly mindless, reflexively authoritarian instincts usually exhibited by "liberals" whose columns appeared all around him.

Wasn't he a prominent example of a real liberal and civil libertarian, vs. the shallow bigoted ideologues who for some time have dominated and ruined American liberalism?

Posted by: rhomboid at January 08, 2017 01:07 PM (QDnY+)

412 Wasn't he a prominent example of a real liberal and civil libertarian, vs. the shallow bigoted ideologues who for some time have dominated and ruined American liberalism?
Posted by: rhomboid

Yes, he was a intellectual civil libertarian. He was always a favorite of the Left when he criticized Conservatives, but when he was honest and criticized the Left, the denounced him. He wrote for years for the Village Voice, and then they kicked him out because he was less than impressed by Bill Clinton and his dishonesty and immorality.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative....outlaw in America at January 08, 2017 01:11 PM (S6Pax)

413 374 ... "I am so itching to take my Brown Bess replica out. But can absolutely tell you a man size target at 60 yds is probable, 100 yds its throwing dice if your going to hit."

Skip, There's a line from "Gunsmith of Colonial Williamsburg" where David Brinkley (I so miss his voice) quotes a contemporary account that 'a man hit by a musket ball at 100 yards is indeed unlucky'. Always loved that pithy line.

I was surprised when shooting a 20 gauge smoothbore, patched .600 roundball, that accuracy was surprisingly good out to 50 or 60 yards. Haven't tried it farther than that. Might try a roundball load in the percussion 12 gauge and see what happens.

Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 01:13 PM (V+03K)

414 Democrat dead-enders are caterwauling and tearing their hair out over the Electoral College

Yes, BUT as I recall, HRC was agitating to dump the E.C. as many as 6 years ago. Should we conclude that HRC knew the book was flawed then, but walked away from her understanding??

OR should we conclude that HRC simply wanted to dispose of the Constitution's sensible provisions?

Posted by: dad29 at January 08, 2017 01:13 PM (7Kti7)

415 327 Question for the Horde: What is the quit smoking book Ace always recommends? One of the guys I'm taking to visit Pooky is trying to quit.
Posted by: pookysgirl at January 08, 2017 11:48 AM (Yikcg)

There's a quit smoking book? I don't imagine most people quit by reading a book about it.
350 333 The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr
Posted by: IrishEi at January 08, 2017 11:53 AM (HiDrR)

It worked for me! I listened to it on tape while I chain smoked, following Carr's brilliant instructions. been a "grateful non-smoker" 3 years now.

Posted by: booknlass at January 08, 2017 01:15 PM (hNFnI)

416 Never understood why Watership Down was about animals and so a children's book either. Yeah. Like Animal Farm, right? Anyway, I'm a "lurker" on AoSHQ and look to see y'all on Goodreads as I crank that up again. Hoping this time to stick with it, with your help!

Posted by: DAK (also LastWord) at January 08, 2017 01:19 PM (u2bnL)

417 The "rhymed "masses" with "masses" thing has bothered me since I first heard that song 40-some years ago. Glad Ozzy was able to provide that cogent explanation.

Posted by: Iowa Bob at January 08, 2017 01:19 PM (80HyY)

418 399 We will have to brace the weather as I am out of cat food!

you're not out of cat food, that's what the hummingbirds are for.

Posted by: Anachronda at January 08, 2017 01:23 PM (jRdaV)

419 Yes, BUT as I recall, HRC was agitating to dump the E.C. as many as 6 years ago. Should we conclude that HRC knew the book was flawed then, but walked away from her understanding??

OR should we conclude that HRC simply wanted to dispose of the Constitution's sensible provisions?
Posted by: dad29 at January 08, 2017 01:13 PM (7Kti7)

I hadn't heard this, but it doesn't surprise me. She could probably see how her best chance of winning was to inflame and agitate the various Dem grievance groups, all of whom inhabit blue state urban areas. It's easy for her to conclude that the EC might inhibit this.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at January 08, 2017 01:23 PM (VSbY8)

420 For those wishing to get their feet wet in electronics, can I suggest that you start by playing with some simple vacuum tube circuits, and the theory behind them?

I never considered vacuum tube stuff because I always assumed it was high powered. I'm not sure how you get more understanding per se out of a vacuum tube than a transistor, but firing up some glowing tubes does sound like good times.

Of course, if you really want to take it old-school, you build an electromechanical computer out of relays.
https://youtu.be/Gr8TAS4y5Eo

Posted by: hogmartin at January 08, 2017 01:24 PM (8nWyX)

421 Scrotum inflation festivals? Is this seriously a thing?

Like, balloons on the midway and petting zoos?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 11:56 AM (EnKk6)

They use helium. You see them floating lazily over San Francisco Bay, like hirsute dirigibles.

Posted by: Hillary at January 08, 2017 01:31 PM (bG+ug)

422 405
New York needs crops more than Nebraska needs MOMA or The Met.

I've thought for a long time that any future civil war in this country wouldn't be north vs south but urban against non-urban.

Posted by: JTB at January 08, 2017 09:21 AM (V+03K)

-----------------------------

All the survivalist lit recommends getting out of the city asap in
case of a disaster, and further recommends that you site your bug out
safe space out of range of any big city from which the zombies will
march out.

Can't really eat those fancy works of "art".

Posted by: Boots at January 08, 2017 12:58 PM (EBwPV)

We need to seriously think about what to do with the urban refugees, many of whom will be our family members. The civil war won't be urban vs. rural, it will be urban vs. urban long before it ever gets to rural areas. We've already seen signs of it.

Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at January 08, 2017 01:32 PM (jK8Z7)

423 Anyone here familiar with the collection There Will Be War X? I've been reading a sample, and unlike other samples where it's the first x% of the book, it's the first several pages of each work in the compilation.

I've never been big on sci-fi, but I think the subgenre of military science fiction could suck me in. The collection has at least one non-fiction essay as well. I'll almost certain buy the whole thing; science fiction in short story form should be easy for me to take in.

Posted by: logprof at January 08, 2017 01:36 PM (GsAUU)

424 off, pantload sock.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 08, 2017 01:41 PM (bG+ug)

425 Saw Silence and liked it. A serious and well-done film.

You can argue what the main character priest should have done, and that his answer was too "Jesuitical." But there's a reason the Jesuits were often the first Europeans to venture into the rest of the World.

Posted by: Ignoramus at January 08, 2017 01:46 PM (7KK0W)

426 I always love the gorgeous classic library pictures. Trouble is that these days all you see are kids staring at a screen eating junk-food while they sit in them, oblivious to their surroundings.

@423 - the whole "There Will Be War" series is OUTSTANDING. Get them. A lot of older Mil SF is good, the late 90s though about 2012 or so is largely a wasteland, and it's getting good again with Castalia House and Baen and indie publishers and self-publishers on e-books.

Speaking of mil SF and books, mine might become a movie. Or at least part of it might hit the screen. Currently in negotiations with a small indie production company to turn part (or maybe, possibly, even all) of "The Stars Came Back" into a film, or series of films. A moron author might hit the small-time screen. We'll see. I'll post more here as things get finalized.

Posted by: Rolf at January 08, 2017 01:49 PM (Fne+p)

427 I've said here before that the biggest political divide is city v. country with the suburbs jump ball.

I seriously doubt that we'll have a bloody civil war, although some who post here fantasize about it, including AoSHQ management. If it ever came to that, many also forget that by and large it's not country folk who own the big farms but big corporations. I don't see NYC starving.

Posted by: Ignoramus at January 08, 2017 01:50 PM (7KK0W)

428 Does anyone have a realistic scenario for how this Civil War actually starts. Ace rallies the Ewoks in Manhattan?

Seriously, the country was much closer to coming apart in the 1970s.

Posted by: Ignoramus at January 08, 2017 01:53 PM (7KK0W)

429 Watership Down is one of my top five favorite books of all time. And I grew up without a tv, so I've read a lot of books.

I first read it somewhere around 6th grade, but I've re-read it several times since.

I just finished reading Death Comes for the Deconstructionist. A mystery (though not much) that is a rather pleasing take-down of the modern university climate, featuring possibly the best sidekick of all time.

Right now in the middle of The Secret History of Twin Peaks. It's a dossier of "historical" documents with comments and will send you running to Google to see what's real and what isn't. It's basically The X-files in book form.

Posted by: Gypsy at January 08, 2017 01:56 PM (8svYz)

430

Martin Cruz Smith's new novel "The Girl from Venice" is excellent, as is everything else by MCS.

Also reading Orson Scott Card's new book "The Swarm - Volume One of the Second Formic War" and enjoying it. It's set 100 years before "Ender's Game".

Posted by: Frankly at January 08, 2017 02:05 PM (IJUX0)

431 Speaking of mil SF and books, mine might become a movie. Or at least part of it might hit the screen. Currently in negotiations with a small indie production company to turn part (or maybe, possibly, even all) of "The Stars Came Back" into a film, or series of films. A moron author might hit the small-time screen. We'll see. I'll post more here as things get finalized.
Posted by: Rolf at January 08, 2017 01:49 PM (Fne+p)

--That's awesome news!

I'll certainly take your recommendation and look at the rest of There Will Be War. The older ones are probably fairly cheap.

Posted by: logprof at January 08, 2017 02:10 PM (GsAUU)

432 "Martin Cruz Smith's new novel "The Girl from Venice" is excellent, as is everything else by MCS."

I, too, love MCS. But I listened to this one on the way to and from work, and the reader was awful. I would probably have liked it better if I'd read it myself.

Posted by: April at January 08, 2017 02:12 PM (e8PP1)

433 I saw the Watership Down movie first, when I was 9. Later, in 7th grade, the book was one of our assignments. The movie is more enjoyable if you read the book first, especially when it comes to understanding the language of the rabbits.

I still remember what hrududu is.

Posted by: logprof at January 08, 2017 02:12 PM (GsAUU)

434 RIP Richard Adams He was aged 96.

Properly, you would say, 'He was aged hrair,' which applies to any number larger than four.

Posted by: Smallish Bees at January 08, 2017 02:18 PM (yjhOG)

435 Kicking around an idea for NaNoWriMo, kind of inspired by 'The Last Centurion' but with a scifi twist. Sort of like 'Star Trek: Voyager' except like if Janeway and the bridge crew get murdered in the first episode by hostile aliens, a Maquis takes command, and the survivors fight dirty to make their way back home.

Posted by: V the K at January 08, 2017 02:18 PM (jn7FC)

436 @418,

Fat lazy inside cats. I found some fish sticks for them. I think we can hold out a few more hours

Posted by: Notsothoreau at January 08, 2017 02:18 PM (Lqy/e)

437
Fat lazy inside cats. I found some fish sticks for them. I think we can hold out a few more hours
Posted by: Notsothoreau at January 08, 2017 02:18 PM (Lqy/e)
---
You're safe for now, as long as they don't think your fingers look like fish sticks.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 08, 2017 02:24 PM (EnKk6)

438

And prayers for you, antisocialist. If you were an ette I'd rec
Georgette Heyer - her regencies are just what the doctor ordered.

Posted by: Deplorable votermom @vm on Gab at January 08, 2017 12:11 PM (Om16U)
David Weber likes Georgette Heyer. He told a very funny story at LibertyCon last summer about being in the bookstore in his biker jacket and chains, agreeing with the ladies near the Heyer shelf that Sylvester was an awesome book.

Posted by: Laura M at January 08, 2017 02:25 PM (T2lRt)

439 And I'm surprise Watership Down is considered a children's book. I read
it some years ago, and it seemed pretty adult to me. I never would have
thought it was a book I'd give to my kids to read.

-----------

I read it in 1975 and completely agree. Not that I have kids, but maybe children have devolved since then. Who knows?

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at January 08, 2017 02:25 PM (tHwdc)

440 And prayers for you, antisocialist. If you were an ette I'd rec

Georgette Heyer - her regencies are just what the doctor ordered.

Posted by: Deplorable votermom @vm on Gab at January 08, 2017 12:11 PM (Om16U)

I happened to catch this and laughed. I gobbled those up when I was a teen. Haven't seen the name Georgette Heyer in many decades.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at January 08, 2017 02:27 PM (tHwdc)

441 30 Reading an excellent book by the late professor of philosophy and a deeply committed Christian, Dr. Dallas Willard-"Hearing God"- developing a conversational relationship with God. Richard Foster, who has written many devotional books calls it "The best book on divine guidance I have ever read." and the reviews on Amazon are generally very favorable.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 08, 2017 09:22 AM (tOcW/)
-------------------
HUGE Dallas Willard fan here: you'll also love his 'Renovation of the Heart'.

Posted by: Brunette the Lurker 'Ette at January 08, 2017 02:43 PM (adsVM)

442 So I have a question. I got a Kindle fire for Christmas. I don't have WiFi at home, so can I download books using my computer connected to the Kindle?
Posted by: HH at January 08, 2017 09:01 AM (DrCtv)
---------------------
If no one else has already posted this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZRyjfg7tW4

Posted by: Brunette the Lurker 'Ette at January 08, 2017 02:45 PM (adsVM)

443 Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 08, 2017 11:27 AM (92kX2)

The Hard Luck Hank books are sci-fi detective action comedies, light entertainment.

Posted by: waelse1 at January 08, 2017 02:52 PM (E/ZMA)

444 Hi y'all from a long, longtime lurker. I'm attempting to join the AoSHQ group on Goodreads and this is my requirement for entry. I'm looking forward to reading the current and future works of the Horde. And now, I will swiftly re-lurk.

Posted by: Misplaced Southerner at January 08, 2017 03:31 PM (6LfYp)

445 I happened to catch this and laughed. I gobbled those up when I was a teen. Haven't seen the name Georgette Heyer in many decades.
Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at January 08, 2017 02:27 PM (tHwdc)

Her regencies are so much fun!
I think she said once that she wrote them as an escape for Londoners sheltering through the Blitz.

Posted by: Deplorable votermom @vm on Gab at January 08, 2017 03:37 PM (Om16U)

446 I don't know if it has been mentioned above, but John Conroe's 11th Demon Accords novel has been released. It is as wonderful as all the rest.

Posted by: Tim Pruett at January 08, 2017 03:38 PM (nA3c1)

447 HH, here is how to transfer content from computer to Fire device with a USB cord.

http://tinyurl.com/zwmp4cm

Posted by: Deplorable votermom @vm on Gab at January 08, 2017 03:52 PM (Om16U)

448 Saying "Hi" to try to join the Goodreads group.

Posted by: Catherine at January 08, 2017 04:01 PM (fpchP)

449 Don't listen to them, Democrats. We're doing everything just right. It's Jim Comey, I tell you! And the Russians! The FBI and the KGB have finally teamed up!

And it's our messaging. We just need to explain better why men should be in the girls' showers. And why the world in flames is a good thing--people will turn their thermostats down. And why no jobs and runaway premiums aren't a big deal. We'll just tax the rich!

No, don't listen to those filthy liars, Democrats; people really want what we're selling: Change Nothing!

Posted by: The Gipper Lives at January 08, 2017 04:43 PM (Ndje9)

450 Just finished "The Field of Fight" by Lt. General Michael Flynn, Trump's National Security Advisor. I thought it was pretty good and would love to see him write an autobiography or publish his memoirs.

-- 'poop

Posted by: I.M.Nincompoop at January 08, 2017 05:02 PM (6K3JO)

451 Oh, SandyCheeks, what you could do to get it free is get a free trial of Kindle Unlimited and read it while on the free trial.
Posted by: Deplorable votermom @vm on Gab at January 08, 2017 12:13 PM (Om16U)

Just got back after a long afternoon hiatus. Thanks for the suggestion, but I have a massive stack to get through and the Kindle Unlimited free reads disappear after so long, don't they? I'm afraid I might not get to it within a couple weeks.

Posted by: SandyCheeks at January 08, 2017 05:08 PM (joFoi)

452 Posted by: I.M.Nincompoop at January 08, 2017 05:02 PM (6K3JO)

I liked it too. I'm glad he's NatSecAdv

Posted by: Deplorable votermom @vm on Gab at January 08, 2017 07:04 PM (Om16U)

453 "get murdered in the first episode by hostile aliens, a Maquis takes command, and the survivors fight dirty to make their way back home."

Lost Fleet series in a nutshell. (Jack Campbell pen name)

Real history:Xenophon The Anabasis (401 BC)

Posted by: Ok at January 08, 2017 07:22 PM (5knHt)

454 "wouldn't be north vs south but urban against non-urban"

Pretty much the Revolutionary War. British used mostly mercenaries and Tories.

Urban has a skilled manpower shortage.

Posted by: Ok at January 08, 2017 07:28 PM (5knHt)

455 I suggest The Lost Raft by John Haslett. Covers a latter-day Kon-Tiki. Gripping at the least. You can thank me later.

Posted by: Anna Mac at January 09, 2017 12:40 AM (xujfC)

456 Dear Anonosaurus Wrecks,

I can recommend Dave Duncan's books as light, amusing but not broad humor. His Kings Blades series and A Man of His Word trilogy are particular favorites of mine. Reading them in order is more fun but not absolutely required. If you enjoy historical accounts, you may like to try Jack Whyte's series about the end of the Roman empire and the colonization of Great Britain. In that vein, Bernard Cornwell writes books worthy of re-reading, too.

Posted by: Callen at January 09, 2017 09:56 AM (m9goj)

457 Virginia Woolf was a terrible author.
Posted by: dagny at January 04, 2017 03:37 PM (pH7uT)

Thank you! Reading her crap is like getting beaten with a bag of oranges.
Posted by: josephistan
-----
Or a pocket full of rocks...

Posted by: Dang at January 09, 2017 10:13 AM (8b+oT)

458 Hi, I would like to join the Moron Horde group on GoodReads. I requested to join on the site.

Posted by: DesCon at January 09, 2017 01:30 PM (Dg0BU)

459 Steve Pierson here. Was reading this thread and learned about your Moron Horde Goodreads group. I submitted a request to join the group. Thanks.

Posted by: Steve Pierson at January 09, 2017 11:48 PM (OZYKU)

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